“Methinks, so subtile a man as you are should easily apprehend a wide difference between authority to do a thing and infallibility in doing it. The former, the doctor, together with the Article of the Church of England, attributeth to the Church, nay, to particular Churches, and I subscribe to his opinion; that is, an authority of determining controversies of faith, according to plain and evident Scripture and universal tradition and infallibility, while they proceed according to this rule. As if there should arise an heretic that should call in questionChrist’spassion and resurrection, the Church has authority to determine this controversy, and infallible direction how to do it, and to excommunicate this man if he should persist in his errors.
“The ground of your error here is, your not distinguishing between actual certainty and absolute infallibility. Geometricians are not infallible in their own science; yet they are very certain of what they see demonstrated: and carpenters are not infallible, yet certain of the straightness of those things which agree with their rule and square. So though the Church be not infallibly certain that in all her definitions, whereof some are about disputable and ambiguous matters, she shall proceed according to her rule; yet being certain of the infallibility of her rule, and that in this or that thing she doth manifestly proceed according to it, she may be certain of the truth of some particular decrees, and yet not certain that she shall never decree but what is true.
“Though the Church being not infallible, I cannot believe her in everything she says; yet I can and must believe her in everything she proves, either by Scripture, reason, or universal tradition, be it fundamental or not fundamental. Though she may err in some things, yet she does not err in what she proves, though it be not fundamental. Protestants believing Scripture to be the word ofGod, may be certain enough of the truth and certainty of it. For what if they say the Catholic Church, much more themselves, may possibly err in some fundamental points, is it therefore consequent they can be certain of none such? What if a wiser man than I may mistake the sense of some obscure place of Aristotle, may I not, therefore, without any arrogance or inconsequence, conceive myself certain that I understand him in some plain places which carry their sense before them? We pretend not at all to any assurance that we cannot err, but only to a sufficient certainty that we do not err, but rightly understand those things that are plain, whether fundamental or not fundamental. ThatGodis, and is a rewarder of them that seek him; that, &c. These we conceive both true, because the Scripture says so, and truths fundamental, because they are necessary parts of the gospel, whereof ourSavioursays,Qui non crediderit, damnabitur.
“I do heartily acknowledge and believe the articles of our faith to be in themselves truths as certain and infallible as the very common principles of geometry or metaphysics; but that there is required of us a knowledge of them and an adherence to them, as certain as that of sense or science; that such a certainty is required of us under pain of damnation, so that no man can hope to be in a state of salvation but he that finds in himself such a degree of faith, such a strength of adherence; this I have already demonstrated to be a great error, and of dangerous and pernicious consequence.
“Though I deny that it is required of us to be certain in the highest degree, infallibly certain, of the truth of the things which we believe, (for this were to know and not believe, neither is it possible unless our evidence of it, be it natural or supernatural, were of the highest degree,) yet I deny not but we ought to be, and may be, infallibly certain that we are to believe the religion ofChrist. For, 1. This is most certain, that we are in all things to do according to wisdom and reason, rather than against it. 2. This is as certain, that wisdom and reason require that we should believe those things which are by many degrees more credible and probable than the contrary. 3. This is as certain, that to every man who considers impartially what great things may be said for the truth of Christianity, and what poor things they are which may be said against it,either for any other religion, or for none at all, it cannot but appear by many degrees more credible, that the Christian religion is true, than the contrary. And from all these premises, this conclusion evidently follows, that it is infallibly certain, that we are firmly to believe the truth of the Christian religion. There is an abundance of arguments exceedingly credible, inducing men to believe the truth of Christianity; I say, so credible, that though they cannot make us evidently see what we believe, yet they evidently convince, that in true wisdom and prudence, the articles of it deserve credit, and ought to be accepted as things revealed byGod.”—Waterland.Chillingworth.
The Roman Church has no authorized doctrine of infallibility, though its existence is practically assumed, and is bound up with the whole catalogue of usurpations. The Council of Trent defined many minute and unimportant matters, yet on that which involved so much, it published no definition at all; neither pronouncing where the gift is lodged, nor under what conditions it is exercised, nor to what subjects it extends; nay, not even asserting that it exists at all. Suarez says that the pope’s infallibility is a question of faith; Bellarmine, that it is not; and Stapleton, that, though the denial of it is scandalous and offensive, it is perhaps not heretical; while Gerson, with a very large and learned school of Roman theologians, rejects the doctrine altogether. And none of these opinions have been censured.
Again, if we ask whether, in point of fact, any pope has ever been a heretic, we shall get nothing but inconsistent and contradictory replies. Coster says, that not one has ever taught heresy, or fallen into error; and he makes this an argument for the doctrine itself. Pighius goes further, and says, that the pope is so confirmed in the faith, that he could not fall into error either publicly or privately, even if he would; while, on the other hand, there is a multitude of Roman writers, who fully admit the heresies of Liberius, Vigilius, Honorius, and the rest; either condemning them absolutely, or extenuating their acts on some special ground. The Council of Pisa,A. D.1409, in its sentence of deposition against the rivals, pronounces them both heretics. And so previous councils have condemned former popes; yet the question is still in debate.
As a matter of doctrine, then, we have a long line of the greatest theologians that the Roman Church has ever produced, denying in explicit terms that any gift of infallibility at all was conveyed to the bishops of Rome by the words ofChrist. And on the question of fact we find the very chief defenders of the pope’s prerogatives, admitting that he may deceive men by his example, and lead them into error; and that he may publish decrees, and insert them in the body of canon law, which yet contradict the tradition of the Church and the truth of the gospel. The claim of infallibility, which advances no Scripture proof, except one perverted text; and which is maintained in the face of all these hesitations and contradictions, these disproofs on the one side, and injurious admissions on the other; can be nothing else but a delusion and a fraud.—S. Robins.
INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH OF ROME. (SeeChurch of Rome,Popery.) On this subject we give the following remarks of Bishop Beveridge:—That the Catholic or universal Church is infallible, so as constantly and firmly to maintain and hold every particular truth delivered in the gospel, in one place or other of it, I think cannot well be denied; but that any particular Church, or the Church of Rome in particular, is infallible, we have expressly denied and opposed in the Thirty-nine Articles, it being there expressly asserted, that “the Church of Rome hath erred,” and that “not only in their living and manner of ceremonies, but even in matters of faith.”
