THE unity and antiquity of Romanism have, by its partisans, been often contrasted with the diversity and novelty of Protestantism. These topics supply the votary of Papal superstition with fond occasions of exultation, triumph and bravado. Romanism, according to its friends, is unchangeable as truth, and old as Christianity. Protestantism, according to its enemies, is fluctuating as falsehood, and modern as the Reformation. The Bishop of Meaux has detailed the pretended "Variations of Protestantism," and collected, with invidious industry, all its real or imaginary alterations. The religion of the Reformation, in the statements of this author, is characterized by mutability. Protestantism, in his account, separated, in its infancy, into jarring systems, and appeared, in the nations of its * A work in which the subjects noticed in this article are discussed with great ability and learning, was published in London, in 1844, under the title of "The Harmony of Protestant Confessions; Exhibiting the Faith of the Churches of Christ, Reformed after the Pure and Holy Doctrine of the Gospel, throughout Europe. Translated from the Latin, by Rev. Peter Hall, A.M."-Editor. VOL. I.-21 nativity, in many diversified forms. But this discordancy, it will be found, is the offspring of misrepresentation. The Reformers, in their doctrinal sentiments, exhibited a wonderful agreement. Their unanimity, indeed, was amazing; and showed, that these distinguished theologians, renouncing the vain commandments of men, and the muddy streams of tradition, had all imbibed the same spirit, and drunk from the same fountain. The doctrinal unity of the Reformed appears from their Confessions of Faith.. These were published at the commencement of the Reformation; and all, in different phraseology, contain, in the main, the same truths. Twelve of these public expositions of belief were issued in the several European nations. These were the Augsburg, Tetrapolitan, Polish, Saxon, Bohemian, Wittemberg, Palatine, Helvetian, French, Dutch, English and Scottish confessions. All these are printed, in Latin, in Chouet's Collection; and have been abridged and criticised by Sleidan, Seckendorf, Brandt, Bossuet, Maimbourg, Moreri and Du Pin, according to their diversified prepossession and designs. The Augsburg or Augustan Confession is the production of Melancthon, and was reviewed and approved by Luther. The Elector of Saxony, attended by a few of the German princes, presented it in 1530 to the Emperor of Germany at the Diet of Augsburg. This confessional manifesto, which was read in the Augustan Congress, received its name from the place of its presentation; and became the standard of Lutheranism, through Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The work has been criticised with the pen of prejudice by Maimbourg, and abridged with impartiality by Seckendorf, Sleidan, Paolo, Moreri and Du Pin.* The Tetrapolitan, like the Augustan Confession, was, in 1530, presented to his imperial majesty, at the Diet of Augsburg, by a deputation from Strasbourg, Constance, Memmingen and Lindau. The ambassadors, on this occasion, represented these four cities, and, from this circumstance, this public document took its appellation. This compendium was compiled by Bucer and Capito, and approved by the Senate of Strasbourg. The compilation has been epitomized, with his usual fairness, by Du Pin, from whom it extorted a flattering eulogy. This writ ing, says the Sorbonnist, is composed with much subtlety and address. Every article is supported by Scriptural authority, and expressed in a manner calculated to impose on the reader.† The Bohemian, the Saxon, the Wittemberg, the Polish and the Palatine, soon followed the Augustan Confession. The Bohemian or Waldensian Formulary was compiled from older records, and presented, in 1535, to the Emperor Ferdinand, by the nobility of Bohemia. The Saxon, in 1551, was issued in the Synod of Wittemberg, approved by the Protestant clergy of Saxony, Misnia, and Pomerania, sanctioned by the Princess of Brandenburg and Mansfelt, and presented, the same year, to the Council of Trent. The Wittemberg, composed by Brent, was published in 1552. The Po Mez. 4. 566. Chouet, 3. Boss. 1. 98. Sleid. 1. 284. Secken. 152. Paolo, 1. 89. Du Pin, 3. 207. Morery, 2. 561. Chouet, 215. Du Pin, 3. 207. 209. Boss. 1. 98. Sleid. 1. 285. Secken. 