Providence to shed upon those states, whose governments have placed their confidence and their hope in it alone, having acquired the thorough conviction, that it is necessary for ensuring their continuance, that the several powers, in their mutual relations, adopt the sublime truths which are pointed out to us by the eternal religion of the SAVIOUR God.— Declare, solemnly, that the present act has no other object than to show, in the face of the universe, their unwavering determination, to adopt, for the only rule of their conduct, both in the administration of their respective states, and in their particular relations with every other government, the precepts of this Holy Religion, the precepts of Justice, of Charity, and of Peace, which, far from being solely applicable to private life, ought, on the contrary, directly to influence the resolutions of Princes, and to guide all their undertakings, as being the only means of giving stability to human institutions, and of remedying their imperfections. Their majesties have, therefore, agreed to the following articles : ARTICLE I. In conformity with the words of the Holy Scriptures, which command all men to regard one another as brethren, the three contracting monarchs, will remain united by the bonds of a true and indissoluble fraternity, and considering each other as co-patriots, they will lend one another, on every occasion, and in every place, assistance, aid, and support; and regarding their subjects and armies, as the fathers of their families, they will govern them in the spirit of fraternity with which they are animated, for the protection of Religion, Peace, and Justice. ARTICLE II. Therefore, the only governing principle between the above mentioned governments and their subjects, shall be that of rendering reciprocal services; of testifying by an unalterable beneficence, the mutual affection with which they ought to be animated; of considering all, as only the members of one christian nation, the three allied princes looking upon themselves, as delegated by Providence to govern three branches of the same family, to wit: Austria, Prussia, and Russia-confessing, likewise, that the christian nation, of which, they and their people form a part, have really no other Sovereign than Him, to whom alone power belongs of right, because in him alone are found, all the treasures of Love, of Science, and of Wisdom; that is to say, GOD, OUR DIVINE SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, the word of the Most High, the word of life. Their majesties, therefore, recommend, with the most tender solicitude, to their people, as the only means of enjoying that peace which springs from a good conscience, and which alone is durable, to fortify themselves every day, more and more, in the principles and exercise of the duties which the Divine Saviour has pointed out to us. ARTICLE III. All powers which wish solemnly to profess the sacred principles which have dictated this act, and who shall acknowledge how important it is to the happiness of nations, too long disturbed, that these truths shall henceforth exercise upon human destinies, all the influence which belongs to them, shall be received with as much readiness as affection, into this holy alliance. Made, tripartite, and signed at Paris, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, on the 14th (26th) of September. FRANCIS, FREDERIC WILLIAM, A true copy of the original. ALEXANDER. St. Petersburg, the day of the birth of our Saviour, the 25th of December, 1815. PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH. At every period of the Christian dispensation, since "God was manifest in the flesh," the Church of the Lord has been subject to persecution. Evil and false principles, operating in the minds of men, have been unceasingly endeavouring to oppose the introduction of "the true light" into the understandings and hearts of God's people. When "God was in Christ," upon earth, "reconciling the world unto himself," he met with constant opposition, and was even pronounced by the self-righteous Jews, "to have a devil, and to be mad." St. Paul, too, for preaching the gospel of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom ་ he said, that in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," was declared to be beside himself. Others, since that day, have suffered like opprobrium, and how can we, who maintain similar opinions, expect to be exempt from the common lot of Christians? It is happy, however, for us who inhabit a land of toleration, that no persecution, of a grievous nature, can be raised against us. The New Church of the Lord, it is true, is daily scoffed at and denounced, but thanks be to the Divine Author of our religion, the weapons of our enemies are imbecile and harmless. Every artful design, to deride and misrepresent our principles, has the effect of exciting inquiry, and a general investigation of our doctrines must strike conviction of their truth, upon the minds of thousands. The opposers of the New Jerusalem dispensation may be ranked under three distinct heads; those who deny revelation, and the sanctity of the holy scriptures; those who reject the divinity of Christ; and those who hold that revelation at the present day, is either impossible or improbable. But what is to be wondered at, is, that our opponents, instead of meeting us upon the fair ground of rational discussion, avoid the contest, and without being acquainted with