The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-03-06

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
On Monday Mr.. Ingle replied to Fir. o.
ROurk as follows:
The Rector of the Novitiate writes in re-
ply to my remarks upon his recent communi-
cation, This, then, is all intend to say in
nv previous letter-that the Church of
England separated itself from the Church
of Rome and established a royal instead of
papal supremacy, because the Pope, to
whom Henry had appealed as his ecclesias-
tical SUPERIOR denied the application for
divorce" If this had been his Language
few would have cared to discuss the matter.
For church can not separate from another
unless it previously exist. And the pre-
viOus existence of the Church of England
was what the rector to all appearances de-
MED. With the cause of the breach we
are not concerned. 1t is the effect of the
breach that we are discussing. Henry's
motive and character do not determine this
Bad men have often done good work under
the everything hand of Providence. Henry
can hardly be made out to be worse than
some of the Popes certainly were. The
question is whether the Church of England
of today is essentially one with the Church
of England under the Popes and back to
primitive times. In proof of this we point
England is mentioned by the same name
that now she bears, and is distinguished
from the Holy Roman Church also NEIL
toned. 1t is claimed in that charter that
she " shall be free, and hold her rights en-
tire and her liberties inviOlate. " And she
went about to maintain those liberties
For the Pope declared the charter void, and
absolved John from his oath to observe it.
And when the authors of that instrument,
which is the foundation of Anglo Saxon
civil and religious liberty, stood firm i'll as
sertion of their rights, the Pope ordered
their accommodation; and punished the
bishops who refused to obey him. Certainly
the spirit of the English Church of 1915
was much the same with that of the Church
of 1884. And in fact from the earliest days
the Church of England is found offering re-
sistance to the supremacy of Rome. The
church Augustine planted claimed some
priority for him. But the church he found
there denied it. She retained the tradition
of an earlier age, which Gregory, himself
then Bishop of Rome, had voiced, when he
refused emphatically the title of "Univer-
sal Bishop" That the English church was
long more or less under the control of the
Popes proves nothing against her integrity
and continuity when she finally threw off
that control Even if she had been brought
into that condition of absolute submission
to Rome that has long characterized the
christians of Spain and Italy, would she
have lost her claim to be true Catholic
church by simply rejecting papal supremacy?
This is at last the whole question. If an
organized body of christians in any nation
is fully recognized as portion of the Cath
Ollie church with ministery and sacraments
complete does it perish at once, as branch
served from the vine, as soon as it rejects
the POpe's supremacy? How can men who
read the new Testament and early church
history entertain such an idea? Is the
Greek Church, which for SO many centuries
has been severed from Rome in reality not
church? What proof is there of this ess-
entail and all compromising dogma of
Papal suprecemacy? 1t rests upon the as
sertion that St. Peter was Bishop of Rome.
that he exercised or claimed the enormous
prerOgatives in heaven and earth and pur-
gatory the Popes have claimed; and that he
transmitted them to his successor in Office
for ever? The New Testament is not only
silent as to this doctrine declared to be ess-
entail to salvation, but its whole testimony
is against it. And there is no writer with
in hundred years of the time of st. Peters
alleged pOntificate who gives any clear tes-
timony in favor oft. Why, then, should
any man venture to assert that true
church perishes as soon as it rejects the
papacy? And why should new creed
have been devised containing this doctrine,
and imposed upon all converts to Rome;
and wherein they are made to declare that
this is the true Catholic faith, out of which
no one can be saved?
The church of England had indeed
abundant reasons for rejecting the papacy,
however long and far she may have sub
mitted to it. She freed herself thereby
from unlawful authority and false doctrines
that so long hampered her. She made her