1 6

bishops. This we do not deny. The mere fact of a primitive episcopacy we never questioned. And that, very early, presiding presbyters were regularly appointed, to whom the name of bishop came to be more exclusively applied, this we also grant. But all this might be, and yet presbyterianism-which maintains the essential quality of ministers as to order-exist. All this might be, and yet prelacy-which maintains the essential distinction of the three orders of ministers-be unknown. What, then, is it possible for us to know, were the sentiments of St. Patrick on this subject? 'St. Patrick,' says Mr. Stuart, seems to have exercised a kind of patriarchal power in this infant church. He is stated to have ordained three hundred and sixty-five bishops, and three thousand presbyters, and to have founded three hundred and sixty-five churches. It is manifest, that such a multitude of prelates could not have been of the nature of diocesan bishops; and it is probable that one of these dignified ecclesiastics was alloted by him TO EACH CHURCH. It is, indeed, by no means unlikely, that they officiated in their respective churches, at stated times, and occasionally acted as itinerant preachers, diffusing the light of the gospel from district to district, like their great preceptor, Patrick. A populous nation, from which heathenism was not yet effectually banished, required active and intelligent missionaries of this nature. Besides these, the church of Ireland seems to have acknowledged a species of auxiliary bishop, denominated Comorban, Combarbo, or Cobhanus. Some etymologists assert, that this name was synonymous with partner' or 'joint tenant;' and that he who possessed the office acted during the life of the principal ecclesiastic, to whom he was attached as his suffragan and assistant bishop. The bishops of Armagh had various comorbans, many of whose names are recorded in Ware's and in Colgan's elaborate works. It is probable, that many of the three hundred and sixty-five bishops ordained originally by St. Patrick were of the order of comorbans, etc.; at once coadjutors, suffragans, and successors elect to their principals.'

Nothing could be more satisfactory than this proof of the certain presbyterianism of the churches and bishops founded by St. Patrick. For while, as Nennius reports, Patrick himself founded three hundred and sixty-five bishoprics or churches, yet afterwards the number encreased, says Bernard; so that, when Malachias went into Ireland, (nearly six hundred years after Patrick,) A.D. 1150, bishops were so multiplied, that one diocese was not content with one

1 Hist. of Armagh, ut supra, pp. 615, 618.

2 Clarkson's Primit. Episcop. p. 40

S

bishop, but almost every parish church had its bishop.1 Yea, there was not only one bishop in such a little precinct, but more than one; not only in cities, but even in villages, as Lafranc writes to Terlagh, then king in Ireland, in villis vel civitatibus plures ordinantur.3 And their revenue,' adds this learned author, 6 was answerable, since some of them, as Dr. Heylin tells us, had no other than the pasture of two milch beasts.' + This last statement is confirmed by the fact, that, at the council of Nice, the three delegates from Britain were constrained, through their poverty, to accept the public allowance in lodging and food, provided by the emperor. That St. Patrick was not regarded by the ministers in Ireland as having any prelatical authority or office is further demonstrated by this historical report, that when he came among them, he was told by St. İbar, that they never acknowledged the supremacy of a foreigner.'

5

ST. PATRICK, THEREFORE, WAS NOT A PAPIST, that is, A ROMAN CATHOLIC, NOR A PRELATIST, BUT A PRESBYTERIAN AND A PROTESTANT. NEITHER POPERY NOR PRELACY ARE THE RELIGION OF THE ANCIENT IRISH. Ireland is consecrated by the genius of a true, primitive, apostolical presbyterianism. Popery in that country is only six hundred and sixtythree years old, and the despotism of a foreign usurping bishop was then first imposed upon her reluctant and downtrodden children. Alas! how fallen, how degraded, how enslaved are her noble offspring. 'Sons of Ireland!' to reëcho the stirring words of one of her own sons, 'Awake from your fatal sleep! Awake to a sense of your spiritual rights, and liberties! The God of your primitive fathers, who guided, protected, and blessed Ireland during the first twelve centuries, calls on you, and commands you to awake from your fatal sleep! The God of your primitive Christian fathers, who gave poor bleeding Ireland over, in his wrath, for her sins, into the hands of the cruel pope of Rome and Henry II, now calls on you to rouse up! Are not the long and mournful years of your captivity, of your Babylonian captivity, at last come to an end? By the memory of your dear native land-poor, bleeding Ireland! and by the memory of the pure ancient Christian church of your fathers! and by the memory of the unnumbered saints who sleep in the bosom of Ireland, before popery had ever polluted her soil! By all that is solemn, and all that is awful in time, and in eternity, I beseech you, shake off the yoke of popery, and the Roman Catholic despotism, which neither you, nor your fathers, could bear! If you have the

