Even
some of the First Broad Churchmen have written heartily against its
theology and influence.
A remarkable feature of the whole controversy is the judicial
prosecution of the essayists. Petitions numerously signed were presented
to the bishops, praying that some action might be taken against them.
One protest contained the signatures of nine thousand clergymen of the
Established church; and the bishops, without a single exception, took
ground against the theological bearing of the _Essays and Reviews_. The
Convocations of Canterbury and York, which possessed the full exercise
of their legislative functions for the first time in one hundred and
fifty years, declared against it, and pledged their influence to protect
the church from the "pernicious doctrines and heretical tendencies of
the book." After much deliberation and counsel, Dr. Williams and Mr.
Wilson were summoned before the court of Arches, the chief
ecclesiastical tribunal of England. Finally, June 21, 1864, decision was
pronounced that they had departed from the teachings of the Thirty-Nine
Articles on the inspiration of Holy Scripture, on the atonement, and on
justification.
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