1. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, during his visit of mercy to
the world, chose from among his disciples twelve men, to be his
especial agents in establishing his church. These men, in our
translation of the New Testament, are denominated apostles. The grand
commission which they received was, "Go ye into all the world, and
preach my gospel to every creature."
2. The apostles commenced their noble enterprise on that memorable day
of Pentecost, which next occurred after the ascension of their Master;
and, in the city of his inveterate enemies, soon succeeded in
establishing a church of several thousand members. The doctrines of
Christianity soon spread to other cities and countries; and, before
the close of that century, they were known and embraced, more or
less, in every province of the Roman empire.
3. The apostles, however, were not the only agents engaged in
spreading and maintaining the doctrines of Christianity; for, in every
church, persons were found capable of taking the supervision of the
rest, and of exercising the office of the ministry. These were
ordained either by the apostles themselves, or by persons authorized
by them to perform the ceremony.
4. After the Church had passed through a great variety of
persecutions, during a period of nearly three centuries, the
Christians became superior in numbers to the pagans in the Roman
empire. In the early part of the fourth century, a free toleration in
religious matters was declared by Constantine the Great, who took the
Church under his especial protection.
5. The Christians of the first and second centuries usually worshipped
God in private houses, or in the open air in retired places, chiefly
on account of the persecutions to which they were often subjected. It
was not until the third century, that they ventured to give greater
publicity to their service, by building churches for general
accommodation. When the Cross had obtained the ascendency, in the
subsequent age, many of the heathen temples were appropriated to
Christian purposes; and many splendid churches were erected,
especially by Constantine and his successors.
6. In the middle ages, a great number of edifices were erected for the
performance of divine worship, which, in loftiness and grandeur, had
never been surpassed; and the greater part of these remain to the
present day. Some of the most famous churches are, St. Peter's, at
Rome; Notre Dame, at Paris; St. Stephen's, at Vienna; the church of
Isaac, at St. Petersburg; the minsters at Strasburg and Cologne and
St. Paul's, in London.
7. Up to the time of the great change in favor of Christianity, just
mentioned, the whole Church had often acted together in matters of
common interest, through the medium of general councils; and this
practice continued for several centuries afterwards. But the variance
and dissensions between the Pope of Rome, and the Patriarch of
Constantinople, combined with some other causes, produced, about the
close of the ninth century, a total separation of the two great
divisions of the Church.
8. At the time of this schism, the whole Christian world had become
subject to these two prelates. The part of the Church ruled by the
Patriarch, was called the _Eastern_, or _Greek Church_; and that part
which yielded obedience to the Pope, was denominated the _Western_, or
_Latin Church_. Many attempts have been since made to reunite these
two branches of the Church; but these endeavors have hitherto proved
unsuccessful.
9. The conquest of the Roman empire, so often mentioned in the
preceding pages, was particularly injurious to the Church, especially
that part of it subject to the Roman pontiff; since it nearly
extinguished the arts and sciences, and since the barbarous conquerors
were received into the Church, before they had attained the proper
moral qualifications. From these causes, chiefly, arose the conduct of
the Church, in the middle ages, which has been so much censured by all
enlightened men, and which has been often unjustly attributed to
Christianity herself, rather than to the ignorance and barbarism of
the times.
10. In the year 1517, while Leo X. occupied the papal chair, Martin
Luther, of Saxony, commenced his well-known opposition to many
practices and doctrines in the Church, which he conceived to be
departures from the spirit of primitive Christianity. He was soon
joined in his opposition by Philip Melancthon, Ulric Zuingle, and
finally by John Calvin, as well as by many other distinguished divines
of that century, in various parts of Europe.
11. These men, with their followers and abettors, for reasons too
obvious to need explanation, received or assumed the appellation of
_Reformers_; and, on account of a solemn protest which they entered
against a certain decree which had been issued against them, they also
became distinguished by the name of _Protestants_. The latter term is
now applied to all sects, of whatever denomination, in the western
division of the Church, that do not acknowledge the authority of the
Roman See.
12. The Protestant division of the Church is called by the Roman
Catholics, the _Western schism_, to distinguish it from that of the
Greek Church, which is termed the _Eastern schism_. The Protestants
are divided into a great number of sects, or parties; and, although
they differ from each other in many of their religious sentiments,
they agree in their steady opposition to the Roman Catholics.
