The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-09-20 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF LONDUA"S LATE CHARGE•

The late Charge of the Bishop of London to the Clergy
of his diocese has just been published. It is einbuctl with
much Christian moderation and charity. There arc none
of those dogmatical and servile opinions which in former
times disfigured and disgraced the character of a Christian
Bishop ; but, on the contrary, the points which have
' usually produced irritation and invective are here de-
veloped with considerable ability and temper. IVe have
only room for the following extract. We may refer to the
Charge again in a future number.
In respect to her external relations, the affairs of the Church have
proceeded not unsatisfactorily since our last meeting. Among the
most remarkable events which have occurred durirg that period is
the revival of controversy respecting the pretensions and doctrines of
the Roman Catholic Church, which, in this country at least, had
ceased for many years to excite any considerable degree of attention.
The weakness of the grounds on which that Church rests her claims
to spiritual sovereignty over Christendom, the authority which she
assigns to tradition as a rule of faith, and the unscriptural character
of many of those dorrines which she imposes on the belief of
Christians, had been so clearly demonstrated by the early Reformers,
and again by our divines after the Restoration, as to satisfy the nation
at large of the necessity of separating from a communion, which
required the sacrifice of liberty and truth by the acknowledgment of
an usurped power, and the profession of a corrupt faith. The argu-
ments on both sides having been sifted again and again, and placed
in every different view, the discussions were gradually discontinued,
or, if renewed from time to time by the zeal of divines, excited little
interest. A long and active hostility subsided into a virtual truce;
the Protestant laid down his arms in the confidence of victory, and
the Roman Catholic was unwilling to renew an attack, from which,
tlwugh firm in his persuasion, he had been taught by experience to
expect no beneficial result. In consequence of this mutual forbear.
ance, the reasons of our separation from Rome, and the teal
principles of the Roman Catholic Church, which once had been
genetally known, were no longer fa niliar to the public; and
many persons were led to imagine that a change had been
insensibly wrought in her system, that she had modified her
objectionable tenets, had become more tolerant to Christians of
other persuasions, and was disposed, if not formally to disavow
her exclusive pretensions, yet to abstain from pressing them.
It is true that the principles which were taught in her schools
of divinity, as well as the public docutnents put forth by her highest
authorities, contradicted this charitable supposition ; but few
persons would be at the trouble of examining lectures in theology,
and it was said, with some show of probability, that official papers
must speak the language of form, which is prescribed by ancient
usage, and is not always to be understood in its strict sense. Tilt
silence has however been broken ; and the question at issue between
the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church has been warmly
debated on religious grounds, and, on both sides, with no mean
ability. Of the issue of such a controversy, even had the cause of
truth been defended with less power of reason and eloquence than
was displayed on this occasion, there could be little doubt. In the
estimation at least of every Protestant, our adversaries have equally
failed in the preof of their charges against our National Church,
and in the defence of their own. It is not my intention to enter
into the general cue.tion, any bran iii of which is too large for the
present OCCasion, and which Pas ben ably and amply discussed
in publications which me in the hands of every one.. The point
' to which I would draw your attention, is the light which has
been thrown, in the result V the controversy, on the character
of the Runtish Church ; the utter disproval of any alteration, or
even the possibility of alteration, in her principles, claims, or doc-

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trines. Whatever difference of opinion, under the connivance,
respects
and not the allowance, of her rulers, may be tolerated, in some
and in some countries, all her divines of any authority agree in as-
serting that sh, alone, with the successor of St. Peter at her head,
the Representative of Christ upon earth, is the one, holy, Catholic,
and Apostolic Church, out of *hire bosom there is no salvation;
that to her all Churches are subject. as their mother and mistress ;
the parent to whom they are indebted for their being; the sovereign
from whom they thrive their authority, anal to whom their allegiance
is due; that in virtue of tile promises of Christ and the continual as.
sistance of his Spirit. she is infallible, exempt from the possibility of
error, in matters of faith. and authorial to enforce her decisions on
the conscience of all Christians. Tic unity of faith, of worship, of
government, all drawn to a point under the supremacy of the Pope,
is essential to the Constitution of her Church, and admits of no im.
peachtnent. litr authority she cannot renounce in the slightest
particular, because, emanating from Christ, as a trust to be exer.
cased for the good of mankind-, it is inherent and inaliennhle ; nor
can she subject her doctrines to revision, because infallibility pre-
cludes aberration from truth. and truth is incapable of variation.