1 Bernard, Vit. Malach. 2 Usher's Disc. on the Relig. of the Anct. Irish, c. viii, Baron. ad an. 1089, n. 16; Ush. Relig. of Irish, c. 8, p. 79. 4 Cosmogr. p. 342. Stillingfl, pp. 47-109 Lond. Prot. Jour. 1832, p. 253, în Dr. Brownlee, p. 13. 6 Lond. Prot, Journ, ibid., p. 199; in ibid., p. 22.

blood of the primitive Irish and Culdees in your veins! If you have the zeal and patriotism of St. Cathaldus, and Cormac, and St. Albe, and St. Dermit, and St. Ibar, and St. Patrick, in your souls; if you have a spark of ancient Irish piety, honour, and patriotism, arise in your strength; break asunder the chains of popery, priestcraft, and despotism, and dash them from you! Down with the ghostly tyranny of the Italian despot! What right has a wretched Roman priest, at Rome, to lord it over Irishmen, and over American citizens? The watchword is-CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERTY FOR EVER! DOWN WITH POPERY, PRIESTCRAft, AND TYRANNY! DOWN WITH ST. PADRAIG ! BLESSED BA THE MEMORY OF ST. PATRICK FOR EVER!'

CHAPTER II.

THE ANTIQUITY OF PRESBYTERY CONTINUED.

I. THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES IN SCOTLAND WERE
PRESBYTERIAN.

6

SCOTLAND was at an early period chosen as the field of missionary effort. Apart from all conjecture, and independently of mere traditionary evidence, we have reason to believe that before the second century had run its round, the religion of the Cross had gained a hold among not a few of the inhabitants of that portion of the isles of the west. Buchanan was led to the opinion that Donald I, who reigned about the beginning of the third century, first received the Christian religion. Spotswood is of the same opinion, saying, the Christian religion was first publicly received A.D. 203.' He adds, yet was not that the first time when Christ was here made known. I verily think that under Domitian's persecutions, some of John's disciples first preached the gospel in this kingdom. . . . Sure not long after the ascension of our Lord, at least when the apostle St. John yet lived, the faith of Christ was known and embraced in divers places of this kingdom.' With this account of a very early proclamation of the gospel in Caledonia, Buchanan concurs. The Scots,' says he, were taught Christianity by the disciples of the apostle John;' and 'many Christians of the Britons, fearing the cruelty of Domitian, took their journey into Scotland; of whom many, famous both in learning and integrity of life, stayed and fixed their habitation therein.' Tertullian declares, that in his day the gospel

3

1 Hist. of Scotland, b. iv, sec. 27, vol. i, p. 191. 2 Alexander Henderson's Review and Consid. p. 392. 3 Hist. of Scotland, lib. iv and v.

had pierced into all parts of the world, and even as far as to Britain, and to those parts of Britain to which the Roman arms and strength had never advanced.1 Tertullian would here seem to allude to that part of Britain which lay beyond the trench or wall erected by the Roman emperors, Hadrian, Antoninus, Pius, and Severus, that is, to Scotland, Roma sagitifferis prætendit mænia Scotis.

Christianity, therefore, was very probably made known and to some extent diffused in Scotland in the second century. It was, however, the ninth persecution under Aurelian, and the tenth under Dioclesian, which brought into Scotland, from divers provinces of the empire, many men of God famous for learning and piety, by which a more general Christianisation of Scotland appears to have been effected.2 The time of our conversion to the faith is, therefore, says bishop Burnet, reckoned to have been A.D. 263. Certain it is, that Christianity was generally professed in Scotland in A.D. 431; since we find Celestine, bishop of Rome, sending Palladius on a spiritual embassy to the Scots believing in Christ,' for that this refers to the Scoti both in Ireland and Caledonia, is made manifest by the fact, that Palladius did visit the former, and died in Scotland at Fordoun in the Mearns.4 St. Patrick, also, who arrived in Ireland about the same period, is believed, upon strong reasons, to have been a native of Scotland, and to have brought his type of Christianity from that country.5 In the year A.D. 563, the celebrated abbey, or rather theological college, was founded in Scotland by Columba at Iona, which continued to flourish for ages as the light of that western world, and to supply with ministers of the gospel both Scotland and England. But of this we shall have occasion to speak fully hereafter.

