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CONTENTS OF VOLUME IX.
NUMBER I.
Editorial : The Claims of the Present Over the Claims of the Past 9
Factors in the Problem of Reunion — W. H. Griffith Thomas. 11
Romish Survivals the Chief Cause of Protestant Divisions — Geo. T.
Tolson 30
The Federated Church the Next Great Forward Movement — W. H.
Hopkins 35
What People and Papers are Saying About Unity... 40
Letters to the Editor 68
NUMBER II.
Editorial : Touring in the Interest of Christian Unity 9
The Rural Church and Christian Union — Alva W. Taylor 13
Christian Union — A. C. Thomas 28
Christian Unity Pulpit : Unity in Diversity — T. A. Lacey... 36
What People and Papers are Saying About Unity 43
Letters to the Editor 66
Book Reviews 73
NUMBER III.
Editorial : The Church and International Peace 9
The Christian Reunion Movement in England — Alfred E. Garvie 18
Plan of the Council on Organic Union of the Evangelical Churches of
America— William H. Roberts and Rufus W. Miller... 21
Church Unity — Henry W. Jessup 1 29
Missions and Denominations — August Hopkins Strong. 39
Christian Unity Pulpit : Christ All in All— The Bishop of Bristol... 53
What People and Papers are Saying About Christian Unity 64
Book Reviews 78
NUMBER IV.
Editorial : The Union of Evangelical Protestantism 9
Plan of Union for the Evangelical Churches in the U. S. A.... 28
The Church and International Goodwill — His Grace, Archbishop Soder-
bloom ; 33
Whence Shall Come Unity ? — Ferdinand Q. Blanchard 44
Facing the Problem of Christian Union — Ellis B. Barnes 52
What People and Papers are Saying About Unity 67
Book Reviews 78
VOL. IX NO. 1
"Let no man glory in his denomination; that is sectarianism: but let all men
glory in Christ and practice brotherhood with men; that is Christianity.*'
IJllCj
CHRISTIAN UNION
QUARTERLY
Edited by PETER AINSUE
rHE question of Christian unity is not so
much what we shall save in the traditions
of this or that church, but whether we shall save
a lost world, to which task the whole church is
commissioned by Jesus Christ. No more deli-
cate, but urgent task has been committed to
mankind. This we must do if we would do
the will of Christ on earth. He waits for the
decision of the churches.
JULY, 1919
THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY, Inc.
Seminary House, Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.
AGENTS:
Fleming H. Revell Company, New York
Christian Board of Publication, St. Louis
Maruzen Company, Ltd., Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sendai
Oliphants, Ltd., 21 Paternoster Square, London, E. C. 4; 100, Princes Street, Edinburgh
ONE DOLLAR A YEAR TWENTY-FIVE GENTS A COPY
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
A Journal in the Interest of Peace in the Divided Church of
Christ. It is issued in January, April, July and October.
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
Vol. IX. JULY, 1919 No. 1
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL:
The Claims of the Present Over the Claims of the Past. . 9
FACTORS IN THE PROBLEM OF REUNION. W. H. Griffith
Thomas 11
ROMISH SURVIVALS THE CHIEF CAUSE OF PROTESTANT
DIVISIONS. Geo. T. Tolson 30
THE FEDERATED CHURCH THE NEXT GREAT FORWARD
MOVEMENT. W.H.Hopkins 35
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY 40
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 68
THIS JOURNAL IS INTERDENOMINATIONAL AND INTERNA-
TIONAL and is the servant of the whole Church, irrespective of name or
creed. It offers 1 its pages as a forum to the entire Church of Christ for a
frank and courteous discussion of those problems that have to do with
the healing of our unchristian divisions. Its readers are in all Communions.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.00 a year— twenty-five cents a copy. Remit-
tance should be made by New York draft, express order or money order.
ALL COMMUNICATIONS should be addressed to the Editor, at Seminary
House, Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.
Entered as second-class matter in the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo.
THE SPIRIT OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
The favorite figure in which the church of the first century set forth its
conception of the Spirit of Christianity is that of "the Good Shepherd.' '
The emblem which appears on this page is a reproduction of one of
the early Christian gems.
"ONE FLOCK
ONE SHEPHERD."
"No one has written more appreciatively respecting this symbol
than Dean Stanley in his Christian Institutions. It appealed to all his
warmest sympathies. 'What,' he asks, 'is the test or sign of Christian
popular belief, which in these earliest representations of Christianity
is handed down to us as the most cherished, the all-sufficing, token of
their creed? It is very simple, but it contains a great deal. It is
a shepherd in the bloom of youth, with the crook, or a shepherd^ pipe,
in one hand, and on his shoulder a lamb, which he carefully carries, and
holds with the othe? hand. We see at once who it is; we all know with-
out being told. This, in that earliest chamber, or church of a Chris-
tian family, is the only sign of Christian life and Christian belief. But,
as it is almost the only sign of Christian belief in this earliest catacomb,
so it continues always the chief, always the prevailing sign, as long as
those burial-places were used.'
"After alluding to the almost total neglect of this lovely symbol
by the Fathers and Theologians, he says that it answers the question,
what was the popular religion of the first Christians? 'It was, in one
word, the religion of the Good Shepherd. The kindness, the courage,
the love, the beauty, the grace, of the Good Shepherd, was to them, if
we may so say, Prayer Book and Articles, Creed and Canons, all in one.
They looked on that figure, and it conveyed to them all they wanted.
As ages passed on, the Good Shepherd faded from the mind o,f the
Christian world, and other emblems of the Christian faith have taken
His place. Instead of the gracious and gentle Pastor, there came the
Omnipotent Judge, or the crucified Sufferer or the Infant in His mother's
arms, or the Master in His parting Supper, or the figures of innumerable
saints and angels, or the elaborate expositions of the various forms of
theological controversy. ' But ' the Good Shepherd . represents to us the
joyful, cheerful side of Christianity of which we spoke before. . . •.
But that is the primitive conception of the Founder of Christianity in
those earlier centuries when the first object of the Christian community
was not to repel, but to include; not to condemn, but to save. The popular
conception of Christ in the early church was of the strong, the joyous
youth, of eternal growth, of immortal grace. ' ' ' — Frederic W. Farrar ir
The Life of Christ as Represented in Art.
Organizations for the Promotion of Christian Unity
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Inc.
Having its inception in the work of Thomas Campbell, 1809, present or-
ganization 1910, President, Rev. Peter Ainslie; Secretary, Rev. H. C. Arm-
strong, Seminary House, Baltimore, Md., U. S. A. For intercessory prayer,
friendly conferences and distribution of irenic literature, "till we all attain
unto the unity of the faith. ' * Pentecost Sunday is the day named for
special prayers for and sermons on Christian unity in all Churches.
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE UNITY OF CHRIS-
TENDOM, 1857, President, Athelstan Riley, Esq., 2 Kensington Court,
London; Secretary in the United States, Rev. Calbraith Bourn Perry, Cam-
bridge, N. Y. For intercessory prayer for the reunion of the Roman Cath-
olic, Greek and Anglican Communions.
CHRISTIAN UNITY ASSOCIATION OF SCOTLAND, 1903, Secretary,
Rev. Robert W. Weir, Edinburgh. For maintaining, fostering and ex-
pressing the consciousness of the underlying unity that is shared by many
members of the different Churches in Scotland.
CHRISTIAN UNITY FOUNDATION, 1910, President, Rt. Rev. Freder-
ick Courtney, office, 143 E. 37th St., New York. For the promotion of
Christian unity throughout the world by research and conference.
CHURCHMEN'S UNION, 1896, President, Prof. Percy Gardner; Hon.
Secretary, Rev. C. Moxon, 3 St. George's Square, London S. W., England.
For cultivation of friendly relations between the Church of England and
all other Christian bodies.
COMMISSION ON THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON FAITH AND OR-
DER, 1910, President, Rt. Rev. Charles P. Anderson; Secretary, Robert H.
Gardiner, Esq., Gardiner, Me., U. S. A. For a world conference of all
Christians relative to the unity of Christendom.
FEDERAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN AMERICA,
1908, President, Rev. Frank Mason North; Secretary, Rev. Charles S. Mac-
farland, 105 E. 22d St., New York. For the cooperation of the various
Protestant Communions in service rather than an attempt to unite upon
definitions of theology and polity.
FREE CHURCH FELLOWSHIP, 1911, Rev. Malcolm Spencer, Colue
Bridge House, Rickmansworth, London, N. For the cultivation of cor-
porate prayer and thought for a new spiritual fellowship and communion
with all branches of the Christian Church.
INTERCHURCH CONFERENCE ON ORGANIC UNION, 1918, Ad In-
terim Committee, Chairman, Rev. W. H. Roberts, Philadelphia, Pa.; Secre-
tary, Rev. Rufus W. Miller, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia. For the
organic union of the Evangelical Churches in the United States of America.
INTERCHURCH WORLD MOVEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA, 1919,
Chairman Executive Committee, John R. Mott, New York; Qeneral Secre-
tary, S. Earl Taylor, 920 Broadway, New York. For giving and accom-
plishing an adequate programme for Protestantism in the world.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCHES
OF ENGLAND, 1895, President, Rev. Principal W. B. Selbie, Mansfield
College, Oxford; Secretary, Rev. F. B. Meyer, Memorial Hall, E. C, Lon-
don. For facilitating fraternal intercourse and cooperation among the
Evangelical Free Churches in England.
*
CHRISTIAN UNITY CALENDAR
A World Conference on Faith and Order, time and place not
yet named.
At the instance of the Association for the Promotion of
Christian Unity, Pentecost Sunday has been named primarily as
the day for special sermons on Christian unity in all Churches,
along with prayers to that end.
A conference on the organic union of the evangelical commun-
ions of America will be held at a place and time to be desig-
nated later, perhaps in November or December of 1919. For
particulars write Rev. W. H. Roberts, D.D., "Witherspoon Build-
ing, Philadelphia, Pa.
Bibliography of Christian Unity
THE BOOKS included in this list are by Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Roman
Catholics, Congregationalists, Unitarians, Lutherans, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, etc.
CHRISTIAN UNION, Van Dyke, Appleton, 1885 $1.00
CHRISTIAN UNION, Garrison, St. Louis, Christian Board of Publication,
1906 1.00
CHRISTIAN UNION IN EFFORT, Firth, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1911.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNION IN SOCIAL SERVICE, Carlile, London, Clarke &
Co., 1913 2/6
CHRISTIAN UNITY, Briggs, Scribner, 1900 1.00
CHRISTIAN UNITY AT WORK, Macfarland, Federal Council 1.00
CHURCH DIVISIONS AND CHRISTIANITY, Grane, Macmillan, 1916.... 2.00
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ADVOCATING CHRISTIAN UNION,
Young, Chicago, The Christian Century Co., 1904 1.00
HOW TO PROMOTE CHRISTIAN UNION, Kershner, Cincinnati, The
Standard Publishing Co., 1916 1.00
LECTURES ON THE REUNION OF THE CHURCH, Dollinger, Dodd, 1872 1.50
LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN COOPERATION (Federal Council) Macfar-
land. 5 Vols 5.00
OUR PLEA FOR UNION AND THE PRESENT CRISIS, Willett, Chicago,
Christian Century Co , 50
PASSING PROTESTANTISM AND COMING CATHOLICISM, Smyth,
Scribner, 1908 1.00
PROGRESS OF CHURCH FEDERATION, Macfarland, Revell 50
RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD, London, Swan Sonnenschein &
Co., 1908
RESTATEMENT AND REUNION, Streeter, Macmillan, 1914 75
SOME THOUGHTS OF CHRISTIAN REUNION, Carpenter, Macmillan,
1895 1.25
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF UNITY IN CHRISTEN-
DOM, Tamer, London, Elliott Stock, 1895
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Wells, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1905 75
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Whyte, Armstrong, 1907 25
THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM, Campbell, St. Louis, Christian Board of Pub-
lication, 1890 1.00
THE CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS UNITY, Kelly, Longmans, 1913 1.50
THE CHURCHES OF THE FEDERAL COUNCIL, Macfarland, Revell.... 1.00
THE LARGER CHURCH, Lanier, Fredericksburg, Va 1.25
THE LEVEL PLAN FOR CHURCH UNION, Brown, Whittaker, 1910 1.50
THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Cobb, Crowell, 1915 1.25
THE MESSAGE OF THE DISCIPLES FOR THE UNION OF THE
CHURCH, Ainslie, Revell, 1913 1.00
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS SECTS, McComas, Revell, 1912.... 1.25
THE SEVENFOLD UNITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Hall, Long-
mans, 1911 75
THE UNION OF CHRISTIAN FORCES IN AMERICA, Ashworth, Phila-
delphia. American Sunday-School Union, 1915 75
THE UNITED CHURCH OF THE UNITED STATES, Shields, Scribner,
1895 , 2.50
THOUGHTS OF THE PRESENT POSITION OF PROTESTANTISM,
Harnack, Macmillan, 1899 1.00
UNITY AND MISSIONS, Brown, Revell, 1915 1.50
WHAT MUST THE CHURCH DO TO BE SAVED? Simms, Revell, 1913.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNITY PRAYER LEAGUE
UNITY THE CHURCH'S GOAL
The Church that is one, and holy, and apostolic, and
catholic, the brotherhood in Christ of all mankind, knit
into unity by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, remains
a vision of the future, though a vision which, once seen,
mankind will never relinquish until it be accomplished.
'T believe in the Holy Catholic Church," it has been
said, "but I regret that she does not as yet exist."
What does exist is a bewildering multiplicity of com-
peting "denominations," whose points of difference are
to the plain man obscure, but whose mutual separation
is in his eyes an obvious scandal and an offence both
against charity and against common sense. Why can-
not they agree to sink their differences, and to unite
upon the broad basis of a common loyalty to Christ?
Yet the problem is not susceptible of any cheap or
hasty solution. Unity is the Church's goal; but the
Church cannot arrive at unity by mere elimination of
differences. Agreement to differ is not unity: an agree-
ment to pretend that the differences were not there
would not even be honest. What is needed is a sym-
pathetic study of the divergent traditions and principles
which lie behind existing differences, with a view to
discovering which are really differences of principle, and
which rest merely upon prejudice. Unity, when it
comes, can only be based upon mutual understanding and
systhesis. — A. E. J. Rawlinson in Religious 'Reality, pp.
45, 46
PRAYER
O Lord Jesus Christ, look with pity, we beseech Thee,
upon Thy Church weakened and hindered by differences
and divisions; bless the effort to bring together in con-
ference all who confess the faith of Thy holy Name,
who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, God, forever and ever. Amen.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS NUMBER
W. H. Griffith Thomas
contributed to the January number of The Quarterly and he writes
again in this issue. He received his doctor's degree from Oxford Uni-
versity, where he taught for a while. Since 1910 he has been pro-
fessor in Wycliffe College, Toronto, where he teaches systematic theol-
ogy. He is author of numerous books that have been eagerly read,
and contributes regularly to The Sunday School Times.
Geo. T. Tolson
is professor of church history in the Pacific School of Eeligion, Berke-
ley, California, which is an undenominational theological seminary. He
holds his academic degrees from Yale University and the institution
in which he is now professor.
W. H. Hopkins
has by his energy and wisdom made the Federated Church at Pitts-
field, Illinois, stand out as one of the finest examples of federated
work among the churches. His experience will prove helpful to other
communities where similar problems exist.
V
UNITY IN THE SOCIAL STANDPOINT
The united Church would be reunited through such courage
and such a spirit of adventure as would shatter and scatter all
these poor, weak timidities of- ours, and we should be enabled
to face nations and corporations and parliaments and admin-
istrative bodies with the mandate of Jesus Christ, the man-
date to take our part in redeeming the world, not merely so
far as individuals are concerned, but so far as social order
which those individuals create and in which they live is con-
cerned. When the Church is delivered from its individualism,
and brought to the social standpoint — to the public point of
view, to unselfish and united service to get the order of things
in conformity with the mind of Christ — then we shall do
wonders without revolution; then the Church, instead of
being the despair of the world and the despair, not because
of the worst in it merely, but because its best is so petty some-
times, will become the hope of mankind, become its leader in
the process by which the kingdom of this world is to be trans-
formed into the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. — J. Scott
Lidgett in an Address on Christian Unity and Social Service,
at one of the Kingsway Conferences.
/
/¥£/
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Vol. IX. JULY, 1919 - No. 1
EDITORIAL
THE CLAIMS OF THE PRESENT OVER THE
CLAIMS OF THE PAST
In most of the approaches to the unity of the church
we are confronted with the backward look. A hundred
years ago, or four hundred, or a thousand, or fifteen
hundred years ago something happened, and for the
sake of those who were instruments in what happened
we must vindicate their honor, and the result is that
history and prejudice have become the great dominat-
ing factors in the division of the Church of Christ. The
past has its values, but the history of the church through
the centuries is a history crowded with sins innumera-
ble, and at once the question is raised whether the past
should not become a subject of repentance rather than
of glorification. The great crimes of the church which
have staggered civilization pass without the slightest
indication of penitence. John Morley, in the opening
chapter of his illuminating volume on Voltaire soberly
affirms that "more blood has been shed for the cause of
Christianity than for any other cause whatsoever. ' '
Some attempt should be made to set right some of the
transactions of the past, such as the burning of Huss,
Servetus, and of that great group of martyrs, when the
9
10 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
church was so arrayed against itself and was so lost to
religion that the only answer it could make to its crimes
was setting a torch to those who called for repentance.
All those mock trials should be reviewed and not only
an acknowledgment made before men but an acknowl-
edgment before God of the departure from His religion.
Any other reconciliation that does not contain the ele-
ments of justice, frankness and penitence will be super-
ficial and temporary.
On the other hand, there are long lines of saints that
reach from these days back to the days of Jesus. Their
lives and their prayers have been the riches of our faith.
To those we are eternally indebted and for those we
give thanks to God. But we have no moral right to put
the emphasis of the church upon those as though the
crimes of the church were atoned for by the piety of
those who are her saints. Continuity with the early
church must be maintained, but it can only be maintained
by such cleansing of church history as will distinguish
our errors from living truth.
The honor and the traditions of one body of Christians
are absolutely secondary by the side of the vindication
of Christ. If we are going to vindicate the traditions
and the rights of all the denominations of Christendom
we are at a task that will lend no enthusiasm to the mul-
titudes of these times. People want God. They want a
brother. They are tired and heart-sick of this tradition
and some other tradition being presented to them rather
than the living Christ. They are asking for bread and
they refuse to be given a stone. It is the church of to-
day that has to meet the problems of to-day. The church
of a hundred years ago or fifteen hundred years ago has
passed and we are belated apostles if we attempt to
bring down in this day the conditions of those days.
The world wants peace and the peace of God that pass-
eth understanding. Is the church competent to give it?
FACTORS IN THE PROBLEM OF REUNION
By W. H. Griffith Thomas, D.D., Professor of Systematic Theology,
Wycliffe College, Toronto.
The subject of Christian reunion is before us on almost
every side. This is not surprising in the light of our
Lord's prayer in St. John 17, and especially in view of
the sad and often disastrous effect of "our unhappy
divisions. ' ' The movement for reunion has received great
acceleration through the circumstances of the war, and
various churches are facing the subject as never before.
As a slight contribution to further discussion, the pres-
ent article aims at calling attention to some of the ques-
tions that need fuller consideration by way of prelimi-
naries to any decision.
I.
We must study afresh what is essential in the Neiv
Testament in regard to the church and ministry, — Arti-
cle VI. of the Church of England is quite unambiguous
as to the supremacy of Holy Scripture in all matters of
essential doctrine: "Holy Scripture containeth all
things necessary to salvation : so that whatsoever is not
read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be re-
quired of any man, that it should be believed as an Ar-
ticle of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to
salvation. ' '
Perhaps the first requirement is a clear idea of the
New Testament doctrine of the church and its place in
the Christian system. In 1875 the late Bishop Ellicott,
in a sermon preached in Gloucester Cathedral, endeav-
ored to state what he regarded as the primary, essen-
tial, and fundamental distinction between the Church of
England and the Church of Eome on this subject. He
found the fundamental distinction in the fact that
11
12 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
"The system of Rome makes the relation of the indi-
vidual to Christ depend upon his relation to the church ;
while that of our own church makes the relation of the
individual to the church depend upon his relation to
Christ. In our long and enduring controversy with
Rome, no other distinction has ever been drawn between
us which appears to cover and to include all the broad
spiritual characteristics, and to express succinctly the
sum and substance of all the great doctrinal differences
on either side."
With this the Roman Catholic position agrees :
"In the Catholic mind the order of salvation stands
as one, two, three — Christ, the church, the soul: that is
to say, Christ living and acting in His church teaches,
saves, and sanctifies the soul. The work of Luther was
to alter the order into that of Christ, the soul, and the
church — or one, three, two. It is thus that in the Protes-
tant mind the church, falling into the third place, be-
comes something merely instrumental, instead of being as
it is in the Catholic mind, something vital and perma-
nently structural * * * As long as the Reformation
holds to its primary principles — in other words, as long
as it continues to be itself — any reconciliation between
it and these doctrines becomes metaphysically impossi-
ble." 1
Much the same, though, of course, apart from the pa-
pacy, is the view of the church held by extreme Anglicans.
The question turns almost entirely on the relation be-
tween organism and organization. The fullest and high-
est view of the church found in the New Testament is in
Ephesians, where St. Paul teaches that the church is an
organism rather than an organization, and that, as New-
man himself once said, "it started as an idea rather than
an institution. ' ' The evangelical standpoint is that of
the church as a community in union with Christ, though,
of course, expressing its life in connection with visible
organizations. But, as Hort points out, the church, as
the Body of Christ, does not consist of aggregate
x The Westminster Eucharistic Congress, p. 38.
FACTORS IN PEOBLEM OF REUNION 13
churches, but of individual members. This distinction
between organism and organization is regarded by evan-
gelicals as vital to the New Testament conception of the
church, because it is impossible to regard the two as
either identical or coterminous. Archbishop Benson, in
the Preface to his work on Cyprian, speaks of "the no-
ble, and alas, too fruitful error of arraying the visible
church in the attributes of the church invisible.' ' In
this question of the church lies one of the fundamental
differences between the two great parties who are con-
sidering reunion, and it may be summed up in Dr. Fair-
bairn's striking but true antithesis, "the one must have
a church that it may have a religion ; the other must have
religion and truth that it may have a church. ' '
Arising out of the doctrine of the church comes the
question of the ministry. The bishop of Oxford has
made the frank admission that there are two points "in
which the witness of the New Testament needs supple-
menting by the witness of the church. The first of these
is as to the exact division of ministerial functions; the
second, the exact form which the ministry of the future
was to take. ' n The question at once arises as to whether
in the light of the Episcopalian Article VI. anything on
which the New Testament is "silent and needs supple-
menting" can be regarded as essential and permanently
binding.
Another of the points connected with the New Testa-
ment is the meaning of the act of laying-on of hands.
Dr. Sanday writes :
"Another question which goes to the root of the mat-
ter is that as to the significance of the laying-on of hands.
It is, no doubt, a widespread idea that this denotes trans-
mission — the transmission of a property possessed by one
person to another. But it cannot really mean this. It
is a common accompaniment of * blessing' — i. e., of the
invoking of blessing. It is God who blesses or bestows
*The Church and the Ministry, Fourth Edition, p. 246.
14 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
the gift ; and it is in no way implied that the gift is pre-
viously possessed by him who invokes it. True, that 'the
less is blessed of the greater;' but that does not mean
that the greater imparts a blessing. When we come to
think of this, it Seems clear enough; and the inference
suggested is one for which we may be thankful. It may
save us from some mechanical and unworthy ways of
conceiving historic continuity, which is just as real with-
out them." 2
Yet another vital question connected with the New Tes-
tament which calls for the closest possible examination
is as to whether our Lord gave His authority to the
Twelve, or, as the Eoman Church maintains, to Peter
alone as supreme. The Roman claim is quite simple and
easy of comprehension if Ave accept the premise, but if
we believe that Peter did not receive any authority be-
yond that which was given to the other Apostles, the
question at once arises as to whether the authority was
vested in the Twelve as individuals, or as a college. If
it be said that each Apostle could be the head of an
apostolic church, then there would be at least the possi-
bility of twelve apostolic churches. If, however, the
Twelve were not authorized individually to perpetuate
the church, but were constituted a collective body for
this purpose, Ave still require the historical proof that
the Twelve ever constituted themselves, or were consti-
tuted into a body to ordain successors.
One more point of supreme importance is the fact of
the priesthood of all believers and its bearing on the
question of the ministry. It is generally recognized that
the true Avay of stating the case is that Christianity is
rather than has a priesthood. Did this universal priest-
hood originally include in it all that Avas essential for
ministry in the community? Was it possible for a body
of believers to constitute themselves into a church apart
from any outside authority, such as might have been
*The Conception of Priesthood, p. 167.
FACTORS IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 15
supposed to exist in the Apostles? What, in a word, was
the precise relation of the Apostles and the Prophets to
the Christian community in each place?
It is evident that these New Testament problems call
for renewed study and definite settlement before we can
proceed very far in the direction of Christian reunion.
II.
We must then study afresh all the available facts of
second-century history. — Perhaps the first and most im-
portant of these is the true meaning of Ignatius. It is
well known that very different interpretations have been
elicited from his references to the episcopate. Did he
mean to regard it binding on all the churches? Profes-
sor Gwatkin believes that he is attacking the Separa-
tists who disobeyed an existing order, and is not refer-
ring to churches which may have deliberately preferred
another order. And according to the same weighty au-
thority, amid all the urgency with which Ignatius presses
episcopacy he does not appeal to Apostolic command in
support of his contention.
Another question calling for immediate attention is as
to the origin of episcopacy. Did it arise by evolution
from the presbyterate, or by devolution from the aposto-
late? Lightfoot argues in favor of the former conten-
tion, 1 and is supported by writers like Hatch, Gwatkin,
and Lindsay. On the other hand, the extreme Anglican
and Roman contention is that the latter alternative is
correct. Which of these is truer to the facts of the sec-
ond century?
These are some of the problems that wait for settle-
ment by the best scholarship available, and until we can
arrive at something like an approximation to agreement
as to what actually took place in this century, especially
between the time of St. John and that of Ignatius, we
x Essay on The Ministry, p. 224.
16 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
shall hardly make much progress in the direction of re-
union.
III.
We must study afresh the meaning of certain ivell-
Jmoivn ecclesiastical terms. — What are we to understand
by unity? Does it require a unit of organization, or
unanimity of opinion, or uniformity of practice ? There
is no unit of organization in the Eastern churches, and
yet there is essential union between all the Patriarchates.
There is no unit in the Lutheran communities, and yet
there is essential union between Germany and Scandi-
navia. There is no unit of organization in the Anglican
Church with its two Archbishops at home and its many
Archbishops in the Colonies and Dependencies, to say
nothing of its relationship with the Protestant Episcopal
Church of the United States. And yet there is nothing in
all this that hinders real union. Our Lord plainly distin-
guishes between the unity of the fold and the unity of the
flock (John 10:16), but the organized church is not the
flock, though it may be one fold.
In connection with this subject of unity another ques-
tion of importance arises which will have to be settled
primarily in the light of the New Testament. Is the
metaphor of "the Body" ever used of the church, or
even of churches v as visible? Dr. Hort points out that in
Ephesians the church as the Body of Christ is not made
up of particular churches, but of individual members.
Is the "Body" of Christ ever regarded as an ecclesiasti-
cal organization f Or is it limited to the idea of a spirit-
ual organism?
Another word which requires special attention is va-
lidity. We speak of a "valid" ministry and we naturally
ask: Valid for what? What precisely is to be under-
stood as included and involved in ministerial or sacra-
mental validity? As a contribution to the discussion of
FACTOES IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 17
this problem an article in the Church Quarterly Revieiv
is very much to the point:
"Let us get rid of the expression ' validity' of orders
and sacraments. Whether or no orders and sacraments
are valid is after all something which we cannot settle.
What we should ask is whether they are ' regular,' that
is to say, whether a particular body of Christians cor-
rectly interprets the mind of Christ declared to us by
His church in the fulfilment of His Command to celebrate
the sacraments and to send out messengers of His Gos-
pel. * * * We have then to be sure not that the sac-
raments of the Presbyterian bodies are valid, but that
they are regular" (July 1908, p. 278).
Even on the question of irregularity as distinct from
invalidity the matter is by no means clear. In an inter-
esting lecture on "Passing Protestantism and Coming
Catholicism" by a leading Presbyterian clergyman, the
Rev. F. Stuart Gardiner of Kingstown, Ireland, the fol-
lowing statement of the Presbyterian position is found:
"Neither must you come to us and say, 'We do not
think your ministry invalid, but it is irregular.' There,
indeed, you would have some ground for so speaking,
because the strength of your position lies in this, that
unquestionably from the year A. D. 250 down to the time
of the Reformation, over the whole church the presence
of a bishop (in the later sense) was regarded as essential
in ordination. But we again take you back to the period
between A. D. 100 and A. D. 250, and we point out to you
that during that period over the whole church the regu-
lar method of ordination was presbyterial. And the
question then comes to be: When did the irregularity
begin?" (p. 32).
In the same way it is essential to arrive at a definite
conclusion as to the meaning of the word schism. We
know that in the New Testament it invariably means
separation within, not from, the body of believers, and
when this primary idea is applied to its ecclesiastical
uses, the results become significant of very much.
18 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
The term "apostolical succession" will, of course, need
special attention. Does this mean simply an historic suc-
cession of ministers as a fact, or does it carry with it a
special doctrine as well? The Lambeth Conference of
1888 spoke of "the historic episcopate" locally adapted
as one of the essential conditions of reunion. What are
we to understand by the term, "historic episcopate!"
In connection with the theory of apostolical succession,
a curious story appears in a recent book, "Chapters
From My Life," by Sir Henry Lunn, a well-known Eng-
lish Methodist. An ex-Roman Catholic priest known to
him told him that he was conducting a mission in Lon-
don when his old nurse came to him stating that when he
was to have been baptized she had substituted for him
her own illegitimate child, and the priest had never been
baptized. On this he went to see Cardinal Vaughan and
told him the facts. The Cardinal said, "We will put this
matter right now. I will christen you, confirm you, and
ordain you." "Then," said the priest, "you do not re-
gard me as an ordained priest at the present moment?"
"Certainly not," said the Cardinal. "Then," said he,
"if I am not a priest I am free from my vows," and he
bade the cardinal farewell. As Sir Henry remarks, "If
this had happened to the cardinal himself, and some like
accident to two other bishops in England of the Roman
Church, on the cardinal's theory — which is undoubtedly
the doctrine of the Church of Rome, and the belief of a
large section of the English Church — they might have
consecrated a whole line of bishops, and thus handed
down to the following generations of their church in
these islands an invalid priesthood."
Few scholars to-day would find fault with a continu-
ous historical succession in the ministry throughout the
ages as one of the most valuable testimonies to the con-
tinuous life of Christianity. But it is altogether different
when this ministerial continuity is associated with a doc-
trine which involves the profound consequences of refus-
FACTORS IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 19
ing membership in the church to some of the truest fol-
lowers of Christ.
During recent years we have become accustomed to
the terms "from above' ' and "from below' ' in the writ-
ings of representative men like the bishop of Oxford.
These are understood to refer respectively to the aposto-
late and to the church ; a ministry of the former kind be-
ing 6 ' from above, ' ' and of the latter i ' from below. ' ' That
it will be necessary to be perfectly clear in regard to
these terms is seen from that able work by the late Prin-
cipal Lindsay, "The Church and the Ministry in the
Early Centuries:"
' ' There is not a trace of the idea that the churches had
to be organized from above in virtue of powers conferred
by our Lord officially and specially upon certain of
their members. On the contrary, the power from above,
which was truly there, was in the community, a direct
gift from the Master Himself" (p. 121).
One more term which has had great attention given to
it during the past few years is the word ' ' organ. ' ' Dr.
Moberly uses it in connection with the Body of Christ,
and says that the body cannot exist without organs, and
that ministerial priesthood is only the "organ" of the
priesthood of the whole body, that as the main body acts
through its members, so the church as the Body of Christ
acts through the ministry as its instrument. There is
some ambiguity in the use of these terms. In the first
place, everything turns, as we have seen, upon whether
the word "body" can be used of an organization. Then
the New Testament use of this metaphor never differen-
tiates between the body and its instruments, but only be-
tween members and members, and it would seem that
this modern use of the metaphor proves too much, for
while in the natural body certain members alone can act
in certain ways, in the Scriptural idea of the Body of
Christ each member has real "priestly" functions.
Again, one organ in the body cannot possibly confer
20 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
functional power on another organ in the way this theory
implies that the bishop confers power on priests and
deacons. In the human body no organ depends directly
upon another. This theory really implies that the in-
struments act for and through the body in the sense of
not being immediately in contact with the head. And yet
Scripture knows nothing of two separate lines of grace ;
one from the Head direct to the church, and the other
from the Head to the ministry. It is impossible on any
true analogy to distinguish between the spiritual body
and its ministerial organs in such a way as to make the
organs at once the instruments of the body and yet in
authority over it. The analogy is really fatal to the high
church view of the ministry. The body is dependent on
no organ for its vitality, nor does the church depend upon
any ministerial organ for its life and progress.
IV.
We must study afresh the Anglican position on all mat-
ters connected ivith the church and ministry,- — Several
important elements of this position were stated in an ar-
ticle on priesthood in the January number of this Quar-
terly and need not be repeated here, though they are vital
to a proper settlement of the question. It will suffice to
call special attention to the exact words of Keble in his
Preface to Hooker's works. He points out that —
"The Elizabethan bishops were content to show that
government by bishops is ancient and allowable; they
never ventured to urge its exclusive claims or to connect
the succession with the validity of the Holy Sacraments"
(p. 59).
Further Keble admits that —
"Nearly up to the time when Hooker wrote, numbers
had been admitted into the ministry of the Church of
England with no better than Presbyterian ordination"
(p. 67).
FACTORS IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 21
The entire question of the Anglican view of episcopacy
needs fresh and careful study, and it will probably be
found that a novel view of it was emphasized and almost
introduced for the first time by the Tractarian leaders.
At any rate, no thought of reunion seems to be within
the bounds of possibility apart from a thorough re-ex-
amination of all the salient facts of the English church's
historical situation since 1552.
V.
We must study afresh and with great care ivhat each
non-Episcopal church holds on the subjects of the church
and ministry. — It is essential that each side should have
the fullest and clearest statement of the view of those
who are supposed to be in the opposite camp, and sev-
eral endeavors in this direction were made soon after
the Lambeth Conference of 1908. We need only for our
present purpose call attention to representative views
of Presbyterianism and Congregationalism. Principal
Lindsay of Glasgow wrote to the Church Family Neivs-
paper in response to a request for his opinion, and
his words, coming from so great a scholar and so leading
a man in the Presbyterian Church, call for special atten-
tion :
"The crux of the situation is the attitude of An-
glicans to Presbyterians now in orders. The difficulty is,
of course, an Anglican one, and I have no desire that any
conscientious Anglican should minimize it. We Presby-
terians are quite assured of the validity and regularity of
our orders. We go further. We believe them to be of
more ancient standing than the Anglican. We recognize
the validity of Anglican ordination (as we do of Wes-
leyan, Congregational, and Baptist), but we think it ir-
regular. We can use and apply to our own organization
the terms ' threefold ministry,' ' historic episcopate,' and
even ' apostolic succession,' but we do not care to employ
them, because we see how ambiguous they have become.
We find the true threefold ministry, as we think, in every
22 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Presbyterian congregation where we have the pastor or
bishop (the terms were synonymons down to the fourth
century at least) surrounded by his ' Coronal ' of elders
(presbyters) and deacons. The historic episcopate is
seen by us in the pastorate of our congregations which
represents the congregational bishops of the early cen-
turies. We believe that our ordination conies down to
us by successive generations from the times of the apos-
tles" (August 7, 1908).
It is perfectly clear that any approach to Presbyte-
rians on the plea of reunion must be on terms of perfect
quality.
The Congregational view has been clearly and ably
stated by Professor Bartlett, of Mansfield College, Ox-
ford, in the course of an article on the subject.
"The time is past when the type of episcopate which
begins to appear in certain regions (only) early in the
second century, the type implied in the Ignatian Epistles
— together with a certain added element of ideal empha-
sis due to Ignatius himself — can be claimed for modern
episcopacy over against either Presbyterianism or Con-
gregationalism. As the chief local pastor of a city
church and no more, an Asian bishop at that date an-
swered really to no single existing type of pastorate."
The view of a well-known Baptist layman recently ap-
peared in an Anglican paper when Dr. T. E. Glover,
author of "The Jesus of History," stated what he be-
lieved to be the right position. First of all, he urged
that it is imperative for Anglicans to show that ' ' psycho-
logically, experientially, verifiably, God's procedure with
men in the sacrament, His contribution to them there,
His effect upon them, was in some way different from
men's experience of God in prayer and meditation and
obedience if the Eucharist is to be a fundamental and es-
sential feature of Christian religion. Otherwise, there
seemed no reason for people who pray together not com-
muning together. ' ' Then Dr. Glover expressed the view
that a form of faith which stands on a mere theory will
FACTORS IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 23
not capture the scientific mind of to-day, and he expresses
this view in regard to episcopacy :
"Now when I am told that in the interests of unity (a
term never very clearly denned, for a thing the implica-
tions of which appear to be imperfectly realized) my
church must accept an historic episcopate because your
church will not abandon it, and that the guilt of schism
rests on my church if that unity is not attained, I look
at the world around me, at the men outside, honest and
thorough-going in the love of truth, and I ask what they
will make of Christian compromise. Either the Catho-
lic theory of episcopacy is true or it is not true ; and the
question will not be decided by authority — not if all the
successions of all the bishops are historically established
— not if all the churches agree on the matter ; no, not if
Jesus of Nazareth is reported to have said so. I under-
stand the Catholic view, of baptisin, I understand the
Baptist view. Of the Congregationalist conception of it
I can make neither head nor tail. Episcopacy is a simi-
lar matter. The historical episcopate of the Catholics I
can understand; our Baptist superintendents I can un-
derstand (and more or less tolerate — they are not dis-
tinguished from the priesthood of all believers) ; an epis-
copacy, accepted by us in a sense which you do not give
it, seems to me an absurdity. I think it irenical to let
you know what we feel — to let you know exactly."
It is unnecessary to call further attention to the dis-
tinctive position of other non-Episcopal churches, be-
cause the systems now mentioned cover practically the
entire ground. It must be obvious that these definite and
distinctive views will have to be taken into account in
any serious steps towards reunion.
VI.
We must study afresh ivhat is to be understood by the
ministry in relation to the church and sacraments. — This
problem may be summed up in the one inquiry : Is the
ministry a priesthood or a pastorate! Is the proper
term, and therefore the proper idea, "presbyter" or
24 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
" priest V 9 It is well known and practically admitted by
all scholars that the New Testament never uses the word
"priest" to describe the Christian minister as distinct
from a layman. The discussion of Bishop Lightfoot on
this point is too well known to need further reference
beyond the fact that it was only with Cyprian that the
term "priest" became applied to the Christian minister.
In the same way the New Testament never uses the
term "altar" to describe the Holy Table of the Lord;
and Bishop Westcott is our authority for saying that the
word is not only not used to describe a material object
in the sub-apostolic age, but that such a use would have
been incongruous. It is to Cyprian also that we owe the
change which applies the term "altar" to the Holy
Table. That this question of the ministry as a priest-
hood or pastorate is at the heart of many of these prob-
lems connected with reunion can easily be illustrated.
VII.
We must study afresh what each church is actually do-
ing in the Christian world at the present time. — In these
days of pragmatism it may be fairly argued that solvitur
ambulando has a definite bearing on the question. The
situation is materially affected for Anglican churchmen
when they consider the relative positions of the various
churches in the Colonies and Dependencies. Speaking
for Canada, of which I have a little personal experience,
the Anglican Church is a third or a fourth in the matter
of membership and missionary contributions. It is a
well-known fact that in most of the leading cities of the
Dominion the Presbyterians and Methodists have far
outstripped the Anglicans in the size and number of their
churches as well as in other elements of church life and
work. How are we to account for these facts when we
contemplate such questions as whether episcopacy is of
the esse or the bene esse? How are we to explain the
marvelous developments of rapid growth of churches
FACTORS IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 25
which have not an episcopate either as the esse or the
bene esse, or even as the channel of grace and priest-
hood?
When we turn to the mission-field the proportions are
still more strikingly to the disadvantage of the Anglican
communion. The Edinburgh Missionary Conference
bore significant testimony to the comparative smallness
of Anglican missions all ever the non-Christian world,
and the facts of the mission-field continually show the
fruits of a non-Episcopal church and ministry. During
the last few years there has been a most remarkable spir-
itual movement in Korea, but it has been almost wholly
outside the Anglican mission of that country, while Pres-
byterians and others have reaped abundantly. The ex-
treme Anglicanism of Korea seems to be a very small
factor in the development of that land. Anglican trav-
elers have lately expressed themselves in the frankest
terms about the comparative insignificance of Anglican
missions in various parts of the world. To ordinary ob-
servers it would seem the height of absurdity that by a
theory of apostolical succession millions of the most in-
telligent and devoted followers of Christ in the whole
world are to be cut off from any real recognition as part
of the true Catholic Church. It is easy to speak of the
distinction between covenanted and uncovenanted mercies
of God, and to use the illustration of the channels of
grace overflowing to those who are not within the or-
dered and normal covenant. It is also equally simple to
distinguish between the "body" and "soul" of the
church, and to speak of non-Episcopalians as belonging
to the latter rather than the former. But all these
phrases do not help forward the cause of truth. There
are no mercies outside the terms of the covenant. There
is not the slightest warrant in the New Testament for
channels of grace overflowing to a vaster number of mil-
lions than are connected with the channels themselves.
As to the distinction between the "body" and the
26 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
"soul" of the church, if we understand the soul to be
more important than the body, this is only a capitula-
tion, however unconscious, on the part of the extreme
Anglican.
It may be said without any hesitation that the average
man, "the man in the street," will never be content with
the insistence upon a precise form of church government
as the only true method, unless it can justify itself by
its works all over the world ; and if we are to apply the
test, "By their fruits ye shall know them," non-Epis-
copal Christianity will often be deemed superior in many
respects to that which claims to be the only true and
lawful expression of the will of God.
VIII.
In conclusion, there can be no doubt that the crux of
the situation lies in the view taken of the ministry. Epis-
copacy in the second century meant unity, but to-day, as
maintained by large bodies of Christians, it tends to em-
phasize separation, because it is interpreted to mean a
hierarchy with the sole possession, or at any rate the
supreme assurance, of grace. It is well known that there
are two views of episcopacy held in the English church
to-day, the one represented by Bishop Lightfoot and the
other by Bishop Gore, and before Anglicans can ap-
proach non-Episcopalians they ought to settle for them-
selves which of these views is correct. The time seems
to have come for a careful statement of what is to be
understood by the "historic episcopate." There are
many Anglican churchmen to-day who are more than
content to take the position laid down by Professor Gwat-
kin at the Pan- Anglican Congress, when he said of epis-
copacy :
"If it committed us to the Cyprianic or mediaeval
theory of episcopacy, it would only be a sword of divi-
sion in our own church. * * * Episcopacy is like
monarchy, an ancient and godly form of government
FACTORS IN PROBLEM OF REUNION 27
which we may be proud to acknowledge and obey. * * *
To claim for it a binding command of Christ or His
Apostles is a defiance of history; and to make it neces-
sary for other churches without such a command comes
near to a defiance of Christ Himself. * * * We can-
not dream of union with the non-Episcopal churches of
Christ unless we recognize that they are as much Christ's
churches as our own, and their ministers as truly Christ's
ministers as we. Our Lord Himself laid down once for
all the condition of union, 'that they may be perfected
into unity.' Unity is not the way to perfection, but per-
fection is the way to unity ; and the higher we can struggle
towards perfection the more deeply we shall feel that
unity — the only unity worth striving for — is already with
us in the one true life that binds in one true Catholic
Church all those who love our ever-living Lord and Sav-
iour."
IX.
