CHURCH OF ENGLAND, is the church || Controversy, because Hoadley was then bishestablished by law in this kingdom. op of Bangor. Dr. Wake, archbishop of When and by whom Christianity was first Canterbury, formed a project of peace and introduced into Britain cannot perhaps be union between the English and Gallican exactly ascertained. Eusebius, indeed, posi-churches, founded upon this condition, tively declares that it was by the apostles that each of the two communities should reand their disciples. It is also said that num-tain the greatest part of their respective and bers of persons professed the Christian faith peculiar doctrines; but this project came to here about the year 150; and according to nothing. In the church of England there Usher, there was in the year 182 a school are deans, archdeacons, rectors, vicars, &c.; of learning, to provide the British churches for an account of which, see the respective with proper teachers. Popery, however, was articles. established in England by Austin the monk; and the errors of it we find every where prevalent, until Wickliffe was raised up by Divine Providence to refute them. The church of England remained in subjection to the pope until the time of Henry VIII. Henry, indeed, in early life, and during the former part of his reign, was a bigotted papist: he burnt the famous Tyndal (who || made one of the first and best translations of the New Testament ;) and wrote in defence of the seven sacraments against Luther, for which the pope gave him the title of "The Defender of the Faith." But falling out | with the pope about his marriage, he took the government of ecclesiastical affairs into his own hand; and, having reformed many abuses, entitled himself supreme head of the church. See REFORMATION.

The church of England has a public form read, called a Liturgy. It was composed in 1547, and has undergone several alterations, the last of which was in 1661. Since that time, several attempts have been made to amend the liturgy, articles, and some other things relating to the internal government, but without effect. There are many excellencies in the liturgy; and in the opinion of the most impartial Grotius (who was no member of this church,) "it comes so near the primitive pattern, that none of the reformed churches can compare with it." See LITURGY.

See Mr. Overton's True Churchman; Bishop Jewel's Apology for the Church of England; Abp Potter's treatise on Church Government; Tucker's ditto; Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity; Pearson on the Creed; Burnett on the thirty-nine Articles; Bishop Prettyman's Elements of Theology; and Mrs. H. Moore's Hints on forming the Character of a young Princess, vol. ii. ch. 37. On the subject of the first introduction of Christianity into Britain, see the 1st vol. of Henry's History of Great Britain.

The greatest part of the inhabitants of England are professedly members of this church; but, perhaps, very few either of her ministers or members strictly adhere to the articles in their true sense. Those who The doctrines of the church of England, are called methodistic or evangelical preachwhich are contained in the thirty-nine arti-ers in the establishment are allowed to come cles, are certainly Calvinistical, though this the nearest, has been denied by some modern writers, especially by Dr. Kipling, in a tract entitled "The articles of the Church of England proved not to be Calvinistic." These articles were founded, for the most part, upon a body of articles compiled and published in the reign of Edward VI. They were first passed | in the convocation, and confirmed by royal authority in 1562. They were afterwards ratified anew in the year 1571, and again by Charles I. The law requires a subscription to these articles of all persons who are admitted into holy orders. In the course of CHURCH GALLICAN, denotes the cithe last century disputes arose among the devant church of France under the governclergy respecting the propriety of subscribing ment of its respective bishops and pastors. to any human formula of religious senti- This church always enjoyed certain franments. An application for its removal was chises and immunities, not as grants from made to parliament, in 1772, by the petition-popes, but as derived to her from her first ing clergy; and received the most public discussion in the house of commons, but rejected in the house of lords.

The government of the church of England is episcopal, The king is the supreme head. There are two archbishops, and twenty-four bishops. The benefices of the bishops were converted by William the Conqueror into temporal baronies; so that every prelate has a seat and a vote in the house of peers. Dr. Hoadly, however, in a sermon preached from this text-"My kingdom is not of this world," insisted that the clergy had no pretensions to temporal jurisdictions; which gave rise to various publications, termed by way of eminence, the Bangorian

original, and which she took care never to relinquish. These liberties depended upon two maxims; the first, that the pope had no right to order any thing in which the temporalities and civil rights of the kingdom were concerned: the second, that, notwithstanding the pope's supremacy was admitted in cases purely spiritual, yet in France his power was limited by the decrees of ancient councils received in that realm.

