Smyrna times., 1886-11-17
Review of the General Conven-
tiOn Of the Protestant Episco-
pal Church,
BY THE REV. ]. B. WATSON.

/ ~ has OGCl very uiuly lJUIlllGu Oul
that this General Convention, like all
similar gatherings in the Episcopal
! Church, is notable, not 50 much for
what it has done, as for what it has not
/ done. But, as silence is sometimes the
! height of wisdom in an individual so
a refusal to legislate is sometimes the
| best evidence of wisdom in legisla-
tive assembly. Judged by this stan
dard, the General Convention just
ended was very wise body. 1t re-
fused to change the name of the Church
or the title page Of the Prayer Book.
1t refused to reOrganize its work among
the colored people, except 50 far as to
| establish a commission to oversee it.
1t refused to establish a court of ap-
peals in any form, remitting the matter
to the individual diOceses. 1t refused
to commit itself on the question of or
ganic Christian unity, leaving the mat
ter as a legacy to the next General
Convention. 1t refused to DO anything
to improve the present law in regard
to marriage and divorce, although the
present law on this question is unsatis-
factory to a large number of church
people. 1t refused to take any steps
looking to the organization of the So
called "parochial missions" i" which, in
an informal and volunteer way, have
ben doing so much revival work in this
country and England. 1t refused to
send courteous message of greeting to
its Congregational brethren assembled
in Chicago; while on the other hand it
applauded individual deputies who
said that these Congregational brethren
are members Of the Holy Catholic
Church. And, finally, it refused to
make the sweeping changes and altera-
tions to the Prayer Book, which so
many members of the Church asked
for, although it promptly and gracious
ly acceded to the demand in the case
of number Of minor alterations. As
a missionary body, it listened with
quiet dignity to the story of the
Church's failure in some of its great
missionary schemes, and to the court
eous, though warm, criticisms of its
policy in the work of missions. But.
while it failed to rebuke the critics, it
also refused to condemn the missionary
board Ofmanagers, and the discussion
ended in the general understanding
that everybody has been doing every
thing for the best.
Plainly those Churchmen who ex-
pected that this Convention would do
something radical will be disappointed.
1t was an intensely conservative body,
as all the conventions of the Episco-
Church are, and in its debates and leg
islatiOn it exhibited all the virtues and
defects that go with such Il conserVa-
tism. In approaching any living uues-
ton on which the Church has not thus
far pronounced a certain Judgment, it
exhibited a timidity that was almost
pitiable. lnits desire not to surrender
any of its old positions, untenable
though they may be, and at the same
time to march along with the mighty
army OF modern progress, it reminded
one painfully of the boy on the side of
dizzy ledge who was afraid to let 90
and couldn't hold on. With all its
strength, indeed-and it is TODAY no
mean factor in American Christianity
the Episcopal Church is, in many direc-
tiOns weak and uncertain in its ut
terances. In the first place it has in
herited an unfortunate legacy of COM
promise from its Anglican mother. Its
doctrines, discipline, liturgy, and ira
dltlOns are a mOsaic-preciOus and
beautiful, it is true-but still a mosaic.
pleced carefully from various sources.
Many, even of its own communion.
cannot define its status on the great
historical questions that have agitated
Christendom. Its Thirty-nine Articles
are neither Protestant nor Catholic.
neither Arminian nor Calvanistic. It
has never yet fairly ranged itself on
the side either of Catholicism or of
Professionalism, although it has con-
stantly coquetted with both, and been
constantly snubbed by both. 1t is vet
a mooted questian whether it's COmmu-
Mon office teaches the Real Presence.
or the virtual presence but Real Alb
sence of Zwinglianism; while the
question whether its ministers are n
divine priesthood set apart from men.
or body of Christian teachers. deriv-
ing their commission from an inward
call, promises to remain open for manv
years to come.
Then again, the Episcopal Church
moves more slowly in the march of
modern progress, because it carries
more ecclesiastical baggage than al
most any other Church. Outside of its
doctrines as contained in the Creeds of
the universal Church, it holds tena-
clousl y to vast number of traditions
and theories and dogmas, and, it NAV
be added in all kindess, preiudices.
which make its movements at best
exceedingly slow, and sometimes i'm.
pede its progress altogether. The in
tense coserVatism of the Church already
spoken of, is thus often turned into a
blind BOurbOnism which never learns
and never forgets. They spend their
lives in running after chimeras: and
while ostensibly trying to attain unto
a noble ideal of Catholic brotherhood.
they gradually sink down into a bot
tomless slough of Catholic sectar-
ian-sm. 1t is such Obscurantism as this
that has done so much to retard the on
ward movement of the Episcopal
Church, and which makes it so hard for
the progressive men in its national
synod to pass even the simplest meas
ures which they deem necessary to the
welfare of the Church.
And, unfortunately it appears to be a
fact that this reactionary party is be-
COulihS oblOuSeI every year IN the
Episcopal Church. It is not so many
years since the sanity DeKOven, great
even in his littleness, stood almost
alone on the floor of the General Con-
vention to advocate the change of the
name of the Church. Three years ago
the believers in this change of name
had become a devoted little band. and
in this Convention they have become a
compact and powerful party, though
still Ia the minority. Indeed thev
claim that they are not even a minority
party, as their full strength was not
brought out in the vote on the Judd
resolution; and they point to the fact
that they came within an ace of carry,
ing the resolution to drop the words
protestant Episcopal" from the title
page of the Prayer Book. Therefore
they announce, with the greatest conf
dence, that in the next General Con-
ventiOn the name of the Church will be
changed; and the dial hand of eccles-
iastical progress will be set back to the
time when the first Prayer Book of Ed
ward vi was in use. Then they saw
.