Year: 1878

His Offcial Visitation to NIinnesota-Rea-


sons for Independent Church Action
His Service in this City To-Day.


Bishop Cheney, of the Reformed Epis-
copal church, arrived in st. Paul yesterday,
and is registered at the Metropolitan hotel.
The bishop is here through the courtesy of
the people of the House of Hope, the pulpit
of which he will fill this morning. The
bishop had thought that,as the Presbyterians
were SO opposed to liturgy, the services
would be conducted in the way customary
with them; but he has been informed that
the church is put entirely at his
service, with the request that the
worship be conducted in accordance with
the ritual of his, the bishops, church. This
morning, therefore, the services at the House
of Hope will be conducted exactly the same
as those of Reformed Episcopal church,
and for the convenience of the congregation
the liturgy will be placed in every seat of
the church.


A GLOBE envoy called upon the bishop at
his hotel last evening to ascertain whether
his visit at this time had any special signif-
cance and also to hear his statement of the
reason for his Independent church action.
The bishop said the Reformed Episcopal
church differs but little in its ceremonial and
liturgy from the parent church. The great
tendency to ritualism in the English Epis-
copal church and the alarm occasioned by
the rapid strides made in late years to
extreme ritualistic practices by many
of her clergy gave birth to
the reform. Bishop Cummings and MANY
others we're of opinion that the cause of rit-
ualism existed in the liturgy; that baptismal
regeneration, apostolic succession, transab-
SANITATION, the confessional and other ex
treme doctrines, had their origin in sentences
and phrases in the liturgy, and they felt con
v1nced that without changing this most pow
erful influence ritualism would grow and
strengthen and spread till the whole church
was perverted from her simple gospel teach
ing. On this account Bishop Cummings
withdrew from the English church and or
ganlzed the reformed church. Bishop
Cheney was the first bishop consecrate d in
this church. At the present time the church
IS small, for it is young, but it is growing
rapidly. There are at the present. time
about one hundred parishes, with hundred
clergymen they do not use the word priest.
thinking the idea of sacrificing priest ia
foreign to christianity. There are in all
six bishops, two in England and four in the
United States. They have not as yet dio-
cesar system for the bishops in this country,
excepting Bishop Fallows, have charge of
large parishes which absorb the greater part
of their time. Besides Bishop Fallovs,
there are on the American continent
Bishops Nicholson, Cheney, and Cridge,
the latter having charge of parish
in British Columbia. The churches are
greatly scattered from Texas to St. Johns,
New Brunswick; Philadelphia to Toronto;
| from British Columbia to New York-a
church here and a church there. Bishop
Cheney has large congregation in Chicago,
which raquires most of his time, and he
finds little opportunity for visitations. His
appearance here is owing to visitation to
Mr.. Neil's parish, in Minneapolis, the only
reformed Episcopal church in Minnesota,
the bishop assuring the reporter that his
preaching in St. Paul was wholly through
the invitation of the House of Hope-it was
connected in no way with the view of estab-
fishing a church in st. Paul. Mr.. Nei's
church in Minneapolis the Bishop said was
a small one, but was in fourishing con-
dition.


He will preach this evening at Association
hall, Minneapolis, and tomorrow evening
he will deliver an address to young men at
the Young Mems Christian association in
this city.