A Manual of Instruction 
 
 IN 
 
 CiitacH History. 
 
 BY 
 
 TH5 Rev. George W. Shinn, 
 
 Newton, Mass., 
 
 AUTHOR OF "A MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION UPON THE COLLECTS, EPISTLES 
 
 AND GOSPELS,"' AND "A MANUAL OP INSTRUCTION 
 
 UPON THE PRAYER BOOK.' 1 
 
 I 
 
 $efo-g ork : 
 
 H?. 'WHITTAKER, 
 
 No. 2 Bible H hjse, 
 
 1881. 
 
Columbia (Bntoet#itp 
 
 THE LIBRARIES 
 
J 
 
MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 I 
 
 CHURCH HISTORY. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. GEORGE W. SHINN, 
 
 NEWTON, MASS. 
 
 AUTHOR OF " A MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION UPON THE COLLECTS WIS? LEt 
 
 AND GOSPELS," AND "A MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION U^ON 
 
 THE TRAVER BOO!:." 
 
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 « • f ' jitfo-^ork': - r v - 
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 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, by 
 
 T. WlIITTAKER, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 * 
 • * • 
 
 ORPHANST' Vr¥sS«-CI>LT'RCH CHARITY FOUNDATION. 
 
 
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TABLE OF. CONTENTS. 
 
 1. The Church of God before the Christian 
 
 ERA 7 
 
 2. The Condition of the World when Christ 
 
 CAME II 
 
 3. The Earthly Life of Christ 16 
 
 4. The Features of the Church established 
 
 by Christ 22 
 
 5. The Church in Apostolic Days 27 
 
 6. Those who helped the Apostles 35 
 
 7. The Days of Persecution 40 
 
 8. The Fathers of the Church 48 
 
 9. The Church in the Days of Const antine. . 57 
 
 10. The Great Councils of the Church 62 
 
 11. The Period covered by the Great Councils. 71 
 
 12. The Great Names that appear during the 
 
 Councils 75 
 
 13. From the Sixth General Council to the 
 
 first Division 79 
 
 14. From the Division of the Church to the 
 
 Reformation 90 
 
 15. The Reformation Period 102 
 
 16. Since the Reformation no 
 
 17. The Christian World as it is to-day 134 
 
 On the study of Church History by classes. 142 
 
 Outline Lessons 144 
 
 Books of Reference 148 
 
prefIce. 
 
 Church History is a greatly neglected study. 
 It is rarely taken up even in the course prescribed 
 in our Church schools. With the exception of 
 occasional parochial discourses, very little effort is 
 made to instruct our congregations as to the origin 
 and the development of the Church. 
 
 One of the reasons for this general neglect of 
 what is admitted to be a really interesting and im- 
 portant study, is the lack of suitable volumes upon 
 the subject. 
 
 Not that there is a scarcity of Church Histories, 
 but they are usually too erudite and too large to 
 command the attention of other than regular stu- 
 dents. Young people in our schools, and th« 
 general reader, can hardly be interested in the 
 minute details of controversies, or in the exact shad* 
 ing of heresies, or in the connected history of obscure 
 points, but might be interested in viewing the great 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 landmarks, and in tracing the connection between 
 what now is, and what has been. 
 
 The present volume is designed to supply some 
 such outline. If a book of so few pages does not 
 include everything of interest and importance, it is 
 by no means surprising, when the greatness of the 
 field is considered. 
 
 The author's hope is that it may be useful as an 
 introduction to the more careful study of standard 
 works, may serve as a text book in schools, and 
 may be helpful to those who would trace out the 
 Church's lirtage. 
 
MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 -♦-♦- 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CHURCH OF GOD BEFORE THE CHRIS- 
 TIAN ERA. 
 
 JEWISH CHURCH ABRAHAM — PROMISES TO OUR FIRST 
 
 PARENTS — DOCTRINE OF THE UNITY OF GOD — AGES 
 OF PREPARATION. 
 
 Although we speak of the Christian Church as 
 having been organized on the day of Pentecost, 
 A. D. 34, in the city of Jerusalem, it would be a 
 mistake to think of it as starting out then as some- 
 thing entirely distinct from all that had preceded 
 it. In one view the Christian Church is the con- 
 tinuation of the Jewish Church. More than this, 
 it is the continuation of the Church of God which 
 existed from the calling of Abraham out of idolatry. 
 And still beyond this, it is the development of the 
 promise of redemption made to our first parents. 
 
 We are not to think of the all-wise God as trying 
 one experiment and abandoning it for another, but 
 as carrying out His plans by most gracious provi- 
 sions, suited to the growing capacity and prepara- 
 tion of the human family. 
 
8 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 In His mercy He promised to our sinning 
 parents that their offspring should bruise the 
 serpent's head. 
 
 To preserve and train a people who should pre- 
 serve the memory of this promise, and whose high 
 destiny it should be to give birth to the Deliverer, 
 He called Abraham out of the land of idolatry and 
 made of him a nation. That nation became His 
 chosen people, and He secured their continuance 
 through all the vicissitudes of many ages until the 
 time was ripe for the coming of Messiah. 
 
 It would be hard to understand the history of the 
 Jewish people if it were not that we could see, 
 throughout all of their strange and eventful career, 
 the gradual development of the good purposes of 
 God. 
 
 Among this people were preserved the doctrine of 
 the unity of the Deity, as opposed to the Panthe- 
 ism and idolatry of surrounding nations — a moral 
 code infinitely beyond that of other people — signifi- 
 cant religious rites, which pointed on to a sequel in 
 the future — a succession of authorized religious 
 teachers — and inspired records containing a revela- 
 tion of the attributes and. the purposes of the Deity. 
 
 If we consider the older Dispensation to have 
 ended abruptly and to have had no connection with 
 the establishment of the Christian Church, and the 
 Christian Church to have begun as something 
 entirely new, we will utterly misapprehend the 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 9 
 
 purposes of God during the long ages before Christ, 
 and also fail to see the unity of God's plans of 
 mercy to our race throughout all time. 
 
 But we are to think of all of the ages before 
 Christ as the time of preparation for His coming, 
 and the Church which He founded as the realiza- 
 tion of God's plans of mercy towards the fallen 
 race. 
 
 If it seem strange to us that so many ages 
 elapsed before the Redeemer appeared, and so many 
 epochs of preparation came and went, we must 
 remember that God is infinitely wise and good, 
 and that a thousand years to Him are but as a day. 
 
 And thus it is that we regard the Old Testament 
 Scriptures as the grand prelude to the sweet har- 
 mony of redemption so distinctly heard when the 
 Son of God became incarnate for man's redemp- 
 tion. Just as an overture to a great musical com- 
 position combines the many melodies which are 
 subsequently developed more clearly, so will we 
 find in the Old Testament, suggestions of the 
 truths which it was the mission of the Christ to 
 reveal in His life and work. 
 
 Beginning with the first book of the Bible, we find 
 the promise of salvation from ruin ; then going on, 
 we note the conflict between good and evil in the 
 world ; further on we have histories of individuals 
 who illustrated the principle of trust in God, and, 
 in some particulars, became types or shadow pic- 
 
10 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 tures of the coming Saviour ; then we see a people 
 called out of the- world and brought into peculiar 
 relationship to God, for \Vhom He made laws, and 
 for whom He established a religious system full of 
 most significant religious rites, a system whose every 
 part taught them to look forward to a sequel which 
 should be full of grace and glory ; then we look 
 still further on and trace out ihe history of that 
 people, full of wonderful events — now they are 
 captives in strange lands, now rejoicing in great 
 prosperity in their own land, and now again, 
 beneath the iron heel of foreign rulers, a people 
 wonderfully preserved to accomplish God's pur- 
 poses ; and last of all we take up the books of 
 sacred poetry, the psalms and the prophecies, and 
 while we hear the singers sing many plaintive songs, 
 and strike the strings in the minor key to tell of 
 sorrow and sin, yet running through all are the 
 joyous notes that One should come Who will save 
 His people, and make this world brighter and 
 better. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE CONDITION OF THE WORLD WHEN 
 
 CHRIST CAME. 
 
 ROME, MISTRESS OF THE WORLD— HEROD, RULER OF 
 
 THE JEWS WAY PREPARED FOR A UNIVERSAL 
 
 KINGDOM FACILITIES FOR REACHING ALL PARTS 
 
 LEARNING SPREAD USE OF LATIN AND GREEK 
 
 LANGUAGES — DISSATISFACTION WITH PAGANISM 
 
 SOCIAL CORRUPTION. 
 
 Emperors — Augustus C/ESar on the throne at the 
 
 OPENING OF CHRISTIAN ERA, ; TIBERIUS, A. D. 14* 
 
 We are now to glance at the condition of the 
 world as it was when the Redeemer came. It is 
 declared by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
 that, "in the fullness (or ripeness) of the time 
 God sent forth His Son." Our view of the politi- 
 cal, social and religious condition of the world then, 
 will enable us to understand in what that fullness, 
 or ripeness, of the time consisted. 
 
 1900 years ago Rome was the mistress of the 
 world. The wish of her imperial master was 
 obeyed from Britain to Syria, by nations separated 
 from each other by many miles of territory and by 
 
12 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 every variety of race and of religion. Throughout 
 the civilized world, and over many barbarous tribes, 
 Roman rule extended. Roman governors, consuls, 
 triumvirs and dictators were the ultimate authority 
 in every province. Roman soldiers were stationed 
 in every quarter. Roman manners and customs 
 prevailed. Everything was Roman, so that from 
 her central city to the remotest extremity there 
 flowed out law, literature, fashion and sentiment. 
 
 Sixty years before the birth of Christ, Palestine 
 became a Roman province. After the Maccabean 
 wars internal dissensions prevailed among the Jews, 
 and the rival parties invited Pompey, the Roman 
 general, to settle their dispute. His mode of 
 settlement consisted in his making the whole 
 country tributary to Rome. 
 
 At the time of Christ's birth we find upon the 
 throne of Judea a ruler known as Herod the 
 Great. He was a tributary prince, raised to 
 power by the favor of Rome, and scrupled at no 
 iniquity to please his royal masters. His govern- 
 ment was a burdensome yoke to the Jews, and 
 Judea groaned beneath the bondage. 
 
 Now let us pause a moment to see how the 
 ' political state of the world then indicated the ripe- 
 ness of the times for the coming of Christ. 
 
 First, the supremacy of Rome paved the way for 
 the reception of the grand idea of a universal king- 
 dom which should embrace all the nations of the 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 3 
 
 earth. It paved the way for men to understand 
 more clearly what was meant when the Messiah 
 established a kingdom which should embrace in 
 one family all the families of the earth, and which 
 should merge in one supreme sentiment of loyalty 
 to Him, all the differing sentiments of many 
 peoples. 
 
 Second, the progress of the Roman armies and 
 of commerce, and of their language, had led to the 
 opening of communications with far distant nations, 
 and over the highways of travel thus opened, the 
 heralds of the Gospel of Peace were subsequently 
 to go. Rome acted unconsciously as the pioneer 
 of the Church of Christ. 
 
 When we come to look at the social condition of 
 the world as it was then, the view is a saddening 
 one, and shows how the world needed the truths 
 which the Christ was to proclaim. 
 
 Art and literature flourished, and science, as far 
 as it was then known, both material and specula- 
 tive, was encouraged, but there was but little in the 
 culture of the day to make men better. The ties 
 binding families together were lightly regarded. 
 The strong put yokes upon the necks of the weak. 
 Sensual appetites were ministered to at the expense 
 of suffering. The very amusements of the people 
 were such as involved extreme cruelty and the 
 shedding of blood. 
 
14 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 The fullness of the time had come, for — 
 
 First, the general spread of learning rendered men 
 able to examine the claims of Christianity, and 
 those claims were submitted to a fiercer scrutiny 
 than has ever been witnessed since. 
 
 Second, the general use of the Roman tongue 
 made intercourse easy with distant places, and the 
 use of the Greek language in literature, supplied a 
 vehicle for the accurate conveyance of the profound 
 thoughts contained in the religion of Christ. 
 
 Third, the dark background which the social 
 condition of the world then presented, brought out 
 in clearer relief the pure morals of Christianity. 
 There was an immediate and most vivid contrast 
 between what the world was, and what Christianity 
 required it to become, and the yearnings of men 
 for something better were to be gratified in the 
 religion of the Christ. 
 
 If we look at the religious condition of mankind 
 then, we see evidences that the time was ripe for 
 the Messiah's advent. 
 
 With the exception, of the Jews, among whom 
 the knowledge of the true God was preserved, the 
 nations had departed to error. Some were given 
 to gross idolatry, others deified the stars, others 
 worshipped a multitude of fictitious deities. The 
 most refined preserved a mythology which con- 
 tained within it most debasing beliefs. Many of 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. IS 
 
 the educated were utterly skeptical, and the very 
 ministers of religion were incredulous as to the 
 truthfulness of their own system. Even among 
 the Jews there was permitted the admixture of 
 heathen errors. 
 
 Clearer light from heaven was needed both for 
 Jew and for Gentile. Man must have a religion. 
 If he do not have a true religion he will accept 
 one that is false. The time was ripe for the clear 
 revelation of a true religion, of one which would 
 suit the needs of man, and satisfy his yearnings. 
 When man needed that religion most, Christ came. 
 
 It is not for us to lament then that so many ages 
 passed away before the true Light dawned upon 
 men. God never suffers His plans and purposes 
 to be defeated by their immature presentation. 
 
 He raised up the Roman power to unify the 
 races of men for the acceptance of a universal re- 
 ligion. When human laws were shown to be 
 inadequate to preserve social order, He caused the 
 Healer to come to purify man's social condition. 
 When the wild plant of heathenism had so grown 
 that all men could see that its fruit was not for the 
 healing of the nations, He planted His own Vine, 
 which shall never be uprooted. When men saw 
 that by their wisdom they could not find out God, 
 the only begotten Son came to declare Him, 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 THE EARTHLY LIFE OF JESUS, THE CHRIST. 
 
 THE GOD INCARNATE THE GOSPELS THE CHURCH A 
 
 WITNESS OF HIS LIFE AND WORK. 
 
 In speaking of the earthly life of the Saviour, we 
 are reminded of that which can never be described 
 by men : — His existence as God from all eternity. 
 
 Although there was a time when the second Per- 
 son of the Trinity became incarnate, became man, 
 we must never forget that He was in the begin- 
 ning with God, and He was God. 
 
 It is hard too to separate between the two natures 
 which He possessed after He took upon Him our 
 nature. He was perfectly God, and perfectly man. 
 There was no mixture or confusion of these two 
 natures, and yet men looked upon but one being. 
 They walked and talked with Him, saw Him grow 
 weary and sleep, saw Him subjected to death, and 
 yet they also saw Him control the elements, heal 
 diseases, raise the dead, and return to life Himself 
 
 In other words, while they looked upon His man- 
 hood, they also saw flashes of His Divinity. His 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. I? 
 
 manhood was as the veil which was thrown over His 
 Divinity. If it should seem to any of us to be 
 incredible that God should condescend to visit this 
 earth and take upon Him our nature, the reply is : 
 It pleased Him so to do, and thus our redemption 
 has been accomplished. 
 
 Four of His disciples, whom we now call 
 Evangelists, were moved by the Holy Spirit to 
 record what He did, and what He said, during 
 the time He dwelt among men. These are 
 very brief histories, and contain but the merest 
 outline, but they are sufficient to give us some 
 clear idea of His character and the work He came 
 to do. 
 
 From these four histories, which we call Gospels, 
 we may gather this outline : 
 
 The birth of Jesus took place in Bethlehem, of 
 the Virgin Mary, during the reign of Augustus Caesar. 
 His youth was spent at Nazareth. When He was 
 about thirty years old he began to teach and to 
 preach. In course of time He gathered about Him 
 a chosen band of followers, comprising a few simple- 
 hearted men, to whom He made known more fully 
 His mission, and whom He commissioned to make 
 it known to their fellow-men. When He was less 
 than thirty-four years old, He was put to death by 
 crucifixion, but on the third day after that event, 
 He arose from the dead, and remained on the 
 earth forty days, during which time He gave them 
 i 
 
18 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 instruction concerning the kingdom of God, and 
 then ascended into heaven. 
 
 This is the briefest outline of a life which was 
 filled with mighty deeds, and blessed works, and 
 during which many gracious words were spoken. 
 
 Every detail of that life is important, every word 
 spoken is of value, for all have a bearing upon the 
 redemption of our lost race, the revelation of the 
 will and character of God, and our final destiny. 
 
 All the subsequent history of the Church is but 
 the record of the working out of Christ's mission to 
 the lost, and the revelation of God's character and 
 will to men. 
 
 It is beyond the power of the human imagination 
 to conceive how very different the world would be 
 to-day, if that life had not been lived here on earth, 
 and if the light which has been poured out by the 
 Christ had been withheld. It is true there was some 
 light before the incarnation. The revelation made 
 to the race in its infancy, the traditions handed 
 down and preserved among the Gentile nations, 
 the illumination vouchsafed the Jewish nation 
 through its prophets and teachers, were as the gray 
 tints before the day. But from the incarnation we 
 date the rising of the Sun upon the world. Then 
 the radiance began to excel all that had ever before 
 been poured out, and they who stood where the 
 beams could fall upon them, saw the fogs and 
 mists of error vanish and the shadows flee away. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 9 
 
 The world could not be after Christ's advent, 
 what it had been before. 
 
 It is true that clouds sometimes arise and sweep 
 across the sky, and hide the clear brilliance of the 
 sun after the day has come, but the sun shines on, 
 and bursts forth again and again with new splen- 
 dor. 
 
 We will see, as we read further on, that there 
 have been times when the truths revealed at the in- 
 carnation have been obscured by human errors, and 
 for the time men have failed to see the beauty and 
 the grace of the life of the Son of God ; but there 
 never has been a time since that wondrous birth in 
 Bethlehem when the world could be as dark and as 
 full of mystery as it was before. 
 
 What God is — what He is to us and what we are 
 to Him — why we are here, and what we may be 
 hereafter — how we may be at peace with Him now, 
 and dwell in His presence forever — these are the 
 points which are taught us in the earthly life of the 
 Christ. 
 
 There is really no mystery so great in all the uni- 
 verse as the life of Jesus, unless we believe Him to 
 be God incarnate. If he were not what He 
 claimed to be, and what His followers declared Him 
 to be, there is but little value to be attached to all 
 of the history of the Christian Church. That history 
 is then mainly a succession of erroneous conclu- 
 sions, based upon mistaken premises. It would be 
 
20 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 scarcely worth the trouble to study a history which 
 has now extended through eighteen centuries, if it 
 started out upon a false basis. We might gratify 
 our curiosity as we would in reading the history of 
 Buddhism or of Mahommedanism, but it would be 
 of little value to study a history of the Christian 
 Church if that Church were based upon the preten- 
 sions of one who after all was not what he claimed 
 to be. 
 
 It is particularly important at the present day to 
 have this point well fixed in our minds, viz. , that 
 the Christian Church is based upon the belief that 
 Jesus Christ is God in human form, for it has be- 
 come part of the labor of many in our day to deny 
 His true Divinity, and to explain away all that is 
 supernatural in His life. Church history would be 
 a very different story to-day if such views were true, 
 for it would begin with the account of imposture, 
 it would continue with the strange phases of 
 the delusion of myriads of those who have believed 
 in Him ; and it would end — how could it end ex- 
 cept in the story of shameful defeat and extinction ? 
 
 Starting then with the truth that the second Per- 
 son of the Blessed Trinity became incarnate, we 
 look upon Jesus Christ as obeying the Law for us, 
 as paying the penalty of our sins by His sufferings 
 and death ; and as overcoming death by His resur- 
 rection. In order to secure to men the perpetual 
 memorv of His work, and to extend to them its 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 21 
 
 blessings, He organized a society, a Church, which 
 is spoken of as the Kingdom of God on earth. 
 For this Church He instituted two Sacraments : 
 Baptism, and The Supper of the Lord. The first 
 was to be the mode of admission to this organiza- 
 tion, the second to be the mode of commemorating 
 His redemptive work, and for the supply of spir- 
 itual grace. 
 
 The mode of government of the Church, and 
 many of its other features, we infer He commu- 
 nicated to His apostles, and particularly in the 
 period after His resurrection, from the fact that 
 immediately upon the development of the Church 
 after Pentecost, it possessed certain characteristics 
 to be more fully described hereafter. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE FEATURES OF THE CHURCH IN THE 
 x\POSTOLIC AGES. 
 
 SIMILARITY OF CHARACTER AS EVERYWHERE PLANT- 
 ED — A KINGDOM ON EARTH, NOT OF THE EARTH 
 
 BAPTISM CONFIRMATION EPISCOPACY LORD'S 
 
 DAY LITURGIES. 
 
 It is quite improbable that our Lord, in commis- 
 sioning the Apostles to establish His Church in the 
 world, would have left them without some directions. 
 What were those directions ? We do not find them 
 all fully recorded in the Sacred Scriptures. How 
 then can we ascertain what they were ? The 
 answer is briefly this : — So soon as the Church was 
 established in any place we find it possessed certain 
 prominent features. In whatever places it was 
 established those features were the same. It is fair 
 then to conclude that it assumed the form which 
 it possessed because of the directions the Saviour 
 gave the Apostles. 
 
 Some of these features we do find explicitly stated 
 in the New Testament. Others of them are inci- 
 dentally alluded to. Others were doubtless com- 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. 23 
 
 municated to them in His many conversations 
 which are not recorded, and particularly in that 
 period of forty days after His resurrection, prior to 
 His ascension. We are told in Acts i., that He 
 then talked with them of the things pertaining to 
 the Kingdom of God. The phrase " the Kingdom 
 of God," is often understood as referring simply to 
 the Kingdom of God in heaven, but its reference is 
 also to that Kingdom which Christ came to estab- 
 lish on earth, as when He taught us to pray, " Thy 
 Kingdom come." 
 
