Remember The Shabath To Keep It Holly 3

Celtic Sabbath-Keepers    http://www.sundaylaw.net/books/other/edwardson/facts/fof13.htm WE KNOW from several sources that Christianity entered the British Isles in apostolic times. (Colossians 1:23.) Rev. Richard Hart, B. A., Vicar of Catton, says:  "That the light of Christianity daawned upon these islands in the course of the first century, is a matter of historical certainty"– "Ecclesiastical Records," p. vii. Cambridge:1846.  Tertullian, about 200 A. D., included the Britons among the many nations which believed in Christ, and he speaks of places among  "the Britons–inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ"–"Answer to the Jews," chap. vii.  Dr. Ephraim Pagit, in his "Christianography," printed in London, 1640, gives an interesting account of the early Christians in these islands. Before the church in the British Isles was forced under the papal yoke, it was noted for its institutions of learning.  The Rev. Mr. Hart says:  "That learning and piety flourished in these islands during the period of their independence is capable of the most satisfactory proof, and Ireland in particular was so universally celebrated, that students flocked thither from all parts of the world." –"Ecclesiastical Records," p. viii.  He says, some came to  "Ireland for the sake of studying the Scriptures"–Id., p. xi. The Coming Of Patrick Patrick, a son of a Christian family in southern Scotland, was carried off to Ireland by pirates about 376 A. D. Here, in slavery, he gave his heart to God and, after six years of servitude, escaped, returning to his home in Scotland. But he could not forget the spiritual need of these poor heathen, and after ten years he returned to Ireland as a missionary of the Celtic church.  "He had now reached his thirtieth year [390 A. D.]."–"The Ancient British and lrish Churches," William Catheart, D. D., p. 70. Dr. E. Pagit says that  "Saint Patricke had in his day founded there 365 churches" –"Christianography," Part 2, p. 10. Dr. August Neander says of Patrick:  "The place of his birth was Bonnaven, which lay between the Scottish towns Dumbarton and Glasgow, and was then reckoned to the province of Britain. This village, in memory of Patricius, received the name of Kil- Patrick or Kirk-Patrick. His father, a deacon in the village church, gave him a careful education"–"General History of the Christian Religion and Church," Vol. II, p. 122. Boston:1855. Patrick himself writes in his "Confession":  "I, Patrick, . . . had Calpornius for my father, a deacon, a son of the late Potitus, the presbyter .... I was captured. I was almost sixteen years of age . . . and taken to Ireland in captivity with many thousand men"–"The Ancient British and Irish Churches," William Catheart, D. D., p. 127. Patrick Not A Catholic To those who have heard of Patrick only as a Catholic saint, it may be a surprise to learn that he was not a Roman Catholic at all, but that he was a member of the original Celtic church. There is no more historic evidence for Patrick's being a Roman Catholic saint, than for Peter's being the first pope. Catholics claim that Pope Celestine commissioned Patrick as a Roman Catholic missionary to Ireland; but William Catheart, D. D., says:  "There is strong evidence that Patrick had no Roman commission in Ireland." "As Patrick's churches in Ireland, like their brethren in Britain, repudiated the supremacy of the popes, all knowledge of the conversion of Ireland through his ministry must be suppressed [by Rome, at all cost.]"–Id., p. 85.  The popes who lived contemporary with Patrick never mentioned him.  "There is not a written word from one of them rejoicing over Patrick's additions to their church, showing clearly that he was not a Roman missionary .... So completely buried was Patrick and his work by popes and other Roman Catholics, that in their epistles and larger publications, his name does not once occur in one of them until A. D.) 634."–Id., p. 83.  "Prosper does not notice Patrick .... He says nothing of the greatest success ever given to a missionary of Christ, apparently because he was not a Romanist"–Id., p. 84.  "Bede never speaks of St. Patrick in his celebrated 'Ecclesiastical History.'"–"Id., p. 85. But, writinig of the year 431, Bede says of a Catholic missionary:  "Palladius was sent by Celestinus, the Roman pontiff, to the Scots [Irish] that believed in Christ."–"Ecclesiastical History," p. 22. London:1894. But this papal emissary was not received any more favorably by the church in Ireland, than was Augustine later received by the Celtic church of Scotland, for  "he left because he did not receive respect in Ireland"–"The Ancient British and Irish Churches," William Catheart, D. D., p. 72.  No Roman Catholic church would have dared to ignore a bishop sent them by the pope. This proves that the churches in the British Isles did not recognize the pope. Dr. Todd says:  "The 'Confession' of St. Patrick contains not a word of a mission from Pope Celestine. One object of the writer was to defend himself from the charge of presumption in having undertaken such a work as the conversion of the Irish, rude and unlearned as he was. Had he received a regular commission from the see of Rome, that fact alone would be an unanswerable reply. But he makes no mention of Pope Celestine, and rests his defense altogether on the divine call which he believed himself to have received for his work"– Id., pp. 81, 82. "Muirchu wrote more than two hundred years after Patrick's death. His declaration is positive that he did not go to Rome."–Id., p. 88. There are three reasons why Patrick could not have been a Roman Catholic missionary: 1. Early Catholic historians and popes avoided mentioning Patrick or his work; until later legendary histories represented him as a Catholic Saint *14. 2. When papal missionaries arrived in Britain, 596 A. D., the leaders of the original Celtic church refused to accept their doctrines, or to acknowledge the papal authority, and would not dine with them. (Compare 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 John 8-11.) They  "acted towards the Roman party exactly 'as if they had been pagans"–"Ecclesiastical Records," by Richard Hart, pp. viii, xiv. 3.  The doctrines of the Celtic church of Patrick's day differed so widely from those of the Roman church, that the latter could not have accepted it as "Catholic." Patrick, and the churches he established in Ireland, as well as the mother church in Scotland and England, followed the apostolic practice of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and of working on Sunday, as we soon shall see. But this was considered deadly heresy by the Papacy. Columba Another leader in the Celtic church deserves to be mentioned, Columba, who was born in Ireland, A. D. 521. Animated by the zeal and missionary spirit he found in the schools established by Patrick, Columba continued the work of his predecessor, and selecting twelve fellow workers, he established a missionary center on the island of Iona. This early Celtic church sent its missionaries not only among the heathen Picts of their own country, but also into the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. This Sabbath-keeping church (as did their Waldensian brethren) kept the torch of truth burning during the long, dark night of papal supremacy, till finally they were conquered by Rome in the twelfth century. Professor Andrew Lang says of them: "They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical manner"–"A History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation," Vol. I, p. 96. New York:Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1900. Dr. A. Butler says of Columba:  "Having continued his labors in Scotland thirty-four years, he clearly and openly foretold his death, and on Saturday, the ninth of June, said to his disciple Diermit: ' This day is called the Sabbath, that is, the rest day, and such will it truly be to me; for it will put an end to my labors.'"–"Butler's Lives of the Saints," Vol. I, A. D. 597, art "St. Columba," p. 762. New York: P. F. Collier. In a footnote to Blair's translation of the Catholic historian, Bellesheim, we read:  "We seem to see here an allusion to the custom, observed in the early monastic Church of Ireland, of keeping the day of rest on Saturday, or the Sabbath"–"History of the Catholic Church in Scotland," Vol. I, p. 86. Professor James C. Moffatt, D. D., Professor of Church History at Princeton, says: "It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labor. They obeyed the fourth commandment literally upon the seventh day of the week."