New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-01-29
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

CHURCH AND STATE IN fRANCE.-Ihe rela-
tlOns of Church and State in France are at
present regulated by a declaration of an As
| sembly of the French Church under Louis
! XIV, and n treaty Che COncUrdat drawn mp
| between Napoleon l.. when First Consul of the
Republic and Pins \ II. in 1901. The prOli-
| slOns of tins document are summed mp in a re-
| ccIt number of Tire Pal Mall Gazette as fol-
! lows: " Ii begins by stating that the Govern
! ment Of the French Republic recognized that
/ the Roman Catholic religion was the religion of
the great majority Of French citizens, and that
| ii shall therefore be freely exercised in France,
! that its worship should be public, conforming,
| nevertheless, with the police regulations which
/ the Government may judge necessary for the
| public tranquility. All the existing bishops
| were TO resign, and the whole of France to be
| rcdiStrbuted into sees corresponding with the
! departments; the parishes, also, To be recon
! Sttuted so Is 20 be coiucident with the district
! of "A JUICE de paiX. TIE First Consul was to
nominate. and the Pope to institute, all bishops
| who were To- take an oath of fealty to the FIRST
/ Consul in the same terms and form as pro
| vlOUSly to the kings OF France; and PARISH
! priests IN the same way were To be approved by
| the Government and swear before the Projects
| obedience tOlt The clergy OF all grades were TO
| be paid salaries by the State the cdlccs Of the
Church not sold were To be restored, but all
! claim 10 lands actually allenated was aOan-
| dOncd by the Pope Before ratuylnG the
| treaty certain organic articles. explanatory of
! the COnCOrdat were put before and passed by
! the Corps Lcgislatif and submitted TO and not
| objected to by the Papal Legate These began
| by absolutely prohibiting, as Edward III. and
many kings after HIM did IN England, the intro
| duCtiOn of any Papal bull, rcscript or COM
| municatiOn whatever, individual or general, or
of any paDal legate or nunclO, or OF the DEGREES
! Of anV synod or council without the previous
! sanction of the Government. The Council of
! State was to act as u Judicial Committee OF
! Privy Council in all cases of abuse or usUrpa-
! ton Of ecclesiastical authority, breach OF the
1 constitutional laws. or attempt on the liberties
| Of the Church of France. Priests We're 10 be
! strictly confined to religious functions, and
| were not to attack individuals or any author
j lied Crecds in their instructions, or to preach
! on any matter outside religion. BY way OF
mortnlaiu Act to prevent the rccndOWmcnt of
| the Church apart from the state, the Church
| was made Incapable of holding any land except
the lodgings OF bishops and priests. and no gifts
! to the Church of anything but renteS were
| permitted. The salaries OF the bishops and
priests were fixed. Al ecclesiastical corpora
! tiOns, beyond diocesan chapters and semlnarleS,
! were suppressed and prohibited. All persons
| entering semnaries with view To the priest
! hood We're to subscribe the declaration or 1867.
| This last was the famous declaration drawn mp
! by BOsSuct and Endorsed by a general meeting
! of the French clergy, to protest against the
| Papal attacks on the right Of the French Crown
! to the rcgale,' or right of the Royal LXchequer
! to the profits and presentations OF vacant
| biShOpric and on the independence Of the
! Gallo Crown and Church in general. Ii rcCOg-
/ niZed the supreme authority Of the Pope IN
matters spiritual, though subject 10 the cstab-
! liShcd caUOuS of the Church. and especially TO
! the DEGREES of Ecumenical Councils but eX-
pressly denied his jurisdiction IN things civil or
/ temporal, and, particularly that he had any
| power Of deposition Of princes, or or aDSOlYlng
their subjects from their allegiance Great as
was the sensation caused by the PRONUNCIATION
of this declaration IN 1852 il appears only
set of COmmOupiaces now. Its abolition would
hardly affect the relations OF Church and state,
except, perhaps, as pointing 10 WISH to deny
the papal supremacy in matters spiritual as
well as civil. The stringency Of the ConcOrdat
itself was very much relaxed by subsequent
| laws. On the Restoration, the mOrtmall
clauses were wholly repealed so that the
Church has since been again developing into an
iudcueuGrut landed proprietor At Il later
period the restrictions on ecclesiastical cOrpO-
ratiOns were removed, and mOnasterles and
nunneries were recognized by the state
Converts N MID-AIR.-English papers re-
port that at the convent Of MetamorphOsis, on
the road from Janina to Larissa, there have
| been discovered numerous manuscripts dating
from the reign Of AndrOnlcuS II. This was the
Emperor who assumed the mOnaStlc garD ana
the name Of Antony, and after retiring to
cloiscr, died in oblivion about four years after
ward, in 1882. The volumes, ten IN number,
are said to have been already read through at
Athens, to which place they We're sent direct
from the converts. One Of them, which Is
deemed the most interesting, gives an account
OF the establishment OF the twenty "meteorc
converts founded in the time of the PalGOOgI
fen of which are still eXtant. including the one
where the manuscripts have just been found.
Ii was in one Of these that the Emperor
Cantacazcnc finished his days as Il reclUse, hav-
inz deserted the purple for the gown of a monk
Of It. Basil. The meteOrlc converts were
designed to enable deyOtecS to initiate IN n
mild degree, the example OF st. Simeon
Stylites. and, by raising themselves out OF reach
Of the vulgar world, 70 practise an elevated
form of worship in every sense or the word.
Anv visitor allowed to enter must wrap himself
up in a sort of net let down from the steep crag
uDoH which the convent is built, and be hOiSted
up the side of il bv the monks at the top, to a
height Of some 800 feet above the plain.
DrrIE, OF THE PULPIT OF To-DAY.-The
third lecture Of the present course before the
Yale Theological School, by President Robin
son, Of Brown University, was devoted to a
consideration Of the relations of the Church to
the State. The need of the pulpit at the pres
emit time, said the speaker Is to teach man to
be a citizen, to be q father, 10 be voter.
"What Is the duty of Che Christian preacher
L is something else than to enable men 10
reach heaven; Il i to make them Wel-rOUndcd,
enlarged and ideal men. There are, OF course,
other worlds 20 prepare To-, but 1t Is possible
that we shall bee so intent on the future as 10
neglect the duties Of the present. IL Is not
advised that preachers shall preach politics,
but that they should preach, earnestly and
without fear, of the relations Of Christianity
to the political movements Of the hour. Ger
tain il i that II our country was worth the
sacrifices and suffering and Understanding
which the fathers shared IN its foundation,
and worth the blood and treasure poured out
for its pepetuity twenty years ago, 1t Is
worthy of the serious, candid and pyayerfu
charge of the Christian preacher
French PASTORAL LErTERs.-The Roman
Catholic bishop, IN France have cnjOined politI-
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