The Alaska daily empire., 1916-10-09
Three Weeks Session Is to Begin Next Week at St. Louis for
 CIergymen.
NEW CANYONS ON DIVORCE
Many Issues VIII Come before Session which WiIl Undoubtedly
 Make Changes.

Special Correspondence to Emplro)
 ST. LOUIS. Mo-. Oct. o. Epis-
 copalians, and doubtless many other
 Christians. in Alaska will follow with interest the proceedings of the Gen leral Convention of the Episcopal ] Churches which meets here forI three weeks, beginning october 1lth.
 The convention is composed of two houses-the House of Bishops, which ! includes all the Bishops in the States, Territorial possessions. and mission fields. and the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, which includes four
 priests and four laymen elected byI
 each diocesan council Missionary jurisdictions. like Alaska, have one
 clerical and one lay deputy,
 General Convention corresponds somewhat to the Congress of the United States, and makes laws for
 the government of the Church in
 the whole country subject of course
 to the Constitution of the Church
 and ratification by all the dioceses.
 Among the matters concerning
 which legislation may be passed are the following:
 Marriage and Divorce Canon
 The commission will recommend pro- .h!bition Of marriage between persons divorced for any cause. either of
 whom has husband or wife living Many religious bodies are returning
 10 the historic position of the Chris tian Church in refusing remarriage
 for any cause This has been large ly due to the increasing evils of
 divorce; to the growing conscious
 ness of the Solidarity of society,
 and that one innocent party may
 properly suffer for the good of the
 whole community; and, chiefly Co the latest scholarship, which claims to show that our Lord never sane toned divorce, even for the one sup . posed cause. or course, separation
 is allowed but not the taking of a new wife or husband any more than new sisterd or brother with whom one couldn't get along. Canon on Racial Bishops The majority of the Commission recom- mends establishment of separate ra- cial districts for negroes, relieving bishops of Southern dioceses of fur ,ther jurisdiction over the thousands of negro members of the Church, and consecration of negro bishops. The minority report recommends in- stead that some Southern diocese take advantage of its present right, under exsisting canons. to elect a
 negro suflragan bisEop to serve un- der the white bishOps-the dissent ing report suggesting that the for mer system would inevitably tend to ] weaken in the white man the sense
 of responsibility for the negro The report or revision and enrich. ment of the Prayer Book, besides many minor changes grants per
 mission for shorter and more fleX-
 Iible services for mission stations
 and for occasional use.
 Proposed amendments to the Con- stitutou include one providing for the election Of Presiding Bishop in-
 stead of that office being filled ac. cording to seniority of consecration, as at present.
 Another amendment, much misun. derstood, is proposed by those who are most interested in removing misunderstanding caused by the word I Protestant on the title.page of the Prayer Book, word which seems to give credence to the idea that the Episcopal Church dates from the 16th Century. At the time Of the adoption of the title page by | four clergymen in Maryland in Col onial days, the word had not ac I .quired it's modern meaning Even l the Federated Council Of Churche.
 some years ago in Chicago adyo
 cated dropping the word as sectar ian. The amendment aims simply i to bring the legal title of the Pray I CT Book into line with declaration, in the Creed and in other officia
 statements as to the character oi q the Church.
 Another matter about which there I is some misunderstanding and about
 which some old-lashioned Church
 men have needless qualms, is tha 5 in regard to the socallen shortening of the Ten Commandments. Fol 2 lowing are the reasons which seemed \ to the members of commission as E weighty in determining their actior X in recommending the shortening O. \ the form of the Ten Commandment ' in the Communion office and in tho ! Catechism:
 , q. The Decalogue seems, by iti , very title, "The Ten Words" (, 7 indicate commands essentially brie | and definite
 ! 9. The augumenttaive part of an! ! Commandment is not of it's essence ! and in the Fourth and Fifth Com l mandment is local and national ! 9. In the Fourth Commandment ! the reasons for the command arr ! different in Exodus and Deuteron