Religious and Educational.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 476, 1 April 1873, Page 7

Religious and Educational.

After nearly twelve years' quietude the Princeite inmates of the Agapemone or " Abode of Love," near Bridgwater are now holding a series of revival meetings. One of these was held on Sunday afternoon at Hamp, near Bridgwater, and was largely attended, and addressed by two of Brother Prince's followers, including Mr Williams, formerly a clergyman of the Church of England, who declared that the Gro3pel dispensation had ended ; that the judgment day had commenced; that Brother Prince had the spirit of judgment in him, and had purged and purified their bodies as well as their souls. He then alluded to the reproach heaped upon them, and professed that they lived moral lives and received in the Agapemone^ nothing but spiritu a good. A large room has been hired at Bridgwater for the purpose of holding further meetings. We understand that at Southampton fully two thousand persons have identified themselves with the Free Church of England movement, and the number is daily increasing. The ' Kock ' says : — " The people of Southampton, as might naturally be expected, are by no means satisfied with respect to the recent proceedings at the ruri-decanai meeting at Southampton as regards confession. Nothing but the publication of a full and truthful report of what occurred will be satisfactory, and we trust that this will be insisted upon. It is the duty of a faithful bishop in such a case to take measures to remove the scandal, and we trust that the churchmen of the diocese will make their voices heard and regarded even by Bishop Wilberforce." We also learn that the opening services of St. James's Free Church of England, at Exeter, took place last week, the Bishop President preaching. The llev. J. Wormcott, 8.A., is to be first incumbent. At Barnet, another church, also dedicated to JSt. James, has been opened in a similar manner. At Leominster also a Free Church has been started. The ' Missionary Chronicle ' gives some further particulars of the deplorable massacre of Protestants in Loyalty Islands. The following is from the liev. Samuel Ella, resident missionary : — " On the 24th of April the Roman Catholic natives were assembled from all parts of the island on the pretence of celebrating a festival. At night they attempted to carry out a plot that had been laid to massacre the Protestants, commencing with the principal village. The first who fell were four men engaged in fishing at a distance from the village. One was shot in his canoe, and the others were bound and conveyed to the beach. A message was then sent to the Papist chief, to inform him of what had been done, and he ordered the prisoners to be killed, and their bodies to be cast into the sea. This order was executed. Another mob fell upon two Protestant families engaged in their evening worship, and killed four of the men and wounded some others. These families resided close to the priest's house. Other houses were attacked in a similar manner, and four more were killed. Here a slight defence was made, and one of the murderers was slain. The Protestants then fled to the bush, leaving some of their wounded, who were afterwards bruta'ly mutilated aud killed. The Papists then burned down the Protestant village, and took possession of their lands. After this, messages were sent from the Papist chiefs to the Protestant refugees, requiring them to abandon their religion aud become * Catholics,' and threatening to exterminate them unless they obeyed. One of the teachers wrote to me from their place of refuge that they were houseless, destitute, and exposed to star- 1 vatjion in the bush, and threatened to be exterminated unless they would become ! Papists. Providentially, Mr Sleigh arrived from Lifu on a visit to Uea, ten days after this horrible massacre, and he exerted himself to stop these proceedings, and. deliver the persecuted Protestants,

