A Letter to Lord Fielding. Suggested by the late proceedings at the New Church at Pantasa — Edition Insights

The Doyle Precedent and the Burden of Proof

Stone opens by quoting Bishop Doyle’s claim that the chief points of difference—canon, faith, sacraments, tradition, papal authority, and others—admit of satisfactory explanation and that division arises from pride and prejudice rather than substance. Stone immediately challenges Fielding: if Doyle wrote truth, why abandon the English Church for a foreign system with no material difference? If falsehood, Stone leaves Fielding to settle with Doyle. This rhetorical gambit sets the letter’s tone: logical, confrontational, and anchored in a specific published statement. Stone then declares that a material difference does exist, as great as between light and darkness, and promises to prove it from Scripture against what he calls the unfounded figments of Tridentine manufacture. The reference to St. Cyprian’s dove and raven foreshadows his hope that Fielding will return to the ark of the English Church.

Sacraments Under Scrutiny: Confirmation, Penance, and Extreme Unction

Stone systematically examines the seven sacraments claimed by Rome, starting with confirmation and penance. He notes that confirmation, though a sacred rite of apostolic origin, was not instituted by Christ and therefore cannot be a sacrament. Penance, he argues, is a godly discipline but not Christ-instituted. He then turns to confession, addressing Fielding directly with a warning about the filthy questions to which married ladies are subject in the confessional. Stone refuses to print an abstract of the questions, calling them loathsome and disgustingly offensive, but urges Fielding to read the instructions in Dens and Baillie, the Maynooth class books, before allowing any female friend to confess. He accuses the Roman Church of enchanting Fielding’s soul, contrasting it with the freedom of a slave chained to the plough. On extreme unction, Stone cites the Council of Trent’s language—insinuavit and tanquam—as evidence that Christ only insinuated it, and notes that Cardinal Cajetan denied the Tridentine insinuation. He also points out that Bishop Doyle’s catechism admits the time of institution is uncertain, which he finds absurd for an infallible church.

Holy Orders, Matrimony, and the Logic of Infallibility

Stone continues with holy orders and matrimony. He acknowledges that Scripture and ancient authors show bishops, priests, and deacons from apostolic times, but insists Christ himself did not institute holy orders, so it cannot be a sacrament. Matrimony, he notes, was instituted in man’s innocency, yet Rome’s definition of a sacrament forces a contradiction: if matrimony is a sacrament, it must have been instituted by Christ, which would place its origin after the Fall. Stone finds it marvellous that a church which exalts matrimony as a sacrament deems it too polluting for its clergy. He then turns to faith and justification, preferring to cite the Bible directly: “He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved.” The letter’s structure—moving from Doyle’s premise through each sacrament to scriptural proof—reveals Stone’s method: logical deduction from authoritative sources, designed to corner Fielding into either rejecting Rome’s definitions or admitting inconsistency.

Stone’s letter is a specimen of mid-nineteenth-century Anglican polemic, blending theological argument with personal admonition. Readers should note that the text is incomplete in this edition; the excerpts break off during the discussion of faith and justification. The work assumes familiarity with the Council of Trent, Bishop Doyle’s writings, and the Maynooth class books. Stone’s tone shifts from reasoned debate to visceral warning, particularly on confession, reflecting the era’s anti-Catholic sentiment. The letter is best read as a period artifact of religious controversy rather than a dispassionate survey.

Reading that Welsh clergyman’s careful, worried letter made me think how arguments ossify over time, yet the ache stays tender. I found a similar lingering in The Paston Letters, A.D. 1422-1509. Volume 1 (of 6) New Complete Library Edition — Themes and Context—ordinary people, centuries apart, pleading their faith and property in ink. That small, human tremor binds them, quiet and unbroken.