sense, as being propitiatory only in virtue of the grand sacrifice, or as all acceptable services are, in some sense, appeasing and pacificatory.

Cyprian, of the same time, takes notice of the sacramental cup as relieving the sad and sorrowful heart, before oppressed with the anguish of sins, and now overjoyed with a sense of the Divine indulgence. From which words it is manifest, that it was God's pardon (not merely the Church's reconciliation) which was supposed to be conveyed in and by the Eucharist; which is farther evident from the noted story of Dionysius Bishop of Alexandria, his sending the Eucharist to Serapion at the point of death, and the reflections which he made upon it, as being instrumental towards the wiping out his sins before his departure P. Such was the prevailing notion of that time in relation to remission of sins, as conferred in the Eucharist. "Some ancient writers" (I use the words of Mr. Bingham)" acknowledge no other sorts of absolu"tion but only two; the baptismal absolution which is "antecedent to all penitential discipline, and this of re"conciling public penitents to the communion of the al"tar: because this latter comprehends all other ways of "absolution, in the several acts and ceremonies that were "used in conferring it 9." Another very learned writer has made the like observation, in the words here following: "They that have with the greatest diligence search"ed into antiquity, can discover no other rite or solemnity "used upon this occasion, but barely the admitting the "penitents to communion: by this they were entirely ac

quitted and absolved from the censure under which their

meam commemorationem, invenies, quod ista est commemoratio sola quæ propitium facit hominibus Deum. Origen. in Levit. Hom. xiii. p. 255.

Epotato sanguine Domini, mæstum pectus ac triste, quod prius peccatis angentibus premebatur, Divinæ indulgentiæ lætitia resolvatur : quod tum demum potest lætificare in Ecclesia Domini bibentem &c. Cypr. Ep. lxiii. p. 107. alias 153.

P Vid. Euseb. E. H. lib. vi. c. 44. p. 318.

Bingham, book xix. cap. 1. sect. 6.

"crimes had laid them: by this their sins were remitted "to them, and so they became once more fellow citizens "with the saints, and of the household of God."

For the fourth century, Eusebius may be an evidence to prove the doctrine of remission in and by the Eucharist, where he says; "We moreover offer the show bread, " while we revive the salutary memorial and the blood of "sprinkling of the Lamb of God, (that taketh away the "sins of the world,) the purgative of our souls s." He seems here to understand the blood of Christ as making the purgation directly, and the salutary memorial as doing it indirectly, and in virtue of the other. He speaks plainer elsewhere, directly saying, that Christians receive remission of sins in the daily memorial which they celebrate, viz. the memorial of our Lord's body and bloodt.

Cyril of the same century styles the Eucharist the sacrifice of propitiation ", (in such a sense as I have before hinted with relation to Origen,) and he supposes it to be offered in order to render God propitious, which amounts to the same as if he had said, for remission of sins *.

Ephrem Syrus, of the same age, supposes that the Eucharist purifies the soul from its spots, that is, from its sinsy. And Ambrose scruples not to ascribe to the

Johnson's Unbloody Sacrifice, part ii. p. 210. compare p. 107. and part i. p. 284, &c. Conf. Morin. de Pœnitent. lib. iv. c. 21, 22.

• ̓Αλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως προσφέρομεν, τὴν σωτήριον μνήμην ἀναζωπυροῦντες, τό τε τοῦ ῥαντισμοῦ αἷμα τοῦ ἀμνοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ περιελόντος τὴν ἁμαρ τίαν τα κόσμε, καθάρσιον τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν. Euseb. in Psalm. xci. p. 608.

· Διὰ τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ μυστικῆς διδασκαλίας πάντες ἡμεῖς οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν προτέρων ἁμαρτημάτων εὑράμεθα εἰκότως τὴν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος τὴν ὑπόμνησιν ὁσημέραι ἐπιτελοῦντες, κ. τ. λ. Euseb. Demonstr. Εvang. lib. ii. c. 10. p. 37.

" Tñs Dvoías insiívns rou ixaopov. Cyrill. Mystag. v. sect. 8. p. 327. Conf. Deylingius, Observat. Miscellan. p. 155, &c.

* Χριστὸν ἐσφαγιασμένον προσφέρομεν, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων προσφέ ρόμεν, ἐξιλεούμενοι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τε καὶ ἡμῶν τὸν φιλάνθρωπον Θεόν. Cyrill. Mystag. v. sect. 10. p. 328.

▾ Animæ accedentes per illa tremenda mysteria macularum purificationem accipiunt. Ephr. Syr. de Sacerdotio, p. 3.

Ego sum panis vitæ; etiamsi quis mortuus fuerit, tamen si panem meum

bread consecrated remission of sins; which is to be understood with some allowance for a figurative way of speaking. He speaks indeed of the living bread, that is, of Christ himself, but considered as symbolically received in the Eucharist; which is manifest from his referring to 1 Cor. xi. 28. " Let a man examine himself.”

St. Austin appears to have been in the same sentiments exactly where speaking of the grand sacrifice, by which alone true remission comes, he immediately adds, that all Christians are invited to drink the blood of it, meaning in the Eucharist.

