Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-21
RECTOR
ACCEPTS CHALLENGE
ON CATHOLIC SPLIT
i. Rev. r. H. McKim, of Wash
;nOton, Preaching Here,
Says the Church Is
Protestant
DrpL1Es TO TWO BISHOPS

r.u,scopal clergymen throughout the
y. - are anxously discussing today the
aV ,,at,,iIes of serious results which may
rosslp ~ address by the Rev. DR. Ran
plC" II McKim rector of the Church
oolpn Isnnhany Washington, ID. c., de.
w ~ iast night in the Episcopal Church
4 Weieu savior. 3Sth street near Chestnut,
e w I'm he accepted challenge issued
. ..,o bishops who assert that the char.
~. of the Episcopal Church is Catho-
The controversy as 20 whether the true
.a.,er of the Episcopal Church is
.,.saiic or Protestant has been one which
ss ~ Mem bitterly waged among Episcopal
ps.a,,,oen for years, but has recently been
.sri.v the form of definite breach be.
~ the champions of the two factions.
~ vroup, comprising in the main the
MA church advocates, has Combated
Ret,,rodtiction of modern science and
,...nine into religion as It is represented
y. M Episcopal Church and has clung to
y. traditions of Catholicism; the other
s-oup has persistently urged forms and
,ssorIes Numerically opposed to those
r,sntioned and has denied that the Epis-
al church is inherently Catholic.
hector Mcl<im's address last night
IA plenty of sensations for the audience
~ soo persons who assembled to hear his
marks on rs the Episcopal Church
p,o,astant. or is IL Catholic?' In begin
rinr he met the situation openly by point
~ ont that two bishops Of the Episcopal
church had issued a challenge on this
subiect simultaneously and that the So
allied Catholic party had evidently de-
sidsd to force the battle to a conclusion
~We are ready to meet them on their
chosen ground" Doctor McTiim said. I'VE
sady take up the challenge and are con-
adent of the result of the combat"
Although he did not name the two
hlshops who had issued the challenge,
,hey were known to Doctor McKim's audi
snce as Bishop Anderson, of Chicago, and
bishop Kinsman, of Delaware. The latter
recently issued a tract asserting that Prot
,stantism leads to atheism, and main
tanned that II has no place in the Episcopal
Church.
poctor McKim took as his premise
THAT this church is a Protestant church
and ought so to continue" In support Of
his contention he showed that the most
influential churchmen from the reign of
Edward VI had spoken of the religion of
their church as the protestant religion"
and quoted such men as Bishop Ridley,
Archbishop Parker, Archbishop Wight
and Archbishop Jewel. He then showed
from English statute books how this name
and character had been claimed for the
Church of England down to the year 1910.
One of the sensations of Doctor Nc
Kims address came when he referred to
Rector Manning, of the Trinity Church,
New York city, who is one of the most
bitter opponents of the Protestant char
acter of the Church. Doctor McI<im called
attention to the fact that in the charter of
Trinity Church, granted May 6, 1897. the
expression protestant Church of Eng
land occurs five times and that this
charter made ii obligatory that the min
ister in charge of the parish should only
be "a good sufficient Protestant min
ister"
Doctor MCKim dwelt in detail on other
phases of the history of the Episcopal
Church and its formularies to show that
rs Protestant character is unmstakabe
4 am tempted to indulge in lawful
Invocation of saints" he said, ito invoke
the names of those who, having finished
heir course in faith. now rest from their
hbors, and could bear witness to the
iact that this Church was Protestant. l
invoke the name of the sanity Bishop
White, Alonzo Potter, Bishop Stevens,
Bishop Whitaker, AIishop Mackay- Smith,
dead in the faith and believers in the
Protestant character of this Church"
Indignation was evident in the audience
when Doctor McKim referred to the tract
recently issued by Bishop Kinsman, of
Delaware in which it was asserted that
leads to atheism. The Rev. !
Doctor McKim denounced the tract as a
Challenge which he and others who be-
leye as he does are in honor bound to |
take up. He concluded with vigorous |
denounciatlon Of the sentiment expressed |
IN the tract