IN CHURCH HISTORY. 1 37 



ioctrines, which are not taught in the Sacred Scrip- 

 tures, and which were unknown in the purest ages 

 of the Church, has at last been the means of occa- 

 sioning another division. Those who are seeking 

 to restore the Church of Rome to what she was in 

 purer days, call themselves Old Catholics, and 

 claim that they are the true representatives of that 

 Church before it became corrupt by the addition 

 of errors. 



Wherein the Divisions agree. — It would be 

 fearful, indeed, if all of these divisions exhibited 

 opposite views of Christianity ; and if we could not 

 discover any points of agreement between the vari- 

 ous fragments of Christendom. A little examina- 

 tion, however, will show that there is much which 

 is held in common by most of these bodies. 



First, The Greek, the Roman, the Anglican, the 

 Episcopal and Old Catholic Churches adopt and 

 approve equally the Apostles' Creed. The Nicene 

 Creed, with the exception of two words, is retained 

 by all, so that the outline of the Christian faith, 

 as expressed in these symbols, adopted in the earli- 

 est centuries of the Church, is still maintained. 



These bodies, also, agree in the form of Church 

 government, by a ministry of three orders, and in 

 ihe use of liturgical worship. 



Second, Some of the Protestant bodies, in this 

 and other lands, are in substantial agreement with 