13. The ostensible object of the founders of all the churches
differing from the Romish communion, has been, to bring back
Christianity to the state in which it existed on its first
establishment; and to prove their positions in doctrine and church
government, they appeal to the Scriptures, and sometimes to the
Christian writers of the first four or five centuries. The advocates
of the "mother church," on the contrary, contend that, being
infallible, she can never have departed from primitive principles, on
any point essential to salvation.
14. As to the government of the several churches it is, in most cases,
either Episcopal or Presbyterian. In the former case, three orders of
clergymen are recognized; viz., _bishops_, _presbyters_, and
_deacons_; and these three orders are supposed, by the advocates of
episcopacy, to have been ordained by the apostles. This opinion is
supported by the circumstance, that these orders are mentioned in the
Scriptures; and also by the fact, supposed to be sustained by the
primitive fathers, that they were uniformly established early in the
second century.
15. It is believed by Episcopalians, that these three orders of
ministers were instituted in the Christian Church, in imitation of the
Jewish priesthood; the bishop representing the high-priest; the
presbyters, the priests; and the deacons, the Levites.
16. On the other hand, the advocates of the Presbyterian form of
government, assert, that in the first century of the Church, bishop
and presbyter were the same order of ministers, and that the former
was nothing more than a presbyter, who presided in Christian
assemblies, when met to consult on church affairs.
17. The deacons in the churches that have renounced episcopacy, are
not classed among the clergy, but are chosen from among the private
members, to manage the temporalities of the congregation, or church,
to which they belong, to assist the minister, on some occasions, in
religious assemblies, or to take the lead in religious worship in his
absence. Under this form of government, therefore, there is recognized
but one order of ministers, and every clergyman is denominated
_presbyter_, _priest_, or _elder_.
18. The literary and religious qualifications required of candidates
for orders have varied in different ages of the Church, according to
the existing state of literature and religion; and the requirements in
these two particulars are now different, in the several denominations.
Nearly all, however, require the profession in the candidate, that he
believes he is moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon him the office of
the ministry. Some churches require a collegiate education, with two
or three years of the study of divinity; but others, only such as is
usually obtained in common schools, combined with a tolerable capacity
for public speaking.
19. The clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, is of two kinds; the one
_regular_, comprehending all the religious who have taken upon
themselves monastic vows; the other _secular_, comprehending all the
ecclesiastics who do not assume these obligations. The latter,
however, in common with the former, take a vow of perpetual celibacy.
20. It is the especial duty of clergymen, to preach the gospel, to
administer the ordinances, and to enforce the discipline of that
branch of the Church to which they belong. They are also expected to
administer consolation to persons in distress of mind, arising from
the complicated evils of this life, to unite persons by the bonds of
matrimony, and, finally, in attending on the burial of the dead, to
perform the last ceremony due from man to man.
21. Ministers of the gospel occupy an elevated stand in all Christian
communities, both on account of the high tone of moral feeling which
they generally possess, and on account of the interest which the
people at large feel in the subject of religion. The work of the
ministry is emphatically a work of benevolence; and no man can perform
it with satisfaction to himself, or with acceptance to the people of
his charge, if destitute of love to God and man.
22. In most of the kingdoms of Europe, some one of the several
denominations is supported by legal enactments; but, in the United
States, every branch of the Church enjoys equal favor, so far as
legislation is concerned. In most cases, the institutions of religion
are supported by voluntary contributions or subscriptions.
23. The salary received by ministers of the gospel, in the United
States, is exceedingly various in the different denominations, and in
the same denomination from different congregations. In some instances,
they receive nothing for their services, in others, a liberal
compensation.
24. It is but justice to this profession to remark, that, taking the
ability of its members into account, there is no employment less
productive of wealth; and this is so evidently the case, that some
denominations distribute, annually, a considerable amount among the
widows and orphans of those who have devoted their lives to the
ministry.
25. The meagre support which the ministry usually receives, arises, in
part, from the opinion too commonly entertained, that this profession
ought to be one of benevolence exclusively, and that ministers should,
therefore, be contented with a bare subsistence, and look for their
reward in the consciousness of doing their duty, and in the prospect
of future felicity. This is a very convenient way of paying for the
services of faithful servants, and of relieving the consciences of
those whose duty it is to give them a liberal support.
[Illustration: The LAWYER.]