The Church in Italy. By Arthur Robert Pennington, M.A. (Wells
Gardner, Darton, and Co.)—This is certainly the hardest task that the series of "The National Churches" has imposed upon any of its contributors. Practically the history of the Church in Italy is the history of the Papacy. When we remember what elaborate books have been written on periods of that history, and with what far-reaching controversies the subject is involved, we may imagine how difficult it must have been to make even any approximation to a satisfactory treatment. Mr. Pennington has done his work reasonably well. He has selected his topics for treatment with good judgment, shown himself candid and moderate, and succeeded in giving a fairly complete sketch of his subject. He does not take the Papal standpoint, refuses to accept the twenty-five years' episcopate of Peter, thinks that Bishops of Rome may err, and have erred, in matters of faith (a propos of Callistus), does not believe that the Bishop of Rome had pre- cedence at Nica3a (of which, indeed, we can find no mention) ; in short, takes, but always in a temperate way, the Protestant view of the great controversy. We have no objection to urge against these views ; but what we should like to have seen in this book is a philosophical statement of the causes which worked the development of the Papacy out of the history of Italy and of Rome.
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