CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. 



TO the account of the Sacred Scriptures, given 

 in No. 77, is appended a sketch of the 

 spread of the Christian religion over the world, of 

 its establishment as the religion of the Roman 

 Empire, of the split between the Eastern and 

 Western Churches, and the main features of their 

 history down to the Reformation. In the present 

 paper, we purpose giving some account of the 

 chief divisions of Christendom as they now exist. 

 They fall into three groups : the CHURCH OF 

 ROME, the PROTESTANT CHURCHES, and the 

 GREEK or EASTERN CHURCH. 



CHURCH OF ROME. 



The Church of Rome, or Roman Catholic 

 Church, is that community of Christians through- 

 out the world who recognise the spiritual su- 

 premacy of the pope or bishop of Rome, and are 

 united together by the profession of the same 

 faith, and the participation of the same sacra- 

 ments. The most striking and palpable ground of 

 division between Rome on the one side, and the 

 Greek, Russian, and oriental communions on the 

 other, lies in the claim of supremacy in spiritual 

 jurisdiction on the part of the Roman bishop. 

 This claim rests on the belief, in the minds of 

 Roman Catholics, that Christ conferred on Peter 

 ' a primacy of jurisdiction ' over his Church ; that 

 Peter fixed his see at Rome, and died bishop of 

 that Church (a position which some Protestant 

 historians have called in question altogether) ; 

 and thus, that the bishops of Rome, as successors 

 of Peter, have also succeeded to his prerogatives 

 of supremacy. Roman Catholic historians trace, 

 to this acknowledged supremacy of the see of 

 Peter, numerous references to Rome on matters 

 of doctrine or discipline : appeals from other 

 Churches, even from the great Churches of Alex- 

 andria, Antioch, and Constantinople; depositions 

 and nominations of bishops, examination and 

 condemnation of heresies, of which the first five 

 centuries, especially the 4th and 5th, present 

 examples, but in which Protestant historians only 

 recognise the natural result of the political and 

 social superiority of Rome as the capital of the 

 Roman Empire. The abandonment of Italy by 

 the emperors to its fate under the invasion of the 

 barbarians, led to the establishment of the tem- 

 poral sovereignty of the popes. The total disrup- 

 tion of the Western Empire, and the consequent 

 social disorganisation of Europe, combined, with 

 the spiritual authority of the Roman bishop, to 

 bring about the general recognition of his author- 

 ity throughout the kingdoms of Europe as an 

 arbiter in the temporal relations of sovereigns 

 with their subjects, and of sovereigns towards 

 each other. The temporary withdrawal of the 

 papal residence from Rome to Avignon, brought 

 with it, from various causes, not the least of which 

 was the weakening of the prestige of the ' see of 

 Peter,' a notable diminution of at least the tem- 

 poral power of the popes, which was still further 

 78 



weakened by the long Western Schism, by the 

 conflicts of the rival pontiffs, and the scandals 

 which arose therefrom ; and the origin and pro- 

 gress of the modern political institutions, which 

 then began to break upon the world, so modified 

 the public relations of church and state, as by 

 degrees to undo the condition of society in which 

 the temporal power had its foundation. The 

 great revolution of the i6th century completed 

 the process ; and when the popes seriously ad- 

 dressed themselves to the defence of the doctrinal 

 system which was the foundation of their authority, 

 it was no longer in the character of arbiters of 

 the temporal destinies of the world, but of simple 

 disputants in the arena of theological science, in 

 which their adversaries could command, equally 

 with themselves, the means of appealing to the 

 intelligence and to the religious sympathies of 

 men. 



Nor was the revolution with which the popes 

 thus found themselves face to face without its 

 influence in the external history of the Roman 

 Church. The defections consequent on the Refor- 

 mation, at first numerous and formidable, re- 

 ceived a check. The great Council of Trent did 

 more to systematise, to define, and to present 

 in popular form the doctrinal belief of Rome, 

 than had been accomplished by the united efforts 

 of the schoolmen of the three centuries which 

 preceded the Reformation. The latter half of 

 the i6th century was a period of new life in the 

 Roman Church. The holding of local synods, 

 the establishment of episcopal seminaries, the 

 organisation of schools, and other provision for 

 religious instruction above all, the foundation of 

 religious orders of both sexes had the effect of 

 arresting the progress of Protestantism in many 

 countries. 



The local distribution of the rival churches in 

 the world has not been materially altered since 

 the Reformation. But in her relations to the 

 state, the Roman Church has since passed through 

 critical struggles. In most of the European 

 kingdoms these relations have been regulated 

 by concordat, or by some similar mutual agree- 

 ment, till very lately. In recent years, through 

 the unification of Italy, causing the loss of the 

 States of the Church, and the occupation of 

 Rome by the king of Italy, the pope has been 

 wholly stripped of the temporal power ; while 

 important modifications of privileges previously 

 enjoyed by the Church, have been made in 

 Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Spain. 



According to the Roman Catholic system, the 

 Church is not only the custodian of the divine 

 oracles, but also their authoritative interpreter. 

 The Old and New Testament Scriptures, the 

 Apocrypha, and the traditions of the Church, are 

 her standards ; but, as she is held to enjoy the 

 gift of infallibility, she is in a position freely to 

 judge, without falling into error, of all things and 

 circumstances as they arise, in so far as these 

 may seem to her to affect faith, morality, and 



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