Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-11-27

IL
derfully perpetuated in an unbroken
succession a certain form of the minis
Try, and that He evidently designed that
TINS should be the ministry of His
Church through all time. Believing
TINS, they cannot consistently do any
thing, which would imply, that they
after all considered some other minis
Try just about as good. However much
charity and respect they may have for
| those, who differ from them on this
point, they cannot themselves either
honestly or consistently cooperate in
Official acts with those, whom they
| think to be so seriously mistaken with
respect to the Divinely appointed man
ner Of entering so responsible an office
as the ministry of Christ's Church.
(Fhe speaker here alluded to the
course of Bishop Cummins which has
attracted so much attention, saving
that withdrawal from the ministry
OF the Episcopal Church was the only
manly and honorable course left him,
unless be could honestly express his re-
greet at having participated officially in
that Joint communion" which has be-
come so notorious where he violated
not only the general sentiment but the
Canons of his Church, and his own
promise of conformity
To sum up what has been said upon
the whole subject, if it be asked, What
is essential" to salvation All so-called
Evangelical bodies agree in answering,
Repentance of sin, faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and an honest and persist
ent endeavoi 10 obey the Divine will.
II the question be, What is essential"
to membership In CHr5sts church ? all an
swer, Baptism with water Sin the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost together with a credi-
BILE profession of that Christian faith and
purpose which are thought to be essen
tial to salvation. All agree substantially,
too, as 10 the Essential, " T. e., the plain
ly revealed doctrines of Holy Scripture,
as embodied in the two ancient creeds
The only radical difference is between
the Baptists and all the rest as to the
necessity of immersion to true Baptism.
If it be asked, What is Essential" to the
due order and government of the church
all agree in practice, if not in theory,
that an ordained ministry is thus lessen
tial." There is difference of opinion
concerning the ultimate source of author
ity to do official acts, but this difference
is more in theory than in practice. The
only radical difference on this point is
between Episcopalians and all the rest
as to a Divinely appointed form of the
Ministry-whether there is any such
form, and if so, what that form is.
| Neither Baptists nor Episcopalians judge
others, but neither of them can rightly
sacrifice what they consider the truth to
promote a so-callad unity, or to make an
exhibition of a so-called charity. They
may both be called bigOted, but the
world has yet to learn, that bigotry con-
sists in demanding that others shall think
precisely as we do, and that it is true
charity to adhere firmly and consistently
to ones own views of truth, cheerfully
granting to others the privilege of SINH
larry adhering to theirs. 1t is evident
that there can be no intercommunion,
no manifestation of true unity in es-
! sentials," no honest mutual recognition
of each others sacraments and orders,
until these two questions of Immersion
and Episcopal ordination are in some
way so settled that men can honestly
agree in their practjce, if not in the
theory, on which such practice is found
ed. Until that time comes, recognized
diversity and earnest work in diverse
| paths will conduce more to real charity
and ''unity of spirit, than the most en-
thusiastic attempts ''to manifest and ex-
press" a unity of faith" which does not
really exist. ..:.r 81