the presbyters of each city, all bishops being accounted equal. This state of things continued till the council of Nice, A. D. 325, or a little after. From that time metropolitans were placed over the bishops of a province, and had the right of ordaining the bishops of that province."*

SCHLEUSNER :-" For at length, after the apostles' age, that difference was introduced between the bishops and presbyters, that the bishops should have the greater dignity, as Suicerus rightly states in his Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus."t

ARCHBISHOP USHER:- "I asked him [Abp. Usher] also his judgment about the validity of presbyter's ordination; which he asserted, and told me that the king [Charles I.] asked him, at the Isle of Wight, wherever he found in antiquity, that presbyters alone ordained any? and that he answered, I can show your majesty more, even where PRESBYTERS ALONE SUCCESSIVELY ORDAINED BISHOPS; and instanced in Hierome's words, Epist. ad Evagrium, of the presbyters of Alexandria chusing and making their own bishops from the days of Mark till Heraclas and Dionysius." And his express words, quoted by Dr. Parr, in his Appendix to the Archbishop's Life, are these "A presbyter hath the same order in specie with a bishop: ergo, a presbyter hath EQUALLY an intrinsic power to give orders, and is equal to him in the power of order."§

Now here is a host of men, whose qualifications for giving their judgment in this matter were never surpassed, all determining, with one voice, that BY DIVINE RIGHT ALL MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL ARE EQUAL; and that the order of bishops, as now existing, is only a HUMAN AR

RANGEMENT.

Here, then, this all-deciding point is placed on the basis of a CATHOLIC or UNIVERSAL DOCTRINE of the Christian church. The celebrated rule of Vincentius Lirinensis is, that a doctrine truly catholic, is one "believed in all places, at all times, and by all the faithful. And we are thus catholic, when we follow universality, antiquity, and consent: but we follow universality, when we profess that only to be

* Thesaur. Eccles., tom. i, col. 1180.

+ Lex. Gr. in Nov. Test., sub vocе ETIOкOTOS.

+ Life of Baxter, by Sylvester, fol., lib. i, part ii, sec. 63, p. 206. See Dr. John Edwards's Discourse on Episcopacy, chap. xiv.

the true faith which is professed by the church all the world over. In like manner, we are followers of antiquity, when we religiously adhere to that sense of Scripture which manifestly obtained among the holy fathers, our predecessors. And lastly, we follow consent, when we embrace the definitions and opinions of almost all, if not all, the bishops and teachers of the ancient church."* Vincentius himself shows no case in which this rule more fully applied than it applies to the position, that all gospel ministers are, by divine right, equal in power and authority in the Christian church.

The MAIN PILLAR of this semi-popish succession scheme was the assumption of the DIVINE RIGHT of episcopacy. But we have now shown that presbyters and bishops are one and the same, by the supreme authority of the SACRED SCRIPTURES most expressly; by the consent of the FATHERS; and by the consent of ALL THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES in the world. The following conclusions, then, are fully established :

1. ALL THE ACTs of presbyters are, by divine right, of EQUAL AUTHORITY with the acts of any bishops or archbishops whatever.

2. ORDINATION by presbyters has equal divine authority with ordination by bishops; and is more conformable to the Holy Scriptures.

3. Presbyters are EQUALLY as much SUCCESSORS of the apostles, in all the rights and authority remaining to the ministers of Christ, as the bishops are.

4. Whatever evidence, moreover, there is in any episcopal church for an UNINTERRUPTED LINE of bishops from Peter, or any other apostle, there is the same evidence for an UNINTERRUPTED LINE of presbyters from that very apostle to the present day in every other Protestant church in the world. No man can properly or Scripturally be a bishop, except he be first a presbyter. Every bishop, then, necessarily presupposes a presbyter: where there is no presbyter, there can be no bishop, even on the principles of our opponents. Therefore, wherever there is an uninterrupted series of true bishops, there is an uninterrupted series of presbyters also. The Lutheran church, the Reformed or Calvinistic churches of Germany, the re

* Reeves's Translation, chap.iii.

formed French church, the church of Scotland, the Dissenters in general of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Wesleyan and Calvinistic Methodists, are all governed by presbyters. These had an uninterrupted succession from other presbyters. Those in the Scotch church, in the Lutheran church, &c., had an uninterrupted succession from the presbyters (bishops) of the Romish Church: those of the different Protestant churches in England, from the presbyters (bishops) of the Church of England. What these bishops were, by ecclesiastical or human arangement, as distinct from presbyters, or REAL Scriptural bishops, adds No validity to their acts above presbyters. This we have already clearly proved. All they had of real Scriptural authority arose from any claim they might have to be considered as real Scriptural presbyters. All this authority passed to the presbyters of the above-mentioned churches by uninterrupted succession in their ordination. The human authority of a bishop does not effect the question at all. If an uninterrupted succession is worth any thing, it is, therefore, worth as much for presbyters as for bishops. The ministry, the ordinations, the administration of the sacraments, in all the above-mentioned churches, therefore, are, even on this ground, EQUALLY as Scriptural, valid, and apostolical, as the ministry, &c., of any episcopal church. But, if they have equal validity and apostolicity from the argument of a succession of persons, many of them have reason to thank God, on their own behalf, that they have MUCH MORE evidence of the same thing from the personal piety of their ministers, the doctrines they teach, the discipline exercised over their members, the unsecularized state of their churches, the Scriptural character of their various ordinances, and, above all, in the conversion of sinners unto God.

