Synopses & Reviews
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH BY JOSEPH BUCHANAN BERNARDIN MOREHOUSE-BARLOW COMPANY NEW YORK COPYIIGHT 1935, 1940, 1957 BY MOREHOUSE-BARLOW CO. THIRB EDITION Nin Printing, January, 1965 PtIHTED IK U. S. A. PREFACE MULTITUDES of subconsciously-remembered ideas from friends and speakers and books go into the making and phrasing of any writing intended to cover a vast subject for popular use. To all of them. an author would, If he were able, give grateful thanks for the help which they have been to him in his think ing. But only their ideas and not their names remain. He can, however, acknowledge the gracious kindness of those who have read his manuscript and enabled him, by their suggestions, to avoid some of the pitfalls inevitably attendant upon generalization, and to in dicate matters which he had neglected to treat. The Rev. Frederic M. Adams, the Rev. Dr. Edward R. Hardy, Jr., tie Rev. Otis R. Rice, the Rev. Dr. How ard C. Robbins, William L. Savage, Esq., and the Rev, George A. Trowbridge have done this friendly service, and I am grateful for their generously-given help. J. B. BERNARDIN NEW YORK. Cmr, All Saints Day, AJX 1935, KANSAS CITY MO. PUBLIC LIBRARY CONTENTS PAGE Preface . v CHAPTER. I. The Churchs History I II. The Churchs Government .... 13 HI. The Churchs Bible 19 IV. The Churchs Prayer Book .... 27 V. The Churchs Ritual .36 VI. The Churchs Doctrine 48 VII. The Churchs Moral Law .... 63 VIIL The Churchs Prayer Life .... 74 IX. The Churchs Sacraments 83 X. The Churchs Requirements .... 94 Appendices 101 A. Preparation for Confirmation . . 103 B. An Aid to Self-examination . .110 C. Prayers 112 D. A Partial List of Christian Religious Classics 116 AN INTRODUCTIONTO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH CHAPTER I THE CHURCHS HISTORY IN THE course of History there have been many and various forms of religion, some of which no longer exist and a large part of which never pbtained more than local or temporary importance. oday there are eleven giving world religions, among which is Chris tianity. Much of its teaching and isolated beliefs may be found in these other religions, but in one thing it is unique it alone among all the revealed religions claims that God Himself made the revelation of Himself in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ, and thereby showed men what God was like and what God wanted men to be like and that He imparts to them today the strength necessary to fulfil this purpose, if they seek it according to His will. The other religions claim that the divine revelation came through a prophet, as in. Mohammedanism, or else through some lesser god, as in the ancient Hermetic cults, but never through the Supreme God Himself. Jesus Christ, in order to perpetuate the revelation which God had made in Him, gathered about Him self a group of disciples from whom He chose an inner circle which were known as the Twelve, and later as the Apostles. At the time of His death on the cross they all deserted Him, but after His resurrection He in spired them with new hope and they went forth to 1 2 THE CHURCH S HISTORY carry to the world the Gospel, die good news about the salvation to be obtained through faith in Him. For the first hundred years or so of Christian his tory the early disciples expected the imminent return of Christ from heaven in glory to judge the world. Consequently, they made no provision for the future or the carrying on of their message beyond theirown generation. The early development of the Church came as a result of its adjustment to the fact of the de layed return of Christ, Hie first Jerusalem disciples continued to worship in the Temple, forming a synagogue of the Nazarene, which differed from the other synagogues only in their belief that Jesus Christ was the Messiah predicted by the Scriptures, and that He was about to return to judge the world and to set up His Kingdom. After the pej cution and death of St...
Synopsis
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.