The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1882-01-14
A SECOND REJOINDER,
From the Rector of All Saints Church.

am obliged to confess to myself tha
my critics reply to my first rejoinde
seems to lack something OF persona
courtesy 1t would ill become me as th
Minister of holy religion to reply as
NEEDED defence to charges of, untrutl1
o. Of willfully garbling facts for popula
effect and my first rejoinder seems t,
my own judgment, upon careful re-read
ing, to stand as yet unanswered in all o
its essential matter. Therefore, I thinl
it wiser, and in accordance with tn,
Spirit of Jesus, to pass over in courteous
silence, all OF the matter in my critic
letter which, having given pain to me
must, I conclude, have given pain tt
many others who read it. Under sucl
limitations wish to address myself di
recty to my critic, assuring HIM that
approach him in all personal respect
willing to believe and already believing
all good things of him, and trusting thai
he will presently lay aside any possible
evil thoughts of me. Conscious also, that
these words will be read by many who
would never approach the subject else.
where or in any other guise, most sin
cerely hope that the subject here opened
out may commend itself to their thought
s,s one of the greatest importance, worthy
ofmore careful study than can be attain
ed in any secular columns. And espe-
cially those who having been born under
the teaching of some religious body OF
modern origin, have never adequately
reflected on the great evil of sectarian
divisions, and not knowing the cause of
these divisions have not known their
cure. These also, I trust will find food,
not for contention, but for serious thought
as to whether there be not some way
within reach by which those who love
God may find out what is the truth con-
Icerning The True Church of God. First
let me endeavor to clear away some of
the misconception which has gathered
about the doctrine OF the Apostolic sue
cession Certainly there is such a thing
us q succession in the ministry You,
Tor Instance, were ordained by somebody,
and that somebody by somebody else,
and SO on. Your succession could in
that way be traced back through your
first Doctors Coke and Asbury to John
Wesley, in common with that of all
Methodist ministers in this country.
Your church holds this succession to be
very important inasmuch as nobody is or
can be a Methodist minister without it.
Without such ordination in succession
you would not be valid Methodist min
lister. Your own church would not per-
init you to exercise the functions of a
Methodist minister unless you had been
ordained by one who was thought COM
petent to ordain by having himself been
ordained. You could not have ordained
yourself, and q layman could not have
ordained you; and further, neither self |
ordination or lay ordination would have
been valid at any time in the past history
of your church. You, therefore, have a |
Methodist succession from which YOU |
derive your authority for your office. | |
am not now speaking of doctrines or the
ories, but simply of existing law, and ex-
isting facts as they stand. My first point |
is that neither you nor would be per-
mitted to exercise our ministry by our
churches without ordination in our re-
spective SUGGESTIONS. My second !, int |
Is that The Church has always oeen
thus careful about the ordination ot the
Ministry From Apostolic times DOWN
ward laymen have never been permitted
to ordain, and self-ordination is simply
Ppotl&. LoI llllo lttIU IL 10 poSSlDlC JlldL
YOU would assign different reason from
mine, but whatever the reason, the fact
itself, as a fact, cannot be questioned. A
third point is this: If such be the pres
ent usage and uninterrupted past prac-
tice Of The Church, you must yourself
havea succession of some kinda sue
cession in the ministry from the Apostles.
And, ii The Church would in any age
have repudiated and silenced an improp-
erly ordained ministry, then your sole
outward authority to give the sacraments {
and minister in sacred things to the peo-
pie, arises from the fact that you have an
succession from the Apostles. {
each member of which succession receiy-
ed that authority from the one who pre-
coded him, but transmitted it to the one {
who followed him. Thus, and thus only, {
has the outward right and authority n
reached you, and thus only will it be (,
handed on to the future. This PROPOSE
lion you can not shake as fact since it
y Historically true, nor can you shake it ,
ls q doctrine, because it is too well estab- c
ished in the polemics opinions, and V
practices of all Christian churches, save c
shc few sects which have cut loose from S
he past altogether; nor can you in my !
opinion shake its hold on your own v
mind, unless you will maintain that t
ayman now may validly act as clergy q
nan, and validly administer sacraments,
ind doing SO, should be recognized and d
ecciyed as Il clergyman by all otherclcr- \
syinen. Let us look at your own ordin-
ltion again. You can trace back through f
Dr. Thomas Coke to John Wesley. But a
10th Coke and Wesley were priests of n
HE Episcopal Church, and if that be de- o
cended from Rome, SO are you, and If v
here be any odium in such descent q
fou must share it. But it so happens h
hat the Episcopal Church had an origin i
eparate from Rome. At one time their d
,lood, so to speak, intermingled when l
The Church all over the world was one, p
tut as Rome grew corrupt, the Anglican n
htirch shook off the corruption and re- v
uined her former independence. g
Permit me to give you short history 8
i the Anglican church: 1t is tradition c
ii the Church that she was first estab- II
shed in Britain by Simon the Cyrenian, fl
lnd Joseph of Armathea-th Joseph, a
bout the year 63,settled with his brother h
llsciples at Glastonbury and there erect II
Apf wickcr-twigs the first Christian or EN
k0ry in England, the parent of the ma o