–"The Church in Scotland," p. 140. Philadelphia:1882. But the church of Rome could never allow the light of pure apostolic Christianity to shine anywhere, for that would reveal her own religion to be apostasy. Pope Gregory I, in 596, sent the imperious monk Augustine, with forty other monks, to Britain. Dr. A. Ebrard says of this "mission": "Gregory well knew that there existed in the British Isles, yea, in a part of the Roman dominion, a Christian church, and that his Roman messengers would come in contact with them. By sending these messengers, he was not 'only intent upon the conversion of the heathen, but from the very beginning he was also bent upon bringing this Irish-Scotch church, which had hitherto been free from Rome, in subjection to the papal chair." –"Bonifacius," p. 16. Guetersloh, 1882. (Quoted in Andrews' "History of the Sabbath," fourth edition, revised and enlarged, p. 532). Through political influence, and with magnificent display, the Saxon king, Ethelbert of Kent, consented to receive the pope's missionaries, and "Augustine baptized ten thousand pagans in one day" by driving them in mass into the water. Then, relying on the support of the pope and the sword of the Saxons, Augustine summoned the leaders of the ancient Celtic church, and demanded of them, "'Acknowledge the authority of the Bishop of Rome.' These are the first words of the Papacy to the ancient Christians of Britain." They meekly replied: "'The only submission we can render him is that which we owe to every Christian"–"History of the Reformation," D' Aubigne, Book XVII, chap. 2.  "'But as for further obedience, we know of none that he, whom you term the Pope, or Bishop of Bishops, can claim or demand"–"Early British History," G. H. Whalley, Esq., M. P., p. 17 (London:1860) and "Variation of Popery," Rev. Samuel Edger, D. D., pp. 180-183. New York:1849.  Then in 601, when the British bishops finally refused to have any more to do with the haughty messenger of the pope, Augustine proudly threatened them with secular punishment. He said:  "'If you will not have peace from your brethren, you shall have war from your enemies; if you will not preach life to the Saxons, you shall receive death at their hands.' Edelfred, King of Northumbria, at the instigation of Augustin, forthwith poured 50,000 men into the Vale Royal of Chester, the territory of Prince of Powys, under whose auspices the conference had been held. Twelve hundred British priests of the University of Bangor having come out to view the battle, Edelfred directed his forces against them as they stood clothed in their white vestments and totally unarmed, watching the progress of the battle–they were massacred to a man. Advancing to the university itself, he put to death every priest and student therein, and destroyed by fire the halls, colleges, and churches of the university itself; thereby fulfilling, according to the words of the great Saxon authority called the Pious Bede, the prediction, as he terms it, of the blessed Augustine. The ashes of this noble monastery were smoking; its libraries, the collection of ages, having been wholly consumed."–"Early British History," G. H. Whalley, Esq., M. P., p. 18. London:1860. See also "Six Old English Chronicles," pp. 275, 276; edited by J. A. Giles, D. C. L. London:1906. D'Aubigne says of Augustine:  "A national tradition among the Welsh for many ages pointed to him as the instigator of this cowardly butchery. Thus did Rome loose the savage Pagan against the primitive church of Britain"– "History of the Reformation,'' D'Aubigne, book 17, chap. 2. This was a master stroke of Rome, and a great blow to the native Christians. With their university, their colleges, their teaching priests, and their ancient manuscripts gone, the Britons were greatly handicapped in their struggle against the ceaseless aggression of Rome. Still they continued the struggle for more than five hundred years longer, till finally, in the year 1069, Malcolm, the King of Scotland, married the Saxon princess, Margaret, who, being an ardent Catholic, began at once to Romanize the primitive church, holding long conferences with its leaders. She was assisted by her husband, and by prominent Catholic officials. Prof. Andrew Lang says:  "The Scottish Church, then, when Malcolm wedded the sainted English Margaret, was Celtic, and presented peculiarities odious to the English lady, strongly attached to the establishment as she knew it at home .... The Celtic priests must have disliked the interference of an Englishwoman. "First there was a difference in keeping Lent. The Kelts did not begin it on Ash Wednesday .... They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner"–"History of Scotland," Vol. I, p. 96. William F. Skene says:  "Her next point was that they did not duly reverence the Lord's day, but in this latter instance they seem to have followed a custom of which we find traces in the early Monastic Church of Ireland, by which they held Saturday to be the 'Sabbath on which they rested from all their labours."–"Celtic Scotland," Vol. II, p. 349. Edinburgh: David Douglas, printer, 1877. "They held that Saturday was properly the Sabbath on which they abstained from work."–Id., p. 350. "They were wont also to neglect the due observance of the Lord's day, prosecuting their worldly labours on that as on other days, which she likewise showed, by both argument and authority, was unlawful"–Id., p. 348. Scotland Under Queen Margaret Professor Andrew Lang relates the same fact thus:  "The Scottish Church, then, when Malcolm wedded the saintly English Margaret, was Celtic, and presented peculiarities odious to an English lady, strongly attached to the Establishment as she knew it at home .... "They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner .... These things Margaret abolished"–"A History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation," Vol. I, p. 96. New York:Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1900. The Catholic historian, Bellesheim, says of Margaret:  "The queen further protested against the prevailing abuse of Sunday desecration. 'Let us, she said, venerate the Lord's day, inasmuch as upon it our Saviour rose from the dead; let us do no servile work on that day. The Scots in this matter had no doubt kept up the traditional practice of the ancient monastic Church of Ireland which observed Saturday, rather than Sunday, as a day of rest"–"History of the Catholic Church in Scotland," Vol. I, pp. 249, 250. Finally the queen, the king, and three Roman Catholic dignitaries held a three-day council with the leaders of the Celtic church. Turgot, the queen's confessor, says:  "It was another custom of theirs to neglect the reverence due to the Lord's day, by devoting themselves to every kind of worldly business upon it, just as they did upon other days. That this was contrary to the law, she proved to them as well by reason as by authority. 'Let us venerate the Lord's day,' said she, 'because of the resurrection of our Lord, which happened upon that day, and let us no longer do servile works upon it; bearing in mind that upon this day we were redeemed from the slavery of the devil. The blessed Pope Gregory affirms the same, saying: "We must cease from earthly labour upon the Lord's day."'... From that time forward . . . no one dared on these days either to carry any burdens himself or to compel another to do so."–"Life of Queen Margaret," Turgot, Section 20; cited in "Source Book," p. 506, ed. 1922. Thus Rome triumphed at last in Scotland. In Ireland also the Sabbathkeeping church established by Patrick was not long left in peace: "Giraldus Cambrensis informs us that in the year 1155 [Henry II, King of England, was entrusted by Pope Adrian IV with the mission of] invading Ireland [with devastating war] to extend the boundaries of the church, [so that even the Irish would become] faithful to the Church of Rome." The pope wrote Henry: "'You, our beloved son in Christ, have signified to us your desire of invading Ireland, . . . and that you are also willing to pay to St. Peter the annual sum of one penny for every house. We therefore grant a willing assent to your petition, and that the boundaries of the Church may be extended, . . . permit you to enter the island.'"–"Ecclesiastical Records of England, Ireland, and Scotland," Rev. Richard Hart, B. A., pp. xv, xvi.  