History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century Volume V Part 4

The private chaplain of this bigoted princess was a priest named Roma.n.u.s, a man worthy of the name. He zealously maintained the rites of the Latin church, and accordingly the festival of Easter was celebrated at court twice in the year; for while the king, following the eastern rule, was joyfully commemorating the resurrection of our Lord, the queen, who adopted the Roman ritual, was keeping Palm Sunday with fasting and humiliation.[70] Eanfeld and Roma.n.u.s would often converse together on the means of winning over Northumberland to the papacy. But the first step was to increase the number of its partizans, and the opportunity soon occurred.

[69] Ayda.n.u.s duodecimo post occisionem regis quem amabat die, de seculo ablatus. (Beda, lib. iii, cap. xiv.) Aidan on his twelfth day after the death of the king whom he loved, was taken out of the world.

[70] c.u.m rex pascha dominic.u.m solutis jejuniis faceret, tunc regina c.u.m suis persistens adhuc in jejunio diem l'almarum celebraret. (Beda, lib. iii, cap. xxv.) When the king having ended the time of fasting, was keeping Easter, the queen with her attendants still fasting, was celebrating Palm Sunday.

[Sidenote: WILFRID AT ROME.]

A young Northumbrian, named Wilfrid, was one day admitted to an audience of the queen. He was a comely man, of extensive knowledge, keen wit, and enterprising character, of indefatigible activity, and insatiable ambition.[71] In this interview he remarked to Eanfeld: "The way which the Scotch teach us is not perfect; I will go to Rome and learn in the very temples of the apostles." She approved of his project, and with her a.s.sistance and directions he set out for Italy.

Alas! he was destined at no very distant day to chain the whole British church to the Roman see. After a short stay at Lyons, where the bishop, delighted at his talents, would have desired to keep him, he arrived at Rome, and immediately became on the most friendly footing with archdeacon Boniface, the pope's favourite councillor. He soon discovered that the priests of France and Italy possessed more power both in ecclesiastical and secular matters than the humble missionaries of Iona; and his thirst for honours was inflamed at the court of the pontiffs. If he should succeed in making England submit to the papacy, there was no dignity to which he might not aspire.

Henceforward this was his only thought, and he had hardly returned to Northumberland before Eanfeld eagerly summoned him to court. A fanatical queen, from whom he might hope every thing--a king with no religious convictions, and enslaved by political interests--a pious and zealous prince, Alfred, the king's son, who was desirous of imitating his n.o.ble uncle Oswald, and converting the pagans, but who had neither the discernment nor the piety of the ill.u.s.trious disciple of Iona: such were the materials Wilfrid had to work upon. He saw clearly that if Rome had gained her first victory by the sword of Edelfrid, she could only expect to gain a second by craft and management. He came to an understanding on the subject with the queen and Roma.n.u.s, and having been placed about the person of the young prince, by adroit flattery he soon gained over Alfred's mind. Then finding himself secure of two members of the royal family, he turned all his attention to Oswy.

[71] Acris erat ingenii.....gratia venusti vultus, alacritate actionis. Beda, lib. v, p. 135.

[Sidenote: AND AT OSWY'S COURT.]

The elders of Iona could not shut their eyes to the dangers which threatened Northumberland. They had sent Finan to supply Aidan's place, and this bishop, consecrated by the presbyters of Iona, had witnessed the progress of popery at the court; at first humble and inoffensive, and then increasing year by year in ambition and audacity. He had openly opposed the pontiff's agents, and his frequent contests had confirmed him in the truth.[72] He was dead, and the presbyters of the Western Isles, seeing more clearly than ever the wants of Northumbria, had sent thither bishop Colman, a simple-minded, but stout-hearted man,--one determined to oppose a front of adamant to the wiles of the seducers.

[72] Apertum veritatis adversarium reddidit, says the Romanist Bede, lib. v. p. 135. Had rendered him an open enemy of the truth.

