The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-03-17

SPECIAL REPORT FOR THE UNIvERsALIsT.
1 am glad to be here tonight, by the
invitation of my dear brother, the
pastor of this church, whom L have
come to appreciate for his rare intel
lectual qualities and accomplishments
and to love for his Christian graces.
When 1 came to the city over six years
ago, received most cordial greeting
from your former paster, Rev. DR..
Ryder, and 1 soon learned that no man
in Chicago was more widely respected
than he for his high minded and broad
minded character and faithful, public
spirited and benevolent life. At one
of the meetings in our semi centennial
celebration, five years ago, your former
minister, Rev. Sumner Ellis, kindly
accepted our invitation to be present;
and tonight l bring to you the loving
salutations and earnest congratulations
Of your many friends in the First
Presbyterian church, with whom you
and your pastors have been associated
in warm neighborly friendships and in
common labors in many important
charities. 1 congratulate you that you
have moved from your old site to my
own immediate neighborhood, so that
from my hall window, near my study
I can look over with watchful Presby-
terial eyes and see the lovely cross
crowned octagOn of your church home,
while further on l survey the spires of
the First Baptist meeting house, and,
thinking of both, say to myself: ''If
these brethren would only give up some
of their peculiarities of doctrines and
administration what fine Presbyterian
Christians they would make!' con-
gratulate you that you are so near that
l can keep a judicious oversight of you,
an Episcopal right which l assume
from the fact that l am the oldest set
tied Presbyterian pastor of Chicago
and the venerable minister of the most
ancient church of the city! l congrat-
ulate you that you are housed in such
beautiful shrine of worship, worthy
society that numbers in its membership
the president of the Art Institute of
Chicago. | congratulate you that you
have in your ranks men and women
who regard their money as a loan from
the Lord to be used for the good of men.
| congratulate you that you have
leader who is not pOlemic, but irenic;
who desires above all things to bring
men nO,o to the knowledge of his
Saviour and who purposes to live at
peace with all his brethren. | pray God
that a rich blessing may be his and
yours, in your continuing efforts to ex
emplify the spirit of him who came not
to be ministered unto but to minister,
and to give his life ransom for many.
| have rejoiced that your pastor and l
have learned to love many of the same
teachers, Milton, Robertson, Bushnell
and Martineau; and though l love
great many besides who are not so con-
genial to him, he does not cast me off
on that account. l am not here to say
that | think the things in which we
differ are of slight account, (nOne of us
think them slight, but l am here to
thank God that we are not wanting in
what constitutes some of the main es-
sentials of Christian regard and con-
fidence. We mourn to-day that Origen,
the greatest man of the Greek church,
was cruelty cast out of fellowship by
the hyper-OrthOdox of his own genera
tiOn. This extraordinary man who
cherished the hope of the final restitu-
tiOn of all souls has had to wait long
for full historic justice. Excommuni-
Gated, tortured, anthematized, in his
own age, he nevertheless, as DR.. Schatf
has written, did more than all his
enemies combined to advance the cause
of sacred learning, to refute and con-
vert heathens and heTetics, and to make
the church respected in the eyes of the
world" l am not persuaded that the
church will accept Odgen's esGhatolOgy,
but, let us not make the mistake of
the unenlightened apostles and refuse
brotheTly recognition to any disciples
who cast out devils in the name of
Christ. You have named your church
"St. Paul's" after that greatest of