River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1906-03-08
) Letters from a Layman.

tor am permitted to drop these
lines" Our papers, as rule, have
some one thing or other 10 interest
us, but its scope is quite invariably
outside the question which should
concern us more, that of a reli-
gion. For, as all the world must
admit, it is the one factor that lays
the foundation for a civilization;
and the civilization is good or bad
according as is the religion we &C.
cept, good or bad,
i want you, as friends, to aid me
in the search for the Holy Church
which Christ established. We shall
not search for the Holy Grail, "
but for the Holy Church, if there is
such a thing. The great question
lies before us, and we are very dis
honest to ourselves, and to God if
we don't try to solve it. But a
greater question confronts US when
we look for starting point. Shall
we begin in days of Christ and trace
down toward the present? Or shall
we begin here at the present and go
back?
To begin now and trace backward
would perhaps be very fine and
interesting way of doing, but there
are so many divisions on this end
of the line that we are forced to be-
gin at the beginning, or not at all.
Historians say that the Christian
Church was organized in SO A. D.
Does anyone doubt it? / am quite
sure of this point, sure that l
need not bother about the authori-
| ties.
We are equally as sure of one 9TH
er undisputed point, and that is,
that the Catholic Faith which Christ
established was unmolested by sect
or schism for ten years; and that it
has scarcely been free from such
for any length at time, since. Per-
haps l had better use the Latin
word universal instead of Cath
Ole" though it fails to express quite
so adequately the meaning that the
other word does.
For long time was of the opin-
ion-as too many laymen are-that
St. Peter was really the starting
point of the church. But recent in
vestigation in some excellent libra
ries, has convinced me that it was
the Savior's intention to have His
twelve Bishops or Apostles share
equally the governing and building
up of the Church, His Kingdom. "
We read of st. James being the first
Bishop of Jerusalem, and ST. John,
'the Beloved" died in the Episco-
pal residence at Ephesus, where he
for so long presided and resided.
St. Paul was the great scholar and
missionary Bishop. And then, a
little later, we find the church plant
ed at Corinth; Alexandria, Egypt;
and just a little later at Rome; and
then at Constantinople. They met
in councils every three years. There
was no Papa (Pope, Greek word
papa yet. So the Church was uni
versa1 or Catholic, but each bishop
was at the head of his own diocese,
and each people. or nation, made a
see.
At one of these councils, above
spoken of, they were trying to form
ulate the creed but the Eastern
| Greece and Asia Minor people be-
ing philosophers, puzzled them
selves about the relationship that
each Person of the Trinity bore to
the other; was the Holy Ghost equal
to God and Christ, etc. We all &C.
CGDI LuC WCSLClA VI NOAAod OAaANA
theory, that they are equal. In my
opinion no one knows exactly about
that. Nor am / alone in the opin-
ion. Had Christ seen fit for man to
have known that, He would have
made it plain to all. But the point
is, that this question made an East
ern and a Western Catholic Church.
Both have their three-fold ministry.
The Eastern is the Grecian, and the
Western is the Roman. Both have
the Apostolic ministry, that is, the
Apostles, whom the Savior ordained
in turn their successors, and SO on
down until this present day. So
we are sure, that, from that point of
view, there are two main branches
of the Christian Church.
Fraternally,
ANON.
(To be continued)