That this contention is correct may be seen from many
statements of representative English non-Episcopal the-
ologians. Thus, Dr. Forsyth a few months ago in an ad-
dress in London spoke as follows:
' ' Episcopacy is presented as a condition of unity. Now
that creates a deadlock. We cannot go any further for
the time being. But the door will not be long shut.
There are influences — I will not say burglarious, for
they are too open for that — which are gradually unpick-
ing that lock and pushing open that door. That docu-
ment (An Anglican Eeport) says that the Free churches
are not asked to accept any theories of episcopacy, but
just the fact of episcopacy, the historic fact. That really
will not do. I know how admirably it is meant, but I am
quite sure of this, no fact as a mere fact could be held to
justify such a monopolist claim except for the theory
that was in it or under it. I am not sorry about the
deadlock. Deadlocks give you time to consider where
you are. They give time for many things to simmer and
improve. But we have got to insist, so far as the Free
churches are concerned, upon — what I have found the
evangelical side of Anglicanism willing to admit — the
28 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
recognition of our ministerial orders. That conies before
everything else. We may go further than you think
about episcopacy, being driven by practical considera-
tions, but there is no possibility of fertile action in this
direction so long as our orders are unrecognized."
The reason why non-Episcopal churches will not ac-
cept re-ordination is not that they object to episcopacy
itself, but something far deeper. To quote Dr. Forsyth
again :
"It may be added that, so far as I know the Free
churches, there is no objection to an episcopate in itself,
so long as it is not made vital. Many would welcome
some form of it. Nor is there any desire to be without
the sacraments — except among the Friends, who also
object to be called a church, and are therefore for the
moment 'out of the picture.' All of these churches in-
sist on ordination, and they have long practiced and paid
for a serious education of their ministry. But it is not
in the region of procedure or discipline that the real
crux lies. It lies in a region to whose depth the English
mind is constitutionally averse, where forces work that
require, it may be, a generation or two for their effect,
and that tax the vision of the spiritual statesman for
situations and solutions much ahead of his time. 'Mean-
time the Word of the Lord stands sure, transmitted but
not secured by any historic chain. The sacrament is the
servant of the Word which validates all. This is a
greater problem than that of the episcopate (which
serves the sacrament), because more religious, more
moral, more real, and in the end more historic in its
genius. ' '
The Dean of Wells (Dr. Armitage Eobinson) in a fine
sermon of his said that "schemes of reconciliation are
not what we want" at present. This may frankly be
allowed, though it is probably true to say that we greatly
need agreement on some fundamental presuppositions
preparatory to schemes of reconciliation. But we shall
all fully endorse the further words of the Dean, that "we
want apostles of reconciliation — men who have seen the
FACTOES IN PEOBLEM OF EEUNION . 29
heavenly vision and can be content with no lower ideal
than the one Body of Christ." Certain it is that he who
helps to break down barriers and bring different and
differing chnrches nearer to one another will be doing
one of the greatest works for Christ and His cause.
W. H. Griffith Thomas.
ROMISH SURVIVALS THE CHIEF CAUSE OF
PROTESTANT DIVISIONS
By Geo. T. Tolson, Professor of Church History in the Pacific School
of Beligion, Berkeley, California
If it were possible to bring one of St. Paul's members
back to earth, in the middle ages, and place him in the
service of the mass, in one of the cathedrals, he would
scarcely recognize the Christian Church. But if a dev-
otee of Mithra could attend the service, he would ex-
claim with joy : Surely the religion of Mithra has made
excellent progress since the days when we used to meet
in the simple caves, with rude altars, dim lights, primi-
tive chant, eating the mystic bread and drinking the
life-giving draught.
The worshiper of Isis would feel quite at home, seeing
the celibate priests with their tonsure, their gorgeous
robes, their stately precessions, and their solemn minis-
trations at the altars. If the follower of Magna Mater
could spend Holy Week and Easter Day in a Mediaeval
Cathedral, but for the names of gods strange to him,
he would believe that he was celebrating the death and
resurrection of Attis, at the vernal equinox.
If a Eoman pagan could attend the Christmas celebra-
tions, he would be reminded constantly of the ancient
Saturnalia, the season of joy, good will, of equality when
none were masters, and none were slaves, of the gifts of
sweetmeats and dolls to the children at the time of the
winter solstice.
In the early church there was a conscious as well as
unconscious adjustment to environment. The church
went out into the Grseco-Eoman world without an or-
ganization, a creed, or a liturgy. These were evolved
out of the environment of the church. Furthermore, the
astute statesmen, who were popes of Kome, saw but one
way to gain the supremacy over the rival religions bid-
30
ROMISH SURVIVALS 31
ding for the place of the state religion. Accordingly,
they took into the church the ideas, ceremonies, feasts,
and customs that were most attractive in Roman pagan-
ism and the Oriental mystery religions. The policy was
continued after the recognition of Christianity as the
state religion; for even persecution was not able to de-
stroy the old religions. The same methods were used in
missionary work in western and central Europe, and in-
deed down to recent times. A letter is extant from Greg-
ory the Great directing that Augustine, the missionary
to Britain, should not destroy the heathen temples, but
sprinkle them with holy water and call them Christian
churches ; nor to do away with the heathen feasts, but let
the festivals be celebrated as to Christian saints, instead
of the heathen gods; for, said he, it is not possible to
erase everything at once from their obdurate minds.
So the church stooped to conquer. Indeed, she con-
quered ; but she has not yet straightened up, either in her
Romish or Protestant forms ; as we shall soon see. Her
success was her undoing. She became exceedingly rich,
owning the best third of the land of Europe. She became
hopelessly corrupt, so much so that after scores of at-
tempts at reformation "in head and members," the
Protestant revolt in the sixteenth century came as a last
resort.
The Protestants thought that they were sweeping
away all the mass of Romish superstition and getting
back to the simple religion of the New Testament. But
it was not possible for them to revert to type with pre-
cision. Four things they retained that were of Pagan
origin, and that have been the chief causes of one of the
greatest evils of our times, viz., a divided and competing
church.
(1) The Christians of the early centuries came to hold
that there is one and only one true form of the church on
earth. Many things conspired to bring about this con-
viction. The fact that the Christians were very different
32 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
in modes of life and thought from the heathen gave them
a sense of unity. This was emphasized by persecution.
The multitudinous variations of Christianity, called her-
esies, led to emphasis on the traditional church, through
which the true faith was handed down. For many rea-
sons Eome became the capital of the religious world.
The bishop of Eome was declared by Cyprian, by the
middle of the third century, to represent the unity of the
bishops of the church. It was not long before it was
commonly believed that only those who were in fellow-
ship with the Eoman bishop were saved. Indeed, Cyp-
rian said almost as much.
The revolting Protestants disclaimed all these preten-
tions of Eome, not because the principle was considered
wrong, but because they believed that Eome was not the
true church. Then numerous sects set up each its true
church, and made each for itself the claims that Eome
arrogated to herself. In the sixteenth century, there was
not a Protestant sect that would allow another Protestant
sect the right to exist along by its side. In our own day
there are churches that number into the millions, and
some that can boast of only a few thousand members,
that claim to be the only true church of Jesus Christ.
There is hardly a Protestant denomination that does not
have some taint of this Eomish heritage.
(2) In order to get the assent of the Greek mind, the
church found it absolutely necessary to put its message
into the moulds of Greek thought. The Gnostics and
other heretics compelled the orthodox to make out elab-
orate creeds, in order to counteract the work of those
who were so mutilating the simple Christian truth as to
deny its fundamental ideas. There is no harm in creed-
making. But the evil of the ancient situation came from
the fact that from emphasis upon exact thought was
evolved the notion that only those holding correct opin-
ions could be saved, and that salvation consisted in ac-
cepting, intellectually, a body of doctrine. Eeligion was
BOMJSHSUEVIVALS 33
made into a philosophy of religion. Eeligion and theol-
ogy were hopelessly confused by the early theologians
whose Greek training taught them to believe in salvation
by knowledge. A theologian of the middle ages ex-
pressed it well when he said the holy church tolerates
those who live ill, but casts from her those who think
erroneously.
Protestants, though attempting to revert to Biblical
religion, inherited this notion of the supreme importance
of doctrine, and have too often preferred orthodoxy to
ethics. It is not necessary to point out how divisive a
matter doctrine is, when made to be of such importance.
(3) As late as into the middle of the third century, it
was by no means certain that Christianity would become
the religion of the western world. Eoman paganism and
several Oriental religions were disputing the supremacy.
The church undermined these religions by adding to her
already superior faith whatever seemed of value in her
rivals. Especially those rites and ceremonies that
seemed to wash away sins, and impart eternal life she
adapted to her ritual. In this there was no harm, except
that, in time, it came to be considered that only those
who had been initiated into the divine mysteries by exact
ceremonial could be saved at all.
This notion of salvation by ceremonial would seem
very strange to us except for the fact that in several
Protestant denominations we find relics of this Eomish
adaptation from heathenism.
(4) Christianity inherited the Old Testament from the
Jewish Church, and also that form of the Jewish doctrine
of Scripture that was prevalent in the first century, and
this in spite of Jesus' critical attitude toward the Old
Testament as shown in the Sermon on the Mount. By
the end of the fourth century, the church had gathered
together some writings of Apostles and other early
Christians, which in time came to be placed upon the
same level of authority as the Old Testament.
34 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Protestants inherited both the Roman Catholic Scrip-
tures, rejecting, however, certain parts of the Old Testa-
ment, and the Romish idea of Scripture as infallible, re-
gardless of Jesus' critical handling of the Old Testa-
ment and the early church's attitude toward the writings
now contained in our New Testament.
While rejecting the claims of Rome to be an infallible
interpreter of Scripture, Protestant sects each claim the
infallibility of its interpretation, finding Scriptural au-
thority for its peculiar rites, form of government, and
doctrinal ideas, so that the same body of Scripture is
made to teach Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Congrega-
tional polity; immersion, sprinkling and no water bap-
tism, and all sorts of contradictory governmental, sacra-
mental and doctrinal ideas, which, as being of divine au-
thority, are held to with passionate tenacity regardless
of the ridiculousness of so many variant ideas coming
from the same source, and regardless, too, of the result-
ing scores of schisms in the church.
Church unity scarcely seems possible till the churches
are willing to slough off this Romish heritage and take
Jesus' attitude toward Scripture.
The author is not a believer in salvation by knowledge,
but he does believe that if the churches could be brought
to see the sources of the things that divide them, they
would still more fully divest themselves of the notion
that religion consists in the recital of a creed, the per-
formance of a ceremony, the initiation into an organiza-
tion, or in the possession of an infallible book. These
things may help ; and they may be given such place that
they will be a positive hindrance to religion. Religion
consists in the kind of a life that a man lives. "He hath
showed thee, man, what is good; and what doth the
Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God."
Geo. T. Tolson.
THE FEDERATED CHURCH THE NEXT
GREAT FORWARD MOVEMENT
By W. H. Hopkins, Minister the Federated Church, Pittafield, Dl.
The spirit of federation is in the air. For three years
the allied nations fought heroically. England with her
back against the wall gave the world a supreme illustra-
tion of sacrifice and devotion. France with the record of
many heroic battle fields made a new and undying record.
No nation in history has shown greater heroism. All
of the allies did their best and the German was march-
ing straight forward into Paris and the channel ports.
In a moment of inspiration Lloyd George asked the al-
lied armies to federate choosing a Frenchman as leader.
That day the German began his sulten march to the
Ehine. What the separate allied armies could not do
the federated army could do.
In the past few months much has been said about
the federation of nations and the league to enforce
peace. For the first time in history the federated na-
tions are to forever make war impossible. Just as in
the sixties the slave traffic was driven out of the world,
so in these early days of the twentieth century the curse
of war will be forever driven out of the world. What
could not be done by the individual nations is being ac-
complished by the federated nations.
Just now we are in the midst of a supreme illustra-
tion of federation in Christian work. In the present
united war work campaign for $170,000,000, Catholic
and Protestant, Jew and Salvationist are working to-
gether. What the separate societies could not do sepa-
rately will be easily accomplished as they federate.
The federated spirit is in the air and it is reaching
the churches. Here and there all over the country fed-
erated churches of various denominations are coming
35
36 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
into being. The movement has come none too soon. In
thousands of country and small town communities, as
well as in not a few of the over-churched communities
in all our large cities, the church has been a waning
quantity. The divided church with its heroic little bands
of discouraged workers has struggled to keep out of debt
to keep the religious fire burning. Too often both pastor
and people have lost heart. What the separate churches
cannot do the federated church easily does. It changes
the whole atmosphere. It makes possible a living salary ;
unites community life and makes possible an audience
which inspires and enthuses. The federated church has
come to the Kingdom in an hour of supreme need. Its
birth is a timely one.
The reasons for the old time divisions of the church
are largely of the past. In all the denominations we sing
the same hymns, read the same Bible, pray to the same
God and expect to go to the same heaven. The doctrinal
differences within any one of the the leading denomina-
tions are greater than are the differences between the
leading denominations.
Four hundred years ago when Martin Luther nailed
his ninety-five theses on the old Wittenberg Cathedral
there was a reason. To-day Luther's doctrines are the
heritages of all denominations.
Three hundred years ago when Elder Brewster and
his associates took their stand for a church independent
of the state there was a reason. To-day Brewster's bat-
tle has been won. Democracy and self government has
become the slogan not only of the church, but also of all
the nations of the world. The great world war is the
culmination of Elder Brewster's Bible study.
Two hundred years ago when John Wesley and his
followers took their stand for a deeper piety, a mission-
ary zeal and a larger degree of earnestness in the Chris-
tian life, it was a needed protest. To-day Wesley's
FEDERATED CHURCH MOVEMENT 37
doctrines are the inspiration of all Christians and not
the property of any one church.
One hundred years ago Alexander Campbell gave the
world a great blessing and a great inspiration in his ef-
forts looking toward the union of Christendom. The
united church which is to be will be the final seal to his
life, as well as the answer to the Master 's prayer, l * that
they all may be one." The reasons for the divisions are
largely of the past.
The new demands of the hour make imperative the
federation of churches. The divided church is not equal
to the needs of the hour. The boys in the army will soon
be coming home. In the " Y" hut they have had all that
is best in religion without any denominational tag what-
ever. They have come to see the foolishness of the lit-
tle denominational fences we have been building; often
we have spent more time building the fences than we
have in making life Christian.
The boys will demand something bigger and better.
Are we who stay at home to be content with our petty
programmes? The church of Jesus Christ is facing the
greatest opportunity in its history. We have come to a
new era. The whole world is in ruins. While we rebuild
the old wastes in Europe we must develop the new phi-
losophy and the new ideals which are to govern all life.
We must make America Christian in order that she may
do her part toward making all the world Christian. The
task is a stupendous one — too big for our little divided
companies. It demands a federation under the direction
of the great Master Himself. In America there are
masses of people to be evangelized; there is the Chris-
tian reconstruction of society, and then the reaching out
to the nations of the earth — to France as never before
drawn to America and seeking American ideals in church
and state; to Russia and China and the republics of
South America. America's prestige and leadership in
this world war should pave the way for the larger and
38 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
more significant leadership in making this world Chris-
tian.
The federated church conserves the essential factors
in each church's life and makes possible a real com-
munity religions life. In many a community the church
has been and is the divisive factor. In place of helping
people to work and plan, sacrifice and suffer together
for great and noble ideals, it is the one great institution
which divides and separates. All week the children of
the community go to the public school. They are com-
munity children interested in community uplift. When
Sunday comes they are divided into little companies,
and too often there is a spirit of rivalry which in no way
makes for the best either in community life or the Chris-
tian life. "When such an eminent Christian leader as
Dr. Eobert F. Horton of London says that the greatest
hindrance to the spread of Christianity is the division
of Christendom, he is only saying what every one knows.
Jesus said it in the long ago. He came to make men love
one another. The divisions in the church have a ten-
dency to make men hate each other. How can this di-
visive spirit which has made possible the 198 denomina-
tions in America, be overcome! Some day something
better may be devised. Just now the best thing in sight
is the federated church, which conserves on the one hand
the love for an association and a fellowship, a denomina-
tional name, and on the other hand cares for the great
missionary interests of the church. Naturally the mem-
bers of a church come to love it. That love is right and
should be conserved. The active, earnest Christian can-
not easily go from the cherished associations into a new
church and feel at home. The federated church permits
him to retain all the fellowships and traditions of the
past. Nothing is taken from him. He simply has his
vision broadened and enlarged. It is a case of addition
and not of subtraction.
FEDEKATED CHUECH MOVEMENT 39
Then each church has its great mission boards and its
chartered work for human betterment. To leave these
mission boards with all their missionaries unsupported
would be a calamity. Some day there will be a great
gain in the consolidation of many of the mission boards.
For the present the federated idea leaves each church
free to carry on its missionary work as in the past.
Again, there is the enlargement of the work — adding to,
rather than taking from. The federated church member
has a chance to grow which is not possible in the local
denominational church. For this present time the fed-
erated church is the best and most hopeful thing in
church life. It is the next step in the progressive move-
ment of the hour. In the past few months here and there,
all over the land the federated church has come into be-
ing. So far as is known it has been a success wherever
tried. It is sadly needed in thousands of communities.
A few months ago there were few to even dream of a
world without war and without the autocratic power of
kings ; a world without the drink traffic and a world with
a large degree of brotherhood. Now all these things are
within our reach. May it not be also for Christ 's prayer
"that they may all be one" to be answered? It will be
some time: Why not now? Every federated church
helps toward the goal. To this end let every Christian
work and pray.
W. H. Hopkins.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS
ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY
Equalling in significance the British Second Interim
Keport is the concordat on ordination signed by a group
of representative Protestant Episcopalians and an
equally as representative group of Congregationalists.
This is the result of the appeal made some time ago by
Dr. Newman Smyth and Prof. Williston Walker to the
House of Bishops for joint ordination of Army and Navy
chaplains. It is somewhat modeled after the British doc-
ument referred to, but it does not go as far as the Church
of England has gone in other instances, notably in 1610,
when, at the instance of James I. and with the concur-
rence of the Axchbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of
London, Ely and Bath consecrated to the bishopric of
the Church of Scotland three Scottish prelates without
the Presbyterian Church of Scotland's identifying itself
with the Episcopal Church of England. These three
Scottish prelates were not confirmed nor first ordained
as presbyters, but their ordination had to do with the
bishopric and they in turn ordained others in the Church
of Scotland, and full intercommunion privileges were
established between the Church of England and the
Church of Scotland — a system that continued until 1638.
But the proposal embodied in the concordat is remark-
able from the point of view of both Episcopalians and
Congregationalists because both bodies are very loyal to
their traditions. Yet in these days when old-time bar-
riers are breaking down it can be considered only as a
moderate document. We are nevertheless pleased with
it. We have never opposed reordination. In fact we
have favored it if thereby it would hasten the unity of
the divided Church of Christ. We who have received
only non-episcopal ordination can say frankly that we
have not been episcopally ordained and at once the ques-
tion arises as to its desirability ; but confirmation as re-
40
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEES SAY 41
quired by the concordat raises another question, if by
confirmation is to be understood an induction into the
membership of the church. The position of this maga-
zine is that the Greek Orthodox, Eoman Catholic, An-
glican and the various Protestant bodies are already
parts of the divided church — in fact all who acknowledge
Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Now if in this in-
stance confirmation is as has been said an induction into
the membership of the church, it raises an awkward
question. The equivalent of confirmation is in all
churches that do not practice confirmation. The exact
status of that equivalent must be found and defined be-
fore we can go very far in this. The whole church is in
confusion. We must find the way out of the entangle-
ment. If episcopal ordination is to be the unifying fac-
tor in bringing these parts into vital cooperation the
emphasis must be kept there rather than on other issues.
The spirit of the proposals must be highly commended
and the whole transaction must be regarded as a definite
step toward unity.
The document is as follows:
PROPOSALS FOR AN APPROACH TOWARDS UNITY
The undersigned, members of the Protestant Episcopal Church and of
Congregational churches, without any official sanction and purely on our
private initiative, have conferred with each other, partly by correspondence
and partly by meeting, with a view to discover a method by which a prac-
tical approach towards making clear and evident the visible unity of be-
lievers in our Lord according to his will, might be made. For there can
be no question that such is our Lord 's will. The church itself, in the midst
of its divisions, bears convincing witness to it. "There is one Body and
one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.' ' There has never been,
there can never be, more than one Body or one Beptism. On this we are
agreed. There is one fellowship of the Baptized, made one by Grace, and
in every case by the self -same grace. And the unity given and symbolized
by Baptism is in its very nature visible.
We are agreed that it is our Lord's purpose that believers in Him should
be one visible society. Into such a society, which we recognize as the Holy
Catholic Church, they are initiated by Baptism; whereby they are admitted
do fellowship with Him and with one another. The unity which is essential
to His church's effective witness and work in the world must express and
maintain this fellowship. It cannot be fully realized without community of
worship, faith, and order, including common participation in the Lord's
Supper. Such unity would be compatible with a rich diversity in life and
worship.
We have not discussed the origin of the episcopate historically or its
authority doctrinally; but we agree to acknowledge that the recognized
42 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUABTEELY
position of the episcopate in the greater part of Christendom as the normal
nucleus of the church 's ministry and as the organ of the unity and continu-
ity of the church is such that the members of the episcopal churches ought
not to be expected to abandon it in assenting to any basis of reunion.
We also agree to acknowledge that Christian churches not accepting the
episcopal order have been used by the Holy Spirit in His work of enlighten-
ing the world, converting sinners, and perfecting saints. They came into
being through reactions from grave abuses in the church at the time of their
origin, and were led in response to fresh apprehensions of divine truth to
give expression to certain necessary and permanent types of Christian ex-
perience, aspiration and fellowship, and to secure rights of Christian peo-
ple which had been neglected or denied.
No Christian community is involved in the necessity of disowning its
past; but it should bring its own distinctive contribution not only to the
common life of the church, but also to its methods of organization. Many
customs and institutions which have been developed in separate commu-
nities may be preserved within the larger unity. "What we desire to see is
not grudging concession, but a willing acceptance of the treasures of each
for the common enrichment of the united church.
To give full effect to these principles in relation to the churches to
which we respectively belong requires some form of corporate union be-
tween them. We greatly desire such corporate union. We also are con-
scious of the difficulties in the way of bringing it about, including the
necessity for corporate action, even with complete good will on both sides.
In this situation we believe that a practical approach toward eventual union
may be made by the establishment of intercommunion in particular in-
stances. It is evident to us that corporate union between bodies whose
members have become so related will thereby be facilitated. Mutual un-
derstanding and sympathy will strongly reinforce the desire to be united
in a common faith and order, and will make clearer how the respective
contributions of each community can best be made available to all.
We recognize as a fact, without discussing whether it is based upon
sound foundations, that in the episcopal churches an apprehension exists
that if episcopally conferred orders were added to the authority which non-
episcopal ministers have received from their own communions, such orders
might not be received and used in all cases in the sense or with the inten-
tion with which they are conferred. Upon this point there ought to be
no room for doubt. The sense or intention in which any particular order
of the ministry is conferred or accepted is the sense or intention in which
it is held in the universal church. In conferring or in accepting such or-
dination neither the bishop ordaining nor the minister ordained should be
understood to impugn thereby the efficacy of the minister's previous
ministry.
The like principle applies to the ministration of sacraments. The min-
ister acts not merely as the representative of the particular congregation
then present, but in a larger sense he represents the church universal; and
his intention and meaning should be our Lord's intention and meaning as
delivered to and held by the catholic church. To *his end such sacramental
matter and form should be used as shall exhibit the intention of the
church.
When communion has been established between the ordaining bishop of
the Episcopal Church and the ordained minister of another communion,
appropriate measures ought to be devised to maintain it by participating
in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and by mutual counsel and co-
operation.
We are not unmindful that occasions may arise when it might become
necessary to take cognizance of supposed error of faith or of conduct, and
suitable provision ought to be made for such cases.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY
43
In view of the limitations imposed by the law and practice of the Epis-
copal Church upon its bishops with regard to ordination, and the necessity
of obtaining the approval of the General Convention of the Episcopal
Church to the project we have devised, a form of canonical sanction has
been prepared which is appended as a schedule to this statement. We who
are members of the Episcopal Church are prepared to recommend its enact-
ment. We who are members of Congregational churches regard it as a
wise basis upon which in the interests of church unity, and without sac-
rifice on either side, the supplementary ordination herein contemplated
might be accepted.
It is our conviction that such procedure as we here outline is in ac-
cordance, as far as it goes, with our Lord's purposes for His church; and
our fond hope is that it would contribute to heal the church 's divisions.
In the mission field it might prove of great value in uniting the work. In
small communities it might put an end to the familiar scandal of more
churches than the spiritual needs of the people require. In the Army and
Navy, ehaplains so ordained could minister acceptably to the adherents
of Christian bodies who feel compunctions about the regularity of a non-
episcopal ministry. In all places an example of a practical approach to
Christian unity, with the recognition of diversities in organization and in
worship, would be held up before the world. The will to unity would be
strengthened, prejudices would be weakened, and the way would become
open in the light of experience to bring about a more complete organic
unity of Christian churches.
While this plan is the result of conference in which members of only
one denomination of non-episcopal churches have taken part, it is com-
prehensive enough to include in its scope ministers of all other non-epis-
copal communions; and we earnestly invite their sympathetic consideration
and concurrence.
New York, March 12, 1919.
Boyd Vincent,
Bishop of Southern Ohio
Philip M. Ehinelander,
Bishop of Pennsylvania
William H. Day,
Moderator of Congregational
National Council
Hubert C. Herring,
Sec. of National Council
Wm. Cabell Brown,
Bishop of Virginia
HUGHELL FOSBROKE,
Dean of the Gen. Theol.
Semi/nary
William T. Manning,
Rector of Trinity Churdi,
New York
Raymond Calkins,
Chairman of Congregational
Commission on Unity
Arthur F. Pratt,
Sec. of Commission on Unity
William E. Barton,
of Commission on
Organisation
Herbert S. Smith,
of Commission on Unity
Francis Lynde Stetson
Robert H. Gardiner,
George Zabriskie,
Chancellor of the Diocese
of New York
Hon. Sec, 23 Gramercy
Park, New York
Charles F. Carter,
Chairman of Ex. Committee
of National Cou/noil
Williston Walker,
of the Commission on
Organization
Howard B. St. George,
Professor in Nashotah
Seminary
Nehemiah Boynton,
Ex. Moderator of National
Council
Charles L. Slattery,
Rector of Grace CJvurch,
New York
William T. McElveen,
of Commission on Unity
Newman Smyth-,
of Commission on Unity
Hon. Sec, 54 Trumbull
Street, New Haven, Conm.
44 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
SCHEDULE
FORM OF PROPOSED CANON
$1. In case any minister who has not received episcopal ordination
shall desire to be ordained by a bishop of this church to the diaconate and
to the priesthood without giving up or denying his membership or his min-
istry in the communion to which he belongs, the bishop of the diocese or
missionary district in which he lives, with the advice and consent of the
Standing Committee or the Council of Advice, may confirm and ordain
him.
$11. The minister desiring to be so ordained shall satisfy the bishop
that he has resided in the United States at least one year; that he has
been duly baptized with water in the name of the Trinity; that he holds
the historic faith of the church as contained in the Apostles' Creed and
the Nicene Creed; that there is no sufficient objection on grounds physical,
mental, moral or spiritual; and that the ecclesiastical authority to which
he is subject in the communion to which he belongs consents to such
ordination.
$ III. At the time of his ordination the person to be ordained shall
subscribe and make in the presence of the bishop a declaration that he
believes the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the
Word of God and to contain all things necessary to salvation; that in the
ministration of Baptism he will unfailingly baptize with water in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; and (if he
is being ordained to the priesthood) that in the celebration of the Holy
Communion he will invariably use the elements of bread and wine, and
will include in the service the words and acts of our Lord in the institu-
tion of the Sacrament, the Lord's Prayer, and (unless one of these creeds
has been used in the service immediately preceding the celebration of the
Holy Communion) the Apostles' or the Nicene Creed as the symbol of
the faith of the Holy Catholic Church; that when thereto Invited by the
bishop of this church having jurisdiction in the place where he lives, he
will (unless unavoidably prevented) meet with such bishop for communion
and for counsel and cooperation; and that he will hold himself answerable
to the bishop of this church having jurisdiction in the place where he
lives, or, if there be no such bishop, to the presiding bishop of this
church, in case he be called in question with respect to error of faith
or of conduct.
$ IV. In case a person so ordained be charged with error of faith or
of conduct he shall have reasonable notice of the charge and reasonable
opportunity to be heard, and the procedure shall be similar to the pro-
cedure in the case of a clergyman of this church charged with the like
offense. The sentence shall always be pronounced by the bishop and shall
be such as a clergyman of this church would be liable to. It shall be
certified to the ecclesiastical authority to which the defendant is responsi-
ble in any other communion. If he shall have been tried before a tribu-
nal of the communion in which he has exercised his ministry, the judg-
ment of such tribunal proceeding in the due exercise of its jurisdiction
shall be taken as conclusive evidence of facts thereby adjudged.
$ V. A minister so ordained may officiate in a diocese or missionary
district of this church when licensed by the ecclesiastical authority thereof,
but he shall not become the rector or a minister of any parish or congre-
gation of this church until he shall have subscribed and made to the
Ordinary a declaration in writing whereby he shall solemnly engage to
conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of this church. Upon
his making such declaration and being duly elected rector or minister of
a parish or congregation of this church, and complying with the canons
of this church and of the diocese or missionary district in that behalf,
he shall become for all purposes a minister of this church.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEES SAY 45
Commenting on the proposals The Living Church, Mil-
waukee, says:
"The most that we can say for the plan is that it is a step toward bet-
ter things. The transition stage that it introduces is an unsatisfactory
stage. The plan is better for the priest-minister than for his people. In
our judgment there should be a provision that where the minister thus
ordained priest should invite the bishop to confirm in his congregation,
the minister assuring himself of the sufficient baptism of the candidates,
it should be lawful for the bishop to do so. Probably it would be in
any event, but we should like to have some more definite recognition of
the fact that there are laity as well as ministers to be considered, and that
episcopal ordination is not the only thing lacking in the 'free' churches.
So also we feel that the sole reference to confirmation in this plan —
found in the final line of the first paragraph of the proposed canon — is
too incidental and perhaps too ambiguous for so serious a matter. Per-
haps if a real beginning is made, at further conferences between these
distinguished groups, or others that may succeed them, the question of
the position of the laity with respect to the unity of the church may be
discussed and so a second step be taken. ' '
The Churchman, New York, says :
"It is clear that the plan is not too ambitious. It is merely an ap-
proach to organic unity. It is based upon the Chicago-Lambeth Quad-
rilateral. Its proposals contain nothing that ought to frighten those who
are apprehensive lest by hasty counsel essentials be surrendered. These
gentlemen have not met in any iconoclastic spirit. The episcopate re-
mains under the plan what it has always been, 'the normal nucleus of
the church's ministry.' Ordination, the sacraments retain what has
been deemed essential to their validity throughout the catholic church.
A sufficient discipline guards against lawlessness in the execution of the
plan. It is evident as one studies the document that both sides in this
plan of reconciliation sacrifice much that is dear both to prejudice and
instinct, but neither side is asked to sacrifice anything which ought to
do violence to conscience or conviction."
The Southern Churchman, Bichmond, Va., says:
"This plan for an approach toward unity follows the line indicated
by the Archbishops' committee in England, and by thoughtful men of the
Anglican communion elsewhere who, in conference with their separated
brethren, have been seeking a solution of this vexed question. But it goes
farther than any proposal yet made, as far as we know, in bringing a
somewhat vague proposition into definite shape, so that its whole content
may be understood and, if approved by the church, may become opera-
tive."
The Congregationalist, Boston, says:
' ' The corollaries of this acceptance of Protestant Episcopal orders
without resigning powers already derived from God and frOm the people
would be two: an agreement to 'hold the historic faith of the church as
contained in the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed;' and submission
to the consulting and judicial authority of the Protestant Episcopal
bishop. Many ministers would not object to being called into consultation
with the superintendent of the Protestant Episcopal churches in his neigh-
borhood, but the authority of such a superintendent to put on trial a
46 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
minister admitted by him to ministry in the universal church according
to the Protestant Episcopal conviction of the necessities of such admit-
tance, would be, we fear, a difficult point for the Free Church minister
who is ready to yield every possible point for the sake of visible unity in the
Body of Christ. It would subject him to a double jurisdiction, that of
the courts of his own communion and that of the bishop's court, and this
double jurisdiction is expressly taken account of in the proposed canon.
"The advantages of this plan in the eyes of its sponsors are that it
would tend toward union on mission fields and to unity in over-churched
communities. It would facilitate the work of Army and Navy chaplains.
The recognition and cooperation would be a definite witness of the un-
derlying unity of all Christians. And it must be recognized that it is
a bold and, from their point of view, a costly step which these Protestant
Episcopal brethren are taking. In all its long history the Episcopal
Church has never made such concessions as the proposed canon involves."
Prof. Williston Walker, of Yale "University and one of
the Congregational signers, in answer to several ques-
tions from the editor of The Congregationalist y says :
'-' Where men differ on important matters, while agreeing on the greater
fundamentals, cooperation can be secured only by some degree of com-
promise. The Congregationalist is not asked to change his view of the
ministry, or to deny the rightfulness of that previously exercised by him
or by his ancestors. The Episcopalian yields to him the whole matter of
the use of the Prayer Book. Neither side is asked to disclaim its past
or repudiate its present convictions; each, however, gives up something,
and something important, for the larger good. * * *
"The writer believes the hour one of crisis in the relations of Congre-
gationalists and Episcopalians. What the Episcopal General Convention
will do he does not venture to predict. What a High-Church Congrega-
tionalism may do he cannot say. But of one thing he is confident. If
these proposals are now rejected from either side, American Congregation-
alism and episcopacy will go increasingly divergent paths for at least a
generation to come. If they are accepted there will be increasing co-
operation, fellowship and good will. Which of the two he would prefer,
the believer in a greater unity of the Body of Christ can answer in but
one way. "
Some Episcopalians dissent from the proposals.
Among these is Bishop Arthur C. A. Hall, of Vermont,
who presents what The Churchman, New York, calls "the
worst ' ' side of the discussion.
He says:
"How some of the signatories reconcile these 'proposals' with the
principles for which they have hitherto been supposed to stand, is a puz-
zle. Doubtless they are actuated by the highest motives; but is the
situation so desperate that the historic principles and traditions of the
church are to be abandoned for so slight 'an approach toward unity?'
Foremost advocates of a world conference to consider and discuss ques-
tions of faith and order propose to anticipate the conference and the dis-
cussion by a device which will certainly involve fresh questions of both
faith and order."
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 47
Rev. Arthur W. Jenks, of the General Theological
Seminary, New York, says in The Living Church:
"Such a canon, or even the recommendation of it, must inevitably
postpone indefinitely any rapprochement with the Roman and Eastern com-
munions, and after all they are the sections of Christendom with whom
intercommunion must be regained before the unity which is according to
Christ's will is restored. "
Rev. Edward L. Roland, rector of St. Bartholomew's
church, Chicago, says in the same paper:
"It will start a procession — either to Rome or to nothing religiously —
that will certainly be anything but indicative of harmony and unity. It
will make the little muss over the amendment to the 19th Canon look like
a pink tea party in comparison. * * * It will mean chaos, and if
logically worked out it means the end of the church as a part of the his-
toric catholic church.
"There are many who will not stand this. What will be done, it is too
soon yet for us to say. But — it may be certainly known, that having been
in and worked for the church as a catholic body, we do not propose to be
compelled to remain in a Protestant one."
Likewise some Congregationalists dissent. Rev. Dan
S. Bradley, writing in The Congregationalist, Boston,
says:
"For what is the proposal, save a confession on our part that ordina-
tion of a minister by the local church, is inferior to ordination by a bishop,
and should therefore be 'supplemented' by this preposterous arrange-
ment? Our ministers derive their authority from the body of believers
united in a local church. The Episcopal minister derives ' orders' from
a man claiming, like the Kaiser, divine right, in this instance, to ordain,
and called a bishop. What is that but ecclesiastical autocracy? What
have we free churches to do with it? Did not our fathers reject it gener-
ations ago? What fleshpots of Egypt can be so alluring to Pilgrims
about to celebrate the Tercentenary of our freedom?"
Rev. William E. Barton, minister of the First Congre-
gational church of Oak Park, Chicago, and one of the
signers, writing in the same paper, says :
"It does not imply, as I understand it, that we would welcome reor-
dination, but that we would welcome any overture from our Episcopal
brethren that would show their inclination to find common ground with
us. I am glad to join in representing to them that we shall be profoundly
interested in any movement that they may undertake which shows a
genuine desire for Christian fellowship with us.
"If anybody has any apostolic succession, we have it. We ordain with
distinct intent that every minister shall be, what every minister was in
the Apostolic church, both a presbyter and a bishop. However much I
may have to learn or acquire from ' men who in other communions are
supposed to rank above me, as a Congregational minister I call no man
master. I do not know of any grace which the bishop of the First Church
of Rome could impart by virtue of his office to the bishop of the First
48 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Church of Oak Park which the bishop of the First Church of Oak Park
could not with equal validity impart to the bishop of the First Church of
Rome. ' '
Rev. Watler 0. Hart, King's Mountain, N. C, says in
the same paper:
" Statistics of the religious organizations of the United States show
that the Episcopalians are less than one-twenty-fifth of the Protestants —
a mere pigmy sect compared with the total number. They are noted for
their 'historic' assertion that to their sect alone, of all the Protestant
host, has been entrusted the authority, from Jesus. Christ through the
Apostles, to ordain the official leaders of the churches.
1 ' They look down from their high platform upon the ministers of all the
other sects as illegitimately ordained. That article shows that these min-
isters will not be allowed upon the Episcopal platform with any semblance
of equality, unless reordained by an Episcopal bishop.
"Can it be possible that our God, who promises in His word that all
who will repent of their sins and accept the salvation Jesus provided for
them shall be His children, joint heirs with Jesus Christ, has conferred
that sole authority upon this little sect, and holds all the rest of us as
bastards? Or have they become so puffed up that they cannot associate
with such a rabble as we until we have passed through their rite of puri-
fication?
"I hold that the Congregational ordination is every whit as valid, and
fully equal to that of any Episcopal bishop.' '
Others are pronounced in its favor. Bishop Edwin
S. Lines, of the diocese of Newark, says in The Church-
man:
* i The proposed canon concerning the ordination of ministers of other
communions than our own gives me great satisfaction. It appears to me
a very reasonable proposition, marking a much needed advance from dis-
cussion to action. It is my sincere hope that the course proposed may com-
mend itself to our own church and may have favorable consideration by
other Christian brethren. The demand for action looking to church unity
is very persistent and it is a great satisfaction to see the names attached
to the fine statement which accompanies the proposed canon. ' \
Kev. Alexander Mann, rector Trinity church, Boston,
says in the same paper :
"I thank God for the grace and virtue which our brothers of the Con-
gregational communion have shown in making this proposal. It is a
noble manifestation of the spirit of Christ. I hail it also as the first
practical step toward corporate reunion, and in this great matter of church
unity, as in many others, I have a strong faith in the old maxim, solvitur
ambulando.
" Moreover it is a step which, it seems to me, can be taken with honor.
There is no compromise, no equivocation about it. On the side of our
Congregational brothers it recognizes simply the fact of episcopacy as the
normal and regular source of ministerial order for the greater part of
the Christian church during by far the longer period of its history. And
it recognizes further that if there is to be a corporate reunion it must rest
upon the basis of the historic ministry.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEKS SAY 49
"But this recognition of the historic episcopate carries with it no accep-
tance of any special theory of its origin or of its exclusive validity. On
the contrary the proposal recognizes frankly and gladly the validity of
other Christian ministries, and in so doing it is simply true to the facts
of Christian experience, to the abundant fruits of the spirit of Christ
which are evident in the life of those communions whose ministry is non-
episcopal.
"And on the side of our own communion it makes it clear, that, with
the matter and form of the two great Sacraments safeguarded, we recog-
nize that in the reunited church of the future there will and should be
wide diversity of liturgical use and ecclesiastical discipline, that into that
great church the various Christian communions will bring their honor and
glory, their tried and approved customs and usages.'*
Rev. William T. Manning, rector of Trinity church,
New York, speaking of the plan in an address at the
New York Church Club says:
"There is risk involved in this plan. But the danger of taking this risk
is not so great as the danger of doing nothing. fJ
While the Episcopalians and Congregationalists on
the American side of the Atlantic have been seeking to
find a cooperative basis the Church of England and the
Wesleyans on the European side of the Atlantic have
been in a similar quest. In his Kingsway Hall address
the Bishop of London, without any apology for his ap-
pearance in a Nonconformist pulpit, says, according to
The Christian Work, New York:
"My suggestion is this, that after a certain date — we will call it, so
as to show that we are not too dilatory, but it cannot be by that date,
January 1, 1920 — all ordinations should be carried out in both churches
as to satisfy the members of both churches. You see the point is this —
to arrive at a point after which schism shall cease. If you can get, first
of all, a date after which all ordinations will be considered valid by both
bodies, however long it takes, you have arrived at a point, at which even-
tually, automatically, the division between the two bodies will cease. There
would be no difficulty whatever from our point of view, because we. have
always had presbyters to share with the bishop the responsibility of or-
dination. This seemed to be a surprise to some Wesleyans to whom I
happened to speak about it. Many knew it, of course, but others did not.
In St. Paul's Cathedral at an ordination I always have as many presbyters
or priests as there are in the cathedral to lay their hands with me on an
ordination candidate. Therefore it would be nothing to us, because it is
our practice. You would have to make this change, of course, in your or-
dinations — -that with your presbyters there should be a bishop. You would
have to think over that, but there is nothing whatever in such. a concession
to upset any of your ideas. I am certain that it would not have upset
Wesley at all. Therefore that is the first point — that there shall be, after
a certain date, such ordinations in both bodies as will satisfy the ideas —
the seruples, if you like — of the members of both bodies. Then the Wes-
50 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
ley an Church in the reunited church shall be conserved as an order, or
society, or connection as it is. To take an illustration — though I hope
not, perhaps, an exact illustration — to a certain extent just as the Jesuit
Order is a part of and is conserved as an order in the Church of Rome,
so the Methodist Church would continue its class meetings and continue
its conferences. Mind you, we have always got to look out for the enemy
who will represent us. What the enemy will say is that the Methodist
Church is going to be absorbed into the Church of England; but that is
not at all what it is. The Methodist body retains its connection and its
order in the reunited church, which is a very different story, and it goes on
with its habits and its practices undisturbed. With regard to Wesleyan
presidents and superintendents it is suggested that, say, six, Or as many
more as it is thought advisable, shall be ordained bishops of the society
in connection with the society and as part of it per saltum, as was pro-
posed in the last Lambeth Conference with regard to the Presbyterian
ministers in Scotland. The object of this is partly to draw the two bodies
together, and partly that it may be found far easier for Wesleyan minis-
ters who wish, in the manner I am about to describe, voluntarily and at
once, to be ordained. Theyi might prefer to be ordained by their Wesleyan
bishops rather than by bishops of the Church of England. "
Writing on the proposals of the Bishop of London,
Canon Lacey says in The Guardian, London, England:
"Dr. Littledale thought that Dissenting ministers might without of-
fence be invited to receive something additional to what they believed
themselves to have. If he rightly divined their standpoint, they might
be willing to accept such an invitation. Bait it is not so; they claim
complete equality as they stand. What can we say? Can we meet their
claim with a blunt denial? Can we assert positively that certain things —
episcopal ordination, for example — are absolutely essential for the making
of a minister of Christ, a Christian priest? I doubt it. There are obscure
matters in the history of the church which make it difficult to be positive.
I will not go into them, but will only indicate the unexplored privilege
of confessors in the third century. What was not necessary then cannot
be essential now. "
Writing in the same paper, Rev. W. Y. Fullerton, sec-
retary of the Baptist Missionary Society, says :
"There is statesmanship in the bishop's proposals, but his utterance
is another indication of the impossibility of a privileged person under-
standing those unprivileged. He says, 'I do not know what my language
would be if some Roman Catholic told me that I had to be reordained ; '
and yet quite calmly towards the end of his address, speaking of Wes-
leyan ministers, he says, 'A great many * * * would rejoice in the
opportunity of being ordained.' Does the bishop, then, believe that they
are not made of the same fibre as himself? I think they also would em-
ploy language; certainly I should. Here the bishop and I agree. This
is the crux of the position. And even if the Wesleyan ministers would
not rush to be ordained the difficulty is only evaded by the suggestion that
some of the superintendent Wesleyan ministers should be ordained bishops
of the society, which is, with a large measure of liberty, to be incorporated
with the Church of England. Who is to ordain these bishops? Of course,
the bishop of London has no misgiving on that point. But will Wesleyan
superintendents admit that they need the hands of an Anglican bishop
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 51
to be placed upon them before they can exercise episcopal functions?
