The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-11-25
ENGLAND.

Debated and Rcfiued-I1st and Hosi--gafii
and Morais, and Church and $su;e.
LoSDoN. Nov. IS, 1869.
In my last Letter l brought down the history OF
former EcumeRcal Councils to that OF Cnalcedop,
the fourth the list OF the eighteen Councils that
have as vet taken place in the Catholic Church. /
must now take up my thread with tue sccond Coun-
Gil OF Constantinople which commenced is sittings
A. d. 55S, or just about 100 years after tue previous
Council had began to work.
You win hardly have failed TO note even in the
slight and imperfect sketch given in my last letter of
the first four Councils that their work had been
confined TO defining these dogmas respecting the
different natures and the being speak, OF Jesus
Christ. Nor will you have omitted TO remark how
very natural it was in the first ages Of Christianity
when printing was unknown, literary merit very
rare and manuscripts even few and lar between) that
the speculative minds Of Orenlals-and OF the most
speculative people among the ORIGINALS, viz: the
Greeks-should have wrongly conceived, and still
more wrongly promulgated, doctrines aud opinions
for which there could possibly be no foundation,
either in Scriptures In tradition. Aud, as said
in my first letter this subject it was in order to
put the doctrines respecting God made man-God
who came upon EARN, took to himself the natures OF
man, died upon the cross and rose again-tnat not
only the first four, but the first eight councils were
called together.
And yet 1t Is matter OF wonder that WI EN- the
Church had reached the year 553 that there should
be, SO to speak, any misunderstanding on the doc
trines or the life and being Of the Saviour. But it
was So As a modern French author said, when
writing of the HISTORIAN doctrines "L'eSpru Jtcond
DIES Grecs ne tardG pas tnrentef Ite e1Teltr goa-
cele" 1t is true that what the Council OF Ephesus
defined respecting the unity OF the person OF our
Saviour, and also the definition OF Ills nature as de-
e. re-
manned doglnas OK the Catholic Church. but the
Eastern Cnurch seems TO have been never quite
from some OF this nature Accordingly IN less
than hundred years after the Council oI GLdlcedon,
the whole OF toe Eastern portion Of me Church found
itself in dlScord upon subjects o. like nature Une or
tile great causes o. these disputes were tne Writings
OF oTlgen which, on some points were considered
netrodox In Inc extreme, particularly BY the West
ern pofuon OF tEe thutcG. Un the Other hand,
the Eastern portion OF tie Churcn took up lhis
suthor as one whom they considered orthodox
las he certainly was on many points, IN every
respect. To enter 1nto all the petiy details of
these theological disputes, would make ny letter
OF lnoTlinale length. Suffice il to say that nsre
indeed throughout the past eight Councils OF the
Church, tie selI-same spirit may be traced OF reber
hon by the East against the West III 10 tie wear
500, when The fourth Council Of Constantinope the
eighth Council OF the Church, was hei There seemed
10 nave been but one spirit throughout the Cnurch
Should Obtain The mastery, which should ce
obliged 10 separate from he other. Aud, confess,
history does not wnen speaking OF these ages-frcm
A. D. 800 10 A. d. 9O0-tend to increase ones respect
for the East that Is for that Eastern portion OF tue
Church iDtngues donble-deans, fixed deter
minaion reconsider the thugs OF Cesar before tnat
OF God. and hair-splltting upon words seemed to
have bees the oejects which Inc much praised Greek
fathers 0I the Church had IL view The oQeGts that
formed the life and spirit Of the CRTIcA Vita these
errors, and with the Violent doctrines broached
respecting images aud pictures, We may conclude
Inc hlsiQry0i TIE rst eight Couacis that is tie FIRST
GROUP into which divided tae eighteen Councils
mat have been held up 10 the present time. Also
the careful reader OF history may note throughout
these eight Councils. which bring us down 10 the
year A. D. S6e perpetual tempt to pat the En- peror
OF Constanilnople and the SECULAR power above the
Ponlln the patrarchs the bishops, ana all that
sttuted the ecclesiastical anthony OF both Bast and
West And the result, as history always does, shows
very truly how anu what the contest was Tor. 1T
the present day tue Eastern churcle5, Win the eX
cepton OF those that acknowledge the supremacy Of
Rome are but the humble saves Of The uyli power
In Russa, the Gar IN Greece, tAe Aing ana IN ful
key, even the Mosiem aIthOrine5 are the ruling
power Of The Greek Church.