All the ancient Liturgies are full of the same notion of remission of sins conferred in this Sacrament. And though they are mostly spurious, or interpolated, and answer not strictly to the names which they commonly bear, yet some of them have been in use for many centuries upwards in the Greek, Latin, and Oriental churches, and are a good proof of the universality of a doctrine for the time they obtained. The Clementine, though it is not thought to have been ever in public use, is commonly believed to be the oldest of any now extant: and though, as an entire collection, it cannot perhaps be justly set higher than the fifth century, yet it certainly contains many things derived from earlier times, and among those, probably, the doctrine of eucharistical remission. In that Liturgy prayer is made, that the Holy Spirit may so bless the elements, that the communicants may obtain remission of sins. And in the post communion, prayer is again made that the receiving of the Eucharist may turn to salvation, not con

acceperit, vivet in æternum: ille enim accipit qui seipsum probat. Qui autem accipit, non moritur peccatoris morte; quia panis hic remissio peccatorum est. Ambros. de Benedict. Patriarch. c. ix. p. 525.

z Illis sacrificiis hoc unum sacrificium significabatur, in quo vera fit remissio peccatorum. A cujus tamen sacrificii sanguine non solum nemo prohibetur, sed ad bibendum potius omnes exhortantur qui volunt habere vitam. Augustin. in Levit. tom. iii. p. 516, 517. Conf. Damascen. de Fid. lib. iv. c. 13. p. 271.

8 “Ίνα οι μεταλαβόντες αὐτοῦ Const. lib. viii. c. 12. p. 407.

ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτημάτων τύχωσι, &c. Apostol,

demnation, to the benefit both of body and soul, to the preserving true piety, and to remission of sins b.

Conformable to this pattern are the later Liturgies: particularly that which is called Basil's, according to the Alexandrian use, in Renaudot's edition c. And another, entitled Gregory's Liturgy d. The same thing is observable in the Liturgies which go under the names of apostles or evangelists, collected by Fabricius: as St. James's e, St. Peter'sf, St. Matthew's 5, St. Mark'sh, and St. John'si. The Liturgy under the name of Chrysostom, published by Goar, has the like forms. So also have the Oriental Liturgies in Renaudotius's Collection, volume the second, and the Latin ones published by Mabillon; of which it would be tedious here to speak more particularly; as it is also needless to trouble the reader with more references in a very clear point. Upon the whole, there appears to have been a general consent of the Christian churches all along as to the point of eucharistical remission of sins: which is proved, not only from the testimonies of single Fathers, but from the ancient standing discipline of the Church, and from the concurring language of all the ancient Liturgies now extant.

As to the judgment of the first Reformers abroad, it is well known to fall in with the same: or if any doubt should be, let Luther answer for the Lutherans 1, and for the Calvinists Calvin m.

5 Καὶ παρακαλέσωμεν μὴ εἰς κρίμα, ἀλλ ̓ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῖν γενέσθαι, εἰς ὠφέ λειαν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, εἰς φυλακὴν εὐσεβείας, εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. κ. τ. λο Apost. Constit. lib. viii. c. 14. p. 410.

Basil. Liturg. Alex. p. 61, 69, 71. apud Renaud. vol. i.

d Gregorii Liturg. p. 92, 95, 98, 106.

e Jacob. Liturg. p. 38, 41, 68, 71, 72, 86, 101, 111, 113, 120.

f Petri Liturg. p. 175, 195.

8 Matth. Liturg. p. 216, 245, 248.

h Marci Liturg. p. 261, 299, 315, 316.

i Johannis Liturg. p. 203.

k Goar. Euchol. p. 77, 80, 82.

1 Pertinet huc pulcherrima gradatio Lutheri: "Calix Eucharisticus con"tinet vinum: vinum exhibet Christi sanguinem: sanguis Christi complec❝titur novum testamentum, quia est novi testamenti sanguis: novum tes

The judgment of our own Church will easily be proved to concur in the same article, from the known language of our Communion Office, and Homilies. In our public Service, we pray, that "our sinful bodies may be made "clean by his body, and our souls washed through his "most precious blood." The propositions couched under these words are several: 1. That our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. 2. That sin defileth them. 3. That the sacrifice of Christ, removing guilt, (other due circumstances supposed,) makes them clean. 4. That there is an application of that sacrifice made in the Eucharist. 5. That therefore such application ought to be prayed for. So much for the body. The like, with a little change, may be understood also of the soul: and the conclusion from both parts is, that guilt is washed away in the Sacrament, duly administered, and duly received, both from body and soul; which in other words amounteth to this, that remission of sins is conferred by the Eucharist, to all worthy receivers.

In a thanksgiving prayer, of the same Service, we pray, that "we and all thy whole Church may obtain remission " of sins," beseeching the Divine Majesty, not to "weigh

our merits," but to "pardon our offences," &c. which words carry in them a manifest allusion to that remission of sins which is conceived ordinarily to pertain to this Sacrament, and is expected from it, as one of the benefits of it. But considering that all depends upon our being meet partakers, (whereof God only is the unerring Judge,) and

"tamentum continet remissionem peccatorum. Ergo, bibitio ex calice Eu"charistico applicat, obsignat, et confirmat credentibus, promissionem de "remissione peccatorum.”—

Sacramentum illud ipsum quod signat, etiam confert, et exhibet. Gerhard. loc. Comm. de. Sacr. Cœna, c. xx. p. 178.

m Christi consilium fuit, corpus suum sub pane edendum porrigere in remissionem peccatorum. Calvin. Admonit. ult. ad Westphal. p. 950. Conf. Instit. lib. iv. c. 17. sect. 42.

Lambertus Danæus cautiously words the doctrine thus: Coena Dominiest applicatio semel a Christo facta peccatorum nostrorum remissionis. Epist. ad Eccles. Gallican. 1498.