What if it were proposed that six Anglican bishops should first join the
Wesleyan Church to^ bring over such grace of orders as they possess ? ' '
No finer word has been said in all this controversy
than the following brief sentence by Rev. A. E. Whitham
in The Methodist Recorder, London :
"May I call back to this word ' Fellowship, ' to remind us that it is
not machinery, but the mind of Christ that is going to change the world,
and the method is by Fellowship. ' '
Eev. C. W. Andrews has this word in the same paper :
"The Bishop of London tells us frankly that what he is aiming at is
a scheme which 'will satisfy the ideas and scruples of both sides.' But
I fear he does not understand, as it is natural he should not, the 'scruples'
of the side that is not his. The whole conception of the necessity of the
'historic episcopate' seems to some of us quite wrong. We could not con-
scientiously be parties to any compromise that would be based on the as-
sumption that there must be a member of a certain supposed succession
to make entrance into the church, or entrance into the ministry, or the
administration of sacraments, valid. Are our brethren of the Church of
England prepared to believe that, after all, they may be wrong? Are they
prepared for a bigger sacrifice than any that has yet been suggested? Un-
fortunately it is hard for us to ask this, because it looks to ourselves as
if all the sacrifice is on one side. We are ready to-day, without more ado,
to say to all ministers of Christ, Come and preach, come and break the bread
for us. Is it possible for the Anglicans to look in that direction? Is
union worth so much in their eyes that they would join in a league of
churches, where all the duly-ordained ministers of the whole league should
be heartily and without reservation, so far as spiritualities are concerned,
fully acknowledged by all?"
In a conference in Australia, according to The Chris-
tian Century, Chicago, plans were entered into for the
union of five bodies as follows :
"There was held recently in Adelaide, Australia, a conference between
representatives of the Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and
Disciple churches, on the subject of union. It was voted unanimously that
the historic episcopate should be effectively preserved, though resuming
its historical form in the method of election and in the nature of its
authority. It was stated in this connection that a recognition of the his-
toric episcopate did not involve any doctrine as to its character. It was
voted that there still remained important differences on three matters:
(1) As regards the nature of this visible society, how far it involves
uniformity or allows variety in polity, creed, and worship. (2) As re-
gards sacraments, conditions, objective, and subjective, in their ministra-
tion and reception on which their validity depends. (3) As regards the
ministry, whether it derives authority through episcopal or presbyterial
succession or through community believers, or by combination. These
further inquiries should be directed to examining implications in the
matter agreed, and to the possibility of lessening or removing differences
by explanation."
52 THE CHBISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
According to The Challenge, London, a group of chap-
lains and Y. M. 0. A. workers have sent forth the follow-
ing letter in the interest of Christian unity:
''The undersigned chaplains and Y. M. C. A. workers of different de-
nominations met in conference for three days, from March 12th to March
14th, 1919, at the Chaplains' School in the B. E. F., France, and after
discussion agreed unanimously to the following statement, which they
resolved to submit to the authorities of their respective churches and to
communicate to the public press:
" 1. That in our opinion, in regard to all matters affecting the social and
moral welfare of the people, there is urgent need for such united action
regularly taken by all Christian churches in Great Britain as will give a
weight and effectiveness to the expression of the common conscience which
it has not yet attained, and will show the reality of the fellowship already
existing between us.
' ' 2. That in our opinion great and mutual benefits would result from the
holding of joint conferences, conventions and retreats, by members of our
several churches, as a regular and normal part of the life of those churches.
' ' 3. That we desire to see the clergy and ministers of our several churches
attending as an act of Christian courtesy each others' induction services.
"4. That as God the Holy Spirit has endowed the various churches with
prophetic gifts in varying degrees, interchange of pulpits (under the due
authority of the churches concerned) would contribute to the development
of Christian fellowship and the spiritual enrichment of the whole body.
We propose therefore to express to our church authorities at home the
hope that they will give the fullest opportunities for the widespread dis-
cussion of the question by clergy and congregations, and will sanction the
practice in all cases where they are now satisfied that it is mutually
desired.
"5. The great longing that is in all our hearts for closer unity has led
us to anxious consideration of the question as to the place which in our
united opinion intercommunion should take in the approach thereto. To
many of us, though not to all, it has seemed that such an approach should
begin with intercommunion at least on such occasions as joint conferences
and retreats, where the spirit of fellowship already existing is deepest and
truest. But we recognize that there are many difficulties surrounding the
question in the minds of some of ourselves, and still more in the minds
of others; and we wish to place on record our earnest desire that a fuller
exploration of the proposal may now be undertaken by the joint commit-
tees at the present time preparing for the proposed World Conference on
Faith and Order.
"John M. Simms, Principal Chaplain; Llewellyn H. Gwynne, Bp. Deputy
Chaplain General; Harry W. Blackburne, Assistant Chaplain General,
Church of England; D. F. Carey, Assistant Chaplain General, Church of
England; B. K. Cunningham, C.F., Church of England; E. E. Jones, C.F.,
Baptist; A. B. Macaulay, Y.M.C.A., United Free Church of Scotland; A.
M. MacLean, Assistant Principal Chaplain, Church of Scotland; J, V.
Macmillan, C.F., Church of England; J. M. MacNaughton, C.F., United
Free Church of Scotland; T. H. Masters, Assistant Chaplain General,
Church of England; Wilfred J. Moulton, C.F., Wesleyan; T. Eees, C.F.,
Church of England; T. Wilkinson Eiddle, Eeligious Work Secretary, Y.M.
C.A. Baptist; Geo. Standing, Assistant Principal Chaplain, Primitive
Methodist; Edward K. Talbot, C.F., Church of England; Neville S. Tal-
bot, Assistant Chaplain General, Church of England; J. W. Woodhouse,
C.F., Church of England"
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 53
Federation is being talked of all over the world. Pro-
fessor Carnegie Simpson, of Westminster College, Eng-
land, has this to say in The Quarterly Register, Edin-
burgh :
1 ' Its dominant idea is what I like to describe as the better mobilization
of the evangelical forces of England in the service of the kingdom of
God. The crying need of this is apparent all over the country — most of
all in country areas. The waste, the want of unity, the weakness there
are indisputable. Something must be done. What is suggested is a
Federal Council, composed of duly authorized delegates from the Evan-
gelical Free churches, which shall, in the first place, survey and advise,
and shall further have executive functions if and so far as the denomina-
tions concerned consent. That is what federation is. There are in our
church, I gather, two comments on it.
"One is that it does not amount to much. This is perfectly true. The
scheme does not aim at what is grandiose or impressive. Pts sole aim is
to do something — the immediate thing — to serve the religious interests of
the kingdom of God. Yet it is more than it seems. To get into the
churches' mind this seeking first the kingdom, and not first the denomina-
tion, would be an immense gain; and it would lead, under God's blessing,
to more and more. The question is not whether it is great, but whether
it is right: not whether it is an ideal, but whether it is one step in duty.
"The other comment is that it is not apparent what good it will do us
as Presbyterians. I answer frankly, perhaps none. We do not need
central organization, and our congregations are mainly in towns. But
are we so poor an,d individualistic as to think only of what good we can
get from a proposal such as this? Surely the great thing is what good
English evangelical Christianity can get; and if we can help in this —
give something to it even if we ,get little — we must not coldly or selfishly
turn away. And we shall get this — that we shall be lifted into a larger
current of religious and national service, which is one thing which our
small church needs. I appeal to the church to look at this matter in a
worthy and in a catholic spirit."
In emphasizing some immediate possibilities The
Christian Commonivealth, London, says :
"Let the Act of Uniformity be repealed. Even though it be a 'dead
letter,' its retention on the statute-book is an irritating anachronism,
never less defensible than at the present time. Its expunging would be
a uniquely impressive token that the nation formally repudiates sectarian
preference or intolerance."
Eev. J. H. Shakespeare, one of the Baptist leaders in
England, speaking at the last Kingsway Hall Conference,
London, is reported by The Christian Commonwealth,
London, as follows:
"Mr. Shakespeare proceeded to define the two conditions of this educa-
tive process, the first being that union must be on the basis of episcopacy.
He said, ' I regard it as a simple waste of time to give any thought to it on
54 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
any other basis. But I mean an episcopacy that shall not be prelatical,
monarchical, and subject to political appointment, but reformed and con-
sistent with the convictions of all believers. ' The Second Interim Report of
the Commission laid it down that the acceptance of episcopacy did not
carry with it the acceptance of any one interpretation of the term. 'We
are thinking not of absorption, but syncretism, not surrender but recon-
ciliation. I want it to be in harmony with the rights of single congre-
gations. I do not consider identity of opinion a proper basis for church
fellowship.' }>
The same paper has this to say regarding Dr. John
Clifford's position:
"In an interview on the subject of Christian union published in the
Daily News on Thursday, Dr. Clifford pronounces strongly in favour of co-
operation, but expresses the opinion that organic union between the Church
of England and the Baptists is impossible. He explains the eagerness
for reunion by reference to the war, which 'has laid bare the imperfec-
tions of the churches, demonstrated their inadequacy in present conditions
for their work, and led not a few to the conclusion that our disunion is
one of the causes of our comparative inefficiency. ' But he discriminates
between communion and incorporation. ' Cooperation, ' he says, ' is absolutely
necessary for advance. * * * To the first (communion) there ought
to be no limit; but as soon as you touch the second, vital principles claim
to be considered. As to ecclesiastical unity, I frankly say that whilst
eager to secure it, T count fidelity to conviction of higher value than
unity, and loyalty to the principles on which the New Testament Church
is built — principles whose worth history vindicates — of immeasurably more
importance than similarity of form and identity of policy.'
"As regards relations with the Anglican Church, Dr. Clifford points out
that Baptists could never accept that church's doctrine of baptismal re-
generation, or subscribe to their conception of God in the second of the
Thirty-Nine Articles, or endorse portions of the great creeds, or surrender
the government of the church to a prelatic hiearchy. Therefore, there is not
the slightest probability of union in this case. The doctor quotes leading
churchmen in this sense.
" 'Rev. Wm, Temple says it is not to be expected that the Free churches
will unite with the state established church, and the Bishop of Exeter
says, in effect, that if the bans of marriage were proclaimed between
the Free and the State churches an exodus would at once take place of the
High Church party and the very attempt would issue, not in unity, but in
more and more division. Hence, I agree with Lord Gascoyne Cecil when
he says that those who advocate such a policy have not really made them-
selves conversant with the teaching and practices of those with whom
they propose to unite. With this judgment, the majority of Anglicans
agree.' 'But,' he adds, 'we can work together. We do work together.
And the war has changed men's minds on so many subjects, banished so
many ancient prejudices, exposed so many errors, and cleared the sky
for so many new visions, that it is possible that Christian men may have
courage enough to venture on the great surrenders that are necessary in
order to realize the ideal Christian society of the New Testament in
modern life in greater f ruitf ulness than at any prior time. ' ' '
The Kingsway Hall addresses have attracted much at-
tention. The emphasis on the revival in the Eastern
churches opens up one of the most interesting develop-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 55
ments to be looked for as well as its revival making a
distinct contribution to Christian unity. Dr. Percy Dear-
mer was the speaker. He says :
"In the early days of Christianity there were five patriarchates, with
their centres at Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Eome and Constantinople.
Excepting that at Rome, all of them were submerged by the Islamic in-
vasion. The result was that the balance of Christendom was shifted from
East to West, and Vaticanism grew up as the dominant influence. The
war, however, has freed the ancient churches after a thousand years of
martyrdom. When we have realized the significance of this period of
faithful suffering, our attitude of disdain and neglect of our Eastern
brethren must pass away. Such churches cannot but have a great future.
They are autonomous and distinct from one another, and must be dealt
with accordingly. * * *
"Tt was the Balkan churches that defended our civilization by standing
in the way of Asiatie invasion. We are as we are because they defended
us five centuries ago. When the Balkan nations ceased to exist as such,
they still continued to exist as churches. The churches are therefore the
very life of the people, and one of the great evidences for Christianity
is the way it kept these nations strong and brave and clever and sweet
during their long bondage. These Balkan churches, though autonomous,
are in communion with one another — a true example of that federation
through which we are going to find unity — and the first reunion will be
between ourselves and them. This will be facilitated by our political in-
terest in the Balkan States, and our connection will help in liberating and
modernizing these churches.
"Of the newly-enfranchised nations, the Poles, the Croats, the Jugo-
slavs, and the Czecho-Slovaks are Roman Catholic. But the Croats and
Jugo-Slavs are to be reunited to Serbia, and probably the result will be that
the influence of the Eastern Church will neutralize the influence of Rome.
The mainstay of Vaticanism before the war was the Dual Monarchy, but
that empire is now broken up, and Hungary has become anti-clerical.
So the great upholder of Vatican power is gone, and this means an enor-
mous strengthening of the hope of universal reunion.' '
Dr. W. E. Orchard delivered one of the addresses at
the Kingsway Hall Conference in which The Christian
Commonwealth, London, reported as follows :
"Dr. Orchard, who spoke on Sunday, was not hampered by devoting
himself to one special case. He had to deal with the obstacles to Chris-
tian union, and began, discouragingly enough, by describing them as
numerous and, humanly speaking, insuperable. The chief was the general
unconcern of Christian people on the matter. Some even seemed to for-
get there were other churches besides their own. If anything were to
be done, they must get a sense of the extreme urgency of the question into
the laity. For it was an extremely urgent question. 'Because of our
divisions we are losing the guidance of the mind of Christ. He will not
and cannot trust a divided church.' The second hindrance was almost
equally insurmountable. It consisted of those amiable people who pro-
posed to ignore the obstacles. Then there were the extremists. Firstly,
those who immersed themselves in questions of machinery, and overlooked
the fact that till all men were of one spirit these arrangements would lead
nowhere; secondly, those who said, if we only had the right spirit, we
56 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
should be all right. 'One spirit and one body,' declared Dr. Orchard, 'we
must have both.' These were the general obstacles arising from the state
of mind of the average Christian.
"Coming to the concrete difficulties, Dr. Orchard put first the exclusive-
ness and intransigeance of the Church of Rome. Now, he said, it was
very easy to leave Rome out, and there were some who would like to unite
in order to keep her out. But it would be as fatal to have a league of
churches with Rome out as to have a League of Nations with Germany out.
It was significant that this pronouncement was loudly applauded. Rome,
however, proceeded the doctor, could not abate her claims without com-
mitting ecclesiastical suicide. But if her claims were differently stated
her whole scheme of government could be differently administered. You
must prove that the church could remain Catholic and still be perfectly
free. Until you prove that you eannot expect her to change.
"On the differences between the episcopal and non-episcopal ideas Dr.
Orchard said the report of the committee on Faith and Order showed
that the Church of England would never give up episcopacy, but he had
great hopes it would be possible to reinterpret episcopacy. But on the
theory that outside the apostolic succession the highest grae^ did not flow,
they would never have an understanding. If, on the other hand, a bishop
was a representative of the whole church he could not conceive how anyone
could refuse to be recognized by him. P don 't want to be a Noncon-
formist. I want to be a minister of Jesus Christ, and to be recognized by
the whole church. By all means let us have the laying on of hands by the
bishop, but by laymen as well. I should like to see a servant girl and
a bus driver come out of the congregation and lay on hands as well.' n
A semi-official statement, appearing in many papers,
has been sent out from Rome as to the position of the
Roman Catholic Church on Christian reunion. We wish
that it had in it some of the love and humility that char-
acterized the New Testament utterances. The statement
is as follows:
"The Holy See has decided not to participate in the Pan-Christian
Congress which it is proposed to hold shortly, as the Roman Catholic
Church, considering her dogmatic character, cannot join on an equal foot-
ing with the other churches. The feeling at the Vatican is that all other
Christian denominations have seceded from the Church of Rome, which
descends directly from Christ. Therefore Rome cannot go to them; it is
for them to return to her bosom. The pope is ready to receive the repre-
sentatives of the dissenting churches with open arms, since the Roman
Church has always longed for the unification of all Christian religions.
Pope Leo XIII was deeply interested in this question and has written two
famous encyclicals on the subject of the unification of the Christian
churches. ' '
Recently the Bishop of Bristol, England, has had a
larger correspondence than usual because he invited the
Rev. Dr. Arnold Thomas, a Nonconformist, to take part
in a public service in his cathedral, thirty-three Anglican
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 57
clergymen sending protests and more than a hun-
dred Anglican clergymen favoring it. At a recent con-
vocation in the Upper House the whole matter of Non-
conformists taking part in Anglican services passed un-
der review. The Western Daily Neivs, Bristol, gives an
account of the meeting. Of the bishop 's address it says :
"The first point that emerged was that Christianity was on trial.
"Lament had been made at the small influence which Christianity ap-
peared to have had on the social and international affairs of life. What
the causes were might be disputed. There might be some lack of early
Christian enthusiasm in some directions to-day, and it might be that there
had been in the past a lack of interest in social concerns on the part of
the church. It might be that stress had been laid on non-essentials, and
that there had been lack of stress on those vital living essentials which
touched national life. Those might be some of the causes which had con-
tributed to the feebleness of the influence of Christianity; but all his
correspondents agreed that the greatest hindrance lay in the divisions
amongst Christians, particularly in the way in which those divisions be-
came more marked and controversy became acrimonious and acute. What
was the ordinary man's attitude towards the particular aspect which they
were considering? He saw men of all denominations apparently proclaim-
ing the same Christ, laying stress on the same essentials and exhibiting the
same characteristics of faith and hope and love; and then he saw a refusal
on the part of some, who were apparently proclaiming the same message,
to associate with the others in common worship and common prayer. Such
a man could understand that there might be different methods of organiza-
tion and different approaches to the same truth, but what he could not un-
derstand and what put him off from a more whole-hearted acceptance of
the truth of Christianity was the strange antagonism, which seemed to
exist between the preachers of the same Gospel when any attempt was
made to associate on the common ground of approach to a common Father.
He thought that there was nothing that was weakening the influence of
the church to-day in the world at large more than that misunderstanding on
the part of the ordinary man, who, perhaps, did not announce himself as
a member of this or that community, but who by his life and influence
demonstrated that he was really a Christian at heart.
"The second point that emerged from the correspondence was that there
seemed to be a usurpation by institutional religion of the place which
really belonged to the essentials and the ideals which that institutional
religion stood for. The historic policy which had marked the Catholic
Church and the effectiveness of its institution represented perhaps, the
truest form of church government, but he was conscious — and he was
not alone in his view — that in the life of the Church of England
to-day, polity as distinguished from faith had taken a place of
importance which was wholly disproportionate. Let them con-
sider for a moment the way in which they had approached the subject.
Very able and very temperate speakers had laid stress primarily upon
tradition. Stress had been laid upon the canons of the church which, as
the House had been reminded, represented a period, whose environment and
whose thought were concentrated on uniformity rather than upon unity.
"The bishop of Oxford here said that he thought that he had not laid
special stress on that. He had said that he thought that legality was non-
existent.
58 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
. "The bishop of Bristol replied that he hoped that he had not misunder-
stood any of the speakers, but he could not help feeling that very little
had been said upon the principles which were to be discovered in the Gos-
pels, and upon the essentials which bound churchmen far closer than many,
perhaps, realized, to those who were separated in regard to ecclesiastical
polity, and very little said on the attitude and relationship of individual
souls to our Lord. He had no desire to debate controversial matters, but
the fact was that at the real bottom of the opposition to the proposals
now before the House was a fear lest they should compromise their side of
ecclesiastical polity.
"The third point that was emphasized was the unreality of much that
was being said to-day about unity. However willing they might be to
make experiments, the ' ecclesia Anglicana semper pavida' was surely, to
some extent at any rate, justified. On more than one occasion when he had
expressed a desire for fellowship and union, friendly Noncomformists had
said, 'What is the immediate step that you are prepared to take?' 'It is
not a question of what you are looking forward to ten or twenty years
hence or after we are all dead and buried, but of what you are ready to
do here and now to prove convincingly that you are really moving in the
direction in which you profess that you, desire to go. ' It seemed to him
that the proposal that was being considered did not trench upon any
theory of the Christian ministry, and that they were singularly lagging
behind some of the other churches of their own communion on the question
of unity. The American canon quoted by the bishop of Gloucester allowed
under certain conditions just what the resolution asked for. He was
speaking to a colonial bishop that morning who had assured him that in
his church there was practically no difficulty, under sanction by the bishop,
in carrying out some of the elements of the proposals. He was certain
from conversation with many earnest Nonconformist ministers that the
resolution would be welcomed as an evidence of genuineness, and surely
the occasion demanded it.''
One of the most significant movements for Christian
nnity in recent times is "The Interchurch World Move-
ment of North America." Of it The Congregationalist,
Boston, says :
''We do not hesitate to characterize this movement as the most remark-
able proposition which has ever come before our churches. Its immediate
objective is the combination of the promotive efforts of all missionary
Boards, home and foreign, of all the evangelical Protestant denomina-
tions. It is proposed that they shall present common front and a common
appeal * * * The bearings of this movement upon church unity must
be obvious to all who consider what is involved. A united budget means
that denominational rivalry and overlapping are to be eliminated, that
while we are to assume our special responsibilities as divisions of the
church all will be done under a common understanding and for a common
purpose. Such a getting together we have not dared to hope for in the
near future, yet it appears to be within our grasp. It certainly strikes at
the heart of the problem — the actual doing of our work together. * * *
While the ecclesiastical bodies are discussing unity and appointing com-
mittees to study the problems involved, the Mission Boards are achieving
unity by engaging the different churches in the common task of world
conquest. We learn that the entire first session of a recent meeting of the
General Committee was spent in intercessory prayer and that the atmos-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PA PEES SAY 59
phere of the two days' consultation from beginning to end was that of
quiet exultation over the manifest presence and leadership of God."
Organic union is receiving such attention in China that
already a plan is under way for the union of three groups
of churches. The Congregationalist, Boston, says :
"This year 1919 marks a notable step forward,, in church union, through
the action of representatives of the Presbyterian, London Mission and
American Board churches in China at a delegated conference held in
Nanking in January, favoring an organic union of the churches founded
through the work of these three missionary bodies. This action will re-
quire the sanction of the several missions and mission boards, but it seems
altogether probable that such approval will be secured and that the union
is to become an accomplished fact. It is not a sudden proposal or the re-
sult of an enthusiastic conference and some fervid appeals. The trend
has been for long and increasingly in this direction. It is congenial to
the Chinese mind, and in harmony with the broadening spirit and the more
comprehensive plans of the missionary movement. Pn the face of habit,
tradition, prejudice and intrenched religions the Christian movement in
China as in all Oriental lands finds need that its forces get together. What
the Allies in the late war discovered as to the need of united policy and
direction, is not unlike what the branches of the Christian church in mission
lands are discovering; it comes to seem both wasteful and wicked to keep
up divisions that for the people thus divided are mostly artificial and
puzzling. Loyalty to their mission and their missionaries may make them
strict denominationalists and competing. Naturally, however, as fellow-
Christians, they tend to flock together. A similar movement toward or-
ganic unity is noted in India, under the leadership of the South India
United Church, already so successful an accomplishment in part that it
points the way and emphasizes the appeal for a yet broader and more in-
clusive combination."
In The Christian Century, Chicago, the Eev. Charles
W. Dean, Denver, Colorado, presents the recommenda-
tion made by the Colorado Home Mission Council for a
league of churches in that state as follows :
"One of the interesting problems that religious workers must face
today is the so-called community church. Sometimes it is a union church,
at other times it is a federated church, and at still others it is a denomina-
tional church attempting to do a whole community work, or a community
church under denominational control. All of these have been commendable
efforts to find a solution for an aggravating problem. But all of these
have failed to do what some have so fondly hoped they would.
The Colorado Home Missions Council has made the following unanimous
recommendation to the religious organizations in our state:
I. That a corporation be formed under the laws of the state to be
called 'The League of Churches of Colorado.'
II. That the membership in this league shall consist of one delegate
for all churches having less than ten thousand members in the state, two
delegates for those having between ten and twenty thousand, and three
60 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
delegates for any church having more than twenty thousand members in
the state. Delegates to be chosen by the regularly constituted state body
rn each communion upon their adoption of this suggested plan of organi-
zation.
III. That the purpose of this league shall be:
1. To assume fostering care over the organized religious life of any
community within the state of Colorado which shall, by a vote of two-
thirds of its church membership, express a desire of a larger church pro-
gramme and request such a relationship.
2. It may organize non-denominational churches in any community with-
in the state, not being served at the time by an effective church organiza-
tion.
3. In all local church organizations fostered by the league the require-
ments for church membership shall be determined by the local church.
IV. The officers of the league shall be president, vice-president, secre-
tary and treasurer, chosen by the delegate membership of the league. Also
not less than six, nor more than ten, directors chosen by the delegates,
who shall meet on the first Monday of each month, and who may employ a
superintendent who shall give personal supervision to the work of the
churches, under the direction of this league.
V. The local community church shall be required by the league to make
regular offerings for missions and other designated agencies for the ex-
tension of the work of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Funds are to be
appropriated by the board of directors, to such Home and Foreign Mis-
sion projects as may be selected by them, and included in the budget for
each calendar year.
The proposed plan of this league may be new, but it seems to be needed.
It may be heresy, but it might be made helpful. The Home Missions
Council has sought to have a part in its promotion as a plan, but it does
not seek to have even a delegate in the league if it is created by the
churches. Some church may reject this or any other plan for the unity
of the religious life of the community, and sit in solemn state, while the
community goes into a godless decay.
A divided church has failed to function serviceably in the reconstruction
program for the rural life. The community church has been a failure thus
far because of its uncertain tenure of life, and the inadequacy of its
program. A united church seems to be the supreme requirement of this
hour. ' '
There are a number of leagues of prayer for Christian
unity. The following "call," which is the introductory
word to the constitution of the League of Prayer for the
Eeunion of the Christian Churches is interesting. This
league is Koman Catholic in origin, having been founded
in Italy about five years ago. The secretary is the Eev.
Alessandro Favero, Vistrorio Canavese Torina, Italy.
"The call" is as follows:
"Many sure signs make us believe that the day is not far distant in
which all divisions among Christians will cease. It is being hastened
by the progress of science and of conscience, by the attainment of many
civil liberties, the destruction of many barriers, the clear comprehension of
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 61
the fruits which are produced by division, fruits of evil, yet also of the good
which God always draws from evil.
And, besides, a most powerful argument for us who believe, we have
the prophetic promise and the word of our Redeemer, waiting their ful-
filment.
Indeed very many souls, perhaps the best, in the most distant places,
are fixing their eyes on the future and asking with sad longing, when?
Will it be when the different races and nations, free from prejudices,
from the indifference which is coldness and disdain of each other, from
the ancient foolish grudges, climb the holy mountain, on which rises the
temple not made with hands, and, one in heart, in divers tongues, pray
to the one Father, moved by one and the same spirit?
And already the torrent of destructive doctrines, the ruin of many
faiths and traditions which is reflected in private and public manners, as
well as the manifest failure of the science which claims to reconstruct
by itself without any help the spiritual world; all this makes serious and
watchful souls thoughtful, so that many, even outside of the churches,
are looking for a revived and harmonious Christianity as the only guaran-
tee of family and social restoration, in which the new and the old worlds,
heaven and earth, will complete each other in harmony. For us that day
would mark the beginning of a new era, would foretell the triumph of
the Spirit, the coming of the kingdom of God.
We know the difficulties, the ignorances, the egotism, which encumber
the road. And we feel strongly the presumption of wishing to mark out,
or even to foresee, the ways of God in the future.
But it is certain that the great, deep longing for Christian union is a
beautiful and good thing, that the best thing is to develop that longing
in ourselves and in others through prayer.
And so we invite you, Christian brothers scattered through the world,
to unite with us in the pure and harmonious plan of prayer, unanimous,
simultaneous, common, which shall raise us up to Him who, alone, knows and
can show us the ways of peace in unity. ri
Canada has for more than a decade presented a most
interesting study in Christian union. The Congregation-
alisty Boston, says:
"For fifteen years the Dominion has been the home of the greatest
movement ever undertaken for the organic union of large denominations,
utterly different in history, tradition and doctrinal foundation. Pro-
posals made by the Methodist General Conference in 1902 were readily
acted upon by the Presbyterians and Congregationalists, and the move-
ment gained headway so rapidly that by 1906 it was confidently predicted
that within three years the proposed united church would be an accom-
plished fact. Such an estimate was unduly optimistic, but the differences
that had seemed insuperable barriers to union were so quickly overcome
that the greatest optimism seemed justified. It may be said, too, that
the movement has progressed with unabated force, and has had no anti-
climax. How then does it come that a project so auspiciously begun and
continued has so seriously disappointed the hopes of speedy consumma:
tion? The answer is to be found in the fact that even when the senti-
ment is favorable it takes more time than is at first realized to create the
new mechanism for union. And a more serious factor in delay has been
the opposition of a strong minority in the Presbyterian Church of Canada.
62 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
From the first the Methodists were almost solidly for the proposed union,
and among the Congregationalists little opposition was to be found. A
few were thoroughly in sympathy with any movement tending to the
breaking down of sectarianism, both in form and in spirit, and recognized
that this was the greatest thing along that line Canada had ever expe-
rienced. They favored cooperation, and some form of affiliation, with the
proposed united body, but believed that the accomplishment of union would
still leave a useful field and purpose for the few ministers and churches
who felt called to some further independent work not devoid of catholic
sympathies. The opposition in the Presbyterian body, however, was thor-
oughly denominational and reactionary. It represented approximately
twenty-five per cent., and while some who at first were apathetic, or opposed
to union, gradually fell in line with the majority in their own denomina-
tion, and with the favorable sentiment in the country as a whole, the re-
calcitrant element seemed to gain in bitterness, and in the determination
to prevent the union, as the day of final decision came nearer."
On the twenty-fifth anniversary of his consecration,
the Kt. Rev. A. C. A. Hall, bishop of Vermont, sent forth
an address to the clergy and laity of his diocese. In one
of the paragraphs he says :
"My own hopes of reunion, or of definite steps towards it, met with
two crushing blows in Burlington. One was the deliberate admission,
in spite of protest, to full membership in a Congregational Church of a
person debarred from Holy Communion in our parish on account of a mar-
riage which could not by any stretching be reconciled with New Testament
standards. The other was the exchange of Sunday morning services be-
tween Congregational and Unitarian ministers, and the general joining of
the Protestant ministers of the city in a Communion service in the Unita-
rian church with the Unitarian minister presiding — without (so far as is
known) protest or remonstrance from Methodist, Baptist or Congregational
authorities or people; certainly there was no repudiation of the act. I
mention these two incidents not for their local reference, for I fear they
might have happened anywhere, but because they show that the differences
between those who may call themselves Christians are not only about trivial
matters of taste or preference, but are often concerned with great prin-
ciples of Christian faith and Christian morals. There is no narrowness or
bigotry in declaring that the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be
treated as an open question or a matter of indifference. Either Unitarians
are withholding from Him the worship which is His due; or we, with the great
body of Christian believers throughout the world and throughout the ages,
are guilty of the idolatrous worship of a merely created being, however-
exalted. That occurrence involved the faith of the church; the other to
which I referred involved its order. It is a pity that the 'Questions of
Order 1 to consider which along with 'Questions of Faith/ a World Con-
ference is planned, should commonly be thought of as chiefly, if not solely,
applying to the ministry and its orders. For any real union there must
be agreement on matters of fundamental morals such as belong to family
life and business conduct, and on the discipline by which these are to
be upheld among Christian people. These, and not only matters of ec-
clesiastical organization, belong to Questions of Order. In the proposed
World Conference and on all occasions let Questions of Faith and Order
be discussed with all possible candor, consideration and charity; but the
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 63
claims of truth and loyalty cannot be ignored. Facts must be frankly
faced. ' '
A very interesting meeting of the churches in South
Australia is given by The Register, Adelaide, as follows :
"A meeting of representatives of Christian churches in South Austra-
lia, for the exchange of views on reunion, and in particular to consider the
two reports of the conferences between the committees appointed by the
Archbishop of Canterbury and York and the commission of the Free
churches in connection with the World Conference on Faith and Order, was
begun in the Y.M.C.A. Hall on Wednesday. The churches represented
were: Baptist, Church of Christ, Church of England, Congregational,
Methodist, and Presbyterian. The Rev. W. Shaw opened the conference
with Scripture, and the Bishop of Adelaide (Right Rev. Dr. Thomas) with
prayer. The bishop was chosen as president for the day. The tone of
the conference was happy and brotherly. Differences were frankly dis-
cussed, but a great measure of unanimity prevailed.
"The opening address was delivered by the bishop of Willochra (the
Right Rev. Dr. White), who expressed the hope that they might at that
meeting, although unable to do anything that a scoffer would call practical,
have prejudices softened and suspicions allayed, and in common catch a
glimpse of the truths that were deeper and greater than any of them could
grasp individually and unaided. If they could do this and teach others
by their example to do this they might make a great step towards reunion.
They were not now concerned with trying to change each other's convic-
tions; they wished to find out, not what was the vague residuum of belief
that they all held in common, but what were the underlying convictions
that they held as keen and living realities, and whether these really
differed so much as they had thought ; what were merely matters of tempera-
ment and liking, and what were really essential to their view. The social,
moral, and spiritual reformation of the world depended largely for its
realization on whether the Christian church could agree to present to the
world the Gospel of Christ with the first things put first. If they could
not agree as to what the first things were, their presentation would, to a
large extent, necessarily fail. The future of the world depended to an
enormous extent on the possibilities of reunion. Was any sacrifice of non-,
essentials too great to try to attain it? They all loved, naturally and
rightly enough, the customs and associations in which they had been
brought up, but the exigencies of the times and the tremendous serious-
ness of the issues at stake seemed to demand that they should make serious
efforts to strip their beliefs of all that was not essential, of all that was
casual and adventitious, even though hallowed by age and association to
concentrate them on the things that really matter.
i( A paper on 'Church Union' was read by the Rev. George Hall, who
took as his text John Wesley's words, 'If thy heart be as my heart, give
me thy hand.' He said they must not be discouraged by the failure of
previous attempts at unity. If they were seeking to include all the fol-
lowers of our Lord in one organization, in which each must subscribe to
the same statement of belief, and accept the same order of government
and worship, then they were undoubtedly doomed to failure; but that, he
believed, was not their purpose. There was an increasingly wide and fer-
vent desire to reach a true Scriptural unity. If the desire for unity and
the determination to secure it arose mainly from the will to fulfil all the
mind of the Master, then a wise, courageous, and consecrated leadership
would not be denied to them. It would not be an easy task to stimulate
into active cooperation the multitudes of lethargic Christian men and
64 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
women, who were ever content with present conditions. Then there were
many devout and scholarly men who still contended that the only unity
for which our Lord prayed, and which His church was ever likely to ex-
perience, was a unity of invisibility, which would find its expression in a
common love to God, and a sincere affection for all who were His. They
could not satisfy themselves that such an invisible unity, however real and
blessed it might be, fully answered the prayer of our Lord. It was a
hopeful sign of the times that some of the best people in many of the
churches were willing to meet in conference on this question; and further,
that they did not insist on the acceptance of their own church creed or
order, but were prepared to find truth in every church, and to yield much
in their own, which, although precious from long association, was not
essential to an effective New Testament eeclesia. It was, he thought,
generally agreed that, when union was reached, it would be by a plan of
comprehension rather than of exclusion or of compromise. There couid be
no binding of all to one rigid, dogmatic statement of doctrine, or to any
one form of government or worship. They were coming to see that, not-
withstanding their unhappy divisions, and the want of charity, by which
they had often been accentuated, the things about which they now differed
were few as compared with the things concerning which they were agreed;
and that 'the things that divided us are temporal while the things that
unite us are eternal. ' ' '
The Archbishop of Caledonia, the Most Eev. P. H. Du
Vernet, writing in a Canadian paper, says:
"On closer examination we find that it is not so much a restatement
that is needed as a change of emphasis. The new era rightly insists that
we draw the line clearly between the essentials of religion and the refine-
ments of theology. The refinements of theology are exceedingly numer-
ous and most bewildering. The essentials of religion are very few and
grandly simple.
"Theology is not religion. Religion is the life of God in the soul of
man. i Theology is the intellectual expression of this religion. It is quite
possible to have the life of God in our soul without our being able to give
this an adequate expression in language.
"It is, no doubt, very important that there should be an intellectual
expression of our religion for otherwise we cannot, as intelligent beings,
properly appreciate it ourselves, or effectively teach it to others. But
an adequate expression of the life of God in the soul of man is one thing
and the refinements of theology are quite another thing.
1 ' As soon as the early church began to lose its fresh zeal for genuine
religion it endeavored to make up for its declining spiritual life by its
greater emphasis upon the refinements of theology. Bitter controversy,
shifting from point to point with each succeeding century, has been the
result until the cry of those who really long for the simple religion of
Christ ascends to heaven : ' They have taken away my Lord and I know not
where they have laid Him.'
"All refinements of theology should be subjected to the test of prac-
tical value. Do they tend to make men less selfish in spirit and more
Christlike in character? Do they help to bind together in mutual service
all elasses in the community 1 Pf not, they may be a detriment to true
religion, helping to choke the life of God in the soul of man.
"It is an historical fact that it has been the refinements of theology
which have split the Church of Christ into so many conflicting sects and
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEB8 SAY 65
shorn it of its spiritual power, and it will only be by shifting the em-
phasis back to the few grand essentials of religion that there will be a
drawing together of the different denominations in one great comprehen-
sive chureh, the leading characteristic of which will be that it puts the
Christ-spirit first. ' '
The World Conference on Faith and Order has issued
the following bulletin :
"Invitations to participate in the arrangements for the World Con-
ference on the Faith and Order of the Church of Christ have been sent
to all the communions throughout the world which believe that the Son
of God was made man, with the exception of the communions on the
Continent of Europe and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. AH the com-
munions in the United States and Canada accepted the invitation In 1911
and 1912. The Commission of the American Episcopal Church, whose
duty it is to issue the invitations, then sent deputations to Great Britain
which secured in 1912 and 1913 the cooperation of the Church of Eng-
land and its sister churches in Scotland and Ireland and of the Free
Churches in those countries. After that the cooperation of the churches ail
over the world in English speaking countries was obtained and sixty-one
commissions have been appointed representing sixty-one autonomous
branches of all the leading communions. It was thought wiser not to
issue invitations by letter to the churches in non-English speaking
countries, and in 1914, and again in 1917, it was hoped to send deputa-
tions to present and explain the invitation personally in those countries,
but the war made it impossible. Now, however; the way has been opened
and there sailed on the Aquitania from New York on March 6 a deputa-
tion consisting of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Anderson, Bishop of Chicago and
President of the Commission of the American Episcopal Church, the
Rt. Rev. Dr. Vincent, Bishop of Southern Ohio and from 1910 to 1916
Chairman of the House of Bishops, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Weller, Bishop of
Fond du Lac, the Rev. Dr. B. Talbot Rogers, President of Racine College
and the Rev. Dr. Edward L. Parsons.
The deputation hopes to proceed to London, Athens, Constantinople,
Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome, Switzerland, France, Belgium,
Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and such other countries as can be
reached. Many eminent members of the churches in all these countries
have given cordial assurances that the deputation will be sympathetically
received and heard with interest and in the earnest hope that the World
Conference may remove the prejudices, misunderstandings and mutual
ignorance among the churches which should form the one visible Body
of Christ, so that the way may be open for directly constructive effort
to establish that unity among His disciples whieh Christ regarded as the
only evidence potent to convince the world that He had been sent by
the Father to redeem mankind.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PROF. FRANCIS J. HALL REPLIES TO DR. THOMAS' ARTICLE
IN THE JANUARY QUARTERLY
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — I have no quarrel whatever with Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas
for delivering his mind as to the doctrine of priesthood in your January
issue, nor with his use of the arresting title, " Another Doctrine of Priest-
hood in the Episcopal Church. " But I find that he has apparently mis-
conceived the purpose and bearing of my article which he thinks himself
to be answering, entitled "The Doctrine of Priesthood in the Episcopal
Church' ' and appearing in your July issue of 1918. As my purpose was
in line with the general aim of your valuable quarterly and is one that
I do not wish to have regarded as controversial, I venture to ask for
sufficient space to restate my purpose to your readers.
It should be remembered that, in glad response to your broad-minded
invitation, I contributed to your issue of July, 1916, an article entitled,
"Unity Through Truth," for the purpose of explaining to your Protestant
readers "why every attempt to secure official participation of the Episcopal
Church in movements which look, or are thought to look, to ministerial
cooperation in distinctively religious and missionary work produces alarm
within this church. ' ' I there said, ' ' The alarm is due to fears, whether
well grounded or not, that somehow the priesthood will be compromised
by coordinating its ministers with those who not only do not profess to
have the priesthood, but deny its claim to Christ 's appointment. ' '
The article at large urged the importance of truth, or conscientious
conviction concerning it, as a factor to be reckoned with in promoting
unity. But I took care to disclaim any attempt to prove the truth of the
sacerdotal doctrine to which I referred.
Persisting in your generous attitude, you invited me to define in your
magazine the Episcopal doctrine of priesthood, and the article to which
Dr. Thomas replies was my response — not an argument for sacerdotal doc-
trine, but an exposition of it, as held by ' l high ' ' church Episcopalians.
In order to avoid misrepresenting the official position of this church,
I gave some space to setting forth those elements of our official Booh of
Common Prayer which relate to priesthood. I do not find that Dr. Thomas
discovers — he certainly does not indicate — any misrepresentation in this
survey. It is true that he faults me for ignoring the Reformation. But
my purpose required simply a survey of the existing and canonically im-
posed working system of the church; for it is by this that we Episcopalians
are bound, and it is in this that we find the present official position of our
church — the subject before me. With its antecedents I was not concerned,
for these antecedents determine what we are bound by only to the degree
that they are registered in the resulting formularies and in the Boole of
Common Prayer at large.
Dr. Thomas has overlooked the care with which, in another part of my
article, I set forth the fact that the so-called "high," "low" and
"broad" churchmen among us differ in their interpretation of the official
language of the Prayer Book. I took pains to make it clear to your
readers that the "sacerdotal theology" which I proceeded to expound was
"high" church theology — a particular interpretation of this church's lan-
guage which explains "high" churchmen's alarm at proposals looking to
distinctly religious and missionary cooperation with ministers of anti-sacer-
dotal denominational affiliations. So far from claiming this theology to
66
LETTEES TO THE EDITOR 67
be the only doctrine of priesthood among Episcopalians, I said expressly that
the interpretation of the Episcopal position ' ' in low-church circles takes the
form of repudiation of ' sacerdotalism, ' although accompanied by loyal
conformity to a system which involves use of an order of ' priests. ' ' '
Unless I am mistaken, Dr. Thomas belongs to that Order, and was so
designated at his ordination. He therefore professedly believes in priest-
hood in some sense — the "low" church sense, I assume. Moreover, as a
priest of the English Church he commits himself to a sacerdotal form
which I did not cite, because it is not contained in the American Prayer
Book. I refer to the form of absolution which he is directed to use for
a sick person, "if he humbly and heartily desire it." In this absolution
occur the words, "And by His [Christ's] authority committed unto
me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
This seems to me to accentuate rather than to contradict a point made
in my article that, with all their mutual divergences of theological inter-
pretation, ' ' high, " " low ' ' and * ' broad ' ' church clergy are held together
in loyal conformity to a working system in which in some real sense priest-
hood is contained.
"I hope this explanation — I have no wish to combat Dr. Thomas' the-
ology — will not seem alien to the inspiring aim of your magazine. That
we may all be one is my earnest desire and prayer; and my attempts
clearly to explain the nature of a certain divergence which has to be
reckoned with in promoting unity are designed to make our labors for
unity more intelligent. I have no inclination to fight battles in your pages
or elsewhere.
