A magnificent Church.

A Church is now building in St. Petersburgh, by order of the Emperor Alexander, the pillars of which are solid granite, nine feet in diameter, thirty-six feet long, and weigh about one hundred and ten tons: they were transported one hundred miles by water, in vessels built for the purpose.

Anecdote.

A few years ago an English sailor at Smyrna went into an open mosque at the time of prayer: seeing the Turks kneeling and bowing, he flung down his hat, and knelt down too. After prayers they seized on him, and took him before the Cady as a convert to Mahometanism. As he could not be made to understand their questions, the dragoman of the English consul was sent for, through whom he was asked if it were his wish to become a Turk? No!' he

said.— Why then did you go into the mosque ? Why, I saw a churchdoor open, and I thought any body might go into a church. I have not been in one for three years before, and I never will go into one again, if I can't do so without turning Turk.' It was not without great difficulty that the Turks were dissuaded from putting a turban on him by force.

For the Christian Journal.

Course of Religious Instruction in Trinity Church, St. Paul's and St. John's Chapels, in the city of New-York.

[A notice on this subject was read from the desks of the above Church and Chapels, on Sunday morning, the 24th of February, 1822. The following, which is somewhat altered from the notice then given, is published for the more full information of the congregations.]

THE ordinance of Confirmation will be administered in Trinity Church, on Sunday, the 17th of March, 1822; in St. Paul's Chapel, on Sunday, the 24th; and in St. John's Chapel, Sunday, the 31st, in the morning. It is desired that the persons to be confirmed, will present themselves for that purpose, in the churches to which they respectively belong, and that none will offer who are under the age of 14. In the week previous to the administration of Confirmation, in each Church, there will be divine service, and a preparatory address by the rector, every afternoon, except Mon

day, at four o'clock. After which, the male and female candidates for confirmation will assemble in separate portions of the Church, in order to be more particu. larly prepared for the reception of this holy rite. With this view it is requested tively, the Tract entitled "A Catechism that they read over, frequently and attenfor Confirmation," on which questions will be asked them in a familiar way, by one of the Clergy; which questions they may answer from the book or from memory, as they may think proper.

The Rector and Assistant Ministers have been for some time desirous of forming a more effectual system for the religious instruction of the children and young persons of the congregations. Dif ferent plans have engaged their attention, to which there appeared, on various grounds, objections. They now state the ed for this purpose. one which appears to them the best adapt

It having been found that when the catechising of the children commenced, at Easter, many of them left the city for the summer season, before they had gone through all the Catechisms; it is proposed dren on Sunday, the 3d of March, after to commence the catechising of the childivine service in the afternoon.

It is, however, considered very desirable that those who have been carried through the smaller Catechisms, and even those who have been confirmed, should receive the advantage of a more extended course of religious instruction, suited to their capacities, and to their progress in Christian knowledge. With this view it is proposed that the male and female young persons and others of Trinity Church, and of St. Paul's and St. John's Chapels, form themselves into as many classes as may be agreeable to them, without regard to the congregations to which they belong. Those, in each congregation, who purpose attending the course of instruction, and do not form themselves into classes, will constitute a distinct class. The object of these classes will be to make themselves acquainted with the "Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church." This book is selected, because it contains a summary of the evidences of Christianity, and an explanation and defence of all its doctrines, as well as a view of Christian morals; in connexion with the principles and institutions of the Protestant Episcopal Church, with which it is so important that all who belong to it should be acquainted; and also a reference to all those passages of Scripture which have a relation to Christian doctrine and duty.

In the afternoon of Monday, the Rector is engaged with the students of the Theological Seminary.

A course of lectures by the Rector, with divine service, will commence in the afternoon of Tuesday in Easter week, in St. Paul's Chapel, as being central to those congregations, and will be continued every Tuesday through the greater part of the year. In each of these lectures, some of those passages of Scripture which are quoted in a select portion of the Companion for the Festivals and Fasts, or some subject analogous thereto, will be explained and enforced; and on the following Saturday, the various classes will assemble separately at such hours as may be appointed, and will be attended by the Rector or one of the Assistant Ministers. It will be expected that the members of the classes bring, written out at length, all the texts of Scripture quoted in that portion of the Companion for the Festivals and Fasts, which were the subjects of the preceding lecture. Explanations of these texts will be given by the Clergyman who attends, in answer to any inquiries which may be made to him. An examination will then take place, in the following manner. The Companion for the Festivals and Fasts is in the form of questions and answers, which may be usefully multiplied, so that several questions may be asked on the answer to a single question in the volume. These questions will be stated by the Clergyman who at tends the class, and the person to whom the question is addressed will be expect. ed to find the appropriate answer, and to read it from the book.

