THE

LOCAL PREACHERS' MAGAZINE

AND

CHRISTIAN FAMILY RECORD.

Original Essays.

THE WALDENSIAN, OR VAUDOIS CHURCH.

6

THE Right Rev. Dr. WORDSWORTH, Bishop of Lincoln, in his "Pastoral to the Wesleyan Methodists of the Diocese of Lincoln," challenges them to prove, if they can, that the Church of England" does not minister the Holy Sacraments by that form of Church Government which, and which alone, for fifteen hundred years was known and accepted by the Universal Church of Christ, to which He promised His continual presence and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost to teach her all things,' and to 'guide her into all truth;' namely, by the three orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." He asks, "Can these promises of Christ have been fulfilled, if the Church of Christ did not know for fifteen centuries what ought to be her own form of government in the ministry of the Word and Sacraments, and if it was left for men in the seventeenth century to discover it?" Then comes the interrogative home-thrust : "Can you yourselves be safe, either in ministering the Sacraments without a due mission and ordination to minister them (in opposition to the uniform judgment and practice of the Universal Church of Christ for fifteen centuries), or in abetting and encouraging any who minister them without such mission and ordination, and in receiving the Sacrament at their hands?" He adds the advice: "Inquire whether it be not true, that the Universal Church for fifteen hundred years after Christ believed that none but Bishops could confer Holy Orders." The Bishop further asserts that the qualification of Presbyters to ordain ministers is "a theory repugnant to the judgment of the Universal Church for 1,500 years."

The Bishop repeats these things in all the editions of his Pastoral, and urges and argues them with great earnestness in the Preface penned after its first issue, in reply to various criticisms thereon. The three orders of ministers, in the opinion of the Bishop, have been in existence, by apostolic authority, from apostolic times; the power to ordain being in the Bishops only, and that power transmitted to the present day, by successional ordination; thence called Apostolical Succession: and this order was unchallenged; or, at least, unaltered, for the first fifteen JANUARY, 1875.

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centuries of the Christian era: and if such had not been the case, the promises of Christ to His Church must have failed. Reference for support of these views is made to Matt. xxviii. 20; John xiv. 16, 26; xvi. 13. Four short texts are thus made the foundation for the enormous superstructure which Popery had reared, and on which the Bishop takes his stand, and whence he sallies forth to make war upon the Wesleyans, and upon all who decline to accept the theory of Apostolical Succession, and the Divine Right of Episcopacy.

We are not intending to enter into a controversy on these matters with Dr. Wordsworth; we place his opinions here because of the ignorance they reveal. Either the Right Rev. Prelate is strangely ignorant, for so learned a man, or he is censurably bold and presumptuous. In either case he is inconsistent with his theory, in remaining in communion with a schismatic Church: for, if Methodists are schismatics, in not being members of the Church of England, on the grounds upon which he argues, then surely he and his Church-Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and peopleare schismatics, in not being members of the Church of Rome. On the other hand, if it is our duty to give up our denominational distinctiveness, and to identify ourselves with the Church of England, on the ground of Apostolical succession and Episcopal order, we ought not to stop there, but to go, both we and she, over to Rome.

But why speak of these things in connection with what we may have to say about the Waldensian Church? For this good and sufficient reason; that that Church can trace its own history fully four hundred years anterior to the date given by the Bishop as that down to which Episcopacy prevailed and the doctrine of Apostolical succession was accepted by the Church Universal; the government of that Church being not Episcopal, but Presbyterian. Moreover, the historians of that Church adduce evidence enough that their doctrines have been held continuously, in opposition to Popery, by a people-often "scattered and peeled," but never destroyed,-ever struggling against persecuting and oppressive bishops, and maintaining their church life separately from the papal Church. They show the rise and spread of the Papacy, and the bud and development of its corruptions and enormous pretensions; and that from the days of the apostles until now such a Church as itself had never ceased to exist. With this evidence and these facts before us, we are warranted in boldly denying the allegations of Dr. Wordsworth, and in affirming that the whole fraternity of Apostolical Successionists in the Church of England are building upon sand, which historical investigation and Biblical study must inevitably sweep away.

The Waldensian Church was an active missionary Church, having an apostolical Presbyterian order, for centuries before the time of Luther and his coadjutors,-for centuries, therefore, before the rise of the great Reformation,—and consequently for centuries before the time when, Dr. Wordsworth tells the Methodists, the Episcopalian form of government

had continued to be the universal form of government in the Church of Christ. Not only is this the fact, but a still more interesting fact is shown by the Waldensian historians; viz., that she is the Mother of the Churches of the Reformation; because her missionaries and converts in many lands had shed such light upon the darkness of Popery as cleared the way for the Reformers, and resulted in actual reform in different European countries.

The existence of such a Church, protestant and evangelical in principle, and presbyterian in form, was an abomination to the Romish Church, both ecclesiastics and people. Rome has ever branded nonconformity as a capital offence; and stigmatised, persecuted, and slain nonconformists. A people renouncing episcopacy and the errors of Popery could not be tolerated. Either the subjugation or the extermination of such a people must, if possible, be effected; and who could doubt that either one or the other was practicable? Not to believe all that a fallen and corrupt priesthood taught, was a crime; and to occupy a position and propagate doctrines hostile to the priesthood was intolerable and unpardonable. Those who did so were no better than beasts of prey, that must be either tamed and restrained, or destroyed. That was the view taken by the Papacy, and that its policy. All along, therefore, has the Waldensian Church been subject to persecution, as was the primitive Church from which it had its origin. Not by force of reason, but by force of arms, has the Church of Rome and its agents ever sought to subdue the Waldensians; or, failing in that, to root them out of the earth.