With a "God bless you," P remain,
Sincerely yours,
New York. . Francis J. Hall,
Professor in the General Theological Seminary.
DR. GEO. E. HUNT, WHO INITIATED THE PHILADELPHIA CON-
FERENCE, REGARDS LOCAL UNIONS AS A COMPLIMENT
TO THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — Ever since I was a young pastor of a union church in a
€hicago suburb twenty-five years ago I have been hoping and praying for
a multiplication of that kind of a church. It was a real community church
with the religious and social life of the community centered in it. All
kinds of sects were represented in the membership — Baptists, Methodists,
Catholics, Universalists, Disciples, United Brethren, Friends, Episcopalians,
Congregationalists, Presbyterians — nearly all the denominations that be-
lieve in Jesus' kind of life. It was a happy family united in the fellow-
ship and spirit of the Master, and has existed and prospered for forty
years.
Years of waiting have passed and at times P have been all but hopeless
over the continuance of sectarian differences. After the natural
break-up of the Reformation in the new freedom of modern democ-
racy, each branch of the Reformed church witnessed vigorously to
its particular segment of the truth. During the pioneer days of this new
land, during the mighty struggle to conquer the material resources of this
new world, each of these reformed bodies struggled for a foothold. All
this struggle resulted in much unseemly rivalry, unhappy duplication and
overcrowding. Religion has been seriously handicapped by this sectarian
propaganda. High minded men with a vision of Christ's heart for the
unity of His followers made little progress in their protest at all this
68 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
waste and division. Here and there efforts were earnestly made to unite
the churches^ Slowly, very slowly did the sentiment for unity grow.
Progress in nature is often marked by long slow periods of growth, end-
ing by sudden spurts into maturity. The June rose grows very slowly
during May and early June — weeks of scarcely any change in the tight
green bud. Presently a sharp summer storm of beating rain and wind
disturbs the June night, and behold the morning sun shines into the full
blown rose — a miracle of sudden maturity. So after long years of slow
growth this sentiment for church union has come into a time of sharp
world-storm. America has been beaten and shaken as never before, shaken
out of her materialism, lifted into the atmosphere of the ideal, driven into
a spirit of mighty sacrifice in which her sectional differences have been
wonderfully forgotten and all her scattered forces and energies deeply
unified. In the light and heat of that mighty task of beating back autoc-
racy, the churches of America have felt the anomaly of their divisions, have
realized as never before the enormity of their task to make the world
Christian, and swiftly, like the opening of the June rose, union sentiment
has crystallized and expressed itself more vigorously in a single year than
in a generation previous. Churchmen hitherto divided by sectional and
sectarian jealousies have become eager in one short year for the New
Testament type of unity. Things were said and a spirit exhibited at
the Conference on Organic Union at Philadelphia last December that must
have made the angels sing and the Lord 's face shine.
Large bodies move slowly. Great denominations, hoary with rich his-
toric traditions, anchored by millions of trust fund endowments, cannot
merge in organic union in a day. Legal difficulties, vast machinery ad-
justments in world-wide organizations, gentle leading of men out of deep-
seated prejudices and widespread differences of worship and method — all
require a period of years to overcome and smooth over. Human nature
cannot be shoved nor crowded in matters of voluntary free choice. Like
love, it must be spontaneous and free, if a true marriage is made. Fur-
thermore, church union must come largely along lines of real service and
programme of action, rather than along doctrinal and ritualistic lines.
In the meantime, while the leaders and officials of the national bodies
are working out a large enough machine to handle national mergers, the
movement at the home end of the scale, in the villages and towns all over
America is quiety and effectively bringing church union. From Maine to
California church folks in the local churches are talking, feeling and ac-
tually working toward organic union. It is so widespread and so purely
local a process that the big public is hardly aware of it yet. The writer's
name as the initiator of the movement for organic union among the Pres-
byterians last spring was publicly connected with this union idea, and
by reason of that his mail has been heavy with inquiries and reports about
church unions all over the land. So many are the requests for him to go
and address communities on the subject that he could spend all his time
responding to such requests. He does spend too mueh of his time as a
busy pastor both in public address and in correspondence answering re-
quests for information and plans. One is amazed at the spontaneity and
eagerness of the common church folks in America for church union. Ev-
erywhere eliminations of superfluous churches, federations and actual
mergers among local churches are taking place. It is a process so wide-
spread and insistent that most reluctant sectarian zealots among superin-
tendents and denominational organizers have to face it and reckon with
it. Ask any Methodist superintendent to-day how many villages and
towns in his district are talking and actually moving toward local church
union and you will be surprised to find how universal it is.
This local movement so widespread is the natural compliment to the
national movement, and before the larger bodies are ready with the ma-
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 69
chinery for national organic union, the local churches everywhere are going
to be pressing into this unified kingdom.
.It would be wise and timely for the Ad Interim Committee of the Phila-
delphia Conference, made up as it is of the representatives of all the
larger bodies interested, to provide a temporary plan for the union of
local churches. Property interests involved are so large and so touchy
a problem for human nature that many mistakes are likely to occur that
may lead to quarrels and worse yet to litigation. If some workable plan
for local union on a temporary basis could be devised by the Ad Interim
Committee for local use during the period required for working out the
national machinery for national merger, it would greatly facilitate the
safe and sane progress of organic union.
Thank God, brethren, it is coming. God is moving. No man-made
power on earth can stop it. It is the modern answer of God to the ancient
prayer of Christ and his Apostles for unity.
Cordially yours,
Madison, Wis. Geo. E. Hunt,
Pastor Christ Presbyterian Church.
DR. RUFUS W. MILLER EMPHASIZES UNITY IN SOME VrSIBLE
FORM
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — Christ prayed for a unity of will and life so that we might
have life and power to manifest Him to His world through the church which
is His body. From this point of view it seems to me that the prospects of
the Interchurch Conference on Organic Union are exceedingly bright. The
members of the Ad Interim Committee are evidencing the real motive for
unity; namely, the desire to bring the world to Christ and they, therefore,
recognize the necessity of the manifesting of the one Life who alone was
able to subdue all things unto Himself.
History shows that our divisions arose and that they are being per-
petuated by the pride and diversity and instability of the human will.
Man, in the pride of his self -opinion, has dared to act as if to him had
been intrusted the whole counsel of the Almighty and as if God were shut
in to this or that particular means for the salvation of the world. Hence
it is true that, too often, prayers for unity are in substance only that God
will bring the world to agree with us.
The war has opened the eyes of Christians to the fundamental truth
that the Church of Jesus Christ must be united in a spirit of love. It
is evident from the brief investigations of the Ad Interim Committee that
this spirit of love is seeking visible unity in many ways among the evan-
gelical churches of America.
It is evident, too, that there is agreement that Christian unity must be
visible. Spirituality alone is not effective, for it is not recognized by the
world, which knows not the things of the Spirit. To convince the world,
there must be something that the world can see. Unity itself is spiritual,
for the Spirit is life, but if it be truly spiritual, it will manifest itself
visibly.
We believe that spiritual unity is here and that the followers of Christ
will be able to get together in some organic, outward form which will
manifest the life of Christ.
The one note running through the proceedings of the Philadelphia Con-
ference, as given in the last number of The Christian Union Quarterly,
is the dominant note of spiritual unity and the earnest desire to achieve
this in some visible form.
Philadelphia, Pa. Rufus W. Miller,
Secretary of the Publication and Sunday-school Board of the
Reformed Church.
70 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
MR. HENRY W. JESSUP THINKS AD INTERIM COMMITTEE OF
THE INTERCHURCH CONFERENCE MAY BLAZE THE
TRAIL TO A COMPLETE MERGER OF
PROTESTANT FORCES
To tlie Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The Organic Union of the Churches of Christ in America vs.
The Survival of Sectarian Claims. That is the issue joined. I hold a brief
for the plaintiff. Denominationalism is on the defensive, The laity of the
land are becoming aroused to the situation.
Is " organic union" a prophecy of the goal to be reached — or a mere
dream of an ideal to be stipulated over to the millennium 1 ?
There are difficulties to be overcome. If there were not it would not be
a man's job. A witty Frenchman put the challenge of difficulty to man-
hood in an epigram when he said, "Si c'est impossible, c' est dejafait."
Shall Christians take a less heroic stand! The bunker to be played
over is denominationalism. It is a heartbreaker. The trap before it is
filled with deep sectarian sand. The difficulty must not be underestimated.
The ordination vows of the ministry of our various denominations are not
to be lightly scorned. As long as the separate communions are to exist
separately their clergy are bound in honor to stand by their separate
tenets. Hence the laity of these communions who are in the ratio of 1000
to 1 must be aroused to the point of compelling their several denomina-
tions to subordinate their distinctive claims to the primary claim of the
Christ, that His followers be one.
The way to unite is to unite. But in any advance it is the first step
that counts. We realize the dangers .of disunity. "We long for the prizes
of unity. What is the first step then? It must be taken — it cannot safely
be skipped. The ultimate step is complete merger with all that the term
implies.
The United Church of Christ in the U. S. A., will be such a merger.
But the first step is an organic union in the redemptive work of Christ
in the world under such an organization as will subordinate the denomina-
tionalism of the constituent communions to the unification of all their
activities of missions, benevolence and social service. Such ' ' organiza-
tion" must have real powers of review and control delegated to it. The
constituent churches must by solemn covenant agree to effectuate such
powers by obedience to its decrees. For a time they can be left free to pre-
serve their denominational forms of government and modes of worship. But
they must get together in the work of the Master. Melanchthon is recorded
as saying, ' i Would to God we could preserve a government by bishops ! ' '
But the churches of America are the ones to decide such a question when
it confronts them — not the clergy alone. Take the first step. Get to-
gether — work together. Gather the harvest together. In the shadow of
the sheaves later on the gleaners will feel only the glow of service jointly
done, and will net think much of the colors of one another's hair or the
conformation of ecclesiastical profiles.
Take the first step: Federal union is organic if it contain the principle
of growth. Centralization of the power of administrative agencies and
increased efficiency will be the developmental leaven.
Such a period of cooperation will result in resolving the legal prob-
lems of a merger. The United Churches of Christ united in His work
will imperceptibly but surely determine to become The United Church of
Christ. An organic administrative unity will grow into an organic eccle-
siastical unity. The divisive will be eliminated if only "for euphony," as
the grammarians have it — or will go into the common treasury of the
common inheritance of the histories and creeds of Christendom.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 71
Such United Church will embrace the activities of Protestant Chris-
tianity. Freedom will be its watchword. It will erect no hierarchy, nor
assume any prelacy.
Its bishops will be overseers of its widening missionary work. Its
members will be co-workers in the fields white to the harvest.
That the Ad Interim Committee of the Interchurch Conference on Or-
ganic Union may blaze the trail to such a journey 's end should be the
prayer of all the churches in the United States.
Henry W. Jessup,
Presbyterian Representative on the Ad Interim Committee,
55 Liberty St., New York.
DR. J. H. GARRISON SEES IN THE PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCE
THAT THE DREAM OF JESUS IS NOT IMPRACTICABLE
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — I read with deep interest the April issue of the Quarterly
containing the papers read at the Philadelphia Conference. There is no
question but that the papers disclose a much wider and deeper feeling as to
the need of Christian unity in order that the church shall accomplish
Christ 's will in the world than has generally prevailed. That in itself
is a great gain. But there is another sign of progress scarcely less im-
portant than the feeling of oughtness and necessity that underlies these
pleas for unity, and that is the growing conviction that such union as
Jesus prayed for is not an impracticable dream, as ifc was once said to be.
The ground of this increased belief in the possibility of bringing about
the union and cooperation of evangelical churches, it is easy to see, from
the run of these articles, is the conviction- that unity in theological opin-
ions and practices is not essential to Christian unity; that faith in Christ
and love for Him and for each other, with a mutual desire to do His will
on earth as in heaven, ought to be a sufficient basis of union, at least to
begin with. Assimilation would be the natural result of closer union and
fellowship.
When Paul admonished the brethren of his day to "keep the unity of
the faith in the bond of peace V he gave the following elements of that
unity as he saw it : One body, one spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Eph. 4:4-6). In these
seven elements of unity, where is the lack to-day? Instead of the "one
body" of apostolic times we have allowed ourselves in times past to be-
come separated into what we call different religious bodies; but in spite
of that fact we are coming more and more to recognize each other as
parts of that one body. The- pressing duty just now, it seems to me,
i& to increase this consciousness of being members of "one body," by
cutting off as far as possible things which emphasize our separateness
and entering at once into closer relationship. We are all agreed, are we
not, in the "one Lord," Jesus Christ our Saviour, "one faith," which
has our "one Lord" as its object, and in the "one baptism," which is
by the authority of the "one Lord," and has to do with our relation-
ship to Him? But differences of opinion and practice have prevailed as
to the form of such baptism and the qualifications preceding it. Perhaps
here is the greatest, difficulty to be overcome in order to the fulfilment
of our Lord's Prayer among Protestants at least.
The question is just here: Can those churches that believe baptism to
be an act of faith by which the believer puts on Christ, and that its form
is typical of Christ's burial and resurrection and of the believer's burial
with Him and his rising with Him to walk in newness of life; and those
churches that equally accept baptism as Christ's command, but believe
it's form to be indifferent, and that faith preceding the act, in the case
72 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
of infants, may be substituted by that of parents or guardians, acting for
the child — can these two classes of churches, believing each other to be
equally loyal to Christ, as they understand Him, il forbearing one an-
other in love," regard each other as churches of Christ and cooperate as
such, while each church is permitted to be loyal to the truth, as God
gives it to see the truth? If there should be on the part of all a sur-
render of denominational names, aims, creeds and spirit, there would be
a much wider disposition to tolerate differences on this and kindred topics,
as long as the conscience of all were left inviolate. This would not per-
haps be a perfect union; but would it not be an important step in that
direction and one that would promise an ultimate reaching of the goal?
Let us at least think and pray about this matter, and ask that we be led
of Christ into more vital union with Himself and with each other.
Yours in and for Christ and His Church,
Claremont, Cal. J. H. Garrison,
Editor Emeritus The Christian-Evangelist.
PROF. GEO. W. RICHARDS WRITES OF THE PROSPECTS OF THE
INTERCHURCH CONFERENCE ON ORGANIC UNION
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The Conference on Organic Union in Philadelphia, December
last, is another evidence of a deep-felt need of cooperation between the
churches for the work of the kingdom and of a growing desire in Chris-
tians of different groups for a fellowship closer than an alliance or a
federation. The Spirit of God is working discontent with the old order
and is gradually guiding men into a new. One cannot with certainty
predict the final outcome of the conference; yet, in the light of what has
been done thus far, he may have a reasonable hope of certain results.
The churches do not now appear to be ready for complete organic union,
that is, for the dissolution of the supreme judicatory of each, and the
organization of a new judicatory for all the churches. There is not
sufficient agreement on the essentials of Christianity in distinction from
its institutional and dogmatic forms to make such a procedure either de-
sirable or possible at this time. Organic union, in the full sense of the
term, cannot and ought not to come by compromise of principles or the
sacrifice of convictions, but must be attained by a spontaneous expression
of a new conception of Christianity which will unite men as necessarily as
the old conception divided them.
There appears to be, however, sufficient unity of spirit between the
evangelical churches of the United States to warrant an attempt at an
organization which will be more effective than the Evangelical Alliance
or the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. It may be
considered a step from federation toward organic union. Two things are
paramount and indispensable in the new organization: (1) More effective
collective action of the constituent churches for the larger work of the
kingdom; (2) the maintenance of the freedom of the group and the in-
dividual in faith and order, which the evangelical churches have hitherto
enjoyed.
A union of this kind will require a supreme council composed of repre-
sentatives, lay and clerical, of all the churches. In it will be vested cer-
tain definite legislative, executive, and judicial powers which all the
churches must recognize as authoritative and final. Such an arrangement
will leave the present organization of the churches intact, and yet will
require the surrender of certain prerogatives to the supreme council so
as to result in effective cooperative action.
This plan, it seems to me, would give visible and corporate form to the
degree of Christian unity which now exists in the evangelical churches
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 73
and would also cultivate a larger degree of unity for the future by the
constant fellowship of representative men and by the cooperation of all
the members in the redemptive work of Christ.
Lancaster, Pa. Geo. W. Richards,
Professor in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church in the U. S.
DR. J. S. ROMIG IS READY FOR UNION EVEN IF IT CALLED
FOR SACRIFICE
To tlie Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The prospects of organic union depend almost wholly on the
"plan."
Only a few general observations:
1. I was much impressed, at the conference in Philadelphia, with the
seriousness with which many denominations seemed to be considering or-
ganic union, and with the fact that it was union and not federation that
was in mind.
2. I am also impressed with the fact that the denominations which are
indigenous to the United States seem to be the result of efforts for just
such a union as the conference is seeking. Their experience should be of
value now. The divisive things seem to have come mostly from across the
water, It seems to follow that if we are to form a union it will have to
be American in spirit and form. An organic union throughout the world,
of the whole Christian church, seems to me neither possible nor advisable,
and the hope of such a union should not enter into our present plans.
Reason compels me to say . this, though I am a devoted member of a
church which has for nearly two centuries, maintained an international
organization.
3. There would seem to be little hope of union between those who hold
a sacerdotal conception of the ministry and those who do not. People who
hold differing views on the subject of Baptism and the Lord 's Supper can
work and worship together, because these are matters in which each can-
follow his own beliefs without interfering with his neighbor. But the
sacerdotal, or even the (< apostolic/' view of the ministry concerns not the
individual but the whole organization. P am a member of an episcopal
church, whose succession was acknowledged as valid, by Parliament, in
1749. But the Moravian Church, much as it prizes its episcopacy — for his-
toric and spiritual reasons — recognizes the ministry of all the churches, and
does not hold a sacerdotal view.
4. Instead of attempting to force a cohesion of bodies which may have
no desire to cohere and no affinity one for the other (which might be as
easy as to make a ' ' snow-ball ' ' of feathers), would it not be wiser to
determine just what it is that we hope to achieve in church union, and
then to seek to achieve those ends without attempting more? The aims
would seem to be these: the elimination of overlapping, waste and neglect;
the presentation of a united front in Home and Foreign Missions; the
maintenance of a supreme body, able, with authority, to represent all
the churches.
5. It seems to me that these ends might be reached if the following
course were followed: First, adopt a plan of a Federal church on a broad,
democratic basis. Secure a board of directors including representatives
of all willing denominations. Let that board be authorized to found Fed-
eral churches where there is opportunity. Let the Federal ministry be
consecrated by these representatives jointly. Invite the amalgamation of
individual congregations under this Federal church, in over-churched sec-
tions. Invite whole denominations to merge into this Federal church.
Let the union grow — as fast as sentiment approves. Eventually, form
State and County boards of directors. Such a movement could be intro-
74 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
duced without doing violence to any church. And then, let the Home and
Foreign Mission Boards secure the degree of union desirable in the already
existing Foreign Missions Conference and Home Missions Council.
I am not without hope that some denominations might be ready to
merge into such a Federal church. My own denomination believes that
it is the survival of the first body which separated from Rome as a
Protestant church. Its own ministry dates back to 1467. I cherish the
belief that it would be ready to be the first to take the step back into union
if such a sacrifice would really help to accomplish something worth while
and glorify the Saviour. Yours fraternally,
Philadelphia, Pa. John S. Romig,
Pastor First Moravian Church.
DR. EDGAR DE WITT JONES REGARDS THE INTERCHURCH
CONFERENCE AS EXTRAORDINARY
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — I congratulate The Christian Union Quarterly on giving
so much attention to the great Interchurch Conference on Organic Union,
which was held in Philadelphia last December and to which I had the honor
of going as a delegate. The conference was in every way extraordinary,
but especially so in the unity of spirit and purpose which characterized all
of its sessions. One sensed something more than mere resolution or enthu-
siastic prophecies in that assembly. There was an undercurrent of passion
and power. The report of the gathering as given in The Quarterly is
truly great. I wish it were possible to put a copy of the April number of
The Quarterly in the hands of the office bearers of every congregation
in the land. P should like to know if you printed a sufficient number of
extra copies to supply at least every minister in the various communions
represented in the conference with a copy. It may interest you to know
that when I returned from the conference, I found the laymen in my com-
munity greatly interested and wanting to know the particulars of the
Philadelphia meeting. I had a number of letters from laymen in nearby
towns asking for copies of reports, recommendations, etc. If it is pos-
sible to bring the purposes and some report of the conference to group
meetings over the land of representative laymen and ministers, great good
will come thereof I am sure. I feel very hopeful and happy over the
outlook of the reunion of divided Christendom.
Most fraternally yours,
Edgar DeWitt Jones,
Bloomington, 111. President of the International Convention
of Disciples.
i)R. RAYMOND CALKINS THINKS A FEDERATED UNION MOST
LIKELY AT THIS PERIOD
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — Unfortunately I have not been able to attend regularly the
meetings of the Interchurch Conference on Organic Union. I do not feel,
therefore, that I can make a very helpful contribution to your discussion
on the outlook of this conference. Personally I should favor a plan of
actual merger of different denominations in a single church which should
include the spiritual emphasis and different ecclesiastical values of them
all. My judgment, however, is that so complete a plan as this, while it
might meet with the approval of the committee, would still meet with re-
sistance from the clergy and laity at large, who would not yet be ready
entirely to surrender denominational existence. As a matter of practical
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 75
judgment, therefore, I am inclined to favor some plan of federated union
whereby the churches would have an inclusive name with separate and sub-
ordinate denominational title, and which should be united in some federal
council which should have actual authoritative powers to integrate and
regulate all missionary enterprises both home and foreign, and to conduct
all interdenominational work. Out of such a union as this, with the growth
of mutual sympathy and understanding, there might well emerge that
single church which will represent a reunited Protestantism in a future
world.
While this would seem to me to be the most practical step to be taken, I
think it would be a mistake to close our minds to the possibilities under the
Spirit of God of even larger things at the present time when the hearts of
men are turning strongly towards Christian union. If the minds and
hearts of men should be shown to be ready for a larger programme than
that which I have indicated, by all means let us have the faith and courage
to go forward.
Very sincerely yours,
Raymond Calkins,
Cambridge, Mass. Minister First Congregational Church.
PRESIDENT W. H. BLACK BELIEVES THERE WILL BE NO MORE
EFFORTS AT FORMING A CREED
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir : —Concerning the Interchurch Conference on Organic Union,
I would say that the most important thing just at present, in the initiation
of the movement, before the Ad Interim Committee, is the decision of the
question as to whether they will recommend the framing of a new creed,
or let the symbols already in existence stand respectfully as the expression
of the church 's views along that line so far as churches want an expression.
I believe it would hamper the movement to undertake to frame a new
creed. I have tested this out in ministerial meetings at Carthage, Missouri,
and St. Louis, Missouri, where the matter was formally discussed by a
group of probably forty ministers in each case, and the most emphatic
voice, as P could gather, was in favor of not undertaking to write a creed.
Secondly: I think the conviction is deep and growing, that our de-
nominationalism should be reduced to a minimum. Many plans are already,
thought out in more or less detail, but none, so far as I know, has yet suc-
ceeded in crystallizing opinion about itself. It is to be hoped, however,
that conferences will lead to unanimity in the end.
The real results of present efforts may issue in by-products of the move-
ment and instead of getting together all at once, there may be a union of
homogeneous denominations which will possibly eventuate in a more com-
pact union later.
Yours truly,
W. H. Black,
Marshall, Mo. President Missouri Valley College.
DR. R. E. WILLIAMS EMPHASIZES CHRISTIAN UNITY, AND THE
KIND OF IT WE NEED
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — Regarding the outlook on the prospects of the Interchurch
Conference on Organic Union, I submit the following: (1) Looking at it
from the viewpoint of Christian unity, it is coming. (2) When it does
come it will be more of an unity than of uniformity, and of a federation
than a merger. (3) As it develops and matures, many of the smaller
76 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
bodies may merge with larger ones of similar views, as some of them are
now comtemplating doing; but it will be more difficult for the stronger
bodies to eliminate their long cherished differences and become one organic
body of believers. But they can confederate, and come to a closer Chris-
tian union— that of spirit, faith, love, and cooperation. (4) This is also
what many of us are coveting, as we think it better for God's kingdom.
(5) We should put forth all effort to secure this kind of unity. There
are in the world to-day two formidable foes — the apostate which is much
in evidence, though gathering its confederates together, and developing
its strength under cover of ' ' the mystery of iniquity ; ' y and the spiritual
incorporated in the saints, organized under various church banners, though
following the same Leader, and being trained and disciplined by the same
Holy Spirit. Even to stem the tide, (much more to win victories) " until
the Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall (finally) consume with the
spirit of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming,' ' the
latter should universally come together, be thoroughly organized, don
their armor, be imbued with Christian love, and follow their leader, Christ.
To do this our various religious bodies need not lose their identity, any
more than the Allied armies and ours did in fighting our common foes
in France. What we need is for all to be one in spirit, aim, and purpose
with a willingness to cooperate in every way possible for the good of the
cause, and to sink our differences to that end. To bring us to this, how-
ever, we need a federation having this as its definite aim, holding con-
ferences similar to the one on Organic Union held in Philadelphia, Dec.
4-6, 1918, but distributing the speakers in the evenings among the various
churches so as to reach all our members. What we mostly need to bring
about a spirit of unity and cooperation is to know each other better — the
good that is in each, and the good we are doing. I am proud to think of
the great change that has already taken place amongst our religious
bodies in this respect, but there is room for more. Let this spirit of love
and unity prevail, and let all our evangelical bodies present an united
front, until a victory through Christ be ours.
Sincerely yours,
R. E. Williams,
Philadelphia, Pa. Stated Clerk of the Calvinistic Methodist (or
Welsh Presbyterian) Church, U. S. A.
DR. W. M. ANDERSON BELIEVES PLAN OF UNION IS DRIFTING
TOWARD FEDERATION
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The Ad Interim Committee, composed of representatives
from most of the Protestant churches in the United States is meeting
monthly for the purpose of devising a plan which, if adopted by the differ-
ent governing bodies will present a united front by all of the evangelical
forces thus represented. The fact that these men are meeting, praying and
working for this purpose means much for the kingdom of Christ. The
fraternal spirit which is evident in all of the committee meetings is a most
blessed omen of larger and better things for the churches of Christ in this
country. The first meeting of the committee was largely occupied in per-
fecting an organization and two other meetings have followed. The plan
of union is drifting toward federation. The federation of the states into
our U. S. government as a plan would be closely followed. So far no
system has been worked out but able men on the committee have spent
much time and prayer on the problem. The task has many difficulties but
these will dissolve before consecrated men who are deeply in earnest. To
the present time it is evident that it is useless to talk of differences in
church creeds and polity.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOE 77
In essentials the brethren stand as a unit. In the plan of salvation and
the world's need of the Saviour there is no difference of opinion. A work-
able plan for the sake of carrying out the commission of our Lord is as
necessary as theu nited movement of the Allies against a common foe. For
efficiency, economy and prestige the federation is bound to be an accom-
plished fact. Protestantism has lacked unity on all problems of the king-
dom and we are glad to say that the days of this weakness are numbered.
The Ad Interim Committee should be much in the thoughts and prayers
of the people of God, that His Spirit may be the guiding light in this
most important undertaking.
The over-churching in the home fields is practically at an end. No one
can estimate the number of pastors nor the amount of money to be re-
leased when an approved plan of federation is put into an acceptable shape.
The burden of the committee lies in creating a plan which will be so popu-
lar that none of the supreme judicatories can reject it. Patience is re-
quired on the part of the impatient who must recognize that all of the army
of the Lord are not so far advanced as those who have made this matter
a subject of thought and prayer for many years. Perhaps the foreign
missionary work will receive the largest benefit from the proposed federa-
tion. The fields do not overlap yonder so much as they do in America, but
there are matters of higher education especially in medical and theological
training where vast amounts of money and energy may be saved through
the proposed federal union of the evangelical denominations. The way is
opening up gradually for such conservation of money and missionaries in a
manner that the supporters of the work at home will know that their con-
tributions are being expended to the greatest advantage in the Lord's
work. The united effort means the hastening of the day of our Lord.
Very sincerely,
W. M. Anderson,
Philadelphia, Pa. Moderator of the General Assembly of the
United Presbyterian Church of North
America.
DE. EDWIN HEYL DELK SAYS THAT UNITY IS NOT TO COME BY
MACHINEEY, BUT BY VISION, BY COoPEEATION
AND BY A COMMON LIFE IN CHErST
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The one outstanding impression made upon me by the dis-
cussions, and the tentative constitution of the proposed unified ehurch is
that it cannot be made off-hand. It will come not by the machinery of
constitutions but by vision, cooperation and a common life in Christ. These
were the factors in the church of the first century that gave reality and vital-
ity to its existence. The same forces will be factors in the united church of
the future. Life precedes organization, at least it is life that gives power
for organization. There must be constitutions but they are dependent upon
likeness of spirit, aim and work. The dissevered parts of the church have
not yet arrived at such a unity of thought, purpose and feeling as makes
possible our hope of church unity. We are still living in the region of
our distinctive differences of theology, polity and cultus. Not until we
shall attain a clearer vision of essential faith, the common task performed
and the bond of a love that is rich and full dare we hope for a vital unifica-
tion of our varied communions. The true church is far more spiritual in its
nature than our present differences indicate. We still give first place to
dogmatic orthodoxies, clerical validities and the method of sacramental pro-
cedure. These things must be but woe unto him that places them on the
same plane of importance as faith, hope and love. Such a church as we
dream of eannot be manufactured, it must grow in our brains and hands
\
78 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
and heart. It is coming, indeed it is here already in the lives of little
groups in all our separated denominations. Expand these groups and
some day they will run together with a great shout of joy. In one sense
the higher the life the more complex is its structure but so long as the
central control is one the complexity of life does exclude unity. The
catholicity which is in Christ is not uniformity or likeness of parts but one-
ness in variety of expression. Catholicity and Protestantism are different
in their history. There has been evil and good in each. Our problem is
how to preserve the individualism of the one in the universalism of the
other. Because we have not yet attained to the point of such vision, co-
operation and life we need not despair of their revelation. Frank debate,
more federated work and a close, personal fellowship will create the
atmosphere and spirit which shall finally formulate the covenant that shall
bind men in vital union with Christ and with one another.
Very sincerely,
Edwin Heyl Delk,
Philadelphia, Pa. Pastor St. Matthew's Lutheran Church.
MR. EDWARD H. BONSALL THINKS WHEN LAYMEN ARE
AROUSED THE CONSUMMATION OF CHRISTIAN
UNION WILL BE SPEEDY
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — I am very hopeful of the outcome of the Interchurch Con-
ference on Organic Union. During these years of stress and strain we
have come to see the vanity of the things which we as Christians have
permitted to grow into walls of partition between us. Conferences such
as those already held cannot fail to promote the will for unity. When
that has been really developed it will not be long before a way will be
found. Then, without the sacrifice of any essential of the faith we can
all bring our mutual contributions and find that the things which have
separated us are as nothing in comparison with those in which we are at
one.
Already the differences in various family groups such as the Lutherans,
for instance, have disappeared and hopeful approaches are being made
by other churches.
I have always believed that when the rank and file of the membership
of the several churches became really concerned over the loss of spiritual
power arising from our divisions and our failure to present a united wit-
ness for the Master, the consummation for which our Lord prayed would
speedily come to pass. As I write this on the anniversary of that prayer,
it is with a solemn sense that God is calling upon men to-day to shake
loose the shackles which have bound us to our partisan shibboleths, and
in the clearer vision which has dawned out of the darkness of these years
of war, recognize the essential things on which I am satisfied we are and
long have been really agreed.
' ' Strike hands then brethren of the Faith
Whate'er your race may be.
Who serves my Father as a son
Is surely kin to me.
<{ In Christ now meet both East and West
In Him meet South and North
And Christly men are one in Him
Throughout the whole round earth."
Yours sincerely,
Edward H. Bonsall,
Philadelphia, Pa. Treasurer of the Interchurch Conference
Land Title Building. on Organic Union.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 79
DR. S. C. PRIEST SAYS THE ONLY QUESTION IS SHALL WE TAKE
THE SCRIPTURES ?
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — "They were first called Christians at Antioch. " They were
afterward, as human agencies and individual prejudices crept into the
church, called by other names without any divine authority whatever.
Autocracy in the separated organizations reigned supreme and any indi-
vidual interpretation of the holy Scripture not in accordance with "au-
thority" was condemned as heretical. Men in high places put on robes
and sanctified airs in their official and so-called religious performances
and actions. They were of a superior race and were to be more wor-
shiped than the Christ, whose servants they were supposed to be. Happily,
education became universal and the Bible became common property among
common people. Light began to shine in humble homes, and the Scrip-
ture being read by all, they began to inquire, Whence come these divisions
among us neighbors? They found that human made creeds of the various
sects taught something of Scripture, but more of class. The clergy heard
the rumblings and heeded; had they not the same conditions would have
existed ad infinitum. These ministers of to-day with more Christ and less
creed are now awake to the necessity of a united church, if a world is to
become Christian rather than heathen. But the ministers must discuss
and discuss. Some wish to retain their human insignia, others their grand
historical (human) records, others their peculiar forms and ceremonies,
etc., etc. They approach and retreat, consider and reconsider the only
question that should be considered and answered without hesitation, argu-
ment or delay, viz: Shall we take the holy Scripture as our only guide
book or creed and Jesus Christ as our only head and leader?
I have known of separated societies in the human walks of life to unite
their efforts without so much discussion; for example, the medical pro-
fession that was a few years ago called * ' Regulars, ' ' " Homeopaths, ' '
' ' Botanies, ' ' " Eclectics, ' ' etc., now have united as physicians, all be-
longing to one body "The American Medical Association. ' '
I have read all of the articles in The Quarterly for April and most
heartily endorse Rev. A. C. Thomas' seven points as being the only Scrip-
tural basis for the union of a divided church.
S. C. Priest, Physician.
Newark, Ohio.
A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST WRITES CONCERNING
THE ONE TEST
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — "He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he
that belie veth not shall be damned' ' (Mark 16:16). These terrible words
are not those of a pope, St. Athanasius or a general council, but from Jesus
Christ Himself — hence not to be contradicted. To deny them would be
blasphemy. St. Paul was right in saying "Without faith it is impossible
to please God" (Heb. 11:6).
Faith then is the foundation of the plan of salvation. Without faith
no one can be a Christian. Do all Bible readers weigh properly this con-
dition so absolutely demanded for entrance into heaven? Leo XIII. defines
faith thus: "Faith is that supernatural virtue by which through the help
of God and through the assistance of His grace, we believe what He has
revealed to be true, not on account of the intrinsic truth perceived by the
natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Himself — the
Revealer, who can neither deceive nor be deceived." Hence we believe
divine truth, knowing the wise and good God would not lead His children
astray. Our faith is a divine not a human one. To doubt God's word
80 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
reason tells us would be an unmentionable insult to the God of truth. Firm
faith in God's entire revelation is an absolute necessity for salvation.
Where can these divine truths be found? It would be cruel on the part of
Jesus Christ if He imposed an impossible law. The provision is made
by the Great Commission, ' ' Going therefore teach, all ye nations ; bap-
tizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the
world" (Matt. 28:19, 20).
"He that is not with me is against me and he that gathereth not with
me scattereth" (Matt. 12:30). Jesus says all His words must be be-
lieved. His time was too precious to spend in idle words. Hence those
persons must be antichrists who claim that they are at liberty to believe
what they please. The proclamation of Jesus is the test, not that of poor
mortals. These divine truths are difficult to acquire and cannot be under-
stood since they are divine mysteries. No human reason could have dis-
covered them; hence Jesus Christ was in duty bound to select some men
to whom He would give charge of these sublime mysteries. Such men must
be on this globe yet, else Jesus Christ would not be a Saviour to the present
generation. The entire race needs Jesus Christ and His truth until the end
of time. Can these men who have charge of the gospel truth be found?
Or, in short, where is God's church, which can neither deeeive nor be
deceived? Find God's commissioned teachers; the"n religious confusion
will cease. All will again worship at the same altar. The same channels
of grace will be universally used and the angels will sing, 4 1 Glory be to God
on high and peace to men of good will. " Peace in the church will mean
peace the world over.
Yours for unity,
Raymond Vernimont,
Denton, Texas. Catholic Priest.
[The Book Review section is crowded out of this number in consequence
of the many letters to the Editor, dealing with the Interchurch Conference
on Organic Union.]
VOL. IX
NO. 2
"Let no man glory in his denomination; that is sectarianism: but let all men
glory in Christ and practice brotherhood with men; that is Christianity. 9 *
TTTI?
IJlIHi
CHRISTIAN UNION
QUARTERLY
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
r M 1 get Christians to work together is the
-*■ immediate task of this generation. Aloof-
ness and isolation is heresy, denying both the
Lord Jesus and the principles upon which
Christianity rests. Cooperation is essentially
the eternal law of the universe, while competi-
tion is destruction to all good.
OCTOBER, 1919
THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY, Inc.
Seminary House, Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.
AGENTS:
Fleming H. Revell Company, New York
Christian Board of Publication, St. Louis
Maruzen Company, Ltd., Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sendai
Oliphants, Ltd., 21 Paternoster Square, London, E. C. 4; 100, Princes Street, Edinburgh
ONE DOLLAR A YEAR
TWENTY-FIVE GENTS A COPY
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
A Journal in the Interest of Peace in the Divided Church of
Christ. It is issued in January, April, July and October.
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
Vol. IX. OCTOBER, 1919 No. 2
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL :
Touring in the Interest of Christian Unity 9
THE RURAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION. Alva W.
Taylor 13
CHRISTIAN UNION. A. C. Thomas 28
CHRISTIAN UNITY PULPIT:
Unity in Diversity. T. A. Lacey 36
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY.. 43
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 66
BOOK REVIEWS 73
THIS JOURNAL IS INTERDENOMINATIONAL AND INTERNA-
TIONAL and is the servant of the whole Church, irrespective of name or
creed. It offers) its pages as a forum to the entire Church of Christ for a
frank and courteous discussion of those problems that have to do with
the healing of our unchristian divisions. Its readers are in all Communions.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.00 a year— twenty-five cents a copy. Remit-
tance should be made by New York draft, express order or money order.
ALL COMMUNICATIONS should be addressed to the Editor, at Seminary
House, Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.
Entered as second-class matter in the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo.
THE SPIRIT OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
The favorite figure in which the church of the first century set forth its
conception of the Spirit of Christianity is that of "the Good Shepherd.' '
The emblem which appears on this page is a reproduction of one of
the early Christian gems.
"ONE FLOCK
ONE SHEPHERD."
"No one has written more appreciatively respecting this symbol
than Dean Stanley in his Christian Institutions. It appealed to all his
warmest sympathies. 'What,* he asks, 'is the test or sign of Christian
popular belief, which in these earliest representations of Christianity
is handed down to us as the most cherished, the all-sufficing, token of
their creed? It is very simple, but it contains a great deal. It is
a shepherd in the bloom of youth, with the crook, or a shepherd's pipe,
in one hand, and on his shoulder a lamb, which he carefully carries, and
holds with the other hand. We see at once who it is; we all know with-
out being told. This, in that earliest chamber, or church of a Chris-
tian family, is the only sign of Christian life and Christian belief. But,
as it is almost the only sign of Christian belief in this earliest catacomb,
so it continues always the chief, always the prevailing sign, as long as
those burial-places were used.'
"After alluding to the almost total neglect of this lovely symbol
by the Fathers and Theologians, he says that it answers the question,
what was the popular religion of the first Christians? 'It was, in one
word, the religion of the Good Shepherd. The kindness, the courage,
the love, the beauty, the grace, of the Good Shepherd, was to them, if
we may so say, Prayer Book and Articles, Creed and Canons, all in one.
They looked on that figure, and it conveyed to them all they wanted.
As ages passed on, the Good Shepherd faded from the mind of the
Christian world, and other emblems of the Christian faith have taken
His place. Instead of the gracious and gentle Pastor, there came the
Omnipotent Judge, or the crucified Sufferer or the Infant in His mother's
arms, or the Master in His parting Supper, or the figures of innumerable
saints and angels, or the elaborate expositions of the various forms of
theological controversy.' But 'the Good Shepherd represents to us the
joyful, cheerful side of Christianity of which we spoke before. . . .
But that is the primitive conception of the Founder of Christianity in
those earlier centuries when the first object of the Christian community
was not to repel, but to include; not to condemn, but to save. The popular
conception of Christ in the early church was of the strong, the joyous
youth, of eternal growth, of immortal grace. ' ' ' — Frederic W. Farrar in
The Life of Christ as Represented in Art.
Organizations for the Promotion of Christian Unity
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Inc.
Having its inception in the work of Thomas Campbell, 1809, present or-
ganization 1910, President, Rev. Peter Ainslie; Secretary, Rev. H. C. Arm-
strong, Seminary House, Baltimore, Md., U. S. A. For intercessory prayer,
friendly conferences and distribution of irenic literature, ' ' till we all attain
unto the unity of the faith. " Pentecost Sunday is the day named for
special prayers for and sermons on Christian unity in all Churches.
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE UNITY OF CHRIS-
TENDOM, 1857, President, Athelstan Riley, Esq., 2 Kensington Court,
London; Secretary in the United States, Rev. Calbraith Bourn Perry, Cam-
bridge, N. Y. For intercessory prayer for the reunion of the Roman Cath-
olic, Greek and Anglican Communions.
CHRISTIAN UNITY ASSOCIATION OF SCOTLAND, 1903, Secretary,
Rev. Robert W. Weir, Edinburgh. For maintaining, fostering and ex-
pressing the consciousness of the underlying unity that is shared by many
members of the different Churches in Scotland.
CHRISTIAN UNITY FOUNDATION, 1910, President, Rt. Rev. Freder-
ick Courtney, office, 143 E. 37th St., New York. For the promotion of
Christian unity throughout the world by research and conference.
CHURCHMEN'S UNION, 1896, President, Prof. Percy Gardner; Hon.
Secretary, Rev. C. Moxon, 3 St. George's Square, London S. W., England.
For cultivation of friendly relations between the Church of England and
all other Christian bodies.
COMMISSION ON THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON FAITH AND OR-
DER, 1910, President, Rt. Rev. Charles P. Anderson; Secretary, Robert H.
Gardiner, Esq., Gardiner, Me., U. S. A. For a world conference of all
Christians relative to the unity of Christendom.
FEDERAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN AMERICA,
1908, President, Rev. Frank Mason North; Secretary, Rev. Charles S. Mac-
farland, 105 E. 22d St., New York. For the cooperation of the various
Protestant Communions in service rather than an attempt to unite upon
definitions of theology and polity.
FREE CHURCH FELLOWSHIP, 1911, Rev. Malcolm Spencer, Colue
Bridge House, Rickmansworth, London, N. For the cultivation of cor-
porate prayer and thought for a new spiritual fellowship and communion
with all branches of the Christian Church.
INTERCHURCH CONFERENCE ON ORGANIC UNION, 1918, Ad In-
terim Committee, Chairman, Rev. W. H. Roberts, Philadelphia, Pa.; Secre-
tary, Rev, Rufus W. Miller, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia. For the
organic union of the Evangelical Churches in the United States of America.
INTERCHURCH WORLD MOVEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA, 1919,
Chairman Executive Committee, John R. Mott, New York; General Secre-
tary, S. Earl Taylor, 920 Broadway, New York. For giving and accom-
plishing an adequate programme for Protestantism in the world.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCHES
OF ENGLAND, 1895, President, Rev. Principal W. B. Selbie, Mansfield
College, Oxford; Secretary, Rev. F. B. Meyer, Memorial Hall, E. O, Lon-
don. For facilitating fraternal intercourse and cooperation among the
Evangelical Free Churches in England.
CHRISTIAN UNITY CALENDAR
A World Conference on Faith and Order, time and place not
yet named.
At the instance of the Association for the Promotion of
Christian Unity, Pentecost Sunday has been named primarily as
the day for special sermons on Christian unity in all Churches,
along with prayers to that end.
A conference on the organic union of the evangelical commun-
ions of America will be held at a place and time to be desig-
nated later, perhaps in November or December of 1919. For
particulars write Rev. W. H. Roberts, D.D., Witherspoon Build-
ing, Philadelphia, Pa.
The Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church on the
World Conference on Faith and Order requests that the Week
of Prayer be observed January 18-25, 1920 (January 5-12 in
the Eastern Calendar). Suggestions as to the same may be
had from the secretary, Robert H. Gardiner, Gardiner, Maine.
Bibliography of Christian Unity
THE BOOKS included in this list are by Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Roman
Catholics, Congregationalists, Unitarians, Lutherans, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, etc.
CHRISTIAN UNION, Van Dyke, Appleton, 1885 $1.00
CHRISTIAN UNION, Garrison, St. Louis, Christian Board of Publication,
1906 1.00
CHRISTIAN UNION IN EFFORT, Firth, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1911.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNION IN SOCIAL SERVICE, Carlile, London, Clarke &
Co., 1913 2/6
CHRISTIAN UNITY, Briggs, Scribner, 1900 1.00
CHRISTIAN UNITY AT WORK, Macfarland, Federal Council 1.00
CHURCH DIVISIONS AND CHRISTIANITY, Grane, Macmillan, 1916 2.00
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ADVOCATING CHRISTIAN UNION,
Young, Chicago, The Christian Century Co., 1904 1.00
HOW TO PROMOTE CHRISTIAN UNION, Kershner, Cincinnati, The
Standard Publishing Co., 1916 1.00
LECTURES ON THE REUNION OF THE CHURCH, Dollinger, Dodd, 1872 1.50
LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN COOPERATION (Federal Council) Macfar-
land. 5 Vols • 5.00
OUR PLEA FOR UNION AND THE PRESENT CRISIS, Willett, Chicago,
Christian Century Co , 50
PASSING PROTESTANTISM AND COMING CATHOLICISM, Smyth,
Scribner, 1908 1.00
PROGRESS OF CHURCH FEDERATION, Macfarland, Revell .50
RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD, London, Swan Sonnenschein &
Co., 1908
RESTATEMENT AND REUNION, Streeter, Macmillan, 1914 75
SOME THOUGHTS OF CHRISTIAN REUNION, Carpenter, Macmillan,
1895 1.25
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF UNITY IN CHRISTEN-
DOM, Tamer, London, Elliott Stock, 1895
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Wells, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1905 75
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Whyte, Armstrong, 1907 25
THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM, Campbell, St. Louis, Christian Board of Pub-
lication, 1890 1.00
THE CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS UNITY, Kelly, Longmans, 1913 1.50
THE CHURCHES OF THE FEDERAL COUNCIL, Macfarland, Revell.... 1.00
THE LARGER CHURCH, Lanier, Fredericksburg, Va 1.25
THE LEVEL PLAN FOR CHURCH UNION, Brown, Whittaker, 1910 1.50
THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Cobb, Crowell, 1915 1.25
THE MESSAGE OF THE DISCIPLES FOR THE UNION OF THE
CHURCH, Ainslie, Revell, 1913 1.00
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS SECTS, McComas, Revell, 1912.... 1.25
THE SEVENFOLD UNITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Hall, Long-
mans, 1911 75
THE UNION OF CHRISTIAN FORCES IN AMERICA, Ashworth, Phila-
delphia. American Sunday-School Union, 1915 75
THE UNITED CHURCH OF THE UNITED STATES, Shields, Scribner,
1895 . . , 2.50
THOUGHTS OF THE PRESENT POSITION OF PROTESTANTISM,
Harnack, Macmillan, 1899 1.00
UNITY AND MISSIONS, Brown, Revell, 1915 1.50
WHAT MUST THE CHURCH DO TO BE SAVED? Simms, Revell, 1913.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNITY PRAYER LEAGUE
MEDITATION
We have now reached the point when we can begin to appreciate the
force of the contention that the supreme need of the hour is a catholic
Church. If we have long been realizing with growing intensity ' ' the
dangers we are in through our unhappy divisions/' the spectacle which
Christendom presents at this moment should drive us to our knees in
penitence and prayer. * * * Who can doubt that, if in every coun-
try which has staked its all upon the issues of this tremendous and
appalling strife, the universal Church had possessed not a nominal but an
effective existence; if the local societies of Christians in every land had
been living in corporate touch with one another; if the disciples of
Jesus, loyal in heart and soul to the soil which nourished them,
had yet been aware of a spiritual loyalty still more compelling — if in a
word the noble ideal of the Epistle to the Ephesians had been a practical
reality, not a sword would have been drawn, not a bolt shot, not a home
desolated? That is about as certain as anything can be. — Canon J. G.
Simpson, in The Conception of the Clvurch.
PRAYER
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great King and Head
of the Church, Who hast gathered us into this holy fellowship, Thou
Who alone canst save and sanctify, and be our strong Deliverer, we pray
that Thy Church may be set free from all her sins and frailties — from
all unbelief in Thee, from narrow conceptions of her mission, from fetters
of out-worn tradition, from listlessness, self-satisfaction, and blindness
to the needs of the present, from pride and vainglory, from fear and
cowardice, and from trust in outward things — that she may be presented
to Thee a glorious Church, holy and without blemish, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing. Hear us, O God, as we plead on behalf of
Thy Church, as she stands confronting the great need of the world, con-
scious of failure, humbled by her shortcomings, and yet eagerly longing
for fresh power from on High. Put forth Thy strength and come and
save us. Come and visit us with Thy salvation. Enable us to open our
hearts to the Word of our Living Lord and Saviour in this our day and
generation. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the days, in the
midst of the years make it known. — From Fellowship Litanies, No. 2.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS NUMBER
Alva W. Taylor
is the supervisor of the Interchurch Survey for the state of Missouri
and a member of the Social Service Commission of the Federal Council
of the Churches of Christ in America. He is professor of Social Serv-
ice and Christian Missions in the Bible College of Missouri and is one
of the contributing editors of The Christian Century, Chicago, and
author of The Social Work of Christian Missions, etc.
A. C. Thomas
is a member of the Ad Interim Committee of the Interchurch Confer-
ence on Organic Union of the Evangelical Protestant bodies in
America, representing the movement with which he is identified, known
as "Christian Union." He is the pastor of one of the churches bear-
ing that name, having given much time to the work of union among
the people of God.
T. A. Lacey
is the author of Unity and Schism which were lectures delivered on
the Bishop Paddock Foundation of the General Theological Seminary,
New York. He is a strong voice among Anglicans in behalf of a
united Christendom and has spoken with force on both sides of the
Atlantic in this interest.
THE RESURGENCE OF NEW LIFE
To-day there is an extraordinary danger besetting us that we
identify God with the old things as such, with the traditional,
with the past, with existing institutions, supposing that He is
to be seen nowhere else. Now, I have no doubt at all that
God is in the past; nevertheless, let us remember that the God
whom we worship is a God of new things; and may the Lord
deliver us from the blindness and the folly which supposes that
just because a thing is new it must be impious, or that it is
ungodly because it disturbs our comfort. We have to walk
warily to-day, with our faces towards the light, lest we make
a mistake. God may be pointing to us the way in this new
thing that to so many appears to be a spectre of unrest and
destruction. Amid the resurgence of new life among the com-
mon folk in all parts of the world to-day, in the impulse
towards emancipation and revolt which is spreading among
the workers everywhere, let us be very careful lest we miss
the very fingerprint and the countenance of God. For it is in
settings of that kind that God has revealed Himself in the
past, and it is so that He may be revealing Himself to this
generation. Look out for the new thing, for our God is a
God of surprises. Is it not written that "In an hour ye know
not" — yes, and in a fashion and a place ye know not — "the
Son of Man shall come?" — Bev. Bichard Boberts in a sermon
delivered in Bishopsgate Chapel.
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Vol. IX. OCTOBER, 1919 No. 2
EDITORIAL
TOURING IN THE INTEREST OF CHRISTIAN
UNITY
The editor of this journal made a tour during a part of
May and all of June from the Atlantic coast to the middle
west of the United States, speaking and holding confer-
ences in fourteen places. The purpose of this tour was
not so much to convey information regarding the Chris-
tian union movement, for most people are informed in
these matters, as it was to find at first hand the mind of
the church regarding this great issue.
The plan was to meet in an informal conference a
group of ministers and laymen to the number of forty to
sixty, including all communions in the city, then in the
afternoon of that day or the next day to meet a group of
women representing all communions. In most instances
a public meeting was held in the evening, and on Sunday
sometimes the whole day was given to Christian unity,
as was done in Lexington, Ky., under the direction of the
Et. Eev. Lewis W. Burton, D.D., bishop of that diocese.
In that instance there was a Christian unity service in the
First Methodist Church at eleven o'clock, a union serv-
ice of all the churches of Lexington in Christ Episcopal
Cathedral at four o'clock, and a Christian unity service
at the First Presbyterian Church at eight o'clock. In
some cities an Episcopalian had charge of all arrange-
ments, in others, Disciples, Congregationalists, etc. Rev.
9
10 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
E. L. Goodwin, D.D., editor of The Southern Churchman,
and Kev. H. D. C. Maclachan were chairmen for Rich-
mond; Rt. Eev. Lewis W. Burton, D.D., and Rev. I. J.
Spencer, LL.D., for Lexington ; Rev. A. B. Philputt, D.D.,
for Indianapolis ; Rev. Edgar DeWitt Jones, for Bloom-
ington ; Rev. F.- W. Rothenburger, for Springfield ; Rev.
Dr. Armstrong, secretary of the City Federation, for St.
Louis ; Rev. R. B. Briney, for Carthage, Mo. ; Hon. H. M.
Beardsley, a Congregationalist, for Kansas City ; Rev. M.
Lee Sorey, for Lawrence, Kansas; Rev. W. A. Shullen-
berger, for Des Moines ; Rev. A. M. Haggard, for Boone,
la. ; Rev. C. C. Morrison, editor of The Christian Century r
for Chicago; Rev. R. W. Woodroofe, of the Episcopal
Church, and Rev. J. H. Goldner, for Cleveland, etc.
In most instances at the noon hour a luncheon for
fifty to a hundred was provided, and in other instances a
public dinner in the evening for several hundred. Es-
pecially was this so in Chicago under the direction of
Rev. C. C. Morrison. Mr. Robert H. Gardiner, Gardiner,
Maine, secretary of the Commission on the World Con-
ference on Faith and Order, was with me in Baltimore
and Richmond and Dr. F. W. Burnham, Cincinnati, Ohio,
president of the American Christian Missionary Society,
was with me in Springfield and St. Louis. Both of these
rendered valuable service.
I sought to speak in behalf of the three most outstand-
ing movements for organic union. I named them in or-
der: first the Episcopal movement — the World Confer-
ence on Faith and Order — always emphasizing that fine
twofold question of this conference — What does your
communion hold in common with all Christendom and
what does it hold as a special trust that differentiates it
from all other bodies and therefore justifies its separate
existence? The second is the Presbyterian movement —
the Interchurch Conference on Organic Union, which
met last December in Philadelphia, the Ad Interim Com-
mittee of which is now at work on a plan for the union of
CHRISTIAN UNITY TOURING 11
all evangelical Protestants. This conference will meet
again in the autumn. After that the plan will be pre-
sented to the Protestant bodies for definite action.
Whether the plan now worked out or another be adopted
is secondary, only the evangelical Protestants must get
together, first, loosely bound without interference with
their denominational machinery, but to forthwith grow
into a harmonious force for united action. The third
movement is that of the Disciples — the Association for
the Promotion of Christian Unity, Baltimore — which em-
phasizes local conferences among all religious bodies, in-
tercessory prayer, for there can be no unity without the
atmosphere of prayer, and the distribution of irenic
literature. The only office in the world where all kinds
of Christian unity literature of irenic character under
the authorship of Protestants, Roman Catholics and
Greek Catholics can be obtained is in that office. They
send out 25,000 pieces of Christian unity mail a year
and to all parts of the world.
These three movements supplement each other. The
Episcopal movement is for the union of the whole church,
the Presbyterian movement for the union of evangelical
Protestants, and the Disciple movement helping both by
their local conferences, leagues of intercessory prayer
and distributing irenic literature in that interest.
This was doubtless the first tour of its kind ever
made in this country. I delivered sixty addresses. The
interest surpassed my expectations. There were always
many qustions asked and in turn questions were freely
answered. There is a genuine desire for Christian
unity which cannot be smothered by reactionary efforts.
The inquiry in many instances was "What can we do?"
Leagues for conferences, prayer and research must be
organized all over the country. The whole church is mak-
ing the discovery that divisions are unspiritual, unwise
and unnecessary. A divided church can never produce
the best spiritual results, and its attempts to win the
12 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
world in many instances rival the escapades of Don
Qnixote rather than that fundamental nnity which char-
acterized the life of the Founder of Christianity.
The distribution of literature has its function, but
the message of a united church must be carried by in-
dividuals. In the instance of the Prohibition movement
for many years America had to be evangelized in that in-
terest before the abolition of the saloon. It is no less
so regarding the unity of the church. There are both op-
position and indifference. These can be removed and
must be. Teams must go out until the whole nation has
been awakened. This awakening must not be on an
emotional basis, else it will quickly subside. There must
be literature, well written and well printed. Classes
must be organized for this work as in the temperance
cause and missionary endeavor. City, district, state and
national conferences must become permanent institu-
tions. It is the greatest task before the church and calls
now for the best men and women in the various com-
munions. It will require large sums of money, but when
men and women of large means become more interested
in Christ and a lost world than in their denominational
peculiarities the money will come, for a united church
is of God, preeminently, distinctly and .eternally. Al-
though great difficulties face us, the outlook is radiant
with hope.
While statesmen are planning for a league of nations,
as long years ago our forbears planned for a league of
( independent states that made this union of the United
States of America, it is high time that the whole church
should rally her forces for such a league of united action,
that not only the League of Nations may be maintained,
but that the new world may be upon better foundations
for permanent peace and social betterment than it was in
1914. This is no choice of ours ; it is a necessity, for an
unbelieving and wrecked world is the price we are pay-
ing for our divisions.
THE RURAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN
UNION
By Alva W. Taylor, Chairman of the Commission on Social Service for
the Disciples of Christ, Columbia, Mo.
We have hitherto discussed church union from the
standpoint of creeds and beliefs and established polities.
We have spent much time canvassing historical differ-
ences and debating over the vested interests of tradition.
We have pretty thoroughly exhausted possibilities in the
intellectual field.
The prayer of Christ for unity among his disciples was
in order that the world might believe. Howsoever our
creeds and polities may have functioned in the past the
outstanding problem to-day is what will function best
now in the task of bringing the world to believe on Christ.
If some good angel would take from our minds over night
all that clings tp tradition and sectarian loyalty and
leave in our hearts nothing but devotion to Jesus and the
Gospel plus our church organizations, what assessment
would we make of the value of the instrument we
are given with which to do the work of bringing the
world to believe upon Him!
There is nothing so incontrovertible as fact. It is the
most inspiring thing in all our possessions when we are
devoted to a sacrificial service and the most uncomfort-
able thing in the world when we do not want to give up
a favored loyalty with which it refuses to square. There
is a very ancient saying that figures do not lie but that
figurers sometimes do. And there is a more modern one
to the effect that there are three kinds of liars, viz., com-
mon liars, unmitigated liars and statisticians. Statistics
can be misused ; they can be used to butress up most any
kind of a cause ; like the Scriptures they are the favorite
device of all kinds of schismatics and doctrinaires and
13
14 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
schools of thought. You prove or disprove according to
your selection and arrangement of them.
But we have proceeded too long in our religious work
without use of valuable statistical studies. It is not meet
to ask how much it costs to save a soul but it is advisable
to inquire how much money we have wasted in vain ef-
forts to save them. A church's worth cannot be meas-
ured in the cost of its building or its annual budget, but
the kingdom may be better promoted through a business-
like study of where and in what manner the money spent
will do most for the promotion of the kingdom. Neither
would we constrain any work of good conscience by a
mere cash economy but we would do well to consider
cash economy when we endeavor to use a stated sum to
promote the works of a good conscience.
So the question we have to raise in this article is re-
garding the effectiveness of the church in one field.
Have we pursued creed so far that the Gospel suffers?
Have we expressed loyalty to denomination to such an
extent that the universal church is divided to the point of
great weakness! Have we multiplied churches until the
church is injured? Have we wasted the Lord's treasure
on the less essential to the neglect of the more essential?
Have we invested in traditional interpretations of the
Gospel until we have neglected the Gospel itself?
The rural church has been the bulwark of democratic
Christianity in America. It has furnished ninety per
cent of the ministers and missionaries. It has equipped
many of the great city churches with their officiary and
leading workers. It has supplied an overwhelming ma-
jority of the students in the church colleges where they
have graduated into city occupations and become the
social and moral bulwarks of municipal life. It has even
panoplied an imposing number of the social settlements
with workers. Its idealism and its isolation have both
wrought to these ends.
BUBAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 15
American rural life has hitherto been extremely in-
dividualistic. In that it has simply expressed the lead-
ing and indeed the hitherto vital characteristic of our
Americanism. The democratic revolution was first a
protest against individual coercion and on behalf of the
rights of man as against that of kings and bishops.
But democracy is now progressing into another realm of
development. We have established the rights of the man
and, with Mazzini, the great spiritual prophet of democ-
racy, we now begin to talk in terms of the duty of man
to his fellow-man. Of an enforced corporation of men
we will have none, of a voluntary cooperation of men we
cannot have too much. But rural life today is being so-
cialized. Indeed its socialization is phenomenal, so rap-
idly is it proceeding. The rural mail delivery, the tele-
phone, the automobile and with them all the nation-wide
movement for better roads is destroying isolation
through overcoming distance. Following them is the
coming of the consolidated school which in a very definite
manner creates a community center. To-morrow will
come the class organization of the farmers for coopera-
tion and mutual benefit in both economic and political af-
fairs. There is grave danger that the church, the one
institution that is supposed to teach brotherhood and
cooperation, will be the laggard in this socialization.
There have been a considerable number of rural church
surveys made — enough to give us a sort of cross-section
analysis of the situation in the country. Those by the
Presbyterian Department of Country Church Work cover
various counties in some eight states. The Moravian
Country Church Commission has made several parish
surveys. Various rural life surveys by extension de-
partments of state colleges and universities have covered
the rural church in their inquiries. The very thorough-
going investigation of one county each in Vermont and
New York made by Chas. 0. Gill some years ago is now
16 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
followed by his great survey of the entire state of Ohio.
All the other inquiries were significant as cross-section
analysis of the situation but this impressive array of
findings covers so large a territory and in a state that
may be considered so adequately representative of the
whole country as to make the results there set forth con-
clusive. Mr. Gill's summary of this survey is now on the
Macmillan press under the title ' ' Six-Thousand Country
Churches." His long experience in the rural pastorate
together with years of work in surveying rural church
conditions make his interpretations quite as valuable as
his statistical findings. Many of the books hitherto writ-
ten on the question have risked interpretation on frag-
mentary and general knowledge but we will have here an
authoritative treatise. The student of the rural church
situation would do well to read also B runner's " Country
Church in the New World Order," Groves ' " Using the
Resources of the Country Church," Warren H. Wilson's
various works, the rural church chapters in Vogt's "In-
troduction to Eural Sociology" and an older but never
surpassed volume by Anderson entitled, "The Country
Town." These volumes together with the surveys here-
tofore mentioned give the best that has been said. One
cannot forbear however urging a reading of Morse's
"Fear God in Your Own Village" as an inimitable ac-
count of how one man put over the community church
idea.
From these surveys we wish to set before the reader
some incontrovertible facts. There are things more
valuable than economy of either men or money but there
are few certainly who will defend the waste of both in the
rural church of to-day. In all rural Ohio there is one
church to every 280 people. Two-thirds of them have a
membership of less than one hundred. The Presbyterian
surveys revealed a like over-churching in practically all
the States where their inquiries were made. In many
BUBAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 17
counties the ratio ran much higher of course. In Morgan
county, Ohio, seven townships have one church to every
142 population and in one of them there is a church to
each 94 people. In Boone county, Missouri, there is a
church to every 230 souls in the open country and the
towns under 800 population. In several near-by coun-
ties the proportion is even greater. In this Missouri
county there are single " communities" of seven miles
square with as many as nine churches and there are few
in the county with less than five. In all these surveys,
covering nearly 10,000 churches, an organization and a
building is found for an average of every six square
miles. If there was one church for every seven miles
square few would be more than four miles from a church
house — not an insuperable distance certainly — and the
number of churches would be reduced to one-eighth their
present number. If they were reduced to one-sixth their
present number they could be so placed as to approxi-
mate easy walking distance to Sunday school for every
country child in the nation.
If one is interested in religious efficiency rather than
sectarian loyalty the weakness implicit in this astounding
situation is manifest. More than 90 per cent of these
churches have no pastoral care or oversight. Fully 95
per cent of them are without resident shepherds. The
country church can no more succeed without pastoral
oversight than can its city sister. Farmer folk are in no
wise spiritually different from their town cousins. Just
because they have no manager on the ground for their
religious organizations their churches are inefficient,
their missionary giving is small, the Sunday schools are
weak and sporadic and their young people without re-
ligious organization adapted to the life of youth. The
only saving grace in their social life is the lack of those
acute temptations that assail the city young folk.
18 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
There is no class of people among whom religion can
function in a greater or more wholesome degree than
among country folk. Their nearness to nature and to
nature's G-od, the simplicity of their social relationships,
the manner in which the primitive virtues of kindness,
sympathy and personal fellow-help govern their social
relations, the dominance of personal friendship in their
associations, their naive inclination to follow strong per-
sonalities all combine to give Christianity an opportunity
among them beyond any other class. The fact that there
are so many churches in the average country community
is proof positive of their religiousness.
In the days when creedal loyalty stood for religious
zeal they established these churches. The pioneers who
founded them were heroic men. They braved the wilds,
rode the saddle-bags, stood like fiery prophets in the
midst of rough frontier settlements, traveled without
purse or script and were supported by the self-sacrifice
of wife and family who often worked valorously on a
"clearing" while the man of God wrought in some mis-
sionary journey farther West. But those heroic men
were not constrained to their sacrifices by the simple de-
sire to give Christ to the unchurched frontier community ;
they were profoundly convinced that unless that commu-
nity had a church of their faith and order it had no real
church of Christ. Thus they did not simply seek out un-
churched settlements, though many of them did that as-
siduously, but they also sought out those that had no
church of their persuasion, and with a conscience that
was no less iconoclastic regarding other sects than it was
zealous for its own they founded 6 i true ' ' churches. The
fact that there were already churches there did not deter
them, indeed it only spurred them to greater zeal lest the
"faith" be not declared through some false sense of
brotherliness or the edge of their zeal dulled by a shilly-
shally fraternization.
EURAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 19
All this zeal was not so sadly misplaced as we some-
times now think. In those days we were still fighting for
the right of every man to think as his honest mind led him
to think and for the right to worship God according to
the dictates of one's own conscience. At least we were
still nnder the lees of that great contest. If our multiplied
and sectarian divisions of Protestantism were inevitable
in the war for freedom then the price paid was not too
great. Teleologically they were not necessary but socio-
logically they were inevitable. If some great religious
genius could have organized some great council that
could have governed the whole Protestant enterprise with
a divine prescience all this division could have been
avoided. But we have never had such geniuses nor have
we been given the divine prescience. We have been left
instead to the cosmical ferment of great ideas and more
or less inchoate forces with the rising of many great
leaders who were able to compass only a fragment of
the new creation, each able to lead us by some new idea
into some uncharted land. Thus our cause was won
through a complex of many causes. It was inevitable
that there should be great waste in such a movement.
Waste is always the price of progress in uncharted lands.
As a useless by-product of the process of clearing the
way there sprang up many small and narrow sects with
queer and lopsided programmes. They are simply reflec-
tions of the manner in which human minds work when
left to their own devices. They involved waste and divi-
sion but it is better to endure them than to deny the priv-
ilege of democracy and the rights of free speech and as-
semblage and organization. Thus of the 204 sects listed
in the national census two-thirds of them are small and
inconsequential and another seventy odd are subdivisions
of the eight larger and more or less homogenous com-
munions.
20 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
These divisions were inevitable in the process of win-
ning individual rights to think and to organize and as a
part of the process of evolving a democracy, but it is not
inevitable that they forever continue. It was never the
many churches that gave Protestant religion strength
in America ; it was the assertion of freedom that gave it
moral strength to progress in spite of the weakness of its
divisions. To-day freedom is won and the inevitable re-
sults that make for weakness are brought under appraise-
ment with a judgment that ought to be able clearly to
differentiate between the values in the cause won and the
waste it involved. All evangelical Christians are debtors
to each of the denominations that gave the world a new
and valuable truth. We are all as free as Baptists or
Congregationalists ; we are all as devout as Wesleyans
and as orthodox in regard to the regnancy of God as are
the Presbyterians. We are all rapidly becoming as effi-
cient in our polity as Methodists and Episcopalians, and
all of us seek to stand as loyally on Scripture and Scrip-
ture only as do the Disciples. We are deeply debtor to one
another and our dominant loyalty is with all alike to the
person of Jesus Christ. Again, we say, there is not
enough upon which we differ to save a single soul and
there is enough in which we agree to save the world if
only we would unite our forces to save it.
We cannot keep faith with the fathers if we go on
thrashing old straw. They dared new enterprises. The
thing that motivated them was not a mere small party
shibboleth ; it was devotion to a free mind and the demo-
cratic right of asserting it. That it involved party shib-
boleths does not in the least mar the argument any more
than the error of "state's sovereignty" marred the epoch
making loyalty of the nation's fathers to democracy.
They put the world on the highway for democracy and
we are taking care of the minor error of state's sover-
eignty. Just so must we now make reassessment of our
RUEAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 21
denominational loyalties and measure their working ef-
ficiency in terms of the task of Christianizing both the lo-
cal community and the world at large.
This problem can best be studied in the rural com-
munity where the sparseness of population brings the
weakness of division to its most observable fruitage. The
situation revealed in the conditions heretofore described
are appalling from any viewpoint of religious efficiency.
Further study shows that the credal loyalties that so
gripped the generation just passed do not grip their
grandchildren. The weakest country church is as a rule
the one that most preaches denominational distinctive-
ness and the strongest is the one that most persistently
devotes itself to community welfare. The cause that
brought all these divisions to the average rural neighbor-
hood is won and the native logic of the farmer mind re-
fuses to approve again the plowing of ground that now
ought to be sown. Democracy is turning from the ques-
tion of rights to that of duties ; it is on a new era of prog-
ress from individual freedom to cooperative efficiency.
Farm isolation is breaking down in all other regards and
the young farmer refuses to isolate his religious faith in
any sectarian insulator. After the tragedy through
which armies learned unified warfare and nations coop-
erative sacrifice and communities discovered how to co-
ordinate all their activities to gain a victory thousands
of miles from home and the heart of the average man was
suddenly attuned to beat in unison to a humanity that
was before but dimly known, the church of Christ will
not remain immune from the grand passion of brother-
hood. We have scrapped competitive industries and
brigaded differing national armies and merged interna-
tional credits and surrendered divisive national ideals in
a great vicarious undertaking ; it is a poor time to argue
that the religion commissioned to preach brotherhood
should continue to maintain establishments that divide
brothers in every community in the land.
22 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Not only do our surveys reveal the over-churching and
consequent under-pastoring of the rural communities but
they also reveal the ineffectiveness of the local church
thus made small by sheer duplication of churches. The
general conclusion runs that the smaller the membership
the fewer the chances for improvement. The Presbyte-
rian surveys found that in churches under 50 members
only 17 per cent made progress while in those of more
than 200 members 79 per cent made progress, and the
scale increased from the church of 50 up to that of 300 in
a fairly uniform proportion. E. Talmage Root found in
Massachusetts that the average community with more
than two churches actually enlisted fewer new members
for all its churches and gave a total for all to missions
much less than where there were only two. Mr. Gill dis-
covered that 55 per cent of the rural churches in Ohio
have less than 75 members and that the church of less
than 100 members making gains was rare. Eeligion
is least effective in Ohio in the 1,000 communities that
are most over-churched. In one-fourth of these duplicat-
ing churches in Indiana no young men were found in the
membership and in a single over-churched township 80
per cent of the people were members of no local congre-
gation. Yet in the rural churches at large 75 per cent of
all enlistments are made before the age of twenty-one.
In the Ohio cities, with one church to every 841 popula-
tion, the percentage of the people belonging to church is
as great as it is in the country with one to every 280 popu-
lation, and that notwithstanding the competing attrac-
ions in the city together with the complexity of interest
and the greater power of evil.
There are almost no competing institutions in the
country and people must go to church or to the market
town to meet one another. Yet the average rural church
is not well attended. The average congregation is even
smaller than the total membership and in Ohio it was
EUEAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 23
found that only about one-fourth of the actual member-
ship was present at the average service. In the New
Hampshire and New York counties, where records are
intact over a sufficient number of years, the facts are con-
clusive that the churches are not as large in membership
nor as well attended as fifty years ago. The things that
used to interest and to challenge loyalty do not do so in
like degree to-day and the ministry have too much
inclined to use the old instead of recognize the new
appeal. Nor does the small denominational church make
a financial appeal. Some four-fifths of them support
preaching only once per month with customary periods
of time without even that. Three-fourths of the preach-
ing tenures are for only one year with an average salary
of $800 in Ohio and other northern states, and down to
one-half that sum in many southern sections. The budget
runs at about $250 for a church of from 100 to 150 mem-
bers. In the United States only about 7 per cent of this
goes to missions and benevolence. In the Canadian sur-
veys, made by the cooperation of Presbyterians and
Methodists, general conditions were found to be about
the same but the average for missions somewhat higher
as also that for church attendance. In all together the
findings show that on the basis of membership and mis-
sionary effectiveness less than 40 per cent of the rural
churches are making any progress while a like proportion
are unmistakably dying.
The argument in this article forbids that we bewail
the fact that so large a proportion are unmistakably dy-
ing if only there was assurance that those that live will
function to give a more virile Christianity to their com-
munities, and that those that die perish before the more
adequate and virile functioning of those that live. But
often whole communities are left without a virile church
in this process and Christianity is threatened with emas-
culation and the community with moral deterioration.
24 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
In the eighteen counties of Southeastern Ohio, with a
century of religious history behind the churches, there
is a greater deterioration of churches than elsewhere in
the state though the number is larger in proportion to the
population than in the state as a whole. The only sect
that seems to thrive is the Holy Boilers and crime is
greater than in the foreign populated cities of Youngs-
town and Cleveland. The rate for tuberculosis, degen-
eracy and pauperism is larger than in the state at large.
The ministry is less educated and the dependence upon
the revival meeting greater. Vote buying reaches its
zenith in this most grossly over-churched region and with
1,500 revival meetings in one county in the past thirty
years the church life is at the lowest ebb and likewise al-
so the moral life of the communities. To be sure there
are other causes, such as soil deterioration, but it is un-
der just such conditions in Massachusetts and other New
England states that church federation and the resident
pastorate are effective in saving the day. It seems quite
evident that Christianity may lose out while sectarian
loyalty heroically seeks to save a dying church.
The way out cannot be made effective through a doc-
trinaire programme for ideal union. It must be made
practical and deal practically with the religious convic-
tions of sincere men. The historic loyalties of denom-
inational type cannot be anaesthetized with even the most
ideal of appeals. Nothing works in the long run like
ideals but few things work so slowly or require such ad-
ministrative patience as the task of reshaping historic
institutions to them. Try on the ideal of church union in
the average community and it will be found easy to con-
vince all that the many churches should somehow be
united but very difficult to convince many that any par-
ticular plan for uniting them is acceptable. Few of us
belong to this or that denomination to-day because we
have been convinced by an original and unprejudiced ex-
BUBAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 25
animation of the various tenets that a certain one is right
and thus have united with it. Our membership is trace-
able to the fact that our families were members, or we
grew up under the dominant influence of a particular
communion instead of some other, or our youth's com-
radeships were there or to some other more or less for-
tuitous cause. Having come under this fortuitous as-
sociation or training we adopted a particular church and
established a loyalty to its tradition and fraternity. We
have usually accepted membership or its initial steps and
then learned why it preached so and so and literally be-
came convinced of the truth of what we accepted after we
had accepted it. Thus our fundamental attachment is
not to the logic of its creed but to its tradition. It is a
logical attachment as men habitually form attachments,
but it was not formed through a process of individual
rationalization.
But the surrender of the traditional comes only by the
pioneering of ideals and the enforcement of working
ideas. Somehow or other we must reduce over-churching
to get an effective church and cooperation must replace
competition in the religious institutions of rural America
if we keep Christianity virile to meet and guide the
socializing of rural life. But we shall no doubt have to
do it by keeping the trains running while the new and
stronger bridges are being builded. No one of us will be
able to swallow up all the others through preaching a doc-
trinal Christian union but the ideals of that union will
work out through a patient, common-sense administra-
tion of church effectiveness in doing the practical tasks
of Christianity. Any proposal for union that calls for a
compromise of conviction will not work because con-
viction is the foundation stone of personal religion. But
many honest convictions are only prejudices or half-
truths and will yield, not to compromise, but to their own
fulfilment in larger truths. We cannot destroy loyalties
26 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
out of hand but we can enlarge them through directing
them into organizations that more effectively embody the
most fundamental of all our loyalties, the one indeed that
we hold in common, our loyalty to the Saviour of man-
kind in His work of saving the world. No one denomina-
tion will exchange its loyalties for that of another but all
may be constrained to enlarge them into one common pas-
sion to make their common loyalty to Christ effective
in doing His work in the community and in the world at
large.
That organic union is possible in only an occasional
case is too patent to demand argument. In that matter
we face a fact and not a theory. Theories can be argued
and resolved but facts cannot. That the spirit of coopera :
tion is becoming pervasive is apparent. Is there a way
in which cooperation can be practiced so as to eliminate
over-churching with its consequent weakness and effect
an organic enterprise that will not compromise convic-
tion? The federated church seems to offer that possibil-
ity. It leaves each group, and each individual free to
maintain any and all their traditional and personal loy-
alties. It need not disturb the overhead or denomina-
tional relations of any of the various groups; each can
maintain its missionary and representative connection
with the denominational societies and conventions so long
as the traditional sentiment in regard to them remains.
It creates a church that accomplishes union in its own
community but does not thereby cut off fraternal rela-
tions with all other churches through severing denomina-
tional ties without having set up a new " union denomina-
tion. ' ' By uniting the local congregations it makes a resi-
dent pastor possible and with him the strengthening of re-
ligious work in the community. It gives a larger motive
for church activity through enthusiasm for a more defi-
nite community programme, the success of numbers and
abler direction. It will make for longer tenures to the
BUBAL CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN UNION 27
minister and procure for the church an abler ministry.
It will broaden the church programme from preaching
once or twice a month in each of several churches in which
the members are seldom more than mere listeners to a
full programme of church work with services every Sun-
day, the organization of the young people and other
classes, the promotion of sociability and of a benevolence
that always comes by giving the people something more
to challenge their generosity. It recenters attention
from the waning interest in sectarian programmes to
the increasing interest in community welfare. By doing
the will in regard to unity it will in time work out union.
What we cannot procure by the revolution of ideal and
immediate organic church union we can evolve through
putting first things first and allowing them to work out
their own fruitage in time and through the sound process
of human nature. We cannot see all the process from the
beginning. If we refuse to attempt anything until we can
do so we will perish in doubt and inanition. By practic-
ing unity we will learn the way to union.
Alva W. Taylor.
CHRISTIAN UNION
By A. C. Thomas, President of the General Council of Christian Union,
Milo, Iowa
Christians have been so divided and subdivided into
denominational distinctions and so familiarized with
those divisions that many have come to the conclusion
that schisms are of God and must needs be so.
Each division sets np the strongest plea of jutifica-
tion for its own existence as a denomination, and thereby
for the rent that is made in the church of Christ.
Yet upon no consideration whatever will they allow the
least approach to a division among themselves. At once
they become unionists for their own sect and in the great
fervor for their denominational zeal for their party they
become loud for union and grow horribly intolerant
toward any other division; however pure their motives,
conscientious their feelings and holy their lives may be,
one ignores the other. Recriminations are indulged,
weapons are put in the hands of infidels against Chris-
tianity, the church of Christ bleeds at every pore. Al-
ready the Spirit of God like a fire is burning ; many wise
and good men are coming up to the help of the Lord
against the mighty ; many able ministers of the New Tes-
tament, many master minds in our holy religion, are now
worthily employing their time and talents in preaching,
writing and laboring in various ways, to build up, es-
tablish, support and extend the cause of Christian union
the world over.
The elementary principles of Christian union in which
all Christians are to be united into one visible organi-
zation, as they are undoubtedly one spiritually, are set
forth in the Word of God, as follows :
28
CHRISTIAN UNION 29
Experimental religion is the first principle. This is
a fundamental principle ; indeed this is the very founda-
tion principle of Christian nnion. It is worse than idle
to talk of any Christian nnion without it, for without it
there can be no real Christian, and of course no Chris-
tian union. A full and free pardon of all past sin, an
entire regeneration of the heart and an adoption into
the family of God underlies and is interwoven with
Christian union. Whoever experiences this holy re-
ligion is brought into one common Christian family, one
holy brotherhood, where all Christians are inseparably
united together.
In one heart — God says, "I will give them one heart' '
(Ezek. 11:19). And the multitude of them that believed
were of one heart and of one soul" (Acts 4:32).
In one mind — "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the
same thing, and that there be no divisions among you"
(1 Cor. 1:10).
In one spirit — Stand fast in one spirit "with all lowli-
ness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one
another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the
spirit" (Eph. 4:23).
One in love — "By this shall all men know that ye are
My disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:
35).
One in faith — For there is "one Lord" and "one
faith" (Eph. 4:5). The above texts fully settle the point
that experimental religion is an elementary principle of
Christian union and that therein they are required to
be one in heart, one in mind, one in spirit, one in love
and one in faith.
Practical religion is but the development of experi-
mental religion. As the latter is from Christ so the
former must be also. "By their fruits ye shall know
them." As experimental religion develops practical re-
30 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
ligion, so Christian union in the former must of ne-
cessity develop Christian union in the latter. It is clear
from a careful study of the Word that Christians must
be guided by the Holy Scriptures into a oneness in their
manner of life and religious practice. They are taught
that they must walk by the same rule, even as Christ
walked.
The number of rents and schisms perpetuated among
the people of God is equaled only by the multiplicity of
human names, human titles or human cognomens, given
to distinguish these parties and factions one from the
other. The multiplicity of these human names, or
earthly titles is in turn equaled only by the multiplicity
of human disciplines, human rules or human formulas,
by which each faction or party, under its own appropri-
ate man-made name, is respectively regulated, governed
and controlled. That all these human names and creeds
are in their nature fragmentary, sectional, factional,
schismatic and divisive, perpetrating and perpetuating
the rents and divisions of the Church of Christ and
therefore totally destitute of any recuperative power of
Christian unity, is not only self-evident, but perfectly
manifest from their perpetrating and perpetuating the
existence of a corresponding number of denominational
distinctions, each one earnestly contending and laboring
for and sectionalizing, sectarianizing and glorying in
its own name and creed exclusively.
As all the human creeds totally fail to effect in any
way a Christian union of all Christians irrespectively,
so all human names for the people of God fail, and must
forever fail. The reason is manifest: Because there is
no name an elementary principle of Christian union in
which all Christians are to be united and bound together
into one body but the divinely appointed name of Christ.
This name possesses an illimitable, sacred preciousness
that wins and binds the affections of all alike to it. It
CHRISTIAN UNION 31
lias an infinitely indescribable and unspeakable charm
that fascinates and blends alike all Christian hearts into
one most exquisitely delightful stream of illimitable
love both to God and men.
At this most charmingly magnetic name souls tremble
into life and turn by divine love inspired, toward their
God, His Law, His Name and also toward their brethren.
The name of Christ possesses an inherent recuperative
power of Christian union.
The crowning proof to all the world of the Messiah-
ship of Christ is to be found in the fulfilment of His
memorable prayer, ' ' That they may all be one ; * *
that the world may believe that thou didst send Me."
This is the chief tower of strength in overcoming and
subjugating the world to Jesus Christ, in raising the
world from darkness to light, from error to truth, from
ignorance to knowledge, from sin to holiness, and from
death to life. "And this is life eternal, that they might
know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent."
The unity and oneness of all the followers of Christ,
the unity and oneness of his church is distinctly set
forth in this prayer, to be an essential prerequisite for
the conversion of the world and the universal triumph
of the church of Christ.
The only barrier in the way of organic union of the
church of Christ, is the exclusiveness of denominational-
ism. It is not that different bodies of Christians hold
different views, for that they have a right to do. It is
not that they have different convictions ; that likewise is
their right. But it is because they insist on excluding
from fellowship all who do not agree with them.
If the doctrine of Christian union is a Bible doctrine
and an essential prerequisite to the conversion of the
world, then Christians and Christian ministers have a
32 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
great work to do at home before they can hope to suc-
cessfully Christianize the heathen world.
When Christians will agree, for the sake of the unity
of the church and the conversion of the world, to rise
above their party interests, fall back upon apostolic
grounds and build the church of God according to the
pattern, in the spirit of Christianity, then the world will
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour of the world
and the unity and glory of the church restored will be
the harbinger of Christ's speedy coming and the usher-
ing in of the millennium.
This may be a very hard and disagreeable work for
some. It may be like cutting ofl the right arm, the pluck-
ing out of the right eye; yet if it is necessary, it must
be done, and in fact, with the wise of the kingdom there
can be no question. Then let me ask, who will help to fell
this corrupt tree, that the way of the Lord may be pre-
pared, and all flesh see the salvation of the Lord!
Here then, let us state again as our distinct and set-
tled opinion that when these two great and important
things are fully accomplished, the entire abolition of sec-
tarianism, and the reunion of Christians upon the primi-
tive and scriptural platform, then and not till then will the
heathen believe in Christianity and "the kingdoms of
this world become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His
Christ."
"Would to God," says John Wesley, "that all the
party names and unscriptural phrases and forms which
have divided the Christian world were forgot, and that
we might all agree to sit down together as humble lov-
ing disciples at the feet of our common Master to hear
His words, to imbibe His spirit, and to transcribe His
life into our own." None but a most contemptible bigot
and miserable, mean, blind partisan will ever refuse for
one moment to endorse this sublime and noble sentiment.
CHRISTIAN UNION 33
It may be well to guard the mind against the sequence
of a treason of ideas, the ideas of some as expressed in
the phraseology "reconstruction of the church." Al-
though this may be in these days expressive of the glow-
ing warmth of divine love in the heart for Christian
union, nevertheless, in the abstract, it is a fatal error,
distinctly against the Word of God, and fraught with im-
mense evil. It is an idea borrowed from the reconstruc-
tion of the nations of the world at the close of the awful
world war, and transferred to the church of Christ.
This is hardly tenable. The governments of the nations
at best are only human, fallible, and subject to any great
and wise providence with the nations. But the church
of Christ is of divine origin, a divine institution; and
Christ, the foundation of the church, who is head over all
things to the church and the great lawgiver of the
church, is divine, infallible, immutable, "the same yes-
terday, to-day and forever."
The church of Christ, therefore, is immutable. The
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "It is easier
for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to
fail." "The Word of the Lord endureth forever." Be-
tween this nation and the church of Christ, and between
the governments of each, there is an infinite dispropor-
tion, so that the whole idea of reconstruction of the
church is a non sequitur.
To suppose that one body of persons above another,
or one person above another, or any body of persons at
all has a right to supervene the divine arrangement, and
reconstruct and build the church of Christ is directly
against the Word of God. Christ, though He commis-
sioned Peter as one of the twelve apostles to go and
preach the gospel in all the world and to be a coworker
with God in the salvation of men, never commanded
Peter to build His church or to reconstruct it, but, on the
contrary, He reserved to Himself the prerogative to
34 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
build up His own church. He says to Peter, "I will
build My church." And the Scriptures, when three
thousand were added to the church on the day of Pente-
cost, instead of telling us that Peter received them into
the church and so built up the church, after the manner
of our modern ^constructionists and church builders,
most explicitly tell us that "The Lord added to the
church. ' '
The church of Christ primitively, was in a state of
perfect unity. All her members were of one heart, of
one mind, of one soul and of one accord. Though few in
number, yet in their perfect unity they were strong.