Now to prove that the Church of Rome hath erred, even in matters of faith, I think the best way is to compare the doctrine maintained by them with the doctrine delivered in these Articles. For whatsoever is contained in these Articles, we have, or shall, by the assistance ofGod, prove to be consonant to Scripture, reason, and Fathers; and, by consequence, to be a real truth. And, therefore, whatsoever is any way contrary to what is here delivered, must needs be an error. And so that besides other errors which the Church of Rome holds, be sure, whereinsoever it differs from the doctrine of the Church of England, therein it errs. Now to prove that the Church of Rome doth hold such doctrines as are contrary to the doctrine of the Church of England, I shall not insist upon any particular, though never so eminent, persons amongst them that have delivered many doctrines contrary to ours. For I know, as it is amongst ourselves, that is not an error of our Church which is the error of some one or many particular persons in it; so also amongst them, everything that Bellarmine, Johannes deTurrecremata, Gregorius de Valentia, Alphonsus de Castro, or any of the grandees of their Church, saith, cannot be accounted as an error of their Church if it be false; nor if it be true, as the truth of the whole Church. A Church may be Catholic though it hath many heretics in it; and a Church may be heretical though it hath many Catholics in it. And therefore I say, to prove the doctrine of their Church to be erroneous, I shall not take any notice of the errors of particular persons, but of the errors deliberately and unanimously concluded upon, and subscribed to, and published as the doctrine of that Church, by the whole Church itself met together in council. For the doctrine delivered by a council cannot be denied to be the doctrine of the whole Church there represented. As the doctrine delivered in these Articles, because it was concluded upon in a council of English divines, is accounted the doctrine of the Church of England; so the doctrine concluded upon in a council of Romish divines, cannot be denied to be the doctrine of the Church of Rome. And of all the councils they have held, that which I shall pitch upon in this case, is the Council of Trent, both because it was the most general council they ever held, and also because it was held about the same time at Trent that our convocation that composed these Articles was held at London. For it was in the year of ourLord1562, that our convocation, that concluded upon these Articles, was holden at London; and though the Council of Trent was begun in the year of ourLord1545, yet it was not concluded nor confirmed till the fifth year of Pope Pius IV.,A. D.1563, as appears from Pope Pius III.’s bull for the confirmation of it. So that our convocation was held within the same time that that council was; and so our Church concluded upon truths here, whilst theirs agreed upon errors there. Neither need we go any further to prove that they agreed upon errors, than by showing that many things that they did then subscribe to, were contrary to what our Church, about the same time, concluded upon. For all our Articles are, as we may see, agreeable to Scripture, reason, and Fathers; and they delivering many things quite contrary to the said Articles, so many of them must needs be contrary to Scripture, reason, and Fathers too, and therefore cannot but be errors. And so in showing that the doctrine of the Church of Rome is, in many things, contrary to the Church of England, I shall prove from Scripture, reason, and Fathers, the truth of this proposition, that the Church of Rome hath erred even in matters of faith.
Now, though there be many things wherein the Church of Rome did at that, and so still doth at this, time disagree with ours; yet I shall pick out but some of those propositions that do, in plain terms, contradict these Articles.
As, first, we say, (Art. VI.,) “Scripture is sufficient, &c., and the other books, (viz. commonly called the Apocrypha,) the Church doth not apply them to establish any doctrine.” But the Church of Rome thrusts them into the body of canonical Scriptures, and accounts them as canonical as any of the rest; saying, “But this synod thought good to write down to this decree an index of the holy books, lest any one should doubt which they are that are received by this council. Now they are the under-written. Of the Old Testament, the five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of the Kings, two of the Chronicles, Esdras the first and second, which is called Nehemias, Tobias, Judith, Hester, Job, Psalter of one hundred and fifty Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Jeremiah with Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, twelve Lesser Prophets, that is, Osee, &c., two books of the Maccabees, the first and second. Of the New Testament, the four Gospels, &c. as ours. But if any one doth not receive all these books, with every part of them, as they use to be read in the Catholic (viz. the Roman) Church, and as they are contained in the ancient vulgar Latin edition, for holy and canonical, and shall knowingly contemn the aforesaid traditions, let him be anathema.”
Secondly, we say that “original sin is the fault and corruption of every man, none excepted.” (Art. IX.) But they say, “but this synod declares it is not their intention to comprehend the blessed and unspotted Virgin Mary, the mother ofGod, in this decree, where it treats of original sin.”
Thirdly, we say, “We are accounted righteous beforeGodonly for the merit of ourLord Jesus Christby faith, and so justified by faith only.” (Art. XI.) But they say, “If any one say that a sinner is justified by faith only, that he so understand that nothing else is required to attain the grace of justification, and that it is no ways necessary that he should be prepared and disposed by the motion of his own will, let him be anathema.”
Fourthly, we say, “Works before justification have the nature of sin.” (Art. XIII.)But they, “If any one say, that all the works which are done before justification, howsoever they are done, are truly sins, or deserve the hatred ofGod; or by how much the more vehemently a man strives to dispose himself for grace, by so much the more grievously doth he sin, let him be anathema.”
Fifthly, we say, “Christwas alone without sin.” (Art. XV.) They say, that the Virgin Mary also was. “If any one say, that a man being once justified can sin no more, nor lose his grace, and therefore he who falls and sins was never truly justified; or, on the contrary, that he can avoid through his whole life all even venial sins, unless by a special privilege fromGod, as the Church holdeth concerning the blessed Virgin, let him be anathema.”
Sixthly, we say, “The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardons, worshipping, and adoration, as well of images as relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word ofGod.” (Art. XXII.) But they, “Seeing the Catholic Church taught by theHoly Ghostout of the Holy Scriptures, and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, in holy councils, and last of all in this general synod, hath taught that there is a purgatory, and that souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the sacrifices of the acceptable altar; this holy synod commands the bishops, that they would diligently study, that the sound doctrine concerning purgatory delivered from the holy Fathers and sacred councils be, byChrist’sfaithful people, believed, held, taught, and preached everywhere.” And again, “This holy synod commands all bishops and others, that have the charge and care of teaching, that according to the use of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, received from the primitive times of the Christian religion, and the consent of the holy Fathers, and the decrees of sacred councils, especially concerning the intercession and invocation of saints, the honour of relics, and the lawful use of images, they diligently instruct the faithful, teaching that the saints, reigning together withChrist, do offer up their prayers toGodfor men, and that it is good and profitable simply to invocate or pray unto them,” &c. And that, “the bodies of the holy martyrs, and others, that live withChrist, are to be worshipped,” &c. And also, “that images ofChrist, theGod-bearing Virgin, and other saints, are to be had and retained, especially in churches, and that due honour and veneration be given to them.” And presently, “But if any one teach or think anything contrary to these decrees, let him be anathema.”
Seventhly, we say, “It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word ofGod, and the custom of the primitive Church, to have public prayer in the church, or to administer the sacraments, in a tongue not understanded of the people.” (Art. XXIV.) But they, “If any one say, that the custom of the Church of Rome, whereby part of the canon and the words of consecration are uttered with a loud voice, is to be condemned, or that mass ought to be celebrated only in the vulgar tongue, or that water ought not to be mixed with the wine that is to be offered in the cup, for that it is contrary toChrist’sinstitution, let him be anathema.”
Eighthly, we say, “There are but two sacraments.” (Art. XXV.) They, “If any one say, that the sacraments of the new law were not all instituted byJesus ChristourLord, or that there are more or less than seven, to wit, baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony, or that any of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament, let him be anathema.”
