God was not, tho' he was the firft of all creatures:"bin which opinion many Bishops joined him, caufing violent difputes and animofities, to the scandal of Christianity. Upon this, the Emperor convened a Council of the whole Church at Nice, in the year 325. And tho' the fubfcriptions of that Synod now remaining, confused and imperfect f even in the beft copies, make no mention of any British Bishops; yet our Author imagines, that fome of them were fummoned, and did appear. But, be that as it may, it is plain, from the Canons of this Council, that the Bishops of a province had a power, among themfelves, to conftitute other Bishops, with the confent of the Metropolitan; that no perfon excommunicated by one Bifhop, was to be received into communions by another; and that, to decide matters, in cafe of appeals, "Provincial Synods were to be held twice in ff a year, in Lent and Autumn;" and all this without the leaft mention of any fuperior authority then known. Here So then, fays our Author, we fix our right as to the British

Churches, that they were not under any Patriarchal Jurifdiction of the Bishop of Rome at this time: that is, that ⚫he never had the authority to confecrate the Metropolitans or Bishops of these Provinces; that he never called them to his Councils at Rome; that he had no appeals from hence; that the British Bishops never owned his jurifdiction over ethem, and, therefore, that our Churches were ftill to enjoy ⚫ their former privileges, of being governed by their own provincial Synods.?..

Our Author, however, thinking it became him to clear the British Church from the reproach of Arianifm, which fome, it seems, have endeavoured to fix upon it at this early time, takes notice, next, of the Council of Ariminium, where the British Bishops were prefent,' and where Arianism was eftablished. It is plain,' fays the Doctor, that the defini tions there subscribed in favour of Arianifm, were extorted from them by the Emperor thro' fear and, therefore, the Bishops being returned, upon the death of Conftantius not long after, they fettled the Nicene Faith in the Wefterm Churches, by leffer affemblies of the feveral Bishops. This is expressly faid by Hilary of the Gallican Bifhops, who 5 meeting at Paris, renounced the Council of Ariminium, and embraced the Creed of Nice. The fame, we have ⚫ reason to believe, was done in the Churches of Britain; becaufe, in the time of Jovian, Athanafius particularly takes notice, "of the Britannic Churches as adhering to the Nicene

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Faith." But whatever imperial force was used to introduce Arianifin,

Arianifm, the fame force, we apprehend, was violently retorted in fubjugating the Church to admit Athanafianism; and, however unexceptionable the evidence of Hilary may be, for the conduct of the Gallican Church, yet that of Athanafius, with reference to the British, comes from a perfon too remote, and too much interested, to be of any validity.

But Arianifm was not the only herefy the British Churches were charged with: Bede infinuates, that Pelagius being a Briton, and fpreading his doctrine far and near, corrupted thefe churches with it.' The principles afcribed to Pelagius. by the Church of Carthage, are fummed up by our Author, who afterwards thus proceeds.

Lupus and Germanus, Bifhops deputed by the Gallican Church, came over, by invitation into Britain; and, in a ⚫ conference at Verulam with the Pelagians, defended the Truth, in fo ftrong and plain a manner, that they brought off feveral from their errors; and left the Britons well fet• tled, as they supposed, in the ancient Faith. But they were no fooner returned to Gaul, than fome of the Pelagians got ground again; which occafioned another meffage to Germanus, and another voyage from him to Britain, in company with Severus. Defpairing then to convince them any more by arguments, because of their obftinacy and perverfnefs, he procured their banishment, according to the edict of Valentinian; and from thence forward, fays Bede, the British Churches continued found and orthodox.'

But the Saxons, whom the Britons had called in to protect them from the ravages of the Picts and Scots, taking advantage of their own numbers, and of the diftrefsful circumftances of their friends, ftript them of their lands and property, perfecuted them with the fevereft cruelty, and obliged them to take refuge in Wales. Here flourished the fchools of learning, fet up by Dubricius, and Iltutus; and here were the perfons of greatest reputation, for letters and religion, in the British Churches; particularly St. David, whofe name continues in honour there to this day. Let this then fuffice as a fummary of our Author's first book.

The Britons having been driven into Wales and Cornwal, by the Saxons, and Chriftianity every where infulted by these pagan invaders, the Hiftory of the Church affords nothing but a few traditionary events, without any order or connection, till we come to the converfion of these Barbarians,' who remained in their primitive ignorance for more than one entire age, and fome of them for more than two.

This fecond book then contains an account of the converfion of these Saxons, of their relapfes, and of their final recovery and fettlement in the Faith; till, at laft, almoft the whole Heptarchy became Chriftian; and fuch a coalition enfued among the feveral established Churches, as became the bafis of what was afterwards denominated the Church of England..

Of the feven independent ftates, into which the Saxons had formed themselves, the kingdom of Kent was the first which was founded, and the firft which was converted. The young and warlike Ethelbert, fucceeding his father in that kingdom, demanded Bertha, a daughter of France, in marriage. Chilperic, King of the Franks, whofe niece the was, refufing to enter into treaty for her, unless Ethelbert would engage to allow her the free exercife of her religion, and permit her to have her own priefts about her; thefe terms were complied with, and a church, built in the time of the Britons, near the eaft fide of the city of Canterbury, and dedicated to St. Martin, was allotted for the place of her devotion.

