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A Harmony of Anglican Doctrine
with the doctrine of the catholic and apostolic church of the East:
being the longer Russian catechism:
with an appendix consisting of notes and extracts from Scottish and Anglican authorities.

Appendix: Consisting of Notes to the Foregoing Catechism, with Extracts from Public Documents of the Scottish and Anglican Churches, and from the Writings of Some of their Most Celebrated Divines;

Designed to shew that there is in the Anglican Communion Generally, and more Particularly and Pre-eminently in the Scottish Church, an Element of Orthodoxy, Capable, by a Synodical Act, of Declaring Unity and Identity with the Eastern Catholic Church.

by William Palmer [M]

Aberdeen: A Brown, 1846.

NOTE X.

Q

. Why did not the first man only die, and not all as now? A. Because all have come of Adam since his infection by sin; &c.—Orthodox Catechism, p. 32.

I. Preface to the Offices for the Baptism of Infants and for the Baptism of Adults in the Church of England:—

"Forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin, (and that which is born of the flesh is flesh), and they that are in the flesh cannot please God, hut live in sin, committing many actual transgressions; and that our Saviour Christ saith, None can enter into the kingdom of God, except he be regenerate, and born anew of water and of the Holy Ghost; &c."

And the Catechism: "Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace? (of Baptism.) A. A death unto sin and a New Birth unto righteousness; for being by nature born in sin, we are hereby made the children of grace."

II. The Scottish Catechism of Aberdeen, by Bishop Jolly:—

"Q. Were all mankind propagated from Adam and Eve after the commission of this fatal transgression? A. It is certain they were, and therefore could inherit no other nature from their parents, than what they had to give. Q. What nature then do we inherit from our first parents? A. A corrupt and mortal nature, estranged from God and goodness, tainted with sin and guilt, and thereby under the condemnation of death and misery. In this condition mankind are now by nature."—P. 20. ed. 1837.

And the Catechism of the Diocese of Brechin:—

"Q. Has the sin of our first parents affected all their descendants? A. We all inherit from them a nature corrupt and mortal, tainted with sin and prone to evil, and therefore under condemnation. Q. Could man do any thing to recover himself from this state of sin and condemnation? A. (From Art. x. of the xxxix) 'The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God.' Q. Did God leave man in this miserable state? A. No; in the counsels of His infinite wisdom, He provided a Redeemer."—P. 6.

And again; "Q. You say that in Baptism you were made a member of Christ, &c.' Were you not then born in that state by nature? A. No; all mankind are 'by nature born in sin, and children of wrath.' Q. What do you mean by 'being born in sin, and children of wrath?' A. I mean that we are by nature in that state of depravity and condemnation, into which the fall of our first parents brought mankind. Q. How does Art. IX. (of the XXXIX) express this awful truth? A. 'Original sin is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; and in every person born into this world it deserves God's wrath and damnation."—Ib. p. 9.

NOTE XI.

I. Article VII, of the Thirty-nine, has the following words:— "Both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises."

And the Book of Homilies; Part II. of the Sermon on Faith:—"All these Fathers, Martyrs, and other holy men, whom St. Paul spake of, had their faith surely fixed in God. . . . And although they were not named Christian men, yet was it a Christian faith that they had; for they looked for all benefits of God the Father, through the merits of His Son Jesus Christ, as we now do. This difference is between them and us, that they looked when Christ should come, and we be in the time when He is come. 'Therefore,' saith St. Augustine, ‘the time is changed, but not the faith. For we have both one faith in Christ.'"—P. 32.

II. The Scottish Catechism of the Diocese of Brechin:— "Q. What is the plan of redemption called? A. The Covenant of Grace. Q. When did this Covenant commence? A. Immediately after the Fall. It was prefigured under the Patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations; and in the fulness of time it was completely unfolded under the Gospel."—P. 7.

