No. 15.] CHRISTIAN JOURNAL, AND LITERARY REGISTER. SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1817. We deem no apology necessary for occupying a considerable portion of the present number of the Journal with the following Charge, a review of which was inserted in a preceding number. It delineates and enforces, in a style distinguished by simplicity and dignity, several important principles of ecclesiastical polity, and duties of the clerical office. And the application, which is made with so much prudence, mildness, and zeal, of these principles and duties to the situation of the Church in British India, gives additional interest to the Charge. Much is to be expected from the labours in India of such a Bishop as Dr. Middleton. A CHARGE delivered to the Clergy of the Diocess of Calcutta, at Calcutta the 7th December, 1815; at Madras the 11th January, and at Bombay the 18th June, 1816; at the Primary Visitation, by T. F. MIDDLETON, D.D. F. R. S. Lord Bishop of Cal cutta. MY REVEREND Brethren, THE occasion of your being now assembled is not unimportant in the annals of the Christian Faith. The day has at length arrived, when the purest and most powerful of Protestant Churches is completely established in a vast region of Asia; her Clergy, hitherto a small number of detached individuals, acting without concert, and not subject to any local superintendence, are henceforward members of a compacted body, and united under the regimen which every where prevailed in the primitive ages of the Gospel: from the first planting of Christian Churches by the preaching of the Apostles, till we reach the period of modern Innovation or Neglect, wherever there VOL. I. [VOL. I. were Christians, there were Clergy to instruct them; and wherever there were Clergy, a Bishop was placed among them, to advise, to encourage, to admonish, to preserve Unity of Faith and Worship, and to perpetuate a Holy Priesthood. It is superfluous to inquire to what causes we should impute, in the present instance, the delay of a measure so consonant with Christian practice, and of such obvious utility: our immediate concern will be rather to consider, now that the deficiency no longer subsists, in what way we may give effect to the important purposes which the Legislature contemplated, when it made provision for an Episcopal Establishment in British India. I am fully aware, that in proceed. ing to the consideration of these points, I am entering upon a subject of no common difficulty: I am deeply sensible of the difference which sub sists between the condition of Christianity in these regions, and the order and stability which it has long attained in England: I am ready to admit, that the duties of the Clergy are here to be performed in circumstances somewhat peculiar; that the public feeling is to be considered and conciliated; and that the suggestions of Christian prudence no where require to be observed with stricter care but the inferences which arise from this state of things, must be drawn with discrimination, or they will lead to consequences which, instead of removing our difficulties, could only tend to increase them. You are not to infer, where an object is definite, and legitimate, and accom panied, as we cannot doubt, with God's blessing, that impediments, however formidable in the outset, 29 can in their nature be permanent: it would be wrong to infer, that schemes of improvement are not to be prosecuted with ardour, because hitherto they have been scarcely thought of, or under every disadvantage have failed; and admitting the existence of difficulties to the utmost extent, I will venture to remind you, that the just conclusion is the necessity of a ready and conscientious co-operation under one Head; upon whom, after all, (and I feel it to be no light responsibility) the blame of failure must principally rest. And when we recollect, that those who have been most forward to allege the peculiar circumstances of this country as arguments against improvement, have usually been persons not remarkable for their attachment to the Christian cause, I trust that the last to insist upon impediments, and to shelter themselves behind anomalies, will be the English Clergy. We have no natural impediments to contend against, but the manners and habits incidental to an enervating climate: and yet there is no region on the earth, where the religion of Jesus, if due care be taken to plant and to water it, will not flourish. The most dissipated city of the East became one of the earliest and most distinguished seats of the Gospel. We know that "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch ;"* and that a branch of the Church of Antioch has subsisted for centuries, under every discouragement, amidst the mountains of Malabar. An unavoidable delay in the promulgation, by the Supreme Government, of his Majesty's Letters Patent, has induced me to postpone, for so long a period, the exercise of certain powers vested in the Bishop, and especially the very important measure of Licensing my Clergy. The new system, however, is now in full force; and I am enabled to inform you, in what light you are henceforward to consider yourselves, as well as to afford you a sketch of some particular obligations. Acts, xi. 26. I wish that I could announce to you, that you were in all respects placed upon the footing of Parochial Incumbents; that each of you was to have his Parish Church, to which he was to be regularly instituted and inducted, and that he was to be assisted in the superintendence of his flock by Church-wardens and Overseers, as the Parochial Clergy are in England. In time, no doubt, beneficial changes will be gradually introduced: for the present, however, you are required to make the best of the circumstances in which you are actually placed; and they are such as to justify the expectation of your discharging the duties of Clergymen with a high degree of usefulness and effect. You are many of you still, by the nature of your duties, Military Chaplains; but by no means subject to all the inconveniences which the name seems to imply. You are placed completely and exclusively under Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction: you have fixed and permanent stations, to which you are henceforward to be nominated by myself; and your correspondence on all Ecclesiastical matters will be carried on with myself or my Archdeacons : the rules prescribed for the regulation of your conduct will be