John Ronge: The Holy Coat Of Treves Part 1

John Ronge: The Holy Coat Of Treves.

by John Ronge and Anonymous.

THE HOLY COAT.

We believe that the best way to introduce our subject is to quote some few pa.s.sages from the authorized doc.u.ment published at Treves, with special reference to the ceremonial which took place in that Cathedral, giving an account of the history of the Holy Goat, and explaining and defending the step which the Church was about to take in the matter. The following are a few extracts:--

"Thirty-four years have now elapsed since our city found within its walls 200,000 strangers, all actuated by a pious longing after this holy relic, before which they might present their adoration, and, in lively feelings of devotion, strengthen themselves in the faith and the love of the Lord. The order which prevailed during the whole ceremony, though nightly between twenty and thirty thousand persons were quartered in the city--the universal devotion and edification manifested by the pilgrims--still live in the recollection of all those who witnessed the ceremony from its beginning to its close. * * Meanwhile, since this period, the youth of our city have grown to ripe manhood; and, accordingly, they have expressed the wish that the venerable relic should be once more exhibited. These pious wishes could not remain unknown to our worthy Bishop, who, indeed, had previously resolved to meet them. Before his consecration in 1842, when he met Prince Metternich in Coblentz--who is, from reasons known only to few, in possession of one of the holy nails, and who then promised to restore that which was the rightful property of the Cathedral of Treves--the Bishop had determined to signalize the event of the restoration of the Holy Nail, by exhibiting both the Nail and the Coat to the religious worship of the people. But the promised return of the nail has not yet taken place, although the confidence placed on the promise of the Prince still allows us to cherish this hope. Notwithstanding, as this could not be the case, in the present year, the Bishop resolved to satisfy the general desire expressed for the exhibition of the holy coat."

From the historical inquiry it appears, according to the author, that this said relic was brought by Helena, the mother of Constantine, from the Holy Land, in the fourth century, and deposited in the Cathedral of Treves, which was then the residence of the emperors, and the most famous city in the empire, after Rome itself. It lay in concealment till the 9th century. To Frederick I. is attributed the honour of reviving the attention of the Church and people to the great treasure of their cathedral and city. After being again 300 years concealed, Maximilian I., to give pomp and distinction to a _diet_ held in the city, caused it to be exposed to the adoration of the inhabitants. In the three following centuries, (16th, 17th, and 18th,) the occasion of its exhibition was the holding of the German Diet, when the city was filled with princes and princesses, as well as crowds of devout pilgrims. In the period of the French Revolution, it fared ill with the holy coat.

It was, according as danger threatened, carried to the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. On the new political organization of the Rhine provinces, it was made the subject of earnest diplomatic transactions between Na.s.sau, France, and Bavaria--the last Elector of Treves, and the Bishop, Carl Maunay; and the Church of Treves has to thank its Bishop--whose requests Napoleon did not generally refuse--for the recovery of much of their possessions, and for the restoration of this relic, the most valuable of them all.

After being concealed for centuries, the first public representation took place in 1196. In 1514, Leo X. issued a bull, proclaiming _complete absolution of sin to all who, in the proper spirit, made a pilgrimage to Treves, and contributed to the expenses of the spectacle_.

After a great deal about the history of the coat with its various exhibitions, and a defence of the worship of relics, the Address closes as follows:--

"The believing sight of this pre-eminently sacred relic, with which stand connected, in a manner so immediate and impressive, the a.s.sociations with the whole life and sufferings of the Saviour, must at once cause many overpowering thoughts and feelings to be awakened in the soul, so that one must feel himself involuntarily torn asunder by them, and believe that he is placed in the immediate presence of the body of our Lord. * * In all these lively a.s.sociations, the Christian believes that he hears the voice of Him who wore this raiment, proclaiming the words of eternal truth, and exhorting sinners to repentance; he believes the holy garment encompa.s.sed with that brilliancy of light which on Mount Tabor made Peter exclaim, 'It is good to be here;' he believes that it is covered with that sweat which bedewed his face on the Mount of Olives. Hence the phenomenon that often hardhearted men were led, by the sight of the holy coat, and the feelings of devotion thereby awakened, to turn into themselves; their heart has melted like ice before the heat of the sun, and thus have they been brought back to G.o.d and his means of grace in the Church. O! may many such miracles take place in these days, which are now approaching. May G.o.d bless the resolutions of the faithful, who come on a pilgrimage to our venerable cathedral, guide their steps on the road to the august sanctuary, and infuse devotion and love into their souls!"