A military tribnnal has been appointed by the authorities." Jewish Intelligence has the report of a missionary journey to Galilee by the Rev. James Neil, in which we read. — " It is, indeed, remarkable to find how much the New Testament appears to- be studied amongst all classes, and how well it is known. It is to be feared, alas ! that this knowledge is sought and acquired for the purpose of controversy rather thai? out of any spirit of serious inquiry. Yet, if the Apostle Paul could rejoice when the Gospel was preached of strife arid contention, surely we may be glad to find the Gospel read even by those who search the Scriptures mainly to find the means of confuting theim/ Thus many thousands are becoming familiarised with the words of the Lord Jesus j and, when it shall please the Holy Spirit to open their hearts, are well prepared to know the truth in the love of it with which they are now acquainted by. the hearing of the ear. Their temporal prospects are becoming' everywhere more hopeful, which is evinced by the most important fact, to which the attention of all believers should be drawn, that they are returning slowly but surely in considerable numbers. This year has been especially marked by the advent of a larger body of Jews than are remembered to have arrived in any former year. It appears that almost every ship has brought from sixty to 100 Jews, most of whom appear to have proceeded to Galilee. lam endeavoring to collect accurate statistics on this subject, which are very difficult to obtain, since the Jews have a superstitious fear of numbering their people, and a timid dread of their true strength being known, lest it should lead to oppression and undue taxation." The Roman Cai holies are fully alive to the manner in which their churches are being fed by the Ritualists. The 'Westminster Gazette,' the organ of the Papists in London, contains the following :— " It should be remembered by those who speak ill of the Ritualists, or ridicule as- mimicry their imitation of the Catholic ritual, how much they have done to cause not only the name but the meaning of ths Sacraments to be known and reverenced in Protestant England. The name of the Blessed Virgin is become familiar in their churches; honor and homage are offered to the Saints of God. Why should it be always in ostentatious imitation of Catholic worship, and not sometimes and often in humility and faith ? We must not judge, if we would judge aright, from the acts of perverse individuals, or from isolated abuses, or from the spirit exhibited by party leaders, or from the weakness ot those in authority, but we must judge from the long results and the general effect, and from the known character of all those who in zeal and disinterestedness are taking part in that great movement in the Anglican Church which has already restored such multitudes of souls to the Catholic faith, and which still, day by day, is increasing the number of the faithful." A Popish church, called " The Immaculate Conception," has just been dedicated !in Philadelphia. The Dominican orator Burke preached on the occasion. The following extract from a report in a daily paper of his harangue shows the extent to which Mariolatry has leavened the Papacy : — "The "Scriptures," he said, " are speaking continually of Mary, and all promises of grace and redemption are bound up with the name of the blessed Virgin. The prophet said, c I saw a woman clothed with the suu, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.' He was then undoubtedly speaking of Mary, because he continued, ' and the woman brought forth a man child,' and then followed the figure of the dragon conquered, showing conclusively that Mary was the woman spoken of. He alluded to the prophecy of the Garden of Eden, that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, denying that it alluded to the seed of Eve, a fallen, ruined woman, but of Mary, the mother of Christ." No doubt the mass of the ignorant congregation supposed that Revelation xii. i, ("the woman clothed with the sun ") was written before the birth of Jesus. The Papal doctrine of Mary destroys the Trinity, and makes a godhead of four persons. I have before me a " Formulary of Prayers for the use of the Sisters of St. Joseph." It is a practical book of daily religious exercises for women. Here is one of its prayers to Mary, which appears in substance again and again :— " Hail Daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, and Spouse of the Holy Ghost. Hail Temple of the entire Trinity. Amen." If this be not unpardonable blasphemy against the Divine nature, what can be ? The ' Times ' correspondent, writing from Rome, says : — " On the last page of the first number of La Roma JEvangelica [t ) which we have called the attention of our readers] I find advertisements of no less than ten Evangelical churches- of various denominations now open at Rome. These are ; Evangelical Church in the. Vicolo Soderini, with a supplementary establishment in the Piazza Firenzi ; the Evangelical Meihodist Church, the Italian Evangelical Church, the Apostolic Church of Christ in Trojan's Forum, the Free Christian Church, at which Conti and Gavazzi officiated ; the Evangelical Conferences in the Via Borg-o Vecchio, where Mr Van Meter had his principle school, which he hopes soon to re-open. The ministers of all these establishments seem to be Italians. Then we have the Chiesa Anostolica di Christo, at wMcli Mr Jame3 Wt»ll officiates j another of the same name, where Messrs Nelson, Cote, and Gioja are the ministers ; a Presbyterian Church and a New English Church. From aPfly-sheet that has been sent to me, and which I am requested to read and pass on, I learn that a * Free Social Parlor ' has been opened in the heart of the fore.igh quarter of Rome, where English, American, and other strangers are in vited to pass their evenings,

and where 'informal Social Christian Conferences' are daily held. The Evangelical Methodist Committee has purchased a palace in the immediate vicinity of that of the Cardinal Vicar, and its representative, Mr Pigott (now in Roire), has written a letter to a newspaper disclaiming an aggressive or defiant intention, which it seems had been attributed to his -society on account oi the choice of the situation. Finally, Admiral Fishbourne, also in Rome and in his capacity of President of the Italian Bible Society, has just published, in a small pamphlet, an address to the Christians of Italy. There are now at least three shops open in Rome for the sale of Bibles and of Protestant religious publications in a great variety of languages."