III. The Scottish Bishop Rattray, of Dunkeld, writes as follows:—"That principle which is in Scripture opposed to the flesh, is called 'spirit;' and as it is derived from the logoV, is sometimes called 'logoV,' and ‘Christ,’ as being that spirit by which the logoV communicateth His influences to us: and it is chiefly to be considered in three respects: First, as the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world; in which respect all who have the use of their reason do more or less partake of it, as the light of the rational faculty: Secondly, as it was communicated to the Patriarchs, and those who lived under the Jewish Dispensation, whereby they were endued with that faith so much celebrated in the New Testament, and enabled by their good works flowing from it to please God; and in this respect it was also, according to the doctrine of the ancients, in some measure communicated even to the pious heathens themselves, wlio are therefore said to have lived kata logon, as following the conduct thereof: Thirdly, as it is given under our Christian Dispensation to the members of the Church as members of the Body of Christ, as a principle of new and immortal life to that Body, living and abiding in every particular member of it, as that by which we are united to Christ our Head, and to one another; as a Spirit of Adoption, whereby we become the sons of God; by which we are made summorfouV thV eikonoV tou uiou, as He is en morfh of the Father; by which we bear the image of Christ, as He is the image of the invisible God; by which we become the brethren of Christ, and He the first-born among many brethren; as it is the principle of Regeneration, the incorruptible seed by which we are born again, which is said ekporeuesqai from the Father, and is opposed to that corruptible seed from which we receive our first birth; as it is the seal, sfragiV, by which the divine image is impressed, by which we are sealed after we believed, and sealed to the Day of Redemption; from whence Baptism as including under it what we now call Confirmation, came to be called by this name in the earliest monuments of the Church; as it is a qeia fusiV, a logoV emfutoV, a kainh ktisiV, a new man; as it is that which entitles us to the resurrection of our bodies, and is the earnest of our inheritance, as being by it made sons, and if sons, then heirs and co-heirs with Christ, our elder Brother of the heavenly inheritance."

"In this respect it is never said to be given, since the forfeiture of it by our first parents, till it was purchased again by our Saviour, and by Him bestowed upon the Church as a triumphal largess upon His Ascension. Therefore the Evangelist saith, 'This He spake of the Spirit which they that believe on Him should receive, emellon lambanein,' and he gives this as the reason why they were only to receive it afterwards, oupw gar hn pneuma agion, 'nondum enim erat spiritus datus,' (Vulg.) 'for the Holy Ghost was not yet given' (as the ellipsis is very well supplied); for it cannot be understood of the Spirit itself, which as being God, is from eternity. And the reason why it was not yet given, is because Jesus was not yet glorified: and the Apostle saith, that this Spirit was not given by the works of the Law, but by the hearing of faith: and the Scriptures are very plain that the Spirit is only given in this respect in our Christian Sacraments, by which we are made and continued members of that Church which is the Body of Christ." "It is a very great, though too commonly prevailing error, not to distinguish betwixt these so different communications of the Spirit; and to suppose that all pious persons, as well without as within the Church, as well before as since our Saviour's Ascension, had the Spirit in the sense last mentioned, and were thereby immediately entitled to all the glorious privileges ascribed to it in this respect. The Spirit, as given before our Saviour's Ascension, was only to enable them to live up to the design of the Dispensation under which they then lived; and the Apostle observes, that the Law was only a pedagogue to lead us to Christ; and the moral Philosophy is supposed by Clemens Alexandrinus to have performed the same office to the Gentiles: but neither Jews nor Gentiles could receive those better promises of the New Covenant, till it was established by Jesus, the Mediator of it. Therefore, though our Saviour says, that there had not formerly arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptist, yet he preferreth to him the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore also all the Patriarchs and holy persons so much celebrated by the Author to the Hebrews, are said to have died 'not having received the promise; and that because God had provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect;' (the Spirit being that which, according to the Scriptures and ancient Fathers, constituted the perfect man, who is called by the Apostle olotelhV and oloklhroV, as consisting of spirit, as well as body and soul;) and that 'the Law, as being only the shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things themselves, could not make the comers thereunto perfect, being only the bringing in of a better hope, by which we draw near to God.' For this Spirit being a principal part of the testament of Jesus, could not take place till the death of the testator: and it is for this reason that the Apostolical Hennas makes the Apostles to have preached to those righteous persons who had died before the coming of our Saviour; and not only so, but also to have baptized them in adhV. ... It is probable that St. Peter had it in his view in his first Epistle: (ch. iv. 6.) ' For this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead.' And the other passage of the same Apostle concerning our Saviour's preaching to the spirits in prison, is thus understood by the ancients."

"From what has been said, I think it plainly appears, that the Spirit, as a principle of new and immortal life, as it is the Spirit of Adoption, and the earnest of the heavenly inheritance, was never given to any person, how pious soever, before the coming of our Lord; and that the influences of the Spirit, then communicated, only prepared for the reception of the Gospel: and even after His coming, none, how devout or just soever, were believed to have any title to the Kingdom of Heaven, till they were admitted into the Church by baptism."

