The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-19

cessory of gorgeous ritual, you VIII
find In another church that same ser
I vice celebrated in simplest form. Ger
tainly IL the Episcopal Church were
inclined to insist upon all services be-
ing based upon or being conformed to,
! the prayerbook, she would be making
to my mind an unreasonable demand.
have no doubt that In the future
reunited Church we shall have, not
uniformity of public worship--we shall
have the greatest diversity. but we
shalt have the practical agreement OF
all In the faith OF the Incarnation.
Now / come TO the last OF those four
,points--the historic ,Episcopacy. the
thresfold ministry. And here there is
| practically today no agreement what
ever My friends, / believe the day
is going to come wnen this question
| of the ministry of the Church is not
going to be confused with certain other
Issues that have been injected into 1t,
| And here I must confess the sins OF
NV own communion. II this historic
ministry in to be regarded with any
serious consideration by the great Pro-
| testant communions Of this land 1t
must be freed from certain implica-
tions that at present they connect with
It, Let me be little more explicit
It must be regarded. In the first place
quite apart from the vexed question
OF its origin. The day has gone by
| when II is especially profitable or help
| fui for the member OF the Episcopal
| Church on the one side or the mem
Der of some great Protestant com
munion on the other side to so simply
TO the New Testament and attempt
to find there the exact type OF the
ministry of the Christian Church to-
day. All that | claim for It is what
/ ~uytJ3 s1ifrr +f,{ph NJ n III
nnd that Ia that from the second CEN
fury down to the fifteenth the minis
try Of the Christian Church was of
this threefold order~-a ministry OF
bishops. priests and deacons.
/ My friends. the day may not yet
have arrived. but believe 1t is com
Ing, when We are all going to consider
this question sof the ministry OF the
Church quite apart from the old-ttne
difficulties which surrounded Il. The
day, may fairly say, has come In
the Episcopal Church when she re-
ioices TO recognize and acclaim the
Christian ministries IF the great Pro-
testant communions We have, / think
largely repented us OF our I'M Chris
tian attitude In that respect. We are
glad TO confess the presence of the
Spirit of God In those great COM
nGnious where we see so evidently the
manifestation of the fruits of the Holy
Spirit It is no question--or II Will
come, I believe. in time to be regard
ed as no questioned the comparative
validity OF the various ministries o!
the Church. The one question will
be, what Is the ministry which beyond
others viii tend 10 hrfnr US together
The Midway Position of the Episcopal
Church.
!
pies an unique place In American
Christianity. If we believe in the
providence of God, II we really be
iieve In the divine leading OF events
, II must mean something that there Il
, one great communion in closest sym
pathy with the great Protestant com
Tnunions. rejoicing with them In the
results of that mighty reformation
confesslng with them those great
! principles of the sacred responsibility
ftFe individual and the Immediate
access of the soul TO God, OF the ne
cessity 70 rproving all things by Holy
Scrpture-it must mean something
that one great communion In so close
touch with the other communions has
preserved a ministry which witnesses
to the continuity OF the Christian
body here on earth.
We have seen the Episcopate de-
veloped into the Papacy, we have seer
1t developed into the great patriarch
ates OF the Eastern Church. we have
seen it developed in the Anglican
communion into the diocesan Epis-
copate. And ali of these may pass
V jast ss~ the early Eri-ceretr Of eaer
city passed. / do not pretend to dir
into the future and to say what form
Il may take in q reunited church;
hut I n hdfYaUA FhiH fhot fhn n.
istry Of Nfteen centuries will not be
set aside. that the ministry which
today is the ministry of some two
thirds OF the Christians here on earth
must be seriously considered
The Episcopal Church stands mid
way: 1t is our glory. and 1t Is fire.
quentIy our reproach. We are not
Roman enough for some even OF ouI
own members and we are not Prot.
estant enough for some others of our
own members. And we hold within
our membership. / suppose. men oi
about as contrary views with regard
let us say, to sacramental doctrine
and to the order of the ministry az
can be found In any great commun.
ion outside of us. And yet we dc
hold together.
/ am not thinking-ths thought
episcopal Church. Is s.asng 10, ahsart
EAmericaa Professionalism On the
contrary, you would be much more
likely TO absorb us. But / cannot
forget tffrt-wc tft, stand with ont
hand as 1t were touching the great
Roman communion and with the 9th.
err touching the various Protestant
bodies; that we are with the Roman
Catholic In his intense realization o.
the Church as the body of Christ an6
the sacraments as the expression OF
the energining Christ in that body
and we are one with the great Prot
estafit communions In those distinc'
tive principles OF which I spoke ONLY
8 moment ago. Does 1t mean moth
! ing7 Or In the providence OF Coo
does the Episcopal Church stand here
not to absorb others into 1t, but II
this day of division to interpret the
Roman Catholic to his Protestant
brother, to interpret the Protestant tt
his Roman Catholic brother. and so II
Gods providence to fulfill function
, which seems to have been pecultarl,
. intrusted to US?
,
The Fairies.
Up the airy mountain.
Down the rushy glen,
| We daren't 10 a-hunting