The Newtown bee., 1904-04-01
Ten Pages.
IITCHFlELD COUNTY
 WASHINGTON.
NOTES FROM ST JOHNS.

EpiScopate, and (2) the necessity Ot to the eXis ence of the Church. Then he quoted what Gibbon the skep- tical historian, says on this subject, viz: "No Church without bishop has been fact as we'll as maxim since Then the learned Grotius, himself a Presby terian, had said: "The Episco- pacy had it's commencement in the times of the apostles. All the Fathers, without, exception, testify to this." Another learned man, who was a Presbyterian minister, but who was now priest in the P. B. Church, said, "When 1 was a Presbyterian and used to quote the Fathers had to resort to most ingenious explanations, but as soon as 1 began to read them from a Church standpoint I found nothing to explain, for it vas all plain sailing" Coming down to our time the speaker said, "You will find in The Living Church. of the 11th inst. the following public testimony of Presbyterian di- priest in the Church of God. This Presbyter says: ''I was born of Pres byterian parentage, educated and
 trained for the ministry of that de- nomination, licensed a Presbyter in
 that body, but was advanced to the order of the priesthood by Bishop Leon- ard of the diocese of Ohio, on Decem- Der 29, 1903. What lea to this transi- 'tion? A clear perception of the follow ing truths. l. Our Lord, Christ, said "I will build My Church." He did build it. The building of His Church is, therefore, not relegated to any man or angel. 2. Since the Church gave us the New Testament Scriptures, long years after Christ built His Church, no rational, thoughtful man can be- on the New Testament. For surely our republic is not built on the history of the United States. 3. Christ's church, as He built it, is to endure forever. Holy prophets and apostles clearly teach it's perpetual continuity. This is the sure promise also of our Lord Himself. 4. Christi Church was not, is not now, and never can be, sim ply "an invisible body of believers" The Son of God was lin the f1eSh"; the apostle and disciples were not "invisi- ble." The breaking of bread and the prayers and baptism were visible insti- tutiOns, and are now visible, tangible. The United States of America is not an "inviSible" national organization. Christ's Church is a visible organism. Of course, as in the nation, so in the church, the heart of the individual, human factor is unseen But, as in the nation, so in the Church, there must
 be the visible before there can be the iapiSihla.- Tho -inuiSihle does not pre- cede and comprehend the visible; but the reverse order is the logidal, neces- Sary and true order. As in man, the body and soul antedate, and at length, comprehend and contain the self or spirit, so the outward formal organism of the Church must precede, and at length contain inward spiritual vital ity, even the Holy Ghost Himself. 5. Christ's Church is Catholic and Apos- tolic. It is Catholic in that it is not confined to one nation, like the Jewish Church, but 'diffused among the na- tions. It is Apostolic as being con- formed to the Church doctrine deliver ed to the first apostles, making them Christ's first Apostolic bishops; hence organized according to Apostolic in- structions, and continued by means of Apostolic succession and traditions. 6. ChriSt'S Church, therefore, must have these two historic essentials, viz {: Catholicity and Apostolicity. '. But all thec hecdenominatiOnal Churches lack these essentials. 8. The study of the ante-Nicene Fathers revealed to me that in the times of the post-Apostolic Fathers, and before the death of St John, the three orders, bishops, pres byters and deacons obtained uni iversal- ly in Christ's Church. The judicious Rockers challenge, in 1894, that Pres bfyterians find one Church upon the
 face of the whole earth not ordered by
 Episcopal regimen, previous to the rise of schismatic, revolutionary Protes- tantism of his own century, remains unanswered and unanSwerable. 9. The validity of Anglican orderS,a as to Cath olicity and Apostolicity, is an historic fact, evident to all who with intelli- gent, educated, trained, critical and unprejudiced minds are able to make
 the historic research. Hence loyalty to Christ and His Holy Church, joined
 with desire for authority in the exe- cution of the functions of a true min ister of Christ, compelled me to seek
 Holy Orders ln the P. B. Church in
 the United States of America, i. e.,
 the Catholic Church in America, or else abandon the ministry. So l chose the former alternative" The rector said he had quoted this clergy mans testimony in full because he had corrObOrated exactly what he, the rec tor, had said in his lectures during this Lenten season. but that this man. who was formerly a Presbyterian min- lster, was not the only one who teSti-
 fled to the correctness of what he had said in his lectures on ''The Church". The speaker then gave his own exper- fence during his last three years minis try in the diocese of Marquette, Mich.
 During that short time no less than nine ministers of various denomina- tions had applied for and been re- npiVp6 0 o n6i1o foc for 1o1x ;,, our Church by the bishop of Mar quette, and every one of them gave the same testimony as the former Presby- terian whom he had quoted Two of
 these men, the rector said, he had bap- tized, ypothetically, of course, in the cathedral at. Marquette, when the speaker was archdeacOn of that dio- cese, and priest in charge of St Paul's cathedral. Some of them he had pre- Sented to the bishop for confirmation. and some he had examined for deacon'S orders. One of these men was a Con- gregatiOnal minister, one of the bright est men the rector had ever had the pleasure of meeting, and one of the finest extempore preachers he had ever heard, and he had heard quite few. minister had received from his univer- sity the degree of Doctor of Divinity This man had given up a large congre- gation and salary of S25OO a year, to- gather with fine manse, to come to us, when we were able to give him on- lya very much smaller stipend, but that now he was rector of one of our largest and most flouriShing churches in the U. $. By curious coincidence the sermon at his ordination to the Diaconate. Was preached by clergy man whe had himself been a Congre. gational minister only two or three years before. "Now all these nine