shall we obtain of God his blessing. If we are assailed from abroad, let us join together as a band of brothers to repel the assault. Thus shall peace, and happiness, and prosperity reign among us-thus shall we be contented with the things and the liberty given to us in this transitory scene, having our eyes fixed on the better things and the true liberty, promised to us in Heaven, as the children of God. PASTORAL LETTER OF THE RIGHT REV. DR. ENGLAND, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CHARLESTON, TO HIS FLOCK IN THE STATES OF NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA, UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA, ON HIS TAKING POSSESSION OF HIS SEE. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. THE bull of His Holiness Pope Pius VIIth for separating the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia from the diocess of Baltimore, and for erecting for their government a new episcopal see, in the city of Charleston, (S. C.,) suffragan to Baltimore, and appointing the Right Reverend Doctor John England, bishop thereof, was published in the Roman Catholic Church of Charleston; on Sunday the 31st of December, 1820. The certificate of consecration, of which the following is a correct translation, was also then read: We, John Murphy, by the grace of God and of the Apostolic See Bishop of Cork, in Ireland, certify to all whom it does or may concern, that on the twenty-first day of September, to wit, on the festival day of Saint Matthew the apostle, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, by virtue of the annexed apostolic letters, having first received from him the profession of Catholic faith, and the oath of fealty to our Lord Pope Pius VIIth and the Holy Roman Church; we, celebrating mass in pontifical robes, in the church of Saint Finbar, patron of our diocess, have bestowed the grace of consecration, on John England, a priest of Cork, chosen for a new bishop of the church of Charleston; being assisted therein by the Right Reverend and Most Illustrious Lords Kieran Marum, Bishop of Ossory, and Patrick Kelly, Bishop of Richmond: there being also present the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Lord Patrick Everard, Archbishop of Mitylene and coadjutor to the Archbishop of Cashel, the Right Reverend and Most Illustrious Lords, William Coppinger, Bishop of Cloyne and Ross, Charles Sughrue Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe, and Charles Tuohy Bishop of Limerick. In testimony whereof JOHN, by the grace of God, and with the approbation of the Holy See, Bishop of Charleston, to our beloved brethren of the Diocess of Charleston. May the mercy of God the Father, through his blessed Son Jesus Christ, and the charity of the Holy Ghost, be always with you. The change which has taken place, in the formation of your church, by its separation from the see of Baltimore, and its erection into a bishopric, requires that we who have been appointed to its government should express OUR sentiments upon the subject. Our forefather Adam in the day of his innocence, walked through Eden in favour with his Creator; the earth yielding spontaneously the means of his comfort here, and the heavens opening to his view scenes of future happiness. But by irregular curiosity, and presumptuous disobedience, he forfeited the felicity which he enjoyed, and lost all right to that bliss which he expected. Upon his repentance, redemption was promised, but its application was to be made only upon conditions which his ability could fulfil, but which his will might reject. Thus, although his salvation did not originate with man, yet without his co-operation it could not be accomplished; and that co-operation was the performance of the conditions imposed by him, from whose wisdom, mercy, and beneficence alone, redemption was to be obtained. The nature of those conditions was two- | fold, belief and practical obedience; by them man was to pay the most perfect homage to the Deity; and whilst in their fulfilment, he was punished for his prevarication, by their consequences he was to be perfected in his scale of being. Belief humbled his understanding; obedience checked his will. His original fault was the pride of knowledge, its immediate consequence, obstinacy of disposition: by requiring the belief of truths beyond his comprehension, and the performance of acts not always agreeable to his disposition, as the conditions of his redemption, man was to be at once, punished for his crime, healed of his infirmity, and redeemed from his bondage. Hence, true religion consists in believing God when he teaches us, and obeying him when he commands us. sias, thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech. (Psalm cix. 5.) And upon the night before he suffered we find him communicate this priesthood to his Apostles. Then he no longer called them servants, but friends. He made known to them the mysteries of the kingdom of God, that they should teach them to the nations of the earth; for he commissioned them to go forth to teach all nations, and promised that he and his Holy Spirit would abide with them all days, to the consummation of the world. As his heavenly Father sent him so he sent them, and whosoever should receive them should receive him, and, whosoever should reject them should reject him. the new law the same principle which governed the old; the authority to teach, and to minister in the church specially bestowed upon particular individuals by God's appointment, and continued by regular succession to after ages; and hence no person can assume this authority to himself, but he who is called by God, as was Aaron. And hence the authority to preside and to teach in the church of God is not derived from talents, nor from wealth, nor from worldly power, nor from popular choice, nor even from the piety and virtue of