The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1888-11-03
rhe Church and the Negro.
lDrC. Anderson.l


The clergy, it appears, almost unani-
mously hold that ordiPation to the
priesthood eonfers upon the eoIored
man equal rights and privileges with
his white brother; or in other words
ordained to the priesthood neither
colOr of face nor curl Of hair can vi
tiate their orders or abate their rights
and privileges
Now what is the purpose, the effect
of the act of erdinations Is it not to
separate the candidate for orders in
measure from the world and TO elothe
him with the spiritual authority of the
church and to preach the Gospel and
administer her saeraments? These
are the specific, the essential, the abso-
lutte functions of his office, and with
out the exercise of these functions,
ordination, like faith without work.
is dead. Ii is through the exercise of
these specific functions of his office
that clergyman derives his claim to
that which is temporal, unessential and
remote-a seat in the diocesan conven-
ton. Admit the qualifications of
Clergyman TO a seat in the convention,
and indisputably you must admit the
more important and essential qualifi-
cation to preach the Gospel and adj
minister the sacraments, in any one Of
the parishes which unite to form the
convention. Admit the colored cler-
gyman to a seat in the convention,
and you at once put him on footing
of full equality with his white breth-
rem Of the ministry; and certify by
the act that he is equally qualified with
them to preach and administer the sa-
craments to the members of the con-
vention, and to any congregation in
the diocese, aud if the clergy and laity
by whose voice he gains admission
were to act consistently the one could
not object to sit under his preaching
and teaching, nor could the other de-
cline TO invite him to be an associate
in the ministrations in pulpit and
chancel, whenever occasion might call
for an assistant, or an interchange Of
official duties. But what is actually
the state of the case with colored cler'
gymen5
In the exercise of their official func-
tions, they are, at least throughout the
Southern diocescs, confined to congre-
cations of their own race. They have
no more to do spiritually with the
white congregations and their white
rectors, in their public official minlstra.
tions, than If they had never been or.
dained. Does not this fact show con-
clusively that as far as official connec'
ton with the whites and ministration
to them Is concerned, the ordination OF
the colorcd clergyman is " "dead;' is
barren act and that full qualification
to teach and preach the Gospel to the
white race demands something besides
the act of ordination. This additional
something cannot be acquired by edn'
caticn, nor conferred by human enact.
ments. II is the gift Of God, quail
ilcation of heredity, the birthright ol
race; and until II pleascs the Lord God
to elevate the negro to plane of SO.
clal equality with the whites, the adj
mission OF colored clergymen to the
convention will be as unnatural, and as
frmtless of good results, as the attempt
to facilitate the operations of manual
work by putting the mechanical auxil-
iary before the animated motive power
thn cart hefnro the horsa