Such is the spirit of the authorized doc.u.ment, issued under the auspices of the ecclesiastical authorities at Treves; and it may well be questioned, whether, in the most gloomy periods of Catholic superst.i.tion, anything has appeared which savoured more of all that is degrading and blasphemous in the system. On the 6th of July 1844, the general announcement of what was to take place was made, with the regulations to be observed by the different processions of pilgrims.

After stating their joy at the proposed spectacle, the chief announcement is made as follows:--"This holy relic will accordingly be exhibited for a period of six weeks, beginning with the 18th August, in order to satisfy the desires of those who may have the pious intention of proceeding to Treves, to worship the holy garment of our divine Saviour by immediate view, each of whom will, according to the bull of Pope Leo X., dated 26th January 1514, receive _complete absolution_. * *

Accordingly, we intimate to all within the bishopric, what we believe to be called for, that there should not be a too numerous streaming together of the faithful on the same day, causing disorder and confusion; and also that no neighbourhood may be deprived to too great an extent of its inhabitants. Accordingly, it is required that two separate days be allocated for each part of the bishopric, so as to divide the number of those who intend to come to Treves; and also that the localities for particular days be so arranged as to prevent the crowding together of too many pilgrims on the same line of road." Then follow fourteen regulations to carry out these views, the whole signed by the Vicar-General.

The long-looked for day at length arrived. The whole country was in commotion, and from many hundred places at once the pilgrimages began.

Every possible arrangement had been made by the authorities of Treves for the reception of, and maintenance of order among the vast and motley a.s.semblage that streamed hither and thither, to take part in the ceremonial. It was a period when devotion was worked up into a wild enthusiasm, and all for the time, whatever their age, or s.e.x, or land, or character might be, were hurried along by the same frenzied zeal, and felt the ordinary differences of life and society to vanish before the august ceremony that for the time had a.s.similated all cla.s.ses of the faithful. On the morning of the 18th August, all the bells in the churches were made to announce that the ceremony had actually begun. The steamers on the Moselle were crowded with pa.s.sengers, who disembarked amid the discharge of cannon. All kinds of vehicles, in addition to the regular post-conveyances, were called into requisition, and the romantic appearance and interest of the whole was enlivened and enhanced by the motley groups of pilgrims, in all varieties of costume, who had made the journey on foot. Pontifical High Ma.s.s was performed by Dr. William Arnoldi. An oration by Dr. Braun followed, bearing upon the great event of the day. Then came the elevation and exhibition of the holy relic; and at ten o'clock the procession of the pilgrims commenced.

Gens-d'armes were stationed without, the clergy of the cathedral within,--whilst, in the immediate neighbourhood of the relic, was a guard of honour, composed of the most respectable of the citizens, and recognised by their silk sashes over the shoulder, in the yellow and red colours of the city. Benches were placed from the portal on the right side of the cathedral, to the choir, and between these the procession moved. Each of the pilgrims was allowed to stand a short time before the relic, yet so vast was the concourse, that between one and two thousand are reported to have pa.s.sed in the short s.p.a.ce of an hour.

The relic itself was placed near the altar in a gold frame, with a gla.s.s front at a considerable distance from it; its shape resembling a French blouse,--the colour somewhat brown--though the poor peasantry were taught to believe that to every eye it presented a combination of colours entirely distinct. An opening was made on each side of the frame, to allow the hand to come in contact with the relic; and whatever did touch it, was believed to acquire a peculiar sanct.i.ty. A deep basin was placed in front, to receive the offerings of the pilgrims, which were to be given to the Cathedrals at Treves and Cologne, and to a Catholic seminary in the former city.