the individual, but from his having been regularly assumed to the apostleship, and ordained therefor by some successor of an apostle who has thereby received his authority from Jesus Christ. But as they, being only twelve mortals, could not go to all parts of the world, and were not to live all days to its consummation, it became necessary that they should To discover what he teaches us, and to associate others to them in their commislearn his commands, so that we may be sion, as well to provide for the millions faithful in both respects, is our duty; and then living as for the generations that were this discovery is the result of the investiga- to succeed them: and hence, we find that tion of facts, and not of the examination of by prayer and the imposition of hands, they opinions. The Lord has frequently spoken did qualify others, whom they associated by the mouths of his prophets, and finally to their apostleship, and sent forth to the by the mouth of his beloved Son, who came work whereunto they had been selected by to fulfil the work of our redemption. When the Holy Ghost. And thus do we find in the Lord spoke, he made his revelations manifest to those with whom he conversed, and their authority plain to those whom he commissioned them to teach; and having thus exhibited his authorized teachers to his people, he required the obedience of that people. Thus when he sent Moses into Egypt, he strengthened him with the power of miracles, and when upon Sinai he gave a law, he thundered before the multitude, and called the teacher up to his presence: upon the authority of Moses, Aaron was consecrated, and the right of his family to the priestly office was confirmed, as well by the blooming of his rod, as by the catastrophe of Core and his adherents. The regular succession was all that was thenceforth necessary to learn, for the purpose of ascertaining in whom was vested the au- Amongst those Apostles there was one thority to teach, until he should come who superior in dignity, pre-eminent in powerwas the desired of nations, this other Law- he whose name the Saviour himself changed giver whom the Father was to raise up to to signify his office. "I say unto thee (Sifulfil what was but darkly foreshown in the mon, son of Jona) thou art Peter; and upon institutions of the desert. Hence when this rock (Peter) I will build my church, and even they who held this authority perse- the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. cuted the Redeemer, he stated the ground And to thee will I give the keys of the of his submission to them in the fact that kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou they sat upon the chair of Moses. Their shalt bind on earth, it shall be bound also authority expired only with their law, and in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose when that of Jesus Christ succeeded, we on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." find another priesthood substituted for that (Matt. xvi. 18, 19.) And on another and a of Aaron. The Lord hath sworn, and it will not memorable occasion, when he addressed repent him, said the royal prophet to the Mes-him in the language of warning and affec tionate reproof, he established his duty of general superintendence. "Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have thee that he might sift thee as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And thou being once converted, confirm thy brethren." (Luke xxii. 31, 32.) And again, when he gave him charge not only of his lambs, but also of the very sheep who were to give spiritual nutriment to those lambs. Accordingly we find the Apostle St. Peter filling that place to which he had been appointed by the Saviour, when, after having been converted from his guilt of denial on the very night of the admonition, he on the day of Pentecost speaks in the name of the rest as their head and their chief; when he works the first miracle, and brings the first increase of Jews to the church; when, in his solicitude for the welfare of that church, he proposes to have an apostle appointed in the place of Judas who had fallen; when he, after the divine revelation, first receives the Gentiles into the fold; and in all things appears to be the rock upon which the spiritual edifice of Christianity was reared. The solicitude of the faithful, too, for him, as their head, is manifested by their continual prayer for his safety when he was kept bound by Herod. As the Saviour established a church which was to last to the end of the world, its government was to be coeval with its existence; and hence Peter was to have a successor who was to possess his power, as Aaron had a successor who was invested with his high-priesthood. The chief Apostle first made the East the great theatre of his exertions, and the city of Antioch was his principal residence during about seven years; but his zeal, and the necessities of the church, and the providence of God, led him to Rome, then the capital of the world, -where, during twenty-five years, he exercised his supreme administration and authority, and crowned a life of exertion by a glorious martyrdom on the same day that the doctor of nations, St. Paul, who, during many years, had shared his labours, yielded his soul to his Creator. His successors, by occupying his place, have preserved his power, and this is now vested in Pope Pius VIIth, the present Bishop of Rome. Besides the divine authority to which slight allusion has been thus made, we have the testimonies of the most venerable authors of the earliest ages of the church to show the fact, that all Christians looked up to Rome as the mother and mistress of all other churches. In that see the apostolic succession has been preserved; and to the bishop of that see it appertains to provide for the wants of the various parts of the world, which either have not become