Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1869-10-28
Progress.


its distinctive stages--written his
tory its strongly marked eras-so
the Church has its prominent epochs,
as she flows down through the rece-
/ ding centuries. The Church start
ing, pure and upccntamiDated, from
the great fountain head-Jesus OF
Nazareth--that sacred stream has
oeen carrying light, life and immor-
tality to the race of man, from the
apostolic age to the present Year ol
| Our Lord.
True, in its course, and at but
short remove from the termination
of its founders personal ministry,
this living stream became defiled by
the impurities of earthly sophism,
and its healing virtues well nigh
counteracted by priestly dogmas and
hierarchical assumptions. Then at
points of vital import, that Divine
Order which controls the moral as
well as the physical universe, planted
within the channel of the church
itself, mighty rocks; moral filters,
cleansing and purifying the waters,
collecting for destruction, the vain
imaeinings, unholy fancies, and .un-
christlike dogmas, which had accu-
mulated in its progress, defling its
purity; such rock was Paul in the
primative christian church, and such
filters were Huss, Luther, Zuinglius,
Calvin and Wesley, IN the church of
later years.
To the pure doctrines of Jesus,
Roman Catholicism has added much
of error in the shape of arrogant as
sumptions, and clings to them with
fearful tenacity. Whenever an ancient
dogma is assailed, or new one to
be indoctrinated into the Faith of
Holy NJ other church, she speedily
calls together an eccumenical coun-
ell, to support the one, and to intro
duce the other. The Councils Of
Nice, of Trent, of Constance, and
others, were not called to search for
Truth, or to facilitate the gift of the
word to the spiritually famishing
humanity around them, but to con-
solidate priestly power, to close the
open windows of Bible revelations,
with the dark shutters Of papal ira
dition. We do not need clouds and
mist, but sunlight and warmth.
AT the present hour, the Bishop Of
Rome, in view of the declining
health of that son of the church, Ma
.poleon the third, and the by no
means improbable Withdrawing of the
support afforded by French bayo-
nets, has convened an eccumenical
council, to meet in Rome, not to
purge away the accumulated dross,
hut to- re assert the old claim of IN
fallibility, and to establish, with the
consent of that august body, the
new dogma, founded on Romish ira
dition, that Mary, the neither of Je-
sus was translated bodily to Heaven,
in like manner with the ascension of
her son.
But the mighty filter Of reform is
again at work in that church-Fa-
ther Charles Loyson Hyacinthe--he
works as did Luther, in its midst, he
says 81 oppose those doctrines and
practices, which are called Roman,
but which are not christian" The
present is an important era In church
history. The advent of a second
Luther. We are led to use this ex-
preston, from the well defined simi
larity to be found in the lives, teach
ings, surroundings. and final con-
sideration of their respective causes,
before Romish councils.
Father Hyacinthe is or was carme-
lite monk, a preacher of immense infiu-
ence, lately occupying the pulpit of
the church of the Notre Dame at
Paris, with congregation of 10000
hearers. He follows in the noble work
commenced by Lacordaire and Lam
cunaise-th though the papal thunder of
Gregory 10th, crushed the former into
submission, yet from the latter, it
forced only an utter denial of the
doctrine of infallibility being pos
sessed by the Pope in person, or by
q council, with the Pope at its head.
Father Hyacinthe has arrived in
America, to endeavor to interest our
Romish clergy in the matter of re
form within the church; but we are
somewhat inclined to think that here
is not to be found the expected as
sistance, bat rather among the Gal
lican and German bishops, in the
cradle of religious liberty.
The reforming monk is threatened
with major accommodation, a Gu
rious study for the 10Th century, and
we have yet to see whether papal full