tion of the fathers, in sacred councils, and last of all in this ecumenical Synod hath taught, that there is a Purgatory; and that the souls there detained are assisted by the suffrages of the faithful, but most powerfully by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar; the holy Synod directs all Bishops, to take diligent heed, that the sound doctrine concerning Purgatory, handed down by holy fathers and sacred councils, be believed and held by the faithful of Christ, and be every where taught and preached." "Decree concerning Indulgences. "Since the power of bestowing indulgences has been granted by Christ to the church; and this power, divinely given to her, she has used even from the oldest times: the most holy Synod teaches and directs, that the use of indulgences, which is most salutary to Christian people, and approved by the authority of sacred councils, is to be retained in the Church and condemns by anathema those, who either assert them to be useless, or deny that there is in the church the power of granting them. "Decree concerning the invocation, veneration, and reliques of Saints, and concerning sacred Images." "The holy Synod commands all Bishops, and others who bear the office and charge of teaching, that according to the usage of the Catholick and Apostolick Church received from the primitive times of the Christian religion, the consent of holy Fathers, and the decrees of sacred councils, they diligently instruct the faithful, in the first place, concerning the intercession and invocation of Saints, the honour due to Reliques, and the lawful use of Images; teaching them that the Saints, reigning together with Christ, offer their prayers for men to God; that it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them; and to fly to their prayers, aid, and assistance, for the procuring of benefits from God through his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our only Redeemer and Saviour: but that they, who deny that the Saints, enjoying eternal happiness in heaven, are to be invoked: or who assert, either that they do not pray for men, or that the invocation of them, in order to their praying for each of us, is idolatry; or that it is contrary to the word of God, and opposed to the honour of the one Mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ, or that it is foolish to supplicate them reigning in heaven with voice or mind; think impiously. "Also, that the holy bodies of holy Martyrs, and of others living with Christ, which were lively members "Art. XXXII. Of Purgatory. "The Romish doctrine concern ing Purgatory, -"Pardons,— -"Worshipping "is a fond thing vainly in vented, of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit, to be raised by him to eternal life and glorified, are to be venerated by the faithful, since by their means many benefits are bestowed by God ou man: so that they who affirm, that veneration and honour are not due to the Reliques of Saints; or that these and other sacred memorials are honoured without advantage by the faithful, and that commemorations of the Saints are in vain celebrated for the sake of beseeching their aid; are altogether to be condemned, even as the church has of old condemued, and does now condemn them. "Moreover, that Images of Christ, of the Virgin Mother of God, and of other Saints, are to be had and retained, especially in churches; and that due honour and veneration is to be shown to them.... "If any one shall teach or think contrary to these decrees let him be accursed." -"and groun.led upon no warranty of scripture, "but rather repugnant to the word of God." It were impossible on this occasion to enlarge on the manner, in which the Church of Rome applies this doctrine; especially on the monstrous extent to which she carries it in the adoration of the Blessed Virgin; it is enough for our present purpose to observe, in what way that Church and the Church of England respectively treat the general doctrine, as a proof of their disagreement on a question, which will doubtless be admitted to be fundamental. But with respect to the Virgin Mary, I would briefly notice another particular of disagreement: for whereas in her 9th Article, the Church of England affirms "the corruption of human nature to exist in every person born into the world," without any exception to the universality of the sentiment, save of him, who, as she affirms in her 15th Article, " was made in the truth of our nature like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which he was clearly void, both in his flesh and in his spirit;" the Church of Rome does except from the universal corruption the Virgin Mary; for in the fifth chapter of the decree of its fifth Session," the holy Synod of Trent declares, that it is not its intention to comprehend in this decree, which treats of original sin, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God." Another particlar of disagreement, to which we may briefly advert, is the lawfulness of marriage in the clergy, concerning which the decisions of the two Churches are given respectively, in the 9th canon of the twenty-fourth Session at Trent, and in the 32nd Article of the Church of England: and should a doubt exist concerning this being a “fundamental of Christianity," the solution may be sought in the primeval law of the Creator, and in the constitution of man; and particularly in the history of the Christian Church, which records, amongst its worst corruptions, the fruits of a compulsory celibacy. MARRIAGE THE AND CELIBACY OF CLERGY, according to the Church of Rome. If any one shall say, that clergymen in holy orders, or that regulars having solemnly professed chastity, may contract marriage, and that, being contracted, it is valid, notwithstanding the law of the Church, or the vow; and that the contrary is nothing else than to condemn marriage; and that all have the power of contracting marriage, who do not think that they have the gift of chastity, even if they vowed it: let him be accursed." "If any one shall say, that the marriage state is to be preferred to that of virginity or celibacy; and that it is not better and happier to remain in virginity or celibacy, than to be joined in marriage: let him be accursed." MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY OF THE CLERGY, according to the Church of England. "Bishops, priests, and deacons are not commanded by God's law, either to vow the estate of single life, or to ab. stain from marriage; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to godliness." There is only one more particular disagreement, on which I purpose to detain the reader, but that is a most important one, affecting indeed every question, which does, or can, exist between the two Churches, and necessarily carrying with it, if decided in the affirmative, an avowed identity of sentiment in all things. I allude to the character of the Church of Rome, as asserted by herself; particularly to the attributes of infallibility, and dominion. These are claimed by the Church of Rome; by the Church of England they are denied: as we shall perceive on reference to the preface to the decree of the thirteenth Session of the Council of Trent, to the 2nd canon of the seventh Session, and to its Catechism, on the one hand; and on the other, to the 19th, 21st, 34th, and 37th Articles of the Church of England. INFALLIBILITY AND DOMINION OF THE CHURCH OF ROME, according to her own judgment. "The most holy Synod, delivering concerning this venerable and divine sacrament of the eucharist that sound and sincere doctrine, which the Catholick Church, in. structed by Jesus Christ our Lord himself, and by his Apostles, and taught by the Holy Spirit, who daily suggests to her all truth, has always retained, and even to the end of the world will preserve; forbids all the faithful of Christ, any time hereafter to dare to believe, teach, or preach concerning the most holy eucharist, otherwise than has been explained and defined in this present decree." "If any one shall say, that the true doctrine of the sacrament of Baptism is not in the Church of Rome, which is the mother and mistress of all Churches; let him be accursed." INFALLIBILITY AND DOMINION OF "As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of faith." "General councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they are taken out of holy Scripture." "Every particular or national Believing, as they do, the holy | Catholick Church, they must necessarily believe that the doctrine propounded by us is that which was revealed by the Son of God." "It is not to be denied, that they," (hereticks and schismaticks) "are in the power of the Church, as those who may be judged by her, punished and condemned by an anathema." Church hath authority to ordain, change, and abolish, ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying." "The bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm of Eng. land." Enough perhaps has now been said for my purpose: and I venture to express a hope, that if any one, who may have previously believed in the agreement, or doubted the disagreement, of the two Churches in all the fundamentals of Christianity, shall have honoured with a perusal the contents of these pages, being, as they are, little more than transcripts from authoritative declarations, they will have wrought a change in his opinion. For, if I do not greatly deceive myself, a manifest disagreement has been shown-the grounds of the disagreement the reader will readily see it has not been my object to set forth, but my business has been limited to the more humble task of proving and exemplifying the disagreement-and such disagreement, I presume, has been incontrovertibly shown to exist, with respect to the rule of faith; to the meritorious cause of man's salvation; the number of the sacraments; the effect of Baptism on original sin; transubstantiation, or the change of the sacramental bread and wine into the substance of the body and blood of Christ; the nature of Christ's presence in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; the adoration of the sacrament; the reservation of the con |