 When He sent forth the seventy disciples they 
 were told to preach the Kingdom of God. St. Phi- 
 lip, the Deacon, preached the things concerning 
 the Kingdom of God. St. Paul's ministry at 
 Ephesus was a preaching of the Kingdom of God. 
 
 If then it was Christ's design to found a kingdom 
 in the world, but not of the world, it must have 
 certain features, and those are probably what we 
 find in the Church which at once sprang up. It 
 was to be visible, a society, with some mode of 
 admission, with a govcrnmenl and discipline, with 
 some central truths, and with mean for preserving 
 its continuance and prosperity. 
 
 We are to look ihen at the features of this soci- 
 ety which we find uniformly to have followed fts 
 establishment by the Apostles. 
 
 First, The Sacrament of Baptism was the door 
 of entrance to this society. We see no exception 
 
24 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 to the rule, whether it was a multitude as on the 
 day of Pentecost, or a jailor, in a prison, by night, 
 who desired to be numbered with the believers in 
 Christ. And as little children had been received 
 as members of the Jewish Church by the rite of cir- 
 cumcision, so children were incorporated into the 
 Christian body by baptism. 
 
 Second, It became the custom of the Apostles to 
 lay hands on those who were baptized, administer- 
 ing what we now call the rite of confirmation. In 
 the Epistle to the. Hebrews the laying on of hands 
 is classed among the very elements of the Christian 
 faith. 
 
 Third, There seems to have been immediately 
 developed a ministry of three orders, consisting at 
 first of Apostles, Elders, and Deacons, and then, 
 as the Apostles passed away, of Bishops, Elders 
 and Deacons, the Bishops succeeding, it is thought, 
 to the Apostolic office. Here was at once inaugu- 
 rated a succession, transmitted by ordination, a 
 succession, involving a distinction of degrees, and 
 perpetuating a presidency in its highest rank. 
 This three-fold ministry seems to have been bound 
 up in the very structure of the Church, and be- 
 came one of its features wherever the Church was 
 planted. 
 
 Fourth, Another feature was the celebration of 
 the Holy Communion. This was a sacrament in- 
 stituted by our Lord Himself, and was celebrated 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 2$ 
 
 by the primitive believers upon every Lord's Day, 
 and probably even more frequently. 
 
 Fifth, The observance of the first day of the 
 week, as the Lord's Day, a day of rest and of wor- 
 ship, became at once a feature of the Christian 
 society. It will be observed that nowhere in the 
 Scriptures do we find any directions for changing 
 from the seventh day to the first day of the week. 
 And yet it became essentially a part of the usage of 
 the early Church to celebrate the Lord's victory over 
 death on that day, and to make that day as religious 
 a day as had been the custom with reference to the 
 Jewish Sabbath. Who authorized the change? and 
 when ? There is no satisfactory answer, unless we 
 suppose that our Lord Himself sanctioned it, in 
 some directions not recorded in the New Testament. 
 
 Sixth, The use of Liturgies, or precomposed 
 forms of worship, became at once common, if not 
 universal, in the Christian Church. 
 
 We have traces of old Liturgical forms in quota- 
 tions made in the Epistles themselves. See Eph. 
 v. 14; i Tim. iii. 16. And the history of the primi- 
 tive days shows a Liturgical worship everywhere 
 prevalent. It must be remembered, however, that 
 Liturgical worship was not then a new thing, newly 
 introduced, for the Jewish modes of worship were 
 of that character. 
 
 Here then we perceive six features which were 
 found wherever the Church was established. 
 
26 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 The Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Commu- 
 nion — A Ministry of Three Orders — The Rite of 
 Confirmation — The Observance of the Lord's Day — 
 The use of Liturgical forms in public worship. 
 
 It is not said that these are all the points which 
 could be noted as features of the Church in apos- 
 tolic days, but they are the most prominent, and 
 serve to identify it, as it has continued to exist 
 down through the ages since then. 
 
 It is not said, either, that there is any positive 
 command on the part of our Lord, that all of these 
 features are necessary to the existence of .the 
 Church, but-Js we find them so early and so uni- 
 versally appearing, and as for age after age they 
 continued to be part of it, wherever planted, we 
 have reason for thinking that they were agreeable 
 to Bis will. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CHURCH IN APOSTOLIC DAYS. 
 
 PENTECOST — JERUSALEM DIVISION OF APOSTOLIC 
 
 LABORS. 
 
 Great Events. 
 
 A.D. 33. MARTYRDOM OF ST. STEPHEN. 
 4-O. CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 
 44. MARTYRDOM OF ST. JAMES. 
 50. APOSTOLIC COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 
 66-7O. JERUSALEM BESIEGED AND DESTROYED. 
 
 On the morning of the day of Pentecost, after 
 Christ's ascension, the number of His disciples in 
 Jerusalem included but one hundred and twenty. 
 But that Pentecostal day witnessed the outpouring 
 of the Spirit, according to His promise, and the 
 rapid increase in the number of believers. We 
 date, therefore, the formal establishment of the 
 Church from that day. Jerusalem was honored in 
 being its birth-place, and for many years after was 
 the seat of its chief Bishopric. The work begun 
 there spread rapidly to other places. The strangers 
 from different parts who had become converts to 
 Christianity on the day of Pentecost, when they 
 
28 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 returned to their homes carried with them the out- 
 line of the Christian faith, and thus paved the 
 way for the planting of the Church in subsequent 
 days. 
 
 The growth of the Church in Jerusalem became 
 so marked that the most violent means were re^ 
 sorted to by the Jewish priests and rulers to check 
 it, but the persecution of its members only led to 
 its rapid extension to other parts, for when com- 
 pelled to leave Jerusalem they went to other 
 districts of Judea, and even beyond, preaching the 
 Gospel. No power could now check the growing 
 society, for under the inspiration of the Holy 
 Ghost men were filled with the most fervent zeal 
 for the proclamation of the tidings of salvation, 
 and felt called upon to devote their energies, their 
 talents and their lives, to making that salvation 
 known both to their brethren and to those of other 
 nations. 
 
 After a time it pleased God to convert Saul of 
 Tarsus and to commission him as an apostle to the 
 Gentiles, and thus still greater impetus was given to 
 the Church's growth. 
 
 The main sources of information respecting the 
 progress of Christianity in the age of the apostles is 
 the account given by St. Luke, and known as the 
 Book of the Acts of the Apostles. 
 
 Other sources of information are the Epistles of 
 the New Testament, the incidental allusions con- 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 29 
 
 tained in contemporaneous histories, and the 
 traditions which have been preserved to us. 
 
 No complete history lias ever been prepared. 
 Enough, however, has been given to show the 
 spirit of the Church, its principles, and its mar- 
 vellous extension in the face of all obstacles. 
 
 While many were commissioned, as time went 
 on, to assist in the work of founding the Church, 
 the apostles seemed to have been ever the most 
 earnest and most successful laborers. Asia, Europe 
 and Africa, the three continents then known, 
 were travelled by them, and myriads were converted 
 to the faith. 
 
 DIVISION OF APOSTOLIC LABORS. 
 
 No complete record has been left us of the 
 separate work done by each of the apostles in 
 sowing the seeds of divine truth and in organizing 
 the society of believers in different places. 
 
 The Book of the Acts of the Apostles gives us 
 an account of their labors and the labors of the 
 disciples in a general way in the city of Jerusalem ; 
 speaks of their dispersion by reason of persecution ; 
 and then is concerned mainly with the history of St. 
 Paul. 
 
 The labors of St. fames, the elder, the brother of 
 St. John, were speedily brought to an end, for 
 during the persecution of the Christians in Jerusa- 
 
30 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 lem, under King Herod Agrippa, a.d. 44, he 
 was beheaded. 
 
 The other apostle St. James, know as "St. 
 fames, the Less," and "St. James, the Just/' con- 
 tinued for a number of years in Jerusalem as the 
 head or Bishop of the Church there. He seems 
 to have acted as president in the first Church 
 Council, the account of which is given in Acts xv. 
 He was the author of an Epistle to the converted 
 Jews who were scattered abroad. (See Epistle of 
 St. James. ) He was murdered in Jerusalem by a 
 mob, just before the destruction of that city. 
 
 St. Peter is repeatedly mentioned in the earlier 
 part of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, but 
 no mention is made of him in that Book after the 
 Council at Jerusalem, which he attended. 
 
 At first he exercised a sort of headship over the 
 body of Christians during the early years of its 
 history in Jerusalem, but upon his liberation from 
 prison, he left the city, and the ruling power de- 
 volved upon James, the Just. 
 
 St. Paul refers to him as being upon missionary 
 tours, in two of his Epistles, Gal. ii. ; I Cor. ix. 
 St. Peter wrote two epistles to the scattered con- 
 verts in Asia Minor. (See the Epistles of St. 
 Peter.) A great deal of controversy has arisen 
 as to whether it was he who planted the Church in 
 Rome. The Roman Church contends strongly that 
 it was he, and has for that reason, and from a mis- 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 31 
 
 understanding of our Lord's words to him, eleva 
 ted him to a position of unapproachable suprem- 
 acy among the Apostles. 
 
 It is a matter of some doubt, however, whether 
 St. Peter was ever in Rome, and it is highly probable 
 that the first Christian Church established in that 
 city was made up of Greeks, and not of Latins. If 
 he really did visit Rome, his stay there could have 
 been but of short duration. Tradition tells us that 
 he was crucified there, head downwards, after the 
 great conflagration of Rome, unde r Nero, the Ro- 
 mans having been persuaded, falsely so, of course, 
 that the Christians had fired their city. 
 
 Sf. John, probably lived longest of any of the 
 Apostles. His work seems to have been mainly in 
 Asia Minor, and particularly at Ephesus. When 
 the persecution under the Roman emperor broke 
 out, he was banished to Patmos, where he stayed a 
 year or two. It was there that the Book of the Re- 
 velation was written. He is the author of three 
 Epistles, which have been preserved to us, and one 
 of the four Gospels. As Bishop of Ephesus he 
 continued until very far advanced in years to 
 exercise the duties of hrs office, and it is said of him 
 that when too feeble to deliver long discourses, he 
 would be carried to the place of worship, and would 
 repeat the words : " Little children, love one 
 another." Love, it is well said, was the centre of 
 his theology and the sum of his life. 
 
32 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 With reference to the other original Apostles, 
 there is really but little history. Traditions have 
 been preserved, but they are obscure. It is prob- 
 able that St. Andrea) labored in the territory of 
 ancient Greece, along the Mediterranean and north- 
 ward. He founded the church at Byzantium, now 
 Constantinople, then in France, Macedonia, and 
 other places, suffering martyrdom finally at Petrse 
 in Achaia. 
 
 *S7. Jude, (Lebbseus Thaddeus) devoted his 
 labors to Judea, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Syria. 
 He has left us one Epistle. (See Ep. St. Jude. ) 
 
 St. Thomas, travelled through Parthia, Persia and 
 India, and told of the Christ. St. Matthew, is said 
 to have performed his labors in Parthia, and the 
 countries along the borders of India. He is the 
 author of the first Gospel, which he wrote mainly 
 for his brethren, the Jews, to convince them that 
 Jesus Christ was the Messiah promised in the Old 
 Testament. St. Bartholomew, (Nathaniel, "the 
 Israelite, indeed,") labored in Arabia, and on the 
 borders of Judea. St. Philip, in Upper Asia, St. 
 Simon, in Africa. 
 
 St. Matthias, the successor to the place of Judas 
 Iscariot, (See Acts i. ) preached in Cappadocia, and 
 suffered martyrdom. St. Paul's life and labors are 
 more fully detailed for us than those of any other 
 called to be an Apostle. From the Book of the 
 Acts of the Apostles, and from St. Paul's Epistles, 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 33 
 
 we can gather a tolerably full history of the Apostle 
 to the Gentiles. It is a marvellous history, full 
 of interesting details and surprising incidents, and 
 makes a record of heroism such as has never been 
 equalled by man. It is almost impossible to sum 
 it up in a few lines. It must be read and studied 
 in the words of matchless simplicity and earnestness, 
 in which St. Luke wrote it ; and must be gathered 
 out of the incidental allusions which the Apostle 
 makes in his Epistles. 
 
 While on his way to Damascus, in bitter hatred 
 of the Christians, the Lord met him, and called 
 him from his work as a persecutor to be thence- 
 forth a helper in the Gospel. After his baptism he 
 spent three years in Arabia in solitude, doubtless 
 becoming fitted there for his sacred work. His 
 ministry began in Damascus, and then extended to 
 Jerusalem, and finally to Antioch. 
 
 At this place he was commissioned to his great 
 work as an apostle to the Gentiles. From that time 
 on until some twenty years after, when he was carried 
 as a prisoner to Rome, he was almost ceaselessly in 
 motion, now in one place, now in another. His 
 missionary journeys may be grouped under three 
 great divisions. He went out and found a pagan 
 world opposed to him, to the message he bore, a 
 world superstitious and corrupt. It was his joy to 
 see, ere he died, in every place where he had 
 told of Christ, bodies of believers who rejoiced in 
 
34 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 the hope of salvation which he had carried to them. 
 To the people of corrupt cities, to idolators, and to 
 the most educated of men, to kings and rulers, to 
 a jailor in a prison, he delivered his one message, 
 redemption through the Christ. Sometimes he 
 labored with his own hands at the trade of tent- 
 making, while he stayed in a place to found the 
 Church, sometimes in weariness and sorrow he was 
 dependent upon the charity of the poor. But 
 under all circumstances he realized that his mission 
 was to proclaim Christ, and to his fidelity the world 
 owes much of its joy to-day. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THOSE WHO HELPED THE APOSTLES. 
 
 THE FIRST DEACONS PRESBYTERS DISCIPLES — 
 
 DEACONESSES — GROWTH IN THE FIRST CENTURY. 
 
 Although it was made the especial work of the 
 Apostles to establish the Church, and although they 
 took the lead in carrying forward the good work, 
 we are not to think of them as laboring on alone 
 without help and sympathy. Very early after that 
 first Pentecost we learn of the ordination of the first 
 Deacons, whose immediate work was the care of 
 the poor, but whose zeal led to their preaching the 
 good news of salvation. The first martyr was a 
 Deacon. The account of St. Stephen's death, Acts 
 vii. St. Philip the Deacon baptized the treasurer of 
 Ethiopia, Acts viii . Doubtless the number of these 
 Deacons was greatly multiplied, and many were 
 promoted to the second rank, that of the Elders, or 
 Presbyters, and here and there, in different places, 
 some of the Presbyters were made Bishops, as was 
 the case with St. Timothy. (See Epistle to him.) 
 As soon as the Church was planted in a place, the 
 
36 . MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 first effort seemed to be to secure for it a supply of 
 ordained teachers, and in every large centre, prob- 
 ably in every city, some one was elevated to the 
 office of overseer, angel or Bishop. 
 
 During the life time of the Apostles they 
 themselves exercised paramount authority ; but 
 as they passed away, the Bishops whom they 
 had appointed seemed to come forward in all 
 things as their successors, except perhaps in 
 having the miraculous gifts which our Lord be- 
 stowed upon the Apostles. But we cannot tell 
 when these gifts ceased. They may have been 
 withdrawn gradually, as the special need of their 
 exercise ceased with the altered circumstances of 
 
 the Church. 
 
 Not alone by the ordained clergy, the Bishops, 
 Elders and Deacons, were the Apostles helped. 
 In those days of loving trust, and fiery earnestness, 
 every disciple was a helper in spreading the Gospel. 
 Many are mentioned by name in the Acts and 
 Epistles, among whom are holy women who are 
 declared to have been helpful in the Lord, and 
 there is an allusion to an Order of Deaconesses, 
 made up of those who consecrated their time and 
 talents to the Lord's cause. 
 
 From the very beginning of the upbuilding of the 
 Church, with all of the newness of their labors, 
 with all of the opposition made to them, the 
 Apostles and their helpers evidently followed a de- 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 37 
 
 finite plan, and the product of their toils was in all 
 essential features alike in all places. 
 
 Wherever they went they told of the Christ, what 
 He said and what He did, and how men may be 
 saved through Him ; and then when any believed 
 their message they admitted them as members of 
 the Christian society, and instructed them as to 
 what were their new duties and high privileges. 
 
 Picture to yourself the earnest work, and self- 
 denying labors of the primitive disciples. Here 
 we will say is a town where up to that moment no 
 voice has ever uttered the name of Jesus Christ. 
 It is an idolatrous place. In the temple is the 
 statue of a god or goddess, and the worship of the 
 people is filled with lascivious rites and most de- 
 basing ceremonies. And now there come into 
 this place two or three travel-stained men, recog- 
 nized perhaps as Jews by their dress and speech. 
 Who are they ? Who in all that town cares who 
 they are ? They appear to be a few dusty travellers. 
 Why give them a second thought ? But the 
 travellers inquire for the synagogue of the Jewish 
 colony established there, and at the hour of prayer 
 go into that synagogue, and begin to teach their 
 brethren, the Jews, that Messiah has come ; that 
 Jesus Christ fulfils the ancient prophecies, and by 
 mighty deeds and gracious words has shown that 
 He is the Blessed One. 
 
 Their message is listened to and discussed. 
 
38 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 Some believe it, others scoff at it. But a few 
 hearts have been inclined by the Holy Ghost to 
 loving trust in God's Son, and these few are the 
 nucleus of the Church in that town. 
 
 And now the work enlarges ; the travellers de- 
 liver their message to the pagan population of the 
 place ; they tell them that God would now make 
 Himself known to all men, and has sent His Son 
 to reveal the true God, that men might forsake 
 their idols and serve Him truly. There is com- 
 motion in the place. The crowd scoff at their 
 preaching of the Christ, and perhaps some rush 
 upon them to do them violence ; but God has 
 some open hearts there too, and a few believe. 
 These Gentile believers are engrafted into the 
 body of the Church, and thus among Jews and 
 Gentiles the work has begun in that pagan town. 
 Begun, yes ; to continue until scores and hundreds 
 of souls rejoice in the grace of the Son of God ! 
 
 Thus it was that the work went on. "God 
 gave the word, and great was the company of the 
 preachers." Each newly organized congregation 
 became a centre from which some went with burn- 
 ing lips to tell the story to others. 
 
 With all of the world against them, it seemed 
 almost a hopeless task to convert the world to the 
 faith of Christ ; but God was with them, and in 
 His strength they labored. At the end of thirty 
 years after the death of the Saviour, His truth had 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 39 
 
 been proclaimed from Jerusalem eastward to the 
 Indies and the Euphrates, and westward to the 
 Thames. Tacitus, the Roman historian, admits 
 that in the year of our Lord 68 "vast multitudes " 
 of Christians were discovered in all parts of the 
 Roman empire, and the Roman empire then in- 
 cluded most portions of the then inhabited globe. 
 Thus, ere the first century closed, the Son of Man 
 had lived His wonderful life, and died the death 
 which atoned for the sins of the world ; the Holy 
 Ghost had been poured out upon the infant Church; 
 Jerusalem had been cast down into the dust ; and 
 in every direction the heralds of the cross had gone, 
 proclaiming the tidings of salvation; twelve Roman 
 emperors had passed away, among them the cruel 
 Nero, and Domitian, under whom two bitter perse- 
 cutions of the Christians had been carried on ; new 
 names had appeared upon the world's history, to be 
 forever more famous than emperors and kings ; 
 new truths had been announced, which were des- 
 tined to revolutionize all existing institutions, and 
 to usher in better, brighter times for men ; and 
 there had been developed that society against 
 wh ; s:h the gates of hell should never prevail. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DAYS OF PERSECUTION. 
 
 NATURE OF THE PERSECUTIONS — NERO DOMITIAN— 
 
 MARTYRDOM RESULTS. 
 
 Great Events. 
 
 A. D. 64. 1ST GENERAL PERSECUTION, UNDER NERO. 
 l68. MARTYRDOM Of POLYCARP. 
 
 It is hard for us who are living in a lime when 
 the Church is steadily making peaceful progress, 
 to realize that for nearly two hundred and fifty 
 years, with the exception of brief intervals of re- 
 pose, her progress was met by the most bitter 
 opposition, and that thousands and thousands of 
 men, women and children were put to death for no 
 other offence than that of being followers of Jesus 
 Christ And yet so it was. Until the beginning 
 of the fourth century Christianity met but little favor 
 from the rulers of the world, and its adherents 
 were not safe from savage assaults, involving the loss 
 of property, and the loss of life itself. Some of 
 the persecutions were legalized, carried out under 
 direct edicts of the Roman emperors, but others 
 were irregular, mob-like attacks of individuals and 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. 41 
 
 communities, in which it was considered merito- 
 rious to exterminate those who deserted the shrines 
 of the gods and called themselves by the hated 
 name of Christians, 
 
 Much of the early history of the Church may be 
 said to be written in blood — the blood of those who 
 proved their fidelity to the Lord by suffering for 
 His sake. 
 
 It was not the Roman power, however, that 
 inaugurated the persecutions. The Jews began 
 the shameful work. We learn that immediately 
 after the great Pentecostal day, when the Church 
 was first established, the persecutions in the city of 
 Jerusalem became so severe that many of the 
 Christians were compelled to flee from the place. 
 (Acts. ) St. Paul himself was once a leader of the 
 persecutors, and it was while on his way to secure 
 the arrest of some who had fled as far as Damascus, 
 that he was convinced of the error of his career, 
 and converted to the faith which he had been 
 trying* to destroy. (See Acts viii. ) 
 
 In subsequent chapters of the same book we 
 learn that it was not uncommonly the case, even 
 in distant places, where the Jews had colonized, 
 for them to excite an uproar against the Christians, 
 and to subject them to violence. 
 
