Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-03-26

luN nlcSiuR tue Wine - CudDkcu lulO TIC
most holy blood Of our Lord Jesus Christ"
The fact that all the Oriental churches
agree with the Roman Catholic Church in
their belief OF the Real Presence and Tran
standardization proves that such must have
the teaching Of
THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
for at least five hundred years before the
Protestant reformation; for nc n would
think of charging those Eastern Christians
with borrowing these or any other doc
trinss from the Latin Church, towards
which they have always entertained so
great an antipathy, since the time of their
separation. The Catholic ChuIch has q
membership Of at least two hundred and
twenty millions; the Oriental churches
seyenty-six millions; aud the Protestant
churches about one hundred and thirty
one millions. Dsducting from these one
hundred and thirty-one millions, the fifty
millions of Luthersns, who, we are told,
still believe in the Real Presence, We have
this result: Believing in the corporal pres
ence of Christ in the Eucharist, three hun
bred and forty-six millions of Christians;
denying Christ's corporal presence, eighty
one millions; that Is, Of all who profess to
believe in Jesus Christ, over four-ffths ad-
NIT the doctrine Of the Real | resence. For
the minority to brand that doctrine as a
heresy sounds somewhat presumptuous.
But, continued the Bishop, there are
millions and millions of Christians scattered
over Asia and Africa, especially tine Mes
torians and various branches OF the Eutych-
ians, who have had no communion with
either the Greek or Latin church since the
fifth century. NestOrius and his followers
were condemned in the General Council Of
Eohesus 4. d. 43l, aud Eutychss IN the
General Council of Chalcedon A ID. 45l.
Now all these NeStoniaLs and E~utychiaGs
have ever cherished the bitteTest enmity
against both the Greek and Latin churches,
aud tor that reason it cannot be supposed
that they have, since their condemnation,
taken any doctrine from these churches.
Yet they all profess to believe in the Real
Presence and TransubstantiatioD; and OF
this fact, the Bishop produced documentary
evidence. The conclusion is incOntestable;
these doctrines were taught and believed
as early as the fifth century by the whole
Christian church, and not By some few in
diEidals only.
In the next place, the Bishop appealed
10 the ancient Liturgies, which reveal to
US the faith Of
THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
As shown in their solemn public worship.
The best known among those Liturgles
are. even in their WrittsA form, admittedly
As old "a the fourth century, whilst learn
ed Protestants have acknowledged that in
substance they may be traced back to
Apostolic times. The religious care with
which the great mysteries were guarded
and kept from unbelieyerS is reason suf-
fcient for their not being put earlier into
writing. The Anglican Bishop Kip Double
VitRsys. d. 1861 afirms that the Liturgy
of st. James goes back at least to the
fourth century. Now what do all these
ancient liturgies disclose? They clearly
Indicate that the essential act of r,,nli,
worship among the early ra,,stians both
East ana west, the celebration Of the
Dl'lue .eries, called BY the Latins,
tue ,iass. They testify that the Holy
Shirt wss invoked TO come and Change the
bread and wine into the body and blood
of Jesus Christ; and that the body ana
blood Of Christ rendered present on the
Christian altar Heb. xiii lO) were I'M
molated 10 God, in sacrifice; and that ny
Holy Communion, the faithful were made
partakers Of
CHESTS FLESH AND BLOOD.
In proof Of these assertions, the Bishop
quoted from several Of those old Liturgies.
Thus in the Liturgy of st. James, the
priest saws: I'VE offer unto Thee, U
Lord. this tremendous and uubloody sacri,
flea. = . = Send down upon as and
mon these gifts which lie before Thee
Thy most Holy Spirit, who is the Lord
and Giyer of life, = that be
NAV sauctify and make this bread the holy
body of thy Christ. People Amen
lPriesD aud this cup the precious blood oil
thy Christ. People, Amen"
In these solemn attestatlons o.
the faith Of whole Christian
countries away back q IN
remotsst ages, We have, contended th'
Bishop. = striking and incontestable refu'
tation of the charges so gratuitously made
n a n doctrine Of Observation-Disclosures
dos not date bscS earlier than the eight
or ninth century. The Bishop concluded
his remarks on this point by quoting tn'
testimony of the learned Protestant Gro
thus in his VOtHm pro pace. j iouno,
a ' Grotius, lin sill the liturgiss-GreeE
Latin. Arabic. Syriac and ~others-prayer'
to God that he would cOnsecrate oy hi
! Holy Spirit the gifts offered, and MAKE then
the body and blood of his Son." l wa
right, therefore, in saying that a custom 81
ANCIENT AND UNIVERSAL
that il must be considered to have come
down from the primitive times, ought no
TO have been changed"
The third class Of witnesses cited 70 glV'
evidence in favor Of the faith OF the eariI
church were the Fathers and Doctors from
/ the ID to the 9Th century. These, remarked
the Bishop, are quite rs competent TO tes
tify to that fact, as TO any other fact o
/ contemporaneOus history. Butthe better 4
understand the testimony, we must bear II
mind the law by which Christians II
the early ages, were forbidden 10 dl
vnlge to the Pagans, or even to tn
.eehumsns those under instruction 10
'sm) certain of the CHIEF mysteries o
Oily religion, such as the Trinity
nation and the Holy Eucharist
traced by the Fathers to on
u, whose words mot to cas-
inc" they often quote II
Is known - the Disei
Hence in their dis
ixed audiences, tn
rsry guarded in thei
rds: 1.-The faithful
now it." are re
fifty times-f4
Auguste, and
Of St. John
NEE Of this law
"a EuchsristiG mys-
,ooS were submitted.
,nsr or writer gives notice
.1,, veil his full meaning In sDI
stic terms, understood by the IGiid
but mot Intangible to the anil.A
This fully accounts for much that Is
PURPosELY OBSCURE
those early writers p,,har
-. Md the fAluck