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for which the professor contend. The Doctors has recourse to the etymology of the word Taponia. And the exposition given of it by Stephanus is, as he thinks, "exactly suited to the hypothesis." But with this difference only, that as the object in view is to ascertain the meaning of the word in question, at the period of which the doctor was speaking, the signification of it ought to have been traced from that period: in which case, as Mr. Daubeney rightly observes, it would have been found that the original meaning of the word, and Stephanus's exposition of it, differed so widely from each other, as to militate against, rather than support, the conclusion which the doctor has drawn from it. It is, indeed, absurd "to suppose, that the application of the word naponia to a primitive bishop's charge, had any respect to the language now in use among us of this nation." Our author refers to the sense put upon it in holy Scripture: "St. Luke uses the word in his Gospel for a stranger. 'Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem.'—Ev μovos maponais, &c.-St. Paul uses the word in the same sense. Eph. ii. 19. 'You are no longer strangers and foreigners, &c. wapoinoi; in which passage the words strangers and foreigners are used in opposition to fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God."-From whence it appears, that the word waponia must have suggested to the minds of the primitive Christians, an idea very different from that which Dr. Campbell, on the authority of Stephanus, has annexed to it.

"If from the touchstone of Sacred Writ, we proceed to try the word in question by that of the primitive writers of the church, the word waponia, both in Greek and Latin writers, for several ages, is to be met with, denoting a diocese of many parishes and congregations in it: which plainly proves that the narrow notion which modern usage has affixed to the English word Parish, did not originally belong to it. For the establishment of this point one or two instances may be sufficient. St. Jerome *, translating an epistle of Epiphanius, to John Bishop of Jerusalem, expresses both their large dioceses by the word Parochia only. St. Augustin*, in his Epistle to Pope Cœlestin, tells him, that the town of Fussala, forty miles distant from Hippo, with the country round about it, did, before his time, belong to the Parachia of his church of Hippo. And our own countryman, the venerable Bede, calls the diocese of Winchester by the same name, even when the whole province of the South Saxons did belong to it. 'Provincia Australium Saxonum ad Civitatis Ventana Parochiam pertinebat." Bede, Eccl. Hist. 1. v. c. 19.

From the testimony borne to this word by the primitive writers

of

Epiphan. Epist. ad Joannem Hyerosol. inter opera Hyeron. Vol. ii. Tom. 3. Fol. 71. † August. Opera a Theol. Lovan. Edit. Colon. Agrip. 1616. Tom. ii. p. 325.

of the church, we pass on to its signification in the original language from which it is taken.

"On appeal to the inquisitive Snicer, we find the word waponew rendered by the Latin, advena or peregrinus sum; in conformity with the meaning annexed to it by the inspired penmen, as above remarked; and the word xalos opposed to it; which (he says) according to antient glosses, signifies to dwell, or have an habitation in any place: which interpretation of the word, in direct opposition to the meaning annexed to it on this occasion by the learned professor, Snicer has confirmed by the authority of Philo Judæus, Basil, and Theodoret.

With an appearance of candour, the professor indeed tells his pupils, that he would not have it imagined that "he laid too great a stress on the import of words, whose significations, in time, come insensibly to alter," p. 206. At the same time he does the very thing which he would not be thought to do; for in almost the next sentence, without taking the least notice of the alteration that the insensible lapse of time has introduced into the use of the original word in question, he proceeds to determine the judgement of his pupils on this subject, by informing them, in decided language, that the word "aponia can be applied no otherwise, when it relates to place, than the word Parish is with us at this day," p. 207.

We are mistaken if the professor be not again completely foiled, and we advise these divines of the Kirk of Scotland, who admire the work of their champion for presbyterianism, to read with attention the following observations, as they are closely connected with such as have already been stated:

"The conclusion drawn by the professor from the expression Em To aulo is, that the whole flock, with their bishop, assembled together in the same place; consequently that there could be but one congregation in one city. This, the professor observes, is evident from the writings of Justin Martyr, of Irenæus, of Tertullian, of Cyprian, and several others.

Admitting that the expression in question was meant to convey the precise meaning annexed to it on this occasion, the professor's foundation, so far as this expression is concerned, appears to stand firm. But to disprove this point, it will be sufficient to examine the authority only of one of the writers to whom the appeal is here made.

Justin Martyr, for instance, makes use of the expression in his apology to the heathen emperor for the then persecuted Christians. For brevity's sake (the professor says) he does not produce the passage at length.'-But the passage must strike the reader as too short in itself to require an abbreviation. It will be more for the credit of the professor's character, therefore, to suppose him implicitly adopting the obscrvation heretofore made

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by the Enquirer into the "Constitution of the Primitive Church' on this passage; because that author's conclusion from it was built on a similar mutilation of the Martyr's text, than to suppose the professor arguing from an appeal to the writings themselves: because such appeal, to a person of Dr. Campbell's judgement, must have determined the passage to be totally inapplicable to the point it is brought to prove.

