The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-01-19

fant, after ne mas Oaptlzeo IL, tnle ius
fspt is now regenerated with Gods
holy spirit"
And the proposition was q rea-
sonable one. All that is essential to
Baptism, 1 mean outwardly, is the ap-
plication OF water "in the name OF the
Father, and OF the Son, and Of the
Holy Ghost" This is the formula
given BY our Saviour Himself. and the
baptism is perfect and complete when
the water has been applied and those
words pronounced. The liberty asked
ler could therefore, in no possible way,
aaect the validity or efficacy Of the sac
rament. And as. It would have
been a great relief to many in the
Church, it ought, in brotherly kindness
and charity, to have teen allowed them.
And then the Proposition was couch
ed in the most becoming terms.
The nine Bishops put it in
the form respectful and afectionate
request of their brother Bishops
And what was the result2 The
Proposition was fairly secuted. Bishop
Potter at once made it the subject OF q
| pastoral letter in which he declares,
that be is too entirely assured OF what
the judgment OF the General Convention
must be, to feel the smallest corcern
| save for the charscted and well-beiog
OF a certain number OF Individually
that "the movement will end in NOR
tifying ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS very near.
ly the whole Church will stand amazed
that any respectable body Of Church
men, not to cay Bishops. could have
been found to give their countenance to
such propositions"-apd that lit is in
deed astonishing that they did not see
that the thing to which they
were urged to give their coun.
tenance was an absolute impossibllity."
Not satisfied with this, he next very
kindly takes the trouble ito point out
10 the niue Bishops, and to their friends,
hat, with their views and wishes, they
caa have NO interest in asking our gen.
eral convention to undertake the task
Il revising the Prayer-book;" and lest
this should not have the desired weight
with them, he boldly threatens them
that whenever such revision shall take
place, then, 'if two-thirds OF the
Bishops and threeIfourths OF the Do
ceses may be expected to act according
to their principles" it would result in
such changes, land he distinctly speci'
fies them) as would make the Prayer
| book teach unmistakahly the doctrine oi
priestly sbsolution, and the doctrine Of
the presence OF our Lords body and
blood, "verily and indeed" in the
Lords Supper.
, And Tor one, l honestly believe that
in this matter Bishop Potter has stated
nothing but the truth. When at the
last General Convention Baltimore
lS7), the majority voted down every
canon that could be framed against
Rituslism in the Church, hen respects
ful petitions for alterations in the
Bsptismsl service in the Prayer-book
were 60 easily disposed OF, without even
the iormslity OF a discussiop-snd
especially when such a modest and
reasonable pre- position as that OF the
nine Bishopa, not really altering one
word in the Prsyer-book, failed so
sigually to accomplish auything, and
The movement ended, as Bishop Potter
so confidently predicted it would end,
in q mortiiyiug discontinue. I cans
not hope for the success OF any new
-oxon,o,t; IN that dirpctlon
w. Still another reason is the dti.
txde in which the Epi;copal Church
stand, in the present day TO other Protest
ant churches
1t is now held by an overwhelming
majority in the Episcopal Church that
there can be but one form Of Church
polity-that ordination by Bishops, de.
irving their authority by tactual success
sion, in an uubroken line, from the
Apostles, ia essential 10 a valid minis
try, aud that without such ordination
there can be no true church and no
lawful administration OF the sacra-
ments.
Now l have faithfully sought to bring
this theory to the test OF scripture, al
three several periods OF my ministry,
each time devoting weeks and months
to the careful examination and compar'
risou OF all the passages 10
the Acts OF the Apostles aud in the
Epis;les which seemed to bear upon the
question, and the result is the clear con-
yiction that no such claim ia authorized
BY the word OF God. The Mosaic ds-
pe nsation, for obvious reasons, was
designed OF God TO possess one unvary-
ing form through all the ages OF its
destined continuance. Therefore, when
it was to be iusugurated, God called
Moses up into Mt. Sinai, gave him the
minutest directions concerning every
particular OF it, even showing hitn q
pattern of the Tabernacle and Of all the
instruments to be used in the service
thereof, and solemnly charged him !:
See that thou make oil things accord
ing to the pattern showed to thee in the
mount" Had our Saviour de-
signed His church to be
constructed on any sueh principles or
to be OF one prescribed and invarisble
form, then surely. when He gave His
last charge to His Apostles, He would
have showed them q pattern OF the
Christian Church or given them explicit
! instructions as to its intend form.
Or il He had left to His Apostles, set
ing under Divine Inspiration, to es,ab-
lish forever such q form, then surely
they would have drawn the plan and
written out the details and left them on
record. And in the absence OF any
such definite plan and instructions,
either from HIM to His Apostles or
from HIS inspired Apostles to the
Church, We must conclude that no such
invarisble form OF government
is OF Divine authority or
essential to the being Of
q Church. For il established since the