REV. SIR: LETTER III. IN my last letter, if I do not deceive myself, I have fully proved, that all the writers of the fourth century, and in the beginning of the fifth, together with all the councils convened within that period, do assert, that episcopacy was an Apostolical institution. I shall now proceed to consider the testimonies of individuals, and of provincial councils in the third century. And here, there is such a mass of evidence in favour of our cause, that my only difficulty lies in making such a selection as will answer my purpose, without extending this discussion to too great a length. I shall abridge the evidence as much as I possibly can; and shall request your patient attention to it. แ You enter upon this century with the following observations: "About this time, as will be afterwards shown, among many other corruptions, that of clerical imparity appeared in the Church; and even the papacy, as we have before seen, had begun to urge its anti-christian claims. From the commencement of the third century, therefore, every witness on the subject of episcopacy is to be received with caution." In opposition to these vague and ill-founded assertions, I shall give you the testimony of Marshal, the learned translator of the works of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. Speaking of that prelate, he says, Cyprian was the Bishop of a most flourishing Church, the metropolis of a province. He was a man who was made for business, had a diligent and active spirit, and talents equal to the charge wherewith he was entrusted. The time he lived in was a busy one, and he was at the head of most transactions in it. One hundred and fifty years had not passed from the death of one of the Apostles, when he entered upon his see; and the Churches of CHRIST were then particularly careful to preserve the memory and observance of all apostolical institutions; and had certainly better means at that time of knowing what those institutions were, than any which are now within reach of the most curious inquirer. The short hints and glances which we find in Scripture, were then improved, explained, and opened, by the successive practice of the Church, from her first formation; and her practice could easily be traced upwards from that time to the very fountain; and when her Bishops were so watchful, and so well united for mutual defence and counsel, it was next to impossible, that any material innovation upon her doctrine, discipline or worship, should creep in unobserved, and not be repulsed upon its first attempts. There was then no temptation from secular views, to taint her purity in any of these particulars. Frequent persecutions reminded all her pastors of their duty; and the powers of the world had not yet either protected or cor rupted her." That this was the true state of the Church in the. third century, is, I am well convinced, the opinion of almost all who have said any thing upon this subject. I will give you the testimony of another great master of antiquity, much to the same purpose as the above. “No assignable age of the Church," says Bishop Sage, "were closer adherents to divine authority, or stricter observers of divine institutions, or nicer requirers of divine warrant for every thing proposed to be received by them. Never an age wherein innovations were more carefully guarded against, or repudiated. I might easily fill some sheets with testimonies to this purpose. Nor was it peculiar to him [Cyprian] to be so nice and cautious in this matter: not one of his contemporaries was otherwise minded."b I will now, Sir, give you the testimony of a very distinguished non-conformist, and a very stiff opposer of diocesan episcopacy; I mean Richard Baxter. It relates entirely to the African Churches; but that is quite sufficient for my purpose. "In Cyprian's time," says he, "they were the best ordered Churches in the world; and the Bishops were the most godly, faithful, peaceable company of Bishops since the Apostles' times." And of the following times he thus speaks: "Most of the African councils were the best in all the world; no Bishops being faithfuller than they." In no period indeed, of the Church shall we find any thing like perfection. Faults, weaknesses, and deviations from purity may be found in the individuals of that age, no doubt; and the same things may be found in the very age of the Apostles. But for any material error in doctrine, or any peculiar viciousness of life, that age is no more marked than the two preceding. Nor can any reason be assigned why it should be. The Christians were then under dreadful persecutions, which have a powerful tendency to purify both priests and people. They had also extraordinary communications of GOD'S SPIRIT; and miracles had not yet ceased. This is an a priori argument; and fact perfectly corre sponds with it. More