Yet Eanfeld, Wilfrid, and Roma.n.u.s were skilfully digging the mine that was to destroy the apostolic church of Britain. At first Wilfrid prepared his attack by adroit insinuations; and next declared himself openly in the king's presence. If Oswy withdrew into his domestic circle, he there found the bigoted Eanfeld, who zealously continued the work of the Roman missionary. No opportunities were neglected: in the midst of the diversions of the court, at table, and even during the chase, discussions were perpetually raised on the controverted doctrines. Men's minds became excited: the Romanists already a.s.sumed the air of conquerors; and the Britons often withdrew full of anxiety and fear. The king, placed between his wife and his faith, and wearied by these disputes, inclined first to one side, and then to the other, as if he would soon fall altogether.

[Sidenote: SYNODUS PHARENSIS.]

The papacy had more powerful motives than ever for coveting Northumberland. Oswy had not only usurped the throne of Deira, but after the death of the cruel Penda, who fell in battle in 654, he had conquered his states with the exception of a portion governed by his son-in-law Peada, the son of Penda. But Peada himself having fallen in a conspiracy said to have been got up by his wife, the daughter of Oswy, the latter completed the conquest of Mercia, and thus united the greatest part of England under his sceptre. Kent alone at that time acknowledged the jurisdiction of Rome: in every other province, free ministers, protected by the kings of Northumberland, preached the Gospel. This wonderfully simplified the question. If Rome gained over Oswy, she would gain England: if she failed, she must sooner or later leave that island altogether.

This was not all. The blood of Oswyn, the premature death of Aidan, and other things besides, troubled the king's breast. He desired to appease the Deity he had offended, and not knowing that _Christ is the door_, as holy Scripture tells us, he sought among men for a _doorkeeper_ who would open to him the kingdom of heaven. He was far from being the last of those kings whom the necessity of expiating their crimes impelled towards Romish practices. The crafty Wilfrid, keeping alive both the hopes and fears of the prince, often spoke to him of Rome, and of the grace to be found there. He thought that the fruit was ripe, and that now he had only to shake the tree. "We must have a public disputation, in which the question may be settled once for all," said the queen and her advisers; "but Rome must take her part in it with as much pomp as her adversaries. Let us oppose bishop to bishop." A Saxon bishop named Agilbert, a friend of Wilfrid's, who had won the affection of the young prince Alfred, was invited by Eanfeld to the conference, and he arrived in Northumberland attended by a priest named Agathon. Alas! poor British church, the earthen vessel is about to be dashed against the vase of iron. Britain must yield before the invading march of Rome.

On the coast of Yorks.h.i.+re, at the farther extremity of a quiet bay, was situated the monastery of Strenaeshalh, or Whitby, of which Hilda, the pious daughter of king Edwin, was abbess. She, too, was desirous of seeing a termination of the violent disputes which had agitated the church since Wilfrid's return. On the sh.o.r.es of the North Sea[73] the struggle was to be decided between Britain and Rome, between the East and the West, or, as they said then, between Saint John and Saint Peter. It was not a mere question about Easter, or certain rules of discipline, but of the great doctrine of the freedom of the church under Jesus Christ, or its enslavement under the papacy. Rome, ever domineering, desired for the second time to hold England in its grasp, not by means of the sword, but by her dogmas. With her usual cunning she concealed her enormous pretensions under secondary questions, and many superficial thinkers were deceived by this manuvre.

[73] This conference is generally known as the _Synodus Pharensis_ (from _Strenaeshalh_, sinus Phari). "Hodie Whitbie dicitur (White bay), et est villa in Eboracensi littore satis nota" Wilkius, Concii. p. 37, note.

[Sidenote: CEDDA.]

