The Portland daily press., 1899-09-23
HIGH CHURCH MAGAzINs
ATTACKS Bishop Potter, Dr. Briggs and
the Broad c hurchmen.

The first number OF Church Defence a
monthly magazine devoted to the inter-
ests Of the High Church party Of the
Episcopal Church 10 the United States IL
issued. 1t Is said that at ieast one Bishop
and several New York clergymen are
behind the paper and win write for IL
William Writ Mills Ia the editor The
Hrst number contains twenty-four pages.
Judging from an advance copy, Bishop
Potten DR.. Briggs and tue Broad Church
party ire to be tho targets OF ths edi-
torial darts, and the maxim that the first
principle OF dsfencs is attack Is suggest ed
by tho motto OF the paper, used also ss a
heading for the leading article. "First
PGrA tbon Psaooabie." This article
- saySi
s1'he gospel Is first pura. tte1 reacsa.
bic. T. messavs Of pence II TO msn OF
goos-wli, not TO these who tsach what the
American Bishops. IN their Pastoral
Lattor oil 1874 desoribs "a certain novel;
ties OF opinion and expression, which
have seemed TO US to be subverssvs of the
fundamental veritles of Christs religion.
There can be no pesceshetween faith and
ur DO Lief, rnd when the arch-enemy OF
souls comes stalking in surplice and stols
sas osil 70 lassle seaiuss error become
more imper alive. Now unbelief
and a Bishop has been found to lay hands
upon an av5wad disciple CT error, an in
pugner OF Gods Holy Word. This sac.
rileSe vas nos committed thoughtlessly
or nnadviHedly, but in the face OF serious
ana earnest protests. 1t was not an err.
hrrf
assault upon the Citadel of Faith. .
It ia not that enemies Without the battle-
msnts seek TO Ike the city, but they are
within, endeavoring to hetray the For
tress Of Salvation.
Another article headed 1.-THE Crisis In
q Great Mans Life exhorts the Bishop
10 come out publicly and declare that he
committed grievous err or In receiving
Dr. Briggs into the Church. This article
says:
"Either.by silence or by open statement,
is would seem entirely probable that the
blshop or New York would at his coming
convention announce his final decision
whether to remain a leader of the Ration
alistio Party In the Church. He
is strangely In the position of the great
Arlan BISHOPS. IL was furthest from the
thought of these men to rend or destroy
the Church-rather was 1t the hone OF
winning for the Church every force and
power Of the world that led them on to
support principles which were at last
condemned by the Church. These
Bishops wanted also for the Chur oh the
we lth and power OF the world-it meant
the means Of building magnificent cathe
drals, OF reaching out and nfiuenoing
vast numbers; 1t meant the turning of
the Church from hated handful to a
mighty and victorious army.
where stool those Arian 81 hops stands
today the Bishop of New York Will he
D8 aErODu nnOnph and uroah n,,ot,uh col
break away from the evil forces closing
akout his name and work. God and he
alone can answer. Lucian, seeing the
ruin to which his So stem led, turned in
the midst OF his strong career and by
martyrdom retrieved the error of his life.
For the Bishop of New York to turn now
will cost him something much like mar
tyTdom. None the less we pray God he
may be great enough and brave enough
to stand at last with Lucian.'
VI Broad Churcbmen in general the fol-
lowing comment is made: "The Broad
Churchman is generally subtle. This is
OF great service to him, because 1t enables
him to tsach heresy without being called
to account for It. The very words by
which he leads the faithful astray are put
together with such subtlety that he could
explain them away before any ecelesiasti-
cal court. This cleverness of the Evil One
has saved many Borad Churohman from
discipline" 80
Referring to DIR. Briggs. the magazine
Rnys; 1.-THE Church has one Bible, DR..
Briggs another which Is a mere collsctiou
Of extracts from the Holy Scripture.
DIR. Briggs, whose ordination so
scaudalized the Church, occupies POSI-
ton which to say the least, must be
trying. AS professor in thu Union Theo-
logical Seminary, he Is supposed to be
under obligations to teach the Westmin-
ster Confession; as priest of the Church,
he is bound to teach the Catholic faith,
as this Church hath received the same,
As professor, he teaches men who arctic
go forth. not as priests, but as Presby-
terrain ministers, while he himself has
taken VOWS to be prist In tho Anglican
Church, which believes in u three fold
IniniEtry. As "a clergyman of the Church
whirh believes the Bible to be the word
OF God, he Is going forth to teach at the
Pro-Cathedral parish a people, q large
part of whom are Jews not to believe the
Old Testament
With the possible hope of having some
thing done to the Standing Committse of
tue Diocese at the Diocesan Convention
next week, the magazine states that at
ts inevitable that the Churohmen of the
diocese should feel agRrieved at the fall
ure OF the Standing Committee to prevent
the advancement of DIR, Briggs TO the
priesthood, and 1t viii be strange If the
delegates to the Diocesan Convention
do not have something emphatic to SAY
on this subject