need not be added to show, that your cautions with respect to this agé, are by no means well founded; but if they were-if it be conceded, that the third century was more corrupt, both in doctrine and morals, than the two preceding-still the concession would be totally irrevelant to the point under consideration; for I am not about to quote testimonies from the writers of this century, to prove a point of doctrine, nor to adduce the evidence of flagitious characters, to prove a matter of fact. I shall require no more from you than every court of justice upon the face of the earth would admit; that is, to receive and to decide upon the evidence of honest men. This simple quality in the witnesses is enough for my purpose; yet you may, if you please, a Pref. p. 15. þ Cvr. age vind. p. 532. C STILLINGFLEET's Unreas. of Separ. p. 248. require more of me; you may insist upon my bringing forward men illustrious for learning, virtue, and piety; and your request shall be instantly complied with. I adduce, then, in the first place, the great and glorious martyr, St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. A volume may be filled with testimonies from this distinguished champion of the Christian faith; and a volume actually has been filled with such testimonies, by Bishop Sage. This volume I have before me, and I am glad I have it; for it will save me the trouble of reading over all the writings of St. Cyprian: Ishall, however, see that every quotation corresponds with the original. From the writings of this distinguished man, and from those of his contemporaries, I shall, if I do not deceive myself, prove the four following particulars: 1. That St. Cyprian was not a congregational, but a diocesan Bishop, in the strict and proper sense of the epithet. 2. That he and they believed this episcopacy to be of divine institution. 3. That the Bishop was raised to the highest grade of priesthood by a distinct ordination. And, 4. That he was the supreme ruler of the Church, and that all orders were governed by him. If these four points should be completely established, the cause will then be fairly gained, with respect to the third century; and, I think, I may confidently assert, that if gained for that century, it will be also for the two preceding; for it will be an easy matter to show, notwithstanding your plausible conjectures to the contrary, that it was morally impossible for so great a change to have taken place in so short a time; and that too, without any writer in the third century knowing any thing about the matter. 1. First, then, St. Cyprian was not a congregational, but a diocesan Bishop. To throw light upon this point, it is proper to observe, that Carthage was a very great and populous city. Tertullian, who was a native of it, and who flourished half a century before Cyprian, speaks of the Christians even in his time, as "so numerous, as almost to constitute the greater part of every city;" and in his apology to the Roman magistrates, he speaks of their numbers in the following manner: "We are of yesterday, yet every place is filled with us: your cities, your islands, your forts, your corporations and councils, even the armies, tribes and companies, yea, the palace, senate, and courts of justice; the temples only have we left to you. Should we go off, and separate from you, you would stand amazed at your own desolation, be affrighted at your solitary state, the stagnation of your affairs, and the stupor of death which would seize your city." What c. 2. e Tanta hominum multitudo, pars pene major cujusque civitatis. TER. ad Scap. f Hesterni sumus, et vestra omnia implevimus; urbes, insulas, castella, munici pia, conciliabula, castra ipsa, tribus, docurias, palatiam, senatum, forum; sola vobis reliquimus templa. Si tanta vis hominum in aliquem orbis remoti sinum abru pissemus a vobis, &c.-Apol. p. 33. c. 37, folly and impudence would this imply, if there was but a single congregation in the great city of Rome, and the other great cities of the empire? Eusebius, too, conveys the same idea, when he compares the Christian churches in every city-" their thronged and crowded societies, to grain heaped upon a barn floor." Who can believe, after these accounts, that there were no more Christians in Carthage, where Christianity had been professed from the apostolic age, than would amount to one large congregation? : Again There was a number of Presbyters in the Church of Carthage; and, how this consists with the notion of a single congregation, I cannot well understand. That there was a number of Presbyters is beyond contradiction. When Cyprian sent Numidicus to be placed among the Presbyters of Carthage, he gives this reason for it, "that he might adorn the plenty of his Presbyters with such worthy men, it being now impaired by the fall of some;" that is, during the