Ninthly, we say, “Transubstantiation is repugnant to the Scripture, and overthroweth the nature of a sacrament.” (Art. XXVIII.) But they, “But becauseChristour Redeemer said, that that which he offered under the shape of bread was truly his body, therefore it was always believed in the Church ofGod; and, last of all, this holy synod doth now declare it, that, by the consecration of bread and wine is made the changing of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body ofChristourLord, and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of his blood; which change is fitly and properly called, by the holy Catholic Church, transubstantiation.”
Tenthly, we say, “The sacrament of ourLord’ssupper is not to be worshipped.” (Art. XXVIII.) But they, “There is therefore no place of doubting left, but that all the faithful ofChrist, according to the custom always received in the Catholic Church, should give to this most holy sacrament, in the adoration of it, that worship of service which is due to the trueGod.”
Eleventhly, we say, “The cup of theLordis not to be denied to the lay-people.” (Art. XXX.) But they, “If any one say, that, from the command ofGodand the necessity of salvation, all and every believer inChristought to receive both kinds of the most holy sacrament of the eucharist, let him be anathema.”
Twelfthly, we say, “The sacrifices of the mass are blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits.” (Art. XXXI.) But they, “If any one say that in the mass there is not a true and proper sacrifice offered toGod, or that to be offered is nothing else but forChristto be given to us to eat, let him be anathema.”
There are many other things wherein the doctrine established by the Church of Rome contradicteth ours; but these may be enough to show both the falseness of the calumny that ignorant people put upon our Church of England, as if it was returning to Popery, whereas the doctrine established by our Church doth, in so many and plain terms, contradict the established doctrine of theirs; and also it shows the truth of this part of our doctrine, that some part of theirs is false. For seeing whatsoever is here set down as the doctrine of our Church, is grounded upon Scripture, consented to by reason, and delivered by the Fathers, it cannot but be true doctrine; and seeing theirs do so frequently contradict ours, it cannot but in such things that are so contradictory to ours be false doctrine. And therefore we may well conclude, that even the Church of Rome too hath erred, yea, in matters of faith, and that if she denies it, she must add that to the rest of her errors.—Beveridge.
Concerning the pretended infallibility of the Church of Rome, the celebrated Bishop Bull observes, “We Protestants profess and prove, by most evident arguments, that the Church of Rome hath in sundry points erred, and is guilty of innovation. The patrons of that Church, not able to answer those arguments of ours, tell us this cannot be; that the Church of Rome is infallible, and cannot possibly be guilty of such innovation. Is not this an admirable way of reasoning and disputation? Can the Romanists produce arguments to prove that their Church cannot err, so clear and evident as these alleged by us to demonstrate that she hath erred? Surely no. To make this plain, if I can be infallibly certain that my senses, rightly disposed, and all due requisites to sensation supposed, are infallible, and cannot be deceived about their proper objects (and if I cannot be assured of this, the apostles had no infallible assurance of that which is the foundation of the Christian faith, the resurrection ofChrist, which was evidenced to them by their testimony of sense, and that testimony pronounced infallible, Acts i. 3; 1 John i. 1, 2); then I may be infallibly certain that the Church of Rome is not infallible, yea, that she hath grossly erred in her doctrine of transubstantiation, teaching the bread and wine, after the words of consecration, to be turned into the very flesh and blood ofChrist, which yet all my senses assure me to remain still the same in nature and substance, that is, bread and wine. If I can be infallibly certain thatChristhimself is infallible, that he would not, could not, appoint an institution that should be dangerous and scandalous to his Church, viz. of receiving the holy eucharist in both kinds; if I can be infallibly certain that the whole Church ofChrist, that was under the guidance and direction of the apostles, were not grossly deceived, and engaged by the apostles themselves in a practice dangerous and scandalous (and of this I may be as infallibly sure as I am of the truth of the gospel itself); then I may be infallibly certain that the Church of Rome not only may err, but hath grossly erred in that determination of hers, whereby she rejects (in the Council of Constance) communion in both kinds, as a dangerous and scandalous practice. And in the same manner we might proceed to show the falsehood of divers other determinations of the Church of Rome, if this paper would permit; but these are sufficient to any person that shall consult his serious reason. Indeed, I look upon it as a wonderful both just and wise providence ofGod, that he hath suffered the Church of Rome to fall into such gross errors, (which otherwise it is scarce imaginable how men in their wits, that had not renounced not only the Scriptures, but their reason, yea, and their senses too, could be overtaken with,) and to determine them for articles of faith. For hereby a person of the meanest capacity (so he be sincere, and not under the prejudice of education) may evidently discern with what a strange kind of impudence that Church arrogates to herself an infallibility in all her determinations. And for such of our Church that have been informed of these things, and yet shall leave our communion, and follow the guidance of that Church upon the account of her infallibility, I fear they are in the number of those miserable persons described by the apostle, (2 Thess. ii. 11, 12,) who are given up to strong delusion, that they may believe a lie, &c. That which follows in the text I dread to mention;Godavert it from them!”
INFANT BAPTISM. (SeeBaptism, Infant.)
INFIRMARIAN. An officer in a monastery, who had the care of the sick and infirm. A dignitary in Nice cathedral was so called.—Jebb.
INFINITY. An attribute ofGod. The idea ofinfinityorimmensityis so closely connected with that ofself-existence, that, because it is impossible but something must be infinite, independently and of itself, therefore it must of necessity be self-existent: and because something must of necessity be self-existent, therefore it is necessary that it must likewise be infinite. A necessarily existent being must beeverywhereas well asalwaysunalterably the same. For a necessity, which is not everywhere the same, is plainly a consequential necessity only, depending upon some external cause. Whatever therefore exists by an absolute necessity in its own nature, must needs beinfinite, as well aseternal. To suppose a finite being to be self-existent, is to say, that it is a contradiction for that being not to exist, the absence of which may yet be conceived without a contradiction; which is the greatest absurdity in the world.
From hence it follows, that the infinity of the self-existent Being must be an infinity offulness, as well as ofimmensity; that is, it must not only be without limits, but also without diversity, defect, or interruption. It follows, likewise, that the self-existent Being must be a most simple, unchangeable, incorruptible Being, without parts, figure, motion, divisibility, or any other such properties, as we find in matter. For all these things do plainly and necessarily imply finiteness in their very notion, and are utterly inconsistent with complete infinity.
As to the particular manner in which the Supreme Being is infinite, or everywhere present—this is as impossible for our finite understandings to comprehend and explain, as it is for us to form an adequate idea of infinity. The schoolmen have presumed to assert, that theimmensityofGodis apoint, as hiseternity(they think) is aninstant. But this being altogether unintelligible, we may more safely affirm, that the Supreme Cause is at all times equally present, both in his simple essence, and by the immediate and perfect exercise of all his attributes, to every point of the boundless immensity, as if it were really all but one single point.—Clarke.