The course of examination may be thus exemplified.

Selection from the Companion for the Fes

tivals and Fasts.

"Q. What do you mean by the Christian religion?

A. The Christian religion is that revelation which God made of his will by his Son Jesus Christ, wherein are contained doctrines to be believed, precepts to be practised, and motives to enforce obedi

ence.

Q. Wherein appears the truth of the Christian religion?

A. The truth of the Christian religion appears from that full and clear evidence which our Saviour and his apostles gave of their divine mission and authority, by prophecies and miracles; and from the nature of the religion they taught, which is worthy of God, and tends to promote the happiness and welfare of mankind.

Q. What proof have we that there ever was such a person as Jesus Christ, and that he suffered under Pontius Pilate?.

A. It is a fact which has never been disputed, that there was such a person as Jesus Christ, who lived in the reign of the emperor Tiberius. It is not only universally acknowledged by Christians, but

hath been owned by Jews who have written of those times; and the Heathens themselves have borne their testimony to the truth of this matter of fact, as Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the younger. That the same Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, is averred both by Christians and Jews. The Christians professed it, notwithstanding the ignominy they might thereby seem to bring upon themselves, who worshipped him as a God; and the Jews owned it, notwithstanding the provocation they might thereby give to the Christians; for it was by their ancestors that he was delivered to be crucified. It is very probable there were public records of the whole matter at Rome, as the account was sent by Pontius Pilate to Tiberius: For the ancient Christians, in their apologies, appealed to it, which they had too much understanding and modesty to have done, if no such account had ever been sent, or had not been then extant The great enemies of Christianity, Celsus and Julian, never made this matter of fact a controversy. No history, therefore, can be better established by the unanimous testimony of people very different from one another, than that of the life and death of Jesus Christ.

Q. What evidence did Jesus Christ give that he was a prophet sent from God?

A. All the former prophecies which related to the Messiah were fulfilled in him.

This ought to have been a convincing argument to the Jews, who owned these prophecies to have been of divine inspiration. He received the testimony of a voice from heaven several times. He was endowed with the power of working miracles; and particularly with the gift of prophecy, proved and made good by the fulfilment of his own predictions; than which nothing can be a greater evidence of a divine mission, because the greatest proof of infinite power and knowledge.

Q. What prophecies that related to the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus Christ?

A. All those prophecies that concerned the birth and life of the Messiah, his death, resurrection, and ascension, were fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Q. What prophecies that related to the birth of the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus? A. According to Jacob's prophecy,† the Messiah was to come about the time of the dissolution of the Jewish government; the sceptre was not to depart from Judah, that is, the power and authority of the Jewish government were not to cease, till Shila came; by whom the ancient Jews did understand the Messiah. It was also foretold by the prophets Haggai and Malachi,‡ that he should come before the destruction of the second temple; and the destruction of

Josephus. † Gen. xlix. 10.
Hag. ii. 6, 7, 8, 9; Mal. iii. Į.

the temple was foretold by Daniel,* with the precise time of our Saviour's coming. And to manifest to the world that Christ is come, the Jews are now dispersed among all nations, and their government lost, and their families confounded: The second temple is long since destroyed, and the city of Jerusalem made desolate, which was foretold should be after the cutting off of the Messiah. As the time of Christ's birth was foretold, so was the place of it. It was prophesied that the Messiah should be born in Bethlehem of Judea : and the providence of God so ordered it, that Joseph and Mary should be brought up to Bethlehem, by a general tax which Augustus then laid; not only that she might be delivered, but that their names might be there entered, and their family ascertained and proved, without doubt, to have descended from David. The person of whom our Saviour was born was likewise foretold according to Isaiah, she was to be a virgin; and thus Christ was emphatically the seed of the woman, agreeably to the promise made to our first parents.”

The above answers will admit of the following questions; to which, as before stated, appropriate answers will be found in the book, and which must be read therefrom.

"1. What is the Christian religion, and what does it contain ?

