The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-01-13
CHANGE Of CHURCH
NAME DISCUSSED.
Prominent EpiSCCpalians Argue the
Question at the Dinner OF the
ChurChmen'S Club.

church in America lie hoped the vener-
able bishop would live TO be the hrst
metropolitan of the church IN this couh-
try.
Mr. Moorehouse spoke IN favor or
( changing the name of the church To that
/ of the American Catholic church me
1 Zine has gone by he sad. when the
/ church feared the Roman Cathohc
church. The Episcopal church had grown
friendly 10 the Roman church, but while
| IL had grown nearer 10 the Catholic
\ church. IL had grown further from the
Roman church.
| The church IS the bride Of Christ. he
| said. and what the people I'm the church
/ was trying TO do was lift the church up
! 10 give Il a larger and better name The
| great question that arose before the mind
! of the great Jackson Temper was whether
! I'm the great northwest whence he was
! going. the church should be built up as
/ an aris tocratic church or one that would
| be adapted 20 the whole American ma
| tion al then gathered I'm those territories.
! The church he decided. must be one
| that would take I'm all nationalities. II
must be i'm the language OF the country
! cosmopolitan. which In the language OF
/ the church means Catholic.
! The speaker referred 10 the limitations
/ OF the word Protestant Had the
| Episcopal church protested against the
| claims OF the Papacy, he said. 1t would
| have been 10 admit all that the Papacy
1 claimed. but when the proper time came
said "The Papacy has no place In this
land" and at once the Papacy protested.
so that if you would be a Protestant In
England you would have 10 be a Roman
Catholic
II churchmen are right I'm their thesis,
that membership i'm that church Is OBJ
tatrch by holy baptism. then there are
two ways I'm which church unity may he
achieved. One is to make the other man
believe as we do. and the other TO so
change ourselves as TO bring the other
man TO us. We have tried the first way.
he said, and began to burn him at the
stake but unfortunately when we got the
man where we wanted him he died. This
plan, OF course. failed.
MUST REFORM OURSELVES.
The failure OF the plan TO reform the
| other man has brought US back 10 the
| question OF reforming ourselves. The
| thing for us 10 do IL 10 look at oursef
| and top off all accretions which we have
added TO ourselves. But the sign boa rd
| befronts us everywhere. The name OF the
church is n small thing. but the ideal of
the church is large thing. and the
Cathol - OF the church in It's highest
ider We ask you TO give the church
highest title she can obtain-Catholic.
Chief Justice Stiness spoke on the ad
visibility OF changing the name simply
by doing away with the word "Protes-
tant." Judge Stiness thought the name
of the church should be changed. and
that by dropping the name Protestant. y
We all believe In the Catholic church
n we believe In what say every Sum
day I'm our creed. he said Many of US
| believe in the Catholic church when IL
| means our own church. Christ did not
form several churches. He founded His
own church. and there should be but one
| church and that The church.
II we take all the Christian churches
throughout the world, we fnd that all
J believe I'm the same thing. the whole diff
| ference coming down to doctrine.
| All Christians believe In the apostles
! creed more or less. he said. and all the
sacramentS and all Christian differences
come down TO form Of church govern
| ment. The name OF church becomes
necessary as distinguishing mark.
In 1884 the church in this country
! adopted the name Episcopal church. -
and later. when Virginia and Maryland
added the word Protestant" the word
was added 10 the name. The church OF
| England never had the word Protestant
officially part OF its name.
TO DIFFERgNTSATE THE WORD.
No one denies that the Roman church
! Is catholic The word Protestant" Is
| simply used to dfferentate the name
| from that OF the Roman Catholic church
| No church should be so narrow "a %
deny to another the right TO be catholic
The word Protestant is undignifed. he
| declared
I t1,ol
missionaries In the west say IL Is hard
to make people understand what the
word stands for. they cannot understand
| It. The Episcopal church" IL what we
! have always called our church and II
! the word Protestant is superfuous
then why not drop e.. Judge Stiness
said. Well not change our character
be the same
The idea that we would In any wa,
change our nature by changing our nam,
is fallacious. The church has nevei
claimed to be any particular sect, but q
branch Of the Holy Catholic church. Tn,
church IL known everywhere by every
body as the Episcopal church and III,
word Protestant" is an uncharitable on,
and the world will think the more Of "a,
for dropping the useless word.
Judge Stiness advocated strongly IN,
retention of the word Episcopal" as I
had been the name OF the church for
century. and the church had becom,
known by that name, aud II the nam
ot the church was changed IL would still
be known as the Episcopal church. Ill
said the name should be retained. as 1
would signify that II was Eplscopacy an,
not Papacy. and 10 distinguish II from
other bodies such a. the Baptist an,
| others.
In closing Judge stiness said the aha n
donment OF the word Protestant is tn
simplest form the church can have an'
| still leave n with a descriptive name.
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