The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-06-28

reminisceuces of the worship OF the old Church
OF Israeli the mitre the icouostass, the veil the
lamps, the incense, are direct heirlooms from
that venerable past. In the west, the Roman
Catholic Christians exhibit in their ritual
system essentially modified by later ideas, aud
expressing the doqmas which bv degrees
have accumulated around their ancient and
once pure creed. The Lutherans, who, In
their sacramental position occupy conservative
ground, have enough of the externals Of wor-
ship TO express their unity with the great his
torlc body of Christendom; among the orna-
ments OF their altars are the crucldx and the
candles, and their cle1gymen o1iciate in rich
yestments; so that to the ordinary spectator
there seems to be but little difference between
their use and the Roman The Oalvinistlc com.
munities, on the contrary affect simplicity
never known before then day, as the deliberate
choice of religious men, and therefore without
historic precedent to justify It, These commu.
mites, intensely antiritualistic have never
ceased to propagate their views, and have taken
advantage of every opportunity to seek or insist
on the concurrence of other Christians in what
they deemed essential to the purity of religion.
The people who have Suffered most from their
interference are the English. A brief review of
the history of the Church of England will show
the origin and scope of the controversy which
at present dstracts it, and to which is to be
ascribed that ''nightmaren referred to before.
The movement oil the Reformation in England
was 10 the most cautiously conservative chan.
mel. What they aimed at was, to retain all that
was truly Catholic and 10 reject only what was
distinctively Roman. The Ritual was revised
on that principle, aud the desired result was
attained in the services prescribed in what is
known historically the First Book of
Edward VIZ a volume presenting probably
the most perfect specimen of Reformed Catho.
lie Liturgy that has ever appeared. If that
book could have remained intact a great deal
OF quaTrelling would have been saved, and the
Church of England would have been spared
many of her sorest losses and Affections.
But the Calvinists, those earnest and dauntless
propagandsts of ecclesiastical and liturgical
radicalism, found in England a field for the
Of fI,o
channel, they set their neighbors in a fer
ment, declaring that The Reformation had not
gone far enough, and calling Tor revision of
the Liturgy as already revised. Nor were their
efforts thrown away; for within two or three
years there was put forth a Second Book" dis
placing the former, and very inferior to it in
every particular, If universal custom is taken as
the staL dard OF comparison. During the brief
reign of Queen Mary, the course of the radical
development was stopped; and upon the acces-
sion OF Elizabeth it became evident that a con-
servative reaction had taken place. At this
critical moment compromise was tacitly agreed
to. The 'Second Book of Edward VI" was
taken as the basis of new "Book of Common
Prayer" while the ornaments of the churches
and clergy, including altar crosses, candles, the
vestments known as the alb, tunicle, chasuble,
and cope, and the pastoral staff, with
other less important objects, were ordered to
remain IN use; BY degrees, however,
those ornaments have been generally laid aside.
Within the last few years their use, always law
ful, has been revived, and is extending. The
so-called "Ritualists" claim the right to obey
their own laws, and to employ what the ENG
lish Prayer-Book" not only allows but enjoins.
The anti-Titualists however, denounce such
proceeding as innovating and revolutionary,
maintain that thing in becoming obsolete be-
comes practically Illegal and institute actions
| against their brethren to debar them from COM
! plying with the rubrics which they have sworn
| to follow. Under these circumstances 1t is not
surprising that the Rituallsts grow daily
| stronger, since they have on their side not only
the weight of general use and authority through
! out Christendom, but also the express sanction
| of their own branch of the Church. Nor is it
| strange that the anti-rtuasts should strenu-
ously oppose them by every means at hand,
| since they are the direct inheritors of those
views and feelings which formed the lnspira-
| tion of the rad Gals of the sixteenth century.
OF the bearing of this subject on the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United States, there is
| not space TO write in full. There has been no
legislation as yet on the question IN controversy.
Only eighty-two years have elapsed since the
| first American Bishop was consecTated; those
| years bave been formative usages and customs
have been UNDERGOING continual changes, and
men have been feeling their way, under crcum-
| stances in which since the time of Constantine
no national branch of the Catholic Church has
| been placed. American churchmen do not,
| however, regard their condition as chaotic; nor
as that of persons having full license to do what
they choose in the premises. They profess
respect for (al truly Catholic and Apostolic
usages; (b), Anglo Catholic law, custom, and
practice. These in the absence of direct legs-
seem 10 D6 Ll6 SblI6 ana reasonable limits
of that freedom which they enjoy and value.
Still, the tendency among them is to wards an
| increased attention to beauty an6 6ecorum, i'm
pressiveness, and aesthetic accessories, iu Divine
worship. The same tendency is seen in all other
religious bodies; the Presbyterians, the Congre-
gatoDalsts, the Baptists, build splendid Gothic
| churches, and decorate them in polychrome;
| the Unitarians employ the gable and spire cross
| even the Methodists erect their stately NAL BILE
| temples and name them after saints. The organ,
the chant, the stained glass windows, the flow
| eTs profusely used in decoration, no longer be-
| long 10 any one denomination, but are gladly
employed by ALL The signs are everywhere
about us OF return to common sense, and a
| revolt from prejudices which have wrought
damage to religion. The movements in the
Episcopal Church have their counterpart on
every side of her; they belong to an age which
is growing out of swaddling clothes, and look.
ing with larger and clearer eyes on social and
religious problems.
To conclude these observations, which have,
of course, been dlscursive and hurried, we state
as follows the practical results OF thought and
0bserVation:-
First. There must be ritual Of some kind
where there Is religion.
Second. There is the clearest argument from
Holy Scripture and ecclesiastical history IN
| favor of beautiful and impressive rituallsm as
a powerful agency on men for their good.
| Third. Such rituallsm must be teacher; II
| must symboliZe something, and express as torci
| bly, as possible what II symbolizes; rituallsn
| used without a meaning and representing ne
| truth which the intellect can grasp Is but {
piece Of trifing and sham.
Fourth. Ritual must teach truth pure, un
adulterated truth; Gods truth, which He ha
| revealed to men.
Fifth. People should try TO discuss the subiec
! with camness; they should not look at 1t in
patty light; they had better keep clear OF TIT
agitators, whose aim 1t Is to excite vague tear
| and alright the uninstTuCted with awful dis
/ nlO n