XXV. ART. of the Church. This time was fhortened, and many things were pafled over, to such as fhewed a deep and fincere repentance; and one of the characters of a true repentance upon which they were always treated with a great diftinction of favour, was, if they came and firft accufed themselves. This fhewed that they were deeply affected with the sense of their fins, when they could not bear the load of them, but became their own accufers, and difcovered their fins. There are feve ral canons that make a difference in the degrees and time of the penance, between those who had accufed themselves, and thofe against whom their fins were proved. A great deal of this ftrain occurs often in the writings of the Fathers, which plainly fhews that they did not look on the neceffity of an enumeration of all their fins as commanded by God; otherwise it would have been enforced with confiderations of another nature, than that of fhortening their penance. The first occation that was given to the Church to exercise this difcipline, was from the frequent apoftacies, into which many had lapsed during the perfecutions; and when thefe went off, another fort of disorders began to break in upon the Church, and to defile it. Great numbers followed the example of their Princes, and became Chriftians; but a mixed multitude came among them, fo that there were many fcandals amongst that body, which had been formerly remarkable for the purity of their morals, and the ftrictness of their lives. It was the chief business of all thofe Councils that met in the fourth and fifth centuries, to fettle many rules concerning the degrees and time of penance, the cenfures both of the Clergy and Laity, the orders of the Penitents, and the methods of receiving them to the communion of the Church. In fome of thofe Councils they denied reconciliation after fome fins, even to the laft, though the Dallas de general practice was to receive all at their death; but while Confeffione. they were in a good state of health, they kept them long in pePenitentia, nance, in a public feparation from the common privileges of Morinus de Chriftians, and chiefly from the holy Sacrament, and under fevere rules, and that for feveral years, more or fewer, according to the nature of their fins, and the characters of their re pentance; of which a free and unextorted confeffion being one of the chief, this made many prevent that, and come in of their own accord to confefs their fins, which was much encouraged and magnified. Confeffion was at firft made publickly; but the inconveniencies of that appearing, and particularly many of those fins being capital, inftead of a publick, there was a private confeffion practifed. The Bifhops either attended upon these themfelves, or they appointed a penitentiary Prieft to receive them: all was in order to the executing the canons, and for keeping up XXV. up the difcipline of the Church. Bishops were warranted by ART. the Council of Nice to excufe the feverity of the canons, as the occafion fhould require. The penitents went through the penance impofed, which was done publickly; the feparation and penance being visible, even when the fin was kept fecret; and when the time of the penance was finished, they received the penitents by prayer and impofition of hands, into the communion of the Church, and fo they were received. This was all the abfolution that was known during the first fix centuries. 1. v. c. 19. out of him Daille de Penitents were enjoined to publifh fuch of their fecret fins, as the penitentiary Prieft did prefcribe. This happened to give great scandal at Conftantinople, when Nectarius was Bi- Soer. Hift, Thop there; for a woman being in a courfe of penance, confeffed publickly that the had been guilty of adultery, commit. ted with a Deacon in the Church. It feems, by the relation that the hiftorian gives of this matter, that he went beyond the injunctions given her; but whether the fault was in her, or in the penitentiary Prieft, this gave fuch offence, that Nectarius broke that cuftom. And Chryfoftom, who came foon af- Thirteen ter him to that fee, fpeaks very fully againft fecret confeffion, paflages and advises Chriftians to confefs only to God; yet the practice cited and of secret confeffion was kept up elsewhere. But it appears by a explained by vaft number of citations from the Fathers, both in different Conti ages, and in the different corners of the Church, that though they preffed confeffion much, and magnified the value of it highly, yet they never urged it as neceffary to the pardon of fin, or as a Sacrament; they only preffed it as a mean to complete the repentance, and to give the finner an intereft in the prayers of the Church. This may be pofitively affirmed concerning all the quotations that are brought in this matter, to prove that auricular confeffion is neceflary in order to the Priest's pardon, and that it is founded on thofe words of Chrift, Whofe fins ye remit, &c. that they prove quite the contrary; that the Fathers had not that fenfe of it, but confidered it, either as a mean to help the completing of repentance, or as a mean to maintain the purity of the Chriftian Church, and the rigour of discipline. In the fifth century a practice begun, which was no small ftep to the ruin of the order of the Church. Penitents were suffered, instead of the publick penance that had been formerly enjoined, to do it fecretly in fome monaftery, or in any other private place, in the prefence of a few good men, and that at the difcretion of the Bifhop, or the Confeffor; at the end of which, abfolution was given in fecret. This was done to draw what profeffions of repentance they could from fuch perfons who would not fubmit to fettled rules: this temper was c. 25. XXV. ART. was found neither to lose them quite, nor to let their fins país without any cenfure. But in the feventh century, all publick penance for fecret fins was taken quite away. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, is reckoned the first of all the Bifhops of the Western Church, that did quite take away all publick penance for fecret fins. Another piece of the ancient severity was also flackened, for they had never allowed penance to men that had relapsed into any fin; though they did not cut them off from all hope of the mercy of God, yet they never gave a fecond abfolution to the relapfe. This the Church of Rome has ftill kept up in one point, which is herefy; a relapse being delivered to the fecular arm, without admitting him to penance. The ancients did indeed admit fuch to penance, but they never reconciled them. Yet in the decay of difcipline, abfolution came to be granted to the relapfe, as well as to him that had finned but once. About the end of the eighth century, the commutation of penance began; and, inftead of the ancient feverities, vocal prayers came to be all that was enjoined; fo many Paters ftood for fo many days of fafting, and the rich were admitted to buy off their penance under the decenter name of giving alms. The getting many malles to be faid, was thought a devotion by which God was fo much honoured, that the commuting