Evening journal., 1920-10-14
REV. DIR. PHILIP COOK BECOMES
NEWP. e. BISHOP OF DELA WARE

1.-THE FIRST Telegram received was from
him, then a student in the General
Seminary, Offering me as The best
gift he could make, for II said, Take
me with YOU
He came. and ! ordained him dea.
con; and, In due course. ordained him
priest. For several years he served
In that mission field with ability and
zeal and sanity and cheerfulness :
achieving such results as were pOssi-
bic under the difucut conditions. and
learning men and women in the close
contact which that kind OF work in
wolves.
I'VE drove together through the
snow and mud OF prairie roads; we
slept together In dingy railroad sta
tlons and village taVerns not much
better; we talked together on all
SORTS OF topics, from the repair OF
Weakly roofs 10 The high dogmas Of he
Christian oreed.
During those North Carolina years
and the years following OF service
elsewhere, he gained a wide expert
ence, and purchased 10 himself the
good degree which is conferred upon
him this day.
u turn from these words OF reminis-
cence and regard 10 what should be
the main theme OF the sermon at this
serylce-the function and the duty Of
a bishop in the Church OF God.
u have taken as my text words
which declare with broad statement
what a bishop Is for-which explain
why the church attaches so much i'm
pOrtancc 10 his cOnsccration, which in
dicate the true. idea OF that doctrine
OF Apostolic succession. commonly
Regarded as a special characteristic OF
our church, and almost as common
ly. though gnoranily and uniustly,
regarded as a matter trivial or absurd.
1T Is perfectly clear from the New
gan It's career In the world, not as a
lbOok or a creed, or code, or a senti-
ment; but as a society, an ecclesia, a
church
"This society had beliefs, which
chsystallzed into a creed; il had laws
which created codes; IL had affections
which blOssOmed out in a glorious
sentiment; and II wrote bit by bit,
the greatest OF all Books.
"All these are on earth today and
arc generally deemed, separately 0s
] together. to be Christianity. So thew
are, Bible, belief. duty and love. But
the church rs Christianity also, and Il
Is from the church that, the others
have come 10 us. Christianity began
as a society and has never repudiated
that form.
"The record further states that tht
society had at the start what any So
ciety must have IN 10 would endure,
is corps Of officers. The first view
we gel Of 10 shows, not merely the
Ibrethren, but also the Apostles. And
the first corporate act OF the society
was TO flll a vacancy in It's official
lgroup.
''St. Peter declared that a man must
be appointed 10 the place and rank
deserted by the traitor Judas, and all
the brethren agreed.
''1he procedure was in some re-
spccts unique, because the empower
ment OF The Holy Spirit had not YET
been bestowed; 10 did not come till
Pentecost SO the vote was not a de-
cisiye one; 10 only designated two
candidates. and left the final choice
cerem0ny Of ordination; that WIS com
mltted 10 the action the Holy
Spirit This oRce, and only this once
In The history OF The Catholic Church
was a man elected TO its ministry, by
the casting OF lois and comm SIS once
| for its ministry without laying on o.
hands But the deed was done, anC
Matthias was numbered with IN,
N eleven Apostles
what was the dominant idea in lhi.
3 ordained for?
: "Sl. Peter said, and the Others con.
{ CURED, that II was that he should be
come a witness OF the Resurrection OF
Jesus.
we all understand what>is ordinar.
lily meant by the term a witness Ii
designates somebody who has Seen or
heard something and who tells cthcrs
what he saw or heard. But in that
sense where was the need for anv
special appointment OF Matthiasf lie
had companicd with Peter and the
rest all the time that the Lord Jesus
wen In and out among them. be-
ginning from the baptism OF John unto
the day that lie was received up.' lie
had sorroWed over jesus crucined and
rejoiced over Jesus risen and WOr-
shipped Jesus ascended. He could tell
and would tell freely OF those stupen-
dOus events 10 all who cared 10 listen
How was he any more and better a
witness after his election than was tho
candidate not elected. that Iosaph
BaVsabbas, who had had the same eN.
perience and beholdlng?
And where Is the Testimony ol
afAANNiNANHH HN ENHE|tT Nil0A W NNIInIf
! apostles; We have Johns Gospel anf
! Peters Epistlc, but there Is no Gosne
or Eplstle by Matthias. Nor Is Their,
preserved in any volume written b,
Others, nor any craven tablet or papy
rus script, a single word ascribed :,
Matthias.
well. OF course. we quickly discern
what ST. Peter had In mind when h,
called for another Apostle. 70 wa
the corporate witness. tho witness o
the church. the. witness, not Of on
man or a dozen men In one century
hut OF The series OF duly appointed
men through all the centuries: To-
: witness Jesus meant when Ho said
= i'Ne shall be My witness unto tha ut
termOst part Of the earth when "
! said, 4 am with you always even unit
o. tho end Of the world
2 'srhe individuals he thus addrasse
] were all dead within a hundred year.
and no ono Of them eNr saw The ul
: iermosi part Of the earth Their test
j mony. however. Is sim sounding fror
: the ministry they established II is nj
I tered By the church rs a body, an
by each faithful member OF that hod
I as a person: but IL Is uttered pre-em
" I