198. lish was formed in the General Synod of Sendomir, in 1570, and recognized through Poland, Lithuania and Samogitia. Frederic the Third, the Elector Palatine, in 1576, issued a Formulary, in which he conveyed an exposition of his own faith.* The Helvetian Confession was issued in 1536, at Basil, in a convention of the Reformed Ministry and Magistracy of Switzerland, and received, with common consent, through the cantons of the nation. This form of belief was afterwards signed by a second assembly, held the same year in the same city. This, enlarged and improved, was again published in 1566, and extorted an unwilling eulogy even from the Bishop of Meaux. The Swiss Confession, according to this author, excels all other compendiums of the same kind which he had seen in plainness and precision. The theologians of Basil, therefore, on this memorable occasion, not only promulgated their creed, but, wonderful to tell, made even Bossuet once at least in his life tell the truth.† The confessions of France, Holland, England and Scotland soon followed that of Switzerland. The French Formulary was drawn up in a national synod at Paris in 1559. Beza, in 1561, presented it to Charles the Ninth, in the colloquy of Poissy. This public document was confirmed in the national council of Rochelle, and signed by the Queen of Navarre, by her son Henry the Fourth, by Conde, Nassau, Coligny, and the synod, and recognized by the reformed of the French nation. Chouet has given it in Latin, and Laval in French. The Dutch or Belgic, written in French in 1561, and in Dutch and Latin in 1581, was confirmed in a national synod in 1579. The English was edited in the Synod of London in 1562, and printed by the authority of the queen in 1571. This form of belief, published for the purpose of removing dissension and promoting har * Chouet, 4. 140. 201. Alex. 17.405. Bossuet, 1.410. Du Pin, 3. 659. Moreri, 2. 562. Chouet, 3, 4. Du Pin, 3. 219.656. Boss. 1. 110. and 2. 61. Moreri, 2.562. mony, was approved by the dignified and inferior clergy and subscribed by her majesty Queen Elizabeth. The Formula is faithfully abridged by Du Pin. Several confessions appeared in Scotland in different times. Knox, in 1560, composed one, which was ratified by Parliament. This, however, and others, were only provisional and temporary, and sunk into neglect on the appearance of the Formulary compiled at Westminster, which, in 1649 and 1690, was ratified by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh, and afterwards avowed by the people.* The approbation of each confession was not limited to the nation, for which, in a particular manner, it was intended. The reformed of the several European kingdoms evinced their mutual concord and communion, by a reciprocal subscription to these forms of faith. The Saxon creed was approved by the reformed of Strasbourg and Poland: and the Bohemian or Waldensian by Luther, Melancthon, Bucer; by the academy of Wittemberg, by the Lutherans, and Zuinglians, and indeed by all the friends of Protestant ism. The Polish was recommended by the Waldensians and Lutherans. The Dutch was subscribed by the French National Synod of Figeac; and the French by the reformed of the Netherlands. The Swiss, united to each other in mind and communion, declared themselves undivided from the reformed of other nations of Christendom; and their confession was signed by the Protestants of Germany, Hungary, Poland, France, Belgium, England and Scotland. These confessional systems comprised all the topics of theology. Faith and morality were discussed with precision and perspicuity. God, the Trinity, predestination, creation, providence, sin, duty, redemption, regeneration, justifica tion, adoption, sanctification, baptism, communion, death, resurrection, and immortality, all these subjects and many others were comprehended in these publications. The truth and duty of religion Chouet, 4. 99. 125. Laval, 1. 117. Du Pin, 3. 656.661. Aymon, 1. 145. 300.98-111. Thuan,2.54. Moreri, 2. 562. † Alex. 17. 406. Chouet, 3, 4. 12. Du Pin, 3. 253. Boss. 1. XV. Aymon, 1. 145. 157. 