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tinned

THE TERM " CATHOLIC'

'-BAPTISM

Though we deciin

Yeview for It

•u..v call}' LIUG3111J11:1 111
rian doctrine, there is one point in some degree doctrinal to
which we have already alluded, but which we must tnor
particularly notice before we enter into the detail of th
Tractarian innovations, because it seems to us to be a etron
symptom of that indirect approximation to Romanisrn which
it our main objection to the whole Tractarian system—we
mean the prominent and emphatic reverence with which they
use the term Catholic, contrasted with the low, disparaging,
and even repudiating tone in which everything Protestant is
mentioned.

All Christians using the Apostles' Creed acknowledge
themselves to be members of one holy Catholic or Universal
Church; and so •• all who profess and call themselves Chris-
tians" are, in this view of the matter, and according to the
interpretation of our Liturgy, Cat/tones. But the Roman

_ .
Church, which acknowledges no salvation out of its own
pale, which recognises no other Church than itself, and
treats all the rest of Christianity as heretics, arrogates to
itself the exclusive title of Catholic. The premises are false.

but the conclusion is logical ; and they who believe they are
the only Church may very naturally pride themselves ii► the
title of Catholic. On the other hand, the Reformed Churches
have never pretended to be exclusively Catholic ; and while
they denied the Church of Rome to be the Catholic, they
admitted it to be a Catholic Church : they therefore were
not very zealous in stickling for a name, which being, in
t: • -oinr -n to all, co, ' be no c'

heir view, cc ,mo .iistinction to any
and they, protesting against the errors and arrogance of
Rome, set no peculiar value on a title which they were to
share with Popery. The result of all this was that, through-
out Europe, the Roman and Reformed Churches were popu-
larly contra-distinguished as the Catholic and Protestant
Churches; and even in England—though, when more strict-
ness was called for, we talked of the "Roman Catholics "
we beard, in common parlance, of nothing but the " Catho-
lics"—" Catholic Emancipation"—the " Catholic question"
—" the Catholic religion," and so forth. It was in this
state of things that those pious persons, to whom we have
already alluded, thought it expedient to remind the Church
of England of her own claims to the title of Catholic, and
began to call her the Catholic Church in a manner more em-
phatical and peculiar, and more in the style of the Romish
pretensions, than the Anglican Church had ever before
heard of. Our old divines, indeed, in their controversies
with the Burnish theologians, who insisted on their own
Catholicism as a proof of our heresy, retorted upon them
that we were " as Catholic and even more Catholic than
they,"* and always insisted that we were a Catholic Church
in doctrine, though our proper denomination was the Angli-
can Church. This innovation—or, rather, this equivocal
application of an old term—though, on maturer consi-
deration, it appears to have been at first unnecessary,
and eventually mischievous—met, as we all know, a pretty
general acquiescence, and was adopted by parties in the
Church of England who agreed in that alone. Those who
originally broached it, did so, we have now reason to suspect,
with the view of facilitating our return to the doubtful tra-
ditions and obsolete usages of early times (which, if rich in
piety, were pitiably over-tinctured with superstition), and of
so far, at least, approximating to what Rome calls Catholic-
ism. On the other hand, the most zealous antaeontsts of
Rome were very ready to strip her of whatever authority or
reverence the exclusive title of " Catholic" might be supposed
to confer. So that the most opposite opinions seemed to
concur on this new nomenclature, an 4 we ourselves on more
than one occasion, as our readers may have observed, did not
hesitate to employ this now popular denomination ; but we
did so, certainly, with oo view either of approximating to-
wards or of further receding from Rome. We need not here
enter into any critical or theological examination of the vari-
ous senses which ingenious men have given to this term—
which, beit observed, is a merely secular word, not occur-
ring anywhere in the Holy Scriptures. Suffice it to say that
the Church of England uses it as it was used in the earliest
ages of the Christian Church—as nearly synonymous with
orthodox,t and as designating that apostolic Church to which
in the Apostles' Creed we profess our devotion ; but when,
in the further development of the system in which this appa-
rently innocent innovation took its rise, we saw that the title
thus emphatically bestowed on the Church of England we
on many important occasions used in the peculiar sense
to it by the Church of Rome—when auricular confession was
talked of as Catholic—when a more rigid observance of fasts
than had been usual in the Church of England was preached
up as Catholic—when the priest's praying with his back to
the people, contrary to every form and principle of " common
prayer," was recommended and practised as Catholic—when
burning tapers at noonday on the coMmunion-table of an
English parish-church was pronounced to be Catholic—when
we heard of a bishop interfering to rebuke a clergyman for
having a sort of cross sewed on the back of his surplice, by
way of conforming to Catholic example—when we heard of
an English clergyman actuall3 proceeding with a crucifix in
his hand to administer the sacrament to a dying parishioner
more Catholico—when the Church of England was described
to be in a state that required " means of recovery and re-
establishment to make her a pure branch of the Catholic
Church"—when, in short, we saw both ceremonies and doc-
trines which have hitherto distinguished the Roman from the
Protestant Church, all deliberately patronised and systema-
tically characterised as Catholic—how could common sense
resist the conviction that the word Catholic was by this new
school used in a meaning to which the Church of England
never can subscribe? Who could doubt that the term so ap-
plied was used not in honour and reverence of the Church of
England ; but, on the contrary, in diminution of her autho-
rity, and in countenance of the old papal anathema that our
Reformation was no better than an anti-Catholic—that is,
an anti-apostolical and anti-Christian heresy? It is, there-
fore. not the use but the abuse of this term, coupled with so
many more than suspicious circumstances, that excites our
distrust. For our own parts we cannot better express our
opinion on this point than in the words of Archbishop
Seeker :
" Churches that differ widely in several notions and
customs may, notwithstanding, each of them be truly
Catholic churches. But the Church of Rome, which is one
of the most corrupted parts of the Catholic church, both in
faith and love, bath presumed to call itself the whole Catholic
church—the universal church; which it no more is than one
diseased limb, though perhaps the larger for being diseased,
is the whole body of a man ; and by attempting to exclude
us, they take the direct way to exclude themselves, unless
God impute their uncharitable wiy of thinking and acting,
as we hope he will, to excusable ignorance and mistake. The
Church of England pretends riot indeed absurdly to be the
whole Catholic church, but is undoubtedly a sound and ex-
cellent member of it. So that we have much better ground
to sal! ourselves Catholic than they, were such names worth
disputing about--'warm THEY ARE NOT; only one would
not flatter and harden them by giving them a title which they
both claim unjustly, and turn into an argument against us."
—Seeker's Fourteenth Lecture on the Catechism, Works,