The meeting took place in the convent of Whitby. The king and his son entered first; then, on the one side, Colman, with the bishops and elders of the Britons; and on the other bishop Agilbert, Agathon, Wilfrid, Roma.n.u.s, a deacon named James, and several other priests of the Latin confession. Last of all came Hilda with her attendants, among whom was an English bishop named Cedda, one of the most active missionaries of the age.[74] He had at first preached the Gospel in the midland districts, whence he turned his footsteps towards the Anglo-Saxons of the East, and after converting a great number of these pagans, he had returned to Finan, and, although an Englishman, had received Episcopal consecration from a bishop, who had been himself ordained by the elders of Iona. Then proceeding westwards, the indefatigable evangelist founded churches, and appointed elders and deacons wherever he went.[75] By birth an Englishman, by ordination a Scotchman, everywhere treated with respect and consideration, he appeared to be set apart as mediator in this solemn conference. His intervention could not however, r.e.t.a.r.d the victory of Rome. Alas! the primitive evangelism had gradually given way to an ecclesiasticism, coa.r.s.e and rude in one place, subtle and insinuating in another.

Whenever the priests were called upon to justify certain doctrines or ceremonies, instead of referring solely to the word of G.o.d, that fountain of all light, they maintained that thus St. James did at Jerusalem, St. Mark at Alexandria, St. John at Ephesus, or St. Peter at Rome. They gave the name of _apostolical canons_, to rules which the apostles had never known. They even went further than this: at Rome and in the East, ecclesiasticism represented itself to be a law of G.o.d, and from a state of weakness, it thus became a state of sin.

Some marks of this error were already beginning to appear in the Christianity of the Britons.

[74] Presbyteri Cedda et Adda et Berti Duina, quorum ultimus natione Scotus, caeteri fuere Angli. (Beda, lib. iii, cap. xxi) These presbyters were Cedda and Adda and Berti and Dinna, of whom the last was by nation a Scot, the rest were English.

[75] Qui accepto gradu episcopatus et majore auctoritate cptum opus explens, fecit per loca ecclesias, presbyteros et diaconos ordinavit.

(Beda, lib. iii, cap. xxii.) Who having received the episcopal dignity and pursuing the work he had begun with more ample authority, built churches in various places, and ordained presbyters and deacons.

[Sidenote: THE DISPUTATION.]

King Oswy was the first to speak: "As servants of one and the same G.o.d, we hope all to enjoy the same inheritance in heaven; why then should we not have the same rule of life here below? Let us inquire which is the true one, and follow it."... "Those who sent me hither as bishop," said Colman, "and who gave me the rule which I observe, are the beloved of G.o.d. Let us beware how we despise their teaching, for it is the teaching of Columba, of the blessed evangelist John,[76] and of the churches over which that apostle presided."

[76] Ipsum est quod beatus evangelista Johannes, discipulus specialiter Domino dilectus. Beda, lib. iii. cap. xxv.

"As for us," boldly rejoined Wilfrid, for to him as to the most skilful had bishop Agilbert intrusted the defence of their cause, "our custom is that of Rome, where the holy apostles Peter and Paul taught; we found it in Italy and Gaul, nay, it is spread over every nation.

Shall the Picts and Britons, cast on these two islands, on the very confines of the ocean, dare to contend against the whole world?[77]

However holy your Columba may have been, will you prefer him to the prince of the apostles, to whom Christ said, _Thou art Peter, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven_?"

[77] Pictos dico ac Brittones, c.u.m quibus de duabus ultimis oceani insulis, contra totum orbem stulto labore pugnant. Ibid.

[Sidenote: SORROW OF THE BRITONS.]