Thus we see, that in Scotland an English queen  "introduced changes which, in Ireland, came in the wake of conquest and the sword. For example, the ecclesiastical novelties which St. Margaret's influence gently thrust upon Scotland, were accepted in Ireland by the Synod of Cashel (1172) under Henry II. Yet there remained, in the Irish Church, a Celtic and an Anglo- Norman party, 'which hated one another with as perfect a hatred as if they rejoiced in the designation of Protestant and Papist.'"–"History of Scotland," Andrew Lang, Vol. I, p. 97.  But whether this triumph of Catholicism over the native Celtic faith was accomplished by the devastating wars of Henry II, or by Queen Margaret's appeal to Pope Gregory, and her threat of the civil law, in either case it lacked an appeal to plain Bible facts, accompanied by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. And, while the leaders of the Celtic church might reluctantly yield to the civil authorities, the people, who had kept the Bible Sabbath for centuries, requested divine authority for Sunday-keeping. For some time the papal missionaries, who preached this strange gospel to the Britons, fabricated all kinds of stories about miraculous punishments that had befallen those who worked on Sunday; Bread baked on Sunday, when it was cut, sent forth a flow of blood; a man plowing on Sunday, when cleaning his plow with an iron, had it grow fast to his hand, so that he had to carry it around to his shame for two years. Forged Letter From Christ When the Abbot Eustace, 1200 A. D., was continually confronted with requests for a divine command for Sunday-keeping, he finally retired to   Europe, and returned the next year with a spurious letter from Jesus Christ, claimed to have fallen down from heaven upon St. Simon's altar at Golgotha. This letter declared:  "I am the Lord .... It is my will, that no one, from the ninth hour on Saturday (3 P.M.) until sunrise on Monday, shah do any work .... And if you do not pay obedience to this command, . . . I swear to you . . . I will rain upon you stones, and wood, and hot water, in the night .... Now, know ye, that you are saved by the prayers of my most holy Mother, Mary." –"Roger de Hoveden's Annals," Vol. II, pp. 526, 527, Bohn's edition. London:1853. In that superstitious age such childish fabrications might, to some extent, satisfy some people, but four hundred years later the trouble flared up again.  "Upon the publication of the 'Book of Sports' in 1618, a violent controversy arose among English divines on two points; first, whether the Sabbath of the fourth commandment was in force among Christians; and, secondly, whether, and on what ground, the first day of the week was entitled to be distinguished and observed as 'the Sabbath.' In 1628 Theophilus Brabourne, a clergyman, published the first work in favor of the seventh day, or Saturday, as the true Christian Sabbath. He and several others suffered great persecution."–Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, art. "Sabbatarians," p. 602. New York:Harper and Brothers, 1883. Several ministers arose in England about this time who defended the Bible Sabbath, and who were bitterly persecuted by the state church. John Trask was put in prison; his wife, a schoolteacher of a devout Christian character, remained in prison for fifteen years. On November 26, 1661, John James, a godly Sabbath-keeping preacher, was hanged for advocating the Sabbath truth, "and his head was set upon a pole opposite the meeting house in which he had preached the gospel."–"History of the Baptists," Dr. J. M. Cramp, p. 351. London:Elliot Stock, 1868.  Dr. Thomas Bampfield *15, who had been speaker in one of Cromwell's parliaments, wrote two books defending the seventh-day Sabbath (1692, 1693), but he also was imprisoned. In 1664, Edward Stennet, an English minister, wrote a book entitled: "The Seventh Day Is the Sabbath of the Lord." But like the rest, he had to spend a long time in prison.  In 1668 he wrote the following letter to his Sabbath-keeping brethren in America: "Abington, Berkshire, England, "February 2nd, 1668. "Edward Stennet, a poor unworthy servant of Jesus Christ, to the remnant in Rhode Island, who keep the commandments of God, and the testimonies of Jesus, sendeth greeting:  "Dearly Beloved:  "I rejoice in the Lord on your behalfs that He hath been graciously pleased to make known to you His holy Sabbath in such a day as this, when truth falleth in the streets, and equity cannot enter. And with us we can scarcely find a man that is really willing to know whether the Sabbath be a truth or not, and those who have the greatest parts, have the least anxiety to meddle with it.  "We have passed through great opposition for the truth's sake, repeatedly from our brethren, which makes the affliction heavier; I dare not say how heavy, lest it should seem incredible; but the Lord has been with us, affording us strength according to our day. And when lovers and friends seem to be moved far from us, the Lord was near us, comforting our souls, and quickening us, with such quick and eminent answers to our prayers, has encouraged and established us in the truth for which we suffer. But the opposers of truth seem much withered, and at present the opposition seems declining away; the truth is strong, and this spiritual fiery law will burn all those thorns which men set up before it. For was there ever any ceremonial law given us? But this law was given from the mouth of God, in the ears of so many thousands–written on tables of stone with His own finger– promised to be written on the tables of their hearts–and confirmed by a miracle for the space of forty years in the wilderness, the manna not keeping good any other day but the Sabbath ....  "It is our duty as Christians, to carry it with all meekness and tenderness to our brethren, who, through the darkness of their understanding in this point, differ from us. We have abundant reason to bless our dear Father, who hath opened our eyes to behold the wonders in His law, while many of His dear servants are in the dark; but the Lord has in this truth as in others, first revealed it unto babes, that no flesh shall glory in His presence. Our work is to be at the feet of the Lord in all humility, crying unto Him, that we may be furnished with all grace to fit us for His work; that we may be instruments in His hands, to convince our brethren (if the Lord will) who at present differ from us ....  "Truly, dear brethren, it is a time of slumbering and sleeping with us, though God's rod is upon our backs. Oh! pray for us to the Lord,' to quicken us, and set us upon watch-towers. Here are, in England, about nine or ten churches that keep the Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have been eminently preserved in this tottering day, when many once eminent churches have been shattered in pieces. The Lord alone be exalted, for the Lord has done this, not for our sakes, but for His own name's sake. My dear brethren, I write these lines at a venture, not knowing how they will come to your hand. I shall commit them and you to the blessing of our dear Lord, who hath loved us, and washed away our sins in His own blood. If these lines come to you safely, and I shall hear from you, hereafter I will write to you more largely The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all'. Amen. "Edward Stennet." –"An Original History of the Religious Denominations," I. Daniel Rupp, p. 71. Philadelphia:1844. [ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]

Remember The Shabath To Keep It Holly 2

