descended by successive ordinations of bishops from the time of the apostles to the present day. Such is the substantial and real agreement in doctrine which exists between Churches which are in some respects dissentient from each other. Their differences turn chiefly on doctrines and practices not taught by our Lord, but which some men in later ages have imagined to be deducible from revelation, or to be allowable and justifiable. Questions as to the truth and lawfulness of such doctrines and practices divide the Christian Churches; but it will probably be found that no article of the faith, no doctrine clearly and distinctly revealed by our Lord, is denied by any of these Churches. It may be added, that many even of the sectaries or schismatics, who have voluntarily forsaken the Church, still maintain the great mass of Christian doctrine, however destitute they may be of Christian charity. The union of the Christian Church, flowing from a common faith, and hope, and charity, was indeed enjoined and urged by our blessed Lord and Saviour; but no promise was given that the Church should at all times be actually united in external communion. The divisions which have for a long time existed arose chiefly, if not entirely, from the mistaken notions of the papal authority entertained by the popes and their adherents during the eleventh and following centuries. If it should please God to open the eyes of Romanists to their error on this point, we might have some reason to hope for the approach of those happy days predicted in holy Scripture, when "Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." On the doctrine of the papal supremacy the whole mass of superstitions which we deplore to see in the Roman communion essentially depends. It is this doctrine which leads Romanists to view the Oriental and British Churches as separated from the true Church; and which renders it equally impossible for those Churches to expect the restoration of general harmony and union. And while we lament the disunion of the Christian Church, we have also to deplore the multitude of abuses and errors which in many parts of the world choke the good seed and make it unfruitful. Superstitions which arose "while men slept," still continue, almost unchecked and unresisted, to prevail. The ignorant are in many Churches left exposed to the danger of honouring the creature instead of the Creator, by the worship of images, and the invocation of saints. But on all sides there is much of infirmity, of imperfection, and of sin. Every Church and every age has its temptations and its faults. At one period there may be a tendency to superstition; at another, a tendency to self-confidence, spiritual pride, or irreverence. Those who are ready to reject all usurped authority in religion, may not be altogether free from a spirit of pride, and a disposition to resist even legitimate rule. fear of bigotry and enthusiasm may sometimes be found united with slothfulness and indifference. To every Church and every individual, the apostolic precept, "Be not high-minded, but fear," should be the subject of continual meditation and prayer. It is only in this spirit that we should ever dwell on the faults of others, or on the blessings which the mercy of God has vouchsafed to bestow on ourselves. A But, amidst our sorrows for the numerous evils with which the sin and infirmity of human nature have afflicted the Church, we are consoled by the perpetuity of the Church itself, and by the many examples of Christian sanctity which have in every age adorned our holy faith. Nothing can more powerfully prove to us the presence of God with his Church, than the lives of those men whom Divine grace has transformed into the image of Christ. There is in true religion a REALITY which comes home to the heart of every one; which stimulates the feeblest faith, and animates the most languid charity. |