No certificate of creed was required, so that the crowds of Protestants, who were drawn from mere curiosity, had the fullest opportunity of seeing what was to be seen. The ceremony continued daily, during the whole six weeks, for twelve hours, and was opened and closed by the chime of the cathedral bells. At the commencement the weather was fine, but in a few days it became quite unsettled and stormy; yet nothing could damp the long-cherished ardour of the pilgrims. Band after band advanced, and, like the crusaders of old, all the sufferings and hardships of the journey were forgotten as they approached the Holy City. The fatigues of long travelling were so far relieved by addresses from the clergy who marched with their parishioners, and still more by the sacred music which, ever and anon, filled the air. Vast bodies of clergy, from distant parts, arrived to take part in the ceremonial with the general body of the faithful, and, afterwards, share in the heavy duties of the Ma.s.s and the Confessional, as required for such an extraordinary occasion. At last, to complete the arrangements, on the evening of the 23d, an immense banner, with a red cross on a white ground, was elevated to the top of the cathedral, to direct the weary steps of the pilgrims, and to cheer their hearts as they approached the august city. So vast occasionally was the concourse, that on some days not fewer than about 20,000 were quartered within the walls. Fortunately such arrangements had been made with regard to the supplies of provisions, that but a small rise of price in the necessaries of life was perceptible, which is certainly remarkable, when it is stated that in one week, at least 150,000 strangers visited the city, and in the whole time about 1,200,000. Truth also requires the remark--that, taken as a whole, matters were conducted with general decorum and regularity, though it requires but little knowledge of human nature to see that where there was such a miscellaneous concourse of people, often ill fed and ill lodged, the ordinary regulations and observances of society would be disregarded, and a strong encouragement and temptation be given to immorality and crime. Although it was officially stated that there was accommodation in the city and neighbourhood for 20,000 persons, still all the powers of military police, and clergy combined, could not prevent many mournful scenes of misery and vice. It is, by the way, a most significant fact that, along with the announcement now mentioned there was added, under equally official authority, the urgent request that "_all citizens and strangers should avoid all criticism on religious matters or opinions_." If anything were required to convince one that the high authorities of Treves were afraid of the effects of free discussion, or even doubtful allusion to what might well make the most bigoted inquisitive, this significant sentence is sufficient.

Such were the scenes which, with every variety of incident, were being enacted at Treves--a melancholy exhibition of priestly power to give currency and strength to superst.i.tion and blind idolatry, as well as of the state of pa.s.sive submission on the part of the people, to all that the Church, in the arrogance of its blasphemies, may command. The voice of politics was, for a time, hushed--the busy commerce of the city, and even the harvest labours of the field were silent--everything like this world's occupations and concerns were all alike neglected, to give pomp and emphasis to the sad spectacle of men's faith deceived and led astray by a piece of an old garment. Not merely from the poor villages in the vicinity, but from the enlightened towns on the Rhine, from Coblentz, and Bonn, and Cologne, the processions of pilgrims came. Take one specimen:--On the evening of the 22d September, a most numerous procession, which had left Cologne nine days before for Treves, returned. This procession was composed chiefly of the lowest cla.s.ses, with a vast proportion of women of every age. A body of white-dressed girls had advanced a long way to meet the procession, bearing all kinds of church emblems in their hands--crucifixes, flowers, anchors, hearts, &c. The pilgrims were all supplied with medals and engravings of the Holy Coat, as well as with small books containing an account of its history and miracles. These were people who looked poor and miserable, and who evidently had not the means to undertake such a journey, and yet, such was the pa.s.sion for visiting Treves, that the p.a.w.nbrokers reaped a rich harvest from the desperate attempts made to collect money enough to supply their bare wants during their absence from home, and to give their votive offerings to be applied as before mentioned. Cases the most heart-rending have been published of poor people parting with their last possessions to obtain means for the journey, from which they looked for such marvellous results. The sick even were carried thither, with the firm belief that they would be healed; and the debased devotion of the pilgrims broke out in such expressions--"Holy Coat, we pray to thee.

