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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/22017-8.txt b/22017-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d3409fc --- /dev/null +++ b/22017-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5776 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Key to the Knowledge of Church History +(Ancient), by John Henry Blunt + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Ancient) + + +Author: John Henry Blunt + + + +Release Date: July 7, 2007 [eBook #22017] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH +HISTORY (ANCIENT)*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Transcriber's notes: + + Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed + in curly braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page + breaks occurred in the original book. For its Index, a page + number has been placed only at the start of that section. + + In the original book, its various chapters' subsections were + denoted with the "section" symbol (§). In this e-text, that + symbol has been replaced with the word "SECTION". Where two + of these symbols were together, they have been replaced with + the word "SECTIONS". + + In the original book, footnotes in a chapter were numbered + from 1 to 9. If a chapter had more than 9 footnotes, the + numbering sequence was repeated, resulting in several footnotes + with the same number. In this e-book, all footnotes have been + re-numbered sequentially from 1. Footnotes have been moved to + the end of their respective chapters. + + The original book had many side-notes in its pages' left or + right margin areas. Some of these sidenotes were at the + beginning of a paragraph, and in this e-text, are placed to + precede their host paragraph. Some were placed elsewhere + alongside a paragraph, in relation to what the sidenote + referred to inside the paragraph. These have been placed + into the paragraph near where they were in the original book. + Some sidenotes were split into two or more parts, distributed + down the margin of their host paragraph. Occasionally, such + multi-part sidenotes had sections in adjacent paragraphs. If + all parts of such sidenotes were within a single paragraph, + they were treated as separate sidenotes, unless that + meant the splitting of sentences, in which case they were + amalgamated into a single sidenote and positioned near where + their first section was. If a multi-part sidenote had + sections in adjacent paragraphs, those sections were treated + as if they belonged to their host paragraph. Sidenotes inside + paragraphs are always placed between sentences. All sidenotes + have been enclosed in square brackets, and preceded with + "Sidenote:". + + + + + +A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH HISTORY + +[Ancient] + +Edited by + +JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. + +Editor of + "The Dictionary of Theology," + "The Annotated Book of Common Prayer;" +Author of + "Household Theology," Etc. Etc. + + + + + + + + _"This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be + preached in all the world for a witness + unto all nations._"--St. Matt. xxiv. 14 + + + +Rivingtons +Waterloo Place, London +Oxford, and Cambridge +MDCCCLXXVII +[New Edition] + + + + + + +PREFACE + +This Volume offers to the reader a short and condensed account of the +origin, growth, and condition of the Church in all parts of the world, +from the time of our Lord down to the end of the fifteenth century, the +narrative being compressed into as small a compass as is consistent +with a readable form. + +In such a work the reader will not, of course, expect to find any full +and detailed account of so vast a subject as Pre-Reformation Church +History. Its object is rather to sketch out the historical truth about +each Church, and to indicate the general principles on which further +inquiry may be conducted by those who have the opportunity of making it. + +It is hoped that those whose circumstances do not admit of an extended +study of the subject will find in the following pages a clear, though +condensed, view of the periods and Churches treated of; and that those +whose reading is of a less limited range will be put in possession of +certain definite lines of thought, by which they may be guided in +reading the statements of more elaborate histories. + +It may be added, that the writer's stand-point throughout has been that +of a loyal attachment to the Church of England, as the authorized +exponent and upholder of Catholic doctrine for English people. + +M. F. B. P. + +_July_, 1869. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AMONG THE JEWS . . . . . 1 + II. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AMONG THE HEATHEN . . . 25 + III. THE EXTENSION OF THE CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD . . 30 + IV. FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE CHURCH BY ST. JOHN . . . . . 45 + V. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 + VI. THE CHURCH UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE . . . . . . . . . . 66 + VII. THE EARLY HISTORY OF PARTICULAR CHURCHES . . . . . . 73 + VIII. THE INROADS OF MAHOMETANISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 + IX. THE DIVISION BETWEEN EAST AND WEST . . . . . . . . . 94 + X. THE CHURCH OF THE MIDDLE AGES . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 + XI. THE MEDIAEVAL HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL CHURCHES . . . . 120 + XII. THE MEDIAEVAL CHURCH IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND . . 142 + + INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 + + + + +{1} + +CHAPTER I + +The foundation of the Church among the Jews + +A.D. 33-A.D. 38 + +Before entering upon an account of the Foundation and After-History of +the Christian Church, it may be well to consider what that Church +really is. + + +Section 1. _Definition of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Twofold nature of the Church.] + +The Church may be regarded in a twofold aspect, as an external +Corporation, and as a spiritual Body. + +[Sidenote: 1. An external Kingdom.] + +In the first light it is a Kingdom, in the world, though not of the +world, extending through different and widely-separated countries, +often seemingly divided by outward circumstances, but, in reality, +having all its parts subject to the same Invisible King, governed by +laws which He has given, and by means of those whom He has appointed to +be His representatives on earth. + +[Sidenote: 2. A spiritual Body.] + +In its spiritual sense the Church is the One Mystical Body of Christ, +of which men are made members by Holy Baptism, and in which they are +nourished and built up by the Holy Eucharist, and the other means of +grace. These means of grace {2} are dispensed by Priests, who receive +authority and power to execute their ministerial functions from +Bishops, successors of the Apostles, and are assisted in their ministry +by the inferior order of Deacons. + +[Sidenote: Future destiny of the Church.] + +The members of this Mystical Body, after passing through their +appointed probation in this world, and being built up more and more, if +they continue faithful, into Christ their Head, are removed to join the +Church at rest in Paradise. There they await the Resurrection and +Final Judgment, after which the "Church Militant here on earth" will +become the Church Triumphant in Heaven. + +[Sidenote: The Church exists through and by the Incarnation, applied to +each individual in Holy Baptism, and the Holy Eucharist.] + +The existence of the Church is the consequence and fruit of the +Incarnation and Death of her Divine Head; the spiritual life of all her +members being derived from their union with our Blessed Lord's Sacred +Humanity, whereby they are also made "partakers of the Divine +Nature[1]," their birth-sin being at the same time washed away by the +Virtue of His Cleansing Blood. This Life, once begun, is kept up in +faithful Christians by believing and persevering use of the Mystical +Food provided for its sustenance in their souls--the Blessed Body and +Precious Blood thus given to them being a continual extension of the +Incarnation; whilst their actual sins are forgiven by the absolving +Word of the Priest, and the Pleading of the One Sacrifice, unceasingly +presented in Heaven, and constantly shown forth and mystically offered +on the Altars of the Church on earth. + +{3} + +[Sidenote: Foreshadowings of the Church and the Redeemer's sacrifice +under the Patriarchal] + +From the time of the Fall and the merciful Promise of a Redeemer, "the +Seed of the woman," there is also a foreshadowing of the Church as the +appointed way by which mankind should lay hold on the salvation thus +provided for them. The Patriarchs were priests in their own tribes, +for which they continually offered up sacrifices to Almighty God; and +to this patriarchal system succeeded the Mosaical Dispensation with an +elaborate ceremonial, each minute detail of which was laid down by +direct revelation from God Himself. + +[Sidenote: and Mosaic dispensations.] + +In this system of Divine Worship given to Moses, sacrifices of animals +still held the most prominent place, typifying as they did the great +Oblation to come, and perhaps conveying a certain Sacramental grace to +the devout offerers and partakers of them. To these perpetual +sacrifices, offered morning by morning and evening by evening, there +was also joined a continual round of praise and thanksgiving. +[Sidenote: Much of the Jewish ritual absorbed in the Christian Church.] +When our Blessed Lord came "to fulfil the Law," this Jewish ritual was +in a great measure engrafted into the worship of the Christian Church. +The Passover feast, as well as animal sacrifices and the feeding on +them, were done away, and replaced by the "Unbloody Sacrifice" and +Sacramental Communion of the Gospel covenant, whilst circumcision and +ceremonial purifications disappeared to make room for the "true +Circumcision of the Spirit," and the regenerating streams of Holy +Baptism. But the "Hours of Prayer" and Praise were still retained, +"the singers arrayed in white" became the white-robed choirs of the +Christian Church, and the threefold order of the Christian {4} ministry +represented the High Priest, Priests, and Levites of the old +dispensation. + +[Sidenote: Jewish Worship a preparation for Christian Worship.] + +We must not be led to think that the Jewish Worship was contrary to the +Mind of God, for He Himself appointed it. It was, without doubt, a +part of the great Scheme of Redemption--a preparation for the Gospel, +the means ordained by the Divine Wisdom for keeping up in men's minds +the future Coming of the Messiah. But when the Great Deliverer was +indeed come, there was no further need for the types and shadows of the +Law, and they disappeared to make way for the "substance" of the +Gospel. [Sidenote: The Church Militant a preparation for the Church +Triumphant.] So when the number of the elect shall be accomplished, and +the Church Militant changed into the Church Triumphant, her Worship and +her Sacraments will have their full fruition in the Marriage Supper of +the Lamb, and the unceasing adoration of the redeemed in the Heavenly +Temple. + + +Section 2. _Our Lord's Work in the Foundation of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Our Lord prepared for the Foundation of His Church by +instituting Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, and by appointing the +twelve Apostles.] + +Our Blessed Lord's Ministry was spent in making preparations for the +foundation of His Church. At His first entrance on that Ministry, He +"sanctified Water to the mystical washing away of sin;" at the close of +it, He blessed the elements of Bread and Wine, and made them the +channels of His constant Presence with His Church, "a perpetual memory +of His Precious Death" before God. He also appointed human +instruments, who, in His Name and by His Authority, should carry out +{5} this mighty work, and be the foundation-stones of the new spiritual +building, bonded together and firmly established in Him the "Chief +Corner Stone." "The wall of the City had twelve foundations, and in +them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb[2]." + +[Sidenote: The Apostles taught and trained by our Lord's Example and +Teaching.] + +The Apostles were solemnly set apart by our Lord after a night of +watching and prayer[3], and from that time became His constant +companions, witnessing His mighty works, listening to the words of +Heavenly Wisdom which fell from His Sacred Lips, and thus experiencing, +under the guidance of the Head of the Church Himself, such a training +as might best fit them for their superhuman labours[4]. [Sidenote: +Special instructions given them, and not understood until after the Day +of Pentecost.] A large portion of what is now stored up in the Holy +Gospel for the instruction of the whole body of Christians, was in the +first instance spoken to the Apostles with a special view to their +Apostolic vocation; to them it was "given to know the Mysteries of the +Kingdom of Heaven." Doubtless much of what they were thus taught +remained unexplained "Mysteries" to them until the Coming of the Holy +Ghost on the Day of Pentecost to "guide them into {6} all Truth," and +especially to instruct them in the real meaning of what had before +seemed to be "hard sayings" in their Master's Teaching. + +[Sidenote: This Teaching continued after the Resurrection.] + +Again, after our Blessed Lord's Passion and Resurrection, we read that +He was "seen of them forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to +the Kingdom of God[5]," i.e. to the Church, the Kingdom which, by the +agency of the Twelve Apostles, He was about to establish in this world. +No record is left us as to what these "things" were of which He spake +to them; but we cannot doubt that the Words of Divine Wisdom would +remain deeply engraven on their hearts, and be a treasure of strength +and counsel in the trials and perplexities of the untried path which +lay before them, the Holy Spirit "bringing to their remembrance" any +sayings of the Saviour which human frailty might have hindered them +from remembering[6]. + +[Sidenote: A commission given to the Apostles for all their official +acts,] + +The Apostles received from the Great High Priest before His Ascension, +a commission to execute the various functions of the priestly office, +to baptize[7], to teach[8], to consecrate and offer the Holy +Eucharist[9], and to absolve[10]; besides a general and comprehensive +promise that all their official acts should be confirmed by Him, in the +words, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world[11]." +[Sidenote: but not exerted till after Pentecost.] We do not, however, +find that this commission was acted on by the Apostles before the day +of Pentecost; the Saviour's will was, that it should, so to {7} speak, +lie dormant until the seal of the Holy Spirit was impressed upon it. +During the days of expectation which followed our Lord's Ascension, we +read that the holy company who were gathered together in the "upper +room," "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication[12];" but +we have no mention of any celebration of the Holy Eucharist, whilst +immediately after the Descent of the Holy Ghost we are told of their +daily continuance in "the Breaking of the Bread[13]." + + +Section 3. _The Day of Pentecost._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33. Participation of the Blessed Trinity in the works +of Creation, the Incarnation, and the Foundation of the Church.] + +As the Three Holy Persons of the Ever-blessed Trinity had shared in the +work of the First Creation of the world, the Father speaking by the +Eternal Word, and the Holy Spirit brooding over what before was +lifeless: and as in the work of the Incarnation the Father had sent the +Son to take upon Him our human nature through the operation of the Holy +Ghost: so, in the Foundation of the Church, the Power of the Holy +Spirit co-operated no less than the Will of the Father and the +Life-giving Grace of the Son. + +{8} + +[Sidenote: The waiting at Jerusalem.] + +The Apostles had received from their ascending Lord a command to await +in the City of Jerusalem this "Power from on High," which was to be +sent upon them[14]. We can easily see the fitness of this injunction, +when we remember that they were about to become the founders of the New +Jerusalem, the true "City of God" in which the many "glorious things +spoken[15]" by the Old Testament Prophets were to have their +performance to a certain extent even in this life, but fully and +perfectly in the Life to come. + +[Sidenote: St. Matthias chosen.] + +Immediately after our Lord's Ascension the Apostles, under the +immediate guidance of Almighty God, made choice by lot of St. Matthias +to fill up the vacancy in the Apostolic Body caused by the apostasy of +Judas, and then awaited in prayer and worship the promised Coming of +the Comforter. [Sidenote: The coming of the Holy Ghost.] After ten +days of expectation, on the morning of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, +the Promise was fulfilled: with the sound "of a rushing mighty Wind," +with the brightness of "cloven tongues like as of fire," the Holy +Spirit descended "and sat upon each of" the Apostles[16]. Thus they +were inspired and enlightened with Power and Knowledge, and all the +other sevenfold gifts of the Paraclete[17] in fuller measure than had +ever been vouchsafed to the Prophets and Teachers of old, as well as +with miraculous endowments, that so they might be enabled to carry out +the Commission entrusted to them by their Master. + +[Sidenote: The gift of Tongues.] + +One effect of this wonderful Visitation was {9} immediately and +strikingly apparent to all who stood by, for on these twelve unlearned +men of lowly birth was bestowed the power of speaking fluently and +intelligibly in languages of which, before, they had been altogether +ignorant. [Sidenote: The people come together.] The fame of this great +wonder soon spread amongst the multitude of foreign Jews who were then +gathered together at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Pentecost; many of +them were probably at that very time in the Temple, of which the "upper +room" is thought to have formed a part, and they quickly came around +the Apostles, anxious to judge for themselves of the truth of what had +been told them. [Sidenote: Their amazement.] Very great was their +astonishment at what they heard. It seems as if words are multiplied +in the Sacred Narrative to impress us with a sense of their awe and +wonder. It is said that they "were confounded" or "troubled in mind," +that "they were all amazed and marvelled;" and again, that "they were +all amazed, and were in doubt" at this startling exhibition of the +"Power" of God[18]. [Sidenote: Though some refused to believe.] Some +indeed "mocked," despising the work of the Spirit, as they had before +despised the work of the Son; but many opened their hearts to the +softening influence, and of them it may truly be said that "the fear of +the Lord" was "the beginning of wisdom." + + +{10} + +Section 4. _St. Peter's First Sermon, and its Results._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33. Conversion of the 3000.] + +And now at once the converting power of the Church was exercised. St. +Peter, the chief of the Apostles, took the lead, as he had already done +in the election of St. Matthias, and preached to the impressed and +eager multitude that first Christian sermon, which was followed by the +conversion and baptism of "about 3000 souls[19]." + +[Sidenote: The promise of St. Peter fulfilled.] + +Thus was fulfilled, in one sense at least, the promise of Christ to St. +Peter: "Upon this rock I will build My Church[20];" and he, who first +of the Twelve had faith to confess the Godhead of our Blessed Lord, was +rewarded by being the first to whom it was given to draw men into that +Church, which in His Human Nature Christ had purchased for Himself. + +[Sidenote: Further results of St. Peter's sermon.] + +In estimating the importance of the results which were brought about by +St. Peter's sermon, we must not only take into account the actual +number of those who were at once added to the disciples, large as that +number was, but we must also remember that many of these converts came +from far distant countries, whither, on their departure from Jerusalem, +they would carry the tidings of the Faith which they had embraced. +Hence they in their turn became forerunners of our Lord and of His +Church, preparing the hearts of those amongst whom they dwelt to listen +to the proclamation of the {11} Gospel, when, in God's appointed +season, it should be preached to them. + + +Section 3. _The First Beginnings of Persecution._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33. Growth of the Church.] + +The Church now steadily grew in influence and numbers; "The Lord added +to the Church daily such as should be" [or "were being"] "saved[21];" +and on the occasion of a second sermon, preached by St. Peter after the +healing of the lame man "at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple," "about +five thousand" were converted[22]. [Sidenote: Beginnings of +persecution.] The opposition of the Jewish rulers was powerless to +check the ever-advancing tide; and this _first beginning of +persecution_, by calling forth from the whole Church an earnest act of +worship and supplication, was the occasion of "great power" and "great +grace" being given to enable her to do and bear all for the sake of her +Lord[23]. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of St. Barnabas.] + +Immediately afterwards we read of the conversion of St. Barnabas, the +first convert mentioned by name, a Levite, and apparently a man of +wealth and position[24]; and then we are told of the awe and reverence +produced in the minds of the people of Jerusalem, and the neighbouring +country, by the abundant exercise of the Apostolic power of working +miracles[25]. [Sidenote: The gift of working miracles.] This great +working gift of the Holy Ghost, bestowed, like the Gift of Tongues, on +the Day of Pentecost, had similar results. Fear was followed by faith, +and {12} "multitudes both of men and women" were added to the Church. + +Persecution once more followed, this time with greater severity; the +Apostles were imprisoned through the influence of the sect of the +Sadducees, and, being set free by a miracle, were called before the +Sanhedrim and scourged, only escaping death by the wise and merciful +interposition of the Pharisee Gamaliel. + + +Section 6. _Worship and Discipline of the Infant Church._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33.] + +Before going farther into the History of the Church, we may pause to +consider the account given us in Holy Scripture of Christian Worship +and Discipline in the time immediately following the Day of Pentecost. +The same chapter which contains the narrative of the Descent of the +Holy Ghost, has also a short epitome of the daily life of the Apostles +and their converts, during that brief interval of undisturbed peace +which preceded the beginning of the bitter conflict between the Church +and the world. + +[Sidenote: Holy Baptism. Apostolic Doctrine.] + +First we read of Holy Baptism as the source of the Christian Life[26], +and then of steadfast continuance in the one Faith as taught by the +Apostles, who were, so to speak, a kind of living Gospel to their +converts. [Sidenote: Oral teaching.] None of the Books of the New +Testament were as yet written, so that all instruction being oral, +faithful must most fully have sought "the Law" of the Saviour at the +"mouth" of His twelve chosen servants, who had listened to His gracious +words, and had been themselves taught by {13} Him Who is Wisdom. +[Sidenote: Value of tradition.] The Apostles' Creed is a mighty +instance of this _traditional_ teaching, which has come down even to +our own days; and many points of Church government, and discipline, and +ritual, merely hinted at, or not even referred to in the writings of +the New Testament, were preserved to the Church by means of spoken +tradition. St. Paul several times mentions these oral traditions, and +in one instance speaks of them to his converts as equally binding with +the written words contained in his Epistles[27]. The substance of such +important traditions became ingrained into the system and belief of the +Church, and it was thus of comparatively little importance that their +exact words were forgotten. + +[Sidenote: Apostolic fellowship. Faith and love towards God] + +To oneness of "doctrine" belonged also oneness of "fellowship." There +was as yet "no schism in the Body;" and this inward Faith and Love +found their outward expression both towards God and towards man. +Towards God in "the Breaking of the Bread," the Daily Sacrifice and +Thank-offering of the Holy Eucharist "at home[28]," i.e. in their own +upper room, the first Christian Church, as well as in their constant +attendance on the daily "Prayers" and praises still offered up in the +Temple. Of the conduct of the first Christians towards each other we +are told twice over, immediately after the Outpouring of the Day of +Pentecost, and again after that increase of "boldness," which was +granted to the earnest cry of the Church on the approach of +persecution[29]. + +{14} + +[Sidenote: and towards man.] + +Both these accounts speak to us of their full realization of the +doctrine of the Communion of Saints. They "were together;" they "were +of one heart and of one soul:" the need of one was the need of all; +each felt his brother's wants, as if he himself suffered; and so great +was the liberality of those who had "possessions and goods," that there +was not "any among them that lacked." "They had all things common," as +to the daily use of God's worldly gifts. + +[Sidenote: The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice] + +The Holy Eucharist was to the Church then, as it is still, the chief +act and centre of Divine worship. In this new Sacrifice the Apostles +showed forth and pleaded before God, the One Sufficient Sacrifice, +which they themselves had seen "once offered," with unspeakable +sufferings, and all-prevailing Blood-shedding upon the Cross of +Calvary. [Sidenote: and a means of union with Christ.] In it they +adored Him, Whom they now acknowledged with every faculty of their +souls to be indeed their "Lord" and their "God;" in it they found again +the Real and continual, though invisible, Presence of the Master and +Friend for Whose sake they had forsaken all earthly ties; and by it +they were brought into closer union with Him, than when of old they had +walked and talked with Him beside the Galilean Sea, or beneath the +olive-trees of Gethsemane; for now, they were indeed "nourished and +cherished" by Him and made more and more "members of His Body, of His +flesh, and of His bones[30]." [Sidenote: Thankfulness of the first +converts.] What wonder, then, that we read of the "gladness and +singleness of heart" of the {15} Apostles and their converts thus +living in the constant joy and presence of their Lord, and that +"praising God" is mentioned as one of their distinguishing marks:-- + + "By 'Deo gratias,' as they pass'd, + The faithful folk were surest known; + That watchword for the daily strife + Might well their thoughts and tongues employ, + Who made the Church transform their life, + And the great Offering crown their joy[31]." + + +[Sidenote: Continued attendance of the Apostles on the Temple Services.] + +We may here remark the many indications which are given us throughout +the Book of Acts, that the Apostles, who were themselves Jews, did not, +even after the Foundation of the Christian Church, oppose or neglect +Jewish ordinances and worship, so long and so far as the union of the +two dispensations was practicable. In this they followed the example +of their Divine Master, Who, from His Circumcision upwards, paid +obedience to that Law which He came to fulfil, and Who was a constant +attendant at the services of the Temple and of the Synagogues. There +was no violent rending away from the old Faith, until God, in His +wisdom and justice, saw fit to ordain the destruction of the guilty +city Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish Temple, and Altar, and +Priesthood, none of which had then any further purpose to serve in the +Divine plan for the redemption of mankind. + +[Sidenote: In the cases of St. Peter and St. John,] + +Thus we read of St. Peter and St. John going up to the Temple to +worship at the ninth hour of prayer[32], and of their afterwards +preaching to the people in that part of the {16} Temple called +Solomon's porch[33], of the daily preaching of the Gospel by the +Apostles in the Temple[34], and of their constant resort to the Jewish +Synagogues during their stay in such places as possessed them[35]. +[Sidenote: and of St. Paul.] Even five and twenty years after the day +of Pentecost we find that the very tumult which resulted in St. Paul's +apprehension and consequent journey as a prisoner to Rome, was +immediately excited by his having "entered into the Temple[36]," in +performance of one of the ceremonies of the Mosaic Law. + + +Section 7. _The First Schism and the Appointment of the Diaconate._ + +[Sidenote: A. D. 33. The first deadly sin in the Church.] + +Great and deadly sin had already made its way into Christ's fold, and +been cast out from the midst of it by a fearful judgment. Ananias and +Sapphira had "lied unto God," and been struck dead for their impiety; +and the "great fear" excited by this first display of the judicial +powers of the Church had been followed by another influx of +conversions; for "multitudes were added to the Lord[37]." [Sidenote: +A.D. 34. The first schism.] And now came the first division in the +body, "a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews[38]." + +[Sidenote: Distinction between "Grecians" (or Hellenists) and +"Hebrews."] + +By the "Grecians" are meant those Jews of foreign birth and education +who had adopted Greek customs and the Greek language so entirely, that +some even of their most learned men did not understand Hebrew {17} but +read the Scriptures of the Old Testament in the Septuagint Version. +They were much despised by the stricter and more narrow-minded +"Hebrews," the natives of Palestine, or Syro-Chaldaic Jews; and the +rivalries of these two Jewish sects were carried even into the bosom of +Christ's Church. [Sidenote: Complaint of the "Grecians."] The +Grecians, or "_Hellenists_" complained that their widows were neglected +in the daily distribution of alms; perhaps grounding their complaint on +the fact that the Twelve were all Hebrews. [Sidenote: Deacons +ordained.] And the Apostles commanded that "seven men of honest report" +should be chosen from the body of believers, and presented to them, +that they might be ordained by Imposition of Hands to minister to the +bodily wants of the poor and aged. This was the first institution of +the Order of Deacons[39], the lowest of the three holy offices which +were to be continually handed down and perpetuated in the Church. Thus +did the Apostles begin to impart to others such a portion of the +ministerial grace, of which they themselves had been at first the sole +recipients, as might enable those whom they ordained to aid them, in a +subordinate degree, in the work of building up the mystical Body of +Christ. + +[Sidenote: Increasing conversions.] + +This fresh proof of the vitality of the Church through the active, +living Presence of her Divine Head, was followed by a new feature in +the still increasing conversions to her fold. It was no longer the +poor and the unlearned only, or chiefly, who listened to the teaching +of the Apostles, {18} "a great company of the Priests were obedient to +the Faith[40]," while, on the other hand, a growing and more bitter +spirit of persecution was soon to develope itself. + + +Section 8. _The Martyrdom of St. Stephen._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 34. The Seven Deacons.] + +St. Stephen, the foremost and saintliest of the Seven Deacons, and St. +Philip, the second in order, are the only two of whom we have any +further mention in the Book of Acts; but it is believed that the last +named, Nicolas of Antioch, was the author of the heresy of the +Nicolaitanes, which our Blessed Lord twice over tells us that He +hates[41]. Nicolas seems in this way to be a sad reflection of the +awful example set by the traitor Judas, the last reckoned Apostle. + +[Sidenote: Their functions.] + +It is clear that the ministrations of the first Deacons were not of +necessity confined to the "serving of tables," which was the primary +occasion of their appointment. St. Philip both preached and +baptized[42]; and St. Stephen brought down upon himself the hatred and +malice of the Jews by the boldness and power of his preaching. Both +preaching and baptizing do still, under certain restrictions, +"appertain to the office of a Deacon[43]." + +[Sidenote: Probably all Hellenists.] + +Judging from the names of the Seven Deacons, there seems good reason +for supposing that they were all or most of them Grecians or {19} +Hellenists. St. Stephen was undoubtedly a Hellenist, and his early +training made him a ready instrument for the work to which the Holy +Ghost had called him. Freed by education from many of the associations +and feelings which bound his Hebrew brethren to the Holy City and the +Temple, he could realize more plainly than they could do, the future of +the Christian Church apart from both these, and boldly proclaimed his +convictions. [Sidenote: St. Stephen's preaching rouses Hebrew +prejudices.] By this conduct he aroused all the deeply-rooted +prejudices and exclusive pride of the Jewish mind, even amongst those +who, like himself, were Hellenists, and to whom he seems more +particularly to have addressed himself. Up to this time, what +opposition there was to the teaching of the Apostles, seems to have +come chiefly from the unbelieving sect of the Sadducees[44]; for the +people had espoused the cause of the Christian teachers[45], and the +Pharisees had advocated lenient conduct towards those who confessed, as +they themselves did, a belief in the Resurrection[46]. [Sidenote: The +Pharisees join with the Saducees in opposition to the Church.] But now +all was altered; priests and people, Sadducees and Pharisees, were +alike vehement against those who ventured to assert that the "Holy +Place and the Law" should ever give way to a Holier than they; and +foremost amongst the persecutors was the fiery, earnest, intellectual +man who was afterwards the holy Apostle Paul[47]. + +[Sidenote: St. Stephen's speech a direct Inspiration.] + +The defence of the heavenly-minded Deacon before {20} his malicious and +bloodthirsty enemies must be looked upon as a direct Inspiration of the +Holy Ghost, a fulfilment of our Blessed Lord's promise to His +Church[48], and a Divine commentary on Old Testament History, showing +that God's mercies were not restrained to any particular place or +country, and upbraiding the Jews with their abuse of their many +privileges and their rejection of the Saviour. But the words of this +first Christian "Apology against Judaism" fell for the time on +unheeding ears; and its only present apparent result was the violent +and yet triumphant death of him who had been chosen to utter it. +[Sidenote: His blessed martyrdom.] Beneath the stoning of the enraged +multitude, the First Martyr "fell asleep," blessed in his last moments +with a foretaste of the Beatific Vision[49]. + + +Section 9. _Results of St. Stephen's Martyrdom._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 34. Good brought out of evil for the Church.] + +We may here pause to recollect how God had all along been bringing +forth good out of seeming evil, in what concerned His Church. The +first _dawnings of persecution_ drew down increased "boldness" in +answer to thankful prayer; the first great necessity for exercising the +_judicial office_ of the Church was followed by "great fear" and +multiplied conversions, as well as by the first miracles of healing +wrought in the Church; the first _schism_ was the occasion of the +origin of the Order of Deacons, directly after which event we hear of +"a great company of the priests being obedient to the Faith," {21} the +first _martyrdom_ helped to bring about the conversion of the chief +persecutor; and now the first _general persecution_ which came upon the +Church was to have for its result a far more widely-spread diffusion of +the knowledge of the Kingdom of God than had before taken place. + +[Sidenote: Extension of the Church according to our Lord's promise.] + +This extension of the Church was in exact accordance with our Lord's +words to His Apostles just before His Ascension, that they should be +witnesses unto Him "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and +unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Jerusalem was already "filled +with" their "doctrine," and now the disciples were "scattered abroad +throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria," and "went every where +preaching the Word[50]." [Sidenote: Still confined to Jews, and +Samaritans, or to proselytes.] Still it would seem that they confined +their preaching to such as were either Hebrews, or Grecians, i.e. +foreigners more or less professing Judaism[51]; or, as in the case of +the Samaritans, to such as were of mixed Jewish descent, and clung to +the Law of Moses, though with manifold corruptions; or, again, to +proselytes like the Ethiopian eunuch. The Apostles, we read, continued +at Jerusalem, doubtless by God's command and under His special +protection. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Samaria.] + +The conversion of the despised city of Samaria was effected by the +instrumentality of the Deacon St. Philip[52], whose preaching and +miracles were followed by the baptism of large numbers of the people, +and, amongst them, of one Simon {22} of Gittum, better known as Simon +Magus (i.e. the magician, or sorcerer), who had claimed supernatural +powers, and given himself out to be an emanation from the Deity, or +even God Himself. [Sidenote: St. Peter and St. John sent to confirm.] +St. Philip, as a Deacon, could not complete the gift begun in Holy +Baptism, and St. Peter and St. John were sent down by the Apostles from +Jerusalem, that they might confirm the Samaritan converts by prayer and +the Imposition of Hands. Confirmation in those early days of the +Church was wont to be accompanied by a bestowal of miraculous gifts of +the Holy Ghost; and the wondrous signs following upon this, the first +Confirmation mentioned in God's history of His Church, led the still +unbelieving Simon to long for the ability to confer similar powers. +[Sidenote: The unbelief of Simon Magus.] He dared to offer money to the +Apostles with this view, and drew from St. Peter such a reproof as for +a time pierced through even the heart which had hardened by an abuse of +holy things. But this penitence was of short duration. He became the +author in the Church of a deadly heresy called Gnosticism, mixing up +what he had learnt of the doctrines of Christianity with heathen +philosophy and sinful living, and making pretence of being endowed with +miraculous gifts. [Sidenote: His end.] This first heretic is said to +have perished miserably whilst endeavouring to fly through the air at +Rome[53], St. Peter praying at the same time that he might no longer be +suffered to hinder the salvation of souls. + +{23} + +[Sidenote: The Gospel preached in Antioch.] + +Another important result of the Sauline persecution was the preaching +of the Gospel in the important city of Antioch by the Greek-speaking +Jews who sought refuge there[54], and who addressed themselves to their +Hellenist countrymen. It was in this city, the third in rank in the +Roman Empire, and afterwards the mother of Gentile Christendom, that +the first branch of the Church speaking Greek as its original tongue, +was now beginning to have its foundation; and it was also here that the +disciples were first called by the honourable name of Christians[55]. + + +Section 10. _The Conversion of St. Paul._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 34.] + +It has been said "that, to combine the ceremonial shortcoming of the +eunuch with the imperfect faith of the Samaritan, is to arrive at the +admission of the Gentiles[56]." Preparation had been made in both +these instances for the carrying out of the Divine scheme by means of +St. Philip, whose fellow-Deacon had gladly laid down his life in +witnessing to the truth of it; and now God's great instrument for the +conversion of the gentile world was to appear. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Saul.] + +The furious persecutor Saul was struck to the earth by the sight and +voice of the Lord, whose disciples at Damascus he was bent upon +ill-using; and his miraculous conversion was followed by his baptism +and the devotion of all his powers to the promulgation of that "Faith +which once he destroyed." + +{24} + +[Sidenote: His fitness for his mission.] + +It is not hard to perceive in St. Paul a peculiar fitness for the work +to which God called him. His zeal and self-devotion, deep affections, +and warm sympathies, were joined to clearness of judgment and great +intellectual powers; whilst, from the circumstances of his birth and +education, he had much in common with both Hebrew and Hellenist Jews. +Though born in the Greek city of Tarsus, where he came in contact with +the classical ideas and learning of which traces appear in his +writings, his father was a Hebrew, and sent him to finish his education +at Jerusalem under the care of the learned Pharisee Gamaliel. Thus he +became zealous in the Law; and hence his deep tenderness for his +brethren of the seed of Israel, and his thorough insight into their +feelings and prejudices, were united to an acquaintance with gentile +ways of life, classic learning, and foreign modes of thought. + +With St. Paul's conversion came a time of peace and increase to the +Church, during which St. Peter's first Apostolic journey took place, +undertaken with the especial view of strengthening, by the Laying on of +Hands and by Apostolic preaching and counsel, those who, throughout +Judea and Samaria, had been regenerated and made "saints" by Holy +Baptism[57]. + + + +[1] 2 St. Peter i. 4. + +[2] Rev. xxi. 14. + +[3] St. Luke vi. 12-16. + +[4] "Apostle" is derived from the Greek word "Apostolos," i.e. "one +sent." The Apostles were "sent" by Christ, the Great High Priest and +Chief Pastor of the Church, Who comprehended in Himself the whole of +the Christian Ministry, whilst the Apostolic Office comprehended all +that could be delegated to man. This comprehensive Apostolic Office +was afterwards broken up into the three Orders of--1. Deacons; 2. +Priests and Bishops in one; 3. Bishops. After the special work of +Bishops was defined (see chap. iv.), Priests were Priests only, and not +Bishops, unless they had special consecration to the higher office. + +[5] Acts i. 3. + +[6] St. John xiv. 26. + +[7] St. Matt. xxviii. 19. + +[8] St. Matt. xxviii. 20. + +[9] St. Luke xxii. 19, 20. + +[10] St. John xx. 21, 22. + +[11] St. Matt. xxviii. 20. + +[12] Acts i. 13, 14. + +[13] Acts ii. 42, 46. It is said (St. John iv. 2) that "the disciples +of Jesus baptized;" but this baptism, like that of St. John Baptist, +was a "baptism of _repentance_," not of _Regeneration_--a _preparation_ +for the Gospel, not a _consequence_ of it. So the preaching of the +Apostles, spoken of in St. Matt. x. 7, was (like the Baptist's +preaching) an announcement that "the Kingdom of Heaven" was _not come_; +but "at hand," and an exhortation to make ready for it. + +[14] St. Luke xxiv. 49. + +[15] Ps. lxxxvii. 3. + +[16] Acts ii. 1-3. + +[17] Isa. xi. 2, 3. + +[18] Acts ii. 1-13. + +[19] Acts ii. 14-41. + +[20] St. Matt. xvi. 18. + +[21] Acts ii. 47. + +[22] Acts iii. + +[23] Acts iv. + +[24] Acts iv. 36, 37. + +[25] Acts v. 12-16. + +[26] Acts ii. 41-47. + +[27] 2 Thess. ii. 15. See also ch. iii. 6. 1 Cor. xi. 2. +"Ordinances," margin "Traditions." + +[28] Acts ii. 46 (margin). + +[29] Acts iv. 31-37. + +[30] Eph. v. 29, 30. + +[31] Poems by Prof. Bright.. + +[32] Acts iii. 1. + +[33] Acts iii. 11. + +[34] Acts v. 42. + +[35] Acts xiii. 5. 14; xiv. 1; xvii. 1, 2; xviii. 4. + +[36] Acts xxi. 26-33. + +[37] Acts v. 1-14. + +[38] Acts vi. 1, &c. + +[39] Deacon, from "Diaconos," a Greek word, meaning a ministering +attendant. + +[40] Acts vi. 7. + +[41] Rev. ii. 6. 15. + +[42] Acts viii. 5. 38. + +[43] See Office for "Making of Deacons," Book of Common Prayer. + +[44] Cp. Acts iv. 1, 2, 5, 6, and Acts v. 17. + +[45] Acts ii. 47; iv. 21; v. 13. 26. + +[46] Acts v. 34-40. + +[47] It seems not unlikely that Saul of Tarsus in Cilicia was one "of +them of Cilicia" mentioned in Acts vi. 9. + +[48] St. Luke xii. 11, 12. + +[49] Acts vii. 56. + +[50] Acts viii. 1. 4. + +[51] Acts xi. 19, 20. + +[52] It may be, that the recollection of our Saviour's visit to the +neighbouring city of Sychar, or Sichem [St. John iv.], would help to +influence the Samaritans. + +[53] From the rather indistinct account of Simon's death, it seems +probable that he became a victim to such a temptation as the "Cast +Thyself down," which was set before our Lord. + +[54] Acts xi. 19, 20. + +[55] Acts xi. 26. + +[56] See "Some Account of the Church in the Apostolic Age," by the late +Professor Shirley, p. 27. + +[57] Acts ix. 32. + + + + +{25} + +CHAPTER II + +The Foundation of the Church among the Heathen + +A.D. 38-45 + +[Sidenote: A.D. 38] + +During St. Peter's journey, the course of God's good Providence led him +to the sea-port town of Joppa, on the borders of Samaria and Judaea, +and there we read that "he tarried many days," a measure of time which +is supposed to be equivalent to three years. At the expiration of this +time an event occurred which had a deep and lasting influence on the +life of the Church of Christ. [Sidenote: Further fulfilment of the +promise to St. Peter.] Hitherto no Gentiles had been admitted into her +fold; but now it was to be given to St. Peter first to unlock to them +the door of union with Christ through His Human Nature; for to him had +first been committed the Power of the Keys, as a reward for his adoring +confession of Christ's Divinity[1]. + + +Section 1. _The Conversion of Cornelius._ + +A Roman soldier quartered at the great stronghold of Caesarea was +honoured by being the occasion of the {26} gathering in of the first +heathen converts. [Sidenote: A.D. 41. Conversion of the gentile +Cornelius.] This centurion was not a proselyte, but a Gentile, one +however who feared and served God according to the light given him +through reason and natural religion. He was commanded by an angel from +God to send to Joppa for St. Peter to show him the way of salvation, +whilst another express revelation prepared the holy Apostle for a step +so contrary to all his most cherished habits and prejudices. +[Sidenote: Descent of the Holy Ghost on gentile converts.] Taught by +God Himself no longer to consider or treat the Gentiles as "common or +unclean," St. Peter obeyed the summons of Cornelius; and, even whilst +he was preaching to him and the many gentile friends he had gathered, +the Holy Ghost descended visibly upon them as upon the Apostles on the +Day of Pentecost. The Gift of Tongues accompanied what we may almost +call a second Foundation of the Church; and we may readily believe that +those Christianized Jews who had accompanied the Apostle from Joppa +were "astonished" at this indication of what was in store for the +Gentiles in the Kingdom of God. + +[Sidenote: Holy Baptism not superseded.] + +It is worthy of remark, that notwithstanding this direct and +extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Ghost--but once before, and never +since, vouchsafed to any child of Adam--yet it was not considered by +St. Peter to do away with the necessity for Holy Baptism. "He +commanded them to be baptized[2]." + +{27} + +Section 2. _The Apostolic church in Jerusalem._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 41. Jerusalem still the centre of the Church.] + +Up to this time, and for long afterwards, Jerusalem continued to be the +centre of the Church of Christ. Within her walls was the home of the +Apostles during the intervals between their missions to the Christian +converts in the neighbouring towns; and, as a natural consequence, it +was here that the first Councils or Synods of the Church were held. +[Sidenote: The Hebrews wish to impose circumcision.] Here, too, were +the head-quarters of those disciples who not only clung to the Mosaic +law themselves, but wished to impose circumcision and the other +precepts of the Old Dispensation on gentile converts. They yielded +indeed to St. Peter's plea of special and Divine direction, when +summoned to Jerusalem to answer for having eaten with men +uncircumcised; nay, they even rejoiced in the prospect of the gathering +in of the Gentiles; but they had yet to learn the temporary nature of +the Ceremonial Law, and to realize that in Christ circumcision and +uncircumcision were equally valueless. + +[Sidenote: St. James the Less, Bishop of Jerusalem.] + +The government of the Church in Jerusalem was conferred on St. James +the Less, perhaps on account of his being "the Lord's brother;" and he +remained in the Holy City as its Bishop, when, about twelve years after +the Day of Pentecost, the other Apostles were for the first time +dispersed beyond the borders of Palestine, over the face of the known +world. The immediate occasion of this dispersion was the persecution +by Herod Agrippa, which resulted in the martyrdom of St. James {28} the +Great[3] and the temporary imprisonment and miraculous deliverance of +St. Peter (A.D. 44), a deliverance granted to the earnest prayers of +the Church. + + +Section 3. _The Apostolic Church in Antioch._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 42. St. Barnabas at Antioch.] + +We have no account in the Book of Acts of the Foundation (in the strict +sense of the word) of the Church in Antioch. We read of St. Barnabas +being sent thither from Jerusalem to visit and teach the converts +amongst the Greek-speaking Jews, he being all the more fitted for this +office by his connexion with Cyprus, whence came some of those who had +first spread the knowledge of the Gospel in Antioch. But St. Barnabas +was not yet of the number of the Apostles, the Foundations of the +Church (as neither was St. Paul, whom he lovingly sought out and +brought from Tarsus to aid in his work); and consequently we do not +read that the "laying on of hands" formed any part of their +ministrations. [Sidenote: St. Peter believed to be the founder of the +Church in Antioch.] There is, however, a very ancient tradition which +tells us that St. Peter visited Antioch and founded the Church in that +distant city whilst on his way to the still more distant Rome, after +his miraculous escape from Herod's prison (A.D. 44); and in the ancient +Church of England Feb. 22 was observed in commemoration of "St. Peter's +Throne at Antioch," that is, of his episcopal rule there. + +{29} + +[Sidenote: Obstacles to the conversion of the gentiles.] + +It was some years before the conversion of Cornelius and his gentile +household was followed by any extended proclamation of the good tidings +of the Gospel to the heathen world. It was not God's Will that all +obstacles should be at once cleared away from the onward path of the +Church; and the question of the relation in which the heathen were to +stand to the Law of Moses after their conversion to Christianity, +presented many difficulties. St. Peter and the other Apostles seem to +have waited patiently until God should vouchsafe to show them how these +difficulties might best be overcome; and on the Church in the large +gentile city of Antioch it first devolved to send forth missionaries to +the heathen. + + + +[1] St. Matt. xvi. 16-19. + +[2] Acts x. 48. It does not seem to have been the usual custom of the +Apostles to administer Holy Baptism themselves. See 1 Cor. i. 14-17. + +[3] In reference to the martyrdom of St. James, we may remember the +prophecy of his Divine Master (St. Matt. xx. 23). "James tasted the +_first_ draught of Christ's cup of suffering; and his brother John had +the _longest_ draught of it."--Wordsworth on Acts xii. 2. + + + + +{30} + +CHAPTER III + +The Extension of the Church throughout the World + +A.D. 45-70 + +Section 1. _The First Mission to the Gentiles._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 45.] + +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. Barnabas sent to preach to the heathen.] + +It would seem that in the special Eucharistic offerings and Lenten +discipline mentioned by St. Luke[1], the Church in Antioch was seeking +guidance of her Divine Head as to her duties with respect to the gentile +world in the midst of which she was placed; and that the command of the +Holy Ghost to consecrate St. Paul and St. Barnabas as Apostles to the +heathen was an answer to her cry. + +We are not told whose "hands" were "laid" on the two newly-made Apostles +in the solemn Consecration Service which followed, but it is likely that +St. Peter was at that time at Antioch, and also that the Church in that +city was already governed by a Bishop of its own. [Sidenote: They +complete the Apostolic number.] It may here be remarked that the number +of the Apostles was now completed. Those whom they ordained to be {31} +Bishops or Overseers in the Church of God, as St. Timothy at Ephesus, and +St. Titus at Crete, though they received in the "laying on of hands" +power to execute such of the highest offices of the Apostolic function as +were to be perpetually continued to the Church, yet were not fully +Apostles. [Sidenote: Difference between Bishops and Apostles.] They had +grace given to them to confirm, to ordain, and to communicate the power +of ordaining to others, but they were not endowed with the extraordinary +and supernatural gifts bestowed by the Holy Ghost for the Foundation of +the Church; nor did they receive the same direct and outward call as was +vouchsafed to the Twelve by our Lord Himself, and to St. Paul and St. +Barnabas by the special appointment of the Holy Spirit. They were not to +_found_ the Church, but to _build up_ on its Apostolic foundations. + +[Sidenote: Mission to Cyprus.] + +The first missionary journey of St. Paul and St. Barnabas was to Cyprus, +the native country of the latter. Here the preaching of the Gospel, +begun in the Jewish synagogue[2], was continued before the heathen +proconsul Sergius Paulus; and through it and the judicial blindness +inflicted by St. Paul on the false prophet Elymas, the gentile ruler was +won to Christ. [Sidenote: St. Paul, the chief Apostle of the Gentiles.] +St. Paul had now begun to take the lead as the chief Apostle of the +Gentiles; it was he who, at Antioch in Pisidia, preached that sermon to +the Jews which they would not heed, but which found acceptance with the +heathen whom they despised. [Sidenote: Missionary journey through Asia +Minor.] The Jews persecuted and blasphemed, but the Gentiles believed; +and, in the account given {32} us of the labours of the Apostles here and +at Iconium, we are reminded of the multitude of conversions and of the +gladness of heart of the converted in the first days after the great Day +of Pentecost[3]. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 46.] + +At Lystra the Apostles found themselves for the first time in the midst +of a thoroughly heathen population, without any admixture of Jews; but +here also they did not hesitate to preach the first Christian "Apology +against Heathenism," and to display the miraculous powers with which the +Holy Ghost had gifted them. [Sidenote: The Apostles confirm and ordain.] +Their Jewish persecutors followed them and drove them to Derbe, the +farthest limit of their journey; and from thence they retraced their +steps, visiting each place where they had preached the Gospel, +"confirming" their numerous converts, and "ordaining" Elders or +Presbyters to have the care of those who were thus admitted to the full +communion of the Church. + + +Section 2. _The Ministry of the Apostolic Church._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 46. Ordination of priests.] + +This[4] is the first mention we have of the ordination of Elders, or +Presbyters (or Priests[5], as we are most in the habit of calling them), +though the fact of the existence of such officers has already been hinted +at[6] as well-known and recognized. Thus we see that, as when at first +"the number of the disciples was multiplied," the Apostles delegated part +of their work to the Order of Deacons, so {33} afterwards, when the +Church continued to grow and increase, they provided for her needs by +instituting the Order of the Priesthood, conferring on others, in God's +Name and by His Authority, a larger portion of the ministerial grace they +had themselves received from Him. [Sidenote: Functions of the +Priesthood.] The distinguishing Grace given to those who were called to +the Office of Elder or Presbyter by the "laying on of hands," was, as it +still is, the power of consecrating and offering the Holy Eucharist, that +so, according to St. Paul's words to the Elders of Ephesus, they may +"feed the Church of God[7]," not as in the case of the Deacons, with "the +meat that perisheth," but with "the Bread of God, which cometh down from +Heaven." + +[Sidenote: Consecration of Bishops] + +Of the Ordination of Bishops[8], apart from the Apostolate, we have no +mention in the Book of the Acts; but that the Apostles did ordain +successors to themselves, so far as their office was to be perpetual in +the Church, we have ample proofs in the Epistles of St. Paul to St. +Timothy and St. Titus. [Sidenote: Their functions.] To both these holy +men, Bishops or Overseers of the Church in Ephesus and Crete +respectively, St. Paul gives injunctions as to their duties, particularly +in ordaining Elders or Priests, the distinguishing work of a Bishop[9]. + + +Section 3. _The First Council of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 46-51.] + +For a "long time" after the return of St. Paul and St. Barnabas to +Antioch, with the news that God had, through their {34} instrumentality, +"opened the Door of Faith to the Gentiles," the Church in that city seems +to have continued to flourish in peace and prosperity. [Sidenote: +Difficulties as to the observance of Jewish rites.] But difficulties with +regard to the observance or non-observance by the Gentile converts of the +rite of circumcision and other precepts of the Mosaic law, arose to +disturb this quiet. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 52. Hebrew Jews go to Antioch.] + +The Hellenist clergy in Antioch, less wedded to Judaism, had apparently +received into communion, without doubt or question, those amongst the +heathen around the city who had been added to the number of the faithful +by Holy Baptism; but when tidings of this freedom of communion reached +the more severely Hebrew Christians at Jerusalem, certain Hebrew Jews of +them hurried to Antioch, anxious to bring the converts there under the +yoke of the law. Though unauthorized in this mission by the rulers of +the Church in Jerusalem[10], they urged with such persistency the +necessity of circumcision for the salvation of all, that the opposition +of St. Paul and St. Barnabas only raised "no small dissension and +disputation," and it was agreed that the advice of the Apostles and +Presbyters at Jerusalem should be sought on this important question. +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. Barnabas go to Jerusalem.] St. Paul and St. +Barnabas then, "and certain others with them" (amongst whom was Titus, an +uncircumcised Gentile convert[11]), went up to Jerusalem, where at this +time happened to be St. Peter and St. John, as well as St. James, the +Bishop of that Church[12]. + +{35} + +[Sidenote: The First Council.] + +The Apostles and Elders, under the presidency of St. James[13], met +together in the First Council of the Church, a large body of the laity +being also present, not indeed to take part in the discussion, but to +hear it, and to receive and acknowledge the decision arrived at[14]. + +St. Peter, who had first been commissioned to carry the tidings of the +Gospel to the Gentiles, boldly proclaimed the sufficiency of "the Grace +of the Lord Jesus Christ" for their salvation[15], and St. James, who was +probably himself a very strict observer of the Jewish law, yet did not +hesitate to declare that it had no binding force on those who were not +Jews by birth. [Sidenote: St. James presides as Bishop of Jerusalem. +Decree of the Council.] He, as President of the Council, proposed the +decree to which the rest agreed, and which was in substance, that the +Gentile Christians should be commanded so far to respect Jewish +prejudices as to "abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, +and from things strangled," whilst they were also enjoined to keep +themselves from the sin of "fornication," into which the Gentile world +was so deeply sunk. + +The decrees of the Council did not enter into or provide any solution of +the minor difficulties connected with the intercourse between Jews and +Gentiles in the Church of Christ. Doubtless "it seemed good to the Holy +Ghost" that these questions should be left to be solved by time and +experience and the general exercise of His Gift of Wisdom. + +{36} + +[Sidenote: Claim for Divine Authority. Guidance of the Holy Spirit +vouchsafed to General Councils.] + +We can hardly fail to be struck by the confident language in which the +First Council of the Church claims for its decisions the full weight of +Divine Authority; and though it differed from later Catholic Councils in +that it was presided over by inspired men, yet we may well believe that +to those General Councils which really deserved the name, the Holy Spirit +vouchsafed such a special measure of His guiding Power, as might suffice +to preserve their decisions from error, and enable them to hand down +unblemished the deposit of Truth which Christ left with His Church. + + +Section 4. _St. Paul's Second Apostolic Journey._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 53. St. Peter's probable visit to Antioch.] + +St. Paul and St. Barnabas bore back to the Church in Antioch the decree +of the Council at Jerusalem, and it was probably about this time that St. +Peter paid to Antioch the visit of which we read in the Epistle to the +Galatians[16], when his fear of "them which were of the circumcision," +led him to shrink from continuing to eat and drink with the Gentiles, and +drew down St. Paul's stern rebuke. [Sidenote: Separation of St. Paul and +St. Barnabas.] The difference of opinion about St. Mark soon after +separated the two Apostles, whose labours amongst the heathen had been +till now carried on together, and St. Paul began his missionary travels +without an Apostolic companion[17]. He went first through Syria and his +native country Cilicia, {37} "confirming" the baptized, and then to the +scene of his first contact with actual heathendom at Derbe and Lystra. +St. Paul's course of conduct with regard to the circumcision of St. +Timothy, a native of Lystra, shows us clearly how fully his mind had +grasped all the bearings of the question between Jews and Gentiles[18]. +[Sidenote: St. Paul's indifference to circumcision in itself.] +Circumcision and uncircumcision were alike matters of indifference to +him, in no way affecting salvation, excepting so far as they might tend +to the edification of others. He did not blame those converted Jews who +still thought it needful to observe the Mosaic law, but he resisted to +the uttermost all attempts to make that law binding on the Gentiles, and +would not sanction any thing which might seem to imply that the +Life-giving ordinances of the Gospel were not sufficient for every need. +St. Timothy, uncircumcised, would have obtained no hearing from Jews for +the Gospel he preached, and therefore he was circumcised as a measure of +Christian expediency. + +[Sidenote: St. Paul crosses over to Europe. St. Luke joins him.] + +After founding Churches in the semi-barbarous regions of Phrygia and +Galatia, St. Paul was led by the express direction of the Holy Spirit to +an altogether new field of labour, and it is here, just on the eve of St. +Paul's departure from Asia for the continent of Europe, that St. Luke +joins the Apostolic company. [Sidenote: Jewish influences give way to +Greece and Rome.] The Church was now spreading far westward and coming +into closer contact with the philosophy of Greece and the power of Rome, +whilst Jewish influences shrank into insignificance. There was no +synagogue in the large and important Roman colony of Philippi, {38} and +only women seem to have resorted to the place of prayer outside the walls +of the city, whilst at Thessalonica, where the one synagogue for the +whole district was situated, the accusation of the Jews against the +preachers of the Gospel was no longer of a religious, but of a political +nature. [Sidenote: Opposition to the Gospel political.] "These all do +contrary to the decrees of Caesar[19]." In same way the malice of the +rulers of the Jews against the Divine Head of the Church had found vent +in assertions of His plotting to destroy the Temple, or to make Himself a +King, according as the Jewish populace or the Roman governor was to be +stirred up against Him[20]. + +But if Jewish prejudices no longer offered the same formidable opposition +to the soldiers of the Cross, as before in Palestine and the neighbouring +countries, the Apostle and his fellow-labourers had now to encounter +fresh enemies not less deadly. [Sidenote: Vice and superstition mixed +with intellectual unbelief.] In the highly civilized cities of Greece +they encountered on the one hand the full tide of heathenism with all its +degrading vices and superstitions, and on the other, Pagan philosophy +with its hard sceptical temper and intellectual pride. Influences such +as these may account for the comparatively small results which seem to +have followed the preaching of St. Paul at Philippi, Thessalonica[21], +and Berea, and the prominence given to women as being more easily touched +by the good tidings of the Gospel. [Sidenote: Open conflict with Satan.] +At Philippi is noticeable the conflict between the visible power of Satan +and the Power of {39} One stronger than he, in the casting out by St. +Paul of the evil spirit of Python from the soothsaying woman. This was +an earnest of the final issue of that great contest between the kingdom +of Satan and the Kingdom of God, which was now beginning in the very +strongholds of darkness, and is to continue to the end of time. + +We may also remark the first mention of the title and rights of a Roman +citizen claimed by St. Paul for himself and St. Silas after their illegal +imprisonment. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 54. Athenians little inclined to believe.] + +At Athens St. Paul came in contact with the most intellectual and +philosophical minds of heathendom; but heathen philosophy made the +Athenians very little inclined to accept the supernatural mysteries of +the Christian Faith. They listened indeed with eager curiosity to the +"new thing" which the great Apostle proclaimed "in the midst of Mars' +Hill;" and yet when their intellectual pride was required to bow itself +down, to acknowledge something more than a Neology, and to believe in the +supernaturalism of the Resurrection, they only "mocked" the teacher. St. +Paul, therefore, departed from the city where his cultivated mind had +been stirred at the sight of so many great intellects "wholly given to +idolatry[22]." [Sidenote: Athens afterwards a Bishopric.] But yet his +visit was not without its fruits; and Dionysius, a member of the great +Council of the Areopagus, is believed to have been the first Bishop of +the Church in Athens[23]. + +{40} + +[Sidenote: Corinth the centre of the Church in Greece.] + +From Athens St. Paul went to Corinth, and it was in this luxurious and +profligate city that he founded a Church which became the centre of +Christianity in Greece. [Sidenote: St. Paul turns from the Jews.] The +obstinate unbelief and blasphemous opposition of the Corinthian Jews +caused St. Paul, for the first time, to withdraw himself entirely from +the services of the synagogue; but he continued at Corinth a year and six +months, being protected, according to God's special promise to him, from +all the machinations of his Jewish enemies. [Sidenote: Opposes the +errors of Greek philosophy.] This lengthened stay was probably occasioned +not only by the presence of "much people" who were to be converted to +Christ, but also by the necessity of strengthening the Corinthian +converts against the subtleties of the heathen philosophy by which they +were surrounded, and with which St. Paul was well fitted to cope by his +early education. The errors of Gnosticism seem also to have penetrated +at this time as far as Corinth. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 55. A.D. 56.] + +After leaving Corinth, St. Paul paid a hasty visit to Ephesus, and then, +for the last time, returned to Antioch. + + +Section 5. _St. Paul's Third Apostolic Journey._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 56.] + +[Sidenote: Ephesus the centre of the Church in Asia Minor.] + +The next journey of the great Apostle of the Gentiles led him first +through Galatia and Phrygia, "strengthening" the Churches he had already +founded, and then brought him to the rich and important maritime city of +Ephesus, destined to be a third great centre of the Gentile Church, and +to hold in Asia Minor the same position as did Corinth in Greece {41} and +Antioch in Syria. Here again St. Paul was forced to withdraw altogether +from the Jewish synagogue, after three months of earnest preaching and +teaching. + +Ephesus was the great seat of the worship of the heathen goddess Diana, +or Artemis, and was also full of those who practised "magical arts" or +sorceries, so that its inhabitants were doubly enslaved by the Evil One. +But the kingdom of darkness could not stand against the Kingdom of Light. +[Sidenote: Great power given to the Church. A.D. 57. A.D. 58.] Great as +was the power of Satan, still more mighty was the Power which the Lord +Jesus gave to His Church. "Special miracles" were wrought in the place +of "lying wonders;" the Jewish exorcists were confounded, and the +sincerity of the Christian converts was proved by the costly sacrifice of +their once-prized books of magic. "So mightily grew the Word of God and +prevailed[24]." + +St. Paul passed between two and three years at Ephesus, during which time +he is supposed to have founded the Church in Crete, leaving St. Titus as +its Bishop, whilst Ephesus was placed under the episcopal charge of St. +Timothy. But eventually the riot excited by Demetrius drove the Apostle +from that city. [Sidenote: A.D. 59. A.D. 60.] [Sidenote: His visitation +charge to the Elders of Ephesus.] On his return to the neighbouring city +of Miletus, after his journey through Greece and Macedonia, we read of +his sending to Ephesus for the clergy of that place, and delivering to +them a solemn charge respecting their duties to the flock which God had +entrusted to their care[25]. + +It is during St. Paul's long sojourn at Ephesus that we have the first +indication of his intention to visit the {42} remoter regions of the +West, and more particularly its capital, imperial Rome[26]. He probably +at that time expected to see its wonders under different circumstances +than those of a prisoner, though before he finished his homeward journey +to Jerusalem, he had supernatural warnings of what was coming upon +him[27] from the malice of his Jewish enemies. + + +Section 6. _St. Paul at Rome._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 60.] + +The anxiety which St. Paul ever felt to avoid giving unnecessary offence +to his fellow-countrymen, and his readiness to follow the precepts of +Judaism when they did not interfere with the liberty of Christianity, +were, in God's good Providence, the indirect means of his being sent to +preach the glad tidings of salvation, not in Rome only, but in still more +distant countries. [Sidenote: St. Paul goes to Rome. A.D. 63-65.] It +will not be necessary to enter into the particulars which drew upon St. +Paul the unjust indignation of the Jews, and induced him to appeal from +their persecutions and the popularity-seeking of Festus to the justice of +the emperor: we need only remember that the conclusion of the Book of the +Acts shows him to us a prisoner "in his own hired house" at Rome, and +there preaching and teaching "with all confidence," first, as ever, to +the Jews, and afterwards to the Gentiles. + +{43} + +Section 7. _Extent of the Labours of the Apostles._ + +We are told but little in Holy Scripture as to the particulars of the +Apostles' work in founding the Church of God, except in the case of St. +Paul, and we are not allowed to trace even his labours to their end. +[Sidenote: Preaching of the Apostles in all known countries.] From other +sources we learn that the twelve visited almost every known country of +the world, so as to give to each separate race of men then existing an +opportunity of refusing or accepting the offer of the salvation of which +they were the ministers and stewards. We are also told that all, except +St. John and perhaps St. Matthew, crowned their life of toil in the +service of their Lord by a martyr's death. St. Peter and St. Paul both +suffered at Rome in the First Persecution under Nero, and most likely on +the same day, A.D. 67. + +The following Table[28] will show the probable field of the labours of +each Apostle, so far as the record of it has come down to us:-- + +{44} + +Supposed Fields of Apostolic Labour. + + Name of Churches. By whom Founded. + + Palestine and Syria All the Apostles. + + Mesopotamia (Turkey in Asia) St. Peter and St. Jude. + + Persia St. Bartholomew and St. Jude + + India St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas. + + Thrace (Turkey in Europe) St. Andrew. The flourishing + Church of Constantinople + afterwards sprang up on this + field of his labours. + + Scythia (Russia) St. Andrew. + + North Africa (Egypt and St. Simon Zelotes. St. Mark + Algeria) specially connected with + Alexandria. + + Ethiopia (Central Africa). St. Matthew. + + Arabia. St. Paul. + + Asia Minor (Turkey in Asia) St. Paul and St. John. + + Macedonia (Turkey in Europe) St. Paul + + Greece St. Paul. + + Italy St. Peter and St. Paul. + + Spain St. Paul. + + Gaul (France) and Britain St. Paul and St. Joseph of + Arimathea. + + + +[1] Acts xiii. 2. + +[2] The _first_ offers of salvation continued to be made to the Jews, +even after the recognition by the Church of her mission to the Gentiles. + +[3] Acts xiii. 48, 49, 52; xiv. 1. + +[4] Acts xiv. 23. + +[5] "presbyter," afterwards shortened into "Prester" and "Priest," is +derived from the Greek word "Presbyteros," "an Elder." + +[6] Acts xi. 30. + +[7] Acts xx. 28. + +[8] The word "Bishop" is derived from the Greek "Episcopos," and +signifies an overseer. + +[9] 1 Tim. v. 1, 19, 22. 2 Tim. i. 6. Titus i. 5; ii. 15. + +[10] Acts xv. 24. + +[11] Gal. ii. 3. + +[12] Gal. ii. 9. + +[13] St. James, as Bishop of the Diocese, taking precedence in this +instance even of St. Peter. + +[14] Compare Acts xv. 6. 12. + +[15] This is the last mention of St. Peter in the Book of Acts. + +[16] Gal. ii. 11-14. + +[17] Acts xv. 36-41. The last mention of St. Barnabas in the Book of +Acts. + +[18] Compare Acts xvi. 3; and Gal. ii. 3, 4. + +[19] Acts xvii. 7. Comp. Acts vi. 11. + +[20] Comp. St. Mark xiv. 58; and St. Luke xxiii. 2. + +[21] Both Philippi and Thessalonica eventually became the seats of +flourishing Christian Churches, to whom St. Paul wrote Epistles. + +[22] Acts xvii. 16-33. + +[23] There are some reasons for thinking that men of cultivated minds and +high social position were preferred for Bishops in the early as well as +in later ages of the Church. + +[24] Acts xix. 1-20. + +[25] Acts xx. 17-35. + +[26] Acts xix. 21. + +[27] Acts xx. 23; xxi. 11. + +[28] From Blunt's "Household Theology." + + + + +{45} + +CHAPTER IV + +Final Settlement of the Church by St. John + +A.D. 67-100 + +It seems probable that most of the Apostles had entered into rest +before the Destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70, and that St. John the +Divine was the only one of the Apostolic body who long survived that +event. + +[Sidenote: St. Peter began to found the Church, St. John completed its +foundation.] + +To St. Peter, one of the "pillars" of the Church, it had been given to +begin the great work of laying the foundation of the Mystical Temple of +God; to St. John, the other of the two, was allotted the task of +perfecting what had been begun, so that a sure and steady basis should +not be wanting on which the New Jerusalem might rise through time to +eternity[1]. + +{46} + +Section 1. _Second Council at Jerusalem._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 67.] + +[Sidenote: Purposes of the Second Council.] + +There is good reason for believing[2] that after the martyrdoms of St. +Peter, St. Paul, and St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and +about the time of the invasion of the Holy City by Vespasian, a Second +Council of such of the Apostles as still survived was held for the +purpose of electing a successor to the See of Jerusalem, and definitely +settling the future government of the Church. [Sidenote: Bishops only +rarely appointed at first,] Bishops had already been consecrated in +certain cases, as at Ephesus, Crete, and Rome; but during the time that +the Apostles were still engaged in founding and governing the different +branches of the great Christian community, the appointment of Bishops +(in the sense of heads of the Church) seems to have been the exception +rather than the rule. [Sidenote: but now everywhere to replace the +Apostles.] A new era was, however, now coming upon the Church; her +Founders were gradually being withdrawn from her, and it was necessary +that she should receive such a complete and permanent organization as +would enable her to transmit to succeeding ages the saving grace of +which the Apostles had been the first channels, that so what had been +founded through their instrumentality might be continued and extended +through the ministry of others. + +{47} + +[Sidenote: The establishment of the Apostolical Succession the special +work of St. John,] + +This work of organization was fitly entrusted to St. John, who for so +many years was left upon earth to "tarry" for the Lord, on Whose Breast +he had leaned, and Whose teaching had filled his soul with adoring +love, and with those depths of spiritual knowledge which are stored up +for us in the "Theological Gospel." [Sidenote: and the necessary +consequence of his teaching.] It seems natural that he to whom it was +given most fully to "enlighten" the Church respecting the Blessed +Mysteries of the Incarnation and of the Two Holy Sacraments, should +also be charged with the care of providing for the continual +transmission of the sacramental grace of the Incarnation through the +"laying on of hands," and that he who saw and recorded the glorious +ritual belonging to the Heavenly Altar, should organize that system by +which Priests might be perpetually raised up to show forth the same +Offering in the Church below. + +Thus, though up to the time of St. Paul's martyrdom (A.D. 67) Episcopal +rule, as distinct from Apostolic, would seem to have been exceptional, +before the death of St. John (A.D. 100), government by the Bishops had +undoubtedly become the recognized rule and system of the Church. + + +Section 2. _Development of the Church._ + +Before entering into any details respecting the final settlement by St. +John of the Order, Discipline, and Worship of the Church, it may be +well to remind ourselves that the Mystical Body of Christ only +gradually attained her full shape and constitution, following, like +God's other works, His law of growth and {48} development, and adapting +herself, according to her Lord's designs for her, to the needs of her +members. [Sidenote: Development in the minds of the Apostles as to the +work of the Church.] There is no reason to suppose that the Apostles, +even after the Day of Pentecost, had clear ideas of the destiny which +was in store on earth for the Church which they were engaged in +founding. The gathering in of the Gentiles, the existence of the +Church entirely apart from the Temple and its services, the place she +was to occupy in the long reach of years before the Day of Judgment[3], +all these were only made known to them by the course of events and the +teaching of experience, conjointly with, as well as subordinate to, the +general guidance of the Holy Spirit. So, too, as regards doctrine. +[Sidenote: As to doctrine.] We cannot for a moment doubt that the +Apostles, who had been taught by the Incarnate Truth Himself, and +inspired by the Holy Ghost, held firmly "all the Articles of the +Christian Faith;" but we may also believe that their insight into these +verities would be deepened, and their expression of them become +clearer, as adoring meditation and the Teaching of the Comforter +brought more and more to their remembrance the Words and Works of their +Lord, and unbelieving cavils forced them more and more fully "to give a +reason of the Hope that" was in them[4]. The same thing may be noticed +{49} respecting the Faith of the Church. [Sidenote: Development of the +teaching of the Church.] Held firmly in its fulness from the beginning, +it was yet only gradually set forth in Creeds, Liturgies, and +Definitions of Faith, according as the love and belief of Christians +required expression, or the errors of heretics drew forth clearer +teaching on the truths they attacked. [Sidenote: Reserve in the +teaching of the Church.] To this we may add, that the early Church was +very careful to keep the knowledge of the deep mysteries of the Faith +from those who were not Christians. It was only after their initiation +by Holy Baptism that those who had, as Catechumens, been instructed in +the rudiments of Christian doctrine, were admitted to a full knowledge +of the belief and practice of the Church, especially as regarded the +Holy Eucharist, which was very commonly spoken of under the name of the +Holy Mysteries. + + +Section 3. _St. John at Ephesus[5]._ + +[Sidenote: St. John's work at Ephesus.] + +About the time that Jerusalem was besieged by the armies of Vespasian +(A.D. 67), St. John withdrew to Ephesus (whence for a while he was +banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian[6]); and from this city he +travelled about through the neighbouring country, organizing, amongst +others, those Seven Churches of Asia Minor, to whose Angels or Bishops +he was bidden to write the Seven Epistles contained in the Apocalypse. + +{50} + +[Sidenote: Fitness of Ephesus as a centre of organization,] + +Here in Ephesus, the eye of Asia, the great mercantile seaport of the +then known world, his influence could most easily make itself felt +amongst the far-off members of the Christian body, which by this time +had extended throughout the whole Roman empire. All the civilized +world was then subject to the sway of Rome, except India and China; and +it may be that even these two latter countries were not excluded from +the influence of the Gospel. It is not, of course, meant that +Christianity was the recognized religion of all or any of the Roman +provinces; but that in each of them the Church had a corporate +existence, and was a living power, drawing into herself here one, and +there another of the souls who were brought into contact with her, and +really, though gradually, spreading through and leavening the earth. + +[Sidenote: and of orthodox teaching.] + +Again, at Ephesus St. John could best combat and confute, both by his +words and writings, the subtle and deadly heresies which were +especially rife there. "False Christs," such as Simon Magus, the first +heretic, Menander, Dositheus, and others, no longer troubled the Infant +Church with their blasphemous impostures, but in their stead false +teachers had arisen, seeking to "draw away disciples after them" into +the more subtle error of misbelief about our Lord and His Incarnation. +[Sidenote: Errors of the Corinthians.] [Sidenote: The Docetae, and +other variations of Gnosticism.] Thus the Jew Corinthus taught that +Christ was a mere man, born like other men, though united to Divinity +from His Baptism to His Crucifixion; whilst to the errors of the +Corinthians the Docetae added that the Body in which our Blessed +Saviour suffered, was only a phantom, and a body but in appearance; +both these heresies, {51} and others of a similar nature, appear to +have been variations of that Gnosticism to which St. Paul refers in his +Epistles, as "science" (or gnosis) "falsely so called[7]," and which +was long a source of danger and trouble to the Church. Gnosticism may +be traced back to that Simon Magus, with whom St. John first came in +contact at Samaria, and in all its varied distortions of the great +Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation, through an admixture of Jewish +and heathen error, there was always an unvarying denial of our Lord's +Divinity. + +[Sidenote: St. John's universal patriarchate.] + +For about a third of a century St. John continued to exercise a kind of +universal patriarchate over the Church, being regarded, we cannot +doubt, with almost unbounded reverence and affection by all its +members, and perhaps first presenting that idea of one visible earthly +head of the Church, which afterwards found its expression in the +popedom. + + +Section 4. _St. John's Writings._ + +[Sidenote: St. John's writings close the Canon.] + +The Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation of St. John, written as they were +at a long interval after the rest of the New Testament, and closing the +Canon of Sacred Scripture, may be usefully referred to, as giving us +some idea of the appearance of the Church when its government and +theology were finally settled. + +[Sidenote: How his Gospel differs from the other three.] + +St. John's Gospel differs from those of the other three Evangelists in +having been written for men who from their infancy had grown up in the +Faith of Christ, and who {52} were thus more ready to enter into and +profit by deep sacramental doctrine; whilst at the same time the +dangerous heresies which were beguiling souls from the truth, called +for more detailed and dogmatic teaching than had at first been needed. +[Sidenote: Dwells on our Lord's Divinity,] Hence in place of an account +of our Lord's Human Birth, St. John sets forth His Eternal Godhead and +wonderful Incarnation, leaving no space for unbelief or cavil, when he +proclaims for the instruction of the Church, that "the Word was God," +and yet that He also "was made Flesh." [Sidenote: and on the two +Sacraments.] Again, the last Gospel does not bring before us the +Institution of the two great Sacraments of the Christian Covenant; +though it, and it alone, does record the teaching of our Blessed Lord +Himself with regard to the New Birth in Holy Baptism, and the constant +Nourishment of the renewed life in the Holy Eucharist. + +[Sidenote: The Epistles correct heresies.] + +Having established the Faith in His Gospel, St. John in his Epistles +sternly censures heresy and schism, thus witnessing to the end of time +that the charity of the Church must never lead her to countenance false +doctrine. + +[Sidenote: The Apocalypse sets forth Discipline and Worship.] + +We may look to the Book of the Revelation for some light as to the +discipline and worship of the Church of St. John's days. We have there +in the mention of the Seven Angels or Bishops, each ruling over his own +Church and answerable for its growth in holiness, a confirmation of the +fact that episcopacy was now fully _organized_ as the one form of +Church government which had replaced the extinct hierarchy of the +former dispensation. Nor does it seem unreasonable to believe that St. +John's vision of the Worship of Heaven {53} was intended to supply to +the Christian Church a model to be copied so far as circumstances +should permit in the courts of the Lord's House on earth, much as the +elaborate system of Temple Worship, which was entirely swept away with +the destruction of Jerusalem, had been in all things ordered "according +to the pattern" which the Lord had "showed" first to Moses and +afterwards to David. That the Primitive Church did thus consider the +Heavenly Ritual set forth in the Apocalypse as the ideal of worship on +earth, is proved by the accounts which have come down to us of the +arrangement of Churches and the manner of celebrating the Holy +Eucharist in early times. + +[Sidenote: Arrangement of Churches in primitive times.] + +"The form and arrangement of Churches in primitive times was derived, +in its main features, from the Temple at Jerusalem. Beyond the porch +was the narthex, answering to the court of the Gentiles, and +appropriated to the unbaptized and to penitents. Beyond the narthex +was the nave, answering to the court of the Jews, and appropriated to +the body of worshippers. At the upper end of the nave was the choir, +answering to the Holy Place, for all who were ministerially engaged in +Divine Service. Beyond the choir was the Berna or Chancel, answering +to the Holy of Holies, used only for the celebration of the Holy +Eucharist, and separated from the choir by a closed screen, resembling +the organ screen of our cathedrals, which was called the Iconostasis. +As early as the time of Gregory Nazianzen, in the fourth century, this +screen is compared to the division between the present and the eternal +world, and the sanctuary behind it was ever regarded with the greatest +possible reverence as the most sacred {54} place to which man could +have access while in the body; the veiled door, which formed the only +direct exit from it into the choir and nave, being only opened at the +time when the Blessed Sacrament was administered to the people there +assembled[3]. The opening of this door, then, brought into view the +Altar and the Divine Mysteries which were being celebrated there. +[Sidenote: Its resemblance to what the Apocalypse tells us of Heaven.] +And when St. John looked through the door that had been opened in +Heaven, what he saw is thus described: 'And behold a Throne was set in +Heaven . . . . and round about the Throne were four and twenty seats; +and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in +white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold . . . . and +there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne . . . . and +before the Throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal.' Here is +exactly represented an arrangement of the altar familiar to the whole +Eastern Church and to the early Church of England, in which it occupies +the centre of an apse in front of the seats of the Bishop and Clergy, +which are placed in the curved part of the wall. And, although there +is no reason to think that the font ever stood near the altar, yet +nothing appears more likely than that the 'sea of glass like unto +crystal' mystically represents that laver of regeneration through which +alone the altar can be spiritually approached. Another striking +characteristic of the ancient Church was the extreme reverence which +was shown to the Book of the Gospels, which was always placed upon the +altar and surmounted by a cross. So {55} 'in the midst of the Throne, +and round about the Throne,' St. John saw those four living creatures +which have been universally interpreted to represent the four +Evangelists or the four Gospels, their position seeming to signify that +the Gospel is ever attendant upon the altar, penetrating, pervading, +and embracing the highest mystery of Divine Worship, giving 'glory and +honour and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, who liveth for ever +and ever.' In the succeeding chapter St. John beholds Him for whom +this altar is prepared. 'I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the Throne, +and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood +a Lamb as It had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which +are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.' It cannot +be doubted that this is our Blessed Lord in that Human Nature on which +the _septiformis gratia_ was poured without measure; and that His +appearance in the form of 'the Lamb that was slain to receive power, +and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and +blessing,' represents the mystery of His prevailing Sacrifice and +continual Intercession. But around this living Sacrifice there is +gathered all the homage of an elaborate ritual. They who worship Him +have 'every one of them harps' to offer Him the praise of instrumental +music; they have 'golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers +of saints,' even as the angel afterwards had 'given unto him much +incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of the saints upon +the golden altar which was before the Throne;' they sing a new song, +mingling the praises of 'the best member that they have' with that of +their instrumental music; and they fall down before the Lamb with the +lowliest gesture of their bodies in humble adoration. Let it {56} also +be remembered that one of the Anthems here sung by the Choirs of Heaven +is that sacred song, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, +and is, and is to come;' the Eucharistic use of which is traceable in +every age of the Church[9]." + +The ritual of the early Church naturally gathered round the Holy +Eucharist as the central act of worship in which the Lord was most +especially present, and therefore to be most especially honoured. From +the first days of the Church this had been the one distinctively +Christian service; and now that the Temple services had ceased, it +became more apparently even than before, the fulfilment and +continuation of the sacrifices of the elder dispensations[10]: whilst +it was also the Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Cross and the +Representation on earth of the continual offering-up of "the Lamb as It +had been slain," before the Throne of God in Heaven. + + + +[1] St. Peter and St. John had been specially trained by their Divine +Master for their special work. They with St. James, the first +Apostolic martyr, had witnessed His Transfiguration, His Agony, His +raising of Jairus's daughter, and had been admitted into more intimate +communion with Him than the other Apostles. + +[2] From passages in the works of St. Irenaeus and Eusebius. See "Some +Account of the Church in the Apostolic Age," by Professor Shirley, pp. +136-140. + +[3] The Apostles appear to have believed at first that our Lord's +Ascension would be very speedily followed by His triumphal return to +Judgment, and the glorification of His faithful people. + +[4] On this point we may remember that St. John, who saw deepest into +the Divine Life, did not write his Gospel till near the end of his +earthly labours, almost sixty years after the Day of Pentecost. + +[5] Ephesus is known to this day by the name of Aya-soluk, from Agios +Theologos, or holy Divine, the title given to St. John. + +[6] Or perhaps by Nero, as some ancient writers say. Nero's full name +was Nero Claudius Domitianus, which may have caused this confusion. + +[7] 1 Tim. vi. 20. + +[8] As St. Chrysostom says, "When thou beholdest the curtains drawn up, +then imagine that the heavens are let down from above, and that the +Angels are descending." + +[9] Annotated Book of Common Prayer, Ritual Introduction, pp. xlix, 1. + +[10] We are told that St. John adopted the vestments of the High Priest +of the old covenant, and especially "the plate of the holy crown," with +its inscription, "Holiness to the Lord," thus exhibiting very forcibly +the continuity of the two priesthoods. + + + + +{57} + +CHAPTER V + +The Primitive Church + +A.D. 100-A.D. 312 + +[Sidenote: Persecution increases round the Church.] + +We have already had occasion to notice the beginnings of the +persecution which the Church was to undergo for the sake of her Head +and Spouse, not only those of a local and unorganized character, which +are spoken of in the Book of Acts, but also some of a more cruel and +systematic nature under the Roman Emperors Nero and Domitian. From the +death of the last of the Apostles to the conversion of the Emperor +Constantine, A.D. 312, the Church passed through a succession of fierce +trials, in which her members were called to undergo similar sufferings +to those which had been borne by the holy Apostles St. Peter, St. Paul, +and St. John, and their fellow-martyrs[1]. + + +Section 1. _Causes of Persecution._ + +In considering the causes which led to the persecution of the Church by +the heathen around her, we {58} must, of course, place first as the +root and ground of all, the malice of Satan, and his hatred of God, and +of the means appointed by God for saving souls. [Sidenote: Satan's +enmity the great cause of persecution.] The Kingdom of God and the +kingdom of Satan must ever be at war, and the fierce and varied +sufferings inflicted by the cruel heathen on all who bore the name of +Christ were so many assaults of the great adversary seeking to +overthrow the Church in an open and deadly struggle. But the +life-giving Presence of her Incarnate Lord, and "the patience and the +faith of the Saints," were mightier weapons than "all the fiery darts +of the Wicked," and "the gates of Hell" were not suffered to "prevail +against her." + +[Sidenote: Other minor causes.] + +There were, however, other and secondary causes which led to the +persecution of the Church. The Romans were not usually intolerant of +religions which they did not themselves profess; their worship of their +own false gods had come to be a form, as far as the educated classes +were concerned, and what belief they had was given to philosophy rather +than religion. Hence they were not unwilling that the nations they +conquered should keep to their own respective creeds and religious +ceremonies, so long as they did not interfere with Roman authority. +But the religion of Christ required more than this. It could not be +confined to any one country, nor be content with bare toleration, nor +rank itself with the many forms of Pagan misbelief. It claimed to be +the only True Religion, the only Way of Salvation, before which the +superstitions of the ignorant, and the philosophy of the learned must +alike give way. It made its way even into "Caesar's household." +Besides this, Christians, owing to the nationality of the First +Founders {59} of the Church, were often confounded with, and called by +the same name as the Jews, who had a bad repute under the empire for +rebellious and seditious conduct, and we know how, even in the days of +St. Paul, the charge of sedition had begun to be most unjustly fastened +upon the followers of the Meek and Lowly Jesus. This charge of +disaffection to the powers of the state received an additional and +plausible colouring from the fact that the consciences of the faithful +members of the Church would not suffer them to pay, what they and the +heathen around them considered to be Divine honour, to the emperor or +the heathen deities, by sacrificing a few grains of incense when +required thus to show their loyalty to their ruler and his faith. Over +and over again was this burning of incense made a test by which to +discover Christians or to try their steadfastness, and over and over +again was its rejection followed by agonizing tortures and a cruel +death. + +[Sidenote: Nero's persecution.] + +The persecution in the reign of Nero is immediately traceable to the +accusation brought against the Christians by the emperor, that they had +caused the terrible fire at Rome, which there seems little doubt was in +reality the result of his own wanton wickedness, whilst that under +Domitian appears to have been connected with the conversion of some of +the members of his own family, his cousin Flavius Clemens being the +first martyr sacrificed in it. + + +Section 2. _Number and Duration of Persecutions._ + +The following table[2] will show how the early days of the Church were +divided between times of persecution and intervals of rest. + +{60} + + _Chronological Table of Persecutions and Intervals of Rest._ + + A.D. + + 64-68. Persecution under Nero. Martyrdom of + St. Peter and St. Paul. + + 68-95. Time of peace. + + 95-96. Persecution under Domitian. Banishment of + St. John. + + 96-104. Time of peace. + + 104-117. Persecution under Trajan. Martyrdom of + St. Ignatius. + + 117-161. Time of peace. Apologies of Aristides, + Quadratus, and Justin Martyr. + + 161-180. Persecution under Marcus Aurelius. Martyrdom + of St. Polycarp, and the martyrs of Lyons. + + 180-200. Time of peace. + + 200-211. Persecution under Severus. Martyrdom of + St. Perpetua and others in Africa. + + 211-250. Time of peace, excepting-- + 235-237. Partial persecution under Maximinus. + + 250-253. Persecution under Decius. Martyrdom of + St. Fabian. + + 253-257 Time of peace. Disputes concerning the _lapsed_. + + 257-260. Persecution under Valerian. Martyrdom of + St. Cyprian. + + 260-303. Time of peace, excepting-- + 262. Persecution in the East under Macrianus. + 275. Persecution threatened by Aurelian. + + 303-313. Persecution under Dioclesian, Galerius, and + Maximinus. + + +{61} + +Section 3. _Nature and Extent of Persecutions._ + +[Sidenote: Terrors of persecution.] + +Words can hardly be found strong enough to express the many and varied +tortures which were inflicted on the Christians of the Primitive Church +by their heathen countrymen. Death itself seemed too slight a +punishment in the eyes of these cruel persecutors, unless it was +preceded and accompanied by the most painful and trying circumstances. +It was by crucifixion, and devouring beasts, and lingering fiery +torments that the great multitude of those early martyrs received their +crown. Racked and scorched, lacerated and torn limb from limb, +agonized in body, mocked at and insulted, they were objects of pity +even to the heathen themselves. Persecuting malice spared neither sex +nor age, station nor character; the old man and the tender child, the +patrician and the slave, the bishop and his flock, all shed their blood +for Him Who had died for them, rather than deny their Lord. + +We have no possible means of estimating the number of this vast "cloud +of witnesses," but authentic accounts have come down to us which prove +that some places were almost depopulated by the multitude of +martyrdoms; and when we remember the length of time over which the +persecutions extended, the blood-thirsty rage of the persecutors, and +the firm perseverance with which the immensely large majority of +Christians kept the Faith to the end, we may form some idea as to the +"multitude" of this noble army of martyrs "which no man could number." + +[Sidenote: Persecution did not check the growth of the Church,] + +So widely did the Church spread during the age {62} of persecution, in +the face of all the fierce opposition of her enemies, that it was found +at times to be impossible to carry out in their fulness the cruel laws +against Christians, on account of the numbers of those who were ready +to brave all for the sake of Christ. As has been often said, "The +blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." + +[Sidenote: nor revive decaying heathenism,] + +Paganism was gradually dying away in the Roman world, notwithstanding +all the craft and power of Satan, whilst no number of martyrdoms seemed +to check the growth of the Body of Christ. Vain and short-sighted, +indeed, was the boast of the Emperor Dioclesian during the last and +most bitter of all the persecutions, that he had blotted out the very +name of Christian. No sooner had the conversion of Constantine brought +rest to the Church, than she rose again from her seeming ruins, ready +and able to spread more and more through "the kingdoms of this world," +that they might "become the kingdoms of Christ." + +[Sidenote: and thus helped to prove the Divine origin of the Church.] + +We may well believe that no institution of human appointment could have +stood firm against such terrible and reiterated shocks. Nothing less +than a Divine Foundation, and a strength not of this world could have +borne the Church through the ages of persecution, not only without loss +of all vital principle, but even with actual invigoration and extension +of it. + +{63} + +Section 4. _Effects of Persecution on the Worship and Discipline of +the Church._ + +The fierce trials of the age of persecution were not without their +influence on the inner life of the Church, both as regarded Worship and +Discipline. + +The cruel oppressions to which they were constantly liable, drove +Christians to conceal their Faith from the eyes of the heathen world +whenever such concealment did not involve any denial of their Lord, or +any faithless compliance with idolatrous customs. [Sidenote: Seeking +martyrdom forbidden.] Indeed, it was a law of the Church that martyrdom +was not to be unnecessarily sought after, and the wisdom of this +provision was more than once shown by the failure under torture of +those who had presumptuously brought upon themselves the sufferings +they had not strength to bear, and which did not come to them in the +course of God's Providence. + +[Sidenote: Holy Rites and Books kept hidden.] + +The strictest secrecy was enjoined upon Christians as to the religious +Rites and sacred Books of the Church, and we read of many martyrs who +suffered for refusing to satisfy the curiosity of their Pagan judges +respecting Christian worship, or for persisting in withholding from +them the Christian writings. + +[Sidenote: Church ritual temporarily checked.] + +Another natural effect of persecution was to check for a time the +development of the ritual of the Church, and to render necessary the +use of the simplest and most essential forms even in the celebration of +the Holy Eucharist. The immense subterranean excavations at Rome, +known by the name of the Catacombs, are an abiding {64} proof to us of +the straits to which the primitive martyrs and their companions were +reduced, when these sand-galleries were at once their Church and their +burying-place, and in some instances the scene of their martyrdom also. + +[Sidenote: Church discipline very severe] + +The discipline of the Church was made extremely strict by the +lengthened continuance of severe persecution. In those days when so +many gave proof of the strength and reality of their Faith by their +persevering endurance of unspeakable agonies, any shrinking back was +looked upon as very unworthy cowardice, and as an almost hopeless fall, +to be hindered if possible by the merciful severity of the Church as +shown in warnings and punishments. Even those who had so far succumbed +to trial as to give up the Sacred Books were called "Traditores," and +considered as very criminal; those who had consented to pay Divine +honours to the emperors or to the heathen gods, fell under still more +severe censure, whilst such Christians as led sinful and immoral lives +were considered most worthy of blame and punishment. Very heavy +penances were laid upon all who thus fell away, in proportion to their +guilt, before they were again admitted to the Communion of the Church; +and in some extreme cases the punishment was life-long, and only +allowed to be relaxed when the penitent was actually in danger of +death. [Sidenote: for a time.] But this very severe discipline was +temporary in its nature, as was the danger to the Church which called +it forth, and was somewhat modified by the Letters of Peace which +martyrs and confessors were allowed to give to excommunicated persons, +authorizing their readmission to Church privileges. + +[Sidenote: Church government modified also for a time.] + +A temporary modification in the government of the {65} Church was also +brought about by these times of suffering. Bishops, under the pressure +of persecution, were sometimes forced to leave their flocks, or were +first tortured and then banished, and their places had to be filled as +far as they could be by the presbyters, with the advice of the distant +Bishop; whilst at Rome, in the middle of the third century, there was a +year's vacancy in the see after the martyrdom of Fabian, on account of +the impossibility of bringing neighbouring Bishops into the midst of a +storm which was raging with especial fury against the rulers of the +Church. + + + +[1] St. John was a martyr in will, though not in deed, being +miraculously preserved from injury in the caldron of boiling oil, into +which he was plunged by order of Nero or Domitian. + +[2] From Dr. Steere's "Account of the Persecutions of the Early Church +under the Roman Emperors." + + + + +{66} + +CHAPTER VI + +The Church under the Roman Empire + +A.D. 312-A.D. 680 + +[Sidenote: Persecution arrested by conversion of Constantine.] + +[Sidenote: Outward triumph of the Church.] + +The conversion of the Emperor Constantine to the Faith worked a great +change in the condition of the Christian Church. Even so early as the +year 312, when the appearance to him of the luminous Cross in the sky +was followed by victory over his enemies, Constantine began to issue +edicts of toleration in favour of the Christians; and from the time of +his sole supremacy, A.D. 324, Christianity and not Paganism became the +acknowledged religion of the Roman empire. + + +Section 1. _The altered Outward Circumstances of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Consequent change in discipline and ritual.] + +Such a change in the outward circumstances of the Church could not but +produce a corresponding alteration in its discipline and mode of +worship. The Kingdom of God on earth became a great power visible to +the eyes of men, no longer hid like the leaven, but overshadowing the +earth like the mustard-tree; and the power and influence of Imperial +Rome were employed {67} in spreading the Faith instead of seeking to +exterminate it. Christians were not now forced to shun the notice of +their fellow-men; banished Priests and Bishops came back to their +flocks; heathen temples were converted into Churches, and new Churches +were built with great splendour. The vast resources of Roman wealth +and refinement were employed to render the Worship of Almighty God +costly and magnificent, and the ritual of the Church was probably more +fully developed and brought more into harmony with the prophetic vision +of St. John than circumstances had ever before allowed. + +[Sidenote: The first Christian city.] + +In Constantinople, built by the Emperor Constantine on the ruins of +Byzantium, we have the first instance of a city which, from the time of +its foundation, was entirely Christian. + +[Sidenote: Endowment of the Church.] + +The Church was now no longer dependent on the alms of private +Christians; the revenues which had formerly been devoted by the state +to the maintenance of the heathen temples and their ministers, were +transferred to the support of Christian Churches and their Clergy, and +to the relief of the poor. Christian schools were also founded and +endowed by the emperors; and learning, as well as wealth, was thus +brought in contact with the Faith. + +[Sidenote: Church honoured by the world.] + +Christian Rome soon became a great instrument in God's hands for +extending the influence of the Church even amongst little-known and +uncivilized nations; and as persecution ceased to try the earnestness +of those who embraced the religion of Christ, and the name of Christian +came to be treated with respect instead of with scorn, the Church began +to assume a position somewhat like that which she holds in our own day. +[Sidenote: Discipline relaxed.] The profession of {68} Christianity +under these circumstances was naturally more of a matter of course with +many of those who had grown up under its shadow, than when, in earlier +times, such a profession was likely to involve loss and suffering, and +even death itself, and discipline was gradually and necessarily relaxed +from the severity needful in the days of persecution. + + +Section 2. _Internal Trials of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Heresy gathers strength in prosperity,] + +The Church being thus firmly settled and delivered from outer enemies, +was now to find troubles within. Even from the days of St. John the +Divine heresies respecting the Person of our Blessed Lord had been +rife; but these open denials of the Divinity of the Great Head of the +Church had been successfully opposed without their leaving behind them +any very lasting trace. [Sidenote: and is of a more dangerous nature.] +Errors of a more subtle class followed, amounting in reality to +unbelief in our Saviour's Godhead, but expressing that unbelief by +assailing the teaching of the Church respecting His nature as Very God +or as Very Man. + +[Sidenote: Arianism.] + +This species of error culminated in the heresy of Arius, who denied +that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was co-equal, co-eternal, +and of One Substance with the Father, and whose false teaching was more +widely listened to and followed than that of any of his predecessors in +misbelief. Arianism, and various forms of error consequent upon it, +long afflicted the Church, especially in the East, and the Emperor +Constantine himself seems at one time to have had a leaning towards the +theories of Arius. + +{69} + +Section 3. _The General Councils._ + +[Sidenote: The remedy provided for heresy.] + +The full tide of the Arian heresy was, however, not suffered to come +upon the Church without a barrier being raised up by God to stem the +torrent. The Emperor Constantine was providentially guided to call +together a Council of Bishops from every part of the world, to decide +what was and always had been the Faith of the Church respecting the +Nature of our Blessed Lord. This is the first instance of what are +known by the name of General Councils of the Church. Other councils, +called provincial synods, had indeed been frequently held from the +earliest times; but they were of a much more limited and partial +character, and their decrees were binding only on the province in which +they were held, and not on the Church at large. + +[Sidenote: Nature of General Councils.] + +General Councils were called together by the Christian emperors, and, +from the nature of their constitution, were not possible until all or +nearly all the Christian world was governed by a ruler professing the +Faith of Christ; nor has such a general synod been held since the +breaking up of the universal empire of Rome helped to overthrow the +external unity of the Church[1]. [Sidenote: Their number.] Four +General Councils are officially {70} acknowledged by the Church of +England as binding on her members, and to these are commonly added two, +held somewhat later at Constantinople. + +[Sidenote: I. Council.] + +I. The First General Council was called together by Constantine the +Great, A.D. 325. It was held at Nicaea in Bithynia, and was attended +by 318 Bishops. The great work of this Council was the positive and +explicit assertion of what the Church had always implicitly believed +concerning the Nature of our Divine Lord, and His Oneness with the +Father. It was at this Nicene Council that the great St. Athanasius, +then only a deacon, first distinguished himself by his opposition to +the heresies of Arius. The teaching of the Council was embodied in the +creed which is known to us as the Nicene Creed[2], and which was signed +by all the assembled Bishops with only two exceptions, these being +probably personal friends of Arius. Besides the condemnation of Arius, +the Council settled the time of keeping Easter, and passed twenty +Canons which were confirmed by the Emperor. + +[Sidenote: II. Council.] + +II. The Second General Council was held at Constantinople, A.D. 381, +in the reign of Theodosius the Great. It was summoned principally to +condemn the heresy of Macedonius, who had been Patriarch of +Constantinople, and who had added to the Arian heresy a denial of the +Divinity of God the Holy Ghost. At this Council 150 Bishops were +present, and it is especially remarkable for having completed the Creed +of Nicaea[3], which is hence also called the Creed of Constantinople. + +{71} + +[Sidenote: III. Council.] + +III. The Third General Council was summoned by the Emperor Theodosius +the Younger, A.D. 431, and met at Ephesus. It was held to consider the +heresy of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who taught that the +Blessed Virgin was the Mother of our Lord's Human Nature only, and +that, therefore, the title of Theotokos, or "Mother of God," ought not +to be given her. This assertion was, in fact, only a refinement of +Arianism, implying as it did that our Saviour had not always been God +as well as Man, and it was accordingly condemned by the Council, +Nestorius being at the same time deposed from his see. + +[Sidenote: IV. Council.] + +IV. The Fourth General Council met at Chalcedon during the reign of +the Emperor Marcian, A.D. 451. Six hundred and thirty Bishops +assembled at it and condemned the false teaching of Eutyches, who +asserted that our Blessed Lord was God only, and not Man also. + +[Sidenote: V. Council.] + +V. The Fifth General Council was summoned at Constantinople by the +Emperor Justinian, A.D. 533, and was attended by 165 Bishops. In it +the decisions of the Four First Councils were confirmed, especially +against the Nestorians. + +[Sidenote: VI. Council.] + +VI. The Sixth General Council was also held at Constantinople, A.D. +680, by command of the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, and condemned a +development of Eutychianism. + +{72} + + Table of Councils. + + Where held. Date. Emperor. Object. + + I. Nicaea 325 Constantine Against the Arians. + the Great + + II. Constantinople 38l Theodosius Against the + the Great Macedonians. + + III. Ephesus 431 Theodosius Against the + the Younger Nestorians. + + IV. Chalcedon 451 Marcian Against the + Eutychians. + + V. Constantinople 553 Justinian Against a + development of + Nestorianism. + + VI. Constantinople 680 Constantine Against a + Pogonatus development + of Eutychianism. + + +Section 4. _Intellectual Development in the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Christian learning developed in peace.] + +This portion of the History of the Church, comprising as it does the +first period in which the master-minds within her fold were left free +by the cessation of outward persecution to resist the increasing +attacks of heresy, may be looked upon as offering to our view the +greatest intellectual development which the Church has experienced +since the times of the Apostles. [Sidenote: The Fathers.] Learned and +eloquent men abounded, "mighty in the Scriptures" and "steadfast in the +Faith," and their commentaries and sermons have come down to us as an +abiding heritage and a continual witness to the teaching of the Church +in early times. St. Athanasius, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, and St. +Augustine, are but a few out of many whose writings are still held in +honour by our own as well as by every other branch of the Catholic +Church. + + + +[1] A General Council is the highest possible way in which the voice of +the Church can be heard. But its authority is much increased by the +fact that to become really a _general_ Council its decrees must be +generally received by the Christian world. This was the case with the +first six General Councils, but has not been entirely so with any +similar gatherings of later ages. + +[2] That part of the Creed which follows the words, "I believe in the +Holy Ghost," was added later. + +[3] The subsequent addition in the clause, "Who proceedeth from the +Father and the Son," will be noticed later. + + + + +{73} + +CHAPTER VII + +The Early History of Particular Churches. + +A.D. 67-A.D. 500 + +Section 1. _The Church of England._ + +[Sidenote: St. Paul's visit to England.] + +The CHURCH OF ENGLAND is believed, with good reason, to owe its +foundation to the Apostle St. Paul, who probably came to this country +after his first imprisonment at Rome. The writings of Tertullian, and +others in the second and third centuries speak of Christianity as +having spread as far as the islands of Britain, and a British king +named Lucius is known to have embraced the Faith about the middle of +the second century. [Sidenote: Martyrdom of St. Alban.] The Diocletian +persecution made itself felt amongst the British Christians, the +conversion of the proto-martyr St. Alban (A.D. 303) being followed by +that of a large number of his countrymen, many of whom also suffered +for their faith. + +The persecution ceased (A.D. 305) under the influence of Constantius, +who, before his accession to the imperial dignity, had been viceroy in +Britain. His son and successor Constantine was, if not born in +England, at any rate of English parentage on the side of his mother +Helen, better known as the Saint and Empress {74} Helena. [Sidenote: +English bishops at Councils.] Three English Bishops, those of York, +Lincoln, and London, attended the Council summoned by Constantine at +Arles, A.D. 314, a proof that at this time the Church of England was +thoroughly organized and settled. English Bishops were also present at +the Councils of Sardica, A.D. 347, and of Ariminium, A.D. 359. + +[Sidenote: English Church depressed by Saxon invasion.] + +When the Romans abandoned Britain early in the fifth century, the +Saxons took advantage of the defenceless state of the inhabitants to +settle in the island, at first as colonists and afterwards as +conquerors. The intermingling of these fierce heathens with the +Christian population had a depressing influence on the Church; and the +Bishops and Clergy, belonging as they did to the weaker and conquered +portion of the community, seem to have been unable to do much towards +the conversion of the invaders. [Sidenote: Diminution and retreat of +Clergy.] Gradually, as the Saxons became more and more powerful in the +island, the number of Bishops and Clergy in the accessible portions of +of England grew smaller and smaller; and such as remained were at last +compelled to take refuge with their brethren, who had retired to the +mountain fastnesses, rather than live in slavery. Hence the records of +the Church of England in the sixth century are chiefly confined to +those dioceses which were situated in what we call Wales, or in other +mountainous districts. + + +Section 2. _The Church of Ireland._ + +The CHURCH OF IRELAND is said by some to have been first founded in the +Apostolic age, but this seems doubtful. The first certain information +which we have {75} respecting the presence of Christianity in the +island, is that in A.D. 431, a Bishop named Palladius was sent thither +on a mission by Pope Celestine. He appears, however, not to have met +with much success, and he soon left the country and died, probably in +Scotland. [Sidenote: St. Patrick the Apostle of Ireland.] A few years +later, about A.D. 440, the celebrated St. Patrick began his mission in +Ireland. He is generally considered to have been a native of North +Britain, who, at the age of sixteen, was taken prisoner by pirates, and +carried as a slave to Ireland. On regaining his liberty, he resolved +to devote his life to the conversion of the country of his captivity; +and having been consecrated Bishop, he returned to Ireland, and spent +fifty years as a missionary in that hitherto heathen land. At the time +of his death, A.D. 493, the Church was firmly rooted in Ireland, and +possessed a native priesthood and a native Episcopate. + +[Sidenote: Late development of dioceses and parishes in Ireland.] + +It may, however, be mentioned, that neither the diocesan nor the +parochial systems were developed in Ireland until a very late period, +whilst, from the very large number of Bishops existing there in early +times, we are led to infer that in Ireland, as before in the earliest +ages of the Church, each missionary was invested with episcopal powers, +and that the office of priest, separate from that of Bishop, was at +first almost unknown. Gradually there sprang up Cathedral chapters, +whose members acted as curates to the Bishop, and to this succeeded the +parochial system. + + +Section 3. _The Church of Scotland._ + +The CHURCH OF SCOTLAND may, perhaps, like the Church of England, trace +its foundation to the labours {76} of St. Paul, and seems to be +included in Tertullian's mention of the far-off limits to which +Christianity had reached in his days. [Sidenote: St. Ninian the first +authenticated missionary in Scotland.] Little is, however, known of +very early Church history in Scotland until the beginning of the fifth +century, when St. Ninian, who is said to have been the son of a British +chief, preached to the Southern Picts, A.D. 412-A.D. 432. We have +already seen that St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, was a Scotchman, +and the fruits of the benefits thus conferred on the one country were +reaped by the other in the next century, when St. Columba went from +Ireland and founded the celebrated monastery of Iona in one of the +isles of the Hebrides. [Sidenote: Intercourse between Irish and Scotch +Churches.] Iona, like the Irish monasteries of the same period, sent +out many missionaries, and the monks of the two countries appear to +have kept up friendly communications with each other. + + +Section 4. _Continental Churches._ + +The CHURCH OF ITALY, as we have already seen (pp. 42, 43), was founded +by the joint labours of St. Peter and St. Paul, but the circumstances +of its foundation were very different from those of the Churches of our +own islands. [Sidenote: Difficulties encountered by the Church in +Italy from high civilization] Christianity in Italy had to make its way +amongst a highly civilized people, a nation of deep thinkers and +philosophers, whose opposition to the truths of the Gospel was a far +more subtle thing than the rude ignorance of barbarians. [Sidenote: +and political power.] Besides this, the infant Church in Italy was +brought face to face with the might of the Roman emperors who were at +that time the rulers of the known {77} world; and though their +persecution of their Christian subjects extended more or less to all +parts of the empire, yet Italy was the chief battle-field on which the +first great contest between the Church and the world was fought. Hence +the history of the early Church of Italy is a history of alternating +persecutions and times of peace[1], during which Christianity was +constantly taking deeper root and spreading more widely through the +country, until the conversion of Constantine, A.D. 312, led to the +establishment and endowment of the Church. [Sidenote: Decay of the +Roman empire.] As the Church was growing stronger and taking deeper +root, the worn-out Roman empire was gradually decaying and fading away, +and, practically, it came to an end with the division of East and West, +A.D. 395. + +Resistance to the inroads of the barbarians was no longer possible. +Rome was sacked successively by different nations of Central Europe, +and at length the kingdom of the Goths in Italy was established under +Theodoric, A.D. 493. [Sidenote: Arianism of barbarian conquerors.] +These rude nations, though professing Christianity, had received with +it the heretical doctrines of Anus, owing to their teachers having +belonged to those eastern portions of Europe, which, from their +nearness to Asia, were most infected with this heresy. + +The CHURCH OF FRANCE was probably founded by St. Paul, but we have no +certain account of its early history. [Sidenote: Asiatic origin of +Early French Bishops,] "Trophimus the Ephesian" is believed to have +been the first Bishop of Arles, and Pothinus, another Greek Asiatic, +occupied the see of Lyons at the time of the persecution under Marcus +Aurelius, A.D. 161-A.D. 180, during which he suffered martyrdom. His +{78} successor was St. Irenaeus, a native, probably, of Smyrna, who was +martyred under Severus, A.D. 202. This long-continued connexion with +the Churches of Asia Minor left its traces on the liturgy and customs +of the Church of France, and through it of Britain and Ireland, these +latter Churches adhering to the Eastern mode of computing Easter even +after the Western reckoning had been adopted in France. [Sidenote: and +of French Liturgy.] The liturgy used in France, as well as in Britain +and Spain, is known to have been founded on that used in Ephesus and in +the other Asiatic cities, which was almost certainly that used by St. +John himself. + +[Sidenote: Intercourse between English and French Churches.] + +A Council was summoned by Constantine, A.D. 314, at the French city of +Arles, and one French Bishop at least was present at the great Nicaean +Council, A.D. 323. About a century later (A.D. 429), St. Germanus, +Bishop of Auxerre, and St. Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, were sent over to +Britain to assist in combating the errors of Pelagius, the neighbour +Churches of England and France maintaining apparently very friendly +relations. Many of the barbarian tribes who overran France in the +beginning of the fifth century, though professing Christianity, were +deeply infected with the Arian heresy. The Franks, however, who were +heathens at their first entrance into the country, embraced the +orthodox faith, and eventually became masters of the kingdom under +Clovis, A.D. 486. + +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. James in Spain.] + +The CHURCH OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL traces its foundation to St. Paul, who +speaks of his intended visit to Spain, Rom. xv. 24; and there is also a +tradition that St. James the Great preached the Gospel here. This +Church, too, is spoken of by St. Irenaeus, and again by Tertullian. +{79} Its first known martyr was St. Fructuosus, A.D. 259, and its first +Council that of Elvira, about A.D. 300. The names of nineteen Spanish +Bishops are mentioned as present at it. The Council of Nice, A.D. 325, +was under the presidency of Hosius, the Bishop of the Spanish diocese +of Cordova. [Sidenote: Arianism of Visigoths.] About A.D. 470, the +Visigoths, who were Arians, passed over from France into Spain, and +were only gradually converted to the Catholic Faith. + +We must look to a later period (see Chapter XI.) for the foundation of +other Churches of the West in Northern and Central Europe, that is to +say, the SCANDINAVIAN CHURCHES, including NORWAY, SWEDEN, and DENMARK, +as well as those contained in the large extent of country to which we +often give the comprehensive name of Germany. + +The Churches now comprehended in EUROPEAN TURKEY and GREECE were, as we +have already seen (pp. 37 to 40), the fruits of the labours of St. +Paul, and, like the Church of Rome, had wealth and learning to +encounter instead of poverty and ignorance. The Book of Acts records +very fully the earliest history of these Churches, and a large +proportion of St. Paul's Epistles are addressed to them. [Sidenote: +Liability of the Greeks to heresy.] The theorizing and philosophical +tendencies of the Greeks made them very liable be led away by heretical +teachers, and we find that the Church in Greece, from St. Paul's time +downwards, was continually disturbed by the presence of those who +taught or listened to "some new thing." Hence all the General +Councils, summoned for the authoritative settlement of the faith of the +Church, were held either in Greece, or in that part of Asia which had +been colonized by Greeks. Arianism in particular, {80} for a long +period, caused the most violent dissensions throughout the Eastern +world, and these were the occasion of that first Great Council of +Nicaea which, though not actually held in Greece, was only separated +from it by the narrow strait of the Bosphorus. [Sidenote: Origin of +jealousies between Rome and Constantinople.] The building of +Constantinople, A.D. 330, gave a Christian capital to Greece, and, +indeed, to the whole of the Eastern Roman empire; and from this time +may be dated the jealousies and struggles for supremacy which took +place between the Church in Italy and the Church in Greece, and +resulted eventually in the Great schism between East and West[2]. + +[Sidenote: St. Andrew in Russia.] + +The CHURCH OF RUSSIA is believed to have been founded by the Apostle +St. Andrew, who extended his labours northwards from Thrace (which now +forms part of Turkey in Europe), to that portion of Scythia lying north +of the Black Sea, and now constituting the southern part of European +Russia. The bulk of the present Russian empire was, however, converted +at a much later period. + + +Section 5. _The Church in Africa._ + +[Sidenote: St. Simon Zelotes and St. Mark in Africa.] + +The first evangelizing of North Africa, including what we now know as +Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco, is ascribed to St. Simon Zelotes and St. +Mark, the latter of whom founded the CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, of which he +became the first Bishop. Christianity appears to have {81} made very +rapid progress in Africa, since, in the fifth century, the Church +numbered more than four hundred African Bishops. [Sidenote: +Patriarchate of Alexandria.] Alexandria, from its wealth and +importance, as well as from its reputation for learning, was looked up +to by the other African Churches, and its Bishops were acknowledged as +patriarchs throughout the Christianized portion of the continent. +[Sidenote: Its school.] The Alexandrian school of philosophy was very +famous, and was at one time presided over by the Christian philosopher +Clement of Alexandria, who died about A.D. 216. His pupil Origen was, +for a while, at the head of the same college, and employed his vast +learning both before and after his ordination, in comparing the extant +copies of the Old Testament Scriptures, in order to bring the text of +the original languages to a state of the greatest possible correctness. +He died A.D. 253. + +[Sidenote: Heresies at Alexandria.] + +The Church of Alexandria was much distracted by inward troubles. In +A.D. 306, the schism of Meletius led many astray, and amongst them the +too notorious Arius, who began to publish in Alexandria the heresy +since known by his name, about the year A.D. 320. [Sidenote: St. +Athanasius and Arius.] St. Athanasius, who became Patriarch of +Alexandria, A.D. 326, was the chief instrument raised up by God for +combating the errors of Arius, a work which he carried on unflinchingly +both before and after his elevation to the episcopal throne, though his +defence of the orthodox faith brought upon him long and severe +persecution, including an exile of twenty years from his diocese. The +Arian heresy, though checked, was however not exterminated, and long +remained a source of trouble and weakness to the whole Church. +[Sidenote: St. Cyril and Nestorius.] St. Cyril, {82} who afterwards +succeeded to the patriarchate of Alexandria, A.D. 412, was also called +upon to defend Catholic truth against the errors of Nestorius, whilst +his successor, Dioscorus, openly embraced the false teaching of +Eutyches, and denied the Manhood, as Arius and Nestorius had before +denied the Divinity, of our Blessed Lord. The evil example of the +patriarch was followed by a large proportion of African Christians, who +refused to receive the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 431, +or to submit to Catholic Bishops. + +[Sidenote: St. Cyprian. St. Augustine.] + +Two other well-known names which adorn the records of the Church in +North Africa may be mentioned: St. Cyprian, a native of Carthage, and +afterwards Bishop of that city, who suffered martyrdom, A.D. 258, and +St. Augustine, a native of Numidia (or what we now call Algeria), who +was educated at Carthage, was consecrated Bishop of Hippo, A.D. 393, +and died A.D. 430. He left behind him a great number of writings, the +influence of which has been largely felt by the Church of England. + +[Sidenote: St. Matthew in Ethiopia.] + +The CHURCH OF ETHIOPIA, now represented by Abyssinia, was planted by +St. Matthew, the way having, perhaps, been prepared by that "man of +Ethiopia," the eunuch "under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians," of whom +we read in Acts viii. 27-39. Little is clearly known of the early +Christian history of this region; but the Ethiopian Church appears to +have come under the patriarchal rule of the Bishop of Alexandria +towards the beginning of the fourth century. Though keeping clear of +Arianism, the Ethiopian Christians became deeply tinged with the +Eutychian heresy, by which Dioscorus and his successors were unhappily +led away. + +{83} + +Section 6. _The Eastern Church._ + +Of the Churches now comprehended in Turkey in Asia, the foundation and +early history of PALESTINE, as represented by the CHURCH IN JERUSALEM, +and of SYRIA, as represented by the CHURCH IN ANTIOCH, have been +already related (Chapters I. and II.). + +[Sidenote: Death of St. James.] + +St. James the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem, was martyred A.D. 63, +and succeeded by Simeon, the son of Cleopas, in whose episcopate the +destruction of Jerusalem took place, A.D. 70. [Sidenote: Flight to +Pella.] The Christians, in obedience to the prophetic teaching of their +Divine Master, had already fled for safety to Pella, whence they +afterwards returned to take up their abode amongst the ruins of the +Holy City. In A.D. 132, a rebellious outbreak of the Jews, under the +leadership of Barchochebas, drew down on them a severe chastisement +from the Emperor Hadrian, and the Jewish Christians suffered much from +being confounded with their rebellious countrymen. The ruins of the +ancient city were completely destroyed, whilst no Jew was allowed to +enter the new city of Aelia Capitolina, which was built on its site. +[Sidenote: Extinction of Judaism in Church of Jerusalem.] The Jewish +Christians now entirely gave up all profession of Judaism, and the +first Judaism in _Gentile_ Bishop of Jerusalem was appointed A.D. 135. + +Julian the Apostate (A.D. 361-A.D. 363) presumptuously attempted to +rebuild Jerusalem, but his attempt was frustrated by a miraculous +interposition, a failure which had already been predicted by St. Cyril, +the then Bishop of Jerusalem. + +{84} + +[Sidenote: Double Episcopate at Antioch.] + +The CHURCH IN ANTIOCH having been probably founded by St. Peter, that +Apostle is believed to have left behind him two Bishops in the city, +the one Evodius, having the episcopal care of the Jewish converts, +whilst Ignatius was placed in charge of the Gentile Christians; but, on +the death of Evodius, A.D. 70, Ignatius became sole Bishop. [Sidenote: +St. Ignatius.] This holy man is said to have been the child whom our +Lord took in His arms and set in the midst of His disciples. He was +intimate with some or all of the Apostles, especially with St. John, +and was martyred by being thrown to wild beasts at Rome, A.D. 107. The +synods held at Antioch were very numerous, and far larger than any +others, approaching almost in size and importance to General Councils. +[Sidenote: St. John Chrysostom.] It was at Antioch that the celebrated +and eloquent St. John Chrysostom was born about A.D. 347: he became +Bishop of Constantinople, and died A.D. 407, after undergoing +persecutions which almost amounted to a martyrdom. + +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. John in Asia Minor.] + +We have already seen (pp. 31, 32) that the CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR owe +their foundation chiefly to St. Paul, whilst their perfect organization +and development was entrusted to St. John the Divine (pp. 49 to 51). +The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse seem to have been in a special +manner the charge of the latter Apostle, Ephesus, the chief of them, +being the home of his later earthly years, and the scene of his decease +and burial. [Sidenote: The "Angels" of the Seven Churches.] St. +Timothy, the first Bishop of Ephesus, had been succeeded probably by +Onesimus; St. Polycarp (martyred A.D. 167) had the episcopal charge of +Smyrna; {85} Archippus, it is believed, had followed Epaphras at +Laodicea. The names of the other "Angels" spoken of in the Apocalypse +have not come down to us, but there is no doubt that at the time when +the seven inspired Epistles were addressed to these Churches, there was +in each of them a firmly established episcopacy, and that this form of +government was followed by all other Churches throughout the world. +There is little that needs recording of the history of these Churches +of Asia Minor, unless we except the Great Council of Ephesus, held in +that city, A.D. 431, to condemn the heresy of Nestorius (p. 71). + +[Sidenote: St. Bartholomew in Armenia.] + +The CHURCH OF ARMENIA, now included in Asiatic Turkey, is believed to +have been first founded by St. Bartholomew. The country is said to +have been further evangelized by a mission sent by St. Gregory the +Illuminator in the third century. It is known that, in the following +century, a flourishing Church existed there. + +[Sidenote: Several Apostles in Parthia.] + +The CHURCH OF PARTHIA, or PERSIA, embraced the country lying between +the Tigris and the Indus, with Mesopotamia and Chaldea; what we now +call Persia, Cabul, and Belochistan; as well as part of Arabia and +Turkey; and is said to have been planted by St. Peter, St. Bartholomew, +St. Jude, St. Matthew, and St. Thomas. The inhabitants of this region +were of different races: Greek colonists; many Jews, the residue of the +Babylonish Captivity; Arabs, and ancient Persians. Till the fourth +century the Parthian Church appears to have flourished in peace. It +was beyond the jurisdiction of the persecuting emperors of Rome, and +the Parthian monarchs, though not Christians themselves, protected or +tolerated their Christian subjects. [Sidenote: Persecution there.] Two +Bishops were sent from {86} Parthia to the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 323, +but shortly afterwards, A.D. 330, persecution broke out, occasioned +apparently by the jealousy felt by the king towards the now Christian +emperors of Rome, and the intercourse kept up between the fellow +Christians of the two empires. Sixteen thousand martyrs are said to +have shed their blood for their Faith, and amongst them was St. Simeon, +the Patriarch of the Church, and Bishop of Seleucia. Another +persecution took place in the beginning of the fifth century, and +shortly afterwards Persian Christianity became strongly infected with +the errors of Nestorius, the Shahs apparently favouring the heresy on +account of its having been discouraged by the Roman emperors. + +[Sidenote: Uncertainty as to the first conversion of Arabia.] + +There is no record of the actual founding of the CHURCH IN ARABIA. We +know, from Gal. i. 17, that St. Paul "went into Arabia" soon after his +conversion, but there is no mention of his having preached the Gospel +there at that time, when indeed he was not yet called to be an Apostle; +and the Arabia to which he went was probably the northern portion +stretching up to the east of Syria, almost to Damascus itself. The +Apostle of the Gentiles may probably have revisited this country at a +later period; but, at any rate, we know that Christianity was firmly +established there early in the third century, and that Origen made two +several journeys thither between A.D. 220 and A.D. 248, to combat +heresies which troubled the Arabian Church. The Bishop of Bostra, or +Bozrah, was present at the Council of Antioch, A.D. 269. [Sidenote: +Nestorianism and Eutychianism in Arabia.] In the fifth century the +errors of Nestorius, and, a little later, of Eutyches, made great +inroads amongst {87} the Christians of Arabia, several even of the +Bishops being led away by them. + +[Sidenote: St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew in India.] + +There is an ancient tradition that St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew laid +the foundations of the CHURCH IN INDIA, but very little is known of its +early history. Pantaenus is said to have been sent as a missionary +from Alexandria to India towards the end of the second century, though +it is a matter in dispute whether by India in this case we are to +understand the country now known under that name, or Ethiopia, or +Arabia Felix. + +There are still Christians in India who reverence St. Thomas as their +founder, and use a liturgy which goes by his name. Nestorianism spread +to India in the fifth century. + +The Church is believed to have been planted in CHINA by St. Thomas and +St. Bartholomew, and the Chinese are mentioned by Arnobius in the +fourth century amongst those nations which had received the Gospel. It +does not seem, however, that Christianity existed for any length of +time in this country. + + + +[1] See Chap. V. + +[2] In speaking of the Greek Church of the present day, we usually +understand the whole body of orthodox Eastern Christians, and not +merely those dwelling in Greece itself. + + + + +{88} + +CHAPTER VIII + +The Inroads of Mahometanism + +A.D. 609-A.D. 732 + +[Sidenote: Arianism prepares the way for Mahometanism.] + +The various heresies, and especially the heresy of Arius, which had so +widely troubled the peace of the Eastern Church, though they were not +suffered by God's Mercy to cause a lasting schism, yet left behind them +a certain weakness resulting in the decay of many of the Churches of +the East, and finally in their overthrow by the false faith of the +impostor Mahomet. The present state of the Churches of Ephesus, +Sardis, and Laodicea, if viewed in the light shed upon it by the +prophetic Epistles of St. John the Divine, may serve to show us how God +withdraws His Blessing from a Church no less surely than from an +individual Christian, when His Grace is obstinately rejected and +despised. + + +Section 1. _Mahomet._ + +[Sidenote: Mahomet's birth,] + +The false prophet Mahomet was born A.D. 569, of the chief family in the +Arabian tribe of the Koreish; but it was not till after he had amassed +a large fortune, partly by diligence in trade {89} and partly by a +wealthy marriage, that, at the age of forty, A.D. 609, he declared +himself to be a prophet. [Sidenote: and claim to be a prophet and +reformer.] This announcement was at first confined to the members of +his own immediate family, till, at the end of four years, Mahomet +proclaimed that he had a mission from God to reform the state of +religion in his native city, Mecca, and to put down the idolatry which +prevailed there. [Sidenote: Flight to Medina.] The opposition which +the false prophet encountered from his fellow-citizens did not hinder +him from making many converts to the religion he was beginning to +invent for himself and for them, until at length (A.D. 622) an +insurrection, caused by the preaching and success of Mahomet, obliged +him to fly for his life from Mecca, and take refuge at Yatreb or +Medina[1]. + +[Sidenote: Founds a new religion.] + +Here he was gladly received both by Jews and Arabs, rival races, who +divided the city between them. The Jews were ready to welcome him as +their expected Messiah, whilst the Arabs had heard of his fame from +their brethren at Mecca; and Mahomet seems from this time to have +entirely laid aside the character of a mere reformer, for that of the +founder of a new revelation. The Koran and the Sword were now called +in to aid in their respective ways in extending the power of the +ambitious adventurer. [Sidenote: Cruelty.] Violence and bloodshed +enforced the pretended inspiration by which Mahomet claimed to be +acknowledged as _the_ Prophet of God, and the civil and religious head +of the nation; and the last ten years of his life present an almost +unbroken {90} course of warfare, which too often degenerated into +simple robbery and murder. [Sidenote: and conquests of Mahomet.] He +made himself master of the whole of Arabia, including the city of +Mecca, where he destroyed the idols against which he had in earlier +days protested, and then made an ineffectual attempt to take possession +of Palestine. [Sidenote: His death.] Mahomet died on June 8th, A.D. +632, partly from the effects of poison, which had been given to him +some years before, and partly from the consequences of a life of excess +and self-indulgence. + + +Section 2. _The Religion of Mahomet._ + +The false faith of which Mahomet was at once the prophet and the +founder, seems to have taken for its basis the traditionary religion +then prevalent amongst the Arab tribes. These traditions were probably +compounded of dim remnants of the Truth which had been revealed to +Abraham and handed down through his son Ishmael, and of a very corrupt +form of Sabaeanism, which included the worship of the heavenly bodies, +as well as of idols, and which had been the religion of Terah and his +fellow-countrymen. [Sidenote: Mixture of truth and error in +Mahometanism.] Upon this foundation was engrafted a mixture of Persian +philosophy, and of such perversions of Christianity and of Scriptural +doctrine as Mahomet could gather from a Persian Jew and a Nestorian +monk. [Sidenote: Opposition of the Koran to Christianity.] The Koran, +which Mahomet pretended to have received from heaven by the mouth of +the archangel Gabriel, makes mention of our Blessed Lord and of many of +the facts of Old Testament History, but its teaching is essentially +{91} anti-Christian and blasphemous, inasmuch as it denies the Divinity +of Christ, and represents Him as a Teacher and Prophet far inferior to +Mahomet himself. An intended contradiction of the Christian doctrine +of the Holy Trinity is also conveyed in its opening sentence, which is +the Mahometan confession of faith,--"There is but one God, and Mahomet +is His prophet." + +[Sidenote: Mahomet's Iconoclastic tendencies.] + +Mahomet's energetic opposition to idolatry was, no doubt, a good +feature in his religious system, though, like that of the +Iconoclasts[2], it was carried to an extravagant extent, and this +agreement, with their undue fears and prejudices on this head, seems to +have been a sufficient inducement to many unstable Christians to deny +the Lord, for Whose Honour they professed such deep concern, and to +give themselves up to an impostor who was perhaps the nearest approach +to Anti-Christ which the world has yet seen. + +Christian people are found even in these days who do not hesitate to +speak with some degree of favour of the great apostasy of which Mahomet +was the founder, because of its opposition to idolatry, its recognition +of our Blessed Lord as a Prophet, the certain admixture of truth +contained in its grievous error, and the alleged moral teaching and +beauty of language of particular passages in the Koran. [Sidenote: +Moral effects of Mahometanism.] Any such favour or tenderness is, +however, altogether out of place in professed worshippers of Him Whom +Mahomet so grievously blasphemed, whilst the grossly sensual and +immoral lives led by the false prophet and the large proportion of his +followers down to {92} the present time, serve to show us that wrong +belief and wrong practice go hand in hand, and that whatever show of +morality there may be in some few of the precepts of the Koran, it has +no influence on the conduct of those who profess to be guided by it. + + +Section 3. _The Spread of Mahometanism._ + +[Sidenote: Mahometan conquests] + +The work of conquest which Mahomet had begun was continued by his +successors. Abu Bekr, the father of Mahomet's favourite wife, was the +first of the four Caliphs who pushed the power of the Mahometan arms +beyond the confines of Arabia, and laid the foundations of the future +empire. [Sidenote: of the Holy Land,] Jerusalem was taken by Omar, the +next Caliph, in A.D. 637, and, with the exception of a short interval +during the Crusades, the Holy City has ever since remained in the hands +of the unbelievers. [Sidenote: Egypt,] Omar made himself master of +Egypt as well as of Syria, and showed his savage contempt for learning +by burning the famous and valuable collection of MSS. contained in the +Alexandrian library. [Sidenote: Persia, and North Africa.] Under +Othman, Persia and the North of Africa were added to the empire, and +after the death of Ali, son-in-law to Mahomet and fourth Caliph, the +seat of government was removed to Damascus. + +[Sidenote: Other portions of Asia and part of Europe.] + +The Caliphs of Damascus carried on the same system of warfare and +bloodshed, took possession of Asia Minor, of the Northern parts of +India, of Spain, and overran the South of France, where, however, A.D. +732, the Mahometan troops received such a check at Tours from the hands +of {93} Charles Martel, as hindered them from extending their conquests +any farther in Western Europe. + +[Sidenote: Present extent of Mahometanism.] + +At the present day Mahometanism is the professed faith of the +inhabitants of the Northern half of Africa, of Turkey in Europe, of +Arabia, Persia, the Holy Land, Asia Minor, and some parts of India, and +its adherents number ninety-six millions. We shall perhaps realize +still more strongly the havoc which this soul-destroying apostasy has +been suffered to work, if we remember that some of the countries where +it now reigns unchecked were formerly the seats of flourishing +Christian Churches, the Church in Africa boasting of such great Saints +as St. Cyprian and St. Augustine, whilst Palestine and Asia Minor +witnessed the first foundation of the Church, as well as its earliest +settlement in the form it was permanently to retain. + + + +[1] It is from this Hegira (or Flight) of Mahomet, July 16th, A.D. 622, +that Mahometans compute their time. + +[2] See Chap. VIII. + + + + +{94} + +CHAPTER IX + +The Division between East and West + +A.D. 680-A.D. 1054 + +[Sidenote: Outward unity of the Church broken] + +So far we have contemplated the Church of Christ as one in external +communion, no less than by the inner bonds of charity and of +sacramental life; but we now come to a period in which this external +unity began to be to a certain extent dissolved, and that in great +measure by the same outward influences which had at first secured its +cohesion. [Sidenote: with the breaking up of the Roman Empire.] +Heresies and schisms, especially the great heresy of Arius, had indeed +troubled the Church and threatened to break the visible union existing +between its branches in different countries; but it was not until after +the dissolution of the Roman empire that the breach really came. + + +Section I. _Jealousy between Rome and Constantinople._ + +[Sidenote: Reasons for Roman ascendancy.] + +During the flourishing days of the empire the city of Rome had +naturally been looked up to with great reverence by all the other +Churches of the world. Its political importance as the centre of +government, the vast number {95} of its martyrs, its comparative +freedom from heresy, and its connexion with the lives and deaths of St. +Peter and St. Paul, all tended to give it a moral ascendancy which was +gradually claimed as a right. This, however, did not take place +without protests on the part of other Bishops, nor even without very +definite disclaimers of any wish for or right to supreme authority on +the part of the Bishops of Rome themselves. + +[Sidenote: Ambition of an Eastern Patriarch.] + +Constantinople, as being the new Rome and capital of the Eastern +empire, was especially jealous of the claims of the mother city, and +one of her Patriarchs, John the Faster, in the sixth century, first set +the evil example of assuming the title of "Universal Bishop," a title +which the Roman Pontiffs have since taken and retained. In proportion +as the political division between East and West became more complete, +so also did the tendency towards separation in ecclesiastical matters +increase. [Sidenote: Beginnings of disunion.] Western dioceses, now +peopled by the barbarian nations who had overrun Europe, still looked +up to Rome as their centre and head; whilst the Eastern Bishops, under +the sway of the decaying empire, clung to Constantinople. [Sidenote: +Its crisis.] The controversy respecting the use of Images, and that +about the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as from the +Father, were, however, the means of actually bringing about the +cessation of all outward communion between East and West. + + +Section 2. _The Iconoclast (or Image-breaking) Controversy._ + +[Sidenote: Dislike of images] + +There had been from very early times an extensive though not universal +feeling in the Church, against the use of painting or sculpture in {96} +Divine Worship. This feeling was occasioned partly by dread of the +idolatry still prevalent amongst the heathen, and partly, especially in +the East, where it was strongest, by the remains of Judaism still +lingering in the Church of Christ. [Sidenote: lost in the West, but +retained in the East.] As heathenism died out, it was gradually felt in +the West that the strong reasons formerly existing against the +adornment of Churches with pictures and images had passed away; but the +Eastern Church, with that dread of change which distinguishes it to +this day, clung as before to the old sentiment. + +[Sidenote: Image-breaking legislation] + +In the eighth century, Leo III., "the Isaurian," then reigning at +Constantinople, passed a decree for the removal of all images and +paintings from Churches, and his violent conduct in the matter +occasioned such discontent in the West, that Italy withdrew altogether +from the nominal allegiance she had hitherto paid to the emperors, +about A.D. 730. [sidenote: dissolved the link between Eastern and +Western Empires.] Other emperors were as fanatical in their +Iconoclastic (or image-breaking) prejudices as Leo, and their +extravagance excited a reaction in the other extreme in the Western +empire. [Sidenote: Reactionary decrees in the West.] In A.D. 786, a +Council, which was held at Nicaea, not only protested against the +violent fanaticism of the East, but sanctioned the veneration of images +and pictures to an extent which we find it hard to justify, and which +was, in fact, deemed unjustifiable by many in the West, who yet wished +for their retention as decorations and aids to devotional feeling. +Charlemagne, under the influence of our English Alcuin, opposed the +decision of the Council, and held provincial synods (especially one at +Frankfort, A.D. 794) {97} to condemn what was, at any rate, very like +image-worship. + +[Sidenote: Charitable supposition regarding them.] + +Probably dread of Judaism and Mahometanism, with their hatred of our +Blessed Lord and of His Image, as well as of all sculpture, had some +influence on the decisions of the council of A.D. 786, and we may +reasonably hope that it was not really intended to encourage any +worship or veneration contrary to the express law of God. At any rate, +the Iconoclast controversy aided very strongly to put an end to all +political union, and with it to all public ecclesiastical intercourse, +between East and West; though the bonds of external communion were not +yet broken, and they were still one both in faith and practice. + + +Section 3. _The Controversy respecting the Double Procession of the +Holy Ghost._ + +[Sidenote: Western addition to the Nicene creed.] + +We have seen[1] that the summary of Christian belief, known to us as +the Nicene Creed, was completed at the Council of Constantinople, A.D. +381; but with this exception, that the article defining the faith of +the Church concerning the Third Person of the Ever-Blessed Trinity, +asserted only that "the Holy Ghost . . . . proceedeth from the Father," +without the addition of the words "_and the Son_;" and it was the +controversy as to the admission or non-admission of these words into +the Creed which caused the formal division between Eastern and Western +Christendom. The question is said to have first arisen in the fifth +{98} century; and gradually the words in dispute came to be sung in the +West during Divine Service. [Sidenote: Decrees against it.] In the +ninth century an appeal was made on the subject to Pope Leo III., who +decided in a provincial Council that no such addition could lawfully be +made to the Creed, and ordered it to be engraved on silver plates +exactly as the Council of Constantinople had left it. Towards the end +of the same century another Council was held at Constantinople, which +also decreed the disuse of the addition, and then the matter dropped +for about a hundred and fifty years. [Sidenote: Dispute stirred up +again for political purposes.] Its revival seems to have been chiefly +owing to political jealousies and to the struggle for supremacy which +was continually going on between Rome and Constantinople. We may be +allowed to believe that the dispute was, in reality, a question of mere +words, and that the two branches of the One Church did, and still do, +hold the "One Faith," although differing in their mode of expressing +it. [Sidenote: Actual schism in consequence.] Still the +ultra-conservatism which has always distinguished the Eastern Church, +and the unyielding temper which has been no less conspicuous in the +Church of Rome, did in time bring about a formal schism; and in A.D. +1053, the Pope Leo IX. issued a sentence of excommunication against the +Patriarch of Constantinople and all who adhered to him. In the +following year the Patriarch Michael Cerularius summoned a synod at +Constantinople, and retorted the excommunication upon the Latins. Two +attempts at reconciliation were afterwards made, one in A.D. 1274, +following the close of the last Crusade, and another which, after +lengthened negotiations, came to an equally unsuccessful termination at +the Council of Florence, A.D. 1430. + +{99} + +[Sidenote: Outward union never since restored.] + +Since that time the two great Branches of the One Vine, whilst still +drawing Life and Nourishment from the same Divine Root of Jesse by +means of the same Holy Sacraments, have yet abstained from all acts of +outward communion, and have failed to recognize in each other those +essential marks of Catholicity which God's Mercy and Providence has +preserved to them even in the midst of all their respective defects of +Charity, or their errors in theory and practice. + + + +[1] Chap. VI., sec. 3. + + + + +{100} + +CHAPTER X + +The Church of the Middle Ages + +A.D. 900-A.D. 1500 + +[Sidenote: Foundation of the temporal power of the Popedom.] + +The temporal power of the Popes gradually increased after the ninth +century, when part of the territory since known as the States of the +Church was bestowed on them by Pepin, whose son, the famous Emperor +Charlemagne, confirmed the donation. The change thus wrought in the +position of the Popes, who to their spiritual office of Bishop now +added the temporal one of sovereign, was productive of a corresponding +change in the claims they made upon the submission of the rest of +Christendom, and these altered claims first assumed a definite form in +the eleventh century. + + +Section 1. _The Supremacy of the Popes._ + +[Sidenote: Papal claims to spiritual supremacy.] + +The Bishops of Rome had at first limited their ideas of universal +supremacy to spiritual things: it was as Universal Bishop that they +desired to be honoured and obeyed, and we have seen in the preceding +chapter that a certain priority seemed to accrue to them by force of +{101} circumstances. Rome had come to be regarded as the Mother of the +Churches, much as Jerusalem was in the first ages of Christianity, and +appeals for advice and help were at first voluntarily made to the +learning and piety of the Bishops of Rome. [Sidenote: Further claims +to temporal authority.] Later, instead of advisers they claimed to be +absolute judges in ecclesiastical matters, and when the temporal +possessions of the Popedom made the chair of St. Peter an object of +ambition to covetous, designing men, the character of Bishop was too +often merged in that of Prince, and spiritual power ceased to satisfy +those who thought it their duty or their interest to enforce what was +in fact an Universal Sovereignty. + +[Sidenote: Plausibleness and actual advantages of Papal supremacy.] + +It is not difficult to understand that the idea of one Visible Head and +Centre of Christendom would appear to have much to recommend it; nor +even that the power of the Popes was in reality the source of many +blessings in the lawless state in which European society found itself +for many centuries after the fall of the Roman empire. An authority +which could reduce rebellious subjects to obedience, overawe refractory +nobles, or check the tyranny of an irresponsible sovereign, could +hardly fail to be productive of some good effects when wielded by +disinterested men, and with singleness of purpose. [Sidenote: Its +corruptions and dangers.] But in the hands of worldly-minded and +ambitious prelates, such as too many of the Popes undoubtedly were, +this usurped prerogative of interference in the affairs of foreign +states became an engine of mighty evil, and in the course of time it +was felt to be such an intolerable yoke by the people of Europe that +continued submission to it became impossible. + +{102} + +[Sidenote: What the Reformation really was.] + +The Reformation was in fact a casting off of an unjustifiable +usurpation in temporal as well as in spiritual things, and a violent +reaction against that course of events which, from the eighth century +downwards, had been tending to reduce the different sovereigns of +Western Christendom to the rank of vassals of the Roman See. + + +Section 2. _Some account of the Popes of the Middle Ages._ + +A clearer view of the rise and results of papal supremacy may perhaps +be gained by entering into a somewhat more detailed account of such +Popes as from various causes occupy conspicuous places in the history +of the Roman Church. [Sidenote: St. Leo the Great, and the first +"papal aggression."] In order to do this effectually, it will be +necessary to go back a little farther than the date at the head of the +chapter, to the time of St. Leo the Great (A.D. 440-A.D. 461), whose +claim to interfere between St. Hilary, Bishop of Arles, and +Chelidonius, Bishop of Besançon, may be looked upon as the first "papal +aggression" of which history gives us an example. Chelidonius had been +deposed by a General Council of the Church of France under the +presidency of Hilary, and so deeply did the French Bishops resent the +unjust attempts of Leo to set aside their decision, that the Bishop of +Rome found an appeal to the secular power necessary for the purpose of +enforcing his claim to exercise jurisdiction over a foreign Church. +But even the authority of Valentinian III., Emperor of the West, did +not succeed in obliging Hilary to cede the liberties of the Church of +France, and it is a significant fact that the Bishop of {103} Arles is +reverenced as a saint by the whole Western Church, although his sense +of what was due to his position as a member of the French episcopate +would not suffer him to yield his just rights, in order to obtain a +reconciliation with one so personally worthy of esteem and honour as +St. Leo. + +[Sidenote: Papal claims strengthened and extended by St. Gregory] + +The good and wise St. Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-A.D. 604), though he +strenuously disclaimed for himself, and denied to others, the right of +assuming the title of "Universal Bishop," appears to have had very +strong ideas respecting the authority which he conceived to belong to +the successors of St. Peter, whilst his talents and holiness gave him +an extensive influence over his contemporaries. [Sidenote: and Hadrian +I.] Succeeding Popes laid claim to more extended powers, especially +Hadrian I. (A.D. 772-A.D. 793), who first advanced the doctrine that +the whole Christian Church was subject to the see of Rome. [Sidenote: +Rise of the temporal power of the Popes under Leo III.] His successor, +Leo III. (A.D. 795-A.D. 816), having crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the +West, A.D. 800, received from that monarch the sovereignty of Rome, and +thus became a temporal prince as well as a Bishop, and about the same +time there began to appear certain forged canons (or Church laws), +professing to be ancient decrees collected by St. Isidore of Seville, +in the seventh century, and having for their object to give primitive +sanction to Roman Supremacy. [Sidenote: "Pseudo-Isidore" Decretals] +These "Pseudo-Isidore" Decretals, as they were afterwards called, were +frequently appealed to, apparently in good faith, by subsequent Popes; +and their genuineness was generally believed in, almost without +question, until the time of the Reformation in {104} the sixteenth +century. By about the middle of the ninth century these decretals were +made use of to settle ecclesiastical questions, and Nicholas I. (A.D. +858-A.D. 867) laid great stress upon them when the liberties of the +French Church were again defended by Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, in +a very similar case to that in which St. Hilary had offered opposition +to St. Leo. [Sidenote: Hincmar's opposition to papal claims.] +Hincmar's zeal in opposing the usurpations of the Roman see had some +little success during the episcopate of Hadrian II. (A.D. 867-A.D. +872), but its effects passed away when John VIII. (A.D. 872-A.D. 882) +espoused the cause of Charles the Bald, and thus enlisted the interests +of the crown on his side. + +The troubles and disorders consequent on the breaking up of the great +empire of Charlemagne, had had a very injurious effect on morals and +religion; and unworthy persons, to whom the temporal possessions of the +Popes had by this time become an object of ambition, took advantage of +the depressed state of the Church to seize upon the bishopric of Rome +either for themselves or for others in whom they had an interest. +[Sidenote: Unspirituality caused by temporal power.] Hence the history +of the papacy during the next century and a half is full of dreary +records of corruption and wickedness. The elevation of John XII. to +the papal throne at the age of eighteen (A.D. 955), and his evil life, +called forth the interference of the Emperor Otho the Great, who +deposed him and elected Leo VIII. (A.D. 963-A.D. 965) in his stead. +[Sidenote: Interference of Emperors of the West.] From this time the +emperors frequently interfered to check the continual disputes between +Popes and anti-Popes, which often ended in the murder of one of the +rivals. Silvester II. (Gerbert) (A.D. 999-A.D. 1003), {105} who was +made Pope through the influence of Otho III., was prevented by death +from carrying out the reforms he meditated, and at length, in A.D. +1046, the Emperor Henry III. was called upon to decide between three +claimants to the papal throne. He settled the question by appointing a +German, Clement II. (A.D. 1046-A.D. 1047), after the synod of Sutri had +put aside the claims of the original disputants. Henry thus took the +election of the Popes entirely out of the hands of the Clergy of Rome, +with whom it had hitherto nominally rested, and appropriated it to +himself. [Sidenote: This interference unjustifiable.] This was an +undoubted usurpation on the part of the secular power, though Henry +seems to have been in earnest in his endeavours to check the simony +which had been so disgracefully prevalent in the papal elections, and +to appoint Bishops who might be worthy of their position. [Sidenote: +Hildebrand's influence.] [Sidenote: Overthrow of secular interference.] +Leo IX. (A.D. 1048-A.D. 1054) and his successor, Victor II. (A.D. +1055-A.D. 1057), aided and influenced by the famous Hildebrand +(afterwards Gregory VII.), succeeded in effecting considerable reforms +in religion and morals, and were very zealous in discouraging +simoniacal appointments to offices in the Church, but a gradual and +increasing resistance was growing up against the imperial +encroachments, and after the death of Henry, Pope Nicholas II. (A.D. +1059-A.D. 1061) was enabled to obtain a decree that the election of the +Popes should, for the future, rest with the Roman Cardinals, subject to +the consent of the Roman Clergy and people, and with some vague +reference to the emperor's wishes. + +[Sidenote: Hildebrand Pope.] + +At length Hildebrand, the counsellor and support of {106} several +preceding Popes, was himself called to the see of Rome under the title +of Gregory VII. (A.D. 1073-A.D. 1083), and at once devoted the energies +of his powerful mind to the work of reforming the Church. [Sidenote: +His reforms] The two means on which he chiefly relied for accomplishing +his object were the enforcing of celibacy on the Clergy, and the +abolition of simony, under which head he included every species of lay +investiture. [Sidenote: and their consequences.] The prosecution of +his plans soon brought him into a violent dispute with the weak and +wicked Emperor Henry IV., who was as eager to secure the right of +bestowing upon Bishops the ring and pastoral staff, as well as of their +sole appointment, and thus reduce them to the state of mere secular +vassals, as Gregory was by the same means to secure their +ecclesiastical obedience to the see of Rome, and their total +independence of any civil power. [Sidenote: Result of the contest.] +The contest lasted till the death of Gregory in exile, and was carried +on by his successors, until during the popedom of Calixtus II. (A.D. +1119-1124) a compromise was agreed upon by which the emperor left to +each Church the free election of its Bishops, who were to receive the +ring and staff from the altar, and the temporalties of their sees from +the crown. + +[Sidenote: Wars between Rome and Germany.] + +This arrangement did not, however, bring peace between the Popes and +the emperors, the Popes siding with the Guelphs in the long civil wars +of the next two centuries, in opposition to the Ghibelline emperors. +Hadrian IV. (A.D. 1154-A.D. 1159), or Nicholas Breakspear, the only +English Pope, found it expedient to seek the assistance of the Emperor +Frederic Barbarossa, to aid him in quelling the insurrection headed by +Arnold of {107} Brescia; but Alexander III. (A.D. 1159-A.D. 1181) came +into fresh collision with Frederic, who was at length obliged to submit +and beg for peace. [Sidenote: Climax of the papal power under Innocent +III.] The minority of Frederic II. was favourable to the ambitious +schemes of Pope Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216), and under him the +power of the popedom reached its greatest height. He laid both England +and France under an interdict, placed on the imperial throne, and then +deposed, Otho IV., and took measures for the suppression of the +Albigenses, which eventually resolved themselves into the dreaded +Inquisition. The old strife was continued by Gregory IX. (A.D. +1227-A.D. 1241), who excommunicated Frederic II., and the sentence was +renewed by Innocent IV. (A.D. 1243-A.D. 1254). The treatment of the +emperor by these successive Popes was something akin to a persecution, +and was apparently occasioned by a feeling of opposition to any +authority which conflicted with the claims of Rome, and by a hatred of +the Ghibelline race. + +[Sidenote: Decline of the temporal power of the Popes.] + +From the death of Innocent IV. the excessive power of the Popes may be +said to decrease. Gregory X. (A.D. 1271-A.D. 1276) and the Emperor +Rudolf of Hapsburg were good, earnest-minded men, who put an end to the +long-standing feud between Rome and the empire, and after a succession +of short pontificates, Boniface VIII. (A.D. 1294-A.D. 1303) usurped the +papal throne in the place of the "hermit Pope," Celestine V. +[Sidenote: Interference of the King of France in papal affairs.] +Boniface was a thoroughly bad and unscrupulous man, and at last died in +a fit of disappointed rage at being taken prisoner by the troops of his +equally unscrupulous enemy, Philip IV. of France, who had refused to +acknowledge the {108} authority of the papal legate. Philip caused the +death of Benedict XI. (A.D. 1303-A.D. 1304), whose honest goodness he +feared, and then used his influence to procure the election of Clement +V. (A.D. 1303-A.D. 1314), on condition of his pledging himself to aid +in the French king's schemes to plunder and oppress the Church. +Clement, having thus sold himself, was not allowed to leave France, and +the papal court was fixed at Avignon. The Pope was now completely at +the mercy of Philip, who robbed the Church at his will, and plundered +and murdered the Knights Templars with the connivance of Clement. +[Sidenote: The Popes at Avignon.] The sojourn of the Popes at Avignon +(A.D. 1305-A.D. 1376) was a great blow to the temporal power of the +papacy, and was often called by the Italians the Seventy Years' +Captivity. Meanwhile the Popes were again plunged into contests with +the German emperors: Louis of Bavaria was excommunicated, and his +empire laid under an interdict, on account of his refusal to accept his +dominions from John XXII. (A.D. 1316-A.D. 1334). The papal authority +in Italy had become almost nominal except in Rome itself, and even +there it was much weakened by the rebellion under Rienzi, A.D. 1352. +Pope Innocent VI. (A.D. 1333-A.D. 1362), soon after his election, sent +a legate to Rome, with orders to reduce not only the city itself to +obedience, but all that was then included in the States of the Church; +and this having been successfully accomplished, the Popes began to +think of returning to Rome. [Sidenote: The return to Rome.] The court +at Avignon had become fearfully corrupt, and some of those who composed +it, and loved its evils, were ready to oppose any change; but Urban V. +(A.D. 1362-A.D. 1370), a really upright man, spent some of his +episcopate at Rome, and his {109} successor, Gregory XI. (A.D. +1370-A.D. 1378) removed thither with his court two years before his +death. The Cardinals however still clung to Avignon, and though, in +compliance with the earnest wishes of the Roman people, they elected an +Italian to be Pope under the name of Urban VI. (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1389), +yet they were so offended at his zealous but indiscreet endeavours to +reform the evils around him, that they declared him deposed, and set up +an anti-Pope at Avignon. [Sidenote: The consequent schism.] The schism +thus begun lasted nearly forty years (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1417), England, +Germany, North Italy, Poland, and the Scandinavian kingdoms siding with +the true Popes, while France, Scotland, Spain, and South Italy held +with the anti-Popes. [Sidenote: Its results.] The troubles and +corruptions of the Church now multiplied, Popes and anti-Popes alike +made the acquisition of power and revenue their great object, and +wickedness was left unrebuked both in Clergy and laity. A great +impulse was given to the sale of indulgences or pardons, an evil +practice which brought in large sums of money to the papal exchequer, +and at the same time led to such abuses as probably to become a +principal proximate cause of the Reformation. + +[Sidenote: Council of Pisa.] + +At length there was an universal longing for the cessation of the great +schism in the Western Church, and a Council was held at Pisa, A.D. +1409, where it was agreed by the Cardinals belonging to the two parties +to depose both Pope and anti-Pope, and to elect another who took the +name of Alexander V., with an understanding that he was at once to +reform and pacify the Church. But neither Pope nor anti-Pope would +resign, so that there were three claimants instead of two, and very +soon after his {110} election Alexander V. died. John XXIII. (A.D. +1410-A.D. 1415) was elected in his place, but he proved to be +thoroughly devoid of principle, and the Council of Pisa having proved +unsuccessful in promoting unity or reformation, another was convoked at +Constance, A.D. 1414, under the presidency of the Emperor Sigismund I. +[Sidenote: Council of Constance.] This Council was attended by the +representatives of all the monarchs of the West, as well as by a very +large number of Bishops and Clergy, and it was decreed that the three +claimants to the papal throne should be deposed. John XXIII. was +thrown into prison, and, after considerable delay, Martin V. (A.D. +1417-A.D. 1431) was chosen to succeed him. The Council shortly after +broke up, without having done any thing towards the much desired +reformation of the Church, although the English, French, and German +deputies had been very earnest in their endeavours to advance some +scheme of reform. [Sidenote: Council of Basle.] Another Council met at +Basle, A.D. 1431, whence it was transferred by Pope Eugenius IV. (A.D. +1431-A.D. 1447) first to Ferrara, and afterwards (A.D. 1439) to +Florence. This opportunity was also lost in a dispute between the +Council and the Pope, and there seemed to be nothing more to hope for +from Councils as a means of reformation. + +[Sidenote: State of the papacy at the end of the fifteen century.] + +Nor were the personal characters of the Popes who filled the see of +Rome during the remainder of the century, such as to encourage any +expectation that their influence would be employed to revive religion, +or to encourage holy living. Worldliness and ambition, revenge and +immorality, cast a deep shadow over the records of the papacy at this +time, until the century closes with the reign of Alexander VI., or +{111} Roderigo Borgia (A.D. 1492-A.D. 1503), who was elected by +bribery, and whose shameless vice and cruelty brought greater scandals +upon the Church than any of his predecessors had done. + + +Section 3. _The Monastic Orders._ + +Monastic orders, though not by any means an invention of the Middle +Ages, may yet fairly be said to have attained their height, both of +prosperity and of usefulness, during this period of Church History. +[Sidenote: Early rise of monasticism.] We may trace the origin of +Christian monastic life to very early times, when persecution drove +many Christians to a life of loneliness and privation in desert places. +The mode of life thus begun from necessity was afterwards continued +from choice, and in the hope of more complete self-devotion to God's +service; and the solitary hermits and anchorites of primitive ages +became the forerunners of an elaborate system of religious communities +of men and women. + +[Sidenote: Later influences brought to bear on it.] + +St. Basil, in the fourth century, brought monasticism into a more +definite form, and St. Athanasius during the same century introduced it +into Europe from the East. In the West the religious life spread and +flourished under the fostering care of such men as St. Augustine and +St. Gregory the Great, whilst by St. Benedict in the sixth century it +was developed into the famous Benedictine rule, to which, with few +exceptions, all the European monasteries conformed, and which was the +parent of various minor orders or subdivisions[1]. + +{112} + +[Sidenote: Beneficial results of monasticism.] + +It is not easy to estimate the vast amount of good which the labours of +the Benedictine monks conferred on the Church of the Middle Ages, good +which has left many traces to the present day. Not only did they +provide in a vast number of instances for the spiritual wants of the +parishes in and near which they lived, as well as for the education of +the young, both rich and poor, but they were also the philosophers, the +authors, the artists, and the physicians, nay, even the farmers and the +mechanics of Mediaeval times. They built cathedrals and churches, made +roads and bridges, copied books when writing stood in the place of +printing, and were in general the props and pioneers of civilization. +Amongst the very large number of men who embraced the monastic life, it +is no marvel that some were not all they professed to be, or that +occasional causes for scandal arose, but the popular idea of the +universal corruption of the inhabitants of the monasteries is +unsupported by facts, and much of what helped to give rise to this +false notion is traceable to the doings of the mendicant or preaching +friars. These begging orders were offshoots from the regulars, and +were but too often very unworthy representatives of the parent stock[2]. + + +Section 4. _The Crusades._ + +Amongst the events which stand out most distinctly in the history of +the Church in the Middle Ages, the long series of warlike expeditions +known as the {113} Crusades bear a prominent part, stretching out as +they do from the end of the eleventh to nearly the end of the +thirteenth centuries. + +The empire of the Arabs had died out, but they had been succeeded in +their schemes of conquest as well as in their adherence to the false +faith of Mahomet, by the savage Turks, whose ferocity and hatred of +Christianity were especially displayed in the ill-treatment of those +Christians whose piety led them to visit the scenes of our Blessed +Lord's Life and Death. [Sidenote: Cause of the Crusades.] The +indignation excited in Europe by the stories of outrage and desecration +which were from time to time brought back by pilgrims to the Holy Land, +at length found an outlet and expression in the First Crusade, which +was preached, A.D. 1095, by Peter the Hermit, with the sanction both of +the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople. This expedition resulted +in the taking of the Holy City by the armies of the Cross (A.D. 1099), +and the establishment in it of a Christian sovereignty. + +[Sidenote: Their transient results.] + +The First Crusade was the only one which had any real success, and even +this was a transient one, for less than ninety years afterwards (A.D. +1187) Jerusalem was again taken by the Saracens, and has never since +been a Christian power. But though the deliverance of the Holy Land +from the yoke of the infidels was not accomplished by the Crusades, and +though they caused much misery and bloodshed, and were stained by much +lawlessness and plunder, yet the advance of the barbarous and +anti-Christian influences of Mahometanism was checked, the Churches of +Europe were saved from the soul-destroying apostasy which had over-run +so large a portion of Asia, and the Crescent waned before the Cross. + +{114} + +[Sidenote: Reasons for their ill-success.] + +Much of the ill success with which the Crusaders met during several of +these expeditions, may be traced to jealousies and heart-burnings +between the different princes and nobles who took part in them, whilst +disagreements on a larger scale were amongst the evil fruits of the +unhappy division between Eastern and Western Christendom. Latin +Christians appear in too many instances to have made use of the +opportunities afforded them to injure and oppress their weaker brethren +of the Greek Church, even whilst marching against the common foe of +both, and the Fourth Crusade (A.D. 1203) was actually diverted from its +legitimate purpose in order to conquer Constantinople, and establish a +Latin Emperor, as well as a Latin Patriarch within its walls. + +[Sidenote: Good directly brought about by them.] + +Still, whatever may have been the want of single-mindedness on the part +of many of the professed soldiers of the Cross, whatever the amount of +failure with regard to the immediate objects of the Crusades, it is +clear that much good was brought about through them by God's +Providence, not only in the check given to the encroachments of the +unbelievers, but also more indirectly in the quenching of rising +heresies, in the greater purity of life which in many cases accompanied +the taking of the Cross, the weakening of the feudal system, the +impulse given to learning and civilization. Earnestness and +self-devotion such as were shown by Godfrey de Bouillon, St. Louis of +France, and no doubt by many more amongst the Crusaders, were rewarded +and blessed, though not in what might have seemed at first sight the +only way of success. + +{115} + +Section 5. _State of Religions Relief and Practice during the Middle +Ages._ + +[Sidenote: Popular idea of the Middle Ages,] + +There is a wide-spread notion that the Middle Ages were also "Dark +Ages," full of ignorance and superstition, with hardly a ray of +knowledge or true religion to enlighten the gloom, and also that the +Church was the great encourager of this state of things; indeed, that +it was mainly due to the influence of the monks and of the Clergy +generally. + +[Sidenote: not founded in history.] + +This belief is however quite unhistorical. No doubt there was +abundance of ignorance as well as of superstition, its natural +consequence, but there are ample means of accounting for both in the +political condition of Europe at that time, nor is it needful to blame +the Church for what was in fact due to the sins and errors of the world. + +[Sidenote: Real causes of ignorance and vice in the Middle Ages.] + +The confusion incident to the breaking up of the old Roman empire, and +the occupation of its different provinces by less highly-civilized +nations, had been followed by other disorders after the death of +Charlemagne and the partition of his dominions; and the constant state +of warfare and aggression in which most of the princes of that time +lived, was not calculated to leave their subjects much leisure for +intellectual culture. Besides this, we must take into account the +crushing influence of the feudal system, which gave the nobles almost +absolute power over their serfs or dependants, thus encouraging +lawlessness on the one hand, and causing degradation on the other. The +scarcity and costliness of books before the invention of printing was +another {116} formidable obstacle to any universal spread of education, +all which causes tended to bring learning into contempt amongst the +restless barons and their followers, restricting it chiefly to the +Clergy and the monks. Thus not only theology, but secular knowledge +besides, found a home in the Church, which was at once the guardian and +the channel of literature. + +[Sidenote: No scarcity of the means of grace in Mediaeval times.] + +There are also good grounds for believing that the provision made by +the Church for the spiritual necessities of the people was not, at any +rate, less abundant than is the case at the present day. Indeed, there +is no doubt that both Churches and Clergy, and consequently +opportunities for worship and instruction, were far more in proportion +to the number and needs of the population than they can be said to be +now in our own country, even after the persevering and liberal efforts +of late years. [Sidenote: Difficulties respecting Services and Bibles +on the vernacular,] If it is objected that the want of free access to +the Holy Scriptures, and the use of the Latin tongue in the public +services of the Church, were calculated largely to outweigh any +advantages which the people of those days might possess, we may +remember that those comparatively few who could read were just those +who would have access to the necessarily rare copies then existing of +the Word of God, and that to them also the Latin version would be more +comprehensible than any other. Again, with regard to Latin services, +it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to translate the +devotions of the Church into any of the slowly-forming dialects of the +different European nations; whilst Latin was more universally spoken +and understood than French is now, and was probably intelligible to a +larger number of men and women during a {117} considerable portion of +the Middle Ages than any one of the other languages used. + +[Sidenote: but the wish for them not wholly disregarded.] + +As the various languages of Europe became gradually developed, a desire +naturally arose amongst those who spoke them for services in the +vernacular; and this desire was not left altogether ungratified even +long before the Reformation. Thus, in England, the Epistles and +Gospels and the Litany were translated into the native language in the +Services of the Church, and interlinear translations were made of many +portions of the Mediaeval Prayer Books[3]. Neither must we imagine +that the translations of Holy Scripture put forth by the Reformers, or +even that earlier version to which Wickliffe gave his name, were by any +means the first efforts made to produce the Holy Bible in the +vernacular. From Anglo-Saxon times downwards, we have traces of Bibles +translated for the use of those who preferred such versions; and to the +truth of this statement may be quoted the testimony of John Foxe, the +"martyrologist," who says, "If histories be well examined, we shall +find, both before the Conquest and after, as well before John Wickliffe +was born as since, the whole body of the Scriptures by sundry men +translated into this our country tongue[4]." + +[Sidenote: State of learning in the Middle Ages.] + +The Mediaeval Church was, in reality, a great supporter of learning. +Our two great Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were not less +flourishing during the Middle Ages than at present; and nearly all of +the colleges and halls at both Universities were founded in those days +{118} of supposed darkness. Nor was this care for literature confined +to the Church in England; Universities of equal note were to be found +abroad at Paris, Pavia, Bologna, Salamanca, and other places, whilst +the Schoolmen, or professors, who taught in these seats of learning, +and who numbered amongst themselves the most acute thinkers and +reasoners of the time, such as St. Anselm, Peter Lombard, Albertus +Magnus, and St. Thomas Aquinas, were all attached to some Religious +Order. Enough of the results of their labours have come down to our +days to show us that it is neither wise nor just to despise the mental +work which they accomplished, even though their conclusions may not +always be in accordance with our own. + +It is not meant by what has been said above to infer that the Mediaeval +Church was altogether free from blemishes, or to deny that these +blemishes did, as time went on, increase to an extent which rendered +reformation not only expedient but necessary. [Sidenote: The effects +of Roman influence.] We have already seen that the supremacy claimed by +the Popes over the whole Church was productive of great, though, by +God's good Providence, not unmitigated, evil in a political point of +view; and much of the error in faith or practice on the part of +Christians of those days, seems traceable to the tendency on the part +of Rome to crystallize opinions into dogmas, and then to impose those +dogmas on the Church. Thus the "Romish doctrine concerning purgatory," +and the mechanism of "pardons," or indulgences, grew out of the +floating belief held by such holy men as St. Augustine, that the souls +of the faithful would undergo some more perfect purification after +death than is attainable in this world; while the elaborate system of +invocations of, and devotions to, the Blessed {119} Virgin Mary and the +saints, were built up out of a not only harmless but justifiable faith +in the intercessions of the Saints for the Church on earth, and the +wish to obtain a share in their prayers. So again, the denial of the +cup to the laity, which was justly felt by many to be such a grievous +privation, was the natural consequence of the over-refinements of the +Roman Church respecting the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist[5]. + +[Sidenote: The right spirit in which to regard the Mediaeval Church.] + +But whatever imperfections may have clung to the Visible Church in the +Middle Ages, whether owing to external hindrances, or to the human +frailties of her members, we have no right to doubt that she was still +the one great instrument in God's Hands for the salvation of souls. +Neither should we dwell so exclusively on what is often an exaggerated +estimate of the extent and duration of these blemishes, as to ignore +the zeal and self-devotion which grudged neither expense nor labour in +the service of God and the adornment of His House and Worship, the +charity which truly "cared for the poor," the faith and holiness which +shone forth in the public and private lives of such men as St. +Ferdinand of Spain, St. Louis of France, and Rudolf of Hapsburg, +Emperor of Germany, and were, doubtless, not wanting in the case of +countless numbers of their fellow-Christians, whose names, little known +and soon forgotten on earth, are for ever written in God's Book of +Remembrance. + + + +[1] Especially the Cluniacs, founded by Berno, Abbot of Clugny, A.D. +910, and the Cistercians, founded by Robert of Citeaux, A.D. 1098, and +rendered illustrious by St. Bernard, afterwards Abbot of Clairvaux +(A.D. 1113-A.D. 1153). + +[2] The order of Franciscan Friars was founded by St. Francis of +Assisi, A.D. 1207, and that of the Dominicans by St. Dominic of +Castile, A.D. 1215. They were originally intended to supplement the +real or supposed defects of the Clergy and the regular orders, and to +aid in the suppression of heresy. + +[3] See "Key to the Prayer Book," pp. 1-8. + +[4] See "Key to the Bible," pp. 18-23. + +[5] The practice of communion in one kind made its way very slowly, +especially in England, where it was perhaps never universal. A decree +of the Council of Constance in A.D. 1415 gave its first authoritative +sanction. + + + + +{120} + +CHAPTER XI + +The Mediaeval History of Continental Churches + +A.D. 900-A.D. 1500 + +[Sidenote: No Mediaeval Church history in Asia or Africa.] + +Before proceeding to the consideration of the different European +Churches in Mediaeval times, it may be well to remark that from the +year 500 the Christian history of Asia and Africa is almost a blank. +Arianism, partly imported into Africa by the Vandals, who crossed +thither from Spain, and partly of native growth, as well as the +opposite error, Eutychianism, took from the African Church all +spiritual life and vigour, so that the apostasy of Mahomet met with no +formidable obstacles when in the seventh century it swept like a flood +over what had been Christian Africa. It is true that the Copts in +Egypt and the native Christians of Abyssinia appear to have preserved +the Apostolic Succession, but both these Churches are in a state of +great depression, and the Faith they profess is mingled with much +ignorance and superstition, as well as with positive error. + +A similar process took place in Asia. Arianism, chiefly in its later +development of Nestorianism, with Eutychianism and other errors, ate +out the heart of the Church, faith grew weak, and love grew cold, and +{121} Mahometanism once more triumphed almost unchecked. Although the +Churches of Asia are not all utterly extinct, yet they share more or +less in the state of ignorance, superstition, and depression which is a +natural consequence of the serious errors with which their profession +of Christianity is intermixed, as well as of the way in which the few +despised Christians are mingled with their richer and more numerous +Mahometan neighbours. + + +Section 1. _The Church of Italy._ + +[Sidenote: Lombard kingdom in Italy.] + +The kingdom of the Goths in Italy was not of long duration, and their +successors and fellow-Arians, the Lombards, only obtained possession of +the northern portion of the Peninsula, whilst Rome and Southern Italy +became once more subject to the emperors of the East. Gregory the +Great (A.D. 390-A.D. 604) began the work of converting the Lombards to +the Catholic Faith, and in the middle of the seventh century Arianism +had disappeared from Italy. [Sidenote: Renewal of the tie between East +and West.] The renewal of the connexion between the Eastern and Western +Empires, and the attempt of the Emperor Justinian to subject the see of +Rome to that of Constantinople, placed Gregory under the necessity of +vindicating the independence of the Church of Italy, and of denying the +right of any one Patriarch to assume authority over another. St. +Gregory's holiness and learning, and the wisdom of his endeavours to +reform corruptions, were most beneficial to the Church over which he +ruled. [Sidenote: Its rupture.] The Image-breaking Controversy put an +end to the nominal tie between the Eastern emperors and the Church of +Italy (about A.D. 730), and almost the whole {122} of the peninsula +soon after became part of the dominions of Charlemagne. This great +Emperor's influence was used in Italy, as elsewhere, to foster the work +of the Church, which however suffered severely from the state of +lawlessness and confusion incident on the breaking up of Charlemagne's +empire after his death, A.D. 814. [Sidenote: Depression of the Church +in Italy.] The Church of Italy in the ninth century had also to undergo +the inroads of the Mahometans in the South, and of the heathen Magyars +(or Hungarians) on the North, as well as of the Northmen, who ravaged +and pillaged the churches and monasteries on the coasts. Other +depressing influences were to be found in the secularization of the +Bishops of Rome through the increase of their temporal power, and the +usurpation by the German emperors of the right of election to the +popedom, which properly belonged to the Clergy of Rome. [Sidenote: +Gregory VII.'s reforms.] The corruptions which from these and other +causes had crept into the Church of Italy, drew towards them the +attention of the famous Hildebrand, afterwards Pope Gregory VII. (A.D. +1073-A.D. 1085), and his efforts at reformation were not without a +beneficial effect. [Sidenote: Heresies of the Albigenses] Early in the +twelfth century the heretical sect of the Albigenses, whose doctrines +resembled those of the ancient Manicheans, spread from the South of +France into Italy, where they received the name of Paterini. +[Sidenote: and Waldenses.] Both they and the kindred sect of the +Waldenses came under the notice of Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216). +The Albigenses were exterminated with circumstances of great +cruelty[1], but the {123} Waldenses survive to the present day in the +valleys of Piedmont. [Sidenote: Evil effects of the residence at +Avignon on the Italian Church.] The seventy years' residence of the +Bishops of Rome at Avignon (A.D. 1305-A.D. 1376) was felt by the Church +of Italy to be an injury and a great evil, and in the forty years' +schism which followed the return of the chief pastor of the Italians to +his own episcopal city (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1417), only the kingdom of the +Two Sicilies sided with the anti-Popes. [Sidenote: Other depressing +influences.] Meanwhile the constant warfare between the Guelphs and the +Ghibellines in Italy, the feuds between the different republics, the +worldliness and evil lives of too many of the Popes, and the luxury and +immorality which increased riches, consequent on increased commerce, +brought with them, had all tended to a state of things in which the +purifying influences of the Church as "the salt of the earth" were +sorely needed. [Sidenote: Desires for reformation.] Longings for a +reformation of men's lives and morals were smouldering in many breasts, +and in the city of Florence these hidden wishes were kindled into a +flame by the zeal and eloquence of the monk Girolamo Savonarola, who +however fell a victim to his zeal, A.D. 1498. + +[Sidenote: Liturgy of the Italian Church.] + +The ancient Liturgy of the Church of Italy was derived from one bearing +the name of St. Peter, and revised by St. Gregory, A.D. 590. This +Roman or Gregorian Liturgy, though with certain later additions, is +still in use throughout Italy, the only exception to this rule being +the cathedral and diocese of Milan, which still preserve a Liturgy +known as that of St. Ambrose, who was Bishop of Milan from A.D. 374 to +A.D. 397. + + +{124} + +Section 2. _The Church of France._ + +[Sidenote: Orthodoxy of the Franks.] + +The Franks alone of all the barbarians who swept over Europe at the +time of the decay of the Western Empire, were Catholic from their first +conversion to Christianity; and to this circumstance the French kings +owed their title of Eldest Sons of the Church. It was by the influence +of a French princess, Bertha, the Christian wife of Ethelbert, king of +Kent, that St. Augustine and his companions were favourably received in +England; whilst another princess of the same race, Ingunda, who married +the son of the Visigoth king of Spain, is said to have brought about +the conversion of her husband from Arianism to the Catholic faith, by +her own constancy under persecution. [Sidenote: The Church under +Charlemagne.] During the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne (A.D. +768-A.D. 814), the French monasteries became seats of learning, and +amongst the learned men who assisted the Emperor in his efforts for the +religious and intellectual improvement of his people, may be mentioned +the English Alcuin, who held an honourable position at the French court +as the instructor and adviser of the monarch and his sons. [Sidenote: +The French Liturgy.] The Gallican Liturgy, a branch of the Primitive +Liturgy of Ephesus, was entirely disused by order of Charlemagne, and +the Roman service used in its stead. [Sidenote: Conversion of the +Northmen.] From about A.D. 870 the Northmen, who had long been a +scourge to France, began to settle down in that country, and were +gradually converted to the Christian Faith, their chief, Rollo, +marrying a Christian princess, A.D. 911, and being baptized in the +following year. [Sidenote: The Crusades.] A French {125} hermit, Peter +of Auvergne, was the instigator of the First Crusade, which was +preached by him at Clermont, and joined by a large number of French +nobles, the command of the expedition being given to Godfrey de +Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine. The system of Crusades thus inaugurated +for the defence of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, and the winning +back of the Holy Places from the hands of the Mahometans, was turned to +a cruel and unjustifiable use in the thirteenth century, when Innocent +III. proclaimed a Crusade against the Albigenses in the South of +France, in which multitudes of these unhappy and misguided men were +slaughtered. + +[Sidenote: Rupture between France and the Pope.] + +During the reign of Philip IV. (A.D. 1285-A.D. 1314) a collision took +place for the first time, between the Church and Kingdom of France and +the authority of the Pope. Hitherto the disputes between the Popes and +the French monarchs had been on personal rather than on political +grounds, and had given no opportunity for defining the exact limits of +papal authority in France. [Sidenote: Comparative independence of +French Church.] But meanwhile the French Clergy had not lost their +feeling of nationality, and the kings of France had been able to use +much more independent action in the appointment of Bishops than was the +case in other countries. Hence the Bishops and Clergy joined with the +king in resisting the sentence of excommunication pronounced by the +Pope on Philip and his kingdom. Neither King nor Pope appear to have +been influenced by any religious feeling in their contest, and after +the miserable death of Boniface VIII. (A.D. 1303), and the murder of +his successor, Philip's unprincipled interference in the {126} election +of Clement V. was productive of great evils. [Sidenote: Evil results +of the conduct of Philip IV.] The cruel massacre of the Knights +Templars, the corruptions of the Papal Court in France, and more +indirectly the Great Schism in which the Church of France espoused the +cause of the anti-Popes, may all be traced to the conduct of Philip IV. + + +Section 3. _The Church of Spain and Portugal._ + +[Sidenote: Conquest of Spain by the Moors.] + +Before the end of the sixth century, the Visigoths, who had settled in +what is now Spain and Portugal, had been converted from Arianism to the +Catholic Faith. In A.D. 711 the Mahometan Moors crossed over from +Africa to the South of Spain, and in A.D. 713 all the Peninsula, except +the small mountain district of Asturias, had fallen into their hands. +The more independent and hardy amongst the Spanish Christians took +refuge in this inaccessible portion of the country, whilst others dwelt +amongst the Moors, and appear for a time to have been allowed the +exercise of their religion unmolested by any systematic persecution. +[Sidenote: Persecution of the Spanish Church.] About A.D. 830, however, +the policy of the Moorish conquerors underwent a change, and during the +next hundred years multitudes of Christians in Spain suffered martyrdom +for their faith. [Sidenote: The re-conquest of Spain by the +Spaniards.] After the death of Hachem, the last Caliph of Cordova (A.D. +1031), and the subdivision of his dominions, the Christians of Asturias +succeeded in making head against their oppressors, and gradually won +back from them district after district, until Ferdinand III. (A.D. +1214-A.D. 1252) succeeded in reducing the Moorish possessions to the +single province {127} of Grenada. This last remnant of Mahometan +dominion was wrested from the Moors A.D. 1492, and Spain, as well as +the separate kingdom of Portugal, was once more entirely Christian. +[Sidenote: Effect of national circumstances on Spanish Christianity.] +It is perhaps hardly to be wondered at, that the continual state of +religious warfare in which Spain was so long plunged should have given +a somewhat stern character to Spanish Christianity. The Inquisition, +when introduced into Spain by the mistaken zeal of the good Queen +Isabella towards the end of the fifteenth century, found a readier +welcome than elsewhere, and gained an additional tinge of severity in a +country which had been brought into such close contact with one of the +deadliest forms of unbelief. + +[Sidenote: The Spanish Liturgy.] + +The original Liturgy of Spain was, like the ancient Liturgy of France, +a form of that used at Ephesus. It received the name of Mozarabic, +from having been in use by Christians living _in the midst of Arabs_, +or Moors, and was not discontinued in the Church of Spain until A.D. +1080, when after much resistance on the part of the Spaniards it was +abolished by order of Alphonso VI., King of Castille and Leon, under +the influence of Pope Gregory VII., and the Roman rite substituted +throughout the country. + + +Section 4. _The Church of Germany._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Germany by French] + +The large tract of country which is now comprehended under the name of +Germany was won to the Church by a long series of missionary labours. +In the beginning of the seventh century Frankish missionaries laid the +foundations of a Church in Bavaria and on the banks of {128} the +Danube, thus paving the way for the conversion of Southern Germany. +[Sidenote: and British missionaries,] Central Germany, then called +Franconia, was the scene of the labours of Kilian, an Irish missionary +(A.D. 630-A.D. 689), whilst the English Bishops Wilfrith (A.D. 677) and +Willebrord (A.D. 692-A.D. 741), preached with much success to the +Frieslanders in the Northwest of Germany, now included in Holland. +[Sidenote: Labours of St. Boniface] It is, however, to a Devonshire +clergyman, Winfrith, better known as St. Boniface (A.D. 715-A.D. 755), +that the title of Apostle of Germany is generally given, not only on +account of his unwearied missionary labours in still heathen districts, +but also on account of his success in organizing and consolidating the +different branches of the German Church. He became Archbishop of +Mentz, and Metropolitan, and at last suffered martyrdom at the hands of +some heathen Frieslanders at the age of seventy-five. + +The Emperor Charlemagne endeavoured to compel the rude Saxons in the +neighbourhood of the Baltic to embrace the Christian faith; but +eventually he was induced to trust less to the force of arms for their +conversion, and more to the missionary work of the Church. [Sidenote: +and of Willehad.] Amongst the prominent members of this Saxon mission, +we find another English priest, Willehad, a native of Northumbria, +afterwards Bishop of Bremen, who died A.D. 789. + +The first attempts to plant the Church in Moravia were made by German +missionaries in the ninth century. [Sidenote: Eastern missionaries in +Moravia] These do not appear, however, to have been very successful, +and about A.D. 860, two Greek monks, Cyril and Methodius, entered upon +the same sphere of labour. Methodius was afterwards consecrated +Metropolitan of Pannonia {129} and Moravia by the Pope; but there was +considerable jealousy on the part of the Latinized Germans towards +their Eastern fellow-labourers, and eventually the Moravian Church was +subjected to the Bishops of Bohemia. + +[Sidenote: and Bohemia.] + +The first Christian Duke of Bohemia was converted about A.D. 871, +whilst staying at the Moravian court, probably by Methodius; but the +Church made very slow progress in Bohemia until after the conquest of +that country by Otho the Great (A.D. 950), and the foundation of the +Bishopric of Prague by King Boleslav the Pious (A.D. 967-A.D. 999). In +Bohemia, as well as in Moravia, the influence of the Greek missionaries +made itself felt in the impress it left upon the ritual and usages of +the two Churches, especially in the fact that the native Sclavonic +language was used in Divine Worship; but in the end German influences +prevailed in both countries, and the national "use" gradually made way +for the Latinized ritual common in Germany. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of North Prussia,] + +Until towards the middle of the tenth century, the Church made but very +small progress in the northern portion of what is now the kingdom of +Prussia. These regions were then occupied by a Sclavonic race called +Wends, who yielded an unwilling submission to the Western emperors, and +disliked Christianity as being the religion of their conquerors. +Between A.D. 964 and A.D. 968, several bishoprics were founded in this +country by Otho the Great, and amongst them the metropolitan see of +Magdeburg. A revolt of the Wends frustrated for the time the success +of the emperor's plans, but in the next century Gottschalk, who became +king of the Wends A.D. 1047, and was himself a Christian, did all in +his {130} power to aid the missionary work of the Church among his +people. He was martyred by his subjects, A.D. 1066, and heathenism +triumphed once more. During the twelfth century, the Wendish kingdom +was dissolved, and its territories divided amongst different German +princes, after which the Church gradually regained and extended its +hold on the country. The northern Wends, who obstinately adhered to +their Pagan superstitions, were at last converted chiefly by the +labours of St. Vicelin, who became Bishop of Oldenburg, A.D. 1148. + +[Sidenote: of Pomerania,] + +The conversion of Pomerania was first attempted by the Poles, who, on +obtaining possession of the country at the end of the tenth century, +founded a bishopric at Colberg, A.D. 1000. It was not, however, until +their more complete subjection to Poland about a hundred years later, +that any marked result was obtained. Otho, Bishop of Bamberg, who +placed himself at the head of the Pomeranian mission A.D. 1124, was at +last enabled to overcome the fierce opposition which the heathen +natives offered to the work of the Church, and by A.D. 1128 +Christianity had gained a firm footing amongst them. + +[Sidenote: of Prussia Proper.] + +From Pomerania the Church extended itself eastward to Prussia Proper, +about A.D. 1210. Here, too, Christianity was very distasteful to the +natives, partly as being the religion of their enemies the Poles. +About A.D. 1230, the "Order of Teutonic Knights" was instituted for the +purpose of subjugating Prussia; and, after a depopulating warfare of +fifty years' duration, the remaining inhabitants embraced Christianity. +Before the end of the thirteenth century, the German element had quite +superseded the Sclavonic in Prussia, as well as in Pomerania, and in +what had formerly been the kingdom of the Wends. + +{131} + +[Sidenote: Extent of Roman influence in Germany.] + +The Church in Germany, taken as a whole, was very much under Roman +influence, partly, perhaps, on account of the early connexion between +the emperors of the West and the see of Rome, and partly from the +constant state of civil warfare into which Germany was plunged from the +twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. In these contests the near +neighbourhood of the Popes to the Italian possessions of the Western +Empire gave them a hold on the affairs of Germany which they were not +slow to use, and the turbulent German nobles were disinclined to resent +an interference which was so often exerted in their behalf against an +unpopular sovereign. The temporal power of the Popes was, however, +much weakened by the great Schism; and though the Church of Germany +acknowledged the true Pope, there was, amongst its members, a very +widespread sense of the urgent need of some searching reformation. To +this feeling may be traced, not only the unhappily disappointed +expectations with which so many persons looked to the Councils of +Constance and Basle, but also the unsound and exaggerated teaching of +such men as John Huss and Jerome of Prague. + + +Section 5. _The Church of Hungary._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Hungary.] + +The Hungarians or Magyars were descended from a Tartar or Finnish +tribe, who settled in Pannonia towards the close of the ninth century, +and thence made fierce inroads on Italy and Germany. In A.D. 948, two +Hungarian chiefs were baptized at Constantinople, and the daughter of +one of them afterwards marrying Geisa, Duke of {132} Hungary (A.D. +972-A.D. 997), Christian influences were, by degrees, brought to bear +upon the Hungarian people. About the same time German missionaries +began to labour in Hungary, but it was not until the reign of St. +Stephen, the first King of Hungary (A.D. 997-A.D. 1038), that the +country was completely evangelized. [Sidenote: Hungary Latinized.] +Stephen did all in his power to aid the work of the German +missionaries; Hungary was divided into dioceses, and the originally +eastern origin of the Hungarian Church, as well as the Sclavonic origin +of the people, forgotten under the desire felt by the king to keep on a +friendly footing with the German emperors and the Popes. + +[Sidenote: Attacks of the Turks.] + +The Church of Hungary suffered severely from the invasion of the Mongul +Tartars, A.D. 1241, and when, about a century later, some of these +Tartars returned from Asia and settled in Europe under the name of +Turks, Hungary, owing to its frontier situation, was constantly liable +to their attacks. During the fifteenth century, Hungarian bravery was +the great barrier that opposed the spread of Mahometanism over Western +Europe. Even after the fall of Constantinople, the Turks vainly +endeavoured to make themselves masters of their Christian neighbours, +and found themselves obliged to retreat discomfited from the siege of +Belgrade, A.D. 1456. + + +Section 6. _The Church of Poland._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Poland.] + +The Church of Poland was founded about A.D. 966, when a daughter of the +Christian Duke of Bohemia married Miecislav, Duke of Poland, and +introduced Christianity into her adopted country. + +{133} + +[Sidenote: Romanizing the church of Poland.] + +The Polish Church at first bore traces of its Eastern origin in its +liturgy and ritual, but these traces were removed by Casimir I. (A.D. +1040-A.D. 1058), who, previous to his accession, had been a monk in a +French or German monastery, and who made a point of bringing the Church +of his own country into uniformity with the other Churches of the West. + + +Section 7. _The Scandinavian Churches._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Denmark] + +About A.D. 822, a mission was sent from France to Denmark under Ebbo, +Archbishop of Rheims, which resulted in the conversion of Harold, King +of Jutland, who was baptized at Mayence, A.D. 826. At the request of +Harold, a fresh mission to Denmark was organized and headed by Anskar, +a monk of Corbey, near Amiens, who is often known as the "Apostle of +the North." [Sidenote: and Sweden.] From Denmark Anskar made his way to +Sweden, A.D. 831, where he was favourably received by the king, and a +year or two later was consecrated Archbishop of Hamburg, with +jurisdiction over the whole northern mission. [Sidenote: Slow advance +and vicissitudes of the Church.] At first the progress of the Church, +both in Denmark and Sweden, was very slow and fluctuating, and the +ravages of the northern pirates, or Vikings, caused great loss and +suffering; but after some years, Anskar was enabled to disarm the +opposition of Eric the heathen King of Denmark, and to make a +favourable impression upon the Swedish nobles. After his death in A.D. +865, the Church in Denmark went through many vicissitudes owing to +irruptions of the Northmen and other invaders, as well as to native +opposition. {134} Svend, who reigned over Denmark A.D. 991-A.D. 1014, +though brought up a Christian, persecuted the Church until his +re-conversion during a victorious sojourn in England. [Sidenote: +English missionaries in Denmark] Svend's son and successor, Canute the +Great (A.D. 1014-A.D. 1033), was very zealous in his endeavours to undo +the evil effects of his father's violence, and sent missionaries from +England, by whom the bulk of the Danish nation were converted to +Christianity. + +[Sidenote: and Sweden.] + +In Sweden, too, the Church made but slow progress after the death of +Anskar, until, in the beginning of the eleventh century, the King Olaf +Skötkonung, having been himself baptized about A.D. 1008, invited to +Sweden certain English clergymen, who laboured there with great +success. The first bishopric in Sweden was placed at Skara in West +Gothland, and filled by Turgot, an Englishman. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Norway, by English missionaries.] + +The knowledge of the Gospel was first brought, in the tenth century, +into Norway from England by Hacon, who is said to have been educated at +the court of Athelstan, and who endeavoured, with the aid of English +priests, to bring about the conversion of his subjects. Hacon was, +however, induced, by the bitter opposition of his countrymen, to yield +a weak compliance to their idolatrous practices, and the Church +languished and almost died out until the reign of Olaf Trygovasön (A.D. +993-A.D. 1000), who had been baptized in the Scilly Isles during a +piratical expedition. The labours of the English missionaries were +finally successful in the reign of Olaf the Holy (A.D. 1017-A.D. 1033), +who was earnest in his efforts to further the work of the Church. It +may be remarked that Norwegian Bishops were usually consecrated either +in England or France, {135} though all the Scandinavian Churches were +still professedly dependent on the Archbishopric of Hamburg. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Iceland,] + +In Iceland some traces of early Christianity, probably the result of +the labours of Irish missionaries, were still remaining when it was +colonized by Norwegian settlers in the ninth century; and towards the +end of the tenth century successive attempts were made by a Saxon +Bishop and by missionaries from Norway, to revive and deepen these +impressions. The opposition of the heathen colonists was, however, of +so determined a character, that it was only by the gradual conversion +of the mother country, and the labours of new bands of missionaries, +chiefly English and Irish, that Paganism was by degrees overcome. + +[Sidenote: Greenland,] + +From Iceland the Church made its way to Greenland, another Norwegian +colony, which was converted mainly by the instrumentality of an +Icelandic missionary, in the first half of the eleventh century; but +this ancient Church died out in the fifteenth century. About the same +time Christianity spread through the Norwegians to the Orkney, +Shetland, and Faroe Islands. + +[Sidenote: and Lapland.] + +The Church was first planted amongst the Lapps by Swedish missionaries +in the thirteenth century, but it was not until the sixteenth and two +following centuries that Christianity became the religion of the +country. + + +Section 8. _The Churches now comprehended in European Turkey and +Greece._ + +We look in vain in the history of the Church in Eastern Europe for the +missionary activity which {136} bears so prominent a place in the +annals of Western Christendom. [Sidenote: Lack of missionary zeal in +the East.] The minds of Eastern Christians were still much occupied by +continued contests between the Catholic Faith and developments of +already condemned heresies, and to these succeeded the scarcely less +absorbing controversy about Image-breaking. Nor was there in the East +the same pressing contact with Paganism, which made it in the West a +political necessity no less than a religious duty at once to +christianize and civilize the ever advancing hordes of heathen +barbarians. [Sidenote: Conversion of Bulgaria.] The evangelization of +Bulgaria was, however, begun early in the ninth century, by the +carrying off of the Bishop of Adrianople and many of his flock, in a +victorious inroad of the Bulgarians, A.D. 811. Half a century later +the Bulgarian King Bogoris, influenced by his sister, who had been +brought up a Christian at Constantinople, put himself and his country +under the tuition of the Greek patriarch Photius. Soon after, becoming +weary of his Eastern instructors, he applied for aid to the Western +Church, and, in A.D. 867, the Pope Nicholas I. despatched two Italian +Bishops and other missionaries to Bulgaria. [Sidenote: Collision +between Greek and Roman missionaries.] This interference of the Roman +Church, in an already occupied field of missionary labour, added +considerably to the jealousy between East and West, and helped to bring +about the eventual and lamentable schism. Bogoris soon after returned +to his allegiance to Photius, insisted on the withdrawal of the Roman +Mission, and obtained a Greek Archbishop of Bulgaria from +Constantinople. + +[Sidenote: Peculiar position of the Eastern Church.] + +The state of external isolation in which the Church of the Eastern +Empire was placed by the {137} Schism of A.D. 1054, had a tendency to +increase its exaggerated spirit of conservatism, which was also +encouraged by the indolent unenterprizing temper of the Greeks of the +later empire, whose blood had not been quickened by the same admixture +of races as had given new life to the worn out nations of the West. +[Sidenote: Effects of the Crusades.] Under these circumstances the +crusades were hardly less a cause of terror to the Greeks than were the +advances of the Turks themselves, and tended to widen rather than to +heal the unhappy breach between the Latin and Greek Churches. +[Sidenote: Unjustifiable proceedings of the Latins.] The foundation of +a Latin Patriarchate at Jerusalem, after the taking of that city in +A.D. 1099, could not but be accounted an usurpation on the part of the +Pope, which was, however, far surpassed in injustice by the erection of +a Latin empire and a Latin Patriarchate in Constantinople itself, A.D. +1204. During the time that this oppressive arrangement lasted (i.e. +till A.D. 1261) the rightful Patriarch took refuge at the court which +the Eastern emperors held at Nicaea in Asia Minor, and the fugitives +there clung to their national Church, and her rightful independence. +[Sidenote: Attempts at reunion.] The Emperor Michael Palaeologus, after +driving out the Latins from Constantinople, endeavoured once more to +effect a reunion between East and West, partly from political and +partly from personal motives, and a formal act of union was signed, +A.D. 1274. Neither the Greek Clergy nor the Greek people would, +however, consent to give up their own national religious customs, nor +to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope; and this shadow of union died +out with the death of the Emperor, its originator. [Sidenote: Invasion +of the Turks.] In the fourteenth century {138} the Turks were +treacherously invited over to Europe as allies of the usurper, John +Cantacuzenus (A.D. 1347-A.D. 1353), and so firm a footing did they +gain, that the rightful Emperor, John Palaeologus (A.D. 1341-A.D. +1391), found himself obliged to appeal to Rome for aid, promising in +return to reconcile the Greek Church to the Roman communion. The +affairs of Western Europe, were, however too unsettled to admit of such +aid being afforded, and the Emperor was obliged to give up all his +possessions to the Turks, except Constantinople, Thessalonica, part of +the Morea, and a few islands. Another appeal was made, with the same +results, by his son, Manuel Palaeologus (A.D. 1391-A.D. 1425). +[Sidenote: New attempts at reunion.] John VII. (A.D. 1425-A.D. 1448) +opened fresh negociations with the West, and he and the Patriarch of +Constantinople, together with twenty-one other Eastern Bishops, +appeared (A.D. 1438) at the Council of Ferrara (afterwards transferred +to Florence). At this council a decree of union was once more signed +by the Greeks, on condition of their receiving aid against the Turks +(A.D. 1439). This fresh attempt at union was repudiated by the Eastern +Church at large, but a troop of French and Italian crusaders started +for the East. Constantinople was, however, doomed, and the good and +brave Constantine Palaeologus (A.D. 1448-A.D. 1433) was the last, as he +was one of the best, of the Greek emperors. [Sidenote: Fall of +Constantinople] The city fell, after an obstinate defence, on the 29th +May, A.D. 1453, and Constantine was among the slain. The Turks +pillaged and slaughtered indiscriminately, and turned into a mosque the +beautiful Church of St. Sophia, built by the Emperor Justinian in +honour of the "Holy Wisdom" of God. + +{139} + +[Sidenote: and the Greek Empire.] + +All the Greek Empire had now fallen into the hands of the Turks, except +the small mountainous district of Albania, which held out until the +death of George Castriota (dreaded by the Turks under the name of +Scanderbeg), A.D. 1467. The rocky strip of land known as Montenegro +has been enabled to maintain an unbroken independence. + +[Sidenote: State of the Church of Greece under Turkish rule.] + +The Church of Greece was now no longer the dominant and recognized +religion of the country, but it was not extinguished. The numerous +mountain monasteries, inaccessible from their construction and +position, were the chief strongholds of the Christian Faith; and so, +"cast down, but not destroyed," the Church in Greece struggled on, +until, after nearly three centuries of Turkish rule, Greece itself once +more became a Christian kingdom. + + +Section 9. The Church of Russia. + +[Sidenote: Decay of the Church after its first planting in Russia.] + +The Church, founded in the South of Russia by St. Andrew, appears not +to have spread to the other parts of this vast country, and to have +died out, perhaps under the influence the hordes of barbarians who +poured westward from Asia to Europe. + +[Sidenote: Foundation of the present Church.] + +The Church of Russia, as it now exists, owes its foundation chiefly to +Greek Missionaries, who began their labours about A.D. 866, amongst the +tribes bordering on the dominions of the Eastern Empire. Before the +middle of the next century Christianity had gained a footing in the +ancient capital of Kiev, and about A.D. 933 the Princess Olga was +baptized at {140} Constantinople. [Sidenote: It flourishes under +Vladimir.] In the reign of her grandson, Vladimir (A.D. 986-A.D. 1014), +the Church made great progress in Russia. Vladimir made a public +recognition of Christianity, and by his marriage with the sister of the +Greek Emperor strengthened the links which bound Russia to +Constantinople. The Greek missionaries were aided in their labours, +churches and bishoprics were founded, and the Holy Scriptures and +Service Books translated into the native Sclavonic language; the Greek +monks, Cyril and Methodius, who have been already mentioned as +instrumental in the conversion of Bohemia and Moravia, taking also an +active share in the Christianizing of Russia. [Sidenote: Independence +of the Russian Church,] In the reigns of Yaroslav and his successor +(A.D. 1019-A.D. 1077), the empire became completely Christian, and the +Church of Russia was placed on an independent footing, with a native +primate at its head. Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216) attempted to +win over Russia to the Roman communion, by offering to confer the title +of King on Prince Roman, but his offer was at once rejected. +[Sidenote: which it has steadily refused to give up,] Russia suffered +severely from the ravages of the Mongul Tartars, A.D. 1223, and Pope +Innocent IV. took advantage of the distressed condition of the Russian +church and the removal of the Greek Patriarchate from Constantinople to +Nicaea, to make another attempt at detaching Russia from communion with +the Greeks. David, Prince of Galicia, professed himself willing to +receive the crown and title of king from Rome, but this arrangement was +not of long duration, and about A.D. 1230 a Metropolitan of the Russian +Church was consecrated by the Greek Patriarch, to fill up the vacancy +which had taken place {141} ten years before during the Tartar +invasion. Kiev, the original seat of the Russian Patriarchate, was +burnt and pillaged by the Tartars, and the see was transferred to +Vladimir, A.D. 1299, and thence during the early part of the next +century (A.D. 1320) to Moscow, where it has since remained. + +[Sidenote: and has preserved unbroken.] + +For more than two centuries, until A.D. 1462, Russia was oppressed by +the yoke of the unbelieving Tartars, but the Church still maintained +her independence, and steadily resisted the various attempts which were +made to bring about a reunion between East and West, by the subjugation +of the former to the unjust claims of the latter. + + + +[1] The preaching Friars having been in vain employed for the +conversion of the Albigenses, their efforts were supplemented by the +institution of the Inquisition. + + + + +{142} + +CHAPTER XII + +The Mediaeval Church in Great Britain and Ireland + +A.D. 500-A.D. 1500 + +Section 1. _The Church of England._ + +[Sidenote: Trials of the English Church under the Saxons.] + +We have seen (p. 74) that the native Church of England had not +succeeded in converting the Anglo-Saxon invaders who gradually took +possession of the country, and that such as remained of the Bishops and +Clergy had been compelled for the most part to take refuge in +mountainous, and therefore inaccessible, districts. It was, however, +only in A.D. 587, that Theonas, Bishop of London, and Thadiocus, Bishop +of York, retreated from their sees, and they were both living in exile +in Wales, when, ten years later, St. Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory +to found a mission in England. + +[Sidenote: Roman usurpation.] + +It seems uncertain whether St. Gregory was aware of the previous +existence of a Church in these islands; at any rate, he acted as if +ignorant of the fact, by bestowing on St. Augustine a spiritual +supremacy over the whole country; and the good Italian missionary, when +brought into actual contact with the living representatives of a +national Church already five hundred years old, appears to have +considered himself justified in endeavouring to bring its {143} Liturgy +and usages into agreement with the Roman pattern. [Sidenote: +Consequent disputes.] All this was not unnatural, especially under the +circumstances of weakness and depression in which the Church of England +was then placed; but it was equally natural that such interference +should be felt to be an usurpation, and resented accordingly, and that +much misunderstanding and bitterness should be the consequence. There +probably was a recognition of the claims of the elder race of English +Bishops in the fact, that St. Augustine was consecrated to the see of +Canterbury rather than to that of London, of which the rightful +occupant was still living, and that neither the latter diocese, nor +that of York, appear to have been filled up until after the deaths of +Theonas and Thadiocus. [Sidenote: English independence partially +recognized.] It was also eventually found expedient to leave to the +English Church its own national Liturgy and ritual (originally derived +through a Gallican channel from that of Ephesus), instead of insisting +upon an exact conformity to Roman rites. [Sidenote: Some account of +the English Liturgy.] This ancient English Liturgy, revised in the +seventh century by St. Augustine, underwent a second revision at the +hands of Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, about A.D. 1083; and, though +certain variations existed in some dioceses, the "Use of Sarum," as it +was called, became the general "use" throughout the southern portion of +England, and was even at length considered to be _the_ Liturgy of the +country. It is from this Sarum Use that our present Post-Reformation +Liturgy is derived. + +A very considerable amount of new life and energy was infused into the +Church of England by the mission of St. Augustine. Though the native +Bishops and Clergy could not bring themselves to look cordially +on those {144} whose religious zeal was not always tempered with +justice or courtesy towards their predecessors in the field of their +missionary labours, still both foreigners and natives worked for the +same cause, each in their own way, and a new evangelization of the +freshly-heathenized population ensued[1]. [Sidenote: Amalgamation of +English and Roman successions.] By degrees the two lines of Bishops +became blended in one succession, which has continued unbroken until +the present day. + +[Sidenote: English missionary zeal.] + +The Church of England, thus strengthened and quickened, soon began to +give abundant proofs of its vitality by sending out missionaries to +convert the heathen in other lands. A large part of Germany and the +Netherlands owes its Christianity to English Bishops and Clergy, such +as Winfrith or Boniface, Willebrord, and a host of other less +well-known or altogether forgotten names. The eighth century was +especially distinguished by these missionary labours abroad, whilst, at +home, were to be found such good and learned men as the Venerable Bede +(A.D. 672 or '3-A.D. 735), an early translator of the Holy Scriptures, +and his friend Egbert (A.D. about 678-A.D. 776), Archbishop of York, +and founder of a famous school in that city, where the illustrious +Alcuin (about A.D. 723-A.D. 804) was a scholar. + +[Sidenote: Invasion, and conversion of the Danes.] + +In A.D. 787, the Church of England began to suffer severely from the +ravages of the heathen Danes or Northmen; but, by the wisdom and valour +of the good King Alfred (A.D. 871-A.D. 901), {145} they were for a +while subdued, and numbers of them settled as peaceable colonists in +England, where they gradually embraced Christianity. + +[Sidenote: King Alfred.] + +Alfred was very zealous in his endeavours to repair the spiritual and +intellectual losses which the Church of England had undergone during +the contest with the Danes, whose ravages had almost entirely swept +away all native scholarship. The king was especially eager to secure a +literature in the vernacular for his subjects, and himself translated +into "simple English" parts of the Holy Bible, and other religious +books. In these labours he was assisted by a small body of learned +men, including the two Aelfrics, Archbishops of Canterbury and York, +and Wulfstan, supposed to have been Bishop of Worcester. The +conversion of the Danes who had first settled in England to +Christianity prepared the way for the evangelizing of later colonists; +and when, through the crimes and weakness of the later Anglo-Saxon +princes, the country fell altogether into the hands of Danish invaders, +Canute the Great (A.D. 1016-A.D. 1033) not only embraced Christianity +himself, but secured for his native country the services of English +missionaries. [Sidenote: Evangelization of Scandinavia.] In fact, at +this time Scandinavia seems to have been the chief mission-field of the +English Church. + +[Sidenote: Roman influence comparatively small under the Saxons.] + +We can hardly be wrong in gathering from all this, that Roman influence +had only to a certain limited extent been introduced into the Church of +England by St. Augustine's mission, and that, as time passed on, the +foreign element had become absorbed in the national one. With the +Norman conquest of A.D. 1066, the {146} case was, however, altered. +[Sidenote: Much increased under the Normans.] The claims of the Popes +to temporal as well as to spiritual authority were by that time +definite and authoritative; the Conquest itself had been undertaken by +the permission of Alexander II., and the authority of the foreign +conquerors, (as the Norman and early Plantagenet kings continued to +be,) required foreign support. Hence the Bishops of Rome gained an +amount of political influence in England which was thoroughly +unconstitutional, and which could probably never have been attained by +any foreign power, had the English sovereigns immediately after the +Conquest felt themselves more firmly fixed upon the throne they had +seized. + +[Sidenote: Denationalizing of the Episcopate.] + +The appointment of foreigners to the highest ecclesiastical offices in +England, was one means by which the Norman sovereigns sought to secure +themselves against disaffection amongst their new subjects; but the +real result of this policy was to foster the claims of the Popes to +religious and secular supremacy in this country; for these foreign +ecclesiastics, though English Bishops, were not loyal subjects of the +English crown, nor were their interests identical with those of their +flocks. [Sidenote: Lanfranc.] Thus the Italian Lanfranc, when +appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William the Conqueror (A.D. +1070), did not hesitate to obey the summons of the Pope to Rome for the +purpose of receiving the pall, and thus acknowledging that he held his +Bishopric from the Papal see. [Sidenote: St. Anselm.] His successor, +St. Anselm (A.D. 1093), also an Italian, and a man of great learning +and holiness, was prepared to carry out a similar line of conduct; but +the covetous and irreligious tyrant, William Rufus, was seeking at +{147} the same time to reduce Bishops to the state of mere nominees and +vassals of the crown, and a long contest ensued[2]. The dispute was +carried on into the next reign; and at length, in A.D. 1107, a +compromise was agreed upon, by which it was arranged that Bishops +should receive investiture from the Pope, and, at the same time, take +an oath of allegiance to the king. [Sidenote: St. Thomas of +Canterbury.] Anselm's unflinching advocacy of Papal claims cost him +years of exile from his diocese, and much suffering; but, in the +following century, similar conduct involved still more serious +consequences to St. Thomas à Becket, the then Archbishop of Canterbury. +The new question in dispute was the right of clerical offenders to be +tried in the spiritual courts, instead of coming under the jurisdiction +of the civil power; but, in reality, it was only another form of the +constant endeavours of the English monarchs to free themselves from the +foreign bondage which was, to some extent at least, self-imposed. +Becket fell a martyr to his own sense of duty and the king's +displeasure, A.D. 1170. + +[Sidenote: Roman influence strongest in England.] + +Papal usurpation in England reached its height when, in A.D. 1208, +Innocent III placed the kingdom under an Interdict, for refusing to +receive as Archbishop of Canterbury his nominee, Stephen Langton, who +was unacceptable both to king and people; and soon after proceeded to +excommunicate John, and depose him from his throne. The king's +cowardly and unconstitutional conduct in resigning his kingdom into the +{148} hands of the Pope's legate (A.D. 1213), and receiving it again at +the end of three days as a tributary vassal of the Roman see, caused +England to be looked upon for some years as only a fief of Rome. + +[Sidenote: Kept up by the Friars;] + +In the reign of Henry III. (A.D. 1216-A.D. 1272), Roman influence in +England was greatly sustained by the introduction of the Preaching +Orders of Franciscan and Dominican Friars, who, being many of them +foreigners, and all of them independent of any episcopal control, and +subject to Papal jurisdiction only, were very energetic in their +endeavours to maintain and extend the authority of the popedom. + +[Sidenote: by the habit of appeals;] + +By this time, too, appeals to Rome against the decisions of English +courts had come to be a great bar to national independence. Such +appeals had been altogether unrecognized in England until the days of +Stephen, and the practice was again forbidden in Henry II.'s reign by +the Constitutions of Clarendon (A.D. 1164); but, after Becket's death, +the prohibition was once more repealed. It is easy to see how +seriously this system of appeals must have delayed and interfered with +the regular course of justice in this country, and how capable it was +of being made a political engine in the hands of the Pope, or of those +who held with him. The exemption of most of the monasteries from the +supervision of the Bishops was also a serious evil, interfering as it +did with the Divinely-appointed functions of the episcopacy, and +opening the door to disorders which the distant and usurped authority +of the Popes had not power to remedy. + +[Sidenote: by large money payments.] + +In the fourteenth century another means was resorted to of increasing +the power of the Popes at expense of the monarch and people of {149} +England, by the payment of annates, or first-fruits, on the appointment +of each Bishop; and so heavy did this burden become, that between A.D. +1486 and A.D. 1531, 160,000 pounds (or about 45,000 pounds a year of +our money) was paid to Rome under the head of annates. + +[Sidenote: All these evils borne under protest.] + +It is not to be supposed that these encroachments of a foreign power +were accepted without a murmur or remonstrance on the part of the +people of England; on the contrary, there was a constant undercurrent +of discontent, which found occasional expression in some official or +popular protest. Such, on the one hand, was the statute of +_praemunire_, passed in the reign of Richard II. (A.D. 1389), to +prohibit Papal interference with Church patronage and decisions in +ecclesiastical causes; and, on the other, the irregular proceedings of +Wickliffe and the Lollards, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, +which, though they eventually degenerated into seditious agitation, had +their rise in a feeling of opposition to Romish abuses and usurpations. +This feeling was increased by the fearful state of profligacy into +which Rome, and indeed all Italy, was plunged during the fifteenth +century, which effectually destroyed the character formerly enjoyed by +the Roman Church, whilst it could not but affect the spiritual health +of the other Churches over which Rome exercised so wide an influence. +Wiser and calmer men than Wickliffe saw the need of some reformation, +though they questioned, and, as the event showed, rightly, the wisdom +and the justice of the steps he took towards his object. Wickliffe's +teaching in the fourteenth century had, in fact, little or nothing to +do with the real Reformation of two hundred years later, except that +some of his dangerous theories on political matters took deeper root +than did his {150} religious peculiarities, and bore fruit in much of +the unprincipled licence which was an unhappy, though by no means an +essential, feature of the Reformation era. + +[Sidenote: English longings for reformation.] + +England, in common with the other nations of Europe, was willing to +hope for great benefit from the councils of the Church held in the +fifteenth century; and, at each of them, we find English Clergy making +grave and urgent protests against the abuses which they saw around +them, and pleading for a return to purer and better ways. Thus, at the +Council of Pisa, A.D. 1400, one of the English Bishops who attended it +presented a memorial which complained of the evils resulting from the +want of episcopal control over the monasteries, from the practice of +appeals to Rome, and from the ease with which dispensations for +non-residence and pluralities were obtained[3]. Again, at the Council +of Constance (A.D. 1415) a sermon was preached by Dr. Abendon, an +Oxford professor, which painted in very strong language the worldliness +and covetousness of the non-resident Bishops and Clergy; and these +protests were followed up by an official appeal to the Pope for a +reformation, on the part of the Kings of France and England, A.D. 1425, +as well as by official instructions given to the English deputation +despatched to the Council of Basle (A.D. 1431), to use their influence +for the same end. + +{151} + +Section 2. _The Church of Ireland._ + +The Church of Ireland was not, like the Church of Great Britain, to +which it owes its foundation, a prey to the depressing influences of +the heathen Saxons; and, at the time of the mission of St. Augustine, +the daughter was in some measure enabled to repay to the mother the +benefits which the British St. Patrick had conferred on the scene of +his missionary labours. A constant intercourse was kept up between the +numerous monasteries of Ireland and those of Wales and Scotland, some +of the abbeys in the latter countries being founded and frequented by +Irishmen. [Sidenote: Early reputation of Ireland.] Ireland, in the +sixth and seventh centuries, had a great reputation for learning and +missionary zeal, both of which were called into play to help in the +reconversion of a large portion of England, as well as to encourage the +efforts of English Churchmen in retaining in the National Church the +national characteristics, with the loss of which it was threatened from +the large admixture of foreign elements introduced by St. Augustine. +[Sidenote: Irish missionary work in England and elsewhere.] Nor were +their missionary labours confined to England: they shared in the toils +and honours of the conversion of Germany, and are believed to have +penetrated as far as Iceland and Greenland. [Sidenote: Unjustifiable +conduct of England.] The aid given by Irish ecclesiastics in preserving +the religious liberty of the Church of England was ill requited in the +twelfth century, when the English, having taken possession of Ireland, +forced the Irish Church to abandon her distinctive Liturgy by a decree +passed at the synod of Cashel, A.D. 1173. The state of anarchy and +restless discontent into which {152} Ireland was thrown by the presence +of English invaders, had a very unfavourable effect on the Church of +the country, as had also the appointment of Englishmen to Irish +bishoprics, and the consequent non-residence of the Bishops. It is +curious that the influence of English conquerors should have tended to +extend Roman authority in Ireland, much as the policy of Norman +conquerors produced the same effect in England. Before the +Reformation, the state of the Irish Church had become thoroughly +unsatisfactory, and was felt to be so by many of the Irish themselves. + + +Section 3. _The Church of Scotland._ + +[Sidenote: St. Columba.] + +The country of the Southern Picts, christianized by St. Ninian (see p. +76), having fallen into the hands of the heathen Anglo-Saxons, +something like a fresh evangelization became necessary; and this was +accomplished by the labours of St. Columba and his successors, who, +having crossed over from Ireland (first about A.D. 560) for the purpose +of preaching to the Northern tribes of Scotland, extended their mission +southward. [Sidenote: Irish or Scotch missionaries in England.] The +monastery of Iona, or Icolmkill, was for some time inhabited by Irish +missionaries, and became the chief source of missionary labour not only +in Scotland, but also in the North of England, the Scotch or Irish +missionaries using all the weight of their influence to uphold the +independence of the National Church against the Roman tendencies of St. +Augustine and his successors. St. Aidan (died A.D. 651), Bishop of +Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, and the head of the mission for the +conversion of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia, was a monk of Iona. His +diocese included {153} Yorkshire, and extended to Scotland; and, in +consequence of this, the Archbishops of York long laid claim to +exercise metropolitan authority over the whole of North Britain. + +Roman influence gradually made itself felt in Scotland, in great +measure through the monastic system, which received a great impetus +under David I. (A.D. 1124-A.D. 1153). [Sidenote: Longings for +reformation.] The constant wars with England, and the confusion and +bloodshed they entailed, had a very unfavourable effect on the +prosperity and spiritual activity of the Church of Scotland, so that +from Scotland, no less than from England and Ireland, there arose that +cry for a return to older and purer ways, which ended in the +Reformation. + + + +[1] The native Clergy seem to have laboured chiefly in the north, where +they were aided by Scotch and Irish missionaries. St. Aidan, Bishop of +Lindisfarne, or Holy Island (who died A.D. 651), may be mentioned as a +successful agent in the conversion of Northumbria and Mercia. + +[2] This dispute between St. Anselm and the English king was another +form of the long strife between the Popes and the Emperors of the West, +which is known as the War of Investitures. + +[3] Many of the Bishops, at this time, were foreigners, who lived away +from their sees, and did not even understand the native language of +their flocks. The Kings of England and the Bishops of Rome seem to +have equally abused their powers of patronage in this respect. + + + + +{155} + +INDEX + + Abendon, Dr., at Constance, 150 + Abyssinia, Church of, 82 + Africa, Church in, its early history, 80 + ------, Church in, its mediaeval history, 120 + Aidan, St., 144, 152 + Alban, St., his martyrdom, 73 + Albigenses, 122 + Alexandria, Church of, 80 + ------, School of, 81 + Altar, its arrangements in Eastern and Early English Churches, 54 + Ambrosian Liturgy, 123 + "Angels" or Bishops, The Seven, 49, 52, 85 + Annates, Payment of, 149 + Anselm, St., 146 + Anti-Popes, 109 + Antioch, Church of, 23, 28, 84 + ------, St. Paul and St. Barnabas at, 28 + "------ St. Peter's Throne at," 28 + ------ first sends Missionaries to heathen, 29 + Antioch disturbed by disputes about circumcision, 34 + Antioch, Probable visit of St. Peter to, 36 + Apocalypse, The, 52 + "Apology against Heathenism," The first Christian, 32 + "------ Judaism," The first Christian, 20 + Apostle, St. Matthias chosen to be, 8 + Apostles, extent of their labours, 43 + ------ trained by our Lord, 5 + ------ taught by the Holy Ghost, 5, 6, 48 + ------, Commission given to the, 6 + ------ a living Gospel, 12 + ------ Creed, an instance of traditional teaching, 13 + ------ St. Paul and St. Barnabas complete the number of, 30 + ------, how they differ from Bishops, 31 + ------, their deaths, 43 + Apostolic office, Nature of, 5 _n._ + ------ Doctrine, 12 + ------ Fellowship, 18 + Apostolical Succession in England, 144 + Appeals from England to Rome, 148 + Arabia, Church of, 86 + Arianism, 68, 81 + ------ in Greece, 79 + ------ in France, 78 + ------ of the Goths, 77 + ------ prepares for Mahometanism, 88 + Arles, Council of, 78 + Armenia, Church of, 85 + Athanasius, St., 70, 72, 81 + Athens, its intellectual pride, 39 + ------, St. Paul at, 39 + Augustine, St., 82 + ------, and Church of England, 142 + Authority of the Jerusalem Council, 36 + Avignon, The Popes at, 108, 123 + + + Baptism, Nature of, 2, 3, 4 + ------, its necessity, 26 + ------ of St. John different from that of our Lord, 7 _n._ + ------ of the Three Thousand, 10 + Barchochebas, 83 + Barnabas, St., Conversion of, 11 + ------, ordained Apostle, 30 + Basil, St., 111 + Basle, Council of, 110 + Becket, St. Thomas à, 147 + Benedictine rule, The, 111 + Bible, The, in Middle Ages, 117 + Bishop, Meaning of the word, 33 _n._ + ------ and Priest originally one office, 5 _n._ + Bishops, Consecration of, by the Apostles, 33 + ------ rarely appointed at first, 46, 47 + ------ especially subject to persecution, 65 + Bohemia, Church of, 129 + Boniface, St., in Germany, 128 + Books, Christian, kept hidden, 63 + Bread, The Breaking of the, 7, 13 + Breakspear, Nicholas, 106 + Bulgaria, Conversion of, 136 + + + Canute, Conversion of, 145 + Cashel, Synod of, 151 + Catacombs, Use of the, 63 + Corinthians, Heresy of the, 50 + Chalcedon, Fourth Council of, 71 + Charlemagne, 122, 124, 128 + China, Church of, 87 + Chrysostom, St., 84 + Church, Definition of, 1 + ------, a Kingdom, 1 + ------, the fruit of the Incarnation, 2 + ------ the New Jerusalem, 8 + ------, its gradual development, 47, 48 + ------, its Divine Foundation proved by persecution, 62 + Church, Growth of, unchecked by persecution, 62 + Church Militant, a preparation for Church Triumphant, 4 + ------, Outward recognition of the, 66 + ------ Government modified by persecution, 65 + Churches, Primitive, their arrangement, 53 + Circumcision, Apostolic Decision respecting 35 + ------, Wish to impose it on Converts, 27, 34 + Columba, St., 76, 152 + Confirmation by the Apostles, 22, 24, 32, 37, 40 + Continental Churches, their early history, 76-80 + ------ in Middle Ages, 120 + Constance, Council of, 110 + Constantine, his English parentage, 73 + ------, Conversion of, 66 + ------, Council summoned by, 69 + Constantinople, Creed of, 70 + ------, Building of, 67, 80 + ------, Second Council of, 70 + ------, Fifth Council of, 71 + ------, Sixth Council of, 71 + ------, Fall of, 138 + Conversion of the Three Thousand, 10 + ------ Five Thousand, 11 + ------ of Gentiles, Obstacles to, 29 + Conversions after appointment of Diaconate, 17 + Corinth, its luxury and unbelief, 40 + ------, St. Paul at, 40 + Cornelius, Conversion of, 25, 26 + Council of the Church, First, 35 + ------, Second, at Jerusalem, 46 + Councils, General, their nature, 69 _n._ + ------ guided by the Holy Ghost, 36 + Creed, Apostles', 13 + Crusades, 113, 125 + ------, Effect of, in the East, 137 + Cyprian, St., 82 + Cyril, St., 81 + + + Danes, Conversion of, 145 + ------ and Church of England, 144 + Deacon, Meaning of the word, 17 _n._ + Deacons, their work, 18 + Decretals, The false Papal, 103 + Denial of Cup to Laity, 119 + Denmark, Church of, 133 + Development, Intellectual, in the Church, 72 + Diocesan system, its late development in Ireland, 75 + Dioclesian, his false boasting, 62 + Discipline, its strictness increased by persecution, 64 + ------ relaxed, 68 + Division between East and West, 95 + Docetae, Heresy of the, 50 + Domitian's persecution, 49, 59 + + + Eastern Church, 83 + ------, its want of missionary zeal, 136 + East and West, Division of, 94 + Elders. _See_ Priests. + Endowment of Church, 67 + England, Church of, its early history, 73 + ------, in Middle Ages, 142 + ------, its Liturgy, 143 + English Bishops at early Councils, 74 + Ephesus, St. John at, 49 + ------, Heresies at, 50 + ------, Council of, 85 + ------, Liturgy of, 124 + ------, Third Council of, 71 + Episcopacy, its permanent organization, 46 + Ethiopia, Church of, 82 + Eucharist, Daily, 7, 13 + ------, the chief act of worship, 14, 56 + Eucharistic Sacrifice, 2, 3, 13, 14, 56 + Eutyches, his heresy, 71 + Expectation, Days of, 7 + + + Fathers, value of their writings, 72 + Ferrara, Council of, 110 + Florence, Council of, 110 + Forty Days, The teaching of the, 6 + Foundation of Church, its Divine Origin, 4, 7 + France, Church of, its early history, 77 + ------, its mediaeval history, 124 + ------, its Liturgy, 78 + French Bishops from Asia, 77 + French interference in Papal affairs, 107 + Friars, Franciscan and Dominican, in England, 112, 148 + + + Gallican Liturgy, 124 + General Councils, 69-71 + Gentiles called into the Church, 26 + Germany, Church of, 127 + Gnosticism, Simon Magus the author of, 22, 51 + ------ at Corinth, 40 + ------ at Ephesus, 51 + Gospels, Holy, great reverence shown to them, 54 + "Grecians," Who meant by, 16 + Greek Church, What meant by, 80 _n._ + ------, its early history, 79 + ------, its mediaeval history, 135 + ------ under Turkish rule, 139 + ------ Empire, End of, 139 + Greeks, their liability to heresy, 79 + Greenland, Conversion of, 135 + Gregory, St., 103 + ------, and Church of England, 142 + ------ VII., 106 + "Hebrews," Definition of, 17 + ------ and Grecians, Dispute between, 17 + Hegira, the Mahometan Era, 89 _n._ + "Hellenists" or "Grecians," Definition of, 16 + Heresy, how opposed, 69 + Hilary, St., 102 + Hildebrand, 105 + Hincmar, 104 + Hungary, Church of, 131 + + + Iceland, Church of, 133 + Iconoclast controversy, 95, 121 + Ignatius, St., 84 + Ignorance, Causes of, in Middle Ages, 115 + Incense, its burning made a test, 59 + ------, its use in heaven, 55 + India, Church of, 87 + Indulgences, 109, 118 + Innocent III., 107 + Inquisition, Origin of, 107 + Interdict, England placed under, 147 + Investiture, Disputes about, 106, 147 + Iona, Monastery of, 76 + Ireland, Church of, its early history, 74 + ------, its Liturgy and customs, 78, 151 + ------, its mediaeval history, 151 + ------, English influence in, 152 + Irenaeus, St., 78 + Irish missionary labours, 151 + Italy, Church of, its early history, 76 + ------, its mediaeval history, 121 + ------, its Liturgy, 123 + + + James, St., the Great, his martyrdom, 27 + ------ the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem, 27, 35, 83 + ------ presides at the First Council, 35 + Jerusalem, The Apostolic Church in, 27, 83 + ------, First Council at, 35 + ------, Second Council at, 46 + ------ taken by Saracens, 113 + Jewish Worship, and scheme of Redemption, 4, 56 + John, St., his special work in the Church, 45, 47, 49 + ------, his sacramental teaching, 47, 52 + ------, his universal patriarchate, 51 + ------, his writings, 51 + ------, his Epistles, 52 + ------, his Revelation, 52 + ------, his martyrdom in will, 57 _n._ + ------, King, Unconstitutional conduct of, 147 + Judicial powers first exerted in the Church, 16 + Julian the Apostate, 83 + + + Koran, The, 90 + + + Labours, Apostolic, Extent of, 43 + Lanfranc, 146 + Langton, Stephen, 147 + Lapland, Conversion of, 135 + Latin, Use of, in Middle Ages, 116 + Law, Christ's obedience to the, 15 + Lay investiture, Disputes about, 106 + Letters of Peace, 64 + Lollards, The, 149 + Love of the First Christians, 13 + Luke, St., joins St. Paul, 37 + + + Macedonius, his heresy, 70 + Mahometanism, 88 + ------ in Spain, 127 + Martyrdom, seeking it forbidden, 63 + Martyrs, Immense number of the, 61 + Matthias, St., chosen to be Apostle, 8 + Mediaeval Church, its true state, 119 + Meletian schism, 81 + Middle Ages, Learning in, 117 + ------, Religion in, 116 + Ministry, Christian, Three-fold nature of, 2, 5 _n._ + ------, Jewish, replaced by Christian, 4 + Miracles, Gift of, 11 + Monastic Orders, The, 111 + Monasticism, its good results, 112 + Moors in Spain, 126 + Moravia, Church of, 128 + Mozarabic Liturgy, 127 + Music, its use in heaven, 55 + + + Nero's persecution, 49 _n._, 59 + Nestorius, his heresy, 71, 82 + Nicaea, Council and Creed of, 70 + Nicolas of Antioch, 18 + Ninian, St., his mission in Scotland, 76 + Norman influence on English Church, 146 + Northmen, Conversion of, 124 + Norway, Church of, 134 + + + Ordinances or traditions, 13 _n._ + + + Paganism not revived by persecution, 62 + Papal supremacy, its dangers, 101 + ------ Supremacy in France, 125 + ------ aggression, The first, 102 + Parochial system, its late development in Ireland, 75 + Parthia, Church of, 85 + Passover replaced by Eucharist, 3 + Patrick, St., his mission to Ireland, 75 + Paul, St., Conversion of, 23. + ------, his fitness for the Apostolate, 24 + Paul, St., ordained Apostle, 30 + ------, the Chief Apostle of the Gentiles, 31 + ------, his first Apostolic journey, 31 + ------, his second Apostolic journey, 36 + ------, his third Apostolic journey, 40 + ------, a prisoner, 42 + ------, in England, 73 + ------, Martyrdom of, 43 + Pelagianism, 78 + Pella, Flight to, 83 + Penances, their severity, 64 + Pentecost, The Day of, 8 + ------, The effects of, 9 + Persecution, Causes of, 57 + ------ under Herod Agrippa, 27 + ------, Progress of, 11, 57 + Persecutions, Nature and extent of, 61 + ------, Table of, 60 + ------, Effect of, on the Church, 63 + ------ cease under Constantine, 66 + Persia, Church of, 85 + Peter, St., results of his first Sermon, 10 + ------, his special work in the Church, 45 + ------, his first Apostolic journey, 24 + ------, his imprisonment and deliverance, 28 + ------, Martyrdom of, 43 + Peter the hermit, 125 + Pharisees, their opposition to the Gospel, 19 + Philip, St., the Deacon, 21 + Pisa, Council of, 109 + ------, English Bishops at, 150 + Poland, Church of, 132 + Pomerania, 130 + Popes of the Middle Ages, 102-111 + ------, Worldliness of the later, 110 + ------ and anti-Popes, Disputes between, 109 + Portugal, Church of, its early history, 78 + ------, Church of, its mediaeval history, 126 + Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons, 77 + Praemunire, Statute of, 149 + Presbyters. _See_ Priests. + Priest, Meaning of the word, 32 _n._ + Priests, First ordination of, 32 + ------, their functions, 33 + Prussia, Church of, 129 + Purgatory, 118 + + + Reformation, what it was, 102 + ------, Longings for, 123, 131, 150 + Reunion between East and West attempted, 137 + Ritual, Early Christian, 53 + ------ checked by persecution, 63 + ------, Heavenly, as shown in the Apocalypse, 53 + ------ developed in prosperity, 67 + Roman Empire, its decay, 77 + Roman influence in Middle Ages, 118 + ------ influence in Germany, 131 + Rome, St. Paul at, 42 + ------, its influence in extending the Faith, 67 + Russia, Church of, its foundation, 80, 139 + ------, Church of, its independence, 140 + + + Sacrifice, The Christian, 2, 3, 13, 14, 56 + Sacrifices under the patriarchal dispensation, 3 + ------ under the Mosaic dispensation, 3 + Sadducees, their opposition to the Gospel, 12, 19 + Samaria, Conversion of, 21 + Sarum Use, 143 + Satan, his enmity against the Church, 58, 62 + Saul of Tarsus, 19 + Saxon and English Church, 74, 142 + Scandinavian Churches, 133 + Schism, The first, in the Church, 16 + ------ between East and West, 98 + ------, The forty years', 109 + Scotland, Church of, its early history, 75 + ------, its mediaeval history, 152, 153 + ------, Saxon influence in, 152 + ------, Roman influence in, 153 + Seven Churches, The, 84 + Simon Magus, his unbelief and end, 21, 22 + Sin, First deadly, in the Church, 16 + Spain, Church of, its early history, 78 + ------, Church of, its mediaeval history, 126 + ------, Church of, its Liturgy, 127 + Stephen, St., ordained Deacon, 18 + ------, his preaching and inspiration, 19 + ------, results of his Martyrdom, 21 + Supremacy, Papal claims to, 100 + Sweden, Church of, 133 + + + Table of "Fields of Apostolic Labour," 44 + ------ Persecutions, 60 + ------ Councils, 72 + Teaching of the Church, Reserve in, 49, 63 + ------ its gradual development, 49 + Temple Services, Attendance of the Apostles on, 13, 15 + Temporal power of the Popes, its rise, 100 + "Theological Gospel," The, 47 + Theotokos, 71 + Timothy, St., his circumcision, 37 + ------, Bishop of Ephesus, 33, 41 + Titus, St., Bishop of Crete, 33, 41 + Tongues, The gift of, 9, 11 + Tradition, its value, 13 + "Traditores," 64 + Turkey, European Church in, its early history, 79 + ------ in Europe, Church in, its medieval history, 135 + Turks, their inroads in the East, 138 + + + "Universal Bishop," Title of, 95 + Universities in Middle Ages, 117 + + + Vernacular Bibles in Middle Ages, 116 + Visigoths, Arianism of, 79 + + + Waldenses, 122 + Wales the refuge of British Clergy, 74 + Wickliffe, 149 + Worship, Jewish and Christian, 3 + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH +HISTORY (ANCIENT)*** + + +******* This file should be named 22017-8.txt or 22017-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/0/1/22017 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Ancient)</p> +<p>Author: John Henry Blunt</p> +<p>Release Date: July 7, 2007 [eBook #22017]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH HISTORY (ANCIENT)***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Al Haines</h3></center><br><br> +<p> </p> +<table border=0 bgcolor="ccccff" cellpadding=10> + <tr> + <td align="center"> + <b>Transcriber's Notes:</b> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + Page numbers in this book are indicated in the left margin by numbers enclosed + in curly braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page + breaks occurred in the original book. For its Index, a page + number has been placed only at the start of that section.<br> + <br> + In the original book, its various chapters' subsections were + denoted with the "section" symbol (§). + In this e-text, that symbol has been replaced with the word + "SECTION". Where two of these symbols were together, they + have been replaced with the word "SECTIONS".<br> + <br> + In the original book, footnotes in a chapter were numbered + from 1 to 9. If a chapter had more than 9 footnotes, the + numbering sequence was repeated, resulting in several footnotes + with the same number. In this e-book, all footnotes have been + re-numbered sequentially from 1. Footnotes have been moved to + the end of their respective chapters.<br> + <br> + The original book had many side-notes in its pages' left or + right margin areas. Some of these sidenotes were at the + beginning of a paragraph, and in this e-text, are placed to + precede their host paragraph. Some were placed elsewhere + alongside a paragraph, in relation to what the sidenote + referred to inside the paragraph. These have been placed + into the paragraph near where they were in the original book. + Some sidenotes were split into two or more parts, distributed + down the margin of their host paragraph. Occasionally, such + multi-part sidenotes had sections in adjacent paragraphs. If + all parts of such sidenotes were within a single paragraph, + they were treated as separate sidenotes, unless that + meant the splitting of sentences, in which case they were + amalgamated into a single sidenote and positioned near where + their first section was. If a multi-part sidenote had + sections in adjacent paragraphs, those sections were treated + as if they belonged to their host paragraph. Sidenotes inside + paragraphs are always placed between sentences. All sidenotes + have been enclosed in square brackets, and preceded with + "Sidenote:". + </td> + </tr> +</table> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +A KEY +</H1> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +To the Knowledge of +</H3> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +CHURCH HISTORY +</H1> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +[Ancient] +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +EDITED BY +<BR> +JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. +</H3> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +EDITOR OF +<BR> +"THE DICTIONARY OF THEOLOGY," +<BR> +"THE ANNOTATED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER;" +<BR><BR> +AUTHOR OF +<BR> +"HOUSEHOLD THEOLOGY," ETC. ETC. +</H4> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>"This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be<BR> +preached in all the world for a witness<BR> +unto all nations.</I>"—St. Matt. xxiv. 14<BR> +</H4> + +<BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +RIVINGTONS +<BR> +WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON +<BR> +Oxford, and Cambridge +<BR> +MDCCCLXXVII +<BR> +[<I>New Edition</I>] +</H5> + + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFACE +</H3> + +<P> +This Volume offers to the reader a short and condensed account of the +origin, growth, and condition of the Church in all parts of the world, +from the time of our Lord down to the end of the fifteenth century, the +narrative being compressed into as small a compass as is consistent +with a readable form. +</P> + +<P> +In such a work the reader will not, of course, expect to find any full +and detailed account of so vast a subject as Pre-Reformation Church +History. Its object is rather to sketch out the historical truth about +each Church, and to indicate the general principles on which further +inquiry may be conducted by those who have the opportunity of making it. +</P> + +<P> +It is hoped that those whose circumstances do not admit of an extended +study of the subject will find in the following pages a clear, though +condensed, view of the periods and Churches treated of; and that those +whose reading is of a less limited range will be put in possession of +certain definite lines of thought, by which they may be guided in +reading the statements of more elaborate histories. +</P> + +<P> +It may be added, that the writer's stand-point throughout has been that +of a loyal attachment to the Church of England, as the authorized +exponent and upholder of Catholic doctrine for English people. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +M. F. B. P. +<BR> +<I>July</I>, 1869. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H3> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="100%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="10%"> +CHAPTER +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="80%"> + +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="10%"> +PAGE +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +I. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AMONG THE JEWS </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 1 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +II. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AMONG THE HEATHEN </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 25 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +III. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">THE EXTENSION OF THE CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 30 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +IV. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE CHURCH BY ST. JOHN </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 45 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +V. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 57 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +VI. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE CHURCH UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 66 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +VII. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">THE EARLY HISTORY OF PARTICULAR CHURCHES </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 73 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +VIII. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE INROADS OF MAHOMETANISM </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 88 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +IX. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">THE DIVISION BETWEEN EAST AND WEST </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 94 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +X. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">THE CHURCH OF THE MIDDLE AGES</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 100 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +XI. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">THE MEDIAEVAL HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL CHURCHES</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 120 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> +XII. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">THE MEDIAEVAL CHURCH IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND </A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 142 +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">INDEX</A> +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 155 +</TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P1"></A>1}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The foundation of the Church among the Jews +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 33-A.D. 38 +</H3> + +<P> +Before entering upon an account of the Foundation +and After-History of the Christian Church, +it may be well to consider what that Church really is. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>Definition of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Twofold nature of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church may be regarded in a twofold aspect, as +an external Corporation, and as a spiritual Body. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +1. An external Kingdom. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In the first light it is a Kingdom, in the world, though +not of the world, extending through +different and widely-separated countries, +often seemingly divided by outward circumstances, but, +in reality, having all its parts subject to the same +Invisible King, governed by laws which He has given, +and by means of those whom He has appointed to be +His representatives on earth. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +2. A spiritual Body. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In its spiritual sense the Church is the One Mystical +Body of Christ, of which men are made +members by Holy Baptism, and in which +they are nourished and built up by the Holy Eucharist, +and the other means of grace. These means of grace + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P2"></A>2}</SPAN> +are dispensed by Priests, who receive authority and +power to execute their ministerial functions from +Bishops, successors of the Apostles, and are +assisted in their ministry by the inferior order of +Deacons. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Future destiny of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The members of this Mystical Body, after passing +through their appointed probation in this +world, and being built up more and more, +if they continue faithful, into Christ their Head, are +removed to join the Church at rest in Paradise. +There they await the Resurrection and Final +Judgment, after which the "Church Militant here on +earth" will become the Church Triumphant in Heaven. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Church exists through and by the Incarnation, applied to each individual in Holy Baptism, and the Holy Eucharist. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The existence of the Church is the consequence and +fruit of the Incarnation and Death of her +Divine Head; the spiritual life of all her +members being derived from their union +with our Blessed Lord's Sacred Humanity, whereby +they are also made "partakers of the +Divine Nature[1]," their birth-sin being at +the same time washed away by the Virtue +of His Cleansing Blood. This Life, once begun, is +kept up in faithful Christians by believing +and persevering use of the Mystical Food +provided for its sustenance in their souls—the Blessed +Body and Precious Blood thus given to them being a +continual extension of the Incarnation; whilst their +actual sins are forgiven by the absolving Word of the +Priest, and the Pleading of the One Sacrifice, +unceasingly presented in Heaven, and constantly shown forth +and mystically offered on the Altars of the Church on +earth. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P3"></A>3}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Foreshadowings of the Church and the Redeemer's sacrifice under the Patriarchal +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +From the time of the Fall and the merciful Promise +of a Redeemer, "the Seed of the woman," +there is also a foreshadowing of the Church +as the appointed way by which mankind +should lay hold on the salvation thus +provided for them. +The Patriarchs were priests in their +own tribes, for which they continually +offered up sacrifices to Almighty God; and +to this patriarchal system succeeded the Mosaical +Dispensation with an elaborate ceremonial, each minute +detail of which was laid down by direct revelation from +God Himself. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Mosaic dispensations. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In this system of Divine Worship given to Moses, +sacrifices of animals still held the most +prominent place, typifying as they did the +great Oblation to come, and perhaps conveying a +certain Sacramental grace to the devout offerers and +partakers of them. To these perpetual sacrifices, offered +morning by morning and evening by evening, there +was also joined a continual round of praise and +thanksgiving. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Much of the Jewish ritual absorbed in the Christian Church. +</SPAN> +When our Blessed Lord came "to fulfil the +Law," this Jewish ritual was in a great +measure engrafted into the worship of the +Christian Church. The Passover feast, +as well as animal sacrifices and the feeding +on them, were done away, and replaced by the +"Unbloody Sacrifice" and Sacramental Communion of the +Gospel covenant, whilst circumcision and ceremonial +purifications disappeared to make room for the "true +Circumcision of the Spirit," and the regenerating +streams of Holy Baptism. But the "Hours of Prayer" +and Praise were still retained, "the singers arrayed in +white" became the white-robed choirs of the Christian +Church, and the threefold order of the Christian +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P4"></A>4}</SPAN> +ministry represented the High Priest, Priests, and +Levites of the old dispensation. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Jewish Worship a preparation for Christian Worship. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We must not be led to think that the Jewish Worship +was contrary to the Mind of God, +for He Himself appointed it. It was, +without doubt, a part of the great Scheme +of Redemption—a preparation for the +Gospel, the means ordained by the Divine Wisdom for +keeping up in men's minds the future Coming of the +Messiah. But when the Great Deliverer was indeed +come, there was no further need for the types and +shadows of the Law, and they disappeared to make +way for the "substance" of the Gospel. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Church Militant a preparation for the Church Triumphant. +</SPAN> +So when the +number of the elect shall be accomplished, +and the Church Militant changed into the +Church Triumphant, her Worship and +her Sacraments will have their full fruition +in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and the +unceasing adoration of the redeemed in the Heavenly +Temple. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>Our Lord's Work in the Foundation of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Our Lord prepared for the Foundation of His Church by instituting Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, and by appointing the twelve Apostles. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Our Blessed Lord's Ministry was spent in making +preparations for the foundation of His +Church. At His first entrance on that +Ministry, He "sanctified Water to the +mystical washing away of sin;" at the +close of it, He blessed the elements of +Bread and Wine, and made them the +channels of His constant Presence with His Church, +"a perpetual memory of His Precious +Death" before God. +He also appointed +human instruments, who, in His Name +and by His Authority, should carry out +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P5"></A>5}</SPAN> +this mighty work, and be the foundation-stones of the +new spiritual building, bonded together and firmly +established in Him the "Chief Corner Stone." "The +wall of the City had twelve foundations, and in them +the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb[2]." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Apostles taught and trained by our Lord's Example and Teaching. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Apostles were solemnly set apart by our Lord +after a night of watching and prayer[3], and +from that time became His constant +companions, witnessing His mighty works, +listening to the words of Heavenly +Wisdom which fell from His Sacred Lips, +and thus experiencing, under the guidance of the Head +of the Church Himself, such a training as might best +fit them for their superhuman labours[4]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Special instructions given them, and not understood until after the Day of Pentecost. +</SPAN> +A large portion of what is now stored up in the Holy +Gospel for the instruction of the whole +body of Christians, +was in the first instance +spoken to the Apostles with a special view to their +Apostolic vocation; to them it was "given to know +the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven." Doubtless +much of what they were thus taught +remained unexplained "Mysteries" to them +until the Coming of the Holy Ghost on +the Day of Pentecost to "guide them into +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P6"></A>6}</SPAN> +all Truth," and especially to instruct them in the real +meaning of what had before seemed to be "hard +sayings" in their Master's Teaching. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +This Teaching continued after the Resurrection. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Again, after our Blessed Lord's Passion and +Resurrection, we read that He was "seen of +them forty days, speaking of the things +pertaining to the Kingdom of God[5]," i.e. to +the Church, the Kingdom which, by +the agency of the Twelve Apostles, He was about to +establish in this world. No record is left us as to what +these "things" were of which He spake to them; but +we cannot doubt that the Words of Divine Wisdom +would remain deeply engraven on their hearts, and be +a treasure of strength and counsel in the trials and +perplexities of the untried path which lay before them, +the Holy Spirit "bringing to their remembrance" any +sayings of the Saviour which human frailty might +have hindered them from remembering[6]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A commission given to the Apostles for all their official acts, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Apostles received from the Great High Priest +before His Ascension, a commission to +execute the various functions of the priestly +office, to baptize[7], to teach[8], to consecrate +and offer the Holy Eucharist[9], and to +absolve[10]; besides a general and comprehensive promise +that all their official acts should be confirmed by Him, +in the words, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto +the end of the world[11]." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +but not exerted till after Pentecost. +</SPAN> +We do not, however, find that +this commission was acted on by the +Apostles before the day of Pentecost; the +Saviour's will was, that it should, so to +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P7"></A>7}</SPAN> +speak, lie dormant until the seal of the Holy Spirit +was impressed upon it. During the days of expectation +which followed our Lord's Ascension, we read that the +holy company who were gathered together in the +"upper room," "continued with one accord in prayer +and supplication[12];" but we have no mention of any +celebration of the Holy Eucharist, whilst immediately +after the Descent of the Holy Ghost we are told of +their daily continuance in "the Breaking of the Bread[13]." +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Day of Pentecost.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 33. Participation of the Blessed Trinity in the works of Creation, the Incarnation, and the Foundation of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +As the Three Holy Persons of the Ever-blessed Trinity +had shared in the work of the First +Creation of the world, the Father speaking by +the Eternal Word, and the Holy Spirit +brooding over what before was lifeless: +and as in the work of the Incarnation the +Father had sent the Son to take upon Him our human +nature through the operation of the +Holy Ghost: so, in the Foundation of the Church, +the Power of the Holy Spirit co-operated +no less than the Will of the Father and the Life-giving +Grace of the Son. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P8"></A>8}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The waiting at Jerusalem. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Apostles had received from their ascending +Lord a command to await in the City of +Jerusalem this "Power from on High," +which was to be sent upon them[14]. We can easily see +the fitness of this injunction, when we remember that +they were about to become the founders of the New +Jerusalem, the true "City of God" in which the many +"glorious things spoken[15]" by the Old Testament +Prophets were to have their performance to a certain +extent even in this life, but fully and perfectly in the +Life to come. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Matthias chosen. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Immediately after our Lord's Ascension the Apostles, +under the immediate guidance of Almighty +God, made choice by lot of St. Matthias +to fill up the vacancy in the Apostolic Body caused by +the apostasy of Judas, and then awaited in prayer and +worship the promised Coming of the +Comforter. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The coming of the Holy Ghost. +</SPAN> +After ten days of expectation, on +the morning of the Jewish Feast of +Pentecost, the Promise was fulfilled: with the sound "of a +rushing mighty Wind," with the brightness of "cloven +tongues like as of fire," the Holy Spirit descended +"and sat upon each of" the Apostles[16]. Thus they were +inspired and enlightened with Power and Knowledge, +and all the other sevenfold gifts of the Paraclete[17] in +fuller measure than had ever been vouchsafed to the +Prophets and Teachers of old, as well as with +miraculous endowments, that so they might be enabled to +carry out the Commission entrusted to them by their +Master. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The gift of Tongues. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +One effect of this wonderful Visitation was +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P9"></A>9}</SPAN> +immediately and strikingly apparent to all who stood by, for +on these twelve unlearned men of lowly +birth was bestowed the power of speaking +fluently and intelligibly in languages of which, before, +they had been altogether ignorant. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The people come together. +</SPAN> +The fame of this +great wonder soon spread amongst the +multitude of foreign Jews who were then +gathered together at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of +Pentecost; many of them were probably at that very +time in the Temple, of which the "upper room" is +thought to have formed a part, and they quickly came +around the Apostles, anxious to judge for themselves of +the truth of what had been told them. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Their amazement. +</SPAN> +Very great was their astonishment at what +they heard. It seems as if words are multiplied in the +Sacred Narrative to impress us with a sense of their +awe and wonder. It is said that they "were +confounded" or "troubled in mind," that "they were all +amazed and marvelled;" and again, that "they were +all amazed, and were in doubt" at this startling +exhibition of the "Power" of God[18]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Though some refused to believe. +</SPAN> +Some indeed "mocked," +despising the work of the Spirit, as they +had before despised the work of the Son; +but many opened their hearts to the softening +influence, and of them it may truly be said that +"the fear of the Lord" was "the beginning of wisdom." +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P10"></A>10}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>St. Peter's First Sermon, and its Results.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 33. Conversion of the 3000. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +And now at once the converting power of the Church +was exercised. St. Peter, the chief of the +Apostles, took the lead, as he had +already done in the election of St. Matthias, +and preached to the impressed and eager +multitude that first Christian sermon, which was +followed by the conversion and baptism of "about 3000 +souls[19]." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The promise of St. Peter fulfilled. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Thus was fulfilled, in one sense at least, the promise +of Christ to St. Peter: "Upon this rock +I will build My Church[20];" and he, who +first of the Twelve had faith to confess +the Godhead of our Blessed Lord, was rewarded by +being the first to whom it was given to draw men +into that Church, which in His Human Nature Christ +had purchased for Himself. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Further results of St. Peter's sermon. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In estimating the importance of the results which +were brought about by St. Peter's sermon, +we must not only take into account the +actual number of those who were at once +added to the disciples, large as that number was, but +we must also remember that many of these converts +came from far distant countries, whither, on their +departure from Jerusalem, they would carry the tidings +of the Faith which they had embraced. Hence they +in their turn became forerunners of our Lord and of +His Church, preparing the hearts of those amongst +whom they dwelt to listen to the proclamation of the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P11"></A>11}</SPAN> +Gospel, when, in God's appointed season, it should be +preached to them. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The First Beginnings of Persecution.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 33. Growth of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church now steadily grew in influence and +numbers; "The Lord added to the +Church daily such as should be" [or +"were being"] "saved[21];" and on the +occasion of a second sermon, preached by St. Peter +after the healing of the lame man "at the Beautiful +Gate of the Temple," "about five thousand" were +converted[22]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Beginnings of persecution. +</SPAN> +The opposition of the Jewish rulers was +powerless to check the ever-advancing +tide; and this <I>first beginning of persecution</I>, +by calling forth from the whole Church an earnest +act of worship and supplication, was the occasion of +"great power" and "great grace" being given to +enable her to do and bear all for the sake of her Lord[23]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of St. Barnabas. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Immediately afterwards we read of the conversion +of St. Barnabas, the first convert +mentioned by name, a Levite, and apparently +a man of wealth and position[24]; and then we are told +of the awe and reverence produced in the minds of +the people of Jerusalem, and the neighbouring country, +by the abundant exercise of the Apostolic +power of working miracles[25]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The gift of working miracles. +</SPAN> +This great working +gift of the Holy Ghost, bestowed, like the +Gift of Tongues, on the Day of Pentecost, had similar +results. Fear was followed by faith, and +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P12"></A>12}</SPAN> +"multitudes both of men and women" were added to the +Church. +</P> + +<P> +Persecution once more followed, this time with greater +severity; the Apostles were imprisoned through the +influence of the sect of the Sadducees, and, being set +free by a miracle, were called before the Sanhedrim +and scourged, only escaping death by the wise and +merciful interposition of the Pharisee Gamaliel. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 6. <I>Worship and Discipline of the Infant Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 33. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Before going farther into the History of the Church, +we may pause to consider the account +given us in Holy Scripture of Christian +Worship and Discipline in the time immediately +following the Day of Pentecost. The same chapter +which contains the narrative of the Descent of the +Holy Ghost, has also a short epitome of the daily life +of the Apostles and their converts, during that brief +interval of undisturbed peace which preceded the +beginning of the bitter conflict between the Church +and the world. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Holy Baptism. Apostolic Doctrine. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +First we read of Holy Baptism as the source of the +Christian Life[26], and then of steadfast +continuance in the one Faith as taught +by the Apostles, who were, so to speak, a +kind of living Gospel to their converts. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Oral teaching. +</SPAN> +None of the Books of the New Testament were as yet +written, so that all instruction being oral, +faithful must most fully have sought +"the Law" of the Saviour at the "mouth" of His +twelve chosen servants, who had listened to His +gracious words, and had been themselves taught by +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P13"></A>13}</SPAN> +Him Who is Wisdom. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Value of tradition. +</SPAN> +The Apostles' Creed is a +mighty instance of this <I>traditional</I> +teaching, which has come down even to our +own days; and many points of Church government, +and discipline, and ritual, merely hinted at, or not +even referred to in the writings of the New Testament, +were preserved to the Church by means of spoken +tradition. St. Paul several times mentions these +oral traditions, and in one instance speaks of them +to his converts as equally binding with the written +words contained in his Epistles[27]. The substance of +such important traditions became ingrained into the +system and belief of the Church, and it was thus of +comparatively little importance that their exact words +were forgotten. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Apostolic fellowship. Faith and love towards God +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +To oneness of "doctrine" belonged also oneness of +"fellowship." There was as yet "no +schism in the Body;" and this inward +Faith and Love found their outward +expression both towards God and towards +man. Towards God in "the Breaking of the Bread," +the Daily Sacrifice and Thank-offering of the Holy +Eucharist "at home[28]," i.e. in their own upper room, +the first Christian Church, as well as in their constant +attendance on the daily "Prayers" and praises still +offered up in the Temple. Of the conduct of the +first Christians towards each other we are told twice +over, immediately after the Outpouring of the Day +of Pentecost, and again after that increase of +"boldness," which was granted to the earnest cry of the +Church on the approach of persecution[29]. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P14"></A>14}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and towards man. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Both these accounts speak to us of their full +realization of the doctrine of the Communion +of Saints. They "were together;" they +"were of one heart and of one soul:" the need of one +was the need of all; each felt his brother's wants, as +if he himself suffered; and so great was the liberality +of those who had "possessions and goods," that there +was not "any among them that lacked." "They had +all things common," as to the daily use of God's +worldly gifts. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Holy Eucharist was to the Church then, as it +is still, the chief act and centre of Divine +worship. In this new Sacrifice the +Apostles showed forth and pleaded before God, +the One Sufficient Sacrifice, which they themselves +had seen "once offered," with unspeakable sufferings, +and all-prevailing Blood-shedding upon the Cross of +Calvary. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and a means of union with Christ. +</SPAN> +In it they adored Him, Whom they now +acknowledged with every faculty of their souls to be +indeed their "Lord" and their "God;" +in it they found again the Real and +continual, though invisible, Presence of +the Master and Friend for Whose sake they had +forsaken all earthly ties; and by it they were brought +into closer union with Him, than when of old they had +walked and talked with Him beside the Galilean Sea, +or beneath the olive-trees of Gethsemane; for now, +they were indeed "nourished and cherished" by Him +and made more and more "members of His Body, +of His flesh, and of His bones[30]." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Thankfulness of the first converts. +</SPAN> +What wonder, then, that we read of the +"gladness and singleness of heart" of the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P15"></A>15}</SPAN> +Apostles and their converts thus living in the constant +joy and presence of their Lord, and that "praising +God" is mentioned as one of their distinguishing +marks:— +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"By 'Deo gratias,' as they pass'd,<BR> +The faithful folk were surest known;<BR> +That watchword for the daily strife<BR> +Might well their thoughts and tongues employ,<BR> +Who made the Church transform their life,<BR> +And the great Offering crown their joy[31]."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Continued attendance of the Apostles on the Temple Services. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We may here remark the many indications which +are given us throughout the Book of Acts, +that the Apostles, who were themselves +Jews, did not, even after the Foundation +of the Christian Church, oppose or neglect +Jewish ordinances and worship, so long and so far as +the union of the two dispensations was practicable. +In this they followed the example of their Divine +Master, Who, from His Circumcision upwards, paid +obedience to that Law which He came to fulfil, and +Who was a constant attendant at the services of the +Temple and of the Synagogues. There was no violent +rending away from the old Faith, until God, in His +wisdom and justice, saw fit to ordain the destruction +of the guilty city Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the +Jewish Temple, and Altar, and Priesthood, none of +which had then any further purpose to serve in the +Divine plan for the redemption of mankind. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +In the cases of St. Peter and St. John, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Thus we read of St. Peter and St. John going up to +the Temple to worship at the ninth hour +of prayer[32], and of their afterwards preaching +to the people in that part of the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P16"></A>16}</SPAN> +Temple called Solomon's porch[33], of the daily +preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles in the Temple[34], +and of their constant resort to the Jewish Synagogues +during their stay in such places as possessed them[35]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and of St. Paul. +</SPAN> +Even five and twenty years after the day +of Pentecost we find that the very tumult +which resulted in St. Paul's apprehension and +consequent journey as a prisoner to Rome, was +immediately excited by his having "entered into the +Temple[36]," in performance of one of the ceremonies of the +Mosaic Law. +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<P> +Section 7. <I>The First Schism and the Appointment of the +Diaconate.</I> +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A. D. 33. The first deadly sin in the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Great and deadly sin had already made its way into +Christ's fold, and been cast out from the +midst of it by a fearful judgment. Ananias +and Sapphira had "lied unto God," +and been struck dead for their impiety; and the +"great fear" excited by this first display of the judicial +powers of the Church had been followed by another +influx of conversions; for "multitudes were added to +the Lord[37]." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 34. The first schism. +</SPAN> +And now came the first +division in the body, "a murmuring of +the Grecians against the Hebrews[38]." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Distinction between "Grecians" (or Hellenists) and "Hebrews." +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +By the "Grecians" are meant those Jews of foreign +birth and education who had adopted +Greek customs and the Greek language +so entirely, that some even of their most +learned men did not understand Hebrew +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P17"></A>17}</SPAN> +but read the Scriptures of the Old Testament in the +Septuagint Version. They were much despised by +the stricter and more narrow-minded "Hebrews," the +natives of Palestine, or Syro-Chaldaic Jews; and the +rivalries of these two Jewish sects were carried even +into the bosom of Christ's Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Complaint of the "Grecians." +</SPAN> +The Grecians, or "<I>Hellenists</I>" complained +that their widows were neglected in the +daily distribution of alms; perhaps grounding their +complaint on the fact that the Twelve were all +Hebrews. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Deacons ordained. +</SPAN> +And the Apostles commanded that "seven +men of honest report" should be chosen from the body +of believers, and presented to them, that +they might be ordained by Imposition of +Hands to minister to the bodily wants of the poor +and aged. This was the first institution of the Order +of Deacons[39], the lowest of the three holy offices which +were to be continually handed down and +perpetuated in the Church. Thus did the Apostles begin +to impart to others such a portion of the +ministerial grace, of which they themselves had been at +first the sole recipients, as might enable those whom +they ordained to aid them, in a subordinate degree, +in the work of building up the mystical Body of Christ. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Increasing conversions. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This fresh proof of the vitality of the Church through +the active, living Presence of her Divine Head, was +followed by a new feature in the still +increasing conversions to her fold. It +was no longer the poor and the unlearned only, or +chiefly, who listened to the teaching of the Apostles, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P18"></A>18}</SPAN> +"a great company of the Priests were obedient to the +Faith[40]," while, on the other hand, a +growing and more bitter spirit of persecution +was soon to develope itself. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 8. <I>The Martyrdom of St. Stephen.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 34. The Seven Deacons. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +St. Stephen, the foremost and saintliest of the Seven +Deacons, and St. Philip, the second in +order, are the only two of whom we have +any further mention in the Book of Acts; +but it is believed that the last named, Nicolas of +Antioch, was the author of the heresy of the +Nicolaitanes, which our Blessed Lord twice over tells us +that He hates[41]. Nicolas seems in this way to be +a sad reflection of the awful example set by the traitor +Judas, the last reckoned Apostle. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Their functions. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It is clear that the ministrations of the first Deacons +were not of necessity confined to the +"serving of tables," which was the primary +occasion of their appointment. St. Philip both preached +and baptized[42]; and St. Stephen brought down upon +himself the hatred and malice of the Jews by the +boldness and power of his preaching. Both preaching and +baptizing do still, under certain restrictions, "appertain +to the office of a Deacon[43]." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Probably all Hellenists. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Judging from the names of the Seven Deacons, there +seems good reason for supposing that +they were all or most of them Grecians or +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P19"></A>19}</SPAN> +Hellenists. St. Stephen was undoubtedly a Hellenist, +and his early training made him a ready instrument +for the work to which the Holy Ghost had called him. +Freed by education from many of the associations and +feelings which bound his Hebrew brethren to the Holy +City and the Temple, he could realize more plainly +than they could do, the future of the Christian Church +apart from both these, and boldly +proclaimed his convictions. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Stephen's preaching rouses Hebrew prejudices. +</SPAN> +By this conduct +he aroused all the deeply-rooted +prejudices and exclusive pride of the Jewish +mind, even amongst those who, like himself, were +Hellenists, and to whom he seems more particularly to +have addressed himself. Up to this time, what +opposition there was to the teaching of the Apostles, seems to +have come chiefly from the unbelieving sect of the +Sadducees[44]; for the people had espoused the cause of the +Christian teachers[45], and the Pharisees had +advocated lenient conduct towards those +who confessed, as they themselves did, a +belief in the Resurrection[46]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Pharisees join with the Saducees in opposition to the Church. +</SPAN> +But now all +was altered; priests and people, Sadducees and +Pharisees, were alike vehement against those who ventured +to assert that the "Holy Place and the Law" should +ever give way to a Holier than they; and foremost +amongst the persecutors was the fiery, earnest, +intellectual man who was afterwards the holy Apostle +Paul[47]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Stephen's speech a direct Inspiration. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The defence of the heavenly-minded Deacon before +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P20"></A>20}</SPAN> +his malicious and bloodthirsty enemies must be looked +upon as a direct Inspiration of the Holy +Ghost, a fulfilment of our Blessed Lord's +promise to His Church[48], +and a Divine +commentary on Old Testament History, showing that +God's mercies were not restrained to any particular +place or country, and upbraiding the Jews with their +abuse of their many privileges and their rejection of +the Saviour. But the words of this first Christian +"Apology against Judaism" fell for the time on +unheeding ears; and its only present apparent result +was the violent and yet triumphant death +of him who had been chosen to utter it. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +His blessed martyrdom. +</SPAN> +Beneath the stoning of the enraged multitude, the +First Martyr "fell asleep," blessed in his last moments +with a foretaste of the Beatific Vision[49]. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 9. <I>Results of St. Stephen's Martyrdom.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 34. Good brought out of evil for the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We may here pause to recollect how God had all along +been bringing forth good out of seeming +evil, in what concerned His Church. The +first <I>dawnings of persecution</I> drew down +increased "boldness" in answer to thankful +prayer; the first great necessity for exercising the +<I>judicial office</I> of the Church was followed by "great +fear" and multiplied conversions, as well as by the first +miracles of healing wrought in the Church; the first +<I>schism</I> was the occasion of the origin of the Order of +Deacons, directly after which event we hear of "a great +company of the priests being obedient to the Faith," +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P21"></A>21}</SPAN> +the first <I>martyrdom</I> helped to bring about the +conversion of the chief persecutor; and now the first <I>general +persecution</I> which came upon the Church was to have +for its result a far more widely-spread diffusion of the +knowledge of the Kingdom of God than had before +taken place. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Extension of the Church according to our Lord's promise. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This extension of the Church was in exact accordance +with our Lord's words to His Apostles +just before His Ascension, that they should +be witnesses unto Him "in Jerusalem, and +in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the +uttermost parts of the earth." Jerusalem was already +"filled with" their "doctrine," and now the disciples +were "scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea +and Samaria," and "went every where preaching the +Word[50]." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Still confined to Jews, and Samaritans, or to proselytes. +</SPAN> +Still it would seem that they confined their +preaching to such as were either Hebrews, +or Grecians, i.e. foreigners more or less +professing Judaism[51]; or, as in the case of +the Samaritans, to such as were of mixed +Jewish descent, and clung to the Law of Moses, though +with manifold corruptions; or, again, to proselytes like +the Ethiopian eunuch. The Apostles, we read, +continued at Jerusalem, doubtless by God's command and +under His special protection. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Samaria. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The conversion of the despised city of Samaria was +effected by the instrumentality of the +Deacon St. Philip[52], whose preaching and +miracles were followed by the baptism of large +numbers of the people, and, amongst them, of one Simon +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P22"></A>22}</SPAN> +of Gittum, better known as Simon Magus (i.e. the +magician, or sorcerer), who had claimed supernatural +powers, and given himself out to be an emanation from +the Deity, or even God Himself. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Peter and St. John sent to confirm. +</SPAN> +St. Philip, as a +Deacon, could not complete the gift begun in Holy +Baptism, and St. Peter and St. John were +sent down by the Apostles from Jerusalem, +that they might confirm the Samaritan +converts by prayer and the Imposition of Hands. +Confirmation in those early days of the Church was wont +to be accompanied by a bestowal of miraculous gifts of +the Holy Ghost; and the wondrous signs following +upon this, the first Confirmation mentioned in God's +history of His Church, led the still +unbelieving Simon to long for the ability to +confer similar powers. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The unbelief of Simon Magus. +</SPAN> +He dared to offer +money to the Apostles with this view, and drew from +St. Peter such a reproof as for a time pierced through +even the heart which had hardened by an abuse of +holy things. But this penitence was of short duration. +He became the author in the Church of a deadly heresy +called Gnosticism, mixing up what he had learnt of the +doctrines of Christianity with heathen philosophy and +sinful living, and making pretence of being endowed +with miraculous gifts. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +His end. +</SPAN> +This first heretic +is said to have perished miserably whilst +endeavouring to fly through the air at Rome[53], St. Peter +praying at the same time that he might no longer be +suffered to hinder the salvation of souls. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P23"></A>23}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Gospel preached in Antioch. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Another important result of the Sauline persecution +was the preaching of the Gospel in the +important city of Antioch by the +Greek-speaking Jews who sought refuge there[54], +and who addressed themselves to their Hellenist +countrymen. It was in this city, the third in rank in the +Roman Empire, and afterwards the mother of Gentile +Christendom, that the first branch of the Church +speaking Greek as its original tongue, was now +beginning to have its foundation; and it was also here +that the disciples were first called by the honourable +name of Christians[55]. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 10. <I>The Conversion of St. Paul.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 34. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It has been said "that, to combine the ceremonial +shortcoming of the eunuch with the +imperfect faith of the Samaritan, is to arrive +at the admission of the Gentiles[56]." Preparation had been +made in both these instances for the carrying out of +the Divine scheme by means of St. Philip, whose +fellow-Deacon had gladly laid down his life in witnessing to +the truth of it; and now God's great instrument for the +conversion of the gentile world was to appear. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Saul. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The furious persecutor Saul was struck to the earth +by the sight and voice of the Lord, whose +disciples at Damascus he was bent upon +ill-using; and his miraculous conversion was followed +by his baptism and the devotion of all his powers +to the promulgation of that "Faith which once he +destroyed." +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P24"></A>24}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +His fitness for his mission. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It is not hard to perceive in St. Paul a peculiar +fitness for the work to which God called him. +His zeal and self-devotion, deep affections, +and warm sympathies, were joined to clearness of +judgment and great intellectual powers; whilst, from the +circumstances of his birth and education, he had much +in common with both Hebrew and Hellenist Jews. +Though born in the Greek city of Tarsus, where he +came in contact with the classical ideas and learning +of which traces appear in his writings, his father was a +Hebrew, and sent him to finish his education at +Jerusalem under the care of the learned Pharisee Gamaliel. +Thus he became zealous in the Law; and hence his +deep tenderness for his brethren of the seed of Israel, +and his thorough insight into their feelings and +prejudices, were united to an acquaintance with gentile ways +of life, classic learning, and foreign modes of thought. +</P> + +<P> +With St. Paul's conversion came a time of peace +and increase to the Church, during which +St. Peter's first Apostolic journey took +place, undertaken with the especial view of strengthening, +by the Laying on of Hands and by Apostolic +preaching and counsel, those who, throughout Judea +and Samaria, had been regenerated and made "saints" +by Holy Baptism[57]. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 2 St. Peter i. 4. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] Rev. xxi. 14. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] St. Luke vi. 12-16. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[4] "Apostle" is derived from the Greek word +"Apostolos," i.e. "one sent." The +Apostles were "sent" by Christ, +the Great High Priest and Chief Pastor of the Church, Who +comprehended in Himself the whole of the Christian +Ministry, whilst the Apostolic Office comprehended all that +could be delegated to man. This comprehensive Apostolic +Office was afterwards broken up into the three Orders +of—1. Deacons; 2. Priests and Bishops in one; 3. Bishops. +After the special work of Bishops was defined (see chap. iv.), +Priests were Priests only, and not Bishops, unless they had +special consecration to the higher office. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[5] Acts i. 3. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[6] St. John xiv. 26. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[7] St. Matt. xxviii. 19. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[8] St. Matt. xxviii. 20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[9] St. Luke xxii. 19, 20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[10] St. John xx. 21, 22. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[11] St. Matt. xxviii. 20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[12] Acts i. 13, 14. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[13] Acts ii. 42, 46. It is said (St. John iv. 2) that "the +disciples of Jesus baptized;" but this baptism, like that of +St. John Baptist, was a "baptism of <I>repentance</I>," not of +<I>Regeneration</I>—a <I>preparation</I> for the Gospel, not a +<I>consequence</I> of it. So the preaching of the Apostles, spoken +of in St. Matt. x. 7, was (like the Baptist's preaching) an +announcement that "the Kingdom of Heaven" was <I>not +come</I>; but "at hand," and an exhortation to make ready +for it. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[14] St. Luke xxiv. 49. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[15] Ps. lxxxvii. 3. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[16] Acts ii. 1-3. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[17] Isa. xi. 2, 3. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[18] Acts ii. 1-13. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[19] Acts ii. 14-41. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[20] St. Matt. xvi. 18. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[21] Acts ii. 47. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[22] Acts iii. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[23] Acts iv. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[24] Acts iv. 36, 37. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[25] Acts v. 12-16. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[26] Acts ii. 41-47. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[27] 2 Thess. ii. 15. See also ch. iii. 6. 1 Cor. xi. 2. +"Ordinances," margin "Traditions." +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[28] Acts ii. 46 (margin). +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[29] Acts iv. 31-37. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[30] Eph. v. 29, 30. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[31] Poems by Prof. Bright.. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[32] Acts iii. 1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[33] Acts iii. 11. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[34] Acts v. 42. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[35] Acts xiii. 5. 14; xiv. 1; xvii. 1, 2; xviii. 4. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[36] Acts xxi. 26-33. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[37] Acts v. 1-14. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[38] Acts vi. 1, &c. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[39] Deacon, from "Diaconos," a Greek word, meaning +a ministering attendant. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[40] Acts vi. 7. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[41] Rev. ii. 6. 15. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[42] Acts viii. 5. 38. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[43] See Office for "Making of Deacons," Book of Common Prayer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[44] Cp. Acts iv. 1, 2, 5, 6, and Acts v. 17. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[45] Acts ii. 47; iv. 21; v. 13. 26. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[46] Acts v. 34-40. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[47] It seems not unlikely that Saul of Tarsus in Cilicia was +one "of them of Cilicia" mentioned in Acts vi. 9. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[48] St. Luke xii. 11, 12. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[49] Acts vii. 56. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[50] Acts viii. 1. 4. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[51] Acts xi. 19, 20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[52] It may be, that the recollection of our Saviour's visit to +the neighbouring city of Sychar, or Sichem [St. John iv.], +would help to influence the Samaritans. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[53] From the rather indistinct account of Simon's death, it +seems probable that he became a victim to such a temptation +as the "Cast Thyself down," which was set before our Lord. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[54] Acts xi. 19, 20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[55] Acts xi. 26. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[56] See "Some Account of the Church in the Apostolic +Age," by the late Professor Shirley, p. 27. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[57] Acts ix. 32. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P25"></A>25}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Foundation of the Church among the Heathen +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 38-45 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 38 +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +During St. Peter's journey, the course of God's +good Providence led him to the sea-port town of +Joppa, on the borders of Samaria and Judaea, and there +we read that "he tarried many days," a +measure of time which is supposed to be +equivalent to three years. At the expiration of this +time an event occurred which had a deep and lasting +influence on the life of the Church of Christ. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Further fulfilment of the promise to St. Peter. +</SPAN> +Hitherto +no Gentiles had been admitted into her fold; but now +it was to be given to St. Peter first to +unlock to them the door of union with +Christ through His Human Nature; for to +him had first been committed the Power +of the Keys, as a reward for his adoring confession of +Christ's Divinity[1]. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The Conversion of Cornelius.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +A Roman soldier quartered at the great stronghold of +Caesarea was honoured by being the occasion of the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P26"></A>26}</SPAN> +gathering in of the first heathen converts. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 41. Conversion of the gentile Cornelius. +</SPAN> +This centurion was not a proselyte, but a Gentile, +one however who feared and served God +according to the light given him through +reason and natural religion. He was +commanded by an angel from God to send to Joppa +for St. Peter to show him the way of salvation, whilst +another express revelation prepared the holy Apostle +for a step so contrary to all his most cherished habits +and prejudices. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Descent of the Holy Ghost on gentile converts. +</SPAN> +Taught by God Himself no longer to +consider or treat the Gentiles as "common or unclean," +St. Peter obeyed the summons of Cornelius; and, even +whilst he was preaching to him and the many gentile +friends he had gathered, the Holy Ghost +descended visibly upon them as upon the +Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. The +Gift of Tongues accompanied what we +may almost call a second Foundation of the Church; +and we may readily believe that those Christianized +Jews who had accompanied the Apostle from Joppa +were "astonished" at this indication of what was in +store for the Gentiles in the Kingdom of God. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Holy Baptism not superseded. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It is worthy of remark, that notwithstanding this +direct and extraordinary outpouring of the Holy +Ghost—but once before, and never since, vouchsafed to any +child of Adam—yet it was not considered +by St. Peter to do away with the +necessity for Holy Baptism. "He commanded +them to be baptized[2]." +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P27"></A>27}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Apostolic church in Jerusalem.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 41. Jerusalem still the centre of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Up to this time, and for long afterwards, Jerusalem +continued to be the centre of the Church +of Christ. Within her walls was the home +of the Apostles during the intervals between +their missions to the Christian converts in +the neighbouring towns; and, as a natural consequence, +it was here that the first Councils or Synods of the +Church were held. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Hebrews wish to impose circumcision. +</SPAN> +Here, too, were the head-quarters +of those disciples who not only clung to the Mosaic +law themselves, but wished to impose +circumcision and the other precepts of the +Old Dispensation on gentile converts. +They yielded indeed to St. Peter's plea of special and +Divine direction, when summoned to Jerusalem to +answer for having eaten with men uncircumcised; nay, +they even rejoiced in the prospect of the gathering in +of the Gentiles; but they had yet to learn the temporary +nature of the Ceremonial Law, and to realize that in +Christ circumcision and uncircumcision were equally +valueless. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. James the Less, Bishop of Jerusalem. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The government of the Church in Jerusalem was +conferred on St. James the Less, perhaps +on account of his being "the Lord's +brother;" and he remained in the Holy +City as its Bishop, when, about twelve years after the +Day of Pentecost, the other Apostles were for the first +time dispersed beyond the borders of Palestine, over +the face of the known world. The immediate occasion +of this dispersion was the persecution by Herod +Agrippa, which resulted in the martyrdom of St. James +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P28"></A>28}</SPAN> +the Great[3] and the temporary imprisonment and +miraculous deliverance of St. Peter (A.D. 44), a deliverance +granted to the earnest prayers of the Church. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Apostolic Church in Antioch.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 42. St. Barnabas at Antioch. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We have no account in the Book of Acts of the +Foundation (in the strict sense of the word) of +the Church in Antioch. We read of +St. Barnabas being sent thither from +Jerusalem to visit and teach the converts amongst the +Greek-speaking Jews, he being all the more fitted for +this office by his connexion with Cyprus, whence came +some of those who had first spread the knowledge of +the Gospel in Antioch. But St. Barnabas was not yet +of the number of the Apostles, the Foundations of the +Church (as neither was St. Paul, whom he lovingly +sought out and brought from Tarsus to aid in his +work); and consequently we do not read that the +"laying on of hands" formed any part of their +ministrations. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Peter believed to be the founder of the Church in Antioch. +</SPAN> +There is, however, a very ancient tradition +which tells us that St. Peter visited +Antioch and founded the Church in that +distant city whilst on his way to the still +more distant Rome, after his miraculous +escape from Herod's prison (A.D. 44); and in the +ancient Church of England Feb. 22 was observed in +commemoration of "St. Peter's Throne at Antioch," that +is, of his episcopal rule there. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P29"></A>29}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Obstacles to the conversion of the gentiles. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It was some years before the conversion of Cornelius +and his gentile household was followed by any +extended proclamation of the good tidings of the Gospel +to the heathen world. It was not God's +Will that all obstacles should be at once +cleared away from the onward path of the +Church; and the question of the relation in which the +heathen were to stand to the Law of Moses after their +conversion to Christianity, presented many difficulties. +St. Peter and the other Apostles seem to have waited +patiently until God should vouchsafe to show them how +these difficulties might best be overcome; and on the +Church in the large gentile city of Antioch it first +devolved to send forth missionaries to the heathen. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] St. Matt. xvi. 16-19. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] Acts x. 48. It does not seem to have been the usual +custom of the Apostles to administer Holy Baptism +themselves. See 1 Cor. i. 14-17. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] In reference to the martyrdom of St. James, we may +remember the prophecy of his Divine Master (St. Matt. xx. 23). +"James tasted the <I>first</I> draught of Christ's cup of +suffering; and his brother John had the <I>longest</I> draught of +it."—Wordsworth on Acts xii. 2. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P30"></A>30}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Extension of the Church throughout the World +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 45-70 +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The First Mission to the Gentiles.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 45. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul and St. Barnabas sent to preach to the heathen. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It would seem that in the special Eucharistic +offerings and Lenten discipline mentioned by St. Luke[1], +the Church in Antioch was seeking guidance of her +Divine Head as to her duties with respect +to the gentile world in the midst of which +she was placed; and that the command of the Holy +Ghost to consecrate St. Paul and St. Barnabas +as Apostles to the heathen was an +answer to her cry. +</P> + +<P> +We are not told whose "hands" were "laid" on the +two newly-made Apostles in the solemn Consecration +Service which followed, but it is likely that St. Peter +was at that time at Antioch, and also that the Church +in that city was already governed by a Bishop of its own. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +They complete the Apostolic number. +</SPAN> +It may here be remarked that the +number of the Apostles was now +completed. Those whom they ordained to be +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P31"></A>31}</SPAN> +Bishops or Overseers in the Church of God, as +St. Timothy at Ephesus, and St. Titus at +Crete, though they received in the "laying +on of hands" power to execute such of the +highest offices of the Apostolic function as were to be +perpetually continued to the Church, yet were not fully +Apostles. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Difference between Bishops and Apostles. +</SPAN> +They had grace given to them to confirm, +to ordain, and to communicate the power of ordaining +to others, but they were not endowed with the +extraordinary and supernatural gifts bestowed by the Holy +Ghost for the Foundation of the Church; nor did they +receive the same direct and outward call as was +vouchsafed to the Twelve by our Lord Himself, and to +St. Paul and St. Barnabas by the special appointment of +the Holy Spirit. They were not to <I>found</I> the Church, +but to <I>build up</I> on its Apostolic foundations. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Mission to Cyprus. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The first missionary journey of St. Paul and +St. Barnabas was to Cyprus, the native +country of the latter. Here the preaching of +the Gospel, begun in the Jewish synagogue[2], was +continued before the heathen proconsul Sergius Paulus; +and through it and the judicial blindness inflicted by +St. Paul on the false prophet Elymas, the gentile ruler +was won to Christ. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul, the chief Apostle of the Gentiles. +</SPAN> +St. Paul had now +begun to take the lead as the chief Apostle +of the Gentiles; it was he who, at Antioch +in Pisidia, preached that sermon to the +Jews which they would not heed, but which +found acceptance with the heathen whom +they despised. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Missionary journey through Asia Minor. +</SPAN> +The Jews persecuted and blasphemed, +but the Gentiles believed; and, in the account given +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P32"></A>32}</SPAN> +us of the labours of the Apostles here and at Iconium, +we are reminded of the multitude of conversions and +of the gladness of heart of the converted in the first +days after the great Day of Pentecost[3]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 46. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +At Lystra the Apostles found themselves for the first +time in the midst of a thoroughly heathen +population, without any admixture of Jews; +but here also they did not hesitate to preach the first +Christian "Apology against Heathenism," and to +display the miraculous powers with which the Holy Ghost +had gifted them. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Apostles confirm and ordain. +</SPAN> +Their Jewish persecutors followed +them and drove them to Derbe, the farthest limit of +their journey; and from thence they retraced their +steps, visiting each place where they had +preached the Gospel, "confirming" their +numerous converts, and "ordaining" +Elders or Presbyters to have the care of those who were +thus admitted to the full communion of the Church. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Ministry of the Apostolic Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 46. Ordination of priests. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This[4] is the first mention we have of the ordination of +Elders, or Presbyters (or Priests[5], as we are +most in the habit of calling them), though +the fact of the existence of such officers +has already been hinted at[6] as well-known and recognized. +Thus we see that, as when at first "the number +of the disciples was multiplied," the Apostles delegated +part of their work to the Order of Deacons, so +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P33"></A>33}</SPAN> +afterwards, when the Church continued to grow and +increase, they provided for her needs by instituting the +Order of the Priesthood, conferring on others, in God's +Name and by His Authority, a larger portion of the +ministerial grace they had themselves received from Him. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Functions of the Priesthood. +</SPAN> +The distinguishing Grace given to those who +were called to the Office of Elder or +Presbyter by the "laying on of hands," was, +as it still is, the power of consecrating and +offering the Holy Eucharist, that so, according to +St. Paul's words to the Elders of Ephesus, they may +"feed the Church of God[7]," not as in the case of the +Deacons, with "the meat that perisheth," but with "the +Bread of God, which cometh down from Heaven." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Consecration of Bishops +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Of the Ordination of Bishops[8], apart from the +Apostolate, we have no mention in the Book of +the Acts; but that the Apostles did ordain +successors to themselves, so far as their office was to +be perpetual in the Church, we have ample proofs in +the Epistles of St. Paul to St. Timothy and St. Titus. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Their functions. +</SPAN> +To both these holy men, Bishops or Overseers of the +Church in Ephesus and Crete respectively, St. Paul +gives injunctions as to their duties, +particularly in ordaining Elders or Priests, +the distinguishing work of a Bishop[9]. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The First Council of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 46-51. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +For a "long time" after the return of St. Paul and +St. Barnabas to Antioch, with the news +that God had, through their +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P34"></A>34}</SPAN> +instrumentality, "opened the Door of Faith to the Gentiles," +the Church in that city seems to have continued to +flourish in peace and prosperity. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Difficulties as to the observance of Jewish rites. +</SPAN> +But difficulties +with regard to the observance or +non-observance by the Gentile converts +of the rite of circumcision and other +precepts of the Mosaic law, arose to disturb this quiet. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 52. Hebrew Jews go to Antioch. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Hellenist clergy in Antioch, less wedded to +Judaism, had apparently received into communion, +without doubt or question, those amongst the heathen +around the city who had been added to the number of +the faithful by Holy Baptism; but when tidings of this +freedom of communion reached the more severely +Hebrew Christians at Jerusalem, certain +Hebrew Jews of them hurried to Antioch, anxious to +bring the converts there under the yoke +of the law. Though unauthorized in this mission by +the rulers of the Church in Jerusalem[10], they urged with +such persistency the necessity of circumcision for the +salvation of all, that the opposition of St. Paul and +St. Barnabas only raised "no small dissension and +disputation," and it was agreed that the advice of the +Apostles and Presbyters at Jerusalem should be sought +on this important question. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul and St. Barnabas go to Jerusalem. +</SPAN> +St. Paul and St. Barnabas then, "and certain others +with them" (amongst whom was Titus, an +uncircumcised Gentile convert[11]), went up +to Jerusalem, where at this time happened to be +St. Peter and St. John, as well as St. James, the Bishop of +that Church[12]. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P35"></A>35}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The First Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Apostles and Elders, under the presidency of +St. James[13], met together in the First +Council of the Church, a large body of +the laity being also present, not indeed to take part in +the discussion, but to hear it, and to receive and +acknowledge the decision arrived at[14]. +</P> + +<P> +St. Peter, who had first been commissioned to carry +the tidings of the Gospel to the Gentiles, boldly +proclaimed the sufficiency of "the Grace of the Lord +Jesus Christ" for their salvation[15], and St. James, who +was probably himself a very strict observer of the +Jewish law, yet did not hesitate to declare that it had +no binding force on those who were not Jews by birth. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. James presides as Bishop of Jerusalem. Decree of the Council. +</SPAN> +He, as President of the Council, proposed +the decree to which the rest agreed, and +which was in substance, that the Gentile +Christians should be commanded so far to respect +Jewish prejudices as to "abstain from +meats offered to idols, and from blood, +and from things strangled," whilst they were also +enjoined to keep themselves from the sin of "fornication," +into which the Gentile world was so deeply sunk. +</P> + +<P> +The decrees of the Council did not enter into or +provide any solution of the minor difficulties connected +with the intercourse between Jews and Gentiles in the +Church of Christ. Doubtless "it seemed good to the +Holy Ghost" that these questions should be left to be +solved by time and experience and the general +exercise of His Gift of Wisdom. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P36"></A>36}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Claim for Divine Authority. Guidance of the Holy Spirit vouchsafed to General Councils. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We can hardly fail to be struck by the confident +language in which the First Council of the +Church claims for its decisions the full +weight of Divine Authority; and though +it differed from later Catholic Councils in that it was +presided over by inspired men, yet we may well believe +that to those General Councils which really deserved +the name, the Holy Spirit vouchsafed such +a special measure of His guiding Power, +as might suffice to preserve their decisions +from error, and enable them to hand down +unblemished the deposit of Truth which Christ left +with His Church. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>St. Paul's Second Apostolic Journey.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 53. St. Peter's probable visit to Antioch. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +St. Paul and St. Barnabas bore back to the Church +in Antioch the decree of the Council at +Jerusalem, and it was probably about this +time that St. Peter paid to Antioch the +visit of which we read in the Epistle to +the Galatians[16], when his fear of "them +which were of the circumcision," led him to shrink +from continuing to eat and drink with the Gentiles, and +drew down St. Paul's stern rebuke. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Separation of St. Paul and St. Barnabas. +</SPAN> +The difference of +opinion about St. Mark soon after +separated the two Apostles, whose labours +amongst the heathen had been till now +carried on together, and St. Paul began his missionary +travels without an Apostolic companion[17]. He went +first through Syria and his native country Cilicia, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P37"></A>37}</SPAN> +"confirming" the baptized, and then to the scene of +his first contact with actual heathendom at Derbe and +Lystra. St. Paul's course of conduct with regard to +the circumcision of St. Timothy, a native of Lystra, +shows us clearly how fully his mind had grasped all +the bearings of the question between Jews and Gentiles[18]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul's indifference to circumcision in itself. +</SPAN> +Circumcision and uncircumcision were +alike matters of indifference to him, in no +way affecting salvation, excepting so far +as they might tend to the edification of +others. He did not blame those converted Jews who +still thought it needful to observe the Mosaic law, but +he resisted to the uttermost all attempts to make that +law binding on the Gentiles, and would not sanction +any thing which might seem to imply that the +Life-giving ordinances of the Gospel were not sufficient for +every need. St. Timothy, uncircumcised, would have +obtained no hearing from Jews for the Gospel he +preached, and therefore he was circumcised as a +measure of Christian expediency. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul crosses over to Europe. St. Luke joins him. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +After founding Churches in the semi-barbarous +regions of Phrygia and Galatia, St. Paul was led by the +express direction of the Holy Spirit to an +altogether new field of labour, and it is +here, just on the eve of St. Paul's departure +from Asia for the continent of Europe, that +St. Luke joins the Apostolic company. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Jewish influences give way to Greece and Rome. +</SPAN> +The Church was now spreading far westward +and coming into closer contact with the philosophy of +Greece and the power of Rome, whilst +Jewish influences shrank into insignificance. +There was no synagogue in the large +and important Roman colony of Philippi, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P38"></A>38}</SPAN> +and only women seem to have resorted to the place of +prayer outside the walls of the city, whilst at +Thessalonica, where the one synagogue for the whole district +was situated, the accusation of the Jews against the +preachers of the Gospel was no longer of a religious, +but of a political nature. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Opposition to the Gospel political. +</SPAN> +"These all do +contrary to the decrees of Caesar[19]." In +same way the malice of the rulers of +the Jews against the Divine Head of the Church had +found vent in assertions of His plotting to destroy the +Temple, or to make Himself a King, according as the +Jewish populace or the Roman governor was to be +stirred up against Him[20]. +</P> + +<P> +But if Jewish prejudices no longer offered the same +formidable opposition to the soldiers of the Cross, as +before in Palestine and the neighbouring countries, the +Apostle and his fellow-labourers had now to encounter +fresh enemies not less deadly. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Vice and superstition mixed with intellectual unbelief. +</SPAN> +In the highly civilized +cities of Greece they encountered on the +one hand the full tide of heathenism with +all its degrading vices and superstitions, +and on the other, Pagan philosophy with +its hard sceptical temper and intellectual pride. +Influences such as these may account for the comparatively +small results which seem to have followed the preaching +of St. Paul at Philippi, Thessalonica[21], and Berea, and +the prominence given to women as being more easily +touched by the good tidings of the Gospel. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Open conflict with Satan. +</SPAN> +At Philippi is noticeable the conflict between the +visible power of Satan and the Power of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P39"></A>39}</SPAN> +One stronger than he, in the casting out by St. Paul of +the evil spirit of Python from the soothsaying woman. +This was an earnest of the final issue of that great +contest between the kingdom of Satan and the +Kingdom of God, which was now beginning in the very +strongholds of darkness, and is to continue to the end +of time. +</P> + +<P> +We may also remark the first mention of the title +and rights of a Roman citizen claimed by St. Paul +for himself and St. Silas after their illegal imprisonment. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 54. Athenians little inclined to believe. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +At Athens St. Paul came in contact with the most +intellectual and philosophical minds of +heathendom; but heathen philosophy +made the Athenians very little inclined to +accept the supernatural mysteries of the +Christian Faith. They listened indeed with eager +curiosity to the "new thing" which the great Apostle +proclaimed "in the midst of Mars' Hill;" and yet when +their intellectual pride was required to bow itself down, +to acknowledge something more than a Neology, and +to believe in the supernaturalism of the Resurrection, +they only "mocked" the teacher. St. Paul, therefore, +departed from the city where his cultivated mind had +been stirred at the sight of so many great intellects +"wholly given to idolatry[22]." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Athens afterwards a Bishopric. +</SPAN> +But yet his visit was not +without its fruits; and Dionysius, a member of the +great Council of the Areopagus, is +believed to have been the first Bishop of the +Church in Athens[23]. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P40"></A>40}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Corinth the centre of the Church in Greece. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +From Athens St. Paul went to Corinth, and it was +in this luxurious and profligate city that +he founded a Church which became the +centre of Christianity in Greece. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul turns from the Jews. +</SPAN> +The obstinate unbelief and blasphemous opposition of +the Corinthian Jews caused St. Paul, for the first +time, to withdraw himself entirely from +the services of the synagogue; but he +continued at Corinth a year and six months, being +protected, according to God's special promise to him, +from all the machinations of his Jewish enemies. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Opposes the errors of Greek philosophy. +</SPAN> +This lengthened stay was probably occasioned not only by +the presence of "much people" who were to be +converted to Christ, but also by the necessity of +strengthening the Corinthian converts against the subtleties of +the heathen philosophy by which they +were surrounded, and with which St. Paul +was well fitted to cope by his early education. +The errors of Gnosticism seem also to have +penetrated at this time as far as Corinth. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 55. A.D. 56. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +After leaving Corinth, St. Paul paid a hasty visit to +Ephesus, and then, for the last time, +returned to Antioch. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 5. <I>St. Paul's Third Apostolic Journey.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 56. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Ephesus the centre of the Church in Asia Minor. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The next journey of the great Apostle of the Gentiles +led him first through Galatia and Phrygia, +"strengthening" the Churches he had +already founded, and then brought him to the rich and +important maritime city of Ephesus, +destined to be a third great centre of the +Gentile Church, and to hold in Asia Minor +the same position as did Corinth in Greece +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P41"></A>41}</SPAN> +and Antioch in Syria. Here again St. Paul was forced +to withdraw altogether from the Jewish synagogue, after +three months of earnest preaching and teaching. +</P> + +<P> +Ephesus was the great seat of the worship of the +heathen goddess Diana, or Artemis, and was also full +of those who practised "magical arts" or sorceries, so +that its inhabitants were doubly enslaved by the Evil +One. But the kingdom of darkness could not stand +against the Kingdom of Light. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Great power given to the Church. A.D. 57. A.D. 58. +</SPAN> +Great as was the power +of Satan, still more mighty was the Power +which the Lord Jesus gave to His Church. +"Special miracles" were wrought in the +place of "lying wonders;" the Jewish +exorcists were confounded, and the sincerity of the +Christian converts was proved by the costly sacrifice +of their once-prized books of magic. "So mightily +grew the Word of God and prevailed[24]." +</P> + +<P> +St. Paul passed between two and three years at +Ephesus, during which time he is supposed to have founded +the Church in Crete, leaving St. Titus as its +Bishop, whilst Ephesus was placed under +the episcopal charge of St. Timothy. But +eventually the riot excited by Demetrius drove the +Apostle from that city. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 59. A.D. 60. +</SPAN> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +His visitation charge to the Elders of Ephesus. +</SPAN> +On his return to +the neighbouring city of Miletus, after his +journey through Greece and Macedonia, we read of +his sending to Ephesus for the clergy of +that place, and delivering to them a solemn +charge respecting their duties to the flock +which God had entrusted to their care[25]. +</P> + +<P> +It is during St. Paul's long sojourn at Ephesus that +we have the first indication of his intention to visit the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P42"></A>42}</SPAN> +remoter regions of the West, and more particularly its +capital, imperial Rome[26]. He probably at that time +expected to see its wonders under different +circumstances than those of a prisoner, though before he +finished his homeward journey to Jerusalem, he had +supernatural warnings of what was coming upon him[27] +from the malice of his Jewish enemies. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 6. <I>St. Paul at Rome.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 60. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The anxiety which St. Paul ever felt to avoid giving +unnecessary offence to his fellow-countrymen, +and his readiness to follow the +precepts of Judaism when they did not interfere with the +liberty of Christianity, were, in God's good Providence, +the indirect means of his being sent to +preach the glad tidings of salvation, not in +Rome only, but in still more distant countries. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul goes to Rome. A.D. 63-65. +</SPAN> +It will +not be necessary to enter into the particulars which drew +upon St. Paul the unjust indignation of the Jews, and +induced him to appeal from their persecutions and the +popularity-seeking of Festus to the justice of the +emperor: we need only remember that the conclusion of +the Book of the Acts shows him to us a prisoner "in +his own hired house" at Rome, and there +preaching and teaching "with all confidence," +first, as ever, to the Jews, and afterwards to +the Gentiles. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P43"></A>43}</SPAN> + +<P> +Section 7. <I>Extent of the Labours of the Apostles.</I> +</P> + +<P> +We are told but little in Holy Scripture as to the +particulars of the Apostles' work in founding the Church +of God, except in the case of St. Paul, and we are not +allowed to trace even his labours to their end. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Preaching of the Apostles in all known countries. +</SPAN> +From other sources we learn that the twelve +visited almost every known country of the +world, so as to give to each separate race +of men then existing an opportunity of +refusing or accepting the offer of the salvation of which +they were the ministers and stewards. We are also +told that all, except St. John and perhaps St. Matthew, +crowned their life of toil in the service of their Lord by +a martyr's death. St. Peter and St. Paul both suffered +at Rome in the First Persecution under Nero, and +most likely on the same day, A.D. 67. +</P> + +<P> +The following Table[28] will show the probable field of +the labours of each Apostle, so far as the record of it +has come down to us:— +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P44"></A>44}</SPAN> + +<PRE STYLE="font-family: Courier New; font-size: 10pt"> + Supposed Fields of Apostolic Labour. + + Name of Churches. By whom Founded. + + Palestine and Syria All the Apostles. + + Mesopotamia (Turkey in Asia) St. Peter and St. Jude. + + Persia St. Bartholomew and St. Jude + + India St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas. + + Thrace (Turkey in Europe) St. Andrew. The flourishing + Church of Constantinople + afterwards sprang up on this + field of his labours. + + Scythia (Russia) St. Andrew. + + North Africa (Egypt and St. Simon Zelotes. St. Mark + Algeria) specially connected with + Alexandria. + + Ethiopia (Central Africa). St. Matthew. + + Arabia. St. Paul. + + Asia Minor (Turkey in Asia) St. Paul and St. John. + + Macedonia (Turkey in Europe) St. Paul + + Greece St. Paul. + + Italy St. Peter and St. Paul. + + Spain St. Paul. + + Gaul (France) and Britain St. Paul and St. Joseph of + Arimathea. +</PRE> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] Acts xiii. 2. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] The <I>first</I> offers of salvation continued to be made to the +Jews, even after the recognition by the Church of her mission +to the Gentiles. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] Acts xiii. 48, 49, 52; xiv. 1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[4] Acts xiv. 23. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[5] "presbyter," afterwards shortened into "Prester" and +"Priest," is derived from the Greek word "Presbyteros," +"an Elder." +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[6] Acts xi. 30. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[7] Acts xx. 28. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[8] The word "Bishop" is derived from the Greek +"Episcopos," and signifies an overseer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[9] 1 Tim. v. 1, 19, 22. 2 Tim. i. 6. Titus i. 5; ii. 15. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[10] Acts xv. 24. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[11] Gal. ii. 3. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[12] Gal. ii. 9. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[13] St. James, as Bishop of the Diocese, taking precedence +in this instance even of St. Peter. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[14] Compare Acts xv. 6. 12. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[15] This is the last mention of St. Peter in the Book of Acts. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[16] Gal. ii. 11-14. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[17] Acts xv. 36-41. The last mention of St. Barnabas in +the Book of Acts. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[18] Compare Acts xvi. 3; and Gal. ii. 3, 4. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[19] Acts xvii. 7. Comp. Acts vi. 11. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[20] Comp. St. Mark xiv. 58; and St. Luke xxiii. 2. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[21] Both Philippi and Thessalonica eventually became the +seats of flourishing Christian Churches, to whom St. Paul +wrote Epistles. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[22] Acts xvii. 16-33. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[23] There are some reasons for thinking that men of +cultivated minds and high social position were preferred for +Bishops in the early as well as in later ages of the Church. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[24] Acts xix. 1-20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[25] Acts xx. 17-35. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[26] Acts xix. 21. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[27] Acts xx. 23; xxi. 11. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[28] From Blunt's "Household Theology." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P45"></A>45}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Final Settlement of the Church by St. John +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 67-100 +</H3> + +<P> +It seems probable that most of the Apostles had +entered into rest before the Destruction of +Jerusalem, A.D. 70, and that St. John the Divine was the +only one of the Apostolic body who long survived that +event. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Peter began to found the Church, St. John completed its foundation. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +To St. Peter, one of the "pillars" of the Church, it +had been given to begin the great work +of laying the foundation of the Mystical +Temple of God; to St. John, the other of +the two, was allotted the task of perfecting +what had been begun, so that a +sure and steady basis should not be wanting on +which the New Jerusalem might rise through time to +eternity[1]. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P46"></A>46}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>Second Council at Jerusalem.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +A.D. 67. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Purposes of the Second Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There is good reason for believing[2] that after the +martyrdoms of St. Peter, St. Paul, and +St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, +and about the time of the invasion of the Holy City by +Vespasian, a Second Council of such of +the Apostles as still survived was held for +the purpose of electing a successor to the +See of Jerusalem, and definitely settling the future +government of the Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Bishops only rarely appointed at first, +</SPAN> +Bishops had already been +consecrated in certain cases, as at Ephesus, Crete, and +Rome; but during the time that the Apostles +were still engaged in founding and +governing the different branches of the +great Christian community, the appointment of Bishops +(in the sense of heads of the Church) seems to have +been the exception rather than the rule. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +but now everywhere to replace the Apostles. +</SPAN> +A new era +was, however, now coming upon the Church; her +Founders were gradually being withdrawn from her, +and it was necessary that she should receive such a +complete and permanent organization as would enable +her to transmit to succeeding ages the +saving grace of which the Apostles had +been the first channels, that so what had +been founded through their instrumentality +might be continued and extended through the +ministry of others. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P47"></A>47}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The establishment of the Apostolical Succession the special work of St. John, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This work of organization was fitly entrusted to +St. John, who for so many years was left +upon earth to "tarry" for the Lord, on +Whose Breast he had leaned, and Whose +teaching had filled his soul with adoring +love, and with those depths of spiritual +knowledge which are stored up for us in the +"Theological Gospel." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and the necessary consequence of his teaching. +</SPAN> +It seems natural that he to whom +it was given most fully to "enlighten" the Church +respecting the Blessed Mysteries of the +Incarnation and of the Two Holy Sacraments, +should also be charged with the +care of providing for the continual transmission +of the sacramental grace of the Incarnation +through the "laying on of hands," and that he who +saw and recorded the glorious ritual belonging to the +Heavenly Altar, should organize that system by which +Priests might be perpetually raised up to show forth +the same Offering in the Church below. +</P> + +<P> +Thus, though up to the time of St. Paul's martyrdom +(A.D. 67) Episcopal rule, as distinct from Apostolic, +would seem to have been exceptional, before the death +of St. John (A.D. 100), government by the Bishops had +undoubtedly become the recognized rule and system of +the Church. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>Development of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +Before entering into any details respecting the final +settlement by St. John of the Order, Discipline, and +Worship of the Church, it may be well to remind +ourselves that the Mystical Body of Christ only gradually +attained her full shape and constitution, following, like +God's other works, His law of growth and +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P48"></A>48}</SPAN> +development, and adapting herself, according to her Lord's +designs for her, to the needs of her members. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Development in the minds of the Apostles as to the work of the Church. +</SPAN> +There is no reason to suppose that the Apostles, +even after the Day of Pentecost, had clear +ideas of the destiny which was in store on +earth for the Church which they were +engaged in founding. The gathering in of +the Gentiles, the existence of the Church entirely apart +from the Temple and its services, the place she was to +occupy in the long reach of years before the Day of +Judgment[3], all these were only made known to them +by the course of events and the teaching of experience, +conjointly with, as well as subordinate to, the general +guidance of the Holy Spirit. So, too, as regards doctrine. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +As to doctrine. +</SPAN> +We cannot for a moment doubt +that the Apostles, who had been taught +by the Incarnate Truth Himself, and inspired by the +Holy Ghost, held firmly "all the Articles of the +Christian Faith;" but we may also believe that their insight +into these verities would be deepened, and their +expression of them become clearer, as adoring meditation +and the Teaching of the Comforter brought more and +more to their remembrance the Words and Works of +their Lord, and unbelieving cavils forced them more +and more fully "to give a reason of the Hope that" +was in them[4]. The same thing may be noticed +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P49"></A>49}</SPAN> +respecting the Faith of the Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Development of the teaching of the Church. +</SPAN> +Held firmly in +its fulness from the beginning, it was +yet only gradually set forth in Creeds, +Liturgies, and Definitions of Faith, +according as the love and belief of Christians required +expression, or the errors of heretics drew forth clearer +teaching on the truths they attacked. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Reserve in the teaching of the Church. +</SPAN> +To this we may +add, that the early Church was very careful to keep +the knowledge of the deep mysteries of +the Faith from those who were not Christians. +It was only after their initiation by +Holy Baptism that those who had, as Catechumens, +been instructed in the rudiments of Christian doctrine, +were admitted to a full knowledge of the belief and +practice of the Church, especially as regarded the Holy +Eucharist, which was very commonly spoken of under +the name of the Holy Mysteries. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>St. John at Ephesus[5].</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. John's work at Ephesus. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +About the time that Jerusalem was besieged by the +armies of Vespasian (A.D. 67), St. John +withdrew to Ephesus (whence for a while +he was banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian[6]); +and from this city he travelled about through +the neighbouring country, organizing, amongst others, +those Seven Churches of Asia Minor, to whose Angels +or Bishops he was bidden to write the Seven Epistles +contained in the Apocalypse. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P50"></A>50}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Fitness of Ephesus as a centre of organization, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Here in Ephesus, the eye of Asia, the great +mercantile seaport of the then known world, +his influence could most easily make +itself felt amongst the far-off members of +the Christian body, which by this time +had extended throughout the whole Roman empire. +All the civilized world was then subject to the sway +of Rome, except India and China; and it may be that +even these two latter countries were not excluded from +the influence of the Gospel. It is not, of course, meant +that Christianity was the recognized religion of all or +any of the Roman provinces; but that in each of +them the Church had a corporate existence, and was +a living power, drawing into herself here one, and +there another of the souls who were brought into +contact with her, and really, though gradually, +spreading through and leavening the earth. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and of orthodox teaching. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Again, at Ephesus St. John could best combat and +confute, both by his words and writings, +the subtle and deadly heresies which were +especially rife there. "False Christs," such as Simon +Magus, the first heretic, Menander, Dositheus, and +others, no longer troubled the Infant Church with +their blasphemous impostures, but in their stead false +teachers had arisen, seeking to "draw away disciples +after them" into the more subtle error of misbelief +about our Lord and His Incarnation. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Errors of the Corinthians. +</SPAN> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Docetae, and other variations of Gnosticism. +</SPAN> +Thus the Jew +Corinthus taught that Christ was a mere +man, born like other men, though united +to Divinity from His Baptism to His Crucifixion; +whilst to the errors of the Corinthians +the Docetae added that the Body in +which our Blessed Saviour suffered, was only a +phantom, and a body but in appearance; both these heresies, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P51"></A>51}</SPAN> +and others of a similar nature, +appear to have been +variations of that Gnosticism to which +St. Paul refers in his Epistles, as "science" +(or gnosis) "falsely so called[7]," and which +was long a source of danger and trouble to the +Church. Gnosticism may be traced back to that +Simon Magus, with whom St. John first came in +contact at Samaria, and in all its varied distortions of the +great Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation, through an +admixture of Jewish and heathen error, there was +always an unvarying denial of our Lord's Divinity. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. John's universal patriarchate. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +For about a third of a century St. John continued +to exercise a kind of universal patriarchate +over the Church, being regarded, we +cannot doubt, with almost unbounded +reverence and affection by all its members, and perhaps +first presenting that idea of one visible earthly head of +the Church, which afterwards found its expression in +the popedom. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>St. John's Writings.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. John's writings close the Canon. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation of St. John, +written as they were at a long interval +after the rest of the New Testament, and +closing the Canon of Sacred Scripture, +may be usefully referred to, as giving us some idea of +the appearance of the Church when its government +and theology were finally settled. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +How his Gospel differs from the other three. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +St. John's Gospel differs from those of the other +three Evangelists in having been written +for men who from their infancy had +grown up in the Faith of Christ, and who +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P52"></A>52}</SPAN> +were thus more ready to enter into and profit by +deep sacramental doctrine; whilst at the same time +the dangerous heresies which were beguiling souls +from the truth, called for more detailed and dogmatic +teaching than had at first been needed. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Dwells on our Lord's Divinity, +</SPAN> +Hence in place of an account of our +Lord's Human Birth, St. John sets forth His Eternal +Godhead and wonderful Incarnation, leaving no space +for unbelief or cavil, when he proclaims for the +instruction of the Church, that "the Word was God," +and yet that He also "was made Flesh." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and on the two Sacraments. +</SPAN> +Again, the +last Gospel does not bring before us the +Institution of the two great Sacraments +of the Christian Covenant; though it, and +it alone, does record the teaching of our Blessed Lord +Himself with regard to the New Birth in Holy +Baptism, and the constant Nourishment of the renewed +life in the Holy Eucharist. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Epistles correct heresies. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Having established the Faith in His Gospel, St. John +in his Epistles sternly censures heresy and +schism, thus witnessing to the end of time +that the charity of the Church must never +lead her to countenance false doctrine. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Apocalypse sets forth Discipline and Worship. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We may look to the Book of the Revelation for some +light as to the discipline and worship of +the Church of St. John's days. We have +there in the mention of the Seven Angels +or Bishops, each ruling over his own +Church and answerable for its growth in holiness, a +confirmation of the fact that episcopacy was now fully +<I>organized</I> as the one form of Church government which +had replaced the extinct hierarchy of the former +dispensation. Nor does it seem unreasonable to +believe that St. John's vision of the Worship of Heaven +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P53"></A>53}</SPAN> +was intended to supply to the Christian Church a +model to be copied so far as circumstances should +permit in the courts of the Lord's House on earth, +much as the elaborate system of Temple Worship, +which was entirely swept away with the destruction of +Jerusalem, had been in all things ordered "according +to the pattern" which the Lord had "showed" first to +Moses and afterwards to David. That the Primitive +Church did thus consider the Heavenly Ritual set +forth in the Apocalypse as the ideal of worship on +earth, is proved by the accounts which have come +down to us of the arrangement of Churches and the +manner of celebrating the Holy Eucharist in early times. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Arrangement of Churches in primitive times. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +"The form and arrangement of Churches in primitive +times was derived, in its main features, +from the Temple at Jerusalem. Beyond +the porch was the narthex, answering to +the court of the Gentiles, and appropriated to the +unbaptized and to penitents. Beyond the narthex was +the nave, answering to the court of the Jews, and +appropriated to the body of worshippers. At the upper +end of the nave was the choir, answering to the Holy +Place, for all who were ministerially engaged in Divine +Service. Beyond the choir was the Berna or Chancel, +answering to the Holy of Holies, used only for the +celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and separated from +the choir by a closed screen, resembling the organ +screen of our cathedrals, which was called the +Iconostasis. As early as the time of Gregory Nazianzen, in +the fourth century, this screen is compared to the +division between the present and the eternal world, +and the sanctuary behind it was ever regarded with +the greatest possible reverence as the most sacred +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P54"></A>54}</SPAN> +place to which man could have access while in the +body; the veiled door, which formed the only direct +exit from it into the choir and nave, being only opened +at the time when the Blessed Sacrament was +administered to the people there assembled[3]. The +opening of this door, then, brought into view the Altar +and the Divine Mysteries which were being celebrated there. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Its resemblance to what the Apocalypse tells us of Heaven. +</SPAN> +And when St. John looked through the door +that had been opened in Heaven, what he +saw is thus described: 'And behold a +Throne was set in Heaven … and round +about the Throne were four and twenty +seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders +sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on +their heads crowns of gold … and there were seven +lamps of fire burning before the Throne … and +before the Throne there was a sea of glass like unto +crystal.' Here is exactly represented an arrangement +of the altar familiar to the whole Eastern Church and +to the early Church of England, in which it occupies +the centre of an apse in front of the seats of the Bishop +and Clergy, which are placed in the curved part of the +wall. And, although there is no reason to think that +the font ever stood near the altar, yet nothing appears +more likely than that the 'sea of glass like unto +crystal' mystically represents that laver of regeneration +through which alone the altar can be spiritually +approached. Another striking characteristic of the +ancient Church was the extreme reverence which was +shown to the Book of the Gospels, which was always +placed upon the altar and surmounted by a cross. So +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P55"></A>55}</SPAN> +'in the midst of the Throne, and round about the +Throne,' St. John saw those four living creatures which +have been universally interpreted to represent the four +Evangelists or the four Gospels, their position seeming +to signify that the Gospel is ever attendant upon the +altar, penetrating, pervading, and embracing the highest +mystery of Divine Worship, giving 'glory and honour +and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, who liveth +for ever and ever.' In the succeeding chapter St. John +beholds Him for whom this altar is prepared. 'I +beheld, and lo, in the midst of the Throne, and of the +four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, +stood a Lamb as It had been slain, having seven horns +and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent +forth into all the earth.' It cannot be doubted that +this is our Blessed Lord in that Human Nature on +which the <I>septiformis gratia</I> was poured without +measure; and that His appearance in the form of 'the +Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and +wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and +blessing,' represents the mystery of His prevailing +Sacrifice and continual Intercession. But around this +living Sacrifice there is gathered all the homage of an +elaborate ritual. They who worship Him have 'every +one of them harps' to offer Him the praise of +instrumental music; they have 'golden vials full of incense, +which are the prayers of saints,' even as the angel +afterwards had 'given unto him much incense, that he +should offer it with the prayers of the saints upon the +golden altar which was before the Throne;' they sing +a new song, mingling the praises of 'the best member +that they have' with that of their instrumental music; +and they fall down before the Lamb with the lowliest +gesture of their bodies in humble adoration. Let it +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P56"></A>56}</SPAN> +also be remembered that one of the Anthems here sung +by the Choirs of Heaven is that sacred song, 'Holy, +Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, +and is to come;' the Eucharistic use of which is +traceable in every age of the Church[9]." +</P> + +<P> +The ritual of the early Church naturally gathered +round the Holy Eucharist as the central act of worship +in which the Lord was most especially present, and +therefore to be most especially honoured. From the +first days of the Church this had been the one +distinctively Christian service; and now that the Temple +services had ceased, it became more apparently even +than before, the fulfilment and continuation of the +sacrifices of the elder dispensations[10]: whilst it was also +the Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Cross and the +Representation on earth of the continual offering-up +of "the Lamb as It had been slain," before the Throne +of God in Heaven. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] St. Peter and St. John had been specially trained by +their Divine Master for their special work. They with +St. James, the first Apostolic martyr, had witnessed His +Transfiguration, His Agony, His raising of Jairus's daughter, +and had been admitted into more intimate communion with +Him than the other Apostles. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] From passages in the works of St. Irenaeus and Eusebius. +See "Some Account of the Church in the Apostolic Age," +by Professor Shirley, pp. 136-140. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] The Apostles appear to have believed at first that our +Lord's Ascension would be very speedily followed by His +triumphal return to Judgment, and the glorification of His +faithful people. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[4] On this point we may remember that St. John, who saw +deepest into the Divine Life, did not write his Gospel till +near the end of his earthly labours, almost sixty years after +the Day of Pentecost. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[5] Ephesus is known to this day by the name of Aya-soluk, +from Agios Theologos, or holy Divine, the title given to +St. John. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[6] Or perhaps by Nero, as some ancient writers say. Nero's +full name was Nero Claudius Domitianus, which may have +caused this confusion. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[7] 1 Tim. vi. 20. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[8] As St. Chrysostom says, "When thou beholdest the +curtains drawn up, then imagine that the heavens are let +down from above, and that the Angels are descending." +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[9] Annotated Book of Common Prayer, Ritual +Introduction, pp. xlix, 1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[10] We are told that St. John adopted the vestments of the +High Priest of the old covenant, and especially "the plate +of the holy crown," with its inscription, "Holiness to the +Lord," thus exhibiting very forcibly the continuity of the +two priesthoods. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P57"></A>57}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Primitive Church +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 100-A.D. 312 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Persecution increases round the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We have already had occasion to notice the +beginnings of the persecution which the Church was +to undergo for the sake of her Head and +Spouse, not only those of a local and +unorganized character, which are spoken of +in the Book of Acts, but also some of a more cruel +and systematic nature under the Roman Emperors +Nero and Domitian. From the death of the last of +the Apostles to the conversion of the Emperor +Constantine, A.D. 312, the Church passed through a +succession of fierce trials, in which her members were +called to undergo similar sufferings to those which had +been borne by the holy Apostles St. Peter, St. Paul, +and St. John, and their fellow-martyrs[1]. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>Causes of Persecution.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +In considering the causes which led to the +persecution of the Church by the heathen around her, we +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P58"></A>58}</SPAN> +must, of course, place first as the root and ground of +all, the malice of Satan, and his hatred of +God, and of the means appointed by God +for saving souls. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Satan's enmity the great cause of persecution. +</SPAN> +The Kingdom of God +and the kingdom of Satan must ever be at war, and +the fierce and varied sufferings inflicted by the cruel +heathen on all who bore the name of Christ were so +many assaults of the great adversary seeking to +overthrow the Church in an open and deadly struggle. But +the life-giving Presence of her Incarnate Lord, and +"the patience and the faith of the Saints," were +mightier weapons than "all the fiery darts of the +Wicked," and "the gates of Hell" were not suffered to +"prevail against her." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Other minor causes. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There were, however, other and secondary causes +which led to the persecution of the Church. +The Romans were not usually intolerant +of religions which they did not themselves profess; +their worship of their own false gods had come to be +a form, as far as the educated classes were concerned, +and what belief they had was given to philosophy +rather than religion. Hence they were not unwilling +that the nations they conquered should keep to their +own respective creeds and religious ceremonies, so long +as they did not interfere with Roman authority. But the +religion of Christ required more than this. It could +not be confined to any one country, nor be content +with bare toleration, nor rank itself with the many +forms of Pagan misbelief. It claimed to be the only +True Religion, the only Way of Salvation, before which +the superstitions of the ignorant, and the philosophy +of the learned must alike give way. It made its way +even into "Caesar's household." Besides this, +Christians, owing to the nationality of the First Founders +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P59"></A>59}</SPAN> +of the Church, were often confounded with, and called +by the same name as the Jews, who had a bad repute +under the empire for rebellious and seditious conduct, +and we know how, even in the days of St. Paul, the +charge of sedition had begun to be most unjustly +fastened upon the followers of the Meek and Lowly +Jesus. This charge of disaffection to the powers of the +state received an additional and plausible colouring +from the fact that the consciences of the faithful +members of the Church would not suffer them to pay, what +they and the heathen around them considered to be +Divine honour, to the emperor or the heathen deities, by +sacrificing a few grains of incense when required thus +to show their loyalty to their ruler and his faith. Over +and over again was this burning of incense made a +test by which to discover Christians or to try their +steadfastness, and over and over again was its rejection +followed by agonizing tortures and a cruel death. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Nero's persecution. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The persecution in the reign of Nero is immediately +traceable to the accusation brought against +the Christians by the emperor, that they +had caused the terrible fire at Rome, which there seems +little doubt was in reality the result of his own wanton +wickedness, whilst that under Domitian appears to have +been connected with the conversion of some of the +members of his own family, his cousin Flavius Clemens +being the first martyr sacrificed in it. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>Number and Duration of Persecutions.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The following table[2] will show how the early days of +the Church were divided between times of persecution +and intervals of rest. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P60"></A>60}</SPAN> + +<PRE STYLE="font-family: Courier New; font-size: 10pt"> + <I>Chronological Table of Persecutions and Intervals of Rest.</I> + + A.D. + + 64-68. Persecution under Nero. Martyrdom of + St. Peter and St. Paul. + + 68-95. Time of peace. + + 95-96. Persecution under Domitian. Banishment of + St. John. + + 96-104. Time of peace. + + 104-117. Persecution under Trajan. Martyrdom of + St. Ignatius. + + 117-161. Time of peace. Apologies of Aristides, + Quadratus, and Justin Martyr. + + 161-180. Persecution under Marcus Aurelius. Martyrdom + of St. Polycarp, and the martyrs of Lyons. + + 180-200. Time of peace. + + 200-211. Persecution under Severus. Martyrdom of + St. Perpetua and others in Africa. + + 211-250. Time of peace, excepting-- + 235-237. Partial persecution under Maximinus. + + 250-253. Persecution under Decius. Martyrdom of + St. Fabian. + + 253-257 Time of peace. Disputes concerning the <I>lapsed</I>. + + 257-260. Persecution under Valerian. Martyrdom of + St. Cyprian. + + 260-303. Time of peace, excepting-- + 262. Persecution in the East under Macrianus. + 275. Persecution threatened by Aurelian. + + 303-313. Persecution under Dioclesian, Galerius, and + Maximinus. +</PRE> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P61"></A>61}</SPAN> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>Nature and Extent of Persecutions.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Terrors of persecution. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Words can hardly be found strong enough to express +the many and varied tortures which were +inflicted on the Christians of the Primitive +Church by their heathen countrymen. Death itself +seemed too slight a punishment in the eyes of these +cruel persecutors, unless it was preceded and +accompanied by the most painful and trying circumstances. +It was by crucifixion, and devouring beasts, and +lingering fiery torments that the great multitude of those +early martyrs received their crown. Racked and +scorched, lacerated and torn limb from limb, agonized +in body, mocked at and insulted, they were objects of +pity even to the heathen themselves. Persecuting +malice spared neither sex nor age, station nor +character; the old man and the tender child, the patrician +and the slave, the bishop and his flock, all shed their +blood for Him Who had died for them, rather than +deny their Lord. +</P> + +<P> +We have no possible means of estimating the number +of this vast "cloud of witnesses," but authentic +accounts have come down to us which prove that some +places were almost depopulated by the multitude of +martyrdoms; and when we remember the length of +time over which the persecutions extended, the +blood-thirsty rage of the persecutors, and the firm +perseverance with which the immensely large majority of +Christians kept the Faith to the end, we may form some +idea as to the "multitude" of this noble army of +martyrs "which no man could number." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Persecution did not check the growth of the Church, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +So widely did the Church spread during the age +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P62"></A>62}</SPAN> +of persecution, in the face of all the fierce opposition +of her enemies, that it was found at times +to be impossible to carry out in their +fulness the cruel laws against Christians, +on account of the numbers of those who were ready to +brave all for the sake of Christ. As has been often +said, "The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +nor revive decaying heathenism, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Paganism was gradually dying away in the Roman +world, notwithstanding all the craft and +power of Satan, whilst no number of +martyrdoms seemed to check the growth of +the Body of Christ. Vain and short-sighted, indeed, +was the boast of the Emperor Dioclesian during the +last and most bitter of all the persecutions, that he +had blotted out the very name of Christian. No +sooner had the conversion of Constantine brought rest +to the Church, than she rose again from her seeming +ruins, ready and able to spread more and more through +"the kingdoms of this world," that they might +"become the kingdoms of Christ." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and thus helped to prove the Divine origin of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We may well believe that no institution of human +appointment could have stood firm against +such terrible and reiterated shocks. +Nothing less than a Divine Foundation, and +a strength not of this world could have borne the +Church through the ages of persecution, not only +without loss of all vital principle, but even with actual +invigoration and extension of it. +</P> + +<BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P63"></A>63}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>Effects of Persecution on the Worship and +Discipline of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The fierce trials of the age of persecution were not +without their influence on the inner life of the Church, +both as regarded Worship and Discipline. +</P> + +<P> +The cruel oppressions to which they were constantly +liable, drove Christians to conceal their Faith from the +eyes of the heathen world whenever such concealment +did not involve any denial of their Lord, or any +faithless compliance with idolatrous customs. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Seeking martyrdom forbidden. +</SPAN> +Indeed, it was a law of the Church that +martyrdom was not to be unnecessarily +sought after, and the wisdom of this provision was +more than once shown by the failure under torture of +those who had presumptuously brought upon +themselves the sufferings they had not strength to bear, and +which did not come to them in the course of God's +Providence. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Holy Rites and Books kept hidden. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The strictest secrecy was enjoined upon Christians +as to the religious Rites and sacred Books +of the Church, and we read of many +martyrs who suffered for refusing to satisfy the +curiosity of their Pagan judges respecting Christian +worship, or for persisting in withholding from them +the Christian writings. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Church ritual temporarily checked. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Another natural effect of persecution was to check +for a time the development of the ritual +of the Church, and to render necessary +the use of the simplest and most essential +forms even in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. +The immense subterranean excavations at Rome, +known by the name of the Catacombs, are an abiding +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P64"></A>64}</SPAN> +proof to us of the straits to which the primitive +martyrs and their companions were reduced, when these +sand-galleries were at once their Church and their +burying-place, and in some instances the scene of their +martyrdom also. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Church discipline very severe +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The discipline of the Church was made extremely +strict by the lengthened continuance of +severe persecution. In those days when +so many gave proof of the strength and +reality of their Faith by their persevering endurance +of unspeakable agonies, any shrinking back was looked +upon as very unworthy cowardice, and as an almost +hopeless fall, to be hindered if possible by the merciful +severity of the Church as shown in warnings and +punishments. Even those who had so far succumbed +to trial as to give up the Sacred Books were called +"Traditores," and considered as very criminal; those +who had consented to pay Divine honours to the +emperors or to the heathen gods, fell under still more +severe censure, whilst such Christians as led sinful and +immoral lives were considered most worthy of blame +and punishment. Very heavy penances were laid upon +all who thus fell away, in proportion to their guilt, before +they were again admitted to the Communion of the +Church; and in some extreme cases the punishment +was life-long, and only allowed to be relaxed when the +penitent was actually in danger of death. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +for a time. +</SPAN> +But this very severe discipline was temporary in +its nature, as was the danger to the Church +which called it forth, and was somewhat modified by +the Letters of Peace which martyrs and confessors were +allowed to give to excommunicated persons, authorizing +their readmission to Church privileges. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Church government modified also for a time. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +A temporary modification in the government of the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P65"></A>65}</SPAN> +Church was also brought about by these times of +suffering. Bishops, under the pressure of +persecution, were sometimes forced to leave +their flocks, or were first tortured and +then banished, and their places had to be +filled as far as they could be by the presbyters, with +the advice of the distant Bishop; whilst at Rome, in +the middle of the third century, there was a year's +vacancy in the see after the martyrdom of Fabian, on +account of the impossibility of bringing neighbouring +Bishops into the midst of a storm which was raging +with especial fury against the rulers of the Church. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] St. John was a martyr in will, though not in deed, being +miraculously preserved from injury in the caldron of boiling +oil, into which he was plunged by order of Nero or Domitian. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] From Dr. Steere's "Account of the Persecutions of the +Early Church under the Roman Emperors." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P66"></A>66}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Church under the Roman Empire +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 312-A.D. 680 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Persecution arrested by conversion of Constantine. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Outward triumph of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The conversion of the Emperor Constantine to the +Faith worked a great change in the condition of +the Christian Church. Even so early as the year 312, +when the appearance to him of the +luminous Cross in the sky was followed by +victory over his enemies, Constantine +began to issue edicts of toleration in +favour of the Christians; and from the time of his sole +supremacy, A.D. 324, Christianity and not +Paganism became the acknowledged +religion of the Roman empire. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The altered Outward Circumstances of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Consequent change in discipline and ritual. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Such a change in the outward circumstances of the +Church could not but produce a +corresponding alteration in its discipline and +mode of worship. The Kingdom of God +on earth became a great power visible to +the eyes of men, no longer hid like the leaven, but +overshadowing the earth like the mustard-tree; and the +power and influence of Imperial Rome were employed +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P67"></A>67}</SPAN> +in spreading the Faith instead of seeking to exterminate +it. Christians were not now forced to shun the notice +of their fellow-men; banished Priests and Bishops +came back to their flocks; heathen temples were +converted into Churches, and new Churches were built +with great splendour. The vast resources of Roman +wealth and refinement were employed to render the +Worship of Almighty God costly and magnificent, and +the ritual of the Church was probably more fully +developed and brought more into harmony with the +prophetic vision of St. John than circumstances had ever +before allowed. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The first Christian city. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In Constantinople, built by the Emperor Constantine +on the ruins of Byzantium, we have the +first instance of a city which, from the +time of its foundation, was entirely Christian. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Endowment of the Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church was now no longer dependent on the +alms of private Christians; the revenues +which had formerly been devoted by the +state to the maintenance of the heathen temples and +their ministers, were transferred to the support of +Christian Churches and their Clergy, and to the relief +of the poor. Christian schools were also founded and +endowed by the emperors; and learning, as well as +wealth, was thus brought in contact with the Faith. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Church honoured by the world. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Christian Rome soon became a great instrument in +God's hands for extending the influence of the Church +even amongst little-known and uncivilized nations; and +as persecution ceased to try the earnestness of those +who embraced the religion of Christ, and the name of +Christian came to be treated with respect instead of +with scorn, the Church began to assume a +position somewhat like that which she +holds in our own day. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Discipline relaxed. +</SPAN> +The profession of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P68"></A>68}</SPAN> +Christianity under these circumstances was naturally +more of a matter of course with many of those who +had grown up under its shadow, than when, in earlier +times, such a profession was likely to involve loss and +suffering, and even death itself, and +discipline was gradually and necessarily +relaxed from the severity needful in the days of +persecution. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>Internal Trials of the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Heresy gathers strength in prosperity, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church being thus firmly settled and delivered +from outer enemies, was now to find +troubles within. Even from the days of +St. John the Divine heresies respecting +the Person of our Blessed Lord had been rife; but these +open denials of the Divinity of the Great Head of the +Church had been successfully opposed without their +leaving behind them any very lasting trace. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and is of a more dangerous nature. +</SPAN> +Errors of +a more subtle class followed, amounting +in reality to unbelief in our Saviour's +Godhead, but expressing that unbelief by +assailing the teaching of the Church respecting His +nature as Very God or as Very Man. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Arianism. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This species of error culminated in the heresy of +Arius, who denied that the Second Person +of the Holy Trinity was co-equal, +co-eternal, and of One Substance with the Father, and +whose false teaching was more widely listened to and +followed than that of any of his predecessors in misbelief. +Arianism, and various forms of error consequent upon +it, long afflicted the Church, especially in the East, +and the Emperor Constantine himself seems at one +time to have had a leaning towards the theories of Arius. +</P> + +<BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P69"></A>69}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The General Councils.</I> +</h3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The remedy provided for heresy. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The full tide of the Arian heresy was, however, not +suffered to come upon the Church without +a barrier being raised up by God to stem +the torrent. The Emperor Constantine +was providentially guided to call together a Council of +Bishops from every part of the world, to decide what +was and always had been the Faith of the Church +respecting the Nature of our Blessed Lord. This is the +first instance of what are known by the name of General +Councils of the Church. Other councils, called +provincial synods, had indeed been frequently held from +the earliest times; but they were of a much more +limited and partial character, and their decrees were +binding only on the province in which they were held, +and not on the Church at large. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Nature of General Councils. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +General Councils were called together by the Christian +emperors, and, from the nature of their +constitution, were not possible until all or +nearly all the Christian world was governed +by a ruler professing the Faith of Christ; nor has such +a general synod been held since the breaking up of the +universal empire of Rome helped to overthrow the +external unity of the Church[1]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Their number. +</SPAN> +Four General Councils are officially +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P70"></A>70}</SPAN> +acknowledged by the Church of England as binding on her +members, and to these are commonly added two, held +somewhat later at Constantinople. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +I. Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +I. The First General Council was called together by +Constantine the Great, A.D. 325. It was +held at Nicaea in Bithynia, and was +attended by 318 Bishops. The great work of this Council +was the positive and explicit assertion of what the Church +had always implicitly believed concerning the Nature +of our Divine Lord, and His Oneness with the Father. +It was at this Nicene Council that the great St. Athanasius, +then only a deacon, first distinguished himself +by his opposition to the heresies of Arius. The teaching +of the Council was embodied in the creed which is +known to us as the Nicene Creed[2], and which was +signed by all the assembled Bishops with only two +exceptions, these being probably personal friends of +Arius. Besides the condemnation of Arius, the Council +settled the time of keeping Easter, and passed twenty +Canons which were confirmed by the Emperor. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +II. Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +II. The Second General Council was held at +Constantinople, A.D. 381, in the reign of +Theodosius the Great. It was summoned +principally to condemn the heresy of Macedonius, who +had been Patriarch of Constantinople, and who had +added to the Arian heresy a denial of the Divinity of +God the Holy Ghost. At this Council 150 Bishops +were present, and it is especially remarkable for having +completed the Creed of Nicaea[3], which is hence also +called the Creed of Constantinople. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P71"></A>71}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +III. Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +III. The Third General Council was summoned by +the Emperor Theodosius the Younger, +A.D. 431, and met at Ephesus. It was +held to consider the heresy of Nestorius, Patriarch of +Constantinople, who taught that the Blessed Virgin +was the Mother of our Lord's Human Nature only, and +that, therefore, the title of Theotokos, or "Mother of +God," ought not to be given her. This assertion was, +in fact, only a refinement of Arianism, implying as it +did that our Saviour had not always been God as well +as Man, and it was accordingly condemned by the +Council, Nestorius being at the same time deposed +from his see. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +IV. Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +IV. The Fourth General Council met at Chalcedon +during the reign of the Emperor Marcian, +A.D. 451. Six hundred and thirty Bishops +assembled at it and condemned the false teaching of +Eutyches, who asserted that our Blessed Lord was God +only, and not Man also. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +V. Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +V. The Fifth General Council was summoned at +Constantinople by the Emperor Justinian, +A.D. 533, and was attended by 165 +Bishops. In it the decisions of the Four First Councils +were confirmed, especially against the Nestorians. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +VI. Council. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +VI. The Sixth General Council was also held at +Constantinople, A.D. 680, by command of +the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, and +condemned a development of Eutychianism. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P72"></A>72}</SPAN> + +<PRE STYLE="font-family: Courier New; font-size: 10pt"> + <I>Table of Councils.</I> + + Where held. Date. Emperor. Object. + + I. Nicaea 325 Constantine Against the Arians. + the Great + + II. Constantinople 38l Theodosius Against the + the Great Macedonians. + + III. Ephesus 431 Theodosius Against the + the Younger Nestorians. + + IV. Chalcedon 451 Marcian Against the + Eutychians. + + V. Constantinople 553 Justinian Against a + development of + Nestorianism. + + VI. Constantinople 680 Constantine Against a + Pogonatus development + of Eutychianism. +</PRE> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>Intellectual Development in the Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Christian learning developed in peace. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This portion of the History of the Church, comprising +as it does the first period in which the master-minds +within her fold were left free by the cessation of +outward persecution to resist the increasing +attacks of heresy, may be looked upon as +offering to our view the greatest intellectual +development which the Church has +experienced since the times of the Apostles. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Fathers. +</SPAN> +Learned and +eloquent men abounded, "mighty in the +Scriptures" and "steadfast in the Faith," +and their commentaries and sermons have come down +to us as an abiding heritage and a continual witness to +the teaching of the Church in early times. St. Athanasius, +St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, and St. Augustine, +are but a few out of many whose writings are still held +in honour by our own as well as by every other branch +of the Catholic Church. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] A General Council is the highest possible way in which +the voice of the Church can be heard. But its authority is +much increased by the fact that to become really a <I>general</I> +Council its decrees must be generally received by the +Christian world. This was the case with the first six General +Councils, but has not been entirely so with any similar +gatherings of later ages. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] That part of the Creed which follows the words, "I +believe in the Holy Ghost," was added later. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] The subsequent addition in the clause, "Who proceedeth +from the Father and the Son," will be noticed later. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P73"></A>73}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Early History of Particular Churches. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 67-A.D. 500 +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The Church of England.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul's visit to England. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF ENGLAND is believed, with good +reason, to owe its foundation to the Apostle +St. Paul, who probably came to this country +after his first imprisonment at Rome. The writings of +Tertullian, and others in the second and third centuries +speak of Christianity as having spread as far as the +islands of Britain, and a British king named Lucius is +known to have embraced the Faith about the middle +of the second century. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Martyrdom of St. Alban. +</SPAN> +The Diocletian persecution +made itself felt amongst the British Christians, the +conversion of the proto-martyr St. Alban +(A.D. 303) being followed by that of a large +number of his countrymen, many of whom also suffered +for their faith. +</P> + +<P> +The persecution ceased (A.D. 305) under the influence +of Constantius, who, before his accession to the +imperial dignity, had been viceroy in Britain. His son +and successor Constantine was, if not born in England, +at any rate of English parentage on the side of his +mother Helen, better known as the Saint and Empress +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P74"></A>74}</SPAN> +Helena. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +English bishops at Councils. +</SPAN> +Three English Bishops, those of York, +Lincoln, and London, attended the Council +summoned by Constantine at Arles, A.D. 314, +a proof that at this time the Church +of England was thoroughly organized and settled. +English Bishops were also present at the Councils of +Sardica, A.D. 347, and of Ariminium, A.D. 359. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +English Church depressed by Saxon invasion. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +When the Romans abandoned Britain early in the +fifth century, the Saxons took advantage of the defenceless +state of the inhabitants to settle in the island, at +first as colonists and afterwards as conquerors. The +intermingling of these fierce heathens with +the Christian population had a depressing +influence on the Church; and the Bishops +and Clergy, belonging as they did to the weaker and +conquered portion of the community, seem to have +been unable to do much towards the conversion of the +invaders. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Diminution and retreat of Clergy. +</SPAN> +Gradually, as the Saxons became more and +more powerful in the island, the number of Bishops +and Clergy in the accessible portions of +of England grew smaller and smaller; and +such as remained were at last compelled +to take refuge with their brethren, who had retired to +the mountain fastnesses, rather than live in slavery. +Hence the records of the Church of England in the +sixth century are chiefly confined to those dioceses +which were situated in what we call Wales, or in other +mountainous districts. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Church of Ireland.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF IRELAND is said by some to have +been first founded in the Apostolic age, but this seems +doubtful. The first certain information which we have +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P75"></A>75}</SPAN> +respecting the presence of Christianity in the island, is +that in A.D. 431, a Bishop named Palladius was sent +thither on a mission by Pope Celestine. He appears, +however, not to have met with much success, and he +soon left the country and died, probably in Scotland. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Patrick the Apostle of Ireland. +</SPAN> +A few years later, about A.D. 440, the +celebrated St. Patrick began his mission in +Ireland. He is generally considered to +have been a native of North Britain, who, at the age of +sixteen, was taken prisoner by pirates, and carried as a +slave to Ireland. On regaining his liberty, he resolved +to devote his life to the conversion of the country of +his captivity; and having been consecrated Bishop, he +returned to Ireland, and spent fifty years as a missionary +in that hitherto heathen land. At the time of his death, +A.D. 493, the Church was firmly rooted in Ireland, and +possessed a native priesthood and a native Episcopate. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Late development of dioceses and parishes in Ireland. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It may, however, be mentioned, that neither the +diocesan nor the parochial systems were +developed in Ireland until a very late +period, whilst, from the very large number +of Bishops existing there in early times, +we are led to infer that in Ireland, as before in the +earliest ages of the Church, each missionary was +invested with episcopal powers, and that the office of +priest, separate from that of Bishop, was at first almost +unknown. Gradually there sprang up Cathedral +chapters, whose members acted as curates to the Bishop, +and to this succeeded the parochial system. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Church of Scotland.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF SCOTLAND may, perhaps, like the +Church of England, trace its foundation to the labours +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P76"></A>76}</SPAN> +of St. Paul, and seems to be included in Tertullian's +mention of the far-off limits to which Christianity had +reached in his days. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Ninian the first authenticated missionary in Scotland. +</SPAN> +Little is, however, known of very +early Church history in Scotland until the beginning of +the fifth century, when St. Ninian, who is +said to have been the son of a British +chief, preached to the Southern Picts, +A.D. 412-A.D. 432. We have already +seen that St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, was a +Scotchman, and the fruits of the benefits thus conferred +on the one country were reaped by the other in the +next century, when St. Columba went from Ireland +and founded the celebrated monastery of Iona in one of +the isles of the Hebrides. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Intercourse between Irish and Scotch Churches. +</SPAN> +Iona, like the Irish +monasteries of the same period, sent out many +missionaries, and the monks of the two +countries appear to have kept up friendly +communications with each other. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>Continental Churches.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF ITALY, as we have already seen +(pp. 42, 43), was founded by the joint labours of St. Peter +and St. Paul, but the circumstances of its foundation +were very different from those of the Churches of our +own islands. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Difficulties encountered by the Church in Italy from high civilization +</SPAN> +Christianity in Italy had to +make its way amongst a highly civilized +people, a nation of deep thinkers and +philosophers, whose opposition to the +truths of the Gospel was a far more subtle thing than +the rude ignorance of barbarians. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and political power. +</SPAN> +Besides this, the +infant Church in Italy was brought face to face with +the might of the Roman emperors who +were at that time the rulers of the known +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P77"></A>77}</SPAN> +world; and though their persecution of their Christian +subjects extended more or less to all parts of the +empire, yet Italy was the chief battle-field on which the +first great contest between the Church and the world +was fought. Hence the history of the early Church of +Italy is a history of alternating persecutions and times +of peace[1], during which Christianity was constantly +taking deeper root and spreading more widely through +the country, until the conversion of Constantine, A.D. 312, +led to the establishment and endowment of the Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Decay of the Roman empire. +</SPAN> +As the Church was growing stronger and +taking deeper root, the worn-out Roman +empire was gradually decaying and fading away, and, +practically, it came to an end with the division of East +and West, A.D. 395. +</P> + +<P> +Resistance to the inroads of the barbarians was no +longer possible. Rome was sacked successively by +different nations of Central Europe, and at length the +kingdom of the Goths in Italy was established under +Theodoric, A.D. 493. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Arianism of barbarian conquerors. +</SPAN> +These rude nations, though +professing Christianity, had received with it +the heretical doctrines of Anus, owing to +their teachers having belonged to those +eastern portions of Europe, which, from their nearness +to Asia, were most infected with this heresy. +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF FRANCE was probably founded by +St. Paul, but we have no certain account of its early +history. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Asiatic origin of Early French Bishops, +</SPAN> +"Trophimus the Ephesian" is +believed to have been the first Bishop of +Arles, and Pothinus, another Greek Asiatic, +occupied the see of Lyons at the time of +the persecution under Marcus Aurelius, A.D. 161-A.D. 180, +during which he suffered martyrdom. His +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P78"></A>78}</SPAN> +successor was St. Irenaeus, a native, probably, of Smyrna, +who was martyred under Severus, A.D. 202. This +long-continued connexion with the Churches of Asia Minor +left its traces on the liturgy and customs of the Church +of France, and through it of Britain and Ireland, these +latter Churches adhering to the Eastern mode of +computing Easter even after the Western reckoning +had been adopted in France. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and of French Liturgy. +</SPAN> +The liturgy used in +France, as well as in Britain and Spain, +is known to have been founded on that +used in Ephesus and in the other Asiatic cities, which +was almost certainly that used by St. John himself. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Intercourse between English and French Churches. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +A Council was summoned by Constantine, A.D. 314, +at the French city of Arles, and one French Bishop at +least was present at the great Nicaean Council, A.D. 323. +About a century later (A.D. 429), St. Germanus, +Bishop of Auxerre, and St. Lupus, +Bishop of Troyes, were sent over to Britain +to assist in combating the errors of +Pelagius, the neighbour Churches of England and France +maintaining apparently very friendly relations. Many +of the barbarian tribes who overran France in the +beginning of the fifth century, though professing +Christianity, were deeply infected with the Arian heresy. +The Franks, however, who were heathens at their first +entrance into the country, embraced the orthodox +faith, and eventually became masters of the kingdom +under Clovis, A.D. 486. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul and St. James in Spain. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL traces its +foundation to St. Paul, who speaks of his +intended visit to Spain, Rom. xv. 24; and +there is also a tradition that St. James the +Great preached the Gospel here. This Church, too, +is spoken of by St. Irenaeus, and again by Tertullian. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P79"></A>79}</SPAN> +Its first known martyr was St. Fructuosus, A.D. 259, +and its first Council that of Elvira, about A.D. 300. The +names of nineteen Spanish Bishops are mentioned as +present at it. The Council of Nice, A.D. 325, was under +the presidency of Hosius, the Bishop of the Spanish +diocese of Cordova. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Arianism of Visigoths. +</SPAN> +About A.D. 470, the +Visigoths, who were Arians, passed over +from France into Spain, and were only gradually +converted to the Catholic Faith. +</P> + +<P> +We must look to a later period (see Chapter XI.) for +the foundation of other Churches of the West in +Northern and Central Europe, that is to say, the +SCANDINAVIAN CHURCHES, including NORWAY, +SWEDEN, and DENMARK, as well as those contained +in the large extent of country to which we often give +the comprehensive name of Germany. +</P> + +<P> +The Churches now comprehended in EUROPEAN +TURKEY and GREECE were, as we have already seen +(pp. 37 to 40), the fruits of the labours of St. Paul, +and, like the Church of Rome, had wealth and +learning to encounter instead of poverty and ignorance. +The Book of Acts records very fully the earliest +history of these Churches, and a large proportion of +St. Paul's Epistles are addressed to them. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Liability of the Greeks to heresy. +</SPAN> +The theorizing and philosophical tendencies +of the Greeks made them very liable +be led away by heretical teachers, and we +find that the Church in Greece, from St. Paul's time +downwards, was continually disturbed by the presence +of those who taught or listened to "some new thing." Hence +all the General Councils, summoned for the +authoritative settlement of the faith of the Church, were +held either in Greece, or in that part of Asia which +had been colonized by Greeks. Arianism in particular, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P80"></A>80}</SPAN> +for a long period, caused the most violent dissensions +throughout the Eastern world, and these were the +occasion of that first Great Council of Nicaea which, though +not actually held in Greece, was only separated from +it by the narrow strait of the Bosphorus. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Origin of jealousies between Rome and Constantinople. +</SPAN> +The building +of Constantinople, A.D. 330, gave a Christian +capital to Greece, and, indeed, to the +whole of the Eastern Roman empire; and +from this time may be dated the jealousies +and struggles for supremacy which took place between +the Church in Italy and the Church in Greece, and +resulted eventually in the Great schism between East +and West[2]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Andrew in Russia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF RUSSIA is believed to have been +founded by the Apostle St. Andrew, +who extended his labours northwards from +Thrace (which now forms part of Turkey in Europe), to +that portion of Scythia lying north of the Black Sea, +and now constituting the southern part of European +Russia. The bulk of the present Russian empire was, +however, converted at a much later period. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 5. <I>The Church in Africa.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Simon Zelotes and St. Mark in Africa. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The first evangelizing of North Africa, including what +we now know as Egypt, Algeria, and +Morocco, is ascribed to St. Simon +Zelotes and St. Mark, the latter of whom +founded the CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, of which he +became the first Bishop. Christianity appears to have +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P81"></A>81}</SPAN> +made very rapid progress in Africa, since, in the fifth +century, the Church numbered more than four hundred +African Bishops. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Patriarchate of Alexandria. +</SPAN> +Alexandria, from its +wealth and importance, as well as from its +reputation for learning, was looked up to by the other +African Churches, and its Bishops were acknowledged +as patriarchs throughout the Christianized portion of +the continent. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Its school. +</SPAN> +The Alexandrian school +of philosophy was very famous, and was +at one time presided over by the Christian philosopher +Clement of Alexandria, who died about A.D. 216. His +pupil Origen was, for a while, at the head of the same +college, and employed his vast learning both before +and after his ordination, in comparing the extant +copies of the Old Testament Scriptures, in order to +bring the text of the original languages to a state +of the greatest possible correctness. He died A.D. 253. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Heresies at Alexandria. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church of Alexandria was much distracted by +inward troubles. In A.D. 306, the schism +of Meletius led many astray, and amongst +them the too notorious Arius, who began to publish +in Alexandria the heresy since known by his name, +about the year A.D. 320. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Athanasius and Arius. +</SPAN> +St. Athanasius, +who became Patriarch of Alexandria, +A.D. 326, was the chief instrument raised up by God +for combating the errors of Arius, a work which he +carried on unflinchingly both before and after his +elevation to the episcopal throne, though his defence +of the orthodox faith brought upon him long and severe +persecution, including an exile of twenty years from his +diocese. The Arian heresy, though checked, was +however not exterminated, and long remained a source +of trouble and weakness to the whole Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Cyril and Nestorius. +</SPAN> +St. Cyril, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P82"></A>82}</SPAN> +who afterwards succeeded to the patriarchate of +Alexandria, A.D. 412, was also called upon +to defend Catholic truth against the errors +of Nestorius, whilst his successor, Dioscorus, openly +embraced the false teaching of Eutyches, and denied +the Manhood, as Arius and Nestorius had before denied +the Divinity, of our Blessed Lord. The evil example +of the patriarch was followed by a large proportion of +African Christians, who refused to receive the decrees +of the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 431, or to submit to +Catholic Bishops. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Cyprian. St. Augustine. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Two other well-known names which adorn the +records of the Church in North Africa may be mentioned: +St. Cyprian, a native of Carthage, and +afterwards Bishop of that city, who +suffered martyrdom, A.D. 258, and St. Augustine, +a native of Numidia (or what we now +call Algeria), who was educated at Carthage, was +consecrated Bishop of Hippo, A.D. 393, and died A.D. 430. He +left behind him a great number of writings, the influence +of which has been largely felt by the Church of England. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Matthew in Ethiopia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF ETHIOPIA, now represented by +Abyssinia, was planted by St. Matthew, +the way having, perhaps, been prepared +by that "man of Ethiopia," the eunuch "under Candace, +queen of the Ethiopians," of whom we read in Acts +viii. 27-39. Little is clearly known of the early Christian +history of this region; but the Ethiopian Church +appears to have come under the patriarchal rule of the +Bishop of Alexandria towards the beginning of the +fourth century. Though keeping clear of Arianism, +the Ethiopian Christians became deeply tinged with +the Eutychian heresy, by which Dioscorus and his +successors were unhappily led away. +</P> + +<BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P83"></A>83}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 6. <I>The Eastern Church.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +Of the Churches now comprehended in Turkey in +Asia, the foundation and early history of PALESTINE, +as represented by the CHURCH IN JERUSALEM, and of +SYRIA, as represented by the CHURCH IN ANTIOCH, +have been already related (Chapters I. and II.). +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Death of St. James. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +St. James the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem, was +martyred A.D. 63, and succeeded by Simeon, +the son of Cleopas, in whose episcopate +the destruction of Jerusalem took place, A.D. 70. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Flight to Pella. +</SPAN> +The Christians, in obedience to the prophetic teaching +of their Divine Master, had already fled for safety to +Pella, whence they afterwards returned to +take up their abode amongst the ruins of +the Holy City. In A.D. 132, a rebellious outbreak of +the Jews, under the leadership of Barchochebas, drew +down on them a severe chastisement from the Emperor +Hadrian, and the Jewish Christians suffered much from +being confounded with their rebellious countrymen. +The ruins of the ancient city were completely destroyed, +whilst no Jew was allowed to enter the new city of +Aelia Capitolina, which was built on its site. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Extinction of Judaism in Church of Jerusalem. +</SPAN> +The Jewish Christians now entirely gave up +all profession of Judaism, and the first Judaism in +<I>Gentile</I> Bishop of Jerusalem was appointed +A.D. 135. +</P> + +<P> +Julian the Apostate (A.D. 361-A.D. 363) presumptuously +attempted to rebuild Jerusalem, but his attempt +was frustrated by a miraculous interposition, a failure +which had already been predicted by St. Cyril, the then +Bishop of Jerusalem. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P84"></A>84}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Double Episcopate at Antioch. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH IN ANTIOCH having been probably +founded by St. Peter, that Apostle is believed to have +left behind him two Bishops in the city, +the one Evodius, having the episcopal +care of the Jewish converts, whilst Ignatius +was placed in charge of the Gentile Christians; but, +on the death of Evodius, A.D. 70, Ignatius +became sole Bishop. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Ignatius. +</SPAN> +This holy man is +said to have been the child whom our Lord took in His +arms and set in the midst of His disciples. He was +intimate with some or all of the Apostles, especially +with St. John, and was martyred by being thrown to +wild beasts at Rome, A.D. 107. The synods held at +Antioch were very numerous, and far larger than any +others, approaching almost in size and importance to +General Councils. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. John Chrysostom. +</SPAN> +It was at Antioch that the +celebrated and eloquent St. John Chrysostom +was born about A.D. 347: he became +Bishop of Constantinople, and died A.D. 407, after +undergoing persecutions which almost amounted to a +martyrdom. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Paul and St. John in Asia Minor. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We have already seen (pp. 31, 32) that the +CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR owe their +foundation chiefly to St. Paul, whilst their +perfect organization and development was +entrusted to St. John the Divine (pp. 49 to 51). +The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse seem to have +been in a special manner the charge of the latter +Apostle, Ephesus, the chief of them, being the home of +his later earthly years, and the scene of his decease +and burial. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The "Angels" of the Seven Churches. +</SPAN> +St. Timothy, the first Bishop of Ephesus, +had been succeeded probably by Onesimus; +St. Polycarp (martyred A.D. 167) +had the episcopal charge of Smyrna; +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P85"></A>85}</SPAN> +Archippus, it is believed, had followed Epaphras at +Laodicea. The names of the other "Angels" spoken +of in the Apocalypse have not come down to us, but +there is no doubt that at the time when the seven +inspired Epistles were addressed to these Churches, there +was in each of them a firmly established episcopacy, +and that this form of government was followed by all +other Churches throughout the world. There is little +that needs recording of the history of these Churches +of Asia Minor, unless we except the Great Council of +Ephesus, held in that city, A.D. 431, to condemn the +heresy of Nestorius (p. 71). +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Bartholomew in Armenia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF ARMENIA, now included in Asiatic +Turkey, is believed to have been first +founded by St. Bartholomew. The country +is said to have been further evangelized +by a mission sent by St. Gregory the Illuminator in the +third century. It is known that, in the following +century, a flourishing Church existed there. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Several Apostles in Parthia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The CHURCH OF PARTHIA, or PERSIA, embraced +the country lying between the Tigris and the Indus, +with Mesopotamia and Chaldea; what we now call +Persia, Cabul, and Belochistan; as well as part of Arabia +and Turkey; and is said to have been planted by +St. Peter, St. Bartholomew, St. Jude, +St. Matthew, and St. Thomas. The inhabitants +of this region were of different races: Greek +colonists; many Jews, the residue of the Babylonish +Captivity; Arabs, and ancient Persians. Till the fourth +century the Parthian Church appears to have flourished +in peace. It was beyond the jurisdiction of the +persecuting emperors of Rome, and the Parthian monarchs, +though not Christians themselves, protected or tolerated +their Christian subjects. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Persecution there. +</SPAN> +Two Bishops were sent from +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P86"></A>86}</SPAN> +Parthia to the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 323, but shortly +afterwards, A.D. 330, persecution broke +out, occasioned apparently by the jealousy +felt by the king towards the now Christian emperors +of Rome, and the intercourse kept up between the +fellow Christians of the two empires. Sixteen thousand +martyrs are said to have shed their blood for their +Faith, and amongst them was St. Simeon, the Patriarch +of the Church, and Bishop of Seleucia. Another +persecution took place in the beginning of the fifth century, +and shortly afterwards Persian Christianity became +strongly infected with the errors of Nestorius, the +Shahs apparently favouring the heresy on account +of its having been discouraged by the Roman emperors. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Uncertainty as to the first conversion of Arabia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There is no record of the actual founding of the +CHURCH IN ARABIA. We know, from Gal. i. 17, that +St. Paul "went into Arabia" soon after his conversion, +but there is no mention of his having preached the +Gospel there at that time, when indeed he +was not yet called to be an Apostle; and +the Arabia to which he went was probably +the northern portion stretching up to the +east of Syria, almost to Damascus itself. The Apostle +of the Gentiles may probably have revisited this +country at a later period; but, at any rate, we know that +Christianity was firmly established there early in the +third century, and that Origen made two several +journeys thither between A.D. 220 and A.D. 248, to combat +heresies which troubled the Arabian Church. The +Bishop of Bostra, or Bozrah, was present at the Council +of Antioch, A.D. 269. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Nestorianism and Eutychianism in Arabia. +</SPAN> +In the fifth century +the errors of Nestorius, and, a little later, +of Eutyches, made great inroads amongst +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P87"></A>87}</SPAN> +the Christians of Arabia, several even of the Bishops +being led away by them. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew in India. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There is an ancient tradition that St. Thomas and +St. Bartholomew laid the foundations of +the CHURCH IN INDIA, but very little is +known of its early history. Pantaenus is +said to have been sent as a missionary +from Alexandria to India towards the end of the second +century, though it is a matter in dispute whether by +India in this case we are to understand the country +now known under that name, or Ethiopia, or Arabia Felix. +</P> + +<P> +There are still Christians in India who reverence +St. Thomas as their founder, and use a liturgy which +goes by his name. Nestorianism spread to India in +the fifth century. +</P> + +<P> +The Church is believed to have been planted in +CHINA by St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew, and the +Chinese are mentioned by Arnobius in the fourth +century amongst those nations which had received the +Gospel. It does not seem, however, that Christianity +existed for any length of time in this country. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] See Chap. V. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] In speaking of the Greek Church of the present day, +we usually understand the whole body of orthodox Eastern +Christians, and not merely those dwelling in Greece itself. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P88"></A>88}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Inroads of Mahometanism +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 609-A.D. 732 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Arianism prepares the way for Mahometanism. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The various heresies, and especially the heresy of +Arius, which had so widely troubled the peace of +the Eastern Church, though they were not suffered by +God's Mercy to cause a lasting schism, yet left behind +them a certain weakness resulting in the decay of many +of the Churches of the East, and finally in +their overthrow by the false faith of the +impostor Mahomet. The present state of +the Churches of Ephesus, Sardis, and +Laodicea, if viewed in the light shed upon it by the +prophetic Epistles of St. John the Divine, may serve to +show us how God withdraws His Blessing from a +Church no less surely than from an individual Christian, +when His Grace is obstinately rejected and despised. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>Mahomet.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Mahomet's birth, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The false prophet Mahomet was born A.D. 569, of the +chief family in the Arabian tribe of the +Koreish; but it was not till after he had +amassed a large fortune, partly by diligence in trade +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P89"></A>89}</SPAN> +and partly by a wealthy marriage, that, at the age of +forty, A.D. 609, he declared himself to be a +prophet. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and claim to be a prophet and reformer. +</SPAN> +This announcement was at first +confined to the members of his own immediate family, +till, at the end of four years, Mahomet proclaimed that +he had a mission from God to reform the +state of religion in his native city, Mecca, +and to put down the idolatry which prevailed there. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Flight to Medina. +</SPAN> +The opposition which the false prophet encountered +from his fellow-citizens did not hinder him from making +many converts to the religion he was beginning to +invent for himself and for them, until at length (A.D. 622) +an insurrection, caused by the preaching and success +of Mahomet, obliged him to fly for his life +from Mecca, and take refuge at Yatreb or Medina[1]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Founds a new religion. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Here he was gladly received both by Jews and Arabs, +rival races, who divided the city between them. The +Jews were ready to welcome him as their expected +Messiah, whilst the Arabs had heard of his fame from +their brethren at Mecca; and Mahomet seems from +this time to have entirely laid aside the character of +a mere reformer, for that of the founder of +a new revelation. The Koran and the +Sword were now called in to aid in their respective +ways in extending the power of the ambitious adventurer. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Cruelty. +</SPAN> +Violence and bloodshed enforced +the pretended inspiration by which Mahomet +claimed to be acknowledged as <I>the</I> Prophet of God, +and the civil and religious head of the nation; and the +last ten years of his life present an almost unbroken +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P90"></A>90}</SPAN> +course of warfare, which too often degenerated into +simple robbery and murder. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and conquests of Mahomet. +</SPAN> +He made himself master of the whole of Arabia, +including the city of Mecca, where he destroyed the idols +against which he had in earlier days protested, and +then made an ineffectual attempt to take possession of +Palestine. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +His death. +</SPAN> +Mahomet died on June 8th, +A.D. 632, partly from the effects of poison, +which had been given to him some years before, and +partly from the consequences of a life of excess and +self-indulgence. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Religion of Mahomet.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The false faith of which Mahomet was at once the +prophet and the founder, seems to have taken for its +basis the traditionary religion then prevalent amongst +the Arab tribes. These traditions were probably +compounded of dim remnants of the Truth which had been +revealed to Abraham and handed down through his +son Ishmael, and of a very corrupt form of Sabaeanism, +which included the worship of the heavenly bodies, as +well as of idols, and which had been the religion of +Terah and his fellow-countrymen. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Mixture of truth and error in Mahometanism. +</SPAN> +Upon this +foundation was engrafted a mixture of Persian +philosophy, and of such perversions of +Christianity and of Scriptural doctrine as +Mahomet could gather from a Persian +Jew and a Nestorian monk. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Opposition of the Koran to Christianity. +</SPAN> +The Koran, which +Mahomet pretended to have received from heaven by the +mouth of the archangel Gabriel, makes mention of +our Blessed Lord and of many of the facts of Old +Testament History, but its teaching is essentially +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P91"></A>91}</SPAN> +anti-Christian and blasphemous, inasmuch as it denies the +Divinity of Christ, and represents Him +as a Teacher and Prophet far inferior to +Mahomet himself. An intended contradiction +of the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity +is also conveyed in its opening sentence, which is the +Mahometan confession of faith,—"There is but one +God, and Mahomet is His prophet." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Mahomet's Iconoclastic tendencies. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Mahomet's energetic opposition to idolatry was, +no doubt, a good feature in his religious +system, though, like that of the Iconoclasts[2], +it was carried to an extravagant +extent, and this agreement, with their undue fears and +prejudices on this head, seems to have been a sufficient +inducement to many unstable Christians to deny the +Lord, for Whose Honour they professed such deep +concern, and to give themselves up to an impostor who +was perhaps the nearest approach to Anti-Christ which +the world has yet seen. +</P> + +<P> +Christian people are found even in these days who +do not hesitate to speak with some degree of favour of +the great apostasy of which Mahomet was the founder, +because of its opposition to idolatry, its recognition of +our Blessed Lord as a Prophet, the certain admixture +of truth contained in its grievous error, and the alleged +moral teaching and beauty of language of particular +passages in the Koran. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Moral effects of Mahometanism. +</SPAN> +Any such favour or tenderness +is, however, altogether out of place in +professed worshippers of Him Whom +Mahomet so grievously blasphemed, whilst the +grossly sensual and immoral lives led by the false +prophet and the large proportion of his followers down to +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P92"></A>92}</SPAN> +the present time, serve to show us that wrong belief +and wrong practice go hand in hand, and that whatever +show of morality there may be in some few of the +precepts of the Koran, it has no influence on the conduct +of those who profess to be guided by it. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Spread of Mahometanism.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Mahometan conquests +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The work of conquest which Mahomet had begun was +continued by his successors. Abu Bekr, +the father of Mahomet's favourite wife, +was the first of the four Caliphs who pushed the power +of the Mahometan arms beyond the confines of Arabia, +and laid the foundations of the future +empire. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +of the Holy Land, +</SPAN> +Jerusalem was taken by Omar, the +next Caliph, in A.D. 637, and, with the exception of a +short interval during the Crusades, the Holy City has +ever since remained in the hands of the unbelievers. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Egypt, +</SPAN> +Omar made himself master of Egypt as +well as of Syria, and showed his savage +contempt for learning by burning the famous and +valuable collection of MSS. contained in the +Alexandrian library. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Persia, and North Africa. +</SPAN> +Under Othman, Persia +and the North of Africa were added to the +empire, and after the death of Ali, son-in-law to +Mahomet and fourth Caliph, the seat of government was +removed to Damascus. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Other portions of Asia and part of Europe. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Caliphs of Damascus carried on the same system +of warfare and bloodshed, took possession +of Asia Minor, of the Northern parts of +India, of Spain, and overran the South of +France, where, however, A.D. 732, the Mahometan troops +received such a check at Tours from the hands of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P93"></A>93}</SPAN> +Charles Martel, as hindered them from extending their +conquests any farther in Western Europe. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Present extent of Mahometanism. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +At the present day Mahometanism is the professed +faith of the inhabitants of the Northern +half of Africa, of Turkey in Europe, of +Arabia, Persia, the Holy Land, Asia Minor, +and some parts of India, and its adherents number +ninety-six millions. We shall perhaps realize still more +strongly the havoc which this soul-destroying apostasy +has been suffered to work, if we remember that some +of the countries where it now reigns unchecked were +formerly the seats of flourishing Christian Churches, +the Church in Africa boasting of such great Saints as +St. Cyprian and St. Augustine, whilst Palestine and +Asia Minor witnessed the first foundation of the Church, +as well as its earliest settlement in the form it was +permanently to retain. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] It is from this Hegira (or Flight) of Mahomet, July 16th, +A.D. 622, that Mahometans compute their time. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] See Chap. VIII. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P94"></A>94}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Division between East and West +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 680-A.D. 1054 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Outward unity of the Church broken +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +So far we have contemplated the Church of Christ +as one in external communion, no less than by +the inner bonds of charity and of sacramental life; but +we now come to a period in which this +external unity began to be to a certain +extent dissolved, and that in great measure +by the same outward influences which had at first +secured its cohesion. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +with the breaking up of the Roman Empire. +</SPAN> +Heresies and schisms, especially +the great heresy of Arius, had indeed troubled the +Church and threatened to break the visible +union existing between its branches in +different countries; but it was not until +after the dissolution of the Roman empire +that the breach really came. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section I. <I>Jealousy between Rome and Constantinople.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Reasons for Roman ascendancy. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +During the flourishing days of the empire the city of +Rome had naturally been looked up to +with great reverence by all the other +Churches of the world. Its political +importance as the centre of government, the vast number +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P95"></A>95}</SPAN> +of its martyrs, its comparative freedom from heresy, +and its connexion with the lives and deaths of St. Peter +and St. Paul, all tended to give it a moral ascendancy +which was gradually claimed as a right. This, +however, did not take place without protests on the part of +other Bishops, nor even without very definite +disclaimers of any wish for or right to supreme authority +on the part of the Bishops of Rome themselves. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Ambition of an Eastern Patriarch. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Constantinople, as being the new Rome and capital +of the Eastern empire, was especially jealous of the +claims of the mother city, and one of her Patriarchs, +John the Faster, in the sixth century, first set the evil +example of assuming the title of +"Universal Bishop," a title which the Roman +Pontiffs have since taken and retained. +In proportion as the political division between East +and West became more complete, so also did the +tendency towards separation in ecclesiastical matters +increase. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Beginnings of disunion. +</SPAN> +Western dioceses, now peopled by the +barbarian nations who had overrun Europe, +still looked up to Rome as their centre +and head; whilst the Eastern Bishops, under the sway +of the decaying empire, clung to Constantinople. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Its crisis. +</SPAN> +The controversy respecting the use of Images, and that +about the Procession of the Holy Ghost +from the Son as well as from the Father, +were, however, the means of actually bringing about +the cessation of all outward communion between East +and West. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Iconoclast (or Image-breaking) Controversy.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Dislike of images +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There had been from very early times an extensive +though not universal feeling in the Church, +against the use of painting or sculpture in +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P96"></A>96}</SPAN> +Divine Worship. This feeling was occasioned partly +by dread of the idolatry still prevalent amongst the +heathen, and partly, especially in the East, where it +was strongest, by the remains of Judaism still lingering +in the Church of Christ. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +lost in the West, but retained in the East. +</SPAN> +As heathenism +died out, it was gradually felt in the West +that the strong reasons formerly existing against the +adornment of Churches with pictures and images had +passed away; but the Eastern Church, +with that dread of change which distinguishes +it to this day, clung as before to the old sentiment. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Image-breaking legislation +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In the eighth century, Leo III., "the Isaurian," then +reigning at Constantinople, passed a decree +for the removal of all images and paintings +from Churches, and his violent conduct in the matter +occasioned such discontent in the West, +that Italy withdrew altogether from the +nominal allegiance she had hitherto paid +to the emperors, about A.D. 730. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +dissolved the link between Eastern and Western Empires. +</SPAN> +Other emperors were as fanatical in their Iconoclastic (or +image-breaking) prejudices as Leo, and their +extravagance excited a reaction in the other extreme in the +Western empire. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Reactionary decrees in the West. +</SPAN> +In A.D. 786, a Council, +which was held at Nicaea, not only +protested against the violent fanaticism of +the East, but sanctioned the veneration of images and +pictures to an extent which we find it hard to justify, +and which was, in fact, deemed unjustifiable by many +in the West, who yet wished for their retention as +decorations and aids to devotional feeling. +Charlemagne, under the influence of our English Alcuin, +opposed the decision of the Council, and held +provincial synods (especially one at Frankfort, A.D. 794) +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P97"></A>97}</SPAN> +to condemn what was, at any rate, very like image-worship. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Charitable supposition regarding them. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Probably dread of Judaism and Mahometanism, with +their hatred of our Blessed Lord and of +His Image, as well as of all sculpture, had +some influence on the decisions of the +council of A.D. 786, and we may reasonably hope +that it was not really intended to encourage any +worship or veneration contrary to the express law of God. +At any rate, the Iconoclast controversy aided very +strongly to put an end to all political union, and +with it to all public ecclesiastical intercourse, between +East and West; though the bonds of external +communion were not yet broken, and they were still one +both in faith and practice. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Controversy respecting the Double Procession +of the Holy Ghost.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Western addition to the Nicene creed. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We have seen[1] that the summary of Christian belief, +known to us as the Nicene Creed, was completed at +the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381; but with this +exception, that the article defining the faith of the +Church concerning the Third Person of the +Ever-Blessed Trinity, asserted only that "the +Holy Ghost … proceedeth from the +Father," without the addition of the words +"<I>and the Son</I>;" and it was the controversy as to the +admission or non-admission of these words into the +Creed which caused the formal division between +Eastern and Western Christendom. +The question is said to have first arisen in the fifth +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P98"></A>98}</SPAN> +century; and gradually the words in dispute came to +be sung in the West during Divine Service. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Decrees against it. +</SPAN> +In the ninth century an appeal was made +on the subject to Pope Leo III., who decided in a +provincial Council that no such addition could lawfully be +made to the Creed, and ordered it to be engraved on +silver plates exactly as the Council of Constantinople +had left it. Towards the end of the same century +another Council was held at Constantinople, which also +decreed the disuse of the addition, and then the matter +dropped for about a hundred and fifty years. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Dispute stirred up again for political purposes. +</SPAN> +Its revival seems to have been chiefly owing to +political jealousies and to the struggle for +supremacy which was continually going +on between Rome and Constantinople. +We may be allowed to believe that the dispute was, in +reality, a question of mere words, and that the two +branches of the One Church did, and still do, hold the +"One Faith," although differing in their mode of +expressing it. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Actual schism in consequence. +</SPAN> +Still the ultra-conservatism which has +always distinguished the Eastern Church, and the +unyielding temper which has been no less conspicuous in +the Church of Rome, did in time bring about a formal +schism; and in A.D. 1053, the Pope +Leo IX. issued a sentence of excommunication +against the Patriarch of Constantinople +and all who adhered to him. In the following +year the Patriarch Michael Cerularius summoned a +synod at Constantinople, and retorted the excommunication +upon the Latins. Two attempts at reconciliation +were afterwards made, one in A.D. 1274, following the +close of the last Crusade, and another which, after +lengthened negotiations, came to an equally unsuccessful +termination at the Council of Florence, A.D. 1430. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P99"></A>99}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Outward union never since restored. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Since that time the two great Branches of the One +Vine, whilst still drawing Life and Nourishment +from the same Divine Root of Jesse +by means of the same Holy Sacraments, +have yet abstained from all acts of outward +communion, and have failed to recognize in each other those +essential marks of Catholicity which God's Mercy +and Providence has preserved to them even in the +midst of all their respective defects of Charity, or their +errors in theory and practice. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] Chap. VI., sec. 3. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P100"></A>100}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Church of the Middle Ages +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 900-A.D. 1500 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Foundation of the temporal power of the Popedom. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The temporal power of the Popes gradually +increased after the ninth century, when part +of the territory since known as the States of the +Church was bestowed on them by Pepin, +whose son, the famous Emperor +Charlemagne, confirmed the donation. The +change thus wrought in the position of +the Popes, who to their spiritual office of Bishop now +added the temporal one of sovereign, was productive of +a corresponding change in the claims they made upon +the submission of the rest of Christendom, and these +altered claims first assumed a definite form in the +eleventh century. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The Supremacy of the Popes.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Papal claims to spiritual supremacy. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Bishops of Rome had at first limited their ideas +of universal supremacy to spiritual things: +it was as Universal Bishop that they +desired to be honoured and obeyed, and +we have seen in the preceding chapter that a certain +priority seemed to accrue to them by force of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P101"></A>101}</SPAN> +circumstances. Rome had come to be regarded as the +Mother of the Churches, much as Jerusalem was in the +first ages of Christianity, and appeals for advice and +help were at first voluntarily made to the learning and +piety of the Bishops of Rome. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Further claims to temporal authority. +</SPAN> +Later, instead of +advisers they claimed to be absolute judges in +ecclesiastical matters, and when the temporal possessions +of the Popedom made the chair of +St. Peter an object of ambition to covetous, +designing men, the character of Bishop +was too often merged in that of Prince, and spiritual +power ceased to satisfy those who thought it their duty +or their interest to enforce what was in fact an +Universal Sovereignty. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Plausibleness and actual advantages of Papal supremacy. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It is not difficult to understand that the idea of one +Visible Head and Centre of Christendom +would appear to have much to recommend +it; nor even that the power of the Popes +was in reality the source of many blessings +in the lawless state in which European +society found itself for many centuries after the fall of +the Roman empire. An authority which could reduce +rebellious subjects to obedience, overawe refractory +nobles, or check the tyranny of an irresponsible +sovereign, could hardly fail to be productive of some good +effects when wielded by disinterested men, and with +singleness of purpose. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Its corruptions and dangers. +</SPAN> +But in the hands of worldly-minded +and ambitious prelates, such as +too many of the Popes undoubtedly were, +this usurped prerogative of interference in +the affairs of foreign states became an engine of +mighty evil, and in the course of time it was felt to be +such an intolerable yoke by the people of Europe that +continued submission to it became impossible. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P102"></A>102}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +What the Reformation really was. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Reformation was in fact a casting off of an +unjustifiable usurpation in temporal as +well as in spiritual things, and a violent +reaction against that course of events +which, from the eighth century downwards, had been +tending to reduce the different sovereigns of Western +Christendom to the rank of vassals of the Roman See. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>Some account of the Popes of the Middle Ages.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +A clearer view of the rise and results of papal +supremacy may perhaps be gained by entering into a +somewhat more detailed account of such Popes as from +various causes occupy conspicuous places in the history +of the Roman Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Leo the Great, and the first "papal aggression." +</SPAN> +In order to do this effectually, +it will be necessary to go back a little farther than the +date at the head of the chapter, to the +time of St. Leo the Great (A.D. 440-A.D. 461), +whose claim to interfere between +St. Hilary, Bishop of Arles, and +Chelidonius, Bishop of Besançon, may be looked upon as +the first "papal aggression" of which history gives us +an example. Chelidonius had been deposed by a +General Council of the Church of France under the +presidency of Hilary, and so deeply did the French +Bishops resent the unjust attempts of Leo to set aside +their decision, that the Bishop of Rome found an +appeal to the secular power necessary for the purpose +of enforcing his claim to exercise jurisdiction over a +foreign Church. But even the authority of +Valentinian III., Emperor of the West, did not succeed in +obliging Hilary to cede the liberties of the Church of +France, and it is a significant fact that the Bishop of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P103"></A>103}</SPAN> +Arles is reverenced as a saint by the whole Western +Church, although his sense of what was due to his +position as a member of the French episcopate would not +suffer him to yield his just rights, in order to obtain a +reconciliation with one so personally worthy of esteem +and honour as St. Leo. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Papal claims strengthened and extended by St. Gregory +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The good and wise St. Gregory the Great +(A.D. 590-A.D. 604), though he strenuously +disclaimed for himself, and denied to others, +the right of assuming the title of "Universal +Bishop," appears to have had very strong +ideas respecting the authority which he conceived +to belong to the successors of St. Peter, whilst his +talents and holiness gave him an extensive influence +over his contemporaries. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Hadrian I. +</SPAN> +Succeeding Popes laid claim +to more extended powers, especially +Hadrian I. (A.D. 772-A.D. 793), who first +advanced the doctrine that the whole Christian Church +was subject to the see of Rome. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Rise of the temporal power of the Popes under Leo III. +</SPAN> +His successor, Leo +III. (A.D. 795-A.D. 816), having crowned +Charlemagne Emperor of the West, A.D. 800, +received from that monarch the +sovereignty of Rome, and thus became +a temporal prince as well as a Bishop, and about the +same time there began to appear certain forged canons +(or Church laws), professing to be ancient decrees +collected by St. Isidore of Seville, in the seventh +century, and having for their object to give primitive +sanction to Roman Supremacy. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +"Pseudo-Isidore" Decretals +</SPAN> +These "Pseudo-Isidore" Decretals, as they were +afterwards called, were frequently appealed +to, apparently in good faith, by subsequent Popes; and +their genuineness was generally believed in, almost +without question, until the time of the Reformation in +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P104"></A>104}</SPAN> +the sixteenth century. By about the middle of the +ninth century these decretals were made use of to +settle ecclesiastical questions, and Nicholas +I. (A.D. 858-A.D. 867) laid great stress upon them when the +liberties of the French Church were again defended by +Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, in a +very similar case to that in which +St. Hilary had offered opposition to St. Leo. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Hincmar's opposition to papal claims. +</SPAN> +Hincmar's zeal in opposing the usurpations of +the Roman see had some little success during the +episcopate of Hadrian II. (A.D. 867-A.D. 872), but its +effects passed away when John VIII. (A.D. 872-A.D. 882) +espoused the cause of Charles the Bald, and thus +enlisted the interests of the crown on his side. +</P> + +<P> +The troubles and disorders consequent on the +breaking up of the great empire of Charlemagne, had had a +very injurious effect on morals and religion; and +unworthy persons, to whom the temporal possessions of +the Popes had by this time become an object of +ambition, took advantage of the depressed state of the +Church to seize upon the bishopric of +Rome either for themselves or for others +in whom they had an interest. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Unspirituality caused by temporal power. +</SPAN> +Hence the +history of the papacy during the next century and a +half is full of dreary records of corruption and +wickedness. The elevation of John XII. to the papal throne +at the age of eighteen (A.D. 955), and his evil life, called +forth the interference of the Emperor Otho the Great, +who deposed him and elected Leo VIII. (A.D. 963-A.D. 965) +in his stead. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Interference of Emperors of the West. +</SPAN> +From this time the emperors +frequently interfered to check the +continual disputes between Popes and +anti-Popes, which often ended in the murder +of one of the rivals. Silvester II. (Gerbert) +(A.D. 999-A.D. 1003), +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P105"></A>105}</SPAN> +who was made Pope through the influence +of Otho III., was prevented by death from carrying out +the reforms he meditated, and at length, in A.D. 1046, +the Emperor Henry III. was called upon to decide +between three claimants to the papal throne. He +settled the question by appointing a German, Clement +II. (A.D. 1046-A.D. 1047), after the synod of Sutri +had put aside the claims of the original disputants. +Henry thus took the election of the Popes entirely out +of the hands of the Clergy of Rome, with whom it had +hitherto nominally rested, and appropriated it to +himself. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +This interference unjustifiable. +</SPAN> +This was an undoubted usurpation +on the part of the secular power, though +Henry seems to have been in earnest in +his endeavours to check the simony which had been +so disgracefully prevalent in the papal elections, and +to appoint Bishops who might be worthy of their +position. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Hildebrand's influence. +</SPAN> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Overthrow of secular interference. +</SPAN> +Leo IX. (A.D. 1048-A.D. 1054) and his +successor, Victor II. (A.D. 1055-A.D. 1057), +aided and influenced by the famous +Hildebrand (afterwards Gregory VII.), succeeded in +effecting considerable reforms in religion and morals, +and were very zealous in discouraging simoniacal +appointments to offices in the Church, but a gradual +and increasing resistance was growing up against the +imperial encroachments, and after the +death of Henry, Pope Nicholas II. (A.D. 1059-A.D. 1061) +was enabled to obtain a +decree that the election of the Popes should, for +the future, rest with the Roman Cardinals, +subject to the consent of the Roman Clergy and people, +and with some vague reference to the emperor's wishes. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Hildebrand Pope. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +At length Hildebrand, the counsellor and support of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P106"></A>106}</SPAN> +several preceding Popes, was himself called to the see +of Rome under the title of Gregory VII. (A.D. 1073-A.D. 1083), +and at once +devoted the energies of his powerful mind to the work +of reforming the Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +His reforms +</SPAN> +The two means on which he +chiefly relied for accomplishing his object +were the enforcing of celibacy on the +Clergy, and the abolition of simony, under which head +he included every species of lay investiture. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and their consequences. +</SPAN> +The prosecution of his plans soon brought him +into a violent dispute with the weak and +wicked Emperor Henry IV., who was as eager to +secure the right of bestowing upon Bishops the ring +and pastoral staff, as well as of their sole appointment, +and thus reduce them to the state of mere secular vassals, +as Gregory was by the same means to secure their +ecclesiastical obedience to the see of Rome, and their +total independence of any civil power. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Result of the contest. +</SPAN> +The contest +lasted till the death of Gregory in exile, +and was carried on by his successors, until +during the popedom of Calixtus II. (A.D. 1119-1124) a +compromise was agreed upon by which the emperor left +to each Church the free election of its Bishops, who +were to receive the ring and staff from the altar, and +the temporalties of their sees from the crown. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Wars between Rome and Germany. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This arrangement did not, however, bring peace +between the Popes and the emperors, the +Popes siding with the Guelphs in the long +civil wars of the next two centuries, in +opposition to the Ghibelline emperors. Hadrian +IV. (A.D. 1154-A.D. 1159), or Nicholas Breakspear, the +only English Pope, found it expedient to seek the +assistance of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, to aid +him in quelling the insurrection headed by Arnold of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P107"></A>107}</SPAN> +Brescia; but Alexander III. (A.D. 1159-A.D. 1181) came +into fresh collision with Frederic, who was at length +obliged to submit and beg for peace. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Climax of the papal power under Innocent III. +</SPAN> +The minority of Frederic II. was favourable +to the ambitious schemes of Pope Innocent +III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216), and under him +the power of the popedom reached its greatest height. +He laid both England and France under an interdict, +placed on the imperial throne, and then deposed, Otho +IV., and took measures for the suppression of the +Albigenses, which eventually resolved themselves into +the dreaded Inquisition. The old strife was continued +by Gregory IX. (A.D. 1227-A.D. 1241), who excommunicated +Frederic II., and the sentence was renewed by +Innocent IV. (A.D. 1243-A.D. 1254). The treatment +of the emperor by these successive Popes was +something akin to a persecution, and was apparently +occasioned by a feeling of opposition to any authority +which conflicted with the claims of Rome, and by a +hatred of the Ghibelline race. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Decline of the temporal power of the Popes. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +From the death of Innocent IV. the excessive power +of the Popes may be said to decrease. +Gregory X. (A.D. 1271-A.D. 1276) and +the Emperor Rudolf of Hapsburg were +good, earnest-minded men, who put an end to the +long-standing feud between Rome and the empire, and +after a succession of short pontificates, Boniface +VIII. (A.D. 1294-A.D. 1303) usurped the papal throne in the +place of the "hermit Pope," Celestine V. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Interference of the King of France in papal affairs. +</SPAN> +Boniface +was a thoroughly bad and unscrupulous man, and at +last died in a fit of disappointed rage at being taken +prisoner by the troops of his equally +unscrupulous enemy, Philip IV. of France, +who had refused to acknowledge the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P108"></A>108}</SPAN> +authority of the papal legate. Philip caused the +death of Benedict XI. (A.D. 1303-A.D. 1304), whose +honest goodness he feared, and then used his +influence to procure the election of Clement +V. (A.D. 1303-A.D. 1314), on condition of his pledging +himself to aid in the French king's schemes to plunder +and oppress the Church. Clement, having thus sold +himself, was not allowed to leave France, and the papal +court was fixed at Avignon. The Pope was now +completely at the mercy of Philip, who robbed the Church +at his will, and plundered and murdered the Knights +Templars with the connivance of Clement. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Popes at Avignon. +</SPAN> +The sojourn of the Popes at Avignon +(A.D. 1305-A.D. 1376) was a great blow to the +temporal power of the papacy, and was often called by +the Italians the Seventy Years' Captivity. Meanwhile +the Popes were again plunged into contests with the +German emperors: Louis of Bavaria was +excommunicated, and his empire laid under an interdict, on +account of his refusal to accept his dominions from +John XXII. (A.D. 1316-A.D. 1334). The papal +authority in Italy had become almost nominal except +in Rome itself, and even there it was much weakened +by the rebellion under Rienzi, A.D. 1352. Pope +Innocent VI. (A.D. 1333-A.D. 1362), soon after his election, +sent a legate to Rome, with orders to reduce not only the +city itself to obedience, but all that was then included in +the States of the Church; and this having been +successfully accomplished, the Popes began to think of +returning to Rome. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The return to Rome. +</SPAN> +The court at Avignon had become +fearfully corrupt, and some of those who composed it, +and loved its evils, were ready to oppose any change; +but Urban V. (A.D. 1362-A.D. 1370), a really upright +man, spent some of his episcopate at Rome, and his +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P109"></A>109}</SPAN> +successor, Gregory XI. (A.D. 1370-A.D. 1378) removed +thither with his court two years before his +death. The Cardinals however still clung +to Avignon, and though, in compliance with the earnest +wishes of the Roman people, they elected an Italian +to be Pope under the name of Urban VI. (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1389), +yet they were so offended at his zealous but +indiscreet endeavours to reform the evils around him, +that they declared him deposed, and set up an +anti-Pope at Avignon. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The consequent schism. +</SPAN> +The schism thus begun +lasted nearly forty years (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1417), +England, Germany, North Italy, Poland, and +the Scandinavian kingdoms siding with the true Popes, +while France, Scotland, Spain, and South Italy held +with the anti-Popes. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Its results. +</SPAN> +The troubles and corruptions of +the Church now multiplied, Popes and +anti-Popes alike made the acquisition of power and +revenue their great object, and wickedness was left +unrebuked both in Clergy and laity. A great impulse +was given to the sale of indulgences or pardons, an +evil practice which brought in large sums of money to +the papal exchequer, and at the same time led to such +abuses as probably to become a principal proximate +cause of the Reformation. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Council of Pisa. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +At length there was an universal longing for the +cessation of the great schism in the +Western Church, and a Council was held +at Pisa, A.D. 1409, where it was agreed by the +Cardinals belonging to the two parties to depose both Pope and +anti-Pope, and to elect another who took the name of +Alexander V., with an understanding that he was at +once to reform and pacify the Church. But neither Pope +nor anti-Pope would resign, so that there were three +claimants instead of two, and very soon after his +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P110"></A>110}</SPAN> +election Alexander V. died. John XXIII. (A.D. 1410-A.D. 1415) +was elected in his place, but he proved to be +thoroughly devoid of principle, and the Council of Pisa +having proved unsuccessful in promoting unity or +reformation, another was convoked at Constance, +A.D. 1414, under the presidency of the Emperor +Sigismund I. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Council of Constance. +</SPAN> +This Council was attended +by the representatives of all the monarchs of the West, +as well as by a very large number of Bishops and Clergy, +and it was decreed that the three claimants to the papal +throne should be deposed. John XXIII. was thrown +into prison, and, after considerable delay, Martin +V. (A.D. 1417-A.D. 1431) was chosen to succeed him. +The Council shortly after broke up, without having +done any thing towards the much desired reformation +of the Church, although the English, French, and +German deputies had been very earnest in their +endeavours to advance some scheme of reform. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Council of Basle. +</SPAN> +Another Council met at Basle, A.D. 1431, +whence it was transferred by Pope +Eugenius IV. (A.D. 1431-A.D. 1447) first to Ferrara, and +afterwards (A.D. 1439) to Florence. This opportunity +was also lost in a dispute between the Council and the +Pope, and there seemed to be nothing more to hope +for from Councils as a means of reformation. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +State of the papacy at the end of the fifteen century. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Nor were the personal characters of the Popes who +filled the see of Rome during the +remainder of the century, such as to +encourage any expectation that their +influence would be employed to revive +religion, or to encourage holy living. Worldliness +and ambition, revenge and immorality, cast a deep +shadow over the records of the papacy at this time, until +the century closes with the reign of Alexander VI., or +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P111"></A>111}</SPAN> +Roderigo Borgia (A.D. 1492-A.D. 1503), who was +elected by bribery, and whose shameless vice and +cruelty brought greater scandals upon the Church than +any of his predecessors had done. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Monastic Orders.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +Monastic orders, though not by any means an invention +of the Middle Ages, may yet fairly be said to have +attained their height, both of prosperity and of +usefulness, during this period of Church History. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Early rise of monasticism. +</SPAN> +We may trace the origin of Christian monastic +life to very early times, when persecution +drove many Christians to a life of loneliness and +privation in desert places. The mode of life thus begun +from necessity was afterwards continued from choice, +and in the hope of more complete self-devotion to +God's service; and the solitary hermits and anchorites +of primitive ages became the forerunners of an elaborate +system of religious communities of men and women. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Later influences brought to bear on it. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +St. Basil, in the fourth century, brought monasticism +into a more definite form, and St. Athanasius +during the same century introduced +it into Europe from the East. In the +West the religious life spread and flourished under the +fostering care of such men as St. Augustine and +St. Gregory the Great, whilst by St. Benedict in the sixth +century it was developed into the famous Benedictine +rule, to which, with few exceptions, all the European +monasteries conformed, and which was the parent of +various minor orders or subdivisions[1]. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P112"></A>112}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Beneficial results of monasticism. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It is not easy to estimate the vast amount of good +which the labours of the Benedictine +monks conferred on the Church of the +Middle Ages, good which has left many +traces to the present day. Not only did they provide +in a vast number of instances for the spiritual wants +of the parishes in and near which they lived, as +well as for the education of the young, both rich and +poor, but they were also the philosophers, the +authors, the artists, and the physicians, nay, even the +farmers and the mechanics of Mediaeval times. They +built cathedrals and churches, made roads and bridges, +copied books when writing stood in the place of +printing, and were in general the props and pioneers of +civilization. Amongst the very large number of men +who embraced the monastic life, it is no marvel that +some were not all they professed to be, or that +occasional causes for scandal arose, but the popular +idea of the universal corruption of the inhabitants of +the monasteries is unsupported by facts, and much +of what helped to give rise to this false notion is +traceable to the doings of the mendicant or preaching friars. +These begging orders were offshoots from the regulars, +and were but too often very unworthy representatives +of the parent stock[2]. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>The Crusades.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +Amongst the events which stand out most distinctly +in the history of the Church in the Middle Ages, the +long series of warlike expeditions known as the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P113"></A>113}</SPAN> +Crusades bear a prominent part, stretching out as +they do from the end of the eleventh to nearly the end +of the thirteenth centuries. +</P> + +<P> +The empire of the Arabs had died out, but they had +been succeeded in their schemes of conquest as well as +in their adherence to the false faith of Mahomet, by the +savage Turks, whose ferocity and hatred of Christianity +were especially displayed in the ill-treatment of those +Christians whose piety led them to visit the scenes of +our Blessed Lord's Life and Death. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Cause of the Crusades. +</SPAN> +The indignation +excited in Europe by the stories of +outrage and desecration which were from +time to time brought back by pilgrims to the Holy +Land, at length found an outlet and expression in the +First Crusade, which was preached, A.D. 1095, by Peter +the Hermit, with the sanction both of the Pope and the +Patriarch of Constantinople. This expedition resulted +in the taking of the Holy City by the armies of the +Cross (A.D. 1099), and the establishment in it of a +Christian sovereignty. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Their transient results. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The First Crusade was the only one which had any +real success, and even this was a transient +one, for less than ninety years afterwards +(A.D. 1187) Jerusalem was again taken by the Saracens, +and has never since been a Christian power. But though +the deliverance of the Holy Land from the yoke of the +infidels was not accomplished by the Crusades, and +though they caused much misery and bloodshed, and +were stained by much lawlessness and plunder, yet the +advance of the barbarous and anti-Christian influences +of Mahometanism was checked, the Churches of Europe +were saved from the soul-destroying apostasy which +had over-run so large a portion of Asia, and the Crescent +waned before the Cross. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P114"></A>114}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Reasons for their ill-success. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Much of the ill success with which the Crusaders +met during several of these expeditions, +may be traced to jealousies and +heart-burnings between the different princes and +nobles who took part in them, whilst disagreements +on a larger scale were amongst the evil fruits of the +unhappy division between Eastern and Western +Christendom. Latin Christians appear in too many instances +to have made use of the opportunities afforded them to +injure and oppress their weaker brethren of the Greek +Church, even whilst marching against the common foe +of both, and the Fourth Crusade (A.D. 1203) was +actually diverted from its legitimate purpose in order +to conquer Constantinople, and establish a Latin +Emperor, as well as a Latin Patriarch within its walls. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Good directly brought about by them. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Still, whatever may have been the want of +single-mindedness on the part of many of the +professed soldiers of the Cross, whatever +the amount of failure with regard to the +immediate objects of the Crusades, it is clear that +much good was brought about through them by God's +Providence, not only in the check given to the +encroachments of the unbelievers, but also more indirectly +in the quenching of rising heresies, in the greater +purity of life which in many cases accompanied the +taking of the Cross, the weakening of the feudal +system, the impulse given to learning and civilization. +Earnestness and self-devotion such as were shown by +Godfrey de Bouillon, St. Louis of France, and no doubt +by many more amongst the Crusaders, were rewarded +and blessed, though not in what might have seemed at +first sight the only way of success. +</P> + +<BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P115"></A>115}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 5. <I>State of Religions Relief and Practice during the +Middle Ages.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Popular idea of the Middle Ages, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There is a wide-spread notion that the Middle Ages +were also "Dark Ages," full of ignorance +and superstition, with hardly a ray of +knowledge or true religion to enlighten +the gloom, and also that the Church was the great +encourager of this state of things; indeed, that it was +mainly due to the influence of the monks and of the +Clergy generally. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +not founded in history. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +This belief is however quite unhistorical. No +doubt there was abundance of ignorance +as well as of superstition, its natural +consequence, but there are ample means of accounting for +both in the political condition of Europe at that time, +nor is it needful to blame the Church for what was in +fact due to the sins and errors of the world. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Real causes of ignorance and vice in the Middle Ages. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The confusion incident to the breaking up of the old +Roman empire, and the occupation of its +different provinces by less highly-civilized +nations, had been followed by other +disorders after the death of Charlemagne and +the partition of his dominions; and the constant state +of warfare and aggression in which most of the princes +of that time lived, was not calculated to leave their +subjects much leisure for intellectual culture. Besides +this, we must take into account the crushing influence +of the feudal system, which gave the nobles almost +absolute power over their serfs or dependants, thus +encouraging lawlessness on the one hand, and causing +degradation on the other. The scarcity and costliness +of books before the invention of printing was another +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P116"></A>116}</SPAN> +formidable obstacle to any universal spread of +education, all which causes tended to bring learning into +contempt amongst the restless barons and their +followers, restricting it chiefly to the Clergy and the +monks. Thus not only theology, but secular knowledge +besides, found a home in the Church, which was at +once the guardian and the channel of literature. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +No scarcity of the means of grace in Mediaeval times. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +There are also good grounds for believing that the +provision made by the Church for the +spiritual necessities of the people was not, +at any rate, less abundant than is the case +at the present day. Indeed, there is no +doubt that both Churches and Clergy, and +consequently opportunities for worship and instruction, were +far more in proportion to the number and needs of the +population than they can be said to be now in our own +country, even after the persevering and liberal efforts +of late years. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Difficulties respecting Services and Bibles on the vernacular, +</SPAN> +If it is objected that the want of free +access to the Holy Scriptures, and the use +of the Latin tongue in the public services +of the Church, were calculated largely to +outweigh any advantages which the people +of those days might possess, we may remember that +those comparatively few who could read were just those +who would have access to the necessarily rare copies +then existing of the Word of God, and that to them +also the Latin version would be more comprehensible +than any other. Again, with regard to Latin services, +it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to +translate the devotions of the Church into any of the +slowly-forming dialects of the different European nations; +whilst Latin was more universally spoken and +understood than French is now, and was probably +intelligible to a larger number of men and women during a +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P117"></A>117}</SPAN> +considerable portion of the Middle Ages than any one +of the other languages used. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +but the wish for them not wholly disregarded. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +As the various languages of Europe became gradually +developed, a desire naturally arose amongst +those who spoke them for services in the +vernacular; and this desire was not left +altogether ungratified even long before +the Reformation. Thus, in England, the Epistles and +Gospels and the Litany were translated into the native +language in the Services of the Church, and interlinear +translations were made of many portions of the +Mediaeval Prayer Books[3]. Neither must we imagine that +the translations of Holy Scripture put forth by the +Reformers, or even that earlier version to which Wickliffe +gave his name, were by any means the first efforts +made to produce the Holy Bible in the vernacular. +From Anglo-Saxon times downwards, we have traces +of Bibles translated for the use of those who preferred +such versions; and to the truth of this statement may +be quoted the testimony of John Foxe, the "martyrologist," +who says, "If histories be well examined, we +shall find, both before the Conquest and after, as well +before John Wickliffe was born as since, the whole +body of the Scriptures by sundry men translated into +this our country tongue[4]." +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +State of learning in the Middle Ages. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Mediaeval Church was, in reality, a great +supporter of learning. Our two great +Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were +not less flourishing during the Middle +Ages than at present; and nearly all of the colleges and +halls at both Universities were founded in those days +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P118"></A>118}</SPAN> +of supposed darkness. Nor was this care for literature +confined to the Church in England; Universities of +equal note were to be found abroad at Paris, Pavia, +Bologna, Salamanca, and other places, whilst the +Schoolmen, or professors, who taught in these seats of +learning, and who numbered amongst themselves the +most acute thinkers and reasoners of the time, such as +St. Anselm, Peter Lombard, Albertus Magnus, and +St. Thomas Aquinas, were all attached to some Religious +Order. Enough of the results of their labours have +come down to our days to show us that it is neither +wise nor just to despise the mental work which they +accomplished, even though their conclusions may not +always be in accordance with our own. +</P> + +<P> +It is not meant by what has been said above to infer +that the Mediaeval Church was altogether free from +blemishes, or to deny that these blemishes did, as time +went on, increase to an extent which rendered +reformation not only expedient but necessary. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The effects of Roman influence. +</SPAN> +We have already seen that the supremacy claimed +by the Popes over the whole Church was +productive of great, though, by God's good +Providence, not unmitigated, evil in a political point of +view; and much of the error in faith or practice on the +part of Christians of those days, seems traceable to the +tendency on the part of Rome to crystallize opinions +into dogmas, and then to impose those dogmas on +the Church. Thus the "Romish doctrine concerning +purgatory," and the mechanism of "pardons," or +indulgences, grew out of the floating belief held by such +holy men as St. Augustine, that the souls of the faithful +would undergo some more perfect purification after +death than is attainable in this world; while the elaborate +system of invocations of, and devotions to, the Blessed +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P119"></A>119}</SPAN> +Virgin Mary and the saints, were built up out of a not +only harmless but justifiable faith in the intercessions +of the Saints for the Church on earth, and the wish to +obtain a share in their prayers. So again, the denial +of the cup to the laity, which was justly felt by many +to be such a grievous privation, was the natural +consequence of the over-refinements of the Roman Church +respecting the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist[5]. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The right spirit in which to regard the Mediaeval Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +But whatever imperfections may have clung to the +Visible Church in the Middle Ages, +whether owing to external hindrances, or to +the human frailties of her members, we +have no right to doubt that she was still +the one great instrument in God's Hands for the +salvation of souls. Neither should we dwell so exclusively +on what is often an exaggerated estimate of the extent +and duration of these blemishes, as to ignore the zeal +and self-devotion which grudged neither expense nor +labour in the service of God and the adornment of His +House and Worship, the charity which truly "cared +for the poor," the faith and holiness which shone forth +in the public and private lives of such men as +St. Ferdinand of Spain, St. Louis of France, and Rudolf of +Hapsburg, Emperor of Germany, and were, doubtless, +not wanting in the case of countless numbers of their +fellow-Christians, whose names, little known and soon +forgotten on earth, are for ever written in God's Book +of Remembrance. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] Especially the Cluniacs, founded by Berno, Abbot of +Clugny, A.D. 910, and the Cistercians, founded by Robert +of Citeaux, A.D. 1098, and rendered illustrious by St. Bernard, +afterwards Abbot of Clairvaux (A.D. 1113-A.D. 1153). +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] The order of Franciscan Friars was founded by St. Francis +of Assisi, A.D. 1207, and that of the Dominicans by St. Dominic +of Castile, A.D. 1215. They were originally intended +to supplement the real or supposed defects of the Clergy and +the regular orders, and to aid in the suppression of heresy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] See "Key to the Prayer Book," pp. 1-8. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[4] See "Key to the Bible," pp. 18-23. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[5] The practice of communion in one kind made its way +very slowly, especially in England, where it was perhaps +never universal. A decree of the Council of Constance in +A.D. 1415 gave its first authoritative sanction. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P120"></A>120}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Mediaeval History of Continental Churches +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 900-A.D. 1500 +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +No Mediaeval Church history in Asia or Africa. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Before proceeding to the consideration of the +different European Churches in Mediaeval times, +it may be well to remark that from the year 500 +the Christian history of Asia and Africa is +almost a blank. Arianism, partly +imported into Africa by the Vandals, who +crossed thither from Spain, and partly of +native growth, as well as the opposite error, +Eutychianism, took from the African Church all spiritual +life and vigour, so that the apostasy of Mahomet met +with no formidable obstacles when in the seventh +century it swept like a flood over what had been +Christian Africa. It is true that the Copts in Egypt +and the native Christians of Abyssinia appear to have +preserved the Apostolic Succession, but both these +Churches are in a state of great depression, and the +Faith they profess is mingled with much ignorance and +superstition, as well as with positive error. +</P> + +<P> +A similar process took place in Asia. Arianism, +chiefly in its later development of Nestorianism, with +Eutychianism and other errors, ate out the heart of the +Church, faith grew weak, and love grew cold, and +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P121"></A>121}</SPAN> +Mahometanism once more triumphed almost +unchecked. Although the Churches of Asia are not +all utterly extinct, yet they share more or less in the +state of ignorance, superstition, and depression which +is a natural consequence of the serious errors with +which their profession of Christianity is intermixed, +as well as of the way in which the few despised +Christians are mingled with their richer and more +numerous Mahometan neighbours. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The Church of Italy.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Lombard kingdom in Italy. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The kingdom of the Goths in Italy was not of long +duration, and their successors and fellow-Arians, the +Lombards, only obtained possession of the +northern portion of the Peninsula, whilst +Rome and Southern Italy became once more +subject to the emperors of the East. Gregory the Great +(A.D. 390-A.D. 604) began the work of +converting the Lombards to the Catholic Faith, and in the +middle of the seventh century Arianism had +disappeared from Italy. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Renewal of the tie between East and West. +</SPAN> +The renewal of the connexion +between the Eastern and Western Empires, +and the attempt of the Emperor Justinian +to subject the see of Rome to that of +Constantinople, placed Gregory under the necessity +of vindicating the independence of the Church of Italy, +and of denying the right of any one Patriarch to +assume authority over another. St. Gregory's holiness +and learning, and the wisdom of his endeavours to +reform corruptions, were most beneficial to the Church +over which he ruled. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Its rupture. +</SPAN> +The Image-breaking +Controversy put an end to the nominal tie +between the Eastern emperors and the +Church of Italy (about A.D. 730), and almost the whole +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P122"></A>122}</SPAN> +of the peninsula soon after became part of the dominions +of Charlemagne. This great Emperor's influence was +used in Italy, as elsewhere, to foster the work of the +Church, which however suffered severely from the state +of lawlessness and confusion incident on the breaking +up of Charlemagne's empire after his death, A.D. 814. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Depression of the Church in Italy. +</SPAN> +The Church of Italy in the ninth century had also to +undergo the inroads of the Mahometans +in the South, and of the heathen Magyars +(or Hungarians) on the North, as well as +of the Northmen, who ravaged and pillaged the +churches and monasteries on the coasts. Other +depressing influences were to be found in the secularization +of the Bishops of Rome through the increase of their +temporal power, and the usurpation by the German +emperors of the right of election to the popedom, which +properly belonged to the Clergy of Rome. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Gregory VII.'s reforms. +</SPAN> +The corruptions which from these and other causes had +crept into the Church of Italy, drew towards them the +attention of the famous Hildebrand, +afterwards Pope Gregory VII. (A.D. 1073-A.D. 1085), +and his efforts at reformation were not +without a beneficial effect. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Heresies of the Albigenses +</SPAN> +Early in the twelfth century +the heretical sect of the Albigenses, whose +doctrines resembled those of the ancient +Manicheans, spread from the South of France into +Italy, where they received the name of Paterini. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Waldenses. +</SPAN> +Both they and the kindred sect of the Waldenses +came under the notice of Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216). +The Albigenses were exterminated +with circumstances of great cruelty[1], but the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P123"></A>123}</SPAN> +Waldenses survive to the present day in the valleys of +Piedmont. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Evil effects of the residence at Avignon on the Italian Church. +</SPAN> +The seventy years' residence +of the Bishops of Rome at Avignon (A.D. 1305-A.D. 1376) +was felt by the Church +of Italy to be an injury and a great evil, +and in the forty years' schism which followed the +return of the chief pastor of the Italians to his own +episcopal city (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1417), only the kingdom +of the Two Sicilies sided with the anti-Popes. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Other depressing influences. +</SPAN> +Meanwhile the constant warfare between the +Guelphs and the Ghibellines in Italy, the +feuds between the different republics, the worldliness +and evil lives of too many of the Popes, and the luxury +and immorality which increased riches, consequent on +increased commerce, brought with them, had all tended +to a state of things in which the purifying influences of +the Church as "the salt of the earth" were sorely needed. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Desires for reformation. +</SPAN> +Longings for a reformation of men's lives +and morals were smouldering in many +breasts, and in the city of Florence these hidden +wishes were kindled into a flame by the zeal and +eloquence of the monk Girolamo Savonarola, who +however fell a victim to his zeal, A.D. 1498. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Liturgy of the Italian Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The ancient Liturgy of the Church of Italy was +derived from one bearing the name of +St. Peter, and revised by St. Gregory, A.D. 590. +This Roman or Gregorian Liturgy, though with +certain later additions, is still in use throughout Italy, +the only exception to this rule being the cathedral and +diocese of Milan, which still preserve a Liturgy known +as that of St. Ambrose, who was Bishop of Milan from +A.D. 374 to A.D. 397. +</P> + +<BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P124"></A>124}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Church of France.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Orthodoxy of the Franks. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Franks alone of all the barbarians who swept +over Europe at the time of the decay of +the Western Empire, were Catholic from +their first conversion to Christianity; and to this +circumstance the French kings owed their title of Eldest +Sons of the Church. It was by the influence of a French +princess, Bertha, the Christian wife of Ethelbert, king +of Kent, that St. Augustine and his companions were +favourably received in England; whilst another +princess of the same race, Ingunda, who married the +son of the Visigoth king of Spain, is said to have +brought about the conversion of her husband from +Arianism to the Catholic faith, by her own constancy +under persecution. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Church under Charlemagne. +</SPAN> +During the reign of the Emperor +Charlemagne (A.D. 768-A.D. 814), the +French monasteries became seats of +learning, and amongst the learned men +who assisted the Emperor in his efforts for the religious +and intellectual improvement of his people, may be +mentioned the English Alcuin, who held an honourable +position at the French court as the instructor and +adviser of the monarch and his sons. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The French Liturgy. +</SPAN> +The Gallican Liturgy, a branch of the Primitive Liturgy +of Ephesus, was entirely disused by order +of Charlemagne, and the Roman service used in its +stead. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of the Northmen. +</SPAN> +From about A.D. 870 the Northmen, who had +long been a scourge to France, began to +settle down in that country, and were +gradually converted to the Christian Faith, their chief, +Rollo, marrying a Christian princess, A.D. 911, and +being baptized in the following year. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Crusades. +</SPAN> +A French +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P125"></A>125}</SPAN> +hermit, Peter of Auvergne, was the instigator of the +First Crusade, which was preached by +him at Clermont, and joined by a large +number of French nobles, the command of the +expedition being given to Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of +Lorraine. The system of Crusades thus inaugurated +for the defence of Christian pilgrims in the Holy +Land, and the winning back of the Holy Places +from the hands of the Mahometans, was turned to +a cruel and unjustifiable use in the thirteenth +century, when Innocent III. proclaimed a Crusade against +the Albigenses in the South of France, in which +multitudes of these unhappy and misguided men were +slaughtered. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Rupture between France and the Pope. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +During the reign of Philip IV. (A.D. 1285-A.D. 1314) +a collision took place for the first +time, between the Church and Kingdom +of France and the authority of the Pope. +Hitherto the disputes between the Popes and the +French monarchs had been on personal rather than on +political grounds, and had given no opportunity for +defining the exact limits of papal authority in France. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Comparative independence of French Church. +</SPAN> +But meanwhile the French Clergy had not lost their +feeling of nationality, and the kings of +France had been able to use much more +independent action in the appointment of +Bishops than was the case in other countries. Hence +the Bishops and Clergy joined with the king in +resisting the sentence of excommunication pronounced by +the Pope on Philip and his kingdom. Neither King +nor Pope appear to have been influenced by any +religious feeling in their contest, and after the miserable +death of Boniface VIII. (A.D. 1303), and the murder of +his successor, Philip's unprincipled interference in the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P126"></A>126}</SPAN> +election of Clement V. was productive of great evils. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Evil results of the conduct of Philip IV. +</SPAN> +The cruel massacre of the Knights +Templars, the corruptions of the Papal Court +in France, and more indirectly the Great +Schism in which the Church of France espoused the +cause of the anti-Popes, may all be traced to the +conduct of Philip IV. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Church of Spain and Portugal.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conquest of Spain by the Moors. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Before the end of the sixth century, the Visigoths, +who had settled in what is now Spain and Portugal, +had been converted from Arianism to the Catholic +Faith. In A.D. 711 the Mahometan Moors +crossed over from Africa to the South of +Spain, and in A.D. 713 all the Peninsula, +except the small mountain district of Asturias, had +fallen into their hands. The more independent and +hardy amongst the Spanish Christians took refuge in +this inaccessible portion of the country, whilst others +dwelt amongst the Moors, and appear for a time to have +been allowed the exercise of their religion unmolested +by any systematic persecution. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Persecution of the Spanish Church. +</SPAN> +About A.D. 830, however, +the policy of the Moorish conquerors +underwent a change, and during the next +hundred years multitudes of Christians +in Spain suffered martyrdom for their faith. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The re-conquest of Spain by the Spaniards. +</SPAN> +After the +death of Hachem, the last Caliph of Cordova (A.D. 1031), +and the subdivision of his dominions, +the Christians of Asturias succeeded in +making head against their oppressors, and +gradually won back from them district after district, +until Ferdinand III. (A.D. 1214-A.D. 1252) succeeded in +reducing the Moorish possessions to the single province +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P127"></A>127}</SPAN> +of Grenada. This last remnant of Mahometan +dominion was wrested from the Moors A.D. 1492, and +Spain, as well as the separate kingdom of Portugal, +was once more entirely Christian. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Effect of national circumstances on Spanish Christianity. +</SPAN> +It is perhaps hardly +to be wondered at, that the continual +state of religious warfare in which Spain +was so long plunged should have given +a somewhat stern character to Spanish +Christianity. The Inquisition, when +introduced into Spain by the mistaken zeal of the good +Queen Isabella towards the end of the fifteenth century, +found a readier welcome than elsewhere, and gained +an additional tinge of severity in a country which had +been brought into such close contact with one of the +deadliest forms of unbelief. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +The Spanish Liturgy. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The original Liturgy of Spain was, like the ancient +Liturgy of France, a form of that used +at Ephesus. It received the name of +Mozarabic, from having been in use by Christians +living <I>in the midst of Arabs</I>, or Moors, and was not +discontinued in the Church of Spain until A.D. 1080, +when after much resistance on the part of the Spaniards +it was abolished by order of Alphonso VI., King of +Castille and Leon, under the influence of Pope Gregory +VII., and the Roman rite substituted throughout the +country. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 4. <I>The Church of Germany.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Germany by French +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The large tract of country which is now comprehended +under the name of Germany was won to the Church +by a long series of missionary labours. In the +beginning of the seventh century Frankish +missionaries laid the foundations of a +Church in Bavaria and on the banks of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P128"></A>128}</SPAN> +the Danube, thus paving the way for the conversion of +Southern Germany. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and British missionaries, +</SPAN> +Central Germany, then called +Franconia, was the scene of the labours +of Kilian, an Irish missionary (A.D. 630-A.D. 689), +whilst the English Bishops Wilfrith (A.D. 677) +and Willebrord (A.D. 692-A.D. 741), preached +with much success to the Frieslanders in the +Northwest of Germany, now included in Holland. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Labours of St. Boniface +</SPAN> +It is, +however, to a Devonshire clergyman, Winfrith, better +known as St. Boniface (A.D. 715-A.D. 755), +that the title of Apostle of Germany is +generally given, not only on account of his unwearied +missionary labours in still heathen districts, but also +on account of his success in organizing and +consolidating the different branches of the German Church. +He became Archbishop of Mentz, and Metropolitan, +and at last suffered martyrdom at the hands of some +heathen Frieslanders at the age of seventy-five. +</P> + +<P> +The Emperor Charlemagne endeavoured to compel +the rude Saxons in the neighbourhood of the Baltic to +embrace the Christian faith; but eventually he was +induced to trust less to the force of arms for their +conversion, and more to the missionary work of the Church. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and of Willehad. +</SPAN> +Amongst the prominent members of this Saxon +mission, we find another English priest, +Willehad, a native of Northumbria, afterwards +Bishop of Bremen, who died A.D. 789. +</P> + +<P> +The first attempts to plant the Church in Moravia +were made by German missionaries in the ninth +century. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Eastern missionaries in Moravia +</SPAN> +These do not appear, however, to have been very +successful, and about A.D. 860, two Greek +monks, Cyril and Methodius, entered +upon the same sphere of labour. Methodius +was afterwards consecrated Metropolitan of Pannonia +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P129"></A>129}</SPAN> +and Moravia by the Pope; but there was +considerable jealousy on the part of the Latinized Germans +towards their Eastern fellow-labourers, and eventually +the Moravian Church was subjected to the Bishops of +Bohemia. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Bohemia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The first Christian Duke of Bohemia was converted +about A.D. 871, whilst staying at the +Moravian court, probably by Methodius; but +the Church made very slow progress in Bohemia until +after the conquest of that country by Otho the Great +(A.D. 950), and the foundation of the Bishopric of +Prague by King Boleslav the Pious (A.D. 967-A.D. 999). +In Bohemia, as well as in Moravia, the influence of the +Greek missionaries made itself felt in the impress it +left upon the ritual and usages of the two Churches, +especially in the fact that the native Sclavonic language +was used in Divine Worship; but in the end German +influences prevailed in both countries, and the national +"use" gradually made way for the Latinized ritual +common in Germany. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of North Prussia, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Until towards the middle of the tenth century, the +Church made but very small progress in the northern +portion of what is now the kingdom of +Prussia. These regions were then +occupied by a Sclavonic race called Wends, who yielded +an unwilling submission to the Western emperors, and +disliked Christianity as being the religion of their +conquerors. Between A.D. 964 and A.D. 968, several +bishoprics were founded in this country by Otho the +Great, and amongst them the metropolitan see of +Magdeburg. A revolt of the Wends frustrated for the +time the success of the emperor's plans, but in the next +century Gottschalk, who became king of the Wends +A.D. 1047, and was himself a Christian, did all in his +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P130"></A>130}</SPAN> +power to aid the missionary work of the Church among +his people. He was martyred by his subjects, A.D. 1066, +and heathenism triumphed once more. During the +twelfth century, the Wendish kingdom was dissolved, +and its territories divided amongst different German +princes, after which the Church gradually regained +and extended its hold on the country. The northern +Wends, who obstinately adhered to their Pagan superstitions, +were at last converted chiefly by the labours of +St. Vicelin, who became Bishop of Oldenburg, A.D. 1148. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +of Pomerania, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The conversion of Pomerania was first attempted by +the Poles, who, on obtaining possession of +the country at the end of the tenth century, +founded a bishopric at Colberg, A.D. 1000. It was not, +however, until their more complete subjection to Poland +about a hundred years later, that any marked result +was obtained. Otho, Bishop of Bamberg, who placed +himself at the head of the Pomeranian mission A.D. 1124, +was at last enabled to overcome the fierce opposition +which the heathen natives offered to the work of +the Church, and by A.D. 1128 Christianity had gained +a firm footing amongst them. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +of Prussia Proper. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +From Pomerania the Church extended itself +eastward to Prussia Proper, about A.D. 1210. +Here, too, Christianity was very distasteful +to the natives, partly as being the religion of their +enemies the Poles. About A.D. 1230, the "Order of +Teutonic Knights" was instituted for the purpose of +subjugating Prussia; and, after a depopulating warfare +of fifty years' duration, the remaining inhabitants +embraced Christianity. Before the end of the thirteenth +century, the German element had quite superseded the +Sclavonic in Prussia, as well as in Pomerania, and in +what had formerly been the kingdom of the Wends. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P131"></A>131}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Extent of Roman influence in Germany. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church in Germany, taken as a whole, was very +much under Roman influence, partly, +perhaps, on account of the early connexion +between the emperors of the West and the +see of Rome, and partly from the constant +state of civil warfare into which Germany was plunged +from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. In these +contests the near neighbourhood of the Popes to the +Italian possessions of the Western Empire gave them a +hold on the affairs of Germany which they were not +slow to use, and the turbulent German nobles were +disinclined to resent an interference which was so often +exerted in their behalf against an unpopular sovereign. +The temporal power of the Popes was, however, much +weakened by the great Schism; and though the Church +of Germany acknowledged the true Pope, there was, +amongst its members, a very widespread sense of the +urgent need of some searching reformation. To this +feeling may be traced, not only the unhappily +disappointed expectations with which so many persons +looked to the Councils of Constance and Basle, but +also the unsound and exaggerated teaching of such +men as John Huss and Jerome of Prague. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 5. <I>The Church of Hungary.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Hungary. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Hungarians or Magyars were descended from a +Tartar or Finnish tribe, who settled in Pannonia +towards the close of the ninth century, and thence +made fierce inroads on Italy and Germany. In +A.D. 948, two Hungarian chiefs were baptized +at Constantinople, and the daughter of +one of them afterwards marrying Geisa, Duke of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P132"></A>132}</SPAN> +Hungary (A.D. 972-A.D. 997), Christian influences were, +by degrees, brought to bear upon the Hungarian people. +About the same time German missionaries began to +labour in Hungary, but it was not until the reign of +St. Stephen, the first King of Hungary (A.D. 997-A.D. 1038), +that the country was completely evangelized. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Hungary Latinized. +</SPAN> +Stephen did all in his power to aid the work of the +German missionaries; Hungary was divided into +dioceses, and the originally eastern origin +of the Hungarian Church, as well as the +Sclavonic origin of the people, forgotten under the +desire felt by the king to keep on a friendly footing with +the German emperors and the Popes. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Attacks of the Turks. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church of Hungary suffered severely from the +invasion of the Mongul Tartars, A.D. 1241, +and when, about a century later, some of +these Tartars returned from Asia and settled in Europe +under the name of Turks, Hungary, owing to its +frontier situation, was constantly liable to their attacks. +During the fifteenth century, Hungarian bravery was +the great barrier that opposed the spread of +Mahometanism over Western Europe. Even after the fall +of Constantinople, the Turks vainly endeavoured to +make themselves masters of their Christian neighbours, +and found themselves obliged to retreat discomfited +from the siege of Belgrade, A.D. 1456. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 6. <I>The Church of Poland.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Poland. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church of Poland was founded about A.D. 966, +when a daughter of the Christian Duke of +Bohemia married Miecislav, Duke of +Poland, and introduced Christianity into her adopted +country. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P133"></A>133}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Romanizing the church of Poland. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Polish Church at first bore traces of its Eastern +origin in its liturgy and ritual, but these +traces were removed by Casimir I. (A.D. 1040-A.D. 1058), +who, previous to his +accession, had been a monk in a French or German +monastery, and who made a point of bringing the +Church of his own country into uniformity with the +other Churches of the West. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 7. <I>The Scandinavian Churches.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Denmark +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +About A.D. 822, a mission was sent from France to +Denmark under Ebbo, Archbishop of +Rheims, which resulted in the conversion +of Harold, King of Jutland, who was baptized at +Mayence, A.D. 826. At the request of Harold, a fresh +mission to Denmark was organized and headed by Anskar, +a monk of Corbey, near Amiens, who is often known +as the "Apostle of the North." +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Sweden. +</SPAN> +From Denmark Anskar +made his way to Sweden, A.D. 831, where +he was favourably received by the king, +and a year or two later was consecrated Archbishop of +Hamburg, with jurisdiction over the whole northern +mission. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Slow advance and vicissitudes of the Church. +</SPAN> +At first the progress of the +Church, both in Denmark and Sweden, +was very slow and fluctuating, and the +ravages of the northern pirates, or Vikings, caused +great loss and suffering; but after some years, Anskar +was enabled to disarm the opposition of Eric the +heathen King of Denmark, and to make a favourable +impression upon the Swedish nobles. After his death +in A.D. 865, the Church in Denmark went through +many vicissitudes owing to irruptions of the Northmen +and other invaders, as well as to native opposition. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P134"></A>134}</SPAN> +Svend, who reigned over Denmark A.D. 991-A.D. 1014, +though brought up a Christian, persecuted the Church +until his re-conversion during a victorious sojourn in +England. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +English missionaries in Denmark +</SPAN> +Svend's son and successor, Canute the +Great (A.D. 1014-A.D. 1033), was very zealous in his +endeavours to undo the evil effects of his father's +violence, and sent missionaries from +England, by whom the bulk of the Danish +nation were converted to Christianity. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Sweden. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In Sweden, too, the Church made but slow progress +after the death of Anskar, until, in the beginning of the +eleventh century, the King Olaf Skötkonung, having +been himself baptized about A.D. 1008, invited to +Sweden certain English clergymen, who laboured there +with great success. The first bishopric +in Sweden was placed at Skara in West +Gothland, and filled by Turgot, an Englishman. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Norway, by English missionaries. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The knowledge of the Gospel was first brought, in +the tenth century, into Norway from +England by Hacon, who is said to have been +educated at the court of Athelstan, and who +endeavoured, with the aid of English priests, to +bring about the conversion of his subjects. +Hacon was, however, induced, by the bitter opposition +of his countrymen, to yield a weak compliance to their +idolatrous practices, and the Church languished and +almost died out until the reign of Olaf Trygovasön +(A.D. 993-A.D. 1000), who had been baptized in the +Scilly Isles during a piratical expedition. The labours +of the English missionaries were finally successful in +the reign of Olaf the Holy (A.D. 1017-A.D. 1033), who +was earnest in his efforts to further the work of the +Church. It may be remarked that Norwegian Bishops +were usually consecrated either in England or France, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P135"></A>135}</SPAN> +though all the Scandinavian Churches were still +professedly dependent on the Archbishopric of Hamburg. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Iceland, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In Iceland some traces of early Christianity, +probably the result of the labours of +Irish missionaries, were still remaining +when it was colonized by Norwegian settlers in the +ninth century; and towards the end of the tenth +century successive attempts were made by a Saxon +Bishop and by missionaries from Norway, to revive and +deepen these impressions. The opposition of the +heathen colonists was, however, of so determined a +character, that it was only by the gradual conversion of +the mother country, and the labours of new bands of +missionaries, chiefly English and Irish, that Paganism +was by degrees overcome. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Greenland, +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +From Iceland the Church made its way to Greenland, +another Norwegian colony, which was +converted mainly by the instrumentality +of an Icelandic missionary, in the first half of the +eleventh century; but this ancient Church died out in +the fifteenth century. About the same time Christianity +spread through the Norwegians to the Orkney, +Shetland, and Faroe Islands. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and Lapland. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church was first planted amongst the Lapps by +Swedish missionaries in the thirteenth +century, but it was not until the sixteenth +and two following centuries that Christianity became +the religion of the country. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 8. <I>The Churches now comprehended in European +Turkey and Greece.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +We look in vain in the history of the Church in +Eastern Europe for the missionary activity which +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P136"></A>136}</SPAN> +bears so prominent a place in the annals of Western +Christendom. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Lack of missionary zeal in the East. +</SPAN> +The minds of Eastern +Christians were still much occupied +by continued contests between the Catholic Faith and +developments of already condemned heresies, and to +these succeeded the scarcely less absorbing controversy +about Image-breaking. Nor was there in the East +the same pressing contact with Paganism, which made +it in the West a political necessity no less than a +religious duty at once to christianize and civilize the +ever advancing hordes of heathen barbarians. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Conversion of Bulgaria. +</SPAN> +The evangelization of Bulgaria was, however, +begun early in the ninth century, by the +carrying off of the Bishop of Adrianople and many of his +flock, in a victorious inroad of the Bulgarians, A.D. 811. +Half a century later the Bulgarian King Bogoris, +influenced by his sister, who had been brought up a +Christian at Constantinople, put himself and his +country under the tuition of the Greek patriarch +Photius. Soon after, becoming weary of his Eastern +instructors, he applied for aid to the Western Church, +and, in A.D. 867, the Pope Nicholas I. despatched two +Italian Bishops and other missionaries to Bulgaria. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Collision between Greek and Roman missionaries. +</SPAN> +This interference of the Roman +Church, in an already occupied field of +missionary labour, added considerably to +the jealousy between East and West, and helped to +bring about the eventual and lamentable schism. +Bogoris soon after returned to his allegiance to +Photius, insisted on the withdrawal of the Roman +Mission, and obtained a Greek Archbishop of Bulgaria +from Constantinople. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Peculiar position of the Eastern Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The state of external isolation in which the +Church of the Eastern Empire was placed by the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P137"></A>137}</SPAN> +Schism of A.D. 1054, had a tendency to increase its +exaggerated spirit of conservatism, which +was also encouraged by the indolent +unenterprizing temper of the Greeks of the +later empire, whose blood had not been quickened by +the same admixture of races as had given new life +to the worn out nations of the West. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Effects of the Crusades. +</SPAN> +Under these circumstances the crusades were hardly +less a cause of terror to the Greeks than +were the advances of the Turks themselves, and tended +to widen rather than to heal the unhappy breach +between the Latin and Greek Churches. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Unjustifiable proceedings of the Latins. +</SPAN> +The foundation of a Latin Patriarchate at Jerusalem, +after the taking of that city in A.D. 1099, +could not but be accounted an usurpation +on the part of the Pope, which was, however, far +surpassed in injustice by the erection of a Latin empire +and a Latin Patriarchate in Constantinople itself, +A.D. 1204. During the time that this oppressive arrangement +lasted (i.e. till A.D. 1261) the rightful Patriarch +took refuge at the court which the Eastern emperors +held at Nicaea in Asia Minor, and the fugitives there +clung to their national Church, and her rightful +independence. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Attempts at reunion. +</SPAN> +The Emperor Michael Palaeologus, after +driving out the Latins from Constantinople, +endeavoured once more to effect a +reunion between East and West, partly from political +and partly from personal motives, and a formal act of +union was signed, A.D. 1274. Neither the Greek +Clergy nor the Greek people would, however, consent +to give up their own national religious customs, nor +to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope; and this +shadow of union died out with the death of the +Emperor, its originator. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Invasion of the Turks. +</SPAN> +In the fourteenth century +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P138"></A>138}</SPAN> +the Turks were treacherously invited over to Europe as +allies of the usurper, John Cantacuzenus (A.D. 1347-A.D. 1353), +and so firm a +footing did they gain, that the rightful Emperor, John +Palaeologus (A.D. 1341-A.D. 1391), found himself +obliged to appeal to Rome for aid, promising in return +to reconcile the Greek Church to the Roman +communion. The affairs of Western Europe, were, however +too unsettled to admit of such aid being afforded, and +the Emperor was obliged to give up all his possessions +to the Turks, except Constantinople, Thessalonica, +part of the Morea, and a few islands. Another appeal +was made, with the same results, by his son, Manuel +Palaeologus (A.D. 1391-A.D. 1425). +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +New attempts at reunion. +</SPAN> +John VII. (A.D. 1425-A.D. 1448) opened fresh negociations +with the West, and he and the +Patriarch of Constantinople, together with twenty-one +other Eastern Bishops, appeared (A.D. 1438) at the +Council of Ferrara (afterwards transferred to Florence). +At this council a decree of union was once more signed +by the Greeks, on condition of their receiving aid +against the Turks (A.D. 1439). This fresh attempt +at union was repudiated by the Eastern Church at +large, but a troop of French and Italian crusaders +started for the East. Constantinople was, however, +doomed, and the good and brave Constantine Palaeologus +(A.D. 1448-A.D. 1433) was the last, as he was one +of the best, of the Greek emperors. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Fall of Constantinople +</SPAN> +The city fell, after an +obstinate defence, on the 29th May, A.D. 1453, +and Constantine was among the +slain. The Turks pillaged and slaughtered +indiscriminately, and turned into a mosque the beautiful +Church of St. Sophia, built by the Emperor Justinian +in honour of the "Holy Wisdom" of God. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P139"></A>139}</SPAN> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and the Greek Empire. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +All the Greek Empire had now fallen into the hands +of the Turks, except the small +mountainous district of Albania, which held +out until the death of George Castriota (dreaded by the +Turks under the name of Scanderbeg), A.D. 1467. The +rocky strip of land known as Montenegro has been +enabled to maintain an unbroken independence. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +State of the Church of Greece under Turkish rule. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church of Greece was now no longer the +dominant and recognized religion of the +country, but it was not extinguished. The +numerous mountain monasteries, inaccessible +from their construction and position, +were the chief strongholds of the Christian Faith; and +so, "cast down, but not destroyed," the Church in +Greece struggled on, until, after nearly three centuries +of Turkish rule, Greece itself once more became a +Christian kingdom. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 9. The Church of Russia. +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Decay of the Church after its first planting in Russia. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church, founded in the South of Russia by +St. Andrew, appears not to have spread to the other +parts of this vast country, and to have +died out, perhaps under the influence +the hordes of barbarians who poured +westward from Asia to Europe. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Foundation of the present Church. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church of Russia, as it now exists, owes its +foundation chiefly to Greek Missionaries, +who began their labours about A.D. 866, +amongst the tribes bordering on +the dominions of the Eastern Empire. Before the +middle of the next century Christianity had gained +a footing in the ancient capital of Kiev, and about +A.D. 933 the Princess Olga was baptized at + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P140"></A>140}</SPAN> + +Constantinople. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +It flourishes under Vladimir. +</SPAN> +In the reign of her grandson, Vladimir +(A.D. 986-A.D. 1014), the Church made +great progress in Russia. Vladimir made +a public recognition of Christianity, and +by his marriage with the sister of the Greek Emperor +strengthened the links which bound Russia to +Constantinople. The Greek missionaries were aided in +their labours, churches and bishoprics were founded, +and the Holy Scriptures and Service Books translated +into the native Sclavonic language; the Greek monks, +Cyril and Methodius, who have been already mentioned +as instrumental in the conversion of Bohemia and +Moravia, taking also an active share in the +Christianizing of Russia. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Independence of the Russian Church, +</SPAN> +In the reigns of Yaroslav and his +successor (A.D. 1019-A.D. 1077), the empire became +completely Christian, and the Church of +Russia was placed on an independent +footing, with a native primate at its head. +Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216) attempted to win +over Russia to the Roman communion, by offering to +confer the title of King on Prince Roman, but his +offer was at once rejected. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +which it has steadily refused to give up, +</SPAN> +Russia suffered severely +from the ravages of the Mongul Tartars, A.D. 1223, and +Pope Innocent IV. took advantage of +the distressed condition of the Russian +church and the removal of the Greek +Patriarchate from Constantinople to +Nicaea, to make another attempt at detaching Russia +from communion with the Greeks. David, Prince of +Galicia, professed himself willing to receive the crown +and title of king from Rome, but this arrangement was +not of long duration, and about A.D. 1230 a Metropolitan +of the Russian Church was consecrated by the Greek +Patriarch, to fill up the vacancy which had taken place +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P141"></A>141}</SPAN> +ten years before during the Tartar invasion. Kiev, +the original seat of the Russian Patriarchate, was burnt +and pillaged by the Tartars, and the see was transferred +to Vladimir, A.D. 1299, and thence during the early +part of the next century (A.D. 1320) to Moscow, where +it has since remained. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +and has preserved unbroken. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +For more than two centuries, until A.D. 1462, Russia +was oppressed by the yoke of the +unbelieving Tartars, but the Church still +maintained her independence, and steadily +resisted the various attempts which were made to bring +about a reunion between East and West, by the +subjugation of the former to the unjust claims of the latter. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] The preaching Friars having been in vain employed for +the conversion of the Albigenses, their efforts were +supplemented by the institution of the Inquisition. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P142"></A>142}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +The Mediaeval Church in Great Britain and Ireland +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A.D. 500-A.D. 1500 +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 1. <I>The Church of England.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Trials of the English Church under the Saxons. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We have seen (p. 74) that the native Church of +England had not succeeded in converting the +Anglo-Saxon invaders who gradually took possession of the +country, and that such as remained of the +Bishops and Clergy had been compelled for +the most part to take refuge in mountainous, +and therefore inaccessible, districts. +It was, however, only in A.D. 587, that Theonas, Bishop +of London, and Thadiocus, Bishop of York, retreated +from their sees, and they were both living in exile in +Wales, when, ten years later, St. Augustine was sent +by Pope Gregory to found a mission in England. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Roman usurpation. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It seems uncertain whether St. Gregory was aware +of the previous existence of a Church in +these islands; at any rate, he acted as if +ignorant of the fact, by bestowing on St. Augustine a +spiritual supremacy over the whole country; and the +good Italian missionary, when brought into actual +contact with the living representatives of a national Church +already five hundred years old, appears to have +considered himself justified in endeavouring to bring its +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P143"></A>143}</SPAN> +Liturgy and usages into agreement with the Roman +pattern. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Consequent disputes. +</SPAN> +All this was not unnatural, especially under +the circumstances of weakness and depression in which +the Church of England was then placed; but it was +equally natural that such interference should be felt to +be an usurpation, and resented accordingly, +and that much misunderstanding +and bitterness should be the consequence. There +probably was a recognition of the claims of the elder race +of English Bishops in the fact, that St. Augustine was +consecrated to the see of Canterbury rather than to +that of London, of which the rightful occupant was still +living, and that neither the latter diocese, nor that of +York, appear to have been filled up until after the deaths +of Theonas and Thadiocus. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +English independence partially recognized. +</SPAN> +It was also eventually +found expedient to leave to the English +Church its own national Liturgy and +ritual (originally derived through a Gallican +channel from that of Ephesus), instead of +insisting upon an exact conformity to Roman rites. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Some account of the English Liturgy. +</SPAN> +This ancient English Liturgy, revised in +the seventh century by St. Augustine, +underwent a second revision at the hands of +Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, about A.D. 1083; and, +though certain variations existed in some dioceses, the +"Use of Sarum," as it was called, became the general +"use" throughout the southern portion of England, and +was even at length considered to be <I>the</I> Liturgy of the +country. It is from this Sarum Use that our present +Post-Reformation Liturgy is derived. +</P> + +<P> +A very considerable amount of new life and energy +was infused into the Church of England by the mission +of St. Augustine. Though the native Bishops and Clergy +could not bring themselves to look cordially on those +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P144"></A>144}</SPAN> +whose religious zeal was not always tempered with +justice or courtesy towards their predecessors in the +field of their missionary labours, still both +foreigners and natives worked for the same +cause, each in their own way, and a new +evangelization of the freshly-heathenized +population ensued[1]. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Amalgamation of English and Roman successions. +</SPAN> +By degrees the two lines of +Bishops became blended in one succession, which has +continued unbroken until the present day. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +English missionary zeal. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The Church of England, thus strengthened and +quickened, soon began to give abundant +proofs of its vitality by sending out +missionaries to convert the heathen in other lands. A +large part of Germany and the Netherlands owes its +Christianity to English Bishops and Clergy, such as +Winfrith or Boniface, Willebrord, and a host of other +less well-known or altogether forgotten names. The +eighth century was especially distinguished by these +missionary labours abroad, whilst, at home, were to be +found such good and learned men as the Venerable +Bede (A.D. 672 or '3-A.D. 735), an early translator of +the Holy Scriptures, and his friend Egbert (A.D. about +678-A.D. 776), Archbishop of York, and founder of a +famous school in that city, where the illustrious Alcuin +(about A.D. 723-A.D. 804) was a scholar. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Invasion, and conversion of the Danes. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In A.D. 787, the Church of England began to suffer +severely from the ravages of the heathen +Danes or Northmen; but, by the wisdom +and valour of the good King Alfred (A.D. 871-A.D. 901), +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P145"></A>145}</SPAN> +they were for a while subdued, and numbers of +them settled as peaceable colonists in +England, where they gradually embraced +Christianity. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +King Alfred. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Alfred was very zealous in his endeavours to repair +the spiritual and intellectual losses which +the Church of England had undergone +during the contest with the Danes, whose ravages had +almost entirely swept away all native scholarship. The +king was especially eager to secure a literature in the +vernacular for his subjects, and himself translated +into "simple English" parts of the Holy Bible, and +other religious books. In these labours he was assisted +by a small body of learned men, including the two +Aelfrics, Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and +Wulfstan, supposed to have been Bishop of Worcester. +The conversion of the Danes who had first settled in +England to Christianity prepared the way for the +evangelizing of later colonists; and when, through the +crimes and weakness of the later Anglo-Saxon princes, +the country fell altogether into the hands of Danish +invaders, Canute the Great (A.D. 1016-A.D. 1033) not +only embraced Christianity himself, but secured for +his native country the services of English +missionaries. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Evangelization of Scandinavia. +</SPAN> +In fact, at this time +Scandinavia seems to have been the chief +mission-field of the English Church. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Roman influence comparatively small under the Saxons. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +We can hardly be wrong in gathering from all this, +that Roman influence had only to a +certain limited extent been introduced into +the Church of England by St. Augustine's +mission, and that, as time passed on, the +foreign element had become absorbed in the national +one. With the Norman conquest of A.D. 1066, the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P146"></A>146}</SPAN> +case was, however, altered. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Much increased under the Normans. +</SPAN> +The claims of the Popes to +temporal as well as to spiritual authority +were by that time definite and authoritative; +the Conquest itself had been undertaken +by the permission of Alexander II., and the +authority of the foreign conquerors, (as the Norman +and early Plantagenet kings continued to be,) required +foreign support. Hence the Bishops of Rome gained +an amount of political influence in England which was +thoroughly unconstitutional, and which could probably +never have been attained by any foreign power, had +the English sovereigns immediately after the Conquest +felt themselves more firmly fixed upon the throne they +had seized. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Denationalizing of the Episcopate. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The appointment of foreigners to the highest +ecclesiastical offices in England, was one means +by which the Norman sovereigns sought +to secure themselves against disaffection +amongst their new subjects; but the real result of this +policy was to foster the claims of the Popes to religious +and secular supremacy in this country; for these foreign +ecclesiastics, though English Bishops, were not loyal +subjects of the English crown, nor were their interests +identical with those of their flocks. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Lanfranc. +</SPAN> +Thus +the Italian Lanfranc, when appointed +Archbishop of Canterbury by William the Conqueror +(A.D. 1070), did not hesitate to obey the summons of +the Pope to Rome for the purpose of receiving the pall, +and thus acknowledging that he held his Bishopric +from the Papal see. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Anselm. +</SPAN> +His successor, St. Anselm (A.D. 1093), also an Italian, and a +man of great learning and holiness, was prepared to +carry out a similar line of conduct; but the covetous +and irreligious tyrant, William Rufus, was seeking at +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P147"></A>147}</SPAN> +the same time to reduce Bishops to the state of mere +nominees and vassals of the crown, and a long contest +ensued[2]. The dispute was carried on into the next +reign; and at length, in A.D. 1107, a compromise was +agreed upon, by which it was arranged that Bishops +should receive investiture from the Pope, and, at the +same time, take an oath of allegiance to the king. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Thomas of Canterbury. +</SPAN> +Anselm's unflinching advocacy of Papal claims cost him +years of exile from his diocese, and much suffering; +but, in the following century, similar conduct involved +still more serious consequences to +St. Thomas à Becket, the then Archbishop of +Canterbury. The new question in dispute was the +right of clerical offenders to be tried in the spiritual +courts, instead of coming under the jurisdiction of the +civil power; but, in reality, it was only another form of +the constant endeavours of the English monarchs to +free themselves from the foreign bondage which was, +to some extent at least, self-imposed. Becket fell a +martyr to his own sense of duty and the king's +displeasure, A.D. 1170. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Roman influence strongest in England. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +Papal usurpation in England reached its height +when, in A.D. 1208, Innocent III placed +the kingdom under an Interdict, for +refusing to receive as Archbishop of +Canterbury his nominee, Stephen Langton, who was +unacceptable both to king and people; and soon after +proceeded to excommunicate John, and depose him +from his throne. The king's cowardly and +unconstitutional conduct in resigning his kingdom into the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P148"></A>148}</SPAN> +hands of the Pope's legate (A.D. 1213), and receiving it +again at the end of three days as a tributary vassal of +the Roman see, caused England to be looked upon for +some years as only a fief of Rome. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Kept up by the Friars; +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In the reign of Henry III. (A.D. 1216-A.D. 1272), +Roman influence in England was greatly +sustained by the introduction of the +Preaching Orders of Franciscan and Dominican +Friars, who, being many of them foreigners, and +all of them independent of any episcopal control, +and subject to Papal jurisdiction only, were very +energetic in their endeavours to maintain and extend +the authority of the popedom. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +by the habit of appeals; +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +By this time, too, appeals to Rome against the +decisions of English courts had come to be +a great bar to national independence. +Such appeals had been altogether unrecognized in +England until the days of Stephen, and the practice +was again forbidden in Henry II.'s reign by the +Constitutions of Clarendon (A.D. 1164); but, after Becket's +death, the prohibition was once more repealed. It is +easy to see how seriously this system of appeals must +have delayed and interfered with the regular course of +justice in this country, and how capable it was of being +made a political engine in the hands of the Pope, or of +those who held with him. The exemption of most of +the monasteries from the supervision of the Bishops +was also a serious evil, interfering as it did with the +Divinely-appointed functions of the episcopacy, and +opening the door to disorders which the distant and usurped +authority of the Popes had not power to remedy. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +by large money payments. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +In the fourteenth century another means was resorted +to of increasing the power of the Popes at +expense of the monarch and people of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P149"></A>149}</SPAN> +England, by the payment of annates, or first-fruits, on +the appointment of each Bishop; and so heavy did +this burden become, that between A.D. 1486 and A.D. 1531, +160,000 pounds (or about 45,000 pounds a year of our money) +was paid to Rome under the head of annates. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +All these evils borne under protest. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +It is not to be supposed that these encroachments of +a foreign power were accepted without a +murmur or remonstrance on the part of +the people of England; on the contrary, +there was a constant undercurrent of discontent, which +found occasional expression in some official or popular +protest. Such, on the one hand, was the statute of +<I>praemunire</I>, passed in the reign of Richard II. (A.D. 1389), +to prohibit Papal interference with Church +patronage and decisions in ecclesiastical causes; and, +on the other, the irregular proceedings of Wickliffe and +the Lollards, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, +which, though they eventually degenerated into seditious +agitation, had their rise in a feeling of opposition +to Romish abuses and usurpations. This feeling was +increased by the fearful state of profligacy into which +Rome, and indeed all Italy, was plunged during the +fifteenth century, which effectually destroyed the +character formerly enjoyed by the Roman Church, whilst +it could not but affect the spiritual health of the other +Churches over which Rome exercised so wide an +influence. Wiser and calmer men than Wickliffe saw the +need of some reformation, though they questioned, and, +as the event showed, rightly, the wisdom and the justice +of the steps he took towards his object. Wickliffe's +teaching in the fourteenth century had, in fact, little or +nothing to do with the real Reformation of two hundred +years later, except that some of his dangerous theories +on political matters took deeper root than did his +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P150"></A>150}</SPAN> +religious peculiarities, and bore fruit in much of the +unprincipled licence which was an unhappy, though by +no means an essential, feature of the Reformation era. +</P> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +English longings for reformation. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +England, in common with the other nations of +Europe, was willing to hope for great +benefit from the councils of the Church +held in the fifteenth century; and, at each +of them, we find English Clergy making grave and +urgent protests against the abuses which they saw +around them, and pleading for a return to purer and +better ways. Thus, at the Council of Pisa, A.D. 1400, +one of the English Bishops who attended it presented +a memorial which complained of the evils resulting +from the want of episcopal control over the monasteries, +from the practice of appeals to Rome, and from the +ease with which dispensations for non-residence and +pluralities were obtained[3]. Again, at the Council of +Constance (A.D. 1415) a sermon was preached by +Dr. Abendon, an Oxford professor, which painted in +very strong language the worldliness and covetousness +of the non-resident Bishops and Clergy; and these +protests were followed up by an official appeal to the +Pope for a reformation, on the part of the Kings of +France and England, A.D. 1425, as well as by official +instructions given to the English deputation despatched +to the Council of Basle (A.D. 1431), to use their +influence for the same end. +</P> + +<BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P151"></A>151}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 2. <I>The Church of Ireland.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +The Church of Ireland was not, like the Church of +Great Britain, to which it owes its foundation, a prey +to the depressing influences of the heathen Saxons; +and, at the time of the mission of St. Augustine, the +daughter was in some measure enabled to repay to the +mother the benefits which the British St. Patrick had +conferred on the scene of his missionary labours. A +constant intercourse was kept up between the numerous +monasteries of Ireland and those of Wales and +Scotland, some of the abbeys in the latter countries being +founded and frequented by Irishmen. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Early reputation of Ireland. +</SPAN> +Ireland, in the sixth and seventh centuries, +had a great reputation for learning and missionary zeal, +both of which were called into play to help in the +reconversion of a large portion of England, as well as to +encourage the efforts of English Churchmen in retaining +in the National Church the national characteristics, with +the loss of which it was threatened from the large +admixture of foreign elements introduced by +St. Augustine. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Irish missionary work in England and elsewhere. +</SPAN> +Nor were their missionary +labours confined to England: they shared +in the toils and honours of the conversion +of Germany, and are believed to have penetrated as far +as Iceland and Greenland. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Unjustifiable conduct of England. +</SPAN> +The aid given by Irish +ecclesiastics in preserving the religious liberty of the +Church of England was ill requited in the twelfth +century, when the English, having taken +possession of Ireland, forced the Irish Church +to abandon her distinctive Liturgy by a +decree passed at the synod of Cashel, A.D. 1173. The +state of anarchy and restless discontent into which +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P152"></A>152}</SPAN> +Ireland was thrown by the presence of English invaders, +had a very unfavourable effect on the Church of the +country, as had also the appointment of Englishmen to +Irish bishoprics, and the consequent non-residence of +the Bishops. It is curious that the influence of English +conquerors should have tended to extend Roman +authority in Ireland, much as the policy of Norman +conquerors produced the same effect in England. +Before the Reformation, the state of the Irish Church had +become thoroughly unsatisfactory, and was felt to be +so by many of the Irish themselves. +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Section 3. <I>The Church of Scotland.</I> +</H3> + +<P> +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +St. Columba. +</SPAN> +</P> + +<P> +The country of the Southern Picts, christianized by +St. Ninian (see p. 76), having fallen into the hands +of the heathen Anglo-Saxons, something like a fresh +evangelization became necessary; and this was +accomplished by the labours of St. Columba and +his successors, who, having crossed over +from Ireland (first about A.D. 560) for the purpose of +preaching to the Northern tribes of Scotland, extended +their mission southward. +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Irish or Scotch missionaries in England. +</SPAN> +The monastery of Iona, or +Icolmkill, was for some time inhabited by Irish +missionaries, and became the chief source of missionary +labour not only in Scotland, but also in +the North of England, the Scotch or Irish +missionaries using all the weight of their +influence to uphold the independence of the National +Church against the Roman tendencies of St. Augustine +and his successors. St. Aidan (died A.D. 651), Bishop +of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, and the head of the +mission for the conversion of the Saxon kingdom of +Mercia, was a monk of Iona. His diocese included +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P153"></A>153}</SPAN> +Yorkshire, and extended to Scotland; and, in +consequence of this, the Archbishops of York long laid claim +to exercise metropolitan authority over the whole of +North Britain. +</P> + +<P> +Roman influence gradually made itself felt in +Scotland, in great measure through the monastic system, +which received a great impetus under David +I. (A.D. 1124-A.D. 1153). +<SPAN CLASS="sidenote"> +Longings for reformation. +</SPAN> +The constant wars with England, +and the confusion and bloodshed they entailed, had a +very unfavourable effect on the prosperity and spiritual +activity of the Church of Scotland, so that from +Scotland, no less than from England and +Ireland, there arose that cry for a +return to older and purer ways, which ended in the +Reformation. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] The native Clergy seem to have laboured chiefly in the +north, where they were aided by Scotch and Irish +missionaries. St. Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island +(who died A.D. 651), may be mentioned as a successful agent +in the conversion of Northumbria and Mercia. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] This dispute between St. Anselm and the English king +was another form of the long strife between the Popes and +the Emperors of the West, which is known as the War of +Investitures. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] Many of the Bishops, at this time, were foreigners, who +lived away from their sees, and did not even understand the +native language of their flocks. The Kings of England and +the Bishops of Rome seem to have equally abused their +powers of patronage in this respect. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P155"></A>155}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +INDEX +</H3> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Abendon, Dr., at Constance, <A HREF="#P150">150</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Abyssinia, Church of, <A HREF="#P82">82</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Africa, Church in, its early history, <A HREF="#P80">80</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Church in, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P120">120</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Aidan, St., <A HREF="#P144">144</A>, <A HREF="#P152">152</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Alban, St., his martyrdom, <A HREF="#P73">73</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Albigenses, <A HREF="#P122">122</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Alexandria, Church of, <A HREF="#P80">80</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, School of, <A HREF="#P81">81</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Altar, its arrangements in Eastern and Early English Churches, <A HREF="#P54">54</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ambrosian Liturgy, <A HREF="#P123">123</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Angels" or Bishops, The Seven, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>, <A HREF="#P52">52</A>, <A HREF="#P85">85</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Annates, Payment of, <A HREF="#P149">149</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Anselm, St., <A HREF="#P146">146</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Anti-Popes, <A HREF="#P109">109</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Antioch, Church of, <A HREF="#P23">23</A>, <A HREF="#P28">28</A>, <A HREF="#P84">84</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, St. Paul and St. Barnabas at, <A HREF="#P28">28</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"——— St. Peter's Throne at," <A HREF="#P28">28</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— first sends Missionaries to heathen, <A HREF="#P29">29</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Antioch disturbed by disputes about circumcision, <A HREF="#P34">34</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Antioch, Probable visit of St. Peter to, <A HREF="#P36">36</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Apocalypse, The, <A HREF="#P52">52</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Apology against Heathenism," The first Christian, <A HREF="#P32">32</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"——— Judaism," The first Christian, <A HREF="#P20">20</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Apostle, St. Matthias chosen to be, <A HREF="#P8">8</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Apostles, extent of their labours, <A HREF="#P43">43</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— trained by our Lord, <A HREF="#P5">5</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— taught by the Holy Ghost, <A HREF="#P5">5</A>, <A HREF="#P6">6</A>, <A HREF="#P48">48</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Commission given to the, <A HREF="#P6">6</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— a living Gospel, <A HREF="#P12">12</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Creed, an instance of traditional teaching, <A HREF="#P13">13</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— St. Paul and St. Barnabas complete the number of, <A HREF="#P30">30</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, how they differ from Bishops, <A HREF="#P31">31</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, their deaths, <A HREF="#P43">43</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Apostolic office, Nature of, <A HREF="#P5">5</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Doctrine, <A HREF="#P12">12</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Fellowship, <A HREF="#P18">18</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Apostolical Succession in England, <A HREF="#P144">144</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Appeals from England to Rome, <A HREF="#P148">148</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Arabia, Church of, <A HREF="#P86">86</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Arianism, <A HREF="#P68">68</A>, <A HREF="#P81">81</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— in Greece, <A HREF="#P79">79</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— in France, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— of the Goths, <A HREF="#P77">77</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— prepares for Mahometanism, <A HREF="#P88">88</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Arles, Council of, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Armenia, Church of, <A HREF="#P85">85</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Athanasius, St., <A HREF="#P70">70</A>, <A HREF="#P72">72</A>, <A HREF="#P81">81</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Athens, its intellectual pride, <A HREF="#P39">39</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, St. Paul at, <A HREF="#P39">39</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Augustine, St., <A HREF="#P82">82</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, and Church of England, <A HREF="#P142">142</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Authority of the Jerusalem Council, <A HREF="#P36">36</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Avignon, The Popes at, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, <A HREF="#P123">123</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Baptism, Nature of, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>, <A HREF="#P3">3</A>, <A HREF="#P4">4</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its necessity, <A HREF="#P26">26</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— of St. John different from that of our Lord, <A HREF="#P7">7</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— of the Three Thousand, <A HREF="#P10">10</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Barchochebas, <A HREF="#P83">83</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Barnabas, St., Conversion of, <A HREF="#P11">11</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, ordained Apostle, <A HREF="#P30">30</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Basil, St., <A HREF="#P111">111</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Basle, Council of, <A HREF="#P110">110</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Becket, St. Thomas à, <A HREF="#P147">147</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Benedictine rule, The, <A HREF="#P111">111</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bible, The, in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P117">117</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bishop, Meaning of the word, <A HREF="#P33">33</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— and Priest originally one office, <A HREF="#P5">5</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bishops, Consecration of, by the Apostles, <A HREF="#P33">33</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— rarely appointed at first, <A HREF="#P46">46</A>, <A HREF="#P47">47</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— especially subject to persecution, <A HREF="#P65">65</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bohemia, Church of, <A HREF="#P129">129</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Boniface, St., in Germany, <A HREF="#P128">128</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Books, Christian, kept hidden, <A HREF="#P63">63</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bread, The Breaking of the, <A HREF="#P7">7</A>, <A HREF="#P13">13</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Breakspear, Nicholas, <A HREF="#P106">106</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bulgaria, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P136">136</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Canute, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P145">145</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Cashel, Synod of, <A HREF="#P151">151</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Catacombs, Use of the, <A HREF="#P63">63</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Corinthians, Heresy of the, <A HREF="#P50">50</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Chalcedon, Fourth Council of, <A HREF="#P71">71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Charlemagne, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>, <A HREF="#P124">124</A>, <A HREF="#P128">128</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +China, Church of, <A HREF="#P87">87</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Chrysostom, St., <A HREF="#P84">84</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Church, Definition of, <A HREF="#P1">1</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, a Kingdom, <A HREF="#P1">1</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, the fruit of the Incarnation, <A HREF="#P2">2</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— the New Jerusalem, <A HREF="#P8">8</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its gradual development, <A HREF="#P47">47</A>, <A HREF="#P48">48</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its Divine Foundation proved by persecution, <A HREF="#P62">62</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Church, Growth of, unchecked by persecution, <A HREF="#P62">62</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Church Militant, a preparation for Church Triumphant, <A HREF="#P4">4</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Outward recognition of the, <A HREF="#P66">66</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Government modified by persecution, <A HREF="#P65">65</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Churches, Primitive, their arrangement, <A HREF="#P53">53</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Circumcision, Apostolic Decision respecting <A HREF="#P35">35</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Wish to impose it on Converts, <A HREF="#P27">27</A>, <A HREF="#P34">34</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Columba, St., <A HREF="#P76">76</A>, <A HREF="#P152">152</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Confirmation by the Apostles, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>, <A HREF="#P32">32</A>, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P40">40</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Continental Churches, their early history, <A HREF="#P76">76-80</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P120">120</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Constance, Council of, <A HREF="#P110">110</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Constantine, his English parentage, <A HREF="#P73">73</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P66">66</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Council summoned by, <A HREF="#P69">69</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Constantinople, Creed of, <A HREF="#P70">70</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Building of, <A HREF="#P67">67</A>, <A HREF="#P80">80</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Second Council of, <A HREF="#P70">70</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Fifth Council of, <A HREF="#P71">71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Sixth Council of, <A HREF="#P71">71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Fall of, <A HREF="#P138">138</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Conversion of the Three Thousand, <A HREF="#P10">10</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Five Thousand, <A HREF="#P11">11</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— of Gentiles, Obstacles to, <A HREF="#P29">29</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Conversions after appointment of Diaconate, <A HREF="#P17">17</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Corinth, its luxury and unbelief, <A HREF="#P40">40</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, St. Paul at, <A HREF="#P40">40</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Cornelius, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P25">25</A>, <A HREF="#P26">26</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Council of the Church, First, <A HREF="#P35">35</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Second, at Jerusalem, <A HREF="#P46">46</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Councils, General, their nature, <A HREF="#P69">69</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— guided by the Holy Ghost, <A HREF="#P36">36</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Creed, Apostles', <A HREF="#P13">13</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Crusades, <A HREF="#P113">113</A>, <A HREF="#P125">125</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Effect of, in the East, <A HREF="#P137">137</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Cyprian, St., <A HREF="#P82">82</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Cyril, St., <A HREF="#P81">81</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Danes, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P145">145</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— and Church of England, <A HREF="#P144">144</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Deacon, Meaning of the word, <A HREF="#P17">17</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Deacons, their work, <A HREF="#P18">18</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Decretals, The false Papal, <A HREF="#P103">103</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Denial of Cup to Laity, <A HREF="#P119">119</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Denmark, Church of, <A HREF="#P133">133</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Development, Intellectual, in the Church, <A HREF="#P72">72</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Diocesan system, its late development in Ireland, <A HREF="#P75">75</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Dioclesian, his false boasting, <A HREF="#P62">62</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Discipline, its strictness increased by persecution, <A HREF="#P64">64</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— relaxed, <A HREF="#P68">68</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Division between East and West, <A HREF="#P95">95</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Docetae, Heresy of the, <A HREF="#P50">50</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Domitian's persecution, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>, <A HREF="#P59">59</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Eastern Church, <A HREF="#P83">83</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its want of missionary zeal, <A HREF="#P136">136</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +East and West, Division of, <A HREF="#P94">94</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Elders. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Endowment of Church, <A HREF="#P67">67</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +England, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P73">73</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P142">142</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its Liturgy, <A HREF="#P143">143</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +English Bishops at early Councils, <A HREF="#P74">74</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ephesus, St. John at, <A HREF="#P49">49</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Heresies at, <A HREF="#P50">50</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Council of, <A HREF="#P85">85</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Liturgy of, <A HREF="#P124">124</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Third Council of, <A HREF="#P71">71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Episcopacy, its permanent organization, <A HREF="#P46">46</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ethiopia, Church of, <A HREF="#P82">82</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Eucharist, Daily, <A HREF="#P7">7</A>, <A HREF="#P13">13</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, the chief act of worship, <A HREF="#P14">14</A>, <A HREF="#P56">56</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Eucharistic Sacrifice, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>, <A HREF="#P3">3</A>, <A HREF="#P13">13</A>, <A HREF="#P14">14</A>, <A HREF="#P56">56</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Eutyches, his heresy, <A HREF="#P71">71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Expectation, Days of, <A HREF="#P7">7</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Fathers, value of their writings, <A HREF="#P72">72</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ferrara, Council of, <A HREF="#P110">110</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Florence, Council of, <A HREF="#P110">110</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Forty Days, The teaching of the, <A HREF="#P6">6</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Foundation of Church, its Divine Origin, <A HREF="#P4">4</A>, <A HREF="#P7">7</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +France, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P77">77</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P124">124</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its Liturgy, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +French Bishops from Asia, <A HREF="#P77">77</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +French interference in Papal affairs, <A HREF="#P107">107</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Friars, Franciscan and Dominican, in England, <A HREF="#P112">112</A>, <A HREF="#P148">148</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gallican Liturgy, <A HREF="#P124">124</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +General Councils, <A HREF="#P69">69-71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gentiles called into the Church, <A HREF="#P26">26</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Germany, Church of, <A HREF="#P127">127</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gnosticism, Simon Magus the author of, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P51">51</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— at Corinth, <A HREF="#P40">40</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— at Ephesus, <A HREF="#P51">51</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gospels, Holy, great reverence shown to them, <A HREF="#P54">54</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Grecians," Who meant by, <A HREF="#P16">16</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Greek Church, What meant by, <A HREF="#P80">80</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its early history, <A HREF="#P79">79</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P135">135</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— under Turkish rule, <A HREF="#P139">139</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Empire, End of, <A HREF="#P139">139</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Greeks, their liability to heresy, <A HREF="#P79">79</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Greenland, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P135">135</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gregory, St., <A HREF="#P103">103</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, and Church of England, <A HREF="#P142">142</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— VII., <A HREF="#P106">106</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Hebrews," Definition of, <A HREF="#P17">17</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— and Grecians, Dispute between, <A HREF="#P17">17</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Hegira, the Mahometan Era, <A HREF="#P89">89</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Hellenists" or "Grecians," Definition of, <A HREF="#P16">16</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Heresy, how opposed, <A HREF="#P69">69</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Hilary, St., <A HREF="#P102">102</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Hildebrand, <A HREF="#P105">105</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Hincmar, <A HREF="#P104">104</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Hungary, Church of, <A HREF="#P131">131</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Iceland, Church of, <A HREF="#P133">133</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Iconoclast controversy, <A HREF="#P95">95</A>, <A HREF="#P121">121</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ignatius, St., <A HREF="#P84">84</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ignorance, Causes of, in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P115">115</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Incense, its burning made a test, <A HREF="#P59">59</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its use in heaven, <A HREF="#P55">55</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +India, Church of, <A HREF="#P87">87</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Indulgences, <A HREF="#P109">109</A>, <A HREF="#P118">118</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Innocent III., <A HREF="#P107">107</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Inquisition, Origin of, <A HREF="#P107">107</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Interdict, England placed under, <A HREF="#P147">147</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Investiture, Disputes about, <A HREF="#P106">106</A>, <A HREF="#P147">147</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Iona, Monastery of, <A HREF="#P76">76</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ireland, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P74">74</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its Liturgy and customs, <A HREF="#P78">78</A>, <A HREF="#P151">151</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P151">151</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, English influence in, <A HREF="#P152">152</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Irenaeus, St., <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Irish missionary labours, <A HREF="#P151">151</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Italy, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P76">76</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P121">121</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its Liturgy, <A HREF="#P123">123</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +James, St., the Great, his martyrdom, <A HREF="#P27">27</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem, <A HREF="#P27">27</A>, <A HREF="#P35">35</A>, <A HREF="#P83">83</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— presides at the First Council, <A HREF="#P35">35</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Jerusalem, The Apostolic Church in, <A HREF="#P27">27</A>, <A HREF="#P83">83</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, First Council at, <A HREF="#P35">35</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Second Council at, <A HREF="#P46">46</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— taken by Saracens, <A HREF="#P113">113</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Jewish Worship, and scheme of Redemption, <A HREF="#P4">4</A>, <A HREF="#P56">56</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +John, St., his special work in the Church, <A HREF="#P45">45</A>, <A HREF="#P47">47</A>, <A HREF="#P49">49</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his sacramental teaching, <A HREF="#P47">47</A>, <A HREF="#P52">52</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his universal patriarchate, <A HREF="#P51">51</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his writings, <A HREF="#P51">51</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his Epistles, <A HREF="#P52">52</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his Revelation, <A HREF="#P52">52</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his martyrdom in will, <A HREF="#P57">57</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, King, Unconstitutional conduct of, <A HREF="#P147">147</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Judicial powers first exerted in the Church, <A HREF="#P16">16</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Julian the Apostate, <A HREF="#P83">83</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Koran, The, <A HREF="#P90">90</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Labours, Apostolic, Extent of, <A HREF="#P43">43</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lanfranc, <A HREF="#P146">146</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Langton, Stephen, <A HREF="#P147">147</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lapland, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P135">135</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Latin, Use of, in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P116">116</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Law, Christ's obedience to the, <A HREF="#P15">15</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lay investiture, Disputes about, <A HREF="#P106">106</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Letters of Peace, <A HREF="#P64">64</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lollards, The, <A HREF="#P149">149</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Love of the First Christians, <A HREF="#P13">13</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Luke, St., joins St. Paul, <A HREF="#P37">37</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Macedonius, his heresy, <A HREF="#P70">70</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Mahometanism, <A HREF="#P88">88</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— in Spain, <A HREF="#P127">127</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Martyrdom, seeking it forbidden, <A HREF="#P63">63</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Martyrs, Immense number of the, <A HREF="#P61">61</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Matthias, St., chosen to be Apostle, <A HREF="#P8">8</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Mediaeval Church, its true state, <A HREF="#P119">119</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Meletian schism, <A HREF="#P81">81</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Middle Ages, Learning in, <A HREF="#P117">117</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Religion in, <A HREF="#P116">116</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ministry, Christian, Three-fold nature of, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>, <A HREF="#P5">5</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Jewish, replaced by Christian, <A HREF="#P4">4</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Miracles, Gift of, <A HREF="#P11">11</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Monastic Orders, The, <A HREF="#P111">111</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Monasticism, its good results, <A HREF="#P112">112</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Moors in Spain, <A HREF="#P126">126</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Moravia, Church of, <A HREF="#P128">128</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Mozarabic Liturgy, <A HREF="#P127">127</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Music, its use in heaven, <A HREF="#P55">55</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Nero's persecution, <A HREF="#P49">49</A> <I>n.</I>, <A HREF="#P59">59</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Nestorius, his heresy, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>, <A HREF="#P82">82</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Nicaea, Council and Creed of, <A HREF="#P70">70</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Nicolas of Antioch, <A HREF="#P18">18</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ninian, St., his mission in Scotland, <A HREF="#P76">76</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Norman influence on English Church, <A HREF="#P146">146</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Northmen, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P124">124</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Norway, Church of, <A HREF="#P134">134</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ordinances or traditions, <A HREF="#P13">13</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Paganism not revived by persecution, <A HREF="#P62">62</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Papal supremacy, its dangers, <A HREF="#P101">101</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Supremacy in France, <A HREF="#P125">125</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— aggression, The first, <A HREF="#P102">102</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Parochial system, its late development in Ireland, <A HREF="#P75">75</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Parthia, Church of, <A HREF="#P85">85</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Passover replaced by Eucharist, <A HREF="#P3">3</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Patrick, St., his mission to Ireland, <A HREF="#P75">75</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Paul, St., Conversion of, <A HREF="#P23">23</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his fitness for the Apostolate, <A HREF="#P24">24</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Paul, St., ordained Apostle, <A HREF="#P30">30</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, the Chief Apostle of the Gentiles, <A HREF="#P31">31</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his first Apostolic journey, <A HREF="#P31">31</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his second Apostolic journey, <A HREF="#P36">36</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his third Apostolic journey, <A HREF="#P40">40</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, a prisoner, <A HREF="#P42">42</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, in England, <A HREF="#P73">73</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Martyrdom of, <A HREF="#P43">43</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pelagianism, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pella, Flight to, <A HREF="#P83">83</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Penances, their severity, <A HREF="#P64">64</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pentecost, The Day of, <A HREF="#P8">8</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, The effects of, <A HREF="#P9">9</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Persecution, Causes of, <A HREF="#P57">57</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— under Herod Agrippa, <A HREF="#P27">27</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Progress of, <A HREF="#P11">11</A>, <A HREF="#P57">57</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Persecutions, Nature and extent of, <A HREF="#P61">61</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Table of, <A HREF="#P60">60</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Effect of, on the Church, <A HREF="#P63">63</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— cease under Constantine, <A HREF="#P66">66</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Persia, Church of, <A HREF="#P85">85</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Peter, St., results of his first Sermon, <A HREF="#P10">10</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his special work in the Church, <A HREF="#P45">45</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his first Apostolic journey, <A HREF="#P24">24</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his imprisonment and deliverance, <A HREF="#P28">28</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Martyrdom of, <A HREF="#P43">43</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Peter the hermit, <A HREF="#P125">125</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pharisees, their opposition to the Gospel, <A HREF="#P19">19</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Philip, St., the Deacon, <A HREF="#P21">21</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pisa, Council of, <A HREF="#P109">109</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, English Bishops at, <A HREF="#P150">150</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Poland, Church of, <A HREF="#P132">132</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pomerania, <A HREF="#P130">130</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Popes of the Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P102">102-111</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Worldliness of the later, <A HREF="#P110">110</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— and anti-Popes, Disputes between, <A HREF="#P109">109</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Portugal, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Church of, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P126">126</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons, <A HREF="#P77">77</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Praemunire, Statute of, <A HREF="#P149">149</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Presbyters. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Priest, Meaning of the word, <A HREF="#P32">32</A> <I>n.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Priests, First ordination of, <A HREF="#P32">32</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, their functions, <A HREF="#P33">33</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Prussia, Church of, <A HREF="#P129">129</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Purgatory, <A HREF="#P118">118</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Reformation, what it was, <A HREF="#P102">102</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Longings for, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>, <A HREF="#P150">150</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Reunion between East and West attempted, <A HREF="#P137">137</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ritual, Early Christian, <A HREF="#P53">53</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— checked by persecution, <A HREF="#P63">63</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Heavenly, as shown in the Apocalypse, <A HREF="#P53">53</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— developed in prosperity, <A HREF="#P67">67</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Roman Empire, its decay, <A HREF="#P77">77</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Roman influence in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P118">118</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— influence in Germany, <A HREF="#P131">131</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Rome, St. Paul at, <A HREF="#P42">42</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its influence in extending the Faith, <A HREF="#P67">67</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Russia, Church of, its foundation, <A HREF="#P80">80</A>, <A HREF="#P139">139</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Church of, its independence, <A HREF="#P140">140</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sacrifice, The Christian, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>, <A HREF="#P3">3</A>, <A HREF="#P13">13</A>, <A HREF="#P14">14</A>, <A HREF="#P56">56</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sacrifices under the patriarchal dispensation, <A HREF="#P3">3</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— under the Mosaic dispensation, <A HREF="#P3">3</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sadducees, their opposition to the Gospel, <A HREF="#P12">12</A>, <A HREF="#P19">19</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Samaria, Conversion of, <A HREF="#P21">21</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sarum Use, <A HREF="#P143">143</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Satan, his enmity against the Church, <A HREF="#P58">58</A>, <A HREF="#P62">62</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Saul of Tarsus, <A HREF="#P19">19</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Saxon and English Church, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>, <A HREF="#P142">142</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Scandinavian Churches, <A HREF="#P133">133</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Schism, The first, in the Church, <A HREF="#P16">16</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— between East and West, <A HREF="#P98">98</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, The forty years', <A HREF="#P109">109</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Scotland, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P75">75</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P152">152</A>, <A HREF="#P153">153</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Saxon influence in, <A HREF="#P152">152</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Roman influence in, <A HREF="#P153">153</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Seven Churches, The, <A HREF="#P84">84</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Simon Magus, his unbelief and end, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>, <A HREF="#P22">22</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sin, First deadly, in the Church, <A HREF="#P16">16</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Spain, Church of, its early history, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Church of, its mediaeval history, <A HREF="#P126">126</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Church of, its Liturgy, <A HREF="#P127">127</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Stephen, St., ordained Deacon, <A HREF="#P18">18</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, his preaching and inspiration, <A HREF="#P19">19</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, results of his Martyrdom, <A HREF="#P21">21</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Supremacy, Papal claims to, <A HREF="#P100">100</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sweden, Church of, <A HREF="#P133">133</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Table of "Fields of Apostolic Labour," <A HREF="#P44">44</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Persecutions, <A HREF="#P60">60</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— Councils, <A HREF="#P72">72</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Teaching of the Church, Reserve in, <A HREF="#P49">49</A>, <A HREF="#P63">63</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— its gradual development, <A HREF="#P49">49</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Temple Services, Attendance of the Apostles on, <A HREF="#P13">13</A>, <A HREF="#P15">15</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Temporal power of the Popes, its rise, <A HREF="#P100">100</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Theological Gospel," The, <A HREF="#P47">47</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Theotokos, <A HREF="#P71">71</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Timothy, St., his circumcision, <A HREF="#P37">37</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +———, Bishop of Ephesus, <A HREF="#P33">33</A>, <A HREF="#P41">41</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Titus, St., Bishop of Crete, <A HREF="#P33">33</A>, <A HREF="#P41">41</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Tongues, The gift of, <A HREF="#P9">9</A>, <A HREF="#P11">11</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Tradition, its value, <A HREF="#P13">13</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Traditores," <A HREF="#P64">64</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Turkey, European Church in, its early history, <A HREF="#P79">79</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +——— in Europe, Church in, its medieval history, <A HREF="#P135">135</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Turks, their inroads in the East, <A HREF="#P138">138</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +"Universal Bishop," Title of, <A HREF="#P95">95</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Universities in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P117">117</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Vernacular Bibles in Middle Ages, <A HREF="#P116">116</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Visigoths, Arianism of, <A HREF="#P79">79</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Waldenses, <A HREF="#P122">122</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Wales the refuge of British Clergy, <A HREF="#P74">74</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Wickliffe, <A HREF="#P149">149</A> +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Worship, Jewish and Christian, <A HREF="#P3">3</A> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> +<hr class="full" noshade> + +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH HISTORY (ANCIENT)***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 22017-h.txt or 22017-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/0/1/22017">http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/0/1/22017</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL">http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/22017.txt b/22017.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b93b4c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/22017.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5776 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Key to the Knowledge of Church History +(Ancient), by John Henry Blunt + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Key to the Knowledge of Church History (Ancient) + + +Author: John Henry Blunt + + + +Release Date: July 7, 2007 [eBook #22017] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH +HISTORY (ANCIENT)*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Transcriber's notes: + + Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed + in curly braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page + breaks occurred in the original book. For its Index, a page + number has been placed only at the start of that section. + + In the original book, its various chapters' subsections were + denoted with the "section" symbol (iso-8859-1 character 167). + In this e-text, that symbol has been replaced with the word + "SECTION". Where two of these symbols were together, they + have been replaced with the word "SECTIONS". + + In the original book, footnotes in a chapter were numbered + from 1 to 9. If a chapter had more than 9 footnotes, the + numbering sequence was repeated, resulting in several footnotes + with the same number. In this e-book, all footnotes have been + re-numbered sequentially from 1. Footnotes have been moved to + the end of their respective chapters. + + The original book had many side-notes in its pages' left or + right margin areas. Some of these sidenotes were at the + beginning of a paragraph, and in this e-text, are placed to + precede their host paragraph. Some were placed elsewhere + alongside a paragraph, in relation to what the sidenote + referred to inside the paragraph. These have been placed + into the paragraph near where they were in the original book. + Some sidenotes were split into two or more parts, distributed + down the margin of their host paragraph. Occasionally, such + multi-part sidenotes had sections in adjacent paragraphs. If + all parts of such sidenotes were within a single paragraph, + they were treated as separate sidenotes, unless that + meant the splitting of sentences, in which case they were + amalgamated into a single sidenote and positioned near where + their first section was. If a multi-part sidenote had + sections in adjacent paragraphs, those sections were treated + as if they belonged to their host paragraph. Sidenotes inside + paragraphs are always placed between sentences. All sidenotes + have been enclosed in square brackets, and preceded with + "Sidenote:". + + + + + +A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH HISTORY + +[Ancient] + +Edited by + +JOHN HENRY BLUNT, M.A. + +Editor of + "The Dictionary of Theology," + "The Annotated Book of Common Prayer;" +Author of + "Household Theology," Etc. Etc. + + + + + + + + _"This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be + preached in all the world for a witness + unto all nations._"--St. Matt. xxiv. 14 + + + +Rivingtons +Waterloo Place, London +Oxford, and Cambridge +MDCCCLXXVII +[New Edition] + + + + + + +PREFACE + +This Volume offers to the reader a short and condensed account of the +origin, growth, and condition of the Church in all parts of the world, +from the time of our Lord down to the end of the fifteenth century, the +narrative being compressed into as small a compass as is consistent +with a readable form. + +In such a work the reader will not, of course, expect to find any full +and detailed account of so vast a subject as Pre-Reformation Church +History. Its object is rather to sketch out the historical truth about +each Church, and to indicate the general principles on which further +inquiry may be conducted by those who have the opportunity of making it. + +It is hoped that those whose circumstances do not admit of an extended +study of the subject will find in the following pages a clear, though +condensed, view of the periods and Churches treated of; and that those +whose reading is of a less limited range will be put in possession of +certain definite lines of thought, by which they may be guided in +reading the statements of more elaborate histories. + +It may be added, that the writer's stand-point throughout has been that +of a loyal attachment to the Church of England, as the authorized +exponent and upholder of Catholic doctrine for English people. + +M. F. B. P. + +_July_, 1869. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AMONG THE JEWS . . . . . 1 + II. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH AMONG THE HEATHEN . . . 25 + III. THE EXTENSION OF THE CHURCH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD . . 30 + IV. FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE CHURCH BY ST. JOHN . . . . . 45 + V. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 + VI. THE CHURCH UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE . . . . . . . . . . 66 + VII. THE EARLY HISTORY OF PARTICULAR CHURCHES . . . . . . 73 + VIII. THE INROADS OF MAHOMETANISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 + IX. THE DIVISION BETWEEN EAST AND WEST . . . . . . . . . 94 + X. THE CHURCH OF THE MIDDLE AGES . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 + XI. THE MEDIAEVAL HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL CHURCHES . . . . 120 + XII. THE MEDIAEVAL CHURCH IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND . . 142 + + INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 + + + + +{1} + +CHAPTER I + +The foundation of the Church among the Jews + +A.D. 33-A.D. 38 + +Before entering upon an account of the Foundation and After-History of +the Christian Church, it may be well to consider what that Church +really is. + + +Section 1. _Definition of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Twofold nature of the Church.] + +The Church may be regarded in a twofold aspect, as an external +Corporation, and as a spiritual Body. + +[Sidenote: 1. An external Kingdom.] + +In the first light it is a Kingdom, in the world, though not of the +world, extending through different and widely-separated countries, +often seemingly divided by outward circumstances, but, in reality, +having all its parts subject to the same Invisible King, governed by +laws which He has given, and by means of those whom He has appointed to +be His representatives on earth. + +[Sidenote: 2. A spiritual Body.] + +In its spiritual sense the Church is the One Mystical Body of Christ, +of which men are made members by Holy Baptism, and in which they are +nourished and built up by the Holy Eucharist, and the other means of +grace. These means of grace {2} are dispensed by Priests, who receive +authority and power to execute their ministerial functions from +Bishops, successors of the Apostles, and are assisted in their ministry +by the inferior order of Deacons. + +[Sidenote: Future destiny of the Church.] + +The members of this Mystical Body, after passing through their +appointed probation in this world, and being built up more and more, if +they continue faithful, into Christ their Head, are removed to join the +Church at rest in Paradise. There they await the Resurrection and +Final Judgment, after which the "Church Militant here on earth" will +become the Church Triumphant in Heaven. + +[Sidenote: The Church exists through and by the Incarnation, applied to +each individual in Holy Baptism, and the Holy Eucharist.] + +The existence of the Church is the consequence and fruit of the +Incarnation and Death of her Divine Head; the spiritual life of all her +members being derived from their union with our Blessed Lord's Sacred +Humanity, whereby they are also made "partakers of the Divine +Nature[1]," their birth-sin being at the same time washed away by the +Virtue of His Cleansing Blood. This Life, once begun, is kept up in +faithful Christians by believing and persevering use of the Mystical +Food provided for its sustenance in their souls--the Blessed Body and +Precious Blood thus given to them being a continual extension of the +Incarnation; whilst their actual sins are forgiven by the absolving +Word of the Priest, and the Pleading of the One Sacrifice, unceasingly +presented in Heaven, and constantly shown forth and mystically offered +on the Altars of the Church on earth. + +{3} + +[Sidenote: Foreshadowings of the Church and the Redeemer's sacrifice +under the Patriarchal] + +From the time of the Fall and the merciful Promise of a Redeemer, "the +Seed of the woman," there is also a foreshadowing of the Church as the +appointed way by which mankind should lay hold on the salvation thus +provided for them. The Patriarchs were priests in their own tribes, +for which they continually offered up sacrifices to Almighty God; and +to this patriarchal system succeeded the Mosaical Dispensation with an +elaborate ceremonial, each minute detail of which was laid down by +direct revelation from God Himself. + +[Sidenote: and Mosaic dispensations.] + +In this system of Divine Worship given to Moses, sacrifices of animals +still held the most prominent place, typifying as they did the great +Oblation to come, and perhaps conveying a certain Sacramental grace to +the devout offerers and partakers of them. To these perpetual +sacrifices, offered morning by morning and evening by evening, there +was also joined a continual round of praise and thanksgiving. +[Sidenote: Much of the Jewish ritual absorbed in the Christian Church.] +When our Blessed Lord came "to fulfil the Law," this Jewish ritual was +in a great measure engrafted into the worship of the Christian Church. +The Passover feast, as well as animal sacrifices and the feeding on +them, were done away, and replaced by the "Unbloody Sacrifice" and +Sacramental Communion of the Gospel covenant, whilst circumcision and +ceremonial purifications disappeared to make room for the "true +Circumcision of the Spirit," and the regenerating streams of Holy +Baptism. But the "Hours of Prayer" and Praise were still retained, +"the singers arrayed in white" became the white-robed choirs of the +Christian Church, and the threefold order of the Christian {4} ministry +represented the High Priest, Priests, and Levites of the old +dispensation. + +[Sidenote: Jewish Worship a preparation for Christian Worship.] + +We must not be led to think that the Jewish Worship was contrary to the +Mind of God, for He Himself appointed it. It was, without doubt, a +part of the great Scheme of Redemption--a preparation for the Gospel, +the means ordained by the Divine Wisdom for keeping up in men's minds +the future Coming of the Messiah. But when the Great Deliverer was +indeed come, there was no further need for the types and shadows of the +Law, and they disappeared to make way for the "substance" of the +Gospel. [Sidenote: The Church Militant a preparation for the Church +Triumphant.] So when the number of the elect shall be accomplished, and +the Church Militant changed into the Church Triumphant, her Worship and +her Sacraments will have their full fruition in the Marriage Supper of +the Lamb, and the unceasing adoration of the redeemed in the Heavenly +Temple. + + +Section 2. _Our Lord's Work in the Foundation of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Our Lord prepared for the Foundation of His Church by +instituting Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, and by appointing the +twelve Apostles.] + +Our Blessed Lord's Ministry was spent in making preparations for the +foundation of His Church. At His first entrance on that Ministry, He +"sanctified Water to the mystical washing away of sin;" at the close of +it, He blessed the elements of Bread and Wine, and made them the +channels of His constant Presence with His Church, "a perpetual memory +of His Precious Death" before God. He also appointed human +instruments, who, in His Name and by His Authority, should carry out +{5} this mighty work, and be the foundation-stones of the new spiritual +building, bonded together and firmly established in Him the "Chief +Corner Stone." "The wall of the City had twelve foundations, and in +them the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb[2]." + +[Sidenote: The Apostles taught and trained by our Lord's Example and +Teaching.] + +The Apostles were solemnly set apart by our Lord after a night of +watching and prayer[3], and from that time became His constant +companions, witnessing His mighty works, listening to the words of +Heavenly Wisdom which fell from His Sacred Lips, and thus experiencing, +under the guidance of the Head of the Church Himself, such a training +as might best fit them for their superhuman labours[4]. [Sidenote: +Special instructions given them, and not understood until after the Day +of Pentecost.] A large portion of what is now stored up in the Holy +Gospel for the instruction of the whole body of Christians, was in the +first instance spoken to the Apostles with a special view to their +Apostolic vocation; to them it was "given to know the Mysteries of the +Kingdom of Heaven." Doubtless much of what they were thus taught +remained unexplained "Mysteries" to them until the Coming of the Holy +Ghost on the Day of Pentecost to "guide them into {6} all Truth," and +especially to instruct them in the real meaning of what had before +seemed to be "hard sayings" in their Master's Teaching. + +[Sidenote: This Teaching continued after the Resurrection.] + +Again, after our Blessed Lord's Passion and Resurrection, we read that +He was "seen of them forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to +the Kingdom of God[5]," i.e. to the Church, the Kingdom which, by the +agency of the Twelve Apostles, He was about to establish in this world. +No record is left us as to what these "things" were of which He spake +to them; but we cannot doubt that the Words of Divine Wisdom would +remain deeply engraven on their hearts, and be a treasure of strength +and counsel in the trials and perplexities of the untried path which +lay before them, the Holy Spirit "bringing to their remembrance" any +sayings of the Saviour which human frailty might have hindered them +from remembering[6]. + +[Sidenote: A commission given to the Apostles for all their official +acts,] + +The Apostles received from the Great High Priest before His Ascension, +a commission to execute the various functions of the priestly office, +to baptize[7], to teach[8], to consecrate and offer the Holy +Eucharist[9], and to absolve[10]; besides a general and comprehensive +promise that all their official acts should be confirmed by Him, in the +words, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world[11]." +[Sidenote: but not exerted till after Pentecost.] We do not, however, +find that this commission was acted on by the Apostles before the day +of Pentecost; the Saviour's will was, that it should, so to {7} speak, +lie dormant until the seal of the Holy Spirit was impressed upon it. +During the days of expectation which followed our Lord's Ascension, we +read that the holy company who were gathered together in the "upper +room," "continued with one accord in prayer and supplication[12];" but +we have no mention of any celebration of the Holy Eucharist, whilst +immediately after the Descent of the Holy Ghost we are told of their +daily continuance in "the Breaking of the Bread[13]." + + +Section 3. _The Day of Pentecost._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33. Participation of the Blessed Trinity in the works +of Creation, the Incarnation, and the Foundation of the Church.] + +As the Three Holy Persons of the Ever-blessed Trinity had shared in the +work of the First Creation of the world, the Father speaking by the +Eternal Word, and the Holy Spirit brooding over what before was +lifeless: and as in the work of the Incarnation the Father had sent the +Son to take upon Him our human nature through the operation of the Holy +Ghost: so, in the Foundation of the Church, the Power of the Holy +Spirit co-operated no less than the Will of the Father and the +Life-giving Grace of the Son. + +{8} + +[Sidenote: The waiting at Jerusalem.] + +The Apostles had received from their ascending Lord a command to await +in the City of Jerusalem this "Power from on High," which was to be +sent upon them[14]. We can easily see the fitness of this injunction, +when we remember that they were about to become the founders of the New +Jerusalem, the true "City of God" in which the many "glorious things +spoken[15]" by the Old Testament Prophets were to have their +performance to a certain extent even in this life, but fully and +perfectly in the Life to come. + +[Sidenote: St. Matthias chosen.] + +Immediately after our Lord's Ascension the Apostles, under the +immediate guidance of Almighty God, made choice by lot of St. Matthias +to fill up the vacancy in the Apostolic Body caused by the apostasy of +Judas, and then awaited in prayer and worship the promised Coming of +the Comforter. [Sidenote: The coming of the Holy Ghost.] After ten +days of expectation, on the morning of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, +the Promise was fulfilled: with the sound "of a rushing mighty Wind," +with the brightness of "cloven tongues like as of fire," the Holy +Spirit descended "and sat upon each of" the Apostles[16]. Thus they +were inspired and enlightened with Power and Knowledge, and all the +other sevenfold gifts of the Paraclete[17] in fuller measure than had +ever been vouchsafed to the Prophets and Teachers of old, as well as +with miraculous endowments, that so they might be enabled to carry out +the Commission entrusted to them by their Master. + +[Sidenote: The gift of Tongues.] + +One effect of this wonderful Visitation was {9} immediately and +strikingly apparent to all who stood by, for on these twelve unlearned +men of lowly birth was bestowed the power of speaking fluently and +intelligibly in languages of which, before, they had been altogether +ignorant. [Sidenote: The people come together.] The fame of this great +wonder soon spread amongst the multitude of foreign Jews who were then +gathered together at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Pentecost; many of +them were probably at that very time in the Temple, of which the "upper +room" is thought to have formed a part, and they quickly came around +the Apostles, anxious to judge for themselves of the truth of what had +been told them. [Sidenote: Their amazement.] Very great was their +astonishment at what they heard. It seems as if words are multiplied +in the Sacred Narrative to impress us with a sense of their awe and +wonder. It is said that they "were confounded" or "troubled in mind," +that "they were all amazed and marvelled;" and again, that "they were +all amazed, and were in doubt" at this startling exhibition of the +"Power" of God[18]. [Sidenote: Though some refused to believe.] Some +indeed "mocked," despising the work of the Spirit, as they had before +despised the work of the Son; but many opened their hearts to the +softening influence, and of them it may truly be said that "the fear of +the Lord" was "the beginning of wisdom." + + +{10} + +Section 4. _St. Peter's First Sermon, and its Results._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33. Conversion of the 3000.] + +And now at once the converting power of the Church was exercised. St. +Peter, the chief of the Apostles, took the lead, as he had already done +in the election of St. Matthias, and preached to the impressed and +eager multitude that first Christian sermon, which was followed by the +conversion and baptism of "about 3000 souls[19]." + +[Sidenote: The promise of St. Peter fulfilled.] + +Thus was fulfilled, in one sense at least, the promise of Christ to St. +Peter: "Upon this rock I will build My Church[20];" and he, who first +of the Twelve had faith to confess the Godhead of our Blessed Lord, was +rewarded by being the first to whom it was given to draw men into that +Church, which in His Human Nature Christ had purchased for Himself. + +[Sidenote: Further results of St. Peter's sermon.] + +In estimating the importance of the results which were brought about by +St. Peter's sermon, we must not only take into account the actual +number of those who were at once added to the disciples, large as that +number was, but we must also remember that many of these converts came +from far distant countries, whither, on their departure from Jerusalem, +they would carry the tidings of the Faith which they had embraced. +Hence they in their turn became forerunners of our Lord and of His +Church, preparing the hearts of those amongst whom they dwelt to listen +to the proclamation of the {11} Gospel, when, in God's appointed +season, it should be preached to them. + + +Section 3. _The First Beginnings of Persecution._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33. Growth of the Church.] + +The Church now steadily grew in influence and numbers; "The Lord added +to the Church daily such as should be" [or "were being"] "saved[21];" +and on the occasion of a second sermon, preached by St. Peter after the +healing of the lame man "at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple," "about +five thousand" were converted[22]. [Sidenote: Beginnings of +persecution.] The opposition of the Jewish rulers was powerless to +check the ever-advancing tide; and this _first beginning of +persecution_, by calling forth from the whole Church an earnest act of +worship and supplication, was the occasion of "great power" and "great +grace" being given to enable her to do and bear all for the sake of her +Lord[23]. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of St. Barnabas.] + +Immediately afterwards we read of the conversion of St. Barnabas, the +first convert mentioned by name, a Levite, and apparently a man of +wealth and position[24]; and then we are told of the awe and reverence +produced in the minds of the people of Jerusalem, and the neighbouring +country, by the abundant exercise of the Apostolic power of working +miracles[25]. [Sidenote: The gift of working miracles.] This great +working gift of the Holy Ghost, bestowed, like the Gift of Tongues, on +the Day of Pentecost, had similar results. Fear was followed by faith, +and {12} "multitudes both of men and women" were added to the Church. + +Persecution once more followed, this time with greater severity; the +Apostles were imprisoned through the influence of the sect of the +Sadducees, and, being set free by a miracle, were called before the +Sanhedrim and scourged, only escaping death by the wise and merciful +interposition of the Pharisee Gamaliel. + + +Section 6. _Worship and Discipline of the Infant Church._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 33.] + +Before going farther into the History of the Church, we may pause to +consider the account given us in Holy Scripture of Christian Worship +and Discipline in the time immediately following the Day of Pentecost. +The same chapter which contains the narrative of the Descent of the +Holy Ghost, has also a short epitome of the daily life of the Apostles +and their converts, during that brief interval of undisturbed peace +which preceded the beginning of the bitter conflict between the Church +and the world. + +[Sidenote: Holy Baptism. Apostolic Doctrine.] + +First we read of Holy Baptism as the source of the Christian Life[26], +and then of steadfast continuance in the one Faith as taught by the +Apostles, who were, so to speak, a kind of living Gospel to their +converts. [Sidenote: Oral teaching.] None of the Books of the New +Testament were as yet written, so that all instruction being oral, +faithful must most fully have sought "the Law" of the Saviour at the +"mouth" of His twelve chosen servants, who had listened to His gracious +words, and had been themselves taught by {13} Him Who is Wisdom. +[Sidenote: Value of tradition.] The Apostles' Creed is a mighty +instance of this _traditional_ teaching, which has come down even to +our own days; and many points of Church government, and discipline, and +ritual, merely hinted at, or not even referred to in the writings of +the New Testament, were preserved to the Church by means of spoken +tradition. St. Paul several times mentions these oral traditions, and +in one instance speaks of them to his converts as equally binding with +the written words contained in his Epistles[27]. The substance of such +important traditions became ingrained into the system and belief of the +Church, and it was thus of comparatively little importance that their +exact words were forgotten. + +[Sidenote: Apostolic fellowship. Faith and love towards God] + +To oneness of "doctrine" belonged also oneness of "fellowship." There +was as yet "no schism in the Body;" and this inward Faith and Love +found their outward expression both towards God and towards man. +Towards God in "the Breaking of the Bread," the Daily Sacrifice and +Thank-offering of the Holy Eucharist "at home[28]," i.e. in their own +upper room, the first Christian Church, as well as in their constant +attendance on the daily "Prayers" and praises still offered up in the +Temple. Of the conduct of the first Christians towards each other we +are told twice over, immediately after the Outpouring of the Day of +Pentecost, and again after that increase of "boldness," which was +granted to the earnest cry of the Church on the approach of +persecution[29]. + +{14} + +[Sidenote: and towards man.] + +Both these accounts speak to us of their full realization of the +doctrine of the Communion of Saints. They "were together;" they "were +of one heart and of one soul:" the need of one was the need of all; +each felt his brother's wants, as if he himself suffered; and so great +was the liberality of those who had "possessions and goods," that there +was not "any among them that lacked." "They had all things common," as +to the daily use of God's worldly gifts. + +[Sidenote: The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrifice] + +The Holy Eucharist was to the Church then, as it is still, the chief +act and centre of Divine worship. In this new Sacrifice the Apostles +showed forth and pleaded before God, the One Sufficient Sacrifice, +which they themselves had seen "once offered," with unspeakable +sufferings, and all-prevailing Blood-shedding upon the Cross of +Calvary. [Sidenote: and a means of union with Christ.] In it they +adored Him, Whom they now acknowledged with every faculty of their +souls to be indeed their "Lord" and their "God;" in it they found again +the Real and continual, though invisible, Presence of the Master and +Friend for Whose sake they had forsaken all earthly ties; and by it +they were brought into closer union with Him, than when of old they had +walked and talked with Him beside the Galilean Sea, or beneath the +olive-trees of Gethsemane; for now, they were indeed "nourished and +cherished" by Him and made more and more "members of His Body, of His +flesh, and of His bones[30]." [Sidenote: Thankfulness of the first +converts.] What wonder, then, that we read of the "gladness and +singleness of heart" of the {15} Apostles and their converts thus +living in the constant joy and presence of their Lord, and that +"praising God" is mentioned as one of their distinguishing marks:-- + + "By 'Deo gratias,' as they pass'd, + The faithful folk were surest known; + That watchword for the daily strife + Might well their thoughts and tongues employ, + Who made the Church transform their life, + And the great Offering crown their joy[31]." + + +[Sidenote: Continued attendance of the Apostles on the Temple Services.] + +We may here remark the many indications which are given us throughout +the Book of Acts, that the Apostles, who were themselves Jews, did not, +even after the Foundation of the Christian Church, oppose or neglect +Jewish ordinances and worship, so long and so far as the union of the +two dispensations was practicable. In this they followed the example +of their Divine Master, Who, from His Circumcision upwards, paid +obedience to that Law which He came to fulfil, and Who was a constant +attendant at the services of the Temple and of the Synagogues. There +was no violent rending away from the old Faith, until God, in His +wisdom and justice, saw fit to ordain the destruction of the guilty +city Jerusalem, and the overthrow of the Jewish Temple, and Altar, and +Priesthood, none of which had then any further purpose to serve in the +Divine plan for the redemption of mankind. + +[Sidenote: In the cases of St. Peter and St. John,] + +Thus we read of St. Peter and St. John going up to the Temple to +worship at the ninth hour of prayer[32], and of their afterwards +preaching to the people in that part of the {16} Temple called +Solomon's porch[33], of the daily preaching of the Gospel by the +Apostles in the Temple[34], and of their constant resort to the Jewish +Synagogues during their stay in such places as possessed them[35]. +[Sidenote: and of St. Paul.] Even five and twenty years after the day +of Pentecost we find that the very tumult which resulted in St. Paul's +apprehension and consequent journey as a prisoner to Rome, was +immediately excited by his having "entered into the Temple[36]," in +performance of one of the ceremonies of the Mosaic Law. + + +Section 7. _The First Schism and the Appointment of the Diaconate._ + +[Sidenote: A. D. 33. The first deadly sin in the Church.] + +Great and deadly sin had already made its way into Christ's fold, and +been cast out from the midst of it by a fearful judgment. Ananias and +Sapphira had "lied unto God," and been struck dead for their impiety; +and the "great fear" excited by this first display of the judicial +powers of the Church had been followed by another influx of +conversions; for "multitudes were added to the Lord[37]." [Sidenote: +A.D. 34. The first schism.] And now came the first division in the +body, "a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews[38]." + +[Sidenote: Distinction between "Grecians" (or Hellenists) and +"Hebrews."] + +By the "Grecians" are meant those Jews of foreign birth and education +who had adopted Greek customs and the Greek language so entirely, that +some even of their most learned men did not understand Hebrew {17} but +read the Scriptures of the Old Testament in the Septuagint Version. +They were much despised by the stricter and more narrow-minded +"Hebrews," the natives of Palestine, or Syro-Chaldaic Jews; and the +rivalries of these two Jewish sects were carried even into the bosom of +Christ's Church. [Sidenote: Complaint of the "Grecians."] The +Grecians, or "_Hellenists_" complained that their widows were neglected +in the daily distribution of alms; perhaps grounding their complaint on +the fact that the Twelve were all Hebrews. [Sidenote: Deacons +ordained.] And the Apostles commanded that "seven men of honest report" +should be chosen from the body of believers, and presented to them, +that they might be ordained by Imposition of Hands to minister to the +bodily wants of the poor and aged. This was the first institution of +the Order of Deacons[39], the lowest of the three holy offices which +were to be continually handed down and perpetuated in the Church. Thus +did the Apostles begin to impart to others such a portion of the +ministerial grace, of which they themselves had been at first the sole +recipients, as might enable those whom they ordained to aid them, in a +subordinate degree, in the work of building up the mystical Body of +Christ. + +[Sidenote: Increasing conversions.] + +This fresh proof of the vitality of the Church through the active, +living Presence of her Divine Head, was followed by a new feature in +the still increasing conversions to her fold. It was no longer the +poor and the unlearned only, or chiefly, who listened to the teaching +of the Apostles, {18} "a great company of the Priests were obedient to +the Faith[40]," while, on the other hand, a growing and more bitter +spirit of persecution was soon to develope itself. + + +Section 8. _The Martyrdom of St. Stephen._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 34. The Seven Deacons.] + +St. Stephen, the foremost and saintliest of the Seven Deacons, and St. +Philip, the second in order, are the only two of whom we have any +further mention in the Book of Acts; but it is believed that the last +named, Nicolas of Antioch, was the author of the heresy of the +Nicolaitanes, which our Blessed Lord twice over tells us that He +hates[41]. Nicolas seems in this way to be a sad reflection of the +awful example set by the traitor Judas, the last reckoned Apostle. + +[Sidenote: Their functions.] + +It is clear that the ministrations of the first Deacons were not of +necessity confined to the "serving of tables," which was the primary +occasion of their appointment. St. Philip both preached and +baptized[42]; and St. Stephen brought down upon himself the hatred and +malice of the Jews by the boldness and power of his preaching. Both +preaching and baptizing do still, under certain restrictions, +"appertain to the office of a Deacon[43]." + +[Sidenote: Probably all Hellenists.] + +Judging from the names of the Seven Deacons, there seems good reason +for supposing that they were all or most of them Grecians or {19} +Hellenists. St. Stephen was undoubtedly a Hellenist, and his early +training made him a ready instrument for the work to which the Holy +Ghost had called him. Freed by education from many of the associations +and feelings which bound his Hebrew brethren to the Holy City and the +Temple, he could realize more plainly than they could do, the future of +the Christian Church apart from both these, and boldly proclaimed his +convictions. [Sidenote: St. Stephen's preaching rouses Hebrew +prejudices.] By this conduct he aroused all the deeply-rooted +prejudices and exclusive pride of the Jewish mind, even amongst those +who, like himself, were Hellenists, and to whom he seems more +particularly to have addressed himself. Up to this time, what +opposition there was to the teaching of the Apostles, seems to have +come chiefly from the unbelieving sect of the Sadducees[44]; for the +people had espoused the cause of the Christian teachers[45], and the +Pharisees had advocated lenient conduct towards those who confessed, as +they themselves did, a belief in the Resurrection[46]. [Sidenote: The +Pharisees join with the Saducees in opposition to the Church.] But now +all was altered; priests and people, Sadducees and Pharisees, were +alike vehement against those who ventured to assert that the "Holy +Place and the Law" should ever give way to a Holier than they; and +foremost amongst the persecutors was the fiery, earnest, intellectual +man who was afterwards the holy Apostle Paul[47]. + +[Sidenote: St. Stephen's speech a direct Inspiration.] + +The defence of the heavenly-minded Deacon before {20} his malicious and +bloodthirsty enemies must be looked upon as a direct Inspiration of the +Holy Ghost, a fulfilment of our Blessed Lord's promise to His +Church[48], and a Divine commentary on Old Testament History, showing +that God's mercies were not restrained to any particular place or +country, and upbraiding the Jews with their abuse of their many +privileges and their rejection of the Saviour. But the words of this +first Christian "Apology against Judaism" fell for the time on +unheeding ears; and its only present apparent result was the violent +and yet triumphant death of him who had been chosen to utter it. +[Sidenote: His blessed martyrdom.] Beneath the stoning of the enraged +multitude, the First Martyr "fell asleep," blessed in his last moments +with a foretaste of the Beatific Vision[49]. + + +Section 9. _Results of St. Stephen's Martyrdom._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 34. Good brought out of evil for the Church.] + +We may here pause to recollect how God had all along been bringing +forth good out of seeming evil, in what concerned His Church. The +first _dawnings of persecution_ drew down increased "boldness" in +answer to thankful prayer; the first great necessity for exercising the +_judicial office_ of the Church was followed by "great fear" and +multiplied conversions, as well as by the first miracles of healing +wrought in the Church; the first _schism_ was the occasion of the +origin of the Order of Deacons, directly after which event we hear of +"a great company of the priests being obedient to the Faith," {21} the +first _martyrdom_ helped to bring about the conversion of the chief +persecutor; and now the first _general persecution_ which came upon the +Church was to have for its result a far more widely-spread diffusion of +the knowledge of the Kingdom of God than had before taken place. + +[Sidenote: Extension of the Church according to our Lord's promise.] + +This extension of the Church was in exact accordance with our Lord's +words to His Apostles just before His Ascension, that they should be +witnesses unto Him "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and +unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Jerusalem was already "filled +with" their "doctrine," and now the disciples were "scattered abroad +throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria," and "went every where +preaching the Word[50]." [Sidenote: Still confined to Jews, and +Samaritans, or to proselytes.] Still it would seem that they confined +their preaching to such as were either Hebrews, or Grecians, i.e. +foreigners more or less professing Judaism[51]; or, as in the case of +the Samaritans, to such as were of mixed Jewish descent, and clung to +the Law of Moses, though with manifold corruptions; or, again, to +proselytes like the Ethiopian eunuch. The Apostles, we read, continued +at Jerusalem, doubtless by God's command and under His special +protection. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Samaria.] + +The conversion of the despised city of Samaria was effected by the +instrumentality of the Deacon St. Philip[52], whose preaching and +miracles were followed by the baptism of large numbers of the people, +and, amongst them, of one Simon {22} of Gittum, better known as Simon +Magus (i.e. the magician, or sorcerer), who had claimed supernatural +powers, and given himself out to be an emanation from the Deity, or +even God Himself. [Sidenote: St. Peter and St. John sent to confirm.] +St. Philip, as a Deacon, could not complete the gift begun in Holy +Baptism, and St. Peter and St. John were sent down by the Apostles from +Jerusalem, that they might confirm the Samaritan converts by prayer and +the Imposition of Hands. Confirmation in those early days of the +Church was wont to be accompanied by a bestowal of miraculous gifts of +the Holy Ghost; and the wondrous signs following upon this, the first +Confirmation mentioned in God's history of His Church, led the still +unbelieving Simon to long for the ability to confer similar powers. +[Sidenote: The unbelief of Simon Magus.] He dared to offer money to the +Apostles with this view, and drew from St. Peter such a reproof as for +a time pierced through even the heart which had hardened by an abuse of +holy things. But this penitence was of short duration. He became the +author in the Church of a deadly heresy called Gnosticism, mixing up +what he had learnt of the doctrines of Christianity with heathen +philosophy and sinful living, and making pretence of being endowed with +miraculous gifts. [Sidenote: His end.] This first heretic is said to +have perished miserably whilst endeavouring to fly through the air at +Rome[53], St. Peter praying at the same time that he might no longer be +suffered to hinder the salvation of souls. + +{23} + +[Sidenote: The Gospel preached in Antioch.] + +Another important result of the Sauline persecution was the preaching +of the Gospel in the important city of Antioch by the Greek-speaking +Jews who sought refuge there[54], and who addressed themselves to their +Hellenist countrymen. It was in this city, the third in rank in the +Roman Empire, and afterwards the mother of Gentile Christendom, that +the first branch of the Church speaking Greek as its original tongue, +was now beginning to have its foundation; and it was also here that the +disciples were first called by the honourable name of Christians[55]. + + +Section 10. _The Conversion of St. Paul._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 34.] + +It has been said "that, to combine the ceremonial shortcoming of the +eunuch with the imperfect faith of the Samaritan, is to arrive at the +admission of the Gentiles[56]." Preparation had been made in both +these instances for the carrying out of the Divine scheme by means of +St. Philip, whose fellow-Deacon had gladly laid down his life in +witnessing to the truth of it; and now God's great instrument for the +conversion of the gentile world was to appear. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Saul.] + +The furious persecutor Saul was struck to the earth by the sight and +voice of the Lord, whose disciples at Damascus he was bent upon +ill-using; and his miraculous conversion was followed by his baptism +and the devotion of all his powers to the promulgation of that "Faith +which once he destroyed." + +{24} + +[Sidenote: His fitness for his mission.] + +It is not hard to perceive in St. Paul a peculiar fitness for the work +to which God called him. His zeal and self-devotion, deep affections, +and warm sympathies, were joined to clearness of judgment and great +intellectual powers; whilst, from the circumstances of his birth and +education, he had much in common with both Hebrew and Hellenist Jews. +Though born in the Greek city of Tarsus, where he came in contact with +the classical ideas and learning of which traces appear in his +writings, his father was a Hebrew, and sent him to finish his education +at Jerusalem under the care of the learned Pharisee Gamaliel. Thus he +became zealous in the Law; and hence his deep tenderness for his +brethren of the seed of Israel, and his thorough insight into their +feelings and prejudices, were united to an acquaintance with gentile +ways of life, classic learning, and foreign modes of thought. + +With St. Paul's conversion came a time of peace and increase to the +Church, during which St. Peter's first Apostolic journey took place, +undertaken with the especial view of strengthening, by the Laying on of +Hands and by Apostolic preaching and counsel, those who, throughout +Judea and Samaria, had been regenerated and made "saints" by Holy +Baptism[57]. + + + +[1] 2 St. Peter i. 4. + +[2] Rev. xxi. 14. + +[3] St. Luke vi. 12-16. + +[4] "Apostle" is derived from the Greek word "Apostolos," i.e. "one +sent." The Apostles were "sent" by Christ, the Great High Priest and +Chief Pastor of the Church, Who comprehended in Himself the whole of +the Christian Ministry, whilst the Apostolic Office comprehended all +that could be delegated to man. This comprehensive Apostolic Office +was afterwards broken up into the three Orders of--1. Deacons; 2. +Priests and Bishops in one; 3. Bishops. After the special work of +Bishops was defined (see chap. iv.), Priests were Priests only, and not +Bishops, unless they had special consecration to the higher office. + +[5] Acts i. 3. + +[6] St. John xiv. 26. + +[7] St. Matt. xxviii. 19. + +[8] St. Matt. xxviii. 20. + +[9] St. Luke xxii. 19, 20. + +[10] St. John xx. 21, 22. + +[11] St. Matt. xxviii. 20. + +[12] Acts i. 13, 14. + +[13] Acts ii. 42, 46. It is said (St. John iv. 2) that "the disciples +of Jesus baptized;" but this baptism, like that of St. John Baptist, +was a "baptism of _repentance_," not of _Regeneration_--a _preparation_ +for the Gospel, not a _consequence_ of it. So the preaching of the +Apostles, spoken of in St. Matt. x. 7, was (like the Baptist's +preaching) an announcement that "the Kingdom of Heaven" was _not come_; +but "at hand," and an exhortation to make ready for it. + +[14] St. Luke xxiv. 49. + +[15] Ps. lxxxvii. 3. + +[16] Acts ii. 1-3. + +[17] Isa. xi. 2, 3. + +[18] Acts ii. 1-13. + +[19] Acts ii. 14-41. + +[20] St. Matt. xvi. 18. + +[21] Acts ii. 47. + +[22] Acts iii. + +[23] Acts iv. + +[24] Acts iv. 36, 37. + +[25] Acts v. 12-16. + +[26] Acts ii. 41-47. + +[27] 2 Thess. ii. 15. See also ch. iii. 6. 1 Cor. xi. 2. +"Ordinances," margin "Traditions." + +[28] Acts ii. 46 (margin). + +[29] Acts iv. 31-37. + +[30] Eph. v. 29, 30. + +[31] Poems by Prof. Bright.. + +[32] Acts iii. 1. + +[33] Acts iii. 11. + +[34] Acts v. 42. + +[35] Acts xiii. 5. 14; xiv. 1; xvii. 1, 2; xviii. 4. + +[36] Acts xxi. 26-33. + +[37] Acts v. 1-14. + +[38] Acts vi. 1, &c. + +[39] Deacon, from "Diaconos," a Greek word, meaning a ministering +attendant. + +[40] Acts vi. 7. + +[41] Rev. ii. 6. 15. + +[42] Acts viii. 5. 38. + +[43] See Office for "Making of Deacons," Book of Common Prayer. + +[44] Cp. Acts iv. 1, 2, 5, 6, and Acts v. 17. + +[45] Acts ii. 47; iv. 21; v. 13. 26. + +[46] Acts v. 34-40. + +[47] It seems not unlikely that Saul of Tarsus in Cilicia was one "of +them of Cilicia" mentioned in Acts vi. 9. + +[48] St. Luke xii. 11, 12. + +[49] Acts vii. 56. + +[50] Acts viii. 1. 