In the established church the Jansenists was very numerous. The bishoprics and prebends were entirely in the gift of the king; and no other catholic state, except Italy, had so numerous a clergy as France. There were in this kingdom eighteen arch

bishops, one hundred and eleven bishops, one hundred and sixty-six thousand clergymen, and three thousand four hundred convents, containing two thousand persons devoted to a monastic life.

Since the repeal of the edict of Nantz, the Protestants have suffered much from persecution. A solemn law, which did much honour to Lewis XVI. late king of France, gave to his non-Roman Catholic subjects, as they were called, all the civil advantages and privileges of their Roman Catholic brethren.

The above statement was made previously to the French revolution: great alterations have taken place since that period. And it may be interesting to those who have not the means of fuller information, to give a sketch of the causes which gave rise to those important events.

open. The next step of the assembly was to establish what is called the civil constitu tion of the clergy. This the Roman Catholics assert, was in direct opposition to their religion. But though opposed with energetic eloquence, the decree passed, and was soon after followed by another, obliging the clergy to swear to maintain their civil constitution. Every artifice which cunning, and every menace which cruelty could invent, were used to induce them to take the oath; great numbers, however, refused. One hundred and thirty-eight bishops and archbishops, sixty-eight curates or vicars, were on this account driven from their fees and parishes. Three hundred of the priests were massacred in one day in one city. All the other pastors who adhered to their religion were either sacrificed, or banished from their country, seeking through a thousand dangers a refuge among foreign nations. A perusal of the horrid massacres of the priests who refused to take the oaths, and the vari

who were attached to the Catholic religion, must deeply wound the feelings of humanity. Those readers who are desirous of farther information, are referred to Abbé Barruel's History of the Clergy,

It has been asserted, that about the middle of the last century a conspiracy was formed to overthrow Christianity, without distinction of worship, whether Protestant or Catho-ous forms of persecution employed by those lic. Voltaire; De Alembert; Frederic II. king of Prussia; and Diderot, were at the head of this conspiracy. Numerous other adepts and secondary agents were induced to join them. These pretended philosophers used every artifice that impiety could invent, by union and secret correspondence, to attack, to debase, and annihilate Christianity. They not only acted in concert, sparing no political or impious art to effect the destruction of the Christian religion, but they were the instigators and conductors of those secondary agents whom they had seduced, and pursued their plan with all the ardour and constancy which denotes the most finished conspirators.

Some think that there was another cause of the revolution, and which may be traced as far back at least as the revocation of the edict of Nantz in the seventeenth century, when the great body of French Protestants, who were men of principles, were either murdered or banished, and the rest in a manner silenced. The effect of this sanguinary measure (say they) must needs be the general prevalence of infidelity. Let the religious part of any nation be banished, and a The French clergy amounted to one hun- general spread of irreligion must necessarily dred and thirty thousand, the higher orders || follow: such were the effects in France. of whom enjoyed immense revenues; but Through the whole of the eighteenth centhe cures, or great body of acting clergy, tury infidelity has been the fashion, and that seldom possessed more than twenty-eight not only among the princes and noblesse, but pounds sterling a year, and the vicars about even among the greater part of the bishops half the sum. The clergy as a body, inde- and clergy. And as they had united their pendent of their titles, possessed a revenue influence in banishing true religion, and arising from their property in land, amount-cherishing the monster which succeeded it, ing to five millions sterling annually; at the same time they were exempt from taxation. Before the levelling system had taken place, the clergy signified to the commons the instructions of their constituents, to contribute to the exigencies of the state in equal proportion with the other citizens. Not contented with this offer, the tithes and revenues of the clergy were taken away; in lieu of which, it was proposed to grant a certain stipend to the different ministers of religion, to be payable by the nation. The possessions of the church were then considered as national property by a decree of the constituent assembly. The religious orders, viz. the communities of monks and nuns, possessed immense landed estates; and, after having abolished the orders, the assembly seized the estates for the use of the nation: the gates of the cloisters were now thrown

so they have been united in sustaining the calamitous effects which that monster has produced. However unprincipled and cruel the French revolutionists have been, and however much the sufferers, as fellow creatures, are entitled to our pity; yet, considering the event as the just retribution of God. we are constrained to say, "Thou art righteous, oh! Lord, who art, and wast, and shall be, because thou hast judged thus; for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy."