2. From what does the truth of it appear?

3. Of what is the Christian religion worthy, and to what does it tend?

4. Has it ever been disputed that there was such a person as Jesus Christ, and when did he live?

5. Who besides Christians acknowledge this fact?

6. What Heathen writers have borne testimony to it?

7. Under whom was Jesus Christ crucified, and who have asserted it?

8. What account was probably sent to

Rome!

9. Who were the great enemies of Christianity?

10. What prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ?

11. What testimony did he receive from Heaven, and with what was he endowed? 12. What prophecies concerning Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus?

13. What was the prophecy of Jacob, and who did the Jews understand by Shilo? 14. When did Haggai and Malachi say Messiah should come?

Dan. ix. 24, 25, 26, 27.
Micah v. 2. + Matt. ii. 6.

A small Tract containing all the questions, and the Companion for the Festivals and Fasts, may be had at T. and J. Swords's, No. 99 Pearlstreet.

The texts in the above passages, which are to be written out, and of which explanations are to be given, and on which inquiries may be made, as inserted at the bottom of the page, and are Gen. xlix. 10; Haggai ii. 6, 7, 8.9; Malachi iii. 1, &c.

While in this mode of examination there will be a considerable exercise of ingenuity and judgment; it presents no circumstance calculated to embarrass the most timid, or that should deter any persons from engaging in it. The course of instruction appears to unite the advantages of Biblical information with a systematic digest of the contents of the Bible. And those who attend this course will become acquainted with the evidences and doctrines of Christianity, and the principles and institutions of the Church; with the arguments that support them,and the answers to the objections that may be urged against them; and also with all those parts of the Holy Scriptures which establish or enforce Christian doctrine and duty; and will thus acquire a systematic and practical knowledge of the sacred volume. This plan, it is proper to mention, has been, in part, successfully tried in a congregation in an adjacent diocess, where a class of young persons and others have, for several years, with pleasure and profit, been instructed by. their Minister in the Companion for the Festivals and Fasts.

The Rector and Assistant Ministers, feeling deeply the responsibility of their charge, and impressed with the high importance of religious instruction, are exceedingly solicitous that the plan which they propose for this purpose, should be carried into effect. It is obvious, however, that all their efforts will be unavailing without the zealous cooperation of parents and others, and of the children and young people of the congregations. They will not, however, for a moment suppose, that in regard to that knowledge which makes wise unto eternal life, and that concern which is beyond all estimate the salvation of the soul-there are any persons who will be indisposed to avail themselves of the means which their pastors proffer them, and which, it is humbly hoped, will prove instrumental, through the divine blessing, in promoting their happiness here and hereafter.

*St. John's Church, Elizabeth-Town, NewJersey, of which the Rev. Mr. Rudd is rector.

It is requested that those who are disposed to form themselves into classes, will do so as soon as they can with convenience, and furnish the names of the members of the respective classes to the Rec. tor or one of the Assistant Ministers.

JOHN HENRY HOBART, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New-York, and Rector of Trinity Church. New-York, Feb. 25, 1822.

Obituary Notices.

MRS. ANN RAYMOND. DIED, at Oysterbay, on the 21st of October, 1821, Ann Raymond, widow of the late Andrew Raymond, Esq. aged 57 years.

The eulogies of the dead are often only the fond effusions of the living, who delight to represent departed worth, not in the sober language of truth, but with all the heightening and extravagance of grief and affection. And while each excellency is magnified, every fault is forgotten or forgiven. From the undistinguishing prodigality of funeral praise, ordinary merit often takes the place of the most exalted, and the spiritual and perfect are confounded with babes in Christ. For the purpose of example and encouragement it is almost useless, because it is so seldom true; and the good which might be derived from faithful delineations of the Christian character is prevented by the suspicion which is brought on all.

An attempt, therefore, to pourtray the person whose death is here noticed, will be peculiarly embarrassing, as it cannot be done justly without an air of extravagance. She was regarded by those who knew her best as one of the most pious among women. She walked by faith and not by sight, considering all that passed before her eyes as a vain shadow, and the things which are invisible as alone real, enduring, and worthy of her desires. God had early withdrawn her affections from the world by the operation of his grace; and, to make the detachment complete, he laid upon

her his chastening hand, and took from her the choicest of earthly blessings. In nearly twenty years she had scarcely a day of uninterrupted health, and even during the short reliefs from a painful sickness, she felt a debility and

langour which would have been scarcely less distressing, had not the vivacity of her spirits, and the efforts of her mind, produced an excitement that made her almost insensible to the sufferings, under which others would have yielded and sunk. Nature was sometimes ready to repine, but the rising murmur was immediately suppressed. She knew that in very faithfulness she was troubled, that mercy was mixed with judgment, that her trials were more precious than of gold that perisheth, that those who endured unto the end should be saved; and, therefore, she was not only submissive, but thankful to her Heavenly Father for his chastisements; she looked unto Jesus as an example of patience, trusted in the sufficiency of his grace, and rejoiced in the hope of his glory.

