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.3. 


r  •..;-,' 


COLL:  CHRISTI  REGIS  s.i. 

BIB.  wiAJGft 
JOBONIO 


THE 


TRIALS  OF  A  MIND 


IS 


PROGRESS  TO  CATHOLICISM: 


LETTER  TO  HIS  OLD  FRIENDS, 

COLL,  CHPJSTl  PEG'S  SJ 
**  Bi6.  MAJOR 

TORONTO 
L.    SILLIMAN    IVES,    LL.  D., 

LATE    BISHOP    OF    THE    PKOTESTAKT    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH    IN    NORTH    CABOLINA. 


"  Extra  Ecclesiam  Catbolicam  totum  potest  prater  salutem.1 

St.  Augustine. 

«  Ubi  PETRUS,  ibi  Ecclesia."  —  St.  Ambrose. 


TWENTY-FIFTH    THOUSAND. 


BOSTON: 
PATRICK     DONAHOE, 

3  FRANKLIN  STREET. 
1854, 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 

PATRICK    DONAHOE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts 


STEREOTYPED    AT    THE 
BOSTON      STEREOTYPE      FOUNDRY, 


TO 

MY    LATE    BRETHREN 

OP  THE 

PROTESTANT  EPISCOPATE  AND  CLERGY, 

TO  THOSE  AMONGST  WHOM    I    SO     LONG  MINISTERED, 

AND 
TO    ALL    "WHO    PRAY  TO  BE    "  LED    INTO    THE    WAY    OF    TRUTH,' 


ARE  HUMBLY  AND  AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED, 
ITS  THE  EARNEST    HOPE  THAT   THEY  MAY  ONE  DAY  FIND 

BOTH  TRUTH  AND  PEACE  IN  THE  BOSOM 
OF  THE 

ONE  CATHOLIC  AND  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH. 


(3) 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

1.  Self-defence  not  the  object  of  the  letter.— 2.  Motives  which  impelled 
to  an  examination  of  Catholic  truth.  — 3.  The  struggle  with  myself  in 
coming  to  the  examination.  —  4.  The  feelings  in  which  it  was  under 
taken.— 5.  What  is  the  essential  prerequisite  to  an  examination  of 
the  question  between  Catholics  and  Protestants  ....  11 

CHAPTER  I. 

CERTAINTY   IN   THE   FAITH   TO   BE    SOUGHT   AND   EXPECTED. 
1.  This  argued  from  the  fact  of  man's  wants  and  of  God's  revelation, 
God's  promise  and  God's  provision.— 2.  Argued  from  the  confidence 
that,  under  the  circumstances,  is  reasonably  expected  from  man  to 
wards  God.  —3.  Ending  with  a  friendly  caution  ....  29 

CHAPTER  II. 

GOD'S   REVELATION   TO   BE   RECEIVED  AND  SUBMITTED 

TO    AVITIIOUT   RESERVE. 

1.  The  case  stated.— 2.  God's  revelation  to  be  received  in  all  its  parts, 
from  the  simple  fact  of  its  having  been  made  by  God.  —  3.  From  the 
teaching  of  God  Himself  in  various  examples  from  His  written  Word  33 

CHAPTER  III. 

IN  WHAT    WAY     GOD    HAS    NOT    SECURED    TO   US   THE 
GUIDANCE    OP   THE    HOLY   GHOST    IN    LEARN 
ING   HIS    WILL. 

1  All  Christians  concur  in  the  belief,  that  God's  Spirit  must  guide  into 
all  truth.  —  2.  In  what  way  has  God  secured  to  us  the  guidance  of  His 
Holy  Spirit?  — 3.  It  must  be  a  way  of  universal  applicability.  — 4.  It 
must  be  a  way  suited  especially  to  the  condition  of  the  poor.  — 5.  It 
must  be  a  way  calculated  to  promote  "  unity  in  the  Faith."  — 6.  In 
all  these  respects  the  way  of  Protestants  fails  37 

1*  «  ' 


6  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM  OP 

HIS  GUIDANCE  IN  ANT  MODIFIED  SENSE. 
1.  High-Churchmen  admit  the  duty  of  all  to  "  hear  the  Church."  — 
2.  They  admit  this  because  instructed  by  the  Fathers.  —  3.  But  the 
unreasonableness  of  admitting  it  in  any  modified  sense. —4.  The  ap 
plication  of  the  precept  "  hear  the  Church,"  to  myself,  as  a  leader, 
and  the  effect  of  discovering  my  inability  to  teach  ...  43 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  AUTHORITY  OP   THE    CHURCH   TO    TEACH   PERPET 
UAL,  AND   WHY. 

I.  The  necessity  of  the  Church's  guidance  as  great  now  as  it  ever  has 
been.  — 2.  No  proof  from  Scripture  or  reason  that  such  guidance  was 
ever  to  cease  to  be  infallible. —  3.  The  infallibility  of  the  Church 
rests  riot  upon  the  wisdom  of  man,  but  the  power  of  God.  — 4.  The 
union  of  Christ  with  His  body  the  Church,  secures  its  infallibility.— 
5.  The  testimony  of  the  primitive  Fathers  in  this  particular  .  60 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   STATE   OF  PROTESTANTISM  NOT  RECONCILABLE 

WITH  THE  PROPHECIES  CONCERNING  THE 

CHURCH'S  LATTER  DAYS. 

1.  The  testimonies  of  the  Fathers.  — 2.  Christ  will  not  disappoint  those 
who  have  trusted  Him 69 

CHAPTER  VII. 

UNITY     OF     THE      CHURCH     SECURITY    AGAINST     SUCH 

DIVISION  AS  EXISTS  AMONG  PROTESTANTS. 
1.  This  clear,  from  the  Scriptural  illustrations  of  unity. — 2.  From  our 
Lord's  prayer  for  unity.  —  3.  From  the  uniform  testimonies  of  the 
Fathers.  —  4.  In  unity  Catholicity  necessarily  embraced. — 5.  This 
proved  from  the  Fathers. — 6.  Application  of  the  argument  to  Prot 
estantism  .  74 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

FALLIBILITY  IN   TEACHING   FATAL  TO   THE  CLAIMS   OF 

ONE   PROFESSING    TO   DECLARE    GOD'S 

INFALLIBLE     WILL. 

1.  An  examination,  under  this  head,  of  the  claims  of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land  and  America.  —  2.  England  virtually  disclaims  infallibility. — 
3.  The  dreadful  consequence 84 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ANGLICAN  AUTHORITY   FURTHER   CONSIDERED. 

1.  The  authority  of  the  English  Church  not  Catholic. —  2.  The  conse 
quence,  her  teaching  not  Catholic.  —  3.  Her  own  admissions.  — 4.  An 
inquiry  into  Anglican  inconsistency.  —  5.  The  ultimate  Catholic  tri 
bunal  or  standard  .  87 


CHAPTER  X. 

AT  WHAT    PERIOD   OF    HER    AUTHORITY   IS    ENGLAND 
TO   BE    TRUSTED  ? 

I.  The  reasonableness  of  this  question. — 2.  Is  she  to  be  trusted  before 
Oi  after  the  Reformation  ?  —  3.  Is  she  to  be  trusted  under  Henry  VIII., 
or  under  Edward  VI.,  or  under  Mary,  or  under  Elizabeth,  or  how?  — 

4.  Is  she  to  be  trusted  as  she  speaks  in  her  Prayer  book,  or  as  she 
speaks  in  opposition  to  its   plain  sense  by  the  Queen's  Court?  — 

5.  The  necessary  confusion  and  uncertainty  under  such  a  system  90 

CHAPTER  XI. 

WHAT    WAS    THE     LIVING,    TEACHING     AUTHORITY     IN 
ENGLAND    FOR   EIGHT   HUNDRED    OR   A   THOU 
SAND   YEARS   BEFORE    THE    REF 
ORMATION  ? 

1.  On  the  principle  that  we  are  to  hear  the  Church,  to  whom  are  we  to 
listen  from  the  time  of  Augustine  to  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  ?  —  2.  We 
are  to  hear  a  speaking  Church,  not  dumb  books.  —  3.  Wycliffe  a  here 
tic  according  to  the  faitli  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church  .  97 

CHAPTER  XII. 

WAS    THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND    REALLY   CON 
DUCTED    ON   THE    PRINCIPLE    OF   SUBMISSION 
TO    THE    PRIMITIVE    CATHOLIC 
CHURCH  1 

1.  A  test  of  Mr.  Palmer's  principle  of  Reformation  by  "  the  authority  of 
Catholic  Tradition."  — 2.  The  absurdity  of  his  principle  as  applied  to 
the  facts  of  the  English  Reformation.  —  3.  What  tradition  is.  —  4.  Tra 
dition,  to  have  authority,  must  be  submitted  to  and  trusted.  — 5.  Ori 
gin  and  source  of  Tradition.  —  6.  Its  perpetuity,  as  viewed  by  the 
Fathers.  —  7.  Applied  to  England.  —  8.  Not  derogatory  to  God's 
Word  102 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TRADITION    A    NECESSARY    KEY     TO     THE     FACTS    OP 
CHURCH    HISTORY. 

1.  Why  so  little  is  isaid  in  the  New  Testament  about  Church  order  and 
Sacraments.  — 2.  Tradition  necessary  to  establish  infant  baptism,  the 
necessity  of  sanctifying  the  Lord's  day,&c.  — 3.  Why  so  little  is  found 
in  regard  to  certain  points  of  Catholic  faith  and  practice  in  the  very 
early  Church.  — 4.  Nothing  added  to  the  fundamental  Faith  by  the 
Church  ....  118 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   CHURCH   OF  ENGLAND   THE   MERE   CHILD   OF  THE 
STATE. 

1.  The  Protestant  alleged  motive  for  the  Reformation  a  mere  fancy.  — 
2.  The  real  motive  personal  to  Henry  VIII.  —  3.  The  resistance  of  the 
Church  in  the  outset.  —  4.  Her  submission  through  fear.  —  5.  The 
transfer  of  the  whole  spiritual  jurisdiction  from  the  See  of  St.  Peter 
to  the  king.  —  6.  Acts  of  parliament  and  Protestant  testimonies  con 
firm  this.  —  7.  The  king  made  the  living  standard  of  faith  as  well  as 
the  source  of  priestly  authority  ^ 125 

CHAPTER    XT. 

THE  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  TO 
THE  TEMPORAL  POWER  PERPETUATED. 

1.  Acts  of  parliament  conclusive. — 2.  The  changes  of  Queen  Mary 
justified  on  every  principle,  and  effected  without  a  struggle.  —  3.  The 
changes  of  Elizabeth  on  every  ground  unlawful,  and  forced  upon  the 
Church  against  the  will  of  every  bishop,  the  convocation,  and  the  two 
universities.  —  4.  The  new  system  of  things  passed  through  parlia 
ment,  not  only  against  the  vote  of  every  bishop,  but  also  by  means  of 
imprisoning  two  bishops,  and  creating  five  new  Peers  .  143 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    POSITION    OF    THE     PRESENT     CHURCH    OF    ENG 
LAND,   AND    OF   HER   DAUGHTER   IN   AMERICA, 
FIXED   BY    THE    PARLIAMENT    OF 
ELIZABETH. 

J.  Act  of  William  IV.  sufficient.  —2.  The  case  of  the  American  Prot 
estant  Episcopal  Church  shown  to  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  Mother 
in  England.  — 3.  The  entire  independence  of  the  American  laity.  — 


CONTENTS.  9 

.  The  application  of  the  facts  of  the  case.  —  5.  Who  sent  Archbishop 
Parker  ?  Who  gave  him  the  faith,  —  the  faith  of  the  one  Catholic 
Chuich.  —  G.  The  application  of  the  facts  to  myself  ...  152 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

REASONS   WHY    SEPARATION   FROM   THE    CHAIR    OF    ST. 

PETER   MUST    BE    FATAL,    TO    THE    ANGLICAN, 

AND    HENCE    TO    THE    AMERICAN, 

EPISCOPAL    CLAIMS. 

Reflections  on  the  Act  of  Separation  by  parliament, — 9.  Which 
claim  of  jurisdiction  over  the  Church,  that  of  the  king  or  the  Pope, 
most  likely,  by  the  rules  of  common  sense,  to  be  well  founded  ?  — 
3.  The  necessity  of  a  head  to  the  body  considered.  —  4.  The  fact  of 
the  Pope's  present  Supremacy  considered. — 5.  The  testimony  of 
heretics  to  the  Supremacy,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  —  6.  A  grad 
ual  growth  of  the  Papal  power  not  tenable.  —  7.  The  Scriptural  ar 
gument  for  the  Primacy  of  St.  Peter.  —  8.  The  Catholic  interpretation 
of  St.  John  i.  35,  and  St.  Matt.  xxi.  18,  abundantly  sustained  by  the 
Fathers. — 9.  The  authority  of  St.  Peter  touching  the  Faith  set  forth 
in  St.  John  xxi.  15-17,  as  interpreted  by  the  Fathers.  — 10.  The 
Scriptural  argument  applied  to  myself 158 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE     PRIMACY    OF    ST.    PETER     INTERWOVEN     IN    THE 

FAITH   AND    DISCIPLINE     OF    THE    PRIMITIVE 

CATHOLIC    CHURCH. 

The  primitive  Church  affords  just  such  testimony  to  the  claims  of  St. 
Peter  as  the  circumstances  call  for.  —  2.  The  Apostolic  See,  accord 
ing  to  the  Fathers,  the  centre  of  Catholic  unity,  the  keeper  of  the 
Catholic  Faith,  and  the  source  of  Catholic  authority.  —  3.  Extraordi 
nary  assertion  of  Dr.  Wordsworth  in  his  book  "  Theophilus  Angli- 
canus." — 4.  Shown  to  be  utterly  without  foundation  in  every  par 
ticular  .  179 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    APPLICATION    OF    THE    FACTS    IN    THE    TWO    PRE 
CEDING    CHAPTERS    TO    MY    OWN    CASE. 

1  The  extraordinary  assertion  of  Blackstone  in  reference  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Church  shown  to  be  false.  —  2.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Church  Cath 
olic,  and  submissive  to  the  Holy  See  of  Rome.  —  3.  The  case  of  St. 
Augustine  considered. — 4.  The  document  which  puts  a  speech  into 
the  mouth  of  Dinoth  against  the  Supremacy  shown  to  be  spurious. — 
5.  The  application  of  the  argument  for  the  Supremacy.  —  6.  The  sum 
of  the  whole  matter.  —  7.  A  confession  and  a  warning  con-cl-Hston  2K5 


INTRODUCTION. 


Dear  Brethren  and  Friends, 

IT  is  due  both  to  you  and  myself,  as  it  is 
more  especially  to  the  cause  of  God,  that  I  yield, 
without  loss  of  time,  to  the  promptings  of  my  heart 
and  conscience,  and  lay  before  you,  as  best  I  can, 
the  reasons  which  have  constrained  me  to  take  so 
serious,  and  to  many  dear  ones,  as  well  as  to  my 
self,  so  trying  a  step  as  that  of  abandoning  the 
position  in  which  I  had  acted  as  a  Minister  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  and  as  a  Bishop  of  the  same  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  and  of  seeking,  at  my  time  of  life, 
admission,  as  a  mere  layman,  into  "  the  Holy  Cath 
olic  Church,"  and  with  no  prospect  before  me 
but  simply  peace  of  conscience,  and  the  salvation 
of  my  soul. 

That  for  many  years  I  have  been  more  or  less 
doubtful  of  my  position  as  a  Protestant,  and  feel 
ing  about  me  for  some  surer  ground  on  which  to 
stand  in  view  of  a  judgment  to  come,  is  a  matter 
too  much  interwoven  in  the  history  of  the  last  few 


INTRODUCTION. 

years  of  my  Episcopate  to  be,  in  any  important 
respect,  new  to  you.  That,  in  this  state  of  baffling 
uncertainty,  and  under  the  trying  circumstances  it 
brought  with  it,  I  always  acted  wisely,  or  with 
perfect  consistency,  is  more  than  I  dare  either  af 
firm  or  believe.  Rather  would  I  turn  from  the 
too  generally  worse  than  useless  task  of  self-de 
fence,  and  humbly  seek  refuge  in  the  compassion 
of  Him  "  "Who  hath  borne  our  infirmities,"  and  in 
the  forbearance  of  those  who  have  themselves  felt 
the  weight  of  these  infirmities,  in  a  doubtful,  but 
earnest  struggle  to  find  and  keep  the  narrow  way 
of  life.  To  the  mariner,  inured  to  the  peculiar 
hardships  of  the  sea,  it  will  be  no  cause  of  wonder 
that  one  tossed  upon  the  bosom  of  its  treacherous 
waves,  now  toiling  amid  conflicting  elements,  and 
then  distracted  and  deceived  by  shifting  mists, 
should,  in  making  his  way  to  the  shore,  describe  a 
somewhat  devious  track.  Should  any  of  my  old 
friends  and  companions  require  of  me  still  further 
explanation  of  seeming  inconsistencies,  they  will 
find  it  in  a  too  great  effort  on  my  part  to  remain  a 
Protestant.  Here,  commending  myself  to  Him 
who  will  one  day  "  make  the  justice  of  the  op 
pressed  clear  as  the  light,"  I  take  final  leave  of  the 
subject  of  self-apology,  and  invite  you  at  once  to 
a  consideration  of  the  history  of  my  mind  in  its 
progress  to  Catholicism. 

And  if,  in  giving  it,  I  should  seem  to  any  to 
make  too  much  reference  to  myself,  my  plea  will 
be  found  in  the  nature  of  the  undertaking ;  viz.,  to 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

present  the  train  of  thoughts  and  reasonings  through 
which  my  own  mind  has  passed  in  its  progress  to  a 
certain  faith. 

In  the  outset,  let  me  recall  the  fact,  that  for 
years  a  mysterious  influence,,  which  I  could  neither 
fully  comprehend  nor  entirely  throw  off,  visited 
my  mind,  unsettling  its  peace,  and  filling  it  with 
yearnings  for  something  in  religion  more  real  than 
I  had  hitherto  experienced.* 

Under  such  impulses,  my  thoughts  were  natu 
rally  led  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  mere  Protes 
tant  theology  to  the  teachings  of  early  Catholic 
Fathers,  and  of  such  as  seemed  to  he  based  upon 
them  in  later  times.  At  this  period  Moehler's  Sym 
bolism  was  put  into  my  hand.  I  read  it,  examined 
its  statements  with  care,  and  laid  it  down  with  an 
increased  desire  to  know  more  fully  the  system  of 
which  it  had  given  me,  in  a  spirit  of  such  fairness 
and  love,  so  beautiful  an  outline. 

Now  it  was,  however,  that  the  progress  of  my 

*  I  have  here  thought  it  not  right  to  omit  a  circumstance  to  which  I  can 
distinctly  trace  some  of  my  earliest  fears,  that  something  might  be  wrong  in 
respect  to  what  I  had  received  as  the  facts  of  Protestantism  —  or  the  real 
history  of  the  Catholic  Faith.  Being  invited  by  the  University  of  North  Caro 
lina,  in  the  year  18-14,  to  deliver  the  introductory  Lecture  before  the  Histori 
cal  Society  of  the  Institution  recently  formed,  I  took  for  my  subject  the 
Principles  which  must  govern  us  in  arriving  at  the  facts  of  History.  This  led 
me,  by  way  of  illustration,  to  apply  these  principles  to  some  of  the  com 
monly-received  theories  of  the  English  Reformation  —  particularly  in  regard 
to  the  real  motive  of  the  movement  under  Henry  VIII.,  and  to  the  real  char 
acter  of  the  events  under  the  subsequent  Catholic  reign  of  Mary  —  and  to  rny 
surprise  I  found  in  the  course  of  examination,  that  my  own  views  became 
seriously  changed,  especially  as  regarded  the  latter  ;  and  from  the  circum 
stance,  felt  bound  at  the  time  to  warn  my  auditory  against  the  common  no 
tion  ;  and  ever  after,  to  guard  my  own  mind  in.  the  study  of  history  against 
onesided  party  representations. 
O 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

inquiry  received  a  sudden  check.  Prostrating 
sickness  came,  and  with  it  a  succession  of  distract 
ing  and  embarrassing  oppositions  to  my  discovered 
tendency  towards  Catholicism. 

And  here  I  must  be  allowed  in  all  honesty,  and, 
I  trust,  with  no  violation  of  charity,  to  say,  that 
these  oppositions,  which  were  designed,  and  at  first 
seemed  likely  to  arrest  this  tendency,  operated,  in 
the  end,  greatly  to  increase  it,  by  increasing  my 
distrust  in  the  system  under  which  I  was  acting,  as 
they  tended  to  open  my  eyes  more  widely  to  what 
I  felt  to  be  its  unreasonableness. 

(1.)  In  the  first  place,  I  observed  that  every  at 
tempt  to  understand  and  rightly  appreciate  Catholic 
truth  was  viewed  by  Protestants  with  jealousy,  and 
treated  with  harshness.  That,  while  they  prided 
themselves  upon  the  untrammelled  exercise  of  rea 
son  in  matters  of  faith,  the  first  effort  on  the  part 
of  any  of  their  adherents  to  apply  this  reason  in 
good  earnest  to  an  examination  of  Catholic  doctrine, 
or  Catholic  institutions,  was  instantly  met  by  a  cry 
of  alarm.  "  This  practice  is  highly  dangerous. 
Depend  upon  it,  it  will  unsettle  your  faith,  wean 
you  from  your  own  Church,  and  give  you  a  lean 
ing  towards  Catholicism.  There  is  something  in 
this  so  insidious  and  captivating,  that,  if  you  once 
allow  it  to  get  the  least  hold  of  your  mind  and 
heart,  it  is  sure  to  bring  you  under  its  dominion." 
And  if  the  practice  was  not  forthwith  relinquished, 
they  would  seek  to  interpose  an  effectual  bar  by 
loading  it  with  suspicion,  and  exciting  against  it 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

the  popular  indignation ;  thus  often  forcing  per 
sons  who  might  not  have  the  nerve,  for  the  sake  of 
truth  and  peace,  to  face  desertion,  ignominy,  and 
perhaps  starvation,  to  stifle  their  convictions,  com 
promise  their  consciences,  and  consent,  for  a  time 
at  least,  to  stumble  on  amidst  the  obscurities  and 
miseries  of  an  uncertain  faith.  This  struck  me  as 
being  so  inconsistent  with  the  Protestant  principle, 
that  a  free  and  thorough  application  of  each  mind 
to  the  great  question,  "  What  is  truth  ?  "  is  essen 
tial  to  its  solution,  as  to  lead  me  to  suspect  more 
reasonableness  and  force  in  Catholic  teaching  than 
my  education  and  position  had  hitherto  permitted 
me  to  see.  For  I  could  not  well  conceive  how, 
on  such  a  vital  question  as  that  between  Catholics 
and  Protestants,  any  practice  which  might  con 
tribute  to  the  fullest  investigation  should  be  "  dan 
gerous  "  to  any  thing  but  error.  If  the  mind  be 
capable  of  the  investigation  at  all,  it  must  be,  I 
thought,  to  the  fullest  extent.  At  any  rate,  that 
it  would  be  exceedingly  unfair  to  oblige  it  to  come 
to  a  conclusion,  or  to  abide  in  one,  without  being 
allowed  an  opportunity  to  examine  both  sides  of 
the  question,  the  consideration  of  which  might  be 
necessary  to  render  that  conclusion  safe.  Hence  I 
began  seriously  to  fear  that  "  the  danger  "  appre 
hended  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Catholic 
teaching  was  not  so  much  danger  to  the  truth  of 
God,  as  to  the  system  of  Protestantism. 

(£.)  But  this  fear  was  strengthened  by  my  being 
called  to  face  another  kind  of  effort  to  turn  me 


IB  INTRODUCTION. 

from  an  investigation  into  Catholic  principles.  In 
stead  of  a  direct  answer  to  my  difficulties,  I  was 
every  where  met  with  an  indirect  rebuke  for  deign 
ing  to  listen,  for  a  moment  even,  to  the  claims  of  so 
corrupt  a  Church  as  that  of  Koine.  Instances, 
real  or  imaginary,  were  advanced,  in  almost  count 
less  numbers,  to  illustrate  its  superstition  in  re 
ligion,  or  degradation  in  morals,  with  an  intimation 
that  no  one,  not  weakened  or  debased  in  moral 
sense,  could  consent  to  such  a  fellowship.  I  looked 
at  this  attempt,  narrowly  scanned  its  justice  and 
charity,  and  at  once  saw  in  it,  or  thought  I  saw, 
the  working  of  the  same  leaven  which,  in  the  time 
of  Christ,  was  infused  into  the  opposition  to  the 
Christian  faith  by  the  grand  adversary  of  man. 
cf  John  the  Baptist  came,  neither  eating  bread,  nor 
drinking  wine,  and  they  say  he  hath  a  devil."  He 
is  carried  away  by  an  unnatural  and  superstitious 
reverence  for  ascetic  life.  "  The  Son  of  man  came 
eating  and  drinking,  and  they  say,  Behold  a  man 
gluttonous,  and  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of  publi 
cans  and  sinners."  One  who  favors  rioting,  and  is 
given  to  sensuality. 

Here  I  asked  myself  what  would  have  been  the 
fate  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  when  Christ 
was  Himself  upon  earth,  if  this  charge  of  laxity 
of  discipline  is  to  be  considered  an  effectual  bar  to 
its  claims  ?  I  saw  Judas  still  retained  by  our  Lord 
among  the  twelve,  though  known  to  be  a  devil  ; 
and  I  listened  to  the  rebuke  which  He  left  for  His 
over-rigorous  followers  in  the  parable  of  the  ( e  wheat 


INTRODUCTION.  1 7 

and  tares/'  where  He  referred  the  separation  of 
the  bad  from  the  good  to  a  day  of  final  judg 
ment.  And  then,  in  the  age  that  followed,  I  per 
ceived  this  very  charge  urged  against  the  "  One 
Catholic  Church  "  by  a  body  of  condemned  here 
tics*  whose  sanctity  had  no  better  claim  than  their 
faith. 

It  was  manifest,  too,  that  this  charge  of  corrup 
tion,  in  most  cases  at  least,  emanated  from  persons, 
either  jealous  of  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  clergy, 
or  biased  against  them,  from  having  themselves  in 
some  way  incurred  the  censures  of  the  Church,  and 
hence  become,  through  self-love,  the  victims  of  self- 
delusion.  An  instance  of  this  kind,f  made  too  no 
torious  by  an  interested  press  to  have  escaped  the 
notice  of  any  one,  produced  in  my  mind  an  impres 
sion  of  pity  for  the  assailant,  equalled  only  by  that 
of  wonder  that  any  member  of  the  Protestant  Epis 
copal .  Church  in  the  United  States,  in  his  sober 
senses,  should  be  found  an  abetter  either  of  the 
man  or  of  his  argument  —  particularly  as  at  the 
very  time  that  Church  was  bleeding  at  every  pore, 
from  wounds  inflicted  upon  her  either  by  the  faults 
of  her  friends,  or  the  false  accusations  of  her 
enemies. 

God  forbid  that  I  should  allude  to  this  circum 
stance  with  any  other  than  the  most  sorrowful  feel 
ings.  And  I  only  do  it  to  show,  why  I  felt  bound, 
on  every  principle  of  justice  and  charity,  to  turn 

*  The  Donatists. 

|  I  refer  to  the  Rev.  Pierce  Connelly. 

2* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

a  deaf  ear  to  an  argument  from  such  a  quarter, 
drawn  from  a  rumored  or  supposed  corruption 
among  the  Catholic  clergy.  Besides  having  ac 
quired  some  knowledge  of  the  Penitential  system 
of  Catholics,  I  felt  quite  confident  that  too  great 
laxity  in  any  particular  case,  must  be  owing,  not 
to  defect  in  the  Church,  but  to  the  want  of  fidelity 
on  the  part  of  individuals  intrusted  with  her  dis 
cipline. 

On  the  whole,  then,  this  attempt  entirely  failed, 
in  respect  to  myself,  of  its  intended  effect  —  in 
stead  of  arresting  inquiry,  it  tended  rather  to  sup 
ply  an  additional  stimulus  to  it ;  as  it  tended  to 
weaken  my  confidence  in  a  system  that  could  resort 
to  arguments  so  illogical  in  themselves  —  so  un 
christian  in  their  spirit  —  and  so  unbecoming  the 
persons  in  whose  mouths  they  were  found.  It  was 
really  a  matter  of  grief  to  me  to  be  seen  in  apparent 
fellowship  with  so  unmanly,  so  ungenerous  an  as 
sault.  One  betokening  so  little  sympathy  with  that 
ff  charity  which  suffereth  long  and  is  kind,"  and 
appearing  so  nearly  akin  to  that  spirit  which  saith, 
"  Stand  by  thyself,  I  am  holier  than  thou !  " 

I  was  compelled  to  view  this  charge  in  connec 
tion  with  another :  viz.,  that  of  dishonesty,  or  some 
thing  as  base,  uniformly  uttered  against  converts 
to  Rome  —  men  who  had  equally  gained  for  them 
selves  the  reputation  of  unsullied  sanctity  while 
Protestants,  and  had  "left  all,"  for  conscience* 
sake,  in  becoming  Catholics.  In  a  word,  all  this 
outcry  about  the  corrupt  tendency  of  Catholic 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

principles  might  seem  very  true  and  very  terrible 
to  some  minds,  but  I  confess  I  saw  in  it  only  another 
mark  of  the  identity  of  the  Catholic  Church  with 
the  slandered  and  suffering  Church  of   Christ ;  and 
another  proof  of  the  want  among  Protestants  of 
that  divine  charity,  the  absence  of  which.  I  had 
long  bemoaned  as  the  most  fatal  symptom  in  any 
communion,  of  separation  from  Christ,  the  celestial 
fountain  of  peace  and  love.     Where,  I  asked  my 
self,  except  in  the  weekly  repetition  of  the  Apostles9 
Creed,  is  the  manifestation  among  us  of  that  blessed 
"  communion  of  saints,"  which,  under  the  resist 
less    power  of   Christ's  love,  binds    all    hearts  to 
Him  —  blending  them  together  in   one   heavenly 
fellowship  —  filling  them  with  one  spirit  —  concen 
trating    them   upon   one   interest — and  animating 
them  with  common  joys,  and  pursuits,  and  hopes  ; 
thus    excluding    "all    bitterness,    and   wrath,  and 
malice,  and  evil  speaking"  —  and  making  all  feel 
as  "  one  body  in  Christ  and  every  one  members  one 
of  another,  —  that  if  one  member  suffers,  all  the 
members    must    suffer  with    it  ?  "     This  question 
brought  conscious  shame,  and  self-reproach,  and  a 
heavier  weight  of   heartfelt   distrust. 

And  here  another  burden  was  added  to  this 
weight.  "The  poor,"  saith  our  Lord,  "ye  have 
always  with  you."  If  you  are  my  people  you  will 
show  it  in  expressions  of  divine  sympathy  for  the 
wretched  of  every  sort.  They  will  be  taken  to 
your  hearts  and  fed  from  your  hands,  and  led  on 
gently  by  your  side.  Your  churches  and  houses, 


80  INTilODUCTION. 

and  sympathies  and  charities,  will  be  thrown  widely 
open  to  them.  They  will  "  be  always  with  you." 
I  cast  my  eyes  around  me,  and  saw  indeed  here 
and  there  an  institution,  the  fruit  of  individual 
zeal,  designed  for  the  destitute.  But  when  I  looked 
into  the  system  of  Protestantism,  I  could  see  noth 
ing  which  marked  it  as  the  hope  and  the  home  of 
the  wretched ;  nothing  which  proclaimed  its  pe 
culiar  fellowship  with  "the  poor."  Its  places  of 
worship,  where,  as  was  too  generally  the  case,  the 
pew  system  prevailed,  were  virtually  closed  against 
them.  If  nominal  provision  was  made,  it  only  ex 
pressed  the  more  significantly  the  pride  of  wealth, 
and  the  utter  want  of  communion  with  poverty. 
The  very  arrangement,  said  aloud  to  the  rich,  "  Sit 
thou  here  in  a  good  place ; "  and  to  the  poor, 
"  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  under  my  footstool." 
In  short,  I  could  discover  no  general  and  essential 
and  abiding  characteristic  that  identified  the  com 
munion,  to  which  I  belonged  with  that  divine  broth 
erhood,  whose  glory  it  was  that  "  the  poor  were 
always  with  them."  Indeed,  my  own  feeble,  and 
perhaps  misdirected,  efforts,  in  this  behalf,  met 
with  such  signal  discouragement  and  rebuke  as  to 
beget  in  me  a  strong  suspicion  of  the  utter  incom 
patibility  of  the  system  in  which  I  acted  with 
Christ's  mission  to  the  poor. 

But  the  circumstance  which  at  this  period  shook 
my  confidence  most  of  all,  was  the  absence,  in  my 
view,  of  any  instituted  method  among  Protestants 
for  the,  remission  of  post-baptismal  sin.  Sins  be- 


INTRODUCTION. 

fore  baptism  were  expressly  forgiven  in  that  sacra 
ment.  But  for  the  remission  of  those  committed 
after,  however  deadly,  I  could  see  in  Protestantism 
no  provision.  That  Christ  left  power  in  His 
Church  to  remit  these  I  had  no  doubt.  And  for 
a  time,  after  my  mind  had  become  alive  to  the  im 
portance  of  the  exercise  of  this  power,  I  believed 
that  it  existed  and  might  be  lawfully  exercised  in 
the  communion  of  which  I  was  a  bishop.  But  upon 
stricter  examination  and  more  mature  thought,  I 
became  convinced  that  if  the  existence  of  such 
power  was  not  actually  denied,  its  exercise,  except 
in  a  very  modified  sense  and  within  very  restricted 
limits,  was  virtually  prohibited.  The  discovery 
filled  me  with  dread,  which  daily  observation  in 
creased,  till  finally  it  passed  into  absolute  conster 
nation.  No  one,  who  has  not  been  in  my  state, 
can  fully  appreciate  my  sensations,  when  I  opened 
my  eyes  to  the  fact  that  multitudes  around  me  in 
trusted  to  my  care,  were  goaded  by  a  conviction  of 
mortal  sin  and  demanding  relief,  and  I  was  not  al 
lowed  by  my  Church  to  administer  that  relief  in 
the  only  way  which  seemed  to  me  to  be  directed 
by  God's  word  as  understood  by  His  early  Church. 
The  question  now  forced  itself  upon  me,  Can  that  be 
an  institution  of  God  which  thus  locks  up  the  gifts 
(supposing  it  to  have  received  them)  which  He 
commands  His  priesthood  to  dispense  to  the  needy 
and  perishing  souls  for  whom  Christ  died  ?  * 


*  One   consideration  more,  deeply  concerned   in  my  submission  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  mentioned.    I  refer  to  Hie  claim  which 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  state  of  doubt  and  fear  awakened  in  my  mind 
the  inquiry,  why  I  should  not  more  thoroughly  ex 
amine  the  ground  on  which  I  stood,  and  on  which 
were  based  my  hopes  of  eternal  salvation  ? 

When  I  seriously  approached  this  question,  how 
ever,  it  was  terrible  to  me.  No  man  can  well  con 
ceive  the  horror  with  which  I  first  contemplated 
the  possibility  of  a  conviction  against  my  own 
claims  as  the  result  !  My  claims  as  a  bishop,  a 
minister,  a  Christian  in  any  safe  sense  ;  and  hence 
of  my  being  compelled  as  an  honest  man  to  give 
up  my  position.  A  horror  enhanced  by  the  self- 
humiliation  with  which  I  saw  such  a  step  must 


that  church  had  to  my  faith,  and  love,  and  obedience,  from  the  moment  of  my 
baptism. 

It  was  determined  from  the  first,  and  by  the  only  power  commissioned  by 
Christ  to  determine,  that  all  persons  baptized  into  His  mystical  Body,  by 
water,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
by  whomsoever  administered,  became  thereby  true  members  of  "  the  One 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church ; "  and  hence  they  must  remain  subject  to 
its  authority,  in  opposition  to  every  other  claim,  so  long  as  they  are  subjects 
of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

Convinced,  therefore,  that  I  was  originally  placed  by  baptism  within  the 
pale  and  under  the  authority  of  "  the  One  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church," 
and  that  I  should  be  guilty  of  an  act  of  deadly  schism  in  resisting  this  Catholic 
authority  (the  only  authority  under  heaven  entitled  to  my  submission)  by 
longer  siding  with  a  national  and  uncatholic  communion,  I  felt  bound  on  every 
principle  of  duty  and  safety  to  return  with  a  broken  and  contrite  heart  to  the 
arms  of  my  true  mother,  from  whom  I  had  departed,  the  moment  I  consented, 
as  an  adult,  to  be  considered  a  member  of  the  protestant  body.  Instead,  there 
fore,  of  unfaithfulness  to  the  Anglican  or  American  communion,  which  ia 
sometimes  pleaded,  I  was  convinced,  that  in  my  return,  I  did  nothing  more 
than  throw  off  an  unlawful  allegiance  imposed  upon  me  without  my  con 
sent,  and  take  steps  for  my  restoration  to  that  Catholic  fellowship  —  that 
"  Communion  of  Saints,"  of  which  I  was  made*a  member  at  my  baptism.  I 
felt,  as  one  may  be  supposed  to  feel  who  in  his  unconscious  childhood  had 
been  borne  off  asleep  from  his  native  shore  on  some  wreck  to  a  desert  Island, 
and  then,  in  his  manhood,  after  long  subjection  to  want  and  hardship,  be 
comes  convinced  of  the  disaster  and  returns  to  the  father  that  begot  him,  and 
the  mother  who  cherished  his  infancy. 


INTRODUCTION.  £3 

cover  me,  the  absolute  deprivation  of  all  mere  tem 
poral  support  which  it  must  occasion,  not  only  to 
myself  but  to  one  whom  I  was  bound  "  to  love  and 
cherish  until  death."  The  heartrending  distress 
and  mortification  in  which  it  must  involve,  without 
their  consent,  a  large  circle  of  the  dearest  relatives 
and  friends,  the  utter  annihilation  of  all  that  confi 
dence  and  hope  which  under  common  struggles 
and  common  sufferings,  for  what  we  deemed  the 
truth,  had  been  reposed  in  me  as  a  sincere  and 
trustworthy  bishop.  But  I  forbear.  Enough  that 
the  prospect,  heightened  in  its  repulsiveness  by  the 
sad  forebodings  around  me  at  the  renewed  symptoms 
of  my  wavering,  was  so  confounding,  as  actually  to 
make  me  debate,  whether  it  were  not  better,  and 
my  duty,  to  stay  and  risk  the  salvation  of  my  soul, 
—  as  to  make  me  supplicate  in  agony  to  be  spared 
so  bitter  a  chalice,  to  make  me  seize,  with  the  eager 
ness  of  a  drowning  man,  upon  every  possible  pre 
text  for  relinquishing  the  inquiry.  Could  I  not 
be  sincere  where  I  was  ?  Work  with  a  quiet  con 
science  where  Providence  had  placed  me  ?  Were 
not  the  fathers  of  the  Reformation,  in  case  of  my 
being  in  error,  to  be  held  responsible  ?  Would  it 
not  be  presumption  in  me,  a  single  bishop,  to  re 
consider  other  points  long  considered  settled  by  a 
national  Church  ?  These  and  more  like  questions 
would  force  themselves  daily  upon  my  mind  to  de 
ter  my  advance ;  and  under  their  influence  I  actually 
went  so  far  as  to  commit  myself  publicly  to  Protes 
tantism,  to  make  such  advance  the  more  difficult. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

But  God  was  merciful,  and  all  this  did  not  satisfy 
me.  I  thought  I  saw  in  it  clearly  the  temptation 
of  Satan,  an  effort  of  my  overburdened  heart  to 
escape  self-sacrifice.  I  felt  that  if  for  such  reasons 
I  could  be  excused,  so  might  Saul  of  Tarsus  have 
been.  His  example  of  self-negation  for  Christ 
came  frequently  before  me.  His  words,  as  the 
Apostle  of  Christ,  sounded  often  in  my  ears.  ( '  If 
any  man  thinketh  that  he  hath  whereof  he  might 
trust  in  the  flesh,  /  more  —  circumcised  the  eighth 
day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benja 
min,  an  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  according  to  the 
Law  a  Pharisee  —  concerning  zeal  persecuting  the 
Church.  Touching  the  justice  which  is  in  the  law 
blameless.  But  what  things  were  gain  to  me, 
the  same  I  counted  loss  for  Christ.  Yea,  further 
more,  /  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellent 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.  For  whom 
I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do  count 

them  but  dung  that  I  may  win  Christ We  are 

fools  for  Christ's  sake. . .  And  if  any  man  among 
you  seemeth  to  be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him  be 
come  a  fool  that  he  may  be  wise We  are 

made  a  spectacle  to  the  world  —  are  weak  and 
despised  —  are  naked  and  buffeted,  and  have  no 
certain  dwelling-place  —  labor,  working  with  our 
hands  —  are  reviled,  and  persecuted,  and  defamed ; 
yea,  are  made  as  the  filth  of  the  world  unto  this 
day."  These  words  often  sounded  in  my  ears, 
with  those  encouraging  ones  too :  "  I  reckon  that 
the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy 


INTRODUCTION.  £5 

to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  shall  be  re 
vealed.  For  if  we  suffer  with  Christ  we  shall  also 
reign  with  Him.  We  suffer  with  Him,  that  we 
may  be  glorified  together."  And  I  felt  warned 
and  strengthened  from  above,  to  let  nothing  below 
turn  me  from  a  faithful  search  into  the  will  of  God. 
Other  and  still  more  solemn  words,  too,  would 
come  to  deepen  and  fix  this  impression  —  words 
from  the  lips,  the  bosom,  of  Eternal  Charity  :  "  He 
that  would  be  my  disciple,  must  deny  himself,  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  me.  He  that  forsaketh  not 
all  that  he  hath  CANNOT  be  my  disciple.  He  that 
saveth  his  life  shall  lose  it ;  but  he  that  loseth  his 
life  for  my  sake  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal." 
Yea,  and  those  awful  words,  too,  which,  in  the 
mouth  of  the  holy  Ignatius,  changed  the  proud  and 
self-indulgent  thoughts  of  the  youthful  noblemen 
into  the  penitential  sighs  and  angelic  aspirations  of 
the  self-denying  and  wonder-working  St.  Francis  : 
— "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  " 

Now  it  was  that  I  cast  myself,  body  and  soul, 
powers,  honors,  and  emoluments,  all  that  1  was, 
all  that  I  had,  before  the  cross  of  Christ,  entreat 
ing  Him  to  take  all,  and  lead  me  to  the  truth,  lead 
me  to  Himself,  vowing,  in  the  depth  of  my  soul, 
that  if  He  would  in  mercy  show  me  the  way,  and 
uphold  my  footsteps,  I  would  follow  Him  whither 
soever  He  would  lead  me  ! 

I  will  not  attempt  to  say  what  it  cost  me  to 
make  this  surrender.  But  one  thing  I  will  say, 
3 


26  INTBODUCTION. 

the  sacrifice  has  been  repaid  ten  thousandfold  in 
the  blessings  of  present  peace,  and  in  the  certain 
hopes  of  eternal  life.  And  another  thing  I  will 
record,  by  way  of  caution  to  my  dear  friends,  that 
if  any  of  them  have  one  doubt,  or  think  they  ought 
to  have  one  doubt  of  their  present  safety,  —  (and 
who  will  not  think  this,  after  the  solemn  admoni 
tion  to  consider  and  reconsider,  given  in  the  de 
parture  of  so  many  of  the  best  and  wisest  Angli 
cans  to  the  Catholic  Church ;  for  who  would 
refuse,  or  think  there  was  no  cause  to  examine  his 
title  deeds,  while  grave  doubts  concerning  them 
were  abroad,  and  the  wisest  members  of  his  family 
were  bestirring  themselves  to  make  good  the  ten 
ure  of  their  estates  ?)  —  if  any  of  my  dear  friends, 
then,  have  one  doubt  or  suspicion  of  their  safety  as 
Protestants,  let  them  at  once  commit  themselves  to 
the  guidance  of  God's  Spirit.  Nothing  else  can 
save  them.  Nothing  else  give  them  courage  to 
face  the  trials,  to  baffle  self-delusion,  and  advance 
to  the  altar  of  self-sacrifice.  Let  them  waive  all 
investigation,  then,  till  they  have  humbled  them 
selves  before  the  cross,  and  sought,  in  a  spirit  of 
childlike  docility,  for  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  —  till  they  have  cast  themselves  upon  this 
guidance,  and  poured  forth  the  fervent  desires  of 
their  hearts  in  some  such  thoughts  as  these  :  "  God 
of  all  goodness,  Father  of  mercies,  and  Savior  of 
mankind,  I  implore  Thee,  by  Thy  boundless  wis 
dom  and  love,  to  enlighten  my  mind,  and  touch 
my  heart,  that  by  means  of  true  '  faith,  hope,  and 
charity,'  I  may  live  and  die  in  the  true  religion  of 


INTRODUCTION. 

Jesus  Christ.  I  confidently  believe  that,  as  there 
is  but  one  God,  there  can  be  but  one  faith,  one 
religion,  one  only  path  to  salvation,  and  that  every 
other  path  opposed  thereto  can  lead  but  to  destruc 
tion.  This  path,  O  my  God,  I  anxiously  seek 
after,  that  I  may  follow  it,  and  be  saved.  There 
fore  I  protest  before  Thy  Divine  Majesty  that  I 
will  follow  the  religion  which  Thou  shalt  reveal  to 
me  as  the  true  one,  and  will  abandon,  at  whatever 
cost,  that  wherein  I  shall  have  discovered  errors 
and  falsehoods.  I  confess  that  I  do  not  deserve 
this  favor  for  the  greatness  of  my  sins;  for  which 
I  am  truly  penitent,  seeing  they  offend  a  God  who 
is  so  good,  so  holy,  so  worthy  of  love.  But  what 
I  deserve  not  I  hope  to  obtain  from  Thine  infinite 
mercy.;  and  I  beseech  Thee  to  grant  it  unto  me 
through  the  merits  of  that  precious  blood  which 
was  shed  for  us  sinners  by  Thine  only  Son,  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord,"  &c. 

You  will  perceive  that  this  prayer  presupposes 
two  conditions  as  indispensable  to  a  proper  investi 
gation  of  religious  truth.  1.  That  the  salvation 
of  the  soul  throughout  eternity  be  regarded  as  infi 
nitely  more  desirable  than  any  good  in  time;  and 
heiue,  as  demanding  our  attention  and  pursuit  at 
the  sacrifice,  if  need  be,  of  all  else  besides. 
£.  That,  to  save  the  soul,  God's  will  be  taken  as 
the  only  sure  guide ;  and  as  demanding  our  cheer 
ful  submission  at  the  sacrifice,  if  need  be,  of  every 
other  will,  and  in  resistance  of  every  other  claim, 
or  influence.  It  may  be  very  difficult  effectually 
to  brace  up  the  mind  to  these  considerations,  —  so 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

to  put  aside  the  powers  of  "  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil/'  and  so  to  humble  our  pride,  as  to 
make  time  yield  in  all  things  to  eternity,  and  our 
wills  to  the  will  of  God ;  but  it  must  be  done,  or 
we  can  never  promise  ourselves  any  sure  advance 
in  the  pursuit  of  truth.  Strive,  then,  first  of  all, 
my  dear  friends,  (if  you  will  allow  me  once  more 
to  exhort  you  in  the  truest  love,)  to  realize  the 
immense  value  of  the  soul,  the  utter  worthlessness, 
comparatively,  of  all  earthly  things,  the  dreadful 
idea  of  its  loss,  and  the  unspeakable  wisdom  of  ever 
holding  one's  self  ready  to  sacrifice  all  other  things 
for  its  salvation !  When  you  have  done  this,  en 
deavor  to  fix  before  and  within,  and  all  around 
your  minds,  the  awful,  but  certain  truth,  that  the 
salvation  of  your  souls  can  be  attained  only  in  sub 
mission  to  the  will  of  God.  And  further,  as  you 
have  always  been  taught,  that  "  there  is  a  way 
which  seemeth  right  unto  a  man,,  but  the  end 
thereof  are  the  ways  of  death." 

From  a  living,  controlling  sense  of  these  things, 
it  was  (and  I  say  it  with  humble  thankfulness  to 
God,  for  how  little  did  I  deserve  the  grace  !)  that 
I  started  forward  anew,  resolved,  by  the  help  of 
Divine  light,  to  find  a  certain  answer  to  the  ques 
tion,  "  "What  is  God's  will  as  the  way  of  man's  sal* 
vation  ?  " 

And  now  I  entreat  my  clear  friends  to  pray  for 
such   light,   and  follow   me   in  the   search.     The 
result  may  be  matter  for  deep  and  joyful  thanks 
giving  to  God  throughout  eternity. 


TRIALS   OF  A  MIND 

IN  ITS 

PROGRESS    TO    CATHOLICISM. 
CHAPTER  I. 

CERTAINTY  IN   THE  FAITH  TO  BE  SOUGHT  AND  EXPECTED. 

THE  question  with,  me  was,  (and  I  am  not 
ashamed,  even  at  my  time  of  life,  and  with  my  pe 
culiar  advantages  as  a  Protestant,  to  acknowledge 
it,)  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  or,  What  is 
God's  will  as  the  way  of  man's  salvation  1 

To  this  question  I  felt  the  answer  must  be  posi 
tive  and  certain ;  that  no  mere  approximation  to 
the  truth,  however  flattering  or  well  fortified, 
would  bring  relief;  that  any  thing  short  of  absolute 
certainty  would  'fail  to  meet  my  case.  Of  doubt 
and  confusion  I  had  had  enough.  My  mind 
reached  forth  for  a  distinct  and  infallible  response  ; 
and  it  did  so  confidently,  and  with  a  sense  of  right, 
for  under  God's  invitation  and  promise,  it  reached 
forth  to  GOD,  and  to  God  alone.  If  it  were  true 
dhat  HE  had  undertaken  to  instruct  me,  to  reveal 
3  *  (29) 


SO  CERTAINITY    IX    THE    FAITH 

or  make  known  His  will  to  me,  I  felt  assured  that 
complete  success  must  attend  His  work  ;  that  when 
God  taught,  the  lesson  would  be  distinct ;  that 
when  His  light  shone  upon  truth,  doubt  would 
vanish ;  when  His  lips  uttered  it,  certainty  would 
be  seen  in  every  line ;  and  that  wrhen  God  spake, 
man  was  to  keep  silence,  was  simply  to  learn  and 
obey.  To  me  it  seemed  utterly  absurd  that  God 
should  condescend  to  instruct  man,  because  of  his 
ignorance,  how  to  save  his  soul,  and  then  leave  him 
to  make  a  single  surmise,  allow  him  even  to  point 
his  own  finger  in  the  way,  or  put  in  a  word  of 
direction  how  to  follow  it  —  utterly  absurd  and 
impious  that  God  should  be  supposed  to  depend,  in 
any  degree,  upon  the  helpless  being  whom  He 
designed  to  rescue  from  his  state  of  absolute  help 
lessness  —  to  borrow  light  in  any  way  or  measure 
from  the  dark  mind,  which,  in  pity,  He  conde 
scended  to  illumine  and  to  guide.  I  felt,  there- 
fore,  that  I  might  justly  demand  exactness  and 
infallibility  in  the  answer  to  my  inquiry  for  God's 
exact  will,  as  it  was  to  be  an  answer  from  God , 
that  His  word  to  me  should  require  no  additional 
clearness  from  the  dictates  of  my  own  perplexed 
reason,  —  that  His  truth  should  be  "rendered  suspi 
cious  by  no  human  alloy ;  the  bright  page  of  His 
revealed  will  be  dimmed  by  no  uncertainty  of  man's 
reason ;  that  man's  reason  be  employed  only  as  the 
active  receiver  of  the  pure  mind  of  God. 

Not  only  my  own  wants  urged  this  claim,  and 
the  very  nature  as  well  as  promise  of  God,  who,  in 


TO   BE    SOUGHT    AND    EXPECTED.  31 

mercy,  undertook  to  meet  them,  justified  it;  but 
also  the  reverence  due  to  His  perfections,  and  thr 
gratitude  due  to  His  love  would  allow  no  other.  1 
felt  that  He  had  invited  me  to  come  and  learn  of 
Him,  promising  rest  to  my  soul ;  and  that,  had  I 
come  thus  at  His  own  invitation,  for  an  answer  less 
than  infallible,  it  would  have  been  an  insult  to 
His  infinite  wisdom  and  power  ;  that  had  I  ex 
pected  less,  when  He  condescended  to  supply,  it 
would  have  been  a  return  of  base  ingratitude  and 
distrust  for  the  marvellous  provisions  of  His  con 
descension  and  love. 

I  said  to  myself,  God  declares  to  me  that  He 
has  contrived  and  revealed  the  way  of  my  salva 
tion,  and,  desiring  that  I  should  come  to  a  knowl 
edge  of  it,  has,  in  fulfilment  of  His  promise  to 
"lead  me  into  all  truth,"  secured  its  exact  and 
thorough  inculcation  by  positive  and  fixed  means, 
—  can  I  be  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  cer- 
tainty  in  this  knowledge,  and  stand  guiltless  before 
Him  ?  be  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  certainty 
and  claim  to  be  a  Christian  in  truth  ?  How  can  I 
know  that  I  am  a  Christian  any  further  than  I 
know  that  I  am  following  Christ  ?  And  can  I  con 
tent  myself  with  an  imperfect  or  doubtful  knowl 
edge  of  so  solemn  and  urgent  a  fact  ?  What  would 
such  a  listless  careless  spirit  tell  of  my  earnestness 
to  be  saved,  or  of  my  estimation  of  God's  way  of 
salvation  ?  What  of  that  loving  spirit  which 
~knows  the  voice  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  that 
Good  Shepherd  Himself?  What  of  that  childlike 


32  CERTAINTY    IN    THE    FAITH,  &C. 

dependence  on  the  Father  of  mercies,  which  bows 
to  every  intimation,  and  treasures  every  hint  that 
can  lead  to  the  most  exact  obedience  of  His  will  ? 
that  fills  the  soul  with  intense  desires  for  perfect 
conformity  to  the  spirit,  the  laws,  and  the  fellow 
ship  of  -Him  who  could  suffer  and  die,  as  Christ 
suffered  and  died  for  sinners  ?  What  of  faith,  and 
hope,  and  charity  in  Him  who  said  to  "  the  weary, 
Take  my  yoke  and  learn  of  me,  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  to  your  souls  "  —  who  said  to  those  groping  in 
doubt,  "  /  am  the  light  of  the  world ;  he  that  fol 
lowed  me  shall  not  wall:  in  darkness  but  shall  have 
the  light  of  lifeT' 

Knowing,  therefore,  that  I  "walked  in  dark 
ness,"  I  sought  with  all  my  heart  this  "  light  of 
life,"  knowing,  too,  that  Satan  himself  was  some 
times  transformed  to  imitate  this  light,  I  was  the 
more  wary,  and  the  more  importunate  and  deter 
mined  in  my  demand,  to  know  the  truth,  the 
tvhole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  —  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  Verily  could  I  say  with  St.  Paul,  "  I 
count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellent  Icnowl- 
edge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord"  But  I  felt  that 
it  must  be  knowledge  and  not  conjecture  :  that  the 
perfections  of  the  great  Lawgiver  justified  the 
expectation  of  certainty;  that  the  state  of  man 
required  it  —  the  yearnings  of  his  heart  demanded 
it  —  the  love  of  Christ  pledged  it  —  the  provision 
in  Christ  offered  it  —  the  promise  of  Christ  insured 
it.  My  demand,  therefore,  was  for  that  perfect 
knowledge  of  God's  will  upon  which  I  could  found 
a  certain  and  abiding  faith. 


GOD'S    REVELATION    TO    BE    RECEIVED.  33 


CHAPTER  II. 

OOD'S  REVELATION  TO  BE  EECEIVED  AND  SUBMITTED  TO 
WITHOUT  RESERVE. 

UPON  looking  into  the  sources  from  which  ail 
who  call  themselves  Christians  profess  to  draw 
their  hope  of  salvation,  I  found  them  unanimous  in 
claiming  the  revelation  of  God  to  be  their  sole  de 
pendence.  Here,  then,  was  a  pleasing  and,  at  first 
sight,  a  somewhat  hopeful  agreement.  The  revela 
tion  of  God  was  universally  admitted  to  be  the 
only  sure  guide  to  God's  will,  and  hence  to  man's 
salvation. 

The  great  question,  then,  presented  itself,  — 
What  is  the  revelation  of  God  ?  And  no  sooner 
was  it  presented,  than  serious  disagreement  began. 
And  first,  in  regard  to  the  written  revelation. 
Here,  I  heard  it  asserted  that  it  embraced  a  certain 
number  of  specified  books  ;  and  there,  that  certain 
other  books  must  be  added :  011  the  one  hand,  that 
every  dogma  and  precept  in  these  books,  when 
once  admitted  to  be  from  God,  must  be  submitted 
to,  however  mysterious  in  itself,  or  however  ob 
scurely  revealed ;  and  then,  on  the  other,  that 
human  reason  has  a  right  to  distinguish  between 
things  essential  and  things  non-essential  in  revela 
tion,  and  to  put  upon  all  such  an  interpretation  as 
may  make  all  consistent  with  its  own  sense  of  the 
fitness  of  things. 


