Religion: Priests v. Bishops

A small band of insurgent Protestant Episcopal priests gathered in Philadelphia last week and, as an expression of their liberalism, decided to fight for the “recall” of bishops. They hope to put their proposition before the Episcopal general convention at Denver next September.

In the Roman Catholic Church the Pope appoints bishops, usually upon the advice of archbishops and bishops. The Pope, unquestioned autocrat, may depose a bishop. In the Church of England the King gingerly functions like the Pope; for extreme cause he, too, may remove a bishop. The Protestant Episcopal Church lacks both Pope and King. Its ruler is a House of Bishops, a senate of sanctified aristocrats elected by priests and laymen. Only the House of Bishops may condemn an erring fellow. Methodists also elect their bishops. But a Methodist bishop’s office is executive. He is a superintendent, has no more sanctity than a minister (see col. 2). Among the apostolic churches, however, a man’s consecration as bishop ranks him closer than the priests to God and much closer than the unhallowed members of the Church. Hence the men at Philadelphia — led by that persistent foe of Bishop William Thomas Manning, Dr. Alexander Griswold Cummins, editor of the Chronicle — in demanding the electoral recall of bishops dis pleasing to the priests and laymen who chose them, demand something that is uncanonical, almost heretical.

Church of England bishops also had trouble with the priesthood last week. They cannot induce sufficient young men to study for orders in order to fil all vicarates. Rt. Hon. Arthur Foley Winnington Ingram, Bishop of London, noted at the Church Assembly in London that there is “a certain amount of social contempt for a boy who intends to become a clergy man.”

An investigating committee reported that “in addition to the general atmosphere of uncertainty on matters of faith, there are special difficulties in [getting young men to subscribe] to the formularies of the Church. There can be no question but that the Church must satisfy itself of the faith of those to whom it gives a commission to teach. Some test is indispensable. But there is increasing agreement that the Thirty-Nine Articles [Anglican creed, formulated 1576] in their present form are unsuitable for this purpose.”

Therefore the commission suggested (Parliament must vote on all such matters) that thoroughgoing assent to the Thirty-Nine Articles no longer be required of priestly candidates. In other words the commission would chip and rub smooth the 39-faceted Rock of the Church of England, to ease the Anglican way to Heaven.