The Portland daily press., 1871-11-06
The TrienniaI Convention, OF the Il piseo.

|
a brief and graceful exordium be said:
Toward this Convention, for these three years
| past, many minds and hearts have been look
ing with growing anxieties. Questions have
risen within the church which have caused
| earnest, excited debate Differences of opin-
ion, in regard both to ritual observance and
doctinal teaching, have been agitated an
even vehemently discussed. And both parties
have looked to this Courcil as promising some
settlement of these disagreements. But while
| partizans have desired and expected TO gain
decisions which should count for victories, and
have predicted that the Conventions course
would be stormy, and have almost hoped, one
might think, that ground would be given them
for rebellion and schism, the great body Of
the church has looked forward to the Conven-
ton, fearing that mems madness might bring
disaster uDon our Zion, bus hoping and pray
ing that Gods goodness would rule and guide
us safely and turn even wrath to His praise
This was the attitude say of the great body
of the church." for it should be known and re-
membered that the noise of discussion which
we have heard of late years has proceeded from
comparatively very few. 1t is always the
case that extre mists are noisy and seem to be
more numerous than they really are; aud now
it has teen shown, evidently, that the party
men are even fewer than we thought, and the
chufchmen in even larger and more graudy
controlling majority, that which you prayed
| for, IN this congregation, and which thousands
| and thousands of earnest hearts were praying
| Spirit, would be present with bis council, to
| save them from error, ignorance, pride and
prejudice, to direct, sanctify and govern them
IN their work. This was evidently aud won
| derfnlly granted, so that instt ad of expected
strife, there was peace aud brotherly love, and
| patience, and heavenly charity. Hardly even
once did hear the language or the tore of
partizanship! On the contrary they, from
| whom we expected trouble, were the very oLes
| to speak decidedly, and vote with hearty aye
| or no, for union and concord, and against even
| the Appearance of division and conflict
| This was suTprtsingly noticeable. Men we'll
| known as extreme in opinion and assertion,
| on both sides, yielded to an influence whose
| power seemed almost tangible, and with one
accord took counsel together as brethren breIh-
rem of the one household OF faith! God be
thanked and praised for this! "The mighty
power of the Holy Ghost was felt among us,
from first to last; and surely we cannot but be-
lieve that more than ever, as the chief result of
this council, "the comfortable gospel of Christ"
will be truly preached, truly received, and
truly followed, in alt places, to the glory of
| God and to the salvation OF many souls
II was expected that at this convention some
positive and definite legislation would be had
| concerning ritual ohservances. 1t is claimed
| by those who are called "Ritualists" that their
chief desire aud intent is to present the doe
| trine of the Eucharist in its fullest form. They
| deny earnestly, that they believe or would al
| low the Romish doctrine Of Characterization,
| yet they urgently claim that the church has
| always gathered from the New Testament
| scriptures and proclaimed in her teachings the
doctrine of "Rea Presence in the consecra-
| ted elements; and giving this belief very pre-
| else definiton as to time and place and cir
| cumstances; giving it also peculiar emphasis
and importance, they have gone on, consist
entity with their views to add all possible out
ward honor and dignity to the public celebra-
ton of the Eucbaristic mysteries, and in the
Judgment of many, have gone too far, have en-
Gouraeed, unlntentlonally, an approach tc
RNmlqh nd
this, however, is connected, by popular but
mistaken opinion, all effort towards adding to
the due solemnity of public worship and to the
aitractiveness and so to the heartiness OF our
church service. No question of doctrine San
come in when we consider whether the Psater
should be said or sung, whether the canticles
or spiritual songs of the Prayer Book be rem
dered by quartette choir in gallery, or by a
boy choir" in the chancel, leading and insp'r-
ing the whole congregation, or whether tho
whole service be made musical or left to find
expression in varying voices. False doctIine
does not Turk in embroideries or in the inches
more Or less of the length of a choristsrs sur
plice, or even in the informing of prayers or the
bowlng of the head at the Gloria Patri. These
are matters of taste and propriety, and some
may like and some may dislike whatever is
new and strange in this part Of the church. In
regard TO thrse things legislation is possible
but not practicable, but in regard to usages
which illustrate and determine doctrine, es-
peclally the central doctrine OF our faith, def
milton and Limitation is rightly to be desired