Holy Coat, pray for us," and the like. The higher cla.s.ses, of course, consulted their own convenience in their modes of travelling, employing the Rhine and Moselle steamers or their private conveyances; but it is melancholy to think, that such vast bodies of the respectable cla.s.ses did lend their influence to these unholy exhibitions.

But without entering into farther details let us hasten to the closing scene on the 7th October. At 2 p.m. the doors of the Cathedral were closed, and the ceremony of removing the holy relic from public view proceeded with in presence of the whole body of the clergy. At four the doors were re-opened, and Bishop Arnoldi delivered a discourse, to a vast audience, on the "_Unity of the Church._" At its close, began the procession of the civil officials, of teachers of all grades, of merchants and artisans, and of the guard of honour, dressed in black, with wax torches, through the transept into the choir, to join in the _Te Deum_. After the hymn of St. Ambrose had been sung, accompanied by the thunder of the cannon and the pealing of all the bells in the city and neighbourhood, the general procession advanced through the chief streets of the city. The committee were in front, followed by the guard of honour; they were succeeded by the different fraternities, all with wax candles--a strong choir of singers, then vast crowds of the people, with the various trades, each with their peculiar flags and emblems.

They proceeded through the chief parts of the city to the palace of the Bishop, which was brilliantly illuminated. He, accompanied by the head Bishop of Verdun and the dignitaries of the Cathedral, dispensed the benediction. Then advanced from the arch-diocese of Cologne a torch-procession, accompanied by instrumental music. The whole proceedings were closed by the chorus,--"Lord G.o.d! we praise thee," in the Cathedral. The chief streets of the city were illuminated in the evening, and the grand organ continued pealing. In the middle window of the Cathedral where, in former times, the exhibition of the relic had taken place, was a transparency of the Cross, with splendid emblematic devices.

While all this was going on within the Cathedral, outside there was everything to call the mind of the devotee from the scene in which he had taken part; for, in addition to the jostling and bustle of the crowded city, there was everything in the way of the ordinary and extraordinary sights of a fair, to make him forget the feelings and object of his pilgrimage. Menageries, panoramas, plays, &c, all solicited the attention and money of those a.s.sembled, equally with the music and services of the Cathedral.

The bishops who had officiated during the ceremonial from first to last, were those of Metz, Nancy, Verdun, Luxembourg, Spires, Limburg, Osnabruck, Munster, Cologne, with several from Holland. Each bishop entered the city amid the ringing of the church bells. The pilgrims from France did not enter the city in processional order, but their clergy were numerously represented. During the whole period, processions to the city were not uncommon. Controversies between several of the journals, as to many occurrences connected with the proceedings, have taken place.

Charges have been advanced, and as flatly contradicted, so that we do not feel called on to detail either the nature of the charges or the defence. It is easy enough admitting exaggeration on both sides.

It only remains to notice the inseparable adjuncts of such proceedings--the _miracles_ which are said to have been effected. To a Protestant, who has not spent some time in a Catholic country, it must seem in the highest degree strange to hear of solemn statements, by opposite newspapers in support of, or in opposition to, certain pretended miracles; nay, not only so, but to have counter-medical certificates pitted against each other on the issue. Yet all this has lately been done. It would be worse than useless to recite the floating stories which one hears in the neighbourhood, about Protestant clergymen dying suddenly in the full possession of health, for having denounced the whole thing as a piece of imposture to a body of pa.s.sing pilgrims, or of the many miraculous cures of sight, lameness, and the like. Yet, that all this is fact, any intelligent and inquiring tourist of the Rhine can testify. One case, in particular, created great interest, that of the Countess Droste-Vischering, a relation of the Archbishop of Cologne, who has been for many years unable to walk without the use of crutches, but who, after beholding the Holy Coat, was enabled, to the wonderment of all, to walk home una.s.sisted. The plain truth comes out from her medical adviser,--that she had been long suffering from a diseased knee-joint, that she resolved at all hazards to go to Treves, and that, while in a fit of ecstasy before the relic, she had excited a degree of energy, in stretching or bending the diseased limb, which had given the temporary relief, by relaxing the long rigid muscles. Since this period she has had relapses, and is, we believe, now using the crutches, which had been too hastily hung up in the Cathedral as a thank-offering for her marvellous restoration. Yet this simple story is paraded about and magnified into a miracle, to give still greater _eclat_ to the Holy Coat and the church ceremonies connected with it.

