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opposition to extra-monks, who have benefices depending on the monastery.

Monks are also distinguished into reformed, whom the civil and ecclesiastical authority have made masters of ancient convents, and put in their power to retrieve the ancient discipline, which had been relaxed; and ancient, who remain in the convent, to live in it according to its establishment at the time when they made their vows, without obliging themselves to any new reform.

confusion, or mixture of the two natures.

The Monophysites, however, properly so called, are the followers of Severus, a learned monk of Palestine, who was created patriarch of Antioch in 513, and Petrus Fullensis.

The Monophysites were encouraged by the emperor Anastasius, but suppressed by Justin and succeeding emperors. However, this sect was restored by Jacob Baradæus, an obscure monk, insomuch that when he died bishop of EdesAnciently the monks were all sa, A. D. 588, he left it in a most laymen, and were only distinguish-flourishing state in Syria, Mesopoed from the rest of the people by tamia, Armenia, Egypt, Nubia, a peculiar habit and an extraordi- Abyssinia, and other countries. nary devotion. Not only the The laborious efforts of Jacob monks were prohibited the priest- were seconded in Egypt and the hood, but even priests were ex-adjacent countries by Theodosius, pressly prohibited from becoming bishop of Alexandria; and he bemonks, as appears from the letters came so famous, that all the Moof St. Gregory. Pope Siricius nophysites of the East considered was the first who called them to him as their second parent and the clericate, on occasion of some founder, and are to this day called great scarcity of priests that the Jacobites, in honour of their new church was then supposed to la- chief. The Monophysites are dibour under; and since that time vided into two sects or parties, the priesthood has been usually the one African and the other united to the monastical profes- Asiatic: at the head of the latter sion. Enc. Brit.; British Mona-is the patriarch of Antioch, who chism, or Manners and Customs of resides for the most part in the Monks and Nuns of England; Mo- monastery of St. Ananias, near sheim's Ecc. Hist. the city of Merdin: the former MONOPHYSITES (from ovos, are under the jurisdiction of the solus, and pois, natura), a general patriarch of Alexandria, who gename given to all those sectaries nerally resides at Grand Cairo, in the Levant who only own one and are subdivided into Cophts nature in Jesus Christ; and who and Abyssinians. From the fifmaintain that the divine and hu- teenth century downwards, all the man nature of Jesus Christ were patriarchs of the Monophysites so united as to form only one na-have taken the name of Ignatius, ture, yet without any change, in order to shew that they are the

lineal successors of Ignatius, who herent: it was the same with that was bishop of Antioch in the first of the acephalous Severians.— century, and consequently the They allowed of two wills in lawful patriarch of Antioch. In Christ, considered with regard to the seventeenth century a small the two natures; but reduced body of Monophysites in Asia them to one, by reason of the abandoned for some time the doc-union of the two natures, thinking trine and institution of their an- it absurd that there should be two cestors, and embraced the com- free wills in one and the same munion of Rome; but the Afri-person. They were condemned can Monophysites, notwithstand-by the sixth general council in ing that poverty and ignorance 680, as being supposed to destroy which exposed them to the seduc- the perfection of the humanity of tions of sophistry and gain, stood Jesus Christ, depriving it of will firm in their principles, and made and operation. Their sentiments an obstinate resistance to the pro-were afterwards embraced by the mises, presents, and attempts em- Maronites. ployed by the papal missionaries to bring them under the Roman yoke: and in the eighteenth century those of Asia and Africa have persisted in their refusal to enter into the communion of the Romish church, notwithstanding the earnest entreaties and alluring offers that have been made from Montanus, it is said, embraced time to time by the pope's legates Christianity in hopes of rising to to conquer their inflexible con- the dignities of the church. He stancy. The Monophysites pro-pretended to inspiration; and gave pagate their doctrine in Asia with out that the Holy Ghost had inzeal and assiduity, and have not long ago gained over to their communion a part of the Nestorians who inhabit the maritime coasts of India.

