Church was formed at Jerusalem. When Churches were formed afterwards at Samaria, Antioch, and other places, these were not looked upon as entirely separate bodies, but as branches of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. St. Paul says (1 Cor. xii. 13), By one Spirit we are all baptized into one Body; and (Ephes. iv. 4), There is one Body and one Spirit. A Catholic Church means a branch of this one great society, as the Church of England is said to be a Catholic Church; the Catholic Church includes all the Churches in the world under their legitimate bishops. From this may be seen the absurdity of calling the Papists Catholics. The Romanists or Papists belong to a peculiar society, in which errors have been added by a Synod at Trent to the orthodox faith. But when we call them Catholics, we as much as call ourselves heretics, we as much as admit them to be orthodox. And they gladly avail themselves of this admission, on the part of some ignorant Protestants, to hold up an argument against the Church of England. Pacian being asked why Christians were called Catholics, answered, it was to distinguish them from heretics, and added, "Christian is my name, and Catholic my surname."

PROTESTANTS.

The following circumstances gave birth to the name Protestar' now given to such a large body of Christians.

In the year 1529, in a diet of the Princes of the Empire, held at Spires, it was decreed by the majority,-That in those places where the Edict of Worms had been received, it would be lawful for no one to change his religion; that in those places where the new Lutheran religion was exercised, it should be maintained until the meeting of a council, if the ancient, the Popish religion, could not be restored without danger of disturbing the public peace; but that the mass should not be abolished, nor the Papists hindered from the free exercise of their religion, nor any one of them be allowed to embrace Lutheranism; that the Sacramentarians should be banished the empire; that the Anabaptists should be punished with death; and that no preacher should explain the Gospel in any other sense than what was approved by the church. Six Princes of the empire entered their protest against this decree. John, Elector of Saxony; George, Margrave of Brandenburgh; Ernest and Francis, Dukes of Lunenburgh and Brunswick; Philip, Landgrave of Hesse; and Wolfang, Prince of Anhalt.

From this protest the followers of Luther first obtained the name of Protestants, which was afterwards used as a general term to denote all who protest against Popery. The word does not occur in the liturgical formularies of the English Church, and is now popularly used as a term of negation. Protestant is the negative, Catholic the definite name of all orthodox Christians.

LOLLARD.

The term Lollard is derived from a Waldensian pastor, Walter Lollard, who was burnt alive for these doctrines at Cologne in 1322. At the close of the fourteenth century it was given to the followers of Wickliffe.

MAHOMETAN.

The Mahometan religion derives its name from Mahomet of Mecca, who originally was nothing more than a private soldier. He had many enemies even in his native place, from whence he fled in 622 to Arabia. His followers compute their time from this era, which in Arabic is called Hegira, i. e., the Flight. The Koran, commonly called the book of Allah, is a collection of all those various fragments which the prophet, during the time of his apostolic office, successively promulgated as so many revelations from heaven.

METHODISM.

A writer does Mr. Whitfield the honour of being the first author of Methodism, whom he also calls a fellow of Pembroke College, in Oxford. Mr. Whitfield, however, was not concerned in the first institution of Methodism, though he has since made so shining a figure amongst them; for some years before he came to the University, Mr. John Wesley, fellow of Lincoln College, his brother Charles, a student of Christ Church, Mr. Clayton of Brazen Nose, and two or three more young gentlemen, with very laudable intention, agreed to spend two or three evenings together in a week, in reading history or other entertaining books, instead of drinking, which at that time was too much in vogue among the young people of the University. The Sunday evenings they appropriated to religious authors, which soon convinced them of the great neglect of practical religion in that place, as well as in other parts of the kingdom. In consequence of these convictions, they formed themselves into a society, and raised a small fund for charitable uses; to relieve the necessitous, buy medicines for the sick, and to disperse books amongst the ignorant. They agreed also to go occasionally and visit the prisoners in the Castle, who at that time were much neglected; and that they might have the more leisure for these charitable offices, without breaking in too much upon the business of their Colleges, they were obliged to fix stated hours for these employments, and their other religious exercises, to which they were directed by Mr. Nelson's Practice of Devotion. This strict regularity and methodical conduct, after some time acquired them the name of Methodists; though not without allusion probably to an ancient school of physicians of that denomination.

* Historical Review of the Transactions of Europe.

MORAVIANS.

The founder of this religious society was Nicholas Lewes, Count Zinzendorf, a native of Saxony, who died at Chelsea in 1760. The Society was first instituted in Moravia, from whence they derived their appellation. Their principal establishment in England is in the neighbourhood of Bradford, in Yorkshire.

QUAKERS.