INITIATED. In the early ages of the Church, this term was applied to those who had been baptized, and admitted to a knowledge of the higher mysteries of the gospel. The discipline of the Church at that period, made it necessary that candidates for baptism should pass through a long probation, in the character of catechumens. While in this preparatory state, they were not allowed to be present at the celebration of the eucharist; and in sermons and homilies in their presence, the speaker either waived altogether any direct statement of the sublimer doctrines of Christianity, or alluded to them in an obscure manner, not intelligible to theuninitiated, but sufficiently clear to be interpreted by those for whom they were intended, viz. the baptized orinitiated. Hence the phrase so common in the homilies of the Fathers, “theinitiatedunderstand what is said.”
INNOCENTS’ DAY. One of the holy-days of the Church. Its design is to commemorate one of the most thrilling events in the gospel history. The innocents were they who suffered death under the cruel decree of Herod, who thought, by a general slaughter of young children, to have accomplished the death of the infantJesus. They are so called from the Latin terminnocentesorinnocui, harmless babes, altogether incapable of defending themselves from the malice of their inhuman persecutors. The celebration of the martyrdom of these innocents was very ancient. It occurs on the 28th of December.
INQUISITION. A tribunal, or court of justice, in Roman Catholic countries, erected by the popes for the examination and punishment ofheretics.
Before the conversion of the empire to Christianity, there was no other tribunal, for the inquiry into matters of faith and doctrine, but that of the bishops; nor any other way of punishing obstinate heretics, but that of excommunication. But the Roman emperors, being converted to Christianity, thought themselves obliged to interpose in the punishment of crimes committed againstGod, and for this purpose made laws, (which may be found in the Theodosian and Justinian codes,) by which heretics were sentenced to banishment and forfeiture of estates. Thus there were two courts of judicature against heretics, the one spiritual, the other civil. The ecclesiastical court pronounced upon the right, declared what was heresy, and excommunicated heretics. When this was done, the civil courts undertook the prosecution, and punished those, in their persons and fortunes, who were convicted of heresy.
This method lasted till after the year 800. From this time the jurisdiction of the Western bishops over heretics was enlarged, and they had now authority both to convict and punish them, by imprisonment, and several acts of discipline, warranted by the canons and custom: but they could not execute the imperial laws of banishment upon them. Matters stood thus until the 12th century, when the great growth and power of heresies (as they were called) began to give no small disturbance to the Church. However, the popes could do no more than send legates and preachers to endeavour the conversion of heretics, particularly theAlbigenses, who about this time were the occasion of great disturbances in Languedoc. Hither Father Dominic and his followers (called from himDominicans) were sent by Pope Innocent III., with orders to excite the Catholic princes and people to extirpate heretics, toinquireout their number and quality, and to transmit a faithful account thereof to Rome. Hence they were calledInquisitors; and this gave birth to the formidable tribunal of theInquisition, which was received in all Italy, and the dominions of Spain, excepting the kingdom of Naples, and the Low Countries, where Charles V., and after him Philip II. of Spain, endeavouring to establish it, in 1567, by the Duke of Alva, thereby incurred the loss of the United Provinces.
This tribunal takes cognizance of heresy, Judaism, Mahometanism, and polygamy; and the people stand in so much fear of it, that parents deliver up their children, husbands their wives, and masters their servants, to its officers, without daring in the least to murmur. The prisoners are shut up in frightful dungeons, where they are kept for several months, till they themselves turn their own accusers, and declare the cause of their imprisonment; for they are never confronted with witnesses. Their friends go into mourning, and speak of them as dead, not daring to solicit their pardon, lest they should be brought in as accomplices. When there is no shadow of proof against the pretended criminal, he is discharged, after a tedious imprisonment, and the loss of the greatest part of his effects.
The sentence against the prisoners of the Inquisition is publicly pronounced, and with extraordinary solemnity. This is calledAuto da fé, that is,ActorDecree of Faith. In Portugal, they erect a theatre, capable of holding 3000 persons, on which they place a very rich altar, and raise seats on each side in the form of an amphitheatre, where the criminals are placed; over against whom is a high chair, whither they are called one by one, to hear their doom, pronounced by one of the Inquisitors. The prisoners know their doom by the clothes they wear that day. Those who wear their own clothes, are discharged upon payment of a fine. Those who have aSanto Benito, or straight yellow coat without sleeves, charged with St. Andrew’s cross, have their lives, but forfeit their effects. Those who have the resemblance of flames, made of red serge, sewed upon theirSanto Benito, without any cross, are pardoned, but threatened to be burnt, if ever they relapse. But those who, besides these flames, have on theirSanto Benitotheir own picture, environed with figures of devils, are condemned to die. The Inquisitors, who are ecclesiastics, do not pronounce the sentence of death, but form and read an act, wherein they say, that the criminal, being convicted of such a crime by his own proper confession, is delivered with much reluctancy to the secular power, to be punished according to his demerits. This writing they give to seven judges, who attend at the right side of the altar. These condemn the criminal to be first hanged, and then burnt: butJewsare burnt alive. The public place for execution in Portugal is calledRoussi, whither the Confraternity of Mercy attend, and pray for the prisoner.
TheInquisition of Goa, in the Indies, is very powerful, the principal inquisitor having more respect showed him than either the archbishop or viceroy. The criminals, sentenced by this tribunal to die, are clad much after the same manner as in Portugal. Such as are convicted of magic, wear paper caps in the form of sugar-loaves, covered with flames and frightful figures of devils. All the criminals go in procession to a church chosen for the ceremony, and have each of them a godfather, who is answerable for their forthcoming after the ceremony is over. In this procession the criminals walk barefooted, carrying lighted tapers in their hands: the least guilty march foremost. After the last of them that are to be discharged, comes one carrying a crucifix, and followed by those who are to die. The next day after the execution, the pictures of the executed are carried to the church of the Dominicans. The head only is represented surrounded with firebrands, and underneath is written the name, quality, and crime of the person executed.
TheInquisition of Venice, consisting ofthe pope’s nuncio residing there, the patriarch of Venice, the father inquisitor, and two senators, is nothing near so severe as those of Spain and Portugal. It does not hinder the Greeks and Armenians from the exercise of their religion; and it tolerates the Jews, who wear scarlet caps for the sake of distinction. In fine, the power of this tribunal is so limited by the states, that, in the university of Padua, degrees are taken without requiring the candidates to make the profession of faith enjoined by the popes; insomuch that schismatics, Jews, and those they call heretics, daily take their degrees in law and physic there.
TheInquisitionofRomeis a congregation of twelve cardinals, and some other officers, and the pope presides in it in person. This is accounted the highest tribunal in Rome. It began in the time of Pope Paul IV., on occasion of the spreading of Lutheranism. The standard of the Inquisition is of red damask, on which is painted a cross, with an olive branch on one side, and a sword on the other: the motto in these words of the 73rd psalm,Exurge, Domine, et judica causam meam.
INSPIRATION. (SeeHoly Ghost.) The extraordinary and supernatural influence of the Spirit of God on the human mind, by which the prophets and sacred writers were qualified to receive and set forth Divine communications, without any mixture of error. In this sense the term occurs in 2 Tim. iii. 16. “All Scripture is given by inspiration ofGod,” &c. (SeeScriptures, Inspiration of.)