It would be useless to enter into other details, when all are equally barefaced. The above case may be selected as a rather better than average specimen of the popish miracles of the continent.

And now, in finishing this part of the subject, we may be allowed to quote the opinion of one of the great organs of German Catholicism:--"Who can deny that this exhibition of the Holy Coat has been an event for the Rhine provinces and the West of Europe, which, in its consequences, must be of the greatest moment, whilst, for its grandeur, in church history it is unprecedented? Proceeding from a small circle, it has already embraced a wide circ.u.mference in its influence."

After enumerating the quarters from which the crowds of pilgrims flocked, he proceeds:--"Who shall name those, princ.i.p.ally from the higher cla.s.ses, who came as single pilgrims from distant cities and lands, and what language do all these bands speak? They proclaim the triumph of faith over a system of false enlightenment; the victory of the newly-awakened elements of the day over all overthrowing tendencies--in a word, they proclaim the power of the Church, which has brought together such vast bodies of men, separated among so many princes by language and habits, yet made to act as the members of one and the same body."

We now turn to the more pleasing part of the subject, the statement of the more striking particulars connected with the late re-action against this G.o.d-dishonouring spectacle. It was impossible that a movement so singular and extensive should escape being made the subject of general newspaper remark and criticism. And, as the fact has proved, it has been argued and re-argued in a hundred ways by Catholic and Protestant journals, so that the whole bearings of the case, and the positions of all the different political and religious parties in the country in relation to it, have been brought and kept steadily before the public mind. This, it is clear, can be but seldom realized where the State puts its _imprimatur_ upon the full freedom of the press, and where, in consequence, _public opinion_ is but struggling for existence and definite expression, instead of being, as in Britain, the one element which overrules and directs the movements of the whole social system.

_We_ can appreciate the effects of _free inquiry_;--and when we know that this is now being unsparingly applied to the workings of that system, which "loves the darkness rather than the light," we may, under G.o.d's guidance and blessing, be allowed to look for new and large results, in the way of the exposure of errors, which have the sanction of long centuries of ignorance, and of great preparatory movements at least, for the reception of the truth as it is in Jesus. This is one great point gained; and if the spirit of inquiry, which has now been excited, could be but well directed, we might already rejoice in the Protestant prospects of Germany. That men feel unsatisfied with _what is_, is manifest--that feelings long kept under, are now obtaining clear and full expression--that men are being undeceived in having so long believed a lie, and often in agony of spirit are seeking for the simple truth to bring peace to their souls--all this, and much more is evident, and calls loudly for our active sympathies and prayers.

A few points call for especial notice:--

Very many of the _Catholic_ journals have taken their stand against the late scenes at Treves. It is true, that several of those Journals may have been actuated by secondary motives in so doing, or what is the notorious fact, that some, at least of such Journals, want almost entirely a religious character; and though Catholic in name, are infidel in fact. Still it is equally notorious, that several of the Catholic Journals, whose orthodoxy is above suspicion, have lifted up their voice against what has taken place, as scandalous to Christianity, and eminently perilous to the Church.