300. were, in these concise expositions, explained in a clear and satisfactory man ner. These doctrinal compilations represented the theology of a vast population. Protestantism pervaded Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, Poland, Germany, Transylvania, Hungary, Switzerland, France, Holland, England, Ireland and Scotland: and visited the continents of Asia, Africa and America. The extensive territory, in this manner, from the Atlantic to the Euxine, and from the Icy Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, witnessed the light of the Reformation, which, propagated at succeeding times by missionary zeal, reached the African and Asian continents, and, crossing the interposing ocean, illuminated the transatlantic shores in a world unknown to the ancients. The harmony of these declarations of belief is truly surprising, and constitutes an extraordinary event in the history of man. The annals of religion and philosophy supply no other example of such agreement. The several nations, let it be recollected, acted, on these occasions, in an independent manner, without concert or collusion. 'The one had no power or authority to control the other. The clergy and laity, besides, were numerous and scattered over a wide territory. The transaction, in its whole progress, manifested the finger of Heaven and the overruling providence of God. reformed, indeed, had the one common standard of revelation. Directed by this criterion, the early patrons of Protestantism formed their faith, which, except on one point, to evidence human weakness, exhibited a perfect unanimity. Zuinglian and Lutheran confessions, says Paolo, differed, in reality, only on the sacrament. All these comprehensive abridgments showed, in varied diction, an astonishing unity, in the main, on all doctrinal questions, though they might differ on discipline and ceremony. The The The absurdity of consubstantiation, indeed, for some time, deformed Lutheranism. This opinion the Saxon reformer, during his whole life, retained with * Paolo, 1. 81. obstinacy. His pertinacity, on this subject, kindled the sacramentarian controversy, which awakened a series of noisy, useless disputations. These discussions afforded Bossuet a subject of empty triumph. Had it not been for this topic, on which he has rung every possible change, and which constitutes a great part of his "variations," the good bishop would often have been at a woful loss. Luther's hostility to Zuinglianism, however, has been often much overrated. This appears from the conference between the Lutherans and Zuinglians at Marpurg in 1529. Luther appeared, on this occasion, accompanied by Melancthon, Jonas, Osiander, Brent and Agricola; and Zuinglius by Bucer, Oecolompadius and Hædio. Many other persons of merit and erudition attended. The Lutherans and Zuinglians both agreed in the belief of a real presence in the sacrament; but differed whether this presence was corporeal or spiritual. Mutual good will and friendly feeling, how ever, prevailed, especially on the part of the Zuinglians. This is admitted by Maimbourg, Du Pin, Paolo and Luther. The Zuinglians, according to Maimbourg, Du Pin, Sleidan and Seckendorf, begged, with the most earnest entreaty, that a schism should not be continued on account of one question. The Zuinglians, according to Luther, were mild and conciliating even beyond expectation. An accommodation, said the reformer, is not hopeless; and though a fraternal and formal union is not effected, there exists a peaceful and amiable concord.* All agreed to exercise Christian charity, till God should supply additional light on the subject of disputation and direct to the means of establishing unanimity. The conference, besides, were unanimous on all other points of divinity. All, say Du Pin and Paolo, were agreed on all topics but the communion. A confession was issued on the subjects of the Trinity, the incarnation, faith, baptism, justification, sanctification, tradition, original sin, vicarious righteousness, good works, the civil magistracy, and future * Seckendorf, 1. 136. 138. † Paolo, 1. 82. Du Pin, 3. 205.-Sleidan, VI. judgment, and subscribed with the ut most harmony by Luther, Zuinglius and the other theologians. The Zuinglian communion never accounted the Lutheran peculiarity a sufficient reason for schism or disaffection. This they professed on many occasions. The French Reformed, in the National Synod of Charenton, acknowledged, in express terms, the purity of the Lutheran faith and worship. This assembly, in 1631, declared, says Aymon, the Lutheran communion sound in the fundamentals of religion, and free from superstition and idolatry. A meeting of the two denominations, in 1661, at Cassel, professed their reciprocal esteem; and, though a formal union was not constituted, expressed their mutual willingness for cooperation and cordiality. The Lutherans and Calvinists of Hungary, Transylvania and Poland, in 1570, in the Synod of Sendomir, acknowledged the orthodoxy of each other's faith, and formed a treaty of friendship and unity.