Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-01-14
IN DEFENSE OF RECTOR
CT ST. ANNE S PARISH
Correspondent Calls Public Silence
Stigma Upon Clergy and Laity.
ANGLICANISM VS. CATHOLICISM.
The Branch Theory" to Which St.
Anne's tlings and What it
Stands for.
(Communicated.)

communicated
Mr.. Editor:-Because of my knowl-
edge of the character. ideals and life
purpose of the Rector of st. Annes and
the School of Thought of which he is
so jealous an exponent, l can no Ion
ger witness in public silence the stig
ma cast upon him by some of the
clergy and laity of his own commun-
ion and congregation
DR. McComas was kind and spiritual
ly liberal to me when I was undergoing
a crisis that carried me out and away
from Anglicanism into Catholicism.
and now, when he is suffering under
an unjust suspicion. feel impelled, in
conscience and in gratitude, to state
the sincerity of his position, as l
know it,
In doing so, / am well aware of the
difficulty and the delicacy of such an
undertaking, since l have renounced
the church in which Mr.. McComas is
spending his best energies, but that
knowledge does not deter me from the
task l have set myself, or I would
more appropriately say, is assigned me
by my Taskmaster and Guide.
Nor am | restrained by the moral
certainty of arousing a sense of indig-
nation in certain Anglican and Protest
ant quarters. No fearless utterance
coming from a soul ablaze with indie
fensihle conviction, has ever gone forth
without causing at least a medium of
offense But it is not my intention to
cause offense or controversy. My pur-
pose is solely to repair the injury to a
valued friend who is misunderstood
and therefore, misrepresented, and it is
only in passing that / shall enter into
polemics. but handle them ] must, and
my Anglican and Protestant friends
will have the conmon sense to know,
even though they resent it. that can
speak in no other vein than as Cath
olic (Roman, if they insist upon fine
distinction.)
The world may resist, but it can
never escape the divine alchemy of
Catholicity Nowhere is this more
evident than in the development of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in Eng
land and America. In Anglicanism is
mirrored the contending forces of
Christendom, with a leaven of Catho-
licity patiently working at its reconciI-
iation. The amazing presence of this
leaven is due to the influence of the
branch theory" through which Epis-
copaIians claim inheritance from the
One Catholic Apostolic Church of
Christ 1t is this theory that holds the
ologians of the ritualistic party to their
posts in the Protestant Episcopal
Church, even though the ground shakes
under their feet 1t is this theory that
emboldens them to teach and preach
Catholic doctrines in the very teeth of
Professionalism and RadicaIism, that
makes them persevere despite opposi-
tion, suspicion, misunderstanding, dis
loyalty. The longer they cling to this
theory, the more they absorb the spirit
of Catholicity; the more Catholic they
become the more fearless they expound
Catholic truths. Such a theologian is
the Rector of st. Anne's. And, because
he so zealously, boldly and persistently
proclaims the Catholic faith as it is
unfolded to him, by the spirit of God
those Episcopalians who have not
opened their hearts to the grace have,
in their blindness, accredited DR.. Nc
Comas with insincerity and casusitical
deception. Knowing that Catholicity is
preserved and proceeds in its entirety
from the See of Rome, these Episcopal
ians cannot conceive how anyone can
become a Catholic as DR.. McComas
without seeking entrance into the full
ness of the Catholic faith, which the
Il L. -. H. F1,o& lon
whose visible, earthly head sits in st.
Peters chair at Rome. They cannot
conceive how DR.. McComas, preaching
and teaching the Catholic religion, can
possibly remain true to his vows as
minister of the Protestant Episcopal
Church. And to those who have not
grasped the psychology OF the branch
theory it does seem strange.
Now, long before / saw the necessity
of communion with the See of Rome,
was Catholic in spirit believed the
Anglican Church a legitimate branch
of the visible Catholic Church. | be-
lieved the Anglican Church as Catholic
and Apostolic as the Church of Rome.
I believed her ministers were validly
ordained Catholic priests through di-
rect Apostolic Succession / believed
all this because / entertained the
branch theory" and all that goes with
it. Firm in this theory 1 invited Ca
tholicity into my soul With each in
hux Of Catholicism 1 felt more and
more unhappy in the Protestant Epis-
copai Church, but remained there as
long as / had faith in the "brancn
heory," but when lost that left the
Anglican Church.
During this crisis learned the true
calibre Of DR.. McComas. / was but
layman, and he is clergyman, deep
and learned theologian, but he was won
dsrfully lenient to me. Knowing that
had lost the thing that holds him and
others like him TO the Anglican Com
munion. he bade me God-speed that ]
shall never forget There was no bit