The Catholic religion is now again established, but with a toleration of the Protestants, under some restriction.-See the Concordat, or religious establishment of the French Republic, ratified September 10th, 1801.

CHURCH GREEK, or EASTERN, con

prehends the churches of all the countries || ally rambling round the houses in the counanciently subject to the Greek or Eastern try. They took their rise among the Donaempire, and through which their language was carried; that is, all the space extended from Greece to Mesopotamia and Persia, and thence into Egypt. This church has been divided from the Roman ever since the time of the emperor Phocas. See article GREEK CHURCH.

CHURCH HIGH See HIGH CHURCH. CHURCH OF IRELAND is the same as the church of England, and is governed by four archbishops and eighteen bishops.

CHURCH LATIN or WESTERN, comprehends all the churches of Italy, Portugal, Spain, Africa, the north, and all other countries whither the Romans carried their language. Great Britain, part of the Netherlands, of Germany, and of the north of Europe, have been separated from it almost ever since the reformation.

tists, in the reign of the emperor Constantine. It is incredible what ravages and cruelties they committed in Africa, through a long series of years. They were illiterate savage peasants, who understood only the Punic language. Intoxicated with a barbarous zeal, they renounced agriculture, professed continence, and assumed the title of

Vindicators of justice, and protectors of the oppressed." To accomplish their mission, they enfranchized slaves, scoured the roads, forced masters to alight from their chariots, and run before their slaves, whom they obliged to mount in their place; and discharged debtors, killing the creditors if they refused to cancel their bonds. But the chief objects of their cruelty were the Catholics and especially those who had renounced Donatism. At first they used no CHURCH REFORMED, comprehends swords, because God had forbidden the use the whole Protestant churches in Europe and of one to Peter: but they were armed with America, whether Lutheran, Calvinistic, In- || clubs, which they called the clubs of Israel, dependent, Quaker, Baptist, or of any other and which they handled in such a manner denomination who dissent from the church as to break a man's bones without killing of Rome, The term Reformed, is now how-him immediately, so that he languished a ever, employed on the Continent of Europe, long time, and then died. When they took to distinguish the Calvinists from the Lu-away a man's life at once, they looked upon therans. it as a favour. They became less scrupulous CHURCH ROMAN CATHOLIC, claims afterwards, and made use of all sorts of the title of being the mother church, and is arms. Their shout was, Praise be to God. undoubtedly the most ancient of all the esta-These words in their mouths were the sigblished churches in Christendom, if antiquity be held as a proof of primitive purity. See

POPERY.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, established by law in that kingdom, is presbyterian, which has existed (with some interruptions during the reign of the Stewarts) ever since the time of John Knox, when the voice of the people prevailed against the influence of the Crown in getting it established. Its doctrines are Calvinistic. See article PRESBYTERI

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nal of slaughter, more terrible than the roaring of a lion. They had invented an unheard of punishment, which was to cover with lime, diluted with vinegar, the eyes of those unhappy wretches whom they had crushed with blows and covered with wounds, and to abandon them in that condition. Never was a stronger proof what horrors superstition can beget in minds destitute of knowledge and humanity. These brutes, who had made a vow of chastity, gave themselves up to wine, and all sorts of CHURCHWARDENS, officers chosen impurities; running about with women and yearly, either by the consent of the minister, young girls as drunk as themselves, whom or of the parishioners, or of both. Their they called sacred virgins, and who often business is to look to the church, church-carried proof of their incontinence. Their yard, and to observe the behaviour of the chief took the name of chief of the saints. parishioners; to level a shilling forfeiture on After having glutted themselves with blood, all such as do not go to church on Sundays, they turned their rage upon themselves, and and to keep persons orderly in church- sought death with the same fury with which time, &c. they gave it to others. Some scrambled up CHURCH-YARD, a piece of ground ad- to the tops of rocks, and cast themselves joining to the church, set apart for the in- down headlong in multitudes; others burned terment of the dead. In the church of Rome, themselves, or threw themselves into the church-yards are consecrated with great sea. Those who proposed to acquire the solemnity. If a church-yard which has been title of martyrs published it long before; thus consecrated shall afterwards be pollut- upon which they were feasted and fattened ed by any indecent action, or profaned by like oxen for the slaughter; after these prethe burial of an infidel, an heretic, an ex-parations they set cut to be destoyed. Somecommunicated or unbaptized person, it must be reconciled; and the ceremony of the reconciliation is performed with the same solemnity as that of the consecration! See CONSECRATION.

