The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-11
BUILT UPON The BIBLE.
Rev. DR.. yaSS Asserts the Truth Of
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Discussed.
Rev. DIR. L. c. Vass preached the last
sermon yesterday of the series which he
has been preaching on the origin and CON
stitution Of the church. He quoted Paul
in l. Tim, 1:4-"Neither give heed to
fables and endless genealogies, which
minister questions, rather than godly
edifying which is in faith, " and said the
Bible is our only infallible authority.
In the preceding sermons it was shown
that express scripture, or necessary i'm
plication therefrom, reveals the apostolic
plan OF the church
mo tradition" said DR.. Vass, "can
traverse that deliverance. If all pa
tristic writers for the first 400 years
affirmed diocesan episcopacy as custo-
mary, we could not depart from Gods
clear revelation. The fathers were often
weak and superstitious. But we will ex-
anime their testimony, and that of the
reformers, for proof not for New Tesla
ment presbyter- bishops, but for diocesan
bishops Of superior authority.
THE WRITINGS OF THE FATHERS.
DR.. Vass then quoted deliberately from
the writings of the fathers. Clemeus Ro-
manus wrote to the Corinthians in first
century, and knew only the presbyter
and several in one church. Hermas in
the Pastor" speaks of Elders and
Bishops presiding over churches as the
same. Polycarp to the Philippians, A. D.,
105, mentions the presbyters and deacons
only and points out their duties. He had
but one church and was to know even
SERVANTS this not the province of do
| cesans.
The celebrated epistles of Ignatius,
said DR. Vass, are regarded by many as
spurious. But only seven can at all
stand They speak of bishops with their
Presbytery and deacons, just as any well
| organized Pres byterian church is to-day
| constituted. Justin Martyr and Ire
naeus. and others of the first two hun
dredyears, give the same testimony. No
higher order is known than presbyter
With later fathers still are found only
two orders and no diocesan. Naughty
Cyprian of Carthage, A d. 260, did moth
ing without his presbyters, and commit
Ted to them his duties when he was ban
1Shed. Origen, only presbyter, presided
over a council A. ID. 321 The great num-
Der of bishops in single and small prov
lnces prove them presbyters; e. g. in
Asia Minor, the sizenof Great Britain
there were 400 so-called bishops. Lord
Chancellor King, learned Episcopal lay
man, in his treatise on the church, proves
this
HOW AROSE THE DISTINCTION.
Jerome, in A. d. 400, explains how the
distinction between presbyter and bishop
arose, thus: Among the ancients. pres
| byters and bishops were the same. But
I that hE little and little not III
/ OF dissentions might be plucked up, the
! whole concern was developed upon one
| individual" Let the bishops know that
| they are greater than pres oyters more by
| custom than by any real appointment of
! Christ" For two hundred years script
ure and history show no succession ex-
cept by presbyters.
! Prelatists, however, show catalogues of
! succeeding bishops from the apostles.
/ DIR. Vass said these were worthless. The
first was prepared by Eusebius in the
J fourth century, from tradition. He found
/ all uncertain, and had to suppose. Bishop
! Stillingfeet says the succession at Rome
"is as muddy as the Tiber itself" 1t is
! impro bable that Peter ever was in Rome
and one of the early named as bishop,
! probably never lived. There were popes
| and anti-popes, at one time four poDes,
and all ordaining. Bishoprics and sac
raments were publicly sold Popes bought
their tiara. John XIX. in 1924 A. D., a
| layman, was at once made pope There
were boy popes and boy bishops, and a
female pope Pope Leo was an Arian,
and Marcellinus worshipped idols. Bar
onius, the great Romish historian, says
that in the tenth century popes were
| monsters Boniface VII was thief.
| murderer and traitor. Gregory VII
poisoned six or seven popes. Who can
hold to such succession and inspired trans
mitters of salvation and the Holy Ghost
"Credat Judaeus Apella."
THE REFORMATION.
Elaborate reference was made to testi-
mony of English divines by DR.. Vass
| Archbishops Usher and Cranmer, and
Bishop Hall We're shown to welcome
! orders of other churches of the reforma-
ton, and declare that outward form of
the church was not essential to its we'll
being, and to hold that originally pres by
ters and bishops were the same office
The parliament of England. under Queen
| Elizabeth, formally declared this fact
| In the reign of Edward VI, 1858 A. ID.
| the form OF ordination even of bishop and
/ priest was identical. Hooper and Arch
bishop Whitgift said the marks of the
true church are the preaching OF the Cos
pei and a right use of the sacraments, as
Master Calvin saith So the language of
the early fathers is re-echoed. Martyrs
Edward VI, Wicklide and Huss, re-
formers hundreds of years before Luther,
/ Waldenses and others, five hundred years
before the reformation, affirm the same
biblical principles.
Ecclesiastical histories tell of public
proclamation of same vital truths in the
18th chapter of the famous Helvetic Con
| fession, and French and Belgic by Wit
temberg and Smalcald in 1887; and how
/ Bucer and Peter, martyr, non prelatic re-
/ formers, were installed as theological pro-
! fesSors at Oxford and Cambridge
/ But ii may be asked why did not these
4 great men leave the English church if
they held these opiniousl Let Archbishop
/ Whitgift answer Because they con
! sidered episcopacy as best adapted to the
constitution of England Church govern
mcut was not essential to salvation, and
changes from the first Bible ARRANGEMENT
were permissible, Henry and Elizabeth
were practical popes and would not yield
any more, but reformers hoped to gain
more.
THE PRAYER BOOK.
One proof of this was given by DR..
! Vass, in the history OF the for
nation of the prayer look in the
reign of Edward VI, and its re-
vision under Elizabeth. Archbishop
/ Craumer had John Knox and Calvin both
3 examine IL carefully ana when both oh.