This EXCLUSIVE, intolerant scheme, then, of apostolical succession in bishops ALONE, as taught by these high Church divines, FALLS TO THE GROUND. It is a MONSTROUS FABRICATION, designed to support a system of usurpation over ministers and people; and to maintain a method of excluding from the pale of Christianity all who do not submit to it. It is Anglican Popery with many heads, set up in the place, and to accomplish the purposes, of the Popery of Rome. Let all true Protestants protest against it. Let

us contend for the succession of faith and holiness as the only infallible tests of a Christian church. For this let all the true members of the Church of England contend, both ministers and people. The writer, for one, will then fervently pray that God may make them a thousand times as many more as they are at this day. The world is before us: the faith of the gospel must save it. designed for this purpose. May the preaching of this faith, by whomsoever and wheresoever, and be glorified!

It is adapted and

have free course

SECTION X.

NO SUFFICIENT HISTORIC EVIDENCE OF A PERSONAL SUCCESSION OF VALID EPISCOPAL ORDINATIONS.

In the close of the last section, we have shown that the proof of the EQUALITY, by divine right, of bishops and presbyters, is fatal to the whole scheme of high Church successionists; utterly destroying its exclusive character. Here we might safely rest the cause. But as pretensions are boldly avowed, by high Churchmen, of their ability to trace the pedigree of their ordinations through an unbroken series of apostolical bishops; and as they employ this topic for the purpose of intolerance, it may not be without interest, or utility either, if we examine this point also. Dr. Hook shall state their case: "The prelates who at the present time rule the churches of these realms, were validly ordained by others, who by means of an UNBROKEN SPIRITUAL descent of ordination, derived their mission from the apostles and from our Lord. This continued descent is EVIDENT to EVERY ONE who chooses to investigate it. Let him read the Catalogues of Bishops, ascending up to the most remote period. Our ordinations descend in a direct UNBROKEN line from Peter and Paul, the apostles of the circumcision and the Gentiles. These great apostles successively ordained Linus, Cletus, and Clement, bishops of Rome; and the apostolic succession was regularly continued from them to Celestine, Gregory, and Vitaianus, who ordained Patrick, bishop for the Irish, and Augustine

and Theodore, for the English. And from those times an uninterrupted series of valid ordinations has carried down the APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION in our churches to the present day. There is not a bishop, priest, or deacon among us, who cannot, if he please, trace his own spiritual descent from St. Peter or St. Paul."*

I am perplexed to account for such statements as the above. I have investigated this subject, and I solemnly declare my belief that they are UTTERLY FALSE. My perplexity is, I say, how to account for them. I cannot, I do not think, that the authors of them mean to say what they know to be false. I suppose they wished them to be true; and, not having time to examine for themselves, take them upon trust, and give them at second hand. But then if we can find excuse for Dr. Hook's want of knowledge of his subject, his arrogance can have none. Let the reader carefully mark the tone of the doctor's Two Sermons on the Church and the Establishment. They are full of arrogance and insolence to all other churches-" The words of his mouth are smoother than butter, but war is in his heart: his words are softer than oil, yet are they drawn swords." "You will observe," says he, "how important all this is which I have now laid before you. Unless Christ be spiritually present with the ministers of religion in their services, those services will be VAIN. But the only ministrations to which he has PROMISED his presence, is, to those of the BISHOPS who are successors of the first commissioned apostles, and the OTHER CLERGY acting under THEIR Sanction and by THEIR authority.

"I know the outcry which is raised against this-the doctrine of the Christian church for eighteen hundred years-I know the outcry that is raised against it by THOSE SECTS Which can trace their origin no higher than to some celebrated preacher at the Reformation,—but I disregard it, because I shall, by God's help, continue to do, what I have done ever since I came among you, namely, declare the whole counsel of God, without regard to consequences or respect of persons, and, at the same time, as far as in me lies, live peaceably with all men." After perusing the preceding part of this Essay, the reader will clearly see how much confidence is to be

* Two Sermons, 3d edition, Leeds, 1837, pp. 7, 8.