stored to salvation, have shared among themselves the vesture of the Word, that is, his flesh, indivisibly. For into each one divisibly the Only-begotten passing, and sanctifying through his flesh their soul and body, is in all wholly and indivisibly, since everywhere he is one and in no manner divided.

THEOPHYLACTUS in caput 19. Johannis (f. 825. ed. cit.): Igitur sanctum Christi corpus indivisibile est, et dividitur et communicatur in quatuor partes orbis; distributus enim singulis, et uniuscujusque animam sanctificans cum corpore per carnem suam, Unigenitus et integer et indivisus in omnibus est, existens ubique, nunquam enim divisus est, sicut et Paulus clamat.

That is:-Therefore the holy body of Christ is indivisible, though divided and communicated unto the four quarters of the world; for distributed to each one, and sanctifying with his body through his flesh the soul of each, the Only-begotten is entire and indivisible in all, existing everywhere; for he is never divided, as Paul also asserts.

CHRYSOSTOMUS (t. 4. f. 1773. ed. Basil. et t. 6. f. 846. ed. Francof.) Homil. 17. ad Ebr. p. 16. (et Ambrosius cap. 10. ad Hebræos.): Numquid, quia in multis locis offertur, ideo multi Christi sunt? Nequaquam; sed unus ubique est Christus, et hic plenus existens et illie plenus, unum corpus. Quemadmodum enim, qui in multis locis offertur, unum corpus est et non multa corpora, ita etiam et unum sacrificium. Pontifex autem noster ille est, qui hostiam mundantem nos obtulit, ipsam offerimus et nunc, quæ tunc oblata quidem consumi non potest. Hoc in memoriam ejus fit, quod tunc factum est. Hoc enim facite, inquit, in mei recordationem. Non igitur aliud sacrificium, quemadmodum summus sacerdos, sed idem semper facimus. Magis autem recordationem sacrificii operamur.

Nota, contra pontificium sacrificium propitatiorium missæ.

That is-Do you suppose, because he is offered up in many places, that therefore there are many Christs? By no means; but there is one Christ everywhere, existing here entire and there entire, and one body. For as he who is offered up in many places, is one body and not many bodies; so there is also but one sacrifice. But he is our Pontiff, who made a cleansing sacrifice for us, offering that up now, which being then offered up, cannot be destroyed. This is done in remembrance of him, which was then done. For this do, he says, in remembrance of me. Therefore we do not make another sacrifice, like the high priests, but always the same. rather engaged in the remembrance of this sacrifice.

But we are

CONCLUSION.

These testimonies of the ancient teachers of the church, pious reader, have not been laid down here under the impression that our Christian faith is based upon the authority of men. For the true and saving faith should not be founded upon the authority of any ancient or modern teachers of the church, but solely and alone upon the word of God, which is comprehended in the writings of the holy Prophets and Apostles, as infallible evidences of the heavenly truth. But since, by the special and speedy artifices of Satan, the fanatical spirits would readily lead the people again from the holy Scripture,— which, God be praised, can now be profitably read by a common layman,-into the writings of the Fathers and ancient teachers of the church, as into the wide sea; so that he who has not read these writings, is consequently unable to know with certainty whether he holds with them and their writings in that sense in which these new teachers employ their terms, and is thus left in a perilous state of doubt.. It was, therefore, necessary for us to show by this Catalogue, and exhibit it as an evidence to all, that this new false doctrine is founded as little in the writings of the ancient, pure teachers of the church, as in the holy Scripture, but is directly in opposition to them. These testimonies they allege in a false sense, contrary to the intention of the Fathers, just as they wilfully and maliciously pervert the pure testimonies of the holy Scripture, and the plain, the clear, and lucid words of the testament of Christ, the Lord's Supper. For this reason, then, the Book of Concord refers each and every one to the holy Scripture and to the simple Catechism. For he who embraces the simplicity of these with true and simple faith, best secures his soul and conscience, since they are founded on a firm and an immovable rock, Matt. 7, and 17; Gal. 1; Psalm 119.

