Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-02-01
Letter from DR., j II. HOpkIus


= -Httrrielc rM "Gdfh"
: Letter from DR.. J. II. Hopkins.
! A HOLE IN THE MILESTONE AND WHO HAVE PUT
THEIR NOSES To IT-BIsHoP CoXE THE LEAD
Ell OF THE 'RITUAIIsTIC CONSPIRACY.
- To the Editor Of tine Tribune
= SIR After your kindness in admitting nv
letter on the General Convention, and your
| editorial notices OF the replies made to il in
various quarters, perhaps you will not refuse
f me the opportunity OF rejoinder, which, |
trust. will leave nothing further to be added
p | at present. on my side of the discussion.
, What | proposed TO do was. to cut a hole
through the middle of the millstone, so that
the American reading public could see
through IT as well as any one. Certain of
. my readers, it seems, instead ofputting their
eyes where they could see. have poked their
noses into the hole instead. being ANXIOUS
only to smell rat. And very amusing are
the results they have arrived at have not
seen all the attacks on my letter. for / am
only quiet country parson, and do not see
many OF our American papers, but l shall
give a few words to such as | have seen.
The Rev. DIR. Powers, in your columns,
thinks that there are other reasons WHY there
Is peace among us at present, besides those
| gave. Granted. He "rejoces that the
Episcopal Church is fairly waking up TO mat
I
forth its strength to make the world better"
All right but We shall say more on this
| point further on. He cannot deny the facts
as to the high positions and honors shown to
"Ritualists" and their friends, but says that
whatever offices in our church they have had
since. or hold now, lis owing without doubt
to other reasons than their advanced church.
manship." II the learned Doctor had only
had his eye at that hole in the milestone, in
stead of his nose, he would have seen that he
has here himself affirmed that which it was
the whole object ofmy letter TO prove. Three |
years ago the dominant feeling seemed to be
no matter whata mans ability, devotion, or
| services to the Church, '.if he be Ritual i
LIST, down with him ~ Now although popu-
lar and almost universal reputation makes |
man "Ritualist, if he have ability, devo- |
tion. energy.and high character, he is as eligi-
ble to high office in the Church as if he were |
Low Churchman. Broad, or High and |
dry, or anything else. q f. d..
DR.. Powers's mode of testing the growth |
OF Ritualism shall not object to- lie says |
| 1t Is to take census of the members of |
the parishes where its practices are observed"
| According to that, my parish is not a rituals
tic parish. and l am not Ritualist. When
1t comes to the application of party names,
suit yourselves. gentlemen it is all one to
| me.
| DISTURBING NOVELTIES
A certain "K. W" in Newark paper, has
| also put his nose to the hole and by a COM
blned effort of memory and imagination,
gives us the following
| II We mistake not there was a Bishop Hopkins in
the Church not many years since who wrote be ok
condemnaiory o: tins very Ritusli.m which he con-
sidered as made up of Novelties that Disturb our
Peace" but according to the Rev. Mr. Hopkins they
seem TO have operated as sedatives and assured
''the peace" which his venerable father thought
they were calculated o disturb.
| The Novelties which Disturb Our Peace"
| issued by my father in 1914, appeared at a
time when "Rituaism" had not yet become
nickname and not one of the so-called Ri
| tuallstlc usages is SO muck as alluded to in
| that work from beginning to end. But the
'mlxed challce"-one of those usages-my
father himself practised all his ministerial
lie from before 1880. Unleavened bread, for
Eucharistlc use, he had made in his own
house at the same early period. And X. W.
ii he wishes TO know my fathers opinions
on Ritualistic practices had better send for
the book entitled "The Law OF Ritualism'
published in 1867. the last year of my fathers
life In this work my father proves conclu-
sively that The Ritualists are right" and
that ''Ri.ualism is not Popery :" and am
working out his principles precisely, neither
more nor less.
