Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

and all so many Padres and bullæ dogmaticæ Summorum Pontificum have erred?

1. Neither Luther, who was a holy man, (for marriage is no sin,) nor Henry the Eighth, nor bullæ dogmaticæ Summorum Pontificum, are guides of my faith; the Scripture alone is my guide.

Pere Renard. Is it not an intolerable pride, to think that God will give you alone the Holy Spirit on account of your fervent prayer?

I. Not on account of the fervency of my prayer, but for the sake of the name, and the blood of Christ.

Pere Renard. That cursed spiritus privatus!

I. I have not told you my private opinion, but what the Scripture tells us, and you are an unbeliever if you do not receive it.

[ocr errors]

Pere Renard. I shall now tell you something which you will not be able to answer, for my argument will be invincible, and it is as follows; You Protestants say, that we Catholics may be saved; but we Catholics say, that the Protestants cannot be saved; should you, therefore, not rather cast yourself into the arms of a church, where you. yourself confess that we may be saved, than remain in a church where the way to salvation is dubious?'

I. I know this argument, for it is of the time of Henry the Fourth, king of France; but I confess that I never was able to persuade myself of the force of it; for, First, the Protestants say, a Catholic may be saved, distinguo; a Catholic is saved if he believes in Jesus Christ, concedo; but that the Protestants should say that a Catholic is saved without faith in Christ Jesus, nego. Secondly, The assertion of the Catholic, that a Protestant is condemned if he remain a Protestant, distinguo; without faith in Christ he is condemned, concedo; with faith in Christ he is condemned, nego; and on this very account I cannot perceive in the least, the force of the argument. But I will ask you a question, When two persons do not agree upon a certain point, what is to be done?

Pere Renard. We must take that point for a basis upon which both agree.

I. You believe in Scripture, and I believe in Scripture; let us take the Scriptures before us, and decide the question.

Pere Renard. But there is one judge between us, which is the church: Tell me, why will you not become a Roman Catholic?

I. I cannot believe in the infallibility of the Pope.. Pere Renard (interrupting me). This is not a dogma of the church, I myself do not believe it.

I. Go to Rome, and you will be there considered as temerarius et impius, for the divines at Rome say thus, 'Non temere sed pie creditur infallibilitas papæ in cathedra loquentis.'

Pere Renard. The Propaganda has done this, not the Pope.

1. With the approbation and sanction of the Pope. Pere Renard. What other doctrine induces you not to believe in the Roman Catholic church.

I. The doctrine of the worship of the Virgin Mary, of saints, and of images.

Pere Renard. We do not worship the Virgin Mary; but for more convenience we go to his mother, as the English nation go not immediately to their king, but to his ministers.

I. I must observe, this comparison between an earthly king and the King of kings, is most abominable and impious.

Pere Renard. Omnis comparatio claudicat; but prove it that we worship the Virgin.

I. Salve regina, mater misericordiæ, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve, ad te clamamus exules filii Hevæ, ad te suspiramus, gementes, flentes in hac lacrymarum valle, Eja ergo, advocata nostra, MEDIATRIX nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte, et Jesum benedictum, fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exilium ostende, o cle

mens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria, tuo filio nos reconcilia, tuo filio nos commenda, tuo filio nos representa.' This prayer is to be found in your officio diurno, which you are obliged to pray every day, and to omit which is considered as peccatum mortale; and the title mediatrix is in open contradiction with Scripture, which says, "But one mediator between God and man.'

[ocr errors]

Bishop Giovanni Marone, Vicar-General to the patriarch, Giovanni Stambuli, my Arabic master; and Monsignor Luigi Gandolfi, Apostolic Vicar to his Holiness, Pius the Seventh, and other persons, were present. Bishop Giovanni Marone observed openly, that Rome commands too many things to be believed. Giovanni Stambuli told me likewise, openly, that the truth was on my side; and they observed, that Padre Renardo never answered one text of Scripture.

Went from Padre Renardo to Monsignor Hannah (Giovanni) Marone, he professed clearly to me, that he is delighted with the endeavours of the British and Foreign Bible Society, to promote Scriptural knowledge in the world.