precisely the same, except where local circumstances render it impracticable, with those which subsist at home: my Letters Patent direct me to administer the Ecclesiastical Laws, as they are received in the Realm of England: and they evidently contemplate no other discipline than that under which our Church has been favoured with such manifestations of the Divine Blessing, and still continues, notwithstanding the cavils of bigotted or ig norant men, to be the great depository of scriptural knowledge and sacred truth, and, under Christ, the main support of Christian piety throughout the world. It is needless, I trust, in any circumstances, to employ much time in reminding Clergymen of the obligations which they contracted, when they solemnly devoted themselves to their Holy Calling; to bring to their recollection, that they promised, by to established order which is generally expected at home. These considerations seem to demand, especially at this our first meeting, that I should somewhat enlarge upon the topic of Discipline. The age in which we live is not generally chargeable with any want of zeal in behalf of Religion. The value of Christianity is felt and acknowledged by the great mass of Christians; and very praiseworthy efforts are made for its diffusion. Much, however, of this zeal is destitute of regulation, or is directed only by the private views and notions of those by whom it is cherished; and while these notions are so discordant, and are sometimes inculcated with so little regard to any recognized autho the help of God, to "give faithful diligence always so to minister the Doctrine and Sacraments, and the Discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded, and as this Church and Realm hath received the same:"* and that "in the public worship of God they will use the form prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer, and none other:'t an engagement, which precludes addition, and omission, and every alteration whatever. And yet, perhaps, in the peculiar circumstances attending the situation of the Clergy in this country, one great danger, to which they have been exposed, has been that of falling into habitual neglect of canonical regularity: some practices of this kind have, in truth, come to my knowledge, of which, in the reliance that they will not be per-rity, it is to be expected, that the obsisted in, I would much rather suggest the excuse, than pronounce the censure. I am ready to admit, that the Clergy have hitherto been placed in a condition by no means favourable to the correct and regular performance of their duties. It is doubtless a high advantage enjoyed by your brethren in England, that their attention is so frequently drawn to every topic connected with their profession. Episcopal and Archidiaconal Visitations afford the means of instruction and advice, as well as of a ready and frequent intercourse among the Cler gy of the same district: the example of an Incumbent of revered character and approved judgment silently yet powerfully operates on his younger Brethren, who are placed in his immediate neighbourhood: and occasionally, the penalties inflicted on the grosser derelictions of duty, and some times even on the omission of forms, will not suffer any to fall into a general inattention to subjects of this nature. In the utter absence of these helps and restraints, it cannot be matter of surprise, if uncanonical practices have sometimes been admitted; especially in a country where the Laity themselves, little conversant with such subjects, have not exacted from the Clergy the same attention • Ordination of Priests. † 36th Canon, ligation to Order in religious proceedings should be little attended to, and in consequence not generally understood: there seems even to be a prejudice against it, as if it were injurious to zeal, by having a tendency to cramp its exertions and to narrow the range of piety. It may be supposed, that an Order of men, who have voluntarily adopted the sober views of the Church of England, and who know the grounds on which her Discipline is established, and have had experience of its use and necessity, will be little liable, on such a subject, to be affected by the fluctuating opinions of the day; and yet, perhaps, it is too much to hope, that any of us, especially in such circumstances, should be wholly exempt from the influence of prevailing sentiment: human nature is too weak to adhere invariably and inflexibly to principles, which, however solemnly adopted and powerfully established, are yet disparaged in the public estimation, and not always observed in practice. I would remind you, then, that the Order and Discipline of our Church are an integral part of its Constitution, considering it as an instrument in the hands of God for the maintenance and dif fusion of truth. The inculcation of sound doctrine is perceived by the most superficial, to be the highest object and aim of religious instruction : but it is not always remembered, that sound teaching can be maintained only by salutary discipline; and that the Unity of Truth must be preserved by a reference to some particular interpretation of Scripture. Neither can provision be generally made for the maintenance of Religion, but through the aid of an Ecclesiastical Polity; not necessarily, indeed, enjoying the sanction and protection of the State, but sufficiently strong to maintain and enforce its regulations against opposition: which, however, in the present condition of society, is scarcely supposable to any great extent, without the assistance of the temporal power. And such appears to be the actual constitution of the Church of England. Its government and discipline originally emanate from higher authority than any human enactments, or the power of Princes; even from the Word of God, and the promises of Christ, and the practice of his Apostles: its Liturgy and its Articles, though of human composition, are yet interpretations of Scripture, by persons to whom was committed the Ministry of the Word: and the Rubrics, which it has framed to preserve a decency and propriety of worship, and the Canons, by which it has provided for its Government, are the results of Piety and Experience applied to these particular subjects: the part which the State has taken in these proceedings, has been only to adopt and to sanction them, and to secure to the Clergy, who teach in conformity with such principles, the emoluments, which a Christian State