4. + +[51] Acts xi. 19, 20. + +[52] It may be, that the recollection of our Saviour's visit to the +neighbouring city of Sychar, or Sichem [St. John iv.], would help to +influence the Samaritans. + +[53] From the rather indistinct account of Simon's death, it seems +probable that he became a victim to such a temptation as the "Cast +Thyself down," which was set before our Lord. + +[54] Acts xi. 19, 20. + +[55] Acts xi. 26. + +[56] See "Some Account of the Church in the Apostolic Age," by the late +Professor Shirley, p. 27. + +[57] Acts ix. 32. + + + + +{25} + +CHAPTER II + +The Foundation of the Church among the Heathen + +A.D. 38-45 + +[Sidenote: A.D. 38] + +During St. Peter's journey, the course of God's good Providence led him +to the sea-port town of Joppa, on the borders of Samaria and Judaea, +and there we read that "he tarried many days," a measure of time which +is supposed to be equivalent to three years. At the expiration of this +time an event occurred which had a deep and lasting influence on the +life of the Church of Christ. [Sidenote: Further fulfilment of the +promise to St. Peter.] Hitherto no Gentiles had been admitted into her +fold; but now it was to be given to St. Peter first to unlock to them +the door of union with Christ through His Human Nature; for to him had +first been committed the Power of the Keys, as a reward for his adoring +confession of Christ's Divinity[1]. + + +Section 1. _The Conversion of Cornelius._ + +A Roman soldier quartered at the great stronghold of Caesarea was +honoured by being the occasion of the {26} gathering in of the first +heathen converts. [Sidenote: A.D. 41. Conversion of the gentile +Cornelius.] This centurion was not a proselyte, but a Gentile, one +however who feared and served God according to the light given him +through reason and natural religion. He was commanded by an angel from +God to send to Joppa for St. Peter to show him the way of salvation, +whilst another express revelation prepared the holy Apostle for a step +so contrary to all his most cherished habits and prejudices. +[Sidenote: Descent of the Holy Ghost on gentile converts.] Taught by +God Himself no longer to consider or treat the Gentiles as "common or +unclean," St. Peter obeyed the summons of Cornelius; and, even whilst +he was preaching to him and the many gentile friends he had gathered, +the Holy Ghost descended visibly upon them as upon the Apostles on the +Day of Pentecost. The Gift of Tongues accompanied what we may almost +call a second Foundation of the Church; and we may readily believe that +those Christianized Jews who had accompanied the Apostle from Joppa +were "astonished" at this indication of what was in store for the +Gentiles in the Kingdom of God. + +[Sidenote: Holy Baptism not superseded.] + +It is worthy of remark, that notwithstanding this direct and +extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Ghost--but once before, and never +since, vouchsafed to any child of Adam--yet it was not considered by +St. Peter to do away with the necessity for Holy Baptism. "He +commanded them to be baptized[2]." + +{27} + +Section 2. _The Apostolic church in Jerusalem._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 41. Jerusalem still the centre of the Church.] + +Up to this time, and for long afterwards, Jerusalem continued to be the +centre of the Church of Christ. Within her walls was the home of the +Apostles during the intervals between their missions to the Christian +converts in the neighbouring towns; and, as a natural consequence, it +was here that the first Councils or Synods of the Church were held. +[Sidenote: The Hebrews wish to impose circumcision.] Here, too, were +the head-quarters of those disciples who not only clung to the Mosaic +law themselves, but wished to impose circumcision and the other +precepts of the Old Dispensation on gentile converts. They yielded +indeed to St. Peter's plea of special and Divine direction, when +summoned to Jerusalem to answer for having eaten with men +uncircumcised; nay, they even rejoiced in the prospect of the gathering +in of the Gentiles; but they had yet to learn the temporary nature of +the Ceremonial Law, and to realize that in Christ circumcision and +uncircumcision were equally valueless. + +[Sidenote: St. James the Less, Bishop of Jerusalem.] + +The government of the Church in Jerusalem was conferred on St. James +the Less, perhaps on account of his being "the Lord's brother;" and he +remained in the Holy City as its Bishop, when, about twelve years after +the Day of Pentecost, the other Apostles were for the first time +dispersed beyond the borders of Palestine, over the face of the known +world. The immediate occasion of this dispersion was the persecution +by Herod Agrippa, which resulted in the martyrdom of St. James {28} the +Great[3] and the temporary imprisonment and miraculous deliverance of +St. Peter (A.D. 44), a deliverance granted to the earnest prayers of +the Church. + + +Section 3. _The Apostolic Church in Antioch._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 42. St. Barnabas at Antioch.] + +We have no account in the Book of Acts of the Foundation (in the strict +sense of the word) of the Church in Antioch. We read of St. Barnabas +being sent thither from Jerusalem to visit and teach the converts +amongst the Greek-speaking Jews, he being all the more fitted for this +office by his connexion with Cyprus, whence came some of those who had +first spread the knowledge of the Gospel in Antioch. But St. Barnabas +was not yet of the number of the Apostles, the Foundations of the +Church (as neither was St. Paul, whom he lovingly sought out and +brought from Tarsus to aid in his work); and consequently we do not +read that the "laying on of hands" formed any part of their +ministrations. [Sidenote: St. Peter believed to be the founder of the +Church in Antioch.] There is, however, a very ancient tradition which +tells us that St. Peter visited Antioch and founded the Church in that +distant city whilst on his way to the still more distant Rome, after +his miraculous escape from Herod's prison (A.D. 44); and in the ancient +Church of England Feb. 22 was observed in commemoration of "St. Peter's +Throne at Antioch," that is, of his episcopal rule there. + +{29} + +[Sidenote: Obstacles to the conversion of the gentiles.] + +It was some years before the conversion of Cornelius and his gentile +household was followed by any extended proclamation of the good tidings +of the Gospel to the heathen world. It was not God's Will that all +obstacles should be at once cleared away from the onward path of the +Church; and the question of the relation in which the heathen were to +stand to the Law of Moses after their conversion to Christianity, +presented many difficulties. St. Peter and the other Apostles seem to +have waited patiently until God should vouchsafe to show them how these +difficulties might best be overcome; and on the Church in the large +gentile city of Antioch it first devolved to send forth missionaries to +the heathen. + + + +[1] St. Matt. xvi. 16-19. + +[2] Acts x. 48. It does not seem to have been the usual custom of the +Apostles to administer Holy Baptism themselves. See 1 Cor. i. 14-17. + +[3] In reference to the martyrdom of St. James, we may remember the +prophecy of his Divine Master (St. Matt. xx. 23). "James tasted the +_first_ draught of Christ's cup of suffering; and his brother John had +the _longest_ draught of it."--Wordsworth on Acts xii. 2. + + + + +{30} + +CHAPTER III + +The Extension of the Church throughout the World + +A.D. 45-70 + +Section 1. _The First Mission to the Gentiles._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 45.] + +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. Barnabas sent to preach to the heathen.] + +It would seem that in the special Eucharistic offerings and Lenten +discipline mentioned by St. Luke[1], the Church in Antioch was seeking +guidance of her Divine Head as to her duties with respect to the gentile +world in the midst of which she was placed; and that the command of the +Holy Ghost to consecrate St. Paul and St. Barnabas as Apostles to the +heathen was an answer to her cry. + +We are not told whose "hands" were "laid" on the two newly-made Apostles +in the solemn Consecration Service which followed, but it is likely that +St. Peter was at that time at Antioch, and also that the Church in that +city was already governed by a Bishop of its own. [Sidenote: They +complete the Apostolic number.] It may here be remarked that the number +of the Apostles was now completed. Those whom they ordained to be {31} +Bishops or Overseers in the Church of God, as St. Timothy at Ephesus, and +St. Titus at Crete, though they received in the "laying on of hands" +power to execute such of the highest offices of the Apostolic function as +were to be perpetually continued to the Church, yet were not fully +Apostles. [Sidenote: Difference between Bishops and Apostles.] They had +grace given to them to confirm, to ordain, and to communicate the power +of ordaining to others, but they were not endowed with the extraordinary +and supernatural gifts bestowed by the Holy Ghost for the Foundation of +the Church; nor did they receive the same direct and outward call as was +vouchsafed to the Twelve by our Lord Himself, and to St. Paul and St. +Barnabas by the special appointment of the Holy Spirit. They were not to +_found_ the Church, but to _build up_ on its Apostolic foundations. + +[Sidenote: Mission to Cyprus.] + +The first missionary journey of St. Paul and St. Barnabas was to Cyprus, +the native country of the latter. Here the preaching of the Gospel, +begun in the Jewish synagogue[2], was continued before the heathen +proconsul Sergius Paulus; and through it and the judicial blindness +inflicted by St. Paul on the false prophet Elymas, the gentile ruler was +won to Christ. [Sidenote: St. Paul, the chief Apostle of the Gentiles.] +St. Paul had now begun to take the lead as the chief Apostle of the +Gentiles; it was he who, at Antioch in Pisidia, preached that sermon to +the Jews which they would not heed, but which found acceptance with the +heathen whom they despised. [Sidenote: Missionary journey through Asia +Minor.] The Jews persecuted and blasphemed, but the Gentiles believed; +and, in the account given {32} us of the labours of the Apostles here and +at Iconium, we are reminded of the multitude of conversions and of the +gladness of heart of the converted in the first days after the great Day +of Pentecost[3]. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 46.] + +At Lystra the Apostles found themselves for the first time in the midst +of a thoroughly heathen population, without any admixture of Jews; but +here also they did not hesitate to preach the first Christian "Apology +against Heathenism," and to display the miraculous powers with which the +Holy Ghost had gifted them. [Sidenote: The Apostles confirm and ordain.] +Their Jewish persecutors followed them and drove them to Derbe, the +farthest limit of their journey; and from thence they retraced their +steps, visiting each place where they had preached the Gospel, +"confirming" their numerous converts, and "ordaining" Elders or +Presbyters to have the care of those who were thus admitted to the full +communion of the Church. + + +Section 2. _The Ministry of the Apostolic Church._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 46. Ordination of priests.] + +This[4] is the first mention we have of the ordination of Elders, or +Presbyters (or Priests[5], as we are most in the habit of calling them), +though the fact of the existence of such officers has already been hinted +at[6] as well-known and recognized. Thus we see that, as when at first +"the number of the disciples was multiplied," the Apostles delegated part +of their work to the Order of Deacons, so {33} afterwards, when the +Church continued to grow and increase, they provided for her needs by +instituting the Order of the Priesthood, conferring on others, in God's +Name and by His Authority, a larger portion of the ministerial grace they +had themselves received from Him. [Sidenote: Functions of the +Priesthood.] The distinguishing Grace given to those who were called to +the Office of Elder or Presbyter by the "laying on of hands," was, as it +still is, the power of consecrating and offering the Holy Eucharist, that +so, according to St. Paul's words to the Elders of Ephesus, they may +"feed the Church of God[7]," not as in the case of the Deacons, with "the +meat that perisheth," but with "the Bread of God, which cometh down from +Heaven." + +[Sidenote: Consecration of Bishops] + +Of the Ordination of Bishops[8], apart from the Apostolate, we have no +mention in the Book of the Acts; but that the Apostles did ordain +successors to themselves, so far as their office was to be perpetual in +the Church, we have ample proofs in the Epistles of St. Paul to St. +Timothy and St. Titus. [Sidenote: Their functions.] To both these holy +men, Bishops or Overseers of the Church in Ephesus and Crete +respectively, St. Paul gives injunctions as to their duties, particularly +in ordaining Elders or Priests, the distinguishing work of a Bishop[9]. + + +Section 3. _The First Council of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 46-51.] + +For a "long time" after the return of St. Paul and St. Barnabas to +Antioch, with the news that God had, through their {34} instrumentality, +"opened the Door of Faith to the Gentiles," the Church in that city seems +to have continued to flourish in peace and prosperity. [Sidenote: +Difficulties as to the observance of Jewish rites.] But difficulties with +regard to the observance or non-observance by the Gentile converts of the +rite of circumcision and other precepts of the Mosaic law, arose to +disturb this quiet. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 52. Hebrew Jews go to Antioch.] + +The Hellenist clergy in Antioch, less wedded to Judaism, had apparently +received into communion, without doubt or question, those amongst the +heathen around the city who had been added to the number of the faithful +by Holy Baptism; but when tidings of this freedom of communion reached +the more severely Hebrew Christians at Jerusalem, certain Hebrew Jews of +them hurried to Antioch, anxious to bring the converts there under the +yoke of the law. Though unauthorized in this mission by the rulers of +the Church in Jerusalem[10], they urged with such persistency the +necessity of circumcision for the salvation of all, that the opposition +of St. Paul and St. Barnabas only raised "no small dissension and +disputation," and it was agreed that the advice of the Apostles and +Presbyters at Jerusalem should be sought on this important question. +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. Barnabas go to Jerusalem.] St. Paul and St. +Barnabas then, "and certain others with them" (amongst whom was Titus, an +uncircumcised Gentile convert[11]), went up to Jerusalem, where at this +time happened to be St. Peter and St. John, as well as St. James, the +Bishop of that Church[12]. + +{35} + +[Sidenote: The First Council.] + +The Apostles and Elders, under the presidency of St. James[13], met +together in the First Council of the Church, a large body of the laity +being also present, not indeed to take part in the discussion, but to +hear it, and to receive and acknowledge the decision arrived at[14]. + +St. Peter, who had first been commissioned to carry the tidings of the +Gospel to the Gentiles, boldly proclaimed the sufficiency of "the Grace +of the Lord Jesus Christ" for their salvation[15], and St. James, who was +probably himself a very strict observer of the Jewish law, yet did not +hesitate to declare that it had no binding force on those who were not +Jews by birth. [Sidenote: St. James presides as Bishop of Jerusalem. +Decree of the Council.] He, as President of the Council, proposed the +decree to which the rest agreed, and which was in substance, that the +Gentile Christians should be commanded so far to respect Jewish +prejudices as to "abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, +and from things strangled," whilst they were also enjoined to keep +themselves from the sin of "fornication," into which the Gentile world +was so deeply sunk. + +The decrees of the Council did not enter into or provide any solution of +the minor difficulties connected with the intercourse between Jews and +Gentiles in the Church of Christ. Doubtless "it seemed good to the Holy +Ghost" that these questions should be left to be solved by time and +experience and the general exercise of His Gift of Wisdom. + +{36} + +[Sidenote: Claim for Divine Authority. Guidance of the Holy Spirit +vouchsafed to General Councils.] + +We can hardly fail to be struck by the confident language in which the +First Council of the Church claims for its decisions the full weight of +Divine Authority; and though it differed from later Catholic Councils in +that it was presided over by inspired men, yet we may well believe that +to those General Councils which really deserved the name, the Holy Spirit +vouchsafed such a special measure of His guiding Power, as might suffice +to preserve their decisions from error, and enable them to hand down +unblemished the deposit of Truth which Christ left with His Church. + + +Section 4. _St. Paul's Second Apostolic Journey._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 53. St. Peter's probable visit to Antioch.] + +St. Paul and St. Barnabas bore back to the Church in Antioch the decree +of the Council at Jerusalem, and it was probably about this time that St. +Peter paid to Antioch the visit of which we read in the Epistle to the +Galatians[16], when his fear of "them which were of the circumcision," +led him to shrink from continuing to eat and drink with the Gentiles, and +drew down St. Paul's stern rebuke. [Sidenote: Separation of St. Paul and +St. Barnabas.] The difference of opinion about St. Mark soon after +separated the two Apostles, whose labours amongst the heathen had been +till now carried on together, and St. Paul began his missionary travels +without an Apostolic companion[17]. He went first through Syria and his +native country Cilicia, {37} "confirming" the baptized, and then to the +scene of his first contact with actual heathendom at Derbe and Lystra. +St. Paul's course of conduct with regard to the circumcision of St. +Timothy, a native of Lystra, shows us clearly how fully his mind had +grasped all the bearings of the question between Jews and Gentiles[18]. +[Sidenote: St. Paul's indifference to circumcision in itself.] +Circumcision and uncircumcision were alike matters of indifference to +him, in no way affecting salvation, excepting so far as they might tend +to the edification of others. He did not blame those converted Jews who +still thought it needful to observe the Mosaic law, but he resisted to +the uttermost all attempts to make that law binding on the Gentiles, and +would not sanction any thing which might seem to imply that the +Life-giving ordinances of the Gospel were not sufficient for every need. +St. Timothy, uncircumcised, would have obtained no hearing from Jews for +the Gospel he preached, and therefore he was circumcised as a measure of +Christian expediency. + +[Sidenote: St. Paul crosses over to Europe. St. Luke joins him.] + +After founding Churches in the semi-barbarous regions of Phrygia and +Galatia, St. Paul was led by the express direction of the Holy Spirit to +an altogether new field of labour, and it is here, just on the eve of St. +Paul's departure from Asia for the continent of Europe, that St. Luke +joins the Apostolic company. [Sidenote: Jewish influences give way to +Greece and Rome.] The Church was now spreading far westward and coming +into closer contact with the philosophy of Greece and the power of Rome, +whilst Jewish influences shrank into insignificance. There was no +synagogue in the large and important Roman colony of Philippi, {38} and +only women seem to have resorted to the place of prayer outside the walls +of the city, whilst at Thessalonica, where the one synagogue for the +whole district was situated, the accusation of the Jews against the +preachers of the Gospel was no longer of a religious, but of a political +nature. [Sidenote: Opposition to the Gospel political.] "These all do +contrary to the decrees of Caesar[19]." In same way the malice of the +rulers of the Jews against the Divine Head of the Church had found vent +in assertions of His plotting to destroy the Temple, or to make Himself a +King, according as the Jewish populace or the Roman governor was to be +stirred up against Him[20]. + +But if Jewish prejudices no longer offered the same formidable opposition +to the soldiers of the Cross, as before in Palestine and the neighbouring +countries, the Apostle and his fellow-labourers had now to encounter +fresh enemies not less deadly. [Sidenote: Vice and superstition mixed +with intellectual unbelief.] In the highly civilized cities of Greece +they encountered on the one hand the full tide of heathenism with all its +degrading vices and superstitions, and on the other, Pagan philosophy +with its hard sceptical temper and intellectual pride. Influences such +as these may account for the comparatively small results which seem to +have followed the preaching of St. Paul at Philippi, Thessalonica[21], +and Berea, and the prominence given to women as being more easily touched +by the good tidings of the Gospel. [Sidenote: Open conflict with Satan.] +At Philippi is noticeable the conflict between the visible power of Satan +and the Power of {39} One stronger than he, in the casting out by St. +Paul of the evil spirit of Python from the soothsaying woman. This was +an earnest of the final issue of that great contest between the kingdom +of Satan and the Kingdom of God, which was now beginning in the very +strongholds of darkness, and is to continue to the end of time. + +We may also remark the first mention of the title and rights of a Roman +citizen claimed by St. Paul for himself and St. Silas after their illegal +imprisonment. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 54. Athenians little inclined to believe.] + +At Athens St. Paul came in contact with the most intellectual and +philosophical minds of heathendom; but heathen philosophy made the +Athenians very little inclined to accept the supernatural mysteries of +the Christian Faith. They listened indeed with eager curiosity to the +"new thing" which the great Apostle proclaimed "in the midst of Mars' +Hill;" and yet when their intellectual pride was required to bow itself +down, to acknowledge something more than a Neology, and to believe in the +supernaturalism of the Resurrection, they only "mocked" the teacher. St. +Paul, therefore, departed from the city where his cultivated mind had +been stirred at the sight of so many great intellects "wholly given to +idolatry[22]." [Sidenote: Athens afterwards a Bishopric.] But yet his +visit was not without its fruits; and Dionysius, a member of the great +Council of the Areopagus, is believed to have been the first Bishop of +the Church in Athens[23]. + +{40} + +[Sidenote: Corinth the centre of the Church in Greece.] + +From Athens St. Paul went to Corinth, and it was in this luxurious and +profligate city that he founded a Church which became the centre of +Christianity in Greece. [Sidenote: St. Paul turns from the Jews.] The +obstinate unbelief and blasphemous opposition of the Corinthian Jews +caused St. Paul, for the first time, to withdraw himself entirely from +the services of the synagogue; but he continued at Corinth a year and six +months, being protected, according to God's special promise to him, from +all the machinations of his Jewish enemies. [Sidenote: Opposes the +errors of Greek philosophy.] This lengthened stay was probably occasioned +not only by the presence of "much people" who were to be converted to +Christ, but also by the necessity of strengthening the Corinthian +converts against the subtleties of the heathen philosophy by which they +were surrounded, and with which St. Paul was well fitted to cope by his +early education. The errors of Gnosticism seem also to have penetrated +at this time as far as Corinth. + +[Sidenote: A.D. 55. A.D. 56.] + +After leaving Corinth, St. Paul paid a hasty visit to Ephesus, and then, +for the last time, returned to Antioch. + + +Section 5. _St. Paul's Third Apostolic Journey._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 56.] + +[Sidenote: Ephesus the centre of the Church in Asia Minor.] + +The next journey of the great Apostle of the Gentiles led him first +through Galatia and Phrygia, "strengthening" the Churches he had already +founded, and then brought him to the rich and important maritime city of +Ephesus, destined to be a third great centre of the Gentile Church, and +to hold in Asia Minor the same position as did Corinth in Greece {41} and +Antioch in Syria. Here again St. Paul was forced to withdraw altogether +from the Jewish synagogue, after three months of earnest preaching and +teaching. + +Ephesus was the great seat of the worship of the heathen goddess Diana, +or Artemis, and was also full of those who practised "magical arts" or +sorceries, so that its inhabitants were doubly enslaved by the Evil One. +But the kingdom of darkness could not stand against the Kingdom of Light. +[Sidenote: Great power given to the Church. A.D. 57. A.D. 58.] Great as +was the power of Satan, still more mighty was the Power which the Lord +Jesus gave to His Church. "Special miracles" were wrought in the place +of "lying wonders;" the Jewish exorcists were confounded, and the +sincerity of the Christian converts was proved by the costly sacrifice of +their once-prized books of magic. "So mightily grew the Word of God and +prevailed[24]." + +St. Paul passed between two and three years at Ephesus, during which time +he is supposed to have founded the Church in Crete, leaving St. Titus as +its Bishop, whilst Ephesus was placed under the episcopal charge of St. +Timothy. But eventually the riot excited by Demetrius drove the Apostle +from that city. [Sidenote: A.D. 59. A.D. 60.] [Sidenote: His visitation +charge to the Elders of Ephesus.] On his return to the neighbouring city +of Miletus, after his journey through Greece and Macedonia, we read of +his sending to Ephesus for the clergy of that place, and delivering to +them a solemn charge respecting their duties to the flock which God had +entrusted to their care[25]. + +It is during St. Paul's long sojourn at Ephesus that we have the first +indication of his intention to visit the {42} remoter regions of the +West, and more particularly its capital, imperial Rome[26]. He probably +at that time expected to see its wonders under different circumstances +than those of a prisoner, though before he finished his homeward journey +to Jerusalem, he had supernatural warnings of what was coming upon +him[27] from the malice of his Jewish enemies. + + +Section 6. _St. Paul at Rome._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 60.] + +The anxiety which St. Paul ever felt to avoid giving unnecessary offence +to his fellow-countrymen, and his readiness to follow the precepts of +Judaism when they did not interfere with the liberty of Christianity, +were, in God's good Providence, the indirect means of his being sent to +preach the glad tidings of salvation, not in Rome only, but in still more +distant countries. [Sidenote: St. Paul goes to Rome. A.D. 63-65.] It +will not be necessary to enter into the particulars which drew upon St. +Paul the unjust indignation of the Jews, and induced him to appeal from +their persecutions and the popularity-seeking of Festus to the justice of +the emperor: we need only remember that the conclusion of the Book of the +Acts shows him to us a prisoner "in his own hired house" at Rome, and +there preaching and teaching "with all confidence," first, as ever, to +the Jews, and afterwards to the Gentiles. + +{43} + +Section 7. _Extent of the Labours of the Apostles._ + +We are told but little in Holy Scripture as to the particulars of the +Apostles' work in founding the Church of God, except in the case of St. +Paul, and we are not allowed to trace even his labours to their end. +[Sidenote: Preaching of the Apostles in all known countries.] From other +sources we learn that the twelve visited almost every known country of +the world, so as to give to each separate race of men then existing an +opportunity of refusing or accepting the offer of the salvation of which +they were the ministers and stewards. We are also told that all, except +St. John and perhaps St. Matthew, crowned their life of toil in the +service of their Lord by a martyr's death. St. Peter and St. Paul both +suffered at Rome in the First Persecution under Nero, and most likely on +the same day, A.D. 67. + +The following Table[28] will show the probable field of the labours of +each Apostle, so far as the record of it has come down to us:-- + +{44} + +Supposed Fields of Apostolic Labour. + + Name of Churches. By whom Founded. + + Palestine and Syria All the Apostles. + + Mesopotamia (Turkey in Asia) St. Peter and St. Jude. + + Persia St. Bartholomew and St. Jude + + India St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas. + + Thrace (Turkey in Europe) St. Andrew. The flourishing + Church of Constantinople + afterwards sprang up on this + field of his labours. + + Scythia (Russia) St. Andrew. + + North Africa (Egypt and St. Simon Zelotes. St. Mark + Algeria) specially connected with + Alexandria. + + Ethiopia (Central Africa). St. Matthew. + + Arabia. St. Paul. + + Asia Minor (Turkey in Asia) St. Paul and St. John. + + Macedonia (Turkey in Europe) St. Paul + + Greece St. Paul. + + Italy St. Peter and St. Paul. + + Spain St. Paul. + + Gaul (France) and Britain St. Paul and St. Joseph of + Arimathea. + + + +[1] Acts xiii. 2. + +[2] The _first_ offers of salvation continued to be made to the Jews, +even after the recognition by the Church of her mission to the Gentiles. + +[3] Acts xiii. 48, 49, 52; xiv. 1. + +[4] Acts xiv. 23. + +[5] "presbyter," afterwards shortened into "Prester" and "Priest," is +derived from the Greek word "Presbyteros," "an Elder." + +[6] Acts xi. 30. + +[7] Acts xx. 28. + +[8] The word "Bishop" is derived from the Greek "Episcopos," and +signifies an overseer. + +[9] 1 Tim. v. 1, 19, 22. 2 Tim. i. 6. Titus i. 5; ii. 15. + +[10] Acts xv. 24. + +[11] Gal. ii. 3. + +[12] Gal. ii. 9. + +[13] St. James, as Bishop of the Diocese, taking precedence in this +instance even of St. Peter. + +[14] Compare Acts xv. 6. 12. + +[15] This is the last mention of St. Peter in the Book of Acts. + +[16] Gal. ii. 11-14. + +[17] Acts xv. 36-41. The last mention of St. Barnabas in the Book of +Acts. + +[18] Compare Acts xvi. 3; and Gal. ii. 3, 4. + +[19] Acts xvii. 7. Comp. Acts vi. 11. + +[20] Comp. St. Mark xiv. 58; and St. Luke xxiii. 2. + +[21] Both Philippi and Thessalonica eventually became the seats of +flourishing Christian Churches, to whom St. Paul wrote Epistles. + +[22] Acts xvii. 16-33. + +[23] There are some reasons for thinking that men of cultivated minds and +high social position were preferred for Bishops in the early as well as +in later ages of the Church. + +[24] Acts xix. 1-20. + +[25] Acts xx. 17-35. + +[26] Acts xix. 21. + +[27] Acts xx. 23; xxi. 11. + +[28] From Blunt's "Household Theology." + + + + +{45} + +CHAPTER IV + +Final Settlement of the Church by St. John + +A.D. 67-100 + +It seems probable that most of the Apostles had entered into rest +before the Destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70, and that St. John the +Divine was the only one of the Apostolic body who long survived that +event. + +[Sidenote: St. Peter began to found the Church, St. John completed its +foundation.] + +To St. Peter, one of the "pillars" of the Church, it had been given to +begin the great work of laying the foundation of the Mystical Temple of +God; to St. John, the other of the two, was allotted the task of +perfecting what had been begun, so that a sure and steady basis should +not be wanting on which the New Jerusalem might rise through time to +eternity[1]. + +{46} + +Section 1. _Second Council at Jerusalem._ + +[Sidenote: A.D. 67.] + +[Sidenote: Purposes of the Second Council.] + +There is good reason for believing[2] that after the martyrdoms of St. +Peter, St. Paul, and St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and +about the time of the invasion of the Holy City by Vespasian, a Second +Council of such of the Apostles as still survived was held for the +purpose of electing a successor to the See of Jerusalem, and definitely +settling the future government of the Church. [Sidenote: Bishops only +rarely appointed at first,] Bishops had already been consecrated in +certain cases, as at Ephesus, Crete, and Rome; but during the time that +the Apostles were still engaged in founding and governing the different +branches of the great Christian community, the appointment of Bishops +(in the sense of heads of the Church) seems to have been the exception +rather than the rule. [Sidenote: but now everywhere to replace the +Apostles.] A new era was, however, now coming upon the Church; her +Founders were gradually being withdrawn from her, and it was necessary +that she should receive such a complete and permanent organization as +would enable her to transmit to succeeding ages the saving grace of +which the Apostles had been the first channels, that so what had been +founded through their instrumentality might be continued and extended +through the ministry of others. + +{47} + +[Sidenote: The establishment of the Apostolical Succession the special +work of St. John,] + +This work of organization was fitly entrusted to St. John, who for so +many years was left upon earth to "tarry" for the Lord, on Whose Breast +he had leaned, and Whose teaching had filled his soul with adoring +love, and with those depths of spiritual knowledge which are stored up +for us in the "Theological Gospel." [Sidenote: and the necessary +consequence of his teaching.] It seems natural that he to whom it was +given most fully to "enlighten" the Church respecting the Blessed +Mysteries of the Incarnation and of the Two Holy Sacraments, should +also be charged with the care of providing for the continual +transmission of the sacramental grace of the Incarnation through the +"laying on of hands," and that he who saw and recorded the glorious +ritual belonging to the Heavenly Altar, should organize that system by +which Priests might be perpetually raised up to show forth the same +Offering in the Church below. + +Thus, though up to the time of St. Paul's martyrdom (A.D. 67) Episcopal +rule, as distinct from Apostolic, would seem to have been exceptional, +before the death of St. John (A.D. 100), government by the Bishops had +undoubtedly become the recognized rule and system of the Church. + + +Section 2. _Development of the Church._ + +Before entering into any details respecting the final settlement by St. +John of the Order, Discipline, and Worship of the Church, it may be +well to remind ourselves that the Mystical Body of Christ only +gradually attained her full shape and constitution, following, like +God's other works, His law of growth and {48} development, and adapting +herself, according to her Lord's designs for her, to the needs of her +members. [Sidenote: Development in the minds of the Apostles as to the +work of the Church.] There is no reason to suppose that the Apostles, +even after the Day of Pentecost, had clear ideas of the destiny which +was in store on earth for the Church which they were engaged in +founding. The gathering in of the Gentiles, the existence of the +Church entirely apart from the Temple and its services, the place she +was to occupy in the long reach of years before the Day of Judgment[3], +all these were only made known to them by the course of events and the +teaching of experience, conjointly with, as well as subordinate to, the +general guidance of the Holy Spirit. So, too, as regards doctrine. +[Sidenote: As to doctrine.] We cannot for a moment doubt that the +Apostles, who had been taught by the Incarnate Truth Himself, and +inspired by the Holy Ghost, held firmly "all the Articles of the +Christian Faith;" but we may also believe that their insight into these +verities would be deepened, and their expression of them become +clearer, as adoring meditation and the Teaching of the Comforter +brought more and more to their remembrance the Words and Works of their +Lord, and unbelieving cavils forced them more and more fully "to give a +reason of the Hope that" was in them[4]. The same thing may be noticed +{49} respecting the Faith of the Church. [Sidenote: Development of the +teaching of the Church.] Held firmly in its fulness from the beginning, +it was yet only gradually set forth in Creeds, Liturgies, and +Definitions of Faith, according as the love and belief of Christians +required expression, or the errors of heretics drew forth clearer +teaching on the truths they attacked. [Sidenote: Reserve in the +teaching of the Church.] To this we may add, that the early Church was +very careful to keep the knowledge of the deep mysteries of the Faith +from those who were not Christians. It was only after their initiation +by Holy Baptism that those who had, as Catechumens, been instructed in +the rudiments of Christian doctrine, were admitted to a full knowledge +of the belief and practice of the Church, especially as regarded the +Holy Eucharist, which was very commonly spoken of under the name of the +Holy Mysteries. + + +Section 3. _St. John at Ephesus[5]._ + +[Sidenote: St. John's work at Ephesus.] + +About the time that Jerusalem was besieged by the armies of Vespasian +(A.D. 67), St. John withdrew to Ephesus (whence for a while he was +banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian[6]); and from this city he +travelled about through the neighbouring country, organizing, amongst +others, those Seven Churches of Asia Minor, to whose Angels or Bishops +he was bidden to write the Seven Epistles contained in the Apocalypse. + +{50} + +[Sidenote: Fitness of Ephesus as a centre of organization,] + +Here in Ephesus, the eye of Asia, the great mercantile seaport of the +then known world, his influence could most easily make itself felt +amongst the far-off members of the Christian body, which by this time +had extended throughout the whole Roman empire. All the civilized +world was then subject to the sway of Rome, except India and China; and +it may be that even these two latter countries were not excluded from +the influence of the Gospel. It is not, of course, meant that +Christianity was the recognized religion of all or any of the Roman +provinces; but that in each of them the Church had a corporate +existence, and was a living power, drawing into herself here one, and +there another of the souls who were brought into contact with her, and +really, though gradually, spreading through and leavening the earth. + +[Sidenote: and of orthodox teaching.] + +Again, at Ephesus St. John could best combat and confute, both by his +words and writings, the subtle and deadly heresies which were +especially rife there. "False Christs," such as Simon Magus, the first +heretic, Menander, Dositheus, and others, no longer troubled the Infant +Church with their blasphemous impostures, but in their stead false +teachers had arisen, seeking to "draw away disciples after them" into +the more subtle error of misbelief about our Lord and His Incarnation. +[Sidenote: Errors of the Corinthians.] [Sidenote: The Docetae, and +other variations of Gnosticism.] Thus the Jew Corinthus taught that +Christ was a mere man, born like other men, though united to Divinity +from His Baptism to His Crucifixion; whilst to the errors of the +Corinthians the Docetae added that the Body in which our Blessed +Saviour suffered, was only a phantom, and a body but in appearance; +both these heresies, {51} and others of a similar nature, appear to +have been variations of that Gnosticism to which St. Paul refers in his +Epistles, as "science" (or gnosis) "falsely so called[7]," and which +was long a source of danger and trouble to the Church. Gnosticism may +be traced back to that Simon Magus, with whom St. John first came in +contact at Samaria, and in all its varied distortions of the great +Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation, through an admixture of Jewish +and heathen error, there was always an unvarying denial of our Lord's +Divinity. + +[Sidenote: St. John's universal patriarchate.] + +For about a third of a century St. John continued to exercise a kind of +universal patriarchate over the Church, being regarded, we cannot +doubt, with almost unbounded reverence and affection by all its +members, and perhaps first presenting that idea of one visible earthly +head of the Church, which afterwards found its expression in the +popedom. + + +Section 4. _St. John's Writings._ + +[Sidenote: St. John's writings close the Canon.] + +The Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation of St. John, written as they were +at a long interval after the rest of the New Testament, and closing the +Canon of Sacred Scripture, may be usefully referred to, as giving us +some idea of the appearance of the Church when its government and +theology were finally settled. + +[Sidenote: How his Gospel differs from the other three.] + +St. John's Gospel differs from those of the other three Evangelists in +having been written for men who from their infancy had grown up in the +Faith of Christ, and who {52} were thus more ready to enter into and +profit by deep sacramental doctrine; whilst at the same time the +dangerous heresies which were beguiling souls from the truth, called +for more detailed and dogmatic teaching than had at first been needed. +[Sidenote: Dwells on our Lord's Divinity,] Hence in place of an account +of our Lord's Human Birth, St. John sets forth His Eternal Godhead and +wonderful Incarnation, leaving no space for unbelief or cavil, when he +proclaims for the instruction of the Church, that "the Word was God," +and yet that He also "was made Flesh." [Sidenote: and on the two +Sacraments.] Again, the last Gospel does not bring before us the +Institution of the two great Sacraments of the Christian Covenant; +though it, and it alone, does record the teaching of our Blessed Lord +Himself with regard to the New Birth in Holy Baptism, and the constant +Nourishment of the renewed life in the Holy Eucharist. + +[Sidenote: The Epistles correct heresies.] + +Having established the Faith in His Gospel, St. John in his Epistles +sternly censures heresy and schism, thus witnessing to the end of time +that the charity of the Church must never lead her to countenance false +doctrine. + +[Sidenote: The Apocalypse sets forth Discipline and Worship.] + +We may look to the Book of the Revelation for some light as to the +discipline and worship of the Church of St. John's days. We have there +in the mention of the Seven Angels or Bishops, each ruling over his own +Church and answerable for its growth in holiness, a confirmation of the +fact that episcopacy was now fully _organized_ as the one form of +Church government which had replaced the extinct hierarchy of the +former dispensation. Nor does it seem unreasonable to believe that St. +John's vision of the Worship of Heaven {53} was intended to supply to +the Christian Church a model to be copied so far as circumstances +should permit in the courts of the Lord's House on earth, much as the +elaborate system of Temple Worship, which was entirely swept away with +the destruction of Jerusalem, had been in all things ordered "according +to the pattern" which the Lord had "showed" first to Moses and +afterwards to David. That the Primitive Church did thus consider the +Heavenly Ritual set forth in the Apocalypse as the ideal of worship on +earth, is proved by the accounts which have come down to us of the +arrangement of Churches and the manner of celebrating the Holy +Eucharist in early times. + +[Sidenote: Arrangement of Churches in primitive times.] + +"The form and arrangement of Churches in primitive times was derived, +in its main features, from the Temple at Jerusalem. Beyond the porch +was the narthex, answering to the court of the Gentiles, and +appropriated to the unbaptized and to penitents. Beyond the narthex +was the nave, answering to the court of the Jews, and appropriated to +the body of worshippers. At the upper end of the nave was the choir, +answering to the Holy Place, for all who were ministerially engaged in +Divine Service. Beyond the choir was the Berna or Chancel, answering +to the Holy of Holies, used only for the celebration of the Holy +Eucharist, and separated from the choir by a closed screen, resembling +the organ screen of our cathedrals, which was called the Iconostasis. +As early as the time of Gregory Nazianzen, in the fourth century, this +screen is compared to the division between the present and the eternal +world, and the sanctuary behind it was ever regarded with the greatest +possible reverence as the most sacred {54} place to which man could +have access while in the body; the veiled door, which formed the only +direct exit from it into the choir and nave, being only opened at the +time when the Blessed Sacrament was administered to the people there +assembled[3]. The opening of this door, then, brought into view the +Altar and the Divine Mysteries which were being celebrated there. +[Sidenote: Its resemblance to what the Apocalypse tells us of Heaven.] +And when St. John looked through the door that had been opened in +Heaven, what he saw is thus described: 'And behold a Throne was set in +Heaven . . . . and round about the Throne were four and twenty seats; +and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in +white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold . . . . and +there were seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne . . . . and +before the Throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal.' Here is +exactly represented an arrangement of the altar familiar to the whole +Eastern Church and to the early Church of England, in which it occupies +the centre of an apse in front of the seats of the Bishop and Clergy, +which are placed in the curved part of the wall. And, although there +is no reason to think that the font ever stood near the altar, yet +nothing appears more likely than that the 'sea of glass like unto +crystal' mystically represents that laver of regeneration through which +alone the altar can be spiritually approached. Another striking +characteristic of the ancient Church was the extreme reverence which +was shown to the Book of the Gospels, which was always placed upon the +altar and surmounted by a cross. So {55} 'in the midst of the Throne, +and round about the Throne,' St. John saw those four living creatures +which have been universally interpreted to represent the four +Evangelists or the four Gospels, their position seeming to signify that +the Gospel is ever attendant upon the altar, penetrating, pervading, +and embracing the highest mystery of Divine Worship, giving 'glory and +honour and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, who liveth for ever +and ever.' In the succeeding chapter St. John beholds Him for whom +this altar is prepared. 'I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the Throne, +and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood +a Lamb as It had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which +are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.' It cannot +be doubted that this is our Blessed Lord in that Human Nature on which +the _septiformis gratia_ was poured without measure; and that His +appearance in the form of 'the Lamb that was slain to receive power, +and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and +blessing,' represents the mystery of His prevailing Sacrifice and +continual Intercession. But around this living Sacrifice there is +gathered all the homage of an elaborate ritual. They who worship Him +have 'every one of them harps' to offer Him the praise of instrumental +music; they have 'golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers +of saints,' even as the angel afterwards had 'given unto him much +incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of the saints upon +the golden altar which was before the Throne;' they sing a new song, +mingling the praises of 'the best member that they have' with that of +their instrumental music; and they fall down before the Lamb with the +lowliest gesture of their bodies in humble adoration. Let it {56} also +be remembered that one of the Anthems here sung by the Choirs of Heaven +is that sacred song, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, +and is, and is to come;' the Eucharistic use of which is traceable in +every age of the Church[9]." + +The ritual of the early Church naturally gathered round the Holy +Eucharist as the central act of worship in which the Lord was most +especially present, and therefore to be most especially honoured. From +the first days of the Church this had been the one distinctively +Christian service; and now that the Temple services had ceased, it +became more apparently even than before, the fulfilment and +continuation of the sacrifices of the elder dispensations[10]: whilst +it was also the Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Cross and the +Representation on earth of the continual offering-up of "the Lamb as It +had been slain," before the Throne of God in Heaven. + + + +[1] St. Peter and St. John had been specially trained by their Divine +Master for their special work. They with St. James, the first +Apostolic martyr, had witnessed His Transfiguration, His Agony, His +raising of Jairus's daughter, and had been admitted into more intimate +communion with Him than the other Apostles. + +[2] From passages in the works of St. Irenaeus and Eusebius. See "Some +Account of the Church in the Apostolic Age," by Professor Shirley, pp. +136-140. + +[3] The Apostles appear to have believed at first that our Lord's +Ascension would be very speedily followed by His triumphal return to +Judgment, and the glorification of His faithful people. + +[4] On this point we may remember that St. John, who saw deepest into +the Divine Life, did not write his Gospel till near the end of his +earthly labours, almost sixty years after the Day of Pentecost. + +[5] Ephesus is known to this day by the name of Aya-soluk, from Agios +Theologos, or holy Divine, the title given to St. John. + +[6] Or perhaps by Nero, as some ancient writers say. Nero's full name +was Nero Claudius Domitianus, which may have caused this confusion. + +[7] 1 Tim. vi. 20. + +[8] As St. Chrysostom says, "When thou beholdest the curtains drawn up, +then imagine that the heavens are let down from above, and that the +Angels are descending." + +[9] Annotated Book of Common Prayer, Ritual Introduction, pp. xlix, 1. + +[10] We are told that St. John adopted the vestments of the High Priest +of the old covenant, and especially "the plate of the holy crown," with +its inscription, "Holiness to the Lord," thus exhibiting very forcibly +the continuity of the two priesthoods. + + + + +{57} + +CHAPTER V + +The Primitive Church + +A.D. 100-A.D. 312 + +[Sidenote: Persecution increases round the Church.] + +We have already had occasion to notice the beginnings of the +persecution which the Church was to undergo for the sake of her Head +and Spouse, not only those of a local and unorganized character, which +are spoken of in the Book of Acts, but also some of a more cruel and +systematic nature under the Roman Emperors Nero and Domitian. From the +death of the last of the Apostles to the conversion of the Emperor +Constantine, A.D. 312, the Church passed through a succession of fierce +trials, in which her members were called to undergo similar sufferings +to those which had been borne by the holy Apostles St. Peter, St. Paul, +and St. John, and their fellow-martyrs[1]. + + +Section 1. _Causes of Persecution._ + +In considering the causes which led to the persecution of the Church by +the heathen around her, we {58} must, of course, place first as the +root and ground of all, the malice of Satan, and his hatred of God, and +of the means appointed by God for saving souls. [Sidenote: Satan's +enmity the great cause of persecution.] The Kingdom of God and the +kingdom of Satan must ever be at war, and the fierce and varied +sufferings inflicted by the cruel heathen on all who bore the name of +Christ were so many assaults of the great adversary seeking to +overthrow the Church in an open and deadly struggle. But the +life-giving Presence of her Incarnate Lord, and "the patience and the +faith of the Saints," were mightier weapons than "all the fiery darts +of the Wicked," and "the gates of Hell" were not suffered to "prevail +against her." + +[Sidenote: Other minor causes.] + +There were, however, other and secondary causes which led to the +persecution of the Church. The Romans were not usually intolerant of +religions which they did not themselves profess; their worship of their +own false gods had come to be a form, as far as the educated classes +were concerned, and what belief they had was given to philosophy rather +than religion. Hence they were not unwilling that the nations they +conquered should keep to their own respective creeds and religious +ceremonies, so long as they did not interfere with Roman authority. +But the religion of Christ required more than this. It could not be +confined to any one country, nor be content with bare toleration, nor +rank itself with the many forms of Pagan misbelief. It claimed to be +the only True Religion, the only Way of Salvation, before which the +superstitions of the ignorant, and the philosophy of the learned must +alike give way. It made its way even into "Caesar's household." +Besides this, Christians, owing to the nationality of the First +Founders {59} of the Church, were often confounded with, and called by +the same name as the Jews, who had a bad repute under the empire for +rebellious and seditious conduct, and we know how, even in the days of +St. Paul, the charge of sedition had begun to be most unjustly fastened +upon the followers of the Meek and Lowly Jesus. This charge of +disaffection to the powers of the state received an additional and +plausible colouring from the fact that the consciences of the faithful +members of the Church would not suffer them to pay, what they and the +heathen around them considered to be Divine honour, to the emperor or +the heathen deities, by sacrificing a few grains of incense when +required thus to show their loyalty to their ruler and his faith. Over +and over again was this burning of incense made a test by which to +discover Christians or to try their steadfastness, and over and over +again was its rejection followed by agonizing tortures and a cruel +death. + +[Sidenote: Nero's persecution.] + +The persecution in the reign of Nero is immediately traceable to the +accusation brought against the Christians by the emperor, that they had +caused the terrible fire at Rome, which there seems little doubt was in +reality the result of his own wanton wickedness, whilst that under +Domitian appears to have been connected with the conversion of some of +the members of his own family, his cousin Flavius Clemens being the +first martyr sacrificed in it. + + +Section 2. _Number and Duration of Persecutions._ + +The following table[2] will show how the early days of the Church were +divided between times of persecution and intervals of rest. + +{60} + + _Chronological Table of Persecutions and Intervals of Rest._ + + A.D. + + 64-68. Persecution under Nero. Martyrdom of + St. Peter and St. Paul. + + 68-95. Time of peace. + + 95-96. Persecution under Domitian. Banishment of + St. John. + + 96-104. Time of peace. + + 104-117. Persecution under Trajan. Martyrdom of + St. Ignatius. + + 117-161. Time of peace. Apologies of Aristides, + Quadratus, and Justin Martyr. + + 161-180. Persecution under Marcus Aurelius. Martyrdom + of St. Polycarp, and the martyrs of Lyons. + + 180-200. Time of peace. + + 200-211. Persecution under Severus. Martyrdom of + St. Perpetua and others in Africa. + + 211-250. Time of peace, excepting-- + 235-237. Partial persecution under Maximinus. + + 250-253. Persecution under Decius. Martyrdom of + St. Fabian. + + 253-257 Time of peace. Disputes concerning the _lapsed_. + + 257-260. Persecution under Valerian. Martyrdom of + St. Cyprian. + + 260-303. Time of peace, excepting-- + 262. Persecution in the East under Macrianus. + 275. Persecution threatened by Aurelian. + + 303-313. Persecution under Dioclesian, Galerius, and + Maximinus. + + +{61} + +Section 3. _Nature and Extent of Persecutions._ + +[Sidenote: Terrors of persecution.] + +Words can hardly be found strong enough to express the many and varied +tortures which were inflicted on the Christians of the Primitive Church +by their heathen countrymen. Death itself seemed too slight a +punishment in the eyes of these cruel persecutors, unless it was +preceded and accompanied by the most painful and trying circumstances. +It was by crucifixion, and devouring beasts, and lingering fiery +torments that the great multitude of those early martyrs received their +crown. Racked and scorched, lacerated and torn limb from limb, +agonized in body, mocked at and insulted, they were objects of pity +even to the heathen themselves. Persecuting malice spared neither sex +nor age, station nor character; the old man and the tender child, the +patrician and the slave, the bishop and his flock, all shed their blood +for Him Who had died for them, rather than deny their Lord. + +We have no possible means of estimating the number of this vast "cloud +of witnesses," but authentic accounts have come down to us which prove +that some places were almost depopulated by the multitude of +martyrdoms; and when we remember the length of time over which the +persecutions extended, the blood-thirsty rage of the persecutors, and +the firm perseverance with which the immensely large majority of +Christians kept the Faith to the end, we may form some idea as to the +"multitude" of this noble army of martyrs "which no man could number." + +[Sidenote: Persecution did not check the growth of the Church,] + +So widely did the Church spread during the age {62} of persecution, in +the face of all the fierce opposition of her enemies, that it was found +at times to be impossible to carry out in their fulness the cruel laws +against Christians, on account of the numbers of those who were ready +to brave all for the sake of Christ. As has been often said, "The +blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." + +[Sidenote: nor revive decaying heathenism,] + +Paganism was gradually dying away in the Roman world, notwithstanding +all the craft and power of Satan, whilst no number of martyrdoms seemed +to check the growth of the Body of Christ. Vain and short-sighted, +indeed, was the boast of the Emperor Dioclesian during the last and +most bitter of all the persecutions, that he had blotted out the very +name of Christian. No sooner had the conversion of Constantine brought +rest to the Church, than she rose again from her seeming ruins, ready +and able to spread more and more through "the kingdoms of this world," +that they might "become the kingdoms of Christ." + +[Sidenote: and thus helped to prove the Divine origin of the Church.] + +We may well believe that no institution of human appointment could have +stood firm against such terrible and reiterated shocks. Nothing less +than a Divine Foundation, and a strength not of this world could have +borne the Church through the ages of persecution, not only without loss +of all vital principle, but even with actual invigoration and extension +of it. + +{63} + +Section 4. _Effects of Persecution on the Worship and Discipline of +the Church._ + +The fierce trials of the age of persecution were not without their +influence on the inner life of the Church, both as regarded Worship and +Discipline. + +The cruel oppressions to which they were constantly liable, drove +Christians to conceal their Faith from the eyes of the heathen world +whenever such concealment did not involve any denial of their Lord, or +any faithless compliance with idolatrous customs. [Sidenote: Seeking +martyrdom forbidden.] Indeed, it was a law of the Church that martyrdom +was not to be unnecessarily sought after, and the wisdom of this +provision was more than once shown by the failure under torture of +those who had presumptuously brought upon themselves the sufferings +they had not strength to bear, and which did not come to them in the +course of God's Providence. + +[Sidenote: Holy Rites and Books kept hidden.] + +The strictest secrecy was enjoined upon Christians as to the religious +Rites and sacred Books of the Church, and we read of many martyrs who +suffered for refusing to satisfy the curiosity of their Pagan judges +respecting Christian worship, or for persisting in withholding from +them the Christian writings. + +[Sidenote: Church ritual temporarily checked.] + +Another natural effect of persecution was to check for a time the +development of the ritual of the Church, and to render necessary the +use of the simplest and most essential forms even in the celebration of +the Holy Eucharist. The immense subterranean excavations at Rome, +known by the name of the Catacombs, are an abiding {64} proof to us of +the straits to which the primitive martyrs and their companions were +reduced, when these sand-galleries were at once their Church and their +burying-place, and in some instances the scene of their martyrdom also. + +[Sidenote: Church discipline very severe] + +The discipline of the Church was made extremely strict by the +lengthened continuance of severe persecution. In those days when so +many gave proof of the strength and reality of their Faith by their +persevering endurance of unspeakable agonies, any shrinking back was +looked upon as very unworthy cowardice, and as an almost hopeless fall, +to be hindered if possible by the merciful severity of the Church as +shown in warnings and punishments. Even those who had so far succumbed +to trial as to give up the Sacred Books were called "Traditores," and +considered as very criminal; those who had consented to pay Divine +honours to the emperors or to the heathen gods, fell under still more +severe censure, whilst such Christians as led sinful and immoral lives +were considered most worthy of blame and punishment. Very heavy +penances were laid upon all who thus fell away, in proportion to their +guilt, before they were again admitted to the Communion of the Church; +and in some extreme cases the punishment was life-long, and only +allowed to be relaxed when the penitent was actually in danger of +death. [Sidenote: for a time.] But this very severe discipline was +temporary in its nature, as was the danger to the Church which called +it forth, and was somewhat modified by the Letters of Peace which +martyrs and confessors were allowed to give to excommunicated persons, +authorizing their readmission to Church privileges. + +[Sidenote: Church government modified also for a time.] + +A temporary modification in the government of the {65} Church was also +brought about by these times of suffering. Bishops, under the pressure +of persecution, were sometimes forced to leave their flocks, or were +first tortured and then banished, and their places had to be filled as +far as they could be by the presbyters, with the advice of the distant +Bishop; whilst at Rome, in the middle of the third century, there was a +year's vacancy in the see after the martyrdom of Fabian, on account of +the impossibility of bringing neighbouring Bishops into the midst of a +storm which was raging with especial fury against the rulers of the +Church. + + + +[1] St. John was a martyr in will, though not in deed, being +miraculously preserved from injury in the caldron of boiling oil, into +which he was plunged by order of Nero or Domitian. + +[2] From Dr. Steere's "Account of the Persecutions of the Early Church +under the Roman Emperors." + + + + +{66} + +CHAPTER VI + +The Church under the Roman Empire + +A.D. 312-A.D. 680 + +[Sidenote: Persecution arrested by conversion of Constantine.] + +[Sidenote: Outward triumph of the Church.] + +The conversion of the Emperor Constantine to the Faith worked a great +change in the condition of the Christian Church. Even so early as the +year 312, when the appearance to him of the luminous Cross in the sky +was followed by victory over his enemies, Constantine began to issue +edicts of toleration in favour of the Christians; and from the time of +his sole supremacy, A.D. 324, Christianity and not Paganism became the +acknowledged religion of the Roman empire. + + +Section 1. _The altered Outward Circumstances of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Consequent change in discipline and ritual.] + +Such a change in the outward circumstances of the Church could not but +produce a corresponding alteration in its discipline and mode of +worship. The Kingdom of God on earth became a great power visible to +the eyes of men, no longer hid like the leaven, but overshadowing the +earth like the mustard-tree; and the power and influence of Imperial +Rome were employed {67} in spreading the Faith instead of seeking to +exterminate it. Christians were not now forced to shun the notice of +their fellow-men; banished Priests and Bishops came back to their +flocks; heathen temples were converted into Churches, and new Churches +were built with great splendour. The vast resources of Roman wealth +and refinement were employed to render the Worship of Almighty God +costly and magnificent, and the ritual of the Church was probably more +fully developed and brought more into harmony with the prophetic vision +of St. John than circumstances had ever before allowed. + +[Sidenote: The first Christian city.] + +In Constantinople, built by the Emperor Constantine on the ruins of +Byzantium, we have the first instance of a city which, from the time of +its foundation, was entirely Christian. + +[Sidenote: Endowment of the Church.] + +The Church was now no longer dependent on the alms of private +Christians; the revenues which had formerly been devoted by the state +to the maintenance of the heathen temples and their ministers, were +transferred to the support of Christian Churches and their Clergy, and +to the relief of the poor. Christian schools were also founded and +endowed by the emperors; and learning, as well as wealth, was thus +brought in contact with the Faith. + +[Sidenote: Church honoured by the world.] + +Christian Rome soon became a great instrument in God's hands for +extending the influence of the Church even amongst little-known and +uncivilized nations; and as persecution ceased to try the earnestness +of those who embraced the religion of Christ, and the name of Christian +came to be treated with respect instead of with scorn, the Church began +to assume a position somewhat like that which she holds in our own day. +[Sidenote: Discipline relaxed.] The profession of {68} Christianity +under these circumstances was naturally more of a matter of course with +many of those who had grown up under its shadow, than when, in earlier +times, such a profession was likely to involve loss and suffering, and +even death itself, and discipline was gradually and necessarily relaxed +from the severity needful in the days of persecution. + + +Section 2. _Internal Trials of the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Heresy gathers strength in prosperity,] + +The Church being thus firmly settled and delivered from outer enemies, +was now to find troubles within. Even from the days of St. John the +Divine heresies respecting the Person of our Blessed Lord had been +rife; but these open denials of the Divinity of the Great Head of the +Church had been successfully opposed without their leaving behind them +any very lasting trace. [Sidenote: and is of a more dangerous nature.] +Errors of a more subtle class followed, amounting in reality to +unbelief in our Saviour's Godhead, but expressing that unbelief by +assailing the teaching of the Church respecting His nature as Very God +or as Very Man. + +[Sidenote: Arianism.] + +This species of error culminated in the heresy of Arius, who denied +that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was co-equal, co-eternal, +and of One Substance with the Father, and whose false teaching was more +widely listened to and followed than that of any of his predecessors in +misbelief. Arianism, and various forms of error consequent upon it, +long afflicted the Church, especially in the East, and the Emperor +Constantine himself seems at one time to have had a leaning towards the +theories of Arius. + +{69} + +Section 3. _The General Councils._ + +[Sidenote: The remedy provided for heresy.] + +The full tide of the Arian heresy was, however, not suffered to come +upon the Church without a barrier being raised up by God to stem the +torrent. The Emperor Constantine was providentially guided to call +together a Council of Bishops from every part of the world, to decide +what was and always had been the Faith of the Church respecting the +Nature of our Blessed Lord. This is the first instance of what are +known by the name of General Councils of the Church. Other councils, +called provincial synods, had indeed been frequently held from the +earliest times; but they were of a much more limited and partial +character, and their decrees were binding only on the province in which +they were held, and not on the Church at large. + +[Sidenote: Nature of General Councils.] + +General Councils were called together by the Christian emperors, and, +from the nature of their constitution, were not possible until all or +nearly all the Christian world was governed by a ruler professing the +Faith of Christ; nor has such a general synod been held since the +breaking up of the universal empire of Rome helped to overthrow the +external unity of the Church[1]. [Sidenote: Their number.] Four +General Councils are officially {70} acknowledged by the Church of +England as binding on her members, and to these are commonly added two, +held somewhat later at Constantinople. + +[Sidenote: I. Council.] + +I. The First General Council was called together by Constantine the +Great, A.D. 325. It was held at Nicaea in Bithynia, and was attended +by 318 Bishops. The great work of this Council was the positive and +explicit assertion of what the Church had always implicitly believed +concerning the Nature of our Divine Lord, and His Oneness with the +Father. It was at this Nicene Council that the great St. Athanasius, +then only a deacon, first distinguished himself by his opposition to +the heresies of Arius. The teaching of the Council was embodied in the +creed which is known to us as the Nicene Creed[2], and which was signed +by all the assembled Bishops with only two exceptions, these being +probably personal friends of Arius. Besides the condemnation of Arius, +the Council settled the time of keeping Easter, and passed twenty +Canons which were confirmed by the Emperor. + +[Sidenote: II. Council.] + +II. The Second General Council was held at Constantinople, A.D. 381, +in the reign of Theodosius the Great. It was summoned principally to +condemn the heresy of Macedonius, who had been Patriarch of +Constantinople, and who had added to the Arian heresy a denial of the +Divinity of God the Holy Ghost. At this Council 150 Bishops were +present, and it is especially remarkable for having completed the Creed +of Nicaea[3], which is hence also called the Creed of Constantinople. + +{71} + +[Sidenote: III. Council.] + +III. The Third General Council was summoned by the Emperor Theodosius +the Younger, A.D. 431, and met at Ephesus. It was held to consider the +heresy of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who taught that the +Blessed Virgin was the Mother of our Lord's Human Nature only, and +that, therefore, the title of Theotokos, or "Mother of God," ought not +to be given her. This assertion was, in fact, only a refinement of +Arianism, implying as it did that our Saviour had not always been God +as well as Man, and it was accordingly condemned by the Council, +Nestorius being at the same time deposed from his see. + +[Sidenote: IV. Council.] + +IV. The Fourth General Council met at Chalcedon during the reign of +the Emperor Marcian, A.D. 451. Six hundred and thirty Bishops +assembled at it and condemned the false teaching of Eutyches, who +asserted that our Blessed Lord was God only, and not Man also. + +[Sidenote: V. Council.] + +V. The Fifth General Council was summoned at Constantinople by the +Emperor Justinian, A.D. 533, and was attended by 165 Bishops. In it +the decisions of the Four First Councils were confirmed, especially +against the Nestorians. + +[Sidenote: VI. Council.] + +VI. The Sixth General Council was also held at Constantinople, A.D. +680, by command of the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, and condemned a +development of Eutychianism. + +{72} + + Table of Councils. + + Where held. Date. Emperor. Object. + + I. Nicaea 325 Constantine Against the Arians. + the Great + + II. Constantinople 38l Theodosius Against the + the Great Macedonians. + + III. Ephesus 431 Theodosius Against the + the Younger Nestorians. + + IV. Chalcedon 451 Marcian Against the + Eutychians. + + V. Constantinople 553 Justinian Against a + development of + Nestorianism. + + VI. Constantinople 680 Constantine Against a + Pogonatus development + of Eutychianism. + + +Section 4. _Intellectual Development in the Church._ + +[Sidenote: Christian learning developed in peace.] + +This portion of the History of the Church, comprising as it does the +first period in which the master-minds within her fold were left free +by the cessation of outward persecution to resist the increasing +attacks of heresy, may be looked upon as offering to our view the +greatest intellectual development which the Church has experienced +since the times of the Apostles. [Sidenote: The Fathers.] Learned and +eloquent men abounded, "mighty in the Scriptures" and "steadfast in the +Faith," and their commentaries and sermons have come down to us as an +abiding heritage and a continual witness to the teaching of the Church +in early times. St. Athanasius, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, and St. +Augustine, are but a few out of many whose writings are still held in +honour by our own as well as by every other branch of the Catholic +Church. + + + +[1] A General Council is the highest possible way in which the voice of +the Church can be heard. But its authority is much increased by the +fact that to become really a _general_ Council its decrees must be +generally received by the Christian world. This was the case with the +first six General Councils, but has not been entirely so with any +similar gatherings of later ages. + +[2] That part of the Creed which follows the words, "I believe in the +Holy Ghost," was added later. + +[3] The subsequent addition in the clause, "Who proceedeth from the +Father and the Son," will be noticed later. + + + + +{73} + +CHAPTER VII + +The Early History of Particular Churches. + +A.D. 67-A.D. 500 + +Section 1. _The Church of England._ + +[Sidenote: St. Paul's visit to England.] + +The CHURCH OF ENGLAND is believed, with good reason, to owe its +foundation to the Apostle St. Paul, who probably came to this country +after his first imprisonment at Rome. The writings of Tertullian, and +others in the second and third centuries speak of Christianity as +having spread as far as the islands of Britain, and a British king +named Lucius is known to have embraced the Faith about the middle of +the second century. [Sidenote: Martyrdom of St. Alban.] The Diocletian +persecution made itself felt amongst the British Christians, the +conversion of the proto-martyr St. Alban (A.D. 303) being followed by +that of a large number of his countrymen, many of whom also suffered +for their faith. + +The persecution ceased (A.D. 305) under the influence of Constantius, +who, before his accession to the imperial dignity, had been viceroy in +Britain. His son and successor Constantine was, if not born in +England, at any rate of English parentage on the side of his mother +Helen, better known as the Saint and Empress {74} Helena. [Sidenote: +English bishops at Councils.] Three English Bishops, those of York, +Lincoln, and London, attended the Council summoned by Constantine at +Arles, A.D. 314, a proof that at this time the Church of England was +thoroughly organized and settled. English Bishops were also present at +the Councils of Sardica, A.D. 347, and of Ariminium, A.D. 359. + +[Sidenote: English Church depressed by Saxon invasion.] + +When the Romans abandoned Britain early in the fifth century, the +Saxons took advantage of the defenceless state of the inhabitants to +settle in the island, at first as colonists and afterwards as +conquerors. The intermingling of these fierce heathens with the +Christian population had a depressing influence on the Church; and the +Bishops and Clergy, belonging as they did to the weaker and conquered +portion of the community, seem to have been unable to do much towards +the conversion of the invaders. [Sidenote: Diminution and retreat of +Clergy.] Gradually, as the Saxons became more and more powerful in the +island, the number of Bishops and Clergy in the accessible portions of +of England grew smaller and smaller; and such as remained were at last +compelled to take refuge with their brethren, who had retired to the +mountain fastnesses, rather than live in slavery. Hence the records of +the Church of England in the sixth century are chiefly confined to +those dioceses which were situated in what we call Wales, or in other +mountainous districts. + + +Section 2. _The Church of Ireland._ + +The CHURCH OF IRELAND is said by some to have been first founded in the +Apostolic age, but this seems doubtful. The first certain information +which we have {75} respecting the presence of Christianity in the +island, is that in A.D. 431, a Bishop named Palladius was sent thither +on a mission by Pope Celestine. He appears, however, not to have met +with much success, and he soon left the country and died, probably in +Scotland. [Sidenote: St. Patrick the Apostle of Ireland.] A few years +later, about A.D. 440, the celebrated St. Patrick began his mission in +Ireland. He is generally considered to have been a native of North +Britain, who, at the age of sixteen, was taken prisoner by pirates, and +carried as a slave to Ireland. On regaining his liberty, he resolved +to devote his life to the conversion of the country of his captivity; +and having been consecrated Bishop, he returned to Ireland, and spent +fifty years as a missionary in that hitherto heathen land. At the time +of his death, A.D. 493, the Church was firmly rooted in Ireland, and +possessed a native priesthood and a native Episcopate. + +[Sidenote: Late development of dioceses and parishes in Ireland.] + +It may, however, be mentioned, that neither the diocesan nor the +parochial systems were developed in Ireland until a very late period, +whilst, from the very large number of Bishops existing there in early +times, we are led to infer that in Ireland, as before in the earliest +ages of the Church, each missionary was invested with episcopal powers, +and that the office of priest, separate from that of Bishop, was at +first almost unknown. Gradually there sprang up Cathedral chapters, +whose members acted as curates to the Bishop, and to this succeeded the +parochial system. + + +Section 3. _The Church of Scotland._ + +The CHURCH OF SCOTLAND may, perhaps, like the Church of England, trace +its foundation to the labours {76} of St. Paul, and seems to be +included in Tertullian's mention of the far-off limits to which +Christianity had reached in his days. [Sidenote: St. Ninian the first +authenticated missionary in Scotland.] Little is, however, known of +very early Church history in Scotland until the beginning of the fifth +century, when St. Ninian, who is said to have been the son of a British +chief, preached to the Southern Picts, A.D. 412-A.D. 432. We have +already seen that St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, was a Scotchman, +and the fruits of the benefits thus conferred on the one country were +reaped by the other in the next century, when St. Columba went from +Ireland and founded the celebrated monastery of Iona in one of the +isles of the Hebrides. [Sidenote: Intercourse between Irish and Scotch +Churches.] Iona, like the Irish monasteries of the same period, sent +out many missionaries, and the monks of the two countries appear to +have kept up friendly communications with each other. + + +Section 4. _Continental Churches._ + +The CHURCH OF ITALY, as we have already seen (pp. 42, 43), was founded +by the joint labours of St. Peter and St. Paul, but the circumstances +of its foundation were very different from those of the Churches of our +own islands. [Sidenote: Difficulties encountered by the Church in +Italy from high civilization] Christianity in Italy had to make its way +amongst a highly civilized people, a nation of deep thinkers and +philosophers, whose opposition to the truths of the Gospel was a far +more subtle thing than the rude ignorance of barbarians. [Sidenote: +and political power.] Besides this, the infant Church in Italy was +brought face to face with the might of the Roman emperors who were at +that time the rulers of the known {77} world; and though their +persecution of their Christian subjects extended more or less to all +parts of the empire, yet Italy was the chief battle-field on which the +first great contest between the Church and the world was fought. Hence +the history of the early Church of Italy is a history of alternating +persecutions and times of peace[1], during which Christianity was +constantly taking deeper root and spreading more widely through the +country, until the conversion of Constantine, A.D. 312, led to the +establishment and endowment of the Church. [Sidenote: Decay of the +Roman empire.] As the Church was growing stronger and taking deeper +root, the worn-out Roman empire was gradually decaying and fading away, +and, practically, it came to an end with the division of East and West, +A.D. 395. + +Resistance to the inroads of the barbarians was no longer possible. +Rome was sacked successively by different nations of Central Europe, +and at length the kingdom of the Goths in Italy was established under +Theodoric, A.D. 493. [Sidenote: Arianism of barbarian conquerors.] +These rude nations, though professing Christianity, had received with +it the heretical doctrines of Anus, owing to their teachers having +belonged to those eastern portions of Europe, which, from their +nearness to Asia, were most infected with this heresy. + +The CHURCH OF FRANCE was probably founded by St. Paul, but we have no +certain account of its early history. [Sidenote: Asiatic origin of +Early French Bishops,] "Trophimus the Ephesian" is believed to have +been the first Bishop of Arles, and Pothinus, another Greek Asiatic, +occupied the see of Lyons at the time of the persecution under Marcus +Aurelius, A.D. 161-A.D. 180, during which he suffered martyrdom. His +{78} successor was St. Irenaeus, a native, probably, of Smyrna, who was +martyred under Severus, A.D. 202. This long-continued connexion with +the Churches of Asia Minor left its traces on the liturgy and customs +of the Church of France, and through it of Britain and Ireland, these +latter Churches adhering to the Eastern mode of computing Easter even +after the Western reckoning had been adopted in France. [Sidenote: and +of French Liturgy.] The liturgy used in France, as well as in Britain +and Spain, is known to have been founded on that used in Ephesus and in +the other Asiatic cities, which was almost certainly that used by St. +John himself. + +[Sidenote: Intercourse between English and French Churches.] + +A Council was summoned by Constantine, A.D. 314, at the French city of +Arles, and one French Bishop at least was present at the great Nicaean +Council, A.D. 323. About a century later (A.D. 429), St. Germanus, +Bishop of Auxerre, and St. Lupus, Bishop of Troyes, were sent over to +Britain to assist in combating the errors of Pelagius, the neighbour +Churches of England and France maintaining apparently very friendly +relations. Many of the barbarian tribes who overran France in the +beginning of the fifth century, though professing Christianity, were +deeply infected with the Arian heresy. The Franks, however, who were +heathens at their first entrance into the country, embraced the +orthodox faith, and eventually became masters of the kingdom under +Clovis, A.D. 486. + +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. James in Spain.] + +The CHURCH OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL traces its foundation to St. Paul, who +speaks of his intended visit to Spain, Rom. xv. 24; and there is also a +tradition that St. James the Great preached the Gospel here. This +Church, too, is spoken of by St. Irenaeus, and again by Tertullian. +{79} Its first known martyr was St. Fructuosus, A.D. 259, and its first +Council that of Elvira, about A.D. 300. The names of nineteen Spanish +Bishops are mentioned as present at it. The Council of Nice, A.D. 325, +was under the presidency of Hosius, the Bishop of the Spanish diocese +of Cordova. [Sidenote: Arianism of Visigoths.] About A.D. 470, the +Visigoths, who were Arians, passed over from France into Spain, and +were only gradually converted to the Catholic Faith. + +We must look to a later period (see Chapter XI.) for the foundation of +other Churches of the West in Northern and Central Europe, that is to +say, the SCANDINAVIAN CHURCHES, including NORWAY, SWEDEN, and DENMARK, +as well as those contained in the large extent of country to which we +often give the comprehensive name of Germany. + +The Churches now comprehended in EUROPEAN TURKEY and GREECE were, as we +have already seen (pp. 37 to 40), the fruits of the labours of St. +Paul, and, like the Church of Rome, had wealth and learning to +encounter instead of poverty and ignorance. The Book of Acts records +very fully the earliest history of these Churches, and a large +proportion of St. Paul's Epistles are addressed to them. [Sidenote: +Liability of the Greeks to heresy.] The theorizing and philosophical +tendencies of the Greeks made them very liable be led away by heretical +teachers, and we find that the Church in Greece, from St. Paul's time +downwards, was continually disturbed by the presence of those who +taught or listened to "some new thing." Hence all the General +Councils, summoned for the authoritative settlement of the faith of the +Church, were held either in Greece, or in that part of Asia which had +been colonized by Greeks. Arianism in particular, {80} for a long +period, caused the most violent dissensions throughout the Eastern +world, and these were the occasion of that first Great Council of +Nicaea which, though not actually held in Greece, was only separated +from it by the narrow strait of the Bosphorus. [Sidenote: Origin of +jealousies between Rome and Constantinople.] The building of +Constantinople, A.D. 330, gave a Christian capital to Greece, and, +indeed, to the whole of the Eastern Roman empire; and from this time +may be dated the jealousies and struggles for supremacy which took +place between the Church in Italy and the Church in Greece, and +resulted eventually in the Great schism between East and West[2]. + +[Sidenote: St. Andrew in Russia.] + +The CHURCH OF RUSSIA is believed to have been founded by the Apostle +St. Andrew, who extended his labours northwards from Thrace (which now +forms part of Turkey in Europe), to that portion of Scythia lying north +of the Black Sea, and now constituting the southern part of European +Russia. The bulk of the present Russian empire was, however, converted +at a much later period. + + +Section 5. _The Church in Africa._ + +[Sidenote: St. Simon Zelotes and St. Mark in Africa.] + +The first evangelizing of North Africa, including what we now know as +Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco, is ascribed to St. Simon Zelotes and St. +Mark, the latter of whom founded the CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA, of which he +became the first Bishop. Christianity appears to have {81} made very +rapid progress in Africa, since, in the fifth century, the Church +numbered more than four hundred African Bishops. [Sidenote: +Patriarchate of Alexandria.] Alexandria, from its wealth and +importance, as well as from its reputation for learning, was looked up +to by the other African Churches, and its Bishops were acknowledged as +patriarchs throughout the Christianized portion of the continent. +[Sidenote: Its school.] The Alexandrian school of philosophy was very +famous, and was at one time presided over by the Christian philosopher +Clement of Alexandria, who died about A.D. 216. His pupil Origen was, +for a while, at the head of the same college, and employed his vast +learning both before and after his ordination, in comparing the extant +copies of the Old Testament Scriptures, in order to bring the text of +the original languages to a state of the greatest possible correctness. +He died A.D. 253. + +[Sidenote: Heresies at Alexandria.] + +The Church of Alexandria was much distracted by inward troubles. In +A.D. 306, the schism of Meletius led many astray, and amongst them the +too notorious Arius, who began to publish in Alexandria the heresy +since known by his name, about the year A.D. 320. [Sidenote: St. +Athanasius and Arius.] St. Athanasius, who became Patriarch of +Alexandria, A.D. 326, was the chief instrument raised up by God for +combating the errors of Arius, a work which he carried on unflinchingly +both before and after his elevation to the episcopal throne, though his +defence of the orthodox faith brought upon him long and severe +persecution, including an exile of twenty years from his diocese. The +Arian heresy, though checked, was however not exterminated, and long +remained a source of trouble and weakness to the whole Church. +[Sidenote: St. Cyril and Nestorius.] St. Cyril, {82} who afterwards +succeeded to the patriarchate of Alexandria, A.D. 412, was also called +upon to defend Catholic truth against the errors of Nestorius, whilst +his successor, Dioscorus, openly embraced the false teaching of +Eutyches, and denied the Manhood, as Arius and Nestorius had before +denied the Divinity, of our Blessed Lord. The evil example of the +patriarch was followed by a large proportion of African Christians, who +refused to receive the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 431, +or to submit to Catholic Bishops. + +[Sidenote: St. Cyprian. St. Augustine.] + +Two other well-known names which adorn the records of the Church in +North Africa may be mentioned: St. Cyprian, a native of Carthage, and +afterwards Bishop of that city, who suffered martyrdom, A.D. 258, and +St. Augustine, a native of Numidia (or what we now call Algeria), who +was educated at Carthage, was consecrated Bishop of Hippo, A.D. 393, +and died A.D. 430. He left behind him a great number of writings, the +influence of which has been largely felt by the Church of England. + +[Sidenote: St. Matthew in Ethiopia.] + +The CHURCH OF ETHIOPIA, now represented by Abyssinia, was planted by +St. Matthew, the way having, perhaps, been prepared by that "man of +Ethiopia," the eunuch "under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians," of whom +we read in Acts viii. 27-39. Little is clearly known of the early +Christian history of this region; but the Ethiopian Church appears to +have come under the patriarchal rule of the Bishop of Alexandria +towards the beginning of the fourth century. Though keeping clear of +Arianism, the Ethiopian Christians became deeply tinged with the +Eutychian heresy, by which Dioscorus and his successors were unhappily +led away. + +{83} + +Section 6. _The Eastern Church._ + +Of the Churches now comprehended in Turkey in Asia, the foundation and +early history of PALESTINE, as represented by the CHURCH IN JERUSALEM, +and of SYRIA, as represented by the CHURCH IN ANTIOCH, have been +already related (Chapters I. and II.). + +[Sidenote: Death of St. James.] + +St. James the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem, was martyred A.D. 63, +and succeeded by Simeon, the son of Cleopas, in whose episcopate the +destruction of Jerusalem took place, A.D. 70. [Sidenote: Flight to +Pella.] The Christians, in obedience to the prophetic teaching of their +Divine Master, had already fled for safety to Pella, whence they +afterwards returned to take up their abode amongst the ruins of the +Holy City. In A.D. 132, a rebellious outbreak of the Jews, under the +leadership of Barchochebas, drew down on them a severe chastisement +from the Emperor Hadrian, and the Jewish Christians suffered much from +being confounded with their rebellious countrymen. The ruins of the +ancient city were completely destroyed, whilst no Jew was allowed to +enter the new city of Aelia Capitolina, which was built on its site. +[Sidenote: Extinction of Judaism in Church of Jerusalem.] The Jewish +Christians now entirely gave up all profession of Judaism, and the +first Judaism in _Gentile_ Bishop of Jerusalem was appointed A.D. 135. + +Julian the Apostate (A.D. 361-A.D. 363) presumptuously attempted to +rebuild Jerusalem, but his attempt was frustrated by a miraculous +interposition, a failure which had already been predicted by St. Cyril, +the then Bishop of Jerusalem. + +{84} + +[Sidenote: Double Episcopate at Antioch.] + +The CHURCH IN ANTIOCH having been probably founded by St. Peter, that +Apostle is believed to have left behind him two Bishops in the city, +the one Evodius, having the episcopal care of the Jewish converts, +whilst Ignatius was placed in charge of the Gentile Christians; but, on +the death of Evodius, A.D. 70, Ignatius became sole Bishop. [Sidenote: +St. Ignatius.] This holy man is said to have been the child whom our +Lord took in His arms and set in the midst of His disciples. He was +intimate with some or all of the Apostles, especially with St. John, +and was martyred by being thrown to wild beasts at Rome, A.D. 107. The +synods held at Antioch were very numerous, and far larger than any +others, approaching almost in size and importance to General Councils. +[Sidenote: St. John Chrysostom.] It was at Antioch that the celebrated +and eloquent St. John Chrysostom was born about A.D. 347: he became +Bishop of Constantinople, and died A.D. 407, after undergoing +persecutions which almost amounted to a martyrdom. + +[Sidenote: St. Paul and St. John in Asia Minor.] + +We have already seen (pp. 31, 32) that the CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR owe +their foundation chiefly to St. Paul, whilst their perfect organization +and development was entrusted to St. John the Divine (pp. 49 to 51). +The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse seem to have been in a special +manner the charge of the latter Apostle, Ephesus, the chief of them, +being the home of his later earthly years, and the scene of his decease +and burial. [Sidenote: The "Angels" of the Seven Churches.] St. +Timothy, the first Bishop of Ephesus, had been succeeded probably by +Onesimus; St. Polycarp (martyred A.D. 167) had the episcopal charge of +Smyrna; {85} Archippus, it is believed, had followed Epaphras at +Laodicea. The names of the other "Angels" spoken of in the Apocalypse +have not come down to us, but there is no doubt that at the time when +the seven inspired Epistles were addressed to these Churches, there was +in each of them a firmly established episcopacy, and that this form of +government was followed by all other Churches throughout the world. +There is little that needs recording of the history of these Churches +of Asia Minor, unless we except the Great Council of Ephesus, held in +that city, A.D. 431, to condemn the heresy of Nestorius (p. 71). + +[Sidenote: St. Bartholomew in Armenia.] + +The CHURCH OF ARMENIA, now included in Asiatic Turkey, is believed to +have been first founded by St. Bartholomew. The country is said to +have been further evangelized by a mission sent by St. Gregory the +Illuminator in the third century. It is known that, in the following +century, a flourishing Church existed there. + +[Sidenote: Several Apostles in Parthia.] + +The CHURCH OF PARTHIA, or PERSIA, embraced the country lying between +the Tigris and the Indus, with Mesopotamia and Chaldea; what we now +call Persia, Cabul, and Belochistan; as well as part of Arabia and +Turkey; and is said to have been planted by St. Peter, St. Bartholomew, +St. Jude, St. Matthew, and St. Thomas. The inhabitants of this region +were of different races: Greek colonists; many Jews, the residue of the +Babylonish Captivity; Arabs, and ancient Persians. Till the fourth +century the Parthian Church appears to have flourished in peace. It +was beyond the jurisdiction of the persecuting emperors of Rome, and +the Parthian monarchs, though not Christians themselves, protected or +tolerated their Christian subjects. [Sidenote: Persecution there.] Two +Bishops were sent from {86} Parthia to the Council of Nicaea, A.D. 323, +but shortly afterwards, A.D. 330, persecution broke out, occasioned +apparently by the jealousy felt by the king towards the now Christian +emperors of Rome, and the intercourse kept up between the fellow +Christians of the two empires. Sixteen thousand martyrs are said to +have shed their blood for their Faith, and amongst them was St. Simeon, +the Patriarch of the Church, and Bishop of Seleucia. Another +persecution took place in the beginning of the fifth century, and +shortly afterwards Persian Christianity became strongly infected with +the errors of Nestorius, the Shahs apparently favouring the heresy on +account of its having been discouraged by the Roman emperors. + +[Sidenote: Uncertainty as to the first conversion of Arabia.] + +There is no record of the actual founding of the CHURCH IN ARABIA. We +know, from Gal. i. 17, that St. Paul "went into Arabia" soon after his +conversion, but there is no mention of his having preached the Gospel +there at that time, when indeed he was not yet called to be an Apostle; +and the Arabia to which he went was probably the northern portion +stretching up to the east of Syria, almost to Damascus itself. The +Apostle of the Gentiles may probably have revisited this country at a +later period; but, at any rate, we know that Christianity was firmly +established there early in the third century, and that Origen made two +several journeys thither between A.D. 220 and A.D. 248, to combat +heresies which troubled the Arabian Church. The Bishop of Bostra, or +Bozrah, was present at the Council of Antioch, A.D. 269. [Sidenote: +Nestorianism and Eutychianism in Arabia.] In the fifth century the +errors of Nestorius, and, a little later, of Eutyches, made great +inroads amongst {87} the Christians of Arabia, several even of the +Bishops being led away by them. + +[Sidenote: St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew in India.] + +There is an ancient tradition that St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew laid +the foundations of the CHURCH IN INDIA, but very little is known of its +early history. Pantaenus is said to have been sent as a missionary +from Alexandria to India towards the end of the second century, though +it is a matter in dispute whether by India in this case we are to +understand the country now known under that name, or Ethiopia, or +Arabia Felix. + +There are still Christians in India who reverence St. Thomas as their +founder, and use a liturgy which goes by his name. Nestorianism spread +to India in the fifth century. + +The Church is believed to have been planted in CHINA by St. Thomas and +St. Bartholomew, and the Chinese are mentioned by Arnobius in the +fourth century amongst those nations which had received the Gospel. It +does not seem, however, that Christianity existed for any length of +time in this country. + + + +[1] See Chap. V. + +[2] In speaking of the Greek Church of the present day, we usually +understand the whole body of orthodox Eastern Christians, and not +merely those dwelling in Greece itself. + + + + +{88} + +CHAPTER VIII + +The Inroads of Mahometanism + +A.D. 609-A.D. 732 + +[Sidenote: Arianism prepares the way for Mahometanism.] + +The various heresies, and especially the heresy of Arius, which had so +widely troubled the peace of the Eastern Church, though they were not +suffered by God's Mercy to cause a lasting schism, yet left behind them +a certain weakness resulting in the decay of many of the Churches of +the East, and finally in their overthrow by the false faith of the +impostor Mahomet. The present state of the Churches of Ephesus, +Sardis, and Laodicea, if viewed in the light shed upon it by the +prophetic Epistles of St. John the Divine, may serve to show us how God +withdraws His Blessing from a Church no less surely than from an +individual Christian, when His Grace is obstinately rejected and +despised. + + +Section 1. _Mahomet._ + +[Sidenote: Mahomet's birth,] + +The false prophet Mahomet was born A.D. 569, of the chief family in the +Arabian tribe of the Koreish; but it was not till after he had amassed +a large fortune, partly by diligence in trade {89} and partly by a +wealthy marriage, that, at the age of forty, A.D. 609, he declared +himself to be a prophet. [Sidenote: and claim to be a prophet and +reformer.] This announcement was at first confined to the members of +his own immediate family, till, at the end of four years, Mahomet +proclaimed that he had a mission from God to reform the state of +religion in his native city, Mecca, and to put down the idolatry which +prevailed there. [Sidenote: Flight to Medina.] The opposition which +the false prophet encountered from his fellow-citizens did not hinder +him from making many converts to the religion he was beginning to +invent for himself and for them, until at length (A.D. 622) an +insurrection, caused by the preaching and success of Mahomet, obliged +him to fly for his life from Mecca, and take refuge at Yatreb or +Medina[1]. + +[Sidenote: Founds a new religion.] + +Here he was gladly received both by Jews and Arabs, rival races, who +divided the city between them. The Jews were ready to welcome him as +their expected Messiah, whilst the Arabs had heard of his fame from +their brethren at Mecca; and Mahomet seems from this time to have +entirely laid aside the character of a mere reformer, for that of the +founder of a new revelation. The Koran and the Sword were now called +in to aid in their respective ways in extending the power of the +ambitious adventurer. [Sidenote: Cruelty.] Violence and bloodshed +enforced the pretended inspiration by which Mahomet claimed to be +acknowledged as _the_ Prophet of God, and the civil and religious head +of the nation; and the last ten years of his life present an almost +unbroken {90} course of warfare, which too often degenerated into +simple robbery and murder. [Sidenote: and conquests of Mahomet.] He +made himself master of the whole of Arabia, including the city of +Mecca, where he destroyed the idols against which he had in earlier +days protested, and then made an ineffectual attempt to take possession +of Palestine. [Sidenote: His death.] Mahomet died on June 8th, A.D. +632, partly from the effects of poison, which had been given to him +some years before, and partly from the consequences of a life of excess +and self-indulgence. + + +Section 2. _The Religion of Mahomet._ + +The false faith of which Mahomet was at once the prophet and the +founder, seems to have taken for its basis the traditionary religion +then prevalent amongst the Arab tribes. These traditions were probably +compounded of dim remnants of the Truth which had been revealed to +Abraham and handed down through his son Ishmael, and of a very corrupt +form of Sabaeanism, which included the worship of the heavenly bodies, +as well as of idols, and which had been the religion of Terah and his +fellow-countrymen. [Sidenote: Mixture of truth and error in +Mahometanism.] Upon this foundation was engrafted a mixture of Persian +philosophy, and of such perversions of Christianity and of Scriptural +doctrine as Mahomet could gather from a Persian Jew and a Nestorian +monk. [Sidenote: Opposition of the Koran to Christianity.] The Koran, +which Mahomet pretended to have received from heaven by the mouth of +the archangel Gabriel, makes mention of our Blessed Lord and of many of +the facts of Old Testament History, but its teaching is essentially +{91} anti-Christian and blasphemous, inasmuch as it denies the Divinity +of Christ, and represents Him as a Teacher and Prophet far inferior to +Mahomet himself. An intended contradiction of the Christian doctrine +of the Holy Trinity is also conveyed in its opening sentence, which is +the Mahometan confession of faith,--"There is but one God, and Mahomet +is His prophet." + +[Sidenote: Mahomet's Iconoclastic tendencies.] + +Mahomet's energetic opposition to idolatry was, no doubt, a good +feature in his religious system, though, like that of the +Iconoclasts[2], it was carried to an extravagant extent, and this +agreement, with their undue fears and prejudices on this head, seems to +have been a sufficient inducement to many unstable Christians to deny +the Lord, for Whose Honour they professed such deep concern, and to +give themselves up to an impostor who was perhaps the nearest approach +to Anti-Christ which the world has yet seen. + +Christian people are found even in these days who do not hesitate to +speak with some degree of favour of the great apostasy of which Mahomet +was the founder, because of its opposition to idolatry, its recognition +of our Blessed Lord as a Prophet, the certain admixture of truth +contained in its grievous error, and the alleged moral teaching and +beauty of language of particular passages in the Koran. [Sidenote: +Moral effects of Mahometanism.] Any such favour or tenderness is, +however, altogether out of place in professed worshippers of Him Whom +Mahomet so grievously blasphemed, whilst the grossly sensual and +immoral lives led by the false prophet and the large proportion of his +followers down to {92} the present time, serve to show us that wrong +belief and wrong practice go hand in hand, and that whatever show of +morality there may be in some few of the precepts of the Koran, it has +no influence on the conduct of those who profess to be guided by it. + + +Section 3. _The Spread of Mahometanism._ + +[Sidenote: Mahometan conquests] + +The work of conquest which Mahomet had begun was continued by his +successors. Abu Bekr, the father of Mahomet's favourite wife, was the +first of the four Caliphs who pushed the power of the Mahometan arms +beyond the confines of Arabia, and laid the foundations of the future +empire. [Sidenote: of the Holy Land,] Jerusalem was taken by Omar, the +next Caliph, in A.D. 637, and, with the exception of a short interval +during the Crusades, the Holy City has ever since remained in the hands +of the unbelievers. [Sidenote: Egypt,] Omar made himself master of +Egypt as well as of Syria, and showed his savage contempt for learning +by burning the famous and valuable collection of MSS. contained in the +Alexandrian library. [Sidenote: Persia, and North Africa.] Under +Othman, Persia and the North of Africa were added to the empire, and +after the death of Ali, son-in-law to Mahomet and fourth Caliph, the +seat of government was removed to Damascus. + +[Sidenote: Other portions of Asia and part of Europe.] + +The Caliphs of Damascus carried on the same system of warfare and +bloodshed, took possession of Asia Minor, of the Northern parts of +India, of Spain, and overran the South of France, where, however, A.D. +732, the Mahometan troops received such a check at Tours from the hands +of {93} Charles Martel, as hindered them from extending their conquests +any farther in Western Europe. + +[Sidenote: Present extent of Mahometanism.] + +At the present day Mahometanism is the professed faith of the +inhabitants of the Northern half of Africa, of Turkey in Europe, of +Arabia, Persia, the Holy Land, Asia Minor, and some parts of India, and +its adherents number ninety-six millions. We shall perhaps realize +still more strongly the havoc which this soul-destroying apostasy has +been suffered to work, if we remember that some of the countries where +it now reigns unchecked were formerly the seats of flourishing +Christian Churches, the Church in Africa boasting of such great Saints +as St. Cyprian and St. Augustine, whilst Palestine and Asia Minor +witnessed the first foundation of the Church, as well as its earliest +settlement in the form it was permanently to retain. + + + +[1] It is from this Hegira (or Flight) of Mahomet, July 16th, A.D. 622, +that Mahometans compute their time. + +[2] See Chap. VIII. + + + + +{94} + +CHAPTER IX + +The Division between East and West + +A.D. 680-A.D. 1054 + +[Sidenote: Outward unity of the Church broken] + +So far we have contemplated the Church of Christ as one in external +communion, no less than by the inner bonds of charity and of +sacramental life; but we now come to a period in which this external +unity began to be to a certain extent dissolved, and that in great +measure by the same outward influences which had at first secured its +cohesion. [Sidenote: with the breaking up of the Roman Empire.] +Heresies and schisms, especially the great heresy of Arius, had indeed +troubled the Church and threatened to break the visible union existing +between its branches in different countries; but it was not until after +the dissolution of the Roman empire that the breach really came. + + +Section I. _Jealousy between Rome and Constantinople._ + +[Sidenote: Reasons for Roman ascendancy.] + +During the flourishing days of the empire the city of Rome had +naturally been looked up to with great reverence by all the other +Churches of the world. Its political importance as the centre of +government, the vast number {95} of its martyrs, its comparative +freedom from heresy, and its connexion with the lives and deaths of St. +Peter and St. Paul, all tended to give it a moral ascendancy which was +gradually claimed as a right. This, however, did not take place +without protests on the part of other Bishops, nor even without very +definite disclaimers of any wish for or right to supreme authority on +the part of the Bishops of Rome themselves. + +[Sidenote: Ambition of an Eastern Patriarch.] + +Constantinople, as being the new Rome and capital of the Eastern +empire, was especially jealous of the claims of the mother city, and +one of her Patriarchs, John the Faster, in the sixth century, first set +the evil example of assuming the title of "Universal Bishop," a title +which the Roman Pontiffs have since taken and retained. In proportion +as the political division between East and West became more complete, +so also did the tendency towards separation in ecclesiastical matters +increase. [Sidenote: Beginnings of disunion.] Western dioceses, now +peopled by the barbarian nations who had overrun Europe, still looked +up to Rome as their centre and head; whilst the Eastern Bishops, under +the sway of the decaying empire, clung to Constantinople. [Sidenote: +Its crisis.] The controversy respecting the use of Images, and that +about the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as from the +Father, were, however, the means of actually bringing about the +cessation of all outward communion between East and West. + + +Section 2. _The Iconoclast (or Image-breaking) Controversy._ + +[Sidenote: Dislike of images] + +There had been from very early times an extensive though not universal +feeling in the Church, against the use of painting or sculpture in {96} +Divine Worship. This feeling was occasioned partly by dread of the +idolatry still prevalent amongst the heathen, and partly, especially in +the East, where it was strongest, by the remains of Judaism still +lingering in the Church of Christ. [Sidenote: lost in the West, but +retained in the East.] As heathenism died out, it was gradually felt in +the West that the strong reasons formerly existing against the +adornment of Churches with pictures and images had passed away; but the +Eastern Church, with that dread of change which distinguishes it to +this day, clung as before to the old sentiment. + +[Sidenote: Image-breaking legislation] + +In the eighth century, Leo III., "the Isaurian," then reigning at +Constantinople, passed a decree for the removal of all images and +paintings from Churches, and his violent conduct in the matter +occasioned such discontent in the West, that Italy withdrew altogether +from the nominal allegiance she had hitherto paid to the emperors, +about A.D. 730. [sidenote: dissolved the link between Eastern and +Western Empires.] Other emperors were as fanatical in their +Iconoclastic (or image-breaking) prejudices as Leo, and their +extravagance excited a reaction in the other extreme in the Western +empire. [Sidenote: Reactionary decrees in the West.] In A.D. 786, a +Council, which was held at Nicaea, not only protested against the +violent fanaticism of the East, but sanctioned the veneration of images +and pictures to an extent which we find it hard to justify, and which +was, in fact, deemed unjustifiable by many in the West, who yet wished +for their retention as decorations and aids to devotional feeling. +Charlemagne, under the influence of our English Alcuin, opposed the +decision of the Council, and held provincial synods (especially one at +Frankfort, A.D. 794) {97} to condemn what was, at any rate, very like +image-worship. + +[Sidenote: Charitable supposition regarding them.] + +Probably dread of Judaism and Mahometanism, with their hatred of our +Blessed Lord and of His Image, as well as of all sculpture, had some +influence on the decisions of the council of A.D. 786, and we may +reasonably hope that it was not really intended to encourage any +worship or veneration contrary to the express law of God. At any rate, +the Iconoclast controversy aided very strongly to put an end to all +political union, and with it to all public ecclesiastical intercourse, +between East and West; though the bonds of external communion were not +yet broken, and they were still one both in faith and practice. + + +Section 3. _The Controversy respecting the Double Procession of the +Holy Ghost._ + +[Sidenote: Western addition to the Nicene creed.] + +We have seen[1] that the summary of Christian belief, known to us as +the Nicene Creed, was completed at the Council of Constantinople, A.D. +381; but with this exception, that the article defining the faith of +the Church concerning the Third Person of the Ever-Blessed Trinity, +asserted only that "the Holy Ghost . . . . proceedeth from the Father," +without the addition of the words "_and the Son_;" and it was the +controversy as to the admission or non-admission of these words into +the Creed which caused the formal division between Eastern and Western +Christendom. The question is said to have first arisen in the fifth +{98} century; and gradually the words in dispute came to be sung in the +West during Divine Service. [Sidenote: Decrees against it.] In the +ninth century an appeal was made on the subject to Pope Leo III., who +decided in a provincial Council that no such addition could lawfully be +made to the Creed, and ordered it to be engraved on silver plates +exactly as the Council of Constantinople had left it. Towards the end +of the same century another Council was held at Constantinople, which +also decreed the disuse of the addition, and then the matter dropped +for about a hundred and fifty years. [Sidenote: Dispute stirred up +again for political purposes.] Its revival seems to have been chiefly +owing to political jealousies and to the struggle for supremacy which +was continually going on between Rome and Constantinople. We may be +allowed to believe that the dispute was, in reality, a question of mere +words, and that the two branches of the One Church did, and still do, +hold the "One Faith," although differing in their mode of expressing +it. [Sidenote: Actual schism in consequence.] Still the +ultra-conservatism which has always distinguished the Eastern Church, +and the unyielding temper which has been no less conspicuous in the +Church of Rome, did in time bring about a formal schism; and in A.D. +1053, the Pope Leo IX. issued a sentence of excommunication against the +Patriarch of Constantinople and all who adhered to him. In the +following year the Patriarch Michael Cerularius summoned a synod at +Constantinople, and retorted the excommunication upon the Latins. Two +attempts at reconciliation were afterwards made, one in A.D. 1274, +following the close of the last Crusade, and another which, after +lengthened negotiations, came to an equally unsuccessful termination at +the Council of Florence, A.D. 1430. + +{99} + +[Sidenote: Outward union never since restored.] + +Since that time the two great Branches of the One Vine, whilst still +drawing Life and Nourishment from the same Divine Root of Jesse by +means of the same Holy Sacraments, have yet abstained from all acts of +outward communion, and have failed to recognize in each other those +essential marks of Catholicity which God's Mercy and Providence has +preserved to them even in the midst of all their respective defects of +Charity, or their errors in theory and practice. + + + +[1] Chap. VI., sec. 3. + + + + +{100} + +CHAPTER X + +The Church of the Middle Ages + +A.D. 900-A.D. 1500 + +[Sidenote: Foundation of the temporal power of the Popedom.] + +The temporal power of the Popes gradually increased after the ninth +century, when part of the territory since known as the States of the +Church was bestowed on them by Pepin, whose son, the famous Emperor +Charlemagne, confirmed the donation. The change thus wrought in the +position of the Popes, who to their spiritual office of Bishop now +added the temporal one of sovereign, was productive of a corresponding +change in the claims they made upon the submission of the rest of +Christendom, and these altered claims first assumed a definite form in +the eleventh century. + + +Section 1. _The Supremacy of the Popes._ + +[Sidenote: Papal claims to spiritual supremacy.] + +The Bishops of Rome had at first limited their ideas of universal +supremacy to spiritual things: it was as Universal Bishop that they +desired to be honoured and obeyed, and we have seen in the preceding +chapter that a certain priority seemed to accrue to them by force of +{101} circumstances. Rome had come to be regarded as the Mother of the +Churches, much as Jerusalem was in the first ages of Christianity, and +appeals for advice and help were at first voluntarily made to the +learning and piety of the Bishops of Rome. [Sidenote: Further claims +to temporal authority.] Later, instead of advisers they claimed to be +absolute judges in ecclesiastical matters, and when the temporal +possessions of the Popedom made the chair of St. Peter an object of +ambition to covetous, designing men, the character of Bishop was too +often merged in that of Prince, and spiritual power ceased to satisfy +those who thought it their duty or their interest to enforce what was +in fact an Universal Sovereignty. + +[Sidenote: Plausibleness and actual advantages of Papal supremacy.] + +It is not difficult to understand that the idea of one Visible Head and +Centre of Christendom would appear to have much to recommend it; nor +even that the power of the Popes was in reality the source of many +blessings in the lawless state in which European society found itself +for many centuries after the fall of the Roman empire. An authority +which could reduce rebellious subjects to obedience, overawe refractory +nobles, or check the tyranny of an irresponsible sovereign, could +hardly fail to be productive of some good effects when wielded by +disinterested men, and with singleness of purpose. [Sidenote: Its +corruptions and dangers.] But in the hands of worldly-minded and +ambitious prelates, such as too many of the Popes undoubtedly were, +this usurped prerogative of interference in the affairs of foreign +states became an engine of mighty evil, and in the course of time it +was felt to be such an intolerable yoke by the people of Europe that +continued submission to it became impossible. + +{102} + +[Sidenote: What the Reformation really was.] + +The Reformation was in fact a casting off of an unjustifiable +usurpation in temporal as well as in spiritual things, and a violent +reaction against that course of events which, from the eighth century +downwards, had been tending to reduce the different sovereigns of +Western Christendom to the rank of vassals of the Roman See. + + +Section 2. _Some account of the Popes of the Middle Ages._ + +A clearer view of the rise and results of papal supremacy may perhaps +be gained by entering into a somewhat more detailed account of such +Popes as from various causes occupy conspicuous places in the history +of the Roman Church. [Sidenote: St. Leo the Great, and the first +"papal aggression."] In order to do this effectually, it will be +necessary to go back a little farther than the date at the head of the +chapter, to the time of St. Leo the Great (A.D. 440-A.D. 461), whose +claim to interfere between St. Hilary, Bishop of Arles, and +Chelidonius, Bishop of Besancon, may be looked upon as the first "papal +aggression" of which history gives us an example. Chelidonius had been +deposed by a General Council of the Church of France under the +presidency of Hilary, and so deeply did the French Bishops resent the +unjust attempts of Leo to set aside their decision, that the Bishop of +Rome found an appeal to the secular power necessary for the purpose of +enforcing his claim to exercise jurisdiction over a foreign Church. +But even the authority of Valentinian III., Emperor of the West, did +not succeed in obliging Hilary to cede the liberties of the Church of +France, and it is a significant fact that the Bishop of {103} Arles is +reverenced as a saint by the whole Western Church, although his sense +of what was due to his position as a member of the French episcopate +would not suffer him to yield his just rights, in order to obtain a +reconciliation with one so personally worthy of esteem and honour as +St. Leo. + +[Sidenote: Papal claims strengthened and extended by St. Gregory] + +The good and wise St. Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-A.D. 604), though he +strenuously disclaimed for himself, and denied to others, the right of +assuming the title of "Universal Bishop," appears to have had very +strong ideas respecting the authority which he conceived to belong to +the successors of St. Peter, whilst his talents and holiness gave him +an extensive influence over his contemporaries. [Sidenote: and Hadrian +I.] Succeeding Popes laid claim to more extended powers, especially +Hadrian I. (A.D. 772-A.D. 793), who first advanced the doctrine that +the whole Christian Church was subject to the see of Rome. [Sidenote: +Rise of the temporal power of the Popes under Leo III.] His successor, +Leo III. (A.D. 795-A.D. 816), having crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the +West, A.D. 800, received from that monarch the sovereignty of Rome, and +thus became a temporal prince as well as a Bishop, and about the same +time there began to appear certain forged canons (or Church laws), +professing to be ancient decrees collected by St. Isidore of Seville, +in the seventh century, and having for their object to give primitive +sanction to Roman Supremacy. [Sidenote: "Pseudo-Isidore" Decretals] +These "Pseudo-Isidore" Decretals, as they were afterwards called, were +frequently appealed to, apparently in good faith, by subsequent Popes; +and their genuineness was generally believed in, almost without +question, until the time of the Reformation in {104} the sixteenth +century. By about the middle of the ninth century these decretals were +made use of to settle ecclesiastical questions, and Nicholas I. (A.D. +858-A.D. 867) laid great stress upon them when the liberties of the +French Church were again defended by Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, in +a very similar case to that in which St. Hilary had offered opposition +to St. Leo. [Sidenote: Hincmar's opposition to papal claims.] +Hincmar's zeal in opposing the usurpations of the Roman see had some +little success during the episcopate of Hadrian II. (A.D. 867-A.D. +872), but its effects passed away when John VIII. (A.D. 872-A.D. 882) +espoused the cause of Charles the Bald, and thus enlisted the interests +of the crown on his side. + +The troubles and disorders consequent on the breaking up of the great +empire of Charlemagne, had had a very injurious effect on morals and +religion; and unworthy persons, to whom the temporal possessions of the +Popes had by this time become an object of ambition, took advantage of +the depressed state of the Church to seize upon the bishopric of Rome +either for themselves or for others in whom they had an interest. +[Sidenote: Unspirituality caused by temporal power.] Hence the history +of the papacy during the next century and a half is full of dreary +records of corruption and wickedness. The elevation of John XII. to +the papal throne at the age of eighteen (A.D. 955), and his evil life, +called forth the interference of the Emperor Otho the Great, who +deposed him and elected Leo VIII. (A.D. 963-A.D. 965) in his stead. +[Sidenote: Interference of Emperors of the West.] From this time the +emperors frequently interfered to check the continual disputes between +Popes and anti-Popes, which often ended in the murder of one of the +rivals. Silvester II. (Gerbert) (A.D. 999-A.D. 1003), {105} who was +made Pope through the influence of Otho III., was prevented by death +from carrying out the reforms he meditated, and at length, in A.D. +1046, the Emperor Henry III. was called upon to decide between three +claimants to the papal throne. He settled the question by appointing a +German, Clement II. (A.D. 1046-A.D. 1047), after the synod of Sutri had +put aside the claims of the original disputants. Henry thus took the +election of the Popes entirely out of the hands of the Clergy of Rome, +with whom it had hitherto nominally rested, and appropriated it to +himself. [Sidenote: This interference unjustifiable.] This was an +undoubted usurpation on the part of the secular power, though Henry +seems to have been in earnest in his endeavours to check the simony +which had been so disgracefully prevalent in the papal elections, and +to appoint Bishops who might be worthy of their position. [Sidenote: +Hildebrand's influence.] [Sidenote: Overthrow of secular interference.] +Leo IX. (A.D. 1048-A.D. 1054) and his successor, Victor II. (A.D. +1055-A.D. 1057), aided and influenced by the famous Hildebrand +(afterwards Gregory VII.), succeeded in effecting considerable reforms +in religion and morals, and were very zealous in discouraging +simoniacal appointments to offices in the Church, but a gradual and +increasing resistance was growing up against the imperial +encroachments, and after the death of Henry, Pope Nicholas II. (A.D. +1059-A.D. 1061) was enabled to obtain a decree that the election of the +Popes should, for the future, rest with the Roman Cardinals, subject to +the consent of the Roman Clergy and people, and with some vague +reference to the emperor's wishes. + +[Sidenote: Hildebrand Pope.] + +At length Hildebrand, the counsellor and support of {106} several +preceding Popes, was himself called to the see of Rome under the title +of Gregory VII. (A.D. 1073-A.D. 1083), and at once devoted the energies +of his powerful mind to the work of reforming the Church. [Sidenote: +His reforms] The two means on which he chiefly relied for accomplishing +his object were the enforcing of celibacy on the Clergy, and the +abolition of simony, under which head he included every species of lay +investiture. [Sidenote: and their consequences.] The prosecution of +his plans soon brought him into a violent dispute with the weak and +wicked Emperor Henry IV., who was as eager to secure the right of +bestowing upon Bishops the ring and pastoral staff, as well as of their +sole appointment, and thus reduce them to the state of mere secular +vassals, as Gregory was by the same means to secure their +ecclesiastical obedience to the see of Rome, and their total +independence of any civil power. [Sidenote: Result of the contest.] +The contest lasted till the death of Gregory in exile, and was carried +on by his successors, until during the popedom of Calixtus II. (A.D. +1119-1124) a compromise was agreed upon by which the emperor left to +each Church the free election of its Bishops, who were to receive the +ring and staff from the altar, and the temporalties of their sees from +the crown. + +[Sidenote: Wars between Rome and Germany.] + +This arrangement did not, however, bring peace between the Popes and +the emperors, the Popes siding with the Guelphs in the long civil wars +of the next two centuries, in opposition to the Ghibelline emperors. +Hadrian IV. (A.D. 1154-A.D. 1159), or Nicholas Breakspear, the only +English Pope, found it expedient to seek the assistance of the Emperor +Frederic Barbarossa, to aid him in quelling the insurrection headed by +Arnold of {107} Brescia; but Alexander III. (A.D. 1159-A.D. 1181) came +into fresh collision with Frederic, who was at length obliged to submit +and beg for peace. [Sidenote: Climax of the papal power under Innocent +III.] The minority of Frederic II. was favourable to the ambitious +schemes of Pope Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216), and under him the +power of the popedom reached its greatest height. He laid both England +and France under an interdict, placed on the imperial throne, and then +deposed, Otho IV., and took measures for the suppression of the +Albigenses, which eventually resolved themselves into the dreaded +Inquisition. The old strife was continued by Gregory IX. (A.D. +1227-A.D. 1241), who excommunicated Frederic II., and the sentence was +renewed by Innocent IV. (A.D. 1243-A.D. 1254). The treatment of the +emperor by these successive Popes was something akin to a persecution, +and was apparently occasioned by a feeling of opposition to any +authority which conflicted with the claims of Rome, and by a hatred of +the Ghibelline race. + +[Sidenote: Decline of the temporal power of the Popes.] + +From the death of Innocent IV. the excessive power of the Popes may be +said to decrease. Gregory X. (A.D. 1271-A.D. 1276) and the Emperor +Rudolf of Hapsburg were good, earnest-minded men, who put an end to the +long-standing feud between Rome and the empire, and after a succession +of short pontificates, Boniface VIII. (A.D. 1294-A.D. 1303) usurped the +papal throne in the place of the "hermit Pope," Celestine V. +[Sidenote: Interference of the King of France in papal affairs.] +Boniface was a thoroughly bad and unscrupulous man, and at last died in +a fit of disappointed rage at being taken prisoner by the troops of his +equally unscrupulous enemy, Philip IV. of France, who had refused to +acknowledge the {108} authority of the papal legate. Philip caused the +death of Benedict XI. (A.D. 1303-A.D. 1304), whose honest goodness he +feared, and then used his influence to procure the election of Clement +V. (A.D. 1303-A.D. 1314), on condition of his pledging himself to aid +in the French king's schemes to plunder and oppress the Church. +Clement, having thus sold himself, was not allowed to leave France, and +the papal court was fixed at Avignon. The Pope was now completely at +the mercy of Philip, who robbed the Church at his will, and plundered +and murdered the Knights Templars with the connivance of Clement. +[Sidenote: The Popes at Avignon.] The sojourn of the Popes at Avignon +(A.D. 1305-A.D. 1376) was a great blow to the temporal power of the +papacy, and was often called by the Italians the Seventy Years' +Captivity. Meanwhile the Popes were again plunged into contests with +the German emperors: Louis of Bavaria was excommunicated, and his +empire laid under an interdict, on account of his refusal to accept his +dominions from John XXII. (A.D. 1316-A.D. 1334). The papal authority +in Italy had become almost nominal except in Rome itself, and even +there it was much weakened by the rebellion under Rienzi, A.D. 1352. +Pope Innocent VI. (A.D. 1333-A.D. 1362), soon after his election, sent +a legate to Rome, with orders to reduce not only the city itself to +obedience, but all that was then included in the States of the Church; +and this having been successfully accomplished, the Popes began to +think of returning to Rome. [Sidenote: The return to Rome.] The court +at Avignon had become fearfully corrupt, and some of those who composed +it, and loved its evils, were ready to oppose any change; but Urban V. +(A.D. 1362-A.D. 1370), a really upright man, spent some of his +episcopate at Rome, and his {109} successor, Gregory XI. (A.D. +1370-A.D. 1378) removed thither with his court two years before his +death. The Cardinals however still clung to Avignon, and though, in +compliance with the earnest wishes of the Roman people, they elected an +Italian to be Pope under the name of Urban VI. (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1389), +yet they were so offended at his zealous but indiscreet endeavours to +reform the evils around him, that they declared him deposed, and set up +an anti-Pope at Avignon. [Sidenote: The consequent schism.] The schism +thus begun lasted nearly forty years (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1417), England, +Germany, North Italy, Poland, and the Scandinavian kingdoms siding with +the true Popes, while France, Scotland, Spain, and South Italy held +with the anti-Popes. [Sidenote: Its results.] The troubles and +corruptions of the Church now multiplied, Popes and anti-Popes alike +made the acquisition of power and revenue their great object, and +wickedness was left unrebuked both in Clergy and laity. A great +impulse was given to the sale of indulgences or pardons, an evil +practice which brought in large sums of money to the papal exchequer, +and at the same time led to such abuses as probably to become a +principal proximate cause of the Reformation. + +[Sidenote: Council of Pisa.] + +At length there was an universal longing for the cessation of the great +schism in the Western Church, and a Council was held at Pisa, A.D. +1409, where it was agreed by the Cardinals belonging to the two parties +to depose both Pope and anti-Pope, and to elect another who took the +name of Alexander V., with an understanding that he was at once to +reform and pacify the Church. But neither Pope nor anti-Pope would +resign, so that there were three claimants instead of two, and very +soon after his {110} election Alexander V. died. John XXIII. (A.D. +1410-A.D. 1415) was elected in his place, but he proved to be +thoroughly devoid of principle, and the Council of Pisa having proved +unsuccessful in promoting unity or reformation, another was convoked at +Constance, A.D. 1414, under the presidency of the Emperor Sigismund I. +[Sidenote: Council of Constance.] This Council was attended by the +representatives of all the monarchs of the West, as well as by a very +large number of Bishops and Clergy, and it was decreed that the three +claimants to the papal throne should be deposed. John XXIII. was +thrown into prison, and, after considerable delay, Martin V. (A.D. +1417-A.D. 1431) was chosen to succeed him. The Council shortly after +broke up, without having done any thing towards the much desired +reformation of the Church, although the English, French, and German +deputies had been very earnest in their endeavours to advance some +scheme of reform. [Sidenote: Council of Basle.] Another Council met at +Basle, A.D. 1431, whence it was transferred by Pope Eugenius IV. (A.D. +1431-A.D. 1447) first to Ferrara, and afterwards (A.D. 1439) to +Florence. This opportunity was also lost in a dispute between the +Council and the Pope, and there seemed to be nothing more to hope for +from Councils as a means of reformation. + +[Sidenote: State of the papacy at the end of the fifteen century.] + +Nor were the personal characters of the Popes who filled the see of +Rome during the remainder of the century, such as to encourage any +expectation that their influence would be employed to revive religion, +or to encourage holy living. Worldliness and ambition, revenge and +immorality, cast a deep shadow over the records of the papacy at this +time, until the century closes with the reign of Alexander VI., or +{111} Roderigo Borgia (A.D. 1492-A.D. 1503), who was elected by +bribery, and whose shameless vice and cruelty brought greater scandals +upon the Church than any of his predecessors had done. + + +Section 3. _The Monastic Orders._ + +Monastic orders, though not by any means an invention of the Middle +Ages, may yet fairly be said to have attained their height, both of +prosperity and of usefulness, during this period of Church History. +[Sidenote: Early rise of monasticism.] We may trace the origin of +Christian monastic life to very early times, when persecution drove +many Christians to a life of loneliness and privation in desert places. +The mode of life thus begun from necessity was afterwards continued +from choice, and in the hope of more complete self-devotion to God's +service; and the solitary hermits and anchorites of primitive ages +became the forerunners of an elaborate system of religious communities +of men and women. + +[Sidenote: Later influences brought to bear on it.] + +St. Basil, in the fourth century, brought monasticism into a more +definite form, and St. Athanasius during the same century introduced it +into Europe from the East. In the West the religious life spread and +flourished under the fostering care of such men as St. Augustine and +St. Gregory the Great, whilst by St. Benedict in the sixth century it +was developed into the famous Benedictine rule, to which, with few +exceptions, all the European monasteries conformed, and which was the +parent of various minor orders or subdivisions[1]. + +{112} + +[Sidenote: Beneficial results of monasticism.] + +It is not easy to estimate the vast amount of good which the labours of +the Benedictine monks conferred on the Church of the Middle Ages, good +which has left many traces to the present day. Not only did they +provide in a vast number of instances for the spiritual wants of the +parishes in and near which they lived, as well as for the education of +the young, both rich and poor, but they were also the philosophers, the +authors, the artists, and the physicians, nay, even the farmers and the +mechanics of Mediaeval times. They built cathedrals and churches, made +roads and bridges, copied books when writing stood in the place of +printing, and were in general the props and pioneers of civilization. +Amongst the very large number of men who embraced the monastic life, it +is no marvel that some were not all they professed to be, or that +occasional causes for scandal arose, but the popular idea of the +universal corruption of the inhabitants of the monasteries is +unsupported by facts, and much of what helped to give rise to this +false notion is traceable to the doings of the mendicant or preaching +friars. These begging orders were offshoots from the regulars, and +were but too often very unworthy representatives of the parent stock[2]. + + +Section 4. _The Crusades._ + +Amongst the events which stand out most distinctly in the history of +the Church in the Middle Ages, the long series of warlike expeditions +known as the {113} Crusades bear a prominent part, stretching out as +they do from the end of the eleventh to nearly the end of the +thirteenth centuries. + +The empire of the Arabs had died out, but they had been succeeded in +their schemes of conquest as well as in their adherence to the false +faith of Mahomet, by the savage Turks, whose ferocity and hatred of +Christianity were especially displayed in the ill-treatment of those +Christians whose piety led them to visit the scenes of our Blessed +Lord's Life and Death. [Sidenote: Cause of the Crusades.] The +indignation excited in Europe by the stories of outrage and desecration +which were from time to time brought back by pilgrims to the Holy Land, +at length found an outlet and expression in the First Crusade, which +was preached, A.D. 1095, by Peter the Hermit, with the sanction both of +the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople. This expedition resulted +in the taking of the Holy City by the armies of the Cross (A.D. 1099), +and the establishment in it of a Christian sovereignty. + +[Sidenote: Their transient results.] + +The First Crusade was the only one which had any real success, and even +this was a transient one, for less than ninety years afterwards (A.D. +1187) Jerusalem was again taken by the Saracens, and has never since +been a Christian power. But though the deliverance of the Holy Land +from the yoke of the infidels was not accomplished by the Crusades, and +though they caused much misery and bloodshed, and were stained by much +lawlessness and plunder, yet the advance of the barbarous and +anti-Christian influences of Mahometanism was checked, the Churches of +Europe were saved from the soul-destroying apostasy which had over-run +so large a portion of Asia, and the Crescent waned before the Cross. + +{114} + +[Sidenote: Reasons for their ill-success.] + +Much of the ill success with which the Crusaders met during several of +these expeditions, may be traced to jealousies and heart-burnings +between the different princes and nobles who took part in them, whilst +disagreements on a larger scale were amongst the evil fruits of the +unhappy division between Eastern and Western Christendom. Latin +Christians appear in too many instances to have made use of the +opportunities afforded them to injure and oppress their weaker brethren +of the Greek Church, even whilst marching against the common foe of +both, and the Fourth Crusade (A.D. 1203) was actually diverted from its +legitimate purpose in order to conquer Constantinople, and establish a +Latin Emperor, as well as a Latin Patriarch within its walls. + +[Sidenote: Good directly brought about by them.] + +Still, whatever may have been the want of single-mindedness on the part +of many of the professed soldiers of the Cross, whatever the amount of +failure with regard to the immediate objects of the Crusades, it is +clear that much good was brought about through them by God's +Providence, not only in the check given to the encroachments of the +unbelievers, but also more indirectly in the quenching of rising +heresies, in the greater purity of life which in many cases accompanied +the taking of the Cross, the weakening of the feudal system, the +impulse given to learning and civilization. Earnestness and +self-devotion such as were shown by Godfrey de Bouillon, St. Louis of +France, and no doubt by many more amongst the Crusaders, were rewarded +and blessed, though not in what might have seemed at first sight the +only way of success. + +{115} + +Section 5. _State of Religions Relief and Practice during the Middle +Ages._ + +[Sidenote: Popular idea of the Middle Ages,] + +There is a wide-spread notion that the Middle Ages were also "Dark +Ages," full of ignorance and superstition, with hardly a ray of +knowledge or true religion to enlighten the gloom, and also that the +Church was the great encourager of this state of things; indeed, that +it was mainly due to the influence of the monks and of the Clergy +generally. + +[Sidenote: not founded in history.] + +This belief is however quite unhistorical. No doubt there was +abundance of ignorance as well as of superstition, its natural +consequence, but there are ample means of accounting for both in the +political condition of Europe at that time, nor is it needful to blame +the Church for what was in fact due to the sins and errors of the world. + +[Sidenote: Real causes of ignorance and vice in the Middle Ages.] + +The confusion incident to the breaking up of the old Roman empire, and +the occupation of its different provinces by less highly-civilized +nations, had been followed by other disorders after the death of +Charlemagne and the partition of his dominions; and the constant state +of warfare and aggression in which most of the princes of that time +lived, was not calculated to leave their subjects much leisure for +intellectual culture. Besides this, we must take into account the +crushing influence of the feudal system, which gave the nobles almost +absolute power over their serfs or dependants, thus encouraging +lawlessness on the one hand, and causing degradation on the other. The +scarcity and costliness of books before the invention of printing was +another {116} formidable obstacle to any universal spread of education, +all which causes tended to bring learning into contempt amongst the +restless barons and their followers, restricting it chiefly to the +Clergy and the monks. Thus not only theology, but secular knowledge +besides, found a home in the Church, which was at once the guardian and +the channel of literature. + +[Sidenote: No scarcity of the means of grace in Mediaeval times.] + +There are also good grounds for believing that the provision made by +the Church for the spiritual necessities of the people was not, at any +rate, less abundant than is the case at the present day. Indeed, there +is no doubt that both Churches and Clergy, and consequently +opportunities for worship and instruction, were far more in proportion +to the number and needs of the population than they can be said to be +now in our own country, even after the persevering and liberal efforts +of late years. [Sidenote: Difficulties respecting Services and Bibles +on the vernacular,] If it is objected that the want of free access to +the Holy Scriptures, and the use of the Latin tongue in the public +services of the Church, were calculated largely to outweigh any +advantages which the people of those days might possess, we may +remember that those comparatively few who could read were just those +who would have access to the necessarily rare copies then existing of +the Word of God, and that to them also the Latin version would be more +comprehensible than any other. Again, with regard to Latin services, +it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to translate the +devotions of the Church into any of the slowly-forming dialects of the +different European nations; whilst Latin was more universally spoken +and understood than French is now, and was probably intelligible to a +larger number of men and women during a {117} considerable portion of +the Middle Ages than any one of the other languages used. + +[Sidenote: but the wish for them not wholly disregarded.] + +As the various languages of Europe became gradually developed, a desire +naturally arose amongst those who spoke them for services in the +vernacular; and this desire was not left altogether ungratified even +long before the Reformation. Thus, in England, the Epistles and +Gospels and the Litany were translated into the native language in the +Services of the Church, and interlinear translations were made of many +portions of the Mediaeval Prayer Books[3]. Neither must we imagine +that the translations of Holy Scripture put forth by the Reformers, or +even that earlier version to which Wickliffe gave his name, were by any +means the first efforts made to produce the Holy Bible in the +vernacular. From Anglo-Saxon times downwards, we have traces of Bibles +translated for the use of those who preferred such versions; and to the +truth of this statement may be quoted the testimony of John Foxe, the +"martyrologist," who says, "If histories be well examined, we shall +find, both before the Conquest and after, as well before John Wickliffe +was born as since, the whole body of the Scriptures by sundry men +translated into this our country tongue[4]." + +[Sidenote: State of learning in the Middle Ages.] + +The Mediaeval Church was, in reality, a great supporter of learning. +Our two great Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were not less +flourishing during the Middle Ages than at present; and nearly all of +the colleges and halls at both Universities were founded in those days +{118} of supposed darkness. Nor was this care for literature confined +to the Church in England; Universities of equal note were to be found +abroad at Paris, Pavia, Bologna, Salamanca, and other places, whilst +the Schoolmen, or professors, who taught in these seats of learning, +and who numbered amongst themselves the most acute thinkers and +reasoners of the time, such as St. Anselm, Peter Lombard, Albertus +Magnus, and St. Thomas Aquinas, were all attached to some Religious +Order. Enough of the results of their labours have come down to our +days to show us that it is neither wise nor just to despise the mental +work which they accomplished, even though their conclusions may not +always be in accordance with our own. + +It is not meant by what has been said above to infer that the Mediaeval +Church was altogether free from blemishes, or to deny that these +blemishes did, as time went on, increase to an extent which rendered +reformation not only expedient but necessary. [Sidenote: The effects +of Roman influence.] We have already seen that the supremacy claimed by +the Popes over the whole Church was productive of great, though, by +God's good Providence, not unmitigated, evil in a political point of +view; and much of the error in faith or practice on the part of +Christians of those days, seems traceable to the tendency on the part +of Rome to crystallize opinions into dogmas, and then to impose those +dogmas on the Church. Thus the "Romish doctrine concerning purgatory," +and the mechanism of "pardons," or indulgences, grew out of the +floating belief held by such holy men as St. Augustine, that the souls +of the faithful would undergo some more perfect purification after +death than is attainable in this world; while the elaborate system of +invocations of, and devotions to, the Blessed {119} Virgin Mary and the +saints, were built up out of a not only harmless but justifiable faith +in the intercessions of the Saints for the Church on earth, and the +wish to obtain a share in their prayers. So again, the denial of the +cup to the laity, which was justly felt by many to be such a grievous +privation, was the natural consequence of the over-refinements of the +Roman Church respecting the doctrine of the Holy Eucharist[5]. + +[Sidenote: The right spirit in which to regard the Mediaeval Church.] + +But whatever imperfections may have clung to the Visible Church in the +Middle Ages, whether owing to external hindrances, or to the human +frailties of her members, we have no right to doubt that she was still +the one great instrument in God's Hands for the salvation of souls. +Neither should we dwell so exclusively on what is often an exaggerated +estimate of the extent and duration of these blemishes, as to ignore +the zeal and self-devotion which grudged neither expense nor labour in +the service of God and the adornment of His House and Worship, the +charity which truly "cared for the poor," the faith and holiness which +shone forth in the public and private lives of such men as St. +Ferdinand of Spain, St. Louis of France, and Rudolf of Hapsburg, +Emperor of Germany, and were, doubtless, not wanting in the case of +countless numbers of their fellow-Christians, whose names, little known +and soon forgotten on earth, are for ever written in God's Book of +Remembrance. + + + +[1] Especially the Cluniacs, founded by Berno, Abbot of Clugny, A.D. +910, and the Cistercians, founded by Robert of Citeaux, A.D. 1098, and +rendered illustrious by St. Bernard, afterwards Abbot of Clairvaux +(A.D. 1113-A.D. 1153). + +[2] The order of Franciscan Friars was founded by St. Francis of +Assisi, A.D. 1207, and that of the Dominicans by St. Dominic of +Castile, A.D. 1215. They were originally intended to supplement the +real or supposed defects of the Clergy and the regular orders, and to +aid in the suppression of heresy. + +[3] See "Key to the Prayer Book," pp. 1-8. + +[4] See "Key to the Bible," pp. 18-23. + +[5] The practice of communion in one kind made its way very slowly, +especially in England, where it was perhaps never universal. A decree +of the Council of Constance in A.D. 1415 gave its first authoritative +sanction. + + + + +{120} + +CHAPTER XI + +The Mediaeval History of Continental Churches + +A.D. 900-A.D. 1500 + +[Sidenote: No Mediaeval Church history in Asia or Africa.] + +Before proceeding to the consideration of the different European +Churches in Mediaeval times, it may be well to remark that from the +year 500 the Christian history of Asia and Africa is almost a blank. +Arianism, partly imported into Africa by the Vandals, who crossed +thither from Spain, and partly of native growth, as well as the +opposite error, Eutychianism, took from the African Church all +spiritual life and vigour, so that the apostasy of Mahomet met with no +formidable obstacles when in the seventh century it swept like a flood +over what had been Christian Africa. It is true that the Copts in +Egypt and the native Christians of Abyssinia appear to have preserved +the Apostolic Succession, but both these Churches are in a state of +great depression, and the Faith they profess is mingled with much +ignorance and superstition, as well as with positive error. + +A similar process took place in Asia. Arianism, chiefly in its later +development of Nestorianism, with Eutychianism and other errors, ate +out the heart of the Church, faith grew weak, and love grew cold, and +{121} Mahometanism once more triumphed almost unchecked. Although the +Churches of Asia are not all utterly extinct, yet they share more or +less in the state of ignorance, superstition, and depression which is a +natural consequence of the serious errors with which their profession +of Christianity is intermixed, as well as of the way in which the few +despised Christians are mingled with their richer and more numerous +Mahometan neighbours. + + +Section 1. _The Church of Italy._ + +[Sidenote: Lombard kingdom in Italy.] + +The kingdom of the Goths in Italy was not of long duration, and their +successors and fellow-Arians, the Lombards, only obtained possession of +the northern portion of the Peninsula, whilst Rome and Southern Italy +became once more subject to the emperors of the East. Gregory the +Great (A.D. 390-A.D. 604) began the work of converting the Lombards to +the Catholic Faith, and in the middle of the seventh century Arianism +had disappeared from Italy. [Sidenote: Renewal of the tie between East +and West.] The renewal of the connexion between the Eastern and Western +Empires, and the attempt of the Emperor Justinian to subject the see of +Rome to that of Constantinople, placed Gregory under the necessity of +vindicating the independence of the Church of Italy, and of denying the +right of any one Patriarch to assume authority over another. St. +Gregory's holiness and learning, and the wisdom of his endeavours to +reform corruptions, were most beneficial to the Church over which he +ruled. [Sidenote: Its rupture.] The Image-breaking Controversy put an +end to the nominal tie between the Eastern emperors and the Church of +Italy (about A.D. 730), and almost the whole {122} of the peninsula +soon after became part of the dominions of Charlemagne. This great +Emperor's influence was used in Italy, as elsewhere, to foster the work +of the Church, which however suffered severely from the state of +lawlessness and confusion incident on the breaking up of Charlemagne's +empire after his death, A.D. 814. [Sidenote: Depression of the Church +in Italy.] The Church of Italy in the ninth century had also to undergo +the inroads of the Mahometans in the South, and of the heathen Magyars +(or Hungarians) on the North, as well as of the Northmen, who ravaged +and pillaged the churches and monasteries on the coasts. Other +depressing influences were to be found in the secularization of the +Bishops of Rome through the increase of their temporal power, and the +usurpation by the German emperors of the right of election to the +popedom, which properly belonged to the Clergy of Rome. [Sidenote: +Gregory VII.'s reforms.] The corruptions which from these and other +causes had crept into the Church of Italy, drew towards them the +attention of the famous Hildebrand, afterwards Pope Gregory VII. (A.D. +1073-A.D. 1085), and his efforts at reformation were not without a +beneficial effect. [Sidenote: Heresies of the Albigenses] Early in the +twelfth century the heretical sect of the Albigenses, whose doctrines +resembled those of the ancient Manicheans, spread from the South of +France into Italy, where they received the name of Paterini. +[Sidenote: and Waldenses.] Both they and the kindred sect of the +Waldenses came under the notice of Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216). +The Albigenses were exterminated with circumstances of great +cruelty[1], but the {123} Waldenses survive to the present day in the +valleys of Piedmont. [Sidenote: Evil effects of the residence at +Avignon on the Italian Church.] The seventy years' residence of the +Bishops of Rome at Avignon (A.D. 1305-A.D. 1376) was felt by the Church +of Italy to be an injury and a great evil, and in the forty years' +schism which followed the return of the chief pastor of the Italians to +his own episcopal city (A.D. 1378-A.D. 1417), only the kingdom of the +Two Sicilies sided with the anti-Popes. [Sidenote: Other depressing +influences.] Meanwhile the constant warfare between the Guelphs and the +Ghibellines in Italy, the feuds between the different republics, the +worldliness and evil lives of too many of the Popes, and the luxury and +immorality which increased riches, consequent on increased commerce, +brought with them, had all tended to a state of things in which the +purifying influences of the Church as "the salt of the earth" were +sorely needed. [Sidenote: Desires for reformation.] Longings for a +reformation of men's lives and morals were smouldering in many breasts, +and in the city of Florence these hidden wishes were kindled into a +flame by the zeal and eloquence of the monk Girolamo Savonarola, who +however fell a victim to his zeal, A.D. 1498. + +[Sidenote: Liturgy of the Italian Church.] + +The ancient Liturgy of the Church of Italy was derived from one bearing +the name of St. Peter, and revised by St. Gregory, A.D. 590. This +Roman or Gregorian Liturgy, though with certain later additions, is +still in use throughout Italy, the only exception to this rule being +the cathedral and diocese of Milan, which still preserve a Liturgy +known as that of St. Ambrose, who was Bishop of Milan from A.D. 374 to +A.D. 397. + + +{124} + +Section 2. _The Church of France._ + +[Sidenote: Orthodoxy of the Franks.] + +The Franks alone of all the barbarians who swept over Europe at the +time of the decay of the Western Empire, were Catholic from their first +conversion to Christianity; and to this circumstance the French kings +owed their title of Eldest Sons of the Church. It was by the influence +of a French princess, Bertha, the Christian wife of Ethelbert, king of +Kent, that St. Augustine and his companions were favourably received in +England; whilst another princess of the same race, Ingunda, who married +the son of the Visigoth king of Spain, is said to have brought about +the conversion of her husband from Arianism to the Catholic faith, by +her own constancy under persecution. [Sidenote: The Church under +Charlemagne.] During the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne (A.D. +768-A.D. 814), the French monasteries became seats of learning, and +amongst the learned men who assisted the Emperor in his efforts for the +religious and intellectual improvement of his people, may be mentioned +the English Alcuin, who held an honourable position at the French court +as the instructor and adviser of the monarch and his sons. [Sidenote: +The French Liturgy.] The Gallican Liturgy, a branch of the Primitive +Liturgy of Ephesus, was entirely disused by order of Charlemagne, and +the Roman service used in its stead. [Sidenote: Conversion of the +Northmen.] From about A.D. 870 the Northmen, who had long been a +scourge to France, began to settle down in that country, and were +gradually converted to the Christian Faith, their chief, Rollo, +marrying a Christian princess, A.D. 911, and being baptized in the +following year. [Sidenote: The Crusades.] A French {125} hermit, Peter +of Auvergne, was the instigator of the First Crusade, which was +preached by him at Clermont, and joined by a large number of French +nobles, the command of the expedition being given to Godfrey de +Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine. The system of Crusades thus inaugurated +for the defence of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, and the winning +back of the Holy Places from the hands of the Mahometans, was turned to +a cruel and unjustifiable use in the thirteenth century, when Innocent +III. proclaimed a Crusade against the Albigenses in the South of +France, in which multitudes of these unhappy and misguided men were +slaughtered. + +[Sidenote: Rupture between France and the Pope.] + +During the reign of Philip IV. (A.D. 1285-A.D. 1314) a collision took +place for the first time, between the Church and Kingdom of France and +the authority of the Pope. Hitherto the disputes between the Popes and +the French monarchs had been on personal rather than on political +grounds, and had given no opportunity for defining the exact limits of +papal authority in France. [Sidenote: Comparative independence of +French Church.] But meanwhile the French Clergy had not lost their +feeling of nationality, and the kings of France had been able to use +much more independent action in the appointment of Bishops than was the +case in other countries. Hence the Bishops and Clergy joined with the +king in resisting the sentence of excommunication pronounced by the +Pope on Philip and his kingdom. Neither King nor Pope appear to have +been influenced by any religious feeling in their contest, and after +the miserable death of Boniface VIII. (A.D. 1303), and the murder of +his successor, Philip's unprincipled interference in the {126} election +of Clement V. was productive of great evils. [Sidenote: Evil results +of the conduct of Philip IV.] The cruel massacre of the Knights +Templars, the corruptions of the Papal Court in France, and more +indirectly the Great Schism in which the Church of France espoused the +cause of the anti-Popes, may all be traced to the conduct of Philip IV. + + +Section 3. _The Church of Spain and Portugal._ + +[Sidenote: Conquest of Spain by the Moors.] + +Before the end of the sixth century, the Visigoths, who had settled in +what is now Spain and Portugal, had been converted from Arianism to the +Catholic Faith. In A.D. 711 the Mahometan Moors crossed over from +Africa to the South of Spain, and in A.D. 713 all the Peninsula, except +the small mountain district of Asturias, had fallen into their hands. +The more independent and hardy amongst the Spanish Christians took +refuge in this inaccessible portion of the country, whilst others dwelt +amongst the Moors, and appear for a time to have been allowed the +exercise of their religion unmolested by any systematic persecution. +[Sidenote: Persecution of the Spanish Church.] About A.D. 830, however, +the policy of the Moorish conquerors underwent a change, and during the +next hundred years multitudes of Christians in Spain suffered martyrdom +for their faith. [Sidenote: The re-conquest of Spain by the +Spaniards.] After the death of Hachem, the last Caliph of Cordova (A.D. +1031), and the subdivision of his dominions, the Christians of Asturias +succeeded in making head against their oppressors, and gradually won +back from them district after district, until Ferdinand III. (A.D. +1214-A.D. 1252) succeeded in reducing the Moorish possessions to the +single province {127} of Grenada. This last remnant of Mahometan +dominion was wrested from the Moors A.D. 1492, and Spain, as well as +the separate kingdom of Portugal, was once more entirely Christian. +[Sidenote: Effect of national circumstances on Spanish Christianity.] +It is perhaps hardly to be wondered at, that the continual state of +religious warfare in which Spain was so long plunged should have given +a somewhat stern character to Spanish Christianity. The Inquisition, +when introduced into Spain by the mistaken zeal of the good Queen +Isabella towards the end of the fifteenth century, found a readier +welcome than elsewhere, and gained an additional tinge of severity in a +country which had been brought into such close contact with one of the +deadliest forms of unbelief. + +[Sidenote: The Spanish Liturgy.] + +The original Liturgy of Spain was, like the ancient Liturgy of France, +a form of that used at Ephesus. It received the name of Mozarabic, +from having been in use by Christians living _in the midst of Arabs_, +or Moors, and was not discontinued in the Church of Spain until A.D. +1080, when after much resistance on the part of the Spaniards it was +abolished by order of Alphonso VI., King of Castille and Leon, under +the influence of Pope Gregory VII., and the Roman rite substituted +throughout the country. + + +Section 4. _The Church of Germany._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Germany by French] + +The large tract of country which is now comprehended under the name of +Germany was won to the Church by a long series of missionary labours. +In the beginning of the seventh century Frankish missionaries laid the +foundations of a Church in Bavaria and on the banks of {128} the +Danube, thus paving the way for the conversion of Southern Germany. +[Sidenote: and British missionaries,] Central Germany, then called +Franconia, was the scene of the labours of Kilian, an Irish missionary +(A.D. 630-A.D. 689), whilst the English Bishops Wilfrith (A.D. 677) and +Willebrord (A.D. 692-A.D. 741), preached with much success to the +Frieslanders in the Northwest of Germany, now included in Holland. +[Sidenote: Labours of St. Boniface] It is, however, to a Devonshire +clergyman, Winfrith, better known as St. Boniface (A.D. 715-A.D. 755), +that the title of Apostle of Germany is generally given, not only on +account of his unwearied missionary labours in still heathen districts, +but also on account of his success in organizing and consolidating the +different branches of the German Church. He became Archbishop of +Mentz, and Metropolitan, and at last suffered martyrdom at the hands of +some heathen Frieslanders at the age of seventy-five. + +The Emperor Charlemagne endeavoured to compel the rude Saxons in the +neighbourhood of the Baltic to embrace the Christian faith; but +eventually he was induced to trust less to the force of arms for their +conversion, and more to the missionary work of the Church. [Sidenote: +and of Willehad.] Amongst the prominent members of this Saxon mission, +we find another English priest, Willehad, a native of Northumbria, +afterwards Bishop of Bremen, who died A.D. 789. + +The first attempts to plant the Church in Moravia were made by German +missionaries in the ninth century. [Sidenote: Eastern missionaries in +Moravia] These do not appear, however, to have been very successful, +and about A.D. 860, two Greek monks, Cyril and Methodius, entered upon +the same sphere of labour. Methodius was afterwards consecrated +Metropolitan of Pannonia {129} and Moravia by the Pope; but there was +considerable jealousy on the part of the Latinized Germans towards +their Eastern fellow-labourers, and eventually the Moravian Church was +subjected to the Bishops of Bohemia. + +[Sidenote: and Bohemia.] + +The first Christian Duke of Bohemia was converted about A.D. 871, +whilst staying at the Moravian court, probably by Methodius; but the +Church made very slow progress in Bohemia until after the conquest of +that country by Otho the Great (A.D. 950), and the foundation of the +Bishopric of Prague by King Boleslav the Pious (A.D. 967-A.D. 999). In +Bohemia, as well as in Moravia, the influence of the Greek missionaries +made itself felt in the impress it left upon the ritual and usages of +the two Churches, especially in the fact that the native Sclavonic +language was used in Divine Worship; but in the end German influences +prevailed in both countries, and the national "use" gradually made way +for the Latinized ritual common in Germany. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of North Prussia,] + +Until towards the middle of the tenth century, the Church made but very +small progress in the northern portion of what is now the kingdom of +Prussia. These regions were then occupied by a Sclavonic race called +Wends, who yielded an unwilling submission to the Western emperors, and +disliked Christianity as being the religion of their conquerors. +Between A.D. 964 and A.D. 968, several bishoprics were founded in this +country by Otho the Great, and amongst them the metropolitan see of +Magdeburg. A revolt of the Wends frustrated for the time the success +of the emperor's plans, but in the next century Gottschalk, who became +king of the Wends A.D. 1047, and was himself a Christian, did all in +his {130} power to aid the missionary work of the Church among his +people. He was martyred by his subjects, A.D. 1066, and heathenism +triumphed once more. During the twelfth century, the Wendish kingdom +was dissolved, and its territories divided amongst different German +princes, after which the Church gradually regained and extended its +hold on the country. The northern Wends, who obstinately adhered to +their Pagan superstitions, were at last converted chiefly by the +labours of St. Vicelin, who became Bishop of Oldenburg, A.D. 1148. + +[Sidenote: of Pomerania,] + +The conversion of Pomerania was first attempted by the Poles, who, on +obtaining possession of the country at the end of the tenth century, +founded a bishopric at Colberg, A.D. 1000. It was not, however, until +their more complete subjection to Poland about a hundred years later, +that any marked result was obtained. Otho, Bishop of Bamberg, who +placed himself at the head of the Pomeranian mission A.D. 1124, was at +last enabled to overcome the fierce opposition which the heathen +natives offered to the work of the Church, and by A.D. 1128 +Christianity had gained a firm footing amongst them. + +[Sidenote: of Prussia Proper.] + +From Pomerania the Church extended itself eastward to Prussia Proper, +about A.D. 1210. Here, too, Christianity was very distasteful to the +natives, partly as being the religion of their enemies the Poles. +About A.D. 1230, the "Order of Teutonic Knights" was instituted for the +purpose of subjugating Prussia; and, after a depopulating warfare of +fifty years' duration, the remaining inhabitants embraced Christianity. +Before the end of the thirteenth century, the German element had quite +superseded the Sclavonic in Prussia, as well as in Pomerania, and in +what had formerly been the kingdom of the Wends. + +{131} + +[Sidenote: Extent of Roman influence in Germany.] + +The Church in Germany, taken as a whole, was very much under Roman +influence, partly, perhaps, on account of the early connexion between +the emperors of the West and the see of Rome, and partly from the +constant state of civil warfare into which Germany was plunged from the +twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. In these contests the near +neighbourhood of the Popes to the Italian possessions of the Western +Empire gave them a hold on the affairs of Germany which they were not +slow to use, and the turbulent German nobles were disinclined to resent +an interference which was so often exerted in their behalf against an +unpopular sovereign. The temporal power of the Popes was, however, +much weakened by the great Schism; and though the Church of Germany +acknowledged the true Pope, there was, amongst its members, a very +widespread sense of the urgent need of some searching reformation. To +this feeling may be traced, not only the unhappily disappointed +expectations with which so many persons looked to the Councils of +Constance and Basle, but also the unsound and exaggerated teaching of +such men as John Huss and Jerome of Prague. + + +Section 5. _The Church of Hungary._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Hungary.] + +The Hungarians or Magyars were descended from a Tartar or Finnish +tribe, who settled in Pannonia towards the close of the ninth century, +and thence made fierce inroads on Italy and Germany. In A.D. 948, two +Hungarian chiefs were baptized at Constantinople, and the daughter of +one of them afterwards marrying Geisa, Duke of {132} Hungary (A.D. +972-A.D. 997), Christian influences were, by degrees, brought to bear +upon the Hungarian people. About the same time German missionaries +began to labour in Hungary, but it was not until the reign of St. +Stephen, the first King of Hungary (A.D. 997-A.D. 1038), that the +country was completely evangelized. [Sidenote: Hungary Latinized.] +Stephen did all in his power to aid the work of the German +missionaries; Hungary was divided into dioceses, and the originally +eastern origin of the Hungarian Church, as well as the Sclavonic origin +of the people, forgotten under the desire felt by the king to keep on a +friendly footing with the German emperors and the Popes. + +[Sidenote: Attacks of the Turks.] + +The Church of Hungary suffered severely from the invasion of the Mongul +Tartars, A.D. 1241, and when, about a century later, some of these +Tartars returned from Asia and settled in Europe under the name of +Turks, Hungary, owing to its frontier situation, was constantly liable +to their attacks. During the fifteenth century, Hungarian bravery was +the great barrier that opposed the spread of Mahometanism over Western +Europe. Even after the fall of Constantinople, the Turks vainly +endeavoured to make themselves masters of their Christian neighbours, +and found themselves obliged to retreat discomfited from the siege of +Belgrade, A.D. 1456. + + +Section 6. _The Church of Poland._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Poland.] + +The Church of Poland was founded about A.D. 966, when a daughter of the +Christian Duke of Bohemia married Miecislav, Duke of Poland, and +introduced Christianity into her adopted country. + +{133} + +[Sidenote: Romanizing the church of Poland.] + +The Polish Church at first bore traces of its Eastern origin in its +liturgy and ritual, but these traces were removed by Casimir I. (A.D. +1040-A.D. 1058), who, previous to his accession, had been a monk in a +French or German monastery, and who made a point of bringing the Church +of his own country into uniformity with the other Churches of the West. + + +Section 7. _The Scandinavian Churches._ + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Denmark] + +About A.D. 822, a mission was sent from France to Denmark under Ebbo, +Archbishop of Rheims, which resulted in the conversion of Harold, King +of Jutland, who was baptized at Mayence, A.D. 826. At the request of +Harold, a fresh mission to Denmark was organized and headed by Anskar, +a monk of Corbey, near Amiens, who is often known as the "Apostle of +the North." [Sidenote: and Sweden.] From Denmark Anskar made his way to +Sweden, A.D. 831, where he was favourably received by the king, and a +year or two later was consecrated Archbishop of Hamburg, with +jurisdiction over the whole northern mission. [Sidenote: Slow advance +and vicissitudes of the Church.] At first the progress of the Church, +both in Denmark and Sweden, was very slow and fluctuating, and the +ravages of the northern pirates, or Vikings, caused great loss and +suffering; but after some years, Anskar was enabled to disarm the +opposition of Eric the heathen King of Denmark, and to make a +favourable impression upon the Swedish nobles. After his death in A.D. +865, the Church in Denmark went through many vicissitudes owing to +irruptions of the Northmen and other invaders, as well as to native +opposition. {134} Svend, who reigned over Denmark A.D. 991-A.D. 1014, +though brought up a Christian, persecuted the Church until his +re-conversion during a victorious sojourn in England. [Sidenote: +English missionaries in Denmark] Svend's son and successor, Canute the +Great (A.D. 1014-A.D. 1033), was very zealous in his endeavours to undo +the evil effects of his father's violence, and sent missionaries from +England, by whom the bulk of the Danish nation were converted to +Christianity. + +[Sidenote: and Sweden.] + +In Sweden, too, the Church made but slow progress after the death of +Anskar, until, in the beginning of the eleventh century, the King Olaf +Skoetkonung, having been himself baptized about A.D. 1008, invited to +Sweden certain English clergymen, who laboured there with great +success. The first bishopric in Sweden was placed at Skara in West +Gothland, and filled by Turgot, an Englishman. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Norway, by English missionaries.] + +The knowledge of the Gospel was first brought, in the tenth century, +into Norway from England by Hacon, who is said to have been educated at +the court of Athelstan, and who endeavoured, with the aid of English +priests, to bring about the conversion of his subjects. Hacon was, +however, induced, by the bitter opposition of his countrymen, to yield +a weak compliance to their idolatrous practices, and the Church +languished and almost died out until the reign of Olaf Trygovason (A.D. +993-A.D. 1000), who had been baptized in the Scilly Isles during a +piratical expedition. The labours of the English missionaries were +finally successful in the reign of Olaf the Holy (A.D. 1017-A.D. 1033), +who was earnest in his efforts to further the work of the Church. It +may be remarked that Norwegian Bishops were usually consecrated either +in England or France, {135} though all the Scandinavian Churches were +still professedly dependent on the Archbishopric of Hamburg. + +[Sidenote: Conversion of Iceland,] + +In Iceland some traces of early Christianity, probably the result of +the labours of Irish missionaries, were still remaining when it was +colonized by Norwegian settlers in the ninth century; and towards the +end of the tenth century successive attempts were made by a Saxon +Bishop and by missionaries from Norway, to revive and deepen these +impressions. The opposition of the heathen colonists was, however, of +so determined a character, that it was only by the gradual conversion +of the mother country, and the labours of new bands of missionaries, +chiefly English and Irish, that Paganism was by degrees overcome. + +[Sidenote: Greenland,] + +From Iceland the Church made its way to Greenland, another Norwegian +colony, which was converted mainly by the instrumentality of an +Icelandic missionary, in the first half of the eleventh century; but +this ancient Church died out in the fifteenth century. About the same +time Christianity spread through the Norwegians to the Orkney, +Shetland, and Faroe Islands. + +[Sidenote: and Lapland.] + +The Church was first planted amongst the Lapps by Swedish missionaries +in the thirteenth century, but it was not until the sixteenth and two +following centuries that Christianity became the religion of the +country. + + +Section 8. _The Churches now comprehended in European Turkey and +Greece._ + +We look in vain in the history of the Church in Eastern Europe for the +missionary activity which {136} bears so prominent a place in the +annals of Western Christendom. [Sidenote: Lack of missionary zeal in +the East.] The minds of Eastern Christians were still much occupied by +continued contests between the Catholic Faith and developments of +already condemned heresies, and to these succeeded the scarcely less +absorbing controversy about Image-breaking. Nor was there in the East +the same pressing contact with Paganism, which made it in the West a +political necessity no less than a religious duty at once to +christianize and civilize the ever advancing hordes of heathen +barbarians. [Sidenote: Conversion of Bulgaria.] The evangelization of +Bulgaria was, however, begun early in the ninth century, by the +carrying off of the Bishop of Adrianople and many of his flock, in a +victorious inroad of the Bulgarians, A.D. 811. Half a century later +the Bulgarian King Bogoris, influenced by his sister, who had been +brought up a Christian at Constantinople, put himself and his country +under the tuition of the Greek patriarch Photius. Soon after, becoming +weary of his Eastern instructors, he applied for aid to the Western +Church, and, in A.D. 867, the Pope Nicholas I. despatched two Italian +Bishops and other missionaries to Bulgaria. [Sidenote: Collision +between Greek and Roman missionaries.] This interference of the Roman +Church, in an already occupied field of missionary labour, added +considerably to the jealousy between East and West, and helped to bring +about the eventual and lamentable schism. Bogoris soon after returned +to his allegiance to Photius, insisted on the withdrawal of the Roman +Mission, and obtained a Greek Archbishop of Bulgaria from +Constantinople. + +[Sidenote: Peculiar position of the Eastern Church.] + +The state of external isolation in which the Church of the Eastern +Empire was placed by the {137} Schism of A.D. 1054, had a tendency to +increase its exaggerated spirit of conservatism, which was also +encouraged by the indolent unenterprizing temper of the Greeks of the +later empire, whose blood had not been quickened by the same admixture +of races as had given new life to the worn out nations of the West. +[Sidenote: Effects of the Crusades.] Under these circumstances the +crusades were hardly less a cause of terror to the Greeks than were the +advances of the Turks themselves, and tended to widen rather than to +heal the unhappy breach between the Latin and Greek Churches. +[Sidenote: Unjustifiable proceedings of the Latins.] The foundation of +a Latin Patriarchate at Jerusalem, after the taking of that city in +A.D. 1099, could not but be accounted an usurpation on the part of the +Pope, which was, however, far surpassed in injustice by the erection of +a Latin empire and a Latin Patriarchate in Constantinople itself, A.D. +1204. During the time that this oppressive arrangement lasted (i.e. +till A.D. 1261) the rightful Patriarch took refuge at the court which +the Eastern emperors held at Nicaea in Asia Minor, and the fugitives +there clung to their national Church, and her rightful independence. +[Sidenote: Attempts at reunion.] The Emperor Michael Palaeologus, after +driving out the Latins from Constantinople, endeavoured once more to +effect a reunion between East and West, partly from political and +partly from personal motives, and a formal act of union was signed, +A.D. 1274. Neither the Greek Clergy nor the Greek people would, +however, consent to give up their own national religious customs, nor +to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope; and this shadow of union died +out with the death of the Emperor, its originator. [Sidenote: Invasion +of the Turks.] In the fourteenth century {138} the Turks were +treacherously invited over to Europe as allies of the usurper, John +Cantacuzenus (A.D. 1347-A.D. 1353), and so firm a footing did they +gain, that the rightful Emperor, John Palaeologus (A.D. 1341-A.D. +1391), found himself obliged to appeal to Rome for aid, promising in +return to reconcile the Greek Church to the Roman communion. The +affairs of Western Europe, were, however too unsettled to admit of such +aid being afforded, and the Emperor was obliged to give up all his +possessions to the Turks, except Constantinople, Thessalonica, part of +the Morea, and a few islands. Another appeal was made, with the same +results, by his son, Manuel Palaeologus (A.D. 1391-A.D. 1425). +[Sidenote: New attempts at reunion.] John VII. (A.D. 1425-A.D. 1448) +opened fresh negociations with the West, and he and the Patriarch of +Constantinople, together with twenty-one other Eastern Bishops, +appeared (A.D. 1438) at the Council of Ferrara (afterwards transferred +to Florence). At this council a decree of union was once more signed +by the Greeks, on condition of their receiving aid against the Turks +(A.D. 1439). This fresh attempt at union was repudiated by the Eastern +Church at large, but a troop of French and Italian crusaders started +for the East. Constantinople was, however, doomed, and the good and +brave Constantine Palaeologus (A.D. 1448-A.D. 1433) was the last, as he +was one of the best, of the Greek emperors. [Sidenote: Fall of +Constantinople] The city fell, after an obstinate defence, on the 29th +May, A.D. 1453, and Constantine was among the slain. The Turks +pillaged and slaughtered indiscriminately, and turned into a mosque the +beautiful Church of St. Sophia, built by the Emperor Justinian in +honour of the "Holy Wisdom" of God. + +{139} + +[Sidenote: and the Greek Empire.] + +All the Greek Empire had now fallen into the hands of the Turks, except +the small mountainous district of Albania, which held out until the +death of George Castriota (dreaded by the Turks under the name of +Scanderbeg), A.D. 1467. The rocky strip of land known as Montenegro +has been enabled to maintain an unbroken independence. + +[Sidenote: State of the Church of Greece under Turkish rule.] + +The Church of Greece was now no longer the dominant and recognized +religion of the country, but it was not extinguished. The numerous +mountain monasteries, inaccessible from their construction and +position, were the chief strongholds of the Christian Faith; and so, +"cast down, but not destroyed," the Church in Greece struggled on, +until, after nearly three centuries of Turkish rule, Greece itself once +more became a Christian kingdom. + + +Section 9. The Church of Russia. + +[Sidenote: Decay of the Church after its first planting in Russia.] + +The Church, founded in the South of Russia by St. Andrew, appears not +to have spread to the other parts of this vast country, and to have +died out, perhaps under the influence the hordes of barbarians who +poured westward from Asia to Europe. + +[Sidenote: Foundation of the present Church.] + +The Church of Russia, as it now exists, owes its foundation chiefly to +Greek Missionaries, who began their labours about A.D. 866, amongst the +tribes bordering on the dominions of the Eastern Empire. Before the +middle of the next century Christianity had gained a footing in the +ancient capital of Kiev, and about A.D. 933 the Princess Olga was +baptized at {140} Constantinople. [Sidenote: It flourishes under +Vladimir.] In the reign of her grandson, Vladimir (A.D. 986-A.D. 1014), +the Church made great progress in Russia. Vladimir made a public +recognition of Christianity, and by his marriage with the sister of the +Greek Emperor strengthened the links which bound Russia to +Constantinople. The Greek missionaries were aided in their labours, +churches and bishoprics were founded, and the Holy Scriptures and +Service Books translated into the native Sclavonic language; the Greek +monks, Cyril and Methodius, who have been already mentioned as +instrumental in the conversion of Bohemia and Moravia, taking also an +active share in the Christianizing of Russia. [Sidenote: Independence +of the Russian Church,] In the reigns of Yaroslav and his successor +(A.D. 1019-A.D. 1077), the empire became completely Christian, and the +Church of Russia was placed on an independent footing, with a native +primate at its head. Innocent III. (A.D. 1198-A.D. 1216) attempted to +win over Russia to the Roman communion, by offering to confer the title +of King on Prince Roman, but his offer was at once rejected. +[Sidenote: which it has steadily refused to give up,] Russia suffered +severely from the ravages of the Mongul Tartars, A.D. 1223, and Pope +Innocent IV. took advantage of the distressed condition of the Russian +church and the removal of the Greek Patriarchate from Constantinople to +Nicaea, to make another attempt at detaching Russia from communion with +the Greeks. David, Prince of Galicia, professed himself willing to +receive the crown and title of king from Rome, but this arrangement was +not of long duration, and about A.D. 1230 a Metropolitan of the Russian +Church was consecrated by the Greek Patriarch, to fill up the vacancy +which had taken place {141} ten years before during the Tartar +invasion. Kiev, the original seat of the Russian Patriarchate, was +burnt and pillaged by the Tartars, and the see was transferred to +Vladimir, A.D. 1299, and thence during the early part of the next +century (A.D. 1320) to Moscow, where it has since remained. + +[Sidenote: and has preserved unbroken.] + +For more than two centuries, until A.D. 1462, Russia was oppressed by +the yoke of the unbelieving Tartars, but the Church still maintained +her independence, and steadily resisted the various attempts which were +made to bring about a reunion between East and West, by the subjugation +of the former to the unjust claims of the latter. + + + +[1] The preaching Friars having been in vain employed for the +conversion of the Albigenses, their efforts were supplemented by the +institution of the Inquisition. + + + + +{142} + +CHAPTER XII + +The Mediaeval Church in Great Britain and Ireland + +A.D. 500-A.D. 1500 + +Section 1. _The Church of England._ + +[Sidenote: Trials of the English Church under the Saxons.] + +We have seen (p. 74) that the native Church of England had not +succeeded in converting the Anglo-Saxon invaders who gradually took +possession of the country, and that such as remained of the Bishops and +Clergy had been compelled for the most part to take refuge in +mountainous, and therefore inaccessible, districts. It was, however, +only in A.D. 587, that Theonas, Bishop of London, and Thadiocus, Bishop +of York, retreated from their sees, and they were both living in exile +in Wales, when, ten years later, St. Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory +to found a mission in England. + +[Sidenote: Roman usurpation.] + +It seems uncertain whether St. Gregory was aware of the previous +existence of a Church in these islands; at any rate, he acted as if +ignorant of the fact, by bestowing on St. Augustine a spiritual +supremacy over the whole country; and the good Italian missionary, when +brought into actual contact with the living representatives of a +national Church already five hundred years old, appears to have +considered himself justified in endeavouring to bring its {143} Liturgy +and usages into agreement with the Roman pattern. [Sidenote: +Consequent disputes.] All this was not unnatural, especially under the +circumstances of weakness and depression in which the Church of England +was then placed; but it was equally natural that such interference +should be felt to be an usurpation, and resented accordingly, and that +much misunderstanding and bitterness should be the consequence. There +probably was a recognition of the claims of the elder race of English +Bishops in the fact, that St. Augustine was consecrated to the see of +Canterbury rather than to that of London, of which the rightful +occupant was still living, and that neither the latter diocese, nor +that of York, appear to have been filled up until after the deaths of +Theonas and Thadiocus. [Sidenote: English independence partially +recognized.] It was also eventually found expedient to leave to the +English Church its own national Liturgy and ritual (originally derived +through a Gallican channel from that of Ephesus), instead of insisting +upon an exact conformity to Roman rites. [Sidenote: Some account of +the English Liturgy.] This ancient English Liturgy, revised in the +seventh century by St. Augustine, underwent a second revision at the +hands of Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, about A.D. 1083; and, though +certain variations existed in some dioceses, the "Use of Sarum," as it +was called, became the general "use" throughout the southern portion of +England, and was even at length considered to be _the_ Liturgy of the +country. It is from this Sarum Use that our present Post-Reformation +Liturgy is derived. + +A very considerable amount of new life and energy was infused into the +Church of England by the mission of St. Augustine. Though the native +Bishops and Clergy could not bring themselves to look cordially +on those {144} whose religious zeal was not always tempered with +justice or courtesy towards their predecessors in the field of their +missionary labours, still both foreigners and natives worked for the +same cause, each in their own way, and a new evangelization of the +freshly-heathenized population ensued[1]. [Sidenote: Amalgamation of +English and Roman successions.] By degrees the two lines of Bishops +became blended in one succession, which has continued unbroken until +the present day. + +[Sidenote: English missionary zeal.] + +The Church of England, thus strengthened and quickened, soon began to +give abundant proofs of its vitality by sending out missionaries to +convert the heathen in other lands. A large part of Germany and the +Netherlands owes its Christianity to English Bishops and Clergy, such +as Winfrith or Boniface, Willebrord, and a host of other less +well-known or altogether forgotten names. The eighth century was +especially distinguished by these missionary labours abroad, whilst, at +home, were to be found such good and learned men as the Venerable Bede +(A.D. 672 or '3-A.D. 735), an early translator of the Holy Scriptures, +and his friend Egbert (A.D. about 678-A.D. 776), Archbishop of York, +and founder of a famous school in that city, where the illustrious +Alcuin (about A.D. 723-A.D. 804) was a scholar. + +[Sidenote: Invasion, and conversion of the Danes.] + +In A.D. 787, the Church of England began to suffer severely from the +ravages of the heathen Danes or Northmen; but, by the wisdom and valour +of the good King Alfred (A.D. 871-A.D. 901), {145} they were for a +while subdued, and numbers of them settled as peaceable colonists in +England, where they gradually embraced Christianity. + +[Sidenote: King Alfred.] + +Alfred was very zealous in his endeavours to repair the spiritual and +intellectual losses which the Church of England had undergone during +the contest with the Danes, whose ravages had almost entirely swept +away all native scholarship. The king was especially eager to secure a +literature in the vernacular for his subjects, and himself translated +into "simple English" parts of the Holy Bible, and other religious +books. In these labours he was assisted by a small body of learned +men, including the two Aelfrics, Archbishops of Canterbury and York, +and Wulfstan, supposed to have been Bishop of Worcester. The +conversion of the Danes who had first settled in England to +Christianity prepared the way for the evangelizing of later colonists; +and when, through the crimes and weakness of the later Anglo-Saxon +princes, the country fell altogether into the hands of Danish invaders, +Canute the Great (A.D. 1016-A.D. 1033) not only embraced Christianity +himself, but secured for his native country the services of English +missionaries. [Sidenote: Evangelization of Scandinavia.] In fact, at +this time Scandinavia seems to have been the chief mission-field of the +English Church. + +[Sidenote: Roman influence comparatively small under the Saxons.] + +We can hardly be wrong in gathering from all this, that Roman influence +had only to a certain limited extent been introduced into the Church of +England by St. Augustine's mission, and that, as time passed on, the +foreign element had become absorbed in the national one. With the +Norman conquest of A.D. 1066, the {146} case was, however, altered. +[Sidenote: Much increased under the Normans.] The claims of the Popes +to temporal as well as to spiritual authority were by that time +definite and authoritative; the Conquest itself had been undertaken by +the permission of Alexander II., and the authority of the foreign +conquerors, (as the Norman and early Plantagenet kings continued to +be,) required foreign support. Hence the Bishops of Rome gained an +amount of political influence in England which was thoroughly +unconstitutional, and which could probably never have been attained by +any foreign power, had the English sovereigns immediately after the +Conquest felt themselves more firmly fixed upon the throne they had +seized. + +[Sidenote: Denationalizing of the Episcopate.] + +The appointment of foreigners to the highest ecclesiastical offices in +England, was one means by which the Norman sovereigns sought to secure +themselves against disaffection amongst their new subjects; but the +real result of this policy was to foster the claims of the Popes to +religious and secular supremacy in this country; for these foreign +ecclesiastics, though English Bishops, were not loyal subjects of the +English crown, nor were their interests identical with those of their +flocks. [Sidenote: Lanfranc.] Thus the Italian Lanfranc, when +appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William the Conqueror (A.D. +1070), did not hesitate to obey the summons of the Pope to Rome for the +purpose of receiving the pall, and thus acknowledging that he held his +Bishopric from the Papal see. [Sidenote: St. Anselm.] His successor, +St. Anselm (A.D. 1093), also an Italian, and a man of great learning +and holiness, was prepared to carry out a similar line of conduct; but +the covetous and irreligious tyrant, William Rufus, was seeking at +{147} the same time to reduce Bishops to the state of mere nominees and +vassals of the crown, and a long contest ensued[2]. The dispute was +carried on into the next reign; and at length, in A.D. 1107, a +compromise was agreed upon, by which it was arranged that Bishops +should receive investiture from the Pope, and, at the same time, take +an oath of allegiance to the king. [Sidenote: St. Thomas of +Canterbury.] Anselm's unflinching advocacy of Papal claims cost him +years of exile from his diocese, and much suffering; but, in the +following century, similar conduct involved still more serious +consequences to St. Thomas a Becket, the then Archbishop of Canterbury. +The new question in dispute was the right of clerical offenders to be +tried in the spiritual courts, instead of coming under the jurisdiction +of the civil power; but, in reality, it was only another form of the +constant endeavours of the English monarchs to free themselves from the +foreign bondage which was, to some extent at least, self-imposed. +Becket fell a martyr to his own sense of duty and the king's +displeasure, A.D. 1170. + +[Sidenote: Roman influence strongest in England.] + +Papal usurpation in England reached its height when, in A.D. 1208, +Innocent III placed the kingdom under an Interdict, for refusing to +receive as Archbishop of Canterbury his nominee, Stephen Langton, who +was unacceptable both to king and people; and soon after proceeded to +excommunicate John, and depose him from his throne. The king's +cowardly and unconstitutional conduct in resigning his kingdom into the +{148} hands of the Pope's legate (A.D. 1213), and receiving it again at +the end of three days as a tributary vassal of the Roman see, caused +England to be looked upon for some years as only a fief of Rome. + +[Sidenote: Kept up by the Friars;] + +In the reign of Henry III. (A.D. 1216-A.D. 1272), Roman influence in +England was greatly sustained by the introduction of the Preaching +Orders of Franciscan and Dominican Friars, who, being many of them +foreigners, and all of them independent of any episcopal control, and +subject to Papal jurisdiction only, were very energetic in their +endeavours to maintain and extend the authority of the popedom. + +[Sidenote: by the habit of appeals;] + +By this time, too, appeals to Rome against the decisions of English +courts had come to be a great bar to national independence. Such +appeals had been altogether unrecognized in England until the days of +Stephen, and the practice was again forbidden in Henry II.'s reign by +the Constitutions of Clarendon (A.D. 1164); but, after Becket's death, +the prohibition was once more repealed. It is easy to see how +seriously this system of appeals must have delayed and interfered with +the regular course of justice in this country, and how capable it was +of being made a political engine in the hands of the Pope, or of those +who held with him. The exemption of most of the monasteries from the +supervision of the Bishops was also a serious evil, interfering as it +did with the Divinely-appointed functions of the episcopacy, and +opening the door to disorders which the distant and usurped authority +of the Popes had not power to remedy. + +[Sidenote: by large money payments.] + +In the fourteenth century another means was resorted to of increasing +the power of the Popes at expense of the monarch and people of {149} +England, by the payment of annates, or first-fruits, on the appointment +of each Bishop; and so heavy did this burden become, that between A.D. +1486 and A.D. 1531, 160,000 pounds (or about 45,000 pounds a year of +our money) was paid to Rome under the head of annates. + +[Sidenote: All these evils borne under protest.] + +It is not to be supposed that these encroachments of a foreign power +were accepted without a murmur or remonstrance on the part of the +people of England; on the contrary, there was a constant undercurrent +of discontent, which found occasional expression in some official or +popular protest. Such, on the one hand, was the statute of +_praemunire_, passed in the reign of Richard II. (A.D. 1389), to +prohibit Papal interference with Church patronage and decisions in +ecclesiastical causes; and, on the other, the irregular proceedings of +Wickliffe and the Lollards, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, +which, though they eventually degenerated into seditious agitation, had +their rise in a feeling of opposition to Romish abuses and usurpations. +This feeling was increased by the fearful state of profligacy into +which Rome, and indeed all Italy, was plunged during the fifteenth +century, which effectually destroyed the character formerly enjoyed by +the Roman Church, whilst it could not but affect the spiritual health +of the other Churches over which Rome exercised so wide an influence. +Wiser and calmer men than Wickliffe saw the need of some reformation, +though they questioned, and, as the event showed, rightly, the wisdom +and the justice of the steps he took towards his object. Wickliffe's +teaching in the fourteenth century had, in fact, little or nothing to +do with the real Reformation of two hundred years later, except that +some of his dangerous theories on political matters took deeper root +than did his {150} religious peculiarities, and bore fruit in much of +the unprincipled licence which was an unhappy, though by no means an +essential, feature of the Reformation era. + +[Sidenote: English longings for reformation.] + +England, in common with the other nations of Europe, was willing to +hope for great benefit from the councils of the Church held in the +fifteenth century; and, at each of them, we find English Clergy making +grave and urgent protests against the abuses which they saw around +them, and pleading for a return to purer and better ways. Thus, at the +Council of Pisa, A.D. 1400, one of the English Bishops who attended it +presented a memorial which complained of the evils resulting from the +want of episcopal control over the monasteries, from the practice of +appeals to Rome, and from the ease with which dispensations for +non-residence and pluralities were obtained[3]. Again, at the Council +of Constance (A.D. 1415) a sermon was preached by Dr. Abendon, an +Oxford professor, which painted in very strong language the worldliness +and covetousness of the non-resident Bishops and Clergy; and these +protests were followed up by an official appeal to the Pope for a +reformation, on the part of the Kings of France and England, A.D. 1425, +as well as by official instructions given to the English deputation +despatched to the Council of Basle (A.D. 1431), to use their influence +for the same end. + +{151} + +Section 2. _The Church of Ireland._ + +The Church of Ireland was not, like the Church of Great Britain, to +which it owes its foundation, a prey to the depressing influences of +the heathen Saxons; and, at the time of the mission of St. Augustine, +the daughter was in some measure enabled to repay to the mother the +benefits which the British St. Patrick had conferred on the scene of +his missionary labours. A constant intercourse was kept up between the +numerous monasteries of Ireland and those of Wales and Scotland, some +of the abbeys in the latter countries being founded and frequented by +Irishmen. [Sidenote: Early reputation of Ireland.] Ireland, in the +sixth and seventh centuries, had a great reputation for learning and +missionary zeal, both of which were called into play to help in the +reconversion of a large portion of England, as well as to encourage the +efforts of English Churchmen in retaining in the National Church the +national characteristics, with the loss of which it was threatened from +the large admixture of foreign elements introduced by St. Augustine. +[Sidenote: Irish missionary work in England and elsewhere.] Nor were +their missionary labours confined to England: they shared in the toils +and honours of the conversion of Germany, and are believed to have +penetrated as far as Iceland and Greenland. [Sidenote: Unjustifiable +conduct of England.] The aid given by Irish ecclesiastics in preserving +the religious liberty of the Church of England was ill requited in the +twelfth century, when the English, having taken possession of Ireland, +forced the Irish Church to abandon her distinctive Liturgy by a decree +passed at the synod of Cashel, A.D. 1173. The state of anarchy and +restless discontent into which {152} Ireland was thrown by the presence +of English invaders, had a very unfavourable effect on the Church of +the country, as had also the appointment of Englishmen to Irish +bishoprics, and the consequent non-residence of the Bishops. It is +curious that the influence of English conquerors should have tended to +extend Roman authority in Ireland, much as the policy of Norman +conquerors produced the same effect in England. Before the +Reformation, the state of the Irish Church had become thoroughly +unsatisfactory, and was felt to be so by many of the Irish themselves. + + +Section 3. _The Church of Scotland._ + +[Sidenote: St. Columba.] + +The country of the Southern Picts, christianized by St. Ninian (see p. +76), having fallen into the hands of the heathen Anglo-Saxons, +something like a fresh evangelization became necessary; and this was +accomplished by the labours of St. Columba and his successors, who, +having crossed over from Ireland (first about A.D. 560) for the purpose +of preaching to the Northern tribes of Scotland, extended their mission +southward. [Sidenote: Irish or Scotch missionaries in England.] The +monastery of Iona, or Icolmkill, was for some time inhabited by Irish +missionaries, and became the chief source of missionary labour not only +in Scotland, but also in the North of England, the Scotch or Irish +missionaries using all the weight of their influence to uphold the +independence of the National Church against the Roman tendencies of St. +Augustine and his successors. St. Aidan (died A.D. 651), Bishop of +Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, and the head of the mission for the +conversion of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia, was a monk of Iona. His +diocese included {153} Yorkshire, and extended to Scotland; and, in +consequence of this, the Archbishops of York long laid claim to +exercise metropolitan authority over the whole of North Britain. + +Roman influence gradually made itself felt in Scotland, in great +measure through the monastic system, which received a great impetus +under David I. (A.D. 1124-A.D. 1153). [Sidenote: Longings for +reformation.] The constant wars with England, and the confusion and +bloodshed they entailed, had a very unfavourable effect on the +prosperity and spiritual activity of the Church of Scotland, so that +from Scotland, no less than from England and Ireland, there arose that +cry for a return to older and purer ways, which ended in the +Reformation. + + + +[1] The native Clergy seem to have laboured chiefly in the north, where +they were aided by Scotch and Irish missionaries. St. Aidan, Bishop of +Lindisfarne, or Holy Island (who died A.D. 651), may be mentioned as a +successful agent in the conversion of Northumbria and Mercia. + +[2] This dispute between St. Anselm and the English king was another +form of the long strife between the Popes and the Emperors of the West, +which is known as the War of Investitures. + +[3] Many of the Bishops, at this time, were foreigners, who lived away +from their sees, and did not even understand the native language of +their flocks. The Kings of England and the Bishops of Rome seem to +have equally abused their powers of patronage in this respect. + + + + +{155} + +INDEX + + Abendon, Dr., at Constance, 150 + Abyssinia, Church of, 82 + Africa, Church in, its early history, 80 + ------, Church in, its mediaeval history, 120 + Aidan, St., 144, 152 + Alban, St., his martyrdom, 73 + Albigenses, 122 + Alexandria, Church of, 80 + ------, School of, 81 + Altar, its arrangements in Eastern and Early English Churches, 54 + Ambrosian Liturgy, 123 + "Angels" or Bishops, The Seven, 49, 52, 85 + Annates, Payment of, 149 + Anselm, St., 146 + Anti-Popes, 109 + Antioch, Church of, 23, 28, 84 + ------, St. Paul and St. Barnabas at, 28 + "------ St. Peter's Throne at," 28 + ------ first sends Missionaries to heathen, 29 + Antioch disturbed by disputes about circumcision, 34 + Antioch, Probable visit of St. Peter to, 36 + Apocalypse, The, 52 + "Apology against Heathenism," The first Christian, 32 + "------ Judaism," The first Christian, 20 + Apostle, St. Matthias chosen to be, 8 + Apostles, extent of their labours, 43 + ------ trained by our Lord, 5 + ------ taught by the Holy Ghost, 5, 6, 48 + ------, Commission given to the, 6 + ------ a living Gospel, 12 + ------ Creed, an instance of traditional teaching, 13 + ------ St. Paul and St. Barnabas complete the number of, 30 + ------, how they differ from Bishops, 31 + ------, their deaths, 43 + Apostolic office, Nature of, 5 _n._ + ------ Doctrine, 12 + ------ Fellowship, 18 + Apostolical Succession in England, 144 + Appeals from England to Rome, 148 + Arabia, Church of, 86 + Arianism, 68, 81 + ------ in Greece, 79 + ------ in France, 78 + ------ of the Goths, 77 + ------ prepares for Mahometanism, 88 + Arles, Council of, 78 + Armenia, Church of, 85 + Athanasius, St., 70, 72, 81 + Athens, its intellectual pride, 39 + ------, St. Paul at, 39 + Augustine, St., 82 + ------, and Church of England, 142 + Authority of the Jerusalem Council, 36 + Avignon, The Popes at, 108, 123 + + + Baptism, Nature of, 2, 3, 4 + ------, its necessity, 26 + ------ of St. John different from that of our Lord, 7 _n._ + ------ of the Three Thousand, 10 + Barchochebas, 83 + Barnabas, St., Conversion of, 11 + ------, ordained Apostle, 30 + Basil, St., 111 + Basle, Council of, 110 + Becket, St. Thomas a, 147 + Benedictine rule, The, 111 + Bible, The, in Middle Ages, 117 + Bishop, Meaning of the word, 33 _n._ + ------ and Priest originally one office, 5 _n._ + Bishops, Consecration of, by the Apostles, 33 + ------ rarely appointed at first, 46, 47 + ------ especially subject to persecution, 65 + Bohemia, Church of, 129 + Boniface, St., in Germany, 128 + Books, Christian, kept hidden, 63 + Bread, The Breaking of the, 7, 13 + Breakspear, Nicholas, 106 + Bulgaria, Conversion of, 136 + + + Canute, Conversion of, 145 + Cashel, Synod of, 151 + Catacombs, Use of the, 63 + Corinthians, Heresy of the, 50 + Chalcedon, Fourth Council of, 71 + Charlemagne, 122, 124, 128 + China, Church of, 87 + Chrysostom, St., 84 + Church, Definition of, 1 + ------, a Kingdom, 1 + ------, the fruit of the Incarnation, 2 + ------ the New Jerusalem, 8 + ------, its gradual development, 47, 48 + ------, its Divine Foundation proved by persecution, 62 + Church, Growth of, unchecked by persecution, 62 + Church Militant, a preparation for Church Triumphant, 4 + ------, Outward recognition of the, 66 + ------ Government modified by persecution, 65 + Churches, Primitive, their arrangement, 53 + Circumcision, Apostolic Decision respecting 35 + ------, Wish to impose it on Converts, 27, 34 + Columba, St., 76, 152 + Confirmation by the Apostles, 22, 24, 32, 37, 40 + Continental Churches, their early history, 76-80 + ------ in Middle Ages, 120 + Constance, Council of, 110 + Constantine, his English parentage, 73 + ------, Conversion of, 66 + ------, Council summoned by, 69 + Constantinople, Creed of, 70 + ------, Building of, 67, 80 + ------, Second Council of, 70 + ------, Fifth Council of, 71 + ------, Sixth Council of, 71 + ------, Fall of, 138 + Conversion of the Three Thousand, 10 + ------ Five Thousand, 11 + ------ of Gentiles, Obstacles to, 29 + Conversions after appointment of Diaconate, 17 + Corinth, its luxury and unbelief, 40 + ------, St. Paul at, 40 + Cornelius, Conversion of, 25, 26 + Council of the Church, First, 35 + ------, Second, at Jerusalem, 46 + Councils, General, their nature, 69 _n._ + ------ guided by the Holy Ghost, 36 + Creed, Apostles', 13 + Crusades, 113, 125 + ------, Effect of, in the East, 137 + Cyprian, St., 82 + Cyril, St., 81 + + + Danes, Conversion of, 145 + ------ and Church of England, 144 + Deacon, Meaning of the word, 17 _n._ + Deacons, their work, 18 + Decretals, The false Papal, 103 + Denial of Cup to Laity, 119 + Denmark, Church of, 133 + Development, Intellectual, in the Church, 72 + Diocesan system, its late development in Ireland, 75 + Dioclesian, his false boasting, 62 + Discipline, its strictness increased by persecution, 64 + ------ relaxed, 68 + Division between East and West, 95 + Docetae, Heresy of the, 50 + Domitian's persecution, 49, 59 + + + Eastern Church, 83 + ------, its want of missionary zeal, 136 + East and West, Division of, 94 + Elders. _See_ Priests. + Endowment of Church, 67 + England, Church of, its early history, 73 + ------, in Middle Ages, 142 + ------, its Liturgy, 143 + English Bishops at early Councils, 74 + Ephesus, St. John at, 49 + ------, Heresies at, 50 + ------, Council of, 85 + ------, Liturgy of, 124 + ------, Third Council of, 71 + Episcopacy, its permanent organization, 46 + Ethiopia, Church of, 82 + Eucharist, Daily, 7, 13 + ------, the chief act of worship, 14, 56 + Eucharistic Sacrifice, 2, 3, 13, 14, 56 + Eutyches, his heresy, 71 + Expectation, Days of, 7 + + + Fathers, value of their writings, 72 + Ferrara, Council of, 110 + Florence, Council of, 110 + Forty Days, The teaching of the, 6 + Foundation of Church, its Divine Origin, 4, 7 + France, Church of, its early history, 77 + ------, its mediaeval history, 124 + ------, its Liturgy, 78 + French Bishops from Asia, 77 + French interference in Papal affairs, 107 + Friars, Franciscan and Dominican, in England, 112, 148 + + + Gallican Liturgy, 124 + General Councils, 69-71 + Gentiles called into the Church, 26 + Germany, Church of, 127 + Gnosticism, Simon Magus the author of, 22, 51 + ------ at Corinth, 40 + ------ at Ephesus, 51 + Gospels, Holy, great reverence shown to them, 54 + "Grecians," Who meant by, 16 + Greek Church, What meant by, 80 _n._ + ------, its early history, 79 + ------, its mediaeval history, 135 + ------ under Turkish rule, 139 + ------ Empire, End of, 139 + Greeks, their liability to heresy, 79 + Greenland, Conversion of, 135 + Gregory, St., 103 + ------, and Church of England, 142 + ------ VII., 106 + "Hebrews," Definition of, 17 + ------ and Grecians, Dispute between, 17 + Hegira, the Mahometan Era, 89 _n._ + "Hellenists" or "Grecians," Definition of, 16 + Heresy, how opposed, 69 + Hilary, St., 102 + Hildebrand, 105 + Hincmar, 104 + Hungary, Church of, 131 + + + Iceland, Church of, 133 + Iconoclast controversy, 95, 121 + Ignatius, St., 84 + Ignorance, Causes of, in Middle Ages, 115 + Incense, its burning made a test, 59 + ------, its use in heaven, 55 + India, Church of, 87 + Indulgences, 109, 118 + Innocent III., 107 + Inquisition, Origin of, 107 + Interdict, England placed under, 147 + Investiture, Disputes about, 106, 147 + Iona, Monastery of, 76 + Ireland, Church of, its early history, 74 + ------, its Liturgy and customs, 78, 151 + ------, its mediaeval history, 151 + ------, English influence in, 152 + Irenaeus, St., 78 + Irish missionary labours, 151 + Italy, Church of, its early history, 76 + ------, its mediaeval history, 121 + ------, its Liturgy, 123 + + + James, St., the Great, his martyrdom, 27 + ------ the Less, first Bishop of Jerusalem, 27, 35, 83 + ------ presides at the First Council, 35 + Jerusalem, The Apostolic Church in, 27, 83 + ------, First Council at, 35 + ------, Second Council at, 46 + ------ taken by Saracens, 113 + Jewish Worship, and scheme of Redemption, 4, 56 + John, St., his special work in the Church, 45, 47, 49 + ------, his sacramental teaching, 47, 52 + ------, his universal patriarchate, 51 + ------, his writings, 51 + ------, his Epistles, 52 + ------, his Revelation, 52 + ------, his martyrdom in will, 57 _n._ + ------, King, Unconstitutional conduct of, 147 + Judicial powers first exerted in the Church, 16 + Julian the Apostate, 83 + + + Koran, The, 90 + + + Labours, Apostolic, Extent of, 43 + Lanfranc, 146 + Langton, Stephen, 147 + Lapland, Conversion of, 135 + Latin, Use of, in Middle Ages, 116 + Law, Christ's obedience to the, 15 + Lay investiture, Disputes about, 106 + Letters of Peace, 64 + Lollards, The, 149 + Love of the First Christians, 13 + Luke, St., joins St. Paul, 37 + + + Macedonius, his heresy, 70 + Mahometanism, 88 + ------ in Spain, 127 + Martyrdom, seeking it forbidden, 63 + Martyrs, Immense number of the, 61 + Matthias, St., chosen to be Apostle, 8 + Mediaeval Church, its true state, 119 + Meletian schism, 81 + Middle Ages, Learning in, 117 + ------, Religion in, 116 + Ministry, Christian, Three-fold nature of, 2, 5 _n._ + ------, Jewish, replaced by Christian, 4 + Miracles, Gift of, 11 + Monastic Orders, The, 111 + Monasticism, its good results, 112 + Moors in Spain, 126 + Moravia, Church of, 128 + Mozarabic Liturgy, 127 + Music, its use in heaven, 55 + + + Nero's persecution, 49 _n._, 59 + Nestorius, his heresy, 71, 82 + Nicaea, Council and Creed of, 70 + Nicolas of Antioch, 18 + Ninian, St., his mission in Scotland, 76 + Norman influence on English Church, 146 + Northmen, Conversion of, 124 + Norway, Church of, 134 + + + Ordinances or traditions, 13 _n._ + + + Paganism not revived by persecution, 62 + Papal supremacy, its dangers, 101 + ------ Supremacy in France, 125 + ------ aggression, The first, 102 + Parochial system, its late development in Ireland, 75 + Parthia, Church of, 85 + Passover replaced by Eucharist, 3 + Patrick, St., his mission to Ireland, 75 + Paul, St., Conversion of, 23. + ------, his fitness for the Apostolate, 24 + Paul, St., ordained Apostle, 30 + ------, the Chief Apostle of the Gentiles, 31 + ------, his first Apostolic journey, 31 + ------, his second Apostolic journey, 36 + ------, his third Apostolic journey, 40 + ------, a prisoner, 42 + ------, in England, 73 + ------, Martyrdom of, 43 + Pelagianism, 78 + Pella, Flight to, 83 + Penances, their severity, 64 + Pentecost, The Day of, 8 + ------, The effects of, 9 + Persecution, Causes of, 57 + ------ under Herod Agrippa, 27 + ------, Progress of, 11, 57 + Persecutions, Nature and extent of, 61 + ------, Table of, 60 + ------, Effect of, on the Church, 63 + ------ cease under Constantine, 66 + Persia, Church of, 85 + Peter, St., results of his first Sermon, 10 + ------, his special work in the Church, 45 + ------, his first Apostolic journey, 24 + ------, his imprisonment and deliverance, 28 + ------, Martyrdom of, 43 + Peter the hermit, 125 + Pharisees, their opposition to the Gospel, 19 + Philip, St., the Deacon, 21 + Pisa, Council of, 109 + ------, English Bishops at, 150 + Poland, Church of, 132 + Pomerania, 130 + Popes of the Middle Ages, 102-111 + ------, Worldliness of the later, 110 + ------ and anti-Popes, Disputes between, 109 + Portugal, Church of, its early history, 78 + ------, Church of, its mediaeval history, 126 + Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons, 77 + Praemunire, Statute of, 149 + Presbyters. _See_ Priests. + Priest, Meaning of the word, 32 _n._ + Priests, First ordination of, 32 + ------, their functions, 33 + Prussia, Church of, 129 + Purgatory, 118 + + + Reformation, what it was, 102 + ------, Longings for, 123, 131, 150 + Reunion between East and West attempted, 137 + Ritual, Early Christian, 53 + ------ checked by persecution, 63 + ------, Heavenly, as shown in the Apocalypse, 53 + ------ developed in prosperity, 67 + Roman Empire, its decay, 77 + Roman influence in Middle Ages, 118 + ------ influence in Germany, 131 + Rome, St. Paul at, 42 + ------, its influence in extending the Faith, 67 + Russia, Church of, its foundation, 80, 139 + ------, Church of, its independence, 140 + + + Sacrifice, The Christian, 2, 3, 13, 14, 56 + Sacrifices under the patriarchal dispensation, 3 + ------ under the Mosaic dispensation, 3 + Sadducees, their opposition to the Gospel, 12, 19 + Samaria, Conversion of, 21 + Sarum Use, 143 + Satan, his enmity against the Church, 58, 62 + Saul of Tarsus, 19 + Saxon and English Church, 74, 142 + Scandinavian Churches, 133 + Schism, The first, in the Church, 16 + ------ between East and West, 98 + ------, The forty years', 109 + Scotland, Church of, its early history, 75 + ------, its mediaeval history, 152, 153 + ------, Saxon influence in, 152 + ------, Roman influence in, 153 + Seven Churches, The, 84 + Simon Magus, his unbelief and end, 21, 22 + Sin, First deadly, in the Church, 16 + Spain, Church of, its early history, 78 + ------, Church of, its mediaeval history, 126 + ------, Church of, its Liturgy, 127 + Stephen, St., ordained Deacon, 18 + ------, his preaching and inspiration, 19 + ------, results of his Martyrdom, 21 + Supremacy, Papal claims to, 100 + Sweden, Church of, 133 + + + Table of "Fields of Apostolic Labour," 44 + ------ Persecutions, 60 + ------ Councils, 72 + Teaching of the Church, Reserve in, 49, 63 + ------ its gradual development, 49 + Temple Services, Attendance of the Apostles on, 13, 15 + Temporal power of the Popes, its rise, 100 + "Theological Gospel," The, 47 + Theotokos, 71 + Timothy, St., his circumcision, 37 + ------, Bishop of Ephesus, 33, 41 + Titus, St., Bishop of Crete, 33, 41 + Tongues, The gift of, 9, 11 + Tradition, its value, 13 + "Traditores," 64 + Turkey, European Church in, its early history, 79 + ------ in Europe, Church in, its medieval history, 135 + Turks, their inroads in the East, 138 + + + "Universal Bishop," Title of, 95 + Universities in Middle Ages, 117 + + + Vernacular Bibles in Middle Ages, 116 + Visigoths, Arianism of, 79 + + + Waldenses, 122 + Wales the refuge of British Clergy, 74 + Wickliffe, 149 + Worship, Jewish and Christian, 3 + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A KEY TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHURCH +HISTORY (ANCIENT)*** + + +******* This file should be named 22017.txt or 22017.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/0/1/22017 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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