New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-08-27
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

THE MORAvIANs.-A person signing himself
A Moravian Minister" has recently written
n letter to the Independent IN which he makes
various allegations concerning the MOraVlan
Church in this country and in Germany. lhese
allegations i'm the main are that there Las been
no growth in the missions OF the church III tue
past few years that MOravlan missions nave
never built UP self-suDpOrtlng churches tnaJ
the mission in Dutch Guinea resulted IN . dis
graceful truce with evil; and that the German
MOravIan Church is guilty of encouraging the
Use of intoxicating liquors ana the breaking oil
tie Sabbath. The MOrdridR OF the 23d INST.
dew tes much space to answering these charges.
Ii accounts for the nOn-Increase OF missions on
natural and satisfactory grounds ADMITS lfaIk-
IL that the church has been unwlse IN It's modes
of administration explains satisfactorily the
Dutch Guinea episode ana IN reSaiu 70 tlo ~
lodged faults of the Mother Church pleads the
different customs and ideas OF rlght ana wrong
which obtain in Europe. The article 1tr-
Their calls Tho Independent to task Tor
harbOrlng an anonymous dtractor OF CfhStlan
brethren. and intiInates that . \ Moraylan
Minister is either fraud or cal
umniator. The Moravan Church Is most
excellent and respected body ana IL
would be pity if ii should be disturbed ny an
unscemly wrangie over historical laCts Oh iiIte
interest to the world at large. But the odium
theOlogicum Is well-knOwn 10 be the bltterest
kind of hatred and 1t often happens that the
more trivial the cause, the more violent the
"Odum. y In the meantime the lJOtn anniversary
sjons was celt brated this last week at Bethlehem
Penn, with great enthusiasm: ihe MCIaVlan
Church is an episcOpacy, with three orders OF
the mlnistry-DeacOn, Presbyter and Bishop.
They have tour Bishops IN tins country-Blsnop
Scbnltze G6O Pennsylvania; Bishop
Renke 172), New-York; Bishop De Schwel-
nitz l7a0, PennSylvainia Bishop Van Week
Q7D. Ohio The number in the parenthcsis
is their number in the calendar of the Apos-
tolic Succession. The government of the
ist uf.srp fnr
islation. a Synod Ot' each province two IN
the United States and the Unity Elders con-
ference, body having Its seat OF government
in Hernhutt, Germany. Ii Is composed OF
nine German brethren, who are the sacred col
lege and whose authority l. final There are
in the T-nited States 1860 communicates :;
the whole church, including foreign mission
fields contains upward Of 100000 souls.
PROTESTANT RELICS. - The London Echo
speaks thus of relics and relic-mOngers: l he
left hand OF St. james the Apostle Is III the
market, and can be purchased for con>ldela-
ton, IL the stralt-laced Brotherhood v no COM
bose the committee of the Museum now
forming at Reading turn up their pous noses
at such "superstItlOus abomnatlOnS anu
remnants OF the scarlet lady the quota
tiOnS are from letter we have seen. Accord
ing to old manuscript IN the writer : pos
session, and purchased ut the sale OF the great
Stowe Collection the Abbey of Reading IN the
reign Of Henry II. was much favored by
Royalty, and IT. principal attraction was one OF
the reputed hands of II. james, which hId Oeen
brought over from Germany 10y the Empress
Matilda, and presented with great state To the
Abbey IL was incased in solid gold, which
Richard the First stole, and gave the ABBEY an
additional charter in compensation Tor the
theft At the Reformation The hand was buried
in the choir but in October, l1sG, II was found,
carefully preserved, by some WOTk'nen engaged
i'm excavation. The relic consists OF the lett
hand of a human being partly closed ana the
flesh is dried on the bones. neither IL he the
hand of It James or not, II l. certain that from
IlCO I'D TO 1900 the Golfers of the Abbey re-
ccived very substantial assistance from It's eX'
hibition and apart from superstition, IL might
| be carefully preserved rs menentO or me
| mast i'm the museum at the new Town Hall OF
| Reading. We may mention that the committee
| have already made themselves exceedingly
| obnoxious for not only have they Issued an
| edict fOrbiddng the valuable collection OF pc
| lures lent 10y Mr.. Hargreaves to be Inspected on
| SUNDAYS, but nearly all of them were against
| bayin- the exhibition at ALL though the ey-
pepse Is being borne by private individuals.
How the reputed hand of IT; James will fare
may be pretty well guessed. We hear much of
Holy Russia; Thackeray once let his pen slip,
ana wrote Holy Reading
RELIGION AND DIvORCE-Yhe ChWchman
SAYS: " We have already called attention TO
remarkable article by Dr. Bacon IN the
Princeton Rcrieic, on ~Polygamy In New-Eng-
that the MOrmOns are not, by any means, the
greatest offenders against social morality The
Puritans at the East have leEallzed' by tner
legislation respecting divorce, u pflncpe
which does not differ essentially, from that
which they are trying 10 root ont from tan.
Ii Is somewhat surprising that, IN all the
discussion which has been going on about the
evil of the present system OF divorce IN the
United States, nobody has explained the
ori,,in of IT, DIR. Bacon, seniOr-the father OF
81 n4 hp a.
y hook ON The Genesis of the New-EnCland
Churches" IL would be well for some one to
trace the genesis Of the New-Englahd ldea
about marriage. 1t Will be found that, even
in its most repulsive and immoral phases 1t Is
but the carrying ont into practice OF what the
great Puritan, John Milton, taught Oue
needs only to read his famous " Tactate on
Divorce" and to recall the fact that his lnllu-
cnce uDOn the early thought and even IN the
legislation of New England was very marked
in order 10 understand why modern Puritan
ism rivals MmmOnIsm IN It's disregard OF what
the rest OF the civilized world holds to be the
true doctrine OF marriage. Milton sought I'D
elevate liberty above law, and to make 1t
divine right. He therefore held that marriage
was nothing more than civil contract when
either the husband or wife might break AT VIII
In other words he taught liberty OF seii-ul-
vorce. This goes far toward accounting LOT
the fact that while ew-England has been,
mill recently the most strenuous advocate Oh
morality in general, and has legl,ated against
even intemperance, it has, at the same time
encouraged and fostered the loosest notions
in regard to divorce.
A BROAp-CHURCH BISHOP The Right Rev.
lame, NOorhouse Bishop OF Melbourne, Aus
tralia. has lately been giving utterance to his
liberalism III u way calculated to shock the
preiudces of more conservative churchmen.
\of lonC since he was asked by some Jealous tee
totallers in the diocese to denOunce puDIcly the
moderate use Of spirtuous liquors and tobacco.
They thought they had the good. Bishop on on the
hip as he was known 10 use to both. W lth,
out any hesitation, however, he aVo"eu
MS liberty OF action on these points.
HIS - ~. , rrelate walk ="