34      "    GOD'S   REVELATION  TO   BE   RECEIVED 

My  first  concern,  therefore,  seemed  to  be  with 
tins  last-named  opinion.  And  surely  when  I  seri 
ously  reflected  upon  it,  I  could  hardly  persuade 
myself  that  any  intelligent  Christian  could  be  so 
lost  to  every  just  conception  of  a  revelation  from 
GOD  to  man  as  to  be  guilty  of  entertaining  it.  For, 
the  moment  I  am  certain  that  GOD  speaks  to  me, 
as  a  man  merely,  my  spirit  shrinks  in  awe  and 
submission  before  every  word  that  He  utters.  But 
when  I  know  that  I  stand  guilty  and  condemned 
before  Him  —  totally  dependent  upon  His  mercy, 
and  totally  ignorant  of  His  gracious  will,  and  that 
HE,  through  marvellous  unmerited  love,  conde 
scends  to  reveal  this  will  as  the  ground  of  my  sal 
vation,  I  feel  bound  to  know  it  all  and  infallibly, 
and  to  obey  it  all  and  perfectly.  For  to  me  it  is 
enough  to  feel  assured  that  whatever  God  has  re 
vealed  for  us  is  required  of  us.  Besides,  I  put  it 
to  my  reason  to  say  whether,  if  God  has  enjoined 
certain  things,  any  one  but  God  can  dispense  with 
them?  "Whether,  if  God  has  conjoined  certain 
particulars  in  a  necessary  whole,  any  one  but  God 
can  pronounce  whether  any  of  these  particulars 
can  be  safely  omitted  or  safely  left  doubtful  1  Or 
again,  whether,  if  God,  in  the  unfathomable  depths 
of  His  wisdom,  has  proposed  to  our  belief  certain 
incomprehensible  verities,  our  faith  may  be  safely 
withheld  till  our  reason  has  penetrated  their  ob 
scurity,  stripped  them  of  mystery,  and  presented 
them  in  some  familiar  and  acceptable  guise  ?  And 
finally,  the  necessity  of  unqualified  submission  to 


AND    SUBMITTED    TO    WITHOUT    RESERVE.        35 

whatever  God  has  revealed,  however  mysterious, 
or  however  apparently  insignificant,  —  a  necessity 
wrought  out  and  set  before  my  eyes,  by  God's 
providence,  in  His  Written  Word ;  and  in  such 
repeated  instances,  scattered  along  the  whole  his 
tory  of  man's  strange  perverseness,  as  not  only  to 
proclaim  in  the  clearest  manner  God's  demands 
upon  us,  but  also  to  exhibit  in  the  most  instructive 
light  our  own  blind  propensity  to  resist  them. 

I  see  our  first  parents  shut  out  from  the  bless 
ings  of  Paradise,  and  groaning  beneath  the  toil  and 
misery  of  an  earth  cursed  for  their  sakes  ;  and  as 
the  cause,  I  perceive  that,  misled  by  the  pride  of 
reason,  they  thought  it  mattered  little  whether 
they  acted  up  to  the  strict  sense  of  God's  word,  or 
followed  the  free  and  most  agreeable  interpretation 
of  Satan.  I  see  Cain,  wandering  forth  from  the 
presence  of  God,  bearing  God's  curse  upon  his 
brow  and  an  intolerable  weight  of  misery  in  his 
soul;  and  as  the  first  cause,  I  learn  that  he  has 
been  found  guilty  of  judging  it  a  small  thing  to 
vary  from  the  mere  outward  institution  of  God,  and 
offer  the  first  fruits  of  the  ground  instead  of  the 
firstlings  of  the  flock.  I  see  Cora,  Dathan,  and 
Abiron,  with  all  their  company,  sinking,  under  the 
judgments  of  Almighty  God,  from  the  sight  of  men 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  ;  and  I  find  the  cause 
to  consist  in  a  low  estimate  of  priestly  authority, 
and  an  unlawful  and  arrogant  assumption  of  its 
prerogatives.  I  see  Hoses,  the  servant  of  God, 
though  raised  to  the  headship  of  his  people,  ex- 


eluded  from  the  land  of  Canaan  and  condemned  to 
a  solitary  death  in  the  mountains  of  the  desert; 
and  I  perceive,  as  the  cause,  that  he  failed,  before 
the  complaining  Israelites,  to  give  the  entire  glory 
to  his  Sovereign,  but  wavered  in  his  faith  and 
"  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips."  I  see  Uzzah, 
smitten  by  the  hand  of  God,  sinking  a  corpse  before 
His  ark ;  and  I  learn  the  cause  to  be  simply  a  fear- 
fulness  for  that  ark,  and  an  unauthorized  attempt 
to  save  it.  I  see  the  leprous  Captain  of  the  Syrian 
host  turning  in  contemptuous  pride  from  the  simple 
remedy  prescribed  by  God's  prophet  for  his  cure, 
and  moving  off  in  a  rage  with  the  prospect  of  pass 
ing  the  remnant  of  his  days  a  miserable  leper  ;  and 
that  because  he  could  not  discern  the  reason  why 
the  waters  of  Jordan,  though  appointed  by  God, 
should  have  an  efficacy  superior  to  that  of  the 
rivers  of  his  own  country.  I  see  many  of  the  fol 
lowers  of  our  Lord,  who  had  actually  witnessed 
His  miracles,  turning  back  and  abandoning  forever 
the  hopes  of  eternal  life  through  His  blood  ;  and 
that,  because  He  made  that  life  depend  upon  verily 
eating  His  body,  ("he  that  eateth  me,  even  he 
shall  live  by  me  ;  ")  and  then,  because  they  mur 
mured  at  so  hard  a  saying,  He  refused  to  do  more 
than  urge  with  increased  solemnity  the  necessity  of 
their  implicit  faith  and  obedience. 

In  these,  therefore,  as  well  as  in  a  multitude  of 
other  instances,  I  could  not  fail  to  perceive,  as 
God's  hand  had  written  the  lesson  with  an  awful 
plainness,  that  human  reason  runs  the  most  terrible 


AND    SUBMITTED    TO    WITHOUT    RESERVE. 

risk,  in  attempting  to  treat  as  non-essential  any 
truth,  no  matter  how  apparently  insignificant,  or  to 
modify  and  abate  the  literal  force,  of  any  truth, 
no  matter  how  deeply  incomprehensible,  provided 
only  God  has  revealed  it. 


CHAPTER   III. 

IN  WHAT  WAY  GOD  HAS  NOT   SECURED  TO  US  THE  GUIDANCE 
OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST  IN  LEARNING  HIS   WILL. 

To  my  mind  it  was  settled,  therefore,  that  I  had 
a  right  to  demand  not  only  a  certain  infallible 
answer  to  the  question,  generally,  "  What  is  God's 
will  1  "  but  also  particularly  ;  that  is,  in  respect 
to  each  truth,  however  small,  however  mysterious, 
which  God  has  proposed  to  my  faith  or  enjoined 
upon  my  practice. 

Under  this  view,  I  entered  upon  the  inauiry, 
how,  or  by  what  means  are  we  to  come  to  an  exact 
knowledge  of  God's  will  as  contained  in  Holy 
Scripture  ?  So  that  we  may  have  an  absolute  cer 
tainty  that  it  teaches  this  or  that  particular  truth  — 
teaches  this  much  of  truth,  and  no  more  ? 

It  was  clear  to  me  already  that  God  alone  could 
help  me  —  that  HE,  who  is  the  sole  fountain  of 
revelation,  must  also  be  its  sole  interpreter.  In 
this  idea,  too,  I  was  happy  to  believe  all  Christians 
more  or  less  acquiesced ;  that  no  denomination 
claims  the  ability  of  itself  to  understand  the  Scrip- 
4 


38       IN  WHAT  WAY  GOD  HAS  NOT  SECURED  TO  US 

tures,  but  that  the  theory  of  all  is,  that  man  must 
go  out  of  himself,  must  cast  himself  upon  God 
as  the  only  sure  dependence ;  that  His  Spirit  must 
in  some  way  "  guide  us  into  all  truth,"  or  we  shall 
never  know  it.  In  what  way,  then,  (this  being 
the  form  which  the  question  finally  assumed)  has 
God  secured  to  us  the  infallible  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  our  interpreter  of  His  will  ? 

Here  I  hardly  need  say  that  any  way  which  God 
may  appoint  must  be  a  perfect  way.  That  it  would 
be  highly  derogatory  to  His  infinite  wisdom  and 
power  to  suppose  it  possible  that  He  should  essay 
to  provide  man  with  the  means  of  guidance  to  His 
will,  and  that  means  be  not,  in  every  respect  and  in 
every  sense,  sufficient  to  secure  unerring  knowledge. 

I  first  examined  the  means  suggested  by  a  large 
majority  of  Protestants  :  viz.,  that  through  prayer, 
God  would  enlighten  each  man's  mind  to  under 
stand,  after  diligent  study,  the  true  sense  of  the 
Bible. 

The  result  of  my  examination  forced  upon  me 
the  conviction  that  this  could  not  be  the  means  of 
God's  appointment,  for  the  following  among  other 
reasons. 

1.  First,  any  means  of  help  coming  from  God  to 
mankind,  must,  to  commend  itself  to  their  reason 
able  acceptance,  be  of  universal  application  to 
them,  and  adapted  to  all  their  various  states  and 
capacities.  But  this  means  proposed  by  Protes 
tants,  I  perceived  to  be,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  of 
very  partial  application  —  suited  only  to  the  cir 


THE    GUIDANCE    OF    THE    HOLY    GHOST.          39 

cumstances  of  a  very  small  portion  of  those  for 
whose  instruction  in  the  way  of  life  the  Bible  was 
intended. 

For,  observe,  the  mere  possession  of  a  certain 
amount  of  paper  and  ink,  and  binding,  called  the 
Bible,  even  were  it  in  every  man's  hand,  and  he  a 
man  of  prayer,  could  go  but  a  very  little  way  to 
wards  a  real  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God.     For 
when  this  book  comes  to  hand,  the  man  must  be 
able  to  read  it  —  to  read  it  critically  —  to  know 
when  he  reads  it,  that  it  is  verily  the  book  in  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  deposited  the  mind  of  God  —  that 
in   substance  at  least,  it  came  from   the   inspired 
Apostles,  and  has  been  transmitted  to  himself  with 
out  serious  change  of  any  kind.     But  how  many, 
I   asked   myself,  of  those  who  are   commanded  to 
know  the  Bible  and  are  to  be  judged  by  the  Bible, 
have  even  such  ability  to  attain  its  real  meaning? 
or  can   assume  themselves  beyond  doubt,  that  the 
book  they  have  in  their  hand  contains  God's  will  ? 
For   no  one,  I  presume,  maintains  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  to  assist  individuals  to  a  knowledge  of 
mere  facts ;  such,  for  example,  as  pertain  to  the 
inspiration  and  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  or  that  we  are  to  look  to  His  illumina 
tion  for  ability  to  translate  them  ourselves,  or  judge 
of  the  translations  of  others.     Yet  all  these  things, 
it  will  be  perceived,  must  be  attained  before  we  can 
even  enter  upon  the  task,  the  fearful  task,  of  Scrip 
ture  interpretation.       Surely,   I  said  to  myself,  a 
method  of  arriving  at  God's  will  so  very  partial  in 


40      IN  WHAT  WAY  GOD  HAS  NOT  SECURED  TO  US 

its  applicability  to  the  necessities  of  the  helpless 
creatures  whom  it  professes  to  aid,  cannot  have 
God  for  its  author.  The  idea  is  too  unreasonable 
for  the  acceptance  of  man,  too  unworthy  of  the 
perfections  of  God. 

£.  This  appeared,  too,  from  another  considera 
tion.  If  there  be  one  intention  of  our  Lord  more 
manifest  in  His  life  among  men  than  another,  it  is 
that  of  providing  especially  for  the  spiritual  wants 
of  the  poor ;  of  that  class  of  persons  who  had 
hitherto  been  so  shamefully  neglected  by  their  fel 
low-men.  Among  the  multitude  of  things  which 
He  did  and  said  in  their  behalf,  and  for  their  especial 
encouragement,  He  proclaimed,  as  a  great  funda 
mental  provision  secured  by  His  coming,  as  one 
which  by  its  realization  in  Himself,  established  His 
divine  claims :  "  To  the  poor  is  the  Gospel 
preached."  The  Gospel  preached.  Not  a  mere 
sound  uttered  in  their  hearing  ;  but  a  "  certain 
sound,"  —  a  sound  of  "  glad  tidings  "  —  a  distinct 
proclamation  of  a  way  of  eternal  life  opened  to 
them  as  condemned  by  their  sins  to  eternal  death. 
"  To  the  poor  is  the  Gospel  preached ;  "  —  the 
Gospel  preached  —  not  communicated  by  means 
of  a  book,  which  they  (each  for  himself)  are  to 
read  and  criticize,  and  understand  —  but  preached 
by  a  clear,  unerring,  living  voice.  How  reason 
able,  how  admirable,  how  full  of  love,  of  gracious 
consideration  for  the  poor,  I  exclaimed  within  my 
self,  is  this,  our  Lord's  instituted  method  of  im 
parting  to  them  a  sure  knowledge  ol  His  salvation  \ 


THE    GUIDANCE    OF    THE    HOLY    GHOST.  41 

But  how  unreasonable,  because  in  every  way  un 
suitable,  this  method  insisted  on  by  Protestants.     I 
say  unsuitable.     For,  to  send  the  poor  and  ignorant 
to  learn  the  way  to  save  their  souls  from  the  Bible 
merely,  seemed  to  me  as  obviously  preposterous,  as 
it  would  be  to  send  them  to  learn  how  to  get  their 
daily  bread,  to  the   Principia  of    Newton,  or  the 
Agricultural  Chemistry  of  Liebig.     Besides,  I  had 
seen  with  my  own  eyes,  in  a  long  ministry  to  the 
poor,   the    fearful   working    among    them  of    this 
Protestant  method  of  learning  God's  will.      The 
stupid  ignorance  —  the  horrid  misconceptions  —  the 
frightful  perversions  —  the  soul-sickening  debase 
ments,  which  it  wrought  in  my  own  field  of  labor, 
had  been  pain  and  grief  to  me  for  more  than  thirty 
years.     How  could  I  believe,  with  these  sad  lessons 
gathered  from  my  own  observation,  that  a  God  of 
wisdom  could  justify  His  own  avowed  designs  of 
special  mercy  to  the  poor  and  helpless,  by  leaving 
them  a  prey  to  this  merciless  scheme  of  attaining  a 
knowledge   of    His  will  through  their  individual 
minds  and  judgments  ?      An  idea  so  revolting  even 
to  my  reason,  was  at  once  dismissed  as  offensive  to 
Almighty  God. 

3.  Another  manifest  difficulty  attended  the  Prot 
estant  scheme.  It  failed  to  secure  to  mankind 
what  God  required  them  to  maintain,  — ' <  unity  in 
the  faith." 

Where  there  is   "  one  Lord,"  reason,  as  well  as 
revelation,  demands  "  one  faith  "     Where  there  is 
"  one  God  and  Father  of  us  all,"  reason,  as  well 
4* 


£       IN  WHAT  WAY  GOD  HAS  NOT  SECURED  TO  US 

as  revelation,  demands  that  we  all,  as  "  God's  dear 
children,"  be  of  "  one  mind,  and  one  heart,  striv 
ing  together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel."  I  was 
not  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  Christ,  our  great 
Prophet,  declaring  Himself  to  be  "  the  light ;  "  and 
the  plan  of  salvation  instituted  in  Himself  as  "  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life."  And  His  people  as 
those  who  hear  "  His  voice,"  His  one  voice,  "and 
follow  HIM."  Neither  did  I  wonder,  as  I  listened 
to  the  earnestness  of  the  apostolic  entreaties,  that 
f(  we  all  speak  the  same  things,  and  be  perfectly 
joined  together,  not  only  in  the  same  heart,  but 
also  in  the  same  judgment."  Nor  at  the  terrible 
threatenings  against  such  "  as  cause  divisions  ;  " 
nor  at  the  pressing  admonitions  to  the  faithful  to 
"  avoid  them,"  and  to  adhere  to  their  own  pastors, 
who  are  sent  for  "the  edifying  of  the  body  of 
Christ,"  to  the  end  "  that  we  may  all  come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man  —  unto  the  fulness  of 
the  stature  of  Christ."  But  in  looking  at  the  prin 
ciple  of  private  judgment  in  matters  of  Christian 
faith,  common  sense,  as  well  as  common  observa 
tion,  taught  me  that  its  result  among  self-willed 
men  could  be  no  other  than  endless  discord.  I  say 
common  observation.  For  the  result  was  actually 
before  me.  And  1  was  not  surprised  to  find,  un 
der  this  system,  no  error  too  absurd,  not  to  have 
been  broached.  To  find  among  the  hundreds  of 
sects  produced  by  its  operation,  every  fundamental 
doctrine  of  the  blessed  Gospel  denied,  and  every 


THE    GUIDANCE    OF    THE    HOLY    GHOST.  43 

form  and  shade  of  anathematized  error  maintained, 
and  all  cursed  with  the  uncertainty  of  perpetual 
change.  As  well,  thought  I,  might  the  harmony 
of  society  be  preserved  by  intrusting  the  interpre 
tation  of  law  to  each  individual  litigant,  as  the 
"  unity  of  faith,"  by  committing  the  discovery  and 
meaning  of  God's  word  to  the  search  of  each  indi 
vidual  mind.  Here,  therefore,  I  felt  that  I  might 
leave  the  question  as  sufficiently  settled,  so  far  as  re 
gards  the  instrumentality  of  mere  private  judgment. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM  OF  HIS 
GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED   SENSE. 

HERE,  however,  I  was  met  by  a  more  plausible 
theory.  "With  the  admission  that,  in  a  certain  sense, 
and  to  a  certain  degree,  the  Church  of  Christ  had 
authority  to  judge  in  matters  of  faith,  had  been 
made  by  God  the  interpreter  of  His  will  to  men. 
This  theory  I  well  understood,  as  I  had  held  it, 
and  acted  upon  it,  in  common  with  the  party  in 
England  and  America  called  "  High  Churchmen," 
during  the  whole  of  my  ministerial  life.  We  main 
tained  that  in  the  commission  of  Christ  to  His 
Apostles,  "  Go  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them,'-5 
&c.,  and  in  the  communication  of  priestly  prerog 
ative,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost :  whosesoever 
sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them ;  and 


44    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained/'  God 
had  constituted  His  Church  the  authoritative  teacher 
of  His  will  to  mankind,  and  the  authorized  dis 
penser  among  them  of  His  holy  discipline.  That 
all  were  bound  to  "  hear  the  Church,,"  and  that,  if 
any  obstinately  refused,  they  were  to  be  treated  as 
<(  heathens  and  publicans."  That  the  Church 
founded  "  upon  a  rock,"  was  "  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth,"  full  able  to  resist  "  the  gates 
of  hell."  That  "  God  had  set  in  the  Church  some 
Apostles,  some  prophets,  some  pastors  and  teachers 
for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith 
and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a 
perfect  man,  &c.  That  we  be  no  more  children 
tossed  to  and  fro  with  every  wind  of  doctrine  by 
the  sleight  of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness  whereby 
they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive,  but  speaking  the  truth 
in  love,  may  grow  up  into  Him  in  all  things  which 
is  the  Head."  That  a  divine  necessity  was  laid 
upon  the  faithful,  to  "  obey  those  that  have  the 
rule  over  them  and  submit  themselves,  because  they 
watch  for  their  souls,  and  have  to  give  account  of 
them."  "  To  remember  those  who  have  spoken 
to  them  the  word  of  God  —  to  follow  their  faith, 
considering  the  end  of  their  conversation."  Thai 
this  necessity  was  enforced  by  the  awful  sayings, 
"  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth  me  ;  and  he  that 
despiseth  you,  despiseth  me."  And  again,  "  We 
are  of  God  —  he  that  knoweth  God,  heareth  us 
But  he  that  is  not  of  God,  heareth  not  us." 


OF  HIS  GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       45 

To  give  and  maintain  the  true  meaning  of  this 
Scripture,  we  appealed  constantly  and  confidently  to 
the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church.  The  most  strik 
ing  passages  from  these  fathers  touching  church 
authority,  were  like  household  words  among  us. 
Thus  St.  Clement  of  Rome  *  writes  as  follows : 

"  Do  ye  who  laid  the  foundation  of  this  sedition 
submit  yourselves  to  the  priests, -\  and  be  instructed 
unto  repentance.  Bending  the  knees  of  your 
hearts,  learn  to  be  subject,  laying  aside  all  proud 
and  arrogant  boasting  of  your  tongues  ;  for  it  is 
better  for  you  to  be  found  in  the  sheepfold  of 
Christ,  little  and  approved,  than,  thinking  your 
selves  above  others,  to  be  cast  out  of  hope."  —  Ep. 
i.  ad  Cor.  n.  54,  fyc.  And  St.  Ignatius  of  An- 
tioch :  £  "It  becomes  you  to  concur  in  the  mind 

of  your  Bishop For  whomsoever  the  master 

of  the  house  sendeth  to  his  own  household,  we 
ought  so  to  receive  as  we  would  Him  that  sent  him. 
It  is  plain  that  we  ought  to  look  to  the  Bishop  as 
to  the  Lord  himself.  §  Obeying  the  Bishop  and 
presbytery  with  an  entire  mind"  —  Ep.  ad  Ephes. 
"  Neither  attempt  ye  any  thing  that  seems  good  to 
your  own  judgment,  ||  but  let  there  be  in  the  same 
place  one  prayer,  one  supplication,  one  mind,  one 

*  The  Bishop  of  that  See,  honored  by  the  near  friendship  of  St.  Peter,  and 
writing  about  fifty  years  after  Christ. 

|  }X-ttOTCL-yr]T£  TOIS  irpsvffvTSpois. 

J  The  Bishop  of  that  See  and  the  disciple  of  St.  John,  writing  about 
105-107,  and  suffering  martyrdom  in  107. 

§  Toy  ovv  iiriaxonov  i>j\6v  on  w?  O.VTOV  rdv  Kvpivv  del  irpoapXinBii'. 

||  Or  according  to  Cotelerius,  "  Ut  aliquid  vobis  seorsim  rationi  consenta- 
neum  videafur." 


46    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

hope,  in  love,  in  joy  undefiled." — Ep.  ad  Magnes 
tf  Guard  against  such  men  [heretics,]  and  guarded 
ye  will  be,  if  ye  are  not  puffed  up,  nor  separated 
from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  from  the  Bishop, 
and  from  the  regulations  of  the  Apostles." —  Ep. 
ad  Trail.  "  My  soul  for  the  soul  of  those  who 
are  in  subjection  to  the  Bishop,  and  presbyters,  and 
deacons,  and  my  portion  be  with  them  in  the  Lord." 
—  Ep.  ad  Polyc. 

And  St.  Polycarp  *  declared,  ' f  Wherefore,  it  is 
necessary,  that  ye  be  subject  to  the  presbyters  and 
deacons  as  unto  God  and  Christ,"  —  Ep.  ad  Philip. 

And  St.  Theophilus  f  was  heard  to  say,  "  As  in 
the  sea  there  are  inhabited  and  well-watered  islands, 
with  ports  and  harbors,  that  they  who  are  tempest 
tossed  may  find  shelter  in  them ;  so  to  the  world, 
agitated  and  tossed  by  sins,  God  hath  given  holy 
churches,  in  which  are  the  doctrines  of  truth,  $  and 
unto  which  they  who  wish  to  be  saved  fly."  —  Ad 
Autoly. 

And  St.  Irenseus,  Bishop  of  Lyons,  §  as  he  af 
firmed  :  "  There  being  such  proofs  to  look  to,  we 
ought  not  still  to  seek  among  others  for  truth  which 
it  is  easy  to  receive  from  the  Church,  seeing  that  the 
Apostles  most  fully  committed  unto  this  Church, 


*  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  instructed  by  St.  John,  and  lived  on  terms  of  intimacy 
with  many  who  had  seen  our  Lord  ;  he  wrote  this  epistle  about  107. 

f  Bishop  of  Antioch,  highly  commended  by  the  Fathers,  and  wrote  abou 
180. 

J  eKK\r](ria.s  &yia$  ...  at  8ifiaaKCi\ia.i  r>7?  dXr/Osias  sicri. 

$  The  disciple  of  St.  Polycarp ;  he  wrote  about  185,  and  was  martyred 
m  202. 


OF  HIS  GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       47 

as  unto  a  rich  repository,  all  whatever  is  of  truth)* 
that  every  one  that  willeth  may  draw  out  of  it  the 

drink  of  life Therefore  we  ought  to  cling 

with  the  utmost  care  to  whatever  is  of  the  Church,f 

and  to  hold  fast  to  the  tradition  of  truth But 

what  if  the  Apostles  had  not  left  writings :  would  it 
not  have  been  needful  to  follow  the  order  of  that 
tradition  which  they  delivered  to  those  to  whom 
they  committed  the  Churches  ?  An  ordinance  to 
which  many  of  the  barbarous  nations  who  believe 
in  Christ  assent,  having  salvation  written,  without 
paper  and  ink,  by  the  Spirit  in  their  hearts,  and 
sedulously  guarding  the  old  tradition."  —  Adv 
Hares.  I.  3. 

Again  :  "  In  the  Church  God  hath  placed  Apos 
tles,  prophets,  doctors,  and  every  other  operation 
of  the  Spirit,  of  which  those  are  not  partakers  who . 
do  not  hasten  to  the  Church. J.  .  .For  where  the 
Church  is  there  is  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  where 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  there  is  the  Church  and  every 
grace ;  but  the  Spirit  is  truth.  §  Wherefore,  they 
who  do  not  partake  of  it,  are  neither  nourished 
unto  life  by  the  breast  of  a  mother,  nor  see  the 
most  clear  spring  which  flows  from  Christ's  body, 
but  dig  unto  themselves  broken  cisterns  out  of 
earthy  trenches,  and  out  of  the  filth  drink  foul 


*  Quum  apostoli,  quasi  in  depositorium  dives,  plenissime  in  earn  contulerint 
omnia  qua  sunt  veritatis. 

|  Q,uae  autem  sunt  ecclesia!,  cum  summa  diligentia  diligere. 

\  Cujus  non  aunt  participes  omnes  qui  non  currunt  ad  ecclesiam. 

§  Ubi  enim  ecclesia,  ibi  et  Spiritus  Dei,  et  ubi  Spiritus  Dei,  illic  ecclesia, 
et  oranis  gratia ;  Spiritus  autem  veritas. 


48    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

water,  fleeing  from  the  faith  of  the  Church,"-— 
Ibid.  1.  3. 

And  again :  "  The  preaching  of  the  Church,  in 
which  one  and  the  same  way  of  salvation  is  set 
forth  throughout  the  whole  world,  is  firm  and  true.* 
For  to  this  Church  has  been  intrusted  the  light  of 
God,  and  on  this  account  is  the  wisdom  of  God, 
through  which  He  saves  all  men,  proclaimed  in  the 

gates  ;  in  the  streets  she  acts  confidently For, 

every  where  the  Church  preacheth  the  truth ;  and 
this  is  the  lamp  with  seven  branches,  which  bears 
the  light  of  Christ."  —  Ibid.  1.  v. 

Thus,  too,  Clement  of  Alexandria,f  who  says  : 
"  The  Apostle,  writing  to  the  Ephesians,  has  very 
clearly  manifested  what  we  are  seeking  after,  say 
ing  thus,  (  Until  we  all  meet  in  the  unity  of  the 
faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  God,  unto  a  perfect 
man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  age  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ,'  &c. ;  saying  these  things  unto  the  building 
up  of  the  body  of  Christ. .  .the  alone  perfect  in 
righteousness  ;  but  are  children,  avoiding  the  winds 
of  heresy,  which  puff  up  to  swelling  pride,  and 
not  believing  those  who  teach  otherwise  than  the 
Father Sj  J  are  then  perfected,  when  we  are  a  Church, 
having  received  Christ  the  Head." 

Thus  also  Tertullian,  §  where  he  declares  :  f '  It  is 
not  lawful  to  indulge  any  thing  of  our  own  choice, 


*  Ecclesiffi  quidem  pradicatio  vera  etfirma. 

f  A  celebrated  priest  of  the  Church  there,  and  master  of  the  catechetical 
schools,  writing  about  200. 

J  M>;  KaTairiffTtvovT£$  ro?y  aAAwj  ruitv  vovBsrovfft  Trarlpaf. 

$  Contemporary  with  Irenaeus,  living  at  Carthage,  and  writing  about  190. 


OF  II1S  GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       49 

as  neither  to  choose  that  which  any  one  may  have 
introduced  of  his  own  choice.*  We  have  for  our 
authors  the  Apostles  of  the  Lord,  who  did  not  even 
themselves  choose  any  thing  to  he  introduced  of 
their  own  will,!  but  faithfully  delivered  over  to 
the  nations  the  religion  which  they  received  from 

Christ Now  what  the  Apostles  preached,  that 

is,  what  Christ  revealed  unto  them.  .  .must  be 
proved  in  no  other  way  than  by  the  same  Churches 
which  the  Apostles  themselves  founded.  J  Them 
selves  preaching  to  them,  as  well  viva  voce,  as  men 
say,  as  afterwards  by  epistles.  If  these  things  'be 
so,  it  becomes  manifest  that  all  doctrine  wilich 
agrees  with  these  apostolic  Churches,  the  wombs 
and  originals  of  the  faith,  must  be  accounted  true, 
as  without  doubt  containing  that  which  Churches 
have  received  from  the  Apostles,  the  Apostles  from 
Christ,  Christ  from  God ;  but  that  every  doctrine 
must  be  judged  at  once  to  be  false,  which  savoreth 
things  contrary  to  the  truth  of  the  Churches.  "§  — 
De  Prccs.  Hcer. 

And  Origen,  ||  who  says :  "  Let  there  be  preserved 
the  ecclesiastical  teaching,  which,  transmitted  by  the 
order  of  succession  from  the  Apostles,  remains  even 


*  Nobis  vero  niliil  ex  nostro  arbitrio  indulgere  licet,  sed  noc  eligera  quod 
aliijuis  de  arbitrio  suo  intluxerit. 

f  Ex  suo  arbitrio. 

\  Non  aliter  probari  debere,  nisi  per  easdem  ecclesias  quas  ipac  a^ostoli 
condiderunt. 

$  Constat  oinnem  doctrinam  qua;  cum  illis  ecclesiis  apostolicis,  matricioua 
et  originalibus  fidei  conspiret,  veritati  deputandam  ....  Oinnem  vero  <*  octti- 
nam,  de  memlacio  prajtidicandam,  quae  sapiat  contra  veritatem  ecclesiarunx 

|j  Au  Egyptian  writer  of  great  celebrity,  about  020. 


50    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

to  the  present  day  in  the  Churches  ;  that  alone  is  to 
be  believed  to  be  truth  which  in  nothing  differs 
from  the  ecclesiastical  and  apostolic  tradition."  *  — 
De  Prin.  T.  1.  "  He,  Christ,  is  the  light  of  the 
world,  who  also  with  His  light  enlightens  the 
Church.  For  as  the  moon  is  said  to  derive  light 
from  the  sun,  that  by  it  even  the  night  may  be 
illumined,  so  also  the  Church,  having  received  the 
light  of  Christ,  gives  light  to  all  who  live  in  the 
night  of  ignorance." — T.  ii.  Horn.  i.  in  Gen. 
"  They  who  teach  the  word  according  to  the 
Church  (qui  ccdesiastice  docent)  are  the  prophets 
of  God."—  T.  iii.  Com.  in  Matt. 

And  St.  Cyprian,t  whose  praise  is  in  all  the 
Churches :  " (  He  that  heareth  you  heareth  me,' 
&c.  There  being  these  numerous  and  weighty, 
and  many  other  such  examples  as  precedents, 
whereby  God  hath  condescended  to  confirm  the 
sacerdotal  authority  and  power,  what  kind  of  men, 
thinkest  thou,  are  they  who,  enemies  of  the  Priest 
hood,  and  rebels  against  the  Catholic  Church,  are 
neither  scared  by  the  Lord's  forewarning  threats, 
nor  by  the  vengeance  of  a  future  judgment  ?  For 
neither  have  heresies  sprung  up,  nor  schisms  been 
engendered,  from  other  source  than  this,  —  that 
obedience  is  not  paid  to  the  priest  of  God.  .  .who  for 
the  time  is  judge  in  Christ's  stead,  whom,  if  the 
brotherhood  would  according  to  the  divine  com- 


*  Ilia  sola  credemla  est  veritas,  qnce  in  nullo  ab  ecclesiastica  et  apostolica 
discordat  traditione. 
•f  Bishop  of  Carthage,  wrote  about  150-155,  martyred  158. 


OF  HIS  GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       51 

mantis  obey*  no  one  would  stir  in  opposition  to 
the  college  of  Priests."  —  Ep.  iv.  ad  Cornel. 

And  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  :  "  Let  the  lay 
man  honor  the  good  shepherd.  For  he  who  hears 
him,  hears  Christ,  and  he  who  despises  him  despises 
Christ.  .  .For  He  has  said,  He  that  heareth  you 
heareth  Me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you  despiseth 
Me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  Me  despiseth  Him  that 
sent  Me."  —  lib.  ii.  c.  xx. 

And  St.  Pamphilius  *(•  declares  :  "  That  alone  is 
to  be  received  and  believed  as  truth,  which  in 
nothing  is  opposed  to  the  apostolic  and  ecclesiasti 
cal  dogmas."  —  Published  in  the  works  of  Gallan- 
dus.  T.  iv. 

Lactantius,  the  famed  rhetorician  of  Mcomedia, 
affirmed,  about  A.D.  300 :  "  The  Catholic  Church 
is  the  only  one  which  retains  the  true  worship. 
This  is  the  source  of  truth ;  this  is  the  dwelling- 
place  of  faith  :  this  the  temple  of  God,  which  who 
soever  enters  not,  or  from  which  whosoever  de 
parts,  he  is  an  alien  from  the  hope  of  life  and 
eternal  salvation.9'  £ 

Eusebius  writes  :  "  The  Church  of  God,  journey 
ing  straight  in  the  right  and  royal  road,  has  con 
demned  all  the  rest  as  by-paths  (r«c  pev  ullag  irao^x- 
$  &n£Soxi[.iacie.~)  and  she  transmits  to  her  votaries 


*  ...  Ad  tempus  juclex  vice  Christ!  cogitatur,  cui  si  spcuiidum  magisteria 
divina  olttemperaret  fraternitas. 

f   Priest  and  martyr  of  Palestine  about  295. 

J  Sola  Catholica  ecclesia  est,  quae  veruin  culturn  retinet.  Hie  est  tons 
veritatis,  hoc  domicilium  fide i,  quod  si  quis  rion  intraverit,  vel  a  quo  si  quis 
exiverit,  a  spe  vitte  ac  salutis  aeteniffi  alienus  est. 


5£    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

the    knowledge   of  divine   grace." — See    Eccles. 
Theol  1.  i.  c.  8. 

St.  Hilary  :  *  "  He  (our  Lord)  signifies  that  they 
who  are  placed  without  the  Church  cannot  attain 
to  any  understanding  of  the  divine  words."  -  Com. 
in  St.  Matt.  c.  xiii. 

And  the  great  St.  Athaiiasius :  f  "  Let  us  see 
the  tradition  which  is  from  the  beginning,  and  the 
doctrine  and  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church,  which 
the  Lord  indeed  communicated,  but  the  apostles 
proclaimed  and  the  fathers  guarded;  for  on  this 
has  the  Church  been  founded,  and  he  who  falls 
away  from  this,  would  not  be,  nor  would  he  even 
be  called,  a  Christian."  $'—  Ep.  i.  ad.  Scrap. 

St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  §  exhorts :  "  Take  thou 
hold,  as  a  learner  and  in  profession,  that  faith 
only  which  is  now  delivered  thee  by  the  Church, 
and  is  fenced  round  out  of  all  holy  scripture."  || 
Cat  v.  n.  12. 

St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa^I  affirms:  "Whoso  look- 
eth  unto  the  Church,  looketh  at  once  unto 
Christ."**  — In  Cant  T.  i. 

And  St.  Basil  the   Great  ft   says:   "We  stand 


*  Bishop  of  Poictiers,  about  355. 

f  Assistant  of  the  Patriarch  of  Alexandria  at  the  first  Council  of  Nictea  ; 
and  afterwards  occupant  of  that  Patriarchal  See. 

J iv  ravrri  yap  /;  £KK\rj<Tia.  r£0£/i«Xi<iJTai,  KO.I  b  ravTijs  £KTTiTTTUvt 

ovr,  av  iirj,  OVT  av  I'n  \tyoiro  XpiffTiavos 

§  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  345. 

||  Hitrriv.  .  .  rripijaov  poviiv  r>>  i>vo  rrjs  £KK\r]crias  vvvl  aol 
TIIV  SK  Tratrr'/s  j/p«^ijs  laxvpunivriVt 

V  Bishop  of  that  See  371. 

**  'O  r/;oj  ri]v  tKK\riaiav  j3~Mitb)v,  rrpos  rov  Xpioroj'  avTiK 

tt  Bishop  of  Cajsarea,  3u9 


OF  HIS  GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       53 

in  special  need  of  assistance  from  you  (Western 
Bishops),  to  the  end  that  they  who  profess  the 
Apostolic  Faith,  having  done  away  with  the  schisms 
which  they  have  invented,  may  henceforward  be 
subjected  to  the  authority  of  the  Church,*  and  see 
our  own  churches  also  recover  their  pristine  glory 
of  orthodoxy." —  T.  iii.  p.  i.  Ep.  xcii.  ad  Ital.  fyc. 

And  St.  Epiphanius  f  declares  :  < '  There  is  a 
king's  highway,  and  that  is  the  Church  of  God 
and  the  pathway  of  Truth,  t  But  each  of  the 

heresies  have  left  the  king's  highway and  is 

dragged  forward  into  error  ;  and  the  shamelessness 
of  error  knows  no  limits  in  every  heresy.  Come, 
then,  ye  servants  of  God  and  children  of  the  Holy 
Church,  ye  who  are  acquainted  with  the  safe  rule,  § 
and  are  walking  in  the  way  of  truth,  and  are  not 
dragged  from  side  to  side  by  words,  the  summons 
of  each  false  sect,  for  slippery  are  their  ways." — 
T.  i.  Adv.  Hares. 

Thus  also  the  Council  of  Aries,  ||  which  asserted 
its  right  to  condemn  heretics,  on  the  ground  that 
the  Church  is  God's  Judge  in  matters  of  faith : 
"  Whom  (the  heretics)  both  the  present  authority 
of  God  and  the  tradition  and  rule  of  Truth  have 

in  such  wise  repudiated wherefore  God,  and 

our  mother  the  Church  being  judge,  she  who  both 


*  'Yi70Tayrjvat  TOV  \oinov  rrj  dvOcvria  Trjs  ixxXrivi 

f  Made  Bishop  of  Salamis,  366. 

|  "Ecrrt  yap  bSog  /3affi\iKti,  "ins  iariv  r'j  TOV  Qeov 


$  Ol  TOV  Kav6va  da(f>a\n  yivwaKo 
|j  Held  314. 

5* 


54    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

knows  and  approves  her  own,*  they  were  either 
condemned  or  repulsed."  —  .Ep.  Syri.  Silvestro  et 
al  fyc. 

And  St.  Ambrose,t  when  he  says :  "  Thou  art 
in  the  sight  of  the  world  ;  let  the  Church  point' out 
the  way  to  thee."  + 

And  St.  Jerome,  §  when  he  exhorts  :  "  Go  ye 
not  out ;  believe  not  that  the  Son  of  Man  is  either 
in  the  desert  of  the  Gentiles  or  in  the  secret  cham 
bers  of  the  heretics  ;  but  that  from  the  east  even  to 
the  west.  His  faith' shines  in  the  Catholic  Churches." 
—  T.  vii.  I  4,  Com.  in  St.  Matt. 

St.  Chrysostom ||  affirms:  "He  (Christ  in  the 
passage,  Lo,  I  am  with  you,  fyc.)  addresses 
Himself  to  believers  as  one  body.  For  tell  me 
not,  says  he,  of  the  difficulty  of  these  things,  for  J 
am  with  you,  making  all  things  easy." 

And  St.  Augustine  :  ^  "  For  my  part,  I  would 
not  believe  the  Gospel  unless  the  authority  of  the 
Catholic  Church  moved  me  to  it."** — T.  viii 
contr.  Manich. 

And  Vincentius  of  Lerins  ff  says  :  "  Discern  the 
truth  of  Catholic  Faith  from  the  falsenesss  of 
heretical  pravity in  two  ways,  (1)  by  the 

*  duos  et  Dei  nostri  pnesens  auctoritas,  et  traditiu  ac  regula  veritatia  .... 
judice  Deo  et  inatre  ecclesia,  quae  suos  novit  et  cumprobat. 

f  Made  Bishop  against  his  will  374. 

J  Monstret  tibi  ecclesia  viam. 

$  Wrote  about  300. 

||  Made  Bishop  of  Constantinople  398. 

IT  Made  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Hippo  395. 

**  Ego  vero  evangelio  non  credercm,  nisi  me  Catholics  ecclesiae  commo 
veret  auctoritas. 

If  Wrote  about  435.    The  great  authority  among  Anglicans. 


OF  HIS  GUIDANCE  IX  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       55 

authority  of  the  Divine  Law ;  (2)  by  the  tradition 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Here  some  one  perhaps 
may  ask,  Seeing  that  the  canon  of  Scripture  is  per 
fect  and  self-sufficient,  what  need  is  there  that  the 
Church's  interpretation  be  joined  unto  it?  The 
reason  is,  because  all  men  do  not  take  the  sacred 
Scripture  on  account  of  its  profoundness  in  one 
and  the  same  sense For  this  cause  very  neces 
sary  it  is that  We  be  directed  according  to 

the  rule  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  Catholic  sense." 
—  Commonitorium. 

We  were  constrained  by  these  and  a  host  of  like 
authorities,  and  hence  the  belief  that  the  Church 
of  Christ,  in  a  certain  sense  and  to  a  certain  degree, 
had  the  right  to  decide  in  matters  of  faith. 

But  I  now  asked  myself,  in  what  sense  and  to 
what  degree  she  could  hold  this  right,  if  not  in  the 
most  unlimited?  Where  would  be  my  security,  if 
her  authority  to  me  was  not  to  be  considered  abso 
lute  and  final,  and  hence  infallible  1  I  saw  at  once 
that  any  authority  which  admitted  of  my  own  re 
vision  or  consent  before  it  took  effect,  could,  in  a 
matter  of  revelation  from  God,  be  no  authority,  and 
hence  no  guide.  And  therefore,  as  I  had  already 
yielded  assent  to  the  judgment  of  the  Catholic 
Church  by  virtue  of  her  divine  commission,  I  now 
felt  myself  under  the  necessity  of  yielding  to  her 
without  reserve,  without  question,  or  doubt.  In 
other  words,  of  holding  that  her  judgment  in  mat 
ters  of  faith  and  discipline,  when  officially  given 
through  her  priesthood,  must  be  distinct  and  deci- 


56    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

sive.  That  her  power  was  dispensed  to  her  from 
above,  to  qualify  her  to  be  a  guide  to  the  blind, 
and  "  a  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness." 

But  I  was  a  professed  teacher  and  overseer  in  the 
Church ;  and  as  such,  on  my  own  principles,  must 
be  invested  with  a  portion  of  the  Church's  power 
to  teach  and  to  guide.  This  thought,  when  brought 
seriously  to  the  test,  filled  me  with  alarm.  I  asked 
myself,  with  what  kind  of  authority  I  could  pro 
claim  the  truth  of  God  ?  Whether  I  really  felt 
myself  in  a  condition  to  speak  positively,  that  is, 
without  shadow  of  doubt,  to  the  inquiring  sinner. 
To  declare  to  one  demanding  certainty  (and  who 
should  not  ?)  on  vital  questions  of  faith  and  prac 
tice,  this  or  that  view  of  the  matter  is  infallibly 
true  ?  Suppose,  I  said  to  myself,  that  such  an  in 
quirer,  impelled  by  the  words  of  Christ,  "  He  that 
heareth  you  heareth  me,"  had  come  to  me,  with  an 
earnest  spirit,  to  know  certainly  and  exactly  "  what 
he  must  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  That,  convinced  by 
the  New  Testament  that  he  must  "  believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  he  had  come  to  be  informed 
"  Who  Jesus  Christ  is,  that  he  might  believe  on 
Him  ?  "  in  what  precise  relation  He  stands,  not  only 
to  God  the  Father  by  His  Divine  nature,  but  also 
to  us  sinners  by  His  Incarnation,  and  sufferings,  and 
death  ?  That,  convinced  by  the  New  Testament 
that  he  must  "  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to  wash 
away  his  sins,"  he  had  come  to  be  informed  the 
precise  nature  and  benefits  of  the  duty,  —  what  it 


OF    HIS  GUIDANCE  IN  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.      57 

implied  in  itself?  and  what  it  implied  in  respect  to 
the  recipient  ?  What  it  required  of  one  coming  to 
it  ?  What  it  did  for  one  submitting  to  it  ?  What 
it  expected  of  one  blessed  by  it  ?  That,  con 
vinced  by  the  New  Testament  of  his  having 
been  made  "  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost "  in 
baptism,  and  of  his  having  incurred  the  awful  pun 
ishment  of  those  who  "  defile  "  that  temple,  by 
mortal  sin  after  baptism,  he  had  come  to  me,  and 
now  earnestly  entreated  to  know  what  he  must  do 
to  regain  God's  favor,  and  be  restored  to  the  bless 
ings  he  had  forfeited  by  his  grievous  transgressions  ? 
That  he  wras  assured  by  the  New  Testament  that 
our  Lord,  before  His  ascension,  commissioned  His 
apostles  to  teach  "  every  creature  "  in  "  all  nations," 
giving  His  promise  to  be  with  them  to  (e  the  end 
of  the  world,"  and  sealing  that  promise  by  breath 
ing  into  them  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  saying  to  them, 
"  Whosesoever  sins  ye  remit  they  are  remitted  un 
to  them,  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain  they  are 
retained."  And  now  as  he  felt  himself  to  be  one 
of  the  creatures  to  whom  the  apostles  were  thus 
sent,  he  desired  and  demanded  to  be  explicitly  in 
formed  what  precise  benefit  he,  as  a  sinner,  could 
claim  under  this  commission,  and  what  exact  line 
of  duty  he  must  pursue  to  secure  it  ?  That,  con 
vinced  by  the  New  Testament  of  being  under  a 
solemn  and  weighty  obligation  "  to  keep  the  unity 
of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  to  strive  to 
gether  for  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  to  obey  those 
who  are  commissioned  to  watch  for  souls,"  he  asked 


58    GOD  HAS  NOT  MADE  THE  CHURCH  THE  MEDIUM 

to  be  instructed  in  this  great  duty,  for  a  knowledge 
of  its  nature  and  extent,  and  how  he  was  to  decide 
and  to  act  amid  the  conflicting  claims  and  diverse 
teachings  of  this  age  of  strife  and  apostasy  from 
the  Faith  ?  And  furthermore,  he  read  in  the  New 
Testament,  that  "  when  Christians  were  sick,  they 
were  commanded  to  send  for  the  elders  (or  priests) 
of  the  Church,  to  pray  over  them,  and  anoint  them 
with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  in  virtue  of 
which  great  blessings  were  to  be  expected.  And 
now  as  he  contemplated  that  last  fearful  scene  of 
his  life,  when  approaching  death  was  to  put  an  end 
to  his  obedience  and  the  use  of  God's  grace  on 
earth,  he  demanded,  from  the  depths  of  a  trem 
bling  soul,  to  know  infallibly  what  he  must  do  in 
respect  to  this  command,  which,  if  not  settled  now, 
must  address  itself  to  him  with  distracting  force  on 
his  death  bed !  Suppose,  thought  I,  all  this  and 
much  more  of  the  like  kind  should  be  addressed  to 
my  awakened  and  oppressed  mind,  what,  in  the  name, 
of  God,  could  I  answer  1  What  could  I  dare  claim, 
or  what  evince,  of  that  authority  implied  in  a  com 
mission  to  stand  before  sinners  in  "  Christ's  stead" 
and  speak  to  them  with  unerring  certainty,  the  will 
of  Christ  in  God  1  The  thought  was  confounding ! 
And  I  turned  from  myself  to  those  with  whom 
I  was  in  visible  communion,  and  I  asked,  in  respect 
to  the  above  questions,  if  I  have  not  this  authority 
to  answer  in  my  own  person,  perhaps  I  may  in 
conjunction  with  my  fellow-bishops  and  churchmen. 
In  our  hands  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was 


OF  HIS  GUIDANCE  IX  ANY  MODIFIED  SENSE.       59 

professedly  the  symbol  of  our  Faith,  and  the  au 
thorized  guide  in  our  teaching.  But  a  moment's 
thought  convinced  me,  that  on  the  solemn  ques 
tions  proposed  to  me  as  above,  this  Book,  whatever 
might  be  its  merits,  could  give  no  certainty.  For 
a  moment's  thought  only  was  needful  to  let  in  upon 
my  mind  the  sorrowful  fact  of  its  utter  inefficiency 
to  produce  agreement  among  the  only  persons  as 
sociated  with  me  and  around  me,  who  claimed  au 
thority  to  teach ;  —  inefficiency,  not  only  to  pro 
duce  agreement,  but  also  to  -restrain  from  mutual 
charges  of  teaching  falsely  —  teaching  "another 
Gospel."  Under  the  torturing  influence  of  a 
thought  which  thus  came  home  to  my  conscience, 
I  could  hear  myself  appealed  to  from  the  first  age 
of  the  Church :  "  Thou,  who  art  seeking,  why  dost 
thou  look  to  those  who  are  themselves  seeking  ? 
If  the  doubtful  are  led  by  the  doubtful,  the  unas 
sured  by  the  unassured,  the  blind  by  the  blind, 
they  must  needs  be  led  together  into  the  ditch.  "j 
And  strongly  was  I  moved  to  obey  at  once  the  ap 
peal  of  another  Father  :  f  "  There  is  here  a  contra 
diction  of  tongues,  —  divers  heresies,  divers  schisms 
cry  aloud :  run  to  the  tabernacle  of  God,  and  lay 
fast  hold  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  thou  shalt  be 
protected  from  the  contradiction  of  tongues."^: 

*  Tertullian  f  St.  Augustine. 

J  It  was  at  this  period,  as  I  was  performing  my  last  ordination,  that  I 
came  to  the  determination  never,  without  entire  relief  of  mind,  to  repeat  it. 
And  here  let  me  say,  that  I  had  not  as  yet,  had  communication  of  any  kind 
with  Catholics  on  the  subject  of  my  doubts  ;  and,  furthermore,  that  I  com 
municated  the  above  fact  to  a  member  of  my  Standing  Committee  before 
leaving  my  diocese,  as  he,  if  called  upon,  will  testify 


60      THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  TO  TEACH,  PERPETUAL, 
AND  WHY? 

IT  was  now  said  to  me,  by  way  of  kind  and 
anxious  expostulation,  and  by  a  very  dear  friend, 
that  at  this  time  of  peculiar  trial  to  the  Church, 
we  must  be  willing  to  take  part  in  the  suffering, 
must  try  to  be  thankful  for  the  blessings  which  are 
still  granted  us,  be  satisfied  with  a  near  approxi 
mation  to  the  truth.  That  the  certainty  of  the 
first  age  of  the  Church  is  not  our  inheritance. 
•But  my  yearning,  desolate  heart  demanded  "  WHY  ?  " 
demanded  the  proof  that  Christ's  command  to  "  hear 
the  Church  "  was  not  meant  for  our  day ;  and  that 
the  .  Church  is  not  now,  as  well  as  at  any  former 
time,  commissioned  and  expected  to  give  to  the  in 
quirer,  a  distinct  and  certain  answer  ;  to  be  ready 
to  return  to  those  asking  "  a  reason  of  the  hope 
that  is  in  her,"  an  answer  that  can  neither  be  mis 
taken  nor  gainsaid.  Yes,  out  of  the  abundance 
of  my  own  pressing  needs  I  demanded  the  proof  \ 
that  the  necessity  is  not  now  as  great  as  it  was  in 
the  days  of  the  apostles,  for  certainty  in  the  faith. 
That  the  wants  of  mankind  are  not  as  urgent  in 
their  demands  now  as  they  were  then  for  the  bless 
ing  of  an  infallible  guide.  That  the  moral  facul 
ties  are  less  blinded,  —  the  natural  reason  less  un 
certain,  —  the  causes  of  bewilderment  less  perplex- 


TO   TEACH,    PERPETUAL,    AND   WHY?  61 

ing,  — -  the  wiles  of  Satan  less  artful  and  ensnaring 
—  demanded  some  proof  or  intimation  from  God's 
"Word,  that  the  promise  of  Christ's  presence  with 
His  Church,  which  by  its  very  terms  extends  itself 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  could,  by  any  human  skill 
or  safety,  be  limited  to  the  age  of  the  apostles. 
That  "the  gates  of  hell,  which  were  never  to  prevail 
against  her,"  could  rightly  be  supposed  so  to  crip 
ple  and  ^muzzle  her,  that  she  could  not  hold  herself 
erect,  and  speak  as  a  guide  to  the  erring.  That 
her  "divine  powers  were  to  be  worn  out  by  time ; 
were  to  grow  feeble  and  insufficient  after  the  prim 
itive  days.  That  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth,"  so  glorious  and  trustworthy  at  first,  was  in 
the  end  to  become  so  worn  and  shattered  as  not  to 
be  a  sure  foundation  and  defence ;  a  foundation 
upon  which  to  stand  without  wavering,  a  defence 
that  could  be  trusted  in  every  assault.  My  heart, 
yea,  my  whole  soul,  now  alive  to  the  value  of 
truth,  demanded  from  God's  Word)  and  not  from 
mere  protestant  tradition,  some  convincing  proof,, 
that  "  the  church  of  the  living  God  "  was  thus  to 
fail  in  her  living,  abiding,  infallible  power  to  teach. 
For  I  had  been  led  to  a  thorough  investigation 
into  the  nature  of  that  power  itself,  into  the  ques 
tion,  how  far  it  is  human  and  how  far  divine ; 
and  I  had  perceived  the  unreasonableness  of  the 
protestant  objection  to  the  infallibility  of  the 
Church,  grounded  on  the  universal  fallibility  of 
human  judgment ;  inasmuch  as  that  infallibility- 
was  not  made  to  "  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but 
6 


03      THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

in  the  power  of  God"  Inasmuch,  as  the  divine 
word  did  not  call  upon  men  to  "  hear  the  church," 
because  of  the  superior  talent  or  learning  or 
worldly  wisdom  of  her  priesthood,  (< '  the  wisdom 
of  this  world  "  being  actually  accounted  "  foolish 
ness  with  God/')  but  because  Christ  is  in  the 
Church  by  His  wisdom,  and  power,  and  authority, 
—  because,  as  saith  St.  Ignatius,  "Where  Christ 
is,  there  is  the  Catholic  Church,"  *  or  because,  as 
Origen  saith,  i f  she  hath  received  the  light  of 
Christ  as  the  moon  receives  light  from  the  sun,"  — 
or  because,  as  Christ  saith,  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
sent  to  abide  with  the  Church,  and  to  lead  her 
into  all  truth,  —  or  as  St.  Irenaeus  interprets, 
"where  the  Church  is,  there  is  the  Spirit  of 
God."  f  Because,  that  no  matter  how  exalted  in 
point  of  natural  or  acquired  ability  might  be  her 
chief  bishop,  or  any  of  her  bishops  or  priests,  they 
never  rest  in  the  discharge  of  their  functions  upon 
their  personal  qualities  or  attainments,  but  solely 
and  explicitly  upon  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
dispensed  to  them  for  their  office  and  work,  re 
spectively,  in  the  Church  of  God.  And  that,  too, 
because  they  were  instructed  by  God  to  expect 
these  gifts,  and  place  their  sole  dependence  upon 
them.  Hence  it  seemed  to  me  not  less  unreason 
able  to  object  to  the  Church's  infallibility  because 
of  the  human  element  in  her,  than  it  would  be  to 
assail  the  infallibility  of  our  blessed  Lord  on  the 

*  EK£?  /j  xaOoXiKr/  iKK\riaia.. 

f  Ubi  eniin  ecclesia,  ibi  el  Spiritus  Dei. 


TO    TEACH,    PERPETUAL,    AND    WHY  ?  63 


ground  of  his  being  "very  man."  Indeed,  I 
asked  myself  what  there  was  in  mere  human  nature 
at  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  which  gave  the  Church 
then  a  better  security  in  her  unaided  or  aided  judg 
ment,  than  she  possesses  now  1  For  I  well  knew 
that  the  Apostles  as  men,  were  not  exempt  from 
the  common  infirmities,  in  both  body  and  mind,  of 
human  nature ;  and  that,  if  it  were  not  for  the 
fact,  that  these  infirmities  were  under  the  absolute 
control  (in  their  authoritative  teaching)  of  a  higher 
power  with  which  they  were  linked,  110  reasonable 
confidence  could  be  placed  in  their  decisions  or 
instructions  in  the  faith.  The  truth  is,  I  perceived 
that  the  infallibility  of  the  Church  stood  then 
where  it  stands  now,  IN  THE  DIVINITY  OF  HER 
INCARNATE  HEAD  —  in  the  wisdom  and  power  of 
Him  who  took  her  nature  —  became  her  life,  and 
united  Himself  to  her  in  indissoluble  and  eternal 
bonds  in  the  womb  of  the  ever-blessed  Virgin. 
Hence  the  Church  is  declared  by  St.  Paul,  to  be 
His  body.  "The  Church,  which  is  His  body." 
The  body  of  which  God  made  flesh  is  the  Head. 
Here,  then,  thought  I,  is  the  Church's  security 
against  error.  Here  is  the  source  of  her  unerring 
knowledge,  the  ground  of  her  unerring  judgment. 
She  consults  and  speaks  by  her  Divine  Head. 
His  wisdom  presides  in  her  councils.  His  voice 
is  heard  in  her  decisions.  Her  union  with  Him 
constitutes  her  vitality.  The  very  nature  of  this 
union  insures  her  indefectibility  no  less  than  per 
petuity.  As  "the  spouse  of  Christ,"  I  use  the 


64  THE   AUTHORITY   OF   THE   CHURCH 

words  of  the  holy  Cyprian,  ' '  cannot  become  adul 
terate  "  (Adulterari  non  potest  sponsa  Christ!) 
neither  can  she  cease  to  exercise  her  powers.  For 
in  Him  "  she  lives,  and  moves,  and  has  her  being." 
Her  very  life  is  "hid  with  Christ  in  God"  —  is 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  harm  from  Satan  or 
the  world >  and  must  abide  in  safety  so  long  as 
Christ  her  ever-living  Head  abides  true  to  His  own- 
nature,,  and  faithful  to  His  promise,  "  Lo  I  ani 
with  you  all  days,"  and  must  ever  continue  to 
speak  infallible  truth,  so  long  as  the  everlasting 
God  shall  continue  to  make  good  His  imperishable 
words,  ' '  My  Spirit  that  is  upon  •  thee  and  my 
words  which  I  have  put  into  thy  mouth,  shall  not 
depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of 
thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed 
henceforth  and  forever."  "When  the  Spirit  of 
truth  is  come  HE  shall  guide  you  into  all  truth. 
For  He  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you." 