 The persecutions by the Romans were of two 
 kinds ; there was one that was steady and persistent, 
 involving inconvenience, degradation, loss, and 
 
42 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 hardship to the followers of Christ ; and then there 
 ■was a seeond kind, when, with the aid of the civil 
 power, and often without it, with the fury of the 
 mob, the believers were tortured, driven from theii 
 homes, and exposed to most cruel deaths. 
 
 The anger of the Jews against their brethren 
 who became Christians arose from their consider- 
 ing them as having deserted the religion of their 
 forefathers, and as having proclaimed one as the 
 Son of God, the Messiah, whom many of the 
 Jews regarded as an impostor. 
 
 Roman hatred arose from various causes. They 
 too considered the Christians as being neglectful 
 of the old religions, and stigmatized them as im- 
 pious, because they refused to worship their gods. 
 But there were many other elements in their 
 hatred, some of them being of a political character 
 and some- social. So long as they considered 
 Christianity simply as one more ■ new sect, they 
 were willing to tolerate it, for the ancient Romans 
 believed there might be as many religions as there 
 were tribes of men ; but when it was perceived 
 that Christianity aimed at a supremacy over all 
 other kinds of belief, and that its followers con- 
 sidered its mission was to supersede existing be- 
 liefs, they regarded its progress as dangerous to the 
 welfare of the state, which then was bound up with 
 paganism. Then, too, the code of morals in- 
 troduced by the Church brought its members into 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 43 
 
 direct conflict with the whole social and individual 
 life of the times. Cruelty, impurity, falsehood, 
 and violence, but imperfectly describe the state of 
 society as it then was. By the very nature of the 
 better life the Christian sought to lead, he was com- 
 pelled to turn away from much that was so gene- 
 rally tolerated, and to condemn the iniquity of the 
 times. It was some little while after the planting 
 of the Church before the first formal edicts against 
 the Christians were published. Opposition to the 
 disciples was made from the beginning, but it re- 
 mained for the cruel Nero, in A. D. 64, to let loose 
 the power of the state and the fury of the people 
 upon them. 
 
 A dreadful fire having consumed a great part of 
 the city of Rome, Nero, who it is believed was 
 himself the incendiary, cast the blame upon the 
 Christians, accusing them of the crime. The 
 Emperor's permission was enough to inaugurate 
 the most awful sufferings, but he himself became a 
 leader in inflicting them. The details are almost 
 too horrid to recount. Crucifixion, casting to 
 dogs and wild beasts, covering with pitch and then 
 burning them, became the means of torture and 
 death to the unresisting disciples. Such multi- 
 tudes were destroyed at this time that the taste for 
 blood seemed utterly satiated, and for a time, in 
 very weariness, the persecutors ceased. In a. d. 
 93. under Domitian, the second general persecution 
 
44 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 took place. His enmity was not altogether on ac- 
 count of their religion, but he suspected them of 
 disloyalty to him as king. They had refused 
 to worship him as a god, and he supposed they 
 would oppose him as king. 
 
 Again the bloody scenes were repeated. The 
 cross, the sword, the wild beast, the bath of boiling 
 oil, the shower of stones, and clubs in the public 
 street — these were the means employed to put 
 them out of the way. 
 
 Many, of course, fled to places of safety, and 
 some renounced their religion altogether. 
 
 Under the laws which were passed, any Christian 
 had the opportunity given him to renounce the 
 faith, and to offer sacrifice upon the heathen altars ; 
 but while some did thus escape death and suffering 
 by denying the Lord Jesus, the great majority re- 
 mained faithful to Him, preferring death to ignomi- 
 nious life. Indeed, at one time, many courted the 
 honors of martyrdom, and exposed themselves 
 in every way to its risks. The opinion was freely 
 expressed by some of their leaders that death must 
 ever be regarded as a blessed boon, since it brought 
 them home to Christ, and martyrdom was to be 
 considered both as an evidence of their love to Him 
 and of His crowning goodness to them. 
 
 Christian writers, in after ages, were wont to 
 reckon the great persecutions, as ten in number, 
 taking the ten plagues of Egypt as the types of 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 45 
 
 the ten emperors under whom the sufferings came. 
 
 Among the many forms of torture and death with 
 which the Christians were visited, none seem to 
 us more remarkable than the exposure in the 
 arena to wild beasts and the attacks of the gladi- 
 ators, or sword players. 
 
 A Roman holiday, at one time, included the 
 spectacle of a band of Christians thrown into the 
 ring to be dispatched either by the swords of 
 gladiators, or the teeth of lions. On a given day 
 the Roman multitude would assemble to witness 
 with the liveliest satisfaction the fearful sight of 
 poor helpless men, women and children contend- 
 ing to the death with savage beasts, and no less 
 savage murderers hired to do the bloody work. 
 
 Some of the greatest illustrations of courage and 
 faith are those presented by the martyrs. They met 
 death without a fear, and even tender children 
 smiled at its approach. 
 
 In after years the reverence of the Christians for 
 those of their number who had suffered martyrdom 
 became so great, that it was the custom to commem- 
 orate their deaths by religious rites, and to recite 
 their deeds at the graves where their mangled 
 remains had been buried. 
 
 The persecutions continued with more or less 
 severity until the accession of Constantine, when a 
 new order of things prevailed — the once hated reli- 
 gion became the religion of the Empire. 
 
46 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 The good results of the persecutions were nume- 
 rous. Among them may be named, first, the con- 
 viction which grew in the world that the religion 
 which could make men so courageous, and for 
 which they were willing to suffer the loss of all 
 things, must be from God. Second, attention was 
 thus publicly called to the principles of the Christian 
 faith, and the confession of trust in Christ which the 
 martyrs made, became familiar to all classes. Third, 
 the Church was maintained in comparative purity. 
 Worldly principles were kept out, and the simpli- 
 citv of the truth as it is in Jesus was preserved. If 
 we are to look at the Church in its purest stages we 
 will find such to be the days when it was in sorrow 
 by reason of persecution. There was but little 
 inducement to join one's self to its company, except 
 a man were convinced that in it he could learn the 
 truth, and save his soul. And yet during all these 
 years of fiery trial, the number of believers steadily 
 increased. Missionary zeal continued, and wher- 
 ever the Christians made their home they became 
 noted for their charity and good deeds to their pa- 
 gan neighbors. The earnest preaching of the truth, 
 and the holy lives of those who held it, were the 
 agencies for commending it to the consciences of 
 men, so that some would come out and receive 
 Christian baptism, although they knew that before 
 the night of the same day they might be put to 
 death for confessing Christ. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 47 
 
 If you ask whether they built churches and had 
 public services during these early ages, the answer 
 is that there must have been but few edifices built 
 in which to conduct Christian worship, except in 
 the lull of persecutions, and in places distant from 
 the great centres. They used the upper rooms of 
 private houses, the quiet groves by the river sides, 
 and in the city of Rome they met in the excavations 
 beneath that city, called the Catacombs. At the 
 times of their fiercest trials they found it necessary to 
 conceal from all except their own number where 
 they met ; and hence their assemblies were in secret 
 places. As the roll of the martyrs began to in- 
 crease, the tombs of the faithful dead became favor- 
 ite places for celebrating Christian rites. 
 
 It must not be thought that during all of these 
 250 years there was one continuous, vigorous, le- 
 galized system of persecution. On the contrary 
 there were often periods of repose, for longer or 
 shorter intervals, when the work of propagating the 
 faith was earnestly pressed by the believers. 
 
 But the days of blood were very many, and the 
 ingenuity of their adversaries was exercised to the 
 utmost to exterminate all who bore the Christian 
 name from the earth. There was power enough, 
 and there was malice enough to have annihilated 
 the Church, had it been of man, but it was of God, 
 and they could not overthrow it. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 IGNATIUS — JUSTIN MARTYR POLYCARP — IRENiEUS— 
 
 TERTULLIAN — ORIGIN CYPRIAN, 
 
 Dak : 
 
 A. D. 
 
 
 
 115. 
 
 IGNATIUS. 
 
 
 166. 
 
 JUSTIN MARTYR 
 
 
 168. 
 
 POLYCARP. 
 
 
 178. 
 
 IREN^EUS. 
 
 
 201. 
 
 TERTULLIAN. 
 
 
 254. 
 
 ORIGEN. 
 
 
 258. 
 
 CYPRIAN. 
 
 It has grown to be the custom to speak of many 
 who became prominent by their labors in the 
 primitive ages of Christianity, as "The Fathers." 
 In some cases their history has been preserved to 
 us ; in others we have but the barest iecord of their 
 names and the outline of what they did. The 
 writings of some have come down to us, and con- 
 tain rich stores of learning, illustrating the 
 manners and explaining the views of the early 
 Church. 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. 49 
 
 Ignatius. — Among the earliest of the Fathers is 
 Ignatius. He was the disciple and friend of St. 
 John, and probably knew the other apostles. He 
 is one connecting link between the apostles and 
 the Church of later days. He was made the 
 Bishop of Antioch, and labored there for forty 
 years. The favorite title by which his friends 
 called him was "Theophorus, or "the God- 
 bearer," one whose soul is full of God. His life in 
 Antioch was spent in times of deepest anxiety and 
 peril, but his noble devotion kept the Christiana 
 firm in their faith, and incited them to zeal foi 
 the Master's cause. His one great longing was 
 that Christ might honor him with calling him to 
 be a martyr. His longing was at length gratified, 
 and about a. d. 107, by a circuitous route, he was 
 carried to Rome in chains for refusing to take part 
 in the heathen religious ceremonies connected with 
 Trajan's entrance to Antioch. His foes thought 
 to intimidate the other disciples by the sight of 
 their aged Bishop in bonds, led away to death, 
 but it had the effect of nerving them to greater 
 constancy. 
 
 Upon reaching Rome he was thrown to the wild 
 beasts in the amphitheatre, and thus his spirit was 
 released. 
 
 Some of the letters of Ignatius have been pre- 
 served, and are most valuable, as showing the 
 nature of the Church's government in those days, 
 4 
 
50 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 and as indicating the origin of certain heresies 
 which at length grew to dangerous proportions, of 
 which we will learn presently. 
 
 Justin Martyr. — A Christian Father who stands 
 out prominently about the middle of the second 
 century, is Justin Martyr. He was born in Pales- 
 tine, in the province of Samaria. As a young 
 man he went to Alexandria to be educated. He 
 studied the philosophical systems of the day, but 
 found no satisfaction. At length, while meditating 
 in a lonely place, he was met by an aged Christian, 
 who taught him. the truth as it is in Jesus, and 
 Justin became a believer. All his powers were 
 now devoted to the Church. He travelled from 
 place to place, teaching the religion of the Saviour, 
 and finally settled at Rome. While there he be- 
 came useful in combating certain heresies which 
 had arisen, but his great work was his ''Apolo- 
 gies for the Christian Faith." These were writings 
 designed to convince the more educated heathen 
 of the truth of Christianity, and must have been 
 invaluable aids to the. Church's progress, although 
 the public disputations and the writings of Justin 
 exposed him to especial danger. He was be- 
 headed in a. d. 165. 
 
 Polycarp. — Among the most amiable of all the 
 Fathers was Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. He 
 seems to have been a man of the same sort as his 
 teacher, St. Tohn, and to have imbibed much of 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 5 1 
 
 that apostle's spirit The saintly character of 
 Polycarp won for him the especial reverence of the 
 disciples. His name appears in great prominence 
 (n his efforts to settle a controversy which arose 
 between the Christians of the West and those of 
 the East as to the time of keeping Easter. Al- 
 though the controversy was not settled by their 
 adopting the same time, yet the wisdom and piety 
 of the Bishop checked much of the bitterness, and 
 taught them to tolerate differences of opinion, 
 thus pieserving the peace of the Church. His 
 efforts were also blessed in checking the spread of 
 heresies. During the persecutions he was ever a 
 help and strength- to the distressed disciples. 
 Finally, when himself a very aged man, he fell a 
 victim to the fury of his adversaries, the heathen, 
 and was put to death in a. d. 167. He was 
 burnt to death. He will always be remembered 
 by the noble words he spoke when commanded 
 by the proconsul to deny his Lord, and thus 
 escape death. "Sixty and eight years," said he, 
 "have I served Him, and He has never failed 
 me : and shall I now deny Him ?" 
 
 Iren^eus. — A disciple of Polycarp was Irenaeus, 
 the Bishop of Lyons. He was born in Smyrna, 
 accompanied Polycarp upon his visit to Rome, 
 and finally settled in Lyons, where he was elevated 
 to the Episcopate. His writings are particularly 
 important to us because of his enumeration of the 
 
52 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 succession of Bishops of Rome down to his day, 
 and his testimony as to the Books of Scripture 
 which the early Church deemed sacred. It must 
 be remembered that there were many written 
 accounts of our Lord's life, and many epistles 
 written to the different congregations of the 
 Church, and it was important to know which were 
 inspired and which were not. Irenaeus records 
 the judgment of the early Church upon this 
 point, and helps settle the important question as 
 we now receive the list. Under an edict of the 
 emperor Severus, Irenaeus, with many others, 
 met death. The date of his martyrdom was a. d. 
 
 202. 
 
 Tertullian. — A man of a severer spirit, who be- 
 came prominent in the early part of the third cen- 
 tury, was Tertullian. He was born in Carthage, 
 was noted for his great and varied learning, and 
 became a Christian after the most diligent investi- 
 gation of its principles and its claims. He was 
 a very bold, soldierly disciple. At the time of the 
 deepest peril to the Christians he wrote to the 
 martyrs in prison, and encouraged them to re- 
 main firm, and was especially severe upon those 
 who fled to other places to secure safety. Tertul- 
 lian's record was blemished by his accepting the 
 errors of the Montanists. 
 
 This was a party in the Church of that day that 
 insisted upon a particularly rigid discipline. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 53 
 
 claiming that they had received new revelations 
 fr^m our Lord upon this subject. 
 
 The stern, severe, disposition of Tertullian 
 inclined him to receive their views, and thus his 
 great powers were rendered less useful than they 
 might have become, although his words were 
 always a mighty force in the Church, even when 
 excommunicated for his errors. He was the un- 
 sparing censor of whatever seemed like worldli- 
 ness, and rebuked his brethren because they did 
 not live up to sufficiently rigid rules. Doubtless 
 his mission was needed to keep up the courage of 
 those who suffered, and to prevent others from 
 falling into sinful compliance to escape troubles. 
 Although he favored the Montanist heresy, he was 
 the great opponent of other forms of heresy, and 
 wrote most learned works against them. He 
 labored and wrote as a Presbyter in Carthage, 
 until very old, and died about a. d. 230. 
 
 Origen. — One of the greatest scholars of the early 
 days was Origen. He was born of Christian 
 parents, in Alexandria, in a. d. 185, and was bap- 
 tized in his infancy. His great intellect was 
 early manifested. While a mere boy he knew 
 whole sections of the Bible, and could perplex his 
 teachers with very difficult questions. 
 
 His father seemed to perceive the great work to 
 which his son was called, for it is said that while 
 the boy was sleeping he would often kneel by his 
 
54 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 bedside in thankfulness to God for such a son, and 
 would kiss the child's breast as a temple of the 
 Holy Ghost. That father became a martyr, but in 
 the hours of his trouble was comforted by the ex- 
 hortations of his son. When Origen was but 
 eighteen years old he was nominated as the head 
 of the school for catechumens at Alexandria. The 
 higher classes of this school virtually comprised a 
 department for preparing ) oung men for the sacred 
 ministry. Origen's fame rapidly increased, and schol- 
 ars flocked to be benefitted by his teaching. All over 
 Egypt and in many other places his writings were 
 copied and spread. He became a complete master 
 of the heathen systems of philosophy, and con- 
 vinced many of the learned of his day that Christi- 
 anity answered the deepest needs of their souls. 
 With an intellect so keen, and with learning so 
 great and profound, he yet became the advocate 
 of some errors, which were partly the result of the 
 very depths to which his researches carried him. 
 If he had been content to receive simply what 
 had been revealed for man's instruction by the 
 Holy Spirit, he would have kept from error ; but his 
 wonderful intellect led him to explore fields of 
 thought where no clear revelation has been made, 
 and hence his errors. His life was a painful one. 
 It became so partly through the mortifications he 
 inflicted upon himself, and partly through the 
 Bufferings into which his opinions led him. He 
 
-IN CHURCH HISTORY. 55 
 
 selected poverty as his portion, although wealth 
 was offered him, had but one coat, wore no shoes, 
 slept on the bare floor, and mutilated his own 
 body. 
 
 He was ordained a priest, late in life, while in 
 Palestine. Some of his peculiar opinions exposed 
 him to the censure of the Church, and led to great 
 suffering on his part. . 
 
 He was probably the greatest scholar of his time, 
 and as Jerome says, wrote more than one man 
 could read. Over 800 of his letters were collected 
 by Eusebius. His books which remain are mostly 
 explanations of the Scriptures. 
 
 Cyprian. — The greatest Bishop of the third cen- 
 tury was doubtless Cyprian, of Carthage. He was 
 born a. d. 200, and after living a luxurious life 
 as a w r ealthy heathen, became a Christian in a. d. 
 245, sold his goods for the benefit of the poor, and 
 henceforth devoted himself to a holy life. 
 
 In a very few years after, so great had his repu- 
 tation for piety and learning become, that he was, 
 in spite of his most earnest remonstrances, chosen 
 Bishop of Carthage, by the voice of the people. 
 He served some ten years, when the crown of 
 martyrdom was given him. 
 
 His administration of the office of a Bishop was 
 with great energy, wisdom and faithfulness ; and 
 his writings which remain to us are valuable be- 
 cause of the high ideal be formed of the Episcopate, 
 
56 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 and of the magnificence of the Church. To him 
 the Church of Christ was indeed the Kingdom of 
 God on earth, and he never grew weary in speak- 
 ing of its praises. 
 
 These now named are sometimes called the 
 Ante-Nicene Fathers. But it would make a long 
 list to go on giving an account of the many others, 
 such as Clement, Narcissus, Gregory, Dionysius, 
 who by their important services gave solidity to the 
 Church. 
 
 Of course these men, although called Fathers of 
 the Church, were not, as we have seen, entirely 
 free from errors ; but we must not be surprised at 
 that, for God alone is perfect, and even apostles 
 needed the gift of inspiration to preserve them 
 from blundering. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE CHURCH IN THE DAYS OF CONSTAN- 
 
 TINE. 
 
 CONSTANTINE's CONVERSION CHANGES IN THE RE* 
 
 LIGION OF THE EMPIRE — NICE — CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 Dates. 
 
 A, D. 312. CONVERSION OF CONSTANTINE. 
 325. COUNCIL AT NICE. 
 
 A very marvellous change in the external affairs 
 of the Church took place when Constantine became 
 the Emperor ot Rome, about a.d. 323. The father 
 of Constantine had treated the Christians with com- 
 parative kindness, but still paganism was the religion 
 of the empire, until Constantine ascended the throne. 
 His conversion to Christianity took place while he 
 was at the head of his armies, marching against 
 Maxentius, who had seized the government of Italy. 
 It is said that while greatly discouraged by the 
 rebellion against him, which was led by Maxentius, 
 he saw a vision of a cross in the sky, with the words 
 " In hoc signo, vimts" meaning, "By this sign, 
 thou shalt conquer." 
 
58 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 He adopted the cross on his banners, and went 
 forward to victory. Whether it pleased God to 
 work a special miracle for his conversion or not, we 
 cannot tell, but from the hour that Constantine saw, 
 or fancied he saw, the cross in the sky, he favored 
 the Christians, and sought to make their religion that 
 of the empire. Thus after over two centuries of 
 sorrow, the Church triumphed. Edicts were issued 
 by the Emperor calling upon his subjects to embrace 
 the Christian faith, forbidding the idolatrous rites 
 of paganism, and putting an end to the cruelties 
 which had been so generally practiced. 
 
 Christians were appointed to. the public offices, 
 the clergy were loaded with favors, the sign of the 
 cross was marked upon the armor and weapons 
 of the soldiers, and many churches were built. 
 
 His ardor was inflamed more and more by his 
 mother, Helena, a British lady, who had long been 
 a very zealous Christian, and who induced him to 
 expend great sums of money in identifying the 
 scenes of sacred events in Jerusalem, and in the 
 construction there of a magnificent church. 
 
 The two great events which stand out promi- 
 nently in the reign of the first Christian emperor, 
 are the assembling of the first general Council of 
 the Church at Nice, and the building of the city of 
 Constantinople. Both of these were events of great 
 importance. The first was the authoritative settling 
 of the faith of the Church as against the errors of 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 59 
 
 heretics. The second was one of the steps which 
 led finally to the division of the Church into an 
 Eastern and a Western section. 
 
 Eut the whole reign of Constantine was filled 
 with important events. In the adaptation of the 
 Church to the new condition of things, we must 
 not be surprised to learn that many evils sprang 
 up, and that grievous errors and abuses followed 
 the new era of temporal prosperity. When it 
 became the fashion of the day to make a Christian 
 profession, there were many who changed from 
 paganism to the new religion without imbibing its 
 spirit ; and when the clergy were so laden, as they 
 became, with wealth and honors, there were some 
 who could not endure the trials of prosperity, but 
 grew corrupt both in doctrine and in life. 
 
 Constantine's own character and life were not 
 such as we usually associate with that of a sincere 
 Christian. Although he defended Christianity, he 
 was not baptized until late in his life, during his 
 closing illness. Much allowance for his errors 
 and his sins must be made on the ground of the 
 condition of the times, particularly the distrac- 
 tions which then began to prevail in the Church 
 itself. Towards the end of his reign dark crimes 
 stained his record, and occasionally he seemed to 
 lean again to paganism. 
 
