Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1874-11-17
EPISCOPAL
The General Convention.

Although the General Convention
may remain day or two longer in
Session TO pick up the raveled ends in
the skiens of its of its business, its
work is virtually done. What the
work has amounted to can best be told
negatively. It has refrained from
doing anything on "a large variety OF
subjects. in spite sometimes Of cohsid-
cradle pressure. For withstafiding
the beginnings of change the conveh-
ton has been eminent even among
conventions of the extremely cOnser-
Yative body which represented. But
it las administered snubbings in the
one case by a change which was little
more than q definition. ih the other
case by refusal to change; to both
extremes in the Church, and this in
both cases with such unanimity as to
leave no hope in the minds either of
the ritualists or the evangelical church
men that any increase of cOnsidera ion
will be accorded them i'll the future.
Upon the canon against against rit-
nalism we have already commented
The value and effect of it will be main.
ly that it discOurages the introduction
Of any novelties, whatever they are
supposed to symboiiEe, or for Whatever
pdrpOse they are introduced, i'm tie
public worship of the Church The
technical or logical accuracy of t; e
canon was not SO important, in the
mind of the convention, as the need of
discOuraging novelties, even by means
so illogical As the rejection from the
bishopric as ritualist of n clergyman
of whom. no evidence whatever has
been made public that he was q ritual
ist. and the prohibition, as symbolic
iZing erroneous or doubtful doctrines.
of rites which did not symbolize even
questionable doctrines. This latter Oh
jection has, indeed. been obviated by
the bishops and DR.. De Koven, but
the canon as 1t was passed is chiefly
an admonition against ruvelty:
The only thing of impOr :auce posi-
tive in form done by the convention
was thus in fact negative thing. The
thing next III Importance was in form
as well as in fact negative, and con
sisted in the denial To clrrgynen to
omit the declaration in tie bartismaL
service that the subject of BapIisit is
regenerate. AS the bishops have de-
clared heretofore that that declaration
is not declaration of Il mora change;
and as nobody now maintains the hy-
pothesis of Nic0demus, that 1t is de
ella alton Of h physical change, it does
not appear TO mean much TO the nom
theOlUg cal mlnd, as it did not in the
conveI tiOn appear To ineAi, much 10
the Theological mind of DIR. NiGtun.-
Nevertheless, II was retained hy a
great majority, and serves as fully as
the passage Of the canon against ritu-
alism to show the extreme aversion Of
the Episcopal Church to novelty as
such.
Upon the who'e the convention may
be safely described aS one of the most
conservative bodies which have ever
sat. Tb say this is not TO imply o
doubt of ills wisdom. Dvcfleg isittIon
is much cOnmoner fault than Under
Legislation, and it is very possibly a
good thing that an historical! body
like this Should spend three weeks
mainly in proving that its limits are
fiXeu. that its sr0wth henceIurth must
bc within those limits, and that who
soever chafes at those limits mnst cons
tinue to chafe until he withdraws from!
its communicable: Y. HUrtd.