Undivided Church.--In the great work of the Reformation in the
Sixteenth Century, the Church of England did not seek to introduce
innovations, to erect a new church in the place of the old, or to
change the old religion for a new religion. What it aimed to do was
to retain its ancient heritage, but at the same time to free the
old Church from certain grave abuses, to purify the old religion
from many harmful superstitions which had sprung up during the
Middle Ages. Thus "the continuity of the English Church was the
first principle of the English Reformation." In all the work of
Reformation, covering a long period of time, the appeal was
constantly made to the primitive standards of the _Undivided Church_;
to Holy Scripture as interpreted by the teaching and customs of the
Primitive Church, {263} the writings of the Fathers and the decisions
of the General Councils. The reasonableness of this appeal will appear
when we consider that it is this early age of Christianity, the age
nearest to the time of the Apostles, which best preserved the
personal instructions of the Twelve, which was most likely to be in
accord with the Will of our Lord and which maintained the Church's
unity unimpaired. It was during this time, because the Church was
one and undivided, that the Canon of Scripture was established,
that it was possible to hold the Ecumenical Councils which defined
"the Faith once delivered to the Saints," and gave us the Creeds as
the "Rule of Faith." For this reason the English Church in her
Reformation appealed to the practice, teaching and decisions of the
_Undivided Church_. It was thus she was enabled to preserve her
historic continuity. The original Unity of the Church was finally
broken by the great schism between the East and the West which took
place A.D. 1054, (See TRADITIONS; also FATHERS, THE.)
Unity, Church.--The most apparent, most manifest teaching of Holy
Scripture is the unity or oneness of the Church of Christ. It was
for this our Lord prayed, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father,
art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (St. John 17:25). We have
in these words declared the purpose of such unity, viz.: "that the
world may believe." So, also, St. Paul wrote, "Endeavoring to keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one Body and
one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one
Lord, one {264} Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all"
(Ephesians 4:3-6). Again, in the New Testament the Church is called
the Body of Christ, the kingdom of heaven, the Bride, and its people
are declared to be branches of the one Vine Jesus Christ Himself.
"The great thought running through all the New Testament descriptions
of the Church is that of the Church's unity in itself through its
union with Christ the Head." There is not the slightest warrant in
the Bible for the present state of our divided Christianity, which is
simply the result of sin and man's waywardness. This truth is
becoming more and more realized among many earnest and thoughtful
men in all religious bodies and they are longing and praying for
the Reunion of Christendom. This desire has also developed a study
of Church History which heretofore has been a much neglected
department of Christian knowledge. This more general study of the
history of the Church has already been productive of the greatest
good. It has given men broader views and a clearer conception of
that kingdom of grace, of which Christ is the Head and which is to
be the one, living witness whereby the world may be brought to
believe that the Divine Father hath sent His Son to be the world's
Saviour. For this blessed consummation many earnest and devout men
in all places and in almost every communion are using daily the
following beautiful