II.--THEOLOGY.
1. The Unity of the Divine essence. (Against Atheism, Dualism, Polytheism.)
2. The Trinity of the Divine Persons.
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
(Against Arianism, Socinianism, Unitarianism.)
3. The Divine perfections.
Omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, wisdom, holiness, justice, love, and mercy.
4. Creation of the world by the will of God out of nothing for his glory and the happiness of his creatures. (Against Materialism, Pantheism, Atheism.)
5. Government of the world by Divine Providence.
III.--ANTHROPOLOGY.
1. Original innocence.
Man made in the image of God, with reason and freedom, pure and holy; yet needing probation, and liable to fall.
2. Fall: sin and death.
Natural depravity and guilt; necessity and possibility of salvation. (Against Pelagianism and Manichæism.)
3. Redemption by Christ.
IV.--CHRISTOLOGY.
1. The Incarnation of the eternal Logos or second Person in the Holy Trinity.
2. The Divine-human constitution of the Person of Christ.
3. The life of Christ.
His superhuman conception; his sinless perfection; his crucifixion, death, and burial; resurrection and ascension; sitting at the right hand of God; return to judgment.
4. Christ our Prophet, Priest, and King forever.
5. The mediatorial work of Christ, or the atonement.
'He died for our sins, and rose for our justification.'
V.--PNEUMATOLOGY.
1. The Divine Personality of the Holy Spirit.
2. His eternal Procession (ekporeusis, processio) from the Father, and his historic Mission (pempsis, missio) by the Father and the Son.
3. His Divine work of regeneration and sanctification.
VI.--SOTERIOLOGY.
1. Eternal predestination or election of believers to salvation.
2. Call by the gospel.
3. Regeneration and conversion. Necessity of repentance and faith.
4. Justification and sanctification.
Forgiveness of sins and necessity of a holy lire.
5. Glorification of believers.
VII.--ECCLESIOLOGY AND SACRAMENTOLOGY.
1. Divine origin and constitution of the Catholic Church of Christ.
2. The essential attributes of the Church universal.
Unity, catholicity, holiness, and indestructibility of the Church. Church militant and Church triumphant.
3. The ministry of the gospel.
4. The preaching of the gospel.
5. Sacraments: visible signs, seals, and means of grace.
6. Baptism for the remission of sins.
7. The Lord's Supper for the commemoration of the atoning death of Christ.
VIII.--ESCHATOLOGY.
1. Death in consequence of sin.
2. Immortality of the soul.
3. The final coming of Christ.
4. General resurrection.
5. Judgment of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.
6. Heaven and Hell.
The eternal blessedness of saints, and the eternal punishment of the wicked.
7. God all in all (1 Cor. xv. 28).
B. Consensus and Dissensus of the Greek and Roman Churches.
(a) CONSENSUS.
I. The articles of the oecumenical Creeds, excepting the Filioque of the Latin recension of the Nicene Creed and the et filio of the Athanasian Creed.
II. Most of the post-oecumenical doctrines, which are not contained in the oecumenical Creeds, and from which Protestants dissent, viz.:
1. The authority of ecclesiastical tradition, as a joint rule of faith with the Scriptures.
2. The worship (timetike proskunesis) of the Virgin Mary, the Saints, their pictures (not statues), and relics.
3. The infallibility of the Church--that is, the teaching hierarchy (ecclesia docens). The Roman Church lodges infallibility in the papal monarchy, the Greek Church in the (seven) oecumenical Councils, and the patriarchal oligarchy as a whole. [1722]
4. Justification by faith and works, as joint conditions.
5. The Seven Sacraments or Mysteries, with minor differences as to confirmation and unction.
6. Baptismal regeneration (in an unqualified sense), and the necessity of water-baptism for salvation.
7. Priestly absolution by divine authority.
8. Transubstantiation (metousiosis), and the adoration of the consecrated elements.
9. The sacrifice of the Mass for the living and the dead.
This forms the centre of worship. Preaching is subordinate.
10. Prayers for the departed.
On the authority of the Apocryphal books of the Old Testament, transubstantiation, Purgatory, and a few other points, the Greek doctrine is not so clearly developed and formulated; but, upon the whole, much nearer the Roman view than the Protestant.
As to the popular use of the Bible, there is this important difference, that the Greek Church has never prohibited it, like the Roman, and that the Russian Church has recently favored it, and thus opened the way for a wholesome progress and possible reformation