in theology, denotes a power or commission to preach the gospel. Jesus Christ gave his disciples their mission in these words, Go and teach all nations, &c.

The Romanists reproach the Protestants, that their ministers have no mission, as not being authorized in the exercise of their ministry, either by an uninterrupted succession from the apostles, or by miracles, or by any extraordinary proof of a vocation.

Many among us deny any other mission necessary for the ministry than the talents necessary to discharge it.

Mission is also used for an establishment of people zealous for the glory of God and the salvation of souls; who go and preach the gospel in remote countries and among infidels.

There are missions in the East as well as in the West Indies. Among the Romanists, the religious orders of St Dominic, St Francis, St Augustine, and the Jesuits, have missions in the Levant, America, &c. The Jesuits have also missions in China, and all other parts of the globe where they have been able to penetrate. There have been also several Protestant missions for diffusing the light of Christianity through the benighted regions of Asia and America. Of this kind has been the Danish mission planned by Frederic IV. in 1706. And the liberality of private benefactors in our own country has been also extended to the support of missionaries among the Indians in America, &c.