divinity of Jesus Christ, which occasioned great troubles. The emperor assembled a council of bishops from all parts of the Roman empire, at Nice, where they declared the principles of Arius contrary to holy writ, and to the faith maintained by all the churches. Arianism subsisted, however, in several places, till towards the close of the sixth century, when it was entirely abolished.

Constantine, Constantius, and Constans, succeeded their father Constantine in the empire, and like him, proceeded in the demolition of pagan superstition and idolatry.

Julian, the Apostate, nephew to Constantine the first, upon the death of the three brothers, was declared emperor. He had been educated in the Christian religion, but apostatized from it, and exercised all his power to restore the faded glory of expiring polytheism. He attempted to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, apparently to disprove the prophecies of Jesus Christ; but God sending forth flames of fire from the earth and destroying his workmen, defeated his wicked intention. He was mortally wounded in a battle with the Persians, when catching the blood which issued from the wound, he threw it up towards heaven, exclaiming, " Vicisti, O Galilea !" O Galilean, thou hast conquered.

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Jovian, Valentinian, &c. &c., succeeded Julian : they all professed Christianity, and. employed themselves in eradicating paganismn, so that towards the close of this century, the splendor of superstition, by its lengthened shadows, indicated its irrecoverable decline.

FIFTH CENTURY.

THIS century was distinguished by the famous Pelagian and semi-Pelagian controversies; also for the persecutions of Huneric and Arian, who, among other acts of barbarity, ordered the tongues of a number of those pious men, who adhered to the doctrine of the true diinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be cut out.

In the year 496, Clovis, king of France, embraced the Christian religion, and was baptized at Rheims in Champaigne.

At the beginning of this century the Roman empire fell into the hands of Theodosius, who at his death left it to his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius. The former had the eastern empire for his portion, and the latter the western; and in the year 410, the city of Rome was taken from him by Alaric, and pillaged.

The eastern empire, during the reign of Theodosius, enjoyed peace; but the church was much disturbed by the factions of the prelates of Alexandria. Under the reign of Arcadius, Theophilus, patriarch of that city, had cruelly persecuted St. John Chrysostom, one of the most pious prelates of the east, and sent him into exile; and these factions raged with still greater violence under the feeble government of Theodosius the younger, the son of Arcadius.

SIXTH CENTURY.

In the sixth century, the ambition of the Roman pontiff distinguished itself in a violent struggle for absolute supremacy, with John, surnamed the foster bishop of Constantinople. Long had the man of sin, in the persons of the bishops of Rome, aimed at every possible degree of accession to his impious domination. In the language of the apostle, "hitherto there had been one who let;" which was none other than the Roman civil power, exercised by the emperors.

But in the year 534, the emperor Justinian gave supreme power to the beast, by declaring him " Head of all the churches; the Judge of all others-himself to be judged by none.” In the east his pretensions were disregarded, and his authority rejected: but in the west his design too well succeeded.

Ennodius, bishop of Ticinum, in a fulsome panegyric, asserted that the bishop of Rome was constituted judge in the place of God. Although this supremacy

was disputed and resisted, and the surrounding princes exercised their authority independent of the ghostly dominion of the Roman pontiff, yet the foundation of his antichristian greatness was so firmly laid, that, at future periods, princes, kings, and emperors, submitted to his orders, expressing the most servile subjection to his authority, and performing the most degrading acts of humiliation at his command.

Theodoric (a Roman emperor) put to death the illustrious Christian philosophers, Boethius and Symmachus, his father-in-law, on a false accusation of attempting to re-establish the liberties of Rome. He also killed John, bishop of Rome, and committed other cruel and unjust actions.

He died in 526, after a reign of thirty-five years. It is said, that seeing the head of a large fish served at his table, he fancied he beheld the head of Symmachus, and it is supposed the agitation of his conscience hastened his death.

Justinian erected at Constantinople the church of St. Sophia, which passes for one of the wonders of the world. This edifice, which was commenced Anno Domini 537, is now converted into a Turkish mosque,

In 596, Pope Gregory, surnamed the Great, sent into Great Britian some monks, the chief of whom was named Augustine, for the purpose of preaching the Christian religion,

SEVENTH CENTURY.

THIS century is distinguished by the rise of Mahometanism. Mahomet, the founder of this religion, was a native of Mecca, in Arabia, a man who wanted neither abilities nor address to insinuate his dogmas, which he did partly by force and partly by persuasion. The unhappy divisions which at this period prevailed among the Christians, contributed greatly to the advancement of his religion.

The tenets of this deceiver are contained in the Koran, which is a confused mixture of some of the truths of Judaism and Christianity, with a variety of absurd fables.

His religion began in the year 622, which is called the first of the Hegira or flight of Mahomet, when he was driven from Mecca by his fellow citizens. Mahomet died Anno Domini 631.

In the year 690, Willibrod, an English monk, preached the gospel in the Netherlands.

EIGHTH CENTURY.

WHILST the grand Impostor of the East, with incredible celerity, traversed the earth, and incalculable myriads of the human race, either compelled by the terror of his arms, or allured by the hope of sensual gratifications, acknowledged him as the prophet of God; Christianity, which had been planted by apostolic hands, languished in a state of melancholy decay; and although the eighth century of the Christian era had commenced, several parts of Europe yet remained in a state of pagan darkness.

The Saracens, followers of Mahomet, availed themselves of the distractions which prevailed in the east, ravaged the provinces of Asia and Africa, and heaped upon the Christian the heaviest calamities. Crossing the Mediterranean, they entered Spain, became victorious, overthrew its empire, obtained a considerable extent of territory, and made that country, and part of France, groan under their oppressive yoke.

In this century, the worship of images, the remains of paganism, was established in almost every part of the eastern empire. This abuse the emperor Leo endeavoured to prevent, by causing them to be taken out of the churches from the year 726, and by prohibiting the use of them in 730 by a solemn edict. This drew upon him the hatred of the ignorant and superstitious ecclesiastics, and occasioned the loss of all that the em

pire possessed in Italy. Gregory II., Pope of Rome, undertook the defence of the images, and in a council of bishops, dependent on him, condemned the edict of the emperor. By virtue of this seditious communication, he caused Rome and the rest of Italy to revolt, having forbidden the people thenceforth to acknowledge the emperor of Rome, or to pay him any tribute.

In the year 744, the emperor Constantine assembled at Constantinople a council of three hundred and thirtyeight bishops, in which the worship of images was declared contrary to the word of God, and absolutely forbidden throughout the empire. It would now have ceased, had it not been for the obstinacy of the monks, who, supported by certain bishops, and the ignorant populace, continued it in secret, and thus kept up one of the first ⚫ sources of corruption in the church.

The emperor Charlemagne, one of the greatest princes of the western empire, subdued the Saxons in 785, and obliged Witekind, their prince, to embrace the Christian religion.

The same emperor, having in 794 entirely subdued the Frisi, stipulated that they should embrace Christianity; in which case he permitted them to preserve the title of a free people, and exempted them from paying any tribute. From that time the gospel was generally received among them.

The empress Irene, who was a very superstitious and wicked woman, in the year 787 assembled at Nice a council of two hundred and eighty very ignorant bishops. Here the worship of images was established, which the council held at Constantinople, under Constantine, had condemned; and those who refused adoration to the images, were declared heretics, and anathematized.

In the year 794, the emperor Charlemagne assembled another council at Frankfort, where that held by Irene, and the worship of images, were condemned.