Sabbath-Keepers In India                             http://www.sundaylaw.net/books/other/edwardson/facts/fof15.htm  The Saturday Sabbath reminds us of God’s amazing creation. "For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth" - Exodus 20:11. WE SHALL now briefly trace the apostolic Christian Sabbath-keepers from Antioch in Syria to their farthest mission stations in old China. Thomas Yeates in his "Indian Church History" (London:1818), has collected from several sources statements that all agree on the points he presents, that the apostle Thomas traveled through Persia into India, where he raised up many churches.  "From thence he went to China, and preached the gospel in the city of Cambala, [which is] supposed to be the same with Pekin, and there he built a church."–"Indian Church History," p. 73.  "In the year 1625, there was found in a totem near Si-ngan-fu, the metropolis of the province of Shin-si, a stone having the figure of a cross, and inscriptions in two languages,... Chinese and Syriac · . . as follows: 'This Stone was erected to the honor and eternal memory of the law of light and truth brought from Ta- Cin, and promulgated in China.' [The inscription consists of 736 words, giving] a summary of the fundamental articles of the Christian faith"–Id., pp. 86-88. That the missionaries who brought the gospel to China were Sabbathkeepers can be seen by the following extract from the inscription:  "On the seventh day we offer sacrifice, after having purified our hearts, and received absolution for our sins. This religion, so perfect and so excellent, is difficult to name, but it enlightens darkness by its brilliant precepts"– "Christianity in China," M. l'Abbe Huc, Vol. I, chap. 2, pp. 48, 49, seq. New York:1873. Returning to India we shall find traces of the Sabbath among those churches also. And they had retained the Bible in the ancient language used by the church at Antioch, where the name "Christians" originated. (Acts 11:26.)  "It was in these sequestered regions that copies of the Syriac Scriptures found a safe asylum from the search and destruction of the Romish inquisitors, and were found with all the marks of ancient purity"–"Indian Church History," T. Yeates, p. 167. "Whatever may be the future use and importance of those manuscripts, one thing is certain, and that is, they establish the fact that the Syrian Christians of India have the pure unadulterated Scriptures in the language of the ancient church of Antioch, derived from the very times of the Apostles"–Id., p. 169. Thomas Yeates shows that they kept  "Saturday, which amongst them is a festival day, agreeable to the ancient practice of the church"–Id., pp. 133, 134. The Armenians of India and Persia had evidently received their faith from the same source as the other Christians of India. Rev. Claudius Buchanan, D. D., says of them:  "The Armenians in Hindostan are our own subjects .... They have preserved the Bible in its purity; and their doctrines are, as far as the Author knows, the doctrines of the Bible. Besides, they maintain the solemn observance of Christian worship, throughout our Empire, on the seventh day; and they have as many spires pointing to heaven among the Hindoos, as we ourselves"–"Christian Researches in Asia," p. 143. Philadelphia:1813. The Jacobites, another branch of the original Christians of India, can add one more link to this evidence. Samuel Purchas, the noted geographer and compiler, said of them:  "They keep Saturday holy, nor esteem the Saturday fast lawful, but on Easter even. They have solemn service on Saturdays, eat flesh, and feast it bravely, like the Jews"–"Pilgrimmes," Part 2, Book 8, chap. 6, p. 1269. London:1625. (We must remember that the papal church demanded all to fast on the Sabbath, but these Christians refused to obey her.)  J. W. Massie says of these Indian Christians:  "Remote from the busy haunts of commerce, or the populous seats of manufacturing industry, they may be regarded as the Eastern Piedmontese, the Vaudois of Hindustan, the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth through revolving centuries, though indeed their bodies lay as dead in the streets of the city which they had once peopled."–"Continental India," Vol. 2, p. 120. Papal Persecution Mr. Massie further says of these Christians: " Separated from the Western world for a thousand years, they were naturally ignorant of many novelties introduced by the councils and decrees of the Lateran; and their conformity with the faith and practice of the first ages laid them open to the unpardonable guilt of heresy and schism, as estimated by the church of Rome. 'We are Christians, and not idolaters,' was their expressive reply when required to do homage to the image of the Virgin Mary .... LaCroze states them at fifteen hundred churches and as many towns and villages. They refused to recognize the pope, and declared they had never heard of him; they asserted the purity and primitive truth of their faith since they came, and their bishops had for thirteen hundred years been sent, from the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians."–Id., Vol. II, pp. 116, 117. When the Portuguese (Roman Catholics) came to Malabar, India, in 1503,  "they were agreeably surprised to find upwards of a hundred Christian churches on the coast of Malabar. But when they became acquainted with the purity and simplicity of their worship, they were offended. 'These churches,' said the Portuguese, 'belong to the Pope.' 'Who is the Pope?' said the natives, 'we never heard of him.' The European priests were yet more alarmed, when they found that these Hindoo Christians maintained the order and discipline of a regular church under Episcopal jurisdiction and that, for 1300 years past, they had enjoyed a succession of Bishops appointed by the Patriarch of Antioch. 'We,' said they, are of the true faith, whatever you from the West may be; for we came from the place where the followers of Christ were first called Christians.' "–"Christian Researches in Asia," Claudius Buchanan, D. D., p. 60. Philadelphia:1813. "These Christians met the Portuguese as natural friends and allies, and rejoiced at their coming:–but the Portuguese were much disappointed at finding the St. Thome Christians firmly fixed in the tenets of a primitive church; and soon adopted plans for drawing away from their pure faith this innocent, ingenuous, and respectable people"–"Indian Church History," Thomas Yeates, p. 163. London:1818. When the Jesuit, Francis Xavier, and his colaborers, were sent to India, they displayed the true spirit of Romanism.  "The Inquisition was set up at Goa, in the Indies, at the instance of Francis Xaverius, who signified by letter to Pope [King] John III, Nov. 10, 1545, 'that the Jewish wickedness spread every day more and more in the parts of the East Indies, subject to the kingdom of Portugal, and therefore he earnestly besought the said king, that to cure so great an evil, he would take care to send the office of the Inquisition into those countries. [Accordingly the Inquisition was erected there.] The first Inquisitor was Alexius Diaz Falcano, sent by Cardinal Henry, March 15, A. D. 1560. The language of F. Xavier, used on this occasion, is truly suspicious, and that under the mask of correcting 'the Jewish wickedness,' is rather to be construed an avowed design against the liberties, the independence, and the firmness of the native Christians of Malabar, who refused to acknowledge the Pope's supremacy, and with a true Protestant zeal bravely resisted the Catholic tyranny."–Id., pp. 139, 140. "The Jewish wickedness" of which Xavier complained was evidently the Sabbath-keeping among those native Christians, as we shall see in our next quotation. When one of these Sabbath-keeping Christians was taken by the Inquisition, he was accused " of having Judaized; which means, having conformed to the ceremonies of the Mosaic law; such as not eating pork, hare, fish without scales, &c., of having attended the solemnization of the Sabbath"–"Account of the Inquisition at Goa," Dellon, p. 56. London:1815.  "The Inquisitors, by degrees, begin to urge him in this way–'If thou hast observed the law of Moses, and assembled on the Sabbath day as thou sayest, and thy accusers have seen thee there, as appears to have been the case; to convince us of the sincerity of thy repentance, tell us who are thine accusers, and those who have been with thee at these assemblies.'" Dellon then suggests that in the mind of the Inquisitors "the witnesses of the Sabbath are considered as accomplices." –Id., p. 58. Some have thought that these Sabbath-keepers were relapsed Jews, but Dellon declares:  "Of an hundred persons condemned to be burnt as Jews, there are scarcely four who profess that faith at their death; the rest exclaiming and protesting to their last gasp that they are Christians, and have been so during their whole lives."–Id., p. 64. "The prisoner, who was entirely innocent, would be given over to the civil arm to be burned, unless he confessed the very crimes of which he was accused, and signed his confession, and also named six or seven of his accusers. But, not being told who they were, he might have to name many before striking the right ones, and, as his accusers were supposed to have been eyewitnesses to his Sabbath-keeping, they might be Sabbath-keepers, who, like himself, were in the clutches of the Inquisition. His only hope, therefore, was to name some of his brethren, who would then be taken by the inquisitors, and forced to repeat the same experience to free themselves. Thus the prison would be filled with people who were tortured for guilt of which they were innocent, or to remain in solitary confinement and terrible suspence and agony of mind until the Auto da Fe, or public burning, which took place every two or three years"–Id., pp. 53-60, 67.  