No fewer than thirty-two of these attempts have been made-some by France, and some by Sardinia, at different times and under various circumstances: some of them accompanied by most atrocious deeds of blood and slaughter, and unmentionable forms of wickedness. Dreadful havock of them and their country has been made by their persecutors, sometimes; and there have been occasions when their extermination seemed inevitable. In their extremities, however, their trust was in God, to whom they cried; and by His intervention and their own heroism they often put the foe to flight, and secured for themselves a season of repose. Terribly as they have been harassed, and severely as they have suffered, their church life has been perpetuated to this day; and at this hour they are actively and energetically labouring in many parts of Italy to enlighten their benighted countrymen, and to lead them to the knowledge of Christ crucified.

Some writers have entertained the idea that the Waldenses took their name from Peter Waldo, and had their origin from his evangelistic labours. But this is altogether a mistake. He was a merchant of Lyons, converted through studying the Scriptures for himself, and hearing evangelical preaching, probably by one of their missionaries. He gave up business, and gave himself to the service of Christ, in the ministry of the Word; winning many converts from the ranks of Romanism, until his

success stirred up so much Papal rancour against him that he was obliged to become a fugitive, to save his life. After much travelling and toil, he ended his days in Bohemia. The name of Waldenses, or Valdenses, was historic before the time of Waldo, or Valdo, of Lyons; and is known to have been a designation of the inhabitants of the Valleys; their residence having been chiefly in certain valleys on both sides of the Alps that separate France and Italy. They are called, indifferently, Waldenses or Vaudois.

The valleys of Italy which they inhabit radiate from Turin, the capital of Piedmont, traced by the upper course of the river Po and some of its tributaries. We do not mean that they have their commencement at so low a point as Turin; but that their position may be reached by ascending the Po, from Turin, towards its source. They have been formed by water streaming from the mountains, in many rills, and several distinct torrents, that flow into the Po, at a point nearly twenty miles above Turin. In the spring of 1872, on our return from Rome, viá Turin, we spent a most interesting day at La Tour, or La Torre, the capital of these valleys; and having, since then, devoted some time to the study of their history, we propose to place before the readers of this magazine such gleanings and remarks, together with such personal narration, as may afford information to many, and be interesting to most-perhaps all— who read what we write.

The authors to whom we are chiefly indebted are two: viz., Dr. GILLY, who published two volumes of "Waldensian Researches," many years ago; and ANTOINE MONASTIER, "a native of the Vaudois valleys of Piedmont ;" whose "History of the Vaudois Church from its Origin," translated from the French into English, was published by the Religious Tract Society. From both these works we shall give extracts, but chiefly from the former; and when we do not mention the name of the author quoted, the reference will be to the work of Dr. Gilly, who spent some months, at intervals, in the valleys, associating with all classes, but especially with ministers and scholars, and gathering all the information he could from all sources.

OUR LOCAL PREACHERS.

BY GEORGE SIMS.

DEAR BRETHREN,-A letter has lately been received in which the writer expresses his thanks for the papers in our magazine for July and August last, with the above heading. This was followed by a request that some other papers, bearing on the same subject, might follow. Now if we can say anything that may be of service, we shall be thankful.

The establishment and maintenance of our churches is owing, in a great measure, to the labours of our local preachers. We do not say

this in order to lower those who are entirely set apart, and supported by the Church, for the great work of the ministry. But looking at Methodism as a whole, we say, local preachers are necessary, not only to its success, but even to its existence. No one would be a thorough Methodist if he did not hold this opinion, for it has been the policy of our Church from the first to call out, uphold, and encourage this order of men. It is interwoven with all our economy; it permeates all parts of our system; and yet doubts are sometimes expressed by some in reference to the utility of such a system.

There are two great facts on which we base its necessity. First.There is a greater work to be done than can be accomplished by the number of men who can devote the whole of their time to the service of the Church. If we take the number of itinerant ministers in our Church, and compare them with the calls which are made by the world, the demands of society, the openings for usefulness, we shall see that the number is wholly inadequate for the accomplishment of the great work. The separated ministry is limited by two things-viz., the power and disposition of the Church to support a ministry giving its whole time to this one work, and the supply of men who are willing and qualified to enter upon the important work. There are limits which are easily reached; and when these limits are reached, the regular ministry can go no farther; and the work is not accomplished. Much is being said about village Methodism, and what are the best means for extending it. But whatever may be done in the future, the time has not yet arrived when the work can be carried on without the aid of local preachers. There must, then, either be a limit to the work, or labourers must be secured who can, while devoting the whole or a part of their time on week-days for the sustenance of themselves and their families, give their Sabbaths and such other portions of their time as they may be able to spare, without requiring support from the Church.

Secondly.-There are men who will be sometimes more easily and more powerfully influenced by what appears to them a disinterested ministry. The regular ministry assumes, in the eyes of men of the world, a mere professional aspect. "The young man," it is said, "has selected his profession; he follows his calling, is paid for his labour, and must preach as he does." We do not say this is a correct position; but still, it does to some extent affect the public mind. But no real objection of this kind can be brought against the body of local preachers. They, like the tent-maker, work with their own hands, become chargeable to none, generally bear their own expenses, adding to their labours and duties as citizens and men of business, the work of preaching the Gospel of Christ. They toil without reward, and frequently without honour from men. Verily they have their reward from on high.

The history of the Church shows that in all ages there has been a call for more labourers than could be maintained in the regular ministry.

In