The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-29
The Coming General Council Of the CathO.
Lie Church.

The General Council now cOnvoked will be
the twentieth recorded in ecclesiastical annals
The first Council of the Christian Church met at
Jerusalem in the fftieth year Of our Lord in
order to establish the conditions on which GEN
tile converts should be admitted to baptism. 1t
was then decided that such converts should not
undergo preliminary circumcision, nor be sub
ject to the ceremonial lnJOnctlons OF the
Mosaic law. Nice was the seat OF the second
council, A. D. S25, in which the assembled
prelates enunciated the doctrine of the son
OF God in opposition to the Arian Leresy.
The third Council, held at Constantinople in
the year 3Sl, under Theodosius the Great, con.
frmed the doctrine of the Holy Ghost. Tue
fourth Council conVOked at Ephesus in 43l, and
the filth, at Caledonia in 45l, defined the dogma
OF the union Of the divine and human natures
in Jesus Christ. Between A. ID. 553 and S69
followed three Councils at Coustantinople and
one at Nice (7S7), the latter uuder the Empress
Irene and her son, Constantine vi. The first
Council IN the Lateran Basilica at Rome as
sembed in the year 1922, aud was the first
Ecumencal Council of The Western Church.
Three others followed between that date and
the year 1915. Lyons was the seat OF an Ecu
menical Council under Pope Innocent ", in
! 1916, and Pope Gregory \, IN 1915 Vienna had
ment V. The Council OF Cons JanCe, to which l
4 have already made alusiOn IN this letter, was
sitting from l4l4 to l4l8. The Council OF
Basle, eighteenth in chronological order,
lasted nine years Ql3l-4O) and was important
from the abolition Of several crying abuses
in the Church, and more particularly
II Tor tue reform OF ecCie siaStlCal dlsclpnne,
which had th IN become shamafuily lax. This
Council was held under the Pontiicates of
Eugenius ". aud Nicholas ". Tue Imperial
kthrone was successiYely filed by Siglsmuud,
Albert III, and Frederick III. during the same
period. The famous Council of Trent, which
COM plees our list vas held under the Pontid-
cate of Paul Ill, The grca, Emperor, Charles
v, Gid not 1--we to see the Termination Of its
tedious aOOrs, which Tere only promulgated IN
the reign OF his brother, Fefdluand l. pae
Council OF Trent was sitting fr1m l545 to 1868,
and the ecclesiastical ChrOuiClers of most re-
pute. Father Paul, of Venice and the Spanish
DR.. Vargas, VINO have recorded its procee iiues.
give a very edlfyiug description OF the intrigues
and artidces which The Pspai Legate emDloVed
10 obtain the declarations desired oy the
Vatican. THIS council, ike that Of Basic had
IN view, among other lmrOrtant matters the
reform OF ecclesiastical abuses, so urgently
rallied for by the RAPID spread OF the RetOrma
lion in Germany, England, and even France
Son ethng in this way waf cer'ainly done under
the sharp SPUR o. necessity, but nothing At all
oW ards healing the serious dissen,iOus which
had arisen in the Church. The only effect o
he Council was 10 ALLEVIATE from the Catholic
Church all Rho had been wavering 10 then
Allegiance aud to widen The breach, or rathe
freate IN impossible bBaricr between CathOli
ism and Professionalism. There is every reason
o believe that the doctrines or dogmas tba
proceed from the approaching Council will bt
b. such an impossible character as to still fur
her shake the hold Of Rome upOn the faith o
he people throughout Christendom,