the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, or with the doctrines taught by him, undertake, without a hearing, to condemn them as the delusions of a visionary imagination. Hence, as the only arms which they are capable of wielding in the unprovoked fight, they resort to the fabrication of falsehoods, and thus attempt to effect their designs, by deceiving the credulous and ignorant, and by imposing upon the simple, relations which are void of foundation and truth. That this declaration is correct, is evident from the common reports of the day. Many honest, well-disposed persons, now in this city and its vicinity, religiously believe that the members of the New Jerusalem Church deny the existence of a God; others, that we reject the holy scriptures, and the divinity of Christ. Some believe that we profess to hold converse with the deadthat we make provision, at our tables, for the spirits of deceased relatives-that in walking the streets, we are sometimes seen bowing to invisible spectres-and that we are guilty, in fine, of what, in the common estimation, as well as our own, must be ranked amongst the grossest absurdities. It is indeed painful for us to descend to the contradiction of such shameless misrepresentations, which, although they have for their object the circulation of injurious impressions as to our faith, in reality establish the ignorance and credulity of those who propagate them; yet we conceive it to be our duty, as far as in our power lies, to remove every obstacle which may be presented to the mind of the truly humble and devout inquirer after truth. In addition to the foregoing machinations, which have been devised to oppose the introduction of the Church, stories have been fabricated, that we refuse to let others see the books which contain the principles of our belief. This representation is equally false with the rest. Thousands of volumes have been published in this city alone, within the last two years, at the expense of a few individuals, for gratuitous distribution, and any person who is desirous of being acquainted with our principles, will be furnished with the means, on application to any member of the society. With such an avowal of our sentiments, we publicly call, in the name of Christian charity, upon all, who by their agency, maliciously or innocently, have given currency to any of the reports which have herein been declared to be unfounded, to remove, as far as they are able, the impressions which a confidence in their veracity may have created, and to avoid, in future, the circulation of fables, which they can no longer believe to be true. ED: CHURCH INTELLIGENCE. Ordination of a Minister. On Tuesday, the 31st of December last, agreeably to the unanimous invitation of the members of "The First New Jerusalem Church in the city of Philadelphia,” Mr. Maskell M. Carll was ❝ ordained a priest and minister of said church, with power, under the authority and at the request of the society, and in the manner and under such restrictions as they may prescribe, to ordain other priests and ministers of the New Jerusalem Church; with power also to conduct public worship, to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, marriages, baptisms, and funerals, and generally to perform all holy rites and divine ordinances of the Church." The ceremony of ordination, which was performed by the Reverend Mr. Hargrove, of Baltimore, will be given at full length, in the second number of the Repository. Consecration of the Temple in Philadelphia. The New Jerusalem Temple, in the city of Philadelphia, situate at the corner of Twelfth and George streets, was consecrated on Wednesday, the 1st of January, 1817, by the Reverend Mr. Hargrove and the Reverend Mr. Carll, in the presence of a large assembly, of whom there were some members of the New Church from different states. Upon this occasion, one female and four male adults, were publicly baptized in the name of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. On the succeeding evening, a sermon was delivered by Mr. Hargrove, to a respectable and crowded audience, and two male adults and two children were baptized. The ceremony of consecration, accompanied by a drawing of the building, will appear in the Repository for April. Notice for a Convention. At a meeting of a number of members of the New Church, from different parts of the United States, held in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, the first of January, 1817, the Rev. Mr. Hargrove in the chair, it was Resolved unanimously, That a convention, of the receivers of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church, throughout the United States, who may find it convenient to attend, be held at the New Jerusalem Temple, in the city of Philadelphia, on Ascension day ensuing, which will be on the 15th day of May, 1817, at 9 o'clock, A. M. for the purpose of consulting upon the general concerns of the church, and that notice thereof be inserted in the first number of the Repository. CONDY RAGUET, Secretary. Election of Society Officers. At the second annual election for officers of "The American Society for disseminating the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church," held on the first of January, 1817, the following gentlemen were unanimously re-elected: JONATHAN W. CONDY, President. WILLIAM SCHLATTER, Vice-President. DANIEL THUUN, Treasurer. WILLIAM KNEASS, Secretary. CONDY RAGUET, Corresponding Secretary. |