The centurion, therefore, caused the body to be burnt. We then gathered his bones, more precious than pearls, and more tried than gold, and buried them. In this place, God willing, we will meet and celebrate, with joyous gladness, the birth-day of His martyr, as well in memory of those who have been crowned before, as, by his example, to prepare and strengthen others for the combat."*

In this passage there are important statements, upon which I may be permitted to enlarge. In many respects, indeed, it is a very striking narrative: it proves the eagerness of the Christians to have the body of the saint,-it shows that his bones were considered by them more " precious than pearls, and more tried than gold,”—and that they would honour them by meeting at his tomb to celebrate his birth-day. But its most striking record is this: that their enemies, the Jews, suggested that they would adore Polycarp. How comes it that their adversaries could, for a moment, have suspected, or pretended to suspect, that the Christians would worship Polycarp, and desert Christ? Certainly, if there had never been any marks shown of outward respect, or honour, to the relics of martyrs, it could not possibly have come into these men's heads, that there was any danger of the Christians worshipping the body of Polycarp; the very charge supposes that such practices existed, and were well known to the adversaries of the Christians.

St. Ignatius, who suffered martyrdom at Rome, 100 years after Christ, was Bishop of Antioch; and we read how his body was conveyed back to his see, and carried as an inestimable treasure, from city to city.† But on this translation we have an eloquent passage of St. Chrysostom, which I must read:-" When, therefore, he had there (at Rome) laid down his life, or rather when he had gone to heaven, he returned again crowned. For the goodness of God was pleased that he should return to us, and to distribute the martyr between

* Hist. Eccl. L. iv. c. xv. p. 170, 171.

See his acts in Ruinart.

the

you

that city received his dropping blood, but ared his relics. You rejoiced in his episcopacy; . him struggling, and victorious, and crowned; you um perpetually. God removed him from you for a while, and with much more glory has He restored him as they who borrow money, return with interest what they received, so also God, having borrowed of you this precious treasure for a short time, and shown him to that city, sent him back to you with increased splendour. For you sent forth a bishop, and you have received a martyr: you sent forth with prayers, and have received with crowns. And not you alone, but all the intermediate cities. For how think you were they affected, when they beheld the relics transported? What fruits of gladness did they gather? How much did they rejoice? With what acclamations did they salute the crowned conqueror? For as the spectators, starting up from the arena, and laying hold of the noble combatant who has overthrown all his antagonists, and is going forth with splendid glory, do not permit him to touch the ground, but carry him home with innumerable encomiums; so all the cities, in order receiving this holy man from Rome, carried him on their shoulders, and accompanied the crowned martyr with acclamations even to this city, celebrating the conqueror with hymns, and deriding the devil, because his artifice turned against himself, and what he had thought to do against the martyr, had proved adverse to himself."* Thus do we find the relics of the saints treated with the greatest respect by the immediate disciples of the Apostles, by those who knew them, and had learnt from them. Afterwards, the texts mul tiply without end.

St. Basil, bishop in Cappadocia, answers St. Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, who had written all that way, to request a portion of the relics of St. Dionysius: and this shows the

*Homil. in St. Ignat. Mart. xliii. is translated by the Rev. F. C. Husenbeth, in his triumphant exposure of Faber—“ Faberism Exposed,” 1836, p. 623.

communion between the Churches in all parts of the world, and the object to which it was applied. These are his words:

"Affection to our departed brethren is referred to the Lord, whom they served: and he who honours them, that died for the faith, shows that he is inspired by the same ardour; so that one and the same action is a proof of many virtues.". He then relates, how, much against the will of those who possessed them, the saint's relics had been taken up, and sent; and that of their being genuine there was not the smallest doubt.*

