New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1867-06-02
yHURcH AND STATE IN GREAT BRITAIN.

| One Of the most important results That
will flow from the triumph of the reform
movement in Great Britain will be the
separation of the church and State the
| abolition OF the established church as a
governmental institution. To-day Large
majority Of the people of the United King
dom are either Catholics, or Protestant
dissenters from the Episcopalian church !;
and as soon as this majority are enabled to
exert their legitimate influence in pArlla-
| ment, they will take care that they are no
longer compelled to support an institution
for which they have no sympathy. Even
the best friends Of the Episcopalian church
in England have recently become convinced
that her purity and usefulness can only be
maintained by divorcing her from the
State. The vast revenues that she has so
long enjoyed are no longer devoted to
apostolic and evangelical purposes but
are eaten up by a system which enables
bishops to live in more than princely state,
while curates starge on fifty pounds a
year. For many years past the church
has come to be regarded as a
profession or trade, to which the younger
son, who was too feeble to enter the navy,
too poor to buy a commission in the army,
and too limited in intellect to rise to emf
hence in the law, might be apprenticed
with the certainty OF receiving a livelihood
in return for the performance of nominal
services. Ii was not deemed at all requisite
that the young men thus designed for the
church should have what we term "a call
for the ministry = it was not supposed that
| their hearts were inflamed with love of
souls, and that they felt that God had
called them to work in his vineyard.
They We're required simply to pass GER
tain length of time at an university to
subscribe to the thirty-nine articles of
faith: and to receive an ordination al the
hands of a bishop, when they were ready
to accept the living which their family
influence or their fathers money could pro-
cure for them. Entering upon the duties
of their vocation, their first step was to
obtain the services of a curate, to whom
they could delegate the work of their
! parishes, and who would relieve them of
all duties except those of reading prayers,
and preaching a sermon on Sundays: and
their subsequent life was too often una
/ dorned with the virtues that are expected
in priest,
1t is not to be supposed that church
thus governed would long retain its in
fuence over the hearts and affections of
/ the people. Bat, as if to still further
ALLEVIATE the established religion from the
respect Of the mass of the people of Eng
land, a curious schism sprang up within it
some years ago, which has now assumed
proportions that are alarming to the Prot
estant mind, and awakens fears that can
only be allayed by the severance of the
church and State. Among the English
clergymen We're some earnest men; men
who fully recognized the high nature of
their holy calling. But this class OF men,
Of whom DR.. Pussy is the best exponent,
as he is also the recognized leader, anxious
to exalt their ministry and to clothe them
selves with that spiritual authority and su-
premacy that in their belief the priests of
God were entitled to possess, plunged into
historical and ecclesiastical researches that
led them back to close investigation of
the faith and practice OF the English
church at the time of the reformation.
They found, or they fancied they had
found, that many of the doctrines
that were at this day recognized
as cardinal points in the faith of their
church, were really departures from the
truth and that there was far less ground
of difference between the English church,
as it should be, and the church of Rome,
than was generally believed. Some of
these clergymen pursued the investigation
thus commenced until they were led to
abjure the Protestant faith altogether, and
to reconcile themselves with Rome among |
them DIR. Wiseman, who is now cardinal |
of that church, and Dr. Manning, who is at
present the Catholic archbishop of West |
minister. But the majority of them managed |
to stop one step short of this consumma-
ton, and to retain the honors and emolu-
ments of their places in the English church, |
while denying and abjuring the essential
principles of Che reformation upon which |
it was supposed to be founded. These |
constitute what is now known as the |
ritualistic sections Of the English church,
and among them are to be found majority |
of the earnest and Jealous clergymen of
that faith. They have restored, to great
extent, the ceremonies that the reformation |
abolished they have resumed the ancient
costumes and vestments they have re-
stored the confessional /; they have re-
lighted the candles upon the altar
and they teach the doctrine of
the real presence in the elements of
the mass. If recent manifesto put forth |
by DIR. Pusey-who still retains his author
ity as priest of the church of England
may be accepted as correct representa-
ton of the claims of this section of the |
clergy, 1t may be said that they assert the |
identity of the doctrines of the churches of |
England and Rome, as contained on one
side in the thirty-nine articles of religion, |
and on the other by the canons and de-
crees Of the Council of Trent; they re-