matter,  there  is  a  gulf  between  the  Churches
of  England  and  Rome.  Even  at  first  sight  it
is  evident  that  this  gulf  is  too  broad  to  be
logically  bridged  over.  But  let  us  turn  to
some  particulars,  which  can  be  examined
separately.
Our  Twenty-fifth  Article  states  that  Pen-
ance is  not  "a  Sacrament  of  the  Gospel,"
that  it  has  not  "  the  like  nature  of  a  Sacra-
ment "with  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.
Those  then  who  advocate  and  urge  on,  within
our  Church,  the  practice  of  Sacramental  Con-
fession— which,  as  we  have  seen,  means
Confession  viewed  as  an  essential  part  of  the
Sacrament  of  Penance — when  that  Church  has
asserted  that  Penance  is  not  a  Christian
Sacrament  at  all,  would  startle  us  extremely,
if  the  startling  theological  effects  of  the  day
had  not  somewhat  blunted  our  sense  of
wonder.