 His establishment of Constantinople, as the first 
 Christian city, was, it is thought, partly from the 
 
60 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 remorse he experienced after the crimes he sanc- 
 tioned in Rome, the execution of his son and 
 others accused of treason, and partly by his dis- 
 gust with the paganism which ever sought to draw 
 him back to its embrace. Constantinople was a 
 grand city. Churches were the principal build* 
 ings. Monasteries and schools were numerous. 
 Its Bishop was given the title of Ecumenical, or 
 Universal Patriarch. There Constantine died, in 
 his sixty-fourth year, after reigning thirty-one 
 years as emperor. 
 
 How marvellous were now the changes which 
 came to pass in the history of the Church. 
 Stately buildings began to arise in every place, 
 and the heathen temples were converted into 
 churches. It was no longer necessary to worship 
 in the secresy of obscure places, but the songs of 
 praise rang out boldly all over the empire. The 
 court of the emperor was thronged with the clergy, 
 who were loaded with favors, and many of the 
 high offices were in their hands. Wealth pouied 
 into the treasury of the Church, and the resources 
 of the realm were made tributary to her advance- 
 ment. Protected by the power of the government, 
 the missionaries could go everywhere and proclaim 
 their message. 
 
 The whole influence of the empire was thrown 
 upon the side of the Church. It was a marvel- 
 lous change ! Some of the very men who had 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 6l 
 
 been maimed and tortured during the previous 
 persecutions, others who had lost their all except 
 life itself, came out of their hiding-places to find 
 the religion for which they suffered, now the religion 
 of the empire. 
 
 But, how sad it is to confess it, this marvellous 
 change, this wonderful increase of temporal prosper- 
 ity, was not entirely a blessing. It became some- 
 times a hindrance and not a help, for the trials of 
 prosperity are as hard to bear as the trials of adver- 
 sity, and then too there almost immediately sprang 
 into prominence those corruptions of the true faith 
 by the heretics, by which the Church was torn and 
 agitated for many ages afterward. As we read on 
 we are to learn how numerous and how dreadful 
 these heresies were, and we are to see how, with the 
 growth of worldly wealth and power, the purity, 
 simplicity and earnestness of the early times gave 
 way to arrogance and superstition. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 THE GREAT COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 NI ce CONSTANTINOPLE EPHESUS CHALCEDON 
 
 FIFTH AND SIXTH CONSTANTINOPLE ARIUS MACE- 
 
 DONIUS — NESTORIUS EUTYCHIUS — MONOTHELITES. 
 
 Dates of General Councils. 
 
 a, d. 325. NICE. 
 
 381. CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 43I. EPHESUS. 
 
 45I. CHALCEDON. 
 
 553. CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 '680. CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 It was not long after the Church began to make 
 progress that her doctrines were misunderstood, 
 and then corrupted. 
 
 Allusions are made in the New Testament itself 
 to the rise of false doctrines. The Epistles were 
 written partlv to correct errors which were rising 
 wherever men sought to add to the revelation 
 which God had made, and to explain it to suit 
 their own philosophy, 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. 63 
 
 Arianism. — One of the most important errors 
 that soon spread alarmingly was with reference 
 to the Divinity of the Lord Jesus. In the sim- 
 plicity of the early confessions of faith, men 
 declared, "I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son 
 of God," but soon some tried to explain the nature 
 of His divinity, and to make clear to human rea- 
 son those deep mysteries respecting the nature of 
 the Godhead which it has not pleased the Holy 
 Ghost to reveal to us. At length there arose one 
 named Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, who pre- 
 sumed to declare that our Lord Jesus Christ was 
 not truly God, but a creature made by God, and 
 liable to fall into error and sin ; that He did not 
 exist as the second Person of the Trinity, as God 
 from all eternity, but that He was only a superior 
 kind of being, having an existence before the 
 world began, and that all His virtues and powers 
 were not His own, but only such as were imparted 
 to Him. 
 
 It was a most blasphemous doctrine, and struck 
 at the very roots of the whole Christian faith, for 
 if Christ be not the God incarnate, then all wor- 
 ship paid to Him is wrong, and all our hopes of 
 eternal life through Him are vain. 
 
 Arius was hardly the originator of this most dread- 
 ful doctrine, for others before him held the same 
 view. It is, however, associated with him, and 
 has been called Arianism, because of his bold 
 
64 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 development and advocacy of it. Arianism 
 spread rapidly and widely. Cities and towns were 
 distracted by it. Even Bishops and leading 
 Presbyters adopted it, and the din of controversy 
 was everywhere heard. So rapidly did the heresy 
 grow in some sections, that it seemed as if it would 
 utterly supplant the true faith, and introduce a 
 Christianity entirely different from that which St. 
 Paul had preached, and for which so many martyrs 
 had died. 
 
 Cohstantine found the Church fairly torn asun- 
 der in some sections by this heresy, and it was for 
 the purpose of ascertaining the true faith, and 
 healing the distractions, that he called together the 
 Council at Nice. 
 
 The Council at Nice.— This great council, the 
 first ecumenical, or general council, assembled 
 a. d. 325. 
 
 A summons had been issued to the Bishops and 
 clergy in all parts of Christendom, asking them to 
 meet together, to decide as to the truth or false- 
 hood of the doctrine of Arius. 
 
 Nice was situated in Bithynia, on the bank of the 
 Ascanian Lake. It was a large, well-built city. 
 Every provision was made at the Emperor's com- 
 mand, and at his expense, for entertaining the 
 clergy who were expected. 318 bishops, and 
 many of the inferior ministers, attended. The 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 6* 
 
 total number present is supposed to have been 
 over two thousand, representing nearly every coun- 
 try, although the majority came from the East. It 
 continued its session for three months. The 
 emperor himself attended, and everything was 
 done to lend dignity and force to the proceedings. 
 
 There were many present who had suffered 
 dreadfully in the preceding persecutions. The 
 Council, from every point of view, must be con- 
 sidered one of the most interesting, as well as one 
 of the most important, gatherings held in the 
 interests of religion. 
 
 It met at first in a large hall, and afterwards in 
 the imperial residence. In the centre of the room, 
 upon a throne-like structure, was placed a copy of 
 the Holy Gospels. The Bishops alone seemed to 
 be considered as official members of the council, 
 but the opinions of those of lower rank were asked 
 and given. There was much discussion. Day 
 after day it continued, and sometimes with great 
 bitterness. No one could tell for awhile what the 
 end would be, nor how the majority would decide. 
 The man who stepped forward most boldly in de- 
 fence of orthodoxy, and swayed the minds of the 
 wavering, was Athanasius, a Deacon of Alexan- 
 dria, hardly twenty- five years old, the attendant of 
 the aged Bishop of that place. The force and fire 
 of his speeches chained the attention of the assem- 
 bly, discomfitted the Arians, and led to the happy 
 
 5 
 
66 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 result of denning the faith as it had been received 
 in the primitive days. The greater portion of the 
 Nicene Creed, as we now have it, was the outcome 
 of this Council, and by it the true Divinity of 
 Christ is declared, as against all of such errors as 
 had been proclaimed by Arius. 
 
 The Creed adopted by the Councfl was signed 
 by the Bishops who approved it, and became 
 thenceforth the confession of the faith of the 
 Church. Arianism did not die out at once, but 
 sometimes showed great strength. In later days it 
 reappeared, under different names, and in our time 
 exists under the name of Unitarianism. 
 
 Second Council, Constantinople. — The second 
 general council was held in the city of Constanti- 
 nople, in a. d. 381, under the reign of the emperor 
 Theodosius. Its main object was to determine 
 the true faith with reference to the Holy Spirit. 
 In the controversies fomented by the Arians, many 
 erroneous views had been set forward, not only 
 with reference to the nature of Christ, but also 
 with reference to the nature of the third Person of 
 the Trinity. Macedonius, a leading Arian, was 
 the leader of a party that taught that the Holy 
 Spirit was merely a creature made by the Son, and 
 was not truly God. The result of the proceedings 
 of the Council was the enlargement of the Nicene 
 Creed, to express the belief of the Church in the 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 6/ 
 
 true divinity of the Holy Spirit. The words 
 added were, "the Lord and Giver of life, who 
 proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father 
 and the Son togelher is worshipped and glorified." 
 
 Third Council, Ephesus. — The third general 
 council met in Ephesus, in a. d. 431, under the 
 reign of Theodosius, the Second. 
 
 The Nestorian heresy was the particular matter 
 to be considered. Nestorius the patriarch of Con- 
 stantinople, taught that, "God the Word, and the 
 man Christ Jesus, were different persons under 
 the same appearance ; that the union of the divine 
 and the human was one of will only; that Christ 
 was to be carefully distinguished from God who 
 dwelt in him." The Council determined that the 
 true faith of the Church was that the Word was 
 made flesh ; that Christ was one Divine Person, 
 but having two natures, God and man — which 
 natures were closely and intimately united, with- 
 out being mixed or confounded. 
 
 Fourth Council, Chalcedon. — Chalcedon was 
 the place finally selected for holding another gen- 
 eral council. This fourth council met in a. d. 
 451, Theodosius being still the emperor. 
 
 Opposition to the Nestorian heresy had led 
 some into an opposite extreme. Opposing Uie 
 Nestorian view, that Christ was to he thought of as 
 
6$ MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 a distinct person from God who dwelt in Him v 
 some fell into the opposite error of contending that 
 in Christ there was but one nature, that of the 
 incarnate Word ; and virtually denying the human 
 nature of the Redeemer, making Him a semi-divine, 
 semi-human combination. This heresy is known 
 as the Monophysite, or the Eutychian heresy. 
 The former term meaning one nature, and the 
 latter referring to Eutyches, the leader of the sect. 
 About 630 Bishops attended, and they declared 
 the faith of the Church to be, that in our Lord 
 Jesus Christ there are two perfect and distinct na- 
 tures, the Godhead and the manhood, united in 
 one Person, without mixture, change or confusion. 
 
 Fifth Council, Constantinople. — The fifth 
 general Council, held in Constantinople in a. d. 
 553, is to be regarded as a kind of supplementary 
 council to the preceding four, for the main work 
 it did was to condemn the Nestorian heresy, which 
 had again arisen ; and to re-affirm the doctrine 
 settled by the other general councils. 
 
 Sixth Council, Constantinople. — The last of 
 the councils of the Church which can properly be 
 called ecumenical, or general, was held at Con- 
 stantinople, a. d. 680, under the reign of the 
 Emperor Constantine Pogonatus. There was one 
 held later, which is frequently called the Seventh 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 69 
 
 general council, but its authority is not universally 
 admitted. 
 
 The heresy condemned by this sixth council was 
 called the Monothelite heresy. It was really a 
 branch of the Eutychian heresy. Its main point 
 was that after the incarnation there was but one 
 will in Christ, that of the incarnate God. The 
 Council declared the faith of the Church to be 
 that as there were two perfect natures, so there 
 were two wills, the divine and the human. 
 
 It must not be supposed because one leading 
 heresy has been singled out, in this account, as 
 condemned by each Council, that these were the 
 only heresies which arose in all the period from 
 a. d. 325 to a. p. 680, or that the work of each 
 Council consisted simply in condemning heresies. 
 The sad truth meets us as we turn over the pages 
 of the past, that there was rarely a period when 
 efforts were not made to corrupt the faith of the 
 Church. Sometimes, indeed, the heresies were the 
 result of earnest, but one-sided, unbalanced, search- 
 ing for the truth ; but the orthodox writers were 
 wont to ascribe them to the efforts of the evil one 
 to lead men from the simple truth as God had 
 revealed it. 
 
 There was a great deal of bitterness, too, mixed 
 up with these controversies, and sometimes the 
 factions came into actual contact, resorting to 
 
70 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 physical violence to carry their points. In some 
 cases the disgraceful proceedings of mobs were 
 prompted in the name of religious questions. 
 Even the Councils were not free from undignified 
 conduct, and on some occasions, seemed to forget 
 that "the servants of the Lord must not strive." 
 
 Excommunication was resorted to by the Bishops, 
 and by small local councils, very frequently, so that 
 one who was declared orthodox in one place was 
 condemned as a heretic in another. 
 
 But notwithstanding so much that was object- 
 ionable adheres to the history of the Church of those 
 times, God has overruled all controversies and 
 strifes of men to the preserving of the faith as He 
 caused it to be delivered to kiAy men of old, and 
 we are to look at the six councils as declaring 
 authoritatively what was tha 7 1th. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE PERIOD COVERED BY THE GENERAL 
 
 COUNCILS. 
 
 CONSTANTINE JULIAN — GOTHS AND VANDALS 
 
 MOHAMMED. 
 
 A. D. 361-63. JULIAN, EMPEROR. 
 
 395. DIVISION OF ROMAN EMPIRE INTO EAST 
 
 AND WEST SECTIONS. 
 476. WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE FELL. 
 568. LOMBARDS INVADE ITALY. 
 596. AUGUSTINE, THE MONK, SENT TO ENG- 
 LAND. 
 639. MOHAMMEDANS IN PALESTINE. 
 
 Over three hundred years elapsed from the time 
 of the holding of the first council at Nice to that of 
 the last at Constantinople. (325-680.) It is 
 difficult to compress into few words the many im- 
 portant events of these three centuries, or even to 
 call attention to the many great landmarks of their 
 history. A few only will therefore be selected. We 
 have seen that the closing work of Constantine was 
 the founding of the Christian city, Constantinople. 
 It seemed that the Christian religion was now firmly 
 
72 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 established as the religion of the empire, and never 
 to be superseded ; but to the terror of the Christian 
 world, when Julian came to the throne, in a.d. 361, 
 he labored most vigorously to restore the ancient 
 religion of the empire. He rebuilt the altars of the 
 gods, ordered the closing of the churches, deprived 
 the clergy of their privileges, and surrounded him- 
 self with those who favored paganism. Consider- 
 ing the distracted state of the Church by reason of 
 its controversies, and the bitter opposition made 
 upon each other by the contending factions. 
 Julian's plans at one time appeared to be likely to 
 succeed ; but happily his reign was not long, and 
 after his death no Emperor succeeded who was 
 imbued with his love of paganism. 
 
 In the fourth century a new terror arose from 
 the incursions of the barbarous tribes of the north, 
 who precipitated themselves upon the provinces of 
 the empire, and overran the countries of the west, 
 Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. These savage 
 hordes had been kept in check during the earlier 
 days of the empire, but now, as the military power 
 of Rome was declining, they threw themselves re- 
 sistlessly against, first, its outer posts, and then 
 upon its very centre. The irruption of these tribes 
 can be compared to nothing less than an ava- 
 lanche, so completely did they sweep all before 
 them, and spread themselves over the land. 
 
 For many long years it appeared as if they would 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 73 
 
 annihilate all laws, religion, and social usages, 
 and establish in the fairest portions of the land, 
 their own savage beliefs and customs. 
 
 But God had His plans with reference to them, 
 and it seemed that they were led from their homes 
 to receive the knowledge of salvation. The 
 Church became at length their conquerors, not 
 always with force of arms, but through the power of 
 more gentle measures. 
 
 The barbarians became Christians, not all at 
 once, nor for many years ; nor did all receive the 
 truth in its purity, but by degrees they gave up 
 the worship of their false gods, and became the 
 worshippers of Christ. 
 
 While in the West the northern tribes were oc- 
 casioning alarm, in the East another trouble grew. 
 Mohammedanism appeared as a conquering power, 
 devastating with fire and sword, and compelling 
 thousands in Arabia and elsewhere to submit to its 
 sway. It began about a. d. 620. 
 
 The rise of the religion of Mohammed, was at a 
 time very favorable to its growth. The nations of 
 the East had not been largely, at this time, brought 
 under the power of the Church, and where Chris- 
 tianity prevailed it was usually there in some 
 distorted form, after the views promulgated by the 
 heretics. The heretical sections contended with each 
 other, and even resorted to strife and bloodshed. 
 Mohammed's religion was a mixture of truths 
 
74 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 perverted from the Sacred Scriptures, and pre- 
 tended revelations made to himself as a prophet 
 of God. " There is but one God, and Mohammed 
 is the prophet of God, " was the cry of his followers. 
 It was taken up with renewed zeal after his death, 
 and was at length heard all through Persia and 
 Syria. In subsequent ages, even the holy places 
 of Judea were overrun by followers of the false 
 prophet, and their hold upon them has never yet 
 been entirely overthrown. 
 
 The events briefly alluded to, did not, of course, 
 bloom out in their fulness in these three centuries, 
 but had their rise and some of their development then. 
 
 The sixth and seventh centuries were truly a 
 period of sorrow. The empire was falling to 
 pieces. Upon one side the Goths, Vandals, and 
 Huns were battering at its gates ; upon the other 
 the towering form of a false religion, sustained by 
 armed hosts, was crushing all before it. Through- 
 out the empire contending factions in the Church 
 were quarrelling, and effeminacy was superceding 
 the old Roman vigor. Manhood, patriotism and 
 Christianity were in a degraded condition, and it 
 seemed probable to human vision that the civiliza- 
 tion of the past would be swept away by the 
 two forces that were coming in opposite directions. 
 However, God interposed, holding back Moham- 
 medanism, and infusing new principles into th<? 
 barbarians of the West. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE GREAT NAMES THAT APPEAR DUR- 
 ING THE GENERAL COUNCILS. 
 
 AMBROSE- 
 
 — CHR" 
 
 rSOSTOM AUGl 
 
 JEROME — AN: 
 
 Dates y 
 
 A. D. 
 
 
 
 325- 
 
 ANTHONY. 
 
 
 345- 
 
 JEROME. 
 
 
 374- 
 
 AMBROSE. 
 
 
 395- 
 
 AUGUSTINE. 
 
 
 397- 
 
 CHRYSOSTOM. 
 
 
 412. 
 
 CYRIL. 
 
 
 464. 
 
 LEO. 
 
 We must glance back again over the period 
 of three centuries, to look at the names of 
 some of those who became prominent in the 
 Church. Some of them loom up as Bishops who 
 extended the power of the Church, others as writers 
 who explained the Christian system, and others as 
 the founders of societies for promoting works of 
 charity and holiness of life. 
 
j6 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 Ambrose was the Bishop of Milan. He was 
 chosen to this office by the popular voice in a. d. 
 374, when he was thirty-four years old, and oc- 
 cupied the position until a. d. 390. His influence 
 during his life-time was most beneficial, and his 
 writings have helped instruct many, in all ages 
 since. His bold, unswerving devotion to the right 
 was illustrated in his forbidding the emperor The- 
 odosius to enter a church until he had repented 
 of, and made some reparation for, the crime of 
 permitting the slaughter of some of his subjects. 
 The emperor yielded at length, and came as a 
 penitent to the house of God. Ambrose is be- 
 lieved to have written the Te Deum, and to have 
 remoulded the music of the Church, introducing 
 those simple melodies, now called Gregorian, but 
 which are thought to be the same as were used in 
 the Jewish Church from the days of David. 
 
 Chrysostom was the great preacher of the early 
 centuries, eloquent to that degree, that he was 
 called "the golden mouthed." He was made 
 Bishop of Constantinople, about a. d. 397, when 
 he was fifty years old. His history is almost a 
 romance, so full is it of interesting details. For 
 years, almost daily, in his church, would enrapt 
 congregations listen to him. Sometimes his 
 invectives against sin would lead to his being per- 
 secuted, but when delivered fmrn peril he would 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. JJ 
 
 go on as boldly as ever. He wrote much, chiefly 
 in explanation of the Sacred Scriptures. We use 
 in the Church services a prayer of which he is the 
 author. 
 
 Augustine was bom a. d. 354, made Bishop of 
 Hippo, in Africa, a. d. 395, and died a. d. 430. 
 He was a giant in intellect, and has influenced to 
 a great extent the theology of the Church in all 
 subsequent ages. His writings are very extensive, 
 and consist of explanations of the Bible, sermons, 
 and systematic treatises on theology. His two 
 best known books are hi.; "Confessions," and 
 "The City of God." 
 
 Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, a, d. 412, was a 
 zealous, almost warlike, Bishop, in times of pe- 
 culiar trouble, when the barbarous tribes weie 
 making their attacks, and heresies were evervwhere 
 spreading. 
 
 Leo the Great, was Bishop of Rome for over 
 twenty years, dying in a. d. 461. He is chiefly 
 remembered now by his "Sacramentary, " which 
 contains the earliest of our collects, which he had 
 collected from primitive sources. 
 
 Jerome, was one of the most learned of the Latin 
 writers. He was born in a. d. 345, and died in 
 his seventy-eighth year. Much of his time was spent 
 at Bethlehem, and his great passion was the study 
 
78 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 and translation of the Sacred Scriptures. The ver- 
 sion, in Latin, now used in the Roman Church, 
 was made by him. His life was one of the greatest 
 self-mortification. 
 
 Anthony was the founder of the monastic system. 
 However much in later days his imitators have 
 departed from the ideai he set before himself, and 
 however much his ideal may have been defective, 
 he comes to our notice as one who was exceedingly 
 eager to live a holy life, and to get out of the cor- 
 ruption which began to prevail in his day. He 
 and his companions supported themselves by the 
 work of their hands, and gave generously to the poor. 
 Anthony was present at the Council at Nice, as the 
 friend of Athanasius, and his influence went far to 
 aid the latter in checking the Arian heresy. 
 
 But we cannot continue the list. There are 
 many others who are entitled to mention, and per- 
 haps equally so, with those now named. To get a 
 clear idea of the part any of them took in the 
 Church's afTairs, it is necessary to study their lives 
 more in detail than can be here attempted. 
 
 We must remember, too, in forming an estimate 
 of them, not to judge them by the standards of our 
 own day, but of the times in which they lived, 
 although some of them were men of such true 
 greatness that they would have towered beyond 
 their fellow-men, in whatever age they had lived. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE PERIOD FROM THE SIXTH COUNCIL 
 TO THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 EUROPE SLUMBERING SARACENS PAPAL POWER — - 
 
 MONASTIC ORDERS — FEUDAL SYSTEM DIVISION. 
 