The editor of Tie Southern Ch,ucLmdn also
puts his nose to the hole. and although he
had before him and actually transcrbes my
words. claiming that every good thing be-
longing to that undivided Catholic and Apos-
| tolic Church from the beginning is part of
our birthright," he finds out-by the end of
his nose-that when say every good thing"
l mean every bad thing, and when say
from the beginning" | mean to include all
the denominations that never heard of
till after the sixth century! whereat he eA-
plodes with SO many sneezes of Protestant
Indignation and horror that it is wonder
that his nose was not entirely blown away
The Church journal, however is the most
extraordinary Of the whole array. The edi-
tor has not only put his nose into the hole,
but has crowded it III so far as to bring his
eyes Nat against the milestone thus render
ing him for the moment stoneblind other
wise he never could have written the follow
ing:
We arc not, it is clear, to have the peace many
with for, unless We are prepared to announce to the
country, with Dr. Hopkins that, except in two dog
mas the Protestant Church agrees with Rome aud
except in one practice has no difference Of c.
queIcs.
For perfect and matchless independence OF
theology, charity, or fact, this sentence Of
The Church Journals beats anything | ever
saw. Ii Is actually sublime. And in the very
next paragraph the editor gives, as the equiva- |
lent Of my phrase touching 1.-THE undivided
Catholic and Apostolic Church from the be-
ginning" this strange utterance Whether
1t is worth seeing the Church reformed back
-four hundred years is the question" The
Italics his own. There is no escape He
actually thinks that the Apostolic Church
continued undivided till 400 years ago, Was
that the time when the Great Schism be-
tween the East and the West took place .
Oh Nashotah Nashotah Where is thy
blush?
But what as to my traitorous threat about
cess has been going all along The Evan
gelicals were the first to begin it, and thank
them for it. They introduced hymns, and
Sunday schools. and night services, and vol ,
untary societies of various Sorts which We're |
new arms, unknown. at the time of introduc-
tion, to prayer book or canon. The whole
Sunday school system is to this day outside
OF canonical regulation. The other side have
introduced Gothic architecture, stained
glass; the use of the cross. improved music, ,
chanting, flowers, choral services, and va
rlous other things. And improvements will
not be stopped Just now. All parties i'll the
Church. III turn, have done the same thing.
What the general approval of the Church ac-
cepts will remain. The rest will pass away,
sooner or later. and do no harm compared
with the evil of a new system of repressive
legislation about ritualistic details, which the
American Church will never sanction She
wiped out all the law on such subjects from ;
her prayer book Just after the Revolutionary
War and that part of the work then done
will remain.
What about work. "Nlen have hoped, in
a vague way" says The Church Journal that
debate might end and OF work begin"
and it is only the wicked Rttualsts who are
stopping the way and preventing even the
beginning of this ''era of work - Perhaps
this is ludicIous as anything in the whole
wilderness of blunders drawn forth by my
letter Who but the Ritualists have set the
example of work from the beginning of
the movement? Who but they have KEEP:
up their work. notwithstanding all the perse-
cution 10 which they have been subjected
When the low church Bishop of London WAS
urged to make Il general raid on tho whole ,
Rtualistle party in that great city, he said,
"dow can |, when they are the only clergy |
have who are dong real work among the
poorest classes III my diocese" When the
Bishop OF Massachusetts was urged to make
an onslaught ON the Church OF the Advent
in Boston, he declined, on the express ground
that that parish doing more work among
the poor than all his other parishes in Bos- ,
ton put together. And this work" has been
kept up increasingly although the mann effort
OF three consecutive general conventions was
spent IN trying to put down Ritualism" by
law. The cry now raised, that Rituaist4
shall stop their debate" so that the rest ot
the church may 90 to ''work, Is very much
like calling upon the lambs to stop their
bloodthlrsty ravages. SO as to give the wolves ,
n chance to bleat
BISHOP COKE, THE RIruALIsTI" PANJANpRrM.
But there Is still better behind The idea .
that | furnish the brains to the iitualistic
party. and that the larty is perfectly or l
pnnized. having 'secret cOniraternities and
guilds tine heart Of the movements under I
Hdroit leadership" il all bosh and moonshine.
The assertion that it 'ramifes with Its secret I
or open organization all through the Church, ,
and can make Its power felt by confidential ,
la. Al