Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-07-21
Episcopalian Task
To Elect Bishop

| New YORK, july 19-(AP)-FO or the
first time in it's 140 years of existence
| the Episcopal Church in the United
States is facing the election of pre-
/ siding bishop who will be the demo-
| cratic choice of its entire member
forty eighth Triennial General Con-
vention. to be held in New Orleans
| October to %.
| In rank and dignity, If not in titular
| standing, its choice will stand on
par with the Archbishop of Canter-
| bury, ranking head of the Church of
| England and he will be charged
with the eXacting and onerous duties
of ecclesiastical as well as admins
| trative headship of the independent
| American church.
For ten years after the organiZa-
| tion of the church in 1885, its pre-
siding bishop was elected by the
| House of Bishops. In 1895 a change
was made, under which the office de-
vclved upon the senior bishop in the
American succession. Then in 1919
the General Convention created the
National! Council of the church, and
| enacted that upon the expiration of
the term of office of the then pre-
siding bishop his successor should
| be chosen by the House of Bishops
! WITH the concurrence of the House of
| Deputies. to serve for q term of six
years. The intention of the conven-
| ton was that the presiding bishop
| thus elected should become the head
OF the National Council. thus combin-
| ing the ecclesiastical with the ad-
| ministrative function But. since the
| venerable Daniel Sylvester Tuttle. of
Missouri, was then the presiding
bishop, and as his advanced age pre-
cluded him from assuming adminis-
tratlve duties, the canon was so
| worded that no election for his sue
cessor was to be held during the
period of his life. Rt. Rev. Thomas
Frank Gailor, Bishop of Tennessee,
was elected president of the council.
and reelected at the Triennial Con-
vention of 1922. A year later Bishop
Tuttle died, but the general conven-
tlon not being in session, the aged
Bishop of Dallas, DR.. Alexander c..
Garrett, succeeded him by the SEMI
ority rule. Upon DR.. Garretts death
SIX months later. Rt Rev. EtheIbert
Talbot. d. D., Bishop of Bethlehem.
succeeded to the office, also bv RIGHT
OF seniority. With the coming tri-
ennial convention. the first since
Bishop Tuttle's death. the first formal
election of the presiding bishop by
both houses of the convention deriv-
ing direct from the church member
ship viii take place.
Serious problems face the church
in connection with this election. The
canon provides that the convention
shall choose as presiding bishop "one
OF the bishops having jurisdiction
within the United States" but it also |
provides that his term shall be for |
Tor sly years. This is where the |
problem arises.
The rev presiding, bishop will not |
only ne called upon to discharge his |
administrative duties as President of !
the Council. but he will have to as
sumo as well the ecclesiastical head
ship of the church. which will utter
ly preclude him from anv participa-
ton in the affairs of the diocese of
which he is the titular head. In the !
meantime. of course, his coadiutor
VIII be administering the diocese But
at the end of six years, it is being
pointed out, when the presiding
bishop presumably will return to his
diocese. he will have lost all touch
with that jurisdiction, and his en-
forced return after this lengthy alb
sence will work an injustice upon
him as we'll as upon the coadjutor
in charge
One solution offered Is through the
election of a presiding bishop to
serve until he reaches a retiring age
which shall be fixed. thus releasing
him definitely from his diocese and
paving the way for the election of his
successor. Another is that upon the !
expiration of the term of the presid-
Ing bishop, providing he be not re-
h@ h@
and some dignified service in the
church be assigned to him.