CHRONOLOGY CHURCH he may consult the systems of Clurier, Calvi sius, Usher, Simson, Bedford, Marshman, Blair Playfair, and Dr. Hales. CHURCH. The English word church, like the Greek xos xupiaxes, the Lord's house, and is usually employed in our version of the Scriptures as a translation of xxx, an assembly. The original term, derived from x, out of, and xw, to call, denoted any kind of convocation or assembly of men called out from among other men. In this general sense it is applied in the Scriptures not only to a lawful court of judica ture, Acts xix. 39, but also to a disorderly multitude brought together by Demetrius, v. 32, and making an uproar in the theatre. But its predominant import, as used by the sacred writers, is to denote a religious society or congregation, and in this sense its leading applications are the two following. It stands had on the mind of man, as it respects his eternal welfare? How many thousands have felt its power, and rejoiced in its benign influence, and under its dictates been constrained to devote themselves to the glory and praise of God? Bur-the Scotch kirk, is supposed to be derived from dened with guilt, incapable of finding relief from human resources, the mind has here found peace unspeakable, in beholding that sacrifice which alone could atone for transgression. Here the hard and impenitent heart has been softened, the impetuous passions restrained, the ferocious temper subdued, powerful prejudices conquered, ignorance dispelled, and the obstacles to real happiness removed. Here the Christian, looking round on the glories and blandishments of this world, has been enabled, with a noble contempt, to despise all. Here death itself, the king of terrors, has lost its sting; and the soul, with a holy magna nimity, has borne up in the agonies of a dying hour, and sweetly sung itself away to everlasting bliss. In respect to its future spread, we have reason 1. For the whole collective body of the saints to believe that all nations shall feel its happy or peculiar people of God, redeemed out of every effects. The prophecies are pregnant with mat-nation, kindred, and tongue, and usually denomi ter as to this belief. It seems that not only a na-nated the CHURCH CATHOLIC OR UNIVERSAL. tion or a country, but the whole habitable globe, 2. For a particular society of Christians proshall become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ; and who is there that has ever known the excellency of this system; who is there that has ever experienced its happy efficacy; who is there that has ever been convinced of its divine origin, its delightful nature, and peaceful tendency, but what must join the benevolent and royal poet in saying, "Let the whole earth be filled with its glory, amen, and amen." fessedly devoted to God according to the rules of the Gospel, believing in Christ as their Saviour, subjecting themselves to him as their spiritual Lord and Ruler, voluntarily agreeing together to partake of the privileges, discharge the duties, and support the means of Christian faith, fellowship, worship, and discipline, and usually meeting together in one place for public religious exercises Such a society may be called a particular visible Gospel church, of which there is frequent mention in the New Testament. See article CHRISTIANITY in Enc. Brit.; Paey's Evidences of Christianity; Lardner's and Macknight's Credibility of the Gospel History; Another sense of the word occurs in popular Lord Hailes on the Influence of Gibbon's fire use, and among ecclesiastical writers, viz. that of Causes; Fawcett's Evidences of Christianity; a particular denomination of Christians, distinDoddridge's ditto; Fell's and Hunter's Lec-guished by peculiar doctrines, ceremonies, modes tures on ditto; Beattie's Evidences of the Chris- of government, &c.: as the Romish church, the tian Religion; Soame Jenyns's Evidences of Greek church, the Episcopal church, the Presby ditto; White's Sermon's; Bp. Porteus's Ser-terian church. It is strenuously contended, how mons, vol. i. ser. 12, 13; and his Essay on the Beneficial Effects of Christianity on the Temporal Concerns of Mankind; Alexander's Eridences. CHRISTMAS, the day on which the nativity of our blessed Saviour is celebrated. The first footsteps we find of the observation of this day are in the second century, about the time of the emperor Commodus. The decretal epistles, indeed, carry it up a little higher, and say that Telesphorus, who lived in the reign of Antoninus Pius, ordered divine service to be celebrated, and an angelic hymn to be sung the night before the nativity of our Saviour. That it was kept before the time of Constantine we have a melancholy proof; for whilst the persecution