In this favourable juncture, Pope Gregory the Great, about the latter end of the fixth century, fent into England, forty Benedictin Monks, with Austin, in quality of Abbot, at their head; who landing in the ifle of Thanet, fent fome of his brethren to King Ethelbert. Shortly after this, the King, accompanied with the Queen, and fome of his court, went ⚫ into the island: and whether it was that the fuperftitions of the Pagan worship, had taught him to fufpect fome fafcination, or whether any part of Austin's conduct had given him a wrong idea of the Chriftian Faith, he was apprehenfive of charms and fpells; and conducting himfelf by a re'ceived notion-as Creffy fays, from an ancient prophecy of their religion-that they could have no power over him in the open air, he took his feat in the field, and commanded Auftin to attend him there. The Abbot having received this 'command, put himself and his followers into the form of a ⚫ proceffion; and erecting his filver crofs, and carrying in his banner the picture or image of our Saviour Chrift, he and his company, finging their Litany, came before the King. Being afked, what they had to propofe, and an intimation from Ethelbert being given them to fit down, Auftin opened his commiffion; preaching the Gofpel in a forcible and zealous manner. The King having heard, by the interpreter, an account of the nature and principles of Chriftianity, returned him an anfwer, which Bede has given us in

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the

the following 'words. Your propofals are noble, and "your promises inviting; but I cannot refolve upon quitting "the religion of my ancestors, for one that appears to me "fupported only by the teftimony of perfons that are entire ❝ftrangers to me. However, fince 1 However, fince I perceive you have un

dertaken fo long a journey, on purpose to impart to us "what you esteem of the most important, valuable confidera❝tion, you fhall not be fent away without fome fatisfaction. "I will take care that you are treated civilly in my domini❝ons, and supplied with all things necessary and convenient "and if any of my fubjects, convinced by what you fhall fay "to them, fhould defire to embrace your Faith, I will not be ❝against it." When he was difmiffed from this audience, the

King gave leave for the Miffionaries to fettle at Canterbury. And thus began our fatal connections with the Papal See; for as to the communication opened by Lucius, it feems to have dropt with himself.

Sometime, however, betwixt the year 597, in which Auftin arrived, and the year 601, King Ethelbert declared himfelf a Chriftian. The new converted Monarch was not wanting, on his part, to promote the converfion of all his fubjects, as far as it could be attained by inftruction, and good example; declaring, it seems, according to Bede, that the religion of Chrift was to make its way by argument and perfuafion, to be a matter of choice, and not of force' ⚫ and violence. This is a fentiment which does honour to the • King's Inftructor; which fhews, that he was himself of a true Chriftian fpirit; and which it would have been well for the world, and for Chriftianity, if all the Princes of Chriftendom, and the inftructors in this religion would univerfally ⚫ have imbibed.'

This fuccefs of Auftin raised his hopes to the highest pitch. He haftened away to Arles, and there got himself confecrated Archbishop of the English. Gregory alfo fent him the Pall, and thus feized upon England as an appendage to his own Pa triarchate.

This Pope having, in his letter to King Ethelbert, advised him to demolish the places dedicated to idols, that no "marks of former fuperftition might remain;' changed his opinion, on fecond thoughts: and, therefore, among other inftructions to Auftin at this time, there is a direction, forbidding him to deftroy the temples ufed by the English for their pagan worfhip; and that having firft caft out the images of their deities, he fhould with holy-water fprinkle the walls, erect proper altars, furnish them with reliques, 6

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and

⚫ and thus fet them apart for the fervice of God. But what shall we fay to his inftructions about the religious rites and ufages of the Pagans? Whereas," fays he, they were wont to "kill many oxen in their facrifices to devils, you may per "fuade them to make this change in that folemnity; that on

the anniverfary day of the dedication of their churches, in "honour of the Saints whofe names they bear, or whofe re

licts are depofited in them, they may raise tents or harbours "about the fame, and celebrate the folemnity with merry "feafting: at which time they must not immolate their beafts

to the devil, but kill them for meat to be eaten to the praise ર of God, the giver of them. By this means, while we per"mit them a continuance of their former external jollities, "their minds will more eafily be brought to entertain spiritual ઃઃ joys. For it will be impoffible, at once, to draw such rude "untractable minds from all their former customs: they will "not be brought to perfection by fudden leaps, but leifurely, "by fteps and degrees."-Thus, ever fly, and deceitful, is Popery!

Was

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Our Auftin, out of the abundance of his zeal for the See of Rome, whence he derived his own metropolitical jurif diction, took upon him to make' the Britons acknowlege the Pope as Head of the whole Church.-The Historians, who deal in miracles, add moreover, that finding no good to be done by arguments, he caufed a blind man to be brought into the affembly, and when the Britons had tried in vain to restore his fight, he cured him by his prayers. But whether the miracle might not admit of some dispute; or whether the Hiftorians, who lived not till long after, < might not be impofed upon, as in the cafe of miracles we know they almost always were, the Britons ftood out against this evidence; and all that Auftin could obtain, was, that they would advise on what was paft, and meet again, and determine the matter in another fynod. They met, but difowned the Supremacy of Rome; and, in oppofition to Auftin, maintained their own Independence.

1

After Boniface the fourth had fucceeded Gregory in the Papacy, Ethelbert, King of Kent, died, in the year 613, or thereabouts. Upon his death, Eadbald, his fon and fucceffor, permitted his fubjects to restore the pagan worship, and the Chriftian intereft was reduced to very deplorable circumftances in the kingdom of Kent. But this was not all the calamity of the Church increased, and the storm began to blow higher, upon the death of Sebert.'-No fooner was he dead, than his three fons, who jointly fucceeded