Then again, III these 1rst eight Councils there
was, as there Is sui, muon vanity III the Greek
Church, spirit OF characterization among the
clergy, and determnatiOn SO 10 speak, not 10 sub
mt their guidance matters or morals TO ehe Tegu-
Iatons OF tne church. Great abuses, then as now,
existed III the Oriental churches with respect 10
money. BISHOPS priests anu monks were alike
ayarc1ous auu ANXIOUS 70 retain wealth individually,
and not as merely members OF religious COM
munes as thelf VOWS prescribed. Hiatpry, IN fact,
whether ecoe1iasticai Or secular repeats ITSELF What
was Witnessed in the Eastern Church down 10 the
middle oi the ninth century may be this day
either at Constantinople or ST. Petersburg. s1scon-
ceptions and werdy hair sphttR2s respecting the
nature and ONCE OF our saviour, great desire ana
over the religious, b0wlBg down even IN dJgIlatt-
cal definitions 10 the enpegors aud their orders may
be looked upon as the evils when lie Church had 10
light against FROM the fourth century 20 the ninth
IRON The council OF Nice held A. D. 80 10 tie fourth
Council Of ConstaninopIe held III $685. and with these
observations VIII dispose of tnat.
have before called tue first group Of tie Councils,
which indlcates-to repeat my last letter-tne nrst
Council OF Nice, held A. d. 1916; the first Council OF
COnstantinople, neld A. D. ISL; the Codnci OF Ephe
sus held 4. d. 49, the Council OF Chalc don, held
A. ID. 45l; the second Council OF CcnsLantnop,e Ecd
A. b. sos; the third Council Of Constinope, held A.
d. $50; the second Council Of Nice, held j. y. 1877
and the fourth Council Of CoAstantinope, he'd a, D.
500.
And having thus finished with the Councils held in
the East come TO the first Tour neld in the West
These are the FIRST Council or tae LateTan, held ~
Rome. Ia The church stil eXtant tand gth Inc
cathedral church OF Rome sel as st. feter's Is the
cathedral Church OF the Catholic woridl namely 81
John Laeran. These four councils named re
specLiveiy, the irst Council OF tue LateYan, com
menced A. d. Il25; the second OF the same name
and Plan began n. u. il5a; TIE ihird ana fourlt
Councils 81 Lateran, commenced A. u. 1879 Il
respectively
The Able Jaugey, o Freach priest ana Doctor O.
Divinity, who has Written yery go0d work on the
subject oil the General Councils OF the Chntch say,
tnat as the first eight Councils 81 thls Church were
chiefly directed against errors IN ath so the secUn(
four, those Of Iatefan, were almost entirely Occu
pied IN combating errors, an1 shortcomings u
morals. To II certain extent quite accept TIM
definition OF the reverend Rentlenan, but no
altogether NO doubt, by the time the frst Of thes
-FOUR Councils had assembled, the evls 0rougb
about by the almost UNLIMITED power or m
mobiles had been the cause OF great crimes u
al! classes, and these shortcomings IN morals tnt
Church felt bound To contend against. But stll
there was each and every oae OF these assemblies
stout battle done behalf OF what che bishops ana
pontiirs believed to be d0gm9tcal truGhs. These
however were all more or less respecting cue trut
OF tue different sacramelts, as then and g Sill le!s
10 the Catholic Church. But, as Gafp5Ile autnor
themselves admit one q ghe Gnlef scandals OF th
snutell ~ tnose dfs was the lower order OF cergl
snn laeissS 20 DOUBT there were many good mel
gers lem, and the very fact that during tles
80 uAEk ages or the Church, fron A. y. lizo U
~. lAI0 Tour ECulneucal Councils a-sellDlcI 10
tAe purpose oil correcting ana rcproyiDg che moral
OF tie Chufch, shows that there were silt gree
humher OF men among Tie clergy who were anxlou
10 MAINTAIN purity Of lfe, well as or doctrines
among lhelr body Stlll the truth must be- told a
tho French author, rADbe Jaogey, irofa whose worl
| have already quoted, says--0A ponzlemc ct al
douzieme steele Ia parlle ia plus malade lie l'bgs
e'tait 10 cefse lul meme; un grand nolnbre u
SEES membIes les plus eeves ouDia,ent les lois d
lcur sante vocation ct scaadalisaieni lie pcupl