The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-11 00:00:00

REV. MR. CHANNING'S SERMON.

The Rev. W. H. Channing addressed the enng-egation
cf R 1181-4 w-street Chapel in favour of the same object at
the forenoon service. Having first preached on the
" Realities of the Christian Religion," in which he
developed the idea of the Church Universal in union in
heavan and on earth, he begged of his hearers to turn for a
moment from the view winch he had endeavoured to.
pr sent to them of the realised ids a of the Christian Charch
to some of the present struggles, which, through the
imperfection of man, disappointed God's providence in his

church. Their sympathy, he wide had, been, asked to
manifest itself in aid of a body of fellow-worehiepers of a
c eumunien in another land—the Unitarians of
Transylvania. It se- med as if the first and last form of
the church, the -olden and the youngest, were in this
struggle brought face to fiefs._ The Trineylvaoian
uniterian% were now irrugglinie with the Catholics-of the
Church of Rime. Would that they could look up to that
ancient church, out of which all the churches of Western
Europe bad-ccome evil feelings of unmiagled sympathy,
aetection, and trust. -Bat ale hettgh they might know amongst
Cathelice many whom they could love,. and ()stem*
,and
feel with, they still knew-how worldly policy and hierarchies
had perverted the Christian church ; and never was there
a more striking manifestifien given of it than by the late
proceedings of the-Roman Catholic Church in the Austrian
dominions. - Ile had no wish to speak harshly of. any one ;
bat, On the other hand, It wee perfectly &ear that those
proceedengs were a Violation of established precedent—a
violation of acknowledged law--a violation of true justice
cue Unitarians of Transylvania Were planted at a very
early period, and were an established society for several
generations. Tie seat exhibition of UnittOtittnism in.
Transylvania dated ar far back as 1544. They would find
that the 'unity of God' was assorted there most-distinctly
in 1565, and in 1568 it was declared that every one was ae
liberty to preach according to his convietioae. Free penwe:
getions were then established with per-Let and full right to
follow their conscientious feelings. In 1571 a law acknow-
ledging tins Unitarian Caurch one of the feur pritileged
religious was• pasiel, the four privileeee r ligi u
`he Romna Catholic, :he Luthc,an, ilvintit and
tarian. He mentioned these facts in the early histOry, of
rransylvania to show hoar long established the 'Unitarian
Church had been. In 1643 a compilation of the laws
,1 Transylvania was made, and that compilation was the
recognised text of law in the' country ; and in it again
was the Unitarian religion declared one of the four estabe
nailed religious. This broucht them down to the perioi
when Transylvania passed under the dominion of Austria.
When Leopold I. was chosen Prince, he confirmed all
existing privileges, and by a m disinet promise Ifni.
t-rians were established in their property and public
oilinse, After this time they suffered persecution. In-
-1716, fer instartee, deseite of the promise of Leopold, and
as it might be said with the lamentable cons'sency in
neiform treachery, of the 'raise of Hapshursreeheir privi-
'eees were violated, their property was ssisr•d.by the Ca
tholic.r, and they themselves exa*teled from alti
-face.. that' rem-in,4 so until the death of
Vtaria Theresa, in 1779, to which ti-ne th
remained under ban, hut wi-h the accession of Joseph
in 1780 came another change. He restored them. to all
rights that had been. taken from them, and these were
ratified ley.Francis the. Yirst, when the ,Unirariaaa. again
began ttarise and prayer., They built new churches, and
in 1806 erected a new colleen, ard they thUs continued -to
progress.trntil in 1837 one of their leafing men was made
a chief councillor of state. He mentioned these fan sto
show how perfectly causeless was this last attack of the
Oath dies in Transy/trauiti. The Austrian government was ,
once more endeavouring to exclude the Unitarians from
the public offices they had so long held. Austria, in her
attempt to Germanise her donftnicins, was again endea-
voring to get the contr A of education in every year er
of her empire. She was seeking to get the control of
education in Transylvania, and the pretext was that the
Unitarian schools were not sufficiently supported,. and_she
called on them to increase the number of their professors,
and also to increase their pay. The falsity of this pretext
was most apparent, for, the excellence of the Unitarian
schools there, was sheen in t e fact that a large propor-
tion of their scholars were those note of the liniteri
communion, and were students attracted to them because
of the superior education to be get in those scheAs-
Atritri,i, however, deman led that they should be closet
unless a certain sum Was forthcoming by a certain day.
That sum was £2O 000. Of it the Unitarians in Iran-
sylva.nia had collected £12,000, and they now hooked to
their brrth en in England and Am rica for aid in makirg
up the remainder. In conclusion, the Rev. gcarleroae
asked if there WAS iny or.e whO, rememhering how lone
the Transylvenian Unitarians had been esrahlished an i how
they had used their newer did not feel an
earnest call to give their assis'ance and s
and observed that the cireumstance of their having risen
and risen again from previous prosecutions, gave an assur-
ance that with a little sympathy and asistance now, they
would surmount their present persecution Also, and that a
better fu tire would dawn en them. He theref ire asked
contributions in aid of the Unitarians of Transylvania
in their struggles for religious freedom.
On the close of the rev. gentleman's discourse, the col-
lection, as requested, was made.