NOTE. Here, after the introduction of a table of contents, follows, in the Dresden edition of 1580, a catalogue of the names of the theologians and of the officers of the churches and schools, who subscribed the Book of Concord. No doubt it would be gratifying to many of our readers, if this catalogue of names were inserted in this edition; but since it does not occur in the Leipsic edition of 1790, and in some others, and since it would consume upwards of a hundred pages, we prefer to omit it.—[TRANS.

CHRISTIAN

ARTICLES OF VISITATION.

A. D. 1592.

ARTICLE I.-OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.

The pure and true doctrine of our churches concerning the Lord's Supper.

1. That the words of Christ: "Take and eat, this is my body; drink, this is my blood," are to be understood simply and according to the letters, as they read.

2. That in this sacrament two things are given and received together: One carthly, that is bread and wine, and one heavenly, that is the body and blood of Christ.

3. That this occurs here upon earth, not up in heaven.

4. That it is the right, natural body of Christ, which hung upon. the Cross, and the right, natural blood, which flowed out of the sides of Christ.

5. That the body and blood of Christ are received, not only by faith spiritually, a thing which can occur also apart from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper,-but here with bread and wine orally, yet in an inscrutable and supernatural manner, as a pledge and an assurance of the resurrection of our bodies from the dead.

6. That the oral participation of the body and blood of Christ, is enjoyed not only by the worthy, but also by the unworthy who approach without repentance and true faith, yet to dissimilar ends; by the worthy to salvation, but by the unworthy to judgment.

ARTICLE II.-OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST.

The pure and true doctrine of our churches of the article concerning the Person of Christ.

1. In Christ there are two distinct natures, the divine and the human; these remain to eternity unconfused and unseparated.

2. These two natures are so personally united, that there is only one Christ, one person.

3. On account of this personal union, it is rightly said, and so it is indeed and in truth, that God is man, and man is God; that Mary bore the Son of God, and that God has redeemed us by his own blood.

4. Through this personal union, and the exaltation consequent upon it, Christ according to the flesh was seated at the right hand of God, and has received all power in heaven and in earth, and become a partaker of all divine majesty, honor, power, and glory.

ARTICLE III.-OF HOLY BAPTISM.

The pure and true doctrine of our churches, concerning the article relative to Holy Baptism.

1. That there is only one baptism and one ablution, not that which is accustomed to take away the impurity of the body, but that which washes us from sins.

2. Through baptism, as the laver of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, God saves us, and works in us such righteousness and purification from sins, that he who perseveres in this covenant and confidence unto the end, shall not be lost, but has eternal life.

3. All who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death, and through baptism are buried with him in his death, and have put on Christ.

4. Baptism is the laver of regeneration, because in it we are born anew, and are sealed and favored with the spirit of adoption.

5. Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God: yet by this is not meant a case of necessity.

6. That which is born of flesh, is flesh, and by nature we are all children of God's wrath; for out of sinful seed we are engendered, and in sin we are all conceived.

The

ARTICLE IV. OF GOD'S FOREKNOWLEDGE AND ELECTION.

pure and true doctrine of our churches concerning this article. 1. That Christ died for all men, and as the Lamb of God bore the sins of the whole world.

2. That God created no one for condemnation, but desires all men

to be assisted, and to come to a knowledge of the truth. He commands all to hear Christ his Son in the Gospel, and thereby promises rower and the operation of the Holy Spirit unto conversion and salvation.

3. That in consequence of their own faults many persons will be condemned, who either will not hear the Gospel concerning Christ, or fall from grace again by error against the fundamental doctrines, or by sins against their own conscience.

4. That all sinners who repent, shall be received into grace, and none will be excluded, even if his sins were as red as blood: since the mercy of God is much greater than the sins of the whole world, and God is merciful over all his works.

OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.

False and erroneous doctrine of the Calvinists.

1. That the aforenamed words of Christ are to be understood in a figurative sense, and not as they read.

2. That in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper there are only empty signs, but that the body of Christ is as far from the bread as the highest heaven is from the earth.

3. That Christ is present here only with his power and operation, and not with his body, even as the sun is present and powerful here on earth with his rays and operation, but the sun himself is up in

heaven.

4. That it is a typicum corpus, a figurative body only, which is signified and prefigured.

5. That it is received by faith alone, which soars up into heaven, and not orally.

6. That only the worthy receive it, but the unworthy, who have not such a faith as can ascend up into heaven, receive nothing but bread and wine.