acquainted with the doctrines of the Redeemer, or, knowing his doctrines, stand in need of the administration of his sacraments. Your former prelate, the Archbishop of Baltimore, finding that you were at too great a distance from him, applied to the sovereign Pontiff to relieve your wants, by giving you a bishop; and though our deserts had not qualified us for the situation, yet our holy father has vouchsafed to regard us with a favourable eye, and that the prayer of the archbishop might be granted, we have been selected, appointed, consecrated, and sent to govern your church. Thus we are placed in the midst of you, unworthy as we are, yet vested with apostolic power, having, through the HOLY SEE, received that power from JESUS CHRIST himself. WE may then address you as our dearest children in JESUS CHRIST, for We are placed over you as a father to teach you the doctrines of truth, to guide you in the way of salvation, to feed you with the bread of life, and to spend ourselves for your eternal welfare, as we must render an account for your souls, at his great tribunal, to that Father whose unworthy substitute we are, and who has shed his blood to purchase our souls from damnation. In proportion as the dignity of OUR order is great, so is OUR responsibility awful; and with you, beloved children, in a great measure it rests to lighten this burden. We shall endeavour, with God's holy assistance, to perform our duty with fidelity and zeal; WE intreat your co-operation. WE shall point out to you the path of your duty—WE conjure you to walk therein; we will place the sacraments within your reach-we beg of you, through the tender mercy of JESUS CHRIST, to stretch forth your hands and partake of the celestial banquet; we shall incessantly offer up OUR humble supplications for you at the throne of grace; we particularly recommend to you assiduity in the discharge of the great duty of prayer, and trust that when your aspirations and petitions penetrate the clouds of heaven, the name of him who labours for your welfare may be found embalmed amidst the fragrance which will ascend to the seat of the Most High. Let temperance, justice, mercy, benevolence, charity, piety, modesty, and chastity be your characteristic virtues; for you are called upon to serve a GoD of purity and perfection. Do not place confidence in your youth, your strength, your health, nor your riches-for you are the certain victims of death; you have been sentenced to return to the dust from which you have been originally taken, and you know not the day, nor the hour; wherefore we beseech you to be always prepared, for the Son of man will come at the moment when he is least expected. Your past conduct, and what we have learned of your dispositions, leave no doubt upon our mind of your devotion to the interests of the state, and of your determination to fulfil your duty as citizens. You need not our exhortation on this head. But do not deem it presumption in us, who have not yet the honour of being an American citizen, to have adverted to the topic; for were it necessary, it would have been OUR solemn duty to call upon you for the preservation of the public peace, and the maintenance of those liberal institutions by which you are so well protected; for we are the minister of the GOD OF PEACE, who has placed the sword in the hand of the governors for the good of society. And we OURSELF have for a long time admired the excellence of your CONSTITUTION, and been desirous to behold your eagle grow in strength and beauty as his years increased, -whether he rested in majesty upon the bases of the wisdom, the moderation, and the fortitude of your government, or, lifting himself on the pinions of your prosperity, and surrounded with the halo of your multiplying stars, fixed his steady eye upon that sun of rational freedom, which culminates for you, as it departs from the nations of the East. WE intreat of those within our jurisdiction who may be desirous of having spiritual assistance to make their wants known to us, that we may take the best steps which our limited means will allow for having them relieved; and as we cannot at present completely satisfy either their desires, or our own intentions on this head, we intreat their patience and indulgence until we shall be better able to fulfil the dearest wishes of our heart. But we must also remind them that they who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel (2 Cor. ix.), and they who serve the altar should live by the altar. And that it must depend in a great measure upon their own exertions, and the means placed at our disposal, whether we shall be able to have them served, and OURSELF gratified. "As to the rest, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put ye on the armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the snares of the devil. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace: in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one; and take unto you the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephes. vi.) Place your trust in the Lord Jesus, and in the abundance of his merits; stand perfect in every good work; walk as children of light; let your example so shine before men in all goodness, that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven; so that, after this transitory state of trial, the splendour of your virtues may reflect back the glory of redemption to the throne of your Saviour. Peace be unto you, brethren, and charity with faith from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. JOHN, Bishop of Charleston. Charleston, Jan. 21st, 1821. PASTORAL LETTER OF THE RIGHT REVEREND DR. ENGLAND, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CHARLESTON, TO HIS FLOCK, ON THE OBSERVANCE OF LENT. JOHN, by the grace of God, and with the approbation of the Holy See, Bishop of Charleston, to our