The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-28
Bishop Hale Delivers the Second OF
the Episcopal Club Lectures

Bishop Hale, of the diocese of southern
Illinois, whose home is in Cairo, lectured
at st. Paul's Cathedral last evening on the
Christian Church of the East" The Bish-
op was a missionary in the east for many
years and he is familiar with the subject
Owing to the severe weather there was
not a large audience present, which fact
was regretted by those who did not attend
for the lecture both interesting and
instructive. 1t was one of the regular
course church history, which has been
planned for the season. The Bishop took as
a text the sixteenth verse of the tenth
chapter of St. John: And other sheep I
have which are not of this fold them also
! must bring, and they shall hear my voice;
and there shall be one fold and one shep-
herd"
The Bishop asked if the church of the
present did not fail to realize that all
Christians are to brought into one fold with
one faith and one shepherd. All attempts
at union have thus far proved fruitless
Christian unity is now desired. There is
a tendency toward union. The day when
there shall be one fold and one shepherd
may not be very far distant.
The Bishop, after expressing the foregoing
thoughts as an introduction, went on to
speak of the church of the East. In the
early days it was distinctly Greek in form,
worship and customs. In the course of
time the church divided with one head at
Rome and another at Constantinople. There
were divisions, each with entirely different
interests. 1t has never been possible to
unite them, so to-day there are the Eastern
has about one hundred million members.
1t is composed of eleven branches. The diff
ferences between them are small, and some
day, the Bishop thinks, they will all be
united under the Orthodox church A pa
triarch of the eastern church has no autor-
his powers are limited. If he becomes too
aggressive and shows indications of adj
vancement, his resignation is demanded,
through the influence of the government.
If he conducts the office to the liking of the
government he may retain 1T for an in
definite period. Bishop Hale has known
five ex-patriarchs. living at the same time,
all of whom were forced to resign He said
It was remarkable how the church has
the Turkish government.
The Bishop then made a comparison be-
tween the Eastern and the Western, church,
pointing out the few differences and speak
ing of the customs OF the former. The
Eastern church, he said, is somewhat more
ceremonial than the Western. 1t is not
true that the services there are conducted in
a language unfamiliar to the people. The
Bishop related several incidents show ng how
easy 1t was to obtain copies of the lesta-
ment in the East. in different language,
which tended to show that the Eastern
difficulty in purchasing testament in
France than he had in St. Petersburg. At
the latter place the books can be purchased
at a small price, printed in any of the lam
guages of the country.
The Eastern church observes the COM
mands of st. James providing for the an
noting with oil of the sick. They do not
believe in purgatory but hold that grace
alone brings salvation. The priests must
marry. as single men can only become
teachers The church is making rapid strides
toward a higher civilization and much
time is now given to learning. In
Greece the native language is being
purified and brought nearer the Greek of
the classics. The present language. he said,
can never attain the purity of the old Greek
but it Is tending that way. The Eastern
church is devoting much time and money to
the teachings of missionaries. The Bishop
concluded his remarks by saying that there
are many things in the Eastern church
worthy the attention of the West. Their
religious zeal and devotion is commendable.
The church is not so very far away from the
one of the West, and the Bishop hopes the
day is not far distant when all shall be
within one fold, with one shepherd