This topic became a subject of controversy in the first part of the 17th century between the theologians of Gicssen and those of Tubingen ; the former (^lenzer a;ul Feuerborn) contending that Christ during his state of earthly humiliation actualh' divested himself {KtvojciQ proper) of omnipotence, omniscience, etc.; while the latter (Luke Osiander, Theodore Thummius, and j\Iel- chior Nicolai) maintained that he still continued to pos- sess these divine attributes, but merely concealed them (K-()i'i;//(f) from men (see Thummius, De TaTziivuxriypa- <pi(f. sacra. Tubing. 162.3 ; Nicolai, De Kivwan Christi, ib. iC22). For details of the controversy, see Herzog, liecd- KncykLxu, oil sq.; xiv, 78G. On. the doctrine itself, see Dorner, Doct. of the Person oj" Christ, I, ii, 29 ; Schrockh, Kirchenr/esch. iv, G70 sq. ; comp. Jiib. Repos.,h\ly, 1807, p. 410 ; A mer. F'l-esh. Rei: July. 18G1. p. 551 ; Mcth. Quar. Her. Jan. 18G1, p. 148 ; April,"l870, p. 291. The treatise of ]5odemeyer, />«-/.<=/( /-e i-on der Kenosis (Gotting. 18G0), is t)f a very vague and general character. See Cheis- TOLocv, vol. ii, p. 281, 282.
Keniick, Fhancis Patrick, D.D., an American IJoman Catholic prelate of great note, was born in Dub- lin, Inland, Dec. 3, 1797, received a classical education in his native city, and in 1815 was sent to Rome to study divinity and philos(i]ihy. There he spent two years at the Ihuise of the Lazarists, and four years in the College of the Pro|)aganda. He was ordained in 1821, and im- mediately thereafter came to the United States to as- sume the charge of an ecclesiastical seminary just start- ing at Bardstown, Ky. He soon distinguished himself as a polemic writer by h\s Letters of Omicron to Omer/a, ■written in I'efence of tlie Homan Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist, in reply to attacks liy Dr. Blackburn, president of Danville College: Ky., under t,he signature of " Omega.'" On June Gth, l.s.'jd, at Bardstown, he was consecrated bishoji of Arath in partihiis infidelium, and made coadjutor to the right reverend bishop Connell, of Philadelphia, whom he succeeded in 1842. Dining his
episcopate there occurred the anti-Catholic riots, and by his firmness and jiromptness of effort his people were prevented from retaliatory acts. In 1851 bishop Ken- rick was transferred to the archiepiscopal see of Balti- more. In 1852, as " apostolic delegate," he presided over the first plenarj' council of the United States held at Baltimore, and in 1859 the pope conferred upon him and his successors the " ])rimacy of honor," which gives them precedence over all Ifoman Catholic prelates in this coun- try. He died at Baltimore July 8, 18G3. Archbishop Kenrick was regarded as one of the most learned men and tlieologians of his creed in this country'. He is equally distinguished as a controversialist and a Biblical critic. His style is vigorous and decided. In 1837 he published a series of letters On the Primacy of the Holy See and the A uthorify of General Councils, in reply to bishop Hopkins, of Vermont, subsequentl}' enlarged and reprinted under the title of The Pi-imacy of the Apostolic See Vindiciited (4th ed.. Bait. 1855); aho.Vi/idicution of the Catholic Church (12mo, Baltimore, 1855), in reply to Dr. Hopkins's End of Co7itrorersy Controverted. The works, however, which constitute his chief claim to the- ological eminence are his Latin treatises on dogmatic theologv, Theolofjia TJof/matica (4 vols. 8vo, Phil. 1839, 1840) and Theolofut Moralis (3 vols. 8vo, Phil. 1841-3), which form a complete course of diviriity, and are used as text-books in nearly all the Romish seminaries of the United States. An enlarged edition of these works has been published both in Belgium and in this countrj'. This contains many valuable additions, among them a catalogue of the fathers and ecclesiastical writers, with an accurate descrijition of their genuine works. At the time of his death he v,as engaged in revising the Fng- lish translation of the Scriptures, of which the whole of the X. T. and nearly aU of the O. T. have been jinblished. " It is illustrated hy copious notes, and will probably su- persede the Douay version in general use." His other works of a sectarian and controversial character are Catholic Doctrine on Justif cation Explained and Vindi- cated (12mo, Phil. 1841): — Treatise on Baptism (12mo, New York*1843). Kenrick was distinguished both for his sagacity and moderation in counsel, " and for his in- defatigable efforts in extending the power and influence of his Church." While in Philadelphia "he founded the theological seminary of St. Charles Borromeo, and introduced into his diocese the Sisters of the Good Shep- herd, who devote themselves to the care of Magdalen asylums." " During the period of our civil war he was unswerving in his loyalty to the Union, and never failed to inculcate obedience to the laws" in the face of the op- position of many of his people. — Alii bone's X'^(•^ of Au- thors, s. v.; Appleton's New Arner. Cyclop), x, 13G; An- nual for 18G3, p. 5G1.
Kent, Asa, a ^Methodist Episcopal minister, was bom in West Brookfleld, Mass., May 9, 1780. In 18U1 he was licensed as an cxhorter, and ajipointed to Weathersfield Circuit,Vermont; in 1802 he joined on trial the New York Conference, and was apjiointed to Whitingham Circuit. Tlie following year he became a member of the old New England Conference, and during the thirty-six years suc- ceeding filled apjiointments at Bamard,Yt.; Atlicns,Yt.; Lunenburg, Yt. ; Ashburnham, j\Iass. ; Salisbury, Mass. ; Salem, N.H.; Lynn,!Mass.; Bristol. R. I.; New London, Conn. ; Nantucket, R. I. ; jMiddleborough, L'ochestcr, IMass.; Chestnut Street, Providence, R. I.; Elm Street, New Bedford, ]\Iass. ; Newport. R. I.; Charlestown, An- dover.Mass.; and Edgartown, j\Iartha's Yineyard. Dur- ing this period, ill health, brought on by the strain of indefatigalJe lai)ors upon a naturally delicate constitu- tion, compelled liim several times to take sujiernumerary and superanniiat('<l relations. In 1814-17 he was presid- ing elder of the New I>)ndon district. He was a dele- gate to the (ieneral Conference in New York in 1812, and also in Baltimore in 181G. From the date of his last appointment in 1839 to the day of his death, Sept. 1, 18G0, he was always laboring when his health would permit. He wrote much for Ziori's Herald and the