Court of Rome, the Pope, in his own defence, got an Affembly of his Bishops to meet in a Council at Trent; and there He and They, in the plenitude of their authority, condemned and anathematized all these new Herefies, established the Creeds commonly called the Apostles, the Nicene, and the Athanafian; and added a long Chain of Articles which before had never been decided, but were hereafter to be received and believed by the Faithful, as neceffary to their Salvation as any of the former. Out of all thefe Decifions of this Holy Council there is a Creed compofed commonly called the Creed of Pope Pius the fourth, decorated as ufual with proper Anathemas and Curses, which all the Clergy of the Church of Rome are obliged to fubfcribe on their entering into Orders, and on many other occafions. And thus Things have continued to this Day..

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Of ORTHODOXY.

ORTHODOXY is a Greek word which fignifies a Right Opinion: and hath been used by Churchmen as a Term to denote a Soundness of Doctrine or Belief with regard to all points and Articles of Faith. But as there have been amongst these Churchmen several Systems of Doctrine or Belief, they every one affert for themselves, that they only are Orthodox and in the right; and that all others are Heterodox or in the wrong. So that what at one time and in one place hath been declared Orthodoxy or Sound Belief, hath at another time, and in another, or even the fame place, been declared to be Heterodoxy or Wrong Belief. Of this there are numberlefs Inftances in Ecclefiaftical Hiftory; fome of which have been repeated in the foregoing pages and we may only just take a tranfient view of the present Chriftian world to perceive

many more inftances of it fubfifting at this day. What is Orthodoxy at Conftantinople is Heterodoxy or Herefy at Rome. What is Orthodoxy at Rome is Heterodoxy at Geneva, London, and many other places. What was Orthodoxy here in the Reign of King Edward the fixth, became Herefy in the Reign of his fifter Mary; and in Queen Elizabeth's time Things changed their Names again. Various was the fate of these poor words in the reigns of our fucceeding Kings, as the Currents of Calvinism, Arminianism and Popery ebbed or flowed. But the boldeft ftroke for the alteration of the meaning of these words was ftruck about hirty years ago. Before that time Athanafianism, as contained in that wonderful Creed which bears the Saint's name, was esteemed by almost every party amongst us, to be the foundation, and the very standard of Orthodoxy; and the bare doubting of any point of it was deemed the greatest crime, and an ef fectual

fectual bar against all preferment in Church or State. But then Mr. Whiston, and fome other bold Spirits, arofe, who confidently afferted that Arius was in the right, and Athanafius in the wrong: that the Opinions of the former were the Ancient Orthodox Doctrines of Chriftianity, and those of the latter were New and Heterodox: and that the Athanafian Heresy was the occafion of all the Mifchiefs that have plagued the Church from the time of it's first appearance to the prefent. The Writings of these men have made a great alteration in the Sentiments of the British, Nation. Athanafus hath fince been lofing credit every day; and the Creed which bears his name is now very far from being refpected as it was a Century ago. For although there have been no public declarations made against it, many of the Clergy fhew their diflike by neglecting to ufe it; and fome of the most refpectable of them have, in their private opinions, declared against

it:

it and the intelligent Laity every where fhew their disapprobation of it. So uncertain and fluctuating a thing is Orthodoxy. To-day it confifts in one fett of Principles; to-morrow in another. At Rome it is wrapped up in Mystery. In Britain it is now fet forth as the Object of Common Senfe and Reason.

BUT fo much hath been wrote upon the Subjects of Orthodoxy, Heterodoxy, and Herefy by others, that I need not trouble my Readers any farther about them. Were thefe words employed, as they ought, in diftinguishing Virtue from Vice, and Good from Evil, they would admit of no variation, and be for ever taken in the fame fenfe. But as they are used to denote Opinions concerning the most incomprehenfible Subjects, no wonder that their meaning fhould be fo often mistaken, and occafion so many endless and bitter difputes.

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