Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-10-16
From the Baltimore Sun October 6.
The Episcopal Church in the United States

The Episcopal General convention,
which meets in New York to-day, is COM
posed of two houses, one the House OF
Bishops, and the other the House Of Clerl-
cal and Lay Deputies, who are elected by
the State or Diocesan Church Conventions.
These latter conventions meet annually,
but the general convention only once IN
three years Before the American reVolu-
ton, the clergy who min.s5ered IN the
Episcopal congregations in the colonies,
and who were principally sent out by the
society in Europe for the propagation of
the gospel in foreign parts were under the
superintendence OF the Bishop in London.
The first step taken after the revolution for
the independent organization Of the church
in the United States was at meeting of
few of the clergy of New York, New Jersey
and Pennsylvania in 1884. The first gen
eral convention assembled in 1885 in Phil
adelphia, with delegates from seven Of the
thirteen States. Measures were taken at
this convention for revisal of the English
prayer book, to adapt it to the political
changes which had recently taken place !;
articles of union were adopted and an
ecclesiastical constitution framed, and
steps taken for the obtaining of an episco-
pate direct from the Church of England.
Dr. Seabury, of Connecticut, the first
American who received tue episcopate in
that church, having been unsuccessful in
his application for conservation in Eng
land, therefore resorted to Scotland, where
he received conservation at the hands OF
Episcopal Bishops in the Scottish Church
in 1854. The political and ecclesiastical
difficulties which prevented Dr. .Seabury's
conservation in England having been
afterwards overcome by a correspon-
dence instituted by the convention with
the English Bishops, DIR. Provost, elected
Bishop of New York, DR.. White, elected
Bishop of Pennsylvania, and DIR. Madison,
elected Bishop of Virginia, were afterwards
consecrated at Lambeth, England, by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and there being
now three bishops Of the English success
sion, besides one of the Scotch, the line of
American conservation opened in 1892 with
that of DIR. Claggett, bishop elect of Mary
land. From that time the conservation Of
bishops has proceeded as the wants of the
church have required, until now the church
in each of the principal State has been
constituted diocese, some Of the States
having two dioceses. At the meeting of
the General Convention, the senior bishop
presides in the House of Bishops, and the
House of Clerical and Lay Deputies is pre-
sided over by an officer chosen by it for
that purpose.
which are to be brought before the Gen
eral Convention now, is a canon concerning
marriages, which is expected to elicit long
and earnest controversy. The Church of
England embodied years ago in a canon
the provisions of the Levitical law, as set
forth in the 18th chapter of the book of
Leviticus, which forbids Jews to intermar1y
with women "near of kin " TO them, and
specifically with mother, a step-mother,
a sister, granddaughter, a half-sister, an
aunt, an uncle's wife, daughter-in-law, q
brothers wife, wife's mother, q wife's
daughter. or wife's granddaughter. The
practice of the early Christian Church was
in conformity with the Mosaic law, which
applies only to men, but the English
Church canon applies to females as we'll as
so as to include cases of parallel nature with
those expressly mentioned For instance,
it begins by the saying which is often
quoted GA man may not marry his grand
mother" though the mother alone is spo-
ken of in Leviticus and It prohibits a
man from marrying his deceased wife's Sis
ter-a provision over which there has been
no little dispute in England, and probably
will be in this country shortly.
Except as it's members are bound, as cit
zens, to respect the civil laws of the States
in which they reside, there are no regula-
tions in force in the Episcopal Church here
on this subject. AS these laws are thought
to be more lax in some cases than is deemed
consistent with scripture. the canon re
ferred to, it is stated, is to be introduced
to define clearly what marriages are and
what are not prohibited, and thus furnish
guide for the conduct of members of that
communion. The proposed cannon, it is
said. like that of the English Church, will
apply to both sexes, and absolutely forbid
marriages between man and his step
mother, stepmother's daughter, mothers
sister, fathers sister, wife's mother, wife's
daughter, wife's granddaughter, uncle's
wife, brothers wife, sons wife Also be-
tween a woman and her stepfather, step.
fathers son, mothers brother, fathers
brother, husbands father, husbands son,
husbands grandson, aunt's husband, hus-
bands brother, daughters husband. And
1T will censure, rs marriages which ought
to be avoided, those between a man and
his wife's sister, brothers daughter, sis
ters daughter, grandson's daughter, neph-
| ew's wife, wife's brothers daughter, wife's
! sisters daughter. Also between woman
and her sisters husband, brothers son,
sisters son. granddaughter husband,
| niece's husband, husbands brothers son,
|
Hugh Davey Evans of this city,
who was considered high authority in
matters of canon law in the Episcopal
Church, had prepared the draft of canon
which was to have been submitted to the
approaching convention, forbidding the
clergy to oficiate at any marriage where
either of the parties have been divorced
for any other cause than adultery, from a
person still living. The necessity of any
additional legislation upon the subject OF
marriage. especially to the extent above
indicated, is not, however, likely to com
mand general concurrence, the subject be-
ing looked upon among the mass of Amer
leans as largely resting with the civil au'
thorities apart from ecclesiastical legisla'
ton. Another and more engrossing sub.
iect of discussion is likely to arise out OF
the issues involved in the Tying trial, that
clergyman being held, in preaching in an a,
other parish without the consent of the
rector thereof, to have violated the regu'
lations which gave to each minister the ex
| elusive control of his own parish. There
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