The wordinspirationalso expresses that ordinary operation of theSpirit, by which men are inwardly moved and excited both to will and to do such things as are pleasing toGod, and through which all the powers of their minds are elevated, purified, and invigorated. “There is a spirit in man; and theinspirationof theAlmightygiveth them understanding.” (Job xxxii. 8.) In this latter sense the term and its kindred verb frequently appear in the offices of the Church; as in the petitions, “Grant, that by thy holyinspirationwe may think those things that are good;” “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by theinspirationof thy Holy Spirit;” “Beseeching thee toinspirecontinually the universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord;” and
“Come, Holy Ghost, our soulsinspire,And lighten with celestial fire;”“Visit our minds, into our heartsThy heavenly graceinspire.”
“Come, Holy Ghost, our soulsinspire,And lighten with celestial fire;”“Visit our minds, into our heartsThy heavenly graceinspire.”
“Come, Holy Ghost, our soulsinspire,And lighten with celestial fire;”
“Come, Holy Ghost, our soulsinspire,
And lighten with celestial fire;”
“Visit our minds, into our heartsThy heavenly graceinspire.”
“Visit our minds, into our hearts
Thy heavenly graceinspire.”
INSTALLATION. The act of giving visible possession of his office to a canon or prebendary of a cathedral, by placing him in his stall. It is also applied to the placing of a bishop in his episcopal throne in his cathedral church; enthronization being said to be proper to archbishops only; but this appears a technical and unreal distinction invented in the middle ages.
The installation of the Knights of the Garter is a religious ceremony, performed in the Chapel of St. George, at Windsor. (SeeAshmole’s Institution of the Order of the Garter.) Those of the Knights of the Bath in Henry VII.’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey, and of the Knights of St. Patrick in the Cathedral of St. Patrick’s in Dublin, are, according to the statutes of the orders, conducted upon the same model.
INSTITUTION. The act by which the bishop commits to a clergyman the cure of a church.
Canon 40. “To avoid the detestable sin of simony, every archbishop, bishop, or other person having authority to admit, institute, or collate, to any spiritual or ecclesiastical function, dignity, or benefice, shall, before every such admission, institution, or collation, minister to every person to be admitted, instituted, or collated, the oath against simony.”
The following papers are to be sent to the bishop by the clergyman, who is to be instituted or collated:—
1. Presentation to the benefice or cathedral preferment, duly stamped and executed by the patron [orpetition, not on stamp,if the person to be instituted happens to be patron of the benefice].
The stamp duty upon presentations is now regulated by the acts 5 & 6 Vict. c. 79, and 6 & 7 Vict. c. 72, and it is anad valoremduty upon the net yearly value of the preferment or benefice, such value to be ascertained by the certificate of the ecclesiastical commissioners for England indorsed upon the instrument of presentation.
The following is the scale of stamp duty to which presentations are liable:—
In the case of collations, and also of institutions proceeding upon the petition of the patron, the certificate of yearly value must be written upon, and the stamp affixed to, the instrument of collation, or of institution, respectively.
The following is the scale of duty to which collations and institutions proceeding upon petition are liable:—
In order to procure the certificate of value from the ecclesiastical commissioners, application should be made by the secretary to the commissioners, in the following form:—
Application for Certificate of the Value of a Living under 5 & 6 Vict. c. 79, and 6 & 7 Vict. c. 72.
TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS FOR ENGLAND.
TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS FOR ENGLAND.
TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS FOR ENGLAND.
The ——, of ——, in the county of ——, and diocese of ——, and in the patronage of ——, having become vacant on the —— day of —— last, by the —— of the Rev. ——; and the Rev. —— being about to be —— thereto, the ecclesiastical commissioners for England are requested to certify the net yearly value thereof, according to the provisions of the acts 5 & 6 Vict. c. 79, and 6 and 7 Vict. c. 72.
(Date) ——.(Signature) ——.
(Date) ——.(Signature) ——.
(Date) ——.(Signature) ——.
(Date) ——.
(Signature) ——.
In answer to this application, a form of certificate will be sent from the office of the ecclesiastical commissioners, which is to be indorsed on the instrument of presentation, &c., and then transmitted to the same office for signature; after which, the presentation, &c. will, on its being taken to the Stamp Office, be properly stamped.
2. Letters of orders, deacon, and priest.
3. Letters testimonial by three beneficed clergymen, in the following form:—
To the Right Reverend ——, Lord Bishop of ——.
To the Right Reverend ——, Lord Bishop of ——.
To the Right Reverend ——, Lord Bishop of ——.
To the Right Reverend ——, Lord Bishop of ——.
We, whose names are hereunder written, testify and make known, that A. B., clerk, A. M., (or other degree,) presented (orto be collated,as the case may be) to the canonry, &c., &c., (orto the rectory or vicarage,as the case may be,) of ——, in the county of ——, in your lordship’s diocese, hath been personally known to us for the space of three years last past; that we have had opportunities of observing his conduct; that, during the whole of that time, we verily believe that he lived piously, soberly, and honestly; nor have we at any time heard anything to the contrary thereof; nor hath he at any time, as far as we know or believe, held, written, or taught anything contrary to the doctrine or discipline of the United Church of England and Ireland; and, moreover, we believe him in our consciences to be, as to his moral conduct, a person worthy to be admitted to the said canonry, or benefice (as the case may be).
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, this —— day of ——, in the year of our Lord 18—
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, this —— day of ——, in the year of our Lord 18—
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, this —— day of ——, in the year of our Lord 18—
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, this —— day of ——, in the year of our Lord 18—
C. D. rector of ——.E. F. vicar of ——.G. H. rector of ——.
C. D. rector of ——.E. F. vicar of ——.G. H. rector of ——.
C. D. rector of ——.E. F. vicar of ——.G. H. rector of ——.
C. D. rector of ——.
E. F. vicar of ——.
G. H. rector of ——.
If all the subscribers are not beneficed in the diocese of the bishop to whom the testimonial is addressed, the counter-signature of the bishop of the diocese wherein their benefices are respectively situate is required.
4. A short statement of the title of the patron in case of a change of patron since the last incumbent was presented.
The same subscriptions and declarations are to be made, and oaths taken, as by a clergyman on being licensed to a perpetual curacy. (SeeCuracy.)
If the clergyman presented, or to be collated, should be in possession of other preferment, it will be necessary for him, (if he wishes to continue to hold a cathedral preferment, or a benefice with the cathedral preferment, or benefice to which he has been presented, or is to be collated,) to look to the provisions of the act 1 & 2 Vict. c. 106, sect. 1 to sect. 14, before he is instituted, or collated.
INTENTION.Priest’s Intention.On this subject the following is the eleventh canon of the Council of Trent:—“If any shall say that there is not required in the ministers while they perform and confer the sacraments, at least theintentionof doing what the Church does, let him be accursed.”