And whether they were released or executed, their property was confiscated to the Inquisition. Dr. C. Buchanan says:  "When the power of the Portuguese became sufficient for their purpose, they invaded these tranquil Churches, seized some of the Clergy, and devoted them to the death of heretics .... They seized the Syrian Bishop Mar Joseph, and sent him prisoner to Lisbon and then convened a Synod at one of the Syrian Churches called Diamper, rear Cochin, at which the Romish Archbishop Menezes presided. At this compulsory Synod 150 of the Syrian Clergy appeared. They were accused of the following practices and opinions' 'That they had married wives; that they owned but two Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper; that they neither invoked Saints, nor worshipped Images, nor believed in Purgatory; and that they had no other orders of names of dignity in the church, than Bishop, Priest, and Deacon.' These tenets they were called on to abjure, or to suffer suspension from all Church benefices. It was also decreed that all Syrian books on ecclesiastical subjects that could be found, should be burned; 'in order,' said the Inquisitors, 'that no pretended apostolical monuments may remain.'"– "Christian Researches in Asia," p. 60. The papacy had adopted the policy that all remains of the pure, apostolic church, whether persons or books, should be carefully eradicated, so that no trace of them might betray the sad fact that the Roman church had fallen away from the apostolic purity. And she has also tried to destroy all accounts of her persecution during the Dark Ages, so that her tracks would be covered up. [ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]

Remember The Shabath To Keep It Holly

Chapter 12 The Waldenses                       http://www.sundaylaw.net/books/other/edwardson/facts/fof12.htm WHILE Constantine's purchased converts, and the superficial-minded multitude followed the popular church, there were many honest, Godfearing Christians, who resented this sinful compromise with paganism; and, when they saw that all their protests were useless, they withdrew to places where they could more freely follow their conscience and bring up their children away from the contamination of the fallen church, which they looked upon as the "Babylon" of Revelation 17. Several hundred Sabbathkeeping Christian churches were established in southern India, and some were found even in China. Likewise the original Celtic Church in England, Scotland, and Ireland kept the seventh-day Sabbath. St. Patrick, Columba, and the churches they established kept the seventh day. The majority of these original Christians settled, however, in the Alps, a place naturally suited for their protection, being situated where Switzerland, France, and Italy join. They could, therefore, more easily get protection in one or another of these countries, as it would be harder for the Papacy to get joint action of all these countries in case of persecution. Then, too, these mountains were so steep and high, the valleys so narrow, and the passes into them so difficult, that it would seem as though God had prepared this hiding place for His true church and truth during the Dark Ages. William Jones says: "Angrogna, Pramol, and S. Martino are strongly fortified by nature on account of their many difficult passes and bulwarks of rocks and mountains; as if the all-wise Creator, says Sir Samuel Morland, had, from the beginning, designed that place as a cabinet, wherein to put some inestimable jewel, or in which to reserve many thousand souls, which should not bow the knee before Baal."–"History of the Christian Church," Vol. I, p. 356, third ed. London:1818. Sophia V. Bompiani, in "A Short History of the Italian Waldenses" (New York:1897), quotes from several unquestionable authorities to show that the Waldenses, after having withdrawn to the Alps because of persecution, fully separated from the Roman church under the work of Vigilantius Leo, the Leonist of Lyons, who vigorously protested against the many false doctrines and practices that had been adopted by the Church. Jerome (A. D. 403-406) wrote a very cutting book against him in which he says: "'That monster called Vigilantius . . . has escaped to the region where King Coffins reigned, between the Alps and the waves of the Adriatic. From thence he has cried out against me, and, ah, wickedness! there he has found bishops who share his crime.'" Sophia V. Bompiani then remarks: "This region, where King Cottius reigned, once a part of Cisalpine Gaul, is the precise country of the Waldenses. Here Leo, or Vigilantius, retired for safety from persecution, among a people already established there of his own way of thinking, who received him as a brother, and who thenceforth for several centuries were sometimes called by his name [Leonists]. Here, shut up in the Alpine valleys, they handed down through the generations the doctrines and practices of the primitive church, while the inhabitants of the plains of Italy were daily sinking more and more into the apostasy foretold by the Apostles"–"A Short History of the Italian Waldenses," pp. 8, 9. "The ancient emblem of the Waldensian church is a candlestick with the motto, Lux lucet in tenebris ['The light shineth in darkness']. A candlestick in the oriental imagery of the Bible is a church, and this church had power from God to prophesy in sackcloth and ashes twelve hundred and sixty days or symbolic years"–Id., p. 17. Dr. W. S. Gilly, an English clergyman, after much research, wrote a book entitled: "Vigilantius and His Times," giving the same information. Roman Catholic writers try to evade the apostolic origin of the Waldenses, so as to make it appear that the Roman is the only apostolic church, and that all others are later novelties. And for this reason they try to make out that the Waldenses originated with Peter Waldo of the twelfth century.  Dr. Peter Allix says:  "Some Protestants, on this occasion, have fallen into the snare that was set for them. . . It is absolutely false, that these Churches were ever founded by Peter Waldo .... It is a pure forgery."–"Ancient Church of Piedmont," pp. 192. Oxford:1821. "It is not true, that Waldo gave this name to the inhabitants of the valleys; they were called Waldenses, or Vaudes, before his time, from the valleys in which they dwelt"–Id., p. 182. On the other hand, he "was called Valdus, or Waldo, because he received his religious notions from the inhabitants of the valleys"–"History of the Christian Church," William Jones, Vol. II, p. 2. See also Sir Samuel Morland's "History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piedmont," pp. 29, 30. Henri Arnaud, a leading pastor among the Waldenses, says: Their proper name, Vallenses, is derived from the Latin word vallis, and not, as has been insinuated, from Valdo, a merchant of Lyons"–"The Glorious Recovery by the Vaudois," Henri Arnaud, p. xiii. London:1827. The Roman Inquisitor, Reinerus Sacho, writing about 1230 A. D., says:  "The heresy of the Vaudois, or poor people of Lyons, is of great antiquity. Among all sects that either are, or have been, there is none more dangerous to the Church, than that of the Leonists, and that for three reasons; the first is, because it is the sect of the longest standing of any; for some say that it has been continued down ever since the time of Pope Sylvester; and others, ever since that of the apostles. The second is, because it is the most general of all sects; for scarcely is there any country to be found where this sect hath not spread itself. And the third, because it has the greatest appearance of piety; because, in the sight of all, these men are just and honest in their transactions, believe of God what ought to be believed, receive all the articles of the Apostles' Creed, and only profess to hate the Church of Rome"–Quoted on page 22 of William Stephen Gilly's "Excursion,'' fourth edition. London:1827. Now it must be clear as the noonday sun, that Reinerus would not have written as he did, if the Waldenses had originated with Peter Waldo, only seventy-five years before; nor could Waldo's followers have multiplied and spread over the whole world in so short a time, under great persecution, and with so slow means of travel. Henri Arnaud, a Waldensian pastor, says of their origin:  "Neither has their church been ever reformed, whence arises its title of Evangelic. The Vaudois are, in fact, descended from those refugees from Italy who, after St. Paul had there preached the gospel, abandoned their beautiful country and fled, like the woman mentioned in the Apocalypse, to these wild mountains, where they have to this day handed down the gospel from father to son in the same purity and simplicity as it was preached by St. Paul"–"The Glorious Recovery by the Vaudois," p. xiv of preface by the Author, translated by Acland. London:1827. The Waldensian Faith The Waldenses took the Bible as their only rule of faith, abhorred the idolatry of the papal church, and rejected their traditions, holidays, and even Sunday, but kept the seventh-day Sabbath, and used the apostolic mode of baptism. (See "Ancient Churches of Piedmont," by P. Allix, pp. 152-260.) Their old catechism shows that they believed in justification by faith in the grace of Christ alone, and that obedience to the Ten Commandments was the sure fruit of living faith: "Q.