[449] The State in its relations with the Church, p. 41.
[450] Report of the Ecclesiastical Courts Commission, Vol. II. p. 601. Answers to questions,—Scotland, Established Church.
'No appeal lies to a Civil Court in matters of discipline or on the ground of excess of punishment. But if under the form of discipline the Church Courts were to inflict Church censures (involving civil consequences) on a minister for e.g. obeying the law of the land, a question ... might be brought before the Civil Court on the ground of excess of jurisdiction. It is believed that in no case would the Civil Court entertain an appeal from a judgement of an Ecclesiastical Court on a question of doctrine, or enter on an examination of the soundness of such a judgement before enforcing its civil consequences.
'Any questions which have arisen on points of ritual ... have hitherto been decided exclusively by the Church Courts.' (A qualifying sentence follows as to possible extreme cases justifying, on the failure to obtain redress from the General Assembly, an appeal to the Civil Court.)
[451] Report of Eccl. Courts Commission, Vol. II. p. 605. Answers to questions,—France.
'The State remains lay, and does not interpose, except when the acts of the clergy are offences at Common Law, or when there is a cas d'abus in which either the public order or individual interests are injured. In which case the Council of State is summoned at the instance of the Government, or on the complaint of the citizens, to repress abuses and annul the acts of abuse (actes d'abus) on the part of the clergy.
'To recapitulate, the minister, as citizen, has to submit to the Common Law; as priest, he belongs entirely to the jurisdiction of the Church, with which the State does not interfere, and with which it has not to interfere, for it is solely in the domain of conscience.'
[452] Martensen, Christian Ethics, special part, second division, English Translation, p. 100.
[453] Cp. Aug. De Civ. Dei, v. 24, of Christian Emperors, 'we think them happy if they remember themselves to be men.'
[454] Rev. xxi. 24 (R.V.).