beloved brethren of the diocess of Charleston. Lent, and the approach of the holy time of Easter, demand that our pastoral solicitude should be evinced in your instruction. For behold now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. And we helping are called upon that you, receive not the grace of God in vain. But in all things exhibit yourselves, as the servants of the Lord, in much patience, in watchings, in fastings, in charity, BELOVED BRETHREN:-The solemnity of in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, May the mercy of God the Father, through His blessed Son Jesus Christ, and the charity of the Holy Ghost, be always with you. to exhort you in the Holy Ghost, in charity unfeigned-walking in the footsteps of your predecessors in the faith, you meet with those sacred monuments of religion and antiquity, to which they have affixed the attestation of their approval, and added the decoration of their virtues. The waters of mortification, which appear bitter to those who have been filled with the flesh-pots of Egypt, were by them found pleasing and salutary, after they had been made sweet by the tree of the cross; fed with bread from heaven, they came to the holy mount of contemplation, where they received that sacred law, by the observance of which they obtained the promised blessings; and, notwithstanding the glow of temptation, they were enabled to persevere in this observance, by the sacraments which flowed from Christ, who was struck for our iniquities. Professing the same faith, you are called upon to have recourse to similar means for attaining your sanctification. One of the most useful is the observance of the holy Lent, in which by bodily fasting, vices are repressed, the soul is elevated, virtue is attained, and rewards are received. This is one of the most ancient observances of Christianity; we find it existing in every age and in every nation, where the Gospel of Christ has been preached. It is on record in the earliest writers, and amongst our most ancient and authentic documents thus the sixty-eighth of the Apostolic Canons ordains, that a clergyman who will not fast the Lent, shall be deposed; and a layman who neglects it, shall be excommunicated; and specifies bodily infirmity as the only excuse. The observance of Lent is alluded to as a well-known practice in the fifth canon of the first Council of Nice. The regulations for the manner of observing it, are made in the 49th, 50th, 51st, and 52d canons of the Council of Laodicea, as also in the 24th of the first Council of Orange, and in numbers of others, in those very early ages of the church. Many of the persons who, differing from our faith, were anxious to bring our practices into discredit, by endeavouring to show late periods for their introduction, have been obliged to acknowledge the antiquity of this custom, even in their attempt to overturn it, for they have assigned its introduction to Pope Telesphorus, who was the eighth in order from St. Peter, and who presided over the church from the year 140 to the year 152, whereas he only made a regulation as to the exact day when the clergy were to commence the observance of a fast, which had been established for upwards of a century preceding. St. Ignatius, the third Bishop of Antioch, and a fervent disciple of St. John, the Evangelist, who suffered martyrdom in the city of Rome, in the year 107, mentions this fast, in his Epistle to the Philippians. (Apud Bellarm.) It is alluded to by St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, and fellow disciple of Ignatius, in his letter to the same people, and distinctly mentioned by St. Irenæus the Great, Bishop of Lyons, and disciple of St. Polycarp, who suffered martyrdom, in the year 202. In the year 199, we find the subject under consideration of all the churches, in Italy, Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece, and France, in several synods-not as a custom lately introduced, but derived from the Apostles. Without therefore exhibiting to you that cloud of testimony, which the Lord himself has given to direct us in our way through after ages, we may feel convinced that you clearly perceive the Apostolic origin of this sacred observance, and proceed to show you its advantages, and the obligations by which you are bound thereto. Temperance in eating and drinking has at all times been regarded a great virtue; hence the Saviour charges his disciples: "Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness." (Luke xxi. 34.) And the Apostle says, weeping, that there are many "whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is their shame." (Phil. iii. 19.) Hence, too, those admonitions of the wise man, "Be not greedy in any banquet and do not fall on all the meats. Use as a frugal man those things that are set before thee, lest whilst thou eatest much thou shouldst be hated." (Eccli. xxxi. 19; xxxvii. 31, 32.) And “if thou sittest among many, be not the first to stretch out thy hand, nor ask to drink first." (Eccli. xxxi, 21.) This is a virtue necessary at every time, on all occasions, and whosoever, at any time, commits intemperance, violates his duty; he is guilty of an immoral act, and also injures his body; hence the ancient Persians and Lacedemonians were particularly careful to train up their youth to the practice of this virtue, as the best safeguard of their mental energies, their bodily health, and their national institutions. Whilst temperance flourished in Greece and Rome, their liberties were protected, and it was only under the superincumbent bulk of luxury, gluttony, and intemperance, they were extinguished-for the natural consequence of this indulgence, is enervation of mind and sottish carelessness, "For in many meats there will be sickness, and greediness will turn to cholers. By surfeiting many have perished, but he that is temperate will |