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The following is a strong passage from the saint whom I have before quoted, with particular praise, St. Ephrem:See, how the relics of the martyrs still breathe! Who can doubt of these martyrs being still alive? Who can believe that they have perished?" He then extols the virtues of relics, and exhorts the faithful, in every distress, to have recourse, with confidence, to them: "For the deity dwells in the bones of the martyrs, and, by his power and presence, miracles are wrought." St. Asterius writes:"Wherefore, decently disposing of the bodies of the martyrs, let us preserve them for ages as gifts of high value. By them we are fortified; and the Church is protected, as a city is guarded by an armed force." St. John Chrysostom:— "That which neither riches nor gold can effect, the relics of martyrs can. Gold never dispelled diseases, nor warded off death: but the bones of martyrs have done both. In the days of our forefathers the former happened: the latter in our own."‡ There is literally no end to such testimonies. But we have, about this time, appearing in Church history, two evidences, which fully evince what the belief of the Christians was. The first is the writings of Eunapius the Sophist, about the year 380, which were directed to show that the Christians worshipped the martyrs. He charges them, in the first place, with taking great care of their bodies, and placing them un

* Ad Ambros. Mediol. Ep. cxevii. T. iii. p. 287.

↑ T. v. p. 340, Ed. Rom. Homil. lxxi. S. Drosidis Mart. T. v. p. 882.

der their altars; in the second place, with paying them divine adoration, and treating them as Gods: whereon he accuses them of downright idolatry. So that this is not a modern accusation: it is a very old tale, a very antiquated charge, made 380 years after Christ; when, for precisely the same belief and practice as we now follow, the entire Church was taxed by a heathen with being idolatrous. This proves, at least, what great honour and veneration was paid to the Saints and to their remains.

The second evidence is,-that a few years after, we have Vigilantius condemned as a heretic, for saying that the relics of Saints ought not to be honoured. An express treatise yet remains, written by St. Jerome against him; but the very fact of the practice being impugned by Vigilantius, shows that it existed before. St. Jerome makes a very accurate distinction: "We worship not, we adore not, the relics of the martyrs; but we honour them, that our minds may be raised to him, whose martyrs they are. We honour them, that this honour may be referred to him, who says: He that receiveth you, receiveth me."*

This is just what Catholics have always said in modern times: that the respect paid by them to relics, is referred ultimately to God; and that in honouring His servants, we honour God, who chose them as His champions and faithful servants. About this time, therefore, we have a multiplicity, an endless variety of writers, teaching the same doctrine; and I remember particularly being struck with one of the letters of St. Augustine, meant as a letter of recommendation to some friends who were travelling in Italy. During his time, the relics of St. Stephen, the first martyr, were discovered in the East, and a portion of them brought into Africa. St. Augustine,—and no one, it will be admitted, was more remote from credulity or superstition,-gives an account of what happened on the introduction of his bones. The Bishop of a neighbouring diocese was cured of a long and harassing dis*Ep. liii. ad Riparium, T. i. p. 583, 584.

ease, for which he was to undergo a painful operation in a few days, by carrying the relics into the church. But the circumstance which I wished to mention relative to the recommendatory letter is, that after he has made a long encomium of the character of the travellers, he says: "What is still more precious, they carry with them a portion of the relics of St. Stephen." Were any one now-a-days to write a letter of this sort, he would be considered superstitious. And yet, who is it that writes it?—what an age did he live in, and what a man! Surely such passages as these ought, at any rate, to make our traducers modify their language, when they speak of our doctrines, if it were only out of respect to the individuals whom they involve in the same condemnation. Thus much shall suffice on the subject of our veneration for relics. We see a strong ground-work of our belief in the Word of God, and we are completely borne out by the practice of the Church.

There is still another subject in connexion: that of images or pictures in our churches. The Council of Trent defines two things, as the belief of the Catholic Church on this head. First, that it is wholesome and expedient to have pictures, or images and representations of the Saints; in the second place, that honour and respect are to be paid to them.* This is, therefore, the whole of the Catholic doctrine. I suppose no one will go the length of saying, that it is unlawful to have pictures in churches, on the ground of its being opposed to a Jewish commandment; although we have been ignorantly charged with having corrupted the decalogue, by putting one commandment into two, to get rid of the prohibition, which applied to the making of images, as distinct from that of adoring them. The first question, therefore, appears to be, is the making of all images forbidden, or are we only forbidden to worship them? If the former be the case, then no monument can be allowed in a church, and no altar-piece, and yet it is well known that there are many such in the Established Church. In the church of St. Stephen, Wal* Sess. XXV. "De venerat. SSorum."