El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-26
.HE waste of days Of the Episcopa

! ~ HE waste of days OF the EplScOpal
! convention Just adjourned in New
| Il York, in fights between highs
and lows over a change or name of the
/ church, did not come There were no
| days lost in controversy. Instead, the
! convention took longer and more radi-
/ cal steps in exactly the opposite direc-
| lions from what il was expected to go
/ than any Episcopal convention ever held.
! This is the statement Of the leaders Of
( both high and low tendencies.
! Episcopal leaders hold that they &C
/ cupy a middle ground During their
! 1913 convention they received express
! siOns Of fraternal interest from Rus
I sian, Greek and Syrian orthodox east
/ ern churches, and the old Catholic
/ movement of Europe such as no other
( body in America could command. These
I expressions were most marked, and
! consisted of visits to respective church
/ es. and statements Of desire to come
! closer together. The old Catholics
named q committee on unity
! In the other direction the Episcopal
church shelved for years to come its
! change of name proposition and did it
unity It voted union with the federal
council of churches. after having stood
out alone for years 1t ordered its
BOARD OF missions and It's social SER
vice commission to cooperate with sim
| liar organizations in Protestant bodies.
and II vigorously backed up the presi-
manded closer cooperation. There was
hardly any step that it could take that
it did not take.
Finally, not one fight of consequence
took place in the convention between
the highs and lows The lows carried
every thing their way. but they did so
almost as much as by the active en-
deavOrs of the highs as of the lows
themselves. No more conciliatOry
speeches are possible to be made than
were uttered by the leaders, and they
were uttered not by surrender of their
positions but by reaffirming these pO-
sitiOns. and finding the lows more than
willing to work with them.
The Episcopal church has decided 20
group its diOceses into what il calls
provinces, and to provide each province
with a legislative body to be know
as a synod. The aims are to give Iarg-
er measure of local government to
avoid long travel by members of gov
erntng bodies, and relieve the church's
general convention meeting every three
years, which has become too large and
too congested with matters that can
be locally decided The provinces have
been grouped that large cities are cap
itals. and some of them may in time
come to have. archbishOps instead OF
mere bishops, after the pattern of RO-
man Catholic church
The principal cities in line for these
archbishOps- If ever they come. and for
the present expected to give largest
support to respective provinces, are
Boston, New York. Philadelphia. Gin
cinnati, Chicago. St Louis, MINNEAPOLIS,
New Orleans, Seattle and san Francis
CO The provinces are eight in all, and
the outlying missionary districts. like
Honolulu Cuba and Porto Rico, and at
tached to different provinces.
The objection to the province plan. to
archb-shops. and to an elective presid-
ing bishop have wholly to do with a
fear of Capitalization. The controversy
between such tendency. and out and out
GnF f4V- "a he Of
ing, and has come in only from neces-
slty and because the division OF the
dioceses into missionary departments
paved the way, and auayed public
sentiment. The missionary and social
service, the religious and education and
laymens work are now to be divided
up on this new provincial plan. The
adoption of this plan does not shelye
the prOpOruOnate representation need
in the house of deputies of the General
convention, but it has Obscured it for
the moment, and IL is said nothing is
likely to be done about matters for
some years