The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-10-29
RELIGIOUS ITEMS.

Able Freppel, learned French theolo-
gian, well-known for his reply to Renan, is
about visiting England for the purpose Of hold
ing conference with some Of the leading Bit
ualists on the coming Council and on reunion
with Rome.
a proposition made in the English Church
Congress by REV. Mr.. Bligh, to introduce the
feature Of extemporaneous prayer into the rit-
uaf Of the English Church, met with very de-
cided and unanimous negative from the large
body Of clergy and laymen there assembled.
The Saturday Review says Of Victor Hugo'a
last work: .In point of genius one Of the most
remarkable works of the year, LHomme Qui
Rlt, adds the weight of genius to drag down
the moral standard of an age already far
enough gone toward the lower depths OF mo-
rality." T
-Rey. Nr. Yonge, during the session Of the
Anglican Church Congress, talked rather "a
rniliarly Of certain mysterious parsonage
with whom ''men Of the cloth" are, theoret-
cally, atleast, supposed to have very little &C
quaintance. Nr. Yonge, we are told, boldly
commenced by attributing all doubt and difi-
Guilty to the Devil, to whose rapid intellectual
progress during the last two thousand years
he bore personally bis explicit and courage
GUS testimony" The Devil, he said, had prof
tied vastly ''by experience" and had great
MANY resources now Of which he was not mas
ter then.
Recently cable dispatch was publishedin
this country, stating that the Civilita Cattobca
had declared that the Ecumenicsl Council, in
stead Of celebrating and settling questions bs
the voice of the majority, would have nothing
to do but to ratify the decisions already made
by the Pope. This is misstatement Of the
position assumed by the journal in question.
Its argument is that the Pope, being the head of
the Church, has authority over the Council,
and can therefore determine what points shall
be treated by the assembled bishops, control
the language of the definitions, and forbid dis
cussion upon points which he does not think
proper to bring forward. That is to say, he
can confine the deliberations to certain list
of subjects-which is a very different thing
from preventing any deliberation at all.
AT the opening of the new Episcopal
Church of st. AIMS, in Brooklyn, Bishop Nc
Ilyaine, of Ohio, preached the sermon, and
took occasion to attack the Ritualists in very
lively style. The Bishop said there is very
wide belief among those who wait for the
coming of the Lord, that the time of his &C.
cond appearing draws near. He thought there
was much in the aspect of the times to coun-
tenance that idea. At any rate the Apostles
description applies, in an alarming degree, to
the present generation, in various branches OF
the visible Church. The Bishop spoke Of the
Ritualists as men "who were fond of exhibit
ing an extravagant zeal for the whole ritual
form of godliness, to enlarge it. to adorn it, to
invest it with a sentimental. mystical imita-
ton of spiritual life, with deep hidden mean
ings and mysterious sanctities, vail Of SYM
bolism and cloud of ceremony, under which
the man may hide himself from himself; and
imagine he is alive unto God and growing in
in grace. Thus, he went on to say, 1.-THE mi
mute reinauguration Of cast-off trappings OF
ritualism which our reformers could not tole-
rate-gorgeous sacerdotal vestments, full of
false doctrine in their symbolic meaning, the
marchings, the banners, the crosses, the can
dies, the censers, and all those so-called i'm
posing inventions which are intended to teach
the profane pretence of the reofering Of the
sacrifice Of Christ"