That  my  views  here  were  not  hasty,  and  my 
confidence  not  misplaced,  I  felt  certain,  if  that  can 
be  considered  mature.,  which  was  the  settled  belief 
of  the  Fathers ;  and  well  founded,  which  had  been 
their  reliance  amid  the  distractions  of  heresy,  and 
the  horrors  of  persecution. 

"  For  this  cause,"  says  St.  Ignatius  on  his  way 
to  martyrdom,  "did  our  Lord  take  ointment  on 
His  head,  that  He  might  breathe  incorruption  upon 

the  Church."      "Iva  nv&rj  TTJ  ixxlrjaia  &<p6aQOlav. 

"The  public  teaching  of  the  Church,"  says  St, 


TO  TEACH,  PERPETUAL,  AND  WH  £  ?     65 

IrenaeuSj  "is  every  where  uniform  and  equally 
enduring."  And  he  gives  the  reason,  viz.,  that 
"  our  faith  is  ever  kept  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in 
youthful  freshness  . . .  making  the  vase  (or  Church) 
wherein  it  is,  seem  newly  formed."* 

"  The  Church  is  impregnable,"  says  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  because  "it  is  the  divine  will  on  earth, 
as  it  is  in  heaven."  —  (Strom,  lib.  iv.)  "  Our  doctrine 
perishes  not  like  human  doctrine,  nor  fades  away 
like  a  feeble  gift,  for  "  this  reason,  "  no  gift  of  God 
is  powerless,  but  endures,  incapable  of  being  put 
down,  though  prophesied  of  that  it  should  be  per 
secuted  unto  the  end."  —  Ib. 

"ISTo  one  can  be  with  Christ,"  exclaims  St. 
Cyprian,  "  who  is  not  with  Christ's  spouse,"  and 
for  the  reason,  that  "  Christ  and  His  Church  are 
united  with  indissoluble  bonds."  —  (Ep.  xlix.  ad 
Corn.}  "  The  Church  is  one,"  says  he,  "  which 
having  obtained  the  grace  of  eternal  life,  lives  for 
ever,  and  gives  life  to  the  people  of  God,"  (Ep.  ad 
Quin.)  because,  ' '  nothing  can  separate  the  Church 
from  Christ."  —  (Ep.  CceciL)  "  She  it  is  that  alone 
holds  and  possesses  the  whole  powrer  of  her  spouse 
and  Lord."  —  (Ep.  Ixxiii.  ad  Jubaien.)  Thus  "  the 
spouse  of  Christ  is  undefiled  and  chaste,  and  can 
not  become  an  adulteress."  —  (De  Unit  ate.)  "  The 
.  Church  which  is  Catholic  and  one,  is  not  rent  nor 
divided,  but  is  indeed  connected  together  and  knit 


*  .  .  Quam  perceptam  ab  ecclesia  cnstodimus,  et  quae  semper  a  Spiritu  Dei, 
qua^i  in  vase  bonoeximium  quoddam  depo.situm  juvenescens,  et  juvenesceie 
laciens  ipsum  vas  in  quo  est.  —  Adv.  Hares.  Lib.  lib.  iii.  c.  24. 

6* 


66      THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

by  the  cement  of  priests,  cleaving  to  each  other."* 
And  as  the  reason,  —  "Consider,"  says  he,  "the 
majesty  of  God  who  ordains  priests  . .  .  and  have 
respect  to  Christ,  who,  by  His  will  and  fiat,  and 
His  OWN  PRESENCE,  governs  both  the  prelates  them 
selves  and  the  Church  with  the  prelates." (Ep. 

Ixix.  ad  Pupian.) 

"Which  great  and  everlasting  temple  (the 
Church),"  declares  Lactantius,  "  because  Christ  is 
the  builder,  must  have  therein  an  everlasting  priest 
hood." —  (Divin.  List.  lib.  iv.) 

"Christ  foretold,"  says  Eusebius,  "that  the 
Church,  which,  during  the  years  of  His  sojourning 
among  men,  was  not  seen  nor  established,  should 
be  invincible,  incapable  of  overthrow,  '^TTIJTOV  *«* 
ctxaTupuzqTov  eueodta.  For  the  reason,  that  "the 
God-word  dwells  in  the  midst  of  His  Church,"  &c. 

lEv  ^eico  yag  rr^g  exxlqcrias  tov  Qeov  loyov  xocTaaxiji'ovi', 

&c.  (Dem.  Evang.  lib.  v.) 

"  The  Church  of  Christ,"  says  St.  Athanasius, 
"  shall  be  refulgent,  and  enlighten  all  under  heaven, 
and  be  as  abiding  as  the  sun  and  the  moon.  For 
this  passage  says  so  —  <  and  His  throne  as  the  sun 
before  me,  and  as  the  moon  perfect  forever,  and 
a  faithful  witness  in  heaven.'  "  For  "the  throne, 
here,"  he  continues,  "  is  Christ's  throne,  the  Church, 
for  in  it  He  rests."  —  (Expos,  in  Ps.  Ixxxviii.) 

"  Thou  hast  built  a  Church  on  earth,"  says  St. 


*  Quando  ecclesia,  quae  Catholica  ct  nna  est,  scissa  non  sit  neque  divisa,  sed 
situtique  connexaet  coluerentium  sibi  in  vicem  sacerdotiun  glutino  copulata 


TO    TEACH    PERPETUAL,    AKD    WHY  ?  67 

Ephraem,*  "  which  resembles  the  Church  in  heaven  ; 
its  foundations  love  impelled  Thee  to  lay,  while 
grace  presided  at  its  completion.  Thou  hast  also 
taken  it  as  Thy  spouse  and  made  it  Thine  by  the 
price  of  Thy  blood.  Therefore,  O  Lord,  Thou 
wilt  guard  it  under  Thy  protection  that  the  gates 
of  hell  prevail  not  against  it."  —  (T.  iii.  *Syr.) 

"  She  "  (the  Church),  says  St.  Ambrose,  "  may 
be  overcast  with  clouds,  but  fail  she  cannot. 
(Obumbrari  potest,  defaere  non  potest.)  .....  The 
moon,  in  her  monthly  .changes,  seems  to  quench 
her  light,  that  she  may  borrow  from  the  sun. 
While  others  are  shipwrecked,  she  looks  on,  her 
self  free  and  exempt  from  danger  (ipsa  immunis  et 
exors  periculi).  Always  prepared  to  have  Christ's 
light  shine  upon  her,  and  to  derive  gladness  from 
it."  —  (T.  i.  De  Abr.  lib.  ii.) 

"  We  may  understand,"  says  St.  Jerome,  "  that 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world  the  Church  may 
indeed  be  shaken  by  persecutions,  but  never  can 
be  overthrown.  Because  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
is  the  Lord  God  of  the  Church,  who  hath  promised 
to  do  this  ;  and  His  promise  is  nature's  law." 
(Cujus  promissio  lex  naturae  est.) 

"  Nothing,"  reiterates  St.  Chrysostom,  time 
after  time,  "  nothing  is  equal  to  the  Church.  Tell 
me  not  of  walls  and  arms  ;  for  walls  grow  old,  but 
the  Church  never  grows  old,  ft  texlqala  di  ovdenoie 
j^a,  walls  barbarians  destroy,  the  Church  not  even 


*  A  Greek,  ordained  as  is  said,  by  St.  Basil,  and  praised  for  his  excellency 
Dy  St.  Jerome,  wrote  about  350. 


68          THE    AUTHORITY    OF    THE    CHURCH,  &C. 


demons  can  overcome.     No  thing  is  stronger  than  the 


Church.        Ov8iv  yuQ   exxhjalug    lcr%vQOT£Qov.     If  tl'lOU 

war  against  the  Church,  it  is  impossible  for  thee  to 
conquer,  TVtx/yerat  as  tiufyuvov.  WHY?  for  GOD  is 
stronger  than  all  men.  GOD  hath  rooted  her,  who 
will  attempt  to  shake  her  ?  For  this  cause,  the 
Scripture  showing  her  firmness  and  immovable- 
ness,  calls  her  a  mountain  —  her  incorruptibility  calls 
her  a  virgin,  To  acp-Ooyov,  «i5r*?y  xtdcd  xaoOevov,  her  mag 
nificence  calls  her  a  queen  —  that  connection  which 
she  has  with  God  calls  her  a  daughter,"  &c.  (T.  iii. 
p.  391.)  "Do  I  confide  in  my  own  strength  ?  I 
have  His  (Christ's)  pledge  —  I  hold  His  written 
Word.  That  is  my  staff  —  that  my  security.  What 
are  these  words  ?  (  I  am  with  you  all  days  even  to 
the  consummation  of  the  world.'  .  .  There  man 
is  the  pilot,  but  here  (in  the  Church)  it  is  Christ. 
Therefore  the  vessel,  though  tossed  by  the  tempest, 
is  not  overwhelmed."  —  (T.  vi.  in  Is.  c.  ii.) 

With  such  ground  upon  which  to  stand,  I  felt 
that  my  confidence  was  neither  unreasonable  nor 
likely  to  fail.  Was  not  unreasonable,  because,  in 
yielding  to  the  Church  as  infallible,  I  was  not 
called  upon  to  bow  to  man  but  to  GOD.  Nor  likely 
to  fail,  for  the  same  reason  —  viz.,  that  I  was  cast 
for  guidance,  not  upon  any  human  wisdom  in  the 
Church,  but  solely  upon  the  wisdom  of  her  divine 
Head.  Upon  the  GOD-MAX,  who  had  so  loved  the 
Church  as  to  purchase  her  with  His  blood  —  take 
her  to  Himself  as  His  spouse  —  and  promise  her 
His  presence  and  protection  to  t]  e  end  of  the 


PROTESTANTISM    NOT    RECONCILABLE,    &C.       G9 

world.  Notwithstanding,  therefore,  the  confusion 
and  darkness  that  were  around  me,  I  did  not  de 
spair  of  being  yet  led  by  a  clear  light  and  harmo 
nious  voice  into  the  way  of  life  and  peace. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  STATE  OF  PROTESTANTISM  NOT  RECONCILABLE  WITH  THE 
PROPHECIES  CONCERNING  THE  CHURCH'S  LATTER  DAYS. 

ANOTHER  feature,  however,  in  the  same  plea, 
was  here  presented,  and  by  the  same  friend.  He 
urged  that  the  darkness  and  confusion  among  Prot 
estants,  of  which  I  complained,  must  be  regarded 
as  consistent  with  the  promise  of  Christ's  presence 
with  His  Church  ;  inasmuch  as  this  state  of  things 
had  been  foretold  in  the  'New  Testament,  .as  the 
characteristic  and  trial  of  the  Church's  latter  days. 
In  directing  my  thoughts  to  this  plea,  it  became  at 
once  obvious,  that  while  the  finger  of  prophecy 
pointed  to  a  kind  of  confusion  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Church,  it  was  not  such  as  I  realized  in  the  com 
munion  of  which  I  was  a  bishop.  It  was  not  such 
disorder  as  would  confound  the  Church  itself — 
stifle  within  her  the  heart  of  charity  and  the  voice 
of  truth  —  but  such  as  would  throw  off  from  her 
body  some  of  her  unruly  sons,  leaving  them  ran 
kling  with  the  gall  of  bitterness,  and  bewildered 
by  a  confusion  of  tongues.  That  the  prediction 
was  hence  designed,  not  to  foreshadow  to  the  eyes 


70  PROTESTANTISM    NOT    RECONCILABLE 

of  tlie  faithful  a  disheartening  picture  of  a  divided 
Church  —  but  to  hold  up,  as  a  beacon  to  the  self- 
willed  and  the  turbulent,  the  awful  curse  which 
must  follow  a  separation  from  the  ".one  body  of 
Christ."  Certainly,  St.  Cyprian  viewed  the  matter 
in  this  light :  "  It  ought  not  to  move  any  faithful 
person,"  says  he,  "who  remembers  the  injunctions 
of  the  Apostle,  how  he  forewarns  us  that  in  the  last 
times  certain  proud  persons,  both  contumacious 
and  enemies  to  the  priests  of  God,  either  withdraw 
from  the  Church  or  act  against  the  Church,  when 
both  the  Lord  and  His  Apostles  have  foretold  that 
such  should  now  be.  .  .  They,  therefore,  who 
have  departed  or  may  depart  from  the  Church 
perish  by  their  own  fault,  but  the  Church  herself 
who  believes  in  Christ,  never  departs  from  Him  at 
all ;  and  they  are  the  Church  who  persevere:  in.  the 
house  .of  God  —  (Nunquam  ab  eo  omnino  discedere, 
et  eos  esse  ecclesiam,  qui  in  domo  Dei  permanent.) 
But  they  are  not  the  plant  planted  by  God 
the  Father,  who  we  see  are  not  rooted  with  the 
firmness  of  wheat,  but  are  blown  about  like  chaff . . . 
of  whom  also  St.  John  says,  '-They  went  out  from 
us,  but  they  were  not  of  us. ..or  they  would  have 
remained  with  us.'  Also  St.  Paul  admonishes  us 
not  to  be  moved  when  the  wicked  perish  from  the 
Church,  and  that  faith  is  not  lessened  by  the  with 
drawal  of  the  faithless.  (  For  what,'  says  he,  '  if 
some  of  them  have  fallen  from  the  faith?  Has 
their  unbelief  made  the  faith  of  God  without  effect  ? 
God  forbid.  For  God  is  true,  but  every  man  a 


WITH    THE    PROPHECIES.  71 

liar.'"  (Ep.  iv.  ad  Cornel)  And  again,  —  "The 
Holy  Spirit  forewarns  us  by  the  Apostle  and  says, 
'  There  must  be  heresies,  that  they  who  are  ap 
proved  may  be  manifest  amongst  us.'  Thus  are 
the  faithful  approved,  thus  the  faithless  detected ; 
and  thus  even  here,  before  the  day  of  judgment, 
the  souls  of  the  righteous  are  separated  from  the 
unrighteous  —  the  wheat  from  the  chaff." — (jDe 
Unitate.) 

And,  St.  Jerome  viewed  the  matter  in  the 
same  light :  "  We  may  understand,"  says  he,  "  that 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world  the  Church  may  be 
indeed  shaken  by  persecution,  but  never  can  be 
overthrown."  —  ( T.  vi.  lib.  iii.)  "  The  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it.  I  consider  the  gates 
of  hell  to  be  vices  and  sin,  or  certainly  the  doctrines 
of  heretics,  by  which  men  are  enticed  and  led  to 
hell."  — (T.  vii.  lib.  iii.) 

And  St.  Ambrose :  "  As  pure  gold,  so  also  the 
Church,"  says  he,  "  when  tried  in  the  fire  suffers 
no  loss,  but  its  brightness  is  rather  increased,  until 
the  time  when  Christ  shall  come  unto  His  kingdom, 
and  recline  His  head  on  the  faith  of  His  Church." 
(T.  i.  in  Ps.  xi.) 

St.  Chrysostom,  after  dwelling  upon  the  promise 
of  Christ  to  His  Church,  <  The  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it,'  which  he  looks  upon  as  a 
sure  prophecy,  says,  "Come,  let  us  take  in 
hand  still  another  prophecy  which  shines  brighter 
than  the  sun,  and  is  clearer  than  its  rays,  which 
lies  under  the  observation  of  all  men,  and  which 


PROTESTANTISM   NOT    RECONCILABLE 

stretches  out  itself  unto  all  future  generations,  as 
does  trie  preceding  prophecy  also... Yea,  for  from 
the  day  that  it  was  spoken,  even  to  the  consumma 
tion  of  the  world,  has  it  remained  firm  and  un 
shaken —  gaming  power  day  by  day  —  acquiring 
fresh  force,  enabling  all  those  who  have  lived  from 
that  day,  even  unto  those  who  shall  be  until  the 
coming  of  Christ,  to  reap  the  greatest  advantages 
from  it,  and  to  derive  thence  unspeakable  aid. 
For  our  predecessors  and  theirs  and  theirs  again, 
will  know  its  power,  as  they  behold  the  contests 
excited  against  it,  the  dangers  and  troubles, 
the  tumults,  and  waves  and  storms  ;  but  beholding 
it,  still  not  overwhelmed,  nor  vanquished,  not  over 
come,  not  extinguished,  but  flourishing,  increasing, 
raised  to  a  mightier  elevation."  —  (T.  i.  Cont.  Jud. 
et  Gent.) 

And  St.  Augustine  :  "  There  are  some,"  says  he, 
"who  say,  she  that  was  the  Church  of  all  nations  is 
already  no  more  ;  she  has  perished.  This  they 
say  who  are  not  in  her.  The  impudent  assertion ! 
Is  she  no  more  because  thou  art  not  in  her  ?  Look 
to  it  lest  thou,  for  that  cause,  be  no  more.  For 
she  will  be  though  thou  be  not.  (0  impudeiitem 
vocem  !  Ilia  11011  est,  quia  tu  in  ilia  non  cs  ?  Ilia 
erit,  etsi  tu  non  sis.)  This  assertion  —  full  of  pre 
sumption  and  falsehood,  upheld  by  110  truth,  with 
out  one  spark  of  wisdom the  Spirit  of  God 

foresaw,  and  as  it  were,  struck  at  such  when  He 
announced  UNITY  ....  Therefore,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world  is  the  Church  in  all  nations,"  Sec.  — 
(T.  iv.  in  Ps.  c.  i.) 


WITH    THE    PROPHECIES.  73 

And  Theodorct  exclaims,  "  Why  contend  ye  lofty 
mountains,  against  the  mountain  on  which  the  Lord 
desired  to  sit  ?  "  (Ps.  Ixiii.)  The  prophetic  word  is 
directed  against  the  Jews,  and  the  unlawful  con 
venticles  of  heretics  who  call  themselves  Churches ; 
and  it  says,  "  Why  do  ye  lift  up  yourselves  to  con 
tend  and  equal  yourselves  with  the  mountain,  which 
God  hath  made  His  dwelling-place  ?  For  there  the 
Lord  shall  dwell  unto  the  end:  for  not  as  He 
dwelt  with  you,  O  Jews,  for  a  certain  fixed  time, 
so  shall  He  abide  therein ;  but  He  shall  have  in 
this  an  everlasting  habitation.  For  this  is  de 
clared  by  that  word  unto  the  end." — (T.  i.  in  Ps. 
Ixii.) 

Certainly  these  Fathers,  with  the  whole  blessed 
company  of  martyrs  and  confessors,  understood  the 
prophecies  relating  to  the  "latter  days,"  as  I  had 
understood  them.  Is  it  possible,  then,  I  thought, 
that  such  glowing  and  confident  anticipations, 
based  upon  the  abiding  love  and  promise  of  God, 
could  fail?  That  faith,  and  hope,  and  charity 
thus  inspired  to  pray,  and  suffer,  and  toil,  and 
endure  unto  the  end,  could  in  the  Qnd  be  rewarded 
with  disappointment?  That  He  who  said,  "and 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me," 
would  find  that,  ere  all  men  could  be  reached,  the 
cross  must  yield  —  the  gates  of 'hell  must  be  trium 
phant  !  That  "  He  who  so  loved  the  Church  as 
to  give  Himself  for  it,  that  He  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it,  and  make  it  to  Himself  a  glorious 
Church,"  would  finally  be  driven  to  the  confession, 


74  UNITY    OF    THE    CHtJIlCH. 

that  the  work  He  had  imdertaken,  was  an  over 
match  for  His  mighty  power !  That  He,  who  said 
to  His  people  in  the  beginning :  "  Be  of  good  cheer, 
I  have  overcome  the  world/'  would  before  the  end, 
be  compelled  to  retract  His  words  ;  though  "  to 
give  strong  consolation,  He  had  confirmed  them 
with  an  oath  —  swearing  by  Himself,  because  He 
could  swear  by  none  greater  !  "  To  me  the  thought 
was  impiously  absurd ;  all  the  divine  attributes 
were  against  it ;  as  all  seemed  pledged  to  secure 
the  hopes  of  the  faithful ! 


CHAPTER  VII. 

UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH  -  SECURITY  AGAINST  SUCH  DIVISION 
AS  EXISTS  AMONG  PROTESTANTS. 

THE  plea  that  a  divided  and  distracted  Church 
is  contemplated  and  foreshadowed  by  Christian 
prophecy,  "  The  Holy  Spirit,"  says  St.  Augustine, 
"foresaw  and  struck  at,  when  He  announced 
UNITY."  And  so  it  had  seemed  to  me.  For  how 
is  it  possible,  I  thought,  to  conceive  unity  to  exist 
amid  the  turmoil  and  dissension  of  the  so-called 
"Christian  world1]"  I  mean  such  unity  as  God's 
word  requires  —  such  unity  as  is  set  forth  in  the 
New  Testament  under  the  striking  figures,  of 
"  branches  "  engrafted  in  Christ ff  the  Vine,"  —  "  a 
body,"  of  which  Christ  is  < '  the  head,"  —  "a  virgin  " 
espoused  to  "  Christ  as  the  husband,"  —  "  a  house," 


UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  75 

of  which  Christ  is  the  Master,  —  "a  temple/' of 
which  Christ  is  "the  Priest,"  —  "a  kingdom,,"  of 
which  Christ  is  "Ruler,"  —  "a  light,"  of  which 
Christ  is  "  the  fountain,"  —  "  a  well  of  living  water," 
of  which  Christ  is  "  the  spring."  For  how,  I  thought, 
can  branches  of  the  same  vine  be  so  separated 
as  to  have  no  mutual  visible  connection,  and  still 
live  together  in  the  vine  ?  How  can  members  of 
the  same  body  be  so  disunited  as  to  lose  all  exter 
nal  communion,  and  still  have  a  vital  union  with 
"  the  head  ? "  How  can  a  virgin  espoused  to  "  one 
Lord,"  be  seen  wandering  after  "  divers  lusts  and 
pleasures,"  and  still  be  regarded  as  a  true  and  faithful 
spouse  ?  How  can  a  "house  divided  against  itself" 
continue  to  stand  ?  How  can  "  a  temple,"  with  no 
priest  nor  sacrifice,  be  one  with  "  the  temple  "  of 
Christ's  body,  which  has  both  priest  and  sacrifice  ? 
How  can  a  kingdom  with  its  different  parts  at  war 
fail  to  "  be  brought  to  desolation  ?  "  How  can  rays 
from  the  same  sun  possibly  be  at  variance  in  their 
natures  ?  Water  from  the  same  fountain  be  both 
sweet  and  bitter  ?  "A  House  divided  against 
itself"  not  fail?  How  then  can  the  truth  that 
"  we  are  one  body  in  Christ  and  every  one  mem 
bers  one  of  another,"  consist  with  opposing  creeds, 
and  altars,  and  mutual  charges  of  damnable 
heresy  ?  Do  such  things  agree  with  that  unity  for 
which  our  Lord  so  earnestly  prayed  ?  A  unity 
where  the  same  fellowship  should  bind  together  the 
several  members  of  His  body,  as  made  Himself  and 
His  Eternal  Father  One  1  Or  are  we  driven  to  the 


76  UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

fearful  alternative  that  that  prayer  failed  ?  And 
that  that  suppliant  is  not  to  "  see  of  the  travail  of 
His  soul  and  be  satisfied  ?  "  If  so,  thought  I,  how 
blinded  must  have  been  St.  Clement  of  Rome! 
"  Have  we  not  one  God,  and  one  Christ,  and  one 
Spirit  of  grace  poured  out  upon  us,  and  one  calling 
in  Christ  ?  Do  we  raise  a  sedition  against  our  own 
body  ?  Come  to  such  a  height  of  folly  as  to  forget 
that  we  are  members  one  of  another  1  Remember 
the  words  of  our  own  Lord  Jesus  how  He  said,  "  Woe 
to  that  man,  —  it  were  better  that  he  had  never  been 
born;  better  that  a  millstone  had  been  placed 
around  his  neck  and  he  cast  into  the  sea,  than 
that  he  should  scandalize  any  of  my  elect  —  one  of 
my  little  ones  !  "  (Ep.  1  ad  Cor.) 

How  blinded  must  have  been  St.  Ignatius  ! 
"Where  division  is. .  .God  dwelleth  not.  Be  not 
deceived,  whosoever  followeth  one  that  createth 
schism,  he  inheriteth  not  the  kingdom  of  God." 
(Ep.  ad  Philad.) 

How  blinded  St.  Justin  !  "  The  word  of  God  is 
addressed  to  believers,  as  being  one  Church,  one 
synagogue,  ONE  SOUL."  (Dial  cum  Tryph.) 

And  St.  Cyprian !  "  The  Church  cannot  be 
separated  or  divided  against  itself,  but  preserves 
the  unity  of  an  inseparable  and  undivided  house. 
....  The  very  sacrifices  of  our  Lord  show  forth 
Christian  unanimity,  knit  together  by  a  firm 
and  inseparable  charity.  For  when  the  Lord 
calls  bread,  formed  from  the  union  of  many  grains, 
His  body,  He  indicates  one  people  united  together 


UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  77 

And  when  He  calls  wine,  which  is  made  out  of 
many  clusters  of  grapes,  and  is  incorporated  into 
one,  His  blood,  He  signifies  one  flock  joined  to 
gether  by  the  admixture  of  a  united  multitude. 
Besides,  because  Christ's  people  cannot  be  rent, 
His  tunic,  woven  and  conjoined  throughout,  was 
not  divided  by  those  to  whom  it  fell.  Individual, 
conjoined,  co-entwined,  it  shows  the  coherent  con 
cord  of  the  people  who  have  put  on  Christ.  In 
the  sacrament  and  sign  of  His  garment  He  has 
declared  the  unity  of  His  Church  . . .  The  Lord  says, 
'  I  and  the  Father  are  one  ; '  and  again,  of  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is  written, 
these  three  are  one.  And  does  any  one  believe 
that  this  unity,  thus  proceeding  from  the  divine 
immutability,  (Hanc  unitatem  de  divina  firmitate 
venientem,)  and  cohering  in  heavenly  Sacraments, 
can  be  rent  asunder  in  the  Church,  and  be  split  by 
the  force  of  antagonist  wills  ?  HE  WHO  HOLDS  NOT 

THIS  UNITY,  HOLDS  NOT  THE  LAW  OF  GoD,  HOLDS  NOT 
THE  FAITH  OF  THE  FATHER  AND  THE  SON,  HOLDS 

NOT  LIFE  AND  SALVATION  !  (Hanc  unitatem  qui  non 
tenet,  Dei  legem  non  tenet,  11011  tenet  Patris  et 
Filii  fidem,  vitam  et  salutem  non  tenet.)  There  is 
one  God  and  one  Christ,  and  His  Church  is  one, 
and  the  faith  one,  and  the  people  one,  joined  into 
the  unity  of  one  body  by  the  cement  of  concord. 
(Plebs  una  in  solidam  corporis  unitatem  concordire 
glutino  copulata.)  Unity  cannot  be  sundered,  nor 
the  one  body  be  separated  by  the  dislocation  of  its 
points,  (Scindi  unitas  non  potest,  nee  corpus  uiium 


78  UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

discidio  compaginis  separari,)  nor  torn  in  pieces  by 
the  rending  apart  of  its  vitals,  (Divulsis  lacera- 
tione  visceribus  in  frusta  discerpi ;)  whatever  is 
parted  from  the  womb  cannot  live  and  breathe  in  a 
state  of  separation ;  it  loses  the  principle  of  its 
subsistence.  (Substantial!!  salutis  amittit.)" 

How  blinded  must  have  been  the  blessed  Leo ! 
"  In  unity  of  faith  and  baptism  is  our  fellowship 
undivided.  Unless  faith,  be  one  it  is  no  faith. 
For  St.  Paul  says,  'One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  bap 
tism.'  "  (Ser.  xxiv.  in  Nat.  Dom.) 

If  blinded  in  respect  to  the  nature  of  Church 
unity,  equally  so  must  they  have  been  as  regards 
its  universality.     If  that  unity  be  consistent  with 
national  divisions  and  national  "  independence  "  in 
regard  to  the  faith ;  what  means  St.  Irenseus  when 
he    declares,    "that    the    Church,    though    spread 
over    the  whole  world,   (xado)^g  IT{-  outoutrys)  hav 
ing  received  the  faith.  .  .guards  it  sedulously,  as 
though  dwelling  in  one  house  ?    (c'/2c  %»a  ehov  olxov- 
o-tt.)      And    these    truths    she  uniformly  holds   as 
having  but  one  soul,  and  one  and  the  same  heart, 
and  these  she  proclaims,  and  teaches,  and  hands 
down  uniformly,  as  though  she  had  but  one  mouth 
For  though,  throughout  the  world  the  languages 
are  various,  still  the  force  of  the  tradition  is  one 
and  the  same.      (JI  di'va^tg  iv(;  nagctd&aews  fiia  xu.l  ^ 
avir^     As  God's  handiwork  the  sun  is  one  and  the 
same  throughout  the  universe,  so  the  preaching  of 
the   truth  shines   every  where,   and  enlightens   all 
men  that  wish  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth 


UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH.  79 

. .  .The  whole  Church  has  one  arid  the  same  faith 
throughout  the  whole  world."     (Adv.  Hares,  lib.  i. 

C.Z.) 

What  means  Tertullian  ?  "  The  Apostles. .  .went 
forth  into  the  whole  world  and  promulgated  the 
same  doctrine  of  the  same  faith  to  the  nations.  .  . 
Thenceforward  other  Churches  borrowed  the  tra 
dition  of  the  faith  and  the  seeds  of  doctrine.  .  .The 
whole  kind  must  needs  be  classed  under  their 
original.  Whence  these  Churches,  so  many  and 
so  great,  are  but  that  one  primitive  Church  from 
the  Apostles. .  .Thus  all  are  the  primitive,  and  all 
apostolic,  while  all  being  one  prove  unity."  •  —  (De 
Prcescr.  n.  20.)  What  means,  too,  the  Alexan 
drian  Clement  ?  "  The  excellence  of  the  Church 
like  the  principle  of  every  thing  concrete,  is  in 
unity.  .  .having  nothing  similar  or  equal  to  itself." 
(xal  pi]  Sty  ^/ovcra  Ofioiov  r^  laov  £wvr?f.)  (StrOttl. 
lib.  vi.) 

What  the  learned  Origen  ?  "  Christians  are  not 
one  nation,  but  out  of  all  nations,  one  people  ;  and, 
therefore,  did  Moses,  as  the  highest  honor,  desig 
nate  them  as  not  a  nation,  but  —  if  the  expression 
be  allowable  —  a  nation  of  all  nations.'1  (T.  iv. 
lib.  viii.) 

What,  too,  St.  Cyprian,  by  declaring  and  so  often 
reiterating  the  necessary  universality  of  unity  in 
the  Church  ?  "  For  we  are  many  shepherds,  yet 
do  we  feed  but  one  floclc."  (Etsi  pastores  muld 
gumus,  unuin  tameii  gregem  pascimus.) 

"The  episcopate  is  one,  a  part  of  which,  in  con- 


80  UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

sistency  with  its  entire  oneness,  is  held  by  each 
bishop.  (Episcopatus  unus  est,  cujus  a  singulis  in 
solidum  pars  tenetur.)  *  The  Church,  too,  is  one, 
though  extended  far  and  wide.  .  .As  the  sun  has 
many  rays,  yet  one  light.  And  the  tree  many 
branches,  though  one  strength,  resting  upon  its 
firmly  clinging  root.  And  as  when  many  streams 
flow  down  from  one  fountain-head.  .  .yet  is  unity 
preserved  in  the  common  source.  Part  a  ray  of 
the  sun  from  its  orb,  this  division  the  unity  allows 
not ;  break  a  branch  from  the  tree,  and  it  can  bud 
no  more :  cut  a  stream  from  its  source,  and  the 
remnant  dries  up."  —  (De  Unitate.) 

"What  means  St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa  ?  et  The 
whole  Church  is  the  one  body  of  Christ.  'Ev  a(5tua 
iov  X^ugou  ^  Exxlrtaia  Tcnua.  .  ."Whoso  has  learnt  that 
Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church,  let  him,  before 
all  things,  bear  this  in  mind,  that  the  head  is  ever 
of  the  same  nature  and  substance  as  the  body  be 
neath  it.  And  that  there  is  a  certain  coherence  of 
each  of  the  limbs  with  the  whole."  (T.  iii.  De 
Perf.  Chris.) 

What  St.  Chrysostoni  ?  «  He  (St.  Paul)  calls  it 
the  Church  of  GOD,  showing  the  necessity  of  its 
unity.  For  if  it  be  of  God,  it  is  united,  and  is 
one,  not  in  Corinth  only,  but  in  the  whole  world. 
.  .  .The  Church  that  is  among  you  is  a  part  of  the 
Church  spread  every  where,  arid  of  the  body  t-  at 

*  I  have  ventured,  though  with  a  good  deal  of  self-distrust,  to  differ  in  my 
translation  of  this  passage,  both  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wiiterworth,  whom  1  have 
generally  followed,  and  the  Oxford  translation,  which  seems  to  me  less  fail 
in  this  instance  than  in  most  others. 


UNITY    OF   THE    CHURCIi.  81 

is  constituted  by  means  of  all  the  Churches ;  so 
that  not  only  with  each  other,  but  also  with  all  the 
Church  throughout  the  world  must  you  have  peace, 
if  at  least  ye  be  members  of  the  wThole  body.  1H 
ixxkijaia  i]  itaQ  ii^iv  /neQog  i$i  rr^g  TIUVTOC^OV  x£i/itet>i]g 
ey,xlrt(nag  .  ...  fit  ^e  TCUVI&Z  icrid  fashy  tov  a^uaiog. 
(T.  x.  Horn,  xxxii.) 

What  means  the  great  St.  Augustine  ?  "  The 
Apostle  says,  (1  Cor.  xiii.)  ( If  I  have  faith  so  that 
I  could  remove  mountains,  and  have  not  charity* 
&c.  We  have,  therefore,  to  inquire,  who  have 
charity  ?  You  will  find  that  it  is  they  alone  who 
love  unity.  And  as  we  are  inquiring  where  the 
Church  of  Christ  is,  let  us  hear  Him  who  redeemed 
it  with  His  own  blood,  declaring :  ( Ye  shall  be 
witnesses  unto  me.  .  .to  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth.'  With  this  Church,  which  is  diffused  through 
out  the  whole  earth,  whoso  communicates  not,  with 
ivhom  he  communicates  not,  thou  seest,  if  thou  dost 
but  understand  whose  words  these  are.  (Huic  ec- 
clesia?,  qua?  per  totam  terrain  diffunditur,  quisquis 
non  communicat,  cui  noil  communicet  vides.  .  .) 
That  Church  assuredly  is  ONE,  which  our  ancestors 
called  the  Catholic,  that  they  might  show  by  the 
name  itself  that  it  is  throughout  the  whole  world, 
For  throughout  the  whole  is  expressed  in  Greek 
by  %u66).o>'.  But  this  Church  is  the  body  of  Christ, 
as  the  Apostle  says,  His  body  which  is  the  Church. 
Whence  assuredly  it  is  manifest  that  he  who  is  not 
among  the  members  of  Christ  cannot  have  Chris 
tian  salvation.  Now  the  members  of  Christ  are 


82  UNITY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

united  to  each  other  by  the  charity  of  unity,  and 
by  the  same  cohere  to  their  own  head,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ."  (De  Unitate,  fyc.) 

Here,  thought  I,  there  can  be  110  mistake,  —  no 
misconception.  Such  wisdom  cannot  be  blind. 
Such  cautious  piety  cannot  mistake.  Such  weight 
of  authority  cannot  be  questioned !  The  necessity 
of  strict,  visible  unity,  —  such  unity  as,  both  from 
its  nature  and  universality,  does  not  and  cannot 
exist  among  protestants,  —  must  be  preserved,  or 
death  be  the  consequence  to  the  separating  party  ! 
And  what  a  consequence !  The  holy  Irenseus  real 
ized  it  when  he  said :  "  No  Reformation  of  theirs 
can  be  so  advantageous,  as  the  evil  of  schism  is 

pernicious  I  "  [  Ovdetuia  de  TijlixaviT]  dvvarai, 
&VTOV  xcnoydaxng  ysviaOai,  fyixy  TOU  a%icr[*aTO$ 
fiafa]  —  Adv.  H<zr.  1.  iv.  Those  two  great  lights 
of  the  Church,  St.  Cyprian  and  St.  Augustine, 
felt  it  when  they  said,  by  way  of  warning,  "  He 
who  holds  not  this  unity,  holds  not  life  and  salva 
tion  /.  .  .He  who  is  not  thus  in  the  members  of 
Christ,  cannot  have  Christian  salvation !  "  And 
again :  "  Who  is  the  criminal,  the  traitor,  who  so 
inflamed  with  the  madness  of  discord,  as  to  think 
aught  can  rend,  or  as  to  venture  on  rending,  God's 
unity,  the  Church  of  Christ  ?.  .  .Thinkest  thou  any 
can  stand  and  live  that  withdraws  from  the  Church, 
and  forms  for  himself  other  resting-places  and 
homes  1  "  (Stare  tu  et  vivere  putas  posse  de  eccle- 
sia  recedentem,  sedes  sibi  alias,  et  diyersa  domicilia 
condentem.)  —  (De  Unitate.) 


UNITY   OF    THE    CHURCH.  83 

When  I  meditated,  therefore,  upon  these  warn 
ings,  coming  up  from  the  very  centre,  as  it  were,  of 
God's  power  in  the  Church,  urging  to  unity,  and 
crying  aloud  against  schism  as  the  sure  token  of 
God's  desertion  and  our  coming  destruction,  —  en 
treating  us  not  to  rend  the  body  of  Christ,  lest  we 
open  the  earth  under  our  feet,  I  entreated  still  more 
fervently  that  God  would  lead  me  without  delay  to 
a  place  of  safety ;  for  I  began  to  realize,  with  aw 
ful  clearness,  that  I  had  little  safety  where  I  stood. 
For,  when  I  asked  for  certain  knowledge  of  God's 
will,  I  heard  around  me  only  "  confusion  of 
tongues."  When  I  asked  for  authority,  I  found 
only  individual  opinion  ;  —  for  infallibility,  a  con 
fession  of  doubt ;  - —  for  unity  in  fundamental  faith, 
division  and  mutual  crimination ;  —  no  claim  to 
universality,  and  no  agreement  even  in  the  narrow 
est  sectarianism !  But  when  I  turned  my  ear,  and 
listened  to  the  voice  of  the  Fathers,  echoing  the 
voice  of  God,  I  heard  clearness  and  positiveness  of 
speech,  —  heard  the  assertion  in  the  Church  of 
divine  authority,  Catholicity,  infallibility,  and  ne 
cessary,  abiding  unity  !  "What  should  I  do  ?  Of 
one  thing  I  felt  certain,  —  that  "  Faith  cometh  by 
hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God ;  "  and 
that  the  word  of  God  was  not  to  be  learned  from 
teachers,  the  truth  of  whose  teaching  depended 
upon  the  judgment  of  man !  I  had  made  an  ad 
vance,  —  had  come  to  the  conviction  that  no  reality, 
no  certainty  was  to  be  attained  in  my  present  posi 
tion  !  But  with  this  conviction,  thanks  be  to  God. 


84  FALLIBILITY   IN   TEACHING   FATAL. 

I  had  arrived  at  another,  viz.,  that  such  reality  and 
certainty  were  yet  within  my  reach.  I  determined, 
by  God's  help,  to  go  forward,  if  perchance  I  might 
secure  them  1 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FALLIBILITY  IN  TEACHING  FATAL  TO  THE  CLAIMS  OF  ONE 
PROFESSING  TO  DECLARE  GOD'S  INFALLIBLE  WILL. 

THUS  far,  I  assure  my  friends,  I  had  had  no  in 
tercourse  with  any  living  Catholic.  My  study  had 
been  the  Fathers,  with  Protestant  interpretations. 
Indeed,  the  editions  of  both  Greek  and  Latin  Fa 
thers  which  I  consulted,  were  such  as  had  been  rec 
ommended  to  me  by  Protestants,  and  had  been  in 
my  library  for  at  least  fifteen  years.  While  my 
companions  and  prompters  were,  as  far  as  I  con 
sulted  them,  a]l  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
it  is  a  matter  of  thankfulness,  which  I  ought  here 
to  record,  that  I  have  been,  able,  through  the  kind 
ness  of  various  friends,  to  obtain  all  the  books  as 
matters  of  reference  in  writing  now,  to  which  God's 
providence  directed  me  in  originally  examining 
the  questions.  And,  as  argument  after  argument 
seemed  to  fade  before  my  mind,  some  of  them  be 
set  me  with  entreaties ;  begged  me  to  review  the 
Anglican  claims,  to  contrast  them  in  the  light  of 
history  and  charity  with  all  others,  and  especially 
with  those  of  Catholics  ;  and  to  see  if  something 
could  not  be  done  to  silence  discord  and  settle  truth, 


FALLIBILITY   IN    TEACHING   FATAL.  85 

through  the  instrumentality  of  a  "  Provincial  Coun 
cil,"  connected  with  the  revival  of  the  Anglican 
"  Convocation."  I  consented,  even  at  this  point,  to 
reconsider  the  capability  of  the  Anglican  Church  to 
give  me  relief;  to  search  anew,  among  Anglican 
pretensions,  for  some  possible  ground  upon  which 
helpless  man,  commanded  by  Almighty  God  to 
"  hear  the  Church,"  and  destined  to  give  an  ac 
count  to  Him  for  failing  in  obedience,  might  stand 
in  safety.  But  I  felt  bound  to  penetrate,  if  pos 
sible,  to  the  very  root  of  this  question  ;  —  to  in 
quire,  first  of  all,  into  the  right,  which,  upon  prin 
ciples  long  since  settled,  the  Anglican  communion, 
and  hence  all  communions  growing  out  of  it,  could 
reasonably  have,  to  claim  even  my  attention;  what 
possible  authority,  based  as  it  must  be  upon  mere 
national  prerogative,  they  could  have  to  present 
themselves  as  a  court  of  the  last  appeal  in  religion  ? 
To  attempt  even  to  decide  for  me,  or  any  other 
man,  the  questions  that  pressed  themselves  upon 
my  conscience,  —  questions  involving  the  very  es 
sence  of  Christian  faith  and  practice  —  demanded, 
from  their  very  nature,  an  infallible  power.  I 
turned  to  England,  the  source  of  all  ecclesiastical 
or  priestly  authority  to  which  I  could  lay  claim. 
And  what  was  the  confession  of  the  first  voice  that 
I  heard  on  this  subject  ?  Alas  !  that  the  Anglican 
Church  distinctly  disclaimed  all  authority  in  reli 
gion  as  an  infallible  judge ;  distinctly  disclaimed 
any  such  connection  with  God  as  would  enable  it  to 
8 


86  FALLIBILITY   IN    TEACHING   FATAL. 

act  as   an  infallible  propounder  or  interpreter  of 
God's  infallible  will!* 

Here  I  found  myself  arrested  as  by  some  magic 
influence !  A  voice  from  above  thundered  in  my 
ear :  "  Cursed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man  I  " 
(Jer.  xvii.  5.)  What  but  trusting  in  man,  thought 
I,  is  it,  to  lean  upon  any  judgment  in  matters  of 
faith,  short  of  the  infallible  judgment  of  Almighty 
God  !  What  but  trusting  in  man,  to  give  heed  to 
the  counsels  of  a  Church,  which  proclaims  itself 
controlled,  in  any  degree  in  its  decisions,  by  the 
imperfections  of  man  ! 

Here  I  stand,  I  thought,  an  utterly  dependent 
creature,  commanded  by  Almighty  God  to  believe 
and  do  certain  things  to  save  myself  from  His 
righteous  judgments.  He  assures  me  that  He  has 
commissioned  a  messenger  to  act  in  His  stead,  and 
tell  me  what  these  things  ARE.  A  messenger  pre 
sents  himself.  But  his  first  word  is,  I  am  not  sure 
that  I  can  give  you  exactly  and  infallibly  (indeed  I 
am  sure  I  cannot)  the  requirements  of  your  Sov 
ereign.  Ought  I  to  trust  him  ?  Ought  I  to  listen 
for  a  moment  to  his  word  ?  Ought  I  not  at  once, 
and  out  of  due  respect  to  the  love,  and  wisdom, 
and  veracity  of  that  Sovereign,  to  turn  from  such 
a  one  as  a  deceiver  ?  as  guilty  of  the  strange  pre- 


*  I  here  mean,  that  tho  whole  Reformation  was  not  only  conducted  on  the 
principle  that  the  Church  is  fallible,  and  that  one  of  the  thirty-nine  articles 
declares  this  of  her  highest  court  of  appeal,  a  General  Council,  —  but  also,  that 
in  reference  to  all  the  solemn  questions  which  I  have  supposed  above  ad 
dressed  to  myself,  there  would  be  an  unhesitating  acknowledgment  on  th« 
part  of  all  her  great  living  teachers  of  fallible  judgment. 


ANGLICAN  AUTHORITY  FURTHER  CONSIDERED.     87 

sumption  of  asserting,  at  one  moment,  his  commis 
sion  from  GOD  to  "  teach "  God's  infallible  will, 
and  then  at  the  very  next,  of  confessing  his  ina 
bility  to  do  it :  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  do  it 
with  inevitable  truth  and  certainty  ?  to  do  it,  not 
only,  as  some  plead,  with  a  reasonable  precision  in 
essential  points,  but,  as  I  have  already  shown  to  be 
necessary,  with  a  precision  excluding  all  doubt  in 
every  point  of  faith  and  practice  on  which  God  has 
condescended  to  speak  to  man. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ANGLICAN  AUTHORITY  FURTHER  CONSIDERED. 

BUT,  had  not  Anglican  authority  been  vitiated 
in  my  view  by  its  acknowledged  fallibility,  another 
admitted  fact  seemed  an  effectual  bar  to  its  legiti 
mate  exercise.  According  to  God's  Word  inter 
preted  by  primitive  antiquity,  I  had  already  seen 
that  God's  Church  is  essentially  Catholic ;  not  re 
stricted  either  in  her  privileges  or  prerogatives  to 
any  one  nation,  but  made  up  of  believers  gathered 
out  of  all  nations.  "  OUT  OF  ALL  NATIONS,"  as 
saith  Origen,  "  ONE  PEOPLE."  That  her  commis 
sion  was  to  "  teach  all  nations."  The  promised 
presence  of  her  Divine  Head  was,  "  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  [in  her  teaching  all  nations,]  all  days  to  the 
end  of  the  world."  That  her  constitution  was, 
ft  One  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one 


88      ANGLICAN  AUTHORITY  FURTHER  CONSIDERED, 

of  another."  That  her  binding,  her  divinely  en 
joined  rule  was,  "  Be  of  one  mind,  —  speak  the 
same  things.  Mark  them  that  make  divisions  con 
trary  to  the  doctrine  you  have  received,  and  avoid 
them."  That  her  motto  was,-—  that  is  to  be  taught 
and  held  "  which  hath  been  believed  every  ivhere, 
always  and  by  all  men."  [Id  teneamus,  quod  ubi- 
que,  quod  semper,  quod  ab  omnibus  creditum  est] 
Vincentius.  And  that  her  symbol  was,  "  One 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  !  "  Now  with  this 
truth  before  me,  and  with  the  admission  of  the 
Anglican  communion  itself,  that  it  constituted  but 
a  part,  and  comparatively  a  small  part,  of  this 
Catholic  Church,  I  saw  that  communion  confidently 
taking  the  seat  of  supreme  dictator,  and  against 
the  settled  faith  of  all  other  Christian  nations,  pre 
suming,  in  the  awful  name  of  God,  to  proclaim  to 
mankind  ' <  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved  "  ! 

This  marvellous  assumption  of  authority,  (though 
it  strongly  reminded  me  of  something  quite  like  it 
in  an  early  century,)  forced  from  me  the  involun 
tary  exclamation,  "  Whence  could  it  possibly  have 
arisen  ?  "  What  plausible  pretext  even,  on  any 
principle  hitherto  received  by  the  body  of  Christ, 
could  be  pleaded  in  its  justification  ?  In  casting 
my  eye  over  the  field  of  conjecture,  I  asked  myself, 
"Has  England  at  any  time  been  favoreM  with 
special  revelations  from  God,  exempting  her  from 
the  obligations  which  had  hitherto  rested  upon  her 
sons  and  daughters  to  <  hear  the  Church,  —  the  One, 
Holy,  Catholic  Church  ;  to  observe  the  injunction, 


ANGLICAN  AUTHORITY  FURTHER  CONSIDERED.    89 

<  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  sub 
mit  yourselves  ? '  Did  England  receive  the  depo- 
situm  of  the  Faith  directly  from  God,  with  some 
special  commission,  independent  of  the  authority 
of  the  Christians  of  other  nations,  to  publish  it  to 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  instruct  them  how  it  was 
to  be  understood?  In  other  language,  <  Did  the 
word  of  God  go  out  from  them,  or  came  it  unto 
them,'  with  directions  how  to  put  it  in  practice  ?  " 
It  was  asserted,  I  know,  that  that  word  was 
brought  to  England  by  the  hand  of  an  Apostle,  and 
hence  by  a  distinct  and  independent  power  of  the 
Apostolate  !  Suppose  the  fact  of  history  admitted, 
how,  I  inquired,  does  the  inference  follow  ?  How 
does  that  inference,  —  the  idea  of  distinct  and  in 
dependent  apostolic  powers  touching  the  faith,  — 
agree  with  what  we  have  seen  to  be  the  teaching  of 
the  Apostles,  "  One  Lord,  one  Faith,  one  Baptism," 
&c  ?  How  does  it  agree  with  the  practice  of  the 
Apostles,  as  indicated  in  the  first  Council  of  Jeru 
salem  ?  It  was  pleaded,  that  soon  after  the  Apos 
tles,  a  different  custom  seems  to  have  prevailed. 
That  each  Diocese  or  Patriarchate  was  allowed  to 
hold  councils  of  its  own,  to  settle  its  own  religious 
disputes.  This,  I  saw,  was  to  a  certain  extent  true. 
But  I  saw  that  it  was  true  also,  that  when  such  dis 
putes  involved  questions  of  general  interest,  or 
threatened,  by  the  violence  and  pertinacity  of  the 
disputants,  the  general  peace,  resort  was  had  to  the 
judgment  and  decision  of  the  universal  Church  (as 
in  the  cases  of  Arius  and  others,)  and  that  when 


90         AT    WHAT    PERIOD    OF    HER    AUTHORITY 

this  decision  was  once  had,,  the  matter  of  dispute 
was  regarded  by  all  true  Catholics  as  infallibly  and 
hence  finally  determined.  And  further,  that  no 
decision  by  a  nation  or  body  less  than  the  whole 
Catholic  Church,  was  felt  to  be  inevitably  binding, 
except  as  such  decision  had  in  some  way  been  con 
curred  in  by  the  whole  Catholic  Church ;  and  in 
case  it  was  made  against  the  already  declared 
judgment  of  the  whole  Church,  it  was  at  once 
either  appealed  from  or  rejected  as  an  act  of  schism. 
As,  therefore,  the  decisions  of  the  English  parlia 
ment  at  the  Reformation,  which  determined  the  po 
sition  of  the  Anglican  communion,  were  to  my 
mind,  as  I  shall  show  hereafter,  of  this  latter  char 
acter,  I  did  not  see  how  I  could  reasonably  claim 
to  be  a  Catholic,  and  still  consent  to  act  under  them. 


CHAPTER   X. 

AT  WHAT  PERIOD  OF  HER  AUTHORITY  IS  ENGLAND  TO  BE 

TRUSTED  ? 

WAVING,  for  the  time,  the  question  of  England's 
independent  authority  in  matters  of  faith,  I  was 
here  constrained  to  ask,  at  what  period  in  the  his 
tory  of  that  authority  are  we  to  trust  it  as  a  suffi 
cient  guide  to  eternal  life  ?  *  At  a  period  before 
or  after  the  Reformation  ?  —  The  question  is  rea- 

*  See  Bramhall,  "  Answer  to  Bishop  ct  Chalcedon."     Dr.  Hook's  Sermon 
"  Hear  the  Church."    Palmer's  "  Treatise  on  the  Church,"  &c. 


IS    ENGLAND    TO    BE    TRUSTED?  91 

sonable.  For  she  maintains  in  the  person  of  her 
most  eminent  divines,,  that  she  is  identically  the 
same  Church  now  that  she  was  prior  to  that  memo 
rable  event.  And,  if  she  was  commissioned  by 
Christ  and  sustained  in  the  work  of  her  commis 
sion  by  Christ's  presence,  promised  to  His  Church 
for  all  days,  she  must  have  had,  at  least,  as  good  a 
claim  to  our  confidence  before  the  Reformation  — 
while  she  was  yet  in  communion  with  the  Catholic 
Church,  —  as  she  had  after  that  event,  when  she 
was  in  a  state  of  separation  from  all  other  parts  of 
Christ's  body.*  The  question,  therefore,  was  still 
pressed.  At  which  of  these  periods  are  we  to  ad 
mit  her  divine  authority  to  "  teach  "  and  direct  us  ? 
To  dictate  our  faith  and  exact  our  submission  ? 


*  Let  me  call  attention  to  a  few  words  more  on  this  point,  even  at  the  risk 
of  being  thought  importunate.  For  upon  it  depends  the  whole  force  of  the 
argument.  Why,  then,  does  England  claim  to  be  heard  as  the  Ckurch  1  Upon 
what  does  she  rely  as  the  source  of  her  authority  1  What  does  she  plead  with 
the  Puritan  or  Methodist  as  a  reason  why  she  should  be  listened  to  rather  than 
other  Christian  bodies,  as  the  teaching  authority  in  that  country  ?  Is  it  her  pre 
eminent  purity  of  doctrine,  or  superior  holiness  of  life,  or  priority  in  point  of 
age,  or  any  thing'  which  had  its  origin  in  Hit  gland  1  Certainly  not.  On  the 
contrary  it  is,  according  to  her  own  principles,  that  she  was  made  by  Christ 
in  Judea,  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,  received  authority  from  Him,  as 
Head  of  the  One,  Catholic  Church,  as  Head,  not  of  the  Church  of  England,  but 
the  Church  of  the  whole  ID  or id  ;  authority  to  declare  what  is  pure  doctrine;  an 
authority  secured  to  her  by  the  promise  of  Christ's  perpetual  presence,  ac 
cording  to  the  principle  of  Dr.  Hook,  from  the  moment  she  received  it  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  hence  an  authority  which  could  never  change,  never 
vary,  but  from  its  very  nature  must  have  been  one  and  the  same  every  day, 
and  hour,  and  moment  since  it  was  bestowed.  An  authority,  then,  I  repeat, 
which  was  certainly  as  good  when  held  before  the  Reformation  in  conjunction 
with  the  whole  Catholic  Church  of  Christ,  on  which  it  was  at  first  conferred, 
as  after  the  Reformation,  when  in  a  state  of  separation  from  that  body  ;  and 
hence  an  authority  which  had  as  good  a  right  before  the  Reformation  to  pro 
nounce  its  doctrines  pure  as  after  that  event.  So  that  its  judgment  before 
declaring  it  pure  is  as  trustworthy  at  least  as  its  judgment  after  declaring  it 
impure. 


92         AT    \VHAT    PERIOD    OF    HER    AUTHORITY 

Are  we  to  admit  that  authority  when  she  taught 
that  the  Pope  is  supreme  head  of  the  Church  ?  or 
when  she  taught  that  the  king  is  ?  When  she 
taught  seven  sacraments  in  the  Church  ?  or  when 
she  taught  that  there  are  only  tu-o  1  When  she 
held  Transubstajitiation,  or  when  she  pronounced 
it  "  repugnant  to  the  plain  icords  of  Scripture  ?  "  * 
"When  she  held  "  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  the 
living  and  the  dead  "  as  a  blessed  privilege  ;  or 
when  she  cast  it  away  as  "  a  blasphemous  fable  ?  " 
But  my  heart  almost  dies  within  me  at  the  recol 
lection  of  this  dreadful  change,  and  I  forbear  ;  re 
stricting  my  inquiries  to  the  three  centuries  and 
more  since  it  was  brought  about.  And  I  ask,  as  I 
did,  when  this  point  was  under  examination,  at 
what  period  in  these  centuries  may  we  rely  for 
spiritual  guidance  upon  the  judgment  of  the  An 
glican  Communion  ? 