penance for males, was much practifed. Pilgrimages and wars came on afterwards; and in the twelfth century, the trade was fet up of felling indulgences. By this it appears, that confeffion came by feveral fteps into the Church; that in the first ages it was not heard of; that the apoftacies in time of perfecution gave the firft rife to it; all which demonstrates that the primitive Church did not confider it as a thing appointed by Chrift to be the matter of a Sacrament. It may be in the power of the Church to propofe confeffion, as a mean to direct men in their repentance, to humble them deeper for their fins, and to oblige them to a greater trictness. But to enjoin it as neceflary to obtain the pardon of fin, and to make it an indifpenfable condition, and indeed the moft indifpenfable of all the parts of repentance, is beyond the power of the Church; for fince Chrift is the Mediator of this New Covenant, he alone muft fix the neceffary conditions of it. In this, more than in any thing else, we muft conclude that the Golpel is exprefs and clear; and therefore fo hard a condition as this is, cannot be imposed by any other authority. The obligation to auricular confeffion, is a thing to which mankind is naturally fo little difpofed to fubmit, and it may have fuch confequences on the peace and order of the world, that we have reason to believe, that if Christ had intended to have made XXV. made it a necessary part of repentance, he would have de- AR T. clared it in exprefs words, and not have left it so much in the dark, that those who affert it, muft draw it by inferences from those words, Whose fins ye remit, &c. Some things are of fuch a nature, that we may justly conclude, that either they are not at all required, or that they are commanded in plain terms. As for the good or evil effects that may follow on the obliging men to a strictness in confeffion, that does not belong to this matter if it is acknowledged to be only a law of the Church, other confiderations are to be examined about it; but if it is pretended to be a law of God, and a part of a Sacrament, we must have a divine inftitution for it; otherwife all the advantages that can poffibly be imagined in it, without that, are only fo many arguments to perfuade us, that there is fomewhat that is highly neceffary to the purity of Christians, of which Chrift has not faid a word, and concerning which his Apostles have given us no directions. We do not deny, but it may be a means to ftrike terror in people, to keep them under awe and obedience; it may, when the management of it is in good hands, be made a mean to keep the world in order, and to guide thofe of weaker judgments more steadily and fafely, than could be well done any other way. In the use of confeffion, when proposed as our Church does, as matter of advice, and not of obligation, we are very fenfible many good ends may be attained; but while we confider thofe, we must likewife reflect on the mifchief that may arife out of it; efpecially fuppofing the greater part both of the Clergy and Laity to be what they ever were, and ever will be, depraved and corrupted. The people will grow to think that the Priest is in God's lead to them; that their telling their fins to him, is as if they confeffed them to God; they will expect to be easily discharged for a gentle penance, with a speedy abfolution; and this will make them as fecure, as if their confciences were clear, and their fins pardoned; fo the remedy being eafy and always at hand, they will be encouraged to venture the more boldly on fin. It is no difficult matter to gain a Prieft, especially if he himfelf is a bad man, to ufe them tenderly upon thofe occafions. On the other hand, corrupt Priefts will find their account in the difpenfing this great power, so as to serve their own ends. They will know all people's tempers and fecrets; and how ftrict foever they may make the feal of confeilion, to draw the world to trust to it; yet in bodies fo knit together, as communities and orders are, it is not poffible to know what use they may make of this. Still they know all themselves, and fee into the weaknefs, the paffions, and appetites of their people. This must often be a great fare to them, especially in the fup pofition XXV. ART. pofition that cannot be denied to hold generally true, of their being bad men themfelves: great advantages are hereby given to infufe fears and fcruples into people's minds, who being then in their tenderest minutes, will be very much fwayed and wrought on by them. A bad Prieft knows by this whom he may tempt to any fort of fin: and thus the good and the evil of conteflion, as it is a general law upon all men's confciences, being weighed one against the other; and it being certain that the far greater part of mankind is always bad, we must conclude, that the evil does fo far preponderate the good, that they bear no comparison nor proportion to one another. The matter at prefent under debate is only, whether it is one of the laws of God, or not? And it is enough for the prefent purpofe to fhew, that it is no law of God; upon which we do alfo fee very good reafon why it ought not to be made a law of the Church; both because it is beyond her authority, which can only go to matters of order and difcipline, as alfo because of the vaft inconveniencies that are like to arife out of it. Trid. Seff. 14. C. 4. The next part of repentance is Contrition, which is a forrow for in upon the motives of the love of God, and the hatred of fin joined with a renovation of heart. This is that which we acknowledge to be neceflary to complete our repentance; but this confifting in the temper of a man's mind, and his inward acts, it seems a very abfurd thing to make this the matter of a Sacrament, fince it is of a spiritual and invifible nature. But this is not all that belongs to this head. The cafuifts of the Church of Rome have made a diftinction between a perfect and an imperfect Contrition; the imperfect they call Attrition; which is any forrow for fin, though upon an inferior motive, such as may be particular to one act of fin, as when it rifes from the lofs or fhame it has brought with it, together with an act formed in deteftation of it, without a refolution to fin any more. Such a forrow as this is they teach does make the Sacrament effectual, and puts a man in a state of justification, though they acknowledge that without the Sacrament, it is not fufficient to juftify him. This was fettled by the Council of Trent. We think it ftrikes at the root of all religion and virtue, and is a reverfing of the defign for which Sacraments were inftituted, which was to raise our minds to a high pitch of piety, and to exalt and purify our acts. We think the Sacraments are profaned when we do not raife our thoughts as high as we can, in them. To teach men how low they may go, and how fmall a measure will ferve turn, elpecially when the great and chief Commandment, the confideration of the love of God, is left out, feems to be one of the greatest corruptions in practice, of which any Church can be guilty: a flacknefs in doctrine, efpecially in fo great |