New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1863-01-23
TgE SOUTHERN CHURCHES AND
SLAVERY.

The Protestant Episcopal Church is one Of
those American denominations which kept up
national organization until the outbreak Of
the Rebellion. South Carolina and Georgia
met Of the General Conventions in fraternal
union with Massachusetts and Vermont. OF
course this was possible only by the absolute
silence Of the Northern Churches as to the
great sin OF tho South. Not only was no tes-
timony given against the institution Of Slavery
in general, but all its ABDOMINAL excrescenses,
the buying, selliDg and breeding of slaves the
ignoring of the marriage and tho parental rela.
tons and the prohibition of giving to slave
children instruction in reading and writing,
were ricidly excluded from the deliberations of
the highest Church Assembly, and none Of these
crimes drew upon the Shareholders the censures
OF the church.
Yet all TIL, disgraceful submissyeness 10 the
demands Of the Slave Power could not save
the unity Of the church. When Rebellion had
succeeded in forming number Of Seeded
States into Confederacy, the Bishops of tie
Confederate States regarded it necessary to
them with the Protestant Episcopal Church of
the United States and they, accordingly, or
ganized the " Protestant Episcopal Church of
the Confederate States" The first General
Council of the new denomination met in
November, at Augusta, Georgia, and the House
church from which they had seeded, delivered
a pastoral letter on the condition. the pros
poets and the duties Of the new denomination.
A the first official utternuce of one of tho
leading religious denominations in the Slave
States this document will be perused with
more than ordinary attention. Its trainers
have evidently expected this, for il has been
drawn up with great Gaze. The language
throughout is reserved and cautions, and,
with u few exceptions moderate. The causes
of the ecclesiastcal schism are but briefly
referred TO. Any dissatisfaction with TIE
doctrine, discipline aud worship Of the Church
of the United States is expressly denied; Oh
the contrary, il is stated that up to the time
Of separation they were entirely satisfied with
the aclion of the Church in the United States.
They regarded themselves as forced by the
providence Of God to SEPARATE" and they,
therefore, with wonderful unanimity,
entered upon the blessed work of u separate
organization. They have made hardly any
change in the Constitution, the Canon Law,
and the Prayer Book Of the Church, leaving
the introduction Of further alterations to the
gradual work Of experience.
uy far the mott remarkable portion of the
Pastoral Letter is the which refers to the
Slavery question. Strange as it may seem, the
samo men who, while belonging to the Church
of the United States, suppressed even the re-
hottest allusion to the Slavery question az not
sufficiently ecclesiastical now venture upon an
oprn discussion of the matter. Aud what
NAV appear even more strange, they urge upon
the consideration of the Shareholders slight
reform Of the slave laws. They insist that this
institution be 80 arranged as not 10 neccssiate
the violation of those sacred relations which
God has created aud uhich nan cannot con-
s;~ady uih Christian duty onHm. They think
that prohibition Of the separation OF parents
aud children, and Of husbands and wives,
would rid the system Of Slavery of these
pacirisiion ftotarcs." They announced, what
is new to NJ, that the Legislatures of several
Of the Confederate States have already taken
measures toward this consunmntlon. A. the
reason why they have hitherto done
nothing at all toward the removal OF the "pn-
christian fca'vres" of the slave system, thoy
state that hitherto they have been L" hindcred
by the pressure of AbOlltonism," but now that
that "bateiul aud nfdcl pestileuce " has been
thrown of, they wish TO prove to the world
that the Shareholders are faithfa to their trust
They wish, howcScr TO. to DO understood 0s
being in any why favorable to Il schema Oh
gradual emancipation; but they give their eA-
press adherence TO the cornerstone doctrine
of Alexander II. Stephens, by accepting Slavery
as the system "upon which We arc about Il
plaat our national life" Ind representing ii a,
less severe, in many respects, than the system
Of labor which prevail in Europe.
We will not now investigate the motives
which NAY have prompted tho Bishops t