will appropriate to the maintenance of the Gospel, together with certain immunities and honours, to uphold them in the eyes of the world. If this statement, then, be just, nothing can be more unfounded than any prejudice against the Order and Discipline of our Church, as tending to interfere with a salutary zeal; I mean, supposing such prejudice to subsist among any of its members. With respect to others, the case is more intelligible, though it hardly deserves our notice: it is natural for those who have no idea of Sacred Truth beyond the narrow views of the sect or party with which they happen to be connected, to cherish a hope, that if the established interpretation of Scripture were divested of authority, and Order and System could be brought into disrepute, their opinions would meet with less opposition: but with such we have at present no concern. For us it is sufficient to be convinced, that all the undoubted Verities of Scripture are maintained and inculcated by our Church; that it furnishes the most ample means of grace, and well founded hopes of glory; that its rites are primitive, and decent, and edifying; and that it imposes no restraints on zeal, but such as are necessary to Order and Peace, and to the maintenance of that Establishment, under which the purposes of genuine piety are most easily attainable: and if any occasional inconvenience seem to result from the operation of the rules which it has prescribed, it will be right to consider, though I cannot imagine a case, in which the inconvenience can be shown, that in this, as in other in stances, particular must give way to general good. But in considering the unreasonableness of the prejudices against Ecclesiastical Discipline, it were unjust to rest its defence upon abstract principles, or even upon the Constitution of the Church of England. The primitive Church, if we may rely upon the records of its earliest proceedings, was not more remarkable for the zeal and intrepidity of its Preachers, than for their strict conformity to Order, and their care to inculcate respect for discipline on the minds of their converts. To imagine that the first Christians bore any resemblance to the wild fanatics, who act as if it were a mark of piety to "despise dominion and to speak evil of dignities," would indicate an utter ignorance of the history of our Religion. It is well known, that the Order and Discipline, the foundation of which had been laid by the Apostles, was a subject of unremitted at * Jude 8. tention in their immediate successors. Not only is this apparent from the writings of the Apostolical Fathers, but still more so, if possible, from the history of the early Councils, and the care to provide for every emergency in the government of the rising Church. Many of the Canons decreed at these Councils refer to Doctrine, and scarcely fewer to Discipline and though it is admitted, that the work which has come down to us, under the name of "Apostolical Constitutions," did not actually proceed from the Apostles, it has been shown to be of an antiquity little posterior to the Apostolic age, and in the judgment of Bishop Beveridge, has merited the appellation of the "Code of the Primitive Church."* The truth appears to be, that the zeal of the early Christians went hand in hand with order and submission to authority; and whatever may be alleged of the influence and splendour, which the Church acquired by the conversion of Constantine, it is certain that the jurisdiction of the Hierarchy had been fully recognized from the earliest times; and that the great body of Christians evinced a conscientious obedience to Laws enforced under no other penalty than that of Spiritual Excommunication, and deriving no support from the State. It is difficult, however, to speak or to think on the present subject, in this quarter of the Globe, without connecting it in some degree with the possible extension of the Gospel. We are aware, indeed, that this is a topic, from the mere mention of which some persons shrink with alarm: and unquestionably, if we could be supposed to cherish the thought of propagating Religion by force, not only ought the subject to be proscribed by common consent, but the idea should be rejected with horror. We bless God, however, that persecution on account of Religion is alike abhorrent from the Faith of Protestants and the temper of the times: the only armour of an offensive kind in the Christian panoply is "the sword of the Spirit, Vide Cotelerii Patres Apostolicos. which is the word of God."* But if, in the general dissemination of knowledge, the excellence of Christianity should be more fully displayed ;-if a faithful and affectionate exhibition of the Truth, as it is in Christ Jesus, should impress the minds of some, who cannot discover either the grounds of their present Faith, or the reasonableness of their Worship ;-or if a strict attention to divine ordinances and to Christian duties among ourselves should produce the effects, which so abundantly followed it in the early stages of the Gospel, and should bring in willing converts to Christ, I know not that " any man can forbid water, that these should not be baptized." And the prophetic Word. enjoins us to look to such an event, though it has not defined the precise mode or the time of its accomplishment. In this view, then, the Church in India may be only in its infant state: it may be destined to receive gradual yet continual accessions of strength; and it may ultimately, in the unseen methods of Providence, be made the means of dispensing knowledge and consolation to the descendants of millions, who are yet without its pale: "The kingdom of God," as we are assured, "cometh not with observation" or "outward show." With reference, therefore, to such a consummation, however remote, the attention will be naturally directed to the Church Establishment, as the centre from which the whole body of Converts must derive its unity and consistency. In every supposable state of society, except in a temporary coalition of adverse and discordant prejudices, where the object is politi cal power, the Religion which is established by authority, will maintain its just preponderance: and that preponderance, in the present case, while it will be seen to be in favour of a Discipline derived from the primitive ages, and having therefore the sanc tion of antiquity, would also be found to be most congenial with the habits and the character of the people. It |