Feb. 6.-Went from thence to the convent of nuns, called Saidat Bshara, where I met with two Melchite priests, who are united with the Romish church; the name of the one is, Anton Dakur Alkalebi, and the name of the other is, Gibrajil Marrash Alkalebi; the first was in possession of the Calcutta edition of the Arabic New Testament, which he received from the late Mr. Burckhardt. He told me he had heard that a new edition was published, which he wished to procure; I promised to send him one. He was so rejoiced, that he desired me to write in his book my direction, that he might write to me if I forgot it. The other joined with him in the desire of obtaining a New Testament in Arabic, or the Bible if he could.

From thence I went to the convent belonging to the Melchites, called Mar Michael, where I called on the patriarch,

(Genadius, or Ignatius,) who is eighty-two years of age, and two years ago lost his sight. He came out of the church guided by another. When they told him that an English traveller was there to call on him, he asked me kindly into his room. I imagined that I saw before me the patriarch Isaac. I asked him, if he was contented; he replied, "Praise be to God; every one is contented, who has God for his Saviour." He is considered the

greatest Arabic scholar in this country.

I went back to Ayun Warga, in company with Giovanni (Hannah) Stambuli. We passed the female Maronite convent Yussuf Alhusm, and after this, the convent Kreim. The grand Prior, Pater Wartanes, was more warmly disposed towards me, and manifested a great desire to establish an Armenian college in England, another in India, and a third at Rome, after the plan of that of Venedig. And the grand Prior, Pater Wartanes, intends, to send the Armenian priest, Padre Isacco di Aharon, who resides in the Armenian church at Leghorn, to England; Pater Bartolomeon, with Frater Gabriele, to India; and Pater Daniele, to Leghorn. I encouraged them in this; but at the same time spoke to them as follows:

My brethren, I know that there are divisions among the Armenians, not only between the Roman Catholic and the Schismatic Armenians, but likewise between Roman Catholic Armenians, and Roman Catholic Armenians. The Armenian members of the Propaganda at Rome persecute the zealous, pious, and gentleman-like Armenians, called Mehitarists, at Venice; and this on account of a word:-they persecute those as heretics, as enemies of Christ, who promote the word of God, the word of Christ, with such a holy zeal. The Mehitarists have established a printing press at Venice, and have already printed, not only many thousand books of several kinds about spiritual concerns, but likewise the word of God itself. Oh, my dear brethren, I could now weep, when

1

I perceive such things among Christians! My dear brethren, let Christianity not become a reproach to the Mussulman, Jew, and heathen. I know that you here are members of the Romish Propaganda; I beg you therefore to reconcile yourselves with the Mehitarists of S. Lazarus at Venice.

Priest Daniele. By God's grace, we shall be reconciled with them, and we shall go hand in hand to promote the light of Christianity throughout the world.

Priest Wartanes. I have great desire to awaken my nation, I hope you will advise us. I told them that I should write letters for them to England.

Pater Ibrahim (Abraham), a Maronite priest, seventyseven years of age, visits me every evening; he tells me that the love he feels towards me is quite a miracle, he never loved any body so much-he wept and said, that love must be of God-and I love him indeed likewise, as a child loves his father. He is sitting down near me, and sings hymns to Christ in the Syrian tongue.

Feb. 7.-I wrote at Ayun Warga, a letter to Bishop Giovanni Marone, and wrote to him my whole plan, with respect to the establishment of a college in Mount Lebanon, and the promoting of the word of God.

Feb. 8.-Read Isaiah to chapter lii. Several Maronite Shechs and priests again argued with me several hours; one of them brought forward very silly questions indeed. Feb. 9.-The arguing with the Maronites was continued.

Luigi Assemanni, pupil of the college at Ayun Warga, agreed with me, and prayed with me in secret.

Feb. 10.-Read the Arabic gospel with priest Hannah Stambuli.

Feb. 11.-I paid twenty-eight piastres to the convent for board, from the 4th of Feb. till the 11th Feb., and thirty piastres to my Arabic master. Dined to-day with the priest Giovanni Stambuli, in the house of Shech Anton Haisan, near Ayun Warga, the Maronite college

« PoprzedniaDalej »