The system of doctrine which she is thus engaged to maintain has
been long since defined and established by the Council of Trent,
ard the creed of Pius the IN'th, which latter embodies the peen.
liar doctrines rejected by Protestants, and enjoins, under pain of
damnation, their reception by every Christian, together with im.
elicit belief of all that in held by the Romish Church, and the re.
nunciatlon of nil opposite errors. To this must be added, her
utter rejection of any distinction of doctrines into fundamental or
not filitelamottal ; she regards tint the importance of the doctrine :
it is the slight to her authority which subjects the offender to ana-
thema, for the obvious reason, that by impugning her judgment on
the most insignificant point, he questions her pretence to infallibi-
lity. This is in effect the great strength of the Romish Church, the
principle which cements the system of error, and prevents it from
falling into ruin. It is this " sacred inflexibility,' as it is termed
by her advocates, " her incompatibility with any error whatsoever,"
in other words her determined adherence tii the whole body of
doctrines, whether true or false, which she has once made part of
her Creed—which constitutes her principal security. Hence she
disclaims all compromise in questions relating to her hierarchy or
articles of faith, and denies the privileges, and even the name of a
Church, to every Christian community, and the hope of salvation
to all individuals who refuse subjection to her authority. Ido not
accuse her of uncharitableness on account of this exclusive spirit :
tile authority which she believes to have been conferred on her by
Christ, it is her duty to exercise—the privileges received at His
hands she is not a' liberty to relinquish—the faith delivered to her
custody she is bound to maintain in its integrity—and, if separat ion
float her communion involves the guilt of apostecy, and the for.
feiture of the promises of salvation, she is under a sacred oblige.
non to lift up her voice, and warn mankind of their danger. But
the more firmly site is persuaded of her divine right, and disposed
to act in accordance with it, the more incumbent is it on those who
deity
.her authority, and think they are able to prove that she not
only is liable to error, but has grievously erred, in matters of faith,
to be sure of the grounds on which they form their conclusions
and assert their indepenileeee. Where such are the pretensions
advanced, the truth or the falsehood of particular articles of faith
becomes a secondary question. if Christ has appointed the Church
of Rome the exclusive possessor of His promises, the sole deiso.
sitary of ills authority, the infillible judge in controversies regard.
ing the faith, it is useless to debate on other matters. If this point
is decided in her favour, our only resource is to acknowledge our
morn, to sue for reconciliation, and accept the system of doctrines
which is proved to be true by her sanction.
In these statements, it is tar from my intention to excite angry
feelings. Illy object his simply been to explain, in exact con.
listency with truth, and without unnecessary harshness of
language, the actual position which the Church of Rome has
stored in regard to the Churches which disdains befauthority, and
the consequences which flow from her pretensions. Other Churches
may differ front us in points of importance—may reproach us with
detects and corruptions, and think it tight to abstain from our com-
munion. The Romish Church asserts a title to privileges, which,
if they really belong to her, cut us off from connexion with Christ,
snit place us, as rebels, usurpers, and apostates, out of the pale of
the Christian Church. Other Churches, if they fall into error, may be
corrected by time anal reason. The obnoxious tenets of many
Christian sects have either been dropped from their conies• ions, or
have silently stink into oblivion. But the errors of Rome are im-
perishable—they derive from her principles the character of immu-
tability which belongs to divine truth, and are asserted with equal
confidence.
When we are acquainted with the true state of the controversy
we may form our own conclu,dons ; and these will undoubtedly
lead us, as faithful sons of a Church, which neither in purity of
doctrine, nor holiness of worship, nor the apostolical succession of
its ministers, is inferior to any other Christian Church, with calm.
ness and steadiness to resist an usurpation which would despoil
us at once of our faith, our liberties, and our sacred character.
And how is this to be dune? Not surely by retaliating mis.
statements, invectives, and calumnies, or crudely asserting
an unqualified right of private judgment, but by reference
to primitive antiquity.; disproving the allegations of our op-
ponents from the silence of Scripture, of general tradition, ,
of ancient writers, which in a case of this nature • is de-
cisive; appealing to the proceedings of Emperors, the nets of
Councils, the language of Fathers, of Bishops, and even of Popes,
which contradict the pretensions of the Papacy; and tracing the
growth of this ecclesiastical tyranny from its rise after the division
of the empire, till it attained to its hsightli towards the close of the
eleventh century. The Holy Scriptures, and the genuine records
of ancient usage and practice, will in like manner supply us with
proof of the real authority, the legitimate privileges conferred on
the Church. and derived immediately from Christ on all particular
Churches, which are true members ur hi. body. And if we enter
on our charge with that sense of its dignity, una humble reliance
on aid from above, which we cannot but feel, if we ale .soured of
our mission from Christ, and the truth of his promises to the
Church, we may hope for the satisfaction of confuting our adver.
slides of every description, not only by unanswerable arguments,
but by the power of the spirit of (fad appealing in the fruits of our
ministry.
The great body of llissenttrs show no symptoms at present of