The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-21
IT is CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
SAYS BISHOP CONATY, IN
POWERFUL SERMON
DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR
AND PREACHER IN CITY
Says the Mission of the Church Is to
Teach the Truth and Safeguard All
nowIedge-PIeads for Consecrated,
Educated Citizenship, Which the
Church Stands For.

Rt. Rev. Bishop Conaty, of Washing
ton, d. c., preached at the Cathedral
yesterday at the 1890 mass. His topic
was Christian Education"
He took for his text, Luke xix, AZ,
"And Jesus was teaching daily in the
temple"
He said that as the Columbian sum-
mer school was holding its sessions at
present he felt impelled to speak on
Christian education. Christ came to
redeem the world and teach it all truth
He selected the apostles and gave to
them the mission to teach the nations.
He came as a teacher as well as a Sa-
vior and he gave to His church the
same authority which He possessed. The
church is a teacher and it's history is
the history of Christian education by
which civilization has been established
and maintained. Through it Christ
teaches daily in the temple" Bishop
Conaty then sketched the evolution of
the teaching idea in Christianity and
the use of the school as the agent of
instruction. From the catechetical
schools for the Neophytes, to the phiIo-
sophical ones at Alexandria, with
Mark and Clement, Pantaenus and ORR
gin, the young Christians advanced in
religious and profane knowledge. With
Constantine's conversion came a great
revolution in the palace and the epis-
copal schools until the great monastic
systems gave the labors of the monks
to the general education of the people.
The transition from Roman and Gre
clan pagan knowledge to Christianity
the meeting of the barbarians and the
moulding of them in the nations of
Europe, attests the educational power
of the church. The elimination of it's
effort in the building of the universe
ties gives to the middle ages those
mighty centers of learning in which
sanctity and knowledge walked hand
In hand and the church was acknowl-
edged as the teacher of the world.
Church Teaches Truth.
While her mission essentially was
not to teach all knowledge. She was
sent to teach revealed truth and safe
guard all knowledge. Reference was
made to the growth of Gaul, Celt, Teu-
ton and Saxon, and the story of each is
the record of the church in education.
The rebellion of nations against the
church, the development of schism and
heresy hindered the educational power
of Christianity but after the socalled
4C4N1 4i4cbAAOI1y W Il4Cll ny pOlllCdl power
had turned the universities into agen-
cies of error, the church girded itself
even in countries where heresy was
rife and laid again it's foundations for
school and university. Bishop Conaty
gave vivid picture of what has been
done in this country for education.
THE difficulties overcome, the prog
ress made, the results attained, are
astonishing and attest the faith of the
people in the divine mission of the
church. The underlying principle is a
belief in the need of Christ as our
teacher; to develop within the kingdom
of Christ; to lead us to know and love
God. We believe that religion is nee
essary to all life; that it alone can
guide all knowledge. We realize the
needs of society and we know that the
morality which saves our manhood is
found in the eternal laws of God.
Possibilities of Present.
THE age in which we live is full Of