From the evidence thus adduced, it is incontrovertibly plain, that Scottish Christianity was planted and had grown up to a large and spreading tree ages before the time when Rome claims to have imparted it. Between the Christians of Scotland and the emissaries and adherents of Rome, there continued to be the most uncompromising opposition, both as it regards doctrine and order, for many centuries. Rather than yield to the Romish corruptions many of these men of God abandoned their property and their homes, and became exiles for conscience' sake. In the seventh century Clement and Samson sharply rebuked a Romish emissary of the name of Boniface, declaring, 'that he and his associates

1 Lib. contr. Ind. 'et Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo vere subdita.' 2 Causa Episcopatus Hierarch. Lucifuga. Edin. 1706, pp. 96, 97. 3 Vind. of the Ch. of Scotland, app. p. 33. See also Vidal's Mosheim, vol. iii, p. 6. 4 Jameson's Hist, Culd. p. 9. 5 Hetherington's Hist. Ch. of Scotland, pp. 8, 9,

made it their only work and design to seduce the people of God from their obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, and draw them to the servitude of the bishop of Rome.'1 In the eighth century Alcuinus, Rabanus Maurus, Johannes Scotus, and Claudius Clemens did also detect and rebuke the growing corruptions of the Romish hierarchy. The churches of Scotland and Ireland were protestant ten centuries before the reformation, and accorded, in all doctrinal points, with the churches of the reformation.3

2

The form of church government and polity adopted by the primitive church in Scotland was presbyterian. This follows from the oriental origin to which it has been distinctly traced, for the same reasons as authenticate the eastern source of British and of Irish Christianity.+ Boethius asserts, that the first government of our church was after the method, and conformable to the example, of the church of Alexandria,' 5 which we have already seen was most essentially presbyterian. Indeed, it would appear to have been the chief design with which Palladius was sent to Scotland, that he might introduce a prelatical form of government among the Scottish and Irish Christians, since it is scarcely possible that the Pelegian heresy could have made any extensive progress in these countries at that time. He is expressly denominated their first bishop,' 'primus episcopus.' Bishop Burnet allows, that Palladius is reckoned the first bishop.' 8 'Palladius,' says Buchanan, is judged the first that set up bishops in Scotland; for, until that time, the churches were governed without bishops, though with less external pomp and splendour, yet with more simplicity and holiness.' Palladius, says Boethius,' was the first that exercised holy magistracy (prelacy,) among the Scots, being by the pope created bishop.' 10 'Before Palladius,' says Johannes Major, the Scotch were nourished in the faith by presbyters and monks without bishops.'" The Scots,' says Fordoun in his Chronicle, before the coming of Palladius, had presbyters only for their instructors in the faith and administrators of sacraments.' So irresistible is the evidence on this subject, that even the Romish annalist Baronius, under the year A.D. 404, admits, that the Scots received their first bishop from pope Celestine,' '13 and the venerable Bede also testifies that Palladius was sent to the Scots as their first bishop from

12

2 Ibid.

9

1 Causa Episcop. Hier. etc. ibid., p. 98. 3 See Usher's Discourse on the religion of the ancient Irish. That the church of Scotland was independent of the church in England, as late as the twelfth century, is demonstrably plain; see Hist. of the Ch. of Scotl. vol. i, pp. 35, 36. So also the independence of the Irish church as late as 1152, is urged by Mr. Palmer. On the Ch. vol. i, p. 549. 4 See above, ch. i. 6 Hetherington's Hist. Ch. of Scotland, p. 8. 7 Usher, Primord. p. 801, Jameson's Hist. of the Culdees, pp. 7, 8. 8 Observations on the 1st Canon, p. 33. 9 Hist. of Scotl. lib. iii. 10 Scot. Hist. lib. vii, in Causa Episcop. etc., p. 97. 11 Lib. ii, c. ii, in ibid., and Burnet Obs. on 1st Canon, p. 33. 13 In Causa Episc. etc. p. 98.

5 Scot. Hist. lib. vi.

12 Lib. iii, c. 8, in ibid., and Burnet ibid.