raged under Dioclesian, who then kept his court at Nicomedia, that tyrant, among other acts of cruelty, finding multitudes of Christians assembled together to celebrate Christ's nativity, commanded the church doors where they were met to be shut, and fire to be put to it, which soon reduced them and the church to ashes. See HOLYDAY. CHRONOLOGY, the science of computing and adjusting the periods of time, referring each event to the proper year. We have not room here to present the reader with a system of chronology; but should he be desirous of studying this science, ever, by many, that there is no foundation in the which can be called different, though related. One is, when it denotes a number of people actually assembled, or accustomed to assemble together, and is then properly rendered by the English terms, congregation, convention, assembly, and even sometimes, crowd, as in Acts xix. 32, 40. The other sense is to denote a society united together by some common tie, though not convened, perhaps not convenable, in one place. And in this acceptation, as well as in the former, it sometimes occurs in classical writers, as signifying a state, or commonwealth, and nearly corresponding to the Latin civitas. When the word is limited or appropriated, as it generally is in the New Testament, by its regimen, as church of God-of the Lord-of Christ, or by the scope of the place, it is always to be explained in one or other of the two senses following, corresponding to the two general senses above mentioned. It denotes either a single congregation of Christians, in correspondence to the first, or the whole Christian community, in correspondence to the second. But in any intermediate sense, between a single CHURCH CHURCH congregation and the whole community of Chris- apostles and prophets, being united by a spiritual tians, not one instance can be brought of the ap- bond to Christ the common Head, so that the plication of the word in sacred writ. We speak supposition of a visible head, with whom all the now indeed (and this has been the manner for members are to hold communion, is repugnant to ages,) of the Gallican church, the church of the true idea of that unity which is essential to England, the church of Scotland, as of societies the church of Christ. If the several societies of independent and complete in themselves. Such Christians are guided by the same rule, the inta Iphraseology was never adopted in the days of the lible word of God, they will of course have the Apostles. They did not say, the church of Asia, same end in view, and will be virtually unites the church of Macedonia, or the church of Achaia, and prepared to co-operate in promoting the great but the churches of God in Asia, the churches in ends of their institution. Love alone can proMacedonia, the churches in Achaia. The plural duce useful co-operation in the kingdom of Christ, qumber is invariably used when more congrega- and considering the relation in which they staneĺ tions than one are spoken of, unless the subject to each other, it is highly important that by mu be of the whole commonwealth of Christ. Nor tual good offices, they should cultivate this sentiis this the manner of the penmen of sacred writ ment. This may be done by their giving and only. It is the constant usage of the term in the receiving advice; by their praying for each other, writings of ecclesiastic authors for the two first especially when any thing difficult or important centuries. The only instance to the contrary that occurs; by their joining to promote the spread of the I remember to have observed is in the epistles of Gospel; by their sending messengers to each other, Ignatius, on which I have already remarked. It as we find the apostolic churches did; by their adds considerable strength to our argument that communicating to each other's necessities, and this is exactly conformable to the usage in regard by many things similar. Such correspondence is to this term which had always obtained among calculated to have the happiest effects, while it the Jews. The whole nation or commonwealth allows the most perfect Christian liberty to each of Israel, was often denominated # 'n a church. The other essential characters and ob1. Church members, or those of whom the Iopan, the whole congregation of Israel. This jects pertaining to such an institution are, is the large or comprehensive use of the word, as observed above. In regard to the more confined churches of Christ are composed; persons who in application, the same term, xx, was also em- the judgment of charity, have been born of the ployed to denote a number of people, either spirit, by the incorruptible seed of the word, actually assembled, or wont to