vi. p. 139
Another practice, of more importance (than the mode of
presenting the sacramental elements), which bad nearly
fallen into desuetude, has been recently revived. in stricter
compliance with the Rubrics—we mean the performance of
the rite of baptism in the course of the ordinary service, and
before the whole congregation. Great stress has been laid
on this point by those who practise it, for the reasons alleged
in the Rubric itself :
" Tlie people are to be admonished, that is most con-
venient that baptism should not be administered but upon
Sundays and other holy days, when the most number of
people come together; as for that the congregation there
present may testify the receiving of them that be newly
baptized into the nurnl39. of Christ's church ; as also be-
cause in the baptism of infants every man present may be
put in remembrance of his own profession made to God in
his baptism." - - _

Thi; portion of the Rubric has existed ever since the first
book of King Edward; but, until the last revision in 1662,
it was preceded by these words:—
" It appeareth by ancient writers, that the sacrament of
baptism in the old time was not commonly ministered but at
two times in the year—at Easter and Whitsuntide—at which
times it was openly ministered in the presence of all the
congregation ; which custom now being grown out of use
(although it cannot, for many considerations, be well restored
again), it is thought good to follow the same as near as
conveniently maybe. Wherefore the people are to be ad••

roonished, -
This preface to the rite, which is to be found in the Prayer-

s above

was omitted at the Restoration—we suppose, as heir
historical than rubrical; but it is still worth remembering
Then follows the Rubric now insisted on as to the time of
celebration : _ _

And then the godfathers and godmothers, and the people
with the children, must be ready at the font, either immedi-
ately after the last lesson at evening prayer, as the priest at
his discretion may appoint."

This is very clear; and yet, like the early ceremony, " it
had grown out of use;" and 'owe, who are nevertheless very
zealous ruhricans in other points, doubt whether, "for many
considerations, it can be restored."

The Bishop of London says nothing exactly as to the time

" Baptism is never to be administered in private ho,
except in cases of urgent necessity; and all such baptisms
should be duly registered within the time prescribed by law.
This I request you to take as my authoritative direction."—
Charge, p. 63.