Laura A. Barslon.
Answer.—As early as the latter part of the first century of the present era discussions arose among Christians regarding the books rejected by the Jews as profane, and at the Council of Laodicea (360 A. D.) the Greek Church rejected all books except those in the present Protestant canon. In 474 Pope Gelasius convened a council of seventy Bishops, which confirmed the opinion of Pope Innocent I., recognizing the Apocryphal books as sacred, and rejecting some of the doubtful books of the New Testament. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) finally settled the mooted question for the Roman Catholic Church, accepting the “Apocrypha” as a part of the sacred canon. The Greek Church has much the same books, while the Protestants retain only the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament.
CHURCH REFORMATION—PAPAL INFALLIBILITY.
Danville, Ill.
Did any reformatory movements or discussions occur in the Roman Catholic Church before the time of Luther? 2. Are all of the Popes considered infallible?
John Short.
Answer.—After the union of church and state, during the reign of Constantine the Great, as the church attained great temporal power and wealth, imposing rites and ceremonies were added to her service, and, with these, abuses and corruption crept in. The first great evil was the assumption by the church of spiritual dictatorship, and to oppose it arose St. Ambrose, St. Martin, and St. Stephen. Then occurred the great reform within the church itself, inaugurated by Pope Gregory III. for the purification of the clergy; and at the same time came Abelard, preaching liberty of thought in theology. But the growth of new sects specially characterized the four centuries immediately preceding the Lutheran Reformation. Of these the principal ones were the Lollards (1324), the Hussites (1373), the Moravian Brethren (1417), and the Mystics (1340-1471). 2. The supreme authority of the Pope in all religious matters has been generally acknowledged in the Roman Catholic Church from very early times, but the infallibility of the Pope, in regard to faith and morals, was not formulated and decreed by the Vatican Council until July 18, 1870.
A COMPARISON OF NATIONS.