assemble in the called with a holy calling, and renouncing the same place. Thus all belonging to the same sinful practices and maxims of the world, have synagogue were called indifferently, xx, or professedly devoted themselves to God through ovay, as these words, in the Jewish use, were Christ, to walk before him in the observance of nearly synonymous. But never did they call the all his instituted ordinances. As to the risible people belonging to several neighbouring syna-church, it may be observed, that real saintship is in the singular not the distinguishing criterion of the members of honestly offer or ouvaywyn, gogues, xxnσix, and yy, in the plu- it. None, indeed, can without number, but xxindiai, ral. Any other use, therefore, in the Apostles, themselves to church fellowship; but they cannot must have been as unprecedented and unnatural be refused admission for the mere want of it; for as it would have been improper, and what could 1. God alone can judge the heart. Deceivers can not fail to lead their hearers or readers into mis-counterfeit saintship, 1 Sam. xvi. 1. 7.-2. God takes." himself admitted many members of the Jewish Certain other distinctions in respect to the term church whose hearts were unsanctified, Deut. church, may here be noted as having from dif- xxix. 3, 4, 13. John vi. 70.-3. John the Baptist ferent causes become current, though not ex- and the apostles required no more than outward pressly recognized in the Scripture. These are appearances of faith and repentance in order to the church triumphant, including that portion of baptism, Matt. iii. 5, 7. Acts ii. 28. viii. 13, 23.— the redeemed, who have accomplished their suf-4. Many that were admitted members in the ferings and services on earth, and are now enter-churches of Judea, Corinth, Philippi, Laodicea, ed into their rest; and the church militant, con- Sardis, &c., were unregenerated, Acts v. 1, 10. sisting of those who are yet in a state of warfare, in the flesh, patiently awaiting the time of their discharge. We meet also with the distinction of the church into visible and invisible; the former implying the aggregate of all particular visible churches, and the latter all the true and real people of God as distinguished from those who are such merely in outward appearance. viii. 13, 23. 1 Cor. i. 11. v. 11. Phil. iii. 18, 19. Rev. iii. 5, 15, 17.-5. Christ compares the Gospel church to a floor on which corn and chaff are mingled together; to a net in which good and bad are gathered, &c. See Matt. xiii. As to the real church, 1. The true memters of from the world, 1 Cor. vi. 17.-3. They openly it are such as are born again.-2. They comeout A particular visible church of Christ, therefore, profess love to Christ, James ii. 14, 26. Mark viii. is a body distinguished from the civil societies of 34, &c.-4. They walk in all the ordinances of the world, by the spiritual nature and design of the Lord blameless. None but such are proper its government; for though Christ would have members of the true church; nor should any be order kept in his church, yet without any coer-admitted to any particular church without some cive force; a thing inconsistent with the very appearance of these, at least. nature of such a society, whose end is instruction 2. Church fellowship is the communion that The end of church fellowship is, 1. The and a practice suitable to it, which can never in the members enjoy one with another. the nature of things be accomplished by penal laws, or external coercion. Such societies ne-maintenance and exhibition of a system of sound cessarily sustain a sisterly relation to each other, principles, 2 Tim. i. 13. 1 Tim. vi. 3, 4. 1 Cor. being built upon the same foundation of the viii. 5 6. Heb. ii. 1. Eph. iv. 21.-2. The sup port of the ordinances of Gospel worship in their | remained in subjection to the pope until the time purity and simplicity, Deut. xii. 31, 32. Rom. v. 6.-3. The impartial exercise of church government and discipline, Heb. xii. 15. Gal. vi. 1. 2 Tim. ii. 24, 26. Tit. iii. 10. 1 Cor. v. James iii. 17.-4. The promotion of holiness in all manner of conversation, Phil. i. 27. ii. 15, 16. 2 Pet. ii. II. Phil. iv. 8. The more particular duties are, 1. Earnest study to keep peace and unity, Eph. iv. 3. Phil. 2, 3. iii. 15, 16.-2. Bearing of one another's burthens, Gal. vi. 1, 2.-3. Earnest endeavours to prevent each other's stumbling, 1 Cor. x. 23. Heb. x. 21, 27. Rom. xiv. 13.-4. Stedfast continuance in the faith and worship of the Gospel, Acts ii. 12.-5. Praying for and sympathizing with each other, 1 Sain. xii. 23. Eph. vi. 18. The advantages are, 1. Peculiar incitements to holiness, Eccl. iv. 11.