The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1875-03-21
De KOVEN'S DEFEAT.
The Episcopal Lnity will Not Accept
Rituaiism.
tChicago Tribune !

lthtCagO lrinunc ]
The returns thus far received of the
vote of the standing committee of the
various doCcsrs seem to seal lie late OF
Dr. DE koveu Tor Bishop. The vote rs
last head from stands Il against conllr-
nation and 10 for, so that no hope Is ltlt
that he will be- the Bishop of this diocese.
The cause of this defeat IL IS not difficult
to discover. IL means that the laity ot
the church will not accept rituallsn,
either mild or mll-blown, and this deter.
mination is now expressed for the third
time in DR.. DE kOvcn's case-lirst ~
Massachusetts, second In Wisconsin, ana
third in Illinois. There was no question
of his personal popularity of hi, abIliiy
as n scholar and theologlan, of his intel
lectIlal vigor, Of his personal purity oroi
| his executive capacity for tie Oiiicr HIS
| reputation had extended beyond the
confines of his own denomination. aud all
were agreed that. so far as talents. pictN
and character were concerned. lac would
| have filed the position with a, much
| credit and satisfaction ~ any man IN the
| denomination. Why, then, was lac re-
| irctcdy Simply and solely because hc
was reported and believed To bca believer
| in. aud exponent of. ritualism Ia some
| degree. For thi. reason the million OF
| people who belong 10 aud attend the
| Episcopal form oi service have said all lil,
| yraccs and gifts count for nothing. Had
| the question been left lo the clergy. the
case would have been different. DR..
DE ko,cn would have been confirmed
| without much doubt. tlcrgNmun, Ike
| other mortals. are not unwilling to IN
crease their power and scli-aggrdndilc-
ment. and they know that riumlism
would have this effect They know
| what influence sacred G., rcmuuic~
have upon the minds OF the misses, aud
that mysterious sight and sounds APP
peal to the senses with lar
more force than logic aud ar
pumcnt. however cloQuently uttered. APP
peal to the heart aud soul. The accept
ancc OF ritualism might in time involve
the auricuar confession. which mak,s'thc
power Of the clergy well nigh absolute
over the laity. When the secret, of one
mans heart are iutruslcl to the honor OF
another lac l. under his control, body and
soul. IL Is little wO ldcr IN these days Oi
mental emancipation and doubt. when
the l,ty is slipping out OF the control OI
the clergy so tar. aud j. wandering uil
into new fields of thought and action
that many OF the clergy should seek. by
all means In their power. to restrain then
aud to hold them more firmly. aud thai
they should be- In favor OF rltiali~m a.
: one of the sur6st methods OF strengthen
ing themselves and their hold upon III,
: mind, of their congregation. II i, cvidcu
enough. from the action of the staudin.
committees. that the vast majority
: of the male member, Of IA,
; Episcopal church have set their face
against rituali,m. and. rs Dr. De kuyel
was considered To represent it, they hay,
! rejected him. They fear the cncroach
| mcnts of ritualiSm. They fear that
may lead to the confessional. from whic
/ PrOtcstants rccoll; 10 grnullcNious; q
/. transubstantation. to "Saint and Virgil
7 Worship" and so on from one step Ia an
! other until the partition between thri
: church and the Church OF Rome j. broke
: down. They 90 not intend To take an
step away from the teachings OF the r,
, formation. and they do not believe tina
8, any Protestant person who holds sue
= views. or who holds any yciws inyolvin
/ such possibilities. stand sqriarely upo
the platform of the Episcopal Jhurrl
This seems to be- the meaning of the Il,
feat of DR.. DE kovcn. lfit be anythn
else. we have not been able To discover /
and our feelings are perfectly tree of hi.
or prejudice. for We hold Dir. DE koye
in high esteem a, scholar aud Chri
tian.