oned among the principles of the Chriftian doctrine, after ART. Repentance and Faith, and fubfequent to Baptifm, feems XXV. very probably to belong to this; fo from thefe warrants, we find in the earliest writings of Chriftianity mention of a Confirmation after Baptifm, which for the greater folemnity and awe of the action, and from the precedent of St. Peter and St. John, was referved to the Bishop, to be done only by him.

Úpon thefe reafons we think it is in the power of the Church to require all fuch as have been baptized, to come before the Bishop and renew their baptifmal vow, and pray for God's Holy Spirit to enable them to keep their vow; and upon their doing this, the Bishop may folemnly pray over them, with that ancient and almoft natural ceremony, of laying his hands upon them, which is only a defignation of the perfons fo prayed over, and bleffed, that God may feal and defend them with his Holy Spirit; in which, according to the nature of the New Covenant, we are fure that fuch as do thus vow and pray, do alfo receive the Holy Spirit, according to the promise that our Saviour has made us. In this action there is nothing but what is in the power of the Church to do, even without any other warrant or precedent. The doing all things to order, and to edifying, will authorise a Church to all this; especially, fince the now univerfal practice of Infant Baptifm makes this more neceffary than it was in the first times, when chiefly the Adult were baptized. It is highly reasonable that they, who gave no actual confent of their own, fhould come, and by their own express act make the ftipulations of Baptifm. It may give greater impreffions of awe and refpect, when this is reftrained to the highest order in the Church. Upon the fincere vows and earnest prayers of perfons thus confirmed, we have reason to believe that a proportioned degree of God's grace and fpirit will be poured out upon them. And in all this we are much confirmed, when we fee fuch warrants for it in Scripture. A thing fo good in itself, that has at least a probable authority for it, and was certainly a practice of the firft ages, is upon very juft grounds continued in our Church. Would to God it were as ferioufly gone about, as it is lawfully established.

But after all this, here is no Sacrament, no exprefs inftitution, neither by Chrift nor his Apoftles; no rule given to practise it, and, which is the most effential, there is no matter here; for the laying on of hands is only a gefture in prayer; nor are there any federal rites declared to belong to it; it being indeed rather a ratifying and confirm

ART. ing the Baptifm, than any new ftipulation. To supply all XXV. this, the Church of Rome has appointed matter for it.

The chrifm, which is a mixture of oil-olive and balm, (opobalfamum,) the oil fignifying the clearness of a good confcience, and the balm the favour of a good reputation. This must be peculiarly bleffed by the Bishop, who is the only minifter of that function. The form of this Sacrament is the applying the chrifm to the forehead, with thefe words, Signo te figno crucis, et confirmo te chrifmate falutis, in nomine Patris, Filii, et Spritûs Sancti: I fign thee with the fign of the crofs, and confirm thee with the chrifm of falvation, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. They pretend Chrift did inftitute this; but they fay the Holy Ghoft which he breathed on his Difciples, being a thing that tranfcended all Sacraments, he fettled no determined matter nor form to it; and that the fucceeding ages appropriated this matter to it.

We do not deny, but that the Chriftians began very early to ufe oil in holy functions; the climates they lived in making it neceffary to ufe oil much, for ftopping the perfpiration, that might difpofe them the more to use oil in their facred rites. It is not to be denied, but that both Theophil. Theophilus and Tertullian, in the end of the second, and 1. i. ad Au- the beginning of the third century, do mention it. The tolyc. Tert. frequent mention of oil, and of anointing, in the Scripture, 7,8. de Re- might incline them to this: it was prophefied of Chrift, fur. Car. c. that he was to be anointed with the oil of joy and gladness 8. Cypt. Ep. above his fellows: and the names of Meffias and Chrift do

de Bapt. c.

70.

2 Cor. i. 21, 22.

20, 27.

ye

alfo import this; but yet we hold all that to be mystical, and that it is to be meant of that fulness of the Spirit which he received without measure. Upon the fame account we do understand thofe words of St. Paul in the fame mystical fenfe: He that establisheth us with you in Chrift, and bath anointed us, is God; who bath also fealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts: as alfo 1 John ii. thofe words of St. John: But ye bave an unction from the holy One, and ye know all things. The anointing which bave received of him abideth in you; and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the fame anointing teacheth you all things. Thefe words do clearly relate to fomewhat that the Chriftians received immediately from God; and fo must be underflood figuratively: for we do not fee the leaft hint of the Apofiles ufing of oil, except to the fick; of which afterwards. So that if this use of oil is confidered only as a ceremony of a natural fignification, that was brought into the rituals of the Church, it is a thing

of

of another nature: but if a Sacrament is made of it, and a divine virtue is joined to that, we can admit of no fuch thing, without an exprefs inftitution and declaration in Scripture.

ART.

XXV.

Con. Arauf

Cod. Affr.

fupra.

