American Quarterly Church Review, and Ecclesiastical Register

In this Review, in the month of October, 1857, there appeared an Article on the See Bishoprick, entitled "The Apostolic Church in the Apostolic position."* It showed, that, the Episcopate or Order of Bishops being Apostolical, the Bishop of each Diocese had also a proper position in which, by the same Apostolic prescription, he ought to be. That the city,' from the earliest time and by the earliest law and usage of the Church, was the seat (See or κatedpa) of the Bishop. That every city, finally, should have a Bishop, and every Bishop, from the earliest times, had a 'city' as his 'See.'

This was shown to be the universal law of Christianity in all time, from St. John at Ephesus, St. James at Jerusalem,

* When our first Article was published, the ideas in it struck the minds of many in the Church with great force, and among others a distinguished Clergyman of the South, now deceased. He wrote upon the same subject for the Review, and by some mistake the same title was given to his Article as to ours. It was taken therefore to be a second paper by the same writer. The writer of the first deems it but just to himself to say, that he intended to complete the subject himself, as he himself had started it, and this Article is the second of that series. And while the writer of the Article in January, 1858, manifestly never intended that any mistake should occur, still, as from the similarity of title the mistake has occurred in many cases, to the Author's personal knowledge, he thinks it but just to himself to advertise the readers of the Review of the fact.

St. Polycarp at Smyrna, St. Clement at Rome, down to the present Bishops of London, of Edinburgh, of Paris, of Moscow, of Athens, of Quebec. It was proved to be the universal usage of the Christian Church over all the space and extent of the Christian world, so far as the Catholic and Apostolic Churches, pure or corrupt, have spread, East and West, North and South, Greek and Latin, Chaldean, Syrian, Armenian, Egyptian and Abyssinian, everywhere, save with us who are and ought to be the American Catholic Church, the Church, whose doctrine, descent and discipline, fit us, alone of all competitors that are in this great Missionary field, to be the universal, all-embracing, all-containing Church of this great nation.

And with us, that we should have taken the territorial title, that from States, instead of that from Cities, against this universal prescription of time for eighteen centuries, and of place over the whole world, happened, we suppose, partly through the thoughtlessness of the persons who received and settled the Episcopate, having no clear perceptions of the relations which the City, as such, bears to Society in general, and also to the organic powers of the Church, as concerns progress, unity and discipline. Partly it happened, we suppose, through a timorousness, connecting itself, however unreasonably, with the new Constitution of the country. The English cities, as it is well known, gave to the Bishops of the establishment of England, who are at the same time members of the House of Peers and Bishops of Apostolic descent, the title of Baron.* Thus the Bishop of London is "My Lord of London." From these reasons, we suppose, our Bishopricks, instead of being entitled in the true way, obtained their titles from States, at least by in

*The Bishops in the Eleventh of Henry II., in a dispute concerning Becket, stated, that they did not sit merely as Bishops, but as Barons; and told the House of Peers, "Nos Barones, vos Barones, Pares hic sumus." In the very year before, in the Tenth of Henry II., it was declared by the Constitutions of Clarendon, that Bishops and all other persons who hold of the King in capite have their possessions of him "sicut baroniam" and "sicut ceteri barones debeant interesse judiciis curiæ Regis."-Hook's Church Dictionary, 7th Ed.. pp. 116.

In fact, any one who knows anything of the Feudal system can see, that it must have been so, both from the historic fact and the nature of the tenure of power and property under that system.

ference, in the Convention of 1785. The principle expressed being, that there shall be a Bishop in each State, and the immediate inference, that he should be called Bishop of the Church in that State.' And this title, thus begun, is the one in use down to our own time.

Now, in the Article referred to, we stated, that we considered this to have been a grievous error, and that it should be amended, as the Church unquestionably has the right and the power to do; that we ought to abolish the territorial title, unknown as it is to all the Church except ourselves, and restore the primitive title, that from Cities. We then went onward and proved, that the difference, although it seemed merely verbal, yet is actually real, in the good it prevents; in the obstacles to progress, to union, to harmony, which it creates. We showed, that the City is the proper position and place for the Episcopate, as being the heart of the country, the center and origin of all circulation of ideas, of money, of population, from whence all these originate and flow outward towards the extremities. And again we showed a returning flood, into the cities, of the rural population. Hence the Cities are the centers of all propagandism, that has for its object a change to be wrought in the whole nation. We showed then, from the nature of the City, that money can be more easily raised in Cities for religious purposes, converts more easily made, fervent and glowing resolves more easily aroused, men more easily obtained, work of all kinds, subsidiary to the great Missionary work, more easily done in Cities. Hence, that from the earliest time, the head and guide and leader of this work, the Bishop, was placed in the City, as in the center and heart of it allthe Bishoprick, the corporate unit of the Church's progress, was placed there, as in the focus of all activity, mental, commercial, military and civil. And from the city, therefore, the Diocese considered as a corporate body, was naturally named. All these advantages manifestly exist at this present time, as any one can see; all are reasons now for the true position, as they were of old.

* In every State there shall be a Bishop duly consecrated and settled, and who shall have acceded to the Articles of this General Ecclesiastical Constitution. He shall be considered as a member of the Convention ex officio.'-(Convention of 1785.)

« Anterior Continuar »

Libros

American Quarterly Church Review, and Ecclesiastical Register, Volumen14