,.^„a. ^^.^aB. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 'f^fti" % Va /a '^. 1.0 I.I ■ 50 "^^ 22 M 1.8 1.25 U J 1.6 ■« 6" ► '/ Phott^jHphic Sdences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (7t6) 872-4503 ,. DiAi BiSHor HiLLi : I ibonld not hkve ehoMn Ibii pablio mode of lUttDg my lenti- BMnli with rigud to the moTeaeot Jnit com. ffltnead nadar yonr dtreoUoD, for orKaaiiing » Diooeiaa Synod, had timo been allowed me . - m w. PTeg"^ - tot. tlie JneeUitf on Mondar iMtr I diS not reeeif e fbnr letter till Friday ^«nd had it even reached me on iti date,— the Taeiday preceding,— I oonld not have Im«b teadxi the time cboien for thii import. •at moTement being, at jou are rery well •ware, the bneieit time of the year for mogt Clergymen. At the tame time, knowing that yon hare no objection to this mode of deliv- ering a protettation, I am glad to adopt it as • meant of making known to yoarielf, my brethren, and iny people, both the reatont of my abtence from -ibe mealing in qaestion, and, to tome extent, my tentiaentt on iti object. And flrit, I feel that the proper mode of proceeding in a movement where not mere ideai, bat interetti and conioieocei "^ were concerned, wai to havn made known to the clergy and their congregations the mat- tert of which it was proposed that the Synod ■hould take cognisance, as well as the con. ■titutlon of the Synod itself, in order that they might freely and deliberately consider how far it might be safe to consent to be bonnd by its decisions. Not to seek such as- ■aranoe before throT^ing myself into the movement, wonld have been, I feel, on my part at least, not only unwise, but a culpable disregard of the most lacred interests and obligattoni. Beiidet which, there are matters on which I for one, conld not consent to be bonnd by • body const tnted as you prescribe ; as for instance in the erection of a tribnnal of dls. eipline. I have been strnok in reading the history of tynodical movementi in a sister Province, at the suppk-essed but resointe eagerness of the Bishops, to get hold of tUe , Vhip over tbelr brethren. . There are other matters on thic head which I willli«t now advert to ; but I trust I shall not be deemed personal if I state that my radical objection to a synod, constituted as proposed, IS the nature of the authority of the Episcopate. As the Bishop must needs be, not a President, but an estate in that body, it is imperative that I state mj views with plainness. On this subject I entirely dissent from the views of Arch Jeaoon Qilson, published with your approval ; and I presume under your direction ; sentiments by so much the more daogeroni as the character ot that di- vine amongst ns was held in such high es- teem ; whe, in ascribing to the Bishop a di- vine commission with a divinely conferred right of ruling the ohnreh, leaves vast num- bers of our fellow Protestants without a ministry, and without a chnroh. With these sentiments yonr own statements I maintain, fully barmonlie; the an- authority of the Bishop over the clergy, in your view, being such that it is independent of the ordinary rules of Jnstice ; that be can, without evidence, trial, or law, even deprive them of their care, — that is, their oflSce and their living ; from wbich it would appear that neither a clergyman's oharncier, nor his •absistence, can be deemed secure, except through the Bishop's clemency or discretion. These assumptions, moreover, rest in great part on old laws, customs, traditions, and such like, as that no one who does not pos- •Mi a library of this complexion, with lets- ura to consnit it, can be in the least aware bow be stands; and so far at any certainty of knowing what the law is, ia coaeeroed, it Is • ttandard which can be compared to noth- ing 10 properly at the Roman Catholic rnio of faUh. It la the drand that I ihontd girt eren aq implied attent to to tremendont an aatbor- ity, that has made me hesitate to Join tbe movement for a synod. When one knows whether by wordi or deeds, of the iword which— according to thii view— is always hanging over a pastor's head, the shadow, even of a Bishop, strikes one with dread. I 90 longer wonder, when I log,k back to the era(ne of dtneat. A ministry'earried on nn. der, or by tbe side of such a power, must become a ministry of horror and aversion, rather than of love. This is not irony, bat truth ; and I declare it as the strongest evi- dence of my sincerity in shrinking from th« proposed synod. A good conscience (I trust) and a higher name, 'and the word of truth containing no such thing restore my con6. dence, and disperse my fears. And I may, I trust, .innocently express the hope that even a syuod, with such blood as we have amongst us, may do more than Archdeacon Qilson allows It to be competent to do ; and that it will not only limit, but correct this authority, Permit me on the other hand to state what I believe to be truths of scripture and the church ; and the principles on which alone 1 conlu be one in a Synod. I believe that every congregation, with its accepted pastor, is a complete church (tbe word and sacraments being duly adminis. tered therein); that a Diocese Is no necessary part of a chnrch ; bat that so far as it does not belong to a national church, a diocese is a voluntary confederation of churches, pre. sided over by a Bishop, chocen or accepted as their federal bead, for certain commoo purposes; the words *'Ohurch ot England," and such like expressions, being used in the sense of law or accepted doctrines, and do not designate tbe present actual church or congregiition of faithful