Are  we  to  rely  upon  that  judgment,  when  in 
1534,  by  the  voice  of  Parliament,  she  declared 
that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  had  no  jurisdiction  ovei 
the  Church  of  England,  and  that  the  king  wa? 
rightfully  her  supreme  head?  or  when,  in  1536^ 
by  the  voice  of  her  Convocation  at  York,  she  de 
clared  :  —  "  We  think  the  King's  Highness,  ne  any 
temporal  man,  may  not  be  the  head  of  the  Church 
by  the  laws  of  God,  to  have  or  exercise  any  juris 
diction  or  power  spiritual  in  the  same,  and  we  think 


*  The  pfcin  word.-  of  Scripture  are.  "  T5«  if  .W  Bocy.  _  TTiis  ig  .Vy 
Blood  .'  "  The  plain  words  of  Scripture  are,  ;'  Except  ye  eat  the  ftak  of  the 
Son  of  Man  and  drink  His  Blood,  ye  bare  no  life  in  you,  .'  " 


IS    ENGLAND    TO    BE   TRUSTED  ?  93 

by  the  law  of  the  Church,  general  councils,  inter 
pretations  of  approved  doctors,  and  consent  of 
Christian  people,  the  Pope  of  Rome  hath  been 
taken  for  the  head  of  the  Church  and  Vicar  of 
Christ,  and  so  OUGHT  TO  BE  TAKEN  ?  "  —  (Strype's 
Mem.}  Shall  we  rely  upon  her  judgment  as  ex 
pressed  in  the  Articles  of  Doctrine  of  1537,*  de 
bated  in  Convocation,  and  approved  and  set  forth 
by  the  king?  Or  as  expressed  in  the  forty  -two 
"Articles  which  were  agreed  to  in  the  Synod  of 
London  in  1552,  by  the  bishops  and  other  godly 
and  learned  men,  to  root  out  discord  of  opinions, 
and  establish  the  agreement  of  true  religion  ;  "  f 
differing  essentially  from  the  former?  Or  as  ex 
pressed  in  the  declaration  unanimously  adopted  by 
both  houses  of  Convocation,  and  signed  by  both  the 
universities  in  the  first  year  of  Elizabeth,  setting 
forth,  in  fine,  distinct  propositions  "  the  Pope's  Su 
premacy  and  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  ?  {  Or  as 
expressed  in  the  Acts  of  Parliament,  (at  the  sitting 
of  which  not  a  single  bishop  was  present,)  which 
condemned  the  said  declaration,  suppressing  the 
MASS  and  making  the  QUEEN  the  supreme  head  of 
the  Church  ?  Or,  again,  as  expressed  in  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles,  passed  by  Parliament,  and  set 
forth  by  the  authority  of  the  Queen  in  1632,  §  de 
signed  to  correct  and  abrogate  her  forty  -two  arti 
cles  of  1552,  denouncing  many  of  the  doctrines 


*  Palmer's  «  Treatise  on  the  Church,"  vol.  i.,  p.  4C9. 

t  Burnet,  on  that  period.  }  See  Heylin,  p.  115. 

$  Ileylin,  Exam.  Hist.  121. 


94         AT    WHAT    PERIOD    OF    HER    AUTHORITY 

therein  contained  as  contrary  to  God's  Word  and 
dangerous  to  souls  ? 

Or,  to  return  once  more  to  the  sad  history  of 
her  perpetual  change,  shall  we  rely  on  her  judg 
ment  as  authoritatively  given  through  her  convoca 
tion,,  reviewed  and  sanctioned  by  the  king,  (1537-8) 
in  a  book  entitled  the  "  Godly  and  Pious  Discipline 
of  a  Christian  Man,"  enjoining  upon  her  sons  and 
daughters,  and  instructing  them  how  they  are  to 
understand  and  hold,  the  doctrines  of  the  seven 
sacraments  *  —  purgatory  —  invocation  of  Saints, 
prayers  for  the  dead,  &c.  ?  Or  shall  we  rely  upon 
that  judgment  as  given  in  her  first  edition  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  a  book  compiled  by 
Cranmer  and  his  associates,  sanctioned  by  the 
King,  Lords  and  Commons,  and,  to  use  their 
modest  language,  "concluded  and  set  forth  with 
the  aid  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  "  f  but  a  book  enjoining 
the  sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction  and  prayers  for 
ihe  dead,  urging  auricular  confession,  and  pro 
viding  public  offices  ,for  the  first  two,  and  a  form 
of  absolution  for  the  third  ?  Or  shall  we  rely  upon 
that  judgment  as  given  in  the  next  edition  of  the 
same  book  of  Common  Prayer,  in  which,  by  the 
same  authority  under  the  manifest  influence  of  two 
finned  foreigners,  J  the  offices  for  the  dead  and  for 
administering  Extreme  Unction  are  discarded,  the 
latter  being  pronounced  "  The  corrupt  following  of 


*  Matrimony,  Baptism,  Confirmation,  Penance,  The  Mass,   Orders    and 
Extreme  Unction, 
f  See  2  and  3  Ed.  VI.,  c.  i.  .    J  Bucer  and  Peter  Martyr. 


IS  ENGLAND  TO  BE  TRUSTED?        95 

the  Apostles."*  Or  finally,  shall  we  rely  upon 
that  judgment,  as  exhibited  in  the  American  edition 
9f  the  same  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  set  forth  by 
"  the  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episco 
pal  Church  in  the  United  States,"  and  sanctioned 
by  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  England,  in 
which  every  trace  of  auricular  confession  is  oblit 
erated  ;  one  article  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  declared 
unimportant,^  and  the  whole  of  the  Athanasian 
Creed  absolutely  discarded  1 

Or,  to  conclude  with  an  illustration  from  her 
living  teachers,  shall  we  rely  upon  her  judgment, 
for  example,  on  the  great  question  of  Baptismal 
regeneration,  as  expressed  in  her  Office  for  the 
administration  of  Baptism  and  in  the  Nicene  Creed, 
interpreted  by  her  ablest  Divines  in  a  true  Catholic 
sense ;  or,  as  interpreted  by  authority  of  the 
Queen,  as  having  no  sense,  or  what  is  tantamount, 
any  sense,  which  a  majority  of  her  judges  see  fit  to 
put  upon  it  ?  Or  to  pursue  the  point  a  step  fur 
ther,  shall  we  rely  on  her  judgment  as  expressed  by 
the  Anglican  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  seconded 
by  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty -two  of  the 
English  clergy,  in  the  words,  — ( <  We  humbly  state 
our  conviction  that  it  was  a  wise  and  just  sentence, 
(referring  to  that  of  the  Queen's  judges  in  the  case 
of  Gorham,  &c.,)  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  the  Church  of  England  ? "  Or  as  expressed  in  a 
strong  and  decided  remonstrance  against  that  judg- 


*  See  Tliirty-nine  Articles,  art.  xxv. 

f  Tlie  "  Descent  into  Hell,"  the  use  of  which  is  by  the  rubric  left  optional 


96     AT    WHAT    PERIOD    OF    HER    AUTHORITY,  &C. 

ment,  signed  by  one  thousand  laymen  and  clergy 
men  together  ?  * 

Now  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  1  put  these 
questions  to  myself  under  the  influence  of  such 
convictions  as  come  necessarily  from  the  principles 
of  the  famed  sermon  of  Dr.  Hook,  "  Hear  the 
Church ! "  A  principle,  which,  if  it  be  worth  any 
thing,  is  worth  every  thing  to  the  anxious  inquirer ; 
inasmuch  as  it  secures  to  him,  in  the  ever-living 
Church,  an  ever-living  teacher  and  guide,  being 
based  on  the  promise,  "  Lo  !  I  am  with  you  all 
days  ! "  A  teacher  and  guide,  which,  being  under 
the  constant  enlightening  and  purifying  presence 
of  Christ,  will  not  have  need  (to  borrow  the  popu 
lar  simile  of  Dr.  H.,)  to  "  wash  her  face  "  in  the 
broken  cisterns  of  man's  device,  in  order  to  see  the 
truth;  nor  to  continue  washing  it  from  year  to 
year,  and  from  generation  to  generation,  with  no 
certainty  that  she  even  yet  sees  or  ever  can  see 
clearly  and  with  "  a  single  eye,"  that  doctrine 
which  she  verily  continues  to  utter  with  a  "  double 
tongue."  f 

*  I  may  be  allowed  to  make  a  quotation  here. 

In  the  TIMES  of  March  20th,  1850,  appeared  the  following  "Resolutions" 
on  the  Gorham  case,  signed  by  the  leaders  of  the  Tractarian  party :  — 

"  1.  That  whatever  at  the  present  time  be  the  force  of  the  sentence  de 
livered  in  the  case  of  Gorham  v.  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  the  Church  of  Eng 
land  will  eventually  be  bound  by  the  said  sentence,  unless  it  shall  openly  and 
expressly  reject  the  erroneous  doctrine  sanctioned  thereby. 

"  7.  That  by  such  conscious,  wilful,  and  deliberate  act,  such  portion  of  the 
Church  becomes  formally  separated  from  the  Catholic  body,  and  can  no  longer 
assure  to  its  members  the  grace  of  the  Sacraments,  or  the  remission  of  sins." 

The  above  is  signed  by  Messrs.  Pusey,  Mill,  R.  J.  Wilberforce,  Thorp, 
Keble,  Bennet,  Talbot,  and  Cavendish.  AIT  the  other  subscribers,  both  lay 
and  clerical,  have  acted  on  their  words,  and  abjured  Anglicanism. 

f  See  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in 
the  case  above 


TEACHING    AUTHORITY   IN    ENGLAND.  97 

It  was,  therefore,  with  feelings  of  no  ordinary 
disappointment,  that  under  the  command,  "  Hear 
the  Church,"  I  applied  to  the  oracle  of  "  the 
Church  of  England,"  and  received  only  this  con 
fused  and  contradictory  response.  Under  the  cir 
cumstances,  who  can  wonder  that  I  turned  elsewhere 
that  I  might  hear,  if  possible,  the  certain  and  well- 
defined  voice  of  the  < '  Good  Shepherd  of  the  One 
Fold." 


CHAPTER  XL 

WHAT  WAS  THE  LIVING,  TEACHING  AUTHORITY  IN  ENGLAND 
FOR  EIGHT  HUNDRED  OR  ONE  THOUSAND  YEARS  BEFORfc 
THE  REFORMATION? 

HERE,  however,  the  strange  plea  was  urged,  viz. 
that  from  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Eng 
land,  a  spirit  of  resistance  to  the  prevailing  Catho 
lie  faith,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  purer  faith  was 
manifest.  That  this  pure  faith  struggled  at  first 
against  the  domination  of  Augustine  ;  and  then 
broke  out,  like  some  subterranean  fire,  at  different 
periods  up  to  the  era  of  the  Eeformation.  The 
language  of  a  popular  writer  in  the  American 
Church*  is  as  follows  :  — "  The  British  Church 
produced  a  noble  array  of  divines  from  Dinoth  of 
Bangor  to  Cranmer  of  Canterbury,  who,  from  time 
to  time,  did  all  they  could  to  resist  the  uncanonical 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Odenheimar,  "  Origin,  &c.,  of  Common  Prayer." 

9 


98  TEACHING    AUTHORITY    IX    ENG1AISD 

and  anti-Catholic  usurpation  of  her  rights." '  And 
then,  in  attempting  to  give  names  to  establish  his 
position,  he  repeats  the  name  of  Dinoth,  and  adds 
those  of  Dagamis  and  Wyciiffe  !  Now,  this  writer 
adopts  the  principle,  "Hear  the  Church1'  asserted, 
with  a  good  deal  of  ability,  in  what  he  calls  "  the 
admirable  sermon  of  Dr.  Hook ; "  pronouncing,  at 
the  same  time,  that  Church,  which  is  "the  pillar 
and  ground  of  truth,"  to  be  Catholic,  citing,  in 
confirmation  of  his  view,  the  following  language 
from  Tertullian  :  "  So  many  and  so  great  Churches 
are  nothing  else  but  that  primitive  one,  from  which 
all  the  rest  proceed.  Thus  they  are  all  primitive 
and  all  apostolical,  while  they  all  agree  in  the  same 
truth,  whilst  there  is  among  them  a  communion  of 
peace,  and  an  appellation  of  brotherhood,  and  a 
league  of  hospitality." 

The  principle,  therefore,  by  which  I  felt  obliged 
to  be  governed  —  according  to  this  admirable  teach 
ing  —  in  judging  of  the  above  plea,  is  that  "  the 
Church,"  which  is  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth,"  and  which  we  are  by  Christ  commanded  to 
"hear,"  is  "the  One  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church,"  teaching  "  the  same  truth,"  and  cemented 
together  by  "  a  communion  of  peace."  Now  to 
make  out  any  reasonable  claim  for  Dinoth,  Daga- 
nus,  and  Wyciiffe,  against  the  other  teaching  au 
thority  in  England,  I  conceived  it  would  be  neces 
sary  to  show  that  these  divines  taught  the  same 

*  To  this  last  point,  it  will  be  perceived,  I  recur  in  the  sequel. 


BEFORE   THE    REFORMATION.  99  " 

truth,  and  stood  in  the  same  "communion  of  peace," 
as  the  "One  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church"  and 
that  the  other  teaching  authority  in  England  did 
not.  But  will  any  one,  having  the  smallest  regard 
to  his  reputation  for  knowledge,  even  pretend  to 
this  ?  For  is  it  not  a  notorious  and  indisputable 
fact,  that  when  Augustine  came  into  England^  he 
was  sent  by  an  authority,  (whatever  may  be  said 
about  its  universal  jurisdiction,  which  we  shall  con 
sider  presently,)  which  was  in  communion  with  ^« 
"  the  One  Catholic  Church,"  and  that  he  brought  ^ 
with  him  the  Faith,  which  was  then  professed  and 
acted  upon,  (if  some  half  dozen  men  in  that  island 
must  be  excepted)  throughout,  at  least,  all  the  rest 
of  that  "  One  Catholic  Church  !  "  And  that  it  con 
tinued  to  be  the  Faith  professed  and  acted  upon 
throughout  Christendom,  (England  included,)  up 
to  the  period  of  the  Reformation  ?  Now  to  me,  as 
a  Protestant,  it  was  a  very  awkward  question  — 
how  Dinoth,  and  Daganus,  and  Wycliffe,  and  any 
body  else  who  may  be  supposed  to  have  acted  with 
them  —  could  be  regarded  by  any  good  Anglican, 
as  the  true,  living,  "  teaching  "  authority  in  Eng 
land,  to  which,  on  pain  of  being  treated  as  "  hea 
thens  and  publicans,"  all  her  sons  and  daughters 
were  compelled  to  listen,  in  opposition  to  the  Cath 
olic  authority,  which  alone  taught,  or  could,  by  any 
possibility,  be  "  heard "  for  eight  hundred  years 
and  more.  I  say  for  eight  hundred  years  and 
more,  because,  during  that  period,  the  Protestant 
authority  of  England  declares  it  to  be  the  fact. 


100          TEACHING    AUTHORITY    IN    ENGLAND 

The  words  are  :    "  Laity  and   clergy,   learned  and 
unlearned,    all   ages,   sects,   and   degrees    of  men, 
women,  and  children  of  the  WHOLE  OF  CHRISTEN 
DOM,  had  been  at  once  drowned  in  abominable  idol 
atry  ;  and  that  for  the  space  of  eight  hundred  years 
and  more."  —  (Homily  against  the  Peril  of  I'doit.- 
try.)     Now,  I  entreat  my  old  friends,  and  especially 
my  friend  who  wrote  the  book  upon  which  I  have 
felt  bound  to  animadvert,  seriously  to  consider  — 
where,  for  that  long  period,  the  poor  sinner  was  to 
go  to   "  hear  the  Church  ? "     And  more  than  all, 
what  became  of  the  promise  of  Jesus  Christ  to  be 
with  His  Church,  "  teaching  all  things  whatsoever 
HE  commanded  her  always  (all  days)  to  the  end  of 
the  world  1 "     For,  remember,  a  dead  Church  does 
not  speak.     And  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing,""  and 
sinners   are   to    "hear   the    Church,"" — not  to  get 
their  faitli  from  themselves,  by  reading  books,  nor 
to  dive  into  the  broad  deep  sea  of  centuries  long 
passed,  and  fish  up  from  mouldy  records  their  faith 
piecemeal — but    to    listen    to    the    "pastors    and 
teachers,  given  for  the  edification  of  the   Church, 
till  we  all  come  to  unity  in  the  Faith ;  "  to  "  sub 
mit   to  those  who  are  commissioned   to   watch  for 
our  souls,   and  to   follow  their  Faith."     Besides, 
Christ's   presence  is  promised  to  living,  spealcing 
pastors,  and  not  to  old  dumb  books,  however  full 
of  wisdom  they  may  be.     My  old  friends  must  ex 
cuse  me,  therefore,  for  repeating  my  request  that 
they  will  meditate  seriously  upon  this  truth,  as  J 
was  constrained  to  do  at  the  time  of  my  great  trial 


BEFORE   THE    REFORMATION.  101 

Besides,  the  question  then  impressed  itself  upon 
me,  suppose  that  the  voice  of  Dinoth  and  Daganus 
could  he  heard,  at  least,  in  some  faint  echoes  through 
those  eight  long  centuries,  till  it  reached  the  voice 
of  Wy cliff e ;  are  Protestant  episcopalians  prepared 
to  bow  to  its  teaching  ?  *  to  submit  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Mass  and  other  Catholic  doctrines,  then  and 
there,  by  the  admission  of  Protestants,  distinctly 
taught  ?f  And,  finally,  suppose  Dinoth  and  Wyc- 
liffe  could  have  lived  in  the  same  period,  what  kind 
of  union  would  have  subsisted  between  them  ? 
Admit,  for  a  moment,  that  Dinoth,  on  two  or  three 
points  of  discipline,  dissented  at  fast  from  Augus 
tine,  is  there  one  single  point  of  faith  that  now 
separates  Catholics  from  Protestants,  on  which  it 
can  be  shown,  he  would  have  agreed  with  Wy  cliff  e  1 

Who  can  doubt,  then,  that  tte  Catholic  Church 
was  the  only  living,  teaching  authority  in  England, 
for  eight  hundred  years,  at  least,  prior  to  the 
.Reformation  ?  —  the  only  authority  to  which  the 
inquiring  sinner  could  go  to  learn  the  way  of  eter 
nal  life  ? 


*  Betle's  Eccl.  Hi:-t.  ubique. 

|  Soame^s  Bampton  Lee.  Jlppcn.  Besides,  is  it  not  perfectly  clear,  from  the 
fact  that  no  matter  in  dispute  between  Augustine  and  the  Britons  had  respect 
to  doctrine,  that  in  this  there  was  a  perfect  agreement,  and  hence  that  they 
held  when  Augustine  arrived  in  England  all  the  Catholic  dogmas  ?  The  only 
three  points,  as  stated  by  the  Venerable  Bede,  (See  Bede's  HUt.,  1.  ii.  c.  2,  3, 4, 
where  the  interview  between  Augustine  and  the  ecclesiastics  of  Britain  is 
fully  described,)  upon  which  they  could  not  agree  were  the  following:  — 
1.  Upon  the  time  of  keeping  Easter ;  2.  Upon  the  ceremony  of  baptism; 
3.  Upon  union  in  preaching  to  the  Saxons.  And  although  during  the  life  of 
Augustine  these  differences  were  not  adjusted,  yet  in  the  following  century 
personal  animosity  having  died  out,  harmony  seems  to  have  been  restored. 

9* 


108  THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WAS  THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND  REALLY  CONDUCTED  ON 
THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  SUBMISSION  TO  THE  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC 
CHURCH  ? 

MR.  PALMER,  in  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Church," 
pledges  himself  to  "prove  that  the  Catholic  and 
primitive  doctrine  and  authority  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  as  opposed  to  modern  abuses,  and  the 
license  of  an  unbridled  private  judgment,  were  the 
principles  of  the  English  reformation."  —  Vol.  i. 
p.  493.  The  first  important  testimony  which  he 
adduces  in  support  of  his  position,  is  from  "  the 
necessary  doctrine  and  erudition  of  a  Christian 
man  ;  "  "  agreed  upon  "  (I  use  his  own  language) 
"by  the  whole  Church  of  England,  in  1543,"  and 
is  as  follows  :  —  "  All  things  which  were  taught 
by  the  Apostles,  and  have  been  by  a  whole  uni 
versal  consent  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  ever  since 
that  time  taught  continually,  and  taken  always  for 
true,  ought  to  be  received,  accepted,  and  kept  as  a 
perfect  doctrine  Apostolic"  To  show  that  the 
Reformation  in  1571  was  still  conducted  011  the 
same  principle,  or,  to  use  his  own  words,  that  "  the 
authority  of  Catholic  tradition  was  still  solemnly 
recognized,"  he  cites  the  canon  of  that  time :  — 
"  Let  preachers,  above  all  things,  be  careful  that 
they  never  teach  aught  in  a  sermon,  except  that 
which  is  agreeable  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  and  which  the  Catholic  fathers 


THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND.  103 

and  ancient  bishops  have  collected  from  that  very 
doctrine,"  adding,  "  Thus  the  authority  of  Catholic 
tradition  was  recognized  by  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,  and  by  all  our  learned  theologians."  —  Vol.  i. 
p.  498.  In  respect  to  the  authority  of  the  Church 
as  opposed  to  private  judgment,  he  adduces  Arti 
cle  XX.,  of  1562,  as  follows: — "The  Church 
hath  power  to  decree  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  au 
thority  in  controversies  of  Faith."  At  the  same 
time  enforcing  the  principle  by  a  passage  from 
Article  XXXIV.  "Whosoever,  through  private 
;udgment,  willingly  and  purposely  doth  openly 
oreak  the  traditions  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church, 
which  be  not  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God,  and 
be  ordained  and  approved  by  common  authority, 
ought  to  be  rebuked,  &c.,"  adding  the  words, 
"  The  Church  herself,  of  course,  being  the  judge 
of  this  repugnance."  —  Ib.  p.  500. 

In  carefully  weighing  this  language,  which,  un 
der  Protestant  training,  I  had  hitherto  considered 
as  tenable,  I  perceived  that  it  committed  me  and 
all  who  held  it,  to  four  distinct  propositions,  viz. :  — 
1.  That  there  is  in  the  Church  of  Christ  "  an  au 
thority  of  tradition,"  that  is,  an  authority  inde 
pendent  of  the  written  word  of  God,  and  given  to 
interpret  that  word  to  mankind,  which  has  always 
existed  in  the  Church  in  virtue  of  Christ's  promise, 
and  is  to  be  known  by  the  uniform  testimony  of 
the  Church  herself,  speaking  in  the  person  of  her 
successive  teachers.  2.  That  this  authority  is  the 
authority  of  the  universal  Church,  taken  as  final 


104  THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND. 

arbiter  in  all  matters  of  faith  and  discipline,  in  con 
tradistiiictioii  to  any  part  of  her,  however  respect 
able  in  point  either  of  wisdom  or  national  impor 
tance.  3.  That  while  this  universal  Church  has 
"authority  in  controversies  of  faith/'  that  is,  to 
determine  at  any  time  what  is  the  unchangeable 
Faith,  she  has  also  authority,  in  order  to  meet  the 
peculiar  exigencies  of  an  era,  or  to  increase  her 
means  of  devotion,  "to  decree  rites  and  ceremo 
nies."  And  that  when  these  are  once  decreed, 
neither  individual  nor  nations  have  a  right  to 
"  break  "  them,  in  defiance  of  the  authority  by 
which  they  were  imposed.  4.  That  the  whole 
Church  of  England,  in  the  year  1543,  (about  the 
tenth  year  of  the  Reformation)  regarded  and  ac 
tually  set  forth  by  her  highest  authority,  the  doc 
trine  contained  in  the  book  entitled  "  A  Necessary 
Doctrine  and  Erudition  of  a  Christian  man,"  as 
that  which,  ought  to  be  received,  accepted,  and 
kept  as  a  perfect  doctrine  Apostolic ;  because  it 
had  been  "  taught  by  the  Apostles,  and  continually, 
ever  since  that  time,  by  a  whole  universal  consent 
of  the  Church  of  Christ." 

My  mind  was  led  first  to  examine  this  last  prop 
osition  ;  to  ascertain  what  "  the  whole  Church  of 
England,"  *  after  ten  years'  growth,  felt  herself 

*  Here  there  is  an  effectual  answer  to  the  plea,  that  what  the  Church  oi 
England  said  at  this  date,  was  said  under  the  pressure  of  the  state,  and  hence 
was  not  her  real  judgment.  But,  in  the  first  place,  if  this  were  so,  what  secu 
rity  have  we  that  she  has  not  always  spoken  under  the  same  pressure,  and 
does  not  speak  under  that  pressure  now  1  She  i>  now  bound  by  the  act.-*  of 
Elizabeth,  and  who  does  not  know  that  they  are  even  more  .it7-iii<<-u:it  than  the 
acts  of  Henry  ?  But  unfortunately  for  thus  pJeu,  Mr.  Palmer  insists  that  thia 


THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND.  105 

bound  to  believe  and  to  do,  on  the  principle  of  re 
forming  herself  after  the  pattern  of  "  Catholic  and 
primitive  doctrine."  And  here  the  task  was  com 
paratively  easy.  The  table  of  contents  of  the 
"  Necessary  Doctrine,  &c.,"  at  once  placed  under 
my  eye  the  results  of  her  examination  and  judg 
ment.  Among  other  things  I  found,  she  then 
gathered  from  the  ever-abiding  treasures  of  the 
"One  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church,"  "  Se^en 
holy  Sacraments,  as  now  enumerated  by  Catholics, 
viz.,  Matrimony,  Baptism,  Confirmation,  Penance, 
Holy  Eucharist,  (or  the  Mass,)  Orders,  and  Extreme 
Unction.  Also,  the  Salutation  of  the  Angels,  called 
Ave  Maria,  and  prayers  for  souls  departed."  Here, 
then,  I  saw  that  the  mature  judgment  of  "the 
whole  Church  of  England,"  (with  the  king  and 
Cramner  at  the  head,)  professedly  governed  by 
Catholic  antiquity,  gave  her  first  verdict  in  favor 
of  a  large  part  of  the  dogmatic  truth  held  in  Eng 
land  before  the  reformation.  Hence  it  became  to 
my  mind  a  serious  question,  what  influence  subse 
quently  operated  upon  the  judgment  of  England, 
still  expressed  by  the  same  men  and  the  same  au 
thority,  to  set  that  judgment  against  "  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass  as  a  blasphemous  fable  ?  "  against  five 

judgment  in  1543,  in  favor  of  the  seven  sacraments,  «$'c.,  as  contained  in  "  the 
Necessary  Doctrine,"  <$•<;.,  was  given  by  "  the  whole  Church  of  England."  This 
•emphatic  language,  if  it  means  any  thing,  must  mean,  that,  after  free  and 
mature  thought,  the  Church  of  England  adopted  the  principle  of  reformation 
fy  "  the  authority  of  Catiiolic  tradition,"  and  hence  set  forth,  as  the  results  of 
her  calm  and  honest  judgment  under  this  principle,  the  doctrine  of  the  seven 
sacraments,  invocation  o/ rainfe,  .&c.,  in  "  ^e  Nec-essary  Doctrine  and  Eru 
dition  of  a  Christian  man  ! T) 


106  THE    REFORMATION    IX    ENGLAND. 

of  the  seven  sacraments  as  "  a  corrupt  following 
of  the  Apostles  ?  "  and  against  invocation  of  saints 
as  anti-scriptural  ?  If,  in  1543,  these  things 
seemed  to  her  true,  according  to  that  "  authority 
of  tradition  "  by  which  she  professed  to  be  guided, 
by  what  mysterious  process  are  they  so  soon  made 
to  appear  to  her  false  ?  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  re 
sult  showed  clearly  to  my  mind  two  things.  1. 
That  she  had  both  changed  her  ground  of  judg 
ment,  and  also,  2,  proved  herself  an  incompetent 
judge.  The  latter  had  already  appeared  to  me  too 
manifest,  as  stated  above.  While  the  plea  that  is 
sometimes  urged,  that  new  light,  as  she  advanced, 
gradually  broke  upon  her  path,  revealing  a  higher 
and  better  way,  not  only  furnished  a  new  proof  of 
her  sad  instability,  and  hence  total  insufficiency  as 
a  guide  ;  but  also  left  some  ground  to  hope  that  in 
this  her  random  pursuit  of  truth,  she  might  yet  be 
so  happy  as  to  find  her  way  back  to  a  certain  and 
unchanging  faith. 

In  regard  to  the  first,  that  she  had  actually  changed 
her  ground  of  judgment,  or  abandoned  what  Mr. 
Palmer  calls  "  the  authority  of  Catholic  tradition," 
was  to  my  mind  clear  from  the  following  consider 
ations.  In  the  first  place,  where  an  "  authority  "  is, 
in  any  real  practical  sense,  admitted,  it  is  submitted 
to.  And  submitted  to,  not  because  it  is  to  us 
reasonable  in  its  demands,  but  because  it  has  an 
absolute  and  independent  right  to  govern  us.  So 
that  when  we  say  we  admit  "  the  authority  of  tra 
dition,"  we  mean  (as  it  seemed  to  me)  if  we  mean 


THE  REFORMATION    IX    ENGLAND.  107 

any  thing,  that  it  has,  independent  of  our  own  sense 
of  its  reasonableness,  an  absolute  right  to  define 
our  faith,  and  fashion  our  obedience.  Otherwise, 
we  may  as  well  claim  to  admit  the  authority  of  the 
traditions  of  the  mosque,  as  those  of  the  Christian 
Church.  For  if  at  liberty  to  select,  we  may  derive 
confirmation  of  some  truth  from,  every  system. 

Again,  "  the  authority  of  Catholic  tradition," 
that  is  submitted  to,  must,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  be  accepted,  because  it  affords  a  security  be 
yond  any  thing  which  we  could  derive  from  our  own 
minds,  or  the  minds  of  other  men,  beyond  any 
thing,  indeed,  which  the  human  powers,  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  could  possibly  furnish. 
Otherwise,  there  would  be  no  reason  why  we  should 
give  more  weight  to  "  tradition  "  —  to  something 
handed  down  to  us  from  a  remote  age  —  than  to 
something  furnished  by  the  present  age.  To  justify 
us,  therefore,  in  giving  to  "  tradition  "  any  real 
"  authority  "  in  settling  questions  of  faith  or  disci 
pline,  two  things  seem  to  be  necessary.  1.  That 
such  tradition  should  have  its  origin  in  the  revela 
tion  of  God,  and  be  to  us  the  vehicle  of  Divine 
communications.  And  2.  That  the  channel  of  its 
transmission  should  be  liable  to  no  failure  either 
from  human  fraud  or  infirmity,  and  hence  must 
have  the  security  of  a  Divine  guardianship.  Be 
cause  Christ's  religion'  is  not  the  result  of  a  mental 
process  —  not  a  thing  wrought  out  or  perfected  in 
the  laboratory  of  human  reason  —  but  a  mysteri 
ous,  superhuman  fact,  a  thing  brought  down  as  a 


108  THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND. 

gift  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  handed  on  through 
the  successive  generations  of  earth  by  the  power 
of  heaven.  Hence,  I  say  "  tradition  "  springs  from 
God,  and  has  ever  the  protection  of  God,  it  being 
God's  first  communication  to  man  after  His  redemp 
tion,  and  designed  by  its  perpetual  light  to  make 
all  other  communications  distinct  and  certain. 

Soon  after  His  resurrection  our  blessed  Lord  re 
tired  with  His  disciples,  and  "  for  forty  days  in 
structed  them  in  the  things  pertaining  to  His  king 
dom."  Here  is  the  foundation  of  that  tradition, 
which  was  intrusted  to  the  Church  for  her  guidance 
in  the  faith.  But  it  is  not  completed,  though  thus 
imparted  by  the  great  Prophet  Himself.  The  disci 
ples  were  commanded  to  wait  in  Jerusalem  till  they 
were  endued  with  the  power  of  that  Divine  Spirit 
which  was  to  "lead  the  Church  into  all  truth." 
On  the  glorious  day  of  Pentecost  He  descended  in 
all  His  fulness  upon  her,  and  Christ,  her  faithful 
Head,  began  the  fulfilment  of  His  gracious  promise 
to  be  "with  her  to  the  end  of  the  world."  Thus, 
when  He  ascended  up  on  high,  "  He  led  captivity 
captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men.  And  He  gave 
some  Apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  some  pastars 
and  teachers,  for  the  perfecting  of  the  Saints,  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ,  till  we  all  meet  in  the  unity  of  the 
faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God, 
unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  age 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  Here  we  have  an  ac 
count,  by  God's  own  hand,  of  the  beginning  of 


THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND.  109 

that  dispensation  of  mercy  and'  love  to  mankind, 
through  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which, 
Pie  assures  us,  is  to  be  carried  on  to  its  final  con 
summation,  under  the  same  operation,  by  means  of 
His  divinely  ordered,  and  divinely  sustained,  priest 
hood.  This  priesthood,  in  the  persons  of  the  Apos 
tles  and  those  whom  they  associate  with  them,  goes 
forth  into  all  the  world,  to  do  the  bidding  of  their 
Lord.  In  the  light  of  His  abiding  presence,  and 
under  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Gospel  is 
preached  —  the  Church  established  — •  fundamental 
faith  imbodied  in  "  a  form  of  sound  words  "  — * 
converts  orally  trained  in  it,  and  the  sacraments 
gradually  brought  to  their  view  as  occasion  required. 
Thus  the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  well  ordered 
and  well  furnished  with  all  her  divine  functions 
and  all  her  divine  "  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowl 
edge,"  presents  herself  to  the  nations  as  an  all- 
sufficient  guide  to  eternal  life,  long  before  the  New 
Testament  had  its  being.  Will  any  one  pretend  to 
say  that  the  Christians  who  lived  and  died  under 
this  simple  and  oral  teaching  of  the  priesthood, 
were  not  as  well  furnished  for  their  entrance  into 
the  Paradise  of  God,  as  they  who  trust  solely  to  the 
Bible  at  the  present  day  ?  But  those  Christians 
lived  and  died  under  the  (t  authority  of  Catholic 
tradition."  And  that  same  tradition,  with  that 
same  authority,  has  ever  remained  in  the  Church, 
an  infallible  teacher  and  interpreter  to  the  present 
hour.  So  that  St.  Irenseus  could  ask,  "  What  if 
the  Apostles  had  not  left  us  writings  ;  would  it 
10 


110  THE    REFORM ATION    IN    ENGLAND. 

not  have  been  needful  to  follow  the  order  of  that 
TRADITION  which  they  delivered  to  those  to  whom 
they  committed  the  Churches  ?  "  And  to  illustrate 
the  benefits  of  this  tradition  by  an  example,  he 
adds  :  "  An  ordinance  to  which  many  of  the  bar 
barous  nations  who  believe  in  Christ  assent,  having 
salvation  written  without  pen  and  ink  by  the  Spirit 
in  their  hearts,  sedulously  guarding  the  old  tradi 
tion." —  Adv.  Hares.  1.  iii. 

And  that  champion  of  the  truth,  St.  Athanasius, 
could  say,  referring  to  the  Arians :  "  It  is  enough 
to  give  this  only  answer  to  such  things,  and  to  say, 
these  things  are  not  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
Neither  did  the  Fathers  think  thus."  —  (Ovx  oai 
ruvra  ir^  xadohx^g  ixzleo-tag,  ovde  ravra  01  mxTsgeg 
iygovyaav.) Ep.  ad.  Epict. 

This  tradition,  it  was,  to  which  the  blessed  Paul 
refers,  when  exhorting  his  son  in  the  faith,  "  Keep 
that  which  is  committed  to  thy  trust."  —  "  Hold 
fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which  thou  hast 
heard  of  me  in  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus."  To  which  he  refers  also,  when,  guarding 
the  Thessalonians  against  false  teachers,  he  exhorts, 
"  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means.  Stand 
fast,  and  hold  the  traditions  which  ye  have  learned, 
whether  by  word,  or  by  our  Epistle." 

It  was  this  tradition  to  which  the  Fathers  bowed 
with  such  uniform  and  profound  reverence.  It 
was  this  to  which  the  holy  bishop  of  Hieropolis,* 

*  Papias. 


THE    REFORMATION    IX    ENGLAND.  Ill 

"  the  hearer  of  St.  John  and  the  friend  of  St.  Poly- 
carp,"  refers,  when  he  says,  "  If  any  one  came  to 
me  who  had  accompanied  the  elders,  I  questioned 
him  concerning  their  words,  what  Andrew  and 
Peter  said.  For  I  did  not  think  that  what  is  in 
the  books  would  aid  me  as  much  as  what  came 
fi-Dm  the  living  and  abiding  voice."  —  Ap.  Euscb. 
1.  iii.  c.  39. 

It  was  this  to  which  St.  Irenscus  refers,  when  he 
says  of  the  heretics  :  "  We  challenge  them  to  that 
tradition  which  is  from  the  Apostles,  which  is  pre 
served  in  the  Churches  through  the  succession  of 
presbyters."  (Quum  autem  ad  earn  iterum  tra- 
ditionem,  quse  est  ab  apostolis,  quse  per  successiones 
presbyterorum  in  ecclesiis  custoditur,  provocamus 
eos.)  —  Adv.  Hares.  1.  iii.  c.  £. 

And  St.  Clement,  when  he  says  :  ' '  Wherefore 
the  Lord  has  not  forbidden  us  to  rest  from  good, 
bat  has  permitted  us  to  impart  the  divine  mysteries 
and  that  secret  light,  to  those  who  are  able  to  re 
ceive  them.  But  He  did  not  immediately  reveal 
to  many  those  things  which  were  not  for  many,  but 
to  a  few,  to  whom  He  knew  them  to  be  suited, 
who  were  capable  both  of  receiving  them,  and  of 
being  conformed  to  them.  Secret  things,  like 
God,  are  intrusted,  not  to  writing,  but  to  oral 
teaching."  (^°/'&>  Tnaieveiai,  8  yq&puoni.}  — Strom. 

Li. 

And  Tertullian,  who  says  :  "  If  no  Scripture  has 
determined  this  (observance)  assuredly  custom  has 
confirmed  it,  which  doubtless  has  been  derived  from 


THE   REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND* 

tradition  ;  for  how  can  a  tiling  be  used,  unless  it 
be  first  handed  down  to  us  ?  Let  us  inquire, 
then,  whether  even  tradition,  even  though  not 
committed  to  writing,  ought  not  to  be  received." 
(Quaeramus  an  et  traditio  nisi  scripta  non  debeat 
recipi.)  —  De  Corona. 

And  Origen  :  "  We  are  not  to  credit  these  men, 
nor  go  out  from  the  first  and  the  ecclesiastical  tra 
dition  j  nor  to  believe  otherwise  than  as  the 
Churches  of  God  have  by  succession  transmitted 
to  us."—  T.  iii.  Com.  in  St.  Matt. 

And  St.  Athanasius,  speaking  of  the  Arians  : 
<(  This  has  been  their  device  and  cunning,  and  they 
had  even  this  deadly  purpose  to  seek  to  drive  from 
their  chairs  those  who  hold  to  that  teaching  of  the 

O 

Catholic  Church  which  has  been  handed  down  to 
them  from  the  Fathers."  —  Apol.  con.  Arian.  U.  3, 

And  St.  Ephrsem  :  f(  Be  firmly  persuaded  of 
this,  not  as  an  opinion,  but  as  a  truth,  that  what 
soever  has  been  transmitted,  whether  in  writing 
only,  or  by  word  of  mouth,  is  directed  to  this  end, 
that  we  may  have  life,  and  may  have  it  more  abun 
dantly."—  T.  iii.  Ser.  lix. 

And  St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa  :  "  It  sumceth  for  a 
demonstration  of  our  words  that  we  have  a  tradi 
tion  that  comes  down  to  us  from  the  fathers,  like 
an  inheritance  transmitted  by  succession  from  the 
apostles  through  the  holy  men  that  have  come 
after  them."  (olvov  nra  K^^OV  dl  frxolovdiag  £x  TWV 


I.  iv.  Con.  Eunom. 


THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND  113 

St.  Gregory  of  Xazianzum  says :  "  "May  we  to 
the  last  of  life,  confess  with  great  confidence,  that 
excellent  deposit  (r^  xu).t}v  naga^arndrjx^v-^  of  the 
holy  Fathers  who  were  nearest  to  Christ  and  the 
primitive  faith."  — T.  i.  Orat.  6. 

And  St.  Basil :  "  Tell  me,  this  pious  tradition  of 
the  Fathers,  and  as  you  yourself  have  termed  it, 
this  rule  and  safe  criterion,  is  it  now  on  the  con 
trary  proclaimed  to  be  an  instrument  of  deceit  ?  " — 
Adv.  Eunom.  1.  i.  Again :  "  Let  tradition  shame 
thee  from  separating  the  Holy  Ghost  from  Father 
and  Son.  Thus  did  the  Lord  teach,  Apostles 
preach,  fathers  preserve,  and  martyrs  confirm.  Let 
it  suffice  thee  to  speak  as  thou  hast  been  taught, 
and  let  me  not  hear  these  sophisms." — T.  ii.  Horn, 
con.  Sab.  And  once  more  :  "  Of  the  dogmas  and 
teachings  preserved  in  the  Church,  we  have  some 
from  the  doctrine  committed  to  writing,  and  some 
we  have  received  transmitted  to  us  in  a  secret  man 
ner  (L>>  //t'<7TJ/o*o>)  from  the  traditions  of  the  Apos 
tles  ;  both  these  have  the  same  force  in  forming 
sound  doctrine,  .(uTie.Q  «//qr>orc£«  T^V  avir^  iv/\)V  e%et 
nQog  TIT/'  efaeSetui*)  and  no  one  will  gainsay 
either  of  these  ;  no  one,  that  is,  that  has  the  least 
experience  of  the  ecclesiastical  laws.  For  should 
we  attempt  to  reject,  as  not  having  any  great  au 
thority,  (/tuvuuiv)  those  customs  that  are  unwrit 
ten,  (Vu  ayqacf.a  iwv  i-dwv,)  we  should  be  betrayed 
into  injuring  the  Gospel  even  in  primary  matters, 
or  rather,  in  circumscribing  the  Gospel  into  a  mere 
name." — T.  iii.  De  S.  Sane.  c.  xxvii. 
10* 


114:  THE    REFORMATION    IX    ENGLAND. 

And  St.  Siricius,  who  says  :  "  In  the  Council  of 
Nicaea,  the  Holy  Ghost  favoring,  at  the  same  time 
that  the  possession  of  faith  was  juridically  confirmed, 
it  was  the  desire  of  the  bishops  there  assembled, 
that  the  apostolic  traditions  (apostolicas  traditiones) 
should  come  to  the  knowledge  of  all  men."  —  Ep. 
v.  ad  Episcop.  Divers. 

St.  Epiphanius  says  :  "  It  is  also  necessary  to  use 
tradition  ;  for  all  things  cannot  be  derived  from  the 
divine  Scripture  ;  because  the  holy  Apostles  trans 
mitted  some  things  indeed  in  writings  and  some  in 


EV 


tradition."  (^/<o  TO.  fdv  ev  yoacpal*  TU  ds 
doaei  Ttags8h)y.av  ol  ayioi  aTrocrioloi.}  T. 
Hares. 

St.  Jerome  says  distinctly  :  "  Even  though  the 
authority  of  Scripture  were  not  at  hand,,  the  agree 
ment  of  the  whole  world  in  this  matter  would  pre 
vail  as  a  command.  For  many  other  things  also, 
that  by  tradition  are  observed  in  the  Churches, 
have  gained  for  themselves  the  authority  of  a  writ 
ten  law."  —  (Nam  et  multa  alia  quse  per  traditionem 
in  ecclcsiis  observantur,  auctoritatem  sibi  scripta? 
legis  usurpaverunt.)  —  T.  ii.  adv.  Lucifer. 

And  St.  Chrysostom  when  he  says,  commenting 
on  1  Cor.  xi.  2,  (That  in  all  things  ye  are  mindful 
of  me,  and  keep  the  ordinances  as  I  delivered  them 
to  you,)  "  Whence  it  follows  that  lie  (St.  Paul)  de 
livered  them  many  things  also  without  writing,  as 
he  shows  elsewhere  in  many  places  ;  but  now  also 
he  lays  down  the  cause.  .  /  If  any  men  seem  to  be 
contentious,  we  have  no  such  custom,  nor  the 


THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND.  115 

Churches  of  God.' '  And  again,  commenting  oil 
2  Thess.  ii.  14,  (Therefore  brethren,  stand  fast, 
and  hold  the  traditions  ivhich  ye  have  learned, 
whether  by  word  or  by  our  epistle  :)  "  Hence  it  is 
plain  that  they  did  not  deliver  all  things  by  epistle, 
hut  many  things  also  without  writing,  and  in  like 
manner  both  those  and  these  things  are  worthy  of 
credit.  Wherefore  let  us  reckon  the  tradition  of 
the  Church  worthy  of  credit.  It  is  a  tradition; 
scelc  nothing  further '."  (nuq&Soais  tart,  prjd&v  nleov 
giJTct.)  T.  xi.  Horn.  4. 

And  finally  St.  Augustine,  when  he  says  :  "  But 
those  things  which  we  observe,  not  because  written, 
but  transmitted,  (quse  non  scripta,  sed  tradita 
custodimus),  things  which  are  indeed  observed 
throughout  the  whole  world,  it  is  to  be  understood, 
that  they  are  to  be  retained  as  commanded  and 
decreed,  either  by  the  Apostles  themselves,  or  by 
general  councils,  the  authority  of  which  is  most 

wholesome  in  the  Church The  custom  of  our 

mother  Church  in  baptizing  infants  is  by  no  means 
to  be  despised,  nor  to  be  deemed  in  any  way  super 
fluous,  nor  to  be  believed  at  all,  were  it  not  an 
Apostolic  tradition,  (ncc  omniiio  credeiida  nisi 

Apostolica    esset    traditio) It   is   not    to    be 

doubted  that  the  dead  are  aided  by  the  prayers  of 
the  holy  Church,  and  by  the  salutary  sacrifice,  and 
by  the  alms  which  are  offered  for  their  spirits ;  that 
the»Lord  may  deal  Avith  them  more  mercifully  than 
their  sins  have  deserved.  For  this,  which  has  been 
handed  down  by  the  Fathers,  the  universal  Church 


116  THE    REFORMATION    IX    ENGLAND. 

observes."     (Hoc   enim   a  patribus  traditum,  uni- 
versa  observat  ecclesia,)  T.  v.  serm.  clxxii. 

It  is  this  tradition  which  made  the  faith  plain  to 
the  unlettered,,  and  fenced  it  round,  and  protected 
it  against  the  inroads  of  private  judgment  and  royal 
dictation ;  which  supplied  saving  knowledge  in  the 
absence  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  of  the  qualifica 
tions  to  read  them,  and  vindicated  the  providence 
of  Almighty  God  for  delaying  what  seemed  to  be 
an  essential  means*  for  their  general  distribution 
till  fourteen  long  centuries  had  passed  away.  Now 
it  is  this  tradition  to  which,  I  could  not  doubt,  the 
Anglicans  referred,  when  they  first  spoke  of  being 
governed  in  their  reformation  by  "  the  authority  of 
Catholic  tradition."  But  (as  it  was  equally  clear 
to  me)  finding  that  "the  authority"  of  such  tradi 
tion  would  not  only  rebuke  them  for  what  they  had 
already  done,  but,  forcing  them  to  return  upon  their 
knees  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  would  compel  them 
to  sacrifice  all  private  or  national  aims  on  the  altar 
of  Catholic  unity,  and  offer  a  life  of  penitence  in 
satisfaction  for  their  attempted  schism,  they  at  once 
broke  away  from  that  "  authority,"  and  in  total  dis 
regard  of  the  past,  resolved  to  allow  nothing  to  con 
trol  their  own  will  or  action  for  the  future.  And 
this  they  did,  in  face  of  their  own  authoritative 
declaration,  that  "whosoever,  through  his  private 
judgment,  willingly  and  purposely  doth  openly 
break  the  traditions  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church, 
which  be  not  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God  (the 

*  The  art  of  Printing. 


THE    REFORMATION    IN    ENGLAND.  117 

Church  of  course  being  judge  of  this  repugnance), 
and  which  be  ordained  and  approved  by  common 
authority,  ought  openly  to  be  rebuked,"  &c.  I  say 
in  the  face  of  vhis  declaration.  For  it  seemed  to 
me,  with  the  views  I  had  always  entertained  as  a 
churchman,  that  it  could  not,  with  any  show  of  rea 
son,  be  pretended  that  "  the  traditions  and  ceremo 
nies  "  found  in  the  Catholic  Church  of  England 
before  or  at  the  Reformation,,  were  not  established 
there  by  that  Church  (it  being  the  only  Church  in 
existence),  which  had  "  power  to  decree  rites  and 
ceremonies  and  authority  in  controversies  of  faith," 
and  could  not  be  pretended  that  such  rites  and  cer 
emonies  were  not  "  ordained  and  approved  by  com 
mon  authority ,"  consistent,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Church,  with  the  word  of  God.  And  therefore  it 
could  not  be  pleaded,  that  the  persons  "  breaking  " 
them,  however  many  or  high  in  political  station, 
"ought  not  to  be  publicly  rebuked." 

I  was  told,  it  is  true,  that  this  view  of  tradition 
made  little  account  of  God's  Word.  But  the  an 
swer  which  satisfied  my  own  mind  was,  that  "  tra 
dition,"  in  the  Catholic  sense,  is  a  part  of  God's 
Word,  the  unwritten  part,  given  before  the  written 
part,  as  the  lex  uon  scripta,  or  common  law,  ante 
dates  the  lex  scripta,  or  statute  law,  —  neither  dero 
gating  from  its  authority  nor  weakening  its  obliga 
tion.*  Besides,  what  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  great 


*  Referring  to  the  value  of  tradition,  Perrone  draws  the  following  illustra 
tion  from  Cicero  :  "  Patet  ex  eo  quod  oinnis  bene  instituta  republica,  ut  ait 
Tullms,  non  tain  lege  scripts,  quam  non  scripta,  traditione  nempe  et  consue 


118    THE  ABOVE  VIEW  OF  TRADITION  A  NECESSAllY 

concern  of  the  Christian,  was,  to  honor  God,  by 
due  submission  to  all  that  He  has  revealed.  And 
finally,  the  thought  struck  me,  that  there  might 
perhaps  be  more  danger  in  believing  too  little  than 
too  much.  At  any  rate,  that  persons,  who  call 
parts  of  the  Bible  "non-essential,"  and  treat  other 
parts  as  "a  dead  letter,"  (for  example,  St.  James 
v.  14,  15.)  should  not  be  forward  in  charging  the 
holders  of  tradition  with  want  of  reverence  for  holy 
Scripture. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  ABOVE  VIEW  OF  TRADITION  A  NECESSARY  KEY  TO  THE 
FACTS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

IT  had  often  been  asked,  by  way  of  objection  to 
Catholicism,  —  "  Why,  if  certain  matters  of  faith 
and  order  are  as  important  as  Catholics  consider 
them,  is  so  little  said  of  them  in  the  Bible  ?  "  But 
to  my  mind,  the  question  was  sufficiently  answered 
in  the  fact  already  brought  to  view,  that  the  Church 
was  established,  and  the  revelation  of  God  made  to 
it,  many  years  before  the  New  Testament  was  writ 
ten,  and  that  that  prior  revelation  was  not  made 
void  by  the  appearance  of  the  latter.  And  here  I 
shall  be  excused  for  introducing  a  passage  from  a 


tudine  gubernetur :  eo  magis  quod  lex  utut  porspicue  exposta  fuerit,  in  varios 
sensus  facile  trahitur,  nee  nioi  consuetuiline  traditioneque,  tamquani  viva 
ac  loquente  voce,  recta  ac  legitima  muts  per  se  ac  veluti  mortua;  Scriptural 
interprctatio  in  republica  constat  ac  conservatur." 


KEY  TO  THE  FACTS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY.      119 

manuscript  sermon,  prepared  for  an  ordination,  and, 
as  will  be  recollected  by  some  of  my  old  friends, 
preached  by  myself,  at  the  period  to  which  I  al 
lude.  "  Take  the  question,  What  do  the  Scriptures 
teach  in  respect  to  carrying  out  the  fundamental 
faith?  Or  what  precise  instrumentality  do  they 
institute  to  apply  this  faith  to  the  souls  and  bodies 
of  men  ?  You  will  say,  <  The  Church,  with  her 
ministry,  and  sacraments,  and  ordinances.'  So  far 
well.  For  t  the  Church  of  the  living  God  is  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth.'  And  'by  the 
Church  is  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  to  be  made 
known.'  While  we  are  to  (  continue  in  the  Apos 
tles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of 
bread  and  of  prayers.' '  But  what  is  the  precise 
constitution  of  the  Church  ?  What  the  orders  of 
her  priesthood  ?  The  number  and  force  of  her  sac 
raments  and  ordinances  ?  Now  there  is  good  rea 
son  why  the  New  Testament  should  be  less  definite 
and  full  on  these  points  than  their  importance  in 
this  age  would  seem  to  demand.  The  Church,  at 
the  time  when  the  New  Testament  was  written, 
stood  already  (as  she  had  long  stood)  before  the 
world,  with  her  ministry  and  sacraments,  and  the 
like,  and  stood  there  in  perfect  external  unity,  as 
fashioned  and  arranged  by  the  hand  of  God  Him 
self.  When,  therefore,  the  New  Testament  was 
given  her  by  the  same  hand,  is  it  at  all  wonderful 
that  little  should  be  found  in  it  in  regard  to  the 
peculiar  fashion  and  arrangements  of  that  Church, 
which  actually  stood  before  the  world.,  bearing  the 


THE  ABOVE  VIEW  OF  TRADITION  A  NECESSARY 

divine  impress  and  under  the  divine  inspiration,  to 
speak  for  herself? 

A  father  dies  and  is  found  to  have  willed  to  his 
children  and  children's  children,  his  house  and  fur 
niture,  and  servants,*  on  condition  that  they  hand 
them  down  (the  servants  of  course  in  their  descend 
ants,)  from  generation  to  generation  without  essen 
tial  alteration.  Should  we  expect  to  find  in  that 
will  (on  the  principle  of  any  known  law  or  prac 
tice)  how  the  house  was  built?  How  the  furni 
ture  and  servants  were  arranged?  And  how,  in 
minute  detail,  they  had  been  governed?  Should 
we,  in  truth,  expect  to  find  in  it  more  than  such 
general  descriptions  as  would  sufficiently  identify 

the  whole  ? Our  Blessed  Lord  dies  and  leaves 

to  His  people,  by  will  (for  that,  eo  nomine,  is  the 
written  Gospel,)  the  blessings  of  His  Church,  in 
her  ministry,  and  sacraments,  and  ordinances ;  on 
condition  that  they  use  them  faithfully  and  trans 
mit  them  unimpaired  and  unchanged  to  all  future 
generations.  Ought  we  to  expect,  on  any  reason 
able  ground,  this  will  to  tell  minutely  how  the 
church  was  constructed  ?  What  was  the  particular 
order  of  the  ministry,  and  the  number  of  the  sacra 
ments  ?  And  how  they  and  all  things  else  in  the 
Church  were  arranged ;  when  all,  made  after  the 
divine  pattern,  and  animated  by  the  divine  spirit,  was 
before  the  faithful  to  answer  promptly  to  their  own 
eyes  and  ears  every  inquiry  prompted  by  their  obe 
dient  hearts  ? 

*  Written  for  a  slave  State. 


KEY  TO  THE  FACTS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

Here,  then,  we  see  why  many  things,  the  begin 
ning  of  which  is  not  noticed,  and  mere  glimpses  of 
which  appear,  in  the  New  Testament,  hold  a  prom 
inent  place  in   the  early  history  of  the  Apostolic 
Church.     They  had  their  origin  in  this  oral  reve 
lation,  and  were  inculcated  upon  Christians  in  their 
very  existence,  when  afterwards  the  written  revela 
tion,  containing  the  mere  outlines  of  faith  and  prac 
tice,  made  its  appearance.     Hence  the  observance 
of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  called  Sunday,  in  place 
of  the  seventh  day,  called  the  Sabbath,  found  in  tra 
dition  sufficient  authority,  although  the  New  Tes 
tament  gave  no  direction  for  the  change.     Hence 
the  baptism  of  infants,  as  St.  Augustine  says,  could 
"  not  be  believed  at  all  were  it  not  an  Apostolic 
tradition ;  "  yet  because  it  was  an  Apostolic  tradi 
tion,  it  was  received  with  as  much  readiness  of  faith 
as  if  it  had  been  explicitly  commanded  in  the  New 
Testament,  although  in  that  blessed  book  it  is  not 
so  much  as  named.     The  same,  as  St.  Augustine 
further  remarks,  must  be  said  in  regard  to  "  prayers, 
and  sacrifices,  and  alms  for  the  deitd,"  with  invoca 
tion  of  Saints,  and  many  other  doctrines  flowing 
directly  from  that  deep  well  of  Christian  truth  — 
the  divine  mystery  of  the  Incarnation. 

Another  fact  was  urged  against  the  present  Cath 
olic  teaching,  viz.,  that  immediately  subsequent  to 
the  Apostles'  day,  no  traces,  or  at  least  very  faint 
ones,  of  certain  points  in  this  teaching  are  discover 
able  in  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Church. 
This  fact  I  could  not  but  admit ;  but  found  in  the 
11 


THE  ABOVE  VIEW  OF  TRADITION  A  NECESSARY 

doctrine  of  tradition  its  perfect  solution.  The 
"  depositum  "  of  truth  intrusted  to  the  Church,  in 
the  person  of  the  eleven  disciples,  by  Him  whose 
sayings  and  doings  swelled  so  far  beyond  the  writ 
ten  Gospels,*  was  not,  as  the  Fathers  testify,f  at 
first  fully  unfolded  to  the  gaze  of  the  unregenerate 
world,  nor  even  to  the  babes  in  Christ,  except  as 
they  were  gradually  made  able  to  comprehend  and 
appreciate  it.  The  reason  may  be  found  in  the 
injunction  of  our  Lord  "  not  to  cast  pearls  before 
swine,"  and  in  that  of  St.  Paul,  that  "  babes  in 
Christ  must  be  fed  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat, 
till  they  are  able  to  bear  it."  Hence  I  saw  why 
many  things,  although  fully  revealed  to  the  Church, 
and  of  the  highest  importance  in  themselves,  seem 
now  to  have  held  a  very  subordinate  place  in  the 
public  teaching  of  the  first  fathers,  particularly  as 
their  secret  instructions,  from  the  very  circum 
stances  which  often  led  to  their  secrecy,  never 
transpired.  Hence  says  St.  Ambrose  to  the  cate 
chumens  :  "  You  are  summoned  to  the  mysteries, 
though  ignorant  what  they  are,  you  learn  when 
you  come." — T.  i.  De  Elia,  fyc. 

Besides,  I  recollected  that  for  three  full  centu 
ries  after  the  birth  of  Christianity,  it  was  driven  by 
the  sword  of  persecution,  for  the  most  part,  from 
the  face  of  society  into  the  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth.  That  its  records  were  destroyed,  its  creeds 
preserved  only  in  the  memory,  its  liturgies  trans- 

*  St.  John  xxi.  25. 

t  See  Faith  of  Catholics^  Discip.  of  the  Secret.,  vol.  ii.  p.  15&-178. 