 A. D. 711. SARACENS IN SPAIN. 
 
 768-814. REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE. 
 
 87I-9OI. ALFRED THE GREAT OF ENGLAND. 
 
 IO54. DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 The next period of history at which we are to 
 look, extends from a. d. 680 to a. d. 1054, at 
 which latter date the Church was rent into two por- 
 tions. The pictures presented are not very cheer- 
 ing in their nature, for ignorance, worldliness and 
 superstition prevailed. It was a winter period of 
 cold and dreariness. It seems doubly dreary to 
 us, living at this distance from it, because of the 
 corruptions of the true faith which were nearly 
 everywhere spread, and which overshadowed what- 
 ever of primitive truth and piety there was. Doubt- 
 less there were, in every place where the Redeemer 
 
80 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 was worshipped, the same loving trust and godly 
 sincerity which have been in the world ever since the 
 Church was planted. We know too that there was 
 much zeal for the extension of the faith, for it was 
 spread during this period to regions which had not 
 before received it. These four centuries constituted 
 a period in which much of the world seemed to 
 be slumbering. Not that it was an entirely deep 
 sleep, but the old empire, with its vigorous life, was 
 crumbling away, the east was sealed by the spread 
 of the Saracens, and for a long while the feudal 
 system laid its icy hand upon all general progress. 
 The four most notable points for our conside- 
 ration are : the conflicts with the Saracens ; the ex- 
 tension of the papal power ; the rise of monastic 
 orders ; and the rise of the feudal system. 
 
 The Saracens. — The Saracens were the believers 
 in Mohammedanism. They became a mighty war- 
 like power, and aimed at a subjugation of the world 
 to their faith, through the force of their arms. 
 They were enthusiastic, and relentless. One vic- 
 tory paved the way for another. To crush and to 
 destroy was the passion of their lives. They could 
 not be softened. Nothing but superior force could 
 turn them aside from their purpose. 
 
 Pushing on from the west eastward they planted 
 their victorious standards upon the ruins of cities 
 and towns, and at last, in a. d. 672, came in front 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 8 1 
 
 of the walls of Constantinople itself. Here they 
 were met and checked, although for five years the 
 siege was kept up. Turning from. the city, they 
 poured their hosts along the northern shores of 
 Africa, and upon the ruins of Christian churches 
 built their mosques. Their territories stretched, at 
 length, for 2000 miles, from Syria along the shores 
 of the Mediterranean. 
 
 Resting awhile, they crossed to Europe, and 
 pressed on . through Spain into the interior of 
 France, and then along to the heart of Europe. 
 Their dreams of universal dominion seemed about 
 to be realized. 
 
 But Europe was aroused. The issue was now 
 one in which every interest was staked. If 
 they went further, Christianity must go down and 
 Mohammedanism would be the religion of the world. 
 But God would not suffer His Church to be obli- 
 terated. Charles, the Hammer, son of Pepin, 
 was raised up to protect the imperilled Church. In 
 a. d. 732 the great battle was fought at Tours, 
 between the Saracens, on one side, and the Franks 
 and Germans on the other. 300,000 of the sons 
 of Islam fell. The rout was complete ; and Mo- 
 hammedanism was hurled back. 
 
 The Papal Power. — In the first days of the 
 Church, Jerusalem was honored as the seat of the 
 chief Episcopate, but gradually, through the impor- 
 6 
 
82 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 tance of the city of Rome, the Bishops of the latter 
 place were accorded much consideration, although 
 no power over other Bishops was given them. As 
 time went on, and the empire became Christian, the 
 Roman bishops gained in honor, and began to 
 claim especial powers and privileges. When Con- 
 stantinople was built, the Bishop of that city was 
 styled "the Universal Bishop," although the title 
 never gave him any authority over others. In 
 the case of the Roman bishops, too, at first, the 
 supremacy was considered simply honorary. Dur- 
 ing parts of the sixth and seven centuries, there were 
 disputes between the Bishops of the two cities con- 
 cerning which of the two should be called the 
 "Ecumenical Bishop.'' But with the increase of 
 wealth, and especially the adding of lands in Italy 
 to the possessions of the Roman Bishop, he began 
 to take rank as a temporal prince, as well as a 
 spiritual ruler. So long as the claims made by the 
 Roman Bishop to a title of supremacy were pressed 
 only by argument, they received but little consid- 
 eration ; but growing temporal strength gained for 
 them acceptance by those who were weaker than 
 they, or who courted their favor. 
 
 During the period we are now considering, the 
 Roman Bishops became wealthy, powerful princes ; 
 and as superstition and ignorance spread over the 
 land, their supremacy increased with both. The 
 title "The Pope" came into common use, 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 8$ 
 
 as applied to the Bishop of Rome, although pre- 
 viously it had been given to the Bishops of other 
 places. 
 
 There were few causes that brought about so 
 much evil as this increase of the power and 
 dominion of the Bishops of Rome. It tended to 
 beget and to perpetuate error, and bound men in 
 bondage to superstition. In subsequent days the 
 Pope claimed power to bestow crowns upon rulers, 
 to regulate the affairs of nations, and to receive 
 the homage of all men, in matters temporal and 
 spiritual. 
 
 The Rise of Monastic Orders. — We are not to 
 look for the first beginnings of the monastic sys- 
 tem in this period, for, as we have seen, Anthony, 
 in the fourth century, was the founder of a brother- 
 hood who devoted themselves to an ascetic life. 
 Even earlier than his time, there were many who 
 turned their backs upon the world, and lived in 
 caves and solitary places as hermits and anchorites. 
 The monkish orders, however, were greatly multi- 
 plied in this period, and came into very great favor. 
 The Benedictine order was founded in a. d. 529, 
 by Benedict of Nursia, a pious, zealous man, 
 whose aim was to encourage others in devotion 
 and usefulness. Money poured in upon them, 
 and the order became the leading one in the west. 
 Others flourished in different sections, and pres- 
 
84 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 ently it became the popular notion that if one 
 desired to lead a hcly life, it was necessary to enter 
 a monastic order. 
 
 There can be no doubt, that so long as the rules 
 of the founders of these orders were observed, their 
 influence was wholesome. Learning was encour- 
 aged in the monasteries, copies of the Scriptures 
 were multiplied, the works of the Fathers were 
 transcribed and studied, schools were established, 
 the poor were fed, an asylum was always ready for 
 the sick and the troubled, and great churches were 
 built. Even, indeed, when the strictness of the 
 founders' rules was departed from, they still sub- 
 served many useful purposes. 
 
 At the close of this period, however, the monas- 
 tic orders had declined in usefulness, and the 
 good they had the opportunity of doing was often 
 left undone, although their popularity was never 
 so great before. Even kings left their homes to 
 shut themselves up in the monasteries, that they 
 might devote themselves to prayer and meditation 
 and holy deeds. So high did the monks stand in 
 favor, that many were promoted to posts of honor 
 under the different governments. The revenues 
 of the different orders grew to be immense, and 
 their lands were almost beyond measuring 
 
 The Feudal System. — To understand the feudal 
 system, it must be remembered that, when the 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 85 
 
 Roman empire was in its strength, its powerful 
 arms were so spread out over all its dominions 
 that it was one vast government, although made 
 up of many tribes of "men. When the empire fell, 
 it fell to pieces, to many pieces indeed ; and its 
 territory became ruled over by numerous kings 
 and princes. Never again were the broken pieces 
 cemented together, but the subdividing process 
 seemed to go on almost indefinitely. Not that all 
 rulers were princes, in one sense of the word, but 
 in every country there were numerous rulers, who 
 held sway each over a small extent of territory. 
 They were called barons, or feudal lords. Each 
 petty prince built his castle, and around it flocked 
 the peasants and others for employment and 
 protection. Sometimes one of these small rulers 
 became powerful enough to control a number of 
 others of his class, and now and then one rose to 
 great supremacy. 
 
 Charlemagne did much to restore a semblance 
 of the old empire, but never again was so vast an 
 empire as Rome once was to be established. 
 During the prevalence of feudalism, the common 
 people sometimes suffered, and sometimes were 
 benefitted. Their condition was usually deplora- 
 bly ignorant and degraded, except as they clustered 
 in large towns and cities, whose rising commercial 
 importance gave facilities for education and com- 
 fort. In the numerous wars between rival princes, 
 
86 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 the Church became the protector of the exposed 
 peasants, and sometimes her clergy would put on 
 the garments of the soldier, to fight for the rights 
 of the Church and of the poor. 
 
 In picturing to ourselves the condition of the 
 things during this period, especially towards its end, 
 we are to think, first, of the monastery, with its 
 great church, its cloisters, its farm and tenants, 
 and its schools ; then of the castle, with its armor- 
 clad soldiers, its surrounding peasantry ; and then 
 of the few cities where commerce had attracted 
 population, and accumulated wealth. 
 
 It is difficult to describe in sufficiently clear 
 terms the utter misery which prevailed at the close 
 of the ninth century and extended still later. 
 Education was confined almost entirely to the 
 clergy, and even they, as a general rule, were in a 
 deplorable condition of ignorance. The peasant 
 population of Europe was depressed, poor, and 
 unhappy. Robbers frequented every road, and 
 there seemed to be no authority left to punish 
 them. Lands were left untilled, and famines and 
 plagues spread in every quarter. 
 
 As the ninth century drew to an end, there 
 prevailed almost throughout Christendom the 
 belief that the world was coming speedily to an 
 end. 
 
 The year 999 was regarded as the last year, 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. Sj 
 
 The wretchedness that was spread, and the general 
 disorganization of society, seemed to convince 
 tvery one that some wonderful change might be 
 expected ; and then, too, strange as it may seem, 
 the expectation of the world's ending led to the 
 increase of this wretchedness. Men -left their 
 ordinary employments, the activities of life seemed 
 suspended, and the condition of society was like 
 that of the crews of sinking vessels, who give 
 themselves up to the wildest excesses as they see 
 ruin so near at hand. 
 
 But the new century dawned, and the knell of 
 doom was not struck. The earth moved on in 
 her course around the sun. The stars beamed as 
 brightly as ever. The Son of Man had not yet 
 appeared to open the books and to declare His 
 Judgment. 
 
 A great weight of dread was at once lifted off 
 the minds of all men, and the new century, which 
 had been looked forward to with so much terror, 
 came in laden with many blessings. 
 
 We can hardly over-estimate the importance of 
 the change which it ushered in. The torpor, the 
 unquiet, the distress of the past began to be 
 changed ; not, it is true, at once or entirely, but 
 a new state of things began. 
 
 The change was observable in the care that was 
 given to the restoration of the crumbling churches, 
 and to the construction of new ones. For a long 
 
88 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 while before it had seemed useless to build with 
 the view of permanence ; now, however, grand 
 structures, upon a gigantic scale, began to loom 
 up. 
 
 The neglected fields were tilled, the ordinary 
 channels of industry were again resorted to, the 
 laws against criminals were enforced, and society 
 became more secure. 
 
 One note that was struck began to vibrate 
 throughout the whole Christian world, — the cru- 
 sades for the recovery of the Holy City. No one 
 knew at first what wondrous changes the cry, 
 "Jerusalem must be recovered 1" would produce ; 
 how it would set in motion the turbid waters, how 
 indeed the whole destiny of the world would be 
 eventually changed. But we will learn more of 
 the crusades further on in this history. 
 
 We are brought now up to the time of the 
 division of the Church into its Eastern and Western 
 parts. There were many causes that brought it 
 about. It was not the work of one day or one 
 century. The building of Constantinople, the 
 arrogance of the Roman Popes, the insertion of an 
 article in the Nicene Creed by the Western Church 
 without the authority of a general council ; the 
 many controversies and excommunications, first of 
 one, and then of another — these led finally to the 
 great division, the date of which is a. d. 1054. 
 Some communion between the two branches 
 
C>, 
 
 IN CHURCH HISTORY. S9 
 
 existed long after, but that year seemed to be the 
 time when intercourse generally began to cease. 
 
 In this rapid review of this period, of course, we 
 have not been able to do more than look at a few 
 of its leading characteristics. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FROM THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH TO 
 THE REFORMATION- A. D. 1064-1517. 
 
 THE CRUSADES — ROMISH ERRORS — INVENTIONS AND 
 DISCOVERIES — DECLINE OF FEUDALISM. 
 
 Dates. A. D. 
 
 IO96. FIRST CRUSADE. 
 
 I I I 8. ORDER OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR FOUNDED. 
 
 I I46. SECOND CRUSADE. 
 
 I I 70. DEATH OF THOMAS -A-BECKET. 
 
 I 189. THIRD CRUSADE. 
 
 I209. ATTEMPTS TO EXTERMINATE THE ALBIGENSES 
 
 I 2 1 7. FOURTH CRUSADE. 
 
 1223. FRANCISCAN ORDER ESTABLISHED. 
 
 12 28. FIFTH CRUSADE. 
 
 I248. SIXTH CRUSADE. 
 
 I27O. SEVENTH CRUSADE. 
 
 I294. ROGER BACON BORN. 
 
 I348. CANNON FIRST USED. 
 
 I383. WICLIFF's BIBLE TRANSLATION. 
 
 1452. INVENTION OF PRINTING. 
 
 I483. LUTHER BORN. 
 
 I492. AMERICA DISCOVERED. 
 
 We have compared the preceding period to a 
 winter condition. The period we are now to con- 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 91 
 
 sider may be likened to the spring-time. Not 
 indeed to the balmy days of spring, but to those 
 days which come with sunshine and storms, hail 
 and sleet, yet with clearer light ; longer days, less 
 of night in them, and give promise of summer at 
 hand. 
 
 There are few periods of history more impor- 
 tant than the four centuries now to be examined. 
 Changes, overturnings, and the infusion of new 
 ideas, became the order of the times. 
 
 We will try to select some of the leading features, 
 as we did in the preceding period. Among the 
 many points worthy of attention, there are five 
 which stand out prominently. 
 
 First, the Crusades. Second, the corruptions of 
 the faith by the Roman Church. Third, the de- 
 cline of Feudalism. Fourth, the inventions and 
 discoveries. Fifth, the movements which led to 
 reform. 
 
 The Crusades. — The victorious march of the 
 Saracens in the east led them to Jerusalem in the 
 beginning of the tenth century. Their banners 
 were planted over the holy places. The rallying 
 cry of the Christians was raised by Sylvester, the 
 new pope of Rome, who succeeded to that position 
 a. d. 998. "Soldiers of Christ, arise and fight foi 
 Zion," were his words, which rang out over the 
 West. There was no response at first, while yet 
 
92 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 indignation and sorrow filled every Qirislian heart. 
 At length, about the close of the tenth century, 
 Peter the Hermit began to preach a crusade against 
 the infidels who had intrenched themselves in 
 Palestine, and had committed many cruelties upon 
 the swarms of pilgrims to the sacred places. 
 
 The long smouldering fires in the bosoms of the 
 men of the West were fanned into furious flame as 
 they listened to the preaching of the Hermit. He 
 recounted the wrongs perpetrated upon the pilgrims, 
 told of the wealth of eastern places which might be 
 gathered, and particularly of the merit which he 
 said they would earn, both now and hereafter, who 
 would rid the holy city of its defilements. 
 
 Suddenly (a. d. 1095) there was gathered to- 
 gether a rabble armed in every variety of fashion. 
 There were princes and peasants, beggars and 
 robbers, an indescribable multitude of all nations 
 of the West, pouring forth to the East upon the first 
 crusade. It was an immense mob-like expedition, 
 numbering some 300,000. Upon the breast or 
 shoulder of each one there was worn a red cross. 
 At first it seemed as if this torrent would prove to 
 be utterly irresistible, but it was soon seen to be 
 an utterly undisciplined, riotous mob. Its pas- 
 sage through Europe was like that of a devastating 
 flood. With violence, riotous living, and crime, 
 they pressed on, leaving hosts of their number dead 
 as they crowded forward. They were not to reach 
 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 93 
 
 the holy city. But a small proportion of them 
 escaped the attacks of the Saracens, who destroyed 
 their ships as they issued forth from Constantinople. 
 Only about 20,000 of the vast multitude ever re- 
 turned to their homes. None of the whole num- 
 ber ever came in sight of Jerusalem. The holy city 
 remained in the possession of the infidels. 
 
 We might suppose that so disastrous an ending 
 would have discouraged any further efforts, but 
 within a year another reinforcement was on its 
 way. This second portion was led by the knights 
 and barons, more military in its character than the 
 preceding. All the great soldiers of Europe were 
 in it. Six hundred thousand men, with innume- 
 rable attendants, made up-the four armies of which 
 it was composed. 
 
 As before, thousands perished by the way, and 
 many stayed behind in the cities and towns through 
 which the route lay. Others perished in conflicts 
 into which they were led before they reached 
 Palestine. At last the Crusaders met the Turks on 
 the plains of Phrygia, and achieved a victory ; but 
 hunger, thirst and heat brought dismay into their 
 ranks. Their horses all died. It is said, that 
 upon one single day five hundred men died of 
 thirst. Quarrels broke out between the different 
 races in the ranks. But notwithstanding their 
 sufferings, they pressed on and besieged Antioch. 
 Here, however, the luxurious living into which 
 
94 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 they plunged, produced results as fatal as the 
 privations they had suffered. 
 
 Antioch was finally captured, but plagues broke 
 out and cut off many of the captors. When they 
 resumed their march, but fifty thousand of the 
 force of six hundred thousand were left. Nothing 
 could exceed their enthusiasm when Jerusalem 
 appeared before their gaze. They stretched out 
 their hands, fell upon their knees, and raised 
 loud shouts, * ' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, God wills 
 it !" 
 
 A long struggle for its possession ensued ere 
 they could enter; but they finally triumphed, and 
 the streets ran with Moslem blood. Godfrey of 
 Bouillon was made the ruler of the city, and it 
 was again added to the domains of Christendom. 
 But the force left to hold the city was all too small 
 to resist the assaults of the Saracens. Other cru- 
 sades followed. There were eight in all, extending 
 from a. d. 1095 to a. d. 1270, nearly two hundred 
 years. Sometimes there would be a long interval, 
 then the fires would break out again. They 
 never became so enormous, however, as the first. 
 The crusading spirit died out after the disastrous 
 expedition of Louis IX. of France, a.d. 1270, when 
 the infidel was left in unmolested possession of 
 Palestine. It is estimated that over two millions 
 of lives were sacrificed in the crusades, and the 
 treasure expended is beyond calculation. Some 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 95 
 
 countries were nearly depopulated and im- 
 poverished. 
 
 As attempts to subdue the Moslem power, the 
 Crusades failed, and the sacrifice of human life is 
 appalling ; but results have flowed from the Cru- 
 sades, to bless the world to the latest days. They 
 helped dispel ignorance ; they set in motion the 
 stagnation which had before been the condition of 
 all classes ; they led to the re-distribution of the 
 soil ; they made changes in the status of the lower 
 classes ; and they excited thought and inquiry, 
 which eventually led on to reform. 
 
 Although they were organized for the recovery 
 of the holy places in Palestine, and failed, we may 
 regard these movements as leading finally to the 
 recovery of holy truths which had been lost through 
 the reign of superstition. But for the upheaval of 
 Europe by the Crusades, the world might have 
 slumbered on, and the rust of error would have 
 gathered all the more heavily over the truth, and 
 have eaten it away. The beneficial results of the 
 Crusades were not evident at once. They came 
 out slowly, and were not fully recognized for many 
 a day after the last one ended. 
 
 The Growth of Romish Errors. — It is hard to 
 recognize in the lordly rulers who occupied the 
 papal throne, in this period, much likeness to tha 
 primitive bishops, who with the utmost simplic'tv 
 
g6 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 and with unsparing devotion, ministered to the 
 people the truths of God. It is as hard, too, to 
 see the likeness between some aspects of the 
 Church that then existed, and the band of disci- 
 ples, first called Christians at Antioch. 
 
 Doubtless if we could have the history of this 
 period written out for us fully, there would be 
 many a redeeming feature found in it. God's 
 truth and God's Church cannot be in the world 
 without begetting holy lives, and holy deeds ; 
 and there never has been a time, even in the 
 darkest periods, when there have been none to 
 worship Him in sincerity and truth. 
 
 It would be strange, indeed, if, among the 
 myriads who at this time named the name of Christ, 
 there were not a goodly number who were better 
 than the average, and more free from the debasing 
 superstitions that prevailed. 
 
 When, however, superstitions and corruptions 
 become united with the holding of power, it is 
 hard to rise superior to them or to shake them off. 
 The arrogant assumptions of the popes of Rome 
 were connected very closely with the prevalence of 
 corrupt doctrines and practices. 
 
 Without recounting all the errors that were then 
 spread, we may specify : 
 
 First, The virtual subjugation of all temporal 
 governments to the dominion of the pope. There 
 seemed to be no escape from his grasp. He 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 97 
 
 could direct the armies of one nation against 
 another, and remove the crown from a king's 
 head. Whatever was promulged by his authority, 
 whether in matters temporal or matters spiritual, 
 must be received without question. This thorough 
 subserviency to papal rule would not have been so 
 fraught with evil, had the popes always been good 
 men. Unhappily some of them were warriors, 
 others were reckless evil livers, and some were 
 almost, if not quite, infidels. 
 
 Second, A second error was the belief in the 
 efficacy of the intercession of saints and angels foi 
 sinners. There is but one Mediator between Go<* 
 and man, Christ Jesus ; but as time went or.,, 
 prayers began to be addressed to the Virgin Marr. 
 and to others ; and their intervention in behalf a 
 sinful men was implored. 
 
