them approved by any half-dozen persons con-
sulted thereupon. The term ecclesiastical is in
common use and well understood. We talk
and write of "The Church," of "New Testa-
ment Churches," and also of the "Churches of
the Denominations." But why the word church
is thus used may be hard to say, as we have
naturalised Ecclesiastical, and Ekklesia (èkkλnoía)
is selected by the Lord to designate His
Assembly. "Ecclesiastical," then, is taken as
covering all that appertains to churches apos-
tolic, apostatic, and reformatory; and the
Ecclesiastical Observer is a watchman in the
interest of truth and in reference to the things
of the Church of God.
Now, perhaps, more than at any former time,
there is a general sense of coming changes in all
denominations. It is seen everywhere that
changes will come because they must, and that
they must come ere wide-spread efficiency can
be realised. As an OBSERVER we have to look