Wilfrid spoke with animation, and his words being skilfully adapted to his audience, began to make them waver. He had artfully subst.i.tuted Columba for the apostle John, from whom the British church claimed descent, and opposed to Saint Peter a plain elder of Iona. Oswy, whose idol was power, could not hesitate between paltry bishops and that pope of Rome who commanded the whole world. Already imagining he saw Peter at the gates of paradise, with the keys in his hand, he exclaimed with emotion: "Is it true, Colman, that these words were addressed by our Lord to Saint Peter?" "It is true." "Can you prove that similar powers were given to your Columba?" The bishop replied "We cannot;" but he might have told the king: "John, whose doctrine we follow, and indeed every disciple, has received in the same sense as St. Peter the power to remit sins, to bind and to loose on earth and in heaven."[78] But the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures was fading away in Iona, and the unsuspecting Colman had not observed Wilfrid's stratagem in subst.i.tuting Columba for Saint John. Upon this Oswy, delighted to yield to the continual solicitations of the queen, and above all, to find some one who would admit him into the kingdom of heaven, exclaimed: "Peter is the doorkeeper, I will obey him, lest when I appear at the gate there should be no one to open it to me."[79] The spectators, carried away by this royal confession, hastened to give in their submission to the vicar of St. Peter.

[78] John xx 23; Matth. xviii. 18.

[79] Ne forte me adveniente ad fores regni clorum, non sit qui reserat. Beda. lib. ii. cap. xxv.

Thus did Rome Triumph at the Whitby conference. Oswy forgot that the Lord had said: _I am he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth_.[80] It was by ascribing to Peter the servant, what belongs to Jesus Christ the master, that the papacy reduced Britain. Oswy stretched out his hands, Rome riveted the chains, and the liberty which Oswald had given his church seemed at the last gasp.

[80] John x, 9; Rev. iii, 7.

Colman saw with grief and consternation Oswy and his subjects bending their knees before the foreign priests. He did not, however, despair of the ultimate triumph of the truth. The apostolic faith could still find shelter in the old sanctuaries of the British church in Scotland and Ireland. Immovable in the doctrine he had received, and resolute to uphold Christian liberty, Colman withdrew with those who would not bend beneath the yoke of Rome, and returned to Scotland. Thirty Anglo-Saxons, and a great number of Britons, shook off the dust of their feet against the tents of the Romish priests. The hatred of popery became more intense day by day among the remainder of the Britons. Determined to repel its erroneous dogmas and its illegitimate dominion, they maintained their communion with the Eastern Church, which was more ancient than that of Rome. They shuddered as they saw the red dragon of the Celts gradually retiring towards the western sea from before the white dragon of the Saxons. They ascribed their misfortunes to a horrible conspiracy planned by the iniquitous ambition of the foreign monks, and the bards in their chants cursed the negligent ministers who defended not the flock of the Lord against the wolves of Rome.[81] But vain were the lamentations!

[81] Horae Britannicae, b. ii, p. 277.

[Sidenote: PAPACY ORGANIZED IN BRITAIN.]

The Romish priests, aided by the queen, lost no time. Wilfrid, whom Oswy desired to reward for his triumph, was named bishop of Northumberland, and he immediately visited Paris to receive episcopal consecration in due form. He soon returned, and proceeded with singular activity to establish the Romish doctrine in all the churches.[82] Bishop of a diocese extending from Edinburgh to Northampton, enriched with the goods which had belonged to divers monasteries, surrounded by a numerous train, served upon gold and silver plate, Wilfrid congratulated himself on having espoused the cause of the papacy; he offended every one who approached him by his insolence, and taught England how wide was the difference between the humble ministers of Iona and a Romish priest. At the same time Oswy, coming to an understanding with the king of Kent, sent another priest named Wighard to Rome to learn the pope's intentions respecting the church in England, and to receive consecration as archbishop of Canterbury. There was no episcopal ordination in England worthy of a priest! In the meanwhile Oswy, with all the zeal of a new convert, ceased not to repeat that "the Roman Church was the Catholic and apostolic church," and thought night and day on the means of converting his subjects, hoping thus (says a pope) to redeem his own soul.[83]

[82] Ipse perplura catholicae observationis moderamina ecclesiis Anglorum sua doctrina contulit. (Beda, lib. iii, cap. xxvlii) He by his doctrine brought into the churches of England many rules of catholic observance.