and expected. And this is the view of the
matter taken by the whole church as repre-
scented in this recent council. AT first there
came from the House of Bishops, the report of
a committee of five, which vas presented for
the consideration OF the lower house, with a
request for committee of conference. This
report, published in many Of our secular papers
and so read, doubtless, by many of you,
suggested very exact legislation in regard to
the most minute obseryances, in regard to dress
NJ nd For
myself, would like to say here, that had this
report been approved and its suggestions shap-
ed into law, there was hardly an item of it to |
which l would not willingly conform. But the |
Committee of Conference was appointed. 1t |
consisted OF three Bishops, three Presbyters |
and three Lay men; and whom these came be- |
fore us to report Canon upon Ritual, they |
raid nothiug whatever concerning the sugges- |
tons Of the five Bishops, they had entirely ig- |
nored them, aud there was hardly single |
voice raised asking for their removal. There |
seemed to be common consent to the imprac- |
ticabiity of legisatiDg, as some one pbrascd 1t,
with y2rdstick and tape measure. There was
even suspicion expressed, quietly, that this
catalogue of details bad been prepared pur
posely to show how difficult and how unwse it
would be to determine by law upon q usage
which should prevail every where. This was a
Council OF the whole church. and it took large
and liberal views, and comprehensive action
But time forbids that should give full history
of what was said and done as to this matter Of
sderAtion of the subject, and the discussion of
it called forth some of the most interesting and
most truly eloquent addresses it has ever been
my fortune to hear.
In marked christian harmony at last, the
Convention determined the matter of Ritual,
affirming negatively that discriminating and
particularizlng legislation seemed not only i'm
practicable but un WISE and leaving all matters
of re9uiremen mt and restraint, where they have
always been, in the bands of the Bishop of
each diocese, yet taking steps toward provid-
ing court of final appeal for the decision of
Ritual differences in time to come. Beside
this, distinct and formal expression was given
to the dlsapproval OF all abuses OF Ritual to the
setting forth of doctrines which this church has
long piuce condemned. And so the matter
now stands; and We may well be truly thank
full that it took this shape, not by a majority
obtaining a victory over minority, but az the
honest and cordial sentiment of almost the
whole Convention.
Next to this, if not fully equal to it in i'm
portancc, was the question OF altering the lam
guage of certain parts of our Prayer Book
Various alterations have been desired and
many changes have been suggested, but the
most important one has had reference to the
clause in one of the collects of the office foi the
Baptism of Intant',. seeing therefore that this
with the so much that has been said and PRINT
ed, of late, upon the matter of "Bnptismal Re-
generation" Allow me to repeat the words,
"of late" and to remind you that our fathers
| III TIC CuulCu iOuuu uOtuluS OpICCuOudDlc III
this word degenerate in the Bapt.mal Office;
it is indeed of late years only that the word has
| given rise to discussion and difference. And
| the simple fact of the matter is this, that the
| Old word, through the usage of the denomiAa-
| tions around US, has come to have differe eat
| meaning from that it used TO have in the old
| Say brook Platform" and cambridge Plat
| form,' and in the doctriual declarations of the
| Westminster and German reformers-as any
one may know who will refer to the autLori-
| ties. But be its original meaning and use
what it may have been, usage around us has
made the word degeneration" Synonymous
with conversion" and to very many good
men among ourselves, some change some
new definition seemed very desirable. Some,
indeed, have not waited for the action of the
church in this regard, but have made changes
or omissions to suit themselves. There are
| few surely there are very few actually and by
count among our clergy-who do not condemn
| this rash and dsloyal individualism. II citi-
zens should act in civil affairs as one or two
| churcbmen have acted in matters ecelesasti-
| cal, we should have disorder rushing toward
anarchy at once. But some authori' alive def
milton of this word seemed very generally to be
desired. Some demanded its omission from
the collect; some desired an alternate phrase;
and those of US who are quite content to let the
word stand as it is and who dread the begin
ming of changes In our Prayer Book lest all
shall seek changes, to the pulling of the book
itself in pieces, we were anxious that in some
way remedy should be found for the wouod-
ed consciences OF those who protested that
they could not, cOnscentiousy, use a form
which they thought false and burtful doc
trine. You are well.aware, my Bretheren how
much anxiety was felt lest this Convention