The invention that was afterwards found out, by which the Bishop was held to be the only minifter of confirmation, c. 1, 2. even though Prefbyters were fuffered to confirm, was a Can. 6. piece of fuperftition without any colour from Scripture. Con. Tol. It was fettled, that the Bishop only might confecrate the c. 20. chrifm; and though he was the ordinary minifter of confirmation, yet Prefbyters were alfo fuffered to do it, the chrifm being confecrated by the Bishop: Prefbyters thus confirming, was thought like the Deacons giving the Sacrament, though Priefts only might confecrate the Eucharift. In the Latin Church Jerome tells us, that in his Hieron, ad time the Bithop only confirmed; and though he makes Lucifer. the reafon of this to be rather for doing an honour to them, than from any neceffity of the law, yet he pofitively fays, the Bishops went round praying for the Holy Ghost on thofe whom they confirmed. It is faid by Hilary, Hilar. in that in Egypt the Prefbyters did confirm in the Bishops ab- cap. 4. ad fence: fo that cuftom, joined with the diftinction between Ephef. ut the confecration, and the applying of the chrifi, grew to be the univerfal practice of the Greek Church. The greatnefs of diocefes, with the increafing numbers of the Chriftians, made that both in France, in the Councils of Orange; and in Spain, in the Council of Toledo, the fame rule was laid down that the Greeks had begun. In Spain fome Priefts did confecrate the chrifm, but that was feverely forbid in one of the Councils of Toledo: yet at Rome the ancient cuftom was obferved, of appropriating the whole bufinefs of confirmation to the Bishop, even in Gregory the Great's time: therefore he reproved the Greg Ep. Clergy of Sardinia, becaufe among them the Priefts did. iii. Ep. 9. confirm, and he appointed it to be referved to the Bishop. But when he underflood that fome of them were offended at this, he writ to the Bishop of Carali, that though his former order was made according to the ancient practice of the Church of Rome, yet he confented that for the future the Prieft might confirm in the Bifhop's abfence. But Pope Nicholas in the ninth century preffed this with more rigour: for the Bulgarians being then converted to the Chriftian religion, and their Priefts having both baptized and confirmed the new converts, Pope Nicholas fent Bishops among them, with orders to confirm even thofe who had already been confirmed by Priefts: upon which, the conteft being then on foot between Rome and

Conftan

XXV.

ART. Conftantinople, Photius got it to be decreed in a synod at Conftantinople, that the chrifm being hallowed by a Bishop, it might be adminiftered by Prefbyters: and Photius affirmed, that a Prefbyter might do this, as well as baptize or offer at the altar. But Pope Nicholas, with the confidence that was often affumed by that fee upon as bad grounds, did affirm, that this had never been allowed of. And upon this many of the Latins did, in the progrefs of their disputes with the Greeks, fay, that they had no confirmation. This has been more enlarged on, Cont. Flo- than was neceffary by the defigned shortnefs of this work, because all those of the Roman communion among us have now no confirmation, unless a Bishop happens to come amongst them. And therefore it is now a common doctrine among them, that though confirmation is a Sacrament, yet it is not neceffary.

In Decr.

rent.

About this there were fierce difputes among them about fixty years ago, whether it was neceffary for them to have a Bishop here to confirm, according to the ancient cuftom, or not? The Jefuits, who had no mind to be under any authority but their own, oppofed it; for the Bishop being by Pope Eugenius declared to be the ordinary minifter of it, from thence it was inferred, that a Bishop was not fimply neceffary. This was much cenfured by fome of the Gallican Church. If confirmation were confidered only as an ecclefiaftical rite, we could not difpute the power of the Church about it; but we cannot allow that a Sacrament fhould be thus within the power of the Church; or that a new function of confecrating oil, without applying it, diftinct from confirmation, and yet neceffary to the very effence of it, could have been set up by the power of the Church; for if Sacraments are federal conveyances of grace, they must be continued according to their first inftitution, the grace of God being only tied to the actions with which it is promised.

We go next to the fecond of the Sacraments here rejected, which is Penance, that is reckoned the fourth in order among them. Penance, or Penitence, is formed from the Latin tranflation of a Greek word that fignifies a change or renovation of mind; which Chrift has made a neceflary condition of the New Covenant. It confifts in feveral acts; by all which, when joined together, and producing this real change, we become true penitents, and have a right to the Remiffion of Sins, which is in the New Teftament often joined with Repentance, and is its certain confequent. The firft act of this repentance is, confeffion to God, before whom we muft humble ourfelves,

felves, and confefs our fins to him; upon which we ART. believe that he is faithful, and true to his promises, and XXV. just to forgive us our fins; and if we have wronged others,

or have given public offence to the body, or church, to 1 John i. 9. which we belong, we ought to confefs our faults to them James v. 16. likewife; and as a mean to quiet men's confciences, to direct them to complete their repentance, and to make them more humble and afhamed of their fins, we advise them to use secret confeffion to their Prieft, or to any other minifter of God's word; leaving this matter wholly to their difcretion.

When these acts of forrow have had their due effect, in reforming the natures and lives of finners, then their fins are forgiven them in order to which, we do teach them to pray much, to give alms according to their capacity, and to faft as often as their health and circumftances will admit of; and moft indifpenfably to reftore or repair, as they find they have finned against others. And as we teach them thus to look back on what is paft, with a deep and hearty forrow, and a profound fhame, fo we charge them to look chiefly forward, not thinking that any acts with relation to what is paft can, as it were, by an account or compenfation, free us from the guilt of our former fins, unless we amend our lives and change our tempers for the future; the great defign of repentance being to make us like God, pure and holy as he is. Upon fuch a repentance fincerely begun, and honestly purfued, we do in general, as the heralds of God's mercy, and the minifters of his Gospel, pronounce to our people daily, the offers that are made us of mercy and pardon by Chrift Jefus. This we do in our daily fervice, and in a more peculiar manner before we go to the holy Communion. We do alfo, as we are a body that may be offended with the fins of others, forgive the scandals committed against the Church; and that fuch as we think die in a state of repentance, may die in the full peace of the Church, we join both abfolutions in one; in the laft office likewife praying to our Saviour that he would forgive them, and then we, as the officers of the Church, authorised for that end, do forgive all the of fences and fcandals committed by them against the whole body. This is our doctrine concerning Repentance; in all which we find no characters of a Sacrament, no more than there is in prayer or devotion. Here is no matter, no application of that matter by a peculiar form, no inftitution, and no peculiar federal acts. The fcene here is the mind, the acts are internal, the effect is fuch alfo ;

and