New-York tribune., 1921-09-20
Episcopal Lay
Vote Confirms
!, DIR. Shipnna1n
81 of 20 Dioceses Ratify
Election of Low Church
! Man and Editor as
Suffragan of New York
IIBishops' Assent Expected
/ Bitter Criticism Caused by
I Marriage of Divorced
Persons i'm His Church

i Thirty-scven of the seventy Protes.
Z tant Episcopal dioceses of the coun.
/. try, it was learned yesterday, have
Z given their assent to the confirmation
/. of the Rev. DR.. Herbert Shipman as
! suffragan bishop Of the Diocese OF
!. New York, giving the preliminary vic
! tory to DR.. Shipman in the bitter con
!. troversy which arose in the church
! following his election as suffragar
bishop.
There remain only the bishops them,
. xelves between DR.. Shipman and his
,@ecnfirmation. Although many of them
have opposed his confirmation and
! sought to sway the standing commit
s tees of the various dioceses in every
) legitimate way to withhold their as.
sent. it is thought that the bishops
will not hold out against the will OF
che majority of the standing commit
in office within few weeks
Assent of So Bishops Needed
W The consent of fifty-three bishops
.S1f the church is necessary to his con-
firmation, however, as every bishop
diocesan, coadjutor and those in charge
of missionary districts has to vote on
the question.
Even the approval of the majority
of the standing committees throughout
the country has not been received yet
by the standing committee of the Dio-
cese Of New York, but the letters con-
tanning the approval of the few neces
sary to complete the necessary major
4 L i
The result was obtained by telegraph
by some of DR.. Shipman's friends, who
were so profoundly interested in the
contest that they telgraphed to the
standing committees known to be tax
ing vote on the matter. kilograms
from the last two Of the thirty-seven
whose members have voted favorably
were received yesterday, making it GER
tain that DIR. Shipman has overcome
what threatened to be an impossible
obstacle. Within few days the result
OF the vote will be annotlnced by the
standing committee of this diocese.
AS soon as the thirty-sixth favor
able vote reaches the standing commit
tee of this diocese, its chairman, the
Rev. DR.. Theodore Sedgwick, VIII mott
fy. Bishop Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, of
Missouri, presiding bishop Of the
Church, and he in turn Will send a
circular letter to all the bishops Of
the Church Informing them of the ap-
proval given by the dioceses to the
election of DR.. Shipman and asking
them to express their will concern
ing it.
Served With A. E. F.
DR.. Shipman is rector of the Church
of the Heavenly Rest. in Fifth Avenue
near Forty-hfth Street. He went to
France in 1917 as chaplain of the 104th
Field Artillery, and became senior
chaplain of the First Army. His cleo
ton as suffragan bishop had the ap-
proval of Bishop William T. Manning.
of this diocese, who twice expressed
his satisfaction publicly.
Notwithstanding the approval with
which the head of the diocese in which
he was to serve regarded DR.. Shipman' s
election, there was an Immediate out
cry against him by some of the most
powerful leaders in the Church. He
was elected at the diocesan convention
May 13 of this year. Within six
months of that date his election must
be approved by the standing commit
tees or confirmation will be impossible
Within a month of his election strong
and concerted opposition to him had
arisen. In June "The Living Church. .
'Iit Oi tHe foremost OuDllCdClOnS, OF tnP
Protestant Episcopal Church, advocated
an unfavorable vote by the standing
committees. Clergymen in many parts
Of the country wrote to the magazine
approving or criticizing its stand.
In some respects the contest took on
the aspects of secular election, with
the added hazard of time, for unless
thirty-six favorable votes were received
before November Is DIR. Shipman would
lose his seat by default.
Causes OF Criticism
Dr. Shipman is low church man. a
>critic of the so-called ritualistic ele-
ment in the church and editor of "The
Chronicle" organ of the low church
party within Che church However
much that may have influenced those
who opposed him, they did not base
their objections on any such grounds.
They said they did not regard him
las eligible for the Office to which he
had been elected because last year he
had permitted the marriage of a d.
vorced person in his church, the cere-
mony being performed by clergyman
Of church not officially in communion
with the Protestant Episcopal Church,
and because he had himself performed
the marriage ceremony for a divorced
person in 1914.