The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-01-18
Religious Intelligence.

Il convention Of the Episcopal Church Of
Central New York met at Syracuse on Thurs
day, Bishop Coke presiding. A sermon was
preached by Bishop Littleiohn, Of Brooklyn.
At the afternoon session the convention went
into ballot for a Bishop, and on a third ballot
elected Rev. Frederic ID. D., Of Boston, Mass.
Public Protestant worship has been organ
lied at Madrid, Spain by committee Of En-
glish, German and Swiss PIotestants. Don
Antonio Carrasco, who shared the dungeon
and the dungeon food with the Spanish Prot
estant martyr Senior Matamoros, reformed the
Protest ant service in the Spanish language
before numerous congregation, who hpress
ed the utmost astonishment that Protestants
believed in the principles of Christianity-for
Spanish Catholics are taught from their
childhood the most monstrous of fables con-
cerRing the creed of those whom they are ex-
horted to loathe as heretics .-...
The Spiritualists propose to build temple
in Boston, AID the Banner of Light announ-
ces the first subscription of $40 towards ii.
Mission schools for the Chinese in Cali
fornia are being established by the various de-
nominations. s,..-.r. s.sf........ a..
During the year 1868 the Baptist home
and teachers, in % States and territories and
2sS new churches wero organized and 13,94S
converts baptisel. y F.... -
| Accounts from Spain show that the reac-
tion which naturally follows religious slavery
is beginning to show itself in many ways. r.
reverance takes the place Of superstition, and
religious matters aud ceremonies are made the
subject of Jest and sneer. The priests when
they venture out, are exposed to mercless rid
icule and often to danger of their lives from
the stones which it has become the practice to
hurl at them whenever they are seen. One
particular case is mentioned where some
wretches in the capital of one of the provinces
took down wooden image of the Virgin
which had been superstitiously endowed with
miraculous powers, held a mock trial by court
martial, passed sentence of death upon it in
due form, bandaged its eyes, and then fred a
volley of musketry into its BOSOM as if it were
spy or deserter. OF course such instances
as these will be pointed to as showing the evil
results of religious liberty, but they tend
much more strongly to show the slight hold au
enforced religion has upon a people.
The new rules as to marriage promulga-
ted to the Catholics are: First, no Catholic
who has a husband or wife alive can be mar
ried again unless by application directly to his
Bishop. Previous to this priests had the pow
er. Second, a Catholic who has been mar
ried outside the church can be absolved from
such violation of its rules only upon applca-
ton TO the Bishop and by public avowal of re-
pentance in the church Of the party concerned.
President Caswel OF Brown University
thus defines his position on the question now
much discussed among Baptists: "Now where
| in all the teachings of the New Testament is it
formally appointed, commanded, ordered or de
rected that without baptism ye shall not COM
mune.' Iftbere is any declaration in the New
Testament to this effect have not seen it, 1
shall feel extremely obliged to any Christian
brother more conversant with the scripture
than / am, to point it out to me. Until that is
| done shall feel justified in reaffirming my
| opinion that in whatever other way the order
of the ordinances is fixed, it is mot fixed by
Divine appointment
"A wviter in Putnam's magazine says that
the numerical increase of the Catholic church
is gaining on that of the total population of
this country at the rate of about twelve per
cent. per annum compounded at that.