-2. There are some promises applicable to none but those who attend the ordinances of God, and hold communion with the saints, Ps. xcii. 13. Is. xxv. 6. Ps. cxxxii. 13, 16. xxxvi. 8. Jer. xxxi. 12.-3. Such are under the watchful eye and care of their pastor, Heb. xiii. 7.-1. Subject to the friendly reproof or kind advice of the saints, 1 Cor. xii. 25.-5. Their zeal and love are animated by reciprocal conversation, Mal. iii. 16. Prov. xxvii. 1-6. They may restore each other if they fall, Ecel, iv. 10. Gal. vi. 1.-7. More easily promote the cause, and spread the Gospel elsewhere. 3. Church ordinances are, 1. Reading of the Scriptures, Neh. ix. 3. Acts xvii. II. Neh. viii. $4. Luke iv. 16.-2. Preaching and expound ing, 1 Tim. iii. 2. 2 Tim. ii. 21. Eph. iv, 8. Rom. x. 15. Heb. v. 4.-3. Hearing, Is. 1. 1. James i. 21. 1 Pet. ii. 2. 1 Tim. iv. 13.-4. Prayer, P's. v. 1, 2. xev. 6. cxxi. 1. xxviii. 2. Acts xii. 12. i. 14.-5. Singing of psalms, Ps. xlvii. I to 6. Col. iii. 16. 1 Cor. xiv. 15. Eph. v. 19.& Thanksgiving, Ps. 1 14. c. James v. 13.7. The Lord's Supper, 1 Cor. xi. 23, &c. Acts. XL. 7. Baptism is not properly a church ordinance, since it ought to be administered before a person be admitted into church fellowship. See BAPTISM. 4. Caurch officers are those appointed by Christ for preaching the word, and the superintendence of church affairs: such are bishops and deacons, to which some add, elders. See these articles. See Campbell's Lectures on Eccl. History: Essays on the Church, in the Christian Magazine, vol. i; Turner's Compendium of Serial Religion; Glas's Works, vol. i.; Watts's Rational Foundation of a Christian Church; Goodwin's Works, vol. iv.; Fawcett's Constituion and Order of a Gospel Church. CHURCH OF ENGLAND, is the church etablished by law in this kingdom. When and by whom Christianity was first introduced into Britain cannot perhaps be exactly scrtained. Eusebius, indeed, positively declares tha it was by the apostles and their disciples. It is alo said that numbers of persons professed the Chritian faith here about the year 150; and according to Usher, there was in the year 182 a schoof learning, to provide the British churches with Foper teachers. Popery, however, was establish in England by Austin the monk; and the erres of it we find every where prevalent, til Wickliffe was raised up by Divine Providence to efute them. The church of England of Henry VIII. Henry, indeed, in early life, and during the former part of his reign, was a bigoted 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, intituled himself supreme head of the church. See REFORMATION. The doctrines of the church of England, which are contained in the thirty-nine articles, are certainly Calvinistical, though this has been denied by some modern writers, especially by Dr. Kipling, in a tract intituled "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 V. 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 the last century disputes arose among the clergy respecting the propriety of subscribing to any human formulary of religious sentiments. An application for its removal was made to parliament, in 1772, by the petitioning clergy; and received the most public discussion in the house of commons, but was 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. Hoadley, however, in a sermon preached from this text-"My kingdom is not of this world," insisted that the clergy had no pretensions to temporal jurisdiction; which gave rise to various publications, termed by way of eminence, the Bangorian Controversy, because Hoadley was then bishop of Bangor. Dr. Wake, archbishop of Canterbury, formed a project of peace and union between the English and Gallican churches, founded upon this condition, that each of the two communities should retain the greatest part of their respective and peculiar doctrines; but this project came to nothing. In the church of England there are deans, archdeacons, rectors, vicars, &c.; for an account of which, see the respective articles. 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 excellences in the liturgy; and, in the opinion of the most impartial Grotius (who was no member of this church), "it comes so near the prunitive pattern, that none of the reformed churches can compare with it." See LITURGY, The greatest part of the inhabitants of England are professedly members of this church; but, per haps, very few either of her ministers or members CHURCH strictly adhere to the articles in their true sense. Those who are called methodistic or evangelical preachers in the establishment are allowed to Come the nearest. CHURCH and thirty thousand, the higher orders of whom enjoyed immense revenues; but the curés, or great body of acting clergy, seldom possessed more than