New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-11-27
JOINT COM,MUNION.
THE RELEvANC-,f OF HISTORICAL CIrA-

~ Do ,,teroRY BY THE HISToRiAN-lhh
POINT AT ISSUE.
g. IN. Edstor Of rhe Tr'o"ne' NJ
S1p. I lave read with great interest," ivl,
sar,s cauer in your issue Of Monday Ias'-'no io's
=, ss heen duty lately laid upon me 10 rea''
leaned Professors History Of the Keiormao'
49, ,ho naper as in the History, ma tne s'"o '''
- witch renders Prof Fisher as historian ou.iiOy
,r,st worthy on certain questions between O""
and himself. In history, as written 'ne'o or 1,
Sscorsthe facts end the man who uses inc iac'9' LIZ
t,A resnlt IA what we can history. The iacs arc d"
nvarvipg quantity Tho who deals wiz tne i"o'S
and cut OF them produces history, IS Variaoe p"
atv. that's TO say, the facts being inc sSni0 '"' ~
viii treat them each differently from the o'her' accoIu
snz 70 his training his temper aud his prepossesSioh'
DR. Fisher, by temper, prepossessoAs, ualnlns' anu
onvictons treats the facts of the Reformation IN CUT
eat, fashion He has the facts, for instance as
yfardwc but Hardwiek comes 10 the facts an Ehshs-
man and a Churchman; and Prof Fisher comes au
American and Congre gationahst. 10 haro"lcS' ioi
example the apostolic succession, the continuity Vi no
Church Of England, and the proper ORDINATION Vi 'uo
rlergy are matters Of grave consequence 40 Fro'
sher they are OF no cOnscoa ence at all IroI fsuoI'
therefore in his History also III his paper Ia IL"
tribune has treated these questions as we might oA
rect man to them who considers them "a no -"
portance Now man cannot discuss matter when DC
considers OF no consequence without ialihs ih''
.erious error His contempt for suI9ooV roU-
Asra him liable 10 be mistaken on that sul9eo"
Vie has not given it the thought IL 80
One will read Prof Fishers History OF inc heAoiNi'
non FOR instance without discovering the slghIesI n'
,bat Johp Knox Bucer 2wnGle, John Las Tor Aaseo,
and others were ordained priests, or rs III the case Va
an LOST hishops Indeed article lately IN announcer
paper The CArsan URtOn), Prof FISHER prinss
,he fact that Cranmer sent letter to the German nc
tormers by tho hand Of John Lask, who had peeh Nv
AZ with him on intimate terms" as PROOF OF Gran
uer small regard for Episcopal orders, because John
bo 81 side
bvteraplsua ~ II would be difficult to learn from tfoI
Fshers History that Lask was IN 1922 Bishop OF yes
pr IN Poland although the Professor coua nave louuu
the fact in any Autographed dictionary But the t"tn
a. he considered the fact OF no consequence oHe way "
the other. - :,
tas about the founders OF the Anglican Church IN the
reign OF Henry VIII. Edward, and Elizabeth NO
English or American Churchman would Wrl1e IN tHa'
NAV To him the Founder OF the Anglican Churcn as
distinguished from the ancient British was Augustine
of Canterbury He scouts the notion that Reformation
4, founding or that the identity Of the Anglican Church
was changed; that 1t was one Church under Warham
and another under Cranlner one CIun uu'e o,V H.,
b. led Churcbman claims by his prepossessloos 10
statement which his tacts 1'0t only 40 not |n,,' ~
actually contradict, he viii look at them NtAou' MS
is NOT orange then that Prof Fisher coming to
England ever recognized nonEpiscopal orders with a
contempt for the whole business OF orders, ana conT
zion that bev are matters concern, should fail TO
sec the bearing which he possesses in common
The RofornStion in tho sixteenth century every
whore begun among the clergy. THOSE Gerry
had been ordained as clergy always had Deeh;
kufber Zwingle, Knox, Cranmer, OchhO' ana
Peter Martyr in Italy--the entire ufst seIeTaacon
of Roformers-Were orGaned priests OF BISHOPS.
