Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-31
GIVES WORD PICTURE
Of HISTORIC EVENT
Rev. DR.. c. E. Smith Describes
Conservation of Two Bish-
ops in Barbados.
AN IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY

AN IMPRESSIVE ceremony
Rev. Dr.. q Ernest Smith. rector OF
St ThomaS Episcopal Church IN this
city. who has Just returned from . trip
to the West Indies, attended the conse-
Grafton Of the bishops Of Barbados and
Honduras in Bridgetown. Barbados. Tho
services attending the conservation Of
Rev. E. A Dunn as Bishop Of British
of Barbados was at once a picturesque,
beautiful and historic event, DR.. Smith
states.
EARLY Sunday all Bridgetown was In
the streets on its way to the cathedral.
and a general air OF expectancy was
everywhere in evidence" he said. mo
wonder. Only once or twice in the long
history OF tho Barbados have they ever
had q bishop ccnsecrated in their midst
never two bishops At one time and
never before . native Barbadian.
Service Opens Promptly.
gan No waiting here until the sun was
at its full height. No concession at all
to tho saints whose Sunday morning
mon sense was holding sway. For
that day. at any rate. the hour Of II
had lost its sacredness.
Thus at the procession was start
ing. and what procession-for the West
Indies-it was! 1t would indeed have
been a creditable procession anywhere,
even in the United States or in England.
First went the singers-five choirs
strengthen the priests of the diocese:
then the two bishops-elect, followed by
seniority First the bishops Of Jamaica
and Antigua; then came the Bishop of
Nassau, somewhat of veteran now
and with a wide experience behind him.
for he was Bishop OF Byassa Land, in
Africa, before taking charge Of the
church in the Bahamas.
Next came the canons Of the cathe-
dral. Immediately preceded by the VEN
cradle Archdeacon A. Hombersley as
vicar general of Trintdad-the see be-
ing vacant-anf Rev. Dr. C. Ernest
Smith. rector Of ST. Thomas Church,
Washington. as two visiting clergymen.
the one officially representing the
church In Trinidad. the other unofi-
lea. Speaking for ourself however. we
felt tribe embarrassed at being SO
conspicuously honored as to be put in
a more honorable place than even the
it was in accordance with West Indian
use and since it was with the inten-
ton of doing US honor we were content
Senior Bishop Last in Line.
Last of all came the senior bishop.
Ri. Rev. Edward A. Parry, Bishop of
Guiana-next morning to be elected by
Indies. Preceded by his cross-bear er,
also by the chancellor of Guiana, Mr..
Justice Berkeley, a, brother of the
btshop-elect of Barbados, clad in his
judicial robes; also attended by his
two chaplains, Bishop Parry looked the
lord archbishop he was SO soon to be.
AS We saw him pass to his throne in
the sanctuary, vested in his scarlet
robes and surrounded by the bishops.
also in scarlet, we could not help re-
calling another scene when we saw an
archbishop OF Canterbury bringing UP
the procession in his cathedral at a
Pan-American conference. with his
cross-bearer and chaplains and attend
ing legal functionaries, also to begin
a great historic service.
THE sermon was preached by the
principal Of Codrington College. Rev.
A. H. Anstey. 1t was a scholarly re-
sumo of West Indian ecclesiastical con-
ditions. together with a description OF
the work now to be done and the
manner of men the church had called
to the doing of it. The preacher could
Of course tell his hearers nothing
about Bishop Berkeley that they did
not already know, for he had been
their dean for many years, a parish
priest in various cures before that.
and. as boy, he had grown up among
them.
But had the preacher said nothing
at all about Bishop Dunn there was
that in his reverential, dignified bear
ing and in his well modulated and
sympathetic voice. with its ring Of sin
took the necessary oaths of loyalty
and service-that too, in his whole
personality-which would unmistaka-
bly, have commended him to the great
for the once and work of a bishop in
the church OF God
Presentation Ceremonies.
when the time came for the presen-
tation tho Bishops Of Nassau and Anti
qua, taking Bishop Berkeley by the
hand. presented him first. the Bishops
like service for Bishop Dunn.
"All Of the bishops. Of course. Joined
in laying on of hands. The Anglican
Church has always seen to 1t that three
every conservation of an Anglican
bishop. 1t takes no chances. The sacred
line must not only be maintained
against the possibility of harm. but it
must be SO handed on that even the
gainsayers cannot reasonably say ought
against it. Thus 1t was when Bishop
Clagett was consecrated in this west
ern world. Four bishops then took part
the Bishops of Connecticut. New
York, Pennsylvania and Virginia
There was nothing in the rendering
Of the service, as arranged by Rev. w.
q. Murray. of which any Barbadian
needed to be ashamed. It was a great
service. we'll prepared for and well
done. But had there been any faults
at all. the music. like charity. would
have covered them all. Rarely have
we heard music on the same high level
1t reflected the greatest credit on the
organist, choirmaster and choristers
No doubt the organist had fine ma
terial. but he rose to his opportunity