KEY  TO  THE  FACTS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

mitted  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  that  the  chief 
monuments  which  remained  to  it  were  the  blood 
and  the  ashes  of  its  martyrs.  Hence  I  could  only 
see  the  •wonder-working  power  of  God  in  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  faith  at  all,  and  of  such  certain 
proofs  of  its  safe  transmission  as  actually  exist. 
But  these  proofs  1  found  to  be  of  a  character  so 
unpretending  in  themselves,  and  so  concealed  from 
the  eye  of  the  world,  and  indeed  from  every  eye 
but  that  of  faith  alone,  as  to  beget  in  me  no  won 
der  that  they  should  be  so  little  known  or  under 
stood  even  at  this  late  period.  I  could  not  but 
think,  however,  that  if  men  generally  would  duly 
reflect  upon  the  necessary  connection  between  the 
age  of  persecution  and  that  which  immediately  fol 
lowed,  and  would  open  their  eyes  to  the  sudden 
development  into  full  life  and  vigor  of  every  part 
of  the  Catholic  svstem  so  soon  as  the  almost  stifling 

•>  o 

weight  of  adverse  power  was  removed,  they  would 
hardly  be  disposed  to  complain  of  any  lack  of  evi 
dence  in  favor  of  the  primitive  and  Apostolic  char 
acter  of  every  portion  of  Catholic  truth. 

Another  circumstance,  too,  connected  with  "tra 
dition,"  helped  to  divest  my  mind  of  prejudice. 
One  of  the  favorite  objections  to  Catholicism  pleaded 
in  excuse  for  the  introduction  of  Protestantism,  had 
been  with  me,  that  which  charged  the  Catholic 
Church  with  having,  from  time  to  time,  ingrafted 
new  errors  upon  old  truths.  But  on  getting  a  clear 
insight  into  the  nature  of  Apostolic  tradition ;  on 
finding  that  it  consisted  in  a  "  depositum  "  of  truth 


KEY  TO  THE  FACTS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

with  the  Church,  to  be  brought  out,  and  applied  as 
exigence  or  need  might  demand,  I  could  no  longer 
rest  upon  an  objection  so  imaginary.  Indeed,  I 
saw  clearly  that,  on  this  principle  of  tradition  alone 
could  the  Church  of  England  defend  many  points 
of  her  fundamental  faith,  as  embraced  in  "  the 
Faith  once  {for  all)  delivered  to  the  Saints."  That 
on  this  principle  alone  could  she,  for  example, 
maintain  "the  descent  into  hell,"  and  "the  com 
munion  of  saints,"  in  the  "Apostles'  Creed,"  and 
the  "Consubstantialem  Patri,"  and  the  "filioque" 
of  the  Nicene,  with  all  the  kindred  articles  in  the 
Athanasian ;  as  having  been  transmitted  from  the 
Apostles  inasmuch  as  they  are  not  found  among 
the  enjoined  Articles  of  Faith  till  the  fourth  and 
fifth  centuries.  In  truth  I  discovered,  what  upon 
reflection  seemed  so  reasonable,  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  fundamental  faith  of  the  Church  was  not  dis 
tinctly  enjoined  in  her  written  formularies  till  it 
was  denied,  nor  its  necessary  adjuncts  and  de 
fences  marshalled  around  it  till  it  was  assailed !  * 


*  Hence  St.  Augustine  says  :  "  The  dogma  of  the  Trinity  was  not  perfectly 
brought  out  till  the  Arians  declaimed  against  it;  nor  was  penance,  until 
attacked  by  the  Novatians ;  nor  the  efficacy  of  baptism,  till  questioned,  by  re- 
baptizers.  Nay,  what  regarded  the  unity  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  was  not 
discussed  with  minute  exactness  until  the  weak,  being  exposed  to  danger.  .  . 
compelled  the  teachers  of  truth  to  examine  these  truths  to  the  bottom . .  .Thug 
the  errors  of  heresy,  instead  of  injuring  the  Catholic  Church,  have  really  for 
tified  it :  and  those  who  thought  wrong  were  an  occasion  of  ascertaining 
those  who  thought  right.  What  had  been  but  piously  believed,  became  after 
wards  fully  understood. ' ' 

This  reminds  me  of  an  error  which,  in  the  course  of  my  examination, 
showed  :tself  continually  in  Protestant  statements,  viz.,  to  date  t'he  com 
mencement  of  a  doctrine  or  practice  at  the  time,  when  from  some  denial  or 
neglect  such  doctrine  or  practice  was  made  binding  by  an  explicit  written  de 
cree,  although  it  had  alwai/s  existed  in  the  Church. 


THE   CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND,  &C. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  THE  MERE  CHILD  OF  THE  STATE. 

BUT  to  return  to  the  Church  of  England  at  the 
Reformation.  I  perceived  that  while  it  had  de 
parted  so  widely  from  "  the  authority  of  Catholic 
tradition/'  in  consenting  to  the  change,  it,  as  a 
Church,  had  really  little  to  do  in  bringing  that 
change  about. 

It  is  true,  as  I  was  well  aware,  that  among  Prot 
estants  the  notion  prevails  that  for  some  time  prior 
to  the  Reformation,  the  power  of  the  Roman  Pon 
tiff  and  the  corruptions  of  the  Catholic  religion  had 
become  so  intolerable,  that  the  Church,  stimulated 
by  conscience,  was  driven  for  relief  to  a  separation 
from  Rome.  But,  after  what  I  considered  strict 
examination  into  the  facts  of  the  case,  I  could  find 
nothing  to  justify  such  a  notion,  —  no  recorded 
thought,  word,  or  deed,  emanating  from  the 
Church  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  or  up  to  the  very  date  of  the  first  Par 
liament  which  moved  in  the  Reformation,  to  show, 
or  to  indicate  even  remotely,  any  symptom  of  dis 
satisfaction,  on  her  part,  with  the  existing 


*  It  will  bo  perceived  that  I  here  speak  (and  I  do  it  purposely}  of  the  evi 
dence  of  dissatisfaction  of  the  Church  in  England.  For  the  whole  weight 
of  the  plea  depends  upon  this  distinction.  And  I  cannot  suppose  that  it  will 
be  pretended  by  any  respectable  Anglican,  that  the  dissatisfaction  of  restless, 
fanatical  individuals  (although  there  was  a  peculiar  absence  of  these  men  at 
the  period  alluded  to)  indicates  any  reasonable  or  essential  dissatisfaction  of 
11* 


126  THE    CHURCH    OF.  ENGLAND 

If  she  thought  it  corrupt,  she  gave  no  outward 
signs  ;  if  she  felt  it  to  be  oppressive,  she  uttered 
no  complaint.  Indeed,  all  the  signs  and  complaints 
seemed  the  other  way.  The  master  spirit  of  the 
nation  sent  forth,  in  the  person  of  the  king,  an  in 
dignant  rebuke  against  Luther  and  the  German 
princes  for  their  attempt  to  throw  off  the  Papal 
authority ;  while  the  English  nation  evinced  no 
symptom  of  displeasure  at  the  royal  interference ! 
The  cause,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  discover,  the  sole 
cause  which  led  to  the  rupture  between  England 
and  Rome  was  a  personal  one  —  was  no  other  than 
the  righteous  refusal  of  Pope  Clement  VII.  to  di 
vorce  Henry  VIII.  from  his  lawful  wife,  and  to 
countenance  his  adulterous  connection  with  his 
mistress ;  and  that  the  ecclesiastics  were  as  a  body 
forced  to  take  part  with  Henry  by  threats  and  per 
secutions.  And  then,  by  way  of  self-justification 
for  their  fatal  submission,  and  entirely  as  an  after 
thought,  were  induced  to  echo  the  German  cry  of 


the  Church  itself.  For  example,  it  will  hardly  be  thought  fair  to  cite  the 
fanaticism  of  Wuitefield  and  the  Weslcys  as  an  evidence  that  the  Church  ol 
England  in  their  day  was  groaning  under  the  oppressions  of  parliament  o» 
the  supremacy  of  King  George  !  Or  the  language  of  Abiron  to  Moses  (Num. 
xvi.  3.),  "Thou  takest  too  much  upon  thec,  seeing  all  the  congregation  are 
holy,  every  one  of  them,  and  the  Lord  is  among  them  ;  wherefore,  then,  lift- 
est  thou  up  thyxelf  abuve  the  congregation  of  the  Lord  ?  "  as  a  good  proof  that  all 
Israel  were  groaning  under  the  oppressions  of  their  supreme  lawgiver,  and 
anxious  to  throw  off  his  righteous  authority  1  Indeed,  the  fact  that  "  Henry 
VIII.  attempted  to  constitute,"  as  Macaulay  says,  "an  Anglican  Church, 
differing  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  on  the  paint  of  supremacy,  and  on 
that  point  alone;  and  that  his  success  in  this  attempt  was  extraordinary," 
showed  to  my  mind  clearly,  that  no  dL^uti.-sfactiori  was  felt  with  the  Catho 
lie  system  generally  ;  and  that  the  personal  motive  here  will  be  sufficient  to 
account  for  his  extraordinary  and  wicked  course. 


THE    MEIIE    CHILD    OF    THE    STATE. 

corruption  in  religion,  and  enormity  in  the  exer 
cise  of  Papal  power. 

This,  I  know,  will  be  regarded  as  a  very  serious, 
and,  perhaps,  presumptuous  conclusion.  But  that 
I  did  not  come  to  it  on  slight  grounds,  let  the  fol 
lowing  undeniahle  facts  bear  witness. 

At  a  period  in  England  of  great  religious  quiet 
ness  and  devotion  to  the  Catholic  Faith,  King 
Henry  VIII.  became  enamoured  of  his  mistress, 
Anna  Boleyn,  and  sought,  through  the  Pope,  a 
divorce  from  his  lawful  wife.  This,  after  repeated 
applications,  was  peremptorily  refused.  The  art 
ful  mistress  at  once  resolved  upon  a  plan  that 
should  remove  every  obstacle  between  herself  and 
the  object  of  her  ambition  j  and  hence  proceeded 
to  instil  into  the  mind  of  her  royal  paramour  the 
notion  that  the  Papal  authority  in  England  had  no 
legal  foundation.  The  temptation  with  Henry  was 
too  strong.  He  saw  at  a  glance  his  advantage,  — 
saw,  from  the  accidental  position  of  things,  that  the 
clergy  could  be  brought  to  his  feet.  The  statutes 
of  "  Praemunire,"  under  the  royal  license,  had  long 
been  disregarded,  but  still  had  legal  force.  .Henry 
had  granted  to  Cardinal  Wolsey  permission  to  act 
as  the  legate  of  Rome,  which  those  statutes  pro 
hibit.  The  Cardinal  had  entered  upon  his  office, 
and  with  the  concurrence,  too,  of  the  bishops  and 
clergy  of  the  realm.  Henry  at  once  perceived  the 
snare  that  lay  around  them  ;  and  with  a  perfidy  and 
cruelty  of  which  few  but  himself  were  capable, 
proceeded  to  spring  it  upon  his  unsuspecting,  and 


128        THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 

really,  in  this  matter,  unoffending  favorite.  The 
horrible  character  of  the  act,  and  his  knowledge  of 
the  man  with  whom  he  had  to  deal,  led  Wolsey  at 
once  to  the  determination  to  submit  quietly  to  a 
fate  which  he  saw  was  already  decreed.  The  case 
of  Wolsey,  although  it  sent  a  thrill  of  something 
more  than  astonishment  through  the  nation,  failed 
to  wake  up  the  rest  of  the  clergy  to  a  sense  of  their 
own  danger.  Henry  observing  this,  and  feeling 
that  their  submission  was  essential  to  the  accom 
plishment  of  his  nefarious  purpose,  proceeded  to 
subject  the  whole  body  of  them,  as  the  "  fautors, 
aiders,  and  abetters  "  of  Wolsey,  to  the  penalties 
of  prsemunire.  They  felt  themselves  in  an  evil 
case,  and  with  a  cowardice  which  nothing  but  their 
astounding  position  could  palliate,  sought  to  relax 
the  royal  grasp,  and  make  their  escape,  by  tender 
ing  to  Henry  more,  it  is  said,  than  £1,500,000  of 
the  present  currency  of  England.  The  drama 
which  followed  shows,  at  least,  how  little  the  clergy 
of  that  nation  were  prepared  to  sympathize  with 
the  so  called  Reformation,  and  how  reluctantly  they 
were  brought,  after  long  resistance,  and  a  succes 
sion  of  royal  aggressions,  to  submit  to  its  final,  and, 
to  themselves,  fatal  bondage. 

To  their  utter  surprise  Henry  refused  the  pres 
ent,  unless  they  consented  to  add  to  it  the  declara 
tion,  which  was  to  pass  into  a  law,  that  "he,  and 
he  only,  was  the  protector  and  supreme  head  of  the 
Church  of  England ;  "  and  that  "  the  cure  of  souls, 
which  they  exercised  under  him,  had  been  commit- 


THE    MERE    CHILD   OF    THE    STATE.  129 

ted  to  his  charge."  This  demand,  instead  of  being 
hailed,  as  protestants  represent,  with  joy  at  the 
prospect  which  it  opened,  of  freedom  from  Rome, 
was  actually  viewed  with  consternation,  and  resisted 
as  being  opposed  to  the  .institution  of  Christ.  But 
there  was  a  savage  cruelty  about  Henry  which 
made  them  quail.  And  hence,  instead  of  magnify 
ing  their  office,  and  raising  before  the  insulting 
monarch  the  cross  as  their  shield  and  banner,  they 
rushed  to  the  foot  of  his  throne,  and  in  a  tone  of 
agonizing  entreaty,  besought  him  to  retract  his  un 
lawful  exaction.  But  he  remained  inexorable  ;  and 
it  was  not  till  after  many  months,  and  about  as 
many  conferences,  that  he  consented  to  substitute 
for  his  first  demand  the  words,  "The  head  of  the 
Church,  as  far  as  the  law  of  Christ  would  allow." 
But  this  (the  clergy  having  interpreted  it  in  a  sense 
admitting  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope)  did  not  sat 
isfy  him,  nor  come  up  to  the  meaning  he  intended. 
Indeed,  he  looked  with  jealousy  upon  the  facts, 
that  the  name  of  the  Pope  still  preceded  his  own 
in  the  public  prayers,  and  also  that  the  bishops  con 
tinued  to  receive  institution  from  Rome.*  During 
the  year  following,  therefore,  which  was  1532,  he 
made,  by  the  advice  of  his  new  favorite  Cromwell, 
a  further  aggression. .  To  insure  to  this  step  the 
more  weight,  the  Commons  were  induced  to  peti 
tion  him  against  the  right  which  the  clergy  had 
hitherto  exercised,  of  making  their  own  canons, 

*  See  Lingard's  ilistory  of  the  tints. 


130  THE    CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND 

representing  that  they  had  done  it  against  the  lawa 
of  the  realm.  Under  color  of  due  regard  to  this 
petition,  Henry  called  upon  the  clergy  to  submit 
"  the  whole  body  of  their  ecclesiastical  code  to  the 
revision  of  a  committee  of  thirty-two  persons,  half 
clergymen  and  half  laymen,  and  the  whole  to  be 
nominated  by  himself."  * 

At  such  a  monstrous  demand,  we  cannot  wonder 
that  the  clergy,  cowrd  as  they  were,  should  once 
more  arouse  themselves  into  an  attitude  of  resist 
ance.  But  all  was  in  vain.  Neither  remonstrance 
nor  entreaty  for  nearly  two  years  could  arrest  the 
progress  of  the  royal  will.  To  all  and  each  Henry 
returned  the  stern  and  startling  answer  :  "  No  con 
stitution  or  ordinance  shall  be  hereafter  by  the 
clergy  enacted,  promulged,  and  put  in  execution, 
unless  the  king's  highness  approve  the  same,  by 
his  authority  and  royal  assent,  and  his  advice  and 
favor  be  also  interposed,  for  the  execution  of 
every  such  constitution  among  his  highness's  sub 
jects." 

This  in  substance,  but  in  a  still  more  offensive 
form,  issued  from  parliament,  that  true  mother  of 
the  present  Anglican  Church,  during  the  month  of 
March,  1534,  in  that  famous  act  (25  Henry  VIII., 
c.  19)  entitled  on  the  rolls,  "An  Act  for  the  Sub 
mission  of  the  Clergie  to  the  King's  Majesty." 

If  the  above  history  be  true,  as  to  me  every 
documentary  proof  seemed  to  declare,  we  see  the 

*  See  Cooper  "  On  the  History  of  the  Act  of  Submission,"  p.  27,  "  The 
Anglican  Church,*'  &c.  Lee.  ii. 


THE    MERE    CHILD    OF    THE    STATE.  131 

utter  falsity,  in  any  fair  sense,  of  the  following  lan 
guage  found  in  the  preamble -of  the  bill,  and  so 
often  cited  to  show  that  the  clergy  in  this  submis 
sion  only  carried  out  the  already  admitted  principle 
of  the  convocation.  "  The  King's  Majesty  justly 
and  rightfully  is,  and  ought  to  be,  supreme  head 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  so  had  been  recog 
nized  [when?  and  where?]  bij  the  clergy  in  their 
convocation." 

How,  indeed,  does  this  language  contrast  with 
the  convictions  of  every  candid  Protestant  writer 
who  has  examined  the  point  ? 

Concerning  this  whole  proceeding,  says  Strype, 
(the  Church  of  England  annalist,)  «  The  king  made 
them  [the  clergy]  buckle  to  at  last.  It  was  another 
high  block  and  difficulty  for  the  clergy  to  get  over, 
to  reject  the  Pope's  power  in  England,  and  to  ac 
knowledge  the  king  supreme  head  and  governor  m 
all  causes,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil ;  but  that 
at  length  they  unwillingly  yielded  unto."'  "The 
king,"  says  Dr.  Cardwell,  "was  determined  to 
bind  his  fetters  in  such  a  manner  that  no  strength 
or  artifice  on  the  part  of  his  prisoner  should  enable 
him  to  escape  from  them ;  and  we  know  from  the 
subsequent  history  of  the  Church,  and  the  many 
fruitless  attempts  which  have  been  made  to  obtain 
a  relaxation  of  them,  that  the  king's  design  has 
been  eminently  successful. "  f 

"  By  this  act  of  submission,  25  Henry  VIII.," 

*  Strype's  Mem.  ii.  224  t  Cardwell's  "  Synodalia." 


THE    CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND 

says  Archbishop  Wake,  "  the  king's  prerogative  in 
this  particular  was  somewhat  enlarged,  and  the 
Metropolitan's  authority  not  a  little  abridged  ;  for 
from  henceforth  the  archbishop  was  restrained  from 
assembling  his  provincial  synod,  without  the  king's 
writ  to  license  and  authorize  him.  So  were  they 
afterwards  obliged  to  take  his  directions  as  to  the 
management  of  their  assemblies  when  convened, 
and  not  to  deprive  the  prince  the  opportunity  of 
making  whatever  use  of  them  he  had  either  been 
accustomed,  or  should  otherwise  think  fit  legally 
to  do."  This  to  me  looked,  and  still  looks,  very 
little  as  if,  previous  to  the  above  act,  the  clergy 
"  had  recognized  the  king  as  supreme  head  of  the 
Church  of  England." 

To  the  above  act,  however,  others  in  the  same 
year  were  added,  obliterating  every  trace  of  the 
Papal  jurisdiction,  and  transferring  that  jurisdic 
tion,  in  so  many  words,  to  the  king.*  But  all  this 
was  manifestly  effected  by  the  power  of  the  king 
and  his  lay  subjects. f  I  could  find  no  evidence 


*  See  26  Henry  VIII.,  c.  i.  "  By  which  statute,"  say  both  Coke  and  Black- 
stone,  "  all  that  power  which  the  Pope  ever  exercised  within  the  realm  in 
spirituals  is  now  annexed  to  the  Crown."  Vide  also,  Lewis's  "Notes  on 
the  Royal  Supremacy  "  (Toovey,  London) ;  and  Pretyman's  "  Church  of 
England  subjected  to  the  State,"  (Masters,  New  Bond  Street). 

f  I  know  it  is  sometimes  asked,  as  if  the  question  was  a  difficult  one  to 
answer,  how  can  the  above  be  a  true  statement  of  the  case,  when  it  is  a  no 
torious  fact,  that  about  the  time  to  which  we  refer,  a  large  majority  of  the 
bishops,  headed  by  Cranmer,  with  the  majority  of  the  two  universities,  gave 
a  decided  negative  to  the  following  question  :  "  Has  any  greater  authority  in 
this  realm  been  giver  by  God  in  the  Scripture  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  than  to 
any  foreign  bishop  ?  "  The  following  reply  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  my 
own  mind.  "  The  reader  will  observe  the  artful  structure  of  this  question. 
Avowedly,  there  is  no  direct  mention  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  in  the  Scripture} 


THE   MERE    CHILD    OF    THE    STATE.  133 

that  the  convocation  was  either  consulted,  or  did  more 
than  maintain  a  cowardly  silence.  Certain  it  is? 
that  the  Church  gave  no  consent  by  the  votes  of 
her  Bishops.  For  during  the  whole  session,  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  journal,  only  seven  out  of 
twenty-one  made  their  appearance  in  the  House  of 
Lords  ;  and  of  that  seven  only  four  gave  their  votes 
for  the  self-humiliating  measures,  at  the  head  of 
whom  stood  Cranmer,  who  manifestly  cared  less 
for  the  preservation  of  his  authority  and  dignity  as 
Christ's  representative,  than  he  did  for  the  favor 
of  his  sovereign,  —  an  assertion  not  wanting  either 
in  truth  or  charity,  when  the  following  language 
addressed  to  that  sovereign  on  his  becoming  arch 
bishop,  is  duly  considered.  "  Ordination,"  he 
says,  "  is  used  only  for  good  order  and  seemly 
fashion."  And  again  :  "  In  the  New  Testament, 
he  that  is  appointed  to  be  a  bishop  or  priest  need' 
eth  no  consecration  by  Scripture."  And  again: 
"  A  bishop  may  make  a  priest,  and  so  may  princes 
and  governors  also,  and  that  by  the  authority  of 

no  specification  of  the  spiritual  authority  given  to  the  successor  of  St.  Peter 
in  particular ;  no,  nor  even  of  the  authority  given  to  the  successors  of  the 
Apostles  in  general.  On  these  subjects  the  Scripture  is  silent.  Not  one  of  the 
sacred  writers  has  thought  of  describing  in  detail  the  plan  of  church  govern 
ment  which  the  apostles  established,  to  be  observed  after  their  death.  For 
that  we  must  have  recourse,  as  the  Oxford  teachers  admit,  to  tradition.  Hence 
it  was  natural  to  expect  that  to  confine  the  question  to  the  doctrine  expressly 
taught  in  Scripture,  would  serve  the  same  purpose  as  the  introduction  of  the 
qualifying  clause,  'as  far  as  allowed  by  the  law  of  C/trwt,'  had  served  in  the 
recognition  of  the  king's  supremacy.  Many  a  man  of  timid  mind,  though  he 
might  in  reality  admit  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  might  reconcile  the  denial 
of  it  with  his  conscience,  by  contending  that  he  had  only  denied  that  it  was 
directly  taught  in  Scripture."  For  the  reason  why  the  New  Testament  did 
not  mention  in  detail  the  plan  of  Church  government,  see  the  above  Chapter 
XIII.,  On  Tradition. 


134  THE    CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND 

God."'  Hence  Burnet  declares,,  that  "  Cranmer 
had  at  this  time  some  particular  opinions  concern 
ing  ecclesiastical  offices ;  that  they  were  delivered 
from  the  king,  as  other  civil  offices  were,  and  that 
ordination  was  not  indispensably  necessary,  and  was 
only  a  ceremony,  that  might  be  used  or  laid  aside ; 
but  that  the  authority  was  delivered  to  churchmen 
only  by  the  king's  commission"^ 

In  pursuance  of  his  principles,  and  pledges  to 
the  king,  he  led  the  way,  in  that  suicidal  act,  by 
which  all  the  bishops,  except  that  noble  martyr 
Fisher,  resigned  their  jurisdiction,  and  consented 
to  become  the  sole  servants  of  the  king,  by  receiv 
ing  from  his  polluted  hands  the  only  jurisdiction 
which  they  thenceforward  either  possessed,  or  pro 
fessed  to  possess,  in  the  exercise  of  their  office. 
That  I  did  not  mistake  in  this  matter,  the  following 
language,  addressed  at  the  time  to  their  royal  mas 
ter,  will  sufficiently  show.  They  say,  "  that  all 
jurisdiction,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  flowed  from  the 
king,  and  that  they  exercised  it  only  at  the  king's 
courtesy ;  and  as  they  had  it  of  his  bounty,  so  they 
would  be  ready  to  deliver  it  up  when  he  should  be 
pleased  to  call  for  it."  Upon  this  the  king  pro 
ceeded  to  give  them  authority  to  act  in  his  stead, 
and  subject  to  his  will,  in  fulfilling  their  episcopal 

*  Cranmer's  Works,  ii.  101. 

f  Burnet's  Abridg.,  1.  i.,  p.  250.  "  Cranmer  had  declared  in  emphatic 
terms,  that  'God  had  immediately  committed  to  Christian  princes  the  whole 
care  of  all  their  subjects,  as  well  concerning  the  administration  of  Ood'sword 
for  the  cure  of  souls,  as  concerning  the  ministration  of  things  political.' " 
Thus  speaks  Macaulay,  adding,  "  These  are  Cranmer's  own  words  j  "  refer 
ring  to  the  Appendix  of  Burnet's  History,  &c.,  Part  I.  B.  iii.  No.  21.  dues.  9. 


TPIE    MERE    CHILD    OF    THE    STATE.  135 

functions.     So  that  they  were  every  where  consid 
ered  the  king's  bishops* 

Another  act   of   parliament,  however,  attracted 
my  attention  ;    particularly  as   it   immediately  fol 
lowed  the  one,  doing  away  with  the  Pope's  suprem 
acy,  and  giving  the    king  supreme   power  in   all 
causes  spiritual,  as  well  as  temporal ;  and  designed 
doubtless  to  sweep  away  every  qualifying  clause  of 
previous  declarations  and  acts,  and  make  the  mon 
arch  the  supreme  and  absolute  head  of  the  Church. 
It  was   a  declaratory  act,  and  ran  in  the  following 
terms  :   "  The  king,  his  heirs,  and  successors,  kings 
of  this  realm  shall  be  taken,  accepted,  and  reputed 
the  ONLY  SUPREME  HEAD  on  earth  of  the  Church 
of  England,  called  Anglicana  Ecclesia ;  and  shall 
have  and  enjoy,  annexed  and  united  to  the  imperial 
crown  of  this  realm,  as  well  the  title  and  style  thereof, 
as  all  honors,  dignities,  preeminences,  jurisdictions, 
privileges,  authorities,  immunities,  profits,  and  com 
modities   to  the   said  dignity  of  supreme  head  of 
the  same  Church,  belonging  and  appertaining  ;  and 
that  he,  his  heirs  and  successors,  kings  of  this  realm, 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority  from  time  to 
time  to  visit,  repress,  redress,  reform,  order,  correct, 
restrain,  and    amend    all   such    ERRORS,  HERESIES, 
abuses,  offences,  contempts,  and  enormities,  WHATSO 
EVER  they  be,  which  by  any  MANNER  of  SPIRITUAL 
authority  or  jurisdiction,  ought  or  may  lawfully 


*  Burnet,  Abridg.,  228.    Also  Lingard  and  Bishop  Kenrick  on  "  Validity  of 
Anglican  Ord." 


136        THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 

be    reformed,  repressed,  ordered,    redressed,    cor 
rected,  "restrained,  or  amended.55* 

If,  indeed,  the  act  of  "  Submission  of  the 
clergy,"  left  any  thing  to  be  done  by  way  of  mak 
ing  the  power  of  the  king  over  the  Church  absolute 
and  unconditional,  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  effectu 
ally  supplied  in  this  declaratory  act.  For  it  will 
be  observed  that  the  little  phrase,  "  as  far  as  is  al 
lowable  by  the  law  of  Christ,"  upon  which  the 
clergy  had  risked  so  tremendous  a  stake,  has  van 
ished  forever,  and  the  naked,  unrestricted,  unen 
cumbered  spiritual  headship  of  the  nation  stands 
before  them  in  the  person  of  the  king,  raising  aloft 
with  sacrilegious  hand,  the  keys  wrested  from  the 
chair  of  St.  Peter,  and,  with  "  great  swelling  words 
of  vanity,"  commanding  every  subject,  from  the 
archbishop  to  the  beggar,  not  to  seek,  under  the 
sorest  penalties,  supreme  spiritual  direction  from 
any  other  source  on  earth  ! 

That  here  is  no  over- statement -—no  picture  of 
the  imagination  —  will  be  seen  after  a  moment's 
reflection  upon  the  stubborn  facts  just  adduced,  and 
a  moment's  attention  to  the  comment  upon  them  im 
mediately  given  by  the  king  himself.  And  here  I 
must  be  allowed  to  use  the  language  of  another, 
which  seemed  to  exhibit  to  my  mind  a  just  and 
forcible  view  of  the  real  intent  of  this  new  and 
extraordinary  prerogative. 

"  1st.  It  was  impossible  that  the  king  should 

*  Statutes  of  Realm.    See  Cardinal  Wiseman's  Sermon  on  «  The  Twx» 
Supremacies," 


THE    MERE    CHILD    OF    THE    STATE.  137 

attend  in  person  to  all  the  duties  which,  his  new 
dignity  brought  with  it,  and  he  was  glad  to  impose 
the  heaviest  part  of  the  burden  upon  one  of  his 
officers.     The  reader  will  of  course  infer  that  this 
office  would  be  no  other  than  the  Archbishop.     Not 
so  ;  a  layman  himself,  he  chose  for  his  spiritu- coadju 
tor   another  layman,  the   originator   of  the  whole 
scheme,  Thomas  Cromwell,  his  first  secretary  and 
master  of  the  Rolls.     Him  the  king  appointed  his 
vicegerent,  vicar    general,    and    principal     officer, 
(  with  full  powers  to  exercise  and  execute  all  and 
every  that  authority  and  jurisdiction  appertaining 
to  himself  as  head  of  the  Church,  and  to  appoint 
others  his  delegates  and  commissaries  to  execute 
the  same  under  him ;  authorizing  them  to  resist  all 
dioceses  and  Churches,  to  summon  before  them  all 
ecclesiastical  persons,  even  bishops  and  archbishops, 
to  inquire  into  their  manners  and  lives,  to  punish 
with  spiritual   censures,  to   issue    injunctions,  and 
to  exercise  all  the   functions  of   the  ecclesiastical 
courts,'  * 

"  2d.  A  royal  inhibition  was  then  issued  to  the 
archbishops  and  bishops,  ordering  them  to  abstain 
from  all  exercise  of  spiritual  jurisdiction,  till  the 
king  had  made  the  visitation  of  their  dioceses ; 
which  visitation  was  commenced  in  different  parts 
of  the  kingdom  by  the  vicar  general  and  his  dele 
gates.  The  object  of  this  measure  was  to  probe 
the  sincerity  of  the  bishops  in  their  submission  to 


*  Wilk.  Cov.  iii.  784. 
10  * 

J-rv 


138  THE    CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND 

the  king's  supremacy.  If  they  laid  claim  to  any 
authority  as  inherent  in  their  office,  they  would 
now,  it  was  argued,  advance  that  claim  and  seek  to 
prove  it,  or  own  by  their  silence  that  it  was  inde 
fensible  j  and  by  suing  out  the  restoration  of  their 
powers  from  the  king,  would  furnish  a  practical 
acknowledgment  that  he  was  the  fountain  from 
which  they  derived  their  spiritual  authority.  ( If 
they  claim  it  as  a  right,  let  them  show  their  evi 
dence.  If  they  take  it  as  a  benefit  of  the  king's 
highness,  let  them  sue  for  it  again  by  supplication, 
that  they  and  all  others  may  understand  him  to  be 
the  head  power  within  this  realm  under  God,  and 
that  no  jurisdiction  proceecleth  within  the  same 
but  from  him.'  —  (L.  and  A.  Rice  to  Cromwell. 
Strype  Mem.  App.  145.)  It  happened  as  was  fore 
seen.  The  bishops  submitted  in  silence ;  and  one 
after  another  petitioned  for  the  restoration  of  their 
ordinary  jurisdiction ;  which  was  doled  out  to 
them  by  piecemeal  to  be  held  only  at  the  king's 
pleasure,  with  an  admonition,  that  '  they  would 
have  to  answer  for  their  exercise  of  it  before  the 
supreme  Judge  hereafter,  and  before  the  king's 
person  in  the  present  world.'  —  Wilk.  Con.  iii. 
787.  fyc. 

"  3d.  But  the  humiliation  of  the  bishops  was 
not  yet  completed.  In  June,  1536,  the  Convoca 
tion  met.  On  the  16th  Dr.  Petre  came  and  al 
leged,  that  of  right  the  first  place  in  that  assembly 
talongecl  to  the  king  as  head  of  the  Church,  and 
in  the  absence  of  the  king  to  the  vicar  general,  the 


THE    MERE    CHILD   OF    THE    STATE.  139 

honorable  Thomas  Cromwell,  the  king's  vicegerent 
for  causes  ecclesiastical;  that  he  himself  stood 
there  as  proctor  for  the  said  vicar  general,  as  would 
appear  by  the  commission  which  he  held  in  his 
hand ;  and,  therefore,  he  demanded  that  the  place 
aforesaid  should  be  assigned  to  him  in  virtue  of 
that  commission.  It  was  read  accordingly,  the 
claim  was  allowed,  and  Petre  took  the  first  seat. 
At  the  next  session  Cromwell  himself  made  his  ap 
pearance  and  presided,  as  he  did  afterwards  on 
several  important  occasions,  always  occupying  the 
same  place,  and  subscribing  the  resolutions  before 
the  archbishop." —  Willc.  iii.  Strype's  Mem.  i.  245. 

"  Thus  it  was  in  convocation  ;  and  the  same 
honor  was  paid  to  him  in  parliament.  By  the  Act 
'for  placing  the  Lords,'  it  was  ordered  that  the 
Lord  Cromwell,  '  the  king's  vicegerent  for  good 
ministration  of  justice  in  causes  ecclesiastical,  and 
for  the  godly  reformation  and  redress  of  all  errors, 
heresies,  and  abuses  in  the  Church,  and  that  every 
person  having  the  said  office  of  grant  from  his 
majesty  or  his  heirs,  should  have  place  on  the  same 
form  with,  but  above,  the  Archbishop  of  Canter 
bury,  and  should  have  voice  to  assent  or  dissent  as 
others  the  Lords  in  Parliament.'  —  Stat.  of  Realm, 
iii.  Thus  the  vicar  general  took  the  precedence  of 
every  peer,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  whatever 
might  be  his  office  in  Church  or  state." 

What  language,  I  asked  myself,  could  tell  as 
plainly  as  do  these  proceedings  under  shield  of  the 
Acts  of  Parliament,  what  these  acts  were  under- 


140 


THE    CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND 


stood  on  all  hands  to  mean  ?  But  should  any  one 
prefer  further  comment  in  language,  let  them  med 
itate  upon  the  following,  addressed  to  the  king  in 
an  Act  of  Parliament,  not  long  before  his  death : 
"  Your  most  royal  majesty  hath  full  power  and  au 
thority  to  correct,  punish,  and  redress  all  manner 
of  heresies,  errors,  vices,  sins,  abuses,  idolatry, 
hypocrisies,  and  superstition  sprung  in  and  growing 
within  this  Church  of  England.  .  .Your  majesty  is 
the  only  and  undoubted  head  of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,  and  also  of  Ireland,  TO  WHOM,  BY  HOLY 

SCRIPTURE,  ALL  AUTHORITY  AND  POWER  IS  WHOLLY 

GIVEN  TO  HEAR  AND  DETERMINE  all  manner  of 
causes  ecclesiastical,  to  correct  vice  and  sin  whatso 
ever,  and  to  all  such  persons  as  your  majesty  shall 
appoint."* 

Here  it  is  manifest,  as  in  other  Acts  of  Parlia 
ment,  that  the  king's  authority  extended  to  doctrine 
as  well  as  discipline.  I  know  it  is  sometimes  said 
that  the  clergy  never  gave  their  assent  to  such  pre 
rogative  in  a  layman.  And  in  truth  it  is  difficult 
to  conceive  how  even  fear  should  have  prevailed 
upon  them  thus  to  betray  their  awful  trust.  But 
so  it  was.  In  petitioning  the  king  for  power  and 
license  to  set  forth  "  The  Godly  and  Pious  Insti 
tution  of  a  Christian  Man,"  they  say  to  him,  "  with 
out  the  which  power  and  license  of  your  majesty, 
we  know  and  confess  that  we  have  none  authority 
eyther  to  assemble  ourselves  together  for  any  pre 
tence  or  purpose,  or  to  publishe  any  thing  that 

*  Stat.  Realm,  iii.  109. 


THE    MEKE    CHILD    OF    THE    STATE. 


141 


might  be  by  us  agreed  on  and  compyled.     And  al 
beit,  most  dredlie  and  benign  soveraigne  Lorde,  we 
do  affirm  by  our  lernyngs  with  one  assent,  that  the 
said  treatise  is  in  all  poynts  concordant  and  agree 
able    to  holy  Scripture,  yet  we  do  most  humbly 
submit  it  to  the  most  excellent  wisdom   and  exact 
judgment  of  your  majestic  to  be  recognized,  over- 
sene  and  corrected;  if  your  Grace  shall  find  any 
word  or  sentence  in  it  mete  to  be  changed,  quali 
fied  or  further  expounded,  whereunto  we  shall  in 
that  case  conforme  ourselves,  as  to  our  most  bounden 
duties  to  GOD  and  to  your  highness  appertained!."' 
Here  to  me  it  was  manifest  that  the  clergy  had 
not  only  submitted  their  judgments  in  matters  of 
doctrine  to  the  king's  direction  ;  but  also  held  that 
their  duty  to   God  required  this  submission  ;  and 
surely  on  no   other  ground  than  that  the  king's 
direction  was  God's  established  mode  of  communi 
cation  to  them.     Indeed,  they  had  already  yielded 
to  a  succession  of  demands  on  the  part  of  the  king, 
which  absolutely  required  this  idea  for  any  thing 
like  self-justification.      They  had  submitted  to  an 
act  of  parliament  which  declares  that  "  all  declara- 


*  Wilk.  Con.  iii.  831.  "  What  Henry  and  his  favorite  councillors  meant," 
says  Macaulay,  "  was  certainly  nothing  less  than  the  full  power  of  the  keys. 
The  king  w.iJ  to  be  the  Pope  of  his  kingdom,  the  Vicar  of  God,  the  expositor 
of  Catholic  verity,  the  channel  of  sacramental  graces.  He  arrogated  to  him 
self  the  right  of  deciding  dogmatically  what  was  orthodox  doctrine  and  what 
was  heresy,  of  drawing  up  and  imposing  confessions  of  faith,  and  of  giving 
religious  instruction  to  his  people.  He  proclaimed  that  all  jurisdiction,  spir- 
•itual  as  well  as  temporal,  was  derived  from  him  alone  ;  and  that  it  was  in  his 
power  to  confer  episcopal  authority,  and  to  take  it  away.  He  actually  ordered 
Aw  seal  to  be  put  to  commissions  by  which  bishops  were  appointed,  who  were  to 
exercise  their  functions  as  his  deputies  and  during  his  pleasure." 


THE    CliriUII    OF    ENGLAND,  &C. 


tions,  definitions,  and  ordinances  which,  should  be 
set  forth  by  them,  with  his  majesty's  advice,  and 
confirmed  by  his  letters  patent,  should  be  in  all 
and  every  point,  limitation,  and  circumstance,  by 
all  his  grace's  subjects,  and  all  persons  resident  in 
his  dominions,  fully  believed,  obeyed,  and  observed 
under  the  penalties  therein  to  be  comprised."* 
Well,  I  thought,  might  it  be  said  "  By  this  enact 
ment  the  religious  belief  of  every  Englishman  was 
laid  at  the  king's  feet.  He  named  the  commis 
sioners  ;  he  regulated  their  proceedings  by  his  ad 
vice  ;  he  reviewed  their  decisions  ;  and  if  he  con 
firmed  them  by  letters  patent  under  the  great  seal, 
they  became  from  that  moment  the  doctrines  of  the 
English  Church,  which  every  man  was  bound  to 
<  believe  '  (that  is  the  word)  under  such  penalties  as 
might  be  assigned."  An  art  soon  followed  defin 
ing  these  penalties.  And  what  more  fearful  ever 
proceeded,  even  in  rumor,  from  the  Spanish  Inqui 
sition  ?  "  Alas  !  "  I  said  to  myself,  "  is  this  the 
boasted  change  from  the  tyranny  of  Rome  to  the 
freedom  of  Protestant  England,  so  eagerly  sought 
and  so  gloriously  achieved?"  That  precious 
"  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free," 
trumpeted  far  and  wide  as  the  golden  fruit  of  the 
Reformation  under  Henry  and  Cranmer  !  I  could 
not  repress  within  me  feelings  of  indignation  as  I 
read  for  the  first  time  the  following  :  "  If  any  man 
shall  teach  or  maintain  any  matter  contrary  to  the 
Godly  instructions  and  determinations  which  have 

*  Stat.  of  Realm,  iii.  783. 


SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CIIUllCH  OF  ENGLAND,  &C.    143 

been  or  shall  be  thus  set  forth  by  his  majesty,  he 
shall,  in  case  he  be  a  layman,  for  the  first  offence, 
recant  and  be  imprisoned  twenty  days  ;  for  the 
second,  adjure  the  realm ;  and  for  the  third,  suffer 
the  forfeiture  of  his  goods,  and  imprisonment  for 
life  ;  but  if  he  be  a  clergyman,  he  shall  for  the 
first  offence  be  permitted  to  recant ;  on  his  refusal 
or  second  offence,  shall  abjure,  and  bear  a  fagot : 
and  on  his  refusal  again,  or  third  offence,  shall  be 
adjudged  a  heretic,  and  suffer  the  pains  of  death 
by  burning,  with  the  forfeiture  to  the  Icing  of  al1 
his  goods  and  chattels."  —  Stat.  of  Realm,  iii.  896. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HAS  THE  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  TO  THE 
TEMPORAL  POWER  BEEN  PERPETUATED? 

AT  the  death  of  Henry,  1547,  Edward,  his  son, 
a  boy  in  his  tenth  year,  succeeded  to  the  throne. 
Cranmer  was  still  archbishop,  and  at  the  height  of 
his  influence.  If,  therefore,  he  had  not  fully  yielded 
his  mind  to  the  system  of  abject  submission  in 
which  the  clergy  had  been  drilled  by  Henry,  here 
was  an  opportunity  to  help  them  to  throw  off  the 
yoke,  and  return  to  their  spiritual  independence. 
But  Cranmer  made  no  effort  in  that  direction.  In 
deed,  he  lost  no  time  in  adopting  measures  to  per 
petuate  their  slavery  to  the  crown.  His  first  step 
was  to  throw  up  his  commission  (as  if  to  show  that 


144    HAS  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 

he  felt  that  his  spiritual  authority  died  with  his 
sovereign)  and  petition  his  new  master  for  another. 
The  petition  was  granted,  and  the  system  of  the  for 
mer  reign  was  thus  handed  over  to  this.  Cranmer's 
example  was  followed,  as  was  expected,  by  his 
brother  bishops.  They  all  laid  their  commissions 
at  the  feet  of  the  boy-king,  acknowledging  that  he 
was  "  the  only  source  of  all  manner  of  temporal 
and  spiritual  jurisdiction  within  the  realm ;  "  *  and 
humbly  entreating  his  favor  in  a  renewal  of  their 
powers.  The  same  tests  were  applied,  and  the 
same  was  acted  over  as  in  the  former  reign.  The 
bishops  were  all  again  suspended  from  the  exercise 
of  their  functions,  till  the  king,  in  the  person  of 
lay  commissioners  mainly,  could  restore  their  sev 
eral  dioceses,  and  assure  himself  of  their  strict  and 
honest  subordination.  In  addition,  an  inquisition 
was  established  by  him,  to  try  heretical  pravity ; 
and  it  is  not  the  least  remarkable  instance  of  retrib 
utive  justice  at  the  time,  that  the  three  leading  in 
quisitors,!  who,  as  instruments  of  the  king,  had 
adjudged  heretics  to  the  flames,  J  should  finally  in 
their  turn  suffer  the  same  kind  of  death,  on  the 
same  grounds. 

The  reign  of  the  Catholic  Mary  succeeded  the 
short  reign  of  Edward ;  and  hence  with  it  the  old 
religion  to  the  new  one  of  Henry.  The  changes 
which  took  place,  with  the  reasons,  seemed  to  me 
to  be  pretty  accurately  given  in  the  following, 

*  Wilk.  Cov.  iii.  821. 

j  Cranmer,  Latimer,  and  Ridley  }  Ann  Bocher  and  Von  Parris. 


TO  THE  TEMPORAL  POWER  BEEN  PERPETUATED  ?    145 

based  upon  Collier,  Rymer,  and  Macaulay.     1.  The 
five  bishops,  so  unjustly  deprived  to  make  room  for 
reformers  under  Edward,  recovered  their  sees.     On 
tr.o  attainder  of  Cranmer  for  treason  in  the  attempt 
t;   phce  Lady  Jane  Grey  on  the  throne,  the  arch- 
Ihhopric  was  considered  vacant,  and  the  adminis 
tration  assumed  by  the  Chapter  of  the  Cathedral. 
Holegate,  of  York,  and  Bird,  of  Chester,  were  de 
prived,  because,  having  taken  the  monastic  vows, 
they  had  nevertheless  contracted  marriage  de  facto, 
though    they  had   not  de  jure  ;    Taylor,  Hooper, 
Harley,  and  Ferrar,  calling  themselves  bishops  of 
Lincoln,  Worcester,    Hereford,   and    St.  David's, 
were  removed  on  account  of  the  nullity  of  their 
consecration,  the  defect  of  their  title  (a  patent  from 
the  king,  with  a  clause,  limiting  their  office  to  the 
time  of  their  good  behavior,)  and  for  divers  other 
causes  ;  and   Barlowe,    of    Bath  and   Wells,   with 
Bush,  of  Bristol,  hardly  escaped  the  same  fate  by 
timely  resignation.     (Collier  ii.  364-5,  Rym.  xv. 
370,  &c.)     In  this  manner  all  the  men  of  the  new 
learning  were  drawn  from  the  episcopal  bench,  and 
their  places  were  speedily  filled  by  others  attached 
to  the  ancient  worship.     2.  Immediately  after  the 
accession   of   Mary,  an   act   was  passed  annulling 
whatever  had  been  enacted  on  religious   matters 
during  the  nonage  of  her  late  brother  ;  and  a  little 
after,  another  act,  repealing  in  like  manner  all  acts 
passed  in  the  reign  of   her  father,  Henry  VIII., 
touching  religion,  thus  restoring  the  Pope's  suprem 
acy,  and  replacing  religion  on  precisely  the  same 
13 


146    HAS  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 

footing  it  occupied  before  the  quarrel  of  Henry 
with  the  Apostolic  See.  The  same  religious  gov 
ernment,,  the  same  religious  worship,  the  same  re 
ligious  doctrine  prevailed.  What,  then,  are  we  to 
say  of  the  Church  of  England  under  Mary  ?  "Was 
it  the  same  Church  with  the  Church  under  Edward 
—  or  the  same  with  the  Church  at  the  accession 
of  Henry  ?  If  the  apostolicity  of  the  Church  under 
Mary  be  admitted,  there  appeared  clearly  to  my 
mind  an  end  to  the  present  claim  of  the  Churcri  of 
England.  The  chain  is  broken.  She  cannot  have 
her  descent  from  that  Church.  She  cannot  connect 
herself  with  it.  "  Hence  the  high-churchmen  tell 
us  that  under  Mary  every  rule  of  ecclesiastical 
polity  was  violated ;  that  unjustifiable  changes  were 
made  by  the  influence  of  the  queen  and  of  Gard 
ner,  and  that  the  Church  of  England  was  oppressed 
by  a  schismatical  prelacy  and  clergy."  * 

In  regard  to  this  objection,  the  following  con 
siderations  were  to  me  a  sufficient  answer.  First. 
What  Henry  VIII.  did  under  his  claim  of  suprem 
acy  was,  religiously,  either  lawful,  or  not  lawful. 
If  not  lawful,  then  to  undo  what  he  had  done,  was 
the  indispensable  duty  of  Mary  and  her  parliament. 
But  if  lawful,  then  surely  she  and  her  parliament 
had  the  same  right,  which  he  had  exercised,  to 
make  changes ;  and  hence,  if  she  saw  fit,  to  restore 
religion  to  its  ancient  foundation.  Particularly  in 
the  changes  which  Mary  made  in  the  episcopal 

*  See  Palmer,  vol.  i.,  479. 


TO  THE  TEMPORAL  POWER  BEEN  PERPETUATED  ?    147 

bench,  she  would  have  been  fully  justified  on  the 
principle  adopted  by  Henry  and  accorded  to  him 
by  the  bishops,  that  the  king,  as  supreme  head  of 
the  Church,  had  the  sole  power  of  giving  jurisdic 
tion.      This  principle  is  distinctly  set  forth  in  the 
words  of  the  king's  patent  under  Edward  for  mak 
ing  bishops.     "  We  name,  make,  create,  constitute, 
and  declare  1ST.  Bishop  of  N.,  to  have  and  to  hold 
to  himself  the  said  bishopric  during  the  term  of  his 
natural  life,  if  for  so  long  a  time  he  behave  himself 
well  therein  ;  and  we  empower  him  to  confer  orders, 
to  institute  to  livings,  to  exercise  all  manner  of  ju 
risdiction,  and  to  do  all  that  appertains  to  the  epis 
copal  or  pastoral  office,  over  and  above  the  things 
known  to  have  been  committed  to  him  by  God  in 
the  Scriptures,  in  place  of  us,  in  our  name,  and  by 
our  royal  authority."     The  whole  episcopal  juris 
diction  was  not  only  thus  made  to  proceed  original 
ly  from  the  king,  but  the  term  of  exercising  it  was 
placed  at  his  will,  and  might,  any  moment,  be  ter 
minated  at  his  pleasure,  and  even  that  of  the  royal 
visitors,  as  was  seen  to  be  the  fact  under  both  Henry 
and  Edward.     Hence  that  language  already  cited, 
as  addressed  to  Henry  by  the   suspended  bishops, 
confessing  that  not  only  "  all  jurisdiction  flowed 
from  him,"  but  also,   that   "  they  would  be  ready 
to    deliver   their  jurisdiction  up,  ivhen   he  should 
be  pleased  to  call  for  it."     Now  surely   on  this 
principle,  thus   admitted  and    thus  acted  upon  in 
the  two  previous  reigns,  Mary  was  amply  justified 
in  restoring  and  regulating,  as  she  did,  the  bench 


148    HAS  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 

of  bishops.  But  let  it  be  recollected  that  she  acted 
on  higher  grounds,  viz.,  that  what  had  been  un- 
scripturally  and  vmcanonically  done,  to  the  hin- 
derance  of  true  religion,  by  her  father  and  brother, 
she  was  bound  by  the  law  of  God  and  His  Church 
to  abolish.  Besides,  if,  as  Protestants  assert,  the 
feelings  of  the  Church  in  England  were  ripe,  un 
der  Henry,  for  the  Reformation,  and  rushed,  as  it 
was  opened,  into  its  arms  for  protection,  what  meant 
the  sudden  reaction  under  Mary  towards  the  old 
religion  ?  How  came  it  to  pass  that  the  Church 
and  parliament  were  so  soon  sustained  in  their  vig 
orous  measures  for  its  restoration  ?  This  circum 
stance,  after  every  explanation  and  gloss  that  Prot 
estantism  could  put  upon  it,  seemed  to  me  to  ex 
pose,  in  a  manner  too  clear  and  stern  for  sophistry 
to  evade,  the  usual  pleas  put  forth  in  justification 
of  England's  schism  !  If  Protestant  represent  a- 
tions  of  the  state  of  England's  mind  and  heart  be 
true,  —  if,  as  is  said,  there  had  been  in  her  bosom 
such  hatred  of  Catholic  error  and  such  yearning 
for  Protestant  truth,  I  could  not  understand  how, 
when  she  had  once  been  set  free,  once  had  a  taste 
of  the  glorious  liberty  for  which  she  had  so  long 
sighed,  any  power  on  earth  should  so  soon  have 
brought  her  back  to  what  is  call  the  despotism  of 
Rome.* 


*  To  use  the  language  of  a  Protestant  writer  on  this  point,  "  all  was  over  in 
nine  days.  London  —  the  stronghold  of  Protestantism  —  declared  enthusias 
tically  for  Mary.  The  fleet  went  over ;  the  troops  which  Northumberland 
attempted  to  gather  in  the  eastern  counties  dese.Kted  in  a  body.  The  con 
spiracy  was  crushed  without  a  blow." 


TO  THE  TEMPORAL  POWER  BEEN  PERPETUATED  .?    149 

And  then,  when  Elizabeth,  the  stern  and  inex 
orable  Protestant,  at  least  by  policy,  succeeded  to 
the  throne,  what  a  struggle  to  bow  the  neck  of  the 
Church  again  to  the  yoke  which  she  had  with  com 
parative  ease  just  thrown  off  !  And  how  manifest 
is  it,  that  that  neck  would  never  have  been  made 
thus  to  bow,  but  for  the  power  of  the  Lords  of  the 
land  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  lowest  of  the  people 
on  the  other.  The  one  being  too  manifestly  led  011 
by  the  lust  of  gain$  the  other  by  the  lust  of  licen 
tious  freedom. 

The  following  appeared  to  me  to  be  the  facts  of 
the  case,  as  furnished  by  the  Acts  of  Parliament, 
and  the  most  reliable  historians  : 

Elizabeth,  by  the  circumstances  of  her  birth,  and 
the  adverse  claims  of  Mary  Stuart,  found  it  neces 
sary,  as  she  thought,  to  the  preservation  of  her 
throne,  to  place  herself  at  the  head  of  the  Prot 
estant  cause  in  England.  Measures  were  imme 
diately  and  secretly  taken,  to  secure  to  her  policy  a 
majority  in  her  first  Parliament.*  In  this  she  was 


*  Strype,  in  his  "  Annals,"  (1  Rec.  No.  iv.)  gives  a  remarkable  document 
relating  to  this  matter,  of  which  the  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  plan 
recommended  by  Elizabeth's  advisers  to  secure  her  throne.  "  L  To  prohibit 
strictly  all  innovations  except  by  the  Court.  2.  To  sow  dissension,  particu 
larly  religious  dissension,  among  the  subjects  of  France  and  Scotland.  3.  To 
persecute  the  bishops  and  clergy  under  penal  laws,  and  particularly  by  prtemu- 
nire.  4.  To  labor  to  degrade  all  who  had  been  in  authority  under  the  late 
dueen  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  by  inquiries  into  their  conduct,  and 
legal  prosecutions  as  far  as  possible.  5.  To  displace  the  existing  magistrates, 
and  substitute  others,  meaner  in  substance  and  younger  in  years.  6.  To  officer 
the  militia  with  devoted  partisans  of  the  Court.  7.  In  like  manner  the  uni 
versities  to  be  looked  after,  and  the  discontented  weeded  out.  8.  Her  Majesty 
to  hear  Mass  and  go  to  Communion  'on  High  Feasts.'  9.  A  committee  of 
divines  to  draw  up  a  plot,  or  book,  <fcc." 

13* 


150    HAS  SUBMISSION  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND 

successful.  Tlie  statutes  of  Henry,  her  father,  and 
Edward  her  brother,  levelled  at  Papal  authority, 
and  concentrating  all  ecclesiastical  and  spiritual 
power  in  the  crown,  were,  by  the  repeal  of  the 
enactments  of  the  last  reign,  recalled  into  full 
force. 

It  was  enacted,  too,  that  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  with  certain  alterations  and  additions  should, 
to  the  exclusion  of  every  thing  else,  be  used  by 
the  ministers  in  all  churches,  under  pain  of  for 
feiture,  of  privation,  and  of  death ;  that  the  spir 
itual  authority  of  every  foreign  prelate  within  the 
realm  should  be  utterly  abolished ;  that  the  juris 
diction  necessary  for  the  correction  of  errors,  her 
esies,  schisms,  and  abuses,  should  be  annexed  to 
the  crown,  with  the  power  of  delegating  such  juris 
diction  to  any  person  or  persons  whatever  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Sovereign ;  that  the  penalty  of  as 
serting  the  Papal  authority  should  ascend  on  the 
repetition  of  the  offence  from  the  forfeiture  of  real 
and  personal  property  to  perpetual  imprisonment, 
and  from  perpetual  imprisonment  to  death.  And 
that  all  clergymen,  &c.,  should,  under  pain  of 
deprivation,  take  an  oath,  declaring  the  Queen  to 
be  supreme  governor  in  all  ecclesiastical  and  spirit 
ual  things  or  causes  .  .  .  renouncing  all  foreign, 
ecclesiastical,  and  spiritual  jurisdiction  or  authority 
whatsoever  within  the  realm."* 

I  observed  in  respect  to  these  enactments  that 

*  See  Statutes  of  Realm.    Lord  Paget  declares  that  "  the  new  Prayer  Book 
was  distasteful  to  eleventh  tioelftlis  of  the  population." 


