Publishing regularly every Tuesday and Friday Afternoons, PRICE FIVEPENCE, THE Church of England Gazette, A LONDON NEWSPAPER IN DEFENCE AND SUPPORT OF THE ANCIENT AND VENERABLE CHURCH OF ENGLAND ON Ecclesiastical PRINCIPLES, THE Conductors of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE desire respectfully to offer their sincere thanks to their Friends and the Public in general, for the extensive patronage and support which their Journal has already received; and at the same time to solicit a continuance and increase of that patronage, pledging themselves to use every possible effort to render it worthy of the great cause of which it is the humble but zealous advocate. They have the pleasure to state that the circulation of the THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE has been steadily increasing ever since its commencement, and that it is now regularly read by considerably above a THOUSAND CLERGYMEN in England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as by many of the Nobility and Gentry, and persons of all classes. The principles on which THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE is conducted, are those Catholic and Apostolic Principles embodied in the Articles, Liturgy, and Homilies of the English Church, as those Scriptural Standards are interpreted and defended by Cranmer Latimer, Ridley, Jewell, Hooker, Hall, Barrow, Beveridge, and such others of her Apologists and Luminaries. To defend the Church, and he Clergy, from the attacks of their enemies, is a matter of no small importance at any time, but more especially so at the present time, when Dissent and Popery, and their natural offspring, Scepticism in Religion, and Radicalism in Politics, are united against all that a Christian and a Briton holds dear upon earth. The Newspaper Press is a powerful engine, and has been the chief means of alienating the minds of the people from the Church of their forefathers; and the design of THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE is to meet the enemies of the Church, and to contradict their falsehoods, and to confute their misrepresentations, upon their own ground, fully convinced that if the friends of the Church and Constitution had used and encouraged the press as they ought to have done, the state of the country would have been very widely different from what we now find it. Now, however, Churchmen have a Newspaper of their own one which they may always command in defence, generally and locally, of their Church, and their Clergy, and themselves, and if they do not use it the fault will be their own, and they will have, hereafter, no reason to complain that they have no means of defending themselves or their Church against the attacks of their enemies. The Clergy and Laity are, therefore, respectfully solicted to render what assistance they can, to enable THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE to accomplish the object which every true Churchman, and every true Briton, has warmly at heart, namely, the protection of the Church, the safeguard of the Constitution, and the salvation of the country. In addition to such a collection of Church, Clerical, and University information, as no other Paper contains, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE comprehends also, a well digested body of Parliamentary and Political intelligence, and of the General News of the day and no pains will ever be spared to make it a generally interesting Newspaper, for every Christian family. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE may be ordered of any Bookseller, or Newsvender, in the Kingdom; or it may be obtained by an order, accompanied by a reference for payment, in London, addressed to THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND GAZETTE OFFICE, 342, Strand, London; where all communications for the Editor, and Advertisements must be addressed, post paid. Printed and Published by W. E. PAINTER, 342, Strand, London; every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, and forwarded by post to all parts of the Kingdom. Persons desirous of becoming Agents, must address (post paid) to the Publisher, of whom prospectuses may be had. [VOL. IV. IN commencing a new, enlarged, and improved Series of THE CHURCHMAN, the first duty we have to perform is that of returning our unfeigned thanks to our readers for the distinguished patronage with which we have been hitherto favoured. Notwithstanding the almost unparalleled opposition against which it has had to contend, THE CHURCHMAN has enjoyed, ever since its commencement, a circulation surpassed by only one, we believe, of the many Magazines published in defence of the Church of England. But this would be of but trifling importance if we had not also the happiness of adding, that we have received abundant evidence of its having proved extensively serviceable to the noble cause of which it has been the humble, but firm and zealous advocate. Many instances have come to our knowledge, of its having been, under the blessing of the Holy Ghost, the means, not only of confirming and building up many Churchmen in some of the important and holy principles of the Church, but also of convincing some dissenters of the erroneous nature of their dissenting principles and conduct, and of removing their prejudices, and of inducing them to embrace the