"The Gospel generally requires teachableness, and other good dispositions, in its hearers, to qualify them for embracing it. These dispositions are the 'Israelitism indeed,' which is adoloV; the circumcision of the heart and of the ears; the sheep-like and child-like disposition; the good ground fit to receive the seed sown, so as to bring forth fruit: and the having these good dispositions is the being tetagmenoi eiV zwhn aiwnion. But though these dispositions be most certainly the effects of the Divine Spirit, and therefore called the Drawing of the Father; yet none were thereby supposed to have received that quickening Spirit, which is the image of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, till he received it in our Christian Baptism of the Spirit; which is therefore called Regeneration, as being that in which this new life is first infused into us."—Essay on the Nature of Man, p. 127. .38.

NOTE XII.

I. Bishop Andrewes, in his Private Devotions, which are in many places taken from the Greek Ekteneiai, and which he used himself both in Greek and Latin, has these following words:—

"Making mention of the all-holy, undefiled, and most-blessed Mary, Mother of God and Ever-Virgin, with all Saints, let us commend ourselves, and each other, and our whole life, unto Christ our God."

II. In like manner John Bramhall, Archbishop of Armagh:—

"We admit genuine, universal, Apostolical traditions; as the Apostles’ Creed, the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God, &c."—Works, ed. 1842. vol. i. p. 53.

III. And Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Down and Connor:— "She received the honour of being Mother to the Son of God, and ever a Virgin; and all generations shall call her Blessed."—Heber's ed. xv. p. 21.

IV. John Pearson, Bishop of Chester, On the Creed:— "We believe the Mother of our Lord to have been not only before and after His Nativity, but also for ever, the most Immaculate and Blessed Virgin. .... And although it may be thought sufficient, as to the mystery of the Incarnation, that when our Saviour was conceived and born, His Mother was a Virgin;.... yet the peculiar eminency and unparalleled privilege of that Mother, the especial honour and reverence due unto that Son, and ever paid by her, and the power of the Highest, Who overshadowed her, and the singular goodness and piety of Joseph, to whom She was espoused, have persuaded the Church of God in all ages to believe that She still continued in the same Virginity, and therefore is to be acknowledged "the Ever-Virgin Mary. As if the Gate of the Sanctuary in the Prophet Ezekiel were to be understood of her: 'This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.’" (Ezek. xliv. 2.)—P. 193, ed. 1662.

NOTES XIII., AND XIV.

I. See the passages quoted above under the last preceding Note, XII. Also the following, which are to the same effect:—

II. From the Liturgy sent in Greek by the British Bishops to the Eastern Patriarchs and the Russian Synod, A.D. 1722:—

"And here we do give unto Thee most high praise and hearty thanks for the wonderful grace and virtue declared in all Thy Saints, from the beginning of the world; and particularly in the glorious and ever Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and God; &c."

The same appears also in the Older Communion Office of the Church of England, authorized in the year 1548.

III. Bishop Pearson, in his Treatise on the Creed:—"It was her own prediction, 'From henceforth all generations shall call me Blessed;' but the obligation is ours to call her, to esteem her so. If Elizabeth cried exit with so loud a voice,' Blessed art thou among women,' when Christ was but newly conceived in her womb, what expressions of honour and admiration can we think sufficient, now that Christ is in heaven, and that Mother with Him? Far be it from any Christian to derogate from that special privilege granted Her, which is incommunicable to any other. We cannot bear too reverend a regard unto the Mother of our Lord, so long as we give her not that worship, which is due unto the Lord Himself."—P. 199.

IV. Alexander Jolly, Bishop of the Diocese of Moray in the Scottish Church, in his Treatise on the Sunday Services:—

"Among all the Saints, the first place is undoubtedly due to the Blessed Virgin-Mother of our Lord, the most highly favoured, and eminently exalted of all creatures, yet most lowly in her own eyes."—Ed. 1840. p. 303.

NOTE XIII, XIV.

And again, the same Bishop, in another of his works:—"The Blessed Virgin Mother is undoubtedly the most highly exalted and honoured of all creatures; the Second Person of the all-glorious Trinity having assumed her substance, and united it with the human soul, in One Person with His Divinity, never to be divided. She may therefore without hesitation be called, as she is by the Church, ‘the Mother of God.’ She is so named by the third General Council at Ephesus: and her cousin Elizabeth, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, called her in terms equivalent, when, meeting her, she cried in rapture, ‘Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord' (who is God our Saviour,) ‘should come to me.' All generations, according as her divine Canticle foretold, do 'call her Blessed.' And certainly the highest honour that can be paid to a creature is due to Her."—Treatise on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, p. 94.

NOTE XV.

See above, under Notes IX. and XI. And below, under Notes XXXVIII. and XLI.

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