New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-17

deed q remarkable fact IN the history Of Epis-
copAcy In New-England that at the present ume
IL numben among its members the lneal descend
ants Of large proportion Of the men who were
conspiouOdA leaders in the Puritan theocracy.
A might b expected. the spiritual torpor that
paralysed the Church Of England in tho eight
eenth century affected it, .enshoot in the Amer
iean colonies. The Enridk Church Of that day,
It II true had great men but they lived their
lives apart from the people. Warburtou, Chill
ingworth, Butler, Waterland and Sherlock have
left their mark upon the generations since. but
failed to redeem tie one In which they lived.
Wheel the six-bottle. fox-huuting parson honrished
In England, it IL not surprising to find his coun-
terpart in America, especially in Virginia Only
one service was held on Sunday, and In many
churches the Lords Supper was only celebrated
once year. Pnyer-Books were scarce and costly
and all the responses were, therefore, made BY the
clerk. The surplce was very rarely used, and at
one time there were not more than two or three
in America. The social standing Of the parson
was very low. A large proportion Of the South
ern clergy were broken men, adventures, and even
Wallets, who had secured ordination from some
complainant bishop, for whom they had done some
questionable favor. We are told; for instance.
of swashbuckler and brawler in Maryland who
got himself ordained and who thereafter preached
on Sundays and lecturcd during the week on The
Absurdities of Christianity" Once he SO
drunk while officiating that Governor Nicholson,
who was in the congregation, led him out and
gave him Gaming. 1t Is related Of one rector
that he bawled out to the sexton during the cee-
bration Of the Holy Communion: Here George,
this bread is not fit for q dog" Another, pow
erful fellow, thrashed all his vestrymen, one by
one, and the following Sunday preached before
them from the following text And 1 contended
pif HON nd nd
Of them, and pluclxed of their hair" Another
dined every Sunday evening with his chief pa
rshioner, and was sent home in the evening drunk,
tied in his chase. While these were only too
common types of Church life in the Southern
colonies 1t is only fair to say that there also
many godly clergymen and laymen, while in the
Northern colonies the standard Of conduct was
very much higher
The War of Independence found the Church
consisting Of scattered and independent con9rega-
tons, owning nominal allegiance to the Bishop
Of London. AS the Mother Church had never
deemed it worth while to send bishop to the
Colonial Church. it lacked the essential features of
an Episcopal Church. None of its members had
ever been confirmed. When the colonies became
free many believed that the little English exotic
would die natural DEATH Many Of its promi-
nent clergymen had taken the side Of Great Brtlin
ed as living witness of its subserviency TO the
English Crown But few sagacOus men deter
mined to gather these congregations together into
National Church. After almost endless delay
Seabury was consecrated Bishop of Connecticut
in Scotland, Drs. White and Provost were con-
secrated Bishops in London, respectively of Penn
sylvania and New-YOrk; and thus ut last, having
the canonical number of three bishops, the Prot
estant Episcopal Church in the United States of
America became corporate fact. But for some
time it seemed that it would never be much more
than Church on paper The revision of the
Prayer Book had been the cause of much heart
burning. The Patriot Bishop Provost of New
York cordially dsliked the Tory Bishop Seabury
of Connecticut, and they both agreed in distrust-
ing the tcmporizing and diplomatic Bishop White
of Pennsylvania. The new Church had no policy,
missionary ambition, and no wcll-defned
church life. Bishop White thought it
worth while to visit the western part of his do
cesc. Bishop Madison, of Virginia. regarded
as an infdel. So Indifferent were some of the
bishops to the pcrpetuation Of the Episcopacy
that when DR.. Hobart was about TO he consecrated
Bishop of New-York it was almost impossible to
get the requisite three bishops to be present.
Finally Bishop Provost consented to take part.
But on his arrival at Trinity Church, in this city,
a great difficulty arose. lie wig, while
the other two bishops wore only their own hair.
This brought up knotty ecclesiastical problem.
Could bishop be properly consccratcd when only
one consecrating bishop wore wig? As a par
tial solution of the difficulty Dr. Duchc offered
to loan his wig to Bishop White. Bat that would
still leave Bishop Jarvis wigless. At last Bishop
White remembered that Archbishop Tilloison had
never worn a wig, and every one breathcd sigh
of relief; for here a way out. Bishop Pro-
voost, therefore, wore his wig. md the other two
bishops followed the precedent OF the Archbishop.
Thus the three surviving of the old order
laid their hands upon Bishop Hobart, the first Of
the modern Churchmen who lave done much to
make the Episcopal Church reality in American
life.
From that time to this, the history OF the
Episcopal Church in this country has been one
Of healthy growth and progress. It's sturdy
American patriotism could no longer he called in
question by even it's bitterest enemy. Though
rooted and grounded in the traditions Of the past,
its current life takes it's tone and color from its
surroundings. 1t is honorably distinguished for
it's missionary ZEAL Its bishops and clergy have
high sense Of the responsibilities of their calling
The spectacle of bishop refusing to administer
the rite of confirmation in his diocese would he
unthinkable to-day. The Episcopal Church has
appropriated many valuable clements from the
religious systems around 1t. and has made them
part of its own religious life. 1t has taken it's
place among the important religious bodies of the
United States, not indeed in numbers, for it is
still numerically very small, but in influence. 1t
represents the ideas Of historic continuity, or
DERBY development, and liberty without license
in doctrine and worship. 1t appeals strongly to
the educated conservatism of to-day, and is
largely recruited from the ranks Of those WHO
have grown weary of! the personal. ephemeral
element in non-lturg4al worship. Willie it
does not deserve the cxtravagant audations of its
perfervid advocates, it has proved its right to on
honorable place in the ranks of American re-
liCiOuS denominations. II has never ,,indica tod