MONTANISTS, a sect which sprung up about the year 171, in the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. They were so called from their leader Montanus, a Phrygian by birth; whence they are sometimes called Phrygians and Cataphrygians.

structed him in several points which had not been revealed to the apostles. Priscilla and Maximilla, two enthusiastic women of Phrygia, presently became his MONOTHELITES (com-disciples, and in a short time he pounded of movos, "single," and had a great number of followers. Deanna Dera, volo, "I will,"), an The bishops of Asia, being assemancient sect, which sprung out of bled together, condemned his the Eutychians; thus called, as prophecies, and excommunicated only allowing of one will in Jesus those who dispersed them. AfChrist. terwards they wrote an account The opinion of the Monothe-of what had passed to the westlists had its rise in 630, and had ern churches, where the pretendthe emperor Heraclius for an ad-ed prophecies of Montanus and

his followers were likewise con

demned.

the agreement of the actions of any intelligent being with the nature, circumstances, and relation, of things.-5. A moral impossibility is a very great or insuperable difliculty; opposed to a natural impossibility. See INABILITY.-6. Moral obligation is the necessity of doing or omitting any action in order to be happy and good. See OBLIGATION.-7. Moral phi

The Montanists, finding themselves exposed to the censure of the whole church, formed a schism, and set up a distinct society under the direction of those who called themselves prophets. Montanus, in conjunction with Priscilla and Maximilla, was at the head of the sect. These sectaries made no alte-losophy is the science of manration in the creed. They only held that the Holy Spirit made Montanus his organ for delivering a more perfect form of discipline than what was delivered by his apostles. They refused communion for ever to those who were guilty of notorious crimes, and believed that the bishops had no authority to reconcile them. They held it unlawful to fly in time of persecution. They condemned second marriages, allowed the dissolution of marriage, and observed three lents.

ners, the knowledge of our duty and felicity. See PHILOSOPHY.8. Moral sense, that whereby we perceive what is good, virtuous, and beautiful in actions, manners, and characters; or it is a kind of satisfaction in the mind arising from the contemplation of those actions of rational agents which we call good or virtuous; some call this natural conscience, others intuitive perception of right and wrong, &c. See article SENSE.-9. Moral law. See LAW.

MORALITY is that relation or The Montanists became sepa- proportion which actions bear to a rated into two branches, one of given rule. It is generally used which were the disciples of Pro- in reference to a good life. clus, and the other of Aschines.rality is distinguished from reliThe latter are charged with fol-gion thus: "Religion is a studious lowing the heterodox opinions of conformity of our wills, affections, Praxeas and Sabellius concerning the Trinity.

and actions to God; morality is a conformity of our actions to the MORAL, relating to the actions relations in which we stand to or conduct of life, or that which each other in civil society. Modetermines an action to be good rality comprehends only a part or virtuous.-2. A moral agent of religion; but religion compreis a being that is capable of those hends the whole of morality. Moactions that have a moral quality, rality finds all her motives here and which can properly be deno-below; religion fetches all her minated good or evil in a moral motives from above. The highest sense.-3. A moral certainty is a principal in morals is a just regard very strong probability, and is used to the rights of men; the first in contradistinction to mathemati- principle in religion is the love of cal probability.-4. Moral fitness is God." The various duties of mo

VOL. II.

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245.

rality are considered in their re- || all reverence for human compilaspective places in this work. See tions of the faith, professing simBishop Horsley's Charge, 1790; ply to follow the doctrines and prePaley's and Grove's Moral Philo- cepts contained in the Word of sophy; Beattie's Elements of Moral God. on There being at this time no Science; Evans's Sermons Christian Temper; Watts's Ser- bishops in the Bohemian church mons on Christian Morals; Ma- who had not submitted to the pason's Christian Morals; H. Moore's pal jurisdiction, three priests of the society of United Brethren Hints, vol. ii. p. MORAVIANS, a sect gene-were, about the year 1467, conrally said to have arisen under Nicholas Lewis, count of Zinzendorf, a German nobleman of the last century, and thus called because the first converts to their system were some Moravian families. According to the society's own account, however, they derive their origin from the Greek church in the ninth century, when, by the instrumentality of Methodius and Cyrillus, two Greek monks, the kings of Bulgaria and Moravia being converted to the faith, were, together with their subjects,united in communion with the Greek church. Methodius was their first bishop, and for their use Cyrillus translated the scriptures into the Sclavonian language.

