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never were at ease till they had restored unity: a practice which the pastors of the Church of Geneva have lately, in a generous and laudable way, imitated in respect of our English Separatists, though using in most things the same ceremonies that those of Geneva do. They had various usages in the churches of several countries; but a Christian of Africa, if he came to Greece, complied with the Grecian ceremonies, though he might like his own better; or if it happened otherwise, that he liked those of Greece better than his own, yet, upon his return home, he submitted to the rules and customs of his own church, and did not set up a new sect out of a pride that he had learned a better way. If he thought it was better, or if it really were so, yet to make a separation for it, did ten times more mischief than what that amendment could recompence. If there be any usage or order in a church which may be altered for the better, for any man in his station to do his endeavour that this may be done by common vote and consent, was ever accounted laudable; and where the corruption is got into the vitals of religion, it is true that it must be done by a separation rather than not at all. But in other cases, where it is not a gangrene, he that goes about to cure the body, by tearing it limb from limb, is himself the most. dangerously infected member, and ought to be first cut off, by St. Paul's direction (Rom. xvi. 17) if he had any skill. As we say of sermons, That must be an excellent one indeed, in which there is nothing that might have been said better; and yet that must be a sorry one indeed, out of which one may not receive some wholesome direction. Or of cities, there is hardly any, whose laws and government are not capable of amendment in some things; and yet very few so ill governed, where an industrious and peaceable man may not enjoy so much quiet as to get a livelihood by his diligence; so that must be a pure church indeed, whose orders and rules have no fault or imperfection at all; and yet that must be a woful church with which a good Christian may not communicate, or under whose doc>

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trine and discipline he may not, by a godly diligence, work out his salvation. Of the frst sort there are none in the world; and, as I hope, no Protestant national church of the latter sort; none, I mean, with which a good Christian may not communicate, provided they will admit him without requiring his declared assent to all their tenets; for errors they may have, and some of them hold some opinions contrary to what others do; yet since none of these do overthrow the foundation of the Christian faith, neither do they mix any idolatry in their worship, if any party of the members of any of these churches (the church of Denmark, for example) should, in opposition to the general body of the church there, say, We like the ways and methods of some other church (the Church of England, for example) better;" and should thereupon make a schism from their fellow-members, it would be a sinful one; and it is no other in ours here that do the like. The Church of England do declare thus concerning the rites and ceremonies which they have ordered: "In these our doings we condemn no other nations, nor prescribe any thing but to our own people only; for we think it convenient that every country should use such ceremonies as they shall think best to the setting forth of God's honour and glory, and to the reducing the people to godly living, &c.; and that they should put away other things which, from time to time, they perceive to be most abused; as in mens' ordinances it often chances diversely in divers countries." They say, moreover," The keeping or omitting of a ceremony, in itself considered, is but a small thing; but the wilful and contemptuous transgression and breaking of a common order and discipline, is no small offence before God." This plainly shews, that they would not approve of a schism that should be set up in any other church, though it were for the introducing of those ways of worship which they have prescribed; and many of the chiefest men of other Pro

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316 Preface to the Book of Common Prayer.

testant Churches have made the like declaration on their side; this is the ancient way of a Catholic correspondence and unity between the churches. They do all judge thus:-That in those various ways of ma naging the public worship, though one may think one the best, and another another, yet that the worst of them with unity, is better than the best without it.

This may be explained by a comparison taken from temporal affairs. There are in several nations several forms of state government; one is ruled by monarchy, another by a senate, others by more popular ways. It is common for men of reading, or travel, or conversation, to discourse of these ways; one likes one best, and another another; and so far there is no harm done, because each of them resolves as yet, that which soever he likes best, he will live quietly under that where he is placed. But if one of these who lives under either of these forms, do go about to draw a party after him, and says" We will live no longer under this form of government; we know a better way, and we will set up that," he is now turned a traitor, and must be sup pressed by the policy of any government whatsoever.

Or in an army, if the question be Whether it be best to march this way against the enemy, or that way, or lie still? each one in the council is free to give his opinion; and it may be, that he whose counsel. is not approved by the majority, gives advice which is really the better; yet, if the resolution be once taken, and the General lead out accordingly, one, way, if any officers go about to draw a part of the army after them, and say "We will march the other way, they are now mutineers and public enemies, how good soever their advice were; because, either of the ways, with the union of the army, is better than the dividing of it, that brings certain ruin and confusion.

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The Scripture and experience too do shew, that the case is the same in reference to a church; only, as in the army, if the soldiers do understand, by any plain and certain discovery, that the general officers are traitors, and have agreed to betray their prince's cause,

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a revolt from them is, in such case, fidelity to their sovereign; so, if a church do bring into their worship plain idolatry, or into their doctrines such positions as destroy the foundation of Christian faith or godliness, this is treason against our chief Lord, and justifies separation from such a church. But in the case now put, of a man that allows the established way of worship to be lawful, but pretends to set up a better, and thinks a separation justifiable on that account, such a man is so far from being fit to be a leader or amender of a church, that he needs a catechism to teach him the first Christian principles of humility and modesty. Modesty would teach him to think, that if he judge one way the best, another (as wise as he) will be for another way, and a third party for another, &c. ; but God is a God of order, and not of such confusions.

What I quoted just now, of the declaration of the Church of England, in respect to foreign churches, does visibly shew the mistake of those that argue That we cannot count those among us that separate Schismatics, but that we shall, by so doing, condemn those foreign Protestant Churches, which differ from us in some of the same ceremonies as the Dissenters at home do of schism likewise. God forbid we should do that. It is not the use or disuse of this or that ceremony, order, &c. but it is the renouncing of communion for such use or disuse that constitutes a Schismatic.

Now we and the foreign Protestant Churches do not do that; for one of us, whom Providence should bring into their nation, would communicate with them, though their ceremonies and ways of worship are not altogether the same as ours; and they, when they come hither, do the same with us; and such churches, or such Christians, that are always ready to do so, have always a communion one with another in heart, in purpose, in inclination, and acknowledgement, which they are ready to bring into act by corporal presence and joining, when Providence makes it practicable; and this is, or ought to be, the temper between all churches that differ not in essentials. Now,

this is the only sense in which that saying is true,"That there is no schism where the differences are not in the fundamentals of religion; i. e. Any two churches of different nations are always supposed to be in communion, and not in a schism, so long as they differ not in fundamentals, because it is supposed that the members of one of these would (in case they were to travel into the other nation) for unity's sake communicate with those other.

But when people of the same place, city, parish, &c. do actually separate, and renounce communion with the church when they are on the spot, this plea cannot be used in their case. To say these are not schismatics, because they differ not in fundamentals, is to put a new meaning on the word Schism; they are not heretics indeed (as the church-use has now distinguished the use of those words); but the Donatists, Novatians, &c. have been always counted schismatics, though they differed not in essentials.

Those that differ from any true church in essentials, and do separate, or are excommunicated for such difference, are, in respect of their opinions, more faulty than those we have been speaking of. But those that separate for smaller matters, are, in respect of the mere schism or separation (if we could abstract that from the fault of the opinion) the more faulty of the two; for the smaller the difference is, the greater fault and shame it is to make a breach for it; and though the other be, in the main, the greater sin, yet these are more plainly self-condemned.

The other difficulty that I proposed to speak of, is something greater: There is a man that thinks the church holds some errors; not fundamental ones indeed, but she has brought these errors into her public service, in which he should join. He would not renounce a church for holding those errors in disputable points; but he cannot join in prayers to God which are grounded on, and do suppose a doctrine which he judges to be a false or mistaken one.

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