In addition to the discussions which have appeared in the public prints, a vast ma.s.s of pamphlets has been issued on both sides. The most remarkable of these is, one issued by two professors in Bonn, _Gildermeister and Sybel_ (the latter a Catholic,) entering into a grave and learned historical inquiry as to the genuineness of the relic, exposing in the most triumphant manner the various defences which have appeared on the Catholic side,--and all characterized by the most severe sarcasm, in holding up the trumpery of the system of relic-worship to contempt. The t.i.tle of the book is "_The Holy Coat of Treves, and the twenty other Holy Coats_." A second edition was soon called for, in which four other such relics were stated as discovered. It is generally known, that among these numerous claimants for genuineness, the great body of the French clergy have bid hard to prove that the Coat of Argenteuil is the genuine one; and this view has been warmly defended by one of the Catholic clergy of Einsiedeln in Switzerland--notoriously one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in the world. More than this, writings have appeared stating the events connected with the other relics of the same name, and treasured with equal sanct.i.ty in numerous Cathedrals; also giving an account of the separate and independent series of miracles wrought by each as the true Coat of the Lord. It would be tedious to detain the reader with more of such details. We desire merely to notice the various workings of the movement in and out of the Catholic Church. It may accordingly suffice to state in addition, that poetry as well as prose has been called into requisition, and that satirical ballads and lyrics have been numerously circulated, and eagerly read by all parties. Many of them are filled with the most stinging remarks on the general position and moral character of the clergy.

But by far the most important element in the movement, and, in fact, that which has determined its subsequent direction, has been the following letter of John Ronge, priest in Silesia, dated Laurahutte, 1st October 1844, and ent.i.tled, "Opinion of the Catholic Priest John Ronge, on the Holy Coat of Treves:"

Laurahutte, October 1st.

Opinion of a Catholic Priest in regard to the Holy Tunic at Treves.

"Christians of the nineteenth century,--you have heard--you know it--men of Germany--you know it--spiritual and temporal teachers of the German people, that what would once upon a time have sounded in our ears as a fable or a fiction--is neither a fiction nor a fable, but real truth and verity. Bishop Arnoldi of Treves has exhibited for the adoration and reverence of Christians, a garment called the Tunic of our Lord!

"According to the last account, five hundred thousand persons have already made a pilgrimage to see this relic, and every day fresh thousands flock to it, especially since the garment in question is found capable of curing diseases and working miracles.

"The news has spread among the people of all lands, while certain priests in France maintain that they alone possess the real tunic of Christ, and that the one at Treves is an imposture. Truly the saying here applies,--'He who can occupy his mind about such things without losing his reason, has none to lose.' Five hundred thousand men--five hundred thousand intelligent Germans have--already hastened to see or to adore a piece of dress at Treves! The greater number of these thousands are from the lower orders of the people, and, besides, in deepest poverty,--oppressed, uneducated, stupid, superst.i.tious, and in part demoralized. They leave the cultivation of their fields, the labour of their workshops, the care of their households, the education of their children, to take part in a Heathen festival at Treves--a disgraceful spectacle, which the Romish Church displays before their eyes. Yes, it is a Heathen festival, for many thousands of the credulous mult.i.tude to render to a piece of dress,--the work of human hands,--that regard and adoration which are due to G.o.d alone. And what pernicious consequences must follow from these pilgrimages! Thousands of the pilgrims deprive themselves of the necessaries of life to raise the money for their journey, and the offering which they make to the Holy Tunic--that is, to the clergy. They purchase it by sacrifices of their comfort, or by begging--only to starve on their return; to suffer want, or to fall sick in consequence of the fatigues of the journey. If these external results are sufficiently melancholy, the moral consequences are far more so.

Will not many of them, reduced to want by the expenses of their journey, endeavour to relieve themselves by unlawful means?

"Many wives and virgins sacrifice their purity of heart, their reputation, and their chast.i.ty, destroying thus the peace, the happiness, and comfort of their families.

"In fine, this most unchristian exhibition but creates an inlet for superst.i.tion, hypocrisy, and fanaticism, with all the vice that follows in their train. Such is the blessing spread abroad by the exhibition of the Holy Tunic, and it is a matter but of small moment whether it be genuine or false.

"And the man who publicly displays this piece of dress--the work of human hands--for reverent regard--who leads astray the religious feelings of the credulous, ignorant, or suffering people--giving thereby an impulse to vice and superst.i.tion--who wrings their substance from the poor and starving mult.i.tude--who entails on Germany the ridicule of other lands, and who draws more close together the heavy clouds which float already dark and dismally above our heads--this man is a bishop, a German bishop. It is Arnoldi, Bishop of Treves!