secrated by Stephen, bishop of the Waldenses, in Austria [see WALDENSES]; and these prelates, on their return to their own country, consecrated ten co-bishops, or co-seniors, from among the rest of the presbyters. In 1523, the United Brethren commenced a friendly correspondence, first with Luther, and afterwards with Calvin and others leaders among the reformers. A persecution, which was brought upon them on this account, and some religious disputes which took place among themselves, threatened for a while the society with ruin: but the disputes were, in 1570, put an end to by a synod, which decreed that differences about non-essenThe antipathy of the Greek and tials should not destroy their Roman churches is well known, union; and the persecution ceased and by much the greater part of in 1575, when the United Brethe Brethren were in process of thren obtained an edict for the time compelled, after many strug-public exercise of their religion. gles, to submit to the see of This toleration was renewed in Rome. A few, however, adhering 1609, and liberty granted them to the rites of their mother to erect new churches. But a church, united themselves in 1176 civil war, which, in 1612, broke to the Waldenses, and sent mis-out in Bohemia, and a violent sionaries into many countries. In 1457 they were called Fratres legis Christi, or Brethren of the Law of Christ; because, about that period, they had thrown off

persecution which followed it in 1621, occasioned the dispersion of their ministers, and brought great distress upon the Brethren in general.

Some of them fled to

England, others to Saxony and being endued with the peaceable Brandenburg; whilst many, over- spirit of the church which they come by the severity of the per- had joined, they started disputes secution, conformed to the rites among themselves, which threatof the church of Rome. One co- ened the destruction of the whole lony of these, who retained in pu- establishment. By the indefatirity their original principles and gable exertions of count Zinzenpractice, was, in 1722, conducted dorf these disputes were allayed; by a brother, named Christian and statutes being, in 1727, drawn David, from Fulneck, in Moravia, up and agreed to for the regulato Upper Lusatia, where they put tion both of the internal and of themselves under the protection of the external concerns of the conNicholas Lewis, count of Zinzen-gregation, brotherly love and undorf, and built a village on his es-ion was again established; and no tate at the foot of a hill, called schism whatever, in point of docHutberg, or Watch Hill. The trine, has since that period discount, who, soon after their arri- turbed the church of the United val, removed from Dresden to Brethren. his estate in the country, shewed In 1735, the count, who under every mark of kindness to the God, had been the instrument of poor emigrants; but being a zeal-renewing the Brethren's church, ous member of the church esta- was consecrated one of their bishblished by law, he endeavoured for some time to prevail upon them to unite themselves with it, by adopting the Lutheran faith and discipline. This they declined; and the count, on a more minute enquiry into their ancient history and distinguishing tenets, not only desisted from his first purpose, but became himself a convert to the faith and discipline of the United Brethren.

The synod which, in 1570, put an end to the disputes which then tore the church of the Brethren into factions, had considered as non-essentials the distinguishing tenets of their own society, of the Lutherans, and of the Calvinists. In consequence of this, many of the reformers of both these sects had followed the Brethren to Herrnhut, and been received by them into communion; but not

ops, having the year before been examined and received into the clerical orders by the Theological Faculty of Tubingen. Dr. Potter, then archbishop of Canterbury, congratulated him upon this event, and promised his assistance to a church of confessors, of whom he wrote in terms of the highest respect, for their having maintained the pure and primitive faith and discipline in the midst of the most tedious and cruel persecutions. That his Grace, who had studied the various controversies about church government with uncommon success, admitted the Moravian episcopal succession, we know from the most unquestionable authority; for he communicated his sentiments on the subject to Dr. Secker, while bishop of Oxford. In conformity with these sentiments of the archbishop, we are

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