11. These men, with their followers and abettors, for reasons too obvious to need explanation, received or assumed the appellation of Reformers; and, on account of a solemn protest which they entered against a certain decree which had been issued against them, they also became distinguished by the name of Protestants. The latter term is now applied to all sects, of whatever denomination, in the western division of the Church, that do not acknowledge the authority of the Roman See.
12. The Protestant division of the Church is called by the Roman Catholics, the Western schism, to distinguish it from that of the Greek Church, which is termed the Eastern schism. The Protestants are divided into a great number of sects, or parties; and, although they differ from each other in many of their religious sentiments, they agree in their steady opposition to the Roman Catholics.
13. The ostensible object of the founders of all the churches differing from the Romish communion, has been, to bring back Christianity to the state in which it existed on its first establishment; and to prove their positions in doctrine and church government, they appeal to the Scriptures, and sometimes to the Christian writers of the first four or five centuries. The advocates of the "mother church," on the contrary, contend that, being infallible, she can never have departed from primitive principles, on any point essential to salvation.
14. As to the government of the several churches it is, in most cases, either Episcopal or Presbyterian. In the former case, three orders of clergymen are recognized; viz., bishops, presbyters, and deacons; and these three orders are supposed, by the advocates of episcopacy, to have been ordained by the apostles. This opinion is supported by the circumstance, that these orders are mentioned in the Scriptures; and also by the fact, supposed to be sustained by the primitive fathers, that they were uniformly established early in the second century.
15. It is believed by Episcopalians, that these three orders of ministers were instituted in the Christian Church, in imitation of the Jewish priesthood; the bishop representing the high-priest; the presbyters, the priests; and the deacons, the Levites.
16. On the other hand, the advocates of the Presbyterian form of government, assert, that in the first century of the Church, bishop and presbyter were the same order of ministers, and that the former was nothing more than a presbyter, who presided in Christian assemblies, when met to consult on church affairs.
17. The deacons in the churches that have renounced episcopacy, are not classed among the clergy, but are chosen from among the private members, to manage the temporalities of the congregation, or church, to which they belong, to assist the minister, on some occasions, in religious assemblies, or to take the lead in religious worship in his absence. Under this form of government, therefore, there is recognized but one order of ministers, and every clergyman is denominated presbyter, priest, or elder.
18. The literary and religious qualifications required of candidates for orders have varied in different ages of the Church, according to the existing state of literature and religion; and the requirements in these two particulars are now different, in the several denominations. Nearly all, however, require the profession in the candidate, that he believes he is moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon him the office of the ministry. Some churches require a collegiate education, with two or three years of the study of divinity; but others, only such as is usually obtained in common schools, combined with a tolerable capacity for public speaking.
19. The clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, is of two kinds; the one regular, comprehending all the religious who have taken upon themselves monastic vows; the other secular, comprehending all the ecclesiastics who do not assume these obligations. The latter, however, in common with the former, take a vow of perpetual celibacy.
20. It is the especial duty of clergymen, to preach the gospel, to administer the ordinances, and to enforce the discipline of that branch of the Church to which they belong. They are also expected to administer consolation to persons in distress of mind, arising from the complicated evils of this life, to unite persons by the bonds of matrimony, and, finally, in attending on the burial of the dead, to perform the last ceremony due from man to man.