When, therefore, it is considered how many sources of disagreement existed in their passions and prejudices—in the variety of their tempers, and in the opposition of their interests-it cannot be any matter of surprise that all did not consent to walk in the same path, or that truth was occasionally sacrificed to the ambition of founding a sect." -See Bishop Kay's Ecclesiastical History of the Second and Third Centuries.

The circumstances here alluded to as affecting the conduct as well of the early Reformers, as of the first proselytes to the Gospel, are certainly not now so strong as when the new light either of the Reformation, or of Christianity itself, first shone upon mankind; many of them, however, have never ceased to operate, nor will they as long as man continues to be guided by the impulses of prejudices, interest, vanity, or ambition.

In speaking of these various controversies, and particularly of those of a more recent date, it has been the intention of the writer to set forth in as plain and perspicuous manner as he found it possible, the peculiar tenets and opinions of the respective parties, without in any manner entering into the merits or validity of the grounds or argument on which they are endeavoured to be supported. He has not only been anxious to avoid entering into any controversies himself on any of these points; but when he perceives that there are many, who, after consulting the Scriptures with the greatest sincerity and most humble deference, come to very different conclusions; and particularly that the doubts and disagreements concerning the degree of human corruption, the freedom of the will, the nature of the divine predestination, and the extent of grace, which are still unhappily agitated, yet have not necessarily any essential effect on the morals or piety of men, he is the more readily induced to abstain from entering further into these questions.

At all events, he considers this as consistent in a member of the Church of England, which would exclude from her pale neither the Calvinist nor the Arminian. "I know not," says the late learned

Bishop of St. Asaph, "what should hinder but that the highest superlapsarian Calvinist may be as good a churchman as an Arminian ; and if the Church of England, in her moderation, opens her arms to both, neither can with a very good grace desire that the other should be excluded."

In forming a judgment also of the principles and opinions of those who have been included in the list of heretics, the reader ought always to recollect, that all the accounts and histories we have of these, have come to us, with scarcely any exception, from those to whom they were directly opposed. With those who were steadfast in adhering to the faith and practice of the orthodox church, as it was termed, every one was equally esteemed and branded with the name of heretic, whether he denied any of the essential doctrines of Christianity, or only endeavoured to expose some of the abuses of the age, or to point out a remedy for the evils that were destructive of the discipline of the church. Thus all those in the east who opposed the prevailing corruptions were for a long time stigmatized by the general and ambiguous appellations of Euchitæ and Massaliani; as those in the west were termed Albigences and Waldenses. These men were in fact the forerunners of our reformation, and among them, however ignorant and injudicious the zeal of some of them may appear to have been, there were many who were advocates for a pure and rational profession of Christianity. But those who smarted under their censures, would doubtless make use of every attempt to weaken their credit. This was the constant policy of the church, and it must be admitted, that its opponents, by their indiscretion, often furnished them with ample means to effect their purpose. Nor can it be a matter of wonder that the professors of Christianity in this age of darkness and ignorance, who condemned the abuses of the church, should often have been deficient in knowledge and coolness of judgment to provide a proper remedy for the evils of which they complained; or that they should often have been opposed to each other in their attempts of accomplishing this arduous task.

VOL. I.

с

ENCYCLOPÆDIA ECCLESIASTICA.

ABADDON is the name, according to the Hebrew tongue, given by St. John in the Revelation to the king of the locusts, or the angel of the bottomless pit. In the Greek tongue, says the inspired writer, he is called 'ATλów, the destroyer. Rev. ix. 11. Hence this king, or angel, has been thought by some to denote the evil spirit, or prince of darkness, who from the constant evils he is designing, and bringing about in the world, hath been emphatically termed the Destroyer. Dr. Hammond, however, and others, who have followed him, think that the locusts were intended to represent the zealots, and robbers, who so grievously inflicted the land of Judea before Jerusalem was taken by the Romans; and that Abaddon, the king of the locusts, was John of Gischala, who after he had treacherously left that town, shortly before it was surrendered to Titus, came to Jerusalem, where he headed a part of the zealots, who acknowledged him as their king. Others have considered this term as intended to represent Mahomet, who issued from the cave of Hora ; and Bryant supposes it to be the name of Ophite, or the serpent-deity, formerly worshipped.

ABBA, a Syriac word, signifying, in a literal sense, a father; and hence figuratively a superior, who might be honoured as a father with respect to age, dignity, or affection. Thus, in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, we find this title given to their bishops; and it seems to have been more particularly bestowed upon the Bishop of Alexandria, who was also called Baba, or Papa, that is, grandfather—a title conferred upon him long before it was borne by the Bishop of Rome. That this term was commonly known amongst the primitive Christians appears from its having been used both by St. Mark, and St. Paul. In his prayer to the Deity, previous to his being betrayed by Judas, our Saviour addresses him in the words, " Abba, Father” (Mark, xiv. 36); where the latter seems to be added for the purpose of explaining the meaning of the term, Abba. St. Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, says, "Ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom. viii. 15);

VOL. I.

B

.

that is, as explained by Bishop Hall, whereby we are emboldened to speak to God under the title of a loving father. And to the Galatians the same apostle writes, "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father; wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son." Gal. iv. 6. As if he had said: Witnessing to your spirits that ye are the sons of God, and that he is your father, and thereby enabling you to use the language, not of servants, but of sons. The above is the explanation given of this passage by Doddridge, Whitby, and others, who suppose that St. Paul alluded to a law of the Jews forbidding servants, or slaves, to address their masters by the appellation of Abba, and that the apostle meant to say that those who believed in Christ were no longer slaves to sin, but being brought into a state of holy freedom, might consequently address the Deity as their Father.

ABBA is also a title of honour bestowed by the Jews upon certain Rabbins, called Tanaites; and by some writers of the middle ages is given to the superior of a monastery, usually called an Abbot.

ABBACY, the rights or privileges of an abbot, or abbess.

ABBÉ, by old writers is sometimes used in the same sense with Abbot, the superior of a monastery; but in modern language this term is more generally used to denote certain persons, who having received the tonsure, although not in holy orders, are entitled to the benefit of many privileges of the church. They were very numerous in France prior to the revolution, and were generally employed either in colleges or private families as the instructors of youth. They have lost however all their wonted popularity, there being few indeed, if any, now remaining in that country.

ABBESS, the superior of an abbey, or convent of nuns, having similar rights and authority over them, to those possessed by abbots regular over their monks. Abbots indeed are usually invested with the priesthood, the sacred functions of which an abbess, by reason of her sex, is incapable of performing. In some instances however they have exercised the privilege of appointing a priest to act for them. In one respect abbesses enjoy a privilege of a higher nature than most abbots-that of being exempt from episcopal jurisdiction; there being but few of the latter, who are not subject to the visitation of their diocesans. By the council of Trent it was decreed that an abbess must be at least forty years of age; and that she should receive the veil of prelacy at the age of sixty. She is generally elected from the sisterhood of her own order, and upon her election the bishop of the diocese delivers to her the pastoral staff