This is a monstrous and fearful assertion, which supposes it to be in the power of every malicious or sceptical priest to deprive the holiest ofGod’sworshippers of the grace which is sought in the sacraments.There is mention of this notion in Pope Eugenius’s letter to the Armenians at the Council of Florence; but this was the first time that a reputed general council sanctioned it. But the Church of Rome is not content with placing all receivers of sacraments at the mercy of the priest’s intention; and when we know how many avowed infidels there have been found in the ranks of her priesthood, this alone (according to her own theory) opens a fearful door to doubt and hesitation, affecting the validity of the ordinations and administrations within her pale since the Council of Trent; but in the sacrament of the holy eucharist she has placed the communicants at the mercy of the baker’s and vintner’s intention, and any malevolent tradesman who supplies the wine and wafers to be used in theLord’ssupper, has it in its power, according to their rubrics, to deprive the communicants of the grace of the sacrament. For, “Si panis non sit triticeus, vel si triticeus, admixtus sit granis alterius generis in tanta quantitate, ut non mancat panis triticeus, vel sit alioqui corruptus:non conficitur sacramentum.” “Si sit confectus de aqua rosacea, vel alterius distillationis,dubium est an conficiatur.” “Si vinum sit factum penitus acetum, vel penitus putridum, vel de uvis acerbis seu non maturis expressum; vel ei admixtum tantum aquæ ut vinum sit corruptum,non conficitur sacramentum.”—Rubricæ Generales Missalis Rom.
INTERCESSIONS. That part of the Litany in which, having already prayed for ourselves, we now proceed to supplicate God’s mercy for others. The intercessions are accompanied by the response, “We beseech thee to hear us, goodLord.” (SeeLitany.) The different species of prayer are alluded to by St. Paul, 1 Tim. ii. 1. “I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”δεήσεις, προσευχὰς, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχαριστίας.
INTERCESSOR. (SeeLordandJesus.) One who pleads in behalf of another. The title is applied emphatically to our blessedLord, “who ever liveth to make intercession for us.” The practice of the Romanists in investing angels and departed saints with the character of intercessors, is rejected as being unsanctioned by Catholic antiquity, as resting on no Scriptural authority, and as being derogatory to the dignity of ourRedeemer. (SeeInvocation,Saints,Idolatry.)
INTERDICT. An ecclesiastical censure, whereby the Church of Rome forbids the administration of the sacraments and the performance of Divine service to a kingdom, province, town, &c. Some people pretend this custom was introduced in the fourth or fifth century; but the opinion that it began in the ninth, is much more probable: there are some instances of it since that age, and particularly Alexander III., in 1170, superciliously put the kingdom of England under an interdict, forbidding the clergy to perform any part of Divine service unless baptism to infants, taking confessions, and giving absolutions to dying penitents, which was the usual restraint of an interdict; but the succeeding popes, for reasons best known to themselves, seldom make use of it.—Broughton.
INTERIM. (Lat.) The name of a formulary, or confession of faith, obtruded upon the Protestants, after the death of Luther, by the emperor Charles V., when he had defeated their forces. It was so called, because it was only to take place in theInterim, till a general council should decide all the points in question between the Protestants and Catholics. The occasion of it was this: the emperor had made choice of three divines, viz. Julius Pflug, bishop of Naumberg, Michael Helding, titular bishop of Sidon, and John Agricola, preacher to the Elector of Brandenburg; who drew up a project consisting of twenty-six articles concerning the points of religion in dispute between the Catholics and Protestants. The controverted points were, the state of Adam before and after his fall; the redemption of mankind byJesus Christ; the justification of sins; charity and good works; the confidence we ought to have inGod, that our sins are remitted; the Church, and its true marks; its power, authority, and ministers; the pope and bishops; the sacraments; the mass; the commemoration of saints; their intercession; and prayers for the dead.
The emperor sent this project to the pope for his approbation, which he refused; whereupon Charles V. published the imperial constitution called theInterim, wherein he declared, that “it was his will, that all his Catholic dominions should, for the future, inviolably observe the customs, statutes, and ordinances of the Universal Church; and that those who had separated themselves from it, should either reunite themselves to it, or at least conform to this constitution; and that all should quietly expect the decisions of the general council.” This ordinance was published in the Diet of Augsburg, May 15th, 1548. But this device neitherpleased the pope nor the Protestants; the Lutheran preachers openly declared they would not receive it, alleging that it reestablished Popery. Some chose rather to quit their chairs and livings than to subscribe it; nor would the Duke of Saxony receive it. Calvin, and several others, wrote against it. On the other side, the emperor was so severe against those who refused to accept, that he disfranchised the cities of Magdeburg and Constance, for their opposition.—Broughton.
INTERMEDIATE STATE. A term made use of to denote the state of the soul between death and the resurrection. From the Scriptures speaking frequently of the dead sleeping in their graves, many have supposed that the soul sleeps till the resurrection, i. e. is in a state of entire insensibility. But against this opinion, and that the soul, after death, enters immediately into a state of conscious happiness or misery, though not of final reward or punishment, the following passages seem to be conclusive: Matt. xvii. 3; Luke xxiii. 43; 2 Cor. v. 6; Phil. i. 21; Luke xvi. 22, 23; Rev. vi. 9. (SeeHell.)
INTONATION, properly speaking, the recitation by the chanter, or rector chori, of the commencing words of the psalm or hymn, before the choir begins: as is often practised in the English choirs, with respect to theVenite, theTe Deum, the Nicene Creed, and theGloria in Excelsis. The intonations of the Gregorian Psalm chant are regularly prescribed. Intonation is also applied to the commencement ofeach verseof the Canticles (sung however by the choir) before the reciting note. The intonations are the same as in the psalm chants; but in the latter they are confined to the first verse of each psalm. The word is sometimes, but inaccurately, used for thechantingof the services by the priest or minister in the musical tone proper to choirs—Jebb.
INTROIT. In the ancient Church a psalm was sung or chanted immediately before the collect, Epistle, and Gospel. As this took place while the priest was entering within the septum or rails of the altar, it acquired the name ofIntroitusorIntroit.
Cardinal Bona says that Introits, as used in the Roman Church, were introduced by Pope Cœlestine (A. D.422–432). The Introit consists of one or more verses, generally from the Psalms, but sometimes from other parts of Scripture. This anthem is the Introit, properly so called. Then follows a verse from the psalm (anciently a whole psalm): then the Gloria Patri, after which the Introit, or commencing anthem, is repeated. The First Prayer Book of Edward VI., (A. D.1549,) appoints special psalms to be used asIntroitson all Sundays and holy-days. These differ altogether from the Roman Introits, both in their selection and in their construction. They are entire psalms, with the Gloria Patri, and without any verse. The psalm or hymn now universally sung in our churches before the Communion Service, may be said to represent the Introit, as Bishop Bull observes. “In cathedral or mother churches there is still a decent distinction between the two services: for before the priest goes to the altar to read the second service, there is a short but excellent anthem sung, in imitation whereof in the churches of London, and in other greater churches of the country, instead of that anthem there is part of a psalm sung.”—Jebb.