twenty-eight pounds sterling a-year, See Mr. Overton's True Churchman; Bishop and the vicars about half that sum. The clergy, Jewell's Apology for the Church of England; as a body, independent of their tythes, possessed Abp. Potter's Treatise on Church Government; a revenue arising from their property in land, Tucker's ditto; Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity; amounting to five millions sterling annually; at Pearson on the Creed; Burnet on the Thirty- the same time they were exempt from taxation nine Articles; Bishop Pretyman's Elements of Before the levelling system had taken place, the Theology; and Mrs. H. More's Hints on forming clergy signified to the commons the instructions the Character of a young Princess, vol. ii. ch. of their constituents, to contribute to the exigen 37. On the subject of the first introduction of cies of the state in equal proportion with the Christianity into Britain, see the 1st vol. of Hen- other citizens. Not contented with this offer, the ry's History of Great Britain. tythes and revenues of the clergy were taken CHURCH, GALLICAN, denotes the ci-de-away: in lieu of which, it was proposed to grant vant church of France under the government of a certain stipend to the different ministers of re its respective bishops and pastors. This church ligion, to be payable by the nation. The posses always enjoyed certain franchises and immunities, sions of the church were then considered as not as grants from the popes, but as derived to national property by a decree of the constituent her from her first original, and which she took assembly. The religious orders, viz. the coinmu care never to relinquish. These liberties depend- nities of monks and nuns, possessed immense ed upon two maxims: the first, that the pope had landed estates; and, after having abolished the no right to order any thing in which the tempo- orders, the assembly scized the estates for the use ralities and civil rights of the kingdom were conof the nation: the gates of the cloisters were now cerned; the second, that, notwithstanding the thrown open. The next step of the assembly pope's supremacy was admitted in cases purely was to establish what is called the civil constitu spiritual, yet, in France, his power was limited by tion of the clergy. This, the Roman Catholics the decrees of ancient councils received in that 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 arch bishops, sixty-eight curates or vicars, were on this account driven from their sees 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 of 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 various forms of persecution employed by those who were attached to the Catholic religion, must deeply wound the feelings of humanity. Those readers who are desirous of further information, are re ferred to Abbé Barruel's History of the Clergy. realm. In the established church the Jansenists were 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 archbishops, one hundred and eleven trishops, one hundred and sixty-six thousand clergymen, and three thousand four hundred convents, containing two hundred 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 Louis XVI., late king of France, gave to his non-Romin 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. It has been asserted, that about the mildle of the last century a conspiracy was formed to overthrow Christianity, without distinction of worship, whether Protestant or Catholic. Voltaire, D'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, vanion and secret correspondence, to attack, to base, and annihilate Christianity. They not muy 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. The French clergy amounted to one hundred 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 principle were either murdered or banished, and the rest is a manner silenced. The effect of this sanguinary measure (say they) must needs be the gener prevalence of infidelity. Let the religious put of any nation be banished, and a general spread of irreligion must necessarily follow: such were the effects in France. Through the whole of the eighteenth century infidelity has been the fashion, and that not only among the princes and noblesse, but even among the greater part of the bishops and clergy. And as they had united thit in fluence in banishing true religion, and che ishing the monster which succeeded it, so have they been united in sustaining the calamitous effects which that monster has produced. However ullprincipled and cruel the French revautionists CHURCHWARDENS 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, O Lord, who art, and wast, and shalt 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, comprehends