The age-herald., 1899-05-15
Ordination Ceremonies Were
 Without Incident ND PROTEST WAS ENTERED Although Such an Occurrence
 Was Anticipated. ORDINATION BY BISHOP POTTER pr. Briggs Had Been Suspended By
 PresbyterY ON THE CHARGE OF HERESY New Priest Will Go to Europe and Take a Rest-In the Fall He Will
 Labor in the Pro-Cathe-
 dral Church.
pr. Briggs Had Been Suspended B\
 PresbyterY
ON THE CHARGE OF HEREsY

New York, May 14.-In the pro-cathedral in Stanton street, Rev. Dr. Chas. A. Briggs, who was suspended for heresy by. the Presbyterian assembly, was ordained a priest of the Episcopal church today He was ordained with the Rev. Snedeker and the ordination was conducted by Rev. Bisbop Potter. The little church was crowded with people and the ceremonies were notable for the quietness that pre- vailed
 Those who expected from the great out cry of the past threee or four weeks some sensational features were disappointed There was no scene, no excitment ana no protest was filed at the beginning, during or at the close of the ordination. There was nothing notable in the sermon preach ed by Rev. pr. George William Douglass. Bishop Potter drove to the church with the candidates for admission, Rev. pr. Charles A. Briggs and Rev. Dr. Charles A. Snedeker.
 Bishop Potter was asked what he had to say preliminary to the ceremonies. lie said he had no notice of protest and had received no protest. He smiled at the thought of any of the objecting clergymen appearing in the church and making a scene. He, however, said that he had re- ceived a letter from layman protesting against the ordination of Dr. Briggs and as this letter was written under misap- prehension of the facts and law he had an- swered it. He did not desire to give the name of the layman, who, he said, was high up in the councils of the church in- asmuch as the letter he himself had writ ten in answer to it was general in it's na- ture and set forth his position, and he had no objection to making it public. The let ter is as follows:
 Bishop Potter's Reply
 ''Diocesian House, La Fayette Place,
 New York, May 10, 1899. My Dear Sir-Your letter of the 18th inst. is before me, and I have given the matter to which it refers my best consid- eration.
 You exaggerate, however, my powers, and are, in regard to them under consider able misapprehension. In asking me to refuse to ordain Rev. Dr. Briggs.'-to take the responsibility of acting diocese as it demands; and to have the courage of my convictions you are apparently under the impression that my power in the matter
 
 not the case. A bishops powers are con- stituuonal, not absolute. In the matter of ordination he can only act when certain preliminary action by others has been had, but when this is the case and a can didate for orders stands at the threshold of the ministry, the canonS of ordination declare that the bishop shall not may then proceed to take order for the ordina- tion of the person who has met the prelim- mary tests in the premises.
 All these tests have been applied in the case of the person to whom your letter refers, and I have received a certificate to that effect from the standing commit tee of the diocese.
 Under these circumstances and unless some charge affecting the character or teaching of Rev. pr. Briggs which was not covered by the testimonial had been presented to me I should not consider my self as having discretion to disregard the plain imperative of the canon.
 "But nothing of the sort has been ad- duced. The book, the teachings or which have lately been challenged, has been for some time before thu public, and the stand ing committee of the diocese has been con- vened since recent and particular attention has been called to it. It was in my judg- ment competent to that body, if it had seen fit to do so to recall the certificate originally forwarded to me, on the ground that it had been signed under a misappre-
 
 but this it has not seen fit to do. I must therefore accept that certificate as final and I shall do so.
 T beg, however, that you will not SUD- pose that I am seeking to escape from my personal responsibility in the matter of the ordination of Dr. Briggs by retiring behind the action of my constitutional ad- visers have not the slightest desire to do so. The outcry against the author of The Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture is chiefly to be deplored because it betrays such a lamentable ignorance of the progress of sound learning and the judgment of the best Christian scholars. One of these, a bishop writes:
 '' You may be interested to see that the old staid Christian Knowledge Society re- published my little pamphlet on the Bible, which contains the same principles which are elaborated in your treatise. am in dignant at the misrepresentations. or, we will hope. the misunderstanding of some of your critics. Have they for the first