InClifford’s Introduction, (1664,) it appears that a voluntary at that time preceded the Communion Service at St. Paul’s. Shortly after this time, the custom arose, now universal in choirs, of singing a Sanctus in this place: St. Paul’s, Westminster, and Canterbury were the first to adopt it. In parish churches, a metrical psalm is usually sung in this place, and very properly.
INVENTION OF THE HOLY CROSS. A festival kept by the Church of Rome, in memory of the day on which they affirm ourSaviour’scross was found by the empress Helena, in the time of Constantine the Great; concerning which the following story has been fabricated. That princess being at Jerusalem, was informed that the cross of ourSaviourwas buried in the sepulchre, upon which she ordered them to dig, when they found the cross and the nails, together with the crosses of the two thieves: but the wood on which the inscription was made being separated from the cross, they could not distinguish that of ourSaviourfrom the others, till Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, found out the following expedient: he ordered a dying woman to be brought and laid upon the crosses, two of which gave her no manner of relief, but being set upon the third, she perfectly recovered from the first moment she touched it, whereby they plainly discovered that it was the same on which ourSavioursuffered. The empress built a stately church in the place where the cross was found, where she left some part of the wood richly ornamented, carrying the rest with the nails to Constantinople.
INVESTITURE. The act of conferring a bishopric, by delivering a pastoral staff or ring. Concerning the right of investiture, violent disputes arose in the middle ages, between the emperors and the popes, for an account of which the reader is referred to Mosheim, Cent. XI. part ii. chap. 2, the account being too long for insertion here.
INVISIBLES. A distinguishing name given to the disciples of Osiander, Flacius Illyricus, Swenkfeld, &c., being so denominated because they denied the perpetual visibility of the Church. Palmer remarks, that the reformed seem generally to have taught the doctrine of the visibility of the Church, until some of them deemed it necessary, in consequence of their controversy with the Romanists, who asked them where their Church existed before Luther, to maintain that the Church might sometimes be invisible. This mistaken view appears in the Belgic Confession, and was adopted by some of the Protestants; but it arose entirely from their error in forsaking the defensive ground which their predecessors had taken at first, and placing themselves in the false position of claiming the exclusive title of the Church ofChrist, according to the ordinary signification of the term. Jurieu, a minister of the French Protestants, has shown this, and has endeavoured to prove that the Church ofChristis essentially visible, and that it never remained obscured, without ministry or sacraments, even in the persecutions, or in the time of Arianism. The same truth has been acknowledged by several denominations of dissenters in Britain.
INVITATORY. Some text of Scripture, adapted and chosen for the occasion of the day, and used in ancient times before theVenite, which is also called theInvitatory Psalm.
The Invitatories, as given in the Roman Breviaries, are two verses, “Adoremus Dominum, qui fecit nos,” and “qui fecit nos:” the former sung before and after the psalm, and at the end of the 2nd, 6th, and 1Oth verses; and the latter at the end of the 4th and 8th.—Jebb.
INVOCATION. The commencing part of the Litany, containing the invocation of each Person of the Godhead, severally, and of the Blessed Trinity in Unity. This distinction is made in the margin of Nicholls’s edition of the Common Prayer.
INVOCATION OF SAINTS. The thirty-fifth canon of the Council of Laodicea runs thus: “It does not behove Christians to leave the Church ofGod, and go and invoke angels, and make assemblies; which things are forbidden. If, therefore, any one be detected idling in their secret idolatry, let him be accursed, because he has forsaken ourLord Jesus Christ, theSonofGod, and gone to idolatry.” This plain testimony of the fathers of the primitive Church, against the invocation and worshipping of angels, which is denounced as idolatry, is not to be set aside by all the ingenuity of the Roman writers.—See their attempts,LabbeandCossart, i. 1526. The subtle distinctions ofLatria,Dulia, and the rest, had not entered the imagination of Theodoret when he cited this canon as condemning the worshipping of angels,σύνοδος ἐν Λαοδικείᾳ τῆς Φρυγίας νόμῳ κεκώλυκε τὸ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις προσεύχεσθαι(Comm. Coloss.ii. 18); nor into that of Origen, who expressly says, that men ought not to worship or adore the angels, for that all prayer and supplication, and intercession and thanksgiving, should be made to God alone, (Contra Celsum, v. § 4,) and that right reason forbids the invocation of them.—Ibid.§ 5.
But in the twenty-fifth session of the Popish Council of Trent, the synod thus rules: “Of the invocation, veneration, and relics of the saints, and the sacred images, the holy synod commands the bishops and others who have the office and care of instruction, that according to the custom of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, which has been received from the first ages of the Christian religion, the consent of the holy Fathers, and the decrees of the sacred councils, they make it a chief point diligently to instruct the faithful concerning the intercession and invocation of saints, the honour of relics, and the lawful use of images, teaching them that the saints reigning together withChrist, offer toGodtheir prayers for men; that it is good and useful to invoke them with supplication, and, on account of the benefits obtained fromGodthrough hisSon Jesus ChristourLord, who alone is our Redeemer and Saviour, to have recourse to their prayers, aid, and assistance; 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 invoking them that they may pray for each of us, is idolatry; or that it is contrary to the word ofGod, and opposed to the honour of the one Mediator betweenGodand man; or that it is folly, either by word or thought, to supplicate them who are reigning in heaven; are impious in their opinions.
“Also that the holy bodies of the holymartyrs and others living withChrist, which were living members ofChrist, and the temple of theHoly Ghost, and are by him to be raised to eternal life, and glorified, ought to be venerated by the faithful; by means of which the faithful receive many benefits. So that they who declare that veneration and honour are not due to the relics of the saints, or that the honour which the faithful pay to them and other sacred monuments is useless, and that it is in vain to celebrate the memory of the saints for the sake of obtaining their assistance, are utterly to be condemned, as the Church already has condemned them, and does so at the present time.
“Moreover, that the images ofChrist, of the Virgin Mother ofGod, and other saints, are to be especially had and retained in the churches; and due honour and veneration to be given to them, not because it is supposed that there is any divinity or virtue in them on account of which they are to be worshipped, nor because anything is to be asked of them, nor that confidence is to be placed in images, as of old was done by the heathens, who placed their hope in idols, but because the honour which is shown to them is referred to the prototypes which they represent; so that by the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover our heads and fall down, we worshipChrist, and venerate the saints, whose likeness they bear. That is what has been sanctioned by the decrees of the councils against the opposers of images, especially those of the second Nicene Synod.
“But let the bishops diligently teach that by stories of the mysteries of our redemption, expressed in pictures or other representations, the people are taught and confirmed in commemorating and carefully bearing in mind the articles of faith, as also that great advantage is derived from all the sacred images, not only because the people are thereby reminded of the benefits and gifts whichChristhas conferred upon them, but also because the miracles ofGodby the saints, and their wholesome examples, are submitted to the eyes of the faithful, that they may give thanks toGodfor them, and dispose their lives and manners in imitation of the saints; and may be excited to adore and loveGod, and to cultivate religion.
“Canon. If any shall teach or think contrary to these decrees, let him be accursed.”