persecution, Cyprian had the mortification of seeing his Church rent with schism. Felicissimus and five other Presbyters broke communion with that Church; and after that, Cyprian mentions Britius, Rogatianus, and Numidicus, as the chief Presbyters. Rome, we well know, had, at the very same time, forty-six presbyters, and Constantinople sixty. In the name of common sense, what could be the use of such a number of ministers, where there was but a single congregation? Would you not think the vestry of Trinity church out of their senses, were they to call to the assistance of the Rector, sixty, or forty, or one half the number of curates, although three other very considerable congregations are connected with that mother church? And why should moderns be deemed mad-men for so doing, and the ancients be considered as acting with wisdom and piety? Take into the account, also, the impracticability of one congregation maintaining such a number of clergymen, at a time, when "not many mighty, not many noble were called"-when Christians were not of the richer ranks in society. That they were all maintained by the Church, besides a number of Deacons and inferior officers, is most certain; for we are repeatedly told by the ancients, that the offerings at the altar were the only means of supporting the Bishop, his clergy, and the poor. If, in such circumstances, Christians had not the most imperious calls to observe rigid economy, I cannot conceive in what circumstances they could have them. Besides, the Christians of that day were too virtuous and pious to encourage idleness and vice; for that would have been the inevitable consequence of maintaining such a number of supernumerary ministers. In short, broad absurdity is stamped upon the very "head and front" of congregational episcopacy. Eccles. Hist. lib. ii. c. 3. h Ep. 40. [St. George's Church in the city of New-York, was at the time of writing these letters, a Chapel of Trinity Church.] But, to soften this absurdity a little, you tell us, that some of those Presbyters were ruling Elders; although you do not pretend to say how many of them. I wonder you did not tell us that too; for I see no more difficulty in the one case, than in the other. Who, Sir, informed you that there were ruling Elders at Carthage? "Cyprian, Ep. 39." Go on, Sir, if you please. Cyprian, writing to his Presbyters, and Elders, and people"Stop here one moment. That is not the address of the Epistle. It runs thus-"Cyprian to his Presbyters, and Deacons, and to all the people, his brethren, sendeth greeting." You add Elders after Presbyters, which word is not in the address. This is not quite fair: I am sorry you should have had recourse to it; but I will put it to the account of those things quas incuria fudit. This impropriety being corrected, proceed if you please. 'Cyprian, writing to his Presbyters, and Deacons, and people, respecting a certain person called Numidicus, enjoins that he should be reckoned with the Presbyters of that Church, and should sit with the clergy to make up their Presbytery: and yet it appears, that it was only as a ruling, not as a teaching Presbyter that he was to be received by them; for Cyprian subjoins, "He shall be promoted, if it be the will of GoD, to a more distinguished place of his religion, (or of his religious function,) when, through the divine protection, we shall return." From this you infer, that Numidicus was no more than a ruling Presbyter; because he could not otherwise be promoted; for the Bishop was still living, and Cyprian had it not in his power to secure to him the succession. Now, Sir, if this be all that you have to convince you that Numidicus was no more than a ruling Elder, you, certainly, are a man very easily satisfied-at times. But why might not a man of Numidicus' great merit have stood a very good chance to be promoted to some other see, among the many in Mauritania and Numidia, which were every day becoming vacant, in consequence of the dreadful persecution the Church was then under? Surely, there is nothing improbable in such a supposition. Numidicus must have stood high in the estimation of Christians; for he had been a glorious confessor, and had almost received the crown of martyrdom. St. Cyprian tells us, that "he was half roasted, and covered with stones, and so left for dead; and when his daughter, with the solicitude of filial tenderness and piety, was looking for the body, she found him just alive, and drew him out of the heap, and, by the application of cordials and proper remedies, brought him to himself again." Numidicus was some country Presbyter, probably of some remote, obscure parish, and for such a one to be removed to the city of Carthage, and there placed among the clergy, was, undoubtedly, promotion. Cyprian says, that he had a revelation from heaven, "to add the Presbyter k Ep. 39 ניי. |