–By what means do we hope for grace? A.–By the Mediator Jesus Christ .... "Q.–What is a living faith? A.–That which worketh by charity. Q.–What is a dead faith? A.–According to St. James, that faith which is without works, is dead .... "Q.–By what means canst thou know that thou believest in God? A.–By this, because I know that I have given myself to the observation of the commandments of God. Q.–How many commandments of God are there? A.–Ten, as it appeareth in Exodus and Deuteronomy .... Q.–Upon what do all these commandments depend? A.–Upon the two great commandments, that is to say: Thou shalt love God above all things, and thy neighbor as thyself"–"Waldenses," Perrin, Part III, Book I, pp. 1-10. (1624 A.D.) "The Glorious Recovery by the Vaudois," Henri Arnaud, pp. xcvi, xcvii, cv. London:1827. Dr. Peter Allix quotes the following from a Roman Catholic author:  "'They say that blessed Pope Sylvester was the Antichrist, of whom mention is made in the Epistles of St. Paul, as being the son of perdition, who extols himself above everything that is called God; for, from that time, they say, the Church perished.' . . . "He lays it down also as one of their opinions; 'That the Law of Moses is to be kept according to the letter, and that the keeping .of the Sabbath, circumcision, and other legal observances, ought to take place"–"Ancient Churches of Piedmont,'' p. 169 (page 154, edition of 1690). Oxford:1821.  In regard to the accusation that the Waldenses practiced circumcision, Mr. Benedict truthfully says: "The account of their practicing circumcision is undoubtedly a slanderous story, forged by their enemies, and probably arose in this way, because they observed the seventh day they were called, by way of derision, Jews, as the Sabbatarians are frequently at this day, and if they were Jews, it followed, of course, that they either did, or ought to, circumcise their followers."– ''General History of the Baptist Denomination," Vol. II, p. 414, edition of 1813. That this was exactly the way this slander was fastened on Sabbath-keepers, we can see from the "Epistle" written against them by Pope Gregory I (A. D. 590-604), in which he says: "It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day .... "For, if any one says that this about the Sabbath is to be kept, he must needs say that carnal sacrifices are to be offered, he must say, too, that the commandment about the circumcision of the body is still to be retained."– "Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers" (Second Series), Vol. XIII, Book 13, epist. 1, p. 92. New York:1898. Going back to Judaism was considered by the Roman Catholic Church as one of the most serious heresies, punishable with death. And any one at all familiar with the tactics of Romanists knows that it has been a practice, only too common among them, to blacken the character of those whom they would destroy, so as to justify their destruction. Dr. Peter Allix says: "It is no great sin with the Church of Rome to spread lies concerning those that are enemies of the faith .... There is nothing more common with the Romish party, than to make use of the most horrid calumnies to blacken and expose those who have renounced her communion .... Calumny is a trade the Romish party is perfectly well versed in"–"Ancient Church of Piedmont," pp. 224, 225. (Pages 205, 206 in edition of 1690.) William Jones says: "Louis XII King of France, being informed by the enemies of the Waldenses, inhabiting a part of the province of Province, that several heinous crimes were laid to their account, sent the Master of Requests, and a certain doctor of the Sorbonne, who was confessor to his majesty, to make inquiry into this matter. On their return, they reported that they had visited all the parishes where they dwelt, had inspected their places of worship, but that they had found there no images, nor signs of the ornaments belonging to the mass, nor any of the ceremonies of the Romish church; much less could they discover any traces of those crimes with which they were charged. On the contrary, they kept the Sabbath day, observed the ordinance of baptism, according to the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith, and the commandments of God. The King having heard the report of his commissioners, said with an oath that they were better men than himself or his people"–"History of the Christian Church," Vol. 2, pp. 71, 72, third edition. London:1818. Names Of The Waldenses John P. Perrin of Lyons writes of how the Waldenses went under different names, either from the territory in which they lived, or from the name of the missionary they had sent to that country. He says:  "First therefore they called them . . . Waldenses; of the countries of Albi, Albigeois [Albigenses] .... "And from one of the disciples of Waldo, called Ioseph [Joseph], who preached in Dauphiney in the diocesse of Dye, they were called Iosephists [Josephites] .... "Of one of their pastors who preached in Albegeois, named Arnold Hot, they were called Arnoldists .... "And because they observed no other day of rest but the Sabbath dayes, they called them Insabathas, as much as to say, as they observed no Sabbath. "And because they were alwayes exposed to continuall sufferings, from the Latin word Pati, which signifieth to suffer, they called them Patareniens. "And for as much as like poore passengers, they wandered from one place to another, they were called Passagenes,"–"Luther's Fore-Runners," (original spelling) pp. 7, 8. London:1624. This author quotes the following from the Waldensian faith:  "That we are to worship one only God, who is able to help us, and not the Saints departed; that we ought to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that there was no necessity of observing other feasts"–Id, p. 38.  Goldastus, a learned German historian (A. D. 1576-1635) says of them:  They were called "Insabbatati, not because they were circumcised, but because they kept the Jewish Sabbath." "Circumcisi forsan illi fuerint, qui aliis Insabbatati, non quod circumciderentur, inquit Calvinista [Goldastus] sed quod in Sabbato judaizarent'–Robert Robinson, in "Ecclesiastical. Researches," chap, 10, p. 303. (Quoted in "History of the Sabbath," J. N. Andrews, p. 412, ed. 1887.)  David Benedict, M. A., says:  "Robinson gives an account of some of the Waldenses of the Alps, who were called Sabbati, Sabbatati, Insabbatati, but more frequently Inzabbatati. 'One says they were so named from the Hebrew word Sabbath, because they kept the Saturday for the Lord's day. Another says they were so called because they rejected all the festivals"– "General History of the Baptist Denomination," Vol. II, p. 413. Boston:1813.  Dr. J. L. Mosheim says:  "Pasaginians . . . had the utmost aversion to the dominion and discipline of the church of Rome; . . . and celebrated the Jewish Sabbath"–"Ecclesiastical History" (two-volume edition), Cent. 12, Part 2, Chap. 5, Sec. 14, Vol. I, p. 333. New York:Harper and Brothers, 1871. The papal author, Bonacursus, wrote the following against the "Pasagini":  "Not a few, but many know what are the errors of those who are called Pasagini .... First, they teach that we should obey the law of Moses according to the letter–the Sabbath, and circumcision, and the legal precepts still being in force .... Furthermore, to increase their error, they condemn and reject all the church Fathers, and the whole Roman Church"– "D'Achery, Spicilegium I, f. 211-214; Muratory, Antiq. med. aevi. 5, f. 152, Hahn, 3, 209. Quoted in "History of the Sabbath," J. N. Andrews, pp. 547, 548. 