The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-15

copal church in this States are muc1 | interested in a discussion which is 1T
 progress as to the feasibility and wis
 dom of dividing the diocese of Con
 necticut.
 The claim is made that the diocese
 has grown so large as to overtax 2 single bishop. Many believe that il
 will be better to have two dioceses and two bishops than one bishop and 2
 bishop coadjutor.
 The program of division is elabor- ately stated in an article in the Con- | necticut Churchman of Feb. 13, by 1 Rev. Frederick w. Hartman, D. D.. which has the apparent approval ot l the Churchnan, the official organ od the diocese.
 It is made clear, however, that the article is published solely on the au- thority of the author, and that Rt. Rev Chauncey B. Brewster, D. D., bishop | of the diocese, has not yet seen it. The tentative plan, as outlined by 1 Dr. Hartman, is to make Fairfield and New Haven counties, together with Litchfield county, into a new dio- cese, leaving the other five counties to retain the title, Diocese of Connecti- cut.
 
 cut river forms the only division of the State on purely geographical lines that could be readily recognized, but on the other hand the strength of the church is almost wholly on the western side of such a division. pr. Hartman believes it would be a great help if Waterbury and Meri- den could also be left with Hartford. The question of support is cOnsid- cred. Dr. Hartman believes that, because the western diocese would be wealthy, while the eastern division would be poor, that it might be better to leave all of the invested funds with the eastern division, except those des- ignated by the givers for the use of the three western counties.
 As for names, Dr. Hartman thinks that the old diocese would go on with out reorganization, retaining the name 'Connecticut,'' and since there is a Roman Catholic Bishop of Hartford, it would make confusion and be dis courteous to duplicate the title. The new diocese might choose it's own name, which might be Western Con- necticut,' or better yet, "New Haven, y inasmuch as the two chief colonies of the State were originally Connecticut and New Haven.
 Under the general canons of the Episcopal church, Bishop Brewster WOulU nave IH0 IlSIlL Ol CuOOSIHS U0- tween the two diOceses, as to which he would continue to be the head of.
 Dr. Harriman's views are stated in part, as follows:
 ''Forty-four years ago, January 13. Bishop Brownell was called to his rest. His assistant or coadjutor, Bishop Williams, who had long been doing responsibility. That same year. at. the convention in June. he closed his an- nual address with an earnest -plea for division of the diocese. The reasons he gave are we'll worth considering to- day, and they apply more forcfbly than ever before. Tt seems to me- he said, that we ought to be looking See within the limits of the present diocese. As a legitimate outgrowth of Church life and Church extension, intensifying the one and expanding the other, I do advocate this division
 ''The matter was discussed for two years, and decided adversely. It was felt that our compact little State was not too large for one man to super wise; and that if Bishop Williams were not doing so much at the Berkeley Di- vinity school, he might find time and strength for all his purely episcopal duties. A second proposal, by one of the clergy in 1872, was laid upon the 
 same sort has been made since, so far as I can remember.
 THE WORK EXACTING.
 ''But the opinion is now beginning to grow among thoughtful men in the diocese that our Bishop is in danger of oVerwork. Compare the growth in all directions since 1865, as shown in the following statement:
 1865 1908 economically
 resident 150 2O4 Parishes, fully organized 129 153 Missions and Chapels,
 including s c h ols.
 etc, about 10 67 Places visited by the
 Bishop, S6 133 Sermons and addresses
 by the Bishop, 229 2S3 1,O74 2O46 Families reported in the
 Diocese, S,744 22,9VI in the
 Diocese. 12,176 g ,993
 "It is evident that the congregations to be visited have increased about fif- | ty per cent, for every little mission | chapel and school desires occasional 1 and that means one more for the Bishop in each l case. The S6 visitations have increaS- ed to 133, or more than fifty per cent. The increase in travel is not all cOun- by improved facilities, new railroads and trolley lines The cor also has increased, until he thousands of letters every year are ], serious burden, even with the aid of | steno grapher Our Bishop is con- ;idered by his episcopal brethren to be ,ne of the hardest-worked in the whole House of Bishops. Connecticut S the fourth diocese in the United States as to size; not of course in square miles or distances to be tray Jed. but in parishes, clergy, communi- ,ants. ard above all in congregations % be visited. The dioceses of New York and Pennsylvania have more; >ut every one of them can be reached with ease, and the Bishop can return lome the same night. This is true al- % in Massa chusetts, with the excep- ion of a few places on Cape Cod; and has fewer parishes and missions than Connecticut. Our dio- ese stands third in that respect, and luite as high, if not higher in the list n point of difficulty. Pennsylvania ras a. coadjutor: New York has had