The first council which decreed this invocation and intercession, is denounced by the Romanists themselves as schismatical and heretical; it was the Council at Constantinople, under Constantine Copronymus. Nor have all the researches of the Romish advocates availed to adduce from the early ages one single writer, layman or ecclesiastic, who has enjoined this practice as a duty. All that they have succeeded in showing is, that in the course of the first five centuries several individual writers are to be found who commend the practice as useful. Against these we will cite the following; and from a comparison of the passages cited on both sides, it will be clear that although, notwithstanding the reproof of the apostle, (Col. ii. 18,) the invocation of angels, and afterwards of saints, obtained in some places in the Christian Church, it was always an open point which men were free to reject or not, as they might think fit; and that, therefore, both the Council of Copronymus in the eighth century, and the Council of Trent in the sixteenth, were violating ecclesiastical tradition, when by their anathemas they sought to abridge Christian liberty by confirming a corrupt and foolish custom; especially when the caution of the apostle Paul, and the decree of the Council of Laodicea, are taken into consideration. It is a remarkable thing that, among all the liturgies which Messrs. Kirke and Berrington have cited in their volume, entitled, “The Faith of the Catholics,” Lond. 1830, amounting to eleven, only one is to be found, and that of the Nestorian heretics, containing an invocation to a saint for intercession:—thus showing how wide a distinction is to be drawn between the excited expressions of individual writers, and the authorized practice of the Church. All the other liturgies do no more than the Roman canon of the mass; viz. 1st, assume, generally, that the saints departed pray for the saints militant; and, 2ndly, pray toGodto hear their intercessions. This is no more tantamount to an invocation of the saints, than a prayer toGodfor the assistance of the angels would be tantamount to a prayer to the angels themselves.—Perceval.
IRELAND. (SeeChurch of Ireland.)
IRVINGITES. The followers of Edward Irving, a minister of the Scottish establishment, who was born in 1792, and died in 1834. In 1822, he was appointed to a Scotch presbyterian congregation, and for some years officiated in a chapel with great applause, but was at length deposed from his ministry by the presbytery, for holding an awful heresy concerning our blessedLord, whose nature he consideredas peccable, or capable of sin. He still continued, however, to act as minister of a congregation in London. Both in Scotland and in England he had many followers; and since his death Irvingism has found its way into Germany and other foreign countries. The first form which his party assumed was connected with certain notions concerning the millennium, and the immediately impending advent of our blessedLord: and presently after, as precursors of the expected event, miraculous gifts of tongues, of prophecy, of healing, and even of raising the dead, were pretended to by his followers; though Irving himself never pretended to those more miraculous endowments. Superadded to these notions, was a singularly constructed hierarchy, of apostles, angels, &c. They affect the name of Apostolicals.
The Irvingites call themselves The Catholic and Apostolic Church; and the following sketch of the denomination was supplied by a member to Mr. Horace Mann, and printed by him in the Census Report of 1851.
“The body to which this name is applied make no exclusive claim to it: they simply object to be called by any other. They acknowledge it to be the common title of the one Church baptized into Christ, which has existed in all ages, and of which they claim to be members. They have always protested against the application to them of the term ‘Irvingites;’ which appellation they consider to be untrue and offensive, though derived from one whom, when living, they held in high regard as a devoted minister of Christ.
“They do not profess to be, and refuse to acknowledge that they are, separatists from the Church established or dominant in the land of their habitation, or from the general body of Christians therein. They recognise the continuance of the Church from the days of the first apostles, and of three orders of bishops, priests, and deacons, by succession from the apostles. They justify their meeting in separate congregations from the charge of schism, on the ground of the same being permitted and authorized by an ordinance of paramount authority, which they believe God has restored for the benefit of the whole Church. And so far from professing to be another sect in addition to the numerous sects already dividing the Church, or to be ‘the One Church,’ to the exclusion of all other bodies, they believe that their special mission is to reunite the scattered members of the one body of Christ.
“The only standards of faith which they recognise are the three creeds of the Catholic Church—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene or Constantinopolitan Creed, and that called the Creed of St. Athanasius. The speciality of their religious belief, whereby they are distinguished from other Christian communities, stands in this: that they hold apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors, to be abiding ministries in the Church, and that these ministries, together with the power and gifts of the Holy Ghost, dispensed and distributed among her members, are necessary for preparing and perfecting the Church for the second advent of the Lord; and that supreme rule in the Church ought to be exercised, as at the first, by twelve apostles, not elected or ordained by men, but called and sent forth immediately by God.
“The congregations which have been authorized as above stated, are placed under the pastoral rule of angels or bishops, with whom are associated, in the work of the ministry, priests and deacons. The deacons are a distinct and separate order of ministers, taken from the midst of, and chosen by, the respective congregations in which they are to serve, and are ordained either by apostles or by angels receiving commission thereunto. The priests are first called to their office by the word through the prophets, (“no man taking this honour to himself,”) and then ordained by apostles; and from among the priests, by a like call and ordination, are the angels set in their places.
“With respect to the times of worship, the holy eucharist is celebrated, and the communion is administered, every Lord’s day, and more or less frequently during the week, according to the number of priests in each particular congregation; and, where the congregations are large, the first and last hours of every day, reckoning from 6A. M.to 6P. M., are appointed for Divine worship; and, if there be a sufficient number of ministers, there are, in addition, prayers daily at 9A. M.and 3P. M., with other services for the more special object of teaching and preaching.
“In the forms of worship observed, the prayers and other devotions to be found in the principal liturgies of the Christian Church are introduced by preference, wherever appropriate; and in all their services the bishops and clergy of the Catholic Church, and all Christian kings, princes, and governors, are remembered before God. It may also be observed, that in their ritual observances and offices of worship external and material things have their place. They contend that, as through the washing ofwater men are admitted into the Christian covenant, and as bread and wine duly consecrated are ordained to be used not merely for spiritual food, but for purposes of sacramental and symbolic agency, so also that the use of other material things, such as oil, lights, incense, &c., as symbols and exponents of spiritual realities, belongs to the dispensation of the gospel.
“Besides free-will offerings, the tenth of their increase, including income of every description, is brought up to the Lord, (it being regarded as a sacred duty that tithe should be dedicated to his service alone,) and is apportioned among those who are separated to the ministry.
“In England there are about 30 congregations, comprising nearly 6000 communicants; and the number is gradually on the increase. There are also congregations in Scotland and Ireland, a considerable number in Germany, and several in France, Switzerland, and America.”
Of late years, it is said, this denomination has made considerable progress, so that from 1846 to 1851 the number of communicants in England has increased by a third, while great success has been achieved on the continent and in America. Returns from 32 chapels (chiefly in the southern counties of England) have been furnished to the Census Office. These contained (allowing for one chapel for which the sittings are not mentioned) accommodation for 7437 persons. Theattendance, on the Census-Sunday, was, (making an estimated addition for two chapels with regard to which no information was received,)Morning, 3176;Afternoon, 1659;Evening, 2707.