paration, though under the plea of cultivating and preserving a higher degree of purity, which constituted their offence, and drew upon them the general indignation of the church of God. In a similar way AUGUSTINE speaks of the Donatists and their schism.

"They who imagine that their own denomination is now clean wheat, have flown away from the mixture of chaff and wheat, as if they were pure chaff: and they who think that they no longer feed with the goats under one shepherd, are severed, by the stratagems of wolves, from the Lord's flock: and they who suppose that they are not gathered together with the bad fish, are not only bad fish themselves, but have broken the nets of unity."*

JEROME also, on Eph. 4, 3. observes "This place bears particularly hard upon the heretics, who break the bond of peace, yet think that they maintain the unity of the Spirit: whereas the unity of the Spirit is preserved by the bond

6

Qui congregationem suam jam frumentum purgatum putant a commixtione frumenti et paleæ tanquam pura palea volaverunt: et qui se sub uno pastore non adhuc cum hædis pascere sentiunt, fupoFum insidiis de grege Domini separati sunt: et qui cum malis pisci bus se congregatos esse non putant, non solum mali p.sces sunt, sed etiam unitatis retia diruperunt.

AUG. cont. Parm. Lib. III. c. S. T. vii. 65.

of

peace. For when, instead of concord in our professions, we cry out, I am of Paul-I of Apollos-I of Cephas, we divide the unity of the Spirit, and rend it into shreds."* That the venerable father meant his censure should attach, with peculiar force, to those who had receded from the Catholic fellowship of the church, and set up for themselves, is clear, not only from the nature of his argument, but also from his sentiments formerly quoted.

Innumerable testimonies of the same sort are at hand, but shall not be brought forward: as the preceding fully establish, we believe, the position advanced in the beginning of this section, viz. that the primitive church accounted her unity to be violated, by internal schisms-by the renunciation of fundamental truth-and by separate com

munions.

There remains yet a

Third Inquiry. By what means was the visible unity of the primitive church preserved and proclaimed?

* Hic locus vel maxime adversum hæreticos facit: qui, pacis vinculo dissipato atque corrupto, putant se tenere spiritus unitatem; cum unitas spiritus in pacis vinculo conservetur. Quando enim non id ipsum omnes loquimur; et alius dicit, Ego sum Pauli-Ego Apollo-Ego Cephæ, dividimus spiritus unitatem; et eam in partes ac membra discer pimus.

HIER. Comment. ad. Eph. IV. 3. Opp. T. VI. 176.

The answer to this question flows so naturally from the foregoing discussion, that it might, perhaps, be left to the reader's own inference. But, to prevent uncertainty or mistakes, it shall be given distinctly.

Her unity, then, was preserved and evinced, chiefly,

1st. By an inflexible adherence to the great truths of the gospel, as summed up in her creed. Here was her ONE faith, with which she permitted no tampering. This faith her members, all the world over, were expected and required, not merely to abstain from denying, which is at best a negative assurance, but also to embrace and profess. On this point enough has been said already.

2d. By her members' conformity to the customs and usages of any particular church which they might happen to visit.

No local or national peculiarities were allowed to usurp the rank of terms of communion. No small fastidiousness about matters which affected not the substance of the Christian profession, to disturb the Christian peace. Whoever, from ignorance, vanity, moroseness, or any other of those deceits which clothe a factious temper in the habiliments of holy zeal, and impute to religious prudery the virtues of a tender conscience,

made a noise about things indifferent, and chose to be in dudgeon because he could not fashion the world after his own image, was considered as

ministering questions, rather than godly edifying;" as being more a scandal than an ornament to the gospel. This point also has been sufficiently handled above.

3d. By respecting and supporting discipline wheresoever and by whomsoever, within her pale, inflicted.

A person censured by one church was, of course, excluded from every other. No petitions, penitence, complaint, or other expedient, could avail for his admission without reconciliation to the church by which he had been censured. It was inconceivable to these Christian "elders," how a sentence of one court of Christ's kingdom should not be held valid and sacred by every other. To own a church as a member of the church catholic, and yet to disregard, or revise her acts of discipline, is an inconsistency into which they were cautious of falling. It was, in their eyes, equivalent to rejecting her ministry and ordinances. So that whatever subordinate differences might subsist between them, while they acknowledged each other as true churches, they never thought of interfering with each other's judicial acts; or of releasing from cen

sure each other's offenders. Thus they reciprocated confidence, and imparted mutual strength, declared their social union, and drew, by their combined efforts, a line of defence round the "city of God." So thoroughly was this maxim understood, and so generally applied, that “when Pope ZoSIMUS and CELESTINE took upon them to receive appellants from the African churches, and absolve those whom they had condemned, St. AUSTIN and all the African churches sharply remonstrated against this as an irregular practice, violating the laws of unity, and the settled rules of ecclesiastical commerce, which required, That no delinquent, excommunicated in one church, should be absolved in another, without giving satisfaction to his own church that censured him."*

4th. By holding ministerial and Christian communion with all true churches, as opportunity offered. That is to say, every church received into communion as fully as her own immediate members, ministers and private Christians, from any and every other church under the whole heaven, upon evidence of their good standing: which evidence, when they were not otherwise sufficiently known, was furnished by letters of recommendation, or what we call testimonials or

* BINGHAM, B. XVI.Sec. 14. Vol. II. p. 20. Fol. with the authorities there cited.