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Show Papacy in the j Light of History Arguments Set Up by Rev. VV. W. Love of Helena, Alont., I Reviewed and Impeached Is the Episcopal Church j j "Just Like the Catholic Church?" ! (Written for the Intermountain Catholic.) We took occasion in our last communication com-munication to refer to an address of Rev. W. W. Love, at Henela, Mont., regarding the special claims of his church to the belief of the world. He admits that "up to the time of the great division between the east and the west, at the close of the general councils, approximately ap-proximately at the close of the seventh century, there was in the world just one universal, or catholic church. Then, after serious misunderstandings, the great family separated into branches. After that time there were several branches among them the Roman, the Greek and the Angcan. Each remained re-mained just as much a part of the family fam-ily as ever. The only difference was that their relations toward each other were strained." There was no Anglican church from the time of St. Augustine, in the sixth century, to that of Archbishop War-ham, War-ham, in the sixteenth, nor was the question of holy orders ever raised during dur-ing that period. There were no "strained relations" as to spiritual jurisdiction, which was always and everywhere acknowledged ac-knowledged as the special prerogative of the pope. He was the source and fountain of jurisdiction in all its plenitude. plen-itude. The Norman kings acknowledged acknowl-edged it. All general councils convoked and presided over by the Roman pontiff pon-tiff or his legate add special emphasis to this historical fact. After the supposed sup-posed "family separation in the seventh century,", there is no record of an Anglican An-glican general council. Why? Because there was no Anglican church between the seventh and the sixteenth century. The Helena clergyman tells that after the "great division came, each branch, of the Catholic" church remained true to the historic past. There was no break." How could a . division exist without a break? If the seceding states-suc-eeeded in the war of the rebellion, the union of states would be broken. The attempt to divide means a break. "Each branch," he said, "retained all the notes which had been, up to this time, acknowledged as the marks of the Catholic church." One mark is unity, and division excludes unity. This unity-did unity-did exist up to the sixteenth century. It was preserved because all Christendom Christen-dom acknowledged the spiritual jurisdiction juris-diction of the Holy See. Mr. Love, after dealing in vague generalities, gen-eralities, comes down to particulars, and gives the marks of the original, thus: "From the day of that great division to this, the Anglo-Saxon branch of the Catholic church has retained the marks of the original Catholic church. We make our appeal, like every branch of the Catholic church, except the Roman, Ro-man, to the original undivided church. We have, in unbroken succession, the three-fold order of the Christian ministry min-istry ,a principle to which each branch i of the Catholic church holds. In our J worship we use one form of that universal, uni-versal, or catholic, liturgy, and recite. ! in each service, one of the Catholic I creeds, which, again, is the practice in all the branches of the original Catholic Catho-lic church. You will find us, as you know, retaining, confirmation, as well as baptism and communion, and laying lay-ing much stress on the sacramental system, which is one of the chief marks ' of the Catholic churches. So true js all this that you often hear it said that the Episcopal church is just like the Catholic church. It is just like the Catholic church. It is a part of the Catholic church. But it is not like, it is not a part of, the Roman Catholic church." The very reverse Is true. In the first place, after one thousand years the spiritual jurisdiction of the pope, never denied before the sixteenth century, was transferred from the head of the church to the head of the English government. gov-ernment. ' From the time of St. Augustine Augus-tine up to the sixteenth century, every deacon raised to the dignity of the j priesthood was ordained to offer up the holy sacrifice of the mass and heai ; sacramental confessions. Since the Re- I formation, every Anglican deacon has j I been ordained or "made a priest" that j i lie might not offer up th- sacrifice of S i the mass or hear confessions. From i i the time of Elizabeth down to th'' I j middle of the last century, no Ang'i.vr j clergyman was known to "say mass' ; I i or '-hear confessions." j Thes" constitute the very essence of j ithre-e-foM order c-f the Christian miii- I I i.-try or "Catholic priesthood." After I three centuries of abuse .;nd reviling. j th" high church and ritualists clai-n jj these iowers as their priest iy li' i itac. For three centuri":; a table was suhsti- ; f luted for an altar, and inst-'.id of ..pci ' churc hes with the i"a! presence of Jesus 1 in th taberna-le of the altar befor; : I whom saint an.J sinner knelt for spir- I itual consolation, eiurrehe.s vveie closed on week days and real absence every- jj where manifest. The Oxford movement j stirred up the old faith and appealed to ! I the English heart, and since then the . claim of "unbroken sucoes-sion" h is , been made, namely, that a clergy which j I had been reviling the mass, speaking j I against confession and Catholic sig- j niticanee in ehnn h ritual, is the same ( in "unbroken su.-.-f ssion" as the Ro- man Catholic priesthood, which for three centuries the Anglican church 'is has reviled and mnlisnt'. ', ' "You will find u- as you know, re- if taining confirmation, its well as bap- I tism and communion." etc-. ' ; ! Now. what do we really find'. We 1 I take baptism, which is necessary for t salvation, "unless a man be born again ' I of water and the Holy Ghost, he can- -. I not enter, into the kingdom of God." i j Wheatley. an Anglican authority, tells: that during the time when the "direc-- tory" was in force (that is from 1S5 to 1600). "a basin was brought to the. . minister in his reading desk, and the child being held below him. he dipped , " . in his fingers, and so took up watec enough just to let a drop or two fall: f on the child's face." Another Afliglican authority. Mr. Rennet, vicar of Frome, ( writing of church events sixty yars ( ago. said. "Rapti-sm as a sacrament f was well night lost amongst the Eng- lish people. It is very ques- tionable whether the water, when used, I really did torn h the person of the ; ' child- meant to be baptized." 1 Dr. Lee, who has written several r works, in one of his books quotes the ; "Reunion Magazine." showing that ; Bishop Alforei "openly baptized four- ; i teen adults by once rlicking his wetted fiir.gers in the air' over all df them." j . Before the publication of the "Tracts . ! for the Times.-' oy Oxford in 1S.13. bap- ' tism was administered by the minister dipping his finger in the font, and then going round to each child in si- - ij lence.- touching each child on the head. I The form was omitted and the matter ' not sufficient. Therefore there was no ;; baptism. The c'aim of retaining bap- 1 tism. yet ignoring its importance to the. ' extent of omitting both the matter and J form, is not "laying much stress on the sacramental system." Again we take . confirmation. The matter and form for the validity of the sacrament are wanting. Holy chrism is not used. This is the essential mat- , ': ter in the sacrament of confirmation. The Catholic form. "I sign thee with ., the sign of the cross, and I confirm i thee with the chrism of salvation. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Uo'y Ghost." has been changed, and instead of same we get ' the incomplete form. "Defend, O Lord, ' this, thy child, with thy heavenly grace; that he may continue thine for- ; ever: and daily increase in thy holy spirit more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom." The J matter being wanting, the form irregular irreg-ular and incomplete, and the minister , not being consecrated. Rev. Mr. Love ; said truly that his church "i-s not like, " nor a part of the Roman Catholic church." (To be Continued.) |