The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-09-06
AT THE EPISCOPAL
r CONVENTION.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE WiEL RE-
PORT AGAINST MAKING
A CHANGE.

The most important gathering of
clergy and laity in The Episcopal
church of the United States will take
place October 8. in Boston. 1t is a
representative body of yer diocese
and missionary jurisdiction and is
economically called the general onven
ton. 1t meets every three years and
its last sessions were held in San
Francisco.
h president Of the houseSof dep
uties, the late DR.. Landsay, rector of
ST. Paul's church, Boston, presented
the invitation to the churchmen of
Massachusetts to this convention to
meet in Boston, and it was unani-
mously accepted. The last time it as
sembled in this city was in 1877. Its
first place Of meeting vas in Phila-
delphia in 1855. and the most popular
places for it's deliberations have been
in the City Of Brotherly Love and
New York. Since it's beginning, with
seven clergymen and four laymen, it
will now number in Boston a total of
521 delegates.
The convention legislates for the
whole church. Whatever it concludes
to do in the way of adding new canons
or replacing the old mes with more
flexible successors, is binding and OBJ
ligatory upon every minister and O
gregatiOn. The broad churchmen
have their distinctive l%eanings, and
are always found in the front of any
controversy eagerly championins
fhoir liberal torrrat,tior ~ ,,hr;1e
and canons, while the high church
men, with the assumed support of the
ritualists, lay infinite stress upon the
historic traditions and ceremonies of
the church
His views, while they are not mar
row, are peculiarly at times in de-
Tense of the old lines Of theological
teaching, while the conservative
churchman who imbibes a little Of the
theology Of both of these parties, is
non-committal Upon much vexed ques-
lions and renders the decision of
these matters uncertain and before
the time of voting finds his number
swelled by deserters from the High
and Broad churchmen, who rally to
his support when some radical change
is, imminent.
Proposed Change OF Name.
The matters which will rivet the at
tent1on of the members upon the dis
cusslon of this august body of church,
men are more interesting than ever
before. The report Of the committee
on change of the name Of the church
will call forth much expression of
0ninS0n Thora hos 1l,-- a-ke--~:--,
effort on the part of some western
dioceses to make the name of the
church conform more closely to its
historical teaching. Five different
names ave been advocated by those
devoted to this discussion as fol-
1. American Catholic Church.
2. The American Catholic Church
in the United States.
3. The American Catholic Church
in the United States of America.
4. The Church in the United States
of America.
Catholic Church in the United States.
b committee, consisting of Bish-
futile, Scarborough, Peterkin,
Whitehead, Leonard, Greer, and the
Rev. Drs. Fiske, Egar, Moore, Rogers,
and Messrs. F. A. Lewis. D. B. Lyman,
Joseph Packard, A. =. @. Sowden and
l.. H. Moorehouse, have made a print
report of this subject, which will
be read at the convention, and in the
Judgment of the majority the change
the name Of the church at this time
is inexpedient.
This decision is doubtless based by
the large vote against change Of the
different dioceses and missionary dis