 Third, The belief in purgatory led to many at 
 abuse of the primitive faith. Claiming that the 
 souls of the departed needed purification before 
 they could be admitted to heaven, there grew up 
 the offering of masses for the dead, and the pvi 
 chase of favor in their behalf. 
 
 Fourth, A superstitious regard for relics, image*, 
 and the like, made the worship of some resemb.i 
 the old idolatry which had been overthrown. 
 
 But the list of errors is too long to be recited 
 her-e. We will see it again as it will come before 
 us in the account of the Reformation. Suffice it 
 
 7 
 
98 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 to say, that the hand of Rome was spread out 
 everywhere, and it was neither a very clean nor a 
 very gentle hand. 
 
 Even when good men ascended the papal chair, 
 the customs and traditions of the office overcame 
 whatever there might have been of good influence 
 on their part. Alas, that it should have been so ; 
 that they who represented the life of the blessed 
 Christ to men should have so distorted it, and have 
 made it so hideous and repulsive ! 
 
 Inventions and Discoveries. — One of the results 
 of the agitation which grew out of the Crusades, 
 was the increase of general mental activity. It was 
 not long before the peasant found, that although 
 devoid of rank, he could rival the wealth of the 
 knight, by engaging in commerce. The rich com- 
 modities of the East began then to be sources of 
 trade, and presently the manufacture of goods was 
 encouraged in the West. 
 
 Commercial cities and towns sprang up, and em- 
 ployment was found for classes which had been de- 
 pendent upon baronial protection. Then, as wealth 
 came to the masses, there were the accompaniments 
 of wealth — better houses, general improvement in 
 men's surroundings, and education. 
 
 Wars began to assume a different character, 
 for the invention and use of gunpowder was 
 the fatal blow to knighthood ; and with its fall, 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 99 
 
 there fell many usages which had prevailed for 
 ages. 
 
 A mighty revolution, too, was carried on by the 
 general employment of the art of printing. Before 
 printing became so general, books were copied out 
 by the pens of the monks and others, and the pos- 
 session of a manuscript or illuminated copy, was 
 possible only for the wealthy, or for some public 
 institution. The rapid multiplication of copies of 
 books, by printing, helped to popularize learning, 
 and to put the truths of revelation and of science 
 into the hands of the many. 
 
 Then came the use of the mariners' compass, 
 enabling seamen to make longer voyages than had 
 ever been attempted before, and encouraging the 
 daring exploits of Columbus, which led to the dis- 
 covery of a new continent. With the discovery of 
 this continent there seemed to be a widening of 
 the conceptions of men, and a shaking loose from 
 the petty views which had hitherto influenced 
 them. Although it was many years before any 
 permanent settlements were made in America, yet 
 from the time of its discovery there began to spread 
 a spirit of adventure and love of exploration, which 
 had their influence subsequently over the condition 
 of the whole world. 
 
 The Decline of Feudalism. — It will readily be 
 seen that the growing earnestness of the times was 
 
100 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 opposed to the continuance of a system of multi- 
 plied petty governments, and of the depression of 
 the lower classes of society. So long as the peasant 
 was ignorant, he was content to be the vassal of the 
 baron ; but as he grew in the scale of enlightenment 
 he. became restive under such a yoke. Then, after 
 the Crusades, there was a great unsettling of all 
 previous relationships. The peasant had become 
 the warrior ; from that he glided into mercantile 
 callings; and thence into the position of the wealthy 
 townsman. As commerce became established, the 
 manufacture of commodities was pressed with vigor, 
 and gradually there arose a class of citizens as 
 wealthy and as intelligent as their former rulers had 
 been. The changes in the modes of warfare which 
 were introduced diminished the effectiveness of the 
 knight as a soldier, and ancient military tactics 
 gave way before the use of gunpowder. For these 
 reasons, and for many others, the feudal system 
 faded away. The remnants of it existed still in 
 very modified forms, but it was impossible to revive 
 it as it once existed. 
 
 It required no prophet to declare that the world 
 was approaching a mighty crisis of some kind, when 
 the years rolled along, and there came to be an 
 earnest life in the world which had not been so 
 seen before. We must think of society as being 
 acted upon by mighty forces which were preparing 
 it to break the trammels in which it was held. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. IOI 
 
 Possibly none knew exactly what was coming, nor 
 what they wished might come. Here and there, 
 there was a cry for reform, and now and then some 
 blind, impulsive movement towards the light. The 
 pen of some writer, like a keen sword, would tear 
 open the hypocrisy of the monkish orders, and men 
 would hold their breath in terror. Some one would 
 secure a copy of the Word of God, and venture to 
 read its almost new stories to his neighbors. In 
 some lonely places a few would be bold enough to 
 talk together about the evils of the times, and to 
 deplore the weight of the iron hand that pressed 
 them down so heavily. Then the darkness would 
 grow darker, but it was the dark hour before the 
 dawn ; and the dawn was nearer than some of them 
 thought 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE REFORMATION PERIOD. 
 
 DANGERS — WICLIFFE — LUTHER ENGLAND. 
 
 Dates ; a. d. 
 
 14 I 5. JOHN HUSS MARTYRED. 
 
 I5O9. CALVIN BORN. 
 
 I5O9-47. REIGN OF HENRY VIII. 
 
 I 5 13-2 I. LEO POPE. 
 
 I522-23. HADRIAN VI. POPE. 
 
 I523-34. CLEMENT VII. POPE. 
 
 I54O. JESUIT ORDER FOUNDED. 
 
 I547. COUNCIL OF TRENT. 
 
 I558. ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF ENGLAND. 
 
 A sufficient number of the abuses which had 
 crept into the Church have been named to show 
 how greatly a reformation was needed. But it was 
 dangerous to men's comfort and safety to become 
 reformers. Rome did not want to be reformed. 
 Rome was powerful enough to seek to crush any 
 one who attempted it. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. IO3 
 
 Then, too, it does not always happen that those 
 who project reforms are wise, prudent and patient. 
 An attack upon an existing abuse is often apt to 
 be intemperate, or to carry with it the destruction 
 of some good thing which ought never to be 
 touched. 
 
 Long before the period of the Reformation there 
 had been efforts at reform. Some of them were 
 wisely led, others were but blundering movements 
 in the right direction. 
 
 Wicliffe in England (a. d. 1350), Huss in 
 Bohemia, and Jerome of Prague, had denounced 
 some of the corruptions of Rome, but their move- 
 ments were not always of the wisest character. 
 Wicliffe, however, will always be most gratefully 
 remembered for having given to the English people 
 a translation of the Bible in their own language. 
 He is called " the Morning Star of the Reforma- 
 tion," and justly deserves that title, although some 
 of his propositions were utterly impracticable. 
 
 The reading of the Sacred Scriptures produced 
 great changes, opening the eyes of the people to 
 see how erroneous were many of the teachings of 
 Rome, and preparing the way for a return to the 
 primitive faith. But a return to the primitive 
 faith involved danger. There had arisen certain 
 orders in the Roman Church, principal among 
 them the Dominicans, who became active agents 
 for discovering and punishing by torture and death 
 
104 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 those who were bold enough to condemn the exist- 
 ing corruptions. The history of the Inquisition 
 makes sad reading, when we think of its horrid 
 work as done in the name of the religion of Christ. 
 To be suspected of having any sympathy with the 
 views of those who were styled heretics, was suffi- 
 cient ground for exposure to the savage proceedings 
 of this cruel court. 
 
 The opening of the fifteenth century witnessed 
 the rise of Martin Luther as a reformer, and a good 
 Providence made him the agent for carrying on the 
 mighty work. Luther was an Augustinian monk 
 in Saxony, and came into conflict with Rome by 
 declaiming against the sale of indulgences by Tetzel, 
 the pope's agent. Pope Leo was then building 
 St. Peter's Church in Rome, and needing money, 
 offered indulgences to all who would contribute to 
 this purpose. These indulgences were based upon 
 the fancied power of the Pope to secure benefits to 
 the souls in purgatory, although the popular notion 
 applied them to permission to commit sin here. 
 Tetzel hawked the Pope's indulgences about from 
 place to place. 
 
 Luther's attacks at first were directed against these 
 abuses, but as time went on he was led to declaim 
 against the supremacy of the Pope, and the other 
 errors which had been introduced. He and his 
 followers, upon refusing to retract their expressions, 
 were excommunicated. They were not silenced, 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 105 
 
 however, and the excitement grew. Multitudes of 
 the people sided with them, and they were protected 
 by some of the German rulers. Eventually their 
 principles spread through a great part of Germany, 
 Denmark, Norway and Sweden. 
 
 In Switzerland, Zuinglius led the reformed 
 movement. On his death Calvin of Geneva be- 
 came their leader, and his views spread through 
 France. Many of the nobility favored them, 
 among whom was Henry the Fourth, of Na- 
 varre. Under the kingship of Charles the Ninth 
 a vast multitude of the French, who had adopted 
 the reformation principles, were massacred, on the 
 eve of St. Bartholomew's Day, a. d. 1572. After 
 a long and cruel persecution they obtained tolera- 
 tion by the edict of Nantz, a. d. 1598, which 
 remained in force until a. d. 1685, when Louis 
 Fourteenth revoked the edict, and they were com- 
 pelled to return to the Church of Rome or leave 
 the country. They are known in history as the 
 Huguenots. 
 
 It is sad that the reformers on the Continent did 
 not carry with them into their movement the ancient 
 form of Church government. Many of them, per- 
 haps nearly all of them, were in favor of so doing, 
 but no Bishops of the Church sided with them. 
 In after times, when it was possible to incorporate 
 this feature of the Church with the primitive doc- 
 trines for which they contended, they generally 
 
106 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 neglected the opportunity, and thus have perpetuat- 
 ed a separation from the organic body. 
 
 In Great Britain the reformation was more wisely 
 conducted. The Church there had existed from 
 the days of the Apostles. For 6co years it remained 
 independent of the Roman see, and it was only 
 after the Norman conquest that the papal jurisdic- 
 tion became thoroughly established. 
 
 While there were many efforts at reform, none 
 gave promise of success so long as the Pope's power 
 was held. In a. d. 1532, the quarrel of Henry the 
 Eighth with the Pope, led to the overthrow of the 
 power of the latter in Great Britain. Once over- 
 thrown, that power was impotent to check the ris- 
 ing tide. Henry is not to be credited as a reformer, 
 nor is he, as is sometimes urged, the founder of 
 the Church of England. That Church was founded 
 ages before he was born. God permitted his efforts 
 to secure a divorce from his queen to be the occa- 
 sion of the downfall of the Pope's authority in Great 
 Britain, and thus the way to the reformation was 
 facilitated. Almost contrary to the wishes of the 
 king, reform went forward step by step. First one 
 error was cast out and then another, until, with the 
 accession of Edward the Sixth, a. d. 1547, there 
 were made the most sweeping changes. Images 
 and relics were removed, the communion in both 
 kinds was given to the laity — the clergy were per- 
 mitted to marry — and the liturgy was purified and 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 107 
 
 set forth in English. Although, when Mary bocame 
 Queen, a. d. 1553, every effort was made to restore 
 the Roman Church to power, it was but for a time ; 
 for when Elizabeth succeeded her,, the Church of 
 England became fully established, and has been 
 the Church of that country and her dependencies 
 ever since. 
 
 The nation went with the reformation in England, 
 although not all were in favor of it. For many 
 years the people worshipped in the same churches, 
 and were taught by the same pastors. The Pope 
 was much annoyed at this, yet no effort was made 
 to lead those who were still friendly to him from 
 the Church of England, until a. d. 1569, when a 
 bull was issued by Pius Fifth, Bishop of Rome, ex- 
 communicating the queen, and absolving the people 
 from their allegiance. This bill caused the Romish 
 schism in England, for from that time the Pope's 
 followers formed a party distinct from the national 
 Church. The Romanists had no bishops there, 
 however, until a. d. 1685. 
 
 The great aim of the English Reformers was not 
 to destroy, but to restore the ancient Church — to 
 remove whatever superstitious views and practices 
 nad been introduced — and to adapt the Church to 
 the progress of the times. The English language 
 was substituted for the Latin in the service books ; 
 the invocation of the saints and martyrs was omitted; 
 and the people were taught to worship the Persons 
 
108 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 of the Blessed Trinity only ; the Communion ser* 
 vice became a holy feast of joy and gladness, instead 
 of a superstitious ceremony in which the elements 
 were thought to be changed to veritable flesh and 
 blood ; the reading of the Scriptures became a 
 prominent feature in public services ; and in every 
 particular they sought to restore the Church to what 
 she was before her fair outline had been obscured , 
 by the superstitious fancies of men. 
 
 Very great were the learning, the patience and 
 the courage of the English Reformers. Their work 
 was one of extreme delicacy and importance. It 
 was like pruning the dead branches from a tree, 
 when extreme care must be taken not to injure 
 whatever was good and living. Or, to use another 
 figure, it was like cleansing an exquisite piece of 
 statuary upon which dust and soil and rubbish had 
 accumulated. They wanted to preserve it entire, 
 only removing the extraneous matter, and having it 
 come out again with the beauty it possessed when 
 it left the sculptor's hands. Worthy then, of all 
 honor, is the memory of the four English martyrs, 
 Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer and Hooper, and the 
 scores of others who helped restore the old Church 
 to what she was before Romish superstitions had 
 marred her fair beauty. And while we record 
 gratefully their zeal for a pure faith, let us also 
 record their reverence towards the bride of Christ, 
 their care lest in getting rid of error they should 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. IOg 
 
 Injure one lineament of truth which had been im- 
 pressed by the Lord Himself. 
 
 Thus, then, throughout the world, came the re- 
 action from the errors which from time to time had 
 crept into the Church. The reform was accom- 
 plished at the cost of much suffering. Many noble 
 lives fell before the vindictiveness of the Pope's 
 followers, and the return to the truths which Christ 
 taught has been at a cost which no one can fully 
 estimate to-day. 
 
 Happy would it have been could some general 
 Council have been summoned, after the manner of 
 those of the earliest ages, and the true faith of the 
 Church been re-established. Such a measure was 
 again and again proposed, but no Council could 
 be favored by the Pope except such as would give 
 his views a preponderating influence. Indeed his 
 claims were virtually above the jurisdiction of any 
 Council, for he declared that none should meet, 
 except such as he himself might call. But the 
 days of God are long, and no one knows what 
 there may be, in the future, of joy and peace to a 
 now divided Christendom. He may be working 
 out some plans of mercy through our present divi- 
 sions, and when the time is ripe it may please Him 
 to draw all Christians into one fold. 
 
 Error cannot always live. The truth must 
 prevail. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SINCE THE REFORMATION. 
 
 COUNCIL OF TRENT JESUITS EASTERN CHURCH — 
 
 PURITANS CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN THIS COUNTRt 
 
 PROTESTANT RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 
 
 Dates : a. d. 
 
 1540. ZAVIER, MISSIONARY. 
 1572. MASSACRE OF FRENCH PROTESTANTS. 
 1609. ENGLISH SETTLE JAMESTOWN. 
 I789. FRENCH REVOLUTION. 
 I789. CONSTITUTION AND PRAYER BOOK 
 ADOPTED BY AMERICAN CHURCH. 
 
 Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Bohe- 
 mia, France, and part of Germany and Switzerland, 
 remained under the Papal jurisdiction after the 
 Reformation had gone on, although in every land 
 the Pope's power was shaken. Two efforts were 
 made during the Reformation to revive the decli- 
 ning influence of the papacy. These were the 
 holding of the Council of Trent, a. d. 1563, and 
 the founding of the order of the Jesuits, a. d. 1537. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. Ill 
 
 Although the former was measurably of a local 
 nature, yet its results showed the spirit of the Roman 
 power, and its determination to cling to its corrup- 
 tions, for that Council decided in favor of the doc- 
 trines of transubstantiation and purgatory ; and 
 approved of the invocation of the saints, the celi- 
 bacy of the clergy, the communion in one kind, &c. 
 
 The Jesuits' order was formally recognized by a 
 bull, in a. d. 1540. Every member took an oath 
 of unhesitating obedience to the pope's commands. 
 They were ready to do any kind of service, however 
 degrading, however laborious ; to go anywhere ; to 
 be anything, or to do anything. They spread all 
 over the world, sometimes as missionaries to the 
 heathen, as teachers in schools, as members of king's 
 cabinets, as detectives of heresy, as the unscrupu- 
 lous allies of Rome wherever her interests could be 
 advanced. 
 
 The order exists to-day, although the Jesuits 
 have, at different times, been driven out of nearly 
 every country in Europe. They have influenced 
 the politics of kingdoms, fomented strifes, and in 
 many cases have not scrupled to commit crimes. 
 
 Still they exist, and wherever Romanism is in the 
 ascendant, there they are found. It is true that 
 among them have been numbered some of the most 
 zealous of missionaries, and some of the most 
 learned of men, but no religious order is so unscru- 
 pulous in carrying forward its purposes. Believing 
 
112 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 that the triumph of Rome is paramount to every 
 other consideration, they labor for that one end. 
 
 It would be a mistake to think of every Jesuit as 
 being uninfluenced by good motives. It would be 
 monstrous, if we had in the world an order of men 
 bearing the name of Jesus, who were all given to 
 evil. Many of them are better than the principles 
 of their order, and have shown and do show their 
 love of Christ and of men by their holy deeds. 
 The reeking dungeon, the distant mission post, the 
 lazar house, — the places most prejudicial to health 
 and life are visited by them in their errands of 
 mercy. Sometimes, in view of the noble lives 
 they live, and the heroic deeds they do, it is hard 
 to remember the errors of their belief. 
 
 But all the zeal and devotion and craft of the 
 Jesuit order have not availed to recover the ground 
 lost by Rome at the Reformation ; and with the 
 advancing light of later days, her power has been 
 steadily waning, even though the fiery earnestness 
 of the Jesuits has added missionary fields to her 
 dominion. 
 
 The separation of so many reformers from the 
 Roman communion did not bring quiet to that 
 body, for shortly after the Council of Trent there 
 began long continued controversies among the 
 Roman Catholics over such questions as the 
 authority of popes, the immaculate conception of 
 *.he Virgin Mary, and the general doctrines o/ 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. II3 
 
 predestination and free will. The latter point, 
 finally, after many years of discussion, took the 
 name of Jansenism, after the Bishop of Ipres, 
 named Jansenius. His date is about a. d. 1640. 
 The views he held are about like such as are usu- 
 ally called Calvinistic, involving a belief in the 
 foreordination of some to life, and of others to 
 damnation, and denying man's freedom of will in 
 turning from sin to righteousness. The great 
 opponents of the Jansenists were the Jesuits, and 
 for many years the war of words went on between 
 them. Sometimes, however, the hand of the eccle- 
 siastical and civil powers was laid heavily upon 
 the Jansenists. The popes issued their bulls against 
 them, and sometimes sought to turn the bishops 
 who favored them from their offices, but it was all 
 of no avail. They lived on and defied the power 
 of Rome for many years. 
 
 The controversies respecting the Pope's supremacy 
 and the amount of submission due to him, have 
 been going on for many years in the Roman 
 Church, and the contesting parties have arrayed 
 themselves upon opposite sides. Those who have 
 taught openly and without reservation the duty of 
 absolute submission to the Pope in all things, both 
 temporal and spiritual, have become known 
 as Ultramontanists. Their opponents have been 
 mainly German and French Romanists, although 
 opposition to ultra-montanism has been found 
 
114 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 among Romanists in all parts of the world. It is 
 a singular spectacle to witness the strenuous efforts 
 made by the Pope and his supporters to bolster ud 
 the temporal dominion which has been so rapidlj 
 passing from him. 
 
 Once his word could make and unmake a king ; 
 but to-day every part of his territory has been 
 stripped from him, and whatever power he yet 
 possesses, is not as that of a prince, but as a spirit- 
 ual ruler. 
 
 Once at his bidding whole nations would spring 
 to arms ; but his voice is not listened to any longer 
 as a leader in conquest. 
 
 And yet, as the temporal power of the Pope has 
 been steadily declining since the Reformation, the 
 Church of Rome has been ascribing to him a 
 spiritual dominion greater than was claimed even 
 in the darkest periods of the middle ages, until at 
 last we hear the almost blasphemous declaration 
 that he is infallible, that what he teaches as the 
 head of the Church must be infallibly true. 
 
 Of course if one pope is infallible, then all 
 must have been so ; and yet it is only necessary to 
 read their history to become aware that what one 
 declared heresy another declared true, and so on. 
 How can the contradictions be reconciled ? 
 
 Not only, however, has the doctrine of the 
 Pope's infallibility been a product of later times in 
 the Church of Rome, but other errors unheard of in 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 115 
 
 the early Ages of Christianity have been introduced, 
 and prominently among them is the doctrine of the 
 immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary ; that 
 the Virgin herself was born into the world abso- 
 lutely without sin, and also that she is entitled to 
 be called "the queen of heaven, "aiding by her pro- 
 tection her favorites on earth. The name by which 
 these grievous errors relating to the Virgin are 
 usually known, is Mariolatry. 
 
 But it is an ungracious task to go on thus point- 
 ing out the errors of a branch of the Church of 
 Christ. Would that there were no errors to point 
 out ! Much more gratifying is it to look at the 
 good things the Roman Church has done, and the 
 patience and zeal of many who are enrolled among 
 her members. 
 
 Prominent upon her pages since the Reformation 
 is the record of Francis Zavier, a man of most 
 sincere devotion, and of singular earnestness. He 
 was born in 1506, in France, became a Jesuit 
 in 1537, went to India in 1540, and for twelve 
 years, in India, Ceylon, China, and Japan, he 
 labored with a success scarcely seen since the times 
 of the Apostles. In some places his converts were 
 numbered by thousands ; and sometimes so many 
 were the candidates for baptism that he could 
 scarcely find the physical strength to baptize them. 
 
 Another noted name was Charles Borromeo, the 
 Archbishop of Milan (born 1538, died 1584). 
 
