549
INDEX
they are appointed. They insist that ordination is not represented in Scripture as conveying an office, or giving any person a right to discharge that office ; it is only the manner of setting him apart to discharge the duties of his office. It gives him no jurisdiction in any church except in that which appointed him ; and as soon as he lays down, or is removed from his office in that church, his ordination is at an end. They ctintend that there is a distinction of departments in the pastural olHce,and that teaching and ruling are different branches of that office. Both elders and deacons are ordained by impo- sition of hands; and though ordination is part of the elder's province, yet, when churches are newly formed, or in other cases of necessity, they allow that the mem- bers, who have always the right of election, may ordain chnrch officers for themselves, or, at least, set them apart to their respective offices.
"In worship, the New Independents do not differ much from other non-liturgical churches. They read a large but indefinite portion of the Scriptures at each meeting; in many of their chapels they use Dr. VVatts's version of the Psalms ; and in most of them they stand while singing. They adopt weekly communions ; and, a'3 they make no real distinction between clergy and laity, the want or absence of elders and deacons, on any occasion, in any of their chapels, is not thought a suffi- cient reason for preventing the administration of the holy communion on the first day of the week. They contend that, by the approved practice of apostolic churches, it is demonstrated to be the appointment of Christ that his chiurches must observe the Lord's Supper every first day of the week. A division has taken place among these Independents, chiefly in consequence of the adoption of Baptist in-inciples, and the introduction of Church discipline, and of mutual exhortation and pray- er by the brethren, into the public service on Sunday mornings." The New Independents increased rapitUy, and possessed, as early as the openmg of our century, some 86 churches. There are at present some 114 churches in connection with the New Independents. SeeHaldane, View of Social Worship ; Adums, Relit/ious World, in, 2(50 sq.; Robinson, Theological Dictionary, s. V. ; Kinniburgh, Historical Survey of Congregationalism in Scotland; and the articles Haldane; Congrega- TiONALiSTS. Some of the Scotch Independents have embraced the Morisonian doctrine. See Morisonians. See, besides the authorities already referred to, Fletcher, History of Indvpcndenry (Lond. 1847, 4 vols. r2mo) ; Vaughan, //«»Y. of English Xonconformity (Lond. 1862); Neal, Hist, of the Puritans (see Index) ; Jlilner, Ch. Hist. i,444; Burnet, Flist. of his own Times (see Index) ; Pujich- ard. History of Congregationalism, vol. i, ii ; Bogue and Bennett, Histoi-y of Dissenters, i, 171 sq. ; ii, 251, 546; Herzog. Real-EncyMop. vi, 653 sq. ; Brande and Cox, Diet, of Science, Lit,, and A rt, s. v. ; Chambers, Cyclop, S.V.; (Jyclojycedia Brifa7inica,»,v.
Index, the name given to certain catalogues of books and authors either wliolly prohibited, or censiu-ed and corrected, by the Romish Chiu-ch. An Index of the former kind is called Index Lihrorum Prohibitorum ; of the latter. Index Expu7-gator-ius, An Index Prohibito- rum exists also in the Russo-Greek Church, to which, no doubt, is due the weakness of the Russian literary productions on theological subjects.
1. Index Librorum PROHiBiToRrM.— 1. Before the Reformation, — Prohibitions of heretical or dangerous books are as old as the attempts of the popes to usurp universal supremacy. In fact, such prohibitions flow naturally from the theory that " out of the Church there is no salvation." It was Cyprian (q. v.) who first fully stated this theorj'; and even in his hands it logically led to the conclusion that all heretical opinions (i. e. such as differ from those aimounced bj' the Church au- thorities) must be punished and suppressed, if possible. As the claims of the hierarchy grew in magnitude, it became necessarj' to put down all doctrines that might diminish the power of the priesthood. To do this was
a proof of zeal. This zeal was at first directed against heathen and Jewish writings, as it Avas feared that the reading of such might even endanger Christianity. The Coimcil of Carthage (A.D. 400) forbade in Can. 10 the reading of heathen books. The Church, however, did not remain satisfied with forbidding heretical books, it commanded them to be burned. This was first at- tempted in connection with the writings of Arius, and became afterwards one of the practices of the Church. As heretical books, however, were sometimes published under ecclesiastical titles, such proceeding was in the 5th and 6th centuries declared by the Apostolic Canons {Can. 00) to be punishable by sujjpression of the work. The Synod of Elvira (81.^) decided in the same sense that all who circidated forbidden books should be anath- ema (libellifaniosi). It even came to be held that any one who had read a forbidden book was guilty of all the heresies therein contained, and incapacitated for read- mission into the Church mitil the performance of such penance as the Church enjoined. Especially did the hierarchy consider the reading of translations of the Bible as dangerous for the laity. Thus Gregory VII (1080) denounced the practice of reading the Bible in the vernacular in his letter to the king Wratislaw of Bohemia (in Mansi SS. Conciliorum nova et ampliss, Collectio, XX, 290). Innocent III. it is true, said (see his Epistolarum libri xix, in Ub. ii, ep. cxli, p. 1199) that the searching of the Scripture is to be commende(^ not forbidden; but added: "Tanta est divinre Scriptuio profunditas ut non solum simplices et illiterati, sed etiam prudentes et docti non plenc sufficiant ad ipsius intelli- gentiam indagandam. Undo recte fuit olim in lege di- vina statutum, ut bestia, quas montem tetigerit, lapide- tur; ne videlicet simplex aliquis et indoctus prsesumat ad sublimitatem Scripturas sacra? pertingere vel etiam aliis pragdicare." But the opposition to the papacy and to the Romish Church which immediately followed a more general reading of the Bible, soon led to placing the latter among the forbidden books, on a level with those condemned as heretical. The Concil. Tolosanum (1229) forbade the laity (c. 14) to even possess the O. or N. T. (see Hegelmaier, Gesch. des Bibelverbots, Ulm, 1783). "When the Inquisition became established and prosperous, the enforcing of the rides relating to forbid- den books was intrusted to it, and in the Cone. Biterrense (1246) we find (c. 36) a number of theological works mentioned which both the laity and clergy are forbid- den to read. But the more the Church strove to render its position secure by such means, the more did influ- ences quite to the contrary exert themselves to secure its overthrow, particularly the precursors of the Refor- mation, whose doctrines and -wTitings struck at the most vital parts of the Romish organization. A Synod of London (1408) forbade the reading of Wycliffe's works when not previously approved, while the works of Huss were condemned as thoroughly heretical. The discov- ery of the art of printing gave a new impidse to the publication of dangerous books, and Alexander YI com- plained in his Ik'cretum de libris non sine censura impri- mendis (Raynald, Annal. ad a. 1501, no. 36) that heret- ical dogmas were extensively promulgated, especially in the provinces of Jlaycnce, Cologne, Trieste, and ISIag- deburg. He recommended the bishops and vicars to carefidly watch the appearance of any heretical works, and to enforce the fines and excommmiications against the authors. As to the printers, he says : " Debent — ipsi merito compesci opportunis remediis, ut ab eorum impressione desistant, qu.'e fidei catholica; contraria fore noscuntur vel adversa, aut in mentibus fidelium possunt verisimiliter scandalum generarc." Pope Leo X, in the tenth session of the Lateran Council (May 4, 1515), stated in the decree Inter soUicitudines that no book should be published without the authorization of either the bishop, his legate, or the Inquisition, under penalty of excommimication. Any book issued in contravention of this regulation was to be sequestered and burnt. 2. A t and after the Reformation and the Council of