TO  THE  TEMPORAL  POWER  BEEN  PERPETUATED  ?    151 

the  parliament  of  Elizabeth  pursued  a  totally  dif 
ferent  course  from  that  of  the  Parliament  under 
Mary.  While  the  latter  did  nothing,  in  respect  to 
religion,  but  restore  it  to  its  original  Catholic  state 
and  privileges,  the  former  established  new  forms  of 
worship,  and  unusual  prerogatives  of  spiritual  juris 
diction.  Besides,  while  Mary  acted  in  communion 
with  the  Church  and  under  its  approbation,  I  found 
that  Elizabeth  proceeded  in  defiance  of  it.  Every 
bishop  in  the  house,  I  saw  by  the  journal,  voted 
against  these  bills ;  that  the  Convocation  presented 
a  document,  amongst  other  things,  protesting 
against  the  competency  of  any  lay  assembly  to  pro 
nounce  on  matters  of  "  doctrine,  worship,  and  dis 
cipline  ;  "  and  that  the  two  Universities  came  to 
the  aid  of  the  Convocation,  and  subscribed  the  doc 
ument  ;  that  even  the  lay  opposition  in  the  House 
of  Lords  was  unusually  large ;  and  that,  if  the  Act 
relating  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  really 
passed  at  all,  it  was  only  by  a  majority  of  two  or 
three.  And  this  was  obtained  by  the  imprisonment 
of  two  bishops,  and  by  raising  five  Commoners  of 
the  new  faith  to  the  peerage.  Now,  as  these  Acts 
are  the  real  basis  of  the  present  Church  of  Eng 
land,  I  asked  myself,  how  is  it  possible  that  this 
Church  can  be  linked  by  uninterrupted  succession 
with  the  Church  of  the  Apostles  ? 


POSITION  OF  PRESENT  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

WHAT  IS  THE  POSITION  OF  THE  PRESENT  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND, 
AND  OF  HER  DAUGHTER  IN  AMERICA,  AS  FIXED  BY  THE  PAR 
LIAMENT  OF  ELIZABETH? 

THAT  the  present  Church  of  England,  and  con 
sequently  the  daughter  in  America,  stands  upon  the 
same  foundation  as-  that  of  the  Church  of  Elizabeth, 
is  a  fact  too  notorious  to  require  more  than  to  be 
stated. 

That  foundation  is  to  my  mind  faithfully  ex 
hibited  in  the  following  act  of  William  IV. :  "  Wil 
liam  IV.,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  the  united  king 
dom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  King,  defender 
of  the  Faith,  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall 
come,  greeting :  WE,  having  confidence  in  the 
learning,  morals,  and  probity  of  our  well-beloved 
and  venerable  W.  G.  B.,  do  name  and  appoint  him 
to  be  bishop  and  ordinary  pastor  of  the  See  of 

A ,  so  that  he  shall  be,  and  shall  be  taken 

to  be,  bishop  of  the  Bishop's  See,  and  may,  by 
virtue  of  this  our  nomination  and  appointment, 
enter  into  and  possess  the  said  Bishop's  See,  as  the 
bishop  thereof,  without  any  let  or  impediment  of 
us ;  and  we  do  hereby  declare  that  if  we,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  shall  think  fit  to  recall  or  revoke  the 

appointment  of  the  said  bishop  of  A ,  or  his 

successors,  that  every  such  bishop  shall,  to  all  in 
tents  and  purposes,  cease  to  be  bishop  of  A 


AND- OF  HER  DAUGHTER  IN  AMERICA.         153 

And   we  do   hereby  give   and  grant  to   the   said 

bishop  of  A — ,  and  his  successors,  bishops  of 

A ,    full  power   and    authority    to    confirm 

those  that  are  baptized,  &c.,  and  to  perform  all 
other  functions,  peculiar  and  appropriate  to  a  bishop, 

within  the  limits  of  the  said  See  of  A .     And 

we  do  by  these  presents  give  and  grant  to  the  said 

bishop  and  his  successors,  bishops  of  A ,  full 

power  and  authority  to  admit  into  the  holy  orders 
of  deacon  and  priest  respectively,  any  person  whom 
he  shall  deem  duly  qualified,  and  to  punish  and 
correct  chaplains,  ministers,  priests,  and  deacons, 
according  to  their  deserts."* 

Upon  this  examination  and  due  reflection,  I  be 
came  convinced,  that,  in  regard  to  this  source  of 
mission  or  jurisdiction,  the  "  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  "  stands  on  precisely 
the  same  foundation  as  does  her  mother  the  Angli 
can,  and  hence  must  share  in  any  defects  which  the 
parliamentary  system  of  Elizabeth  may  have  en 
tailed  upon  that  mother. 

*  I  was  aware  that  it  had  been  pleaded  that  the  power  of  election  is  still  in 
the  hands  of  the  Church.  But  the  conge  d'elire,  as  lately  so  always,  has 
proved  to  be  an  unmeaning  form.  The  words  of  the  statute  most  clearly 
make  it  so.  They  are  as  follows  :  "  In  virtue  of  which  license  [meaning  the 
conge  d'elirc],  the  said  dean  and  chapter  shall  with  all  speed  and  celerity  (that 
is,  within  twelve  days'),  in  due  form,  elect  and  choose  the  said  person  named  [in 
the  king's  letters  missive,  sent  with  the  license]  to  this  dignity  and  office, 
and  ?io  other."  Then  the  law  provides  that  in  case  the  dean  and  chapter  fail 
to  do  this  within  the  prescribed  time,  the  duty  of  election  devolves  upon  the 
Crown,  and  the  dean  and  chapter  incur  the  penalty  of  pramunire.  Of  this 
Bishop  Gibson  says,  "  The  only  choice  the  electors  have  under  this  restraint 
is,  whether  they  will  obey  the  king  or  incur  a  pramunire."  Or,  as  Dr.  John- 
soironce  playfully  remarked,  "  The  Church  has  about  the  same  choice  in  the 
election  of  her  chief  ministers,  as  a  man  flung  out  of  a  window  has  to  choose 
a  soft  seat  for  himself  when  he  gets  to  the  bottom.'"  Vide  Pretyman's  "Ch. 
of  England  Sui^ugaieti,"  &c.  (Masters,) 


154     POSITION  OF  PRESENT  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND, 

1.  The  very  application  made  to  the  Church 
of  England  to  consecrate  and  send  bishops  to  the 
United  States,  and  the  very  objects  of  the  mission 
of  such  bishops,  —  what  they  were  to  "do  and 
teach"  under  it,  —  as  set  forth  in  the  application, 
were  framed  and  settled,  not  by  the  successors  of 
Apostles,  but  by  a  convention,  made  up  of  some 
half  dozen  presbyters,  and  a  few  more  laymen,  the 
latter  of  whom,  if  we  may  believe  the  Memoirs  of 
the  American  Church,  by  the  Right  Rev.  and  most 
venerable  Dr.  Colute,  exercised  a  controlling  influ 
ence.  £.  This  application,  and  the  objects  of  the 
mission  applied  for,  being  duly  considered  by  the 
government  of  England,  an  act  of  parliament 
"  gave  and  granted,"  under  certain  specified  condi 
tions  and  restrictions,  to  certain  persons  belonging 
to  the  United  States,  the  power  of  episcopal  juris 
diction.  It  is  true  this  power  was  placed  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  authority  who  gave  it,  and  hence 
could  not  be  revoked  by  that  authority.  Still  the 
transfer  by  the  very  conditions  of  the  grant,  while 
it  gave  release  from  one  lay  power,  subjected  it 
virtually  to  another.  Hence,  by  the  constitutions 
and  canons  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States,  an  absolutely  controlling  power 
is  given  to  the  laity  in  all  questions,  as  well  of  faith 
as  of  mission.  So  that  no  point  of  doctrine  can  be 
settled  —  no  new  diocese  be  formed  —  no  new 
bishop  be  sent — no  presbyter  receive  mission  — 
and  so  on,  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  without  the 
express  consent  of  the  laity.  And  when  we  add  to 


AKt)  OF  HER  DAUGHTER  IX  AMERICA.         155 

tins  their  fixed,  canonical  authority,  the  moral  in 
fluence  they  must    necessarily  exercise    over  the 
clergy,  in  a  system  where  the  daily  bread  of  the 
clergy  is  dependent  upon  their  will,*  we  see  that, 
in  their  release  from  the  domination  of  the  Anglican 
King  and  parliament,  the  American  bishops  have 
gained  little  in 'the  way  of  an  independent  exercise 
of  their  mission.     Here  as  there,  instead  of  a  real 
descent  of  authority,  as  the    theory  is,  from   the 
divine  fountain,  the  stream  is  made  to  flow  back 
ward  and  upward.     Besides,  in  England  and  the 
United   States   there   is  a  remarkable  resemblance 
in  the  condition  respectively  of  the  lay  powers.^    In 
both,  these  powers  are  irresponsible.     Of  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  king  and  English  Parliament  I  will 
not  speak ;  but  of  the  independence  of  the  laity  in 
the   Protestant  Episcopal  Church  where  I  was  a 
bishop,  I  will  say,  that  while  the  clergy  are  sub 
jected  to  strict  and  salutary  discipline,  not  a  canon 
nor  a  rubric  exists  which  can  make  laymen  — even 
while  exercising  their  functions  in  settling  the  faith 
and   controlling  the  mission  of  the   Church  — an 
swerable  to  any  tribunal  for  the  foulest  heresy  or 
the  most  rampant  schism  ! 

But,  if  this  were  not  so,  if  no  lay  power  what 
ever  existed  to  control  or  modify  the  episcopal  au 
thority  and  mission  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  America,  the  real  character  of  that  au 
thority  and  mission  must  depend  upon  the  character 

*  The  support  of  the  clergy  in  the  U.  S.  depends  upon  voluntary  contribu 
tions  of  the  laity.  , 


156     POSITION  OF  PRESENT  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND, 

of  the  source  from  which,  they  are  derived.  So 
that  any  defect,  I  repeat,  which  the  mother  Church 
of  England  may  have  inherited  from  the  system  of 
Elizabeth,  seemed  to  me  clearly  entailed  upon  the 
daughter  in  the  United  States ! 

Now  then,  I  entreat  my  old  friends  to  allow  me 
to  call  their  minds  to  that  view  of  'the  mission  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  English  Church,  as  established 
by  Elizabeth,  which  destroyed  my  confidence  in 
her  claim  to  my  submission.  I  asked  myself —  not 
as  a  Catholic,  not  as  a  controversialist  — but  as  one 
deeply  anxious  to  know  the  will  of  God,  and  to 
know,  if  possible,  that  that  will  would  sustain  me 
in  my  Protestant  position  —  I  asked  myself,  who 
SENT  Archbishop  Parker  ?  *  Who  put  the  Gospel 
into  his  hand  ?  told  -  him  what  it  contained  ?  what 
was  the  depositum  of  faith  and  sacraments  and  wor 
ship  of  the  "One,  Holy,  Catholic  Church"  com 
mitted  to  him?  and  commissioned  him  to  teach 
that  faith,  dispense  those  sacraments,  and  conduct 
that  worship,  and,  when  death  should  come  to  ter 
minate  his  apostolic  work,  to  hand  on  that  "  de- 
positum  "  to  the  successors  of  the  apostles  yet  to 
arise  ?  I  made  this  appeal  to  my  conscience  again 
and  again,  «  Who  thus  sent  the  first  archbishop  of 
Elizabeth  ?  gave  him  mission  to  act  in  this  or  that 
way  for  God  ?  " 

When  Elizabeth  ascended  the  throne,  I  saw  two 
powers  only,  who  even  claimed  the  right  of  spirit- 

*  "  For  how  can  one  preach  except  he  be  sent?  "  —  St.  Paul. 


AND  OF  HER  DAUGHTER  IX  AMERICA.     157 

ual  jurisdiction  in  England,  and  hence  the  right  of 
giving  mission  to  exercise  "  the  office  of  a  bishop  in 
the  Church  of  God  !  " —  the  Pope  and  the  Queen  ! 
The  Pope,  sustained  in  his  authority  by  the  whole 
Church*  in  England  ;  the  Queen  sustained  by  her 
parliament  only.  The  Church,  therefore,  in  Eng 
land  could  not  have  commissioned  and  sent  this  arch 
bishop.  She  was  utterly  against  him.  Against  him, 
in  her  faith,  her  sacraments,  her  worship,  her  judg 
ment,  her  authority!  She  stood  forth,  with  the 
successor  of  St.  Peter  at  her  hand,  professing  the 
Catholic  faith,  dispensing  the  Catholic  sacraments, 
enforcing  the  Catholic  ritual,  and  requiring  all  who 
went  out  under  her  authority  to  defend  this  faith, 
guard  these  sacraments,  and  observe  this  ritual ! 
The  archbishop  of  Elizabeth  appears,  in  defiance 
of  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  professedly  bearing 
another  faith,  other  sacraments,  and  ordered  and 
commissioned  under  another  ritual !  Who  sent 
him  ?  Whence  derived  he  the  authority  to  execute 
the  office  of  a  bishop  in  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ,  —  "the  one,  holy,  Catholic,  and  apostolic 
Ctu.rch?"  Really,  I  could  discern  no  authority 
earlier  than  the  queen  and  parliament  of  England ! 
And,  therefore,  that  my  own  commission  to  act  for 
Christ  had  its  origin  in  man  !  f 


*  It  has  been  shown  in  the  last  chapter,  that  every  Bishop,  the  convocation, 
and  both  universities,  sided  with  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs. 
f  Vide  Allies'  "See  of  St.  Peter,"  Burns  and  Lambert,  London. 

14 


158    SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

REASONS  WHY  SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER  MUST 
BE  FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN,  AND  HENCE  TO  THE  AMERICAN, 
EPISCOPAL  CLAIMS. 

IN  1534  the  English,  parliament,  by  formal  act, 
severed  the  tie,  which  had  hitherto  bound  the 
Church  of  England  to  the  Catholic  Church,  by 
throwing  off  all  allegiance  to  the  See  of  St.  Peter ; 
and  on  the  plea  that  "  in  the  realm  of  England  no 
greater  authority  has  been  given  by  God  in  the 
Scripture  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  than  to  any  other 
foreign  bishop." 

When  I  approached  this  question  I  felt  a  degree 
of  awe  which  I  cannot  well  express,  particularly  as 
it  presented  a  claim  not  only  of  the  most  fearful 
magnitude  in  itself,  but  also  one,  which,  from  its 
very  nature,  must  determine  irrevocably  the  duty 
of  every  Protestant  who  would  be  saved ;  and 
hence  my  duty  for  time  and  for  eternity ! 

I  first  looked  narrowly  at  the  words  of  the  act 
itself;  and  was  not  a  little  surprised  that  any  one 
not  anxious  to  mislead,  should  have  employed  terms 
so  equivocal.  Not  only  were  the  special  powers 
of  the  "  Bishop  of  Rome  "  to  be  subjected  to  the 
test  of  Holy  Scripture  (a  thing  as  we  have  seen,  in 
its  strict  sense,  most  unreasonable  in  itself),  but 
also  tried  in  this  mere  diocesan  title,  in  their  claim 
to  universal  jurisdiction.  Now  the  title  "  Bishop 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  159 

of  Rome  "  may,  with  a  Catholic,  imply  "  the  suc 
cession  of  St.  Peter."  But,  in  the  mouth  of  a 
Protestant,  I  felt  that  it  might  more  likely  be  de 
signed  to  express  mere  diocesan  authority.  In 
which  case  an  extension  of  such  authority  to  the 
island  of  England  might,  I  saw  clearly,  be  branded, 
and,  without  the  aid  of  Scripture,  as  a  usurpation. 
For  the  Pope,  as  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  Rome 
merely,  I  had  been  led  to  believe,  had  no  more 
claim  to  jurisdiction  beyond  that  diocese,  than  any 
other  bishop  had  to  jurisdiction  beyond  his  partic 
ular  see.  But  a  little  examination  convinced  me 
that  no  such  claim  had  ever  been  set  up  —  that  no 
such  jurisdiction  had  ever  been  exercised.  That, 
on  the  contrary,  the  claim  to  jurisdiction  in  the 
island  of  England,  rested  upon  a  claim  to  jurisdic 
tion  over  the  whole  Catholic  Church,  and  that  this 
devolved  upon  the  Bishop  of  Rome  as  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter  —  Rome  being,  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  the  Apostolic  See  ;  so  that  the  language  of 
the  act  failed  to  place  before  the  mind  a  fair  detini- 
tion  of  the  case  ;  as  it  tended  in  my  view  to  con 
found  that  diocesan  authority  which  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  as  bishop,  held  in  common  with  all  other 
bishops,  with  that  supreme  jurisdiction,  which,  as 
the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  he  had  above  and  be 
yond  all  others.  Hence  the  question  submitted  to 
the  Church  of  England  by  Henry,  ought,  in  my 
humble  judgment,  to  have  been  —  not  whether 
"the  bishop  of  Rome"  has  authority  in  England 
—  but  whether  England  was  not  bound  as  a  mem 


160  SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETEH 

ber  of  the  ' '  One,  Holy  Catholic,,  Apostolic  Church/' 
to  submit  to  the  See  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome,  as,  by 
the  providence  of  God,  the  centre  of  unity  and  the 
source  of  jurisdiction  in  that  Church ! 

Under  this  form  of  the  question,  I  approached 
with  trembling  steps  and  a  supplicating  heart  the 
great  and  all-absorbing  point,  as  it  seemed  to  me, 
between  Protestantism  and  the  Catholic  Church, 

Having  derived  my  authority  from  the  Church 
of  Henry  through  Elizabeth,  I  was  compelled,  more 
or  less,  to  view  this  point  as  exhibited  in  the  claim 
of  spiritual  supremacy,  on  the  part  of  the  king, 
contrasted  with  the  claim  of  the  spiritual  suprem 
acy  of  the  See  of  ST.  PETER  in  the  person  of  the 
Bishop  of  Home. 

I  first  asked  myself,  what  is  the  common-sense 
view  of  the  case  ?  Which  claim  seems  most  likely 
to  be  well  founded  ? 

By  the  declarations  of  holy  Scripture  the  Church 
was  presented  to  me  as  "One  Body  in  Christ." 
By  the  uniform  teaching  of  the  Fathers  I  found 
this  idea :  "  The  Church,  one,  undivided,  indivisi 
ble,"  fastened  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  all  the 
faithful  in  the  age  next  to  the  Apostles.  The 
Church  "  one  ;  "  not  separated  by  national  distinc 
tions,  but  one  "  holy  nation,"  gathered  out  of  all 
the  unholy  nations,  and  bound  together  by  the 
bonds  of  strictest  unity,  and  animated  by  a  spirit 
which  at  once  raised  it  above  all  earthly  associa 
tions,  and  gave  it  a  power  to  control  and  fashion 
them  to  its  will.  Which  claim,  under  this  view 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  161 

of  the  Church,  —  a  view  generally  admitted  among 
Protestants  in  theory,  —  seems  most  likely  to  be 
well  founded  ?  most  commends  itself  to  my  under 
standing  ?  A  claim  founded  in  universal  jurisdic 
tion)  or  a  claim  based  upon  mere  national  preroga 
tive  ?  A  claim  upheld  by  spiritual  sanctions,  or  a 
claim  enforced  by  temporal  power  ?  A  claim  hav 
ing  its  source  in  an  apostle,  linked,  by  its  very 
nature,  to  that  old  foundation  upon  which  Christ 
promised  to  build  His  Church  ;  or  a  claim  traceable 
to  no  higher  date,  and  connected  with  no  purer 
source,  than  a  corrupt  son  of  the  race  of  Tudors  ? 

Pressed  by  such  an  alternative,  who  can  wonder 
that  my  mind  became  predisposed  to  yield  to  the 
claim  of  the  Holy  Roman  See  ? 

2.  To  this  was  added  a  further  consideration. 
I  cast  my  eye  over  the  history  of  mankind,  and 
found  that  every  association,  from  the  most  widely- 
spread  kingdoms  to  the  narrowest  circle  of  friend 
ship,  was  blessed  with  a  head ;  that  the  very  instincts 
of  our  nature  seemed  to  lead  to  this  every  where 
as  necessary  to  secure  unity  of  purpose  and  action. 
I  contemplated  the  Church  of  God ;  a  society,  not 
only  made  up  of  persons  brought  together  out  of 
all  societies,  but  under  the  solemn  necessity  of  be 
ing  and  remaining  so  perfectly  joined  together,  as 
to  "  speak  the  same  things,  and  to  be  of  the  same 
mind  and  same  judgment ;  "  thus  "  keeping  the 
unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."  And  I 
asked  myself,  "  If  it  be  reasonable,  that  a  society, 
whose  unity  is  to  be  the  closest  in  the  world,  should 
It* 


SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

be  composed  of  creatures  of  the  world,  and  called 
to  act  in  the  world,  and  upon  the  world,  and  still 
be  the  only  body  in  the  world  without  a  distinct, 
governing  head  ?  "  The  thing  appeared  to  me  in 
consistent  with  the  uniform  wisdom  and  love  of 
God,  expressed  in  the  order  of  His  providence, 
and  hence  not  to  be  admitted  as  a  reality! 

True,  it  was  urged  upon  me  that  the  Church  is 
emphatically  a  spiritual  body,  and  by  its  very  con 
stitution,  has  Christ  for  its  head.  To  so  manifest 
and  vital  a  fact,  of  course,  I  could  not  object ;  but 
to  my  mind  it  did  not  meet  the  difficulty.  For  I 
perceived  the  Church  to  be,  not  only  a  spiritual, 
but  a  visible,  body.  Knit  together  by  visible  ties 
—  governed  by  visible  laws  —  exercising  visible 
functions  —  contending  with  visible  enemies  — 
maintaining  a  visible  fellowship  ;  and  hence,  so  far 
as  I  could  see,  requiring  a  visible,  ruling  authority. 
Now,  while  our  Lord  was  upon  earth,  it  seemed 
reasonable,  that  He  should,  in  His  own  person, 
exercise  that  authority  —  be,  in  the  fullest  sense, 
our  head  —  be  both  spiritually  and  visibly  "  our 
prophet,  priest,  and  king."  But  after  His  ascen 
sion,  I  could  see  no  way  of  perpetuating  the  visible 
part  of  that  authority,  but  by  a  visible  representa 
tive.  This  was  admitted,  by  most  Protestants,  to 
have  been  done  in  the  case  of  both  His  prophetical 
and  priestly  authority.  And  I  could  not  perceive 
why  it  should  not  have  been  done  also  in  respect 
to  His  kingly  authority.  If  to  express  and  insure 
His  abiding  invisible  presence  a  visible  representa 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  163 

tive  in  the  one  case  was  needed,  why  not  in  the 
other?  To  preserve  the  Church  in  her  original 
form,  and  enable  her  to  fulfil  her  true  destiny  as 
"  the  body  of  Christ/'  the  visible  kingly  authority 
must,  it  struck  me,  be,  at  least,  as  essential  as  any 
other.  But  this  kingly  authority,  by  .the  very 
nature  of  it,  could  be  represented  by  a  single  per 
son  only  at  a  time.  That  while  the  prophetical 
and  priestly  functions  might,  in  the  same  kingdom, 
be  shared  by  many,  the  kingly  power  was  obliged 
to  be  centred  in  one.  I  felt,  therefore,  that  be 
fore  entering  upon  the  proof  of  the  fact,  there  was 
a  strong  antecedent  probability  of  its  truth,  in  a 
Church  having  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism  ; 
and  hence  a  strong  probability,  that  in  casting 
from  her  the  jurisdiction  of  St.  Peter,  the  English 
Church  had  cast  from  her  the  institution  of  God. 

3.  This  was  not  all.  As  a  fact,  I  saw  the  pri 
macy  of  St.  Peter  standing  before  me.  A  Bishop 
of  Home  was  actually  exercising  jurisdiction  over 
the  whole  Catholic  Church,  as  a  successor  in  the 
see  of  that  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  as  a  matter 
of  history  had  been  exercising  it  since  the  infancy 
of  the  Christian  Faith.  Every  description  of  ad 
verse  power  had  been  leagued  against  it,  and  every 
sort  of  •stratagem  been  employed  for  its  overthrow  ; 
still  this  centre  of  jurisdiction  stood.  Surrounding 
Patriarchates  had  been  consumed  by  heresy  or 
broken  in  pieces  by  time,*  but  this  stood.  King- 

*  See  an  able  discussion  of  this  point  by  Robert  Belaney,  M.  A.,  late  Vicar 
of  Arlington,  &,c.,  in  a  letter  to  the  Anglican  Bishop  of  Chichester. 


16i    SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

dom  after  kingdom  had  been  swept  into  oblivion 
from  its  side,  yea,  from  its  very  embrace,  yet  this 
stood  in  all  the  vigor  of  its  maturity,  fulfilling  its 
original  functions,  and  wielding  a  power,  greater, 
perhaps,  in  its  moral  character,  than  at  any  former 
period.  Now,  how  could  I  account  for  this  fact  1 
The  question  was  deeply  solemn,  and  demanded  of 
me  a  solemn  answer.  To  say  that,  by  impercepti 
ble  gradations  it  arose  to  this  giant  height,  would 
be,  to  my  mind,  asserting,  from  the  very  nature  of 
the  thing,  an  impossibility.  For  I  could  see  no 
gradations  between  the  power  allowed  and  the 
power  claimed,  —  no  steps  across  that  wide  chasm 
which  separates  patriarchal  from  universal  jurisdic 
tion  !  To  say  that,  at  some  unguarded  moment, 
the  Church  had  allowed  this  power  to  spring  into 
existence,  would  not  satisfy  a  mind  already  wearied 
,  with  assertion  and  demanding  unquestionable  his 
torical  proof.  Bat  no  such  proof  had  been  offered. 
And  as  to  mere  presumption,  it  was  utterly  against 
the  idea.  To  suppose  such  an  enormous  power  to 
have  been  unlawfully  assumed  (when  the  assump 
tion  must  have  touched  the  very  quick  of  human 
pride  and  ambition  throughout  the  world),  and 
without  leaving  a  single  trace  of  the  fact  in  history, 
would,  to  say  the  least,  hardly  be  expected  to  meet 
the  demands  of  a  disturbed  and  wakeful  mind ; 
particularly  as  such  assumption  had  never  been 
charged  by  any  of  all  the  turbulent  spirits,  who, 
for  heresy,  or  other  cause,  were,  in  early  times, 
tin-own  off  from  the  Catholic  Church  by  means  of 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  165 

this  very  prerogative  of  the  See  of  St.  Peter.* 
Be  it  recollected,  however,  that  I  here  speak  of  the 
origin,  by  assumption,  of  this  universal  jurisdiction. 
That  in  its  exercise,  at  various  periods,  it  came 
into  collision  with  kings  and  other  temporal  pow 
ers,  my  mind  fully  admitted  ;  but  I  perceived  that 
the  fact  only  gave  additional  strength  to  my  posi 
tion,  by  showing  that  if  this  power  of  the  Roman 
See  so  often,  in  its  steady  spiritual  progress  through 
the  world,  stirred  up  against  •  itself  the  wrath  of 
princes,  how  much  more  was  it  likely  to  have  done 
so  in  the  outset  of  an  attempt  to  "  lord  it  over 
God's  heritage  "  (on  the  principle  that  it  was  origi 
nally  an  assumption),  and  hence  how  much  more 
may  we  expect  to  find  a  record  of  the  strife  for 
which  we  look  in  vain. 

In  case,  therefore,  that  I  continued  to  resist  the 


*  I  am  indebted  to  the  invaluable  labors  of  Cardinal  Maius,  to  which  I 
have  alluded  in  a  note  at  p.  172,  for  a  remarkable  testimony  of  an  adversary 
to  the  Supremacy  of  the  Holy  See.  Ben.  Assali,  a  monophysite  heretic,  writing 
on  the  famous  Arabic  Nicenc  Canons,  gives  the  one  relating  to  that  See  as 
teaching  the  true  doctrine  concerning  it.  The  words  are  as  follows  :  "Sicut 
patriarcha  imperio  et  auctoritate  erga  sibi  subjectos  praditus  e.-t,  ita  Roma 
Dominiis  auctoritate  erga  omnea  patriarchas  pallet ;  quoniani  ipse  primus  est, 
tainquam  Petrtis  ;  quatenus  hie  videlicet  auctoritate  super  omnes  Christiani- 
tatis  prasules  fruebatur  et  erga  multitiidinem  ex  qua  ilia  conflatur:  utpote 
Christi  Domini  Nostri  successor,  populo  ejus  ecclesiisque  praepositus,"  "  As 
the  Patriarch  is  invested  with  supreme  rule  and  authority  over  his  subjects, 
so  the  Bishop  of  Rome  has  a  supremacy  of  jurisdiction  over  all  the  patriarchs, 
since  he  has  the  primacy  of  St.  Peter,  so  far  as  this,  viz.,  that  he  is  to  enjoy 
the  chief  government  of  all  the  bishops  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  of  the 
members  which  compose  it ;  so  that,  as  the  successor  of  our  Lord,  he  is 
placed  over  His  Church  and  people."  —  Tom.  vi.  p.  548. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  I  have  used  this  simply  as  testimony  forced  from 
an  honest  heretic  who  is  suffering  under  the  sentence  of  a  power,  the  just 
authority  of  which  he  feels  bound  to  admit.  And  that  I  do  it  without  giving 
any  opinion  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  Canon  which  he  cite.3. 


166  SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

jurisdiction  of  the  Apostolic  See,  I  felt  bound  to 
account  to  myself  for  the  fact  of  its  existence  on 
other  grounds  than  those  claimed  for  it  by  its  sup 
porters  ;  and  that  the  burden  of  proof,  under  the 
circumstances,  rested  entirely  upon  myself.  The 
Sovereign,  in  the  full  exercise  of  his  kingly  prerog 
atives,  is  not  called  upon  surely  to  justify  himself 
before  every  subject  who  may  choose  to  question 
his  authority  or  place  himself  in  an  attitude  of 
rebellion. 

From  this  view  of  the  case  I  went  to  the  written 
Word  of  God  as  understood  and  acted  upon  by  the 
primitive  Church. 

The  first  thing  that  struck  me,  as  connected  with 
this  subject,  was  the  language  of  our  blessed  Lord 
to  Simon,  upon  His  introduction  to  him.  "  Thou 
art  Simon,  the  son  of  Jonas,  but  thou  shalt  be 
called  Cephas,  (or  Peter,  or  Rock.)  "  -St.  John 
i.  35—42.  The  purpose  of  this  change  of  name  (a 
name  which  the  Divine  Head  of  the  Church  had 
hitherto  appropriated  to  Himself  *)  became  manifest 

*  Isaiah  xxviii.  16  j  Ps.  cxvii.  22  ;  Dan.  ii.  35  ;  Zach.  iii.  9  ;  Ep.  ii.  20.  This 
change  of  Simon's  name  is  significantly  mentioned  by  the  first  three  Evange 
lists.  St.  Matthew  says  :  "  The  first,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  (or  rock.)  " 
St.  Mark  says:  "To  Simon  he  gave  the  name  of  Peter,  or  ror.L"  St.  Luke 
says  :  "  Simon,  whom  he  also  named  Peter,  or  rock.'''  Concerning  this  change, 
Tertullian  says  :  "  Why  did  He  (our  Lord)  call  him  Peter  1  If  for  the  strength 
of  his  faith,  many  solid  substances  would  lend  him  a  name  from  themselves. 
Or  was  it  because  Christ  is  both  the  rock  and  the  stone  ?  Since  we  read  He  is 
set  for  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offence.  And  so  it  was  His  pleas 
ure  to  communicate  to  the  dearest  of  His  disciples,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  a 
name  drawn  from  the  figures  of  Himself,  as  being  nearer,  I  imagine,  than  ono 
drawn  from  figures  not  of  Himself."  St.  Ambrose  says  :  "  Great  is  the  grace 
of  Christ,  who  bestowed  almost  all  His  names  on  His  disciples.  .  .  .Christ  is 
the  Rock,  bat  yet  He  did  not  deny  the  grace  of  this  name  to  His  disciple. 
That  he.  should  bo  Peter, '  Rock,'  because  he  has  from  the  Rock  firm  constancy, 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  167 

when  in  process  of  time  Jesus  said  to  him,  on  occa 
sion  of  his  solemn  profession  of  faith  :  "  Thou  art 
Peter,  (or  Cephas},  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  what 
soever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in 
heaven."  —  Matt.  xvi.  18.  These  passages  viewed 
in  conjunction,  and  with  the  circumstances  under 
which  they  were  spoken,  conveyed  to  my  mind 
clearly  and  almost  necessarily  these  truths.  1. 
That  the  change  of  St.  Peter's  name  from  Simon 
to  Cephas  (Rock),  was  designed  as  a  preparation 
for  the  promise  afterwards  made  to  him,  that  the 
Church  should  be  built  upon  him  as  the  house  of 
the  wise  man  is  "  built  upon  a  rock."  2.  That 
with  such  a  foundation  the  Church  would  never  be 
overcome  by  its  adversaries.  3.  That  in  order  to 
enable  St.  Peter  thus  to  sustain  the  Church  by  the 
invisible  power  of  Christ,  he  was  made  Christ's 
visible  representative,  being  invested  with  a  pri 
macy  or  supremacy  of  jurisdiction,  denoted  by 
"  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  given  him 
by  our  Lord,  which,  viewed  in  connection  with 


Immovable  faith."  So  says  Origen :  "  He  said  he  should  be  called  Peter, 
by  allusion  to  the  '  Rock,'  which  is  Christ ;  that  as  a  man  from  wisdom  id 
termed  wise,  and  from  holiness  holy,  so,  too,  Peter  from  the  Rock."  So  St. 
Leo  represents  Christ  as  saying  to  Peter,  "  While  I  am  the  inviolable  Rock, 
the  corner  stone,  who  make  both  one,  the  foundation,  beside  which  no  one 
can  lay  another  :  yet  thou  also  art  the  rock,  because,  by  My  virtue,  thou  art 
established  so  as  to  enjoy,  by  participation,  the  properties  which  are  peculiar  to 
Me."  The  above  I  have  taken  as  translated  by  Allies. 


168  SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

Isaiah  xxii.  22,  and  Rev.  iii.  7,  significantly  point 
to  the  possession  of  supreme  and  kingly  authority. 

But  this  natural  sense  of  the  passages  of  Scrip 
ture,  I  found  confirmed  by  the  uniform  and  decisive 
voice  of  the  earliest  Fathers.  I  say  decisive,  as  all 
true  Anglicans  profess  to  concur  with  St.  Vincent 
of  Lerins,  that  "  they  approve  the  faith  in  two 
ways ;  first,  by  the  authority  of  divine  Scripture, 
and  then  by  tradition  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It 
is  necessary  (he  says)  that  the  interpretation  of 
heavenly  Scripture  be  guided  according  to  the  one 
rule  of  the  ecclesiastical  sense."* 

I  turned  to  Tertullian,  and  he  said  :  "  "Was  any 
thing  hidden  from  Peter,  who  was  called  the  rock, 
and  whereon  the  Church  was  built  —  and  who  ob 
tained  '  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,'  and 
the  power  of  loosing  and  of  binding  in  heaven  and 
on  earth  ?  "  f  To  Origen,  who  said  :  "  Observe 
what  is  said  by  the  Lord  to  that  great  foundation 
of  the  Church,  and  to  the  most'  solid  rock,  upon 
which  Christ  founded  the  Church,  (  O  thou  of -little 
faith,  why  didst  thou  doubt  ? '  "  J  Who  said  again 
"  That  Peter  should  have  something  peculiar  above 
those  (meaning  the  other  disciples)  ;  this  was  pre- 


*  Ut  fidem  veram  duobus  his  modis  approbent.  Pnmum  divini  canonis 
auctoritate,  deinde  ecclesiae  Catholics  traditione. . . .  Utad  imam  ecclesiastic! 
sensus  regulam  Scriptune  coelestis  intelligentia  dirigatur.  Adv.  Hares,  n. 
xxix. 

f  Latuit  aliquid  Petrum,  sedificandie  ecclesia;  petram  dictum,  claves  regm 
coelorum  consecutum,  et  solvendi  et  alligandi  in  coelis,  et  in  terris  potestatem 
De  Prescript.  H&rct  n.  22. 

J  Ecclesite  fundaments  et  petra  solidissiina;,  super  quatn  Christus  funda 
vit  ecclesiam*&c.  T.  ii.  Horn.  v.  in  Exod.  n.  4. 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  169 

viously  ordained  separately  respecting  Peter  ;  thus 
I  will  give  to  THEE  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ;  and  truly,  if  we  sedulously  attend  to 
the  Gospel  writings,  even  in  them  we  may  discover, 
even  in  regard  to  those  things  which  seem  to  be 
common  to  Peter,  and  to  those  (the  other  disciples), 
much  difference  and  preeminence  in  the  words 
spoken  to  Peter  beyond  those  spoken  to  in  the 
second  place."  *  To  St.  Cyprian,  who  said  :  "  Her 
self  (the  Church)  was  founded  first  and  alone  by 
the  voice  of  our  Lord  upon  Peter."  f  "  First  to 
Peter,  upon  whom  He  built  the  Church,  and  from 
whom  He  instituted  and  showed  that  unity  should 
spring  ;  }  the  Lord  gave  this  power  that  that  should 
be  loosed  in  heaven  which  he  should  have  loosed 

on  earth." Who  said  again :  "  Whither  shall 

he  come  that  thirsteth  ?  To  heretics,  where  the 
fountain  and  river  of  water  is  noway  lifegiving  — 
or  to  the  Church,  which  is  one,  and  was  by  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  founded  upon  one,  who  also  re 
ceived  the  keys  thereof ?"§  To  St.  James  of 
Nisibis,  ||  who  said  :  "  Simon,  the  head  of  the 
Apostles Our  Lord  received  him,  and  made 


*  Kul  EV  TOVTOIS  £vpoin£t>  &v  KOI  Kara  TOLVTO.  ra  doKOWTO.  tlvai  xoiva  irpog 
rov  KCTpnv  Kal  TOVS  rpls  vovOcrfiaavras  TOVS  dfc\<j)ovs,  xoX\r]i>  Sia^opav,  Kai 
iiirepoxnv  IK  TWV  Trpdg  rov  Herpov  eiprjucvuv  napa  TOVS  fcvTtpov;.  T.  iii.  in 
Matt.  Tom.  xiii.  n.  31. 

f  Ipsa  prima  et  una  super  Petrum  Domini  voce  fundata. 

|  Nam  Petro  priinum  Dominus,  super  quern  sdificavit  ecclesiam,  et  uncle 

tinitatis  originem  instituit  et  ostendit  potestatem  istara  dedit Ep. 

Ixxiii.  ad  Jabaian. 

$  Qute  una  est,  et  super  unum,  qui  et  claves  ejus  accepit,  Domini  voce  fun- 
data  est,  &c.  —  Ibid. 

j|  Who  sat  in  the  great  Council  of  Nicsa. 

15 


170    SEPAHATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

Mm  the  foundation,  ami  called  him  '  the  rock '  of 
the  edifice  of  the  Church."  —  Or  at.  vii.  De  Pcenit. 
n.  6.  To  St.  Hilary,  who  said  :  "  The  Son  of  God 
took  up  Peter,  to  whom  He  had  just  before  given 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  upon 
whom  He  was  ahout  to  build  the  Church,*  against 
which  the  gates  of  hell  should  never  prevail,  who, 
whatsoever  he  should  bind  or  loose  on  earth,  should 
be  bound  and  loosed  in  heaven."  To  St.  Cyril  of 
Jerusalem,  who  said :  "  In  the  power  of  the  same 
Holy  Spirit,  Peter  also,  the  foremost  of  the  Apos 
tles,  and  the  keybearer  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,f 
healed  ^Eneas,  the  paralytic,  in  the  name  of 
Christ."  To  St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  who  said: 
"  The  memory  of  St.  Peter,  the  head  of  the  Apos 
tles,  is  celebrated For  he  is,  agreeably  to  the 

gift  conferred  on  him  by  our  Lord,  that  unbroken 
and  most  firm  '  rock,'  upon  which  the  Lord  built 
His  Church."  J  To  St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzum, 
who  writes,  "  Seest  thou  that,  of  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  all  of  whom  were  great  and  deserving 
of  His  choice  ;  one  is  called  a  rock,  and  is  intrusted 
with  the  foundations  of  the  Church  ?  "  and  again, 
"  Peter  became  the  unbroken  'rock,'  and  had  tho 
keys  delivered  to  him."  §  To  St.  Basil,  who  said 

*  Super  quern  ecclesiam  cedificaturus  erat.  —  Tract,  in  Ps.  cxxxi.  n.  4. 

f  FIpwrotrrdTJ??  ru>v  d-xoaroXuv  KOL  rr/s  flaviXctas  TOJV  ovpavaiv  K\£tSovx^ 
Trpwroo-T arris  .-  —  The  word  translated  foremost,  is  used  three  times  by  St.  Cyril, 
and  implies,  says  a  learned  writer  and  critic,  "  the  chief  and  Prince."  Cat. 
xvii.  n.  27. 

J  Mvrif.iov£v£rai  TTETJOOS  J?  KC(f>a\r]  rutv  airoar6\u>v. .  .nvrog  yap  iari  Kara  rrrv 
3o9slo.iv  avTM  xapa  TOV  icvpiov  tupwv  rj  appaxnSKal  oxvpwrar??  niTpa,i<f>'  fi, 
rriv  £KK\rjaiav  b  Samyo  a)KoJoju>?0£. 

$  'O  piv  ~£.rpa  Ka^tirat,  xal  rouj  6sn£i\iovs  rris  £KK\r](jia.s  iriartvErai 
T.  i.  or.  xxvi. 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  171 

"  One  of  these  mountains  was  Peter,  upon  which 
rock    Christ    promised    to    build    His    Church."* 
And  again ;   "  That  blessed  Peter,  who  was  pre 
ferred  (TTQoxyldtl;)  before   all  the  disciples  ;    who 
alone    received    a  greater   testimony  and  blessing 
than  the  rest ;  he  to  whom  were  intrusted  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  —  T.  ii.  p.  i.  Proam. 
de  Judic.  Dei,  n.  7.     To  St.  Epiphanius,  who  said, 
ff  The  blessed  Peter  was  the  chiefest  of  the  Apos 
tles,  who  became  unto  us  truly  a  'firm  rock,'  upon 
which  is  based  the  Lord's  faith,  upon  which  '  rock ' 
the  Church  is  every  way  built,"  f  &c.      To  St.  Am 
brose,  who  said,  "  <  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and  to  thee  will  I 
give  the  keys,'  &c.     How,  could  He  not  confirm 
His  faith,  unto  whom,  of  His  own  authority,  He  gave 
the  kingdom,  and  whom,  when  He  styled  a  <  rock,' 
He  pointed  out  the  foundation  of  the  Church  ?  "  J 
To  St.  Jerome,  who  said,  "  In  accordance  with  the 
metaphor  of  a  <  rock  '  is  justly  said  to  him  (Peter), 
I  will  build  my  Church  on  thee." —  T.  vii.  1.  iii. 
in  St.  Matt.     To  St.  Chrysostom,  who  said,  "  When 
I  name  Peter,  I  name  that  unbroken  <  rock,'  that 
firm  foundation,  that  great  apostle,  that  first  of  the 
disciples.  .  ." — T.  ii.  1.  i.  in  Ep.  ad  Galat.     To  St. 
Asterius  :    "  The   only  begotten  as  is  said  in  the 


*  'E0'  ?7f  Kal  n£Tpos  IrrriyyeiXaTO  b  Kvptos  oiKo&op.riaiiv  avrov  TIJV  CKxXri- 
ciav.  T.  i.  p.  ii.  Conini.  in  Isai.,  c.  ii.  n.  66. 

f  Konvtiatorarns  rwi>  dffoortfAwi',  05  ysyovev  'ifjisv  aAr/9o>f  artpta  irirpa 
6eii£\iova-a  rr,v  -iziv  rnv  Kvpiov,  ifi'  f]  c5ffOc5<f/*J7TO  )/  £KK\t]cria  Kara  reavTO.  rpo- 
nov.  —  Ada.  Hares.  (59). 

J  Quern  cum  Petram  (licit,  firmamentum  ecclesito  indicavit.  T.  ii.  1.  iv.  d» 
Fide,  c.  v. 


172    SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

Gospels  denominates  Peter  the  Church's  founda 
tion.  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  Church."  * 

Here,  therefore,  I  found  a  consensus  of  Fathers 
up  to  Augustine,  all  interpreting  the  texts  above 
cited,  in  their  natural  obvious  sense ;  making  St. 
Peter  the  "  rock,"  upon  which  Christ  built  the 
Church,  and  ascribing  to  him,  through  his  posses 
sion  of  the  keys  of  "  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  uni 
versal  jurisdiction. 

Upon  going  to  St.  Augustine  himself,  I  found, 
as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  the  strongest  claims  of 
preeminence  for  the  See  of  St.  Peter.  And,  in 
one  place,  an  interpretation  of  Matt.  xvi.  18,  which 
makes  St.  Peter  the  "  rock ;  "  f  although  subse- 


*  QefiS^iov  TOV  nsrpov  dvondgei  T?JS  £KK\rjuias,  Ilomil.  in  Apost.  Prin. 
Petr.  ct  Paul.  t.  i. 

f  T.  ii.  Ep.  liii.  Gene?oes.  Col.  180.  "If  the  order  of  Bishops  succeeding  to 
each  other  is  to  be  considered,  how  much  more  securely  and  beneficially  do 
we  reckon  from  Peter  himself,  to  whom,  bearing  a  figure  of  the  Church,  the 
Lord  says,  Upon  this  rock  Twill  build  my  Church.'"  See  the  case  of  St.  Augus 
tine  ably  discussed  by  Father  Passaglia.  Here,  however,  I  would  further 
observe,  that  while  St.  Augustine  changed  the  interpretation  of  the  passage  in 
Matthew,  he  did  not  change  his  doctrine.  While  his  wish  to  use  the  passage 
against  the  Arians,  and  his  want  of  knowledge  of  the  Syrian  language,  led 
him  to  an  interpretation  which  favored  this  wish,  ho  still  looked  upon  St 
Peter  as  the  foundation  of  the  Church,  and  his  See  at  Rome  as  the  necessui 
centre  of  unity  and  authority  in  the  Catholic  Church. 

Since  writing  the  above,  a  kind  friend  has  put  into  my  hand  the  splendid 
edition  of  the  before  unpublished  works  of  St.  Augustine  and  other  Fathers, 
by  that  eminent  scholar,  Cardinal  Mains;  froin  which  I  cite  the  following 
new  authority  from  that  Saint :  "  Most  dear  brethren,  he  is  guilty  of  both  errc.r 
and  crime,  who  shall  ascribe  to  the  jlpostle  Peter,  that  is,  to  the  foundation  of  the 
Chtirch,  any  thing-  of  unfaittifalness."  Fratres  carisMmi,  aut  erroris  (reus)  est 
aut  delicti,  qui  Petro  Apostolo,  hoc  rst,  ecclesice  fundamento,  aliquid  infidelitatia 
ndtfcribit.  Angst.  Patrum  JW/u-'i  Bib.  Romas.  Tijp.  Sac.  Concl.  Propagand.  ch. 
Nov.  1852-3.  Serm.  lii.  c.  1.  in  Nutale  Sane.  Pctri.  This  work  embraces  six 
large  quarto  volumes  of  Fathers  never  before  given  to  the  world. 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  173 

quently,  I  found  him  applying  the  term  to  our 
Lord ;  which  seemed  to  me  very  natural,  in  a  con 
troversy  with  the  Arians,  where  his  object  was  to 
show  that  the  true  doctrine  of  the  divinity  and 
incarnation  of  Christ  lay  at  the  foundation  of  his 
Church.  And  when,,  too,  I  observed  that  the 
Fathers  generally  made  St.  Peter  the  "  rock/'  sim 
ply  because  he  became,  as  Christ's  visible  represen 
tative,  identified  with  Him  as  the  chief  corner 
stone,  and  drew  all  his  power  of  endurance,  and  all 
his  ability  to  sustain  the  Church  from  Christ's  pres 
ence  with.  him.  Hence  the  beautiful  and  striking 
words  of  St.  Leo  :  "  That  which  the  Truth  ordered 
remains ;  and  blessed  Peter  persisting  in  that 
strength  of  the  rock  which  he  received,  has  not 
deserted  the  guidance,  once  undertaken,  of  the 
Church.  For  thus  was  he  set  before  the  rest,  that 
while  he  is  called  the  Rock,  while  he  is  declared 
the  foundation,  while  he  is  appointed  the  door 
keeper  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  while  he  is  ad 
vanced  to  be  judge  of  what  shall  be  bound  and 
what  loosed,  with  the  condition  that  his  sentence 
shall  be  ratified  even  in  heaven,  we  might  learn 
through  the  very  mysteries  of  the  names  given  to 
him,  how  he  was  associated  with  Christ."*  Thus 
—  to  cite,  even  at  the  risk  of  apparent  repetition  of 
an  able  writer  —  St.  Peter  is  termed,  by  St.  Hilary, 
"the  rock  of  the  Church,"  —  by  Tertullian,  "the 
rock  of  the  Church  that  was  to  be  built,"  — by  St. 


*  St.  Leo,  Serm.  3,  "  On  his  anniversary.' 

15* 


174    SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETER 

Basil,  "  underlying  the  building  of  the  Church/' 

—  by  St.   Basil  again,  "  receiving   on  himself  the 
building  of  the  Church,"  —  by  St.    Epiphanius, 
"the  immovable  rock," — by  St.  Augustine,  "the 
rock  which    the    proud    gates  of  hell   prevail   not 
against,"  —  by  Theodoret,  "  the  most  solid  rock," 

—  by  Maximus  of  Turin,  "  he  to  whom  the  Lord 
granted  the  participation  of  His  own  title  the  rock," 

—  by  St.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen,  "  tlie  foundation 
second    from    Christ,"  —  by  Origen,    "  the    great 
foundation  of   the    Church,"  —  by   the    Gallican 
Sacramentary,  "the    foundation  and  basis," — by 
Peter  Chrysologus,  "  founding  the  Church  by  his 
firmness,"  —  by  St.  Ambrose,  "the  support  of  the 
Church,"  —  by  him  again,  "  the  Apostle  in  whom 
is  the  Church's  support,"  —  by   St.   Chrysostom, 
"the  support  of  the  faith,"    -by  St.  Philip,  "the 
pillar  of  the  Church,"  —  and  by  an  authority  suf 
ficient  to  terminate  all  controversy,  the  great  Coun 
cil  of  Chalcedon,  "the  rock  and  foundation  of  the 
Catholic   Church,  and    the  basis  of  the  Orthodox 
Faith."* 

Now,  when  I  discovered  so  unanimous  and  de 
cided  a  voice  among  the  Fathers  of  five  centuries 
after  Christ,  in  favor  of  making  the  "  rock  "  (Matt. 
xvi.  18.)  St.  Peter,  and  ascribing  to  him  the  powers 
couched  under  the  metaphors  of  that  passage ;  and 
when  I  recollected  the  reverence  which  I  had  al 
ways  been  taught  to  accord  to  these  Fathers,  it 

*  For  the  above  references,  see  Passaglia,  p.  400. 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  175 

seemed  to  me  something  worse  than  presumption 
to  withhold  my  concurrence. 

There  is  another  passage,  however,  which,  in  the 
course  of  my  examination,  I  found  great  stress  laid 
upon,  by  these  same  Fathers.  It  is  that  in  which 
St.  Peter  seems  to  be  made  our  Lord's  representa 
tive,  as  chief  pastor  or  shepherd  of  His  flock. 
When  our  Lord,  on  one  occasion  had  been  speak 
ing  of  Himself  "as  the  Good  Shepherd,  giving  His 
life  for  the  sheep,"  he  made  reference  to  the  time, 
after  His  ascension,  when  the  Gentiles  should  be 
brought  into  His  Church,  and  concluded  His  speech 
with  these  remarkable  words,  and  "  there  shall  be 
one  fold  and  one  shepherd."  The  "  fold  "  was  cer 
tainly  to  be  visible.  But  a  visible  fold  would  re 
quire,  in  my  view,  a  visible  shepherd.  Christ, 
however,  had  ascended ;  who,  then,  as  chief  shep 
herd,  was  to  be  His  visible  representative  over  His 
"one"  visible  "fold?" 

The  following  instructions*  of  our  Lord  ap 
peared  to  me  to  answer  this  question : 

"  When,  therefore,  they  had  dined,  Jesus  saith 
to  Simon  Peter,  Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest  thou 
me  more  than  these  1  He  saith  to  Him,  Yea,  Lord, 
Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.  He  saith  to  him, 
feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  to  him  again,  Simon,  son 
of  John,  lovest  thou  me  ?  He  saith  to  Him,  Yea, 
Lord,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.  He  saith 
to  him,  feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  to  him  the  third 

*  St.  John  sxi.  15-17. 


176     SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  PETES, 

time,  Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  me  ?  Peter 
was  grieved  because  He  said  to  him  the  third  time, 
lovest  thou  me  ?  And  he  said  to  Him,  Lord,  Thou 
knowest  all  things ;  Thou  knowest  that  I  love 
Thee.  He  saith  to  him,  Feed  my  SHEEP."  Here, 
to  my  mind,  our  Lord  conferred  upon  St.  Peter 
the  chief  pastorship.  For  he  was  not  only  to  feed 
the  "lambs," — young  Christians  —  but  also  the 
"  sheep,"  all  the  flock  —  ministers  and  people.  Or 
as  St.  Ambrose  expresses  it,  "  that  the  one  more 
perfect  might  govern  the  more  perfect."  —  (Pcr- 
fectores  ut  perfectior  gubernaret.)  Or,  as  our  Lord 
expresses  it :  "  Thou  being  converted  confirm  thy 
brethren."  And  as  the  office  of  chief  pastor  seemed 
to  me  more  than  any  other  to  need  a  double  por 
tion  of  that  ''charity  which  suffereth  long  and  is 
kind ; "  which  could  take  the  lambs  in  its  arms 
and  "  gently  lead  those  that  are  with  young  ;  "  I  saw 
a  peculiar  significance  and  force  in  the  thrice  re 
peated  question  of  our  Lord,  "  Simon,  lovest  thou 
me  ?  "  Lovest  thou  me,  too,  more  than  these,  the 
other  disciples  ?  "  Peter  was  grieved,"  exclaims 
the  holy  Ambrose,  "  because  he  is  asked  the  third 
time,  Lovest  thou  me  ?  For  he  is  questioned,  who 
is  doubted.  The  Lord  does  not  doubt ;  and  He 
inquires,  not  to  learn,  but  to  teach,  (now  that  He 
is  about  to  be  raised  to  heaven)  whom  He  was 
leaving  unto  us,  as  it  were,  the  vicar  of  His  own 
love.  (Amoris  sui  nobis,  vclut  vicarium  relinque- 
bat.)  For  thus  you  have  it,  Simon,  son  of  John, 
lovest  thou  me  ?  Yea,  Lord,  Thou  knowest  that 


FATAL  TO  THE  ANGLICAN  CLAIMS.  177 

I  love  Thee.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my 
sheep. .  .Who  else  could  readily  make  this  profes 
sion  for  himself  ?  And,  therefore,  because  he  alone 
amongst  all  makes  this  profession,  he  is  preferred 
before  all  (Omnibus  antefertur).  For  love  is 
greater  than  all. .  .And  he  is  not  ordered,  as  at 
first,  to  feed  His  lambs ;  nor  His  younger  sheep, 
as  in  the  second,  but  His  sheep,  that  the  one  more 
perfect  may  rule  the  more  perfect." — T.  i.  Expos, 
in  Luc.  1.  x.  n.  175. 

On  looking  further  into  the  Fathers,  therefore,  I 
was  not  surprised  to  find  Tertullian  affirming,  that 
"when  the  chief  direction,  as  regards  the  feeding 
of  the  sheep,  was  delivered  to  Peter,  on  whom,  as 
on  the  earth,  the  Church  is  founded.*  Of  no  other 
virtue  was  the  confession  required  than  that  of 
love." — T.  iv.  lib.  5,  in  Ep.  ad  Rom.  n.  10. 

Also  St.  Cyprian,  saying,  «  Peter  also  to  whom 
the  Lord  commends  His  sheep  to  be  fed  and 
guarded,  on  whom  He  laid  and  founded  the 
Church,f  says  that  gold  and  silver  he  has  none, 
but  declares  that  he  is  rich  in  Christ's  grace." 
Also  St.  Epiphanius,  saying,  "He  (Peter)  heard 
from  that  same  God,  Feed  my  lambs ;  to  him  was 
intrusted  the  flock,  he  leads  the  way  admirably  in 
the  power  of  his  own  Master."  J — T.  ii.  In  Anchor. 


*  Petro  cum  summa  renim  de  pascendis  ovibus  traderetur,  et  super  ipsum 
velut  super  terrain,  fundaretur  ecclesia. 

t  Patrus  etiam  cui  oves  suas  Doniinus  pascendas  tuendas,  que  commendat, 
uper  quern  posuit  et  fundavit  ecclesiam. 
J  O  irsvifftvuivos  TTJV  nui^vTjv  6  KoAwf  SJ/j/wv  iv  rq  dvvapei  TOV  iSio* 


178  SEPARATION  FROM  THE  CHAIR  OF  ST.  FETER,  &C. 

n.  9.  Also  St.  Ambrose,  saying,  "  In  fine,  Peter, 
after  having  been  tempted  by  the  devil,  is  set  over 
the  Church*  The  Lord,  therefore,  foreshadowed 
what  that  was  (Luke  xxii.  31,  3£,)  that  He  after 
wards  chose  him  pastor  of  His  flock.  For  to  him 
He  said,  'Thou,  when  converted,  confirm  thy 
brethren.'  .  .  .  Therefore  did  Christ  also  commit  to 
Peter  to  feed  His  flock,  because  He  knew  his 
fouc."t —  T.  i.  in  Ps.  cxviii.  n.  3. 

Nothing  more,  therefore,  was  needed  to  make  it 
certain  in  my  mind,  that  the  Fathers  understood 
Holy  Scripture,  as  teaching  that  our  blessed  Lord 
invested  St.  Peter  with  a  primacy  or  supremacy  of 
jurisdiction  in  His  Church,  and  made  him  chief 
pastor  thereof,  and  in  such  a  sense  as  that  he  is 
the  source  of  all  visible  authority  and  of  all  visible 
unity  in  the  Church,  and  when  acting  or  teaching 
as  the  Church's  visible  head  and  representative,  is 
to  Christ's  people  an  infallible  guide  to  the  truth. 
Otherwise,  he  could  not  be  made  the  "  foundation 
of  His  Church,"  so  as  that  "  the  gates  of  hell  should 
not  prevail  against  it,"  —  could  not  be  "  set  over 
it,"  so  as  to  loose  it  from  sin,  could  not  "feed  "  it, 
so  as  that  it  shall  be  led  into  all  truth,  and  nour 
ished  up  unto  everlasting  life  ! 