Her love of God was of that perfect kind which casteth out fear. All her views of his character were just and engaging, and in her reverence there was something so filial, in her confidence such tranquillity and repose, in her gratitude such fullness, in her pious affections such tenderness and warmth, that the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity seemed to be brought down in some degree to human conceptions and feelings, and without being degraded, to be regarded almost as an earthly benefactor and friend. She lived for his glory, and those portions of time were most valued by her which were more immediately connected with his honour and praise. The most common of all her complaints was occasioned by her frequent and necessary absence from the services of the sanctuary; and David, in his exile, could scarcely have uttered the words more passionately, than she did in adopting them, O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of hosts! My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. But as the best substitute which she could make for social worship, she took up her Prayer Book and Bible morning and evening, and by her solitary offerings maintained a secret communion with the faithful.

This fervour in her devotions would

have been less admired, had it not been restrained by discretion. But for the expression of the highest feelings she thought no other language necessary, than that which the Church had prescribed, and all the offices of the Liturgy were the theme of her praise, as they were the source of her delight. Nor was she in the habit, either from conceit or curiosity, of attending on the services of those who were not duly authorized to minister in holy things. She considered the Church as built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, as the pillar and ground of the truth, as the appointed channel of God's mercies to his fallen and guilty creatures. And she therefore deplored the errors of those who had separated from it, though she lived with all of them in "the bond of peace," and with some in the fellowship of love. For the odour of her sanctity was spread abroad, and her company courted by many on general grounds, who were opposed to the distinctive principles of her faith.

Her humility, however, was never corrupted by this silent adulation, and whilst edifying every body by her example, she seemed to regard herself as lower than the most unprofitable of God's servants. Her tempers, indeed, were all moulded by the influence of the Gospel, and though naturally rather warm and impetuous, she was meek, gentle, and forgiving, cheerful and contented, abounding in kindness and love.

These Christian dispositions were not brought out as effectually into the active duties of life, as they undoubtedly would have been had her health permitted her to take a greater share in its concerns. But in the limited sphere in which she was enabled to move, in the bosom of her family, the company of her friends, and her occasional intercourse with society at large, there was sufficient evidence that, under other circumstances, the example of her conduct would have been as useful as her piety was illustri

ous.

In exalting, however, the gifts of grace in her, we do not forget the failings of humanity. There were infirmi

ties of purpose and involuntary transgressions; but it is not often that we find in any one purer intentions, holier desires, greater exertions, and firmer reliance on divine help, than were con stantly shown by this humble and faithful servant of the Lord.

Many years have elapsed since the writer of this notice was brought into her society, and the intimacy which was then begun was only interrupted by her death. In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in the innocent cheerfulness of common conversation, or in the moments of pious confidence, when the heart unburthened itself and revealed those feelings to friendship which humility and distrust would have concealed from strangers; on all occasions in which he saw her, he felt himself happier and better. It was his melancholy pleasure to administer to her, in her last illness, the Supper of the Lord, of which she had not expected again to partake till she should sit down at the eternal Supper of the Lamb. And never was her love to God so ardent, her trust in the Redeemer so firm, her consolation in the Spirit so refreshing, her devotion so high, her hope so "full of immortality." She suffered long and acutely, and it was a relief when the pangs of the body were over, and her spirit entered into the joy of the Lord.

Thus our ties are severed, but not for ever. With those who die in the Lord there is still a communion. We cherish the recollection of their graces, and while their worth aggravates the sense of our loss, it consoles us. We are animated by the happy termination of their course. We long for our reunion with them, and treading in their steps, or rather in the steps of Him whom they followed, we live in the hope, that when He and they shall appear, we shall be like them.

MRS. MARY PARKER.

DIED, suddenly, on Tuesday, the 29th of January, 1822, Mrs. Mary Parker, wife of Mr. William S. Parker, bookseller, of Troy, aged 40 yearsthe mother of ten children, six of whom survive her-the youngest aged seven. teen months.