1912. The Roman Catholic Church has always had a special enmity toward the Bible Sabbath and Sabbath-keepers. Mr. Benedict says: "It was the settled policy of Rome to obliterate every vestige of opposition to her doctrines and decrees, everything heretical, whether persons or writings, by which the faithful would be liable to be contaminated and led astray. In conformity to this, their fixed determination, all books and records of their opposers were hunted up, and committed to the flames."– "History of the Baptist Denomination.," p. 50. 1849. Dr. De Sanctis, who for years was a Catholic official at Rome, and at one time Censor of the Inquisition, but who later became a Protestant, reports in his book a conversation of a Waldensian scholar as he pointed to the ruins of the Palatine Hill at Rome:  "'See,' said the Waldensian, 'a beautiful monument of ecclesiastical antiquity. These rough materials are the ruins of the two great Palatine libraries, one Greek and the other Latin, where the precious manuscripts of our ancestors were collected, and which Pope Gregory I, called the Great, caused to be burned.'"–"Popery, Puseyism:Jesuitism," De Sanctis, p. 53. Eternity alone will reveal how many precious manuscripts have been destroyed by Rome in its effort to blot out all traces of apostolic Christianity. We have now seen that the ancient apostolic church, scattered by persecution, and often in hiding, went under various names. Being peaceful, virtuous, and industrious citizens, they were tolerated, or even shielded, by princes who understood their value to the country, while the Catholic Church hunted them down like wild beasts. After the Waldenses and Albigenses had lived quietly in France for many years, Pope Innocent III wrote the following instruction to his bishops:  "Therefore by this present apostolical writing we give you a strict command that, by whatever means you can, you destroy all these heresies and expel from your diocese all who are polluted with them. You shall exercise the rigor of the ecclesiastical power against them and all those who have made themselves suspected by associating with them. They may not appeal from your judgments, and if necessary, you may cause the princes and people to suppress them with the sword"–"A Source Book for Medierval History," Oliver J. Thatcher and E. H. McNeal, p. 210. New York:Charles Scibner's Sons, 1905. Philippus van Limborch, Professor of Divinity at Amsterdam, speaking of the way the liberty of the people was suppressed after 1050, says:  "In the following ages the affairs of the church were so managed under the government of the Popes, and all persons so strictly curbed by the severity of the laws, that they durst not even so much as whisper against the received opinions of the church. Besides this, so deep was the ignorance that had spread itself over the world, that men, without the least regard to knowledge and learning, received with a blind obedience every thing that the ecclesiastics ordered them, however stupid and superstitious, without any examination; and if any one dared in the least to contradict them, he was sure immediately to be punished; whereby the most absurd opinions came to be established by the violence of the Popes"–"History of the Inquisition;'' p. 79. London:1816. Ignorance and superstition generated vice of the basest sort, and brought the Christian world into the darkest of the Dark Ages, which made the Reformation of the sixteenth century an absolute necessity. And, as "the darkest hour of the night is just before dawn," so the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries were the darkest in the Christian Era. For a time, however, there were still a few lights shining on the religious horizon, shedding their mild gospel light into the dense darkness. But when these were extinguished, the darkness became well-nigh complete. 1. The Celtic church of Scotland and Ireland had sent .their missionaries with an open Bible into almost every country of Europe. The gospel lamp of Scotland was extinguished in 1069; that of Ireland in 1172; that of the ancient Albigenses in 1229; the Assyrian lamp of the East was extinguished at Malabar, India, by the Inquisition in 1560; and the Waldensian lamp, that had been shining the longest, and had sent its mild rays over Europe for centuries, was extinguished in 1686. The history of these evangelical churches during this dark period is very interesting and has many valuable lessons for our day. The Waldenses and Albigenses we. re quiet and industrious people, and followed the Bible standard of morality, which actually caused their persecution. "But their crowning offence was their love and reverence for Scripture, and their burning zeal in making converts. The Inquisitor of Passau informs us that they had translations of the whole Bible in the vulgar tongue, which the Church vainly sought to suppress, and which they studied with incredible assiduity Many of them had the whole of the New Testament by heart Surely if ever there was a God-fearing people it was these unfortunates under the ban of Church and State .... The inquisitors . . . [declare] that the sign of a Vaudois, deemed worthy of death, was that he followed Christ and sought to obey the commandments of God."–"History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages," H. C. Lea, Vol. I, pp. 86, 87. New York:Harper and Brothers, 1388. "In fact, amid the license of the Middle Ages ascetic virtue was apt to be regarded as a sign of heresy."–Id., p. 87. On the other hand, the licentious lives of the Catholic clergy placed insurmountable barriers for a Waldensian ever to become a Catholic. When in 1204 Pope Innocent III sent his commissioners to crush the peaceful Waldenses and Albigenses in Southern France "with fire and sword," these monks returned to the pope asking for help to reform the lives of the Catholic priests. Lea says: "The legates . . . appealed to him for aid against prelates whom they had failed to coerce, and whose infamy of life gave scandal to the faithful and an irresistible argument to the heretic. Innocent curtly bade them attend to the object of their mission and not allow themselves to be diverted by less important matters"–Id., p. 129. Professor Philippus van Limborch writes: "It was the entire study and endeavour of the popes, to crush, in its infancy, every doctrine that any way opposed their exorbitant power. In the year 1163, at the synod of Tours, all the bishops and priests in the country of Tholouse, were commanded to take care, and to forbid under the pain of excommunication, every person from presuming to give reception, or the least assistance to the followers of this heresy, which first began in the country of Tholouse, whenever they shall be discovered. Neither were they to have any dealings with them in buying or selling; that by being thus deprived of the common assistances of life, they might be compelled to repent of the evil of their way. Whosoever shall dare to contravene this order, let them be excommunicated, as a partner with them in their guilt. As many of them as can be found, let them be imprisoned by the Catholic princes, and punished with the forfeiture of all their substance.' "Some of the Waldenses, coming into the neighbouring kingdom of Arragon, king Ildefonsus, in the year 1194, put forth, against them, a very severe and bloody edict, by which 'he banished them from his kingdom, and all his domimons, as enemies of the cross of Christ, prophaners of the Christian religion, and public enemies to himself and kingdom.' He adds: 'If any, from this day forwards, shall presume to receive into their houses, the aforesaid Waldenses and Inzabbatati, or other heretics, of whatsoever profession they be, or to hear, in any place, their abominable preachings, or to give them food, or to do them any kind office whatsoever; let him know, that he shall incur the indignation of Almighty God and ours; that he shall forfeit all his goods, without the benefit of appeal, and be punished as though guilty of high treason.'"