Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-12
EPISCOPALIANS ARE EXPECTED
TOAPpROVE NEW pr AVER BOOK
General Convention Takes Up Revision of
Code. P. Morgan Finances Print
ing of Standard Text.

state, is only slowly reaching Self-gov-
eminent The bishops. the convoca
tons, the church assembly. the House
of Lords and the House of Commons
must all pass upon the prayer book AT
| certain stages discussion ceases and tbs
voting body must accept all or reject
all. The House of Commons. for ex-
ample, in its first vote would doubtless
have accepted everything except "reser-
vatIon." but in order to show dis
approval of that detail they we're forced
! to reject the whole book.
/ THE procedure in America Is quite
different. The recommends tionS of the
prayer book commission must be passed
/ by two successive conventions before
they can be adopted, and In the final
vote the clergy and the laiety of the
House of Deputies vote separately Sc
! that even II all the bishops and all the
| clerical deputies voted for a measure
one less than a majority of the laymen
would defeat 1t. The resolutions are
broken up into small sections. and no
with whole service, much less the
whole book and invited to take it or
| leave it. This gives the church conf
dence and sense of fairness. There
fore when our American book Is issued
we may be sure that, though there will
be inevitable regrets and some criticism,
there will be loyal acceptance of It's
decisions.
THE commission appointed in 1913
finishes its work in 1928. The conven-
ton in Washington WILL 1t is expected,
quickly vote upon the items accepted in
1925. and most of them it is thought
will be adopted.
Baptism is lifted into the expression
nf fnr Tic oh
the marriage services makes the wife
equal with the man In privilege and
responsibility; the burial service sub
stitutes New Testament trust for Old
Testament fear: aspirations of our time
for social, justice. good government and
world brotherhood are recognized: serv-
ices may be made shorter and with
hymns and sermon may have a new
force and a new unity. In word
without ceasing to be the book of the
ages. the prayer book becomes also the
book of this generation.
Want Articles Retained.
I'm the last convention resolution
was passed providing for the omission
of the 80 articles from their place in
the prayer book Recently movement
has been started pleading that they be
retained, on the ground that to take
them out would be to change the doc
trine OF the church. Had 1t not been
for the excitement in England there
would probably have been no agitation
about the articles of religion They
belong to the period of the DEGREES OF
the council of Trent, the Westminster
confession and the Augsburg confession
They have an important position in the
history of the church hut thew are
cordially disliked by the modernist and
by the extreme high churchman. Had
there been no excitement they might
have been rejected or retained without
much feeling. according as the debate
over them moved the convention.
In 1913, when the church was COM
mitted to the revision 1t was distinctly
promised by the General Convention
that doctrines should not be touched.
In addition the ecclesiastical lawyers
are pointing out that to omit the arti-
cles from the prayer book a change
must be made in Article X of the
constitution of the church, where the
articles are named as part of the
prayer book. The constitution can be
altered or amended only when two con-
ventions act, one proposing the meas
ure and the other ratifying it, So
these lawyers contend the articles could
not be dropped unless both the con-
stitution and the prayer book were.
amended In the regular way, both by
two conventions. This is a question
which only ecclesiastical lawyers can
decide. There is a spirit of generous
consideration of the convictions of
others on all sides, which speaks well
Tor the future OF the Episcopal Church. ;"