In spite of all the opposing powers of earth and hell,
wicked men and devils, she stood firm and triumphed.
Kings trembled, prisons shook, captive saints were lib-
erated, sinners, wicked men and enemies everywhere by
thousands were converted to God daily. If such was the
greatness of the wonderful works accomplished by the
church then with so few in number, what could she not
now do if she, with her millions, stood as she did then in
the strength of her perfect union? All over the world
spiritual missiles of death would be in relentless power
hurled into the camp of the King's enemies, and the
slain of the Lord would be overwhelmingly many.
What the church was once she may be again. To this
end she is tending. Light is breaking. The day is dawn-
ing. The glory of Christian union is beginning. If
there is any doubt in the mind of the reader as to the
coming victory of God's anointed and the full and com-
plete answer to the Lord's prayer for the unity of His
church on earth, you need only to rise above the narrow
walls of the sectarian fences that have divided and kept
apart the Christians for so many years, and get a real
vision. At the recent Conference on Organic Union,
held at Philadelphia, where were representative men,
such as Kev. W. H. Koberts, D.D., of the Presbyterian
CHRISTIAN UNION 35
church, Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, of the Protestant Epis-
copal church, Rev. H. C. Herring of the Congregational
church, Rev. Peter Ainslie, D.D., of the Disciples of
Christ, and many others whom I could mention, but
space forbids (suffice it to say that there were represent-
ative men from nineteen communions) — and a sweeter
spirited and larger minded set of men could scarcely be
gotten together — there was manifest upon the part
of each an earnest desire to find a way to get together,
and a careful reading of the resolutions adopted by a
unanimous vote will convince the most skeptical that the
real spirit of Christian union permeated everyone.
It is to be sincerely hoped that the committee who has
been charged with the big task of formulating a plan of
organic union of the evangelical churches of America,
will not be controlled by any desire to favor any par-
ticular communion, because of their numerical or
financial strength, but with due regard to all, and guided
solely by the spirit of the Master, "with proper regard
to those forces of vital spiritual life which alone can
give meaning to their efforts, ' ' " develop a plan so broad
and flexible as to make place for all of the evangelical
churches of the land, whatever their outlook of tradi-
tion, temperament, or taste, whatever their relationship
racially or historically. ' ' "And that the churches may
give themselves with a new faith and ardor to the proc-
lamation of the gospel of Christ, which is the only hope
of our stricken world, and to all those ministries of
Christian love." A. C. Thomas.
CHRISTIAN UNITY PULPIT
UNITY IN DIVERSITY
By Rev. T. A. Lacey, M.A.
Preached at the Church of St. Thomas, Regent Street, London.
* * As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the
body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were
we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or
free."— I Cor. 12:12.
We believe in one Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. The
unity of the Church of Christ is a fact, not a theory or
an aspiration. It is a fact which we recognize by an act
of faith. The fact does not depend on our faith; the
Church is not one because we believe it to be one, or
because of anything that we do in consequence of our
belief. It is one as the work of God. It begins from
the personal unity of the Lord Jesus. He is the Seed of
Abraham, the Faithful Remnant of Israel, and to Him
we are aggregated to be the one people of God's election.
He is the Second Adam, and as the human race is one, so
also the race of the redeemed is one. The divisions of
Babel are fused together into a single people, speaking a
single language, ' ' where there cannot be Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,
bondman, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all." Un-
der various figures this unity is presented to us. From
our Lord Himself you have the figure of the Vine and
the Branches. From St. Paul you derive the bold meta-
phor of the Body and its Members. Both convey the
same truth. The Church is not an artificial union of
sympathetic souls, drawn together by whatever holy in-
fluence ; it is an organic unity, contained in the nature of
things, a work of God.
36
UNITY IN DIVEESITY 37
Nor is this a merely spiritual unity. It is a concrete
fact, attested by a visible ordering. It is by one bap-
tism that all are brought into the one Body. And unity
is maintained, as it is begun, by a visible ordering. The
Bread which we break, together with the Cup of Bless-
ing, is a communion, a common participation of the Body
of Christ; so that "we, who are many, are one bread, one
body ; for we all partake of the one bread. ' ' The unity
of the Church is a visible unity; there are sacraments,
visible signs, of this work of God. The Church itself is,
in St. Cyprian's language, a Sacrament of Unity.
So far, good. Here is a work, wrought of God, which
no sin of man can undo. But the Body of Christ con-
sists of members, men and women who retain their indi-
viduality, their passions, their weaknesses. It is the re-
vealed will of God to work with men, to call them as fel-
low workers, and not without their aid to accomplish
His purpose. And men are diverse. If Jew or Greek,
barbarian or Scythian, are one in Christ, they none the
less remain Jew or Greek, barbarian or Scythian. They
are not remolded to an indiscriminate likeness. The
glory and honor of the nations are brought into the city
of God, and that will be meaningless if they are not to
retain something of their national characteristics. St.
Paul's emphatic denial of the validity of such distinc-
tions in the Church of Christ must be read in its true
sense. There is not one kind of Christianity for the
Jew, another for the Greek, another for the world out-
side the ambit of Hellenic civilization. Still less can
these make several gospels for themselves, or contribute
their quotas to a conglomerate Gospel. Not so is Cath-
olicity, the universality of the Gospel, to be understood.
Therefore the idea of a national Church, as sometimes
understood, is a downright negation of the Gospel. If
a national Church be just the expression of the religious
life and thought of the nation — I think I have the phrase
38 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
right — then it will be no part of the Body of Christ;
for the Body of Christ must express nothing else but
the Mind of Christ. Yet there can be a true national
Christianity. As the faith shines with more or less of
lustre in the lives of individual men, illuminating their
varied virtues, obscured by their various faults, so also
in the corporate life of any group of men. For every
group of men is a corporate reality; so God has consti-
tuted human nature. Hence a difficulty.
The accomplishment of God's purpose requires some-
thing more than the indestructible organic unity of the
Church. Something is needed which men must supply:
an activity of social union. Here is an overwhelming
task. These diverse men, these diverse groups, these
diverse nations, retaining their individuality, still sinful
and therefore inevitably retaining much of their mutual
distrust, fearing one another, despising one another,
separated by land and sea, by language and by habits,
all these are to be drawn together into one common ac-
tivity welded into one society, speaking one divine lan-
guage of faith. Who is sufficient for this? You watch
your Lord on the night of His Passion; you hear His
pleading : ' ' That they may all be one ' ' — one in the spirit
of Divine Love — "as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in
Thee." You measure the greatness of the task by the
intensity of the prayer; you know that it is one which
the sins of men may hinder, frustrating, we cannot say
how long, the purpose of God. For Christians may re-
fuse to love one another.
When we pass from the thought of organic unity to
the consideration of this task of union, we find ourselves
on a lower plane. We have to study the efforts of weak
and disappointing men. We shall expect to find mis-
takes, compromises, and perversities. We do find them.
The history of the Church is full of them from the first.
We find Peter compromising at Antioch; we find James
UNITY IN DIVEESITY 39
giving Paul mistaken advice at Jerusalem; we find the
perversities of party spirit at Corinth. We are not sur-
prised to find that later ages have failed to better the ex-
ample of Apostles and their disciples. We look about
us, and see these evils rampant in our own day. We look
within, and find them working in ourselves. We also
find the Holy Spirit of God counteracting these evils,
moving men, weak men, to combat them with labor and
prayer. We get glimpses of St. Paul's great effort to
prevent a national division of the Church, and in the
Epistle to the Ephesians we read his triumphant vindi-
cation of his labors. In particular, we read there of an
institution provided by Divine appointment to be an in-
strument of union. The Church is built upon the foun-
dation of Apostles and Prophets. That phrase carries
you forward to the vision of the Heavenly City with its
twelve foundations, and back to the promise of the Lord,
' ' On this rock will I build my Church. ' ' The Apostolate,
beginning with the singular gift of the Keys to Peter,
extended to the rest of the Twelve and to others, is the
divinely appointed sacrament of union. The story of
the origins of the Church is rightly called the Acts of
the Apostles. The Apostolate passed, with some differ-
ence of detail, into the Episcopate, retaining its essential
character. The Episcopate is the sacrament of union.
But the Episcopate, like the rest of the Church, consists
of weak men, capable of perversity. Set to uphold the
social union of Christians, bishops may fail, have often
failed, have sometimes done worse than fail, themselves
fomenting discord. Yet they are collectively the instru-
ment of union appointed by God, and only through them
can the work of union be done.
In the writing of Ignatius and Cyprian, for the first
time we see the Episcopate at work. The bishop is the
center of the union for the Christians of each several
locality. But how are the bishops held together in one
40 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Church? Ignatius tells us nothing; Cyprian points only
to the conglutination of charity, and to the ordination
of each one by others representing the whole Episcopate.
But the conglutination of charity is not always in evi-
dence; it failed in Cyprian's own relations with his col-
league of Eome; his theory of the absolute working
equality of bishops, each one responsible only to the Di-
vine Head of the Church, broke down in practise. Some-
thing else was needed, and the Church found it by pro-
ceeding along two lines, the line of Conciliar action, and
the line of provincial organization. I would fix your at-
tention upon the latter. Strong centers of union were
needed within the Episcopate. They were formed by
devolution of authority from the whole. Provinces are
not voluntary associations, federal union of dioceses, but
creations of the general episcopate. Their origin is ob-
scure, but all that is known of their growth points to
this, and from the known the unknown may be inferred.
Accidentally they followed in the first instance the con-
venient administrative organization of the Roman Em-
pire, but essentially they were based on the unity of the
Episcopate. The general episcopate recognized the
bishop of the metropolitan city as exercising a tempered
authority among the bishops of a province.
But strong centers of union were needed among met-
ropolitans. The patriarchates rose in the same fashion
to supply the need. Is one strong center needed among
patriarchs and their like? Possibly. Then the Church
will find it, and find it in the same way. History points
to Rome as the locality, but forbids us to say that it has
been located there as yet. The miserable state of dis-
cord in which the Church now lies indicates a need, and
the Providence of God may have this in store for us.
Strong centers of union are needed, but they have
their dangers. They may exalt themselves above meas-
ure. The Church is the apostolic fellowship held together
UNITY IN DIVERSITY 41
by the pastoral function of the general episcopate ; a sin-
gle bishop exalted to a special dignity may be inclined
to lord it over God's heritage. That is the sum of our
complaint against the Papacy of Eome. It is a mistake
to suppose that Eome is consumed by a passion for uni-
formity. There is a considerable extent of diversity un-
der papal control. The complaint is not that Eome im-
poses uniform laws, but that Eome imposes laws of any
kind, that the bishop of the one particular Church of
Eome claims the right to impose laws on the bishops of
all other churches. It is a remarkable fact that the first
warning uttered against any such pretension came from
one of the greatest of the Popes. When John the Faster
of Constantinople assumed the title of Ecumenical
Bishop, St. Gregory the Great protested, saying that if
one bishop were so raised above his brothers the stabil-
ity of the whole Church would be endangered. He prob-
ably misunderstood the title, but he took it in the sense
of that to which we object in the claims made by his own
successors.
By the Providence of God, and by no small measure
of human foresight, the orthodox churches of the East
have been saved from this peril. It is not to be denied
that the mutual jealousies of patriarchs, and especially
the reluctance of the older sees to acknowledge the grow-
ing importance of Constantinople, have in the past done
much harm, and brought a measure of discredit even on
some great saints ; but the same causes hindered the de-
velopment of undue power in any one church. The pa-
triarchate of Constantinople has survived the most cruel
experiences to remain a strong center of union, without
seeking a lordship which may not be allowed. The title of
Ecumenical Patriarch means something, but it does not
mean that. There is no monarchy. The Episcopal hier-
archy is found to be a flexible instrument of union, ad-
justed with success, though not without difficulty, to the
42 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
diverse needs of various circumstances. Political divi-
sions are wisely utilized, as they were in the Roman
Empire; nationality is recognized as an element of hu-
man life which is not to be ignored in the ordering of
the Church, but at the same time is not to be tolerated
as a fundamental of religion. The Eastern churches
have not been without experience of perverted national-
ism, and they have steadily condemned it, without re-
bounding into a contrary perversion of the Catholic
principle. These are national churches, in the true sense
of the word, which bow to the dignity of Constantinople
and are linked together in that subordination, but never-
theless enjoy the measure of independence which is the
right of every organized part of the one episcopate.
We of the West, who have escaped from the domina-
tion of the Papacy, and suffer in consequence for lack
of unbroken traditions, must look to the East for rules
and precedents on which we may build. There has been
too much looking to a remote past. The period of the
Fathers was not like ours ; its problems, its advantages,
its dangers, were different. The unity of the Church
was inevitably conceived in the terms of the great polit-
ical unity of the empire, with which it was almost con-
terminous, and there is no such thing in our day. An
exclusive study of the methods of that age will instruct
us amply in the fundamental principle of unity, but it
will not furnish us with methods for the maintenance of
union in the diversity of modern conditions. Indeed it
may throw us wrong, if we are induced to regard as nec-
essary for all time what was really peculiar to that time.
In the Eastern churches of to-day we find a more serv-
iceable model, a system which has come down by unbro-
ken tradition from the Fathers, and yet has been molded
to circumstances not unlike our own. No slavish imita-
tion is required of us, nor will be required when union is
perfected, but let us humbly acknowledge how much we
have to learn.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS
ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY
While the whole world is talking about Christian un-
ion, we are sorry to say that the American Baptists have
gone on record as favoring denominationalism rather
than union. Added to this are two interesting features :
First, the Northern Baptist Convention, meeting in Den-
ver, disclaimed any centralized authority that could de-
liver the Baptist churches to corporate unity, yet their
refusal to appoint delegates to the Interchurch Confer-
ence on Organic Union of the Evangelical Churches,
which convenes in Philadelphia this autumn, indicates
that they had a centralized body which speaks with au-
thority, for a negative answer is as clear evidence of a
centralized body as an affirmative answer. And, second,
the ministers of the Northern Baptist Convention whom
we have seen have taken one or the other position, either
that the convention 's action is true to Baptist convictions,
or since their convention has spoken on this subject they
cannot go into anything that would indicate disloyalty to
the convention. In either event we are wondering if the
Baptists have lost their fine sense of freedom for which
they once so earnestly contended, and which is such a
necessary part of the united church. This new authority
in a democratic body furnishes a most interesting study
— really more interesting than the Pope 's refusal to send
delegates to the "World Conference on Faith and Order,
which many of us somewhat expected. The statement re-
ferred to is as follows :
"Whereas, The Northern Baptist Convention has been invited to send
delegates to a council looking toward organic union of the Protestant de-
nominations.
"Be It Resolved, That the Northern Baptist Convention, while main-
taining fraternal relations with evangelical denominations in extending
the influence of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not believe that organic
union with other denominations is possible. It, therefore, declines to
43
44 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
send delegates to the proposed council. In declining the invitation,
however, Christian courtesy demands that the Northern Baptist Conven-
tion should state its position as to organic church union with other Chris-
tian denominations. This we make not with any desire to pose as judge
of our Christian brethren, but in the interest of mutual understanding.
"The Baptist denomination is a collection of independent democratic
churches. None of these churches recognizes any ecclesiastical authority
superior to itself. They are grouped in associations, state conventions and
a national convention, but any control over a local church, beyond that
which lies in common faith, practice and service. The denomination, in
so far as it has unity, is a federation of independent democracies. Pa the
nature of the case, therefore, anything like organic church union of the
Baptist churches with other denominations is impossible. There is no
centralized body that could deliver the Baptist churches to any merger
or corporate unity. If Baptist churches do not have organic unity
among themselves, they obviously cannot have organic unity with other de-
nominations. By the very nature of our organization, we are estopped
from seeking organic union with other denominations.
"This situation does not arise from any desire on the part of the
Baptists to withhold themselves from fellowship with other Christian bodies
in the pursuance of Christian work. Nor does it arise from any desire to
impose upon them our own conviction. We grant to others all rights that
we claim for ourselves. But the liberty of conscience and the independ-
ence of the churches which characterizes our position are involved in our
fundamental conception as to the nature of the church and of its relation
to the religious life.
"We believe in the complete competency of the individual to come
directly into saving relationship with God. We hold that a church is
a local community of those who have consciously committed themselves
to Jesus Christ. The only church universal is, in our belief, spiritual
fellowship of individual souls with God. We do not believe in any form
of sacerdotalism or sacramentalism among Christians who are all equally
priests of the Most High. We reject ecclesiastical orders and hold that
all believers are on a spiritual equality. With us, ordination is only
a formal recognition on the part of some local church that one of its
members is judged worthy to serve as a pastor. The fact that such
appointment is generally recognized in all our churches is simply a testi-
mony to denominational good faith. But we cannot modify these con-
victions for the sake of establishing a corporate unity with other de-
nominations. Any compromise at this point would be an abandonment
of structural beliefs.
"We heartily believe in the necessity of combined impact of Chris-
tian forces upon the evil of the world. Such impact, however, does not
depend for its efficiency upon organic union of the churches. For our-
selves, we are convinced that our fundamental conception of the church,
the nature of our organization, the democracy which is the very basis of
our denominational life, make any organic union with groups of Chris-
tians holding opposite views unwise and impossible. ' f
The leading Baptist paper in America — The Standard,
Chicago, gives the following account of the session of
the convention that took action on the statement referred
to:
"One of the most interesting occasions of the convention was the last
rites performed over organic church union. Doctors Bitting, Mathews and
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 45
Woelfkin were the officiating clergymen. The former read an invitation
from Dr. W. H. Roberts of the Presbyterian Church to appoint delegates
to an ad interim council growing out of a recent conference on organic
church union called by that body and which was attended by our
commission on faith and order. Dean Mathews, as chairman of a sub-
committee of the executive committee appointed to draft a reply, then
read the document which was printed in full in last week's issue — a presen-
tation that is bound to become historic. The enthusiasm of the mourners
was beyond description. A salvo of applause punctuated each sentence
in Dean Mathews' notable statement. A riot of motions followed, several
delegates vying with each other in proposing one or another method of
sending broadcast this statement all over the world. The result was a
temporary parliamentary mix-up which delayed considerably the services.
Amendments, substitutes, an appeal, a motion to reconsider, and a ris-
ing vote kept the convention secretaries busy. While the body was being
lowered into the grave, Dr. Cornelius Woelfkin of New York presented
the report of the committee on faith and order which declared that organic
church union was neither possible, desirable nor expedient. This state-
ment elicited similar hilarious joy from the mourners and was also pub-
lished in full in the issue of last week."
The foregoing is strange reading from a body of Chris-
tians who became so hilarious over the refusal to confer
with other Christians relative to the unity of the divided
house of Christ. The punctuation of applause is amazing.
The prayer of Jesus for the oneness of His flock must
have been punctuated with His tears. We need the Bap-
tists and if they withdrew after talking over the plans,
so well, but to deny us their wisdom and experience at
the start is difficult to understand. Perhaps another gen-
eration will reverse it, but either this generation or their
successors will regret the record of 1919.
The Christian, St. John, N. B., emphasizes community
work as the first step in Christian unity. It says :
"Christians should} begin to practice Christian union where they are.
Let them learn first the gentle art of getting along amicably, and work-
ing and worshiping peaceably with all the members of their own com
munity. This will be a long step. Then let them cultivate a fraternal
spirit towards all believers, being willing to apply impartially the samt
principles of toleration, allowance and forbearance toward those who differ
from them in other communions, that they do toward those who differ
from them in their own. Let them look out points of agreement, and seek
fellowship and cooperation with others" in every right act. "
A group of Protestant Episcopalians has formed an
organization to hold the Episcopal Church true to its
46 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
traditions for fear it may take some definite action in the
interest of Christian union, especially the likelihood of
giving episcopal ordination to some Congregational min-
ister. There are similar movements among other com-
munions. As we go to press we are told that the Disciples
have started a move in that direction. The Churchman,
New York, gives an account of the new Episcopal organ-
ization as follows :
"An organization known as the Churchman's Alliance for the Defence
of the Church has been launched by a group of men and women who have
been meeting at the Church of St. Ignatius', New York City, for several
weeks. The Rev. Arthur W. Jenks, professor at the General Theological
seminary, Professor Tinker of Yale University, Mrs. Miles Standish of
New York, and the rector of St. Ignatius' are leaders in this movement.
The statement of principles says that the alliance has been formed to in-
clude those 'who are willing to work together for the defence of the
church against movements and practices which tend to undermine the es-
sential principles of the organization, doctrine and worship of the church
as witnessed in the constitution and the Book of Common Prayer of the
Protestant Episcopal Church.' The aims continue:
" 'Specifically, the present aim is to defend the church from such dan-
gers as threaten it from violations of Canon 20, on the "Open Pulpit,"
the misinterpretation of the confirmation rubric which leads to indiscrimi-
nate admission to Holy Communion, the violation of the canons on the
marriage of divorced persons, and the alteration of the methods of approach
to receive holy orders by episcopal ordination.
11 'Membership in the Churchman's Alliance is open to all communi-
cants who hold that loyalty to their baptismal promises, renewed in con-
firmation, solemnly binds them to keep inviolate the creeds and the prin-
ciples of the sacramental system and sacred ministry as set forth in the
Prayer Book and constitution, historically and authoritatively interpreted.'
"The Churchman's Alliance is circulating for signatures a memorial
and petition to the House of Bishops. The bishops are asked to interpret
Canon 20 'so that there may be no doubt in the mind of any as to its
meaning' and that they define particularly the w r ords 'Christian men' 'as to
whether such persons must be baptized and confirmed.' and the words
'special occasions' as to whether those times include Morning and Eve-
ning Prayer and the Holy Communion. The bishops are also asked to in-
terpret the last rubric of the confirmation service as to 'whether any who
have not been confirmed and are not ready and desirous to be confirmed
may be permitted to receive the Holy Communion,' to declare that 'pure
wheaten bread and pure natural wine separately consecrated are necessary
for a celebration of the Holy Communion;' and finally not to enact the
canon called for in the proposed concordat with the Congregationalists. "
In Eev. R. J. Campbell's address in St. Paul's, Con-
vent Garden, according to The Christian Commonwealth,
London, he says:
' ' The spiritual sanction of the League of Nations implies the reunion of
Christendom, and I think, consciously or unconsciously, men's thoughts
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 47
to-day are turning towards Christian reunion, because they perceive that
civilization is bound to go crash again unless we can realize our Christian
ideal of super-nationalism in a spiritual internationale. Long steps have
been taken towards that end, one is happy to say, already. But for the
war Scotland might have shown us the way by now. We should have seen
the interesting experiment of the bringing together of the two great Pres-
byterian bodies north of the Tweed, the United Free Church of Scotland —
which has the most efficient ministry in the world, the best trained — and
the Established Church! and they perhaps would have shown us the way
out of our troubles here, but for the war. For I do not believe it is in
contemplation to sever the connection with the state. To sever that bond
would be bad for the state; I do not think it would be equally bad for
the church. If now Presbyterianism north of the Tweed succeeds in real-
izing its ideal of one great Scottish church, with perfect spiritual au-
tonomy, yet believing itself to be the nation in its religious aspect, surely
we in England need not despair of following suit.
"Some little time before the war a deputation initiated by our branch
of the church in America came to this country, amongst others, with the
object of promoting what it called a world conference on Faith and Order.
That deputation when it went away left a committee behind it, consisting
of representatives of the Church of England, on the nomination of Arch-
bishops, and of Nonconformists. That committee reported some time ago
— a committee on which sat men like Bishop Gore, on the one side, and my
friend Eev. J. H. Shakespeare, secretary of the Baptist Union, on the
other. The committee did a most remarkable thing: it issued a joint state-
ment, a joint confession of faith; it reached perfect agreement as to mat-
ters of faith. Tt broke down for the time being — if 'broke down' be not
too strong a term — on the question of order, but a very long step was
taken when a conference of that kind could agree on the terms of a joint
confession of faith. Had the war not been raging, I think it would have
attracted universal and friendly attention. That committee has done more
perhaps indirectly than it has done directly. It has put on record, and
all the representative leaders who have had a seat upon it have repeated
in season and out of season, that the present situation is intolerable and
must come to an end. Indeed, if we were not so accustomed to denomi-
nationalism we should see how absurd, how intolerable, how unchristian,
how contrary to the mind of our Lord it is. We halt for the moment in
England on the question of orders. Nonconformist ministers say with
perfect justice that it is impossible for them to deny their own past, to
speak as though the Holy Spirit had not honored their work, as though
the tokens of their Master's presence had not been manifest in their midst
for 300 years. Therefore they cannot submit to anything such as reordina-
tion, which would imply that hitherto they had been exercising an invalid
ministry. I sympathize with them. My presence in this pulpit today as
clergyman of the Church of England is not a denial of the work of the
Holy Spirit in my previous ministry in the Nonconformist Church, but, as
I said three years ago and venture to say this morning, if we are suffi-
ciently unanimous to get together, that question will not stop us, and a
means may be found whereby, without sacrificing anything vital, without
denying anything worthy in their own past, Nonconformists can enter
the church, or, rather, realize they are in the church, on a basis of the his-
toric episcopate. Mr. Shakespeare has gone so far — a very long way — as
to say that he for one would submit to reordination if necessary, in order
to regularize the position. The mere fact that anyone so prominent, so
universally respected, as Mr. Shakespeare could take that step, means that
the immediate future is big with hope."
48 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
The union of the Presbyterians, Methodists and Con-
gregationalists in Australia is making satisfactory
headway. Rev. P. J. Stephen, ex-president, N. S. W.,
Methodist Conference, in The Australian Christian
World, Sydney, says :
"If union among the three great denominations at present negotiating
were to be determined by the voice of the higher church courts, it would
be consummated in a very short time.
"Nothing could be finer than the spirit in which the discussions have
been conducted in the joint committee. Leaders of the three churches
have studied the problem from each other's point of view, patiently and
exhaustively. It is remarkable how practical unanimity has been secured
when only an impasse seemed possible. Surely the Spirit of God con-
trolled that gathering and shaped its decisions!
' ' The Presbyterian General Assembly of Australia by a great vote has
pronounced in favor of the basis of union, and the five conferences of the
Methodist Church throughout the Commonwealth have endorsed it and
sent it down to the district synods and quarterly meetings, so that in
September next the attitude of the Methodist people throughout Australia
will be declared on the whole question. The Congregational Union, and
the State Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church, will meet immediately,
and will almost certainly fall into line with the Methodist Conferences.
1 ' The friends of the movement look with hopefulness to the leadership
of the Presbyterian Church. She has played a great and honorable part
in all the negotiations. Indeed, so far as the Dominions of the Empire
are concerned, with the single exception of Canada, the movement originated
with the Presbyterians. In South Africa they are now in consultation
with the Congregational and Baptist Churches, and in Australia they took
the initiative eighteen years ago, and revived the question at the General
Assembly before last. The movement in Canada, where it is nearest to
consummation, originated with the Methodists, in 1902. A basis was
submitted to the Church Assemblies in 1904. It was considered by com-
mittees during the next four years, and was again discussed by the Assem-
blies in 1909 and 1910. In 1911 it was voted upon by the whole church and
again referred back to the several committees during 1912 and 1913. It
was reexamined and amended in 1914, where it stands at present, await-
ing the final verdict when the war is over.
"It will be seen that this is no mere local movement. The Spirit of
God is operating upon a wide scale, preparing the church for the gigantic
tasks of the new age. There are some who dream of a time when 'the
accredited representatives of the churches in the Old Country and the
younger lands will meet in London for council when the war is ended, and
lay the foundations of a United Evangelical Church of the Empire.'
Surely that is not an impossible dream for those who are the professed
followers of Him, who said : ' Other sheep I have which are not of this
fold: them also I must bring * * * and they shall be one flock, one
Shepherd. '
"No doubt the real difficulties will arise when the question of union
comes before the average church member, when we have to deal with
prejudice and imperfect information. This is only natural, for the people
of the various churches have been trained from infancy to utter loyalty to
their particular denomination. The average churchman seldom sees be-
yond his own organization. It absorbs his interest and consumes his en-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 49
ergy. As a result we have grown up in ignorance of one another and
without vital interest in each other's work. In our own little denomina-
tional world we have been satisfied with the common round and largely
unmoved by those ' visions which disturb content. ' f>
To find our way out of the confusion of denomination-
alism there must be experiments. All of these experi-
ments should call for friendly investigation as to their
real worth. The men and movements that have the
cocksure method either irritate the student of the
problem or they isolate themselves from serious consid-
eration by others. The humble, diligent mind is the need
of the hour. Professor E. E. Snoddy in The Christian
Century, Chicago, writes well when he says :
"The church still shows its autocratic survival by its fear of experi-
mentation. It makes quite a large use of experiment in its missionary
and social programs, but in the matter of union experiment seems to be
looked upon as an unpardonable sin. Both conservatives and progressives
are at one here. Both regard any proposed change as absolute, it must
be accepted or' rejected once for all. There is no disposition to hold the
proposed plan in tentative fashion, to withhold final judgment until tested,
in other words to proceed by experimentation. Finality rules from the
first. To hold such an' attitude is really to distrust God and his provi-
dence, for experimentation is the correlate of providence. To experiment
is to submit the proposed plan to God for His decision. The church by
its present method insists upon making the decision itself; it really rules
God out of the enterprise. Where experiment is excluded providence is a
fiction. Man either takes the matter wholly in his own hands or submits
blindly to a fated order. There is no other alternative. But it may be
said that this ignores the message of the Bible on the problem of union.
Not so. That message must be discovered in the same way. The increas-
ing workableness of an interpretation in meeting concrete conditions is
the only real criterion. An interpretation of the Bible that really fur-
thers union will be the message of the Bible for our day. ' '
The following resolutions, appearing in a recent num-
ber of The Challenge, London, indicates the earnestness
of the British churches in their movements toward union :
1 ' The following resolutions were passed at a Conference in Oxford, on
January 6-8, 1919 between some members of the Church of England and
of the Free Churches. It was resolved that they -should be sent to the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, to all the diocesan bishops of Eng-
land and Wales, and to the heads of the Free Churches, with the names
of the signatories.
" ' (I.) We welcome, with profound gratitude to God, as a token of the
manifest working of His Spirit, the manifold evidences around us of better
relations between the Christian churches, resulting in a fuller understand-
50 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
ing of each other's position, and in a more earnest longing for complete
fellowship in a reunited church.
" ' ( II. ) We are in entire accord in our mutual recognition of the
communions to which we belong as Christian churches, members of the
One Body of Christ; and we record our judgment that this recognition
is fundamental for any approach towards the realization of that reunited
church, for which we long and labor and pray.
1 ' i ( III. ) We hold that this recognition must involve, for its due ex-
pression, reciprocal participation in the Holy Communion, as a testimony to
the unity of the Body of Christ.
" ' (IV.) We recognize, with the sub-committee of "Faith and Order, "
in its Second Interim Report, the place which a reformed episcopacy must
hold in the ultimate constitution of the reunited church; and we do not
doubt that the Spirit of God will lead the churches of Christ, if resolved
on reunion, to such a constitution as will also fully conserve the essential
values of the other historical types of church polity, Presbyterian, Con-
gregational and Methodist.
" ' (V.) As immediate practical means of furthering this movement
towards unity, we desire to advocate interchange of pulpits, under proper
authority; gatherings of Churchmen and Nonconformists for more inti-
mate fellowship through common study and prayer; association in common
work through local conferences, joint missions, joint literature and inter-
denominational committees for social work.'
"The names of the signatories are as follows: M. E. Aubrey (minister
of the Baptist Church, Cambridge), C. C. B. Bardsley, A. E. Barnes
Lawrence, J. Vernon Bartlet, S. M. Berry, W. Bardsley Brash, E. A. Bur-
roughs, J. C. Carlile, H. L. C. de Candole, A. J. Carlyle, C. Lisle Carr, T. A.
Chapman, Stuart H. Clark, J. R. Darbyshire, E. C. Dewick, E. R. Price
Devereux, P. T. Forsyth, W. Y. Fullerton and G. P. Gould (ex-presidents
of the Baptist Union), A. E. Garvie, R. C. Gillie, J. R. Gillies (ex-modera-
tor of the Presbyterian Church of England), H. G. Grey, E. Grose Hodge,
A. T. Guttery (ex-president of the Primitive Methodist conference), George
Harford, J. A. Harriss, R. F. Horton, G. J. Howson, J. T. Inskip, H.
Gresford Jones, J. D. Jones and J. H. Jowett (ex-chairmen of the Congre-
gational Union), W. Stanton Jones, Harrington C. Lees, J. Scott Lidgett,
E. H. B. Macpherson, J. Gough McCormick, F. B. Macnutt, F. B. Meyer,
J. D. Mullins, T. Nightingale, G. D. Oakley, A. S. Peake, A. W. T.
Perowne, Alex. Ramsay (moderator of the Presyterian Church of England),
J. E. Rattenbury (superintendent of the Kingsway Wesleyan Mis-
sion), J. E. Roberts (president of the Baptist Union), W. L. Robertson
(secretary of the Presbyterian Church of England), T. Guy Rogers, C.
Anderson Scott, W. B. Selbie, J. H. Shakespeare, E. N. Sharpe, P. Car-
negie Simpson, F. C. Spurr, Dawson Walker, F. S. Guy Warman, the
Bishop of Warrington, F. S. Webster, Richard J. Wells (secretary of the
Congregational Union), C. Mollan Williams, J. W. Willink, H. A. Wilson
(rector of Cheltenham), F. Luke Wiseman."
Mr. George Zabriskie, chancellor of the Episcopal dio-
cese of New York, writing in The American Church
MontMy, New Brunswick, N. J., regarding the concordat
signed by Episcopal and Congregational representatives
relative to reordination of the latter by the former, says:
WHAT PEOPLE AND PA PEES SAY 51
"The substance of the Proposals is that Congregational ministers who
have essentially, although not necessarily in form, the same qualifications
that are required of our own candidates, may receive ordination from our
bishops upon terms that are designed to maintain the communion and fel-
lowship thus established. Appended to the statement of principles is the
form of a canon, designed to give effect to them in the Episcopal Church,
which it is intended to recommend to the General Convention for adoption.
No change in the constitution is deemed necessary.
"The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, — the Scriptures, the creeds, the
sacraments, the episcopate, — although not mentioned by name, is adopted
in fact as the basis of the Proposals. Before ordination, the minister de-
siring to be ordained must satisfy the bishop that he holds the historic
faith of the church as contained in the creeds (Canon, ii) ; and at the
time of his ordination he is to declare in the presence of the bishop, in writ-
ing, that he believes the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to
be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation (iii).
He is further to promise at the same time with respect to the sacraments,
that in the ministration of baptism he will unfailingly baptize with
water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;
and that in the celebration of the Holy Communion he will invariably use
the elements of bread and wine, and will include in the service the words
and acts of our Lord in the institution of the sacrament, the Lord's Prayer,
and one of the creeds, (iii), the episcopate is accepted by the very act of
receiving ordination, which is preceded by confirmation.
"As we are now concerned especially with Congregationalists it is perti-
nent to observe that under the operation of their system of polity there
is usually a close sympathy in belief and in feeling between the minister
and his congregation. Each church adopts its own confessional standards,
to which the minister as he enters upon his pastorate is required to sub-
scribe; and the ministers) and people are, at least conventionally, on an
intimate footing in respect to doctrine and practice; so that if the minis-
ter feels moved to accept ordination from one of our bishops, it is
reasonable to expect that no important difference will be found between
him and his people on the essential points involved.
"In the first place, it would be an insult to the congregation, and a
grave failure of Christian charity, to assume for a moment that they are
anything else than a body of sincere Christian people, as sincere in their
love of God and their desire to do His will, as any congregation of our own
people. They desire to know Him, and they try to serve Him, and they
seek after Him as earnestly as any other body of Christians. They are
God's people, whatever may be said of the regularity of their ecclesiastical
position. In the evangelical virtues of our religion they are probably
as proficient as the congregations over whom the ordaining bishop exercises
jurisdiction. ' '
A writer in The Challenge, London, has this to say rela-
tive to Eome's attitude toward union:
' ' Before the war steps towards reunion with Nonconformists were often
blocked by those who were afraid of marring the fair prospect of reunion
with Eome. The vast majority of us have come now to see that that
prospect is so distant that practical men need no longer consider it. The
attitude of official Borne to the moral issues of the war; the refusal in
52 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
France to allow us to use their churches, even when abandoned and broken
down — 'No services other than Roman Catholic shall be held in Roman
Catholic churches, even when in ruins,' (I am quoting from an official order
issued in the spring of 1917 during our advance over the devastated area
of the Somme) ; and again, the unwillingness of the Roman Catholics, and
the Roman Catholics alone, to take part in joint action with their fellow-
Christians: all these things show that, like pre-war Prussia, Rome seeks
world-power or nothing, and has no desire for cooperation and fellowship.
So let us make a beginning by going forward when the door is open and
where the Spirit of the Lord is so manifestly guiding us, forward towards
a closer union with Nonconformity. ' '
The Constructive Quarterly, New York, has an in-
forming article in its June issue entitled "Church
Unity: Its Position and Outlook in England," by Eev. J.
H. Shakespeare, secretary of the Baptist Union of Great
Britain and Ireland. Mr. Shakespeare says :
"Church unity in this country has a twofold aspect, since organized
religion falls for the most part into two main divisions: the Established
Church and the Evangelical Free Churches. In one direction, therefore, it
is a problem of reunion with the mother church: in the other it is a pro-
posed union between the different denominations of evangelical Noncom-
formity. There is, moreover, an approach towards Methodist union which
is certain to make increasing headway, so that it is probable that before
many years have elapsed there will be one Methodist church in these islands.
"A proposal for a United Free Church of England was made from
the platform, and later from the chair, of the Free Church Council at its
Annual Assembly. Each conference, synod and union was visited by an
official deputation, and from each representatives were appointed to con-
fer on the possibilities of Free Church union. Three conferences were held,
at Oxford, Cambridge and London, besides numberless committees. The
first of the three conferences, at Mansfield College, Oxford, in September,,
1916, was very remarkable. Eighty-one accredited representatives had been
appointed by the churches, and eighty-one were actually present. Four
committees were set up, on faith, constitution, evangelization and the
ministry. The chairmen of these committees were themselves symbols of
Free Church unity — a Presbyterian, a Wesleyan, a Congregationalist and a
Baptist. The issue has been a fourfold report, including a declaration of
faith which has been put forward as the basis of union.
"The present position of these proposals is that some of the great
denominations have already adopted a resolution to federate. These are
the Baptists, Congregationalists and United Methodists. The remaining
three — Wesleyan Methodists, Presbyterians, and Primitive Methodists —
have referred the question to local synods or special committees. In ad-
dition, the five smaller churches are about to come to a decision, if they
have not already done so. As far as I can forecast, it is practically cer-
tain that the federation will come to pass this year. It is reported that
every Presbyterian synod in the country with one exception, has pro-
nounced in favor. There may be one denomination which delays decision,.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 53
or even declines, but I fully anticipate that the first meeting of the Fed-
eral Council, which is the executive organ of the new union, will be held
in London in September.
"Concurrently with the proposals for Free Church unity, very solemn
and earnest thought has been given to the question of reunion with the
Church of England. Of course, efforts towards this goal have been put
forth again and again, but they have led to little or nothing, and those
who have made them have sunk back disheartened and resolved not to
waste any more time in fruitless energies. A dignitary of the Church of
England told me quite recently that his passion for unity had led him to
devote much time in the past to heal the divisions between the Established
and the Free Churches, but that he had been so disappointed by the little
response from the leaders of Nonconformity as to give up any such at-
tempts. The new phase has come about through the visit to our shores of
the deputation of Free Church ministers, arranged by the Episcopal Church
of America. As a result, a united committee was formed, comprising rep-
resentatives of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and of the Free
Churches. The Anglican section included the bishops of Bath and Wells,
Oxford and Winchester. We have held repeated conferences, extending
over four years. Our agreement in the doctrinal statement was unanimous,
and was issued as a First Interim Report. Divergences began when we
passed from faith to order. It has been very interesting to see how we
shied at the real issue. We did not want to give it up. If we failed, it was
unlikely that anyone else would seriously attempt it for a generation. The
representatives of the Church of England were well chosen, — one bishop
of singular charm and winning personality, another a powerful leader of
the High Church party, the third a great ecclesiastic. On the Free Church
side, the names of Selbie, Scott Lidgett, Garvie, Davison and Anderson
Scott justly carry very great weight.
This committee presented a report, which was pub-
lished in The Quarterly, of July, 1918. Referring to this
report and its position on the episcopacy Mr. Shakes-
peare says:
' ' The report expressly states that the acceptance of episcopacy should
not involve any Christian community in the necessity of disowning its past.
"It is simply a fact that in the Church of England itself there are wide
divergences! on the theory of episcopacy, but that its clergy are not re-
quired to accept any one particular theory. The most generous recogni-
tion was made, on the instance of the Anglican members, to the place and
work of the Free Churches under the influence of the Spirit of God. The
report has attracted wide attention. Its value seems to me to be in the
clearness of the issue, for I regard it as a waste of time to seek to
bring about reunion on any other than the basis of constitutional episco-
pacy, We must not forget the special position of the Church of England
in the world; its relation to East and West; that, if it does not forfeit its
influence with the Orthodox Church of Russia, it may do much to promote
vital religion and a care for freedom in that great church which has re-
cently proved itself so ineffective to restrain revolution and violence; the
place of the Church of England in history; above all, the fact that to
bring about reunion on any basis which would split the Church of England
in twain would do more harm than good."
54 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Christian ordinances, church orders, Christian doc-
trines are at odds with Christ when love does not rule.
The church will fly into a rage over a thousand things
that another generation will either modify or discard, but
it has yet to discover the orthodoxy of love. Geoffrey
Godron in The Challenge, London, says :
"While, then, we press upon our leaders the need of strong and definite
measures towards unity with those who are without, let us, all of us, re-
member ourselves that he "who shows a lack of love for his fellow-Chris-
tians does, in fact, excommunicate himself from the love of God and the
true life of the Christian church far more effectively than he who is un-
sound on some intellectual expression of Christian doctrine, or irregular
on some point of church order."
Dr. Adolf Kiiry, secretary of the Committee of the In-
ternational Old Catholic Congresses, Basel (20 Flora-
strasse), sends the following appeal to the Old Catholics :
"Dear friends! On peace being declared international relations and
endeavors to bring about union amongst the churches will be resumed. The
Old Catholics are preparing for it. The undersigned secretary does not
wish to let the long looked for hour pass without sending brotherly greet-
ings to the churches connected with Old Catholicism, and to express the hope
that they will remember their former friendly relations, and to help to re-
vive them. We express this wish especially to our friends of those churches,
which are in intercommunion with us, i.e. the Church of England and the
Episcopal Church of America.
"We also send brotherly greetings to our friends of the Eastern
Churches. The events of the last years have brought into contact the East
with the West. May also peace bring nearer together the churches of the
East and West, and make them consider each other as members of the One
Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, and to advantage by the practical
consequences therefrom. The question of the Holy Catholic Church has
lately roused great interest in the Evangelical Churches of the North, and
it has found representatives amongst the new 'High Church' movement in
Germany. We bid these a hearty welcome as friends. May all these unite
in prayer, and may God bless their efforts that misunderstandings and
prejudices amongst the churches, as well as distrust and misapprehension
amongst the nations, cease; that the spirit of toleration and appreciation
may enter into the churches, and that the spirit of forgiveness and
brotherly affection amongst the nations be promoted.
"If possible an international Old Catholic Congress will be held in
Berne before long; further particulars about which will be published
after peace has been declared. As a means for the exchange of thoughts
we recommend to everybody 'The International Church Review,' published
by Stampfli & Co., Berne.
' ' The peace of God be with us all. ' '
On Sunday before Pentecost, the first Sunday in June,
the synod of the Evangelical Reformed Church in
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 55
Switzerland sent out an appeal to Christians of all lands
as follows :
''Has the world war, with its unspeakable misery and horror, brought
the nations to realize that national egoism threatens civilization with
ruin? The Christian churches must face the duty which their Lord and
Master demands and must raise their voices in unison to arouse the public
conscience and to enforce the demands of the Gospel for righteousness and
brotherly love, not only in each nation but in dealings between nations.
