The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-28
THE EPISCOPAL CONVENTION.

THE tON
The annual convention of the Pro-
testant Episcopal Church will assem-
BILE in San Francisco on Oct. 2. The
membership of the convention consists
of the bishops of the church, four min
listers from each diocese and four lay
men from each diocese. number OF
important questions will come before
the body for action. Chief among these
are the matters of changing the
churchs name, providing for life
tenure for bishops, changing the con-
stitution as relates to the presidency OF
the House of Bishops, and the divorce
question. The church court, or con-
| gress, having these matters to decide
will be well equipped for its work. The
bishops are known as men of brains
and erudition, while among the lay
membership of the convention will be
two justices of the Supreme Court Of
the United States, Mr.. j. Pierpont
Morgan of New York, and other men
who have had experience in dealing
with large questions.
In all probability one of the warmest
contests of the convention will be on
the question Of changing the name of
the church organization. 1t is now the
Protestant Episcopal Church of the
United States. Those who propose
change wish to make it the Holy
Catholic Church of America" They
are strict ritualists and object to the
word Protestant" The Apostles
Greed, they say, is the official declar-
alton of the church, and that authority
states distinctly; II believed in
the Holy Catholic church. They claim
that the Episcopal is already 1.-The
Catholic" church. and that to desig-
nate it as 1.-THE Holy Catholic
Church" will distinguish it from the
Roman Catholic Church. Those in OPP
position hold that the organization has
thrived under its present name and
there is no adequate reason for a
change. They favor a broad liberality
in matters of detail, insisting only on
an acknowledgement of the essential
tenets of the faith. Broadly speaking,
it is expected that the convention will
be divided into camps of high church
men" and "low churchmen," the for
mer advocating the change of name
and the latter opposing it.
Under the present constitution a
bishop may be transferred from one
diocese to another. There has recently
been some talk about Bishop Dudley
of Kentucky becoming the Bishop of
Long Island. At the coming convention
an ordnance will be introduced to
change the constitution so that when
a bishop accepts a charge he takes it
for life, without the possibility of a
change.
The House of Bishops is now presid-
ed over by the oldest member of it.
During recent years, owing to the
growth of the church and the increased
business of the House of Bishops, the
arrangement has been found somewhat
unsatisfactory. The task is often too
arduous for an aged man. A change is
wanted, therefore, by means of which
the presiding officer of the House may
be a young and energetic man. With
the old men, the spirit is willing but
the flesh is weak, and the change is
for the purpose of relieving them of
duties beyond their strength.
Under the present canons of the
church, divorce is recognized for one
cause; and the wronged party may
marry again. 1t is proposed that at the
coming convention the one cause be
done away with, and that the remar-
riage of person divorced, no matter
for what reason, shall be prohibited by
church law. Such marriages are not to
be recognized by the church, and no
minister of the denomination will be
permitted, under any circumstances, to
perform the marriage ceremony where
either of the parties to the contract has
been divorced.
From this brief and imperfect out
line 1t can be seen that the forthcom-
ing convention is one of wide concern,
and that it is likely to be interesting
in it's discussions and conclusions,