[83] Omnes subjectos suos meditatur die ac nocte ad fidem catholicam atque apostolicam pro suae animae redemptione converti. (Beda, lib. iii, cap. xxix.) He studies day and night that all his subjects may be converted to the catholic and apostolic faith, for the salvation of his own soul.

The arrival of this news at Rome created a great sensation. Vitalian, who then filled the episcopal chair, and was as insolent to his bishops as he was fawning and servile to the emperor, exclaimed with transport: "Who would not be overjoyed![84] a king converted to the true apostolic faith, a people that believes at last in Christ the Almighty G.o.d!" For many long years this people had believed in Christ, but they were now beginning to believe in the pope, and the pope will soon make them forget Jesus the Saviour. Vitalian wrote to Oswy, and sent him--not copies of the Holy Scriptures (which were already becoming scarce at Rome), but--relics of the Saints Peter, John, Lawrence, Gregory, and Pancratius; and being in an especial manner desirous of rewarding Queen Eanfeld, to whom with Wilfrid belonged the glory of this work, he offered her a cross, made, as he a.s.sured her, out of the chains of St. Peter and St. Paul.[85] "Delay not," said the pope in conclusion, "to reduce all your island under Jesus Christ," or in other words, under the bishop of Rome.

[84] Quis enim audiens haec suavia non laetetur? Ibid.

[85] Conjugi, nostrae spirituali filiae, crucem...... (Beda, lib. iii.

cap. xxix.) To your consort, our spiritual daughter, a cross.....

The essential thing, however, was to send an archbishop from Rome to Britain; but Wighard was dead, and no one seemed willing to undertake so long a journey.[86]

[86] Minime voluimus nunc reperire pro longinquitate itineris. (Ibid.) On account of the length of the journey, we have not been able to find...

[Sidenote: ARCHBISHOP THEODORE]

There was not much zeal in the city, of the pontiffs: and the pope was compelled to look out for a stranger. There happened at that time to be in Rome a man of great reputation for learning, who had come from the east, and adopted the rites and doctrines of the Latins in exchange for the knowledge he had brought them. He was pointed out to Vitalian as well qualified to be the metropolitan of England.

Theodore, for such was his name, belonging by birth to the churches of Asia Minor, would be listened to by the Britons in preference to any other, when he solicited them to abandon their oriental customs. The Roman pontiff, however, fearful perhaps that he might yet entertain some leaven of his former Greek doctrines, gave him as companion, or rather as overseer, a zealous African monk named Adrian.[87]

[87] Ut diligenter attenderet, ne quid ille contrarium veritati, fidei. Graecorum more, in ecclesiam cui praeesset introduceret. (Beda, lib. iv. cap. i.) That he should constantly attend him, lest after the manner of the Greeks, he should introduce any thing contrary to the true faith into the church over which he presided.

Theodore began the great crusade against British Christianity, and endeavouring to show the sincerity of his conversion by his zeal, he traversed all England in company with Adrian,[88] every where imposing on the people that ecclesiastical supremacy to which Rome is indebted for her political supremacy. The superiority of character which distinguished Saint Peter, Theodore transformed into a superiority of office. For the jurisdiction of Christ and his word, he subst.i.tuted that of the bishop of Rome and of his decrees. He insisted on the necessity of ordination by bishops who, in an unbroken chain, could trace back their authority to the apostles themselves. The British still maintained the validity of their consecration; but the number was small of those who understood that pretended successors of the apostles, who sometimes carry Satan in their hearts, are not true ministers of Christ; that the one thing needful for the church is, that the apostles themselves (and not their successors only) should dwell in its bosom by their word, by their teaching, and by the Divine Comforter who shall be with it for ever and ever.

[88] Peragrata insula tota, r.e.c.t.u.m vivendi ordinem disseminabat.