In  truth  I  could  not  see  how  it  should  be  possi 
ble  for  an  honest  Anglican,  who,  as  all  Anglicans 
profess,  took  the  word  of  God  as  interpreted  by 


*  Petrus  ecclesis  pneponitur. 

f  Ante  significat  Dominus  quid  sit  illud,  qund  poptea  eum  Pastorem  elegit 
Dominici  gregis.    T.  i.  in  Ps.  xi.  n,  30. 


PKIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH,  &C.         179 

"the    authority    of   Catholic    tradition,"    to  come 
to  any  other  conclusion  ! 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE  PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  INTERWOVEN  IN  THE  FAITH  AXD 
DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.  A  CON 
TINUANCE  OF  THE  POSITION  OF  THE  FORMER  CHAPTER. 

THAT  110  regular  treatise  on  the  Primacy  of  St. 
Peter,  no  labored  defence  of  his  prerogatives,  should 
be  found  in  the  records  of  the  early  Church,  was 
to  me  no  matter  of  surprise.  A  thing  that  stands 
before  the  world  as  a  fact,  and  is  acknowledged  in 
the  every-day  acts  of  the  Christian,  is  not  likely,  I 
thought,  to  be  drawn  into  dispute,  and  hence  to 
require  explanation  or  defence.  In  a  Christian 
nation,  a  treatise  or  sermon  on  the  Being  of  a  God 
is  generally  considered  out  of  place.  Indeed,  the 
more  notorious  a  truth,  the  less,  in  most  cases,  is 
said  about  it.  To  find,  therefore,  at  this  day,  a 
labored  attempt  professedly  on  the  part  of  some 
Fathers  of  the  first  centuries  to  prove  or  justify  the 
papal  supremacy,  would,  to  my  mind,  be  rather 
a  suspicious  circumstance.  The  want,  therefore, 
of  very  abundant  documentary  proof,  sometimes 
pleaded  against  the  claim,  I  could  only  regard  as 
favorable  to  it ;  just  as  I  had,  all  my  life,  in  regard 
to  the  claims  of  episcopacy,  or  of  any  thing  else 
in  the  Church  which  stood  before  it  as  a  fact,  or 


180        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

entered  into  its  order  and  discipline.  I  felt,  too., 
that  tliis  position  is  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that 
for  three  centuries  at  least  after  Christ,  almost  un 
ceasing  persecution  would  necessarily  have  the 
effect,  as  I  have  mentioned  above,  to  make  records 
of  all  Christian  facts  and  truths  exceedingly  rare. 

Notwithstanding  this,  however,  I  found  that  the 
Church  is  in  possession  of  just  such  proof  of  the 
primacy  of  St.  Peter  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
time  might  be  expected  to  furnish — proof  so 
woven  into  her  very  being,  as  to  be  given  out,  here 
and  there,  as  she  moves  along  in  the  fulfilment  of 
her  holy  office,  through  the  generations  of  men. 
We  trace  her  progress  through  the  days  of  dark 
ness  and  blood,  and  always  find  the  distinct  foot 
prints  of  her  spiritual  guide  —  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter. 

A  few  of  these  only,  in  comparison  with  the 
multitude  that  were  opened  to  my  view  when  ex 
amining  the  question,  can  I  now  submit  to  my  old 
friends,  at  the  same  time  referring  them  to  the  mas 
terly  work  of  Father  Passaglia,  the  substance  of 
which  has  recently  been  presented  in  an  English 
dress,  with  some  strong  additional  points,  by  Mr. 
Allies,  in  his  book  entitled  ST.  PETER,  His  NAME 
AND  OFFICES. 

Already  have  I  exhibited  to  you  a  sufficient  ab 
stract  of  the  scriptural  basis  as  understood  by  the 
Fathers,  on  which  I  perceived  the  claims  of  the  See 
of  St.  Peter  to  rest  with  all  reasonable  security. 
The  final  question  is,  are  these  claims  good  in  all 


DISCIPLINE  OI<   PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.      181 

ages,  and  was  the  English  Church  committed  to 
them  in  the  beginning,  and  did  it  continue  to  be  up 
to  the  Reformation  ? 

1.  In  the  first  place,  the  grounds  on  which  the 
Fathers  urge  these  claims  made  them  necessary,  in 
my  view,  for  all  Christians  during  all  time.  I 
shall  select  the  one  which  was  irresistible  with  my 
self,  —The  preservation  of  Unity  in  the  Church, 
and  the  perpetuation  of  its  blessings.  This  unity 
I  found  to  be  tivofold,  or,  like  all  sacraments,  to 
consist  of  two  parts,  "  an  outward  visible  sign  and 
an  inward  spiritual  grace,"  the  first  part  being  in 
strumental  to  the  second.  Now  the  "  inward  spir 
itual  grace"  of  unity  is  made  to  depend  solely 
upon  Christ  the  Head  of  the  Church,  "  which  is 
His  body."  Through  His  Incarnation,  I  was 
taught,  by  His  Word  and  by  His  Church,  that  He 
linked  Himself  to  our  nature.  So  that  when  we 
arc  baptized  into  Him,  we  become  new  creatures 
in  Him,  are  "  ingrafted  into  Him  as  the  branch  is 
ingrafted  into  the  vine,"  are  all  "  made  partakers 
of  His  One  Spirit."  *  Now,  as  our  Spiritual  Head, 
—  the  Divine  Source  of  Unity,  —  Christ  is  to  main 
tain  His  relation  to  us  '.  o  the  end  of  the  world. 
For  this  He  has  promised,  "  Lo,  /  am  with  you  all 
days."  But  to  fulfil  this  promise  of  invisible  com 
munion  with  us,  He  appointed  a  visible  instru 
mentality  to  act  in  His  "  stead."  "  A  single  Priest 
hood,"  as  said  a  holy  Father  f  fifteen  hundred  and 

*  See  Passaglia  and  Allies  on  this  point. 
f  Symniachus,  Bishop  of  Rome. 

10 


182        PRIMACY  OF  ST,  PETER  IX  FAITH  AND 

fifty  years  ago,  "whose  power  is  one  and  indivisi 
ble."  For  although  "He  gave  some  apostles,  some 
prophets,  some  evangelists,  some  pastors  and  doc 
tors,"  yet  it  was  by  perfect  oneness  of  action  to 
effect  one  great  purpose,  viz.,  "  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ,  till  we  all  meet  into  the  unity  of 

faith unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure 

of  the  age  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.  That  hence 
forth  we  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine. 
But  doing  the  truth  in  charity,  we  may  in  all  things 
grow  up  in  Him  who  is  the  head,  even  Christ." 

I  saw  at  a  glance,  therefore,  how  vital  to  each 
individual  soul  was  the  unity  of  the  Church  —  and 
hence  how  deeply  each  soul,  even  to  the  end  of 
time,  must  be  concerned  in  the  preservation  of  this 
unity.  For  I  saw  it  consisted,  not  merely  in  an 
absence  of  outward  commotion  —  in  a  quiet  state 
of  things,  011  the  principle  of  "  agreeing  to  differ ;  " 
but  that  it  consisted  in  being  of  "one  heart  and 
one  mind,"  not  merely  in  speaking  the  same  things, 
but  in  being  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same 
judgment,  thus  constituting  a  fellowship,  called  by 
the  Church  "the  Communion  of  Saints."  Now  to 
insure  this,  I  perceived  that  it  was  all  made  to 
spring  from  one  fountain  head  —  CHRIST  JESUS. 
But  this,  being  invisible,  was  not  enough  for  a  vis 
ible  Church.  Hence,  after  Christ's  ascension,  the 
continuance  of  a  visible  centre  of  unity,  not  only 
seemed  necessary  to  bind  us  to  "  the  one  Lord,  one 
Faith,  one  baptism,"  but  also  actually  appeared,  as 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.     183 

1  found,  by  the  institution  of  Christ  and  testimony 
of  His  Church,  in  the  person  first,  and  then  the 
See  of  St.  Peter.  1st.  He  was  identified  with  The 
One  Lord.  "  We  learn,"  says  St.  Leo,  "  through 
the  very  mysteries  of  the  names  given  him,  how  he 
was  associated  with  Christ." 

"The  blessed  Peter  ceases  not  to  preside  over 
his  own  See,  and  he  enjoys  a  never-ceasing  fellow 
ship  with  the  everlasting  priest  (Christ)." 

"He,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "who  would  have 
part  with  Christ,  must  be  in  communion  with  Pe 
ter."  (Communicet  Petro  qui  vult  par  tern  habere 
cum  Christo.) — Tom.  vi.p.  546,  Card.  Mains.  Ed. 
These  are  the  last  words  of  the  sermon,  according 
to  the  Vatican  Manuscript.  , 

Hence  St.  Cyprian,  as  we  have  seen,  says,  that 
the  first  reason  why  our  Lord  built  the  Church  on 
Peter,  was  to  show  whence  He  had  "  appointed 
unity  to  spring."  Or,  as  he  says  again,  "  For  an 
original  and  principle  of  unity,  "f  Or,  as  St.  Op- 
tatus  says  a  little  after,  "  It  is  well  known  that  St. 
Peter  established  the  chair  at  Rome,  and  the  chair 
is  one,  that  so  all  might  preserve  unity  by  union 
with  it,  that  whosoever  should  establish  another 
should  be  considered  a  schismatic  and  a  transgress 
or."  J  If  St.  Peter,  therefore,  be  so  identified 


*  Reference  already  given. 

|  "  Una  ecclesia  a  Christo  Domino  super  Petrum  origine  unitatis  et  ratione 
fundata." 

J  Igitur  negare  non  potes,  scire  te  in  urbe  Roma  Petro  primo  cathedram 
Episcopalam  esse  collatam  in  quasederit  omnium  apustolorum  cap ut  Pctnis, 
unde  et  Cephas  appellatus  eat;  in  qua  una  cathedra  unitas  ab  omnibus  ser 


184        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

with  the  presence  of  our  Lord  on  earth  as  to  be  the 
spring  or  necessary  centre  of  our  union  with  Him, 
in  the  time  of  St.  Cyprian  and  St.  Optatus,  upon 
what  ground,  I  asked  myself,  can  we  safely  sup 
pose  that  he  will  not  continue  to  be  this  spring  or 
centre  to  "the  consummation  of  the  world  ?  "  2. 
Again,  St.  Peter  I  found  identified  with  "  the  one 
Faith"  So  that  all  who  would  have  evidence  of 
holding  that  "  one  Faith/'  must  be  in  communion 
with  him.  "Hence/'  declares  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon,  "  he  (St.  Peter)  is  the  BASIS  of  the  Or 
thodox  Faith."  And  Tertullian:  "The  chief  au 
thority  as  regards  the  feeding  of  the  flock  was  de 
livered  to  Peter."  And  St.  Cyprian:  "To  him 
(Peter)  He  (Christ)  assigns  His  sheep  to  be  fed" 
And  St.  Epiphanius :  "  He  (Peter)  was  aided  by 
the  Father,  so  as  to  be  the  foundation  of  the  secu 
rity  of  the  Faith* To  him  was  intrusted  the 

flock"  "  For  in  every  way/'  continues  he,  "  was 
the  Faith  confirmed  in  him  who  received  the  keys 
of  heaven."  And  again :  "  He  became  unto  us 
truly  a  firm  rock,  upon  which  is  based  the  Faith 
of  the  Lord."  And  St.  Ambrose  :  "  He  (Peter) 
was  chosen  as  tf/zeTastor  of  the  Lord's  flock.  For 
to  him  He  said,  'When  thou  art  converted,  con 
firm  thy  brethren.' '  And  again :  "  Peter  was,  by 
the  judgment  of  the  Lord  Himself,  chosen  to  feed 


varetur ;  nee  ceteri  apostoli  singulas  sibi  quisque  defenderent ;  et  jam  schis- 
maticus  et  peccator  esset,  qui  contra  singularem  cathedram  alteram  colloca- 
ret.  — De  Schism.  Donat.  1.  ii.  n.  2. 

*  O  Si  -rrapa  rdv  Trarpos  ttyeXeiro,  rriv  dvipaXciav  rfjs  Tiore 
T.  ii.  in  auct.  n.  9. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CUTJECII.      185 

the  flock,  who  merited  to  hear  a  third  time,  '  Feed 
my  lambs,  feed  my  lambs,  feed  my  sheep.' ':  And 
St.  Chrysostom  :  "  Peter,  the  mouth  of  the  disci 
ples,  the  pillar  of  the  Church,  the  buttress  of  the 
Faith."— T.  iii.  Horn,  de  Dec.  Mill  Talent,  n.  3. 
I  was  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  hear  St.  Irreneus 
declare  :  "  To  this  Church  (the  Roman)  on  account 
of  a  more  powerful  principality  (or  spiritual  juris 
diction),  it  is  necessary  that  every  Church,  that  is, 
those  who  are,  on  every  side,  faithful,  resort,  (be 
cause)  in  that  Church has  been  preserved 

that  tradition  which  is  from  the  Apostles."*  Not 
surprised  to  hear  St.  Cyprian  exclaim,  after  he  had 
declared,  that  our  Lord,  "in.  order  to  manifest 
unity,  has  by  His  own  authority  so  placed  the  ori 
gin  of  that  same  unity,  as  that  it  begins  from  ONE 
(St.  Peter)."  —  "He  who  holds  not  this  unity  of 
the  Church,  does  he  think  that  he  holds  the  Faith  ? 
He  who  strives  against,  and  resists  the  Church,  he 
wrho  abandons  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  upon  whom 
the  Church  was  founded,  does  he  feel  confident 
that  he  is  in  the  Church  ?  "  —  De  Unitate.  Bened. 
Edition. 

Thus  it  appeared  to  me  that  the  Fathers  regarded 
the  transmission  of  the  authority  of  the  See  of  St. 
Peter  as  identical  with  the  preservation  of  the  true 
Faith.  So  that,  to  ascertain  who  is  in  possession 


*  Ad  hanc  enim  ecclesiam  propter  potentiorcm  principalitatem  necesse  est 
omnem  convcnire  ecclesiam,  hoc  est,  eos  qui  s-.nit  untlique  fideles,  in  qua 
semper  ab  his,  qui  stint  undique,  conservata  est  qua;  est  ab  apostolis  traditio. 
-AtLv.  Ilarcs.  1.  iii.,  c.  3.  n.  2. 

16* 


186        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

of  that  Faith,  it  was  only  needful  to  inquire  who 
is  in  fellowship  with  the  Apostolic  See. 

As  a  new  testimony  to  this  view,  I  here  give  a 
passage  from  St.  Augustine,  found  in  Sermon  cxx. 
c.  13,  published  for  the  first  time  by  Cardinal 
Maius,  in  1852:  "Do  not  suppose  that  you  hold 
to  the  true  Catholic  Faith,  unless  you  hold  that 
Faith  which  is  preserved  at  Rome."  Non  crederis 
veram  fidem  tenere  Catholics,  qui  fidem  non  doces 
esse  Servandam  Romanam. 

In  this  striking  testimony  of  the  great  Augustine 
as  to  the  necessity  of  adhering  to  the  Faith  of 
Rome,  in  order  to  be  distinguished  from  heretics 
and  schismatics,  he  has  only  handed  down  the 
mark  of  a  Catholic,  given  by  his  spiritual  father, 
St.  Ambrose,  who,  lib.  i.  47,  speaking  of  the  true 
test  of  the  orthodoxy  of  a  person,  inquires, 
"  "whether  it  is  not  he  who  is  in  communion  with 
the  Catholic  bishops,  that  is,  with  the  Church  of 
Rome"  Utrumnam  cum  Episcopis  Catholicis,  hoc 
est,  eum  Romana  ecclesia  convcmret."  —  See  Card. 
Mains.  Note  to  the  above  citation  from  St.  Au 
gustine. 

Again,  3.  St.  Peter  I  found  identified  with 
"the  one  baptism,"  or  with  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
in  the  Church  in  whatever  Sacrament.  Thus  in 
Tertullian,  "  Thinkest  thou  heaven  is  still  closed  ? 
Remember  the  Lord  left  here  the  keys  thereof  to 
Peter,  and  through  him  to  the  Church."*  Thus 

*  Memento  claves  ejsis  hie  Dominum  Petro,et  per  eum,  ecclesia;  reliquisse. 
Scorpiocc,  n.  x.     It  was  manifest  to  my  mind  that  both  this  Father  and  the 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.     187 

in  St.  Cyprian :  "  Whither  shall  he  come  that 
thirsteth  ?  To  heretics  ?  or  to  the  Church  ?  which 
is  one,  and  was  by  the  voice  of  the  Lord  founded 
on  one,  who  also  received  the  keys  thereof.  She 
it  is  that  alone  holds  and  possesses  the  whole  power 
of  her  Spouse  and  Lord."  —  Ep.  Ixiii.  ad  Jubaian. 
..."  There  is  one  baptism,  and  one  Holy  Ghost, 
and  one  Church,  founded  by  Christ  our  Lord  upon 
Peter,  for  an  original  and  principle  of  unity."  —  Ep. 
Ixx.  ad  Januar.  ..."  First,  to  Peter  the  Lord  gave 
this  power,  that  that  should  be  loosed  in  heaven 
which  he  should  have  loosed  on  earth."  —  Ep.  Ixxiii. 
ad  Jub.  Thus  in  Firmilian  :  "  But  how  great  his 
error,  how  exceeding  his  blindness,  who  says  re 
mission  of  sins  can  be  given  in.  the  synagogues  of 
heretics,  not  abiding  on  the  foundation  of  the  one 
Church  which  was  once  established  by  Christ  on  a 
rock, — may  hence  be  understood,  that  to  Peter 
alone  Christ  said,  f  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on 
earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven ;  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.' ' 
—  Inter  Ep.  S.  Cyp.  Ep.  Ixxv.  Thus,  too,  in  St. 
Hilary,  speaking  of  St.  Peter :  ft  A  blessed  keeper 
of  the  gate  of  heaven,  to  whose  disposal  are  deliv 
ered  the  keys  of  the  entrance  into  eternity  ;  whose 
judgment  on  earth  is  an  authority  prejudged  in 
heaven,  so  that  the  things  that  are  either  loosed  or 
Dound  on  earth,  acquire  in  heaven  too  a  like  state 


Fathers  generally,  held,  that  from  St.  Peter,  as  the  visible  fountain,  the  power 
of"  binding  and  loosing"  was  dispensed  to  one  other  disciple,  and  is  now  to 
all  the  Priesthood  in  communion  with  him. 


188        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

of  settlement !  "  *  Tims,  in  St  Ephroem  :  "  We 
hail  thee,  Peter,  the  tongue  of  the  Apostles,  the 
voice  of  the  heralds,  the  eye  of  the  Apostles,  the 
keeper  of  heaven,  the  first  born  of  those  ivho  bear 
the  keys"  T.  iii.  Gr.  in  SS.  Apost.  Thus  find 
ing  St.  Peter  the  visible  source  of  those  gifts  in 
the  Church  which  are  necessary  to  all  men  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  necessary  to  make  them  par 
takers  in  "  the  communion  of  Saints,"  I  could  not 
doubt  the  indispensable  importance  to  myself  and 
to  all  Christians,  of  union  with  the  Holy  See ! 

2.  But  I  discovered  further,  that  the  fact  of  the 
transmission  of  the  power  of  that  See  from  St. 
Peter  to  his  successors  is  insisted  on  by  the  early 
Fathers.  Though  convinced  of  its  necessary  per 
petuity  from  its  very  character  and  declared  pur 
pose,  I  found  my  convictions  strengthened  by  the 
value  put  upon  it  by  the  primitive  Church. 

After  having  asserted  the  necessity  in  his  day  of 
all  churches  being  in  communion  with  the  Church 
of  Home,  and  having  traced  the  Roman  succession 
of  bishops,  St.  Irenceus  declares  :  "  By  this  order 
and  by  this  succession,  both  that  tradition  which  is 
in  the  Church  from  the  Apostles,  and  the  preach 
ing  of  the  truth,  have  come,  doivn  to  us" 

But  as  I  was  thus  pursuing  my  search  into  the 
testimony  of  the  Fathers,  a  book  was  put  into  my 
hand,  entitled  Theophilus  Amcricanus ,  which  I 

*  O  beatus  cceli  janitor  cnjns,  arbitvio  drives  rnterni  aditus  traduntur,  r-ijus 
terrestve  jiidiciuiu  pntvjudicata  anctoritas  sit  in  cculo ;  ut  qua?  in  terris  aut 
ligata  sint  aut  soluta,  statute  ejusdem  conditionem  obtineaut  et  in  ccelo. — 
Coin,  in  St.  Matt.  c.  xvi.  n.  7. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.    189 

found  to  be  a  republication  by  an  able  American 
Jurist  of  a  work  entitled  Theophilus  Anglicanus,  by 
"CnR.  WORDSWORTH,  D.  D.,  CANON  OF  WEST 
MINSTER,  &c.,  designed  for  the  Instruction  of 
tlie  Young  Student  concerning  the  Church."  I  at 
once  turned  to  the  chapter  "  The  Bishop  of  Rome 
no  Supremacy,  spiritual  or  temporal,  in  the 
Realms,"  and  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  read 
on  page  295  the  following  statement :  "  And  to  de 
scend  to  St.  Peter's  successors,  it  is  certain  also  that 
St.  Polycarp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  Jcnew  no-thing  of 
such  supremacy  in  Pope  Aiiicetas  ;  that  Polycrates, 
Bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  the  Synod  of  Asiatic  bish 
ops,  and  St.  Irenseus,  Bishop  of  Lyons,  and  the 
Council  assembled  in  that  city,  knew  nothing  of 
such  supremacy  in  Pope  Victor  ;  that  St.  Cyprian, 
Bishop  of  Carthage,  and  the  African  Bishops,  knew 
nothing  of  it  in  -Pope  Stephanus ;  that  St.  Augus 
tine  and  the  bishops  of  Africa  knew  nothing  of  it 
in  Popes  Zosimus  and  Boniface  ;  and  that  the 

BlSHOPS    OF    EOME    THEMSELVES,  for    SIX    HUNDRED 

YEARS,  were  so  far  from  knowing  any  thing  of  such 
supremacy  as  residing  in  themselves  or  in  any  one 
else,  that  Pope  Gregory  the  First  denounced  the 
title  universal  Bishop  as  arrogant,  wicked,  schis- 
matical,  blasphemous,  and  anti-Christian."  I  say 
I  was  not  a  little  surprised  at  this  statement,  as  my 
impressions,  from  a  general  view  of  the  Fathers, 
were  totally  different.  Still  the  source,  both  in 
England  and  America,  from  which  the  statement 
proceeded,  was  too  respectable  not  to  claim  my 


190        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

serious  attention.  Humbly,  and  with,  prayerful 
desires  to  know  the  truth,  I  applied  to  it  such  at 
tention  j  I  now  submit  the  results  to  the  candid 
judgment  of  my  old  friends,  Before  I  proceed, 
however,  I  must  say  that  I  felt  bound  at  the  time 
to  settle  in  my  mind  a  distinction  insisted  on  by 
the  learned  author,  between  Supremacy  and  Prima 
cy.  And  here  the  task  was  not  difficult,  inas 
much  as  it  seemed  to  me  to  matter  little  by  what 
name  you  characterize  a  power  or  dignity,  which 
gives,  by  divine  institution,  to  its  possessor  univer 
sal  jurisdiction,  as  in  the  case  of  St.  Peter  and  his 
successors,  and  makes  individual  submission  to  it 
necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of 
Christ's  kingdom.  You  may  call  that  Apostle  Pri 
mus  inter  pares,  or  Summits  supra  inferior  cs,  or  any 
thing  else,  if  you  only  make  him  what  Christ  made 
him  and  the  Fathers  ascribed  to  him,  the  founda 
tion  of  the  Church,  and  the  ever-living  visible  head 
to  which  all  must  be  united,  who  would  live  unto 
Christ,  and  be  found  in  Him  when  He  comes  to 
judge  the  world. 

And  now  for  the  statement  of  Dr.  Wordsworth  : 
What  first  struck  me  was  the  positiveness  which 
characterized  this  statement,  "  It  is  certain,"  says 
he,  and  that,  too,  in  regard  to  a  negative  thing 
"  It  is  certain  "  that  St.  Polycarp  and  the  others 
named  "  'knew  nothing"  of  the  supremacy.  Now, 
I  had  been  led  to  suppose  that,  taking  the  small 
number  of  documents  of  that  early  age,  Church 
historians  did  not  regard  the  absence  of  proof  in 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH      191 

any  particular  case,  on  a  particular  point,  as  mak 
ing  it  "  certain  "  that  that  point  was  not  true,  pro 
vided  it  had  in  its  favor  the  general  current  of 
testimony  !  Hence  I  could  see  no  reason  why,  if  the 
cases  of  St.  Polycarp,  Irenseus,  and  some  others 
stood  alone,  there  should  be  "  uncertainty  "  in  re 
gard  to  them.  But  when  I  found  them  linked  with 
other  cases,  yea,  the  principle  that  seemed  to  govern 
them,  prominent  and  uniform  in  its  operation 
throughout  the  Catholic  Church  of  that  early  time,  I 
felt  that  there  was  a  very  high  degree  of  probability, 
if  not  certainty,  that  Dr.  Wordsworth  is  in  error. 
1.  The  case  of  St.  Polycarp  and  St.  Irenaeus. 
And  here,  I  hope,  I  may  be  allowed  the  remark, 
that  the  question  with  me  was  not,  whether  St. 
Polycarp,  St.  Irenseus,  and  the  others  believed  in 
the  infallibility,  under  all  circumstances,  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  (for  this  I  felt  confident  that  no 
Catholic  holds,)  but  it  was  whether  they  acknowl 
edged  the  supremacy  of  his  jurisdiction !  *  I 


*  "Here  let  us  observe,"  says  Cardinal  Wiseman,  "  what  is  meant  by 
obeying  whatever  he  (the  Pope)  shall  teach  or  appoint.  It  is  not  to  be  under 
stood  that  we  believe,  by  any  means,  that  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  create  any 
new  doctrine  for  the  Church,  or  appoint  any  thing  to  be  believed  which  was 
not  believed  before  ;  not  even  that,  according  to  the  universally  received  doc 
trine  of  the  Church,  he  has  the  power  of  pronouncing  infallibly  upon  what  is 
believed  in  the  Church;  but  simply  that  it  is  his  duty,  the  moment  an  error 
arises,  to  investigate  and  examine  what  is  the  belief  of  the  Church  upon  the 
point,  to  give  an  answer  regarding  it,  and,  according  to  the  dogma  of  tlw 
Church,  if  the  whole  of  the  Church  —  the  bishops  constituting  it  —  should 
accede  to  that  decision,  the  decision  is  considered  necessarily  as  the  voice  of 
the  Church,  and  consequently  the  infallible  teaching  of  God.  But,  as  I  ob- 
serv?d  before,  it  can  only  be  as  to  a  matter,  whether  such  doctrine  hath  always 
been  taught,  and  whether  it  is  actually  taught  through  the  universal  Church,  that 
this  inquiry  is  directed  ;  the  power  is  never  exercised  for  the  creation  of  a  single 
new  opinion,  for  imposing  upon  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  one  single  new  doctritta 


192          PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETEIl  IN  FAITH  AND 

hardly  need  say  that  the  question  which  disturbed 
the  peace  of  the  Church  at  the  time  was  simply 
one  of  usage,  which  related  to  the  time  of  keeping 
Easter.  In  regard  to  this  question,  Pope  Anicetus 
had  made  some  demands  upon  the  Churches  of  the 
East,  and  enforced  them  by  a  threat  of  excommu 
nication,  and  also  Pope  Victor.  Now,  to  me,  it  ap 
peared  reasonable  that  if  these  Churches  denied 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  See  of  Rome,  that,  instead  of 
endeavors  to  change  the  judgment  of  that  See, 
they  would  have  questioned  its  authority  to  judge 
—  would  have  charged  it  with  usurpation.  When, 
therefore,  I  discovered  that  both  St.  Polycarp  and 
St.  Irenaeus  repaired  to  the  Eoman  See  *  as  to  the 


which  has  not,  till  then,  teen  universally  received." —  Wiseman's  Lectures  on  Doc 
trines,  Sfc.,  p.  168. 

In  reference  to  the  question  of  the  source  of  infallibility  in  the  Catholic 
Church,  about  which  some  difference  of  opinion,  I  believe,  has  existed,  I  found 
advantage  was  taken  of  it  to  meet  the  charge  of  disagreements  among  Protes 
tants, —  as  if  the  character  or  effect  of  the  differences  was  in  each  case  alike  ! 
Now  the  differences  among  Protestants  pertain  to  the  most  vital  articles  of 
faith,  and  produce  the  most  radical  disagreements  in  religious  practice  ;  while 
the  differences  among  Catholics,  particularly  the  one  about  the  exact  source 
of  infallibility  in  the  Church,  are  matters  of  mere  opinion,  which  are  looked 
upon  as  indifferent  in  their  character,  and  as  having  no  effect  upon  religious 
practice.  For  example,  take  the  difference  of  opinion  about  the  exact  source 
of  infallibility;  and  what  evil  proceeds  from  it?  For  what  possible  effect 
upon  the  doctrine  of  infallibility  can  be  produced  by  a  difference  of  opinion 
merely  about  its  source  ?  Test  it  by  an  example.  A  law  of  the  United  States, 
to  be  binding,  must  proceed  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Senate 
and  the  President  of  the  Union  acting  respectively  in  their  proper  capacity. 
Now  there  have  been  discussions  among  the  people  as  to  the  real  source  of 
the  law-making  power,  showing  a  difference  of  opinion.  But  did  any  one 
ever  suppose  that  such  difference  took  from  the  value  of  the  law,  either  by 
obscuring  its  meaning  or  weakening  its  sanctions?  It  struck  me,  therefore, 
as  wholly  illogical  to  cite  unimportant  differences  as  an  offset  to  the  most 
vital  ones ! 

*  E'uscbius,  Id.  E.  V.  C.  xxiv.  Also  Ircnaus,  t.  i.  In  regard  to  the  journey 
of  St.  Irenoms,  see  St.  Jerome. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.      193 

rightful  authority,  and  while  they  expostulated 
with  the  Pope,  on  the  ground  of  expediency,  they 
never  so  much  as  intimated  a  doubt  of  his  jurisdic 
tion  ;  and  when,  further,  I  observed  that  the 
Churches  who  felt  themselves  aggrieved  actually 
assembled  in  council  at  the  bidding  of  the  Pope, 
and  that,  in  the  case  of  Pope  Victor,  St.  Irenaeus 
entreated  him  to  withhold  from  the  Churches  the 
evil  of  excommunication,  not  on  the  ground  that  he 
had  no  right  to  proceed  to  this  extremity  .  —  which 
in  their  exasperated  state  was  the  ground  which 
would  certainly  have  been  urged,  if  tenable  —  but 
simply  on  the  ground  of  condescending  charity. 
Seeing  they  persisted  in  their  practice,  not  out  of 
self-will,  but  of  attachment  to  ancient  usage,*  I 
could  not  help  the  conviction,  that  instead  of  its 
being  "certain"  that  they  knew  nothing  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  See  of  Rome,  they  furnished  the 
best  circumstantial  proof  that  they  acknowledged 
it.  When,  in  addition,  I  reflected  upon  the  strong 
passage  cited  above,  in  which  St.  Irenaeus  urges 
upon  all  Churches  the  necessity  of  resorting  to 
Rome  because  of  its  superior  jurisdiction,  I  felt 
how  different  are  the  facts  of  history  from  the 
assertions  of  prejudiced  and  self-confident  minds! 
£.  But  I  was  invited  on  to  the  case  of  St  Cyprian. 
And  here  I  felt  myself  at  home.  This  Father  had 
been  my  favorite  study  for  years,  and  had  already 


yt\ir)v  /?urrop«   -npoffTjicdvTos   wj   A"?   diroK6irrot    #Aaj   £KK\r]aiaa8£al 
eOovg  KapdSotnv  inimpovoas  n'Xsiaa  Zrepa  irafaivei.    Euseb,  H.  B» 

17 


194:          PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

imparted  to  my  mind  new,  and  at  the  time  dis 
quieting,  ideas  of  the  powers  of  the  Holy  See. 
And  whoever  will  turn  back  and  contemplate,  in  a 
spirit  of  candor,  the  passages  cited  in  a  former 
chapter,  on  this  point,  must,  I  have  the  presump 
tion  to  think,  be  convinced  that  these  ideas  were 
not  altogether  baseless.  Still  I  was  willing  and 
anxious  for  the  sake  of  truth  to  reconsider  the  tes 
timony  of  this  Father.  A  particular  instance  had 
been  adduced  by  Dr.  Wordsworth  ;  and  I  was  led 
to  examine  whether  it  could,  by  any  possibility,  be 
so  tortured  even  as  to  bear  witness  against  those 
prerogatives  which  certainly,  on  all  other  occasions, 
the  saint  had  so  boldly  asserted.  ,  But  before  pro 
ceeding,  I  felt  bound  to  record  my  protest  against 
the  logic  which  would  make  a  doubtful  action  in  a 
man's  life  reverse  the  plain  intention  of  all  other 
actions  of  it ;  while  common  sense  all  the  while 
was  requiring  the  application  of  the  exactly  oppo 
site  rule. 

Dr.  Wordsworth  says  St.  Cyprian  "  knew  noth 
ing  of  supremacy  in  Pope  Stephanus."  Let  us 
see  what  in  all  honesty  are  the  facts  of  the  case. 
To  arrive  at  these  facts,  I  thought  it  right  first  to 
consider  what  he  said  in  other  cases. 

In  a  letter  to  Antonianus  concerning  Pope  Corne 
lius,  he  employs  at  the  beginning  such  language  as 
this  :  "  You  wrote  that  I  should  transmit  a  copy  of 
the  same  letter  to  our  colleague  Cornelius,  that, 
having  been  relieved  of  anxiety,  he  might  at  length 
know  that  you  communicate  with  him,  that  is,  with 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.    195 

the  Catholic  Church,"  *  An  expression  which  will 
be  readily  understood  by  those  who  have  attended 
to  the  repeated  declarations  of  this  saint,  making 
the  chair  of  St.  Peter  not  only  the  source  of  au 
thority  in  the  Catholic  Church,  but  also  her  repre 
sentative.  For  example,  in  his  letter  to  Cornelius 
himself  he  says,  "Peter,  on  whom  the  Church 
had  been  built  by  the  Lord  Himself, f  one  speaking 
for  all,  and  replying  with  the  voice  of  the  Church, 
exclaims,  <  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  '  "  Again, 
in  the  same  letter  to  Antonianus,  he  makes  the 
following  reference  to  Pope  Fabian,  the  predeces 
sor  of  Cornelius.  Speaking  of  the  election  of  the 
latter  to  the  See  of  Koine,  he  says  it  occurred 
"  when  the  place  of  Fabian,  that  is,  when  the  place 
of  Peter,  and  the  rank  of  the  sacerdotal  chair, 
was  vacant."  J  And  again,  in  his  letter  to  Pope 
Cornelius,  he  says,  "Moreover,  after  all  this,  a 
pseudo-bishop  having  been  set  up  for  themselves 
by  heretics,  they  dare  to  sail  and  carry  letters 
from  schismatics  and  profane  persons  to  the  chair 
of  Peter,  and  to  the  chief  Church,  where  the  unity 
of  the  Priesthood  has  begun."  §  It  seemed  to  me 
clear  from  these  incidental  (and  on  that  account 
more  forcible)  allusions  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter, 


*  Ad  Cornelium  collegiam  nostrum  transmitterem  ut  deposita  omni  solici- 
tudine  jam  sciret  te  secum,  hoc  est,  cum  catholica  ecclesia  communicare.  Ep. 
L.  ii.  p.  147. 

t  Petrus  super  quern,  &c.    Ep.  LV.  as  before  cited. 

t  Cum  Fabiani  locus,  id  est,  cum  locus  Petri  et  gradus  Cathedrae  sacerdo- 
talis  vacaret.  Ep.  LII.  ad  Antoni.  p.  150. 

$  Ad  Petri  Cathedram,  atque  ad  ecclesiam  principalem,imde  unitas  sacer 
dotalis  exorta  est.  —  Ep.  LV.  p.  182-3. 


196          PKIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IK  FAITH  AND 

as  in  Cyprian's  day,  holding  a  peculiar  sacerdotal 
rank,  and  being  the  fountain  of  "  the  unity  of  the 
priesthood,"  that  this  sainted  martyr  regarded  the 
Popes  of  Rome  as  having  by  divine  right  a  certain 
jurisdiction  over  all  other  bishops,  which  all  other 
bishops  were  bound  to  concede.  But  the  case  of 
Pope  Stephen  was  urged  by  Dr.  Wordsworth  with 
a  view  manifestly  to  cast  discredit  upon  St.  Cyp 
rian's  testimony  in  other  cases,  or  in  reference  to 
the  question  generally.  The  case,  as  represented, 
was  one  of  disagreement  between  this  saint  and 
that  Pope  on  the  subject  of  the  baptism  of  here 
tics.  That  such  disagreement  existed  between  Pope 
Stephen  and  some  of  the  African  bishops  I  knew  to 
be  certain  ;  but  how  far  St.  Cyprian  was  involved 
in  it  I  found  to  be  exceedingly  doubtful.  The  fol 
lowing  is  a  description  of  it  by  St.  Vincent  Lirens, 
whose  authority  is  unquestionable  with  the  Church 
of  England.  He  was  speaking  of  the  zeal  of  the 
Apostolic  See  in  resisting  novelties,  and  continues 
thus  :  "  Not  to  be  tedious,  we  shall  select  one  in 
stance,  and  this  especially  from  the  Apostolic  See, 
that  all  may  see  more  clearly  than  in  meridian 
light  with  what  energy,  with  what  zeal,  with  what 
perseverance  the  blessed  successors  (beata  successio) 
of  the  holy  Apostles  have  always  defended  the 
integrity  of  religion  as  it  was  originally  delivered. 
Formerly,  then,  Agriphinus,  bishop  of  Carthage, 
a  man  whose  memory  is  venerable,  was  the  first  to 
maintain  that  baptism  should  be  repeated,  in  op 
position  to  the  divine  canon,  to  the  rule  of  the 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.     197 

Universal  Church,  to  the  judgment  of  all  his  fellow- 
priests,  to  the  custom  and  decrees  of  his  predeces 
sors  ;  which  presumption  was  the  cause  of  much 
evil,  that  it  not  only  gave  all  heretics  a  form  of 
sacrilege,  but  even  gave  occasion  of  error  to  some 
Catholics.  When,  therefore,  all  cried  out  from  all 
quarters  against  the  novelty,  and  all  priests  in 
every  place  struggled  against  it,  each  according  to 
his  zeal,  Pope  Stephen,  of  blessed  memory,  who  at 
that  time  was  prelate  of  the  Apostolic  See,  in  con 
junction,  indeed,  with  his  colleagues,  but  yet  more 
than  his  colleagues,  resisted,  thinking  it  fit,  as  1 
suppose,  that  he  should  surpass  all  others  in  the 
devotedness  of  his  faith  as  much  as  he  excelled 
them  by  the  authority  of  his  station.  Finally,  in 
the  epistle  which  was  then  sent  to  Africa,  he  de 
creed  in  these  words  :  that  NO  INNOVATION  SHOULD 

BE  ADMITTED,  BUT  WHAT  WAS  HANDED  DOWN  SHOULD 

BE  RETAINED.  What  power  had  the  African  Coun 
cil  or  decree  ?  NONE,  through  the  mercy  of  God." 
—  Commonit.  c.  viii. 

In  this  account  of  the  great  Vincentius  I  ob 
served  two  things  :  1,  that  he  bears  a  noble  testi 
mony  to  the  superior  i(  authority  "  of  the  See  of 
Rome ;  and  2,  says  nothing  of  any  collision  of  St. 
Cyprian  with  Pope  Stephen.  And  probably  for 
the  reason  which  I  found  given  in  a  letter  by  St. 
Augustine  to  him,  "  that  there  were  not  wanting 
persons  who  maintained  that  St.  Cyprian  did  not 
yield  to  the  opinion  of  Agrippiiius  ;  but  that,  to 
give  it  the  sanction  of  his  name,  the  letter  and 
•17* 


198    PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

documents  were  composed  under  it  by  presump 
tuous  and  deceitful  men."  *  Here  I  could  not  help 
contrasting  the  positiveiicss  of  Dr.  Wordsworth 
with  the  doubtfulness  of  St.  Augustine,  and  feeling 
some  little  wonder  how  the  former,  at  this  distant 
period,  should  be  so  much  better  informed  on  the 
point  than  the  latter,  who  lived  so  near  the  time 
But  St.  Augustine  continues,  in  reply  to  the  Dona- 
tists  :  "  Cyprian  either  did  not  think  at  all,  as  you 
represent,  or  he  afterwards  corrected  his  error  by 
the  rule  of  truth  ;  or  he  covered  this  blemish,  as  it 
were,  of  his  own  fair  breast,  with  the  abundance  of 
charity,  while  he  defended  most  eloquently  the, 
unity  of  the  Church,  spread  over  the  whole  world, 
and  held  most  steadfastly  the  bond  of  peace."  f  And 
referring  to  his  martyrdom,  St.  Augustine  remarks 
{( 1  think  that  the  bishop  Cyprian  may,  without  any 
insult  to  himself,  be  compared  with  the  Apostle 
Peter,  as  far  as  regards  the  crown  of  martyrdom 
But  I  ought  rather  to  be  afraid  of  being  contume 
lious  towards  Peter.  For  who  knows  not  that  the 
primacy  (princedom^)  of  the  Apostlcship  is  to  be 
preferred  before  any  episcopate  whatever  ?  But 
although  the  grace  of  the  chairs  is  widely  different, 
yet  one  is  the  glory  of  martyrs."  J  From  this  1 

*  "  Quamquam  non  dcsiret  qui  hoc  Cyprianum  prorsus  non  sensisse  con- 
tendant,  sed  sub  ejns  nomine  a  presumptoribus  atque  mendacibus  firisse  con- 
fectum."  — Ed.  xciii.  ad  Vincent.  Rog.  S.  38,  p.  240,  Tom.  ii.  Ed.  Ven. 

f  Porro  autem  Cyprianus,  aut  non  sensit  oinnino  quod  eum  senisse  recita- 
tis ;  aut  hoc  postea  correxit  in  rogula  veritatis,  aut  hunc  quasi  naeviim  sui 
candidissimi  pectoris  cooperuit  ubere  caritatis  dum  unitatem  ecclesiqs  toto 
orbe  crcscentis,  et  copiosissime  defendit,  et  perseverantissiine  tenuit  vincu- 
lum  pads. —  p.  247,  ad  Vinct. 

J  Ciuia  eniin  neacit  ilium  apostolatus  principqtum  cuilibet  episcopatui  praa 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.    199 

became  convinced  that,  even  if  the  disagreement 
between  St.  Cyprian  and  Pope  Stephen  were  such 
as  had  been  represented,  it  was  either  maintained 
on  the  part  of  that  martyr  in  perfect  consistency 
with  his  known  reverence  for  the  controlling  au 
thority  of  the  See  of  Rome,  or  was  so  repented  of 
as  that  he  died  in  communion  with  that  See,  as  did 
also  the  other  contending  bishops  of  Africa,  if  we 
may  trust  St.  Jerome.  "  St.  Cyprian,"  says  that 
father,  "  endeavored  to  shun  pits  that  were  bro 
ken,  and  not  to  drink  of  the  waters  of  others  ;  and 
on  that  account,  reprobating  the  baptism  of  heretics, 
forwarded  the  African  Synod,  on  this  subject,  to 
Stephen,  then  bishop  of  the  Roman  city,  the  twenty- 
sixth  from  blessed  Peter ;  but  this  effort  proved  fruit 
less.  Finally,  those  very  bishops  who  with  him 
had  determined  that  the  heretics  should  be  rebap- 
tized,  turning  back  to  the  ancient  custom,  issued  a 
new  decree."  —  Dial.  Contr.  Lucif. 

In  short,  I  discovered  that  in  the  whole  of  this  con 
troversy,  even  admitting  that  all  proceeded  from 
the  pen  of  St.  Cyprian  which  is  ascribed  to  it, 
nothing  was  said  even  by  himself  or  associates 
which  implied  an  assumption  or  overestimate  of 
jurisdiction  on  the  part  of  Pope  Stephen,  but  only 
an  indiscreet  use  of  lawful  prerogatives.*  Instead 
of  any  resistance  of  the  claim  of  jurisdiction  made 
by  the  Roman  See,  I  found  every  litigated  question 


ferendum  ?     Sed  et  si  distal  cathedrarum  gratia  mia  est  truncn  gloria  marty- 
rum.  —  T.  ix.  1.  ii.  De  Baptism,  contra  Donat.  n.  I.  col.  182.     Or,  propter  pri- 
matum  quern  in  discipulis  habuit.  —  T.  iv.  Enar.  in  Ps.  cviii.  ru  1. 
*  Ep.  Finniliani  inter  Cyprian.  —  Tom.  iiL  p.  265,  Ed.  Wircclmrg. 


£00         PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

referred  to  its  judgment  as  by  divine  arrangement. 
St.  Cyprian  himself,  in  respect  to  Martianus,  en 
treats  this  very  Pope  Stephen  to  interfere  for  the 
preservation  of  discipline :  ( '  Let  letters  be  addressed 
from  THEE  —  (but  why  from  Stephen,  the  blamed 
Stephen,  if  his  (Cyprian's)  own  authority  was 
equal  ?)  —  be  addressed  from  THEE  to  the  province 
and  the  people  of  Aries,  WHEREBY  Martianus,  BEING 
EXCOMMUNICATED,*  another  may  be  substituted  in 
his  room  " —  a  request  which,  in  my  view,  implied 
some  knowledge,  on  the  part  of  St.  Cyprian,  of 
supremacy  in  Pope  Stephen,  as  the  act  requested, 
to  be  lawful  in  the  dioceses  of  other  bishops,  must 
have  been  an  act  of  supremacy. 

Here  the  further  case  of  St.  Augustine  was  pre 
sented.  ft  He  and  the  bishops  of  Africa  knew 
nothing,"  says  Dr.  Wordsworth,  "  of  supremacy 
in  Popes  Zosimus  and  Boniface." 

It  must  be  admitted,  I  thought,  that  this  asser 
tion  falls  to  the  ground,  if  it  should  appear  that  St. 
Augustine,  in  his  writings,  maintains,  generally,  a 
supremacy  of  jurisdiction  in  the  See  of  St.  Peter. 
I  turned  to  these  writings  :  I  read  the  following : 

"  In  the  Catholic  Church the  succession  of 

priests  from  the  very  chair  of  St.  Peter,  to  whom 
the  Lord,  after  His  resurrection,  committed  his 
sheep  to  be  fed,  down  even  to  the  present  bishop, 
keeps  me." —  T.  iii.  Contr.  Ep.  Fund.  Manich.  Col. 
269.  Again  :  "  That  city  (Carthage)  had  a  bishop 

*  Qiiihus  litteris  absterrito  Martiano,  alias  in  locum  cjus  substitutur.  —  Ept 
Ixvii.  p.  249,  Ed.  Ven. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.  £01 

of  no  slight  authority,  who  was  able  not  to  heed 
the  multitude  of  enemies  conspiring  against  him, 
when  he  saw  himself  united  by  letters  of  com 
munion  both  with  the  Roman  Church,  in  which 
the  primacy  of  the  Apostolic  chair  has  always  been 
in  force,*  and  with  other  lands." —  T.  ii.  Ep.  xliii. 
Gloria  et  aliis  Dvnat.  n.  7,  Col  136.  I  recalled, 
too,  his  strong  words  in  respect  to  St.  Cyprian : 
<(  Who  knows  not  that  the  princedom  of  the  Apos- 
tleship  (at  Rome)  is  to  be  preferred  before  any  epis 
copate  whatsoever."  Besides,  he  seemed  to  me  to 
recognize  in  one  of  the  Popes  (Zosimus)  alluded  to 
something  more  than  ordinary  authority.  "  Where 
as,"  he  writes,  "  Pelagius  and  Coelestius,  the  authors 
of  this  heresy,  were,  by  the  vigilance  of  the  coun 
cils  of  bishops  in  aid  of  the  Savior,  who  protects 
His  own  Church,  also  by  two  venerable  prelates  of 
the  Apostolic  See,  Pope  Innocent  and  Pope  Zosi 
mus,  condemned,  &c,"  —  T.  ii.  Ep.  CXC.  But 
why  single  out  the  popes  of  Rome  in  this  case  of 
discipline,  if  they  had  no  more  jurisdiction  than 
other  bishops  ?  To  me,  therefore,  it  became  quite 
manifest  that  St.  Augustine  did  recognize  in  the 
Roman  See  a  preeminent  right  of  jurisdiction  ? 

And  now  I  was  brought  to  that  most  extraordi 
nary  assertion  of  Dr.  Wordsworth,  that  the  Popes 
themselves  for  six  hundred  years  recognized  in 
themselves  no  such  right.  I  say  extraordinary  ; 
as  a  few  hours  search  enabled  me  to  verify  the  fol- 

*  Romance  ecclesicc,  in  qua  semper  apostolkce  cathedra  viguit  principatus. 


PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  ¥AITH  AND 


lowing  passage,  which,  to  my  mind,  presented  an 
almost  continuous  series  of  the  most  irresistible  tes 
timony  to  the  contrary:  1.  I  began  with  Pope 
Julius,  who  lived  early  in  the  fourth  century.  He 
wrote  on  the  subject  of  the  Arian  disturbances  at 
Alexandria,  and  expostulated  thus  :  "  Why  were 
we  not  written  to  concerning  the  Church,  especially 
of  Alexandria  ?  Or  are  you  ignorant  that  this  hath 
been  the  custom,  first  to  write  to  us,  and  thus  what 
is  just  be  decreed  from  this  place  1  *  If,  therefore, 
any  such  suspicion  fell  upon  your  bishop  there,  it 
was  befitting  to  write  to  this  Church.  .  .Bear  with 
me  cheerfully,  I  beseech  you,  for  what  I  write  is 
for  the  common  weal.  For  what  we  have  received 
from  the  blessed  Apostle  Peter,  the  same  do  I  make 
known  to  you.  .  ."  —  Ep.  ad  Eusebian,  n.  21.  The 
true  force  of  the  above  passage  appeared  in  the 
fact  that  this  Pope  had  summoned  these  Arians  to 
Eome  for  trial.  "It  behooved  you,  beloved,  to 
come  hither,  and  not  to  refuse,f  in  order  that  this 
business  may  be  terminated.  '  —  Ib.  n.  6.  They 
give  their  pleas  for  not  appearing  before  him,  ur 
ging  want  of  sufficient  notice,  (n.  6,)  —  the  state  of 
affairs  in  the  East  (n.  7)  ;  and  lastly,  that  the  let 
ter  of  citation  was  addressed  only  to  Eusebius  and 
his  associates  (n.  8)  ;  but,  however  vain  may  have 
been  their  pleas  for  not  coming  to  Kome,  they 
never  questioned  the  authority  that  summoned 


{H  dyvours  on  TOVTO  £60$  fiv  irp6repov  ypafavOai  fiftiv,  Kat  ovrn^  I'vOc? 

TO.  SiKaia. 
t  UEI  dnavrriaai, 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.     203 

them;  while  Athanasius  actually  obeyed  and  re 
mained  in  the  holy  city  for  years.  Here  I  asked 
myself,  Did  Pope  Julius  know  nothing  in  himself 
of  supreme  jurisdiction  ? 

£.  I  turned  to  POPE  DAMASTJS,  who,  writing  to 
the  East  at  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Arimiiium, 
says,  "  No  advantage  could  arise  from  the  number 
of  those  who  assembled  at  Ariminum,  seeing  that 
it  is  certain  that  neither  the  Roman  bishop,  whose 
opinion  ought  to  have  been  sought  for  before  all 
others*  nor  Vincentius,"  &c.  Again,  to  the  same 
Churches  :  "  Most  honored  children,  in  that  your 
friendliness  bestows  on  an  apostolic  chair  the  rev 
erence  due,  you  confer  the  greatest  honor  on  your 
selves.  For  although,  especially  in  this  holy 
Church,  wherein  the  holy  Apostle,  sitting,  taught 
in  what  way  it  beseems  us  to  manage  the  helm 
which  has  been  put  into  our  hands,  yet  do  we 
confess  ourselves  unequal  to  the  dignity;  but, 
therefore,  do  we  strive  in  every  way,  if  it  may  be, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  attain  unto  the  glory  of  that 
blessedness.  Know,  therefore,  that  long  since  we 
deposed  (or  cut  off)  the  profane  Timotheus. .  .with 
his  impious  doctrine."  f  Here,  too,  I  asked  my 
self,  Did  Pope  Damasus  really  know  nothing  of 
supremacy  in  himself? 

3.  I  turned  next  to  the  epistles  of  POPE  ANAS- 


*  Cujus  ante  omnes  fuit  expetenda  sententia.  — Ep.  i.,  Synd.  OricntaWms. 
Galland.  J.  vi.  p.  321. 

f  On  the  above  epistle  Theodoret  remarks,  "  When  the  entirely  praisewor 
thy  Damasus  learned  that  this  heresy  had  sprung  up,  he  deposed  and  excom 
municated,  not  only  Apollinarius,  but  also  Timotheus,  his  disciple 


£04        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

TAsrcrs  I.,  and  read  as  follows.  Speaking  of  some 
imputed  neglect,  lie  says,  "  Far  be  this  from  the 
Catholic  discipline  of  the  Roman  Church As 
suredly  care  shall  not  be  wanted  on  my  part  to 
guard  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  in  my  people ;  and 
•  to  visit  by  letter,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  the  members 
of  my  body,  throughout  the  divers  regions  of  the 
earth,  (Partesque  corporis  mei  per  spatia  diversa 
terrarum,)  to  prevent  any  beginning  of  a  profane 
interpretation  from  creeping  in,  which  may  have 
for  its  object  to  confound  devout  minds  by  spread 
ing  its  darkness."  Here,  too,  I  put  it  to  my  con 
science,  Did  Pope  Anastasius  know  nothing  of 
supremacy  in  himself? 

4.  I  proceeded  to  POPE  SIRICIUS,  and  found  the 
following  among  other  testimonies  :  "  Taking  into 
account  my  office,  it  is  not  for  me  to  choose  on 
whom  it  is  incumbent  that  there  be  a  zeal  for  the 
Christian  religion  greater  than  that  of  all  other 
persons,  to  dissemble,  and  remain  silent.  I  bear 
the  burdens  of  all  who  are  heavily  laden.  Yea, 
rather  in  me  that  burden  is  borne  by  the  blessed 
Apostle  Peter,  who,  we  trust,  in  all  things  protects 
and  has  regard  to  us  who  are  the  heirs  of  his  gov 
ernment."  *  Again :  "  Let  it  suffice  that  faults  have 
hitherto  been  committed  in  this  matter ;  and  now 
let  the  above-named  rule  be  observed  by  all  priests 
who  do  not  wish  to  be  rent  from  that  solid  apostolic 


*  Haec  portat  in  nobis  beatus  apostolus  Petrus,  qui  nos  in  omnibus,  ut  con- 
fidimus,  administrations  sure  protegit  et  tuetur  ha;redes.  —  Ep.  i.  ad  Himer 
Tairac.  Ep.  n.  1,  p.  533.  Gal  land.  T.  vii. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.    205 

rock  upon  which  CHRIST  constructed  THE  UNIVER 
SAL  CHURCH."*  Here,  too,  I  asked  myself,  Did 
POPE  SIRICIUS  really  know  nothing  of  supremacy 
in  himself? 

5.  Satisfied  with  the  manifest  claim  of  this  POPE, 
I  next  opened  the  epistles  of  Pope  Innocent  L,  and 
read,  "  Let  us,  therefore,  begin  with  the  help  of 
the  holy  Apostle  Peter,  through  whom  both  the 
Apostleship  and  the  Episcopate  took  their  rise  in 
CiiRiST.f  These,  then,  are  the  things  which  it 
behooves  every  Catholic  bishop,  having  before  his 
eyes  the  judgment  of  God,  henceforward  to  observe 

that  if  any  causes  or  contentions  arise the 

dispute  be  settled,  agreeably  to  the  Synod  of  Nicsea, 
by  an  assembly  of  the  same  province,  and  that  it  be 
not  lawful  for  any  one  [not  to  the  prejudice,  how 
ever,  of  the  Roman  Church,  to  which,  in  all  causes, 
reverence  ought  to  be  preserved  +]  to  leave  the 
priests,  who,  by  the  will  of  God,  govern  the  Church 
of  God,  and  to  have  recourse  to  other  provinces. 
But  if  greater  causes  be  brought  forward,  let  them, 
after  the  judgment  of  the  bishop,  be  referred  to  the 
Apostolic  See,  as  the  Synod  resolved  and  blessed 
custom  requires.""  §  —  Ep.  ii.  Galland.  t.  viii.  Again ; 
' '  After  having  caused  your  letter  to  be  read  several 


*  Omnes  teneant  sacerdotes,  qui  nolunt  ah  apostolicte  Petras,  super  quam 
Christus  universalem  construxit  ecclesiam,  solidate,  divelli.  —  Ib.  n.  3,  p.  534. 

t  Perquem  et  Apostolatus  et  Episcopatus  in  Christus  coepit  exordium. 

J  The  words  in  brackets  are  not  found  in  some  of  the  ancient  manuscripts, 
but  are  preserved  in  the  best  editions. 

§  Ad  sedem  Apostolicam,  sicut  synodus  (see  Ep.  Synod.  Concil.  Sardic.  ad 
Julium.)  statiut,  et  beata  consuetude  exigit,  post  judicium  Episcopate  referan 
tur. 