distinguishing principles of the Church of Christ, and of ultimately becoming consistent and devoted members of her heavenly communion. Of all this, we repeat, we have received ample proof, and therefrom great encouragement in the prosecution of our labours. Our success has, of course, been attended with a corresponding amount of opposition from the enemies of the Church: and THE CHURCHMAN has been denounced, by name, from the pulpits of dissenting meeting-houses, and attacked in magazines, pamphlets, tracts, placards, and newspapers, in almost every part of the country. This was, to our minds, additional evidence of the good it was accomplishing, and spurred us on to increased exertion in support of the Scriptural and unchangeable principles which have been prominently and constantly brought forward in the pages of THE CHURCHMAN. And to those who believe these great principles to be founded upon the Rock of Eternal Ages, and are desirous of seeing them generally VOL. IV. B embraced as the springs of conduct, we are sure the enlargement of THE CHURCHMAN will be truly acceptable. We have received numerous requests to supply a greater quantity of matter to the public, either by publishing THE CHURCHMAN weekly, or fortnightly, or giving double numbers; and we trust we shall meet the wishes of all our friends and supporters, by presenting them with their old friend in an enlarged form, and in a somewhat new dress, with the hope that the additional quantity of matter which it will henceforth contain will amply compensate for the additional cost. The principles upon which THE CHURCHMAN has been hitherto conducted are so well known to its readers, as to render any enumeration of them unnecessary on the present occasion. But as it has now passed into other hands, we do consider it requisite to give the assurance that it will in future always refer to, and advocate, the same divine principles of the "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" of Christ. In the prospectus issued previously to its establishment, it was stated that the main object of THE CHURCHMAN "would invariably be, to present to the minds of the great mass of our fellow countrymen, information and arguments in defence and support of the grand and distinguishing principles of the Church of England, under the conviction that she is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone;' and satisfied that her form of Government, her Discipline, Articles, and Services, are based upon God's most holy word." Such was the object of THE CHURCHMAN at its commencement; such has its object hitherto been; such it is at present; and such it will continue to be. And no sound and devoted member of our Apostolic and Scriptural Church will say that it is less necessary now than ever to use unwearied diligence in the defence of our Christian Rights and Liberties. Dissent, though crest-fallen, has yet extensive influence in active exertion; and Popery is becoming like "a ramping and a roaring lion amongst us; and as the adherents of these religious extremes encourage and unite with infidels and other political republicans of the country, we have a formidable array of enemies, who must be overcome by the irrefutable arguments which, as Churchmen, we are, or ought to be, able to produce. These arguments will continue to be brought forward in THE CHURCHMAN, from time to time, with firmness and courage, tempered with moderation and Christian charity; and we trust with the same success as heretofore. The Scriptural command-" FEAR GOD: HONOUR THE KING," is our motto; and to induce obedience thereto, our object; because all the evils under which our Church and Country are now suffering are undeniably to be attributed to disobedience to this short command. We may also add, that as we shall now have more room, we shall endeavour to furnish our readers with a greater variety of reading; interspersing with the argumentative articles others of a more practical and devotional character. Biographical and historical sketches will be also occasionally given; and nothing shall be wanting on our part to render our pages instructing and interesting to the consistent and pious Christian. And we hope that all who feel concerned in the welfare and prosperity of the Church of Christ in this country will render us whatever assistance may be in their power. Some can send us literary contributions, others can recommend THE CHURCHMAN to their friends and neighbours, and those whom Providence has graciously blessed with the means can buy it, and lend it to their poorer neighbours, and thus much good might be accomplished at a trifling expense. We need not repeat that our enemies are numerous, powerful, and active, and that every effort is necessary, on our part, to counteract their evil designs. And this can best be done by circulating freely those publications which contain the antidote to the poison which they are so diligently disseminating. If the friends of the Church and their Country had been only one third as active and zealous in behalf of their Scriptural principles, as their enemies have been in propagating the seeds of heresy, schism, disturbance, and confusion, we should now have been dwelling in tive peace and quietness. What therefore remains to be done, is for every Christian patriot to exert himself to secure the ground we at present occupy, and to recover that which has been so sinfully lost. Only let every one faithfully do his "duty in that state of life unto which it hath pleased God to call him," and with the blessing of God we shall soon see all things ordered and settled upon the best and surest foundations, and peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, established among us for all generations." Compared with our present condition this would indeed be a happy state of things; may God grant it in his own good time, for the sake of JESUS CHRIST our Lord. Amen. The Feast of St. Thomas, 1837. compara THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND INDEPENDENT OF THE CHURCH OF ROME IN ALL AGES.