* The mutual friendship entertained by the reformed of Germany, France and Switzerland, terminated among those of Hungary, Transylvania and Poland, in a formal ecclesiastical union. This was gloriously effected at Sendomir in 1570. A synod of Hungarian, Transylvanian and Polish Calvinists and Lutherans met at that city, acknowledged the conformity of their mutual faith to truth and revelation, formed themselves into one body, and resolved on reciprocal co-operation against the partizans of Romanism and sectarianism. Agreed in doctrine, the synod, in the genuine spirit of religious liberty, left each church to the enjoyment of its own discipline and forms. This noble and happy compact was confirmed in the synod of Posen held in the same year; and in those of Cracow, Petrocow and Breslaw in 1573, 1578, and 1583. Two branches of the reformed, who had differed in one non-essential, concurred, in this manner, to form one ecclesiastical communion, and to bury in eternal oblivion, all the conflicting elements of faction and animosity.† * Aymon, 2. 501. Du Pin, 3. 699. † Thuan. 2. 778. The formal junction, which bigotry had prevented, was, in 1817, effected through Prussia and Germany. The Calvinists modified the severity of predestination, and the Lutherans renounced the absurdity of consubstantiation; and both denominations, after a candid explanation, could see no remaining ground of schism. The two, in consequence, united into one body. Lutheranism and Calvinism through the Prussian and German dominions were amalgamated, and both distinctions resolved into one. The two have formed one ecclesiastical community, and are called Evangelical Christians. The King of Prussia, on the occasion, showed great activity in promoting the compilation of a liturgy, calculated to gratify the community and afford universal satisfaction. The professors of Lutheranism and Calvinism, in this manner, harmonized, and one burst of benevolence and liberality extinguished the disaffection of three hundred years. The Bishop of Meaux has taken occasion, from these mutations, to triumph over Protestantism. But he ought to have known the changes of Romanism on this topic, and have feared to provoke retaliation. The friends of Popery have entertained diversified opinions on transubstantiation, which they have not accounted as essential in their system. A few instances of these fluctuations may be adduced. Gregory, Pius, Du Pin, and the Sorbonne, rejected, or willing to modify their darling doctrine of transubstantation. were Gregory the Seventh, presiding in 1078 with all his infallibility, in a Roman synod of one hundred and fifty bishops, prescribed a form of belief on this question, which rejected, or, at least, did not mention the corporeal presence. He allowed Berengarius to profess, that the bread of the altar, after consecration, was the true body, and the wine the true blood of our Lord.* Transubstantiation and the corporeal presence are here excluded. Any Protestant would sign the declaration. The Zuinglians, at the conference of Marpurg, admitted the * Cossart, 2. 28. Mabillon, 5. 125. presence of the true body and blood of Jesus in the sacrament, and their reception by those who approach the communion.* The same is taught in the Reformed Confessions of Switzerland, France, Strasbourg, Holland and England. Those of Switzerland and France call the sacramental bread and wine his body and blood, which feed and strengthen the communicant. Those of Strasbourg, Holland and England represent the consecrated elements as his true body and blood, which are present in the institution and become our nourishment.‡ The doctrinal exposition of Pope Gregory and the Roman council would have satisfied any of the reformed denominations. All these admitted all that was enjoined by the Holy, Roman, Apostolic Synod, headed by his infallibility. billon acknowledges the Berengarian creed's ambiguity and insufficiency.§ The contemporary patrons of the corporeal presence held the same opinion as Mabillon, and insisted on the substitution of an unequivocal and explicit confession, and the insertion of the epithet "substantial." This, accordingly, was effected next year. A new creed was issued, acknowledging a substantial change in the sacramental elements after consecration. Ma |