Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-05-28
NO. Is

should decorate that house with such or
naments rs are appropriate to it and sane
toned by rightful authority. 1t is right
| that the services there performed should.
| rs far as possible, be frequent and ALWAYS
orderly and reverential. It is right that
the music heard there, though grave an d
solemn, should be in the highest measure
that we can attain, harmonious and i'm
presslve, may if possible rise even to
| majesty and grandeur.
None Of these things seem calculated to
hinder the work OF God in the soul of mai,
but rather to aid it.
But these are the things which are gem
orally meant when ritualism is spoken of.
That work is usually understood to indicate
the introduction OF lsages symbolizing doc
| trlnes which the Church, since the reforma-
| ton, has held to be erroneous and strange,
| or usages which at the best have been re-
Jected by her and thereby become obsolete.
In the former are to be reckoned such uSa-
| ges as prostrations or genufexions before
| the consecrated elements in the Lords
| Supper, the receiving of those elements
| from the Priest in the mouth rather than
in the hand, auricular confession-which,
| If not part of Ritualism, is at least asso-
ciated with it-Sacraments celebrated in
| behalf of the dead as we'll as the living,
and acts and services Of the like nature
In the second class are the use of incense
| and candles on the altar for purposes other
than that Of light, and gorgeous vestments
set aside by the Church of England for
three centuries and never known among us
until recently.
The introduction of usages of this sort
by an individual minister or particular con-
gregation indicates disrespect, if not dis
loyalty to the Church, and. if persisted in,
will necessitate coercive legislation-in
itself an evil, but less intolerable than the
evil which it seeks to check for practices
of the sort to which I have referred, ac-
companied even by disrespect for the au-
thority of the Church deepen that disres-
pect, prepare men for apostasy from it,
breed discord within its own pale, engen-
der suspicion and aversion to it in those
beyond its pale, tend ultimately to skepti-
cism and irreligion, and SO these in many
ways hinder the progress of that Gospel
which it is the mission of the Church to
convey everywhere and to all men.
We may be very thankful that these evils
have prevailed very little, if at all, amongst
us. It is one of the compensations which
God gives as for our impoverished country
and suffering people, that We are thereby
the less tempted TO errors and extrava-
gances of this kind. They are found chief
ly in great cities where wealth and idleness
produce pruriency Of feeling and taste,
demanding to be gratifed with novelties
and craving for highly spiced seasonings,
not only in mems feasts, but also in their
amusements and even in their religion
AS with the Israehtes in the wilderness, it
loathes the mama which came down from
Heaven and cries out for the flesh pots of
Egypt. Religion, such as is taught in the
gospel held by the Primitive Church, main
tanned in the Church of England and our
own-a religion which does not neglect the
beautiful, but aims mainly at the true
which provides for the qualification of the
eye and the ear, but addresses itself espe-
cially to the soul. Such religion appears
to persons possessed by the feelings have
been describing, fat and insipid.
They crave something more sensuous,
more ornate, more exciting, and they find
it in Ritualism, such as have myself seen
in England, and understand that it may be
seen in certain places in this country. l
trust it may never be known to c,,..urchmen
in this Diocese, except by report, and not
long by report. 1t cannot be questioned
that the weighty interests entrusted to US
the clergymen and laity of the Diocese,
have already suffered injury by Ritualistic
excesses elsewhere. We must beware of
increasing the evil by making innovations
which may disturb and unsettle the minds
of our people.
No individual clergyman has a right, for
his own qualification, OR that of part of his
congregation, to change the established
worship of the Church, without the con-
sent of his Diocesan, and against the
wises Of another part of the congregation.
We have great work to do III this ex-
tensive and growing commonwealth. We
have, as far as in us lies, to bring to the
obedience of Faith, and to keep in that
obedience, two races of men, some of whom
are ignorant of the Faith, and some pre-
JUDGED against it, We are engaged in
building the walls of our spiritual Zion in
troublous times. Shall we leave our great
work and come down to employ ourselves
in willWorship aud shows and spectacles,
which so far have not profted them that
have been exercised therein?
The Church in this country has nigh
ty work to do; with great resources, great
encouragements, and immense difficulties.
It has to do it's part in shaping tor good
the destinies of the most powerful Ma
ton existing, or which ever has existed on
Earth, to promote the temporal and
spiritual welfare of population, the
most active, the most intelligent, and
the most regardless of authority known
among men. IL has to encounter re-
ligious indifference and every form
of religious error; Infdelity which is
instructed, thoughtful, proud, boastful and
aggressive; an immortality which is in
creasing in every class and grade of society,
staining some of the highest officials in the
land with bribery and populations and de-
scending to the pettiest shopkeeper who
sells adulterated wares by false weight and
measures an Immortality which causes
bloodshed and murders to multiply day by
day and generally to go unpunished an
Immortality which is dissolving the most
sacred ties of family life and Of society, un-
der vltiated public sentiment which is
already finding expression il Anti Chris
tian laws on the subject of Marriage and
Divorce.
When these cruel cancers are eating into
the very vitals of society are they to be
cured ky directions as to the color and
shape of the vestments which Priests are
to wear, or as to the height of an altar, or
the number of candles to be placed on it,
or the precise moment at which they are
to be lighted !? Surely it is not such aid, or
such defenders, that the time needs. 1t
needs the Grace and Truth brought into
the world by Jesus Christ our Lord Grace
for which He has provided means and