18 


£06        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

times  to  me,  I  noticed  that  a  kind  of  injury  was 
done  to  the  Apostolic  See,  as  unto  the  head  of  the 
churches  [quasi  ad  caput  ecclesiarium]  that  state 
ment  was  sent,  the  sentence  of  that  See  being  still 
treated  as  doubtful.  The  renewed  questioning 
contained  in  your  report  compels  me,  therefore,  to 
repeat  in  plainer  terms  the  subject,"  &c.  —  Ep. 
xvii.  n.  1.  Again  :  "  Keeping  to  the  precedents  of 
ancient  tradition. .  .you  have.  .  .established  the  firm 
ness  of  your  religion,  no  less  now  by  consulting  me 
than  when  you  formerly  passed  your  sentence  ;  ap 
proving,  as  you  have  done,  of  a  reference  to  our 
judgment,  knowing  what  is  due  to  the  Apostolic 
See,  knowing  that  all  of  us  who  have  been  placed 
in  this  position  desire  to  follow  that  Apostle  from 
whom  the  Episcopate  itself  and  the  whole  authority 
of  this  title  has  been  derived.  "With  him  for  our 
model,  we  know  both  how  to  condemn  what  is  evil 
and  approve  what  is  commendable."  —  Ep.  clxxxi. 
ad  Council.  Carthag.  Ed.  Bened.  S.  Aug.  t.  ii. 

Again  :  "  Carefully,  therefore,  and  as  was  befit 
ting,  do  you  consult  what  is  the  secret  wish  of  this 
Apostolic  dignity  *  (a  dignity,  I  repeat,  upon 
which  falls,  besides  those  things  that  are  without, 
the  solicitude  or  care  of  all  the  churches^)  as  to  what 
opinion  is  to  be  held  in  matters  of  such  moment ; 
having  herein  followed  the  pattern  of  the  ancient 
rule,  which  you,  equally  with  myself,  know  has 
always  been  observed  by  the  whole  world.-f  Yea, 
why  have  you  confirmed  this  by  your*  own  act,  but 

*  Congrue  Apostolici  consulitis  honoris  arcana. 

f  (Juaia  toco  semper  ab  orbs  niecuui  uosiis  t-sse  servatam. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.    207 

that  you  know  that,  throughout  all  provinces, 
Answers  to  questions  always  emanate  from  the 
Apostolic  spring,  especially  as  often  as  questions  of 
faith  are  agitated  1  I  am  of  opinion  that  all  our 
brethren  and  fellow-bishops  ought  not  to  refer  but 
to  Peter,  that  is,  to  the  author  of  their  name  and 
honor,  even  as  your  friendliness  has  now  referred 
(to  know)  what  may  be  the  common  weal  of  all  the 
Church  throughout  the  whole  world* Where 
fore  we  do,  by  the  authority  of  the  Apostolic  power, 
[ Apostolic!  vigoris  auctoritate,]  declare  Pelagiusand 
Ccelestius. .  .deprived  of  the  communion  of  the 
Church."  —  Galland.  Ep.  xx.  ad  cone.  Meliv.  n.  1, 
£,  6,  p.  60&.f  Once  more  :  "  We  cannot  wonder 
that  your  friendliness  follows  the  institutes  of  those 
who  have  gone  before  you,  and  refers  unto  us,  as 
unto  the  head  and  chief  of  the  Episcopate,  [ad  nos 
quasi  ad  caput  atque  adapicem  episcopatus  referre,] 
whatsoever  can  cause  doubt ;  that,  by  consulting 
the  Apostolic  See,  to  wit,  it  may,  even  on  doubtful 
matters,  decide  on  something  that  is  certain  and 
ought  to  be  done."  —  Galland.  t.  viii.  Ep.  xxxvii. 
Felici,  n.  1  .  J  Here,  indeed,  I  asked  myself,  — 

*  Quod  per  omnes  provincias  de  Apostolica  fonte  pctentibus  responsa  sem- 
>er  emanent.  Prcesertim  quoties  fidei  ratio  ventilatur,  arbitror  omnes  fratres 
8t  coepiscopos  nostros  nonnisi  ad  Petrum,  id  est,  sui  nominis  et  honoris  auc- 
•orern  referre  debere,  velut  nunc  retulit  vestra  dilectio,  quod  per  totuiu  mun- 
lum  possit  ecclesiis  omnibus  in  commune  prodesse. 

f  Observe  the  well-known  words  of  St.  Augustine  on  the  above  decree : 
"  Duo  concilia  missa  sunt  ad  sedem  Apostolicam  inde  etiam  rescripta  vene- 
nint.  Causa  finita  est;  utinam  aliquando  finiatur  error."  —  Serm.  cxxxi. 

J  The  Council  of  Carthage,  represented  as  assisting  the  Popes,  here  makes 
application  to  Rome  as  follows:  "We  have  considered  that  what  hus  been 
done  by  us  was  to  be  made  known  to  your  holy  charity,  that  to  the  decrees 
made  by  our  lowliness  there  might  also  be  added  the  authority  of  the  Apostolic 
Sec;,  (etiam  Apcstolicse  &edis  adhibiatur  auctoritas.")  —  Galland.  t.  viii.  ep.  xxvi. 


PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

Did  Pope  Innocent  I.  know  nothing  of  supremacy 
in  himself? 

6.  I  next  considered  the  epistles  of  Popes  Zosi- 
mus  and  Boniface  in  the  time  of  Augustine. 

1.  The  Epistles  of  Pope  Zosimus,  the  successor 
of  St.  Innocent,  417.  "  Although/'  says  he,  "  the 
tradition  of  the  Fathers  has  assigned  so  great  an 
authority  to  the  Apostolic  See  that  no  one  should 
dare  dispute  about  a  judgment  given  ly  it,  and 
that  See,  by  regulations  and  canons,  has  kept  to 
this  ;  and  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  in  the  laws 
which  it  yet  follows,  still  pays  to  the  name  of  Peter, 
from  whom  that  See  descends,  the  reverence  due ; 
for  canonical  antiquity,  by  universal  consent,  willed 
that  so  great  a  power  should  belong  to  that  Apos 
tle,  a  power  also  derived  from  the  actual  promise 
of  Christ  our  God,  that  it  should  be  his  to  loose 
what  was  bound  and  to  bind  what  was  loosed ;  an 
equal  state  of  power  being  bestowed  on  those  who, 
by  his  will,  should  be  found  worthy  to  inherit  his 
See.  For  he  has  both  charge  of  all  the  churches, 
and  especially  of  this  wherein  he  sat ;  nor  does  he 
allow  any  storm  to  shake  one  particle  of  the  privi 
lege,  or  any  part  of  the  sentence,  of  that  See,  to 

which  he  has  given  his  name  as  a  foundation 

which  no  one  can  rashly  attack  but  at  MA  own 
peril.  Seeing,  then,  that  Peter  is  the  head  of  so 
great  authority,  and  that  he  has  confirmed  the  sub 
sequent  decrees  of  the  Fathers,  that  by  all  laws, 
human  and  divine,  the  Roman.  Church  is  strength 
ened,  and  you  are  not  ignorant,  dearest  brethren, 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.    £09 

that  we  rule  over  his  place,  and  are  in  possession 
of  the  authority  of  his  name.  .  .  .nevertheless,  al 
though  so  great  be  our  authority  that  none  may 
refute  our  sentence,  yet  we  have  done  nothing 
which  we  have  not  of  our  own  will  made  known 
by  letter  to  you,  conceding  this  to  the  brother 
hood." —  Ep.  xiv.,  p.  18,  19,  t.  ix.,  Galland.  2. 
Next  the  Epistles  of  St.  Boniface,  the  successor  of 
St.  Zosimus,  418.  Writing  to  a  bishop  of  the  East, 
he  says,  ' '  On  you,  dearest  brother,  devolves  the 
entire  care  of  those  Churches,  which  you  will  rec 
ognize  as  having  been,  by  us,  intrusted  to  you  as 
the  vicegerent  of  the  Apostolic  See."*  —  Ep.  V. 
Rufo.  Ep.  Thessal 

Again  :  ' '  The  institution  of  the  universal  Church 
took  its  beginning  from  the  honor  bestowed  upon 
the  blessed  Peter,  in  whom  its  government  and 
headship  reside. f  For  from  him,  as  its  source,  did 
ecclesiastical  discipline  flow  over  all  the  Churches, 
when  the  culture  of  religion  began  to  make  prog 
ress.  The  precepts  of  the  Synod  of  Nicasa  bear 
no  other  testimony ;  insomuch  that  that  Synod  did 
not  attempt  to  make  any  regulations  in  his  regard, 
as  it  saw  nothing  could  be  conferred  that  was  supe 
rior  to  his  own  dignity  ;  it  knew,  in  fine,  that 
every  thing  had  been  bestowed  on  him  by  the  word 
of  the  Lord.  It  is,  therefore,  certain  that  this 


*  Qiias  tibi  vice  sedis  apostolicte  a  nobis  crcditas  recognosces. 

f  Instittitio  universalis  ecclesire  de  beati  Petri  honore  sumpsit  principiiim,m 
ffao  regimen  ejus  et  suinina  consistit.  "  A  sentence,"  says  Mr.  Watenvorth, 
'obviously  capable  of  various  rendering.'" 

18* 


PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

Church,  is  to  the  Churches  spread  over  the  whole 
world  as  the  head  is  to  its  own  members ;  from 
which  Church  whoso  has  cut  himself  off  becomes 
an  alien  from  the  Christian  religion,  whereas  he 
has  begun  to  be  not  in  the  same  bonds  of  fellow 
ship."* 

Passing  by  many  striking  testimonies,  I  pro 
ceeded  to  Pope  Leo,  440,  who  says,  "  The  blessed 
Peter  ceases  not  to  preside  over  his  own  See,  and 
he  enjoys  a  never-ceasing  fellowship  with  the  ever 
lasting  priest  —  Christ.  For  that  solidity  which 
Peter  himself  also  made,  a  '  rock  '  received  from 
the  rock  Christ,  has  passed  onwards  to  his  heirs 
also."f — T.  i.  Serm.  V.  in  Natel  Ord.  c.  iv. 
Again  :  "  Whereas  our  case  is  extended  through 
out  all  the  Churches  —  this  being  required  of  us 
by  the  LORD,  who  committed  the  primacy  of  the 
Apostolic  dignity  to  the  most  blessed  Apostle  Peter 
in  reward  of  his  faith,  establishing  the  universal 

Church  on  the  solidity  of  him,  the  foundation 

Wherefore,  following  the  example  of  those  whose 
memory  is  venerable  unto  us,  we  have  committed 
to  one  brother,  a  fellow-bishop,  Anastasius,  to  act 
in  our  stead  (at  Thessalonica).  We  have  enjoined 
him  to  be  watchful.  . .  .To  whom,  that  your  friendli 
ness,  in  all  things  pertaining  to  ecclesiastical  disci- 

*  Cum  videret,  nihil  supra  merituni  suum  certum  posse  conferri,  omnia  de- 
nique  huic  novcrat  Domini  sermone  concessa.  Hanc  ergo  ecclesiis  toto  orbe 
diffusis  velut  caput  suorum  certum  est  esse  membrorurn,  aqua se  quisquis  ab- 
ecidit,  fit  Christians  religionis  extorris,  cum  in  eadem  non  coeperit  esse  corn- 
page. 

f  Soliditas  enim  ilia,  quam  de  Petrae  Christo  etiam  ipse  Petra  factus  accepit 
IQ  sues  quoque  se  transiudit  hx  redes. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.     211 

pline,  be  obedient,  we  admonish  you."  —  Addressed 
to  the  Metropolitans  throughout  Iliricum.  —  Ep.  V. 

r    9     ^ 
L.   6,  o. 

From  St.  Leo  I  proceeded  to  Pope  Gelasius, 
492.  The  following  is  from  an  encyclical  letter  to 
the  bishops  of  Syria,  never  before  cited :  "  Come, 
you,  most  honorable,  to  that  which  you  yourselves 
proclaim  the  holy  chair  (See),  run  to  the  immovable 
rock  of  Peter,  number  yourselves  with  the  Apos 
tolic  choir,,  make  sure  the  crown  of  your  victory."  ' 
—  Tom.  II.  p.  655,  Ed.  Card.  Mains.  Again: 
"  "With  what  reason  and  what  consistency  can  other 
sees  be  defended,  if  the  ancient  and  long-existing 
reverence  be  not  paid  to  the  See  of  the  most  blessed 
Peter,  the  first  See,  by  which  the  dignity  of  all 
priests  has  always  been  strengthened  and  con- 
firmed,f  and  to  which,  by  the  invincible  and  special 
judgment  of  the  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
Fathers,  the  highest  honor  was  adjudged,  as  being 
men  who  bore  in  mind  the  Lord's  sentence,  '  Thou 
art  Peter  ;  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
Church.'  And  again  to  the  same  Peter,  ( Lo,  I 
have  prayed  for  THEE,  that  THY  faith  FAIL  NOT.' 
And  that  sentence,  '  If  thou  lovest  me,  feed  my 
sheep.'  "Wherefore,  then,  is  the  Lord's  discourse 
so  frequently  directed  to  Peter  ?  Was  it  that  the 
rest  of  the  holy  and  blessed  Apostles  were  not 

*  Venite  et  vos,  O  honorandissimi,  ad  earn  quam  vos  ipsi  sanctam  pradicas- 
tis  Cathedram  :  accurrite  ad  immoliilem  Petri  petrain  ;  connumcrate  vos  choro 
Apostolico;  confirmate  victoria)  vestra  coronas. 

f  Si  prima>  —  Petri  sedi  antiqua  et  vetusta  reverentia  non  defertur,  per 
quam  omnium  saccrclotum  dignitas  semper  est  roborata  atque  firmata. 


2        PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH  AND 

clothed  with  like  virtue  ?  Who  dare  assert  this  ? 
No  ;  but  that,  by  a  head  being  constituted,  the  oc 
casion  of  schism  might  be  removed ;  and  that  the 
compact  bond  of  the  body  of  Christ,  thus  uniformly 
tending,  by  the  fellowship  of  a  most  glorious  love, 
to  one  head,  might  be  shown  to  be  one,  and  that 
there  might  be  ONE  CHURCH  faithfully  believed  in.* 

For  which  cause  I  have  said  our  Fathers,  — 

the  merits  of  whose  virtues  raised  them  to  the  con 
fessor's  most  glorious  palm  and  to  tha  martyr's 
resplendent  crown,  —  these  men,  filled  with  love 
for  Christ,  referred  to  that  See  wherein  Peter,  the 
prince  of  the  Apostles,  the  (thence)  derived  origin 
of  their  priesthood,  seeking  thence  the  weightiest 
Duttresses  to  give  firmness  to  their  solid  structures ;  f 
that  by  this  spectacle  it  may  be  manifest  to  all 
men  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  truly  one  through 
out  and  indivisible,  a  Church  which,  knit  together 
by  the  bond  of  concord  and  the  marvellous  Woof 
of  charity,  might  be  seen  to  be  the  one  coat  of 
Christ,  seamless  throughout.  There  were  assuredly 
twelve  Apostles,  endowed  with  equal  merits  and 
equal  dignity ;  and  whereas  all  shone  equally  with 
spiritual  light,  yet  was  it  Christ's  will  that  one 
among  them  should  be  the  ruler ;  and  him,  by  an 
admirable  dispensation,  did  he  guide  to  Rome 


*  Et  una  monstraretur  compago  corporis  Christ!,  quae  ad  unum  caput  glo- 
riosissima  dilectionis  societate  concurreret  j  et  una  esset  ecclesia  cui  fidcliter 
crederetur. 

t  Ad  illam  sedem  qnam  prineeps  Apostolorum  Petrus;  sui  sacerdotii  stimpta 
principia  repleti  Christ!  charitate  mittebant,  SUE  inde  soliditatis  gravissima 
firmitatis  roboraincnta  poscentes. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  PRIMITIVE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

and  there  he  shone  conspicuous  for  power  .of  doc 
trine  ;  also,  made  glorious  by  the  shedding  of  his 
blood,  does  he  repose  in  a  place  of  everlasting  rest, 
granting  to  the  see,  which  he  himself  blessed,  that 
it  be,  according  to  the  Lord's  promise,  never  over 
come  by  the  gates  of  hell,  and  that  it  be  the  safest 
harbor  for  the  tempest-tossed.  In  that  harbor  who 
soever  shall  have  reposed  shall  enjoy  a  blessed  and 
eternal  place  of  safety.*  Whereas,  he  that  shall 
have  despised  it,  it  is  for  him  to  see  to  it  what 
kind  of  excuses  he  will  plead  at  the  day  of  judg 
ment."—  T.  X.  Galland.  p.  672.  See  also  next 
letter,  Id.  p.  679.  Again  :  "  The  holy  Koman 
Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  has  been  raised 
above  the  other  Churches,  not  by  any  synodal 
decrees,  but  from  the  evangelical  voice  of  our  Lord 
and  Savior  has  it  obtained  the  primacy,  the  saying, 
'  Thou  art  Peter  ;  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build 
my  Church.'  "  —  Decret.  Concl.  Rom.  Sub.  Gel. 
Col  1261,  Labb.  In  ibid.  Col  1275.  Pope  Ge- 
lasius  is  called  by  the  second  Council  of  Home, 
"The  Vicar  of  Christ." 

Here  I  am  forced  to  forbear.  The  records  to 
the  same  point  are  abundant  down  to  the  period  of 
Gregory  the  Great.  But  my  time  and  space  are 
limited  —  and  enough,  it  seemed  to  me,  was  con 
tained  in  what  I  have  already  submitted  to  make  it 
certain  that  the  bishops  of  Home,  as  occupiers  of 


*  Prastans  sedi  quam  ipse  benedixit,  ut  aportis  infer!  nunquam  pro  Domini 
promissione  vincatur  omniumque  sit  fluctuantium  tutissimus  portus.  In  quo 
qui  requievcrit,  beata  et  eterria  statione  gaudebit. 


£14         PRIMACY  OF  ST.  PETER  IN  FAITH,  &C. 

the  See  of  St.  Peter,  supposed  themselves  possessed 
of  a  supremacy  of  jurisdiction,  and  that  their  claim 
was  never  disputed  in  the  early  Church  ;  and  that 
Pope  Gregory  I.  is  not  an  exception.  He  may  have 
used  strong  words  in  reference  to  the  attempt  at 
Constantinople  to  interfere  with  the  prerogatives  of 
the  Apostolic  See ;  but  the  following  was  conclu 
sive  in  my  mind  that  he  held  to  these  prerogatives. 
ff  The  care,"  says  he  in  his  expostulation  with  the 
Patriarch  John,  who  had  used  the  title  "  universal 
bishop,"  —  "  the  care  of  the  whole  Church  was 
committed  to  Peter,  and  yet  he  is  not  called  the 
universal  Apostle."  —  Ep.  IV.  £0.  And  further 
in  respect  to  Constantinople :  "  Who  doubts  it  is 
subject  to  the  Apostolic  See  ?  "  And  again  : 
"  When  bishops  commit  a  fault,  I  know  not  what 
bishop  is  not  subject  to  it "  —  the  See  of  Eome. 
And  finally,  in  his  instructions  to  St.  Augustine  : 
"  WE  give  you  no  jurisdiction  over  the  Bishops  of 

Gaul But  we    commit    to   your  care    all    the 

bishops  of  Britain,  that  the  ignorant  among  them 
may  be  instructed,  the  weak  strengthened,  and  the 
perverse  corrected  by  your  authority."  * 

*  His.  Bede,  1.  i.,  c.  27,  Resp.  9,  Spelm.  Concil.  p.  98. 


APPLICATION  OF  FACTS,  &C.  £15 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  FACTS  IN  THE  TWO  PRECEDING 
CHAPTERS   TO  MY  OWN  CASE. 

NEAR  the  conclusion  of  the  last  chapter  was  a 
citation  from  Pope  Boniface  I.,  in  the  following 
words  :  "  It  is,  therefore,  certain,  that  this  church  " 
(meaning  the  Roman)  "  is,  to  the  churches  spread 
over  the  whole  world,  as  the  head  is  to  its  own 
members ;  from  which  Church  whoso  has  cut  him 
self  off  becomes  an  alien  from  the  Christian  Re- 


In  making  an  application  of  these  words,  which 
had  seemed  to  me  to  be  in  keeping  with  holy 
Scripture  as  understood  by  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  generally,  I  asked  myself  how  they  com 
ported  with  the  tone  of  sentiment  and  action  in  the 
early  Anglican  branch  ?  whether  there  was  any 
thing  to  justify  the  assertion  of  Mr.  Blackstone 
(Comm.  b.  4,  c.  8),  that  "  the  ancient  British 
Church,  by  whomsoever  planted,  was  a  stranger 
to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  his  pretended  au 
thority  1  " 

Before  the  middle  of  the  first  century,  it  ap 
peared  that  the  Romans  had  acquired,  by  force  of 
arms,  considerable  territory  in  Britain.  From  the 
usual  policy  of  the  early  Christians,  and  from  the 
fact  that  the  faith  of  the  Christians  at  Rome  was 
so  soon  "  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world," 


216     APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

(Horn.  i.  8,)  we  might,  I  thought,  reasonably  sup 
pose  the  cross  to  have  entered  that  country  through 
the  breach  made  by  the  sword.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
I  found  that  a  king  of  England,  if  we  may  trust 
the  venerable  Bede,  by  the  Latin  name  of  Lucius , 
became,  about  the  year  167,  a  convert  to  Christi 
anity,  and  was  admitted  into  the  Church  by  appli 
cation  to  the  See  of  Rome.  The  words  of  Bede 
are :  "  In  the  year  of  the  Incarnation  of  our  Lord 
167,  Lucius,  the  King  of  Britain,  sending  letters 
to  Eleutherius,  who  had  been  Bishop  of  Rome  for 
fifteen  years  with  very  great  credit,  humbly  peti 
tioned  and  obtained  the  request  to  be  made  a 
Christian."*  —  Epit.  V.  Bede.  Hence  it  seemed 
to  me  certain  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  in  167,  was 
known  in  Britain,  and  his  authority  recognized. 

The  next  evidence  which  I  discovered  of  inter 
course  between  England  and  Rome  was  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  Council  of  Aries.  "  On  the  first  day 
of  August,  A.  D.  314,"  says  Fleury,  "thirty-three 
bishops  assembled  at  Aries,  in  Gaul,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  condemning  the  Donatist  schism.  Great 
Britain  was  represented  by  the  bishops  of  York 
and  London,  (he  should  have  added  Lincoln.)  f 
Pope  Sylvester  sent  two  legates,  priests,  and  two 
deacons." 

After  condemning  the  Donatists,  &c.,  they  sent 

*  Anno  ab  incarnatione  Domini  167  Eleutherius  Roniae  pnesul  factus  quin- 
decim  annos  ecclesiam  gloriosissime  rexit  cui  litteras  Rex  Britannia;  Lucius 
mittens  ut  Christianus  efficeretur  petit  et  imploravit. 

f  See  Labbe  Conuc.  i.,  1430,  corrected  by  Bede.  ii.,  c.  16-18.  —  Oak  Anton.  Iter 
96,  145. 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE.  217 

the  decision  to  Pope  Sylvester,  together  with  a 
synodal  letter,  in  which  they  say,  "  Would  to  God, 
our  dear  brother,  you  could  have  assisted  at  this 
grand  spectacle ;  the  condemnation  of  the  Dona- 
tists  would  have  been  still  more  severe,  and  our 
joy  greater  ;  but  you  could  not  leave  those  places 
where  the  Apostles  preside  [mais  vous  ne  pouvez 
quitter  ces  lieux  ou  les  apostres  president],  and 
where  their  blood  continually  renders  glory  to 
God.  And  we  have  judged  according  to  the  an 
cient  usage  [selon  Fancien  usage],  it  belongs  prin 
cipally  to  you  to  notify  to  the  others,  since  you 
have  the  greatest  part  in  the  government  of  the 
Church  [  la  plus  grande  part  dans  le  gouvernement 
de  Feglise].—  Ecct.  Hist.  13,  X.  Ch.  14.  This 
synodal  letter  is  signed  by  all  the  bishops,  includ 
ing  the  bishops  of  York,  London,  and  Lincoln,  and 
hence  shows  that,  instead  of  ignorance  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  on  the  part  of  the  British  Church, 
she  must  have  known,  through  the  document 
signed  by  three  of  her  bishops  at  least,  that  that 
bishop  had  the  chief  part  of  the  government  of  the 
Church  ;  and  this  by  no  modern  concession,  but 
according  to  ancient  usage  ;  not  by  any  civil  or 
ecclesiastical  arrangement,  but  by  that  right  which 
springs  from  the  possession  of  the  See  "  where  the 
Ap ost !c s  preside." 

rihe  next  discoverable  intercourse  between  Eng 
land  and  Rome   I  found  was  in  the  great  Council 
of    Nice,   325.     Among    the    three    hundred   and 
eighteen   bishops   assembled   in   this  Council,  St. 
19 


£18      APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

Athanasius  places,  it  is  thought,  the  bishops  of  Brit 
ain.  —  In  Hist.  Asia,  ad  Monach.  n.  £8,  p.  360, 
T.  i.  Ed.  1698.  Be  this  so  or  not,  it  is  certain 
that  in  the  second  Council  of  Alexandria,  363, 
Britain  is  named  among  the  countries  who  had-  re 
ceived  the  decrees  of  Nice.  —  Labbe,  T.  ii.  col.  825. 
Now  it  is  well  known,  not  only  that  in  the  Council 
of  Nice  itself  did  the  legates  of  Rome  assert  the 
supremacy  of  that  See,  but  also  that  in  the  decrees 
of  the  Council  such  supremacy  was  distinctly  ad 
mitted.  If  there  can  be  any  question  of  the  mean 
ing  of  the  sixth  Canon  from  the  obscurity  of  its 
wording,  that  question  is  settled  by  the  under 
standing  of  those  who  lived  nearest  the  time. 
Pope  Gelasius,  in  the  following  century,  seemed  to 
me  trustworthy  authority,  where  he  says,  as  al 
ready  cited,  "  For  with  what  reason  and  what  con 
sistency  can  other  sees  be  defended,  if  the  ancient 
and  long-existing  reverence  be  not  paid  to  the  See 
of  the  most  blessed  Peter,  the  first  See,  by  which 
the  dignity  of  all  priests  has  always  been  strength 
ened  and  confirmed,  and  to  which,  by  the  invinci 
ble  and  special  judgment  of  the  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  Fathers,  the  highest  honor  was  adjudged, 
as  based  on  the  declaration  of  our  Lord,  Matt. 
xvi.  18."* 

But  if  any  thing  were  wanting  to  this  authority, 
it  appeared  to  be  supplied  by  the  great  Council  of 
Sardica,  A.  D.  347,  which  has  ever  been  considered, 

*  See  also  citation  from  Pope  Boniftce. 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE.  £19 

I  believe,  by  the  learned  as  supplementary  to  that 
of  Nice.  In  this  Council  of  Sardica,  Britain,  I 
found,  from  Athanasius,*  was  represented;  while 
its  acts  emphatically  recognized  the  primacy  or 
supreme  prerogatives  of  the  See  of  Rome.  The 
following  may  be  seen  in  Canon  iv.  as  proposed  by 
Ha^sius :  "  If  any  bishop  be  condemned  in  any 
cause,  and  thinks  the  cause  is  good,  and  that  a 
new  trial  ought  to  take  place, . .  .let  us  honor  the 
memory  of  the  holy  Apostle  Peter,  and  let  those 
who  investigated  the  cause  write  to  the  Roman 
bishop  ;  and  if  he  judge  that  a  new  trial  ought  to  be 
had,  let  it  be  granted,  and  let  him  appoint  judges. 
But,  if  he  judge  that  the  cause  is  such  that  the 
proceedings  should  not  be  called  in  question,  they 
shall  be  confirmed.  Is  this  the  will  of  all  ?  the 
Synod  answered,  It  is  our  will.9'  f  This,  with  other 
Canons  regulating  appeals,  was  forwarded  to  Pope 
Julius,  in  a  Synodal  letter,  in  which  the  Fathers 
say,  "  This  will  seem  to  be  excellent  and  most 
suitable,  if  the  priests  of  the  Lord  report  to  the 
headf  that  is,  to  the  See  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  from 
the  several  provinces."  + 

Here,  then,  the  proof  seemed  to  me  incontrover 
tible,  that,  in  the  year  347,  the  Church  in  Britain 
must  both  have  known  and  acknowledged  the  au 
thority  of  the  See  of  St.  Peter. 


*  In  Apologia  Cent.  Arian.  n.  1,  Tom.  i.  part.  I.  ed.  1698. 

f  Cone.  Sard.  can.  iv.  Torn.  i.  Sard.  Cone.  col.  640. 

}  Floe  enim  optimum  et  valde  congruentissimurn  esse  videbitur,si  ad  caput, 
id  e*\,  ad  Petri  Apostoli  sedein,  de  shigulis  quibusque  proviuciis  Domini  refe- 
rant  sacerdotes.  — Ep.  Synd.  Sard.  Hard.  col.  cone.  Tom.  i. 


APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

Daring  the  first  quarter  of  the  fifth  century,  1 
found  Pelagianism  made  such  fearful  progress  in 
Britain  as  to  require  the  interference  of  the  chief 
watchman  of  the  Church;  and  hence  that  Pope 
Celestine,  in  about  423,  was  induced,  by  the  rep 
resentations  of  the  deacon  Palladius,  to  despatch 
Germanus,  a  bishop  of  Gaul,  in  his  name  to  the 
British  Church,*  to  arrest,  if  possible,  the  growing 
evil.  Lupus,  the  Bishop  of  Troyes,  was  appointed 
to  accompany  him.  Their  mission  was  eminently 
successful.  Yea,  to  use  the  language  of  another, 
"The  triumph  of  orthodoxy  was  complete;  and 
Germanus,  before  he  quitted  the  scene  of  victory, 
visited  the  tomb  of  St.  Alban,  where  he  deposited 
a  small  box  of  relics  that  he  brought  with  him 
from  Gaul,  taking  in  exchange  a  handful  of  dust 
from  the  grave,  that  he  might  place  it  in  a  new 
Church  at  Auxerre,  which  he  afterwards  dedicated 
in  honor  of  the  British  martyr,  "f 

I  learned  from  Constantius,  however,  in  his  Life 
of  Germanus,  that  this  bishop  was  sent  in  conse 
quence  of  a  new  outbreak  of  the  heresy  a  second 
time,  but  found  very  little  difficulty  in  suppress 
ing  it.J 

Here,  again,  early  in  the  fifth  century,  we  find 

*  At!  actinnem  Palladii  diaconi  Papa  Celestinns  Germamira  Antisiodo- 
rensern  Episcopum  vice  aua  mitt.it,  ut  dettirbatis  hi'reticis,  Britannos  ad  Catho- 
licam  fidern  dirig  it.  —  S.  Prosper  in  chron.  anno  429.  In  writing  against  Caspian 
he  repeats  the  same ;  and  as  he  was  a  contemporary  with  Germanus,  living  in 
Gaul,  and  being  afterwards  secretary  to  St.  Celestine,  no  better  authority  could 
be  wished. 

f  The  fact  taken  from  V.  Bede,  i.  c.  18. 

J  See  also  Erric  and  Bede^ith  Usher,  Brit.  Ant.  EccL  c.  xii. 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE. 

the  Bishop  of  the  Holy  See  exercising  his  authority 
in  Britain,  through  a  vicar,  who  is  received  there 
with  open  arms,  and  listened  to  with  all  the  respect 
suitable  to  his  high  commission.  No  one,  there 
fore,  it  seemed  to  me,  could  justly  affirm  that,  in 
the  fifth  century,  the  Church  in  Britain  was  "  a 
stranger  either  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  or  his  au 
thority." 

About  the  middle  of  this  century,  it  is  well 
known  that  the  Romans  were  compelled  to  with 
draw  their  arms  ;  and  the  Christians  were  driven 
back  into  bordering  islands  or  mountain  fastnesses 
before  the  invading  Saxons.  Thus  cut  off  from 
communication  with  the  other  portions  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  it  struck  me  as  reasonable  that 
they  would  become  lax  in  their  discipline,  and  fall 
a  prey,  perhaps,  to  the  prevailing  heresies  —  partic 
ularly  as  the  heresies  seem,  after  the  mission  of 
Germanus,  to  have  extended  themselves  in  the 
mountains  of  Wales.  Hence  I  was  not  surprised 
to  find  that  the  British  historian,  Gildas,  writing 
about  550,  represented  the  Christians  as  having 
become,  in  his  time,  sadly  deteriorated  both  in  faith 
and  morals.  Still  he  gave  them  credit  generally, 
as  I  perceived,  for  orthodoxy  in  respect  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  the  Incarnation  of  our 
Lord,  and  future  rewards  and  punishments ;  and 
also  stated  that,  among  other  Catholic  truths  and 
usages,  they  looked  upon  St.  Peter  as  the  Prince 
of  the  Apostles,  and  the  source  of  all  priestly  au 
thority  in  the  Church. 
19* 


APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

Thus  far,  therefore,  the  accumulative  force  of 
the  testimony  is  utterly  against  the  assertion  of  Mr. 
Blackstone.  But  there  is  one  more  item. 

On  looking  further  into  the  Epitome  of  the  V. 
Bede,  I  discovered  the  following  record :  "  In  the 
year  430,  the  Scots  having  believed  in  Christ,  Pal- 
ladius  was  sent  to  them  by  Pope  Ccclestine,  as  their 
first  bishop."* 

Here  again  was  an  act,  which,  to  my  mind, 
implied  at  least  that,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  430, 
the  Christians  in  Britain  were  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Holy  See,  and  hence  must  have  known  and 
recognized  its  authority. 

These  facts  served  with  me  a  double  purpose : 
1st,  to  show  with  what  caution  we  should  receive 
the  statements  of  the  best  Protestant  authority  in 
England,  when  they  relate  to  the  jurisdiction  or 
Primacy  of  the  See  of  St.  Peter  ;  and,  2dly,  to 
enable  me  to  see  the  little  value  which  should  be 
put  upon  the  opposition  that  Augustine  met  with 
from  the  Welsh  bishops  and  monks,  in  his  efforts 
to  plant  Christianity  among  our  Saxon  forefathers. 
For  if  these  bishops  and  monks,  as  it  is  pretended, 
knew  nothing  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  Holy  See, 


*  Anno  430,  Palladium  ad  Scotas  in  Christum,  credentes  a  Ccelestin.  Papa 
primus  mittitur  Episcopus. — V.  Bcde,  epitome. 

Though  the  documents  are  few,  and  the  proofs  somewhat  inferential,  which 
show  that  the  Church  in  Britain  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Holy  See, 
still  both  seemed  to  me  sufficient,  when  taken  with  the  unquestionable  fact 
that  Britain  was  in  full  communion  with  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  this 
Church,  at  the  period  to  which  we  allude,  held  it  necessary  for  every  Church 
to  be  in  submission  to  the  See  of  St.  Peter  as  the  centre  of  Divine  unity  and 
the  source  of  Apostolic  power. 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE. 

it  was  clear  to  my  mind  that  their  want  of  knowl 
edge  must  have  been  owing  to  their  general  igno 
rance  ;  to  their  having  so  long  been  cut  off,  by  the 
wars  of  the  Saxons,  from  all  communication  with 
other  Christians,  as  to  have  lost  sight  of  their  real 
privileges  and  duty  as  members  of  the  one  body  of 
Christ.  But  it  struck  me  that  perhaps  the  more 
natural  solution  of  the  difficulty  might  be  found  in 
a  mistake  on  our  part  as  to  the  real  nature  of  their 
opposition  to  Augustine  —  an  opposition  growing, 
not  so  much  out  of  prejudice  to  his  religious  views, 
as  out  of  dislike  to  his  apparent  friendship  with 
their  Saxon  oppressors.*  Be  this  as  it  may,  I 


*  A  certain  document,  found  in  Wiikin's  and  Spelman's  Councils,  purport 
ing  to  have  been  the  answer  of  Dinoth  to  Augustine,  is  pleaded,  as  indicating, 
on  the  part  of  the  Church  of  the  Britons,  an  ignorance  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
Rome.  In  answer  let  it  be  observed,  that  this  document  (1)  bears  intrinsic 
marks  of  spuriousness.  It  professes  to  have  been  written  soon  after  the  Saxon 
invasion,  and  by  a  people  who  detested  the  Saxon  race,  and  yet  it  contains  two 
Sazon  words,  helpio  and  cleimio,  which,  under  the  circumstances,  is  hardly  con 
sistent  with  its  genuineness.  (2)  It  speaks  of  the  Arch-episcopal  See  as  then 
'  being  at  Kacrlin  on  Uske,  when  by  reference  to  the  Antiquities  of  the  Church  of 
Britain,  by  Archbishop  Usher,  chap.  v.  p.  64-65,  I  found  that  this  See  had  ac_ 
tually  been  transferred,  fifty  years  before  the  time  of  Augustine,  to  Meneviam, 
or  the  present  St.  David's. 

Besides,  the  document  I  found  was  not  only  not  mentioned  by  the  V.  Bede, 
but  seemed  to  me  not  reconcilable  with  the  account  which  he  gives,  Book  ii., 
ch,  2,  of  the  interview  between  St.  Augustine  and  the  Welsh  Bishops.  And 
finally,  the  matter  of  the  document  could  not,  except  on  the  ground  of  great 
ignorance  or  culpable  blindness,  be  reconciled  with  what  I  knew,  from  the 
above  testimonies,  to  be  both  tile  knowledge  and  submission  of  the  early  British 
Church  to  the  See  of  Rome. 

I  cannot  dismiss  this  point  without  remarking  upon  the  strange  inconsisten 
cy  of  Protestant  writers,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  in  respect  to  what  they  call  the 
introduction  of  Popery  into  England.  When  they  are  seeking  testimony  against 
the  Supremacy  of  the  Holy  See,  they  cite  Gregory  the  Great  as  rejecting  that 
supremacy,  on  the  ground  of  its  being  anti-Christian,  &c.  But  when  they  are 
endeavoring  to  account  for  its  introduction  into  England,  they  ascribe  it,  1 
found,  to  the  assumption  of  jurisdiction  over  England  by  this  very  Pope  Greg 
ory,  through  his  missionary,  Augustine. 


224      APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

could  not  shut  from  my  mind  the  truth,  made  so 
clear  by  the  documents  above  cited,  that  the 
Church  in  England  did  not,  during  that  early 
period  of  the  faith,  form  an  exception  to  the  uni 
versal  recognition  of  the  primacy  of  St.  Peter. 
And,  besides,  after  an  attentive  examination  of  the 
various  outbreaks  in  England,  under  the  domina 
tion  of  the  Catholic  rule,  before  the  Reformation,  I 
could  see  no  evidence  that,  at  any  time,  the  Church 
was  dissatisfied  with  the  existing  religion  ;  but  only 
that  the  secular  power,  becoming  jealous  of  the  in 
fluence  of  the  Church,  acting  in  her  Catholic, 
rather  than  in  a  national,  capacity,  endeavored,  by 
statutes  of  pramunire,  and  at  times  by  violent  per- 


In  my  remarks  above  on  the  spurious  document,  I  submitted  what  I  said  in 
regard  to  the  two  words,  kelpio  and  cleimio,  to  an  eminent  Welsh  scholar,  who 
at  first  concurred,  but  subsequently  sent  me  the  following  correction :  — 

"  In  the  supposed  document  of  Dinoth,  it  was  a  mistake  to  call  '  claimio,' 
or  '  cleimio,'  (as  it  is  written,)  a  Saxon  word,  as  it  is  obviously  from  the  Latin 
'  clamo.' 

"  But  this  fact  renders  the  document  still  more  suspicious,  as  far  as  Philol 
ogy  is  concerned. 

"  '  Claimio  '  could  not  be  derived  from  the  early  intercourse  of  the  Britons 
with  their  Roman  conquerors. 

"  (1)  Because  the  tense  of  the  word  is  not  its  classical  sense,  but  a  significa 
tion  which  it  obtained  in  later  jurisprudence,  and  is  current  in  the  Norman 
law  language. 

"  Because  it  is  a  form  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the  Welsh  language  ;  and,  in 
fact,  there  exists  in  Welsh  the  identical  word  clamarc,  with  its  proper  .signifi 
cation,  and  in  the  form  which  the  Britons  gave  to  similar  derivatives:  they 
changed  the  initial  d  into  their  //,  or  aspirated  I. 

********* 

"  It  seems,  therefore,  to  me  clear  that  the  word  '  cluimio,'  in  the  sense  and 
in  the  form  in  which  it  appears  in  the  supposed  answer  of  Dinoth,  was  de 
rived  from  our  English  language  after  the  Normans  had,  especially  in  the 
Courts  of  Law,  given  us  so  many  Gallicanizcd  Latin  \vun!s.  The  document, 
therefore,  i.-s  later  than  the  time  in  which  such  Norman  words  had  (1)  beconia 
current  hi  England,  and  (2)  communicated  to  our  Welsh  neighbors." 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE. 


secution,  to  separate  her  from  the  centre  of  Catho 
lic  unity.  But  never  till  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
did  it  seem  to  me  to  have  succeeded  in  effectually 
sundering  the  tie  which  bound  her  to  that  source 
of  divine  authority  and  to  that  standard  of  infal 
lible  truth, 

By  the  above  incontrovertible  evidence,  there 
fore,  I  was  brought  to  this  conviction,  that  that 
divine,  visible,  and  ever-living  headship  of  the 
"  One,  holy,  Catholic,  and  apostolic  Church,*'  mili 
tant,  which,  from  the  very  nature,  constitution,  and 
office  of  that  Church  seemed  to  me  so  necessary, 
was  actually  provided  by  our  Lord  in  the  appoint 
ment  of  St.  Peter  to  that  headship,  —  St.  Matt. 
xvi.  18-;  St.  John  xxi.  15—17,  —  as  understood  and 
acted  upon  in  her  submission  to'  the  See  of  St. 
Peter  at  Rome,  by  "the  one,  holy,  Catholic,  and 
apostolic  Church,"  to  the  present  day;  and  that, 
to  have  vital  evangelical  union  with  Christ,  cer 
tainly  in  the  faithfulness  of  charity  and  good  hope 
of  salvation,  it  is  by  God's  institution  made  essen 
tial  that  each  and  every  member  of  Christ's  body 
be  in  visible  and  real  fellowship  with  that  See. 
And  hence  that  no  one,  not  maintaining  such  fel 
lowship,  can  have  authority  to  exercise  the  office, 
either  of  bishop,  priest,  or  deacon,  in  the  Church 
of  God.  And,  therefore,  the  inevitable  conclusion 
that  the  act  of  Henry  VIII.,  perpetuated  by  Eliza 
beth  and  her  Parliament,  and  shared  in  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States, 
was  an  act  of  fatal  schism  —  annulling  all  authority 


226     APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

to  exercise  the  priestly  functions  in  God's  Church, 
arid  endangering  the  salvation  of  the  souls  em 
braced  within  its  scope.* 

To  this  point,  then,  dear  brethren  and  friends, 
after  long  and  painful  examination,  after  laboring 
and  suffering  under  the  misgivings  of  conscience  for 
years,  after  various  and  humiliating  endeavors  to 
reconcile  that  conscience  to  my  distrusted  Protes 
tant  position,  have  I  come  at  length  through  the 
marvellous  grace  of  God.  In  the  progress  of  my 
mind  to  its  present  happy  state,  it  has  passed 


*  The  object  of  my  work  did  not  lead  me  necessarily  to  speak  of  the  posi 
tion  of  the  present  Greek  Church. 

It  will  be  perceived,  however,  that  a  large  part  of  the  Fathers  which  I  have 
cited  to  bear  witness  to  the  Supremacy  of  the  See  of  St.  Peter  belonged  to  the 
early  Greek  Church,  and  hence  go  to  convict  the  modern  Greek  Church  of 
schism  in  her  present  melancholy  separation  from  Rome.  But  the  recent  pub 
lication  of  the  work  of  Cardinal  Mains,  already  alluded  to,  has  enabled  me  to 
adduce  another  later,  and,  if  possible,  more  important,  Greek  authority.  It  ig 
that  of  St.  Niceptiurus,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  He  is  writing  on  the  Sec 
ond  Council  uf  JWce,  and  gives  the  following  testimony:  "  Indeed,  this  synod 
is  of  the  very  highest  authority,  and  capable  of  giving  the  faith  in  all  its  ful 
ness;  because  it  is  (ecumenical,  and  wholly  unfettered  in  its  action,  and  above 
the  reach  of  calumny  arid  reproach,  and  tinged  with  no  spurious  doctrine,  and 
in  all  respects  perfect.  For  it  was  not  only  conducted  equitably,  but  in  the 
highest  sense  and  degree  according  to  law.  For,  as  required  by  the  divine  de 
crees  anciently  set  forth,  the  chief  part  of  the  authority  which  swayed  and  pre 
sided  over  its  councils,  proceeded  from  that  Western  Headship  (of  the  Church), 
ancient  Rome.  Without  which  no  dogma,  that  had  been  discussed  in  the 
Church  or  had  the  sanction  of  hierarchical  usage,  can  ever  be  considered 
proved  or  binding  in  practice ;  because  this  sacerdotal  jurisdiction  stands  pre 
eminent,  both  by  original  constitution  and  by  the  elevation  or  dignity  it  haa 
acquired  from  two  chief  Apostles."  *—  S.  JVicep/i.  Patriarch.  Conntpl.  Tom.  V.  p. 
174.  Ed.  Card.  Jllaio. 

*  Etenim  celebrata  fuit  feqnissime  et  in  primis  legitime:   nam  secundnm 
edita  antiquitus  Divina  decreta  praeminebat  in  ea  praaidebat  que  ez  occidentals 
fa*ti<rit>,  id  est,  ti  vetere  Roma,  pars  tion  modica:  sine  qiiibiin( Romania)  iiHiun 
dogma,  quod  in  ecclesia  ventilatum  decretis  canonicis  et  sacerdotali  consuetu- 
dine  fuit  antea  ratum  ;   nunqnam  tamen  probatum  habebitur,  neque  in  praxim 
deducetur;  qnia  ill!  sacerdotii  principaturn  sortiti  sunt.  eamque  dignitatem  a 
duttras  ctfiyphKis  Apssttflis  traditam  habent. 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE.  £27 

through  the  following  stages  of  manifest  truth : 
1.  I  have  seen,  with  a  clearness  which  I  cannot 
well  express,  that  "  the  friendship  of  the  world  is 
at  enmity  with  God."  That  fi  wre  cannot  serve  two 
masters"  —  cannot  secure  the  favor  of  two  utterly 
and  mutually  opposed  worlds.  £.  That  every  dic 
tate  of  reason  echoes  the  voice  of  God  —  "  what  can 
it  profit  a  man  to  gain  the  wrhole  world  and  lose 
his  own  soul  ?  "  3.  That,  to  save  the  soul,  self-will 
must  be  renounced,  and  God's  will  be  submissively 
followed.  4.  That  the  facts  that  God  has  re 
vealed  His  will  —  that  he  commands  us  to  know 
His  will  —  that  he  promises  to  "  lead  us  to  all 
truth  "  in  respect  to  it  —  all  concur  with  the  yearn 
ings  of  our  hearts  to  justify  the  expectation  of 
certainty  in  faith.  5.  That,  to  secure  such  cer 
tainty,  Christ  leads  us  out  of  ourselves  and  a\vay 
from  every  mere  human  aid,  and  invites  us  to 
6 '  take  His  yoke  and  learn  of  Him ;  "  to  look,  through 
His  commissioned  priesthood,  to  Himself,  as  our 
ever-living,  ever-present,  ever-unfailing  teacher 
and  guide.  6'.  That,  while  professedly  having  a 
part  in  that  priesthood,  and  so  appearing  as  Christ's 
representative  in  teaching  His  infallible  will,  I  felt 
in  my  conscience  wholly  unable  to  tell  with  cer 
tainty,  and  in  many  vital  particulars,  what  that 
will  is.  7.  That,  when  I  turned  for  relief  to  my 
brethren  associated  with  me  in  the  Episcopate, 
(and  here  let  me  affectionately  and  earnestly  appeal 
to  them  for  the  truth  of  my  convictions,)  I  found 
that  the  uncertainty  had  increased  almost  in  a 


APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

direct  ratio  with  the  increase  of  numbers,  till  con 
fusion,  and  discord,  and  mutual  strife  were  the 
only  answers  that  met  the  anxious  sinner  as  he 
came  to  inquire,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  " 
8.  That  such  a  state  of  things  so  unfriendly  to 
truth  —  so  utterly  repugnant  to  the  declared  pur 
poses  of  Christ's  priesthood  —  so  absolutely  submis 
sive  of  the  unity  and  Catholicity  of  His  Church  — 
so  derogatory  to  His  honor,  and  so  fatal  to  His 
promise,  could  not  possibly  proceed  from  His  own 
institution.  And  hence,  9.  That  the  cause  of  this 
doubt  and  misery,  attendant  upon  the  working  of 
the  Anglican  Communion  and'  her  American  daugh 
ter,  must  be  sought  in  that  fatal  act  which  separated 
her  from  a  divinely  constituted  spiritual  head,  the 
representative  of  Christ,  and  placed  her  professedly 
under  the  supreme  guidance  of  a  temporal  sover 
eign,  but,  in  reality,  under  the  direction  of  each 
individual  judgment.  10.  And  finally,  that  that 
Church,  which  is  the  body  of  Christ,  and  which,  as 
such,  we  are  all  commanded  by  him  to  "  hear,"  is 
manifestly  that  "one  Catholic  and  apostolic  Church" 
which,  at  first  founded  by  Him  on  the  "rock," 
St.  Peter,  has  ever  since  enjoyed  His  own  presence, 
as  the  centre  of  unity  and  source  of  apostolic  power 
in  the  See  of  that  prince  of  the  apostles.  And 
that  this  Church,  made  manifest  by  her  divine 
foundation  and  her  no  less  divine  preservation, 
yea,  by  her  obvious  principle  of  divine  life  and 
cohesion  and  assimilation,*  rewards  every  sincere 

*  Assimilation,  I  mean,  not  of  doctrine,  but  of  minds,  and  labws,  and  holy 
•ympfefhib'f. 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE. 


effort  to  investigate  her  claims  by  new  proofs  of 
her  divinity  —  by  making  it  more  clear,  the  more 
closely  her  history  is  examined,  that  she  has 
always,  every  where,  and  by  all  her  sons,  held  and 
taught  the  <  '  one  faith,  once  for  all  delivered  to  the 
saints."  That  what  has  been  charged  upon  her  as 
an  addition  to  that  faith  is  resolvable  either  into 
necessary  and  lawful  changes  in  her  discipline  and 
ceremonial,  into  the  unauthorized  extravagances 
of  overwrought  individual  minds,  or  the  miscon 
ceptions,  exaggerations,  and  misstatements  of  in 
terested  opponents.  That,  in  short,  the  Fathers 
of  the  first  five  centuries  taught  as  distinctly, 
though  not  as  formally  as  did  the  Fathers  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  the  various  dogmas  set  forth 
by  that  Council  as  necessary  to  the  faith  and  prac 
tice  of  the  Christian  man.  And  hence,  that  the 
Gospel  standard  of  faith,  and  the  Gospel  rule  of 
obedience,  are  to  be  found  only  within  her  pale  ; 
particularly  as  she  alone  professes  to  have,  through 
the  presence  of  Christ,  that  infallibility  which  is 
essential  to  such  a  standard,  and  in  her  members 
that  childlike  submission  without  which  such  a 
rule  would  be  useless  —  "  Except  ye  be  converted, 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  cannot  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Furthermore,  dear  brethren  and  friends,  I  came 
to  these  convictions,  as  I  have  written  this  letter, 
under  the  operations  of  my  own  mind.*  The  cir- 

*  Here  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty,  from  the  circumstances  in  which  I  am  placed, 
to  declare  distinctly  and  positively  that  each  and  every  part  of  this  letter  was 


230      APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

cnmstances  in  which  I  had  just  been  placed  by  the 
difficulties  in  my  diocese  forced  me  to  keep  my 
troubles  of  mind  much  tor  myself.  Often  my  op 
pressed  spirit  yearned  for  some  confidential  ear  into 
which  to  pour  out  its  griefs ;  but,  warned  by  sad 
experience,  I  hesitated  to  trust  a  distinct  knowl 
edge  of  these  griefs  beyond  my  own  breast. 

The  last  year  and  a  half  of  my  episcopate  was, 
I  can  truly  say,  the  most  trying,  the  most  pain 
ful,  period  of  my  life  ;  although  one  of  apparent 
quietness,  official  success,  and  restored  confidence. 
After  the  immediate  effects  of  my  convention  in 
the  spring  of  1851  (which,  as  you  will  remem 
ber,  resulted  in  a  reconciliation  between  myself  and 
the  disaffected  part  of  my  diocese)  had  passed  off, 
and  my  mind,  long  pressed  down  by  a  weight  of 
sore  trial,  had  time  to  react,  it  came  up  at  once, 
and  to  my  own  surprise,  to  its  former  level  of 
Catholic  belief:  indeed,  it  was  like  waking  from 
a  pleasant  dream  to  a  frightful  reality.  I  had 
actually  flattered  myself  into  the  belief  that  my 
doubts  had  left  me,  and  that  I  could  henceforward 
act  with  a  quiet  conscience  on  Protestant  ground. 
But,  on  recovering  from  the  stupefaction  of  over 
much  sorrow,  I  found  myself  fearfully  deceived ; 
found  that  what  I  had  taken  for  permanent  relief 
of  mind  was  only  the  momentary  insensibility  of 

written,  except  where  I  have  given  credit,  without  the  dictation,  suggestion,  or 
help  of  any  one  but  God  ;  and  that  the  books  I  consulted  in  writing  it  were  the 
books  I  had  read  while  a  Protestant,  except  in  the  instances  of  Passaglia's 
Commentary,  Oow'n  Rituale  Gracorum,  <$•<;.,  Perrone's  Pralcctiones,  4'c.,  and 
Card,  Maius's  Book  of  hitherto  unpublished  Fathers, 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE. 

opiates  or  exhaustion.  When  I  came  again  to  my 
self,  however,  I  was  visited  with  reflections  which 
no  man  need  envy.  i"he  concessions  I  had  made, 
in  good  faith  at  the  time,  for  the  peace  of  the 
Church,  and,  as  I  had  falsely  supposed,  for  my  own 
peace,  rose  up  before  me  as  so  many  concessions, 
and  cowardly  ones  too,  to  the  god  of  this  world. 
So  that  I  can  say  with  the  deepest  truth  that  the 
friendliness  which  greeted  me  011  my  subsequent 
visitation  through  my  diocese  was  most  unwelcome 
to  my  heart.  Every  kind  word  of  those  who  had 
spoken  against  the  truth  seemed  a  rebuke  to  me, 
every  warm  shake  of  the  hand  to  fall  like  ice  upon 
my  soul.  I  felt  that  I  had  shrunk  publicly  from 
the  consequences  of  that  truth  which  God  had 
taught  me  —  felt  that  I  had  denied  that  blessed 
Master  who  had  graciously  revealed  Himself  to  me. 
But  blessed  be  His  name  for  that  grace  which 
moved  me  to  "  weep  bitterly."  Persecution  for 
Christ's  sake  would  then  have  been  balm  to  my 
wounded  conscience.  And  nothing,  I  think,  but 
the  precarious  state  of  one  whom  I  had  vowed  to 
"  keep  in  sickness  as  well  as  health  "  prevented  an 
earlier  avowal  of  my  disquietude  and  an  earlier 
abandonment  of  my  diocese. 

For  all  this  suffering,  however,  God  forbid  that 
I  should  blame  any  one  but  myself.  Others  may 
have  acted  according  to  their  conscientious  convic 
tions  ;  I  resisted  mine,  and  on  grounds  that  would 
not  bear  the  test  of  calm  reflection,  and  how  much 


APPLICATION  OF  FACTS  IN  TWO  PRECEDING 

less  the  searching  light  of  Eternity !  I  ought  to 
have  known  myself  better  ;  ought  to  have  known 
the  way  of  God's  grace  and  truth  better.  Per 
haps,  however,  —  and  here  I  try  to  comfort  myself, 
• —  there  may  be  in  all  this  a  token  of  Divine  mercy  >• 
for  it  may  have  prepared  me  to  bear  the  more 
patiently  the  heavy  cross  which  was  to  be  laid  upon 
me,  to  drink  the  more  readily  of  that  bitter  chalice 
which  was  put  into  my  hand.  For  I  can  now  say, 
with  a  depth  of  truth  which  no  one  but  a  Catholic 
can  understand,  "  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my 
salvation ;  whom,  then,  shall  I  fear  ?  The  LORD 
is  the  strength  of  life ;  of  whom,  then,  shall  I  be 
afraid  ? "  And  further,  I  can  now  suffer,  as  a 
Catholic  alone  can  comprehend,  and  count  it  all 
joy,  if  it  only  be  for  Christ  and  heaven. 

And  now,  dear  brethren,  I  have  only  to  add, 
take  warning  by  my  sufferings ;  take  courage  by 
my  blessings ;  take  example  from  Him  "  who  en 
dured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  God."  The  scenes  of 
earth  will  soon  be  past,  and  we  shall  then  feel  the 
true  force  of  our  Lord's  words,  "  He  that  forsaketh 
not  all  that  he  hath  cannot  be  rny  disciple." 

I  have  loved  you  well ;  I  have  labored  for  vou 
earnestly ;  and  now  I  feel  it  to  be  a  privilege,  too 
great  for  human  tongue  to  express,  to  be  able  each 
day  to  plead  in  your  behalf  the  sacrifice  of  a  pres 
ent  God  and  Savior ;  yea,  to  plead  that  He  may 
ere  long,  through  the  riches  of  His  own  mercy  and 


CHAPTERS  TO  MY  OWN  CASE.  233 

the  power  of  His  condescending  love,  make  you 
partakers  of  the  new  and  unutterable  joy  which  I 
now  feel,  when  I  declare  before  God  that  "  I  BE 
LIEVE  ONE  CATHOLIC  AND  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH." 
Faithfully  and  affectionately, 

Your  Friend  and  Servant, 

L.  SILLIMAN  IVES. 

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