* BY THE REV. JOHN WILLIAMS, B.A. CURATE OF LLANFOR, MERIONETHSHIRE, "The bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this realm of England."-Art. xxxvii. REV. SIR-A small treatise, bearing the above title, was lately published in Welsh, if you think fit to insert a translation of it from time to time in your valuable periodical, I shall be most happy to render you my humble assistance. Yours truly A FRIEND OF THE AUTHOR. Of all the charges constantly urged against our venerable Church, in these days, perhaps the boldest, yet least warrantable, is that which attributes her existence to popery. Both the Romanists and dissenters avail themselves of this assertion to promote their own respective views. The former maintain that we have sinned in disturbing the peace and unity of the Church at the time of the Protestant Reformation, and, therefore, that it is our duty, as good Christians, to return to the bosom of the Mother Church. The latter aver that our conduct, in forsaking the communion of the Church of Rome, justifies their own in separating *The former part of this article appeared in "THE CHURCHMAN" for November last, but it is thought better to repeat it here, that the subject may be complete in the New Series. from the Church of England. This misrepresentation, no doubt, has proved a stumbling-block to many, and has tended to unsettle the attachment of persons otherwise well affected to the rites and ceremonies of our National Church. To some, even of her sincerest members, it must prove a matter of sorrow, who are forced to hear continually their taunts, but, owing to their imperfect acquaintance with ecclesiastical history, are unable to refute them. The object of this Tract is to obviate these difficulties, by assisting such defenceless members, "to be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh them, a reason of the hope that is in them." May the blessing of God attend the humble attempt, "for the advancement of his glory, and the good of his Church." I expect the facts and arguments adduced in support of the present design will prove, to the satisfaction of every unbiassed mind, not only that the Church of England is independent of the Church of Rome, as regards her origin and foundation in this country, but, also, that she never voluntarily submitted to the authority and jurisdiction of the Pope, amongst the hills of Wales, and that her ritual was never there thoroughly contaminated with the errors and superstitions of popery even throughout the gloomy period of the middle ages. Some of the popish enemies of our Church will have us to believe that the Christian religion had not been preached in Britain previous to the year 156, and that it was by the authority and commission of the Pope of Rome, that Christianity was then established amongst our ancestors. In the number of those who make this allegation, ranks the venerable Bede, who thus describes the event;"In the year 156, in the time of Marcus Antoninus Verus, and Aurelius Commodus, when Eleutherius presided over the Roman See, Lucius, king of the Britons, sent a letter to that bishop, requesting that, by his mandate, he might be admitted into the Christian Church. His pious request was presently granted him and the faith thus received was maintained inviolate among the Britons, in profound peace, until the time of Dioclesian ; Although the above date is early, yet we have clear and authentic evidence to prove that Christianity was introduced into this island still earlier, even in the days of the Apostles. Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, about the beginning of the fourth century, positively affirms, that "some of the Apostles passed over the ocean, into the British isles."+ Theodoret also, who flourished in the former part of the fifth century, is very explicit on this point. Describing the great success that attended the labours of the Apostles, he breaks out in the following strain: "Those our fisherman, and publicans, and our tent-makers, have propagated the Gospel amongst all nations; not only amongst the Romans and those who are subjects of the Roman Empire, but the Scythians, and the Sauromatæ, the Indians; also, the Ethiopians, the Persians, the Hyrcani, the BRITONS, the Cimmerii, and the Germans: so that it may said, in one word, that all the different nations of mankind have received the laws of the crucified." Gildas, too, our own countryman, who flourished in the sixth century, describing the circumstances of the defeat of Caractacus, in the year 51, and that of Boadicea in 61, alludes to the be *See Nora. Britan. vol. ii. p. 44. + Euseb. Demonst. Evang. lib. iii. c. 5. John iv. Serm. 9. |