New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1844-01-31

knowing 1t to be the truth Of Christ, and reject
ing 1t as SUCK. While unchurchng others not
thus wllfuliy rejecting the truth we should not
condemn-not believing the being out of the
ohufch TO be necessary sign of perdltlon, as it
! IS IN the system OF Geneva. We do not "un-
chuTch,' men, however, quite so recklessly as my
opponent seems to ina CINE. We "unchurch' no
man-we Danish no man from our communion,
| who has been lawfully baptised, and holds the
essential faith who leads Cody and a Chris
tan life, and who is not ,oilui!y and knocingly,
schismatc
1t is true that we believe in one only visible
Church of Christ. We believe that it is un-
changeably constituted and organized BY Christ
himself. We believe that it will continue one to
the end of the world. And we do not believe
that the various communities around u.s. which
have sprung up at different times within the last
three hundred years, and which continue to spring
up every year, calling themselves Churches, are
so IN fact. They are without Christ's organiza-
ton and ministry. Their organization and min
lstry are recent-of yesterday. Whereas Christ
organized his Church eighteen hundred years
ago. But while we thus deny 10 these commum
ties an the aggregate the name and character of
Churches, and while we regard them as in a
state OF schlS yet believe, so far as the md
ridudtS belonging to those communities are con.
cerned. that the guilt of schism depends upon
the circumstances of each particular case And
we do not decide that those individual members
may not, by virtue of their baptism and their
Christian faith and virtue, be still connected,
though in imperfect communion, with the Church
of Christ.
Though in their corporate capacity we refuse
to acknowledge them as Churches, and we deem
them not lawfully organized, in respect to indi-
viduas, we do not refuse to commune with them
as members of the Church. Were your temple
OF worship to be suddenly destroyed by fire on
some communion day, yourself and your whole
body of COMMITMENTS would be received, | ven
ture to say with the utmost Christian hospitality
in any Episcopal Church in this city, or in the
land and would be welcomed to partake with US
Of the Holy Communion. Cease, then, pray
you, attempting to bring this undeserved odlum
upon whole denomination of your fellow Chris
tlans, and bear with the only rebuke will utter
for the attempt" Who art thou that judgest
another mans servant To his own master he
standeth or falIeth."
Now, from what has been said in this latter
part my letter, 1t appears
/. That we are not Exclusive in your sense
of the word, or in the sense in which your scheme
OF doctrine makes the Church exclusive.
II. That to unchurch men is not, neces-
sarily, as it is according to your system, to con-
sign them to perdition.
III. That while we deny to the recently organ
lied communities around US, in the aggregate,
the name and character of Churches, we do not
deny that the Christian baptism and faith Of the
indiriduals embraced in these communities may
connect them though in imperfect communion,
tl N of cf
". That all your various charges of "exclu.
siveness, uncharitableness," unchurchiug,"
&C., are unfounded and unjust and that you have
been led into this injustice by your attempt to
interpret maxim ofthe Church catholic, eighteen
hundred years old, in the lighto the system which
was fabricated at Geneva three hundred years ago.
/ have the honor TO be, rev. and dear Sir
Your obedlent servant, -
IONA NJ. WAINWRIGHT.