The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-11-20
ANGLICAN ORDERS
Bishop Doane's Reply to the Pope's
Recent Pronouncement.
GLAD HE DENIED THEIR VALIDITY
prevents Certain Anglican Priests, He
Declares, from Falling into the Trap
OF Recognizing the InfalIibility
OF the Bishop of Rome.

ANONs hlSnU hGV.
William Croswell Doane, the Episcopal
bishop of Albany, in his annual ad-
dress delivered before the twenty
eighth annual convention of the do
cese of Albany, said: 'sSome-
what remotely, and yet very rea lily,
we are concerned with the papal pro-
nouncement on the subject of the
validity of Anglican orders, and have
only to ask that certain facts in the
case should be fairly considered (a).
No request for any such Judgment was
ever made by the Church of England
or by anybody Or person authorized to
represent her. (b). The movement
originated with certain Roman ecclesi-
Rstics in France, who sought for papal
confirmation of their own convictions
that the English orders are valid. (c)
This request, inspiring the hope of
fuller understanding of the position of
the English church, induced some
earnest lay people and learned
priests in England to further
the inquiry by furnishing facts.
(d.) The reply of the Bishop of Rome.
addressed to his own people and not
to us, is that the orders of the Church
of England are, in the judgment of
Rome, invalid. After the nine days
wonder has subsidized, l fancy that this
bull was past into the 'innocuous desue-
tude' which has entombed so many of
Its predecessors. But there are certain
issues involved in the fact and in the
manner of this decision which deserve
notice among us. Two things are mat
ters of congratulations: First, that the
decision takes the form of a denial
The result to be feared was, that, by
acknowledging our orders valid, Rome
should have held out a temptation to
certain Anglican priests to fall into
the trap of recognizing first, the in
falibility of the Bishop of Rome, be-
cause he had decided rightly in this
case against the wishes of the Jesuits
and the narrow Anglo-Roman ecclesi
astics; and, secondly, the supremacy
of the Bishop of Rome, by submitting
to his authority, and so producing the
form of schism known as the uniat
churches in the east. The second sub
ject for congratulation is the argu-
ment upon which the decision was
"eacDed, which is the well-known
method of reaching foregone
conclusion by an apparently new
investigation of facts. 1t is com
fort to feel that at least the nag's
head fable is remanded to the shades,
with other myths. And it is still more
satisfactory to know that one of two
alternatives is irresistible by the
bishops own reasoning. Either Ro-
man orders are invalid, since they were
not conferred for centuries in the Ro-
man church according to what he now
considers the essential form, or else
Anglican orders are valid, because
they have been conferred always by
Tn same form as that defined to be es-
sential by the council of Trent, or by
form even stronger and more definite
the laying on of hands with the words,
take or receive the Holy Ghost.
1t is still more curious and comfortable
to note that so fl as the intention of
the church is concerned (the matter OF
laying on of the hands and the words,
Receive We the Holy Ghost being used)
The expression of Intention is clearer
In the English than in the Roman
hurch. For the English ordinal or
liers to the priesthood (Sacerdotium)
md the Roman to the PresLyterate
iPresby teratus), and the English or
linal specifies the Ministry of Sacra-
ments.' whereas the Roman ordinal
omits it. The sad part of it all is the
fact that the new dogma of papal in
fallibility, and the very fallible man
her of it's exercising, widen the
branches of Christendom and increase
the hindrances of unity"