–"History of the Inquisition,'' pp. 88, 89. London:1816. To destroy completely these heretics Pope Innocent III sent Dominican inquisitors into France, and also crusaders, promising "a plenary remission of all sins, to those who took on them the crusade . . . against the Albigenses." When Raymond VI, Earl of Tholouse, shielded these innocent people, who were such an asset to his country, he was "deposed by the pope." *12 Being frightened by the savage crusaders Raymond submitted, and the papal legate had him publicly whipped twice till "he was so grievously torn by the stripes" that he had to leave the church by a back door. (Id., pp. 98, 100.) He later appealed to Innocent III. "The pope, however, ceded the estates of Raymond to Simon de Montfort," (1215) *13. Thousands of God's people were tortured to death by the Inquisition, buried alive, burned to death, or hacked to pieces by the crusaders. While devastating the city of Biterre the soldiers asked the Catholic leaders how they should know who were heretics; Arnold, Abbot of Cisteaux, answered: "Slay them all, for the Lord knows who is His."–Id., pp. 98, 101. In 1216 to 1221 Raymond reconquered his land, and after his death (1221) his son became Earl, and "the Inquisition was banished from the country of Tholouse." But Pope Honorius III "proclaimed an holy war, to be called the 'Penance war,' against the heretics," and "to subdue the Earl of Tholouse, he sent letters to King Louis" of France to make war on Raymond, which he did. But treachery, which has always been one of the most successful weapons of the Papacy against God's people, had to be resorted to here. When the Pope's legate saw that he could not take the city of Avignon by force, he  "scrupled not to adopt the vilest treachery and to practice the basest hypocrisy.–He offered to suspend hostilities, and to pave the way for peace, if the besieged would admit a few priests, only to inquire concerning the faith of the inhabitants; and those terms being agreed upon and sealed by mutual oaths; the priests entered, but in direct violation of their solemn engagement, brought the French army with them, who thus fraudulently triumphed over the unsuspecting citizens; they plundered the city, killed or bound in chains the inhabitants."–Id., pp. 104-106. (This is in perfect harmony with the Catholic teaching and practice, that they need not keep faith with a heretic, as carried out in the case of John Huss. In spite of the safe-conduct from the Emperor Sigismund, he was imprisoned, November 28, 1414, and burned July 6, 1415.) Hunted Like Wild Beasts The Earl of Tholouse was finally forced to bow to Rome, and God's people were hunted as wild beasts everywhere. Here are some of the laws of Louis IX, King of France, A. D. 1229: "Canon 3–The lords of the different districts shall have the villas, houses, and woods diligently searched, and the hiding-places of the heretics destroyed. Canon 4.– If any one allows a heretic to remain in his territory, he loses his possession forever, and his body is in the hands of the magistrates to receive due punishment. Canon 5– But also such are liable to the law, whose territory has been made the frequent hiding-place of heretics, not by his knowledge, but by his negligence. Canon 6– The house in which a heretic is found, shall be torn down, and the place or land be confiscated. Canon 14–Lay members are not allowed to possess the books of either the Old or the New Testament"–"Hefele's Councils," Vol. V, pp. 981, 982. ("History of the Sabbath," New, p. 558). These laws were only echoes of the "Bulls" of the popes. But while the Waldenses on the French side of the Alps were being exterminated, the pope had a more difficult task to destroy them in the Piedmont Alps. From Pope Lucius III (A. D 1181-1185) to the Reformation in the sixteenth century the persecution of the Waldenses was the subject of many papal "anathemas." Army after army was sent against them, and all manner of trickery was resorted to in order to destroy these honest, plain, Christian people. In 1488 Albert Cataneo, the papal legate came with an army into the midst of Val Louise. The inhabitants fled into a cavern for shelter, and the soldiers started a fire at the mouth of the cavern and smothered the entire population of 3,000, including 400 children. Then Cataneo entered the Piedmont side. Here the Waldenses retreated to Pradel Tor, their "Shiloh of the Valleys." Cataneo ordered his soldiers into the dark, narrow chasm that formed the only path to this citadel. The poor Waldenses were now bottled up, and their enemies were proceeding towards them, sure of their prey, but God heard earnest prayers:  "A white cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, unobserved by the Piedmontese, but keenly watched by the Vaudois, was seen to gather on the mountain's summit .... That cloud grew rapidly bigger arid blacker. It began to descend It fell right into the chasm in which was the Papal army In a moment the host were in night; they . . . could neither advance nor retreat. [The Waldenses] tore up huge stones and rocks, and sent them thundering down into the ravine. The papal soldiers were crushed where they stood .... Panic impelled them to flee, . . . they threw each other down in the struggle; some were trodden to death; others were rolled over the precipice, and crushed on the rocks below, or drowned in the torrent, and so perished miserably"–"History of the Waldenses," J. A. Wylie, pp. 43, 49.  In 1544 the treacherous and heartless Catholic leader, D'Oppede caused the terrible butchery of thousands of Waldenses. At Cabrieres he wrote a note to the people, saying that if they would open the gates of their city he would do them no harm. They, in good faith, opened the gates, and D'Oppede cried out: "Kill them all." Men, women, and children were massacred or burned alive. In 1655 there was another massacre of Waldenses. After the Catholic leaders had made several vain attempts to break into the fastnesses of the mountains where the Waldenses lived, and were defeated, the Marquis of Pianesse wrote the various Waldensian towns to entertain certain regiments of soldiers to show their good faith. These Christian people, who always had such sacred regard for their own word, never seemed to learn that it is a fundamental Catholic doctrine, that Catholics need not, and should not, keep faith with heretics, when the interest of the "Church" is at stake. After they had sheltered the soldiers, and fed them of their scanty store, a signal was given at 4 A. M., April 24, 1655, and the butchery began. "Little children, Leger says, were torn from the arms of their mothers, dashed against the rocks, and cast carelessly away. The sick or the aged, both men and women, were either burned in their houses, or hacked in pieces; or mutilated, half murdered, and flayed alive, they were exposed in a dying state to the heat of the sun, or to flames, or to ferocious beasts"– "Israel of the Alps," Dr. Alexis Muston, Vol. I, pp. 349, 350. These people suffered tortures too terrible to mention, which only devils in human form could have invented. The towns in the beautiful valleys were left smoldering ruins. A few people saved themselves by flight to the mountains. Further Destruction In 1686 another terrible edict was issued against them, and an army raised to exterminate them. And again it was the same story of treachery. Gabriel of Savoy himself wrote them: " 'Do not hesitate to lay down your arms; and be assured that if you cast yourselves upon the clemency of his royal highness, he will pardon you, and that neither your persons nor those of your wives or children shall be touched.'"–"Israel of the Alps," Alexis Muston, Vol. I, p. 445. The Waldenses accepted the official document in good faith and opened their entrenchments. But the Catholic officials, true to the nature of their church doctrines, rushed in and butchered men, women, and children in cold blood. Unspeakable tortures were inflicted on the innocent people, while a few escaped to the mountains. All the towns of the valleys were smoldering and charred ruins. Rome had at last quenched the ancient lamp. "The school of the prophets in the Pta del Tor is razed. No smoke is seen rising from cottage, and no psalm is heard ascending from dwelling or sanctuary, . . . and no troop of worshipers, obedient to the summons of the Sabbath bell, climbs the mountain paths"–"History of the Waldenses," Wylie, p. 173. As these exiled Waldenses fled from country to country, they were persecuted and harassed, but they sowed the seeds of truth as they went. Let us now consider the experiences of other branches of the apostolic church, that were scattered by persecution and by early missionary endeavors to the outskirts of civilization. [ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]

THE BATTLE OF SYRIA