"Arnoldi, Bishop of Treves, I therefore turn to you, and demand, by authority of my office and calling as a priest and teacher of the German people--in the name of Christendom, in the name of the German nation, and in the name of its instructors--that you put an end to the unchristian spectacle of the exhibition of the Holy Tunic--and withdraw this garment, that the offence which it has given may not be still increased! For, do you not know--as bishop you ought to know--that the Founder of the Christian religion left to his disciples and his followers not his coat but his spirit?--his coat, Bishop Arnoldi of Treves, belongs to his _executioners!_ Do you not know--as bishop you ought to know--that Jesus taught--'G.o.d is a Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth?' and He may be worshipped everywhere, not only in the temple at Jerusalem, on the Mount Gerizim, or at Treves, in presence of the holy tunic; do you not know--as bishop you ought to know--that the Gospel expressly forbids the adoration of every image and of every relic? that Christians in the Apostolic age, and in the three first centuries, suffered neither images nor relics in their churches (and _they_ might have had plenty of them)? that the worship of images and relics is a Heathen custom, and that the Fathers in the first three centuries abused the Heathens on account of it? We read, for instance, (Div. inst. 11., c. 2,) 'Neither do these besotted men understand that if the images possessed life and motion, they would rather worship the man by whom they had been formed.' Lastly, do you not know--as bishop you ought to know this also--that the vigorous and healthy mind of the German people was first degraded to the worship of relics by the Crusades in the 13th and 14th centuries? when the exalted conception of the G.o.dhead which Christianity inculcates, had been obscured by all the lying marvels brought from eastern lands? Hark ye!

Bishop Arnoldi of Treves, you know all this, and better probably than I can tell it to you. You also know the effects which superst.i.tion and the idolatrous adoration of relics have worked among us, namely, the religious and political bondage of Germany; and yet, you can display your relics to the admiration of the mult.i.tude. And were it even possible you should be ignorant of all that I have told you,--that the salvation of souls was your sole aim in the exhibition of this Holy Tunic,--you would, notwithstanding, have two sins upon your conscience.

In the first place, it is unpardonable, if the garment in question actually possess saving power, that you have withhold its benefits from suffering men until the present time. And, secondly, it is unpardonable that you accept the offerings of these countless mult.i.tudes. And is it not unpardonable that you, as bishop, should accept of money from our poor and starving people, especially when you have seen, not many weeks ago, that hundreds have been driven by necessity to mutiny, despair, and death? Do not allow yourself to be deceived by the influx of thousands upon thousands, but, believe me, that while hundreds of thousands of the German people hasten with holy fervour (?) to Treves, _millions_, like myself, are filled with horror and the deepest indignation by the disgraceful spectacle. And this indignation prevails not in individual ranks and parties, but among all cla.s.ses--even in the Catholic priesthood. Judgment will overtake you, therefore, sooner than you think.

Arnoldi! the historian is already seizing his pen, to submit your name to the contempt of your contemporaries and of posterity, and stigmatizes you as the Tetzel of the nineteenth century!

"And you, fellow-citizens of Germany, whether near or at a distance from Treves, unite your efforts to prevent the continuance of such an insult to the German name. You have various means of working, take courage and employ them; endeavour each and all, with resolute determination, to encounter and restrain the tyrannous despotism of the Romish Church.

For it is not in Treves alone that the modern traffic in indulgences is carried on; you are aware that in the east and west, the north and south, rosary, ma.s.s, indulgence, burial moneys, and the like, are still increasing, and with them spiritual darkness. Forward, then! Catholics and Protestants, together to the work! Our happiness, our honour, our freedom are at stake. Do not the manes of your fathers, who stormed the Capitol, frown to see you suffer patiently the Castle of St. Angelo to lord it over Germany. Dishonour not the laurels of a Huss, a Hutten, and a Luther. Give words to their ideas, and convert their will into deed.