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"The apologist was writing to the heathen emperor in vindication of the persecuted Christians throughout the Roman empire; and towards the close of his apology he sets forth the general method they adopted in the performance of their religious service. His apology being general for the whole body of Christians every where dispersed throughout the empire; the practice which he described must consequently have the same general application. His description was contained in the following words: walw καλα πολεις η αγρες μενονίων επί το αυτό συνελευσις γινεται. ΑΠ throughout cities and countries assemble together in one place; admitting such to be the proper translation of the passage. These words, in the sense of the apologist, undeniably contained a description of the Christian practice throughout the Roman empire: that on Sundays, all Christians, both in cities and countries, assembled together for the purpose of public worship; a description, which equally applies to the practice of the Christian church at this time in this country. But if these words prove any thing to the establishment of the position the professor lays down, namely, that the whole flock assembled together with their bishop and presbyters in the same place; from which premises, the conclusion is meant to be drawn, that a bishop's charge did not originally extend beyond a single congregation: they certainly prove too much; for in such case they prove, that all the Christians, dispersed throughout the wide extent of the Roman empire, assembled together in one place on days of public worship, and made but one congregation. To put the glaring absurdity of such a conclusion out of sight, the Enquirer into the Constitution of the Primitive Church has prudently omitted the words πανίων καλα πολεις η aypas pevovi, which determine the application of the passage to the general practice of Christians throughout the Roman empire; with the view of accommodating it to the particular case he had to establish, relative to the confined nature of the bishop's charge; thereby affixing a sense to the words of the apologist, totally dif ferent from that which the apologist himself designed them to convey. And in this notorious misrepresentation of Justin Martyr's meaning, Professor Campbell appears to have followed the enquirer's example.

"But the professor should moreover have known, that the propriety of the translation, on which his argument in this case is built, is at least of a very questionable kind,

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"The learned Grotius translates this same phrase, ETI To aulo, Acts iii. 1.-' circa idem tempus, about the same time." Beza's Paraphrase on the same phrase occurring in Acts ii. 44. is this : The common assemblies of the church, with their mutual agreement in the same doctrine, and the great unanimity of their hearts were signified by it.'-' All that believed, (says Dr. Wells in his Paraphrase on the same passage,) were wont to assemble together in the several places where they lived, to perform divine worship." "In the Greek translation of Ps. xxxiv. 3. what the Septuagint render επί το αυτο, Aquila translates Ομοθυμαδόν, that is, with one mind and one heart.' The same phrase is to be met with again in Acts iv. 26, where it is said of the kings of the earth and of the rulers, that they were gathered together; av ETI το αυτο. But the word συνηχθησαν justifies the above translation, without the addition of επι το αυτο. By the addition therefore of that phrase, in this place, may be understood, that they were met together, not in the same place, but with the same mind, or for the same purpose. The whole passage then taken together wouldhave been more fully and significantly rendered thus:-'The kings of the earth and the rulers conspired together;' &c.—for it is not to be supposed, that the kings of the earth and the rulers, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were met together in one assembly on this occasion. Nor can this phrase, in the use Justin Martyr made of it, as it has been above observed, be understood in the sense annexed to it by the professor, without a similar absurdity of bringing all Christians throughout the cities and countries of the Roman empire together on holy days, for the purpose of public worship."

The professor quoted with confidence the language of Ignatius to the Philadelphians : " Εν θυσιαστήριον, ως εις Επίσκοπος.”There is but one altar, as there is but one bishop-to "evince, as he says, beyond all possible doubt, (modesty enough surely,) that the bishop's cure was originally confined to a single church or congregation.'

But we are apt to think, "beyond all possible doubt," that this was not the case, and that notwithstanding the professor's interpretation of the phrase EmToaulo, the reverse of what he states will be found to be true.

"The idea annexed to Ignatius's words, Ev Juolaσrypiov, &c. by the professor, is, that as there can be in one diocese but one individual bishop, there can be in one diocese but one individual altar.' &c. page 212. Hence from the expressions to be found in the primitive writings of one prayer, and one supplication; and the supposed personal superintendance of the bishop over his whole flock, together with his personal administration of all the offices of religion, the professor proceeds to the conclusion, that it is not possible to conceive otherwise of the bishop, during the period

of

of which he is speaking, (namely the second and third centuries) than of the pastor of a single parish, p. 214.

"If this idea of the episcopal office be so necessarily connected with it, that it is not possible that any other should be entertained on this subject, than what the professor here delivers to the world; it may be asked, how it is to be accounted for, that such idea should have had no existence in the human mind during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian æra; particularly, that during the three first centuries of the Christian Church, when the language of the primitive writers must have been better understood than they can be at present, in consequence of the practice which furnished a continued comment upon them, no such idea relative to the very confined nature of the episcopal office is any where to be found. And if such idea did not exist during the three first centuries of the church, we shall not be called upon to demonstrate the certainty of its having had no existence in the world, prior to the introduction of the presbyterian model in the sixteenth century."

Again:

"Had the professor wished to enable his pupils to form a decided judgement on the actual state of the primitive church, the Bible would have furnished him with authentic testimony on the subject; and it seems somewhat singular that a professor, reading lectures on ecclesiastical history, should unnecessarily lead his pu pils into the field of imaginary conjecture, or should prefer the authority of Bingham and Tillemond, whose testimony at best does not bear directly on the point in question, to that of St. Luke. But when the reader shall have placed St. Luke's testimony before him, he may perhaps be at no loss for the reason of its having been passed over in silence.

"The Church of Jerusalem was the first founded by the Apostles, in conformity with the express direction of our Saviour before he left the world, Luke xxiv. 47.-Of this church, according to the testimony of Hegesipus and other early writers, St. James was appointed bishop by the Apostles themselves. The number of disciples. first assembled together at Jerusalem, (mentioned in Acts i. 15.) amounted to one hundred and twenty. To these were soon added three thousand souls, Acts ii. 41.-And to this number we read (v. 47.) the Lord daily added.' Proceeding with the history of the Mother Church, we find, Acts iv. 4. the number of its members increased to five thousand. And believers, both of men and women, were still adding to the church, Acts v. 14. Still the word of God (we read, Acts vi. 7.) increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; insomuch, that in a few years we find, on St. Paul's return from his commission to the Gentiles, these thousands of converted Jews were described by the multiplied nuinber of myriads.

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