Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-12-16
Bishop Cummins Dissected.

! MINIS anu his new departure, which
we annex Below, not only because OF
the Bishops prominence, but also for
The fact that he is we'll known to many
Virginians
1T is the popularity of the Episco-
pal Church to furnish more schiems in
proportion to its size than any other
religious body with which we are ac-
quaInted. But 1t is also the compen-
| sating characteristic of these schisms
| that they amount to very little. Since
John Wesley, without the least inten-
ton of doing it. became the leader of
secession which has since come to be
/ called MeIhOdism, there has been no
detection frot1 The Episcopal Church,
either i'll the Anglican or the Ameri-
can branch of il, which has proved
very formidable or lasting Individ-
uais are passing out towards Rome or
| towards Geneva But none of the at
tempts to form camp Of Christians at
any point between prelacy and papacy
on the one side ur Presbyterianism on
the other has had any enduring sue
cess. We do not see the signs of such
a success in the meeting called by Dr.
| Cummins, and mainly consisting of
That eX-prelate, which met yesterday
| at Association Hall. That cave of
Adullum was not thronged with the
discOntented of the Episcopal Church.
| Nor did the weight in the church of
| those who met there compensate for
their poverty in numbers
The most conspicuous members of
| that tsection of the church from which
Bishop Cummins must have expected
to draw his following were conspicuous
yesterday only by their absence. Mr..
Chetuey was inevitably present, and
Mr.. Cheeney, to be sure, has congre-
CATION of Cheeneyites, whom he had
led out of the Episcopal fold, and
whom it is possible he may persuade
TO become Cumminsites. But that is
in Chicago, where all things are be-
coming ". And even in Chicago We
doubt whether it is possible to form a
church Oh the basis of the personal OBJ
jectiOnableness of the Bishop of ILL
nois The detection of Bishop CUM
Minis does not look much more danger
Gus than the mutiny of Mr. Cheney.
Like the Ritualist from whom he re-
volts Bishop Cummlns PURPOSES tO eS
lblish 4 church on the basis of prayer
book. Only in the ca e of the Ritual
ist it is the prayer-bOuk of Edward VI.
and in the case of Bishop CummIns it
is the prayer-Oook of Bishop Whit of
Pennsy vania. Those liturgies widely
different as they are, have this i'll COM
mon; that they are known only to &C.
clesiastlcal scholars. And the EpiScO-
paiiaiIs who may be SUP posed to have
most Knowledge of Bishop Whites
prayer-boOk and most sympathy with
Bishop Cummins' movement-the
evangelical Episcopal clergy of Phil
adelphi,,, have Just united in declara-
ton that they altogether disapprove Of
Bishop Cummius' action. The plat
form. SO to speak, of the new church
which was erected yesterday rather
shows the new movement to be super
tiuoUs than tends towards showing it
to be needful.
The Methodist Episcopal Church
holds the same ground which DR.. Cum
minis holds upon CpiscOpacy and upon
several others if not upon all of the
subjects which his platform treats
There seems to be no dOcIrinal reason
why he or his should not enter any one
of several churches already eXtant and
avoid the Inconvenience of forming a
new one and the scandal of an open
schism. As to church government,
that is avOwediy Only matter IF COLI
venieuce to DIR. Cunniius, and surely
upon a question of convenience it Is
not convenient 10 build church. We
suspect, however, that schism is not a
dreadful word in the ears of Bishop
CunImiIrs, aud that he would rather
he conspicuous as the fOunder OF Il new
church than an obscure lahOrer III Il
vineyard! already laid out This may
lie Il reason to Bishop Cummins. but
HhS should il he a reason t0 anybody
else The echo ot the empty hall i'll
which his meetings were held appear
to answer. why? The ostensible cause
of Bishop CumnIino' withdrawal from
the Episcopal Church certainly docs
not give any warrant for the formation
of 4 new church. That cause was that
the Episcopal Church did not permit
its priests to commute with Christians
of other denominations under other
forms th+n lis own. There is no doubt
that such is the attitude of the EpiscS
pal Church But there is also no doubt
that there are many churches which
permit their members the privilege
" hich Bishop Cumnlins Graves, and
that there is no necessity for new
church In hold persons of the mind of
Bishop Cumlnins. 70 erect new
church on 70 narrow Il foundation
seems like paying tithes Of mint and
auise and Cummins, and neglecting
the weightjer matters of the law
And hence. however, estimahle per-
son Bishop Cummins may be. he does
not look like formidable heresIarch. |