The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-01-19

were used Ia the Church Of Christ, In III
ordaining Of her ministers, for more thai
q thousand years ailer the Apo ties time
and that II was not until the Church o
, Rome had begun 10 assert her high claims
> and In the days Of her grossest corrup
ton, that she lmpiously presumed 10 US
them. Il p Es..i
If Ia regard to the word f1Sest let /. b,
remembered that the inspired writer's o.
the New Testiment seem scrupulously
to have avoided applying the term 10 any
way, directly or indirectly, literally OF
/, even fgurstiYely, 10 the ministers Of
Christ. So true Is this, 90 divinely guided
: were they In guarding this point, that
' no writer of any age, so far as know, has
ever claimed TO have found one passage
in the New Testament which, even 10
the remotest way, applied The term Priest
or Priesthood 10 the christian ministry.
Yet In the face ofthis fact, and contrary
to Gods word, the Prayer Book constant.
ly calls them Priests.
know that the word Priest Is said 10
be contraction In the Prayer Book Tor
Presbyter, But Priest lis . plain Eng
lish word and has plain English mean
ing. It means one who has verify "sa-
cerdotal function TO perform" an explato.
ry sacrifice TO make, and the real blood Of
some slain victim 10 offer unto God, The
word % never used u any English speak.
ing people, or 10 any English book except
the Prayer Book, in any other sense.
Can we be surprised then when the
Prayer Book calls the ministers Of the
Protestant Episcopal Church Priests and
uses such language in regard to their office
that many of them come 10 look upon
themselves, and their people to look upon
them, as really priests, and their office as a
priestly office, and the Lords supper as
o sacrifice, and the Lords body and blood
as In some form cBegyd III that sacrifice
Or can we wonder when such language is
used in the Prayer Book, 10 investing the
ministers OF the church with the office of
Priest, that the doctrine and practice of
priestly confession and dissolution should
claima rightful place in the Church? Or
can we hope TO get rid Of the teaching
and the error until we get rid Of the
language which teaches the errorg
TIE HoPELEssNRss OF THE CONTEST WITH
THE HIGH CHURCH RLEMRNT.
III. The third is the absolute impossi.
billy Of getting rid of HA@ Objectionable
expressions in the services Of TIE Prayer
Book.
use the expression absolute impossi.
bility advisedly, and am indebted Tor liz
use In this connection TO Bishop Potter
Of New York. In 1860, when certain in.
novations in doctrine and use OF Romish
character were being boldly propagated
in the Church, and were fast bringing lis
Protestant and ScripturAl character into
dislrust and reproach, aud when in con-
sequence, there was movement on foot
which, il rot arrested, must end 10 a
disruption ofthe Church nine olthe Bish.
ops met IN New York 10 confer together
as TO what was to be done 10 avert the
danger. The result Of their conference
was "he conviction that il alternate
phrases or some equivalent modification
In the office for the ministration of bab-
tism Of infants were allowed, the pressing
necessity would be met" They therefore
undertook 10 secure such alternate phrases
or equivalent modification, and with this
view addressed to the other Bishops the
paper known as the Proposition Of the
nine Bishops" alf4 3 al Tf J
The proposition was modest one. Il
Ibid not involve the change OF one word
In the Prayer Book. II did not require
any clergyman TO omit one word, or to
add one word, in the Baptismal service
as he had always used 1t. II only asked
that any minister who desired II might be
allowed TO omit from the service that sin.
| gle clause which makes him seem 10 de-
clare Of every infant, after he has baptiz.
ed \, this Infant is now regenerated with
Gods Holy SpiriLg 4
And the proposition was reasonable
one, All that is essential 10 baptism, l
mean outwardly, is the application Of
water sin the name OF the Father, and Of
the Son, and Of the Holy Ghost" This
is the formula given BY our Saviour Him.
sell, and the baptism Is perfect and com
plete, when the water has been applied
and those words pronounced. The lib
erty asked for could therefore! In no
possible way, affect the validity Of efficacy
OF the sacrament. And as II would have
been o great relief to many in the Church,
it ought, In brotherly kindness and charity.
TO have been allowed them.
! And then the proposition was couched
in the most becoming terms. The nine
Bishops put Il in the form OF o respectful
and afectionate request oil their brother
i .Bishopsn 80 E FE 90
And what was the resultH The propo.
sltion was fairly secuted Bishop Potter
at once made It the subject Of a pastoral
letter in which he declares, that he Is
"toO entirely assured Of what the iudg-
ment Of the General Convention must be,
to feel he smallest concern save for the
character and well.beiug of certain
number of individuals'- "the move.
ment will end in Notifying discontinue"
that Every nearly the whole Church
will stand amazed that any respectable
body oil churchrnen, MOTTO say Bishops,
could have been found to give their
eountenance TO such propositions" -and
that ut Is indeed astonishing that they did
not see that The thing to which they were
urged to give their counteuance was an
ab.osute iHpossi6ility." Not satisfied with
1nis. he next very kindly takes the trouble
" point out to the nine Bishops, and to
tneir friends, that, with their views and
wishes, t5ey can have no interest in ask
ing our General Convention to undertake
the task OF revising The PRAYER Book -
and lest this should not have the desired
weight with them, he boldly threatens
them that whenever such revision an ali
take place, then, III two.thirds OF The
Bishops and three. fourths Of the Dioceses
may DO expected to act according TO their
principles II would result in suSh
changes land he distinctly specifies them)
as would make the Prayer Book teach
Enthusiastically the doctine Of pries!ly abso.
luton, and the doctrine Of the presence Of
our Lords body and blood, "verily and
indeed" in the Lords supper.
And for one, honestly believe that in
this matter Bp, Potter has stated nothing
Nkn II ~