The sect denominated Quakers first appeared in the year 1650, in the reign of Charles II.; they were founded by one Fox, who, in 1665, after a series of persecutions, was confined in Scarborough Castle. The year preceding, sixty Quakers were put on board the ship Black Eagle, and exported to America.* Such was the persecution this sect met with in the reign of their "good friend Charles," as they denominated him, as will be seen from the following remarkable address which they presented to James II., on his accession to the throne:-"We are come to testify our sorrow for the death of our good friend Charles, and our joy at thy being made our Governor. We are told thou art not of the Church of England any more than we; and therefore we hope, thou will grant unto us the same liberty which thou allowest thyself."

The derivation of the term Quaker is somewhat obscure; but as the Ranters are thus denominated from their ranting, or boisterous worship, so it may be fairly concluded that Quakers received that appellation from the meekness of theirs; being, during their worship, or supposed to be, in a state of fear and trembling, or in other words, quaking for their offences.

BIBLE AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.

The principal Societies which have for their exclusive object the dispersion of the Scriptures, and the propagation of the Christian religion are the following:

Founded.

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,
Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, -
Moravian Missions,

1698

1701

1709

1731

NICENE CREED.

Manifold were the disputes of the Fathers of the Church, in its earlier days, as to what portion of the Scriptures were, and what were not, the word of God. Contention at last ran so high, that their flocks began to think for themselves, and to hold similar disputations. The holy fathers, however, foreseeing that shepherds would be nothing without flocks, agreed to end their differences, by setting the matter at rest for ever. This Creed was commenced by the Council of Nice, A. D. 325, and completed by the second General Council of Constantinople, A. D. 381, where the heads of the Church had been summoned to meet in Council, in order to settle the knotty question. The result of their labours was, the celebrated Creed, called the Nicene Creed, from the place where the holy disputants had met.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS.

Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, was the originator of Sunday Schools, and spent his life in acts of kindness and compassion; promoting education as a source of happiness to his fellow-beings, and bestowing his exertions and bounty to benefit the helpless. He died 5th April, 1811.

CHARITY SCHOOLS.

Charity Schools were first projected towards the close of the seventeenth century. In 1685, there was one founded at Highgate; and another in Zoar Street, Southwark, in 1687. The oldest school which appears on the list of the Christian Knowledge Society's Reports, is St. Ann's, Westminster, established in 1688; and that known by the name of St. Margaret's Blue-Coat School, was opened on Lady-day of the same year for fifty boys. The first annual collected assemblage of Charity Schools was in 1704, when 2000 children met together in St. Sepulchre's Church, Snow-hill. Afterwards the anniversary took place in St. Bride's, St. Sepulchre's, and Christ Church, Newgate Street. On the 2nd May, 1782, the schools were for the first time assembled in St. Paul's Cathedral, where an amphitheatre was erected under the dome. Dr. Porteus, bishop of London, preached the sermon. Every year since it has continued to excite a more lively interest to behold it; and surely here is something to gratify the heart that can feel, and something for foreigners to gaze at with admiration.

BELL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION.

This national system of education originated with the Rev. Dr. Bell of Madras, from whom it derives its appellation.

LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM.

So called from Joseph Lancaster, one of the Society of Friends. This system differs very little, if any, from the Bell system. The advocates of the latter (Bell) tax the former with piracy; and the former retaliate by saying, that the system, although originating in a measure with Dr. Bell, would have lain dormant if it had not been for Joseph Lancaster.

SPENCEAN SYSTEM.

The Spencean System, so called from one Thomas Spence, a political enthusiast, who devised and published a plan by which the human kind could be provided with sustenance without pauperism. He died October, 1814.

EDICT OF NANTZ.

To reconcile the Protestants to the abjuration of their religion, Henry IV. of France, after his reduction of the league, issued an Edict from Nantz in 1598, tolerating the Protestant religion throughout his kingdom. This was revoked by Louis XÏV., in 1685; by this bad policy, 50,000 French Protestants left France and came to England, and there can be little doubt that their representations of the cruelties perpetrated by the king of France, tended to excite the suspicions of the English against their own Roman Catholic Sovereign, and in some degree accelerated the advent of the Revolution of 1688.

BISHOP'S CROSIER.

"As for augu

Voltaire, in his Philosophical Dictionary, says, ries, they perished with the Roman empire. Only the Bishops have retained the original staff, called the Crosier, which was the distinctive mark of the dignity of augur, so that the symbol of falsehood has become the symbol of truth."

Let not institutions vaunt of the sacredness of their insignia, for time and custom alternately defile and hallow all thingsthat which was emblematical of conclusive foresight from the aspect of the entrails of a brute, is now the rod and guiding staff to immortality.-Tempora omnia mutant.

CHANGING OF THE POPE'S NAME.

The custom of altering the names of the Popes after their election to the Popedom, was first introduced in the case of some Cardinal being elected whose proper name meant swine-snout,* which, by general consent, being deemed unseemly for such a dignity, was changed to Servius the Second.

*See Roman Names.