The number Of friars Franciscan and other, VINO
freac ed the Reformation enormous Protestant
Ism" # we choose to call it so, not, as the Roman
Catholics sometimes seem TO talk an emigration OF sew
sulr OF causes long operation and its clergy ana
people were clergy and people brought up carefully IN
ats beginning natural outerowth Of the Church OF the
ffeenth Century Its perfonneI was made up o.
Bishops priests, de0coLs, monks friars and l2ymen
who undertook to reform the churches in which
they lad been baptized Ordained an9 t tdoa9s11ceag
while the generation OF Reiormers lived the ques-
- of ali the men oncatnE in tho most Prot
esaut and Presbyterian clurcn WOulu De men Nno 40
SoSn c Sadaesa TSfo Se In
Nm IoT0sin to hold council for their better under
standing and common guidance is to ma nothing aJ u
fact the vast maj )rity OF their derSy were Epcoptly
ordained They had not yet per seIed Tne
ftnes we're times Of revolution unrest. contention and
RAPID change Men were IeeIHs VAc b VIZ ~ ygt ,6
was 10 main Episcopal yet even Ia mat character
sister 70 the churches which finally would DRIFT into
SgSyn Prof Fisher brings forward another fact, Of
which Inc strangely misses the moaunethe fact that
had taught that bishops ana priests were
pne order The fact unquestioned IL grew up from
two causes. Fret the desire 10 magnify the ONCE Of
the rrias who performed miracle OF transub7
lion aud second the desire 10 magnify the ooe OF tho
fhe conpi nts previous the Reform ton thar the
EpiscOral office bad become lowered and DEGRADED its
dignity ana consequence absorbed INTO the priesthood
below or the papacX aDoye ~. ~ was uh95apteay
Motto list friends also tachl tle priest bhl he blsop
pro or the order ana only diler III oihCe. how
Knox, Martyr and Bucer scholastic dvinos
Their theology, before they became reioFmers
Primitive Church hut that Of Aqunas, DUns scOtus
and the Ike the theology. In short Of the unreiom
Roformers, they remained, in all the points which they
did not reject, scholastic divnes s they all accepted
tbe ordinary Roman Catholic doctrine ABOUT ORDERS
That question had not come up for decision, and their
frst utterances upon II Roman Catholic uterances
made as school divnes would make them. That there
As no OF Cbe C dDtnO theory OF EplscOpaey" In
the Writings OF Cranmer OF his cotempoIares or imne-
6iafe successors IL nothing wonderful As a practical
question have shown, It could hardly have come
yet ana their abstract opinion upon was that In which
ihey had been framed scholastic dtvines.
Practca ly, the Church OF England, the question
could not come up UNTIL Ter own Episcopacy became
questioned By known Purtans IT was not questioned
5y men tie Continent The Continental RslOrmers,
ty English orders and the rights OF bishops IN their
diOcoes. With their orders practically, England had
nothing 60 40 But when SepaIallsts at home Ia the
rtig OF Elizabeth, bringing notions from Geneva
lwhther brave John Knox and other stalwart Purtans
had taken refiGc from nary, "IIe the blsh,
ops Cranner. Latmer' Eialeyh Hooper stayed
rights Of her bishops it was foGad necessary
60 examine the whole quesuon from It's foundation.
Then the second generation of English diyines--nOt
brOught up In schoasucism not uusred In the darke
riddles OF DunSe but referred TO primitive antiquity,
early fathers and cOuncilsturned To examine, by those
ghts the aDtec OrmatiOn doctrine OF the of
orders In bishops and priests by the light of primitive
view and proclaimed tho divine right OF Episcopacy.
IN other words they reformed IN their views
~ doctrine OF orders they had already reformed
themselves IN so much else.
thee things must b. distinctly remembered. The first
generation Of Reformers were all in the same boat
and John LasRi all priests bishops, made just
as had been made priests bishops for ceDtlTes
Sope Of them 10 become founders of Presbyterian
fsta