Travels in Turkey and back to EnglandChishull, Edmund
History
Travels in Turkey and back to England
Chishull, Edmund
Turkey -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
The Lutheran churches are in many places splendid, adorned with organs
and pictures, and little differing from the form of our larger churches,
except that the altar is immoveable, and built of stone, and sometimes
too profusely painted. Their worship consists of forms of prayers, then
hymns, after these lessons and sermons, and lastly prayers and concluding
hymns. The worship of the Unitarians exactly corresponds with that of
the Calvinists. These latter have sermons twice a week, besides Sundays,
as also morning and evening service throughout the week, at which appear
large and devout congregations in many places. Their service is a metre
psalm, a prayer from the pulpit, and then concludes with another psalm.
They have a form of prayer, and an injunction of their bishop to make
use of no other; but the custom of most ministers has introduced the use
of their own premeditated devotions, and accordingly the people begin
to disesteem those, who confine themselves to the form. The Lutherans,
Calvinists, and Unitarians live peaceably with one another; but are not
admitted to each others communion of Christ’s body, without a special
declaration of conformity. The Lutherans in some places consecrate a
wafer, and in other places leaven bread. They likewise have auricular
confession, but abuse it not, as the Papists. Their main difference from
the Calvinists consists in their avowed corporeal ubiquitarian presence.
Among other known tenets of the Unitarians, by which they take away the
force of the Christian sacraments, tho they generally use infant baptism
not to give scandal to the Calvinists, yet they rather wish to delay it
till the age of twelve years or upwards, and often practice accordingly.
These three protestant religions remain as yet in the undisturbed
profession of their faith. But upon several late encroachments of the
Jesuits, and other priests, in confidence of the popish government, to
which they are subject; upon the withdrawing of the tithes usually paid
to the protestant ministers from the salt mines, and now given to popish
monks; and lastly upon the care, which is taken by the court of Vienna,
to supply all offices of the province with papist ministers: upon these
several accounts, I say, the whole reformed people of Transylvania,
especially the Calvinists, begin to be under great apprehensions,
and from the governor to the meanest gentleman, earnestly embraced
this occasion of recommending their cause to the good services of his
Excellency at the Imperial court; after which they implored the prayers
and good wishes of the church of England, and in many places took a
solemn melancholy leave of us, as if they were just entering upon a
martyrdom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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