Il6 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 He was a reformer within the bounds of his own 
 diocese. He found it in a disordered state ; the 
 clergy were ignorant and unprincipled ; and relig- 
 ion was at a low ebb indeed. First setting the 
 example of living a life of self-denial and of devo- 
 tion, he carried on his reforms in his diocese, esta- 
 blished seminaries for educating the ignorant clergy, 
 held conferences, made good laws, and enforced 
 them. His life was an honorable exception to the 
 worldliness and superstition that abounded. A 
 score of such men as he would have reformed the 
 whole Church of Rome. 
 
 As time went on, the Roman Church in France 
 came in conflict with a dreadful enemy ; not only 
 hers, but the foe of Christianity itself. There grew 
 up to most frightful proportions a form of infidelity 
 which denied all revelation, and refused to believe 
 there was a God. The leader of this band of unbe- 
 lievers was Voltaire, but he was assisted in the work 
 of overturning the faith by many others, among 
 whom were D'Alembert and Diderot, and the 
 authors of the Encyclopedia. Publications of the 
 most impious character were issued, and infidelity 
 was openly taught. All the wit and learning of the 
 day seemed to be arrayed on the side of unbelief. 
 Rosseau, Buffon, and many others, engaged in 
 scientific and literary pursuits, joined hands in seek- 
 ing to overthrow the Church. Finally the horrid 
 principles which they so vigorously spread had 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. Iiy 
 
 their issue in that awful reign of terror known asr 
 the French Revolution. Then it was that blood 
 ran as water, and the very foundations of society 
 were upheaved. Plunder, desolation, massacre 
 and famine followed in rapid succession, and 
 Fiance reaped the whirlwind which her infidel 
 philosophers had sown. The monasteries were sup- 
 pressed, the clergy were either put to death or 
 driven away, and the very names of religion and of 
 religious things were discarded. 
 
 It was inaugurated as a reign of reason, but men 
 soon saw that it meant sorrow and death. Never 
 was there a period of such awful wickedness and 
 violence as during the years of this carnival of crime, 
 when the restraints of religion were thrown off, and 
 men became more like fiends than men. It was a 
 sad day for the Church, and although there came a 
 reaction, yet never has France recovered from the 
 fearful effects of that terrible revolution. Doubt- 
 less a pure Church would have prevented or 
 allayed the outbreak, but the Church in France 
 was not pure, and her superstitions were punished 
 with fearful retribution. 
 
 It would be a lorg story to trace out fully the 
 history of Romanism in modern days, to tell of the 
 introduction of new errors, to recount how, step by 
 step, the temporal power of the papacy has been 
 waning, and how desperate have been the efforts 
 to regain its supremacy orer the affairs of men and 
 
Il8 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 nations ; and to describe its futile efforts to check 
 advancing light and civilization. 
 
 We behold it, to-day, a corrupt Church, sadly 
 departed from the simplicity of primitive Christian- 
 ity, holding on tenaciously to old superstitions, 
 and yet containing within itself the outline of 
 the faith once delivered to the saints. But the 
 period of its reformation may be near at hand. 
 God hasten it ! 
 
 The Eastern Church. — After the formal sepa- 
 ration into Eastern and Western branches, there was 
 very little intercourse between the two parts, and 
 then the Reformation and its exciting events con- 
 centrated the attention of Western Christians mainly 
 upon their own affairs. The Eastern division con- 
 tinued almost unknown to us as to its internal his- 
 tory, until within comparatively late years, when the 
 movements looking forward to a re-union of the 
 Churches have led to a closer examination of its 
 history. It exists in Russia, Palestine, Greece, 
 Austria, and other places, and numbers over 
 seventy-five millions of members. 
 
 It has retained the ancient form of Church gov- 
 ernment, and has been preserved from some of the 
 gross errors which have marred other branches, re- 
 maining in its faith and practice substantially as it 
 was in the early ages. 
 
 The popular notions concerning the Eastern 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 19 
 
 Church attribute to it many superstitious views and 
 observances ; but as recent inquiries bring to us 
 more and more information, it is found to be much 
 more free from all such additions than the Roman 
 Church. Being an oriental Church, of course its 
 modes of expression are much more glowing and 
 striking than are usual in the Churches of the West ; 
 and embracing within its fold a very large proportion 
 of uneducated persons, there are superstitious views 
 and practices maintained by some which are not 
 authorized by the authority of the Church itself. 
 Her highest authority has declared the faith of the 
 Eastern Church to be "that which the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, the Apostolic tradition, and the Ecumenical 
 Councils of the undivided Church have defined for 
 us." 
 
 Important movements are now progressing on the 
 part of the Anglican and American Churches to 
 secure more thorough information respecting the 
 principles of the Eastern Church, with the view of 
 bringing about, if possible, some re-union. The 
 movements to this end are watched with great 
 interest, because of their bringing to light the actual 
 condition and the internal affairs of a great branch 
 of the Church of Christ, which has for so many 
 years been, as it were, locked up from the gaze of 
 Western Christians. 
 
 The Church of England. — It took man/ 
 
120 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION" 
 
 years to establish firmly the reformed Church 
 of England in that country ; for no sooner had it 
 been reformed, than a new set of foes arose, who 
 became known as Puritans. They were the ob- 
 jectors to many of the points of the ancient faith 
 which the wisdom and piety of the English reformers 
 led them to retain. 
 
 The Puritan sympathies were rather with the 
 views of the Lutherans and other continental re- 
 formers than with those of the Churchmen, and for 
 years they ceased not to cavil, and to disturb the 
 peace of the Church. 
 
 By degrees many of them separated from her 
 communion, and calling themselves by different 
 names, 'professed to maintain the truth in greater 
 purity. Their opportunity to overthrow the Church 
 seemed to come with their rebellion against Charles 
 the First. Hatred to bishops, liturgies, the sign 
 of the cross, etc. , culminated then, and for awhile 
 they had full sway ; but when Cromwell died, the 
 Church was re-established, and has been the 
 national Church ever since. 
 
 The English people throughout the world are 
 indebted, perhaps more than many of them realize, 
 to the Church of England, both for the preservation 
 of a pure faith in the world, and for the results of 
 magnificent learning and courage which have carried 
 blessings to all parts of the earth. 
 
 Becoming a great commercial nation, England 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 121 
 
 has also had opportunity to become a great mis' 
 sionary nation, and has been the agent for carrying 
 the Gospel to the four quarters of the globe. India, 
 Africa, America, Australia and the islands of the 
 seas have become the scene of her missionary 
 enterprises. Her missionary bishops and clergy 
 have rivalled the heroism of the primitive heralds 
 of the faith, and millions of the heathen have had 
 opportunity to know of Christ and His salvation 
 through the zeal of this Church. Her history at 
 home has ever been an eventful one, and has had 
 its periods of agitation. 
 
 A strange coldness seemed to benumb hei 
 members in the period about the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century. Her grand services were render- 
 ed in a perfunctory manner, and the glow of enthusi- 
 asm was exchanged for mere formalism. Of course 
 there were exceptions. Not all, and it may be not 
 a large proportion were under the spell of indiffer- 
 ence, but it was sad indeed that a Church with 
 such a noble history, going back to apostolic days, 
 should ever lose her power and should slumber. 
 
 Some young students at Oxford, desiring to culti- 
 vate among themselves a more earnest piety than they 
 found prevailing, met together frequently to encour- 
 age each other in fervor of devotion and in holiness 
 of life. The result was a great awakening, led 
 by the Wesleys and others. These men never 
 intended and never labored to promote any separa- 
 
122 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 tion from the established Church. The object of 
 3.11 their efforts was to infuse new warmth and 
 earnestness, and to reach the great masses of the 
 people v;ho were ignorant of the Gospel. It is to 
 be ever lamented that their work was needed, and 
 that their followers have cut loose from the Church 
 to which these men were so strongly attached. 
 The movement inaugurated by the Wesleys would 
 hardly have taken place, had the Church been as 
 warmly in earnest as she is to-day. The date of 
 the rise of Methodism is 1739. 
 
 Another movement, also beginning at Oxford, 
 about 1833, and having at once, and through all 
 the years since, a great influence upon the English 
 Church, is known as the Tractarian movement. 
 Certain professors at Oxford, among them Drs. 
 Pusey and Newman, and others well known through- 
 out England, united in publishing a number of 
 tracts upon topics connected with the faith and 
 practice of the Church. Their object, they declared, 
 was to show that the Church of England was op- 
 posed equally to the views of the Papacy and to 
 those of the ultra-Protestants. They labored partic- 
 ularly to interpret the thirty-nine Articles in such 
 a way that they would lose their distinctively Pro- 
 testant character, and, as was said, be more in 
 accordance with the spirit of the primitive ages. 
 
 These tracts excited great commotion, and led 
 to controversies and trials. Many of the Bishops 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 123 
 
 and other clergy condemned them as favoring 
 Romanism, and the leaders of the Tractarian 
 movement were expelled from their positions in 
 the University. In the midst of the excitement, 
 Dr. Newman and some others, clerical and 
 lay, left the Church of England and entered the 
 Church of Rome. It was a time of great sadness, 
 and almost of terror. But with the passage of 
 years there has come the calmness necessary to 
 examine the views of both sides in the controversv, 
 and the result has been not the unsettling of the 
 English Church from her position as protesting 
 against all superstitions and errors, but a more 
 careful attention to the principles which connect 
 her with the apostolic ages. A controversy, which 
 at one time was so bitter and so alarming, has led 
 to the increase of zeal and devotion, and to the 
 strengthening of the position of the Church of Eng- 
 land as a pure branch of the Church of Christ. 
 
 Partly growing up from the Tractarian move- 
 ment, and partly starting forth as a new thing, 
 is what is popularly called the Ritualistic move- 
 ment of to-day. It is difficult to define it in 
 few words, for it relates both to modes of 
 worship and to points of belief, and it is some- 
 times difficult to separate what is objectionable 
 from what is allowable. There has been a growing 
 desire on the part of very many to improve the 
 character of the services of the Church, and to lend 
 
124 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 impressiveness and beauty to them by the intro> 
 duction of more music, and by the greater adorn- 
 ment of the places where services are held. But 
 with all this there has been the gradual introduc- 
 tion, by some, of practices which are either not 
 recognized as part of the usa^e of the Church, or 
 else have been long since abandoned in the Refor- 
 mation movement. 
 
 While the object of some has been simply to 
 enrich public worship, to reach the poor, to inspire 
 greater fervor, the object of others has been to sym- 
 bolize doctrinal views which have not been set 
 forth in the standards of the Church, but which,* 
 they claim, have been held as allowable opinions 
 by many. 
 
 The central point around which there is most 
 controversy is known as the doctrine of Eucharistic 
 Adoration, or the worship of Christ present in the 
 Holy Communion. How is He present ? has been 
 the question discussed, and while all agree that to 
 the soul of the faithful communicant there is a 
 spiritual presence of the Lord particularly gracious, 
 some contend that there is a presence locally 
 upon the altar and in the elements. Others state 
 it less definitely as a presence in the sacrament. 
 The controversy has led those engaged in it to draw 
 very delicate lines of distinction, and to make defi- 
 nitions which are not readily grasped bv the popular 
 mind. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 12 5 
 
 Along with the discussion of Ritualism has been 
 another controversy of a different character, namely, 
 the question of Rationalism. Briefly stated, Ration- 
 alism is an effort of human reason to eliminate all 
 mysteries from Christianity, and its aim is. to receive 
 nothing which it cannot explain. Of course it 
 varies in degree, and in kind. It had its origin in 
 Germany, and made its public appearance in 
 essays, and sketches of the Life of Christ, in which 
 His proper Divinity and His Divine Work were 
 discredited. The pernicious views spread elsewhere, 
 and sometimes it seemed that no part of God's re- 
 velation to man would escape the attacks of infidel- 
 ity, for infidelity it really was, although many dis- 
 claim the name of unbelievers. 
 
 These attacks have made it necessary to go all 
 over again the defences of the inspiration of the 
 Scriptures, the. Divinity of Christ, the credibility of 
 miracles, man's need of supernatural grace, and 
 the immortality of man. 
 
 Rationalism, of course, has had its various 
 phases, sometimes attacking single points of the 
 faith, and then again attacking every principle of 
 Christianity, and stigmatizing our most cherished 
 beliefs as but phases of superstition. It has been 
 closely allied with Materialism, an outgrowth partly 
 of unbalanced scientific research, which in the study 
 of nature has too often forgotten the God of nature. 
 While there is really no conflict between true science 
 
126 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 and revelation, properly understood, many crude 
 theories are hastily adopted, and to untrained 
 minds there has seemed to be reason for doubting 
 the truths of Christianity. The leaven of unbelief 
 has steadily penetrated large classes, and it has 
 called forth the mighty energies of the Church to 
 counteract the mischievous efforts of perverted sci- 
 entific progress, to show that the God of revelation 
 and the God of Nature are one ; that the Bible and 
 the Book of Nature are from the same Author, and 
 hence there must be agreement, even though in 
 all cases our present light does not enable us to 
 point it out fully. 
 
 While, however, no part of the ancient faith has 
 been surrendered through the assaults of the Ration- 
 alists and the Materialists, advancing scholarship 
 and scientific research have modified, in some re- 
 spects, many notions which have been held as to the 
 teachings of revelation, — notably among these the 
 periods of creation and the age of the earth. 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to add that these contro- 
 versies, which have agitated the English Church, 
 have also agitated the American Church, and have 
 called forth the same or similar earnestness. 
 
 The Episcopal Church in America. — The 
 Church of England was first established on the 
 American shores in 1609, at Jamestown, in Vir- 
 ginia. The colonists obtained grants of land for 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 27 
 
 building up new settlements, and one of their 
 avowed objects was the extension of the Christian 
 faith among the Indians. In the New England 
 colonies the planting of the Church of England was 
 attended with many difficulties, owing to the un- 
 friendly aspect of the Puritans., who were in the 
 ascendancy there. In the southern colonies much 
 greater success attended its establishment. 
 
 A very serious difficulty which the colonists had 
 to contend against was the lack of the Episco- 
 pate. Many requests were made to the mother 
 Church to have Bishops sent here, but they were 
 not complied with for a long while. Candidates for 
 holy orders, and for confirmation, were compelled 
 to make the voyage to England, which was attend- 
 ed with great inconvenience and expense. 
 
 When the revolution ended, decided measures 
 were taken to adapt the Church here to the changed 
 condition of political affairs, and to set it up as an 
 independent organization. 
 
 The first Bishop was Samuel Seabury of Connec- 
 ticut, consecrated by the Scotch Bishops in Aber- 
 deen, a. d. 1784. 
 
 Subsequently, William White, and Samuel Pro- 
 voost were consecrated in Lambeth, England, foi 
 the dioceses of Pennsylvania and New York. 
 
 The Prayer Book, as now used here, was set 
 forth in a. d. 1789. The American branch of the 
 Church has gone on increasing steadily in numbers 
 
128 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 and importance until now, a. d. 1876, it has 60 
 Bishops and about 3,290 other clergymen. 
 
 The history of the Episcopal Church in this 
 country divides itself into three periods, which are 
 very clearly marked. 
 
 First, Its colonial period, when it was a part of 
 the Church of England, and fostered by her care. 
 This period ran from 1609 to 1789. 
 
 Second, Its period of recovery from the disinte- 
 gration occasioned by the revolution, lasting from 
 1789 to about 1820. Being a part of the English 
 Church, bearing her name, and her clergy being by 
 their oaths bound to the throne of Great Britain, 
 it seemed at one time as if the revolt of the colo- 
 nies from the rule of the mother country would 
 utterly annihilate this Church. Many of her par- 
 ishes were without services, and the most bitter 
 hatred was manifested towards an organization 
 which was thought to be utterly incompatible with 
 a republican government ; but perhaps to none 
 more than to her members, is the credit due, both 
 for the successful carrying on of the revolution, and 
 for the establishment of a government such as 
 this land now rejoices in. 
 
 The taking command of the American forces by 
 Washington, a devout Churchman, gave at once 
 a national character to a movement which might 
 otherwise have been a mere sectional struggle against 
 English rule. And it is a singular fact, but show- 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 29 
 
 ing the influence_of Churchmen in the moulding 
 of the civil government, that the outline of that 
 government and the outline of that they provided 
 for their Church, are alike in all essential points. 
 
 But it took years for the Church to recuperate. 
 Her valuable lands in some sections were forfeited, 
 and there was but the most inadequate supply of 
 clergymen to carry out her work. For nearly forty 
 years she was weak, although gradually her strength 
 was given her. 
 
 Third. The third period came with the infusion 
 of a zeal for missions. At first, but little was 
 attempted. There was, however, the stir of re- 
 newed life, and the waking up to greater zeal. 
 Finally, in 182 1, the Missionary Society was formed, 
 and from the date of its formation God's blessing 
 has been more and more richly given this branch 
 of His Church. 
 
 Missions to the West, and South, to the Pacific 
 coast, to Africa, China and Japan, and to the Indians, 
 have been projected, and to-day a great multitude 
 has been gathered into the fold of Christ. Among 
 the names of the pioneers of the American Church 
 are those of Bishops Chase and Kemper, who 
 went to the West, and that of Bishop Scott, who 
 went to the extreme North-western section of our 
 country. They were pioneers indeed, holding 
 their services and preaching the Gospel in the log 
 cabins of the settlers before some of the great cities 
 
130 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 which now have their hundreds of thousands of 
 people, were more than villages, if indeed they 
 existed in any shape at all. Among the laborers 
 in the foreign field were Bishops Payne and Boone, 
 the former spending over twenty years in Africa, 
 and the latter a shorter, but none the less useful 
 period in China. Both of them were men of 
 singular devotion, and their works do follow them. 
 The pages of the history of the American 
 Church contain many a bright record made by 
 the noble deeds of her children. We are stand- 
 ing too near what they did to appreciate their 
 struggles, but the day will come when the names 
 of faithful Bishops, zealous clergymen, and 
 saintly men will shine out with clearness, and we 
 will read the story of their lives to feel that they 
 prove apostolic descent by apostolic deeds. 
 
 Of the religious bodies which have sprung up 
 since the Reformation, and which have discarded the 
 primitive form of Church government, the leading 
 ones to-day in this country are the Congregation- 
 alists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Metho- 
 dists, the Unitarians, the Lutherans and the Quakers. 
 There are many others, indeed the list is very large, 
 for one result of the reaction from the former condi- 
 tion of things has been to encourage the formation 
 of independent organizations. 
 
 The Congregationalists, once called Indepen- 
 Q 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 13: 
 
 dents, had their rise in England, about a. l>. 1580. 
 Their leading principle is a government of each 
 separate congregation by the voice of its own 
 members, Each has no necessary connection 
 with other congregations, and recognizes no or- 
 ganic union as needed. The form of faith, 
 modes of worship, and style of government are 
 regulated by the congregation. 
 
 The popular names by which they were known 
 here are Pilgrims, and Puritans. To-day, however, 
 in most parts of the country they are called Con- 
 gregationalists, and have greatly changed from the 
 views of their ancestors. 
 
 The Presbyterians trace their origin to John 
 Calvin, a. d. 1520, and hold the system of doc- 
 trines promulged by him, and popularly known 
 as Calvinism. There was not a clear distinction 
 between this body and the Congregationalists in 
 England, or in this country in early times, 
 although, in later days, the distinction has been 
 made more marked. 
 
 The views of the Presbyterians include very posi- 
 tive declarations respecting the utter depravity of 
 man, and the election of those who shall be saved. 
 They refuse to accept Episcopacy as the primitive 
 form of Church order. 
 
 The Methodists have a doctrinal system very 
 different from the Presbyterians, and follow, in the 
 main, the system of A \rminius, known as Armini- 
 
132 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 anism. They originated in England, a. d. 1739, 
 under the leadership of John Wesley. The origi- 
 nal movement was simply an organization within 
 the Church of England, to promote deeper piety, 
 and to evangelize the world. Contrary to the 
 most urgent appeals of Wesley, his followers sepa- 
 rated from the Church, and formed themselves 
 into a distinct society. 
 
 The Baptists, once called Anabaptists, began in 
 Germany in a. d. 1523. Their views were in- 
 troduced into England a. d. 1608; into this 
 country by Roger Williams, a. d. 1638. 
 
 Their peculiar tenet is a belief in the necessity 
 of baptism by immersion ; their doctrinal system in 
 the main resembles that of the Methodists. 
 
 The Lutherans were the followers of Martin 
 Luther in the Reformation. Their adherents now 
 are mostly of German origin. The doctrinal 
 system of the body varies very greatly. 
 
 The Unitarians. — The old names for those who 
 held Unitarian ism were Arians and Socinians ; the 
 particular point being a denial of the true divinity 
 of the Saviour. Much of Unitarianism in this 
 country is a rebound from the stern Calvinistic 
 or Puritan views once held. 
 
 The Quakers began in England, a. d. 164 4-. 
 They were originally called "The Society of 
 Friends," and so style themselves now. Their 
 principal tenets are the disuse of the sacraments, 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 33 
 
 and a belief in an inner illumination by the Spirit, 
 which they claim supercedes the employment of 
 external aids. 
 
 There are many other religious societies besides 
 those above descrihed, and they abound largely in 
 this country. 
 
 The position of this country is peculiar. My- 
 riads from all portions of the old world having" 
 flocked here, bringing with them their peculiar re- 
 ligious beliefs, and encouragement having been 
 given to the holding of opinions freely, we behold a 
 country in which nearly every form of faith is held, 
 from the most orthodox beliefs down to those which 
 can in any sense barely be called Christian. We 
 behold, also, great zeal in propagating opinions, 
 and even the smallest societies are active in adding to 
 their adherents, and building up their strength. It 
 would be difficult to form any estimate of the 
 amount of money expended year by year in main- 
 taining religious worship and in sustaining these 
 different forms of Christianity. It would be infi- 
 nitely more difficult, too, to forecast the happy re- 
 sults which would flow to this land if there were, 
 instead of these disunited efforts, a union of all 
 those who bear the name of Christ, and a concen- 
 tration of their zeal and their efforts against irre« 
 ligion and vice. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE CHRISTIAN WORLD AS IT IS TO-DAY. 
 