men. The scriptures alone are binding on the con- sciences ef chnrchmen, and are therefore the virtnal law ; the prayer book, as containing the accepted interpretation of the scriptures, is tbe actual or express law. Law, then, is the bond of unity which bishops and all mnst obey ; and, as in the State, so in the church, law IS the guarantee of liberty. The only accountable and lawful expound- er and interpreter of this law, whether of doctrine, ritual, or order, is tbe pastor of the cooKregation (pertona eeeUtim, the actual church), to whom not even the Bishop can dictate; into whose church he cannot come to share his ministry, or to oppose his order, li a pastor and a birhop, whether onder the name of a cathedral or otherwise, shonld, for convenience, bononr, or gain, enter into a compact whereby the former compromises his accountability, so as to wink at or give place to erroneous doctrine, or onantboriaed ritual, or violation of order, for a single mo- ment, both be and the Biabop are guilty — towards God of simony, towards tbe cLurch (the actual congregation) of treachery. But the Bishop may use his eyes ; bis office is his ««« ; and be should neither be blind to things which others see, nor be too seeing where he might better be hiind. If tbe pas- tor oflends against tbe law in any of tbe above respects, then it is the office of the Bishop — if appointed thereto or accepted by the church, and being moved by the people- to take steps to bring him to account ; but he cannot judge ; be is a party interested ; either he may have a friend or client to pot into the living (if the congregation has dele- gated to him this power) ; or be may be actuated by personal animosity; or by inter- ested motives. Tbe Synod of a sister Pro- vince — by what influence moved can easily be seen— has overruled this Just principle of Boglish and all law ; another risk of synodi- eal action which I would by no means eon- sent to Incnr. On the other band, the prineiplet of tbe Atnerican Oonventiont, which Arebdoneon |M cartalliag iha difiaoii ' ■ ■ - - 'laihoO tht Gilton objecl rigbU of Bilbo' confederation majority withon^ Tbe Bithop in t'hit'yr(Mlnee,\oik'Mioan( of the invalidity of the^Q^ojwVlsittft patent— whir.h in any case are enCTrely inconsistent with the rightt of tho eh urcb— through tho inoompatlbflity of thoae lettera with pra^' existing conttitntlcnal rights of the Legisla* tore, cannot bring an offender to Justice ex* eept through the law courts and under par* ticular trusts. And I confess that, under present circumstances, I would prefer being tried by cbriatian lay gentlemen, who aroj accustomed to weigh eviden.;e, and to hold ' the scales of Jostiea evenly, than by a tri- 1 buoal constituted in the way in which 1 havo little dotiht a Sjnod would be tanght to eon* stitttta it. There it tomethlng fascina'iing *o many minds in the notiou of the chvi ch being on- | der one visible head, invested with divinO authority to rule it. It seems to afford tho fairest promise of unity and peaee. It has been tried and found wanting. It has proved the fruitful source of either of discord or dead- ness, and its legitimate tendency, after ages of trial, may be learned from the reforma* tion, and from the last Ecumenical Oouocil. The traditional traces of it, uhappily are not yet blotted out In our own body ;nor its memory from tbe minds of those who, on acconnt of prelacy, more than any other th'ing left us. When I first oame io this country a parent (still a respected resident in our vicinity) hesitated to allow me to baptize bis child until he received an assurance that it would not belong to the Bishop, not good Bishiop Demers, but some supposed lord of mine else- where. The Pope's recent letter to tbe Em- peror of Germany, with that potentate's noble reply, may illustrate how tbe principles of divine authority iu tbe episcopat'e, may b« only papal domination in a more limited field. The trnth is, my dear Birhop, tha divine authority is in the body of the church itself, the actual congre- gation, and not in any man or order ot men. I doubt not that you, as Bishop, with (as yon suppose) apostolical succession, are most sincere in yonr convictions, that if all the clergy would consent to be, not what they are, the churches' curates, but the bishop's, it would be for the good of the church. The chnrch would be a happy family ; the pastor would be spared tbe pain of driving away strange doctrines through the Bishop's being recognised as the snprieme and only arbiter. But it cannot be. Oar vows before Qod and man will not permit. In conclusion let me express my solemn conviction that this is a time for ail protes- tanl bodies (to say no more) to be united in the commoji faith, and in christian works; not a time for jealousies and envylngs and making proselytes, but a time in which the christian army, each soldier steadfast to his own stan- Uard, should, under one L.&d, to whoso authority all bow, march against tbe common foe ; defend the citadel of chrlstanity itself, rather than too eealonsly seek '.bc.r own things ; defend, I say, our common faith against attacks which, but for the rock on which it stands, could hardly fail to over- throw it. With every feeling of good.will towardt yourself personally, end with earnest prayers that the peace of tha present season, descend- ing, may unite ir. lave and trnth tbe mem- bers of the Holy Oatholle Obnreb, which it tha bleated company of all ehriatian people disparaed tbroogbont th. ::ola world . I remain, Tonra vary tineerely, B. O MDQg , YiOTOiu, B. 0., Jan. », 1874, '■■•"*"