Too long have the churches been silent; they failed in the needed unity of
feeling; they allowed themselves to be led more by national than by Chris-
tian considerations. What a fearful reproach, and how bitterly to be re-
venged later, if they have learned nothing from the world catastrophe, and
if they neglect to meet the universal feelings of hatred and lust for re-
venge which the war has called forth, and to proclaim the need for re-
straint and repentance. We turn, therefore, to all who believe that sal-
vation for individuals as well as for peoples and humanity is contained in
the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we implore them, by word and action, to
approach their governments and parliaments that the spirit of division and
hatred, which tears peoples apart, may give place to the spirit of atone-
ment and peace, and that the principles of the Gospel may be put above
material interests. This is the only way in which mankind, after unutter-
able sufferings, may enter on a new and better era. How can we pray with
a clear conscience at Whitsuntide for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
if we are not ready to forgive one another and to reach out our hands for
atonement? If we humble ourselves before God and, in the Lord's words,
' Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, ' then the grace of
God will help us to true peace, to salvation and blessing for all. May this
call of ours, which our consciences compel us to utter, not pass unheard ! ' '
The trend of these days is toward democracy. Much
which the church has claimed was superimposed from
above has passed under review in modern times with the
result that the twelfth and fifteenth centuries ' findings in
religion are as out of date as the twelfth and fifteenth
centuries' findings in science are out of date. Why
should it not be so! If men fifteen centuries ago took
the liberty to write out certain creeds, why have not
their successors the right to revise certain creeds f Con-
cerning the episcopacy and democracy Rev. John How-
ard Melish writes in The Churchman, New York, as fol-
lows:
"The episcopate is itself to be democratized. Imperialism ruled Borne
and aristocracy the Israel of Christ's day. His society was to resemble
neither. 'Jesus called the twelve unto Him and said, Ye know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise
authority over them. Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would
56 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
become great among you shall be minister: and whosoever would be first
among you shall be your servant.' 'Call no man your father on the
earth: for one is your Father.' 'I call you not servants: ye are my
friends. '
"Can the episcopate become democratic? There is a consensus of opin-
ion to-day among well-informed men as to the origin of the institution.
None but the ecclesiastical caveman believes any longer in apostolic suc-
cession. All scholarly high churchmen, so I am informed by one of them,
recognize now that the episcopate came into existence not by superimposi-
tion from above but by development of the Catholic Church from within.
The democratic society of Jesus developed in the course of centuries into
the imperialistic institution of Innocent III. One stage of that long proc-
ess was the diocesan episcopate.
"Can an institution which came out of an undemocratic and imperialis-
tic age and has for centuries been the ally of divine-right kings become
democratic? Continental Protestantism answered with an almost universal
negative. With characteristic British compromise England retained the
episcopate at the Reformation but subordinated it to the state. She also
freed the clergy from the overlordship of the bishop by changing the
mediaeval ordination vow of unqualified obedience to one of submission to
his godly admonition and godly judgment; which leaves the clergy, not the
bishop, the necessity of deciding as to whether the admonition and judg-
ment are godly or ungodly.
"It was the decision of the convention of 1789 that the institution of
the episcopate could be adapted to a democracy, provided it was stripped of
authority, elected by the people, and put under law. Our democratic fore-
fathers had a healthy suspicion of the English episcopate and in bringing
it to the land of freedom they put it clearly and definitely beneath law,
just as they did their colonial governors."
The third deputation sent abroad by the Protestant
Episcopal Church in the interest of the World Confer-
ence on Faith and Order returned with a most satisfac-
tory report. The deputation consisted of Rt. Eev. C. P.
Anderson, D.D., of Chicago, Rt. Rev. Boyd Vincent, D.D.,
of Cincinnati, Rt. Rev. R. II. Weller, D.D., of Fond du
Lac, Rev. B. T. Rogers, D.D., of Fond du Lac, and Rev.
E. L. Parsons, of Berkeley, Cal. A special thanksgiving
service was held in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul,
Chicago, for the safe return of Bishop C. P. Anderson,
chairman of the deputation, when, according to The Liv-
ing Church, Milwaukee, he said:
"First: The time is ripe for those churches whose faith and order are
similar to enter into serious negotiations looking toward their formal
rapprochement and ultimate inter-communion. The Anglican church, the
Orthodox churches of the East, the Churches of Scandinavia, the Church of
Scotland, and other churches have long shared common hopes and aspira-
tions for corporate communion and fellowship. The day of unity may still
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAT 57
l>e in the distance, but the dawn is beginning to illuminate the horizon and
the hour has struck for the churches to awake and travel with the sun.
The world situation to-day is too serious to warrant the churches in dwell-
ing longer in the realm of mere civilities. Opinions such as these are
freely and frequently expressed by the churches' foremost leaders in the
East and elsewhere.
"Second: The Orthodox churches of the East will fill a very large
place in the World Conference. It is only a form of western provincialism
which would minimize the importance of their cooperation or the value of
their contribution. The great antiquity of the Eastern church, its loyal
allegiance to ecumenical councils, its steadfast orthodoxy through centuries
of persecution — all these entitle and enable the Eastern churches to give
unique testimony as to the primitive content of Christianity and the de-
votional life of the church. The West is accustomed to divide Christians
into Catholics and Protestants, forgetful of the fact that there are millions
of Christians in the East who are neither Papist nor Protestant, who are
more primitive than either, and who are capable of teaching many valuable
lessons to both.
"Third: The Orthodox churches of the East will also be amongst the
larger beneficiaries of the Conference. They will receive as well as give.
A desire for contact with Western Christianity is beginning to find fre-
quent expression throughout the East. Their theological students are be-
ing encouraged to go to England and America for a part of the their edu-
cation. An interchange of lectureships on church history and doctrine is be-
ing seriously considered. Many progressive reforms are being inaugurated,
wherein contact with the whole active form of Western church life will
■exercise a stimulating influence. A fresh missionary determination is over-
taking the Eastern churches as they look forward to such an era of political
peace and religious freedom as they have not enjoyed for centuries. It is
along such lines as these that the churches of the West can help the
churches of the East.
"Fourth: So far as I can see the war has not brought about any
marked revival in church life. Why should it? I have seen the battlefields
of Prance and Italy and Macedonia and Roumania and Serbia. I have
seen the devastation and destruction and the evidence of a vast slaughter.
As well might the angels in heaven expect to find inspiration for the service
of God down in hell, as for the church to look for inspiration in the horrors
of war. The only inspiration that war can give to the churches is a fresh
challenge to stand together and to stand solidly for those principles of uni-
versal brotherhood and righteousness and justice that make war impos-
sible. ' '
Sir Douglas Haig speaks for the union of all British
communions according to The Congregationalist, Boston,
as follows: , •
"The Established Church of Scotland had as onlookers at its General
Assembly this year two famous Scotchmen, the Archbishop of Canterbury
and the leader of the victorious British army, Sir Douglas Haig. In an
address by the latter he suggested that there should be a kind of general
staff for all the British churches — a representative body to guide them in
what he called 'the great crusade of brotherhood' — without interfering
with the internal economy of any of them. His idea of a great, im-
perial church for the whole empire to maintain this spirit of brotherhood
58 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
was inspiring. Now is the time to strike, lie said, while the iron is hot, and
in connection with his enthusiastic approval of the measures for reuniting
the long-divided churches of Scotland he appealed to the leaders of all the
British communions to lose no time in giving us a vigorous united or
federated church."
Kikuyu will always remain as an experiment in Chris-
tian unity. Dr. Engene Stock, secretary of the Church
Missionary Society, London, writes in The Constructive
Quarterly, New York, of both the first conference in
1913 and the second conference in 1918 as follows :
" There was to the deep regret of most of those present no united
communion service at the close of the Conference, such as had so happily
followed in 1913. Nothing could more plainly show the desire of the
Bishops of Uganda and Mombasa to defer to the utmost to the doubts
expressed by the Consultative Body and (less strongly) by the Archbishop.
That communion of 1913 was administered by an Anglican bishop in the
Anglican form. But the building used was_a Presbyterian church (the
only one available), which one would have supposed was at least as suit-
able as a hut in a jungle or the deck of a liner; and a number of Chris-
tians not connected with the Anglican church were invited to partake.
That was all. There was no question of the ' validity' of a sacrament ad-
ministered by ministers not ordained by bishops. And yet that sacrament
could not be repeated; and in 1918 all were shut off from a Table which
after all is the Lord's Table and not man's."
Movements for the unity of the church are multiplying,
which indicates that the passion for a united church is
growing. A League for Church Unity is one of these,
having originated with the "Rt. Kev. W. A. Guerry, Bishop
of South Carolina, and the draft is so practical that it is
given in full as reported in The Southern Churchman :
' ' The great war just ended, having forced upon our attention with a
new power of realization the evils of a divided Christendom, we, the mem-
bers of the Christian churches of the world, recognizing and accepting our
baptism as the basis of a common membership in Christ, do hereby organize
ourselves into a league to be known and called 'The League for Church
Unity, ' ' and do adopt as our motto these words of Christ : - That they all
may be one, as Thou Father art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be
one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.' — St."" John
17:21.
A DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES
"a,. We believe that Christ prayed, not only for the spiritual oneness
of all believers in Him, but also for the visible and organic unity of His
church.
' ' b. Believing as we do, that a period of preparation and education must
precede any formal declaration of a basis of unity, our aim is to arouse
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 59
the Christian conscience of the world regarding the evils of division, and
to convert Christians themselves to the imperative need of a united church,
as the divinely appointed means of winning the world for Christ. With this
end in view, we record here our faith in the ultimate fulfillment of Christ's
prayer for unity, and as His disciples we hereby pledge ourselves to pray
and labor for this end.
' ' c. By becoming members of this league we do not wish to be understood
as advocating any doctrinal platform, or scheme of reunion. We only de-
sire at this time to give corporate expression to our willingness to work for
the realization of Christ's prayer for organic unity.
' ' d. We favor all forms of active cooperation and confederation between
Christian churches, which have as their definite and ultimate aim the visible
and organic unity of Christ's church.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS
' ' a. We recommend that the members of this League shall wear a simple
and inexpensive badge of the following design. (Design to be adopted
later.)
"b. We recommend that Thursday night in Holy Week, or the eve of
Good Friday, being the night on which our Lord offered His prayer for
unity, be observed by all members of this League as a time for special
supplication and prayer with such appropriate services as to each church
concerned shall seem most fitting. It is also hoped that ' Prayer Centers'
may be formed in the different churches which shall meet regularly to pray
and work for the visible reunion of Christendom.
"e. Every member of the League is requested to sign a membership
card, giving his or her full Christian name and address, the church or de-
nomination to which they belong, together with such other information as
may be of value to the League. These cards shall be filed for record in
some central office, according to the churches or denominations represented,
and when a sufficient number of signatures have been obtained to show the
attitude of any particular church or denomination towards the question of
organic unity, then a full report with statistics shall be furnished to the
duly constituted authorities of each church represented in the League. ' '
The common recognition of Christians by each other
is again helped by the following memorandum to the
Archbishops of the Church of England as published in
The Challenge, London: —
' ' The following memorandum has been sent to the Archbishops and
Bishops of the Church of England by more than 130 clergymen, among
whom are the Suffragan Bishops of Barking, Barrow-in-Furness, and War-
rington, Bishop Hamilton Baynes, Bishop Stileman, Bishop Mercer, and the
Bishops-designate of Truro and Stepney. Among other signatories are the
Deans of London, Worcester, Durham, Bristol, Norwich, Salisbury, Winches-
ter, Carlisle, and Manchester; Professor J. F. Bethune Baker, Professor
E. W. Watson, the Warden of New College, Oxford, Dr. A. A. David, head-
master of Rugby, Dr. R. H. Charles, Canon Glazebrook, Canon V. F. Storr,
Canon B. H. Streeter, Canon J. M. Wilson, and Dr. Percy Dearmer: —
"We, members of the Church of England, feeling the sin and the folly
of the present disunion among Christian people, especially at a time when
the unity for which our Lord prayed is needed more urgently than ever,
desire to set forth the following considerations: —
60 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
"We are convinced that episcopacy is demanded both by history and by
the needs of ultimate unity, and is the only practical basis of reunion and
reconstruction. But we also hold that the historical principles and prac-
tice of our church with regard to the non-episcopal Christian churches need
to be emphasized at the present time, when the principles which, must under-
lie all future action are being earnestly discussed. We believe that they
offer a real hope of advance towards organic reunion, and we therefore
claim the right, as we feel the duty, of stating frankly what we think they
involve.
' ' 1. We recognize that those organized Christian communions which ac-
cept the first three articles of the Lambeth Statement, but which are, in
our view, deficient in order through not having retained the Historic Epis-
copate, are nevertheless true parts of the one church of Jesus Christ.
"2. We recognize that their ministry, in and for their own communions,
is a true ministry of the word and sacraments; and we acknowledge with
reverence and gratitude the operation of the Holy Spirit among them, and
in their ministry.
"3. We believe, therefore, that the issues which divide us are questions
rather of order than of grace; in other words, that the ministry and sacra-
ments of non-episcopal churches are not inoperative as means of grace, but
irregular from the point of view of historic catholic order.
"4. We are convinced that if this were generally admitted, in acts
sanctioned by corporate authority, as well as in words, the way would be
open to a joint reconsideration of differences of order, which could not
fail to take us far towards organic unity upon a truly catholic basis. ' '
A valuable book now in the press, " Approaches To-
wards Church Unity, ' ' edited by Dr. Newman Smyth and
Prof. Williston Walker, and being printed by Yale Uni-
versity Press, New Haven, will be a most helpful con-
tribution to an understanding of principles and ap-
proaches to the unity of the church, including historical
precedents and opinions. It will be given a review in our
January number. For the present we give space only to
the preface:
"Reunion of the churches has become now a practical question. The
end of the war leaves this as the next Christian thing to be done. Happily
the sentiment for unity is rising and becoming a strong impulsive movement
throughout the Christian community. It requires, especially among the
leaders, in all the churches the will to unity. It demands also intelligent
direction as well as a common venture of faith.
"For this reason it seems now highly desirable that the materials for
discussions and conferences concerning unity should be rendered as availa-
ble as possible for the general public and for the use of ministers who may
not have convenient access to large libraries. To make some contribution
to this end is the aim of this publication, so far as the limits of a book
not too large for general use may permit. The writers cooperating in it
have accordingly avoided advocating or urging any particular plans or
measures now pending for greater unification of the forces of the churches;
but it has been their common object to present results of historical studies
and vital principles of organic unity which should be taken into due con-
sideration in any plans or common approaches towards unity. Besides the
essays which constitute the main body of this volume, there have been added
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 61
accounts of some conferences and endeavors in former times to seek the
peace of the churches, of which our general histories have taken little note.
They will be found to contain many expressions that are strikingly per-
tinent to present conditions. Some precedents and opinions also relating
to special problems of unity have been included in the following pages.
An appendix contains statements for convenient reference relative to plans
and approaches now under consideration, and to which the attention of
religious coventions and ecclesiastical bodies in the coming months may be
called. "
The Commission on the World Conference on Faith
and Order has sent out the following report and appeal,
signed by the Et. Eev. Charles P. Anderson, president;
the Eev. William T. Manning, chairman of the Executive
Committee, and Eobert H. Gardiner, secretary:
' ' Christ, the manifestation of the love of God, is waiting till those who
call themselves by His holy Name bring the world, by their unity, seen and
known of all men everywhere, to believe that He was sent by the Father
to redeem all mankind. To be a Christian should mean to dwell in Christ
continually and so completely as to be filled with His love. And love is
unity, the complete surrender and forgetfulness of self to find one's self
enriched, enlarged, completed. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity is the
glory and perfection of infinite love in God, who is Lover and Beloved and
love proceeding, eternal Three in One. To those churches which will par-
ticipate in the World Conference on Faith and Order, Christian unity has
infinite meaning, for it is that perfect love which is unity in the church, the
Body of Christ filled with the life and presence of the Son of God made
man. And if we are true members of that Body there will be no room
in heart or mind for suspicion or hostility toward our brethren.
1 ' The World Conference on the Faith and Order of the Christian church
is the effort to create conditions of mutual love and understanding in which
the way of the true unity which is the evidence of Christ indwelling in
His church may be revealed. And that way is Christ's own way of bound-
less, tireless, all-patient love. Only by trying to understand and appre-
ciate one another, and all the great truths for which each separate com-
munion stands, can we comprehend Him who is the Truth for all men
everywhere, however diverse they may be. Only in His life of love for all
mankind, however ignorant they may be of Him, can we find that completion
which is perfect peace.
' ' There is an increasing recognition in every part of the world of the
duty of Christians to be, one that the world may be made new by faith in
Jesus Christ and by obedience to Him. What but the compulsion of a
common faith and a common devotion can bind the nations of the world
and the classes of society in concord and brotherhood, expelling mutual
jealousies and suspicions, and teaching mutual forbearance and helpfulness?
Accordingly we rejoice that families of churches which separated from one
another years or generations ago are recognizing that the causes which
seemed to justify that separation were not sufficient, or no longer exist,
and that churches, near of kin, are seeking to approach each other.
"The World Conference is now assured. The invitation to join in ar-
ranging for it has been accepted generally by churches throughout the
world which find their hope in God in three Persons, our Creator, Kedeemer,
and Sanctifier, the manifestation of infinite life and perfect love in One,
transcending all worlds, yet ready to dwell in every humblest heart. The
62 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Church of Rome is an exception, for the pope has found himself unable to
accept this opportunity to make clear the faith and claims of the Church of
Rome and to try to appreciate the position of other communions.
' ' The commission appointed nine years ago by the American Episcopal
Church to issue the invitations to the Conference does not feel that its
task is complete till it urges thanksgiving and prayer. It therefore begs
all who bear the name of the Son of God Incarnate to offer constant thanks
to God for His grace which is stirring the hearts of men to unity, and to
pray regularly and earnestly that God the Holy Ghost will guide and
strengthen every movement for reunion and all the preparations for the
convening of the World Conference, so that, when its members assemble
all in one place, they may be prepared to receive, all of one accord, the
guidance of the Spirit of Truth and Love in all their deliberations.
"We ask especially for the public as well as private observance of the
octave next January 18-25 (January 5-12 in the Eastern calendar). But
we ask also for daily prayer by every Christian and for weekly public,
prayer in all the churches, that God's will of unity may be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Pamphlets explaining the object and methods of the
Conference may be had from the secretary, Robert H. Gardiner, 174 Water
street, Gardiner, Maine. "
The refusal of the Pope to appoint a commission to sit
in conference with other Christians relative to a united
Christendom is a clear reminder of where the Roman
Catholic Church now is. That great church is to be
pitied in seeking to maintain an infallible head rather
than an infallible heart. When the Pope gets his ears to
the ground and discovers where the world is, if he is a
wise man he will change his mind. His action, however,
will tend to tighten the bonds of Protestantism. After
all a united Christendom is to begin in a united Protes-
tantism. The Rt. Rev. J. S. Johnston, D. D., Protestant
Episcopal bishop, writing in The Southern Churchman,
Richmond, says:
"Of course, scarcely any one expected the Pope to accept the invitation
to take part in the Faith and Order Conference. It would have taken
a man of the very noblest mold to do it. One like St. Paul, who, when
entreated by the disciples not to go to Jerusalem, replied: 'I am ready
not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus.'
Or like Luther at the Diet of Worms, who, when bidden to recant on
pain of excommunication, which might have meant death, as in the case
of Huss, replied: * Unless I shall be refuted and convinced by testi-
monies of Holy Scripture, or by public, clear, and evident arguments
and reasons, I cannot and will not retract anything; because it is
neither safe nor advisable to do anything against one's conscience.
Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise; God help me. Amen.'
' ' Here are the two outstanding figures who have more largely in-
fluenced the thought and trend of the world than any one else, except-
ing the Master whom they followed.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 63
"It was the privilege of Benedict XV to have joined this mighty
triumvirate, and by uniting all the forces of Christianity to have saved
the world at this, one of the very greatest crises of its history.
"It is true that he would have risked committing ecclesiastical
harakiri; as Paul and Luther were willing to do; both of whom re-
ceived the reward of their Master, who said 'He that loseth (or is will-
ing to lose) his life for my sake and the gospel's, shall save it to life
everlasting. '
"The Pope had the opportunity, which generally comes but once, to
win this prize, but he was not equal to it. He chose to stand with Annas
and Caiaphas and Pilate, who sent Jesus to the Cross for daring to
denounce the traditions of the past, as represented in that which was
the only true church of His day. He dared to do it, with the full con-
sciousness of the consequences, He being 'the first amongst the un-
afraid'; and others are waiting to follow the right leader when he is
revealed.
"The day (Der Tag) will come, but it will only come when men in
sufficient numbers are ready, at whatever cost, to follow Jesus all the
way, to help Him bring it in.
"It looks now like the world will have to wait a long while for its
redemption, till the principles of the religion of Jesus have been fully
accepted and acted on. This Pope had it in his power to swing France
and Italy back into the Christian column, if only he would have con-
sented to a union of all the churches, on the basis of the only true
Catholicity, ' Quod semper, ubique, et ab omnibus. '
"The visit of the committee has had one good result. It has com-
pelled the Pope to show his .hand. Henceforth the world will know ex-
actly where he and his church stand. It will know that he is willing to
sacrifice the whole world rather than abate one jot or tittle of those
modern doctrines, foisted on the Western Church after the great schism
between the East and West a thousand years ago; since which it has
been impossible to hold an Ecumenical Council, which would bind the
whole church.
"Now, that part of the church which holds to the Vincentian rule
above quoted can go forward without the Pope, but not without the
Lord. Some one who is fully competent to do it, ought now to write
the Pope up in the most Christian spirit, and show that he is the lone
autocrat left on the earth since the Czar, the Kaiser, and the Sultan
have been disposed of.
"If Jesus was the first great Democrat, in declaring the Fatherhood
of God, and the right of all His children to be free and equal, then
there is no place for autocracy anywhere in His church over which He
alone is 'the King of kings and Lord of lords.'
"If the Church of Rome would take part in this proposed confer-
ence, which binds nobody to any specific action but only seeks to find
the causes of the 'unhappy divisions' of Christendom that a remedy may
be discovered, it would win for itself a prestige which it never held in
its palmiest days of power, when it sought by fire and* sword to exter-
minate its adversaries to whom we owe all our liberties, beginning with
Magna Charta.
"Out of this conference, when it convenes, should be evolved what
is the very bed-rock of all true religion: the Fatherhood of God to all
men; the brotherhood of all men to each other; and the leadership of
Jesus Christ, the big Brother of us all, who died on the Cross for the
redemption of the whole race. Then, and only then, wars would auto-
64 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
matically cease, because men would have learned from Him that our
duty is to help and not to hurt one another. "
There is no difficulty in finding barriers to the unity of
Christendom. We can either acquiesce in the present,
condition of things with their fictitious barriers and seek
to live on as we have scandalously lived for the past cen-
turies, or we can give ourselves to heroic efforts in find-
ing the way for the removal of barriers. In The Amer-
ican Church Monthly, New Brunswick, N. J., Eev. Hamil-
ton Schuyler writes on " Psychological Barriers to Re-
union," emphasizing the barriers between the Protes-
tant Episcopal Church and other Protestant churches.
He evidently belongs to that group who prefer division
as it has existed through the past rather than disturbing
the present conditions in the hope of finding the way to
reconciliation. He writes :
11 Between Churchmen and members of the Protestant bodies for ex-
ample there exists a certain indefinable uncongeniality of temper, a
subtle dissidence of spirit, all the stronger because they are instinctive
and sub-conscious. They tend far more effectually to prevent an agree-
ment than does any formal divergence in faith and order, however
radical. Churchmen and Protestants, often with the best will in the
world, fail to understand each other 's point of view, and this because
they do not comprehend each other's language, even when using the
same religious terminology. They 'do not mean the same things when
they employ theological formulae verbally identical. Their emphasis
and sense of values are never the same. Differences in doctrine, forms
of worship, and ecclesiastical polity, though they are serious factors to
be reckoned with in any scheme looking to organic unity, are plainly
therefore not the chief barriers to be overcome.
"In the matter of divine worship there is an equal dissimilarity be-
tween the two as revealed, respectively, in the very character of their
buildings and the accessories employed. To the Catholic, worship is the
rendering to God in objective forms of corporate praise and thanksgiv-
ing on the part of the faithful. God and His glory, not man and his
needs, are central in his thoughts. There is a mystical element present
that tends to make him forget self and desire to merge his personality
in the larger unity of the whole body. Worship to him is giving some-
thing, not getting something. Worship is the function of the church consid-
ered as an integer and not a mere act of individuals, however piously dis-
posed. On the other hand, according to the popular Protestant con-
ception, divine worship represents primarily an occasion for self -edifi-
cation, for personal inspiration and ethical enlightenment. The sermon
or discourse is the chief thing and furnishes the rationale for the as-
sembly. The two conceptions are as wide apart as the poles and find
their issue and reflection in two different types of the religious life.
Which of the twain is the better type, more consonant with the Christian
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 65
ideal, it is not perhaps necessary at this time to enquire. The fact re-
mains, however, that the two are mutually antipathetic and cannot be
harmonized under one system.
******
"If it were conceivable that an agreement could be reached to-mor-
row whereby Churchmen and members of the various Protestant denomi-
nations could effect a formal unity it is safe to say that such unity would
prove to be merely a mechanical arrangement and would utterly fail to weld
the two into a homogenous organism. In the final issue either the ethos
of Churchmen or of Protestants would have to prevail. Otherwise the
union would have to be dissolved on grounds familiar to the divorce
courts, namely, 'incompatibility of temper.'
"Incompatibility of temper may not furnish a just ground for sepa-
ration after a union has once been freely effected, but it would certainly
constitute the height of unwisdom to enter into such a union if the dis-
parity were previously known to exist. Better to continue in a state of
single-blessedness than to suffer the consequences of an ill-mated mar-
riage. There are elements which can never coalesce because by an im-
mutable law of nature they belong to a different order. Those whom
God hath not joined together will do well to remain asunder unless and
until He works a miracle of grace and leads them by His Spirit to be
of one heart and of one mind.
"For this blessed consummation let all good Christians everywhere
continue earnestly to pray and work, foregoing in the meanwhile any
attempt prematurely to force an issue between those who to-day are
conscious of feeling little spiritual affinity with each other. At the ut-
most, men may effect an artificial union, but it is God alone who maketh
them to be of one mind in an house."
The outlook upon the Christian forces as they are to-
day lends little encouragement to the triumph of the
will of God among men. The divided house presents a
disheartening confusion to many. An editorial in a New
York paper expresses its viewpoint in this stinging para-
graph :
' ' The truth of the entire matter is that Christendom is a perfect
chaos of conflicting theological opinions; and if Jesus Christ, the alleged
founder of the 'One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church,' should sud-
denly appear on earth to see how it fared with the church, 'His Bride,'
He would become at once insane, and perhaps commit suicide, on finding
himself the 'most married' divinity known to the history of mythology.
The variety of His wives in intelligence and respectability would over-
whelm with confusion even the brain of a God, for do we not read that
God is not the author of confusion, but of order, as among all the saints?
But these matters are mere trifles to the religious partisan, who, in the
long run, is really concerned very little about ' the thoughts of God. ' ' '
It has long been an obvious fact that unity is a supreme
need on the mission field. The present movements for
union owe much to the demand coming from the foreign
field. A most important movement for unity on the field
66 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
is now in progress in India. A report of it has just been
published by Robert H. Gardiner under the title ' ' A Re-
union Movement in India."
1 ' Some years ago, the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and some
Methodists formed the South India United Church. In 1911 there was a
conference of members of that Church with Anglicans to discuss union,
but no common ground was then found. The effort has been taken up
again with greater success, and while it has no official sanction as yet the
proposers hope that it solves the problem, as it adopts the episcopate while
recognizing other churches and providing for the continuance of fellowship
with them. The proposers are not without hope that they can go still
further and make it possible for Baptists, Lutherans, and Wesleyans to
come in. A leading Baptist in Madras has shown in an article in the
Harvest Field that he does not consider the Lutheran doctrine of the
Lord's Supper as divisive, and British Baptists who have taken so large
a part in the English negotiations have thus shown that their particular
doctrine is not an invincible obstacle to reunion.
"The Presbyterian Church in India has instructed its Committee on
Union to communicate with other bodies on the subject, and a conference
was held of Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and members of the South
India United Church, which adopted a draft basis of union. Its object
is as follows:
1 ' l To bind together different churches in India in one body with a view
to present a united living testimony to Christ and worthily to represent
to the world the Christian ideal.'
•* * * * * *
"At a conference May 1 and 2, 1919, present one Anglican bishop and
six presbyters, and twenty-six representatives of the other churches, including
G. Sherwood Eddy, who has been of very great assistance in promoting
these movements for unity, a statement was adopted by those present, as
individuals, beginning with the declaration that they believe that union
is the will of God. Then going on:
" 'We believe that the challenge of the present hour in the period of
reconstruction after the war, in the gathering together of the nations, and
the present critical situation in India itself, calls us to mourn our past
divisions and turn to our Lord Jesus Christ to seek in Him the unity of
the body expressed in one visible church. We face together the titanic
task of the winning of India for Christ — one-fifth of the human race. Yet,
confronted by such an overwhelming responsibility, we find ourselves ren-
dered weak and relatively impotent by our unhappy divisions — divisions
for which we were not responsible and which have been, as it were, im-
posed upon us from without; divisions which we did not create, and which
we do not desire to perpetuate.
" 'In this church we believe that three scriptural elements must be
conserved. (1) The congregational element, representing "the whole
church " with "every member" having immediate access to God; each ex-
ercising- his gift for the development of the whole body. (2) We believe
it should include the delegated, organized, or presbyterian element, where-
by the church could unite in a general assembly, synods, or councils in
organized unity. (3) We believe it should include the representative,
executive, or episcopal element. Thus all three elements, no one of which
is absolute or sufficient without the others, should be included in the church
of the future, for we aim not at compromise for the sake of peace but at
comprehension for the sake of truth.' "
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PROF. W. J. LHAMON WRITES RELATIVE TO THE PHILADELPHIA
CONFERENCE FURNISHING A BASIS OF APPEAL IN
CHRISTIAN UNION
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — I have read with much interest the April issue of The
Christian Union Quarterly. A serious question confronts me all the
way through. It is indicated in the basis of an appeal in Church union.
In your admirable presentation, section III, Page 34, you appeal to "A
Catholic Book." Your appeal is the usual one if not the invariable one
of the Disciples of Christ. You say, ' ' Since all agree that the Scrip-
ture^ contain the Word of God, why could not the, Scriptures alone be
sufficient ? They appear to have been so for the early church. ' ' There
is a weak point in this statement which it is not my purpose to point out
now. It is simply the basis of appeal that I note.
On page 40 there is presented the basis of appeal of the Society of
Friends. Our substantial brother of the " inner light" is still sure of his
' ' inner light. ' ' He makes no appeal whatever to the written word. He
says, "In the absence of ritual and in the direct waiting upon God we
find a living spiritual worship combined with the exercise of a vocal min-
istry dependent upon His Holy Spirit for its inspiration and power. "
Bishop C. L. Moench, speaking for the Moravian Church, on page 41,
makes reference to the Augsburg Confession and to the Thirty-Nine Ar-
ticles of England rather as indices of the doctrinal attitude of his church
than as required creedal statements, and proceeds to say that anyone who
accepts Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, coequal with the
Father, as divine Lord and Master and as the only Savior from sin, be-
cause of His atoning and vicarious sacrifice, is eligible for membership in
the Moravian Church. Aside from certain attached theological terms this
reduces the creedal basis of the Moravian Church practically to that of the
Disciples. In the matter of polity, however, there is a decided appeal to
the historic episcopate. "The Moravian Church is an episcopal church.
It secured its episcopate through the Waldensian bishops, who in turn had
it from the Roman Church. ? '
One of the most attractive papers of the whole group is that of Bishop
John W. Hamilton, pages 51 to 56. The paper is full of the charm of a
fine spirit, a pointed and incisive literary style with a touch here and
there of well directed humor, and over all a full appreciation both of the
crying need of union and of the difficulties in the way of it. It is true that
Bishop Hamilton refers to the New Testament when he says, "we are
just as certain as you are that we are a Scriptural church, with a valid
and authorized ministry, and with bishops divinely ordained, having the
same rights to administer the sacraments that any other ministry can
claim." Also when he says, "we may not be able to find our exact form
of church government in the New Testament, as we are sure that the
communicants of any other church cannot find theirs given there. But
if you will hunt a bit you will find the secret of our inspiration there,
just the same as the sources of all your churches will be found there.
There are occasions when literal interpretations must give way to spirit-
ual." Now while this is an appeal to the New Testament it is a very
different one from the appeal of the Disciples. The Bishop 's position rela-
tive to interpretation, if accepted, militates squarely against the Disciples '
67
68 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
position. But Bishop Hamilton's appeal to the New Testament, such as
it is, is quite incidental to his presentation as a whole. His main appeal
is a pragmatic one. He believes organic union would work well. Pt is
advisable. Therefore we should have it if we can get it. He sees no final
basis for it in the letter of the Scripture as the Disciples do.
Dr. Williston Walker, speaking for the Congregational Church, dis-
tinctly disclaims a Scriptural basis for organic union. He says, " prac-
tically every Protestant body has abandoned the idea that its form of
faith and order is minutely presented in the New Testament. That rule
of the belief and government of the church is generally looked upon as
giving broad regulative principles rather than a detailed prescription. We
are thus delivered from the necessity of seeking unity by a process in
which one communion absorbs the others. "
Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, speaking for the Protestant Episcopal Church,
still appeals to the well-known Lambeth Quadrilateral. The spirit of Bishop
Talbot is delightful in his generous outreaching to the non-Episcopal com-
munions, but in line with his church he is quite positive that "the continu-
ity of the historical episcopate should be effectively reserved. ' ' It might be
accepted as a fact aside from "any theory as to its character, " and it
"should reassume a constitutional form," but in some way or other it
must be kept as a basis of union. A united church might more easily ad-
just itself to the other three sides of the quadrilateral, namely, the ac-
ceptance of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as containing
all things necessary to salvation, the Apostles' Creed as the baptismal
symbol, and the sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper administered
with unfailing use of Christ's words of institution, but even here there is
implied, some would feel, an unnecessary burden of tradition, or a nec-
essary shift of interpretation, especially in reference to the so-called
Apostles' Creed.
Is not the heart of the whole matter right here? It is not necessary
to review other papers of the Conference. The outstanding fact is that
there is the spirit of union but no basis of union. There is not even an
approach to a consensus of viewpoint as to basis of appeal. The spirit
of union gives hope. The failure so far to find a common ground on
which to build gives pause, and hope grows distant.
Springfield, Mo. W. J. Lhamon,
Drury College.
[In our January issue the plan for the union of the evangelical Protes-
tant Churches will be presented. The Ad Interim Committee is now work-
ing on it. Until the forthcoming meeting of the Conference on Organic
Union, which will be held in Philadelphia, perhaps in November, there
can be no statement of this plan. — Editor.]
DE. THOMAS MAINTAINS THAT THE ANGLICAN OE PEOTES-
TANT EPISCOPAL CHUECH IS PEOTESTANT
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — With all deference to Dr. Hall I submit that I have not
in the least misconceived the purpose and bearing of his article. The
very title, "The Doctrine of Priesthood in the Episcopal Church,"
shows what the article itself proves beyond question, that he proceeded
on the assumption that his statement of the doctrine was the only legiti-
mate one in the Episcopal Church. My purpose, therefore, was not so
much to answer his article as to show that there was another doctrine
of priesthood which he had virtually, if not entirely, ignored. And in
particular I desired to explain that the Church of England, and with it
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, stands for what
may be called the Protestant position, and that there is "no alarm ' '
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 69
among Evangelical Episcopalians that the proper Anglican doctrine of
priesthood will be ' ' compromised by coordinating its ministers ' ' with
non-Episcopalians. If only Dr. Hall had been content with saying that
his view of priesthood was one held by a section of Episcopalians there
would have been no serious objection, but, I repeat, the entire position
set forth in his .article implied that he was dealing with the only of-
ficial doctrine held in the Episcopal Church.
Dr. Hall says that I have not discovered or indicated any misrepre-
sentation in his survey of the subject. But this is exactly what my ar-
ticle was intended to do, and I believe actually did. I maintain that Dr.
Hall by ignoring what happened in the sixteenth century has given an
entirely wrong idea of the Christian ministry as found in the Episcopal
Church. It is true that Dr. Hall referred to priesthood in what he calls
"the low church sense," but he says that while this repudiates li sacer-
dotalism" it is accompanied by loyalty to a system which involves use
of an order of ' ' priests. ' ' Dr. Hall then refers to the words of the
service for the Visitation of the Sick. I contend that this really begs
the^ question, because everything turns on the proper interpretation of
these words. The formula to which Dr. Hall refers means in the Prayer
Book exactly what it means in our Lord's original use of it in St. John
20:23, where, as the best commentators show, there is nothing sacerdotal
or indeed even exclusive of the ministry. Dr. Hall should study the arti-
cle on the Ordinal by that careful and able scholar, the Rev. N. Dimock,
which is found in the Protestant Dictionary. He will there see proofs
of what I am now saying, and it is very striking that Cranmer and those
associated with him deliberately retained this reference to St. John 20,
while deliberately omitting every other characteristic feature of Medieval
Ordinals.
And so I say again that Dr. Hall's article gives an entirely wrong
impression of what priesthood is in the Episcopal Church, as the minis-
try was formulated by the Reformers of the sixteenth century, whose
views are enshrined in the Prayer Book. That Book is to be judged in
the light of .what happened at the Reformation, and it is simply impos-
sible for Dr. Hall to avoid a consideration of the antecedents of the
Book, when endeavoring to discover its proper meaning. As an illustra-
tion of what I now say I may refer to the recent letter of Bishop Kins-
man who, when he resigned his Episcopate in the Protestant Episcopal
Church (mark the title) wrote these words: "In spite of the greatest
unwillingness I have come to feel that the interpretation of the Anglican
position which connects it chiefly with the Protestant reformation is
the one more consistent with its view as a whole." These are the words
of a man who recognizes facts as they are, and Dr. Hall may be chal-
lenged to find his distinctive views in any representative English Church
authority before the rise of the Tractarian Movement. When, therefore,
the ministry of the Episcopalian Church is studied in the light of the
circumstances which gave it birth in its present form in the sixteenth
century it can easily be seen, as Bishop Kinsman clearly recognizes, that
between Dr. Hall's position and (say) mine there is "a great gulf
fixed," and if Dr. Hall is right I am wrong, while of course if I am
right he is wrong. I have no fear as to which of these positions is cor-
rect, when everything is properly taken into account. The fact is that
Dr. Hall's position is an impossible one, for he is endeavoring to obtain
all the essential features of the Roman view of priesthood without ac-
cepting the Roman Church. Bishop Kinsman has evidently recognized
this, and it would be interesting to some of us to see how his contentions
are met by men of Dr. Hall's school, for certainly there is nothing to
warrant the extreme sacerdotal position in anything found either in the
Church of England or the Protestant Episcopal Church formularies.
70 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
It is not' without real significance that leading scholars in the Roman
Catholic Church for the last three centuries have maintained that our
Prayer Book is essentially a Protestant document. I remember once
asking a Roman Catholic priest whether he thought our Prayer Book
could be fairly and honestly used in his communion. I wish I could
convey to your readers the smile he gave me as he said, ' ' Oh ! no, we
regard it as a Protestant book, " I at once replied, ' ' So do I. ' ' Some
years ago a Roman Catholic priest in an English town was passing an
extreme ritualistic church, where views were held identical with those
set forth in Dr. Hall's article. As the priest recalled what went on in
that church, and its use of services which were not found in the English
Frayer Book, he pointed to the building and said ''Mock Turtle."
Yours faithfully,
W. H. Griffith Thomas.
Toronto, Canada.
THE BISHOP OP WILLOCHRA EXPRESSES ALARM AT THE
COMPLACENCY OF ADMITTING EVERY ONE TO COMMUNION
T.p the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly. .
Dear Sir: — I have read with great interest the report of the Confer-
ence on Organic Union appearing in The Christian Union Quarterly of
April, 1919. While there is much that is encouraging, I cannot but feel
alarm at the complacency with which many readers of papers congratu-
late themselves on the readiness of their churches to admit any and every
nominal Christian to communion with themselves. They may be right or
wrong, but I should have thought that they would have at least realized
that this readiness on their part to accept at his own valuation anyone who
calls himself a Christian constitutes the gravest objection to reunion to
those who believe that it is not possible to know the true mind of Christ
apart from ignoring the interpretation put upon His words and teaching
by nearly nineteen centuries of Christian men and women, and who, be-
cause they believe that the Holy Ghost has ever guided and inspired the
Christian Church, cannot believe that the full mind of Christ can be as-
certained apart from the commentary of the Christian experience of the
past.
It is the fear of the jettison of vital Christian convictions, the fear
that it may be declared that no Christian convictions are vital that holds so
many thoughtful Christians back from plans for reunion. They know that
their own church at least professes to believe and they fear that a united
church may profess simply what no one cares to dispute. I believe that
this fear is the greatest obstacle to reunion, and it is not reassuring to find
so many apparently either ignorant of its existence or contemptuous of its
importance. A cheap readiness to agree with anyone will not take us one
step nearer to real reunion.
Yours faithfully,
Gladstone, S. Australia. Gilbert White,
Bishop of Willoehra.
[The Bishop of Willoehra is quite right when he affirms that the cheap
readiness to agree will not take us one step nearer to real reunion. Re-
union must be upon truth, the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. A divided
church indicates that it has not found that truth. The task of this gen-
eration is to find it and in our approach to the truth many of the things
that the churches have counted primary will fall into the secondary class.
To these one may be indifferent and in all instances charitable. In the
atmosphere of charity, we are most likely to find truth. There will doubt-
less be shiftings, but no permanent advance can be made outside of deep
and sincere convictions regarding truth. — Editor.]
LETTERS, TO THE EDITOR 7.1
SOME INTERESTING QUERIES
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The April issue of your magazine, page 22, gives a report
of what has been done towards the reunion of Christendom. Tt seems that
efforts are made to reunite all Protestant churches. Suppose such a happy
event does take place, will then the witness be perfect if the Catholic and
Greek churches are left out? Can the Catholic church relinquish any of
her doctrines, all of which she considers divine? Her discipline may change,
but what is of divine origin cannot be tampered with. Deny our doc-
trine; then God's authority vanishes and nothing remains. In this tre-
mendous decision God's will, not human whims, must be the guiding star.
No compromise is permitted in dealing with Christ 's word — Go and teach all
things which I have commanded you. Let us in humility pray for light.
I read your article in the issue referred to with interest. Would it not
have been good, if you had detailed the fundamentals or essentials of the
common faith? What is essential? Can anything be unessential which
Christ authorized? te Teach all which I commanded you" is the commis-
sion given to the apostles by the God-man. There is no choice, no pri-
vate selection. Once all is accepted then divisions will cease. The full
sum of truth will shine on the world. The church will be one and catholic.
The Disciples accept the Messiahship and Lordship of Jesus and are
willing to obey Him. But is this sufficient? What were His teachings?
For three long years He instructed His apostles. Should His word be of no
account? What did He teach? Being God, He must have revealed things
that the human mind cannot define, but which must be accepted as truth.
Is the Bible the only rule of faith? If so then all preaching should cease.
The first Christians had no Bible. That divine Book was born in 375.
Until printing was invented Bibles were few. To-day many go to heaven
minus the Bible — the blind, those who cannot read. How could soldiers
when facing death read the Bible? The Bible is a large and difficult book,
of which parts should be read as conditions to salvation.
What about transubstantiation, mass, purgatory, vows to Mary, saints,
sacrifice, confession, orders, matrimony — doctrines which the first Chris-
tians cherished? Christian fellowship is most desirable, but it would die
against the charity we owe to God, if we were to compromise this truth to
win the fellowship of men. Peter said we have to obey God before men.
That is plain common sense. Be not hurt by these suggestions ; they simply
prove that unity is my cherished wish. Prayer, humility and unprejudiced
study is surely needed to-day.
His in charity,
Denton, Texas. Raymond Vernimont,
Catholic priest.
[It is not the purpose to leave the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic
churches out of the reunion, but the first step is Protestant unity. The
second step will be the union of Christendom. Many of the questions
raised by Father Vernimont are among the unsettled questions. We must
come to learn that because one part of Christendom practices a thing and
another part equally as devout and scholarly dissents from the practice,
that practice is not established as true, however ancient the practice may be.