parts. In conformity to the style of the transaction, the Levites were called God's lot, inheritance, or clergy. This style, however, is not always used by the Old Testament writers. Sometimes they call all the nation God's lot, Deut. xxxii. 9. Ps lxxviii.

writers adopt this term, and apply it to the whole Christian church, 1 Pet. v. 3. Thus it is the church distinguished from the world, and not one part of the church as distinguished from another part." The word clergy, however, among us, always refers to ecclesiastics.

out of their power to defend themselves,, whipped them as long as he was able, and then left them tied in that manner. Their bishops pretended to blame them, but in reality made use of them to intimidate such as might be tempted to forsake their sect; they even honoured them as saints. They71. Ps. xxviii. 9, &c. The New Testament were not, however, able to govern those furious monsters; and more than once found themselves under a necessity of abandoning them, and even of imploring the assistance of the secular power against them. The counts Ursacius and Taurinus were employ. ed to quell them: they destroyed a great number of them, of whom the Donatists made as many martyrs. Ursacius, who was a Catholic, and a religious man, having lost his life in an engagement with the barbarians, the Donatists did not fail to triumph in his death, as an effect of the vengeance of heaven. Africa was the theatre of these bloody scenes during a great part of Constantine's life.

The clergy originally consisted of bishops priests, and deacons; but in the third century many inferior orders were appointed; such as sub-deacons, acoluthists, readers, &c. The clergy of the church of Rome are divided into regular and secular. The regular consists of those monks or religious who have taken upon them holy orders of the priesthood in their respective monasteCISTERTIANS, a religious order found-ries. The secular clergy are those who are ed by St. Robert, a Benedictine, in the not of any religious order, and have the eleventh century. They became so pow-care and direction of parishes. The Proerfal, that they governed almost all Europe testant clergy are all secular. For archbiboth in spirituals and temporals. Cardinal shops, bishops, deans, &c. &c., see those de Vitri, describing their observances, says, articles. they neither wore skins nor shirts, nor ever ate flesh, except in sickness; and abstained from fish, eggs, milk, and cheese: they lay upon straw beds in tunics and cowls; they rose at midnight to prayers; they spent the day in labour, reading, and prayer; and in all their exercises observed a continual silence.

CLEMENCY denotes much the same as mercy. It is most generally used in speaking of the forgiveness exercised by princes. It is the result, indeed, of a disposition which ought to be cultivated by all ranks, though its effects cannot be equally conspi

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The clergy have large privileges allowed them by our municipal laws, and had formerly much greater, which were abridged at the reformation, on account of the ill use which the popish clergy had endeavoured to make of them; for the laws having exempted them from almost every personal duty, they attempted a total exemption from every secutar tie. The personal exemptions, indeed, for the most part, continue. A clergyman cannot be compelled to serve on a jury, nor to appear at a court leet, which almost every other person is obliged to do; but if a layman be summoned on a jury, and before the trial takes orders, he shall notwithstanding appear, and be sworn. Neither can he be chosen to any temporal office; as bailiff, reeve, constable, or the like, in regard of his own continual attendance on the sacred function. During his attendance on divine service, he is privileged from arrests in civil suits. In cases of felony also, a clerk in orders shall have the benefit of clergy without being branded in the hand, and may likewise have it more than once; in both which cases he is distinguished from a layman.

so they have also their disabilities, on ac- || righteous displeasure-that this yoke, which count of their spiritual avocations. Clergy- was painful in itself, became doubly so on men are incapable of sitting in the house of account of its typical signification; since it commons; and by statute 21 Henry VIII, c. admonished the Israelites from day to day of 13. are not in general allowed to take any the imperfection and uncertainty of their lands or tenements to farm, upon pain of state, filled them with anxiety, and was a 10% per month, and total avoidance of the perpetual proof that they had merited the lease; nor upon like pain to keep any tap-righteous displeasure of God, and could not house or brewhouse; nor engage in any trade, nor sell any merchandize, under forfeiture of the treble value; which prohibi- || tion is consonant to the canon law.