the churches of all the countries anciently subject to the Greek or Eastern empire, and through which their language was carried; that is, all the space extending 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. CIRCONCELLIONES parishioners, or of both. Their business is to look to the church, the church-yard, and to observe the behaviour of the parishioners; to levy a shilling forfeiture on all such as do not go to church on Sundays, and to keep persons orderly in church-time, &c. CHURCH-YARD, a piece of ground adjoin ing to the church, set apart for the interment of the dead. In the church of Rome, church-yards are consecrated with great solemnity. Ifa churchyard which has thus been consecrated shall afterwards be polluted by any indecent action, or profaned by the burial of an infidel, an heretic, an excommunicated 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, CIRCONCELLIONES, a species of fanatics, so called because they were continually rambling round the houses in the country. They took their rise among the Donatists, 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, proCHURCH, LATIN, or WESTERN, com- fessed continence, and assumed the title of " Vindiprehends all the churches of Italy, Portugal, cators of justice, and protectors of the oppressed.” Spain, Africa, the north, and all other countries To accomplish their mission, they enfranchized whither the Romans carried their language. slaves, scoured the roads, forced masters to alight Great Britain, part of the Netherlands of Ger- from their chariots, and run before their slaves, many, and of the north of Europe, have been se- whom they obliged to mount in their place; and parated from it almost ever since the Reformation. discharged debtors, killing the creditors if they CHURCH, (OR CHURCHES,) REFORMED, refused to cancel their bonds. But the chief ol comprehends the whole Protestant Churches in jects of their cruelty were the Catholics, and esEurope and America, whether Lutheran, Cal-pecially those who had renounced Donatism. At vinistic, Independent, Quaker, Baptist, or of any first, they used no swords, because God had forother denomination who dissent from the church bidden the use of one to Peter; but they were of Rome. The principal churches in the United armed with clubs, which they called the clubs of States, distinguished by this title, are Israel, and which they handled in such a manner as to break a man's bones without killing him immediately, so that he languished a long time, and then died. When they took away a man's life at once, they looked upon it as a favour. They became less scrupulous afterwards, and made use of all sorts of arms. Their shout was Praise be to God. These words in their mouths were the signal 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 impurities; running about with women and young girls as drunk as themselves, whom they called sacred virgins, and who often carried proofs of their incontinence. Their chief took the name of chief of the saints. After having glutted themselves with blood, they turned their rage upon themselves, and sought death with the same fury with which they gave it to others. Some scrambled up to the tops of rocks, and cast themselves down headlong in multitudes; others burned themselves, or threw themselves into the Those who proposed to acquire the title of martyrs, published it long before; upon which The Reformed Dutch Church, composed originally of emigrants from Holland, who settled chiefly in the city and state of New York, and in the neighbouring state of New Jersey. Their doctrines are Calvinistic, and their ecclesiastical polity presbyterian, excepting that their highest court of judicature is termed a Synod, and the presbyteries are denominated Classes.See Christian Magazine, vol i. The German Reformed Church, a reforming branch of the Lutherans, the members of which, in this country, are found principally in the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Their form of government is essentially presbyterian, but their doctrines, in great measure, Arminian. CHURCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC, claims the title of being the mother church, and is undoubtedly the most ancient of all the established churches in Christendom, if antiquity be held as a proof of primitive purity. See POPERY. CHURCH, LUTHERAN. See LUTHERANS. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, established by law in that kingdom, is presbyterian, which has existed (with some interruptions during the reign of the Stuarts) 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 PRESBYTERIANS, CHURCHWARDENS, officers chosen year-sea. ly, either by the consent of the minister, or of the |