Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-08-17
EPISCOPAL OH unon NAMES.
Their Doctrines Indicated IN Some Cases b
Their Titles.

Their Titles
New York Sun.
A statistician has discovered that
more names Of Episcopal churches are
derived from the Deity than from any
other source. These number GOT in the
United States, and the various titles by
which the Deity is known in the Scrip
lures and the liturgy Of the church are
included in the list. The next most
popular name is Trinity, or Holy
Trinity. The sources to which the
names Of other churches are traced are
given as follows: One thousand three
hundred and seventy nine to the Apos-
ties, 100 to the Blessed Virgin Mary,
$50 to the saints, 2T9 to Grace, $50 to
events and mysteries, such as Advent,
Nativity, Incarnation, Epiphany, &c. ;
124 to sacred localities, like Calvary,
Bethel, Zion, Bethesda; T6 to All Saints,
All Souls and All Hallows; 30 to the
Holy Angels; 30 to holy objects, the
Cross. the Holy Cross, Precious Blood,
&c. 25 to the Holy Ghost by His
various names; Is to the Holy Com
munion; II TO our Lords mediatorial
works, such as Atonement and Redemp-
ton; 10 to states of being, like
Heavenly Rest and Holy Fellowship;
W tiD biNlHD AbtTiDubtSs I W II dIlu,
All Faith, Hope and Holy Faith; to
the Reformation and l to Our Father.
This list was derived from the study
of 4,022 parishes in various parts Of
the country. The names of Episcopal
churches are not without Significance
here. although their especial meaning
might not always be evident. 1t is in
| reference to the so called advanced
position of church that its name is
| frequently Indicative of it's character.
Ritualistic churches have always leaned
| to the names Of saints, including that
Of the Virgin, and some saints whose
names had not been previously used for
churches were introduced here by the
ritualistic parishes. No church named
after st. Alhan existed in New York
until an English priest opened the first
dedicated to the elaborate services SO
common today in Episcopal parishes.
| There are several churches of st. Alban
in the country now and they are all
ritualistic in practice. The name,
| however, is not always a guide to the
character of the services. Some OF the
ritualistic parishes in other cities are
called by names that have almost an
| evangelical sound. Nobody would sup
| pose that the House OF Prayer, the
| Church of the Ascension and the
| Church of the Advent were really
among the most advanced parishes In
the country. but they are and even
Grace churches in various parts of the
country have had the ritualistic SER
vices in their full elaborateness.
In one small town near New York
City there is probably the only church
in the entire Episcopal communion
named after st. Bernard. 1t is graft
| flying fact that the inhabitants pro-
nounce the name correctly, with the ao-
cent on the first syllable, although when
it comes to the dog named after the
monastery founded by the.same saint
they linger lovingly on the second
syllable. The most popular saints on
| tho list of church names shown are St.
Paul and st. John. Here only the
saints among the IL Apostles are as a
rule chosen, although in England the
| names of less known saints and often
saints of only local Importance have
been taken for churches. Some of
these have been adopted by parishes
here, which will be found in nearly
every case to be ritualistic. The name
st. Alban's cane to have that signifi-
canoe for this country because St.
Adams, Holborn, London, was one of
the first and hest-known of the ritual
istic churches in London. For that
reason number of churches we're
named after it when the ritualistic
propaganda began in this country.
There are other names which are Just
as significant of an adherence to Low
Church principles. Bethel, Bethesda
and Zion are among these. The use
of these titles by Methodist congrega-
tions may have had something to do
with this impression. But it is a fact
that most of the churches bearing
these names conform tu the old fash
Toned Low Church practices. Calvary
used to be name that conveyed the
same impression, but that has been Of
late years considerably weakened by
| the establishment of several churches
MM~