 DIVISION — POINTS OF AGREEMENT — POSITION OF THE 
 
 EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 Our studies in Church History, thus far, have 
 prepared us to look over the world, and to see 
 the followers of Christ divided into many divisions, 
 and calling themselves by various names. It 
 would be a much more agreeable survey if we 
 could behold a solid, united Church, steadily 
 progressing, and preparing the way for the coming 
 of the Lord. But we must not forget that we are 
 living only in one stage of the Church's history. 
 There may be brighter chapters by and bye. 
 Already, indeed, the yearning for unity has taken 
 strong hold of Christians of every name. It may 
 please God, in times which are to come, to bring 
 the dismembered fragments of Christendom into 
 greater harmony, to the glory of His holy name. > 
 
 There are some considerations which will tend 
 to make this subdivision of the followers of Christ 
 appear less startling. 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. 135 
 
 We must remember that the names of the parts 
 of the Church in the primitive ages did not indicate 
 real divisions of the Church, but were simply in- 
 tended to designate the parts of the same body 
 existing in different localities. Thus the Church 
 at Laodicea was a portion of the same organization 
 as the Church at Ephesus, and the Church at 
 Ephesus was the same as the Church at Corinth. 
 In course of time these local names became 
 more numerous, as Christianity spread to other 
 places. Thus we hear of the Gallican Church 
 existing in Gaul, or ancient France ; the Bntish 
 Church in England and Wales, and the African 
 
 Church in Africa. 
 
 These were not all disconnected bodies but 
 were the local subdivisions of the same body 
 Upon great occasions they met together m General 
 Councils, and there were interchanges of fellow- 
 ship. At the present day, in some countries there 
 are national Churches, protected by the aws of 
 the land., and supported in part or entirely from 
 the public funds. Thus, in Russia the Greek 
 Church is the religion of the land. In England 
 the Anglican Church holds the same position. 
 
 Mere local names, then, or the adoption of a 
 branch of the Church by a particular nation, 
 do not of themselves indicate any real severance 
 of the Body of Christ. 
 
 t . The fust formal division of the Church was 
 
I36 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 made about a. d. 1054, when there came to be 
 an Eastern and a Western portion. The causes 
 of this division were various, but prominent 
 among them were the controversy respecting the 
 time of keeping Easter, and the insertion of an 
 article in the Nicene Creed by the Western 
 portion. The Eastern Church comprised that 
 part of the Christian body, existing mainly in 
 Asia; and the Western, that in Europe. These 
 parts are sometimes spoken of as the Greek 
 Church and the Latin Church. 
 
 3. The next division was made at the time of 
 the Reformation, in the sixteenth century, when 
 the Western Church was divided in Great Britain, 
 that part which clung to the primitive faith be- 
 coming the Church of England, and the part 
 which had grown corrupt by the addition of false 
 doctrines and practices becoming known as the 
 Roman Church. At the same time-, in Europe, 
 that is at the time of the Reformation, a great 
 number left the ranks of the Church of Rome, and 
 became known by different names. In Germany, 
 Lutherans. In France, Calvinists. In Switzer- 
 land, Hussites. 
 
 Most of the other separations from the Church, 
 now bearing different titles, had their origin subse- 
 quent to the Reformation. 
 
 4. The last great division has taken place in our 
 day. The Roman Church, having added many 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 37 
 
 ioctrines, which are not taught in the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures, and which were unknown in the purest ages 
 of the Church, has at last been the means of occa- 
 sioning another division. Those who are seeking 
 to restore the Church of Rome to what she was in 
 purer days, call themselves Old Catholics, and 
 claim that they are the true representatives of that 
 Church before it became corrupt by the addition 
 of errors. 
 
 Wherein the Divisions agree. — It would be 
 fearful, indeed, if all of these divisions exhibited 
 opposite views of Christianity ; and if we could not 
 discover any points of agreement between the vari- 
 ous fragments of Christendom. A little examina- 
 tion, however, will show that there is much which 
 is held in common by most of these bodies. 
 
 First, The Greek, the Roman, the Anglican, the 
 Episcopal and Old Catholic Churches adopt and 
 approve equally the Apostles' Creed. The Nicene 
 Creed, with the exception of two words, is retained 
 by all, so that the outline of the Christian faith, 
 as expressed in these symbols, adopted in the earli- 
 est centuries of the Church, is still maintained. 
 
 These bodies, also, agree in the form of Church 
 government, by a ministry of three orders, and in 
 ihe use of liturgical worship. 
 
 Second, Some of the Protestant bodies, in this 
 and other lands, are in substantial agreement with 
 
I38 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 those above named in holding the Apostles' Creed, 
 but reject the primitive form of government of the 
 Church, by a ministry of three orders : and also 
 reject liturgical worship, the rite of confirmation, 
 etc. 
 
 Thirds The difference between the great divisions 
 of the Church in which the primitive doctrines, 
 usages, and discipline have been retained, consists 
 mainly in the additions which have been made in 
 later ages. 
 
 Regarding, as we must, the Anglican and Amer- 
 ican branches of the Church as conforming more 
 closely than any others to the Church of apostolic 
 times, we find, upon comparing the Greek Church 
 with them, that it differs from them in ritual, and 
 in some views of doctrine. It is found, however, 
 that as the principles of the Greek Church are 
 understood, they are much purer, more correct, 
 and with less additions and distortions of the primi- 
 tive faith than is the case in the Roman Church, 
 which has introduced such errors as the worship of 
 the Virgin ; the invocation of the saints ; Purgatory, 
 the immaculate conception, Papal infallibility, etc. 
 
 The Old Catholic movement of the present day 
 is one of the greatest importance, for its aim is to 
 do away with whatever has been added to the prim- 
 itive faith by the superstition o( later ages. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 39 
 
 The Position of the Episcopal Church. — One 
 good result of the study of Church history is to 
 enable us to see what reasons we have for thinking 
 so highly as we do of that branch of the Church of 
 Christ, known here as the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 First, It has a history which reaches back to the 
 very first permanent English settlement made in 
 this country, and then back through the Church 
 in England to the days when Apostles or Apostolic 
 men came to Britain with the message of salvation. 
 
 Second, It retains a mode of government which 
 is the same as that which existed in the very 
 first ages of the Christian Church. 
 
 Third, It has a liturgy which preserves among us 
 the precious truths relating to Christ and His sal- 
 vation ; and which tends to cultivate fervent, prac- 
 tical piety. 
 
 Fourth, It seems to have in it those elements 
 which may prove to be connecting bonds to unite 
 together in a loving, living union those who 
 love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 At this day this branch of the Church is greatly 
 outnumbered by many bodies of Christians, and 
 these surrounding religious bodies are in our day 
 so active and so numerous, that as we look upon 
 them there arises admiration of the zeal with which 
 they carry religion to mankind, and make known 
 the blessed Christ as the Saviour of sinners. 
 
I40 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 At the present time they so greatly outnumber 
 the Episcopal Church of this country, that it appears 
 as a very small body by the side of them. Their 
 numerical greatness and success lead some to think 
 less highly of the distinctive features of this 
 Church, and to question whether there can be 
 defects in those zealous bodies which are doing so 
 much good and increasing so fast, and whether 
 any system really is superior to theirs. 
 
 The piety and sincerity of their members are too 
 distinctly marked to allow us to doubt that they seek 
 to render themselves approved unto God. And then, 
 too, we must remember, that the generation which 
 we see so active did not originate the societies of 
 which they are members. As Christian men, they are 
 doing the work of Christ as they found the oppor- 
 tunity before them. It is a notable fact, however, 
 that as intelligence advances, and many of them 
 read and study, and reflect upon the history of the 
 eighteen centuries past, they are convinced that this 
 Church is in accordance with the primitive Church, 
 and they seek membership in it. 
 
 While we have nothing to do with determining 
 the responsibility of those who are separated by 
 outward arrangements from the Church which has 
 descended to us from the apostles' days, we have 
 reason to be thankful that our lot has been cast in 
 it ; for it is the divinely commissioned witness 
 and keeper "of the faith once delivered to the 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. , 141 
 
 saints." It was not begotten at the time of tho 
 Reformation, but was founded by those whom 
 Christ sent into the world as His apostles ; and 
 founded, too, as we think, after the pattern re- 
 ceived from Him. Our duty, as its members, is 
 to transmit the faith to others as we have received 
 it. Nor dare we change it in one essential feature. 
 We are to regard ourselves as custodians from 
 whom future generations are to receive it in its 
 purity and entirety. We are to hand it down to 
 others without corruption or mutilation. We are 
 not to be troubled by reason of the comparative 
 smallness of our numbers now, for the time must 
 come when there will be a return to the old ways, 
 and a desire on the part of all Christians to know 
 the old landmarks. Let us ever offer with great 
 fervency the supplication : "We pray for Thy holy 
 Church universal ; that it may be so guided and 
 governed by Thy Good Spirit, that all who profess 
 and call themselves 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." 
 
ON THE STUDY OF CHURCH HISTORr 
 
 BY CLASSES. 
 
 There is no reason why the more advanced 
 pupils in our Church Schools and Sunday-Schools, 
 shouldjiot take up the study of the history of th& 
 Church. This book may be helpful to such 
 as a text book — the outline lessons appended being 
 followed. For younger pupils it will be neces- 
 sary to assign a chapter or part of a chapter, 
 and then question them upon the portion studied', 
 the instructor adding the additional facts and 
 explanations needed. 
 
 Older scholars, who are competent to prepare 
 essays, could follow closely the outline lessons, 
 consulting standard works and reading the essays 
 in turn in class. 
 
 In nearly every parish the Rector could form a 
 class of adults to whom this study would be most 
 interesting and valuable. 
 
 The portions marked under some of the lessons 
 would be too long for one evening's recitation, 
 with the accompanying essays. The instructoi 
 must regulate the length to suit the time. Where 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 143 
 
 essays are not prepared, it would answer the pur- 
 pose to appoint some one to read aloud upon the 
 points indicated, and then spend the time in con- 
 versation upon the topics thus brought up. 
 
 It will not he difficult, however, to find members 
 of the class who will prepare and read essays, and 
 that is the best plan. The writing of essays, the 
 reading of quotations, and general conversation 
 upon the topics, would probably be combined at 
 each meeting. 
 
LESSON OUTLINES FOR CLASSES. 
 
 I. 
 
 1. Is there any connection between the Church of Christ 
 
 and previous dispensations ? 
 
 2. Sketch the history of the Jewish Church. [Bible.] 
 
 3. Give an account of Abraham. [Bible.] 
 
 4. What promises were made to our first parents ? [Bible.] 
 
 5. Trace out through the Old Testament some of the pre- 
 
 dictions relating to the coming of the Messiah. 
 
 II. 
 
 1. Give some account of the political condition of the world 
 
 when Christ was born. 
 
 2. Give some account of the social condition of the world 
 
 when Christ was born. 
 
 3. Give some account of the religious condition of the world 
 
 when Christ was born. 
 
 4. Show how these particulars indicated that the time was 
 
 ripe for His coming. 
 
 III. 
 
 1. Where do we find an outline of the earthly life of Christ ? 
 
 2. Give an account of His birth, and life, up to the time of 
 
 His baptism. 
 
 3. Make a sketch of His life to the time of the Last 
 
 Supper. 
 
CHURCH HISTORY. 14 5 
 
 4. Describe the events of the Crucifixion, Resurrection and 
 
 Ascension. 
 
 5. Show from the Gospel narratives the proof of His Divin- 
 
 ity. 
 
 IV. 
 
 1. What is meant by the kingdom of God ? 
 
 2. What features of the Church do we find explicitly in- 
 
 stituted by Christ ? 
 
 3. What others may we infer that He instituted ? 
 
 4. What were the features of the Church which became 
 
 evident wherever it was planted. 
 
 5. From the Acts and the Epistles repeat the argument for 
 
 Confirmation — for Liturgical worship — for a ministry 
 of three orders. 
 
 V. 
 
 1. Describe the events of the day of Pentecost ? [Acts.] 
 
 2. Give a summary of the events in Jerusalem up to the 
 
 time of the holding of the first Council. [Acts.] 
 
 3. Sketch the life and travels of St. Paul. 
 
 4. Sketch the lives of the Apostles. 
 
 VI. 
 
 1. Give an account of the first Deacons. 
 
 2. Name and give an account of others who helped establish 
 
 the Church. 
 
 3. Describe the seven Churches of Asia named in the Reve- 
 
 lation. 
 
 4. Give an account of the extension of the Gospel in the 
 
 first century. 
 
 5. Describe the siege and capture of Jerusalem. 
 
 VII. 
 
 1. Why were the Christians persecuted by the Jews? 
 
 2. Give an account of the Jewish persecutions. 
 
I46 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 
 3. Why did the Romans persecute the Christians ? 
 
 4. Describe the persecutions by the Romans. 
 
 5. Sketch the lives of Nero, Domitian, and other persecuting 
 
 Emperors. 
 
 6. Name some of the results of the persecutions. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 1. Who are called the Ante-Nicene Fathers ? 
 
 2. Make sketches of the lives of Ignatius, Justin Martyr, 
 
 Polycarp, Irenseus, Tertullian, Origen and Cyprian. 
 
 IX. 
 
 1. Give an account of the career of Constantine. 
 
 2. What were the results, to the Church, of his accession ? 
 
 3. Describe the city of Constantinople, as he founded it. 
 
 X. 
 
 1. Give an account of each of the six general Councils. 
 
 2. Explain the object for which each met. 
 
 3. State the doctrinal points each settled. 
 
 XI. 
 
 1. Make a sketch of the career of Julian the Apostate. 
 
 2. Give an account of the irruption of the barbarians. 
 
 3. Sketch the rise and progress of Mohammedanism. 
 
 XII. 
 
 1. Give an account of Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine, 
 
 Cyril, Leo, Jerome and Anthony. 
 
 2. Sketch the career of other great Christians of that pe- 
 
 riod. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 1. Describe the condition of Europe after the pe^riod of the 
 
 Sixth Council. 
 
 2. Sketch the progress of the Saracen power. 
 
 10 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. I47 
 
 3. Describe the rise of the Papacy. 
 
 4. The origin of the Monastic orders. 
 
 5. Explain the Feudal system. 
 
 6. What led to the division of the Church ? 
 
 XIV. 
 
 1. Describe the origin and progress of the Crusades. 
 
 2. Who became prominent during the Crusades ? 
 
 3. What errors were introduced into the Roman Church ? 
 
 4. Explain the changes made by new inventions and dis. 
 
 coveries. 
 
 5. Recount the changes made by the fall of Feudalism. 
 
 XV. 
 
 1. What were the causes of the Reformation ? 
 
 2. Give an account of the career of Wicliffe. 
 
 3. Sketch the life of Luther. 
 
 4. Give the history of the English Reformation. 
 
 5. Explain the difference between the Reformation in Eng- 
 
 land and that on the Continent. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 1. Give an account of the Council of Trent. 
 
 2. Sketch the history of the Jesuits. 
 
 3. Give a history of the Eastern Church. 
 
 4. Give an account of the Puritans. 
 
 5. Continue the history of the English Church. 
 
 6. Explain the origin of the Protestant societies. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 1. Give an outline of the condition of the Christian world 
 
 as it is to-day. 
 
 2. What are the points of agreement and of difference 
 
 between the divisions of Christendom. 
 
 3. Give the history of the Episcopal Church in this country, 
 
 and compare her position with that of other Christian 
 bodies. 
 
BOOKS OF REFERENCE. 
 
 The books are grouped according to the out- 
 line of the lessons. 
 
 The student must not be surprised to find 
 varying views expressed in the books here named. 
 In placing the title of a book on this list, the writer 
 does not thereby express any opinion as to an 
 author's views. It is part of the student's discipline 
 to search for the truth, and to compare authorities. 
 Whenever he finds views advanced which aie not 
 in accordance with the principles of the Church, it 
 will be safest to confer with his rector. 
 
 The list given is not exhaustive, nor perhaps 
 the best in all cases. It comprises such as are 
 most easily accessible, and can readily be enlarged 
 by the instructor of the class. 
 
BOOKS OF REFERENCE. 
 
 The looks refer to the topics marked in the Lesson 
 
 OUTLINC". 
 
 I. 
 
 The Chosen People. 
 
 Miss Yonge. 
 
 The Jewish Church. 
 
 Stanley. 
 
 History of the Jews. 
 
 Milman. 
 
 Christology of the Old Testament. 
 
 Hengstenbarg. 
 
 The Prophecies. 
 
 Newton. 
 
 II. 
 
 
 Eighteen Christian Centuries. 
 
 White. 
 
 History of the Christian Church. 
 
 S chaff. 
 
 Christ in History. 
 
 Young. 
 
 Introduction to the History of the Churcr 
 
 l. Jarvis. 
 
 History of Christianity. 
 
 Milman. 
 
 Christ and other Masters. 
 
 Hardzvick. 
 
 Seekers after Truth. 
 
 Sunday Library, 
 
 III. 
 
 
 The Life of Christ. 
 
 Farrar. 
 
 The Life of Christ. 
 
 Ellicott. 
 
 Devotional Commentary on the Gospel. 
 
 Williams. 
 
 Narrative. 
 
 
 The Religion of the Christ. 
 
 Leathes. 
 
 Our Lord's Divinitv. 
 
 Liddon* 
 
ISO 
 
 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION 
 IV. 
 
 The Holy Catholic Church. Goulburtu 
 
 The Administration of the Spirit. Moberly. 
 
 Church Doctrine — Bible Truth. Sadler. 
 
 The Sayings of the Great Forty Days. Moberly. 
 
 Defence of Episcopacy. Onderdonk. 
 
 V. 
 
 History of the Early Church. 
 Life and Travels of St. Paul. 
 Lives of the Apostles. 
 Ecclesiastical History. 
 
 Seiuell. 
 Cony bear c (2r» How sot 
 Cave. 
 Ensebius. 
 
 The Planting of the Christian Church. Neander. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Acts of the Deacons. 
 
 Church History. 
 
 Church History. 
 
 Also, 
 
 The Seven Churches of Asia. 
 
 The Chosen People. 
 
 Goulburn. 
 Robertson. 
 Milner. 
 Eusebius, jfosephus, Seiuell. 
 Treneh. 
 Yonge. 
 
 VII. 
 
 For secular history consult the standard Histories of Rome. 
 Milner, Robertson, Milman, Seiuell, Eusebius, for History 
 of the Church. 
 
 Book of Martyrs. 
 
 
 Fox. 
 
 Catacombs. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Kip. 
 
 Lives of the Fathers. 
 
 
 Cave. 
 
 Pupils of St. John. 
 
 
 Sezuell. 
 
 The Works of the Fathers. 
 
 Ante-Nicene Library \ 
 
 Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Biography. Hook. 
 
IN CHURCH HISTORY. 
 IX. 
 
 151 
 
 Latin Christianity. 
 For secular history. 
 Eastern Church. 
 
 X. 
 
 Standard Secular histories, and 
 History of Sects and Heresies. 
 The Six General Councils. 
 Church History. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Mil man. 
 
 Standard Hist. Route. 
 
 Stanley. 
 
 Milman and Milner, 
 Blunt. 
 Dix. 
 Kurtz, Afosheim, Butler. 
 
 Muir. 
 
 Stanley. 
 
 Cave. 
 Hook. 
 
 Augustine. 
 
 As above. 
 
 Also, Life of Mahomet. 
 
 Eastern Church, p. 360. 
 
 XII. 
 As in section X. 
 Also, Lives of the Fathers. 
 Dictionary, Ecclesiastical Biography. 
 See separate Lives of Chrysostom, etc. 
 Confessions. 
 Translated Works. Library 0/ the Fathers. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Standard Secular Histories, and Church Histories, as before 
 
 named. 
 
 Eighteen Christian Centuries. 
 Eastern Church. 
 Pope's Supremacy. 
 Monastic Orders. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 As in former section. 
 Also, History of the Crusades. 
 Crusade of the Children. 
 Standard Histories of England. 
 
 White. 
 Stanley. 
 Barrow. 
 Different Authors. 
 
 Different Authors, 
 Gray. 
 
152 
 
 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 
 
 History of Church of England. Short. 
 
 Early English Church. Churton. 
 
 History of England. Berard. 
 
 Church History in England. Martineau. 
 
 XV. 
 
 History of Reformation. MassingK* 
 
 Reformation of Church of England. Blunt. 
 
 Reformers before the Reformation. 
 Lives of Luther, /fuss, Melancthon, etc. 
 Also, Standard Histories. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 
 Standard Histories, as before. 
 
 
 Ecclesiastical Polity. 
 
 Hooker. 
 
 Lives. 
 
 Walton. 
 
 Puritanism. 
 
 Colt. 
 
 History of his own Time. 
 
 Burnett. 
 
 History of Sects and Heresies. 
 
 Blunt. 
 
 Life of Wesley. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 S out hey. 
 
 Catechesis. 
 
 Wordsworth 
 
 Theophilus Americanus. 
 
 (C 
 
 Memoirs of Episcopal Church. 
 
 Bp. White. 
 
 Reprints of Historical Papers. 
 
 Perry. 
 
 Pioneers and Founders. 
 
 Yonge. 
 
 <0S~ Any of these books can be supplied by T. WKITTA 
 cCER, Publisher, 2 Bible House, New York. 
 
931 
 Sh63 
 
 0057102864 
 
 
 do 
 
 AUG 8 1960