"Finally, my colleagues, whose sole endeavours and desires are centred in the welfare of your congregations, the honour, the freedom, and the happiness of your German countrymen, keep no longer silence! You sin against your reputation, your religion, and your fatherland, if you longer hesitate to follow out your improved convictions. I have already, elsewhere, briefly addressed you, and shall therefore now conclude.

Prove yourselves the true disciples of Him who gave up all for truth, and light, and liberty. Show that you have inherited, not his garment, but his spirit.

"Johannes Ronge, _Catholic Priest_."

It may be at once seen that this letter is the production of no ordinary man; and, at a glance, it cannot but remind us of him "whose words were half battles." Few living Germans have such mastery over their language in all its native strength. It was just such a production,--short, nervous, and earnest,--that was required to give utterance to the slumbering thoughts and sympathies of thousands. Appearing in a distant and comparatively unknown part of Germany, it soon found its way wherever the German language was spoken, and, wherever it has found its way, there it has called forth a deep and hearty response. It has now been translated into various languages, and, despite all the preventive measures of police and clergy, it may now be found by the thousand all over Germany. It is not our present purpose to state in what points the views of the author seem defective. Our immediate object is simply to lay before the reader some facts ill.u.s.trative of the anti-Catholic movement which has taken place, and is now advancing steadily. But first a word about the course pursued with regard to the author. From events which had previously taken place in the Cathedral of Breslau, to which diocese he was attached, the suspicions of the ecclesiastical authorities were not long in fixing upon Ronge as the author of the above letter, which appeared anonymously in the _Sachsische Vaterlands-blatter_. His manly love of truth disdained equivocation or subterfuge, and, as the result of all, he was deposed and excommunicated. A complete host of pamphlets were called suddenly into existence by the daring letter of one who, calling himself a Catholic priest, had still the hardihood to asperse the character and cause of the one all-holy Church, by attacking one of its most imposing rites, and treating with scorn and shame one of its consecrated bishops. Every possible charge, affecting his character as a student, as a clergyman, as a teacher, and as a man, was raked up against him. Those who had not a t.i.the of his power of fierce and indignant invective, when truth called for the vindication of its claims, made up for the defect by personal scurrility and the most vulgar abuse. His former a.s.sociates in the priesthood openly denounced him, to exculpate themselves from any supposed sympathy with the sentiments or with the man. A friend generously undertook his defence--who declares, that at the Catholic seminary he was distinguished by great diligence in his studies, as well as by the purity of his moral life; so much so, that the superintendents stated that they had seldom under their care a young man who sought to become acquainted with the truths of the Catholic faith with such a deep and holy earnestness. After a slight sketch of his doings in Breslau and Grottkau, he states, "that every friend of his must feel persuaded that the above letter proceeded from his inmost convictions. He is utterly incapable of falsehood, in word or deed; and, as regards moral character, that he is, perhaps, too stringent towards himself, but mild and considerate to others. It was only the public wild proceedings of the ultra-Montanists and Jesuits that filled him with holy indignation."

Ronge himself soon felt and saw the importance of the step which he had taken. He was now beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, obliged to relinquish all in defence of the truth, and exposed, from all quarters, to attacks which his conscience told him to be groundless. The cause of truth, for which he had already suffered, again demanded that his voice should be upraised; and this he does in the following _Justification_, which cannot but interest the reader as the autobiography of a remarkable man, but especially from the fearful disclosures which it makes of the present state and actual workings of Romanism. All the facts adduced with regard to his anguish of mind--his deep sense of the spiritual bondage under which he lay--his inward and outward struggles--his determined opposition to what he believed to be wrong and unjust--his plain but triumphant vindication of his conduct throughout--all give a character of _truthfulness_ to the doc.u.ment, which is its best guarantee, and makes it emphatically _speak for itself_. It may enhance the interest of the following doc.u.ment to know that it was soon prohibited by the censor of the press, notwithstanding that the press of Leipsic is one of the freest in Germany:--

PREFACE.