It is indeed true that "prayer, humility and unprejudiced study" is the
need of these times. — Editor.]
CLERICAL BROTHERHOOD IN WINNIPEG
To the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — On Tuesday evening, the 14th of January, seventy ministers
of Winnipeg dined together at the Royal Alexandra Hotel in that city.
72 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
They represented the great historical Christian communions, Presbyterian,
Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, Church of England, Disciples of Christ.
This ' ' get together ' ' movement was inaugurated by Canon Bertel Heeney
and Canon J. W. Matheson in consultation with a Presbyterian minister, Rev.
R. S. Laidlaw, a Methodist, the Rev. Basil Thompson, and the Rev. F. W.
Patterson representing the Baptist Church. The matter was taken up quite
unofficially. The card of invitation ran as follows: —
' ' The Ministers of Winnipeg will dine at the Royal Alexandra
Hotel on January 14th, at 6:30 o'clock. The purpose of this
assembly is to encourage the spirit of brotherhood between
those who acknowledge and preach the one Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. "
The response was remarkable, both as regards numbers and the spirit
in which the invitation was accepted. Very few of our clergy were absent,
and the most cordial feeling prevailed during the evening.
The Rev. Canon Heeney presided, by request, and explained that the
purpose of the movement was ' ' to practice the measure of unity we already
possess while waiting with prayerful patience the coming in of that larger
unity which the great Head of the Church seems nigh to giving us. The
sole basis of this get-together movement, " he said, "was our common faith
in the blessed Incarnation, and the specific aim of this assembly is to know
each other better; to share the fellowship which is the peculiar privilege
of those who hold this common faith in the living Christ ; and to demonstrate
to all and sundry that however else we may be divided on matters great
and small, we are united as regards our belief in, and our allegiance to
the Christ Who is not only the ideal man, but the Eternal Son of God. ' '
With a view to creating and circulating the utmost kindliness of feeling,
Canon Heeney suggested that we should regard as sacred each other's
prejudices, that we should discuss freely both in public address and private
conversation the great social and intellectual questions of the day, but that
we should refrain altogether from passing resolutions, thus leaving action
to be taken by the properly constituted church authorities. In the matter
of Christian reunion, he suggested that it should not form the subject of
speech or address at any of our meetings, but in private intercourse the
fullest, frankest and freest discussion of the problems which it presents
should be encouraged. Thus the inflammable element would be kept in sub-
jection, and an atmosphere of freedom and brotherliness and mutual con-
sideration created.
His Grace the Primate was not present, but gave his fullest approval
of the undertaking, and expressed his delight at its success. No formal
organization was effected, but it was resolved to assemble again shortly
after Easter, and the gentlemen who arranged this meeting of their own
volition were now requested to act as a committee and make arrangements
for the next meeting. The net result has been to deepen the sense of the
central place of the Incarnation in the life and preaching of the Church, to
create anew the joy of sharing this faith in common, and to impart fresh
strength in the proclaiming this message as the rock basis of all Christian
efforts for reunion.
Sincerely yours,
Winnipeg, Man. Charles M. Ross.
CONCERNING THE CONFERENCE AT PHILADELPHIA
T,o the Editor of The Christian Union Quarterly.
Dear Sir: — The process of dissolving the denominations into one church
of the Lord Jesus Christ may be a slow, stubborn one but there is an aqua
regia that will do it and that is the love-filled, life-sealed story of the Son
LETTEES TO THE EDITOE 73
of God who gave Himself for it that He might present it to Himself a glo-
rious church. The Conference on Organic Union that met in December held
up some straws that show which way the wind is blowing. Frequent ref-
erences to the prayer of Jesus that His disciples might be one show a grow-
ing interest on their part in the fulfilling of His prayer. The conference
itself, invited to meet by the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church
in the U. S. A. and participated in by so many other communions, indicates
a feeling among them that all cooperative efforts so far have been only
makeshifts, so many steps in the direction of a united church, dimly visioned
in the way before us, into which each of these bodied will disappear. Yet
in the minds of some the conference seemed to be a coming together to
draw up a compromise, the best possible, to satisfy most the desire of the
churches for cooperation and, at the same time, to interfere least with their
treasured traditions and inherited values. Some proposed a plan analogous
to that of our own federal government; and in the suggestions by the Con-
ference to the Ad Interim Committee were included hopes for a plan so
broad and flexible as to make place for all the evangelical churches what-
ever their outlook of tradition, temperament or taste, whatever their re-
lationship racially or historically; and an expectation that the Committee
maintain sympathetic relations with all the movements of our time toward
closer cooperative efforts among communions, especially the Federal Council
of the Churches of Christ. One rejoices in the love of Christians for each
other that would leap over long existent lines of distinction, but regrets the
prejudice that would preserve those lines in any scheme of union. It looks
like the growing pains of an age advancement in which the Spirit of God is
leading against the short-sightedness, but with the large-heartedness of men.
If as some one said, none of the churches are able to find their exact form
of church government in the New Testament, and, as another said, one
church adhered to its peculiar form of government, not as of divine right,
but as a very ancient and desirable form; if, as seems reasonable, it was
not just a formless movement that was set going, because some organization
is evident even on the pages of the New Testament, sufficient, may we not
believe, for the work of the church till its work is done; then one wishes
that we might leave off all that is more or less than what is set forth in the
New Testament and, in our discussion of a plan of organic union, try to
find out what plan the Head of the church had in mind when He began to
build His church.
Eandall, Kan. "W. F. Bruce.
BOOK REVIEWS
REUNION. A VOICE FROM SCOTLAND. By The Very Reverend
James Cooper, D.D., D.C.L., Hon. Litt. D., Professor of Ecclesiastical
History in the University of Glasgow; Moderator of the General As-
sembly of the Church of Scotland, 1917. Robert Scott, Roxburghe
House, Paternoster Row, E. C. London, 1918. 120 pages. 75 cents
net.
One of the strongest voices for Christian union on the European side
of the Atlantic is Dr. James Cooper of Scotland. This volume consists of
two addresses by him. The first was delivered at King's College, London,
with the Lord Bishop of Southwark presiding, and the second was delivered
in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, with the Lord Bishop of
London presiding. In the first address "a precedent from Scotland,"
affords an ilustration of the possibility of adjusting the differences be-
tween Anglican episcopacy and Scottish Presbyterianism.
After a brief review of the present day outlook on reunion, the prece-
dent of Scotland is presented, which combines the main features of the
Presbyterian and episcopal systems and which lasted twenty-eight years,
" producing in the course of them conspicuous and admirable fruits of
peace and godliness, of sacred learning, of intellectual and social prog-
ress, of church extension; and which would have produced much more but
for certain intrusions of the civil power. ' ' The precedents referred to date
back to 1610. Pn the Lambeth conference of 1908 it was stated that it
might be possible to make an approach "to reunion on the basis of conse-
crations to the episcopate on lines suggested by the precedents of 1610. ' '
Dr. Cooper maintains that church government is "by no means the
unessential matter" and proceeds to give the relevant events leading up
to the precedents, showing that the early Scottish Reformers, including
John Knox, recognized the value of a moderate and constitutional episco-
pacy. The first dissension on this subject arose when Andrew Melville
returned from Geneva to Scotland in 1574 and opposed the office of bishop
"as it is now used, ' ' but the General Assembly of 1610 without hardly
a dissent voted for the re-establishment of a constitutional episcopacy,
' ' not as something necessary to the church, or of its esse, but only of its
bene esse, for the promotion of unity at home and abroad, and for the
more orderly administration of rites already validly administered. f '
But the question was, how were the bishops in Scotland to be conse-
crated? King James I. provided the plan, which was to summon to London
three of the Scottish prelates and have certain English bishops to per-
form the consecration, and these in turn could give ordination to those
in Scotland. To avoid the criticism in Scotland that the Church of Scot-
land had become subject to the Church of England by such an act, the
King provided that the consecration should not be done by either the
Archbishop of Canterbury or of York, "who were the only pretenders, ' r
74
BOOK REVIEWS 75
but instead should be done by the Bishops of London, Ely and Bath. The
consecration was duly performed and for the following twenty-eight years
most of the ordinations in Scotland were performed by the laying on of
the hands of the bishops "with the simultaneous laying on of the hands of
the presbytery. ' ' None of the Scottish clergy were reordained because they
regarded their present ordination as lawful, but those entering the ministry
were ordained by bishops and presbyters. Archbishop Gladstanes of St.
Andrews wrote King James, "The great multitude of the ministry are de-
sirous that presbyteries shall stand, but directed and governed by the
bishops. ' ' There was a general satisfaction likewise among the people
through the following twenty-eight years. The intercommunion between
the Church of Scotland and the Church of England was "full, frank and
frequent" until 1638. Bishop Andrews was gracious toward Dr. William
Guild, of Aberdeen, for instance, whose ordination had no canonical bishop
taking part, and Archbishop Laud recognized the ministry of the Church
of Scotland as validly ordained, without any thought of the Church of
England having jurisdiction. Under the Scottish episcopacy confirmation
was not tied to the episcopate, although by the General Assembly in 1617,
meeting at Perth, five articles were passed, as follows: (1) kneeling at
Holy Communion, (2) communion of the sick in their homes, (3) baptism
in private homes in case of necessity, (4) confirmation, and (5) observance
of the festivals of the birth, passion, resurrection, ascension and Pentecost.
A remnant of these is still found in the Church of Scotland. But the
acts of the Assembly of 1610 were annulled under Charles I. by "the more
famous Assembly " of 1638, with charges of irregularity, and the Church
of Scotland abolished the episcopacy.
In the second address Dr. Cooper dwells on the possibility of reviving
closer relations between the Church of England and the Presbyterian
Churches of Scotland in preparation for a united church for the English-
speaking peoples. To that end he pleads for unity in the one faith and
expresses himself favorable to the historic episcopate, "not as at all ad-
mitting that without a diocesan or monarchical episcopate there can be no
true church and no valid ministry, " but as supplementing and enriching
the whole Presbyterian system of the church courts from the kirk session
to the General Assembly. He closes the lecture with a memorandum
agreed upon at an informal conference held in Aberdeen, March 18, 1918,
by representatives of the Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of
Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, and suggested as a basis of
similar conferences throughout Scotland. This memorandum recognizes
the value of conferences; likewise the liberty of all sides and also that fine
virtue of receiving from others such enrichment as might be a help to all.
It cites the period of preparation to begin by the Episcopal Church 's adopt-
ing the systems of church courts from kirk session to General Assembly,
while permanent moderators of Presbyterian synods are to receive the
consecration of bishops.
The volume closes with two appendices — the first being a copy of the
Second Interim Eeport of a sub-committee appointed by the Archbishops of
76 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Canterbury and York's Committee and by representatives of the English
Free Churches' Commission in connection with the proposed World Confer-
ence on Faith and Order; and the second is the constitution of the Scot-
tish Church Society.
This is a most valuable book. It is not only informing but is very sat-
isfying in being unprejudiced in spirit and truly catholic in its outlook.
PRACTICING CHRISTIAN UNITY. By Roy Bergen Guild, Executive
Secretary of the Commission on Interchurch Federations of the Fed-
eral Council of the Churches of Christ in America. New York: Asso-
ciation Press. 85 pages. 75 cents net.
The theories of Christian unity and the practice of it are quite frequently
at great variance. Federation is furnishing the opportunity for the prac-
ticing of it and this little book by Dr. Guild gives accounts of achievements
in many centers. It recognizes that the two great fields of interchurch
work are social service and evangelism, and the chapters dealing with these
themes abound in wholesome material; likewise the chapter on community
service, which as applied to the rural sections of the country is one of the
most serious problems facing the church. Fred B. Smith well says, "No
community having two or more churches can be adequately served by those
churches unless there is some form of committee, council or other organi-
zation by which they can work together." The chapter on the philosophy
of unified action is particularly strong. Indeed the whole book of eighty-
five pages is full of interest and in the hands of every forward-looking
preacher or layman will bring satisfactory results. Dr. Guild's work as
Executive Secretary of the Federal Council's Commission on Interchurch
Federations has given him exceptional opportunity not only to gather ma-
terial, but to observe the pragmatic tests. It is a book of practical worth.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY.
Edited by H. B. Swete, D.D. New York: The Macmillan Company.
1918. 446 pages. $4.50 net.
This collection of essays edited by Dr. Swete and published after his death
is a most important book on a most important theme. Indeed it is more
than a book. It is a veritable seminar in which there is made a thorough
survey and investigation of a great question by competent scholars and in
which the results and conclusions of years of patient and conscientious
labor are recorded. The work consists of six essays by as many writers.
These are "Conceptions of the Church in Early Times," by Arthur James
Mason, D.D., D.Th. ; ' ' The Christian Ministry in the Apostolic and Sub-Apos-
tolic Periods, ' ' by Joseph Armitage Robinson, D.D. ; l ' Apostolic Succes-
sion," by Cuthbert Hamilton Turner, M. A., Litt.D., F.B.A.; "The Cyp-
rian Doctrine of the Ministry, ' ' by John Henry Bernard, D.C.L., D.D. ;
1 ' Early Forms of Ordination, by Walter Howard Frere, D.D. ; ' ' Terms of
Communion and the Ministration of the Sacraments in Early Times," by
Frank Edward Brightman, M.A., D.D., D. Phil.
The occasion and motive of the work are indicated in the opening words
of the second essay. i ' Forty-nine years have gone by since Lightf oot wrote
his famous essay on the early history of the Christian Ministry. These
BOOK REVIEWS 77
years have been fruitful in discovery and research. Some new documents
have been brought to light: many documents that had lain neglected have
been re-edited and made generally accessible. Criticism has been busy, sift-
ing and dating these: rival theories have offered to interpret all the evi-
dence afresh. Many are asking to-day, what has been the issue of all this
reinvestigation? How does the matter stand? What is the verdict of history
• in the light of the newest knowledge of the facts? The question is asked
with anxiety: for it is rightly felt that much may depend on the answer. "
The work is most thorough and exhaustive. It will stand as a kind of
final survey and summing up of the whole question of the ministry of the
early Church from the point of view of the episcopacy. The general outcome
of it all may be taken as at least measurably represented by the conclusion
of the essay of Dr. Robinson. "We see perhaps more clearly than we saw
before that the Christian Ministry was gradually evolved, in response to
fresh needs which came with new. conditions, as the church grew in numbers
and enlarged its geographical boundaries. We find that a threefold minis-
try emerges, which has proved itself capable of satisfying the wants of the
Christian church from the second century to the present day. Not that
the functions of ministry have always been distributed in exactly the same
proportions between bishops, priests, and deacons: each office has had an
evolution of its own, and at the present moment the diaconate has, at
least in the western church, fallen strangely into the background. But the
whole framework remains, with its powers of adaptation by no means ex-
hausted, the permanent gift of the Divine Spirit to the church. We can-
not go back, if we would, to the immaturity of primitive days. We need
now, as much as the sub-apostolic age needed, a ministry which can hold
the whole Church together * * * It is for the unity of the whole that
the historic threefold ministry stands. It grew out of the need for preser-
vation of unity when the apostles themselves were withdrawn. It is, hu-
manly speaking, inconceivable that unity can be re-established on any other
basis. This is not to say that a particular doctrine of Apostolic Succes-
sion must needs be held by all Christians alike. But the principle of trans-
mission of ministerial authorify makes for unity, while the view that minis-
try originates afresh at the behest of a particular church or congregation
makes for division and subdivision. We have the happiness to live in days
in which a reaction has set in against the long process of the division and
subdivision of Christendom. Earnest spirits everywhere around us are
yearning after unity. On a reasonable interrogation of history the principle
can be seen to emerge that ministry was the result of commission from
those who had themselves received authority to transmit it. In other words
we are compelled to the recognition that, at least for the purposes of unity,
the episcopate is the successor of the apostolate. ' '
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION.
By Canon George William Douglas, D.D., S.T.D. Published by the As-
sociation for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Baltimore, 1919. 20
pages. 10 cents.
"Much in little. " This publication is a pamphlet of twenty pages dealing
in a scholarly and masterly way with a great theme. Canon Douglas has
78 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
been closely associated with the present day movement for Christian unity
from its beginning in 1910. He has been a careful student of the problem
of unity for many years and in this booklet he presents a point of view
which is most important and an ideal which can by no means be left out
of account. * ' The contention of this paper is that the life of every vital
organism, ecclesiastical or other, is not static, but a process of transforma-
tion; that as to His church our Lord acted and spoke according to this
principle, and pledged His Holy Spirit to promote it and that the course of
both the Jewish and the Christian church was such from period to period
of the actual history. Therefore for either Catholics or Protestants to en-
deavor to stick to an ancient form of constitution for the simple reason that
it is the primitive form is unsound, not alone from the standpoint of biology
and history, but also because in spiritual practice the older a form is the
likelier that it must be reconstituted if its vitality is to be preserved. ' '
ESSENTIALS OF EVANGELISM. By Oscar L. Joseph, Author of < ' The
Faith and the Fellowship," " Personal Appeals to Sunday School
Workers," etc. New York: George H. Doran Company, 1918. 167
pages. $1.25 net.
This book is written to meet some of the demands of the new day in
matters of evangelism, which is a necessary factor in the reconstruction
of society. ' ' The Supreme Unction, " " Religious Conversation, " " The
Personal Touch," and "The Persuasive Preacher" are some of the topics
of the thirteen chapters, all of which are sane and helpful to any preacher
who is seeking to be the Lord's evangel.
THE PROTESTANT. A Scrap-book for Insurgents. By Burris A. Jenk-
ins, Author of "The Man in the Street and Religion," "Facing the
Hindenburg Line," etc. Chicago: The Christian Century Press.
203 pages. $1.35 net.
The dedication of this book — ' ' To the bravest men I know, the heretics ' '
indicates at once that it is a fearless plunge into twenty-four themes,
covering as many chapters. It is daring, snappy and at times clever, but
it would have been enchanced greatly in value if the style had been more
elegant, as in Dr. Jenkins' "The Man in the Street and Religion." It
discusses many vital problems, which are awaiting their rightful solution
at the hands of the modern church.
THE SURVIVAL OF JESUS. A Priest's Study in Divine Telepathy.
By John Huntley Skrine, D.D., author of "Creed and the Creeds"
(Hampton Lectures), "Pastor Ovium, " "Pastor Futurus," etc. New
York: George H. Doran Company. 326 pages. $2.00 net.
This book is an attempt to answer the philosophical and religious problems
growing out of the present war. There are two books: the first is the
Man Christ Jesus, discussed under four sections; the second is the fore-
cast of a theology. The whole discussion is fascinating and it may be
read in connection with Sir Oliver Lodge's "Raymond." There are
other conclusions yet to be brought to us by the science of psychical
research.
BOOK REVIEWS 79
ORNAMENTED ORTHODOXY. Studies in Christian Constancy. By
Edgar DeWitt Jones, D.D. Author of "The Inner Circle," "The
Wisdom of God '& Fools, ' ' and ' ' Fairhope. ' ' Introduction by Prof.
Arthur S. Hoyt, D.D., LL.D. New York and Chicago: Fleming H.
Revell Company. 221 pages. $1.25 net.
In the tone of the servant of the Most High these twenty sermons exalt
the Christian ideals with a freshness and beauty that awaken the desire
for attaining the best in human life by the way of Christ. They are
presented with fervor and adventure.
RECREATION AND THE CHURCH. By Herbert Wright Gates, Super-
intendent of Brick Church Institute, and Director of Religious Edu-
cation in Brick Church, Rochester, New York. Chicago: The Uni-
versity of Chicago Press. 185 pages. $1.00 net.
This book is a healthy contribution to the religious education of child-
hood. It is a challenge to the church to look after the recreational inter-
ests and activities of childhood. The principles presented are those that
have stood the tests of experience. It is a valuable book for parents and
church workers.
THE BOOK OF FREE MEN. The Origin and History of the Scriptures
and their Relation to Modern Liberty. By Julius F. Seebach. New
York: George H. Doran Company. 234 pages. $1.25 net.
Any discussion of modern liberty is interesting. When that discussion
finds its basis in the transcending influence of the Scriptures, presented
with such charm as characterizes these pages, it becomes a contribution
of great value. Such is this book — strong, clear and convincing.
THE STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. By Edgar J. Goodspeed,
Professor of Biblical and Patristic Greek in the University of Chicago.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 150 pages. $1.00 net.
An account of the circumstances out of which each book in the New
Testament was written always furnishes interesting reading. This volume
fully meets the requirements of such a practical study. It will be
serviceable to adult classes and colleges.
THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT AND THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY.
By Henry T. Hodgkin, M.A., M.B. Secretary of the Friend's Foreign
Mission Association; Sometime Missionary in West China. London:
Headley Brothers, Kingsway House. 104 pages.
These lectures were delivered at Swarthmore College. They bear a con-
viction, passion and vision that make them most profitable for read-
ing and rereading. No finer word has been said for a greater missionary
spirit in these days of present opportunity.
THE EXCEEDING WORTH OF JOINING THE CHURCH. By Edward
E. Keedy. Author of "The Naturalness of Christian Life."
"Moral Leadership and the Ministry." Boston: Horace Worth
Company. 92 pages. 40 cents net.
This is a sane message to the man who thinks he can do as much good
out of the church as in it. It is illustrated and well written.
80 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
THE NEW ORTHODOXY. By Edward Scribner Ames, Author of « ' The
Psychology of Religious Experience, " " The Higher Individualism, ' '
and ' ' The Divinity of Christ. ' ' Chicago : The University of Chi-
cago Press. 127 pages. $1.00 net.
Restatement is the keynote of these times. In this new world of
thought and ideals this book is a successful attempt to interpret religion
as something vital in all the interests of mankind. It is an altogether
timely message.
THE PULPIT COMMITTEE. By Charles A. McAlpine. Field Secre-
tary of the Pacific Coast Baptist Theological Union, Ex-secretary of
the New York Baptist State Convention. Philadelphia: American
Baptist Publication Society. 72 pages.
Every pastor; thinking of making a change and every church thinking of
calling a pastor should have this little book. It is brimfull of the results
of the experiences of many in the various parts of the country.
FORWARD, MARCH! By Angela Morgan, Author of "The Hour Has
Struck, ' ' " The Imprisoned Splendor, ' ' " Utterance and Other
Poems, " etc. New York: John Lane Company. 102 pages. $1.25
net.
This is a collection of forty beautiful poems by Miss Morgan, sounding
the note of reconstruction. The spirit of internationalism pervades the
volume and the poetic skill is evident throughout.
COMRADES IN COURAGE. By Lieutenant Antoine Redier. Translated
by Mrs. Philip Duncan Wilson. New York: Doubleday, Page &
Company. 260 pages. $1.40 net.
This is one of the great books produced out of the war. It is a thrilling
account of the unfolding of the soul of France and is marked by a fine
spirit of heroism.
THE TENDER PILGRIMS. By Edgar DeWitt Jones, D.D. Author
of "The Inner Circle/' "The Wisdom of God's Fools," "Fair-
hope," etc. Chicago: The Christian Centuiy Press. 88 pages. 85
cents net.
This is a well named story, dealing with the child's pathway through home
life to maturity. It is beautiful in vision and duty.
VOL. IX NO. 3
"Let no man glory in his denomination; that is sectarianism: but let all men
glory in Christ and practice brotherhood with men; that is Christianity,'*
Tin?
CHRISTIAN UNION
QUARTERLY
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
TTTOWEVER serious other problems may be,
-* -» the most serious problem in the world
to-day is a divided Christianity. It leaves the
world staggering like a drunken man on to ruin 9
while each division in the church pipes away at
its inflated shibboleths as though these things
possessed some virtue toward saving a lost world.
Our denominational peculiarities are our curses;
our common characteristics are the bases for all
our approaches toward truth and God.
JANUARY, 1920
THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY, Inc.
2710 PINE STREET 504 N. FULTON AVENUE
ST. LOUIS, MO. BALTIMORE, MD.
AGENTS:
Fleming H. Revell Company, New York
Maruzen Company, Ltd., Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sendai
Oliphants, Ltd., 21 Paternoster Square, London, E. C. 4; 100, Princes Street, Edinburgh
ONE DOLLAR A YEAR TWENTY-FIVE CENTS A COPY
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
A Journal in the Interest of Peace in the Divided Church of
Christ. It is issued in January, April, July and October.
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
Vol. IX. JANUARY, 1920 No. 3
CONTENTS
c
EDITOKIAL:
The Church and International Peace 9
THE CHRISTIAN REUNION MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND. Alfred
E. Garvie 18
PLAN OF THE COUNCIL ON ORGANIC UNION OF THE EVAN-
GELICAL CHURCHES OF AMERICA. William H. Roberts and
Rufus W. Miller 21
CHURCH UNITY. Henry W. Jessup 29
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS. Augustus Hopkins Strong 39
CHRISTIAN UNITY PULPIT :
Christ All In All. The Bishop of Bristol 53
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY . 64
BOOK REVIEWS 78
THIS JOURNAL IS INTERDENOMINATIONAL AND INTERNA-
TIONAL and is the servant of the whole Church, irrespective of name or
creed. It offers' its pages as a forum to the entire Church of Christ for a
frank and courteous discussion of those problems that have to do with
the healing of our unchristian divisions. Its readers are in all Communions.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.00 a year — twenty-five cents a copy. Remit-
tance should be made by New York draft, express order or money order.
ALL COMMUNICATIONS should be addressed to the Editor, at Seminary
House, 504 N. Fulton Ave., Baltimore, Md., U. S. A.
Entered as second-class matter in the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo.
CHRISTIAN UNITY CALENDAR
The Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church on the World
Conference on Faith and Order requests that the Week of Prayer be
observed January 18-25, 1920 (January 5-12 in the Eastern Calen-
dar). Suggestions as to the same may be had from the secretary,
Eobert H. Gardiner, Gardiner, Maine.
Council on Organic Union of the Evangelical Churches in America,
Witherspoon Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., February 3-6, 1920. Eev. W.
H. Boberts, D.D., chairman of the Ad Interim Committee, Wither-
spoon Building, Philadelphia.
At the instance of the Association for the Promotion of Christian
Unity, Pentecost Sunday has been named primarily as the day for
special sermons on Christian unity in all Churches, along with prayers
to that end.
World's Student Christian Federation, Sweden, July 30-August
10.
Lambeth Conference, July and August.
Preliminary meeting of the World Conference on Faith and Order,
Geneva, Switzerland, August 12. Robert H. Gardiner, Gardiner,
Maine, Secretary.
International Committee of the World Alliance for International
Friendship through the Churches, Geneva, Switzerland, August. Rev.
Henry A. Atkinson, 70 Fifth Ave., New York City, Secretary.
Bibliography of Christian Unity
THE BOOKS included in this list are by Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Roman
Catholics, Congregationalists, Unitarians, Lutherans, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, etc.
CHRISTIAN UNION, Van Dyke, Appleton, 1885 $1.00
CHRISTIAN UNION, Garrison, St. Louis, Christian Board of Publication,
1906 r 1-00
CHRISTIAN UNION IN EFFORT, Firth, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1911.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNION IN SOCIAL SERVICE, Carlile, London, Clarke &
Co., 1913 2/6
CHRISTIAN UNITY, Briggs, Scribner, 1900 1.00
CHRISTIAN UNITY AT WORK, Macfarland, Federal Council 1.00
CHURCH DIVISIONS AND CHRISTIANITY, Grane, Macmillan, 1916 2.00
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ADVOCATING CHRISTIAN UNION,
Young, Chicago, The Christian Century Co., 1904 1.00
HOW TO PROMOTE CHRISTIAN UNION, Kershner, Cincinnati, The
Standard Publishing Co., 1916 1.00
LECTURES ON THE REUNION OF THE CHURCH, Dollinger, Dodd, 1872 1.50
LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN COOPERATION (Federal Council) Macfar-
land. 5 Vols 5.00
OUR PLEA FOR UNION AND THE PRESENT CRISIS, Willett, Chicago,
Christian Century Co , 50
PASSING PROTESTANTISM AND COMING CATHOLICISM, Smyth,
Scribner, 1908 1.00
PROGRESS OF CHURCH FEDERATION, Macfarland, Revell. 50
RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD, London, Swan Sonnenschein &
Co., 1908
RESTATEMENT AND REUNION, Streeter, Macmillan, 1914 75
SOME THOUGHTS OF CHRISTIAN REUNION, Carpenter, Macmillan,
1895 1.25
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF UNITY IN CHRISTEN-
DOM, Tarner, London, Elliott Stock, 1895
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Wells, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1905 75
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Whyte, Armstrong, 1907 25
THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM, Campbell, St. Louis, Christian Board of Pub-
lication, 1890 1.00
THE CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS UNITY, Kelly, Longmans, 1913 1.50
THE CHURCHES OF THE FEDERAL COUNCIL, Macfarland, Revell.... 1.00
THE LARGER CHURCH, Lanier, Fredericksburg, Va 1.25
THE LEVEL PLAN FOR CHURCH UNION, Brown, Whittaker, 1910 1.50
THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Cobb, Crowell, 1915 1.25
THE MESSAGE OF THE DISCIPLES FOR THE UNION OF THE
CHURCH, Ainslie, Revell, 1913 1.00
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS SECTS, McComas, Revell, 1912.... 1.25
THE SEVENFOLD UNITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Hall, Long-
mans, 1911 75
THE UNION OF CHRISTIAN FORCES IN AMERICA, Ashworth, Phila-
delphia. American Sunday-School Union, 1915 75
THE UNITED CHURCH OF THE UNITED STATES, Shields, Scribner,
1895 f 2.50
THOUGHTS OF THE PRESENT POSITION OF PROTESTANTISM,
Harnack, Macmillan, 1899 1.00
UNITY AND MISSIONS, Brown, Revell, 1915 1.50
WHAT MUST THE CHURCH DO TO BE SAVED? Simms, Revell, 1913.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNITY PRAYER LEAGUE'
(Membership in this League is open to all Christians — Greek, Eoman,
Anglican and Protestant, the only requirement being a notice by post
card or letter of one 's desire to be so enrolled, stating the Church of
which he is a member. Address, Association for the Promotion of
Christian Unity, Seminary House, 504 N. Fulton Ave., Baltimore,
Md., U. S. A.)
MEDITATION:
On our need of God and the way to a fuller surrender to His will.
On the divisions of the church and the way to the healing of discord.
On the meaning of the life and death of Jesus Christ and the way
toward its interpretation to the world.
On the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the way to remove hin-
drances to that leadership.
On the place of penitence in Christian experience and how to find
the way to manifest it to the world.
PRAYER:
O God, Who didst send Thy "Word to speak in the prophets and live
in Thy Son, and appoint Thy church to be a witness of divine things
in all the world, revive the purity and deepen the power of its testi-
mony; and through the din of earthly interests and the storm of
human passions, let it make the still small voice of Thy Spirit inly
felt. Nearer and nearer may Thy kingdom come from age to age;
meeting the face of the young as a rising dawn, or brightening the
song of the old, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in
peace. " Already let its light abash our guilty negligence, and touch
with hope each secret sorrow of the earth. By the cleansing Spirit
of Thy Son, make this world a fitting forecourt to that sanctuary
not made with hands, where our life is hid with Christ in God.
— James Martineau.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS NUMBER
A. E. Garvie
is the principal of New College, Hampstead, London. He was born in
Eussian Poland, educated in the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh
and Oxford, and is the chairman elect of the Congregational Union of
England and Wales. He has written nearly a dozen volumes of high
rank, among them being The Christian Personality, Studies in the In-
ner Life of Jesus, etc.
W. H. Roberts and Eufus W. Miller
are the signers of the plan for evangelical union presented in this
number. Developing the plan was largely the work of the sub-com-
mittee of the ad interim committee. Dr. Roberts has been the stated
clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.
S. A. since 1884 and has been active in interdenominational work for
many years. Dr. Miller has been editor of the publication and Sun-
day-school work of the Reformed Church since 1894 and has likewise
been an active interdenominational worker.
Henry W. Jessup
was born in Beirut, Syria, where his father was a missionary. He
was educated at Princeton and New York universities. He was pro-
fessor of law in the Law School of New York University and is a
member of the Judiciary Committee of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.
Augustus Hopkins Strong
was president and professor of systematic theology in the Rochester
Theological Seminary, N. Y., from 1872 to 1912 and is now president
emeritus. He was graduated from Yale in 1857. He has written more
than a dozen books, among them Popular Lectures on BooTcs of the
New Testament, American Poets and Their Theology, etc.
The Bishop of Bristol
is one of the outstanding personalities in the Anglican episcopate. He
is deeply interested in the union of the whole church and frequently
speaks in its interest. He recently invited Dr. Arnold Thomas, a Non-
conformist minister, io take part in a public service in his cathedral.
Thirty-three Anglican clergymen wrote in protest and more than a
hundred wrote favoring it.
REMOVING THE BARRIERS
1. We welcome, with profound gratitude to God as a token of the
manifest working of His Spirit, the manifold evidences around us
of better relations between the Christian churches, resulting in a
fuller understanding of each other's positions, and in a more earnest
longing for complete fellowship in a reunited Church.
2. We are in entire accord in our mutual recognition of the com-
munions to which we belong as Christian churches, members of the
one body of Christ; and we record our judgment that this recogni-
tion is fundamental for any approach towards the realization of that
reunited Church, for which we long and labor and pray.
3. We hold that this recognition must involve, for its due expres-
sion reciprocal participation in the Holy Communion, as a testimony
to the unity of the body of Christ.
4. We recognize, with tfhe sub-committee of {i Faith and Order,"
in its second interim report, the place which a reformed episcopacy
must hold in the ultimate constitution of the reunited Church; and
we do not doubt that the Spirit of God will lead the Churches of
Christ, if resolved on reunion, to such a constitution as will also
fully conserve the essential values of the other historical types of
church polity, Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist.
5. As immediate practical means of furthering this movement to-
wards unity we desire to advocate interchange of pulpits, under
proper authority; gatherings of Churchmen and Nonconformists for
more intimate fellowship through common study and prayer; asso-
ciation in common work through local conferences, joint missions,
joint literature, and interdenominational committees for social work.
— Resolutions passed at a meeting at Mansfield College, Oxford, which
was attended by representatives of the Anglican and Free Churches.
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Vol. IX. JANUARY, 1920 No. 3
EDITORIAL
THE CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE
The meeting of the International Committee of the
World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship
through the Churches, which was held at The Hague,
September 30th to October 4th, 1919, was one of the most
significant and prophetic gatherings of the year. This
International Committee, composed of members from
fourteen nations, was organized in London in 1914. An
international conference in the interest of peace had been
arranged to be held at Constance, August 1, 1914. On
that fateful day the conference was held for only a few
hours, and in consequence of the outburst of war the
delegates were compelled to flee. Some weeks after the
general committee was able to meet in London and there
organized the International Committee. This meeting at
The Hague was the first meeting of the entire committee
and likewise the first time that representatives from the
warring nations had voluntarily met since the signing of
the armistice. There was naturally at first some embar-
rassment, but the great necessity for international friend-
ship in the world crises took precedence over personal
feelings and the whole conference was remarkable in its
fine spirit and general courtesy.
The place of meeting was at the Kasteel "Oud-Was-
senaer" — once a palace, but now a hotel, situated two
miles from The Hague in a beautifully wooded district
with great trees and heavily shaded walks and driveways.
10 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
The delegates from Great Britain were the Lord Bishop
of Winchester, the Dean of Worcester, Sir Willonghby
H. Dickinson, Mrs. Creighton, and Drs. Hodgkin, Ram-
say, Kushbrooke and Cairns; from Belgium, Drs. Anet
and Rochedieu; from Denmark, Professor Ammnndsen
and Librarian Larsen; from Finland, Professor Hjelt
and Dean Loimaranta ; from France, Pasteur Parker and
Messieurs Dumas and Faivret; from Germany, Drs.
Deissmann, Spiecker, Siegmund-Schultze, Richter and
Schairer; from Holland Drs. Cramer and Kohnstamm
and Messrs. van Ouwenaller and van Slochteren; from
Hungary, Drs. Antal and von Boer and Mr. Pelenyi ; from
Italy, Drs. Whittinghill and Giampiccoli and Sig. Falchi ;
from Lettland, Pastor Irbe ; from Norway, Drs. Thvedt
and Klaveness; from Sweden, the Archbishop of Upp-
sala, Senator Gullberg and Dr. Westman ; from Switzer-
land, Professor Choisy and Drs. Quartier-la-Tente, Bohr-
inger and Herold ; and from the United States of Ajner-
ica, Drs. Atkinson, Boynton, Brown, Gold, Lynch, Mac-
farland, Morehead, Nasmyth, Tippy, and the editor of
The Christian Union Quarterly, besides the follow-
ing delegates by courtesy: Mr. Bell, chaplain to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Baroness Wrede, Mrs.
Brown, Mrs. Atkinson, Mrs. Whittinghill, etc. There
were three sessions each day — business sessions in the
morning and afternoon and prayer services in the eve-
ning. There were five chairmen presiding at different
sessions — Dr. Cramer, the Bishop of Winchester, Dr.
Brown, Dr. Spiecker, and the Archbishop of Uppsala.
Interesting and delicate subjects crowded every session.
There can be no permanent international friendship
without a united Christendom, for Christianity is the
basis of all permanent relations. Consequently the first
subject after the preliminary matters were adjusted was
the necessity and possibility of holding an ecumenical
conference of the different Christian communions, which
was introduced at the instance of the Archbishop of Upp-
CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE 11
sala. It was the consensus of opinion that the calling of
such a conference was not in the province of the Inter-
national Committee, but the Committee expressed warm
sympathy with the idea and recommended that the ini-
tiative action should be taken by "the different parts of
the churches themselves" and "such convening should
be through the cooperation of certain individuals operat-
ing through the World Alliance, who should take imme-
diate personal action. ' ' This was done and plans are al-
ready under way for such a conference of the Protestant
forces of the world in 1921, if possible, and certainly by
1922 or 1923.
Action relative to the League of Nations took the form
of communications addressed to the League for its first
meeting, and in brief the action was as follows : (1) The
inclusion of every state that would accept the covenant;
(2) the mandates granted by the League of Nations
should embody the principle of trusteeship of backward
and unorganized races, protecting them from exploita-
tions; (3) the guarding of the rights of religious minori-
ties; and (4) guaranteeing equality of race treatment,
understanding thereby equal treatment before the law
of all aliens resident within the territory of the govern-
ment concerned. It was further recommended ' ' that the
Councils of the Alliance enter into communication with
the leaders of the Labor and Socialist Movements, the
Student Christian and other movements, which are work-
ing for the reconciliation of international brotherhood,
with a view of cooperating, so far as Christian principles
allow, in what is a common purpose."
Because of charges that German missionaries in Eng-
lish territory had been propagandists, the German mis-
sions had been taken over and put under a trusteeship.
The awkwardness of this in hindering international
friendship is readily recognized and the action of the In-
ternational Committee was as follows :
12 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
"1. Freedom to carry the Gospel of Christ to all the nations is essen-
tial to the life of the Christian church, and is one of the fundamental
claims of religious liberty.
"Such freedom should be granted to members of all denominations
and citizens of all nationalities, provided they abstain from participation
in political affairs and conduct their work in full loyalty to the government
of the country in which they reside. Whatever political control is found
necessary should be exercized in a way that interferes as little as possible
with the religious work of the missionaries.
"2. The Committee of the World Alliance for Promoting International
Friendship through the Churches, meeting at The Hague, September
30th to October 3rd, consisting of delegates from United States of America,
Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary,
Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Finland and Lettland, records its conviction
that the present position of German missions is a grave obstacle to the
development of international Christian fellowship, and while (in view
of the fact that an international organization exists for dealing with all
missionary questions) the full consideration of this situation is outside
the scope of the World Alliance, it urges that the Edinburgh Continua-
tion Committee meet as soon as possible to consider this pressing ques-
tion. It hopes that that Committee may be able to assist in securing
that, at the earliest possible opportunity, the way be opened for the
resumption of the activities of the German missionary societies, and in ob-
taining an assurance that the mission properties which are now, in ac-
cordance with the Peace Treaty, held by boards of trustees, may be handed
back to the German societies as soon as political permission is given for
the German missionaries to return. Further, that if considerable delay
elapse before the Continuation Committee can meet, it is the judgment of
the World Alliance Committee urgent, in order that steps be not taken
to make more difficult the realization of the above aims, that informal
conferences among missionary leaders in the countries most concerned
be at once arranged for.
"3. That the International Emergency Committee of Missionary So-
cieties be asked to arrange for a small commission to consider the avail-
able evidence in reference to the charges against German missionaries,
and, after consultation with the persons and societies concerned, to issue
a statement on the whole subject.
The most embarrassing instance of the conference was
a letter written by Pasteur Wilfred /Monod, of Paris, to
the conference, emphasizing the inability of the French
to cooperate unless the German delegates in some way
expressed repentance for the violation by their country
of Belgium neutrality in 1914. To many of us this was
not the method of approach to this delicate subject. Vol-
untary confession is far stronger and more permanent
than coercion. Dr. Siegmund-Schultze had already made
such a confession in his prayer and other German dele-
gates were prepared at the proper time to do likewise.
Nevertheless the issue was frankly faced and Dr.
Spiecker, in behalf of the five German delegates, made
the following statement:
CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE 13
"Ladies and Gentlemen, — Last night about 6 o'clock we, the German
delegates to this Conference, were shown a letter written by Pasteur Wil-
fred Monod to this Conference, and one sentence of this letter was read to
us — a sentence concerning our opinion on the violation of the neutrality
of Belgium in 1914.
"Having considered carefully the sentence we came to an agreement
how to deal with the matter; but when after the devotional service last
night this letter was read in its full contents I was deeply impressed by
one point which had not been taken into consideration when we were
discussing it among ourselves, and this point seemed to me so important
that I considered it absolutely necessary to submit it again to my Ger-
man friends before the matter was denned, and so I asked, contrary to
the previous agreement arrived at before dinner, for an adjournment of
the matter to this morning. Now I am very glad to tell you that after
careful consideration again also of this other point, we came to a
unanimous agreement again that I should give you the gist of a letter
written last night by Dr. Deissman to Eev. Siegmund-Schultze, to the effect
that we, the five German delegates to this Conference, personally considered
the violation of the Belgian neutrality in 1914 as morally wrong.
"But now I should like to add a few words not as a declaration but
as a statement of facts. Dr. Wilfred Monod unhappily has not been with
us during these days, but we have had the privilege of talking together
with the French and Belgian and Italian delegations to this Conference.
We knew before we came here that it was really the critical question of
the Conference if a harmonious cooperation with our French, Belgian and
Italian delegates would become a possibility and a reality. On the
evening of Wednesday, October 1st, we met, all of us, I am happy to say,
at the invitation of the French delegation. After a very full discussion,
we, the French, Belgian and German delegates stood there joining hands
with each other in the fact of our Lord and Saviour and confessing with
one mouth and one heart: —
'We confess — We join hands — We condemn war —
We condemn the idea of revenge.' "
It need not be said that the presentation of this decla-
ration made a profound impression. It conld not have
done otherwise. Dr. Lynch gave expression to a fine sen-
timent when he said, ' ' Germany must be trusted. There
can be no permanent international friendship unless we
are willing to trust each other."
The declaration of principles upon which the World
Alliance is to operate is of primary importance. This
declaration, which is as follows, was unanimously passed
and has been sent forth throughout the world in all the
languages that were represented at the conference.
"We meet at a time when the disunion of Christians and of different
churches, nations and classes has been and is painfully conspicuous. This
disunion has brought upon the Christian name great reproach, and has to
a large extent paralyzed Christian power for good in the general life
of humanity. But yet we rejoice in the assurance that underneath this
disunion there is a real force of unity which it is our duty gratefully to
14 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
recognize. We must labor for its increase, and that its power may be
brought to bear increasingly on the life of the future.
Leaving entirely aside all question of denominational differences, their
nature and importance, we are united in believing in the Fatherhood
of God and the brotherhood of men as fundamental truths of our faith.
We believe that they were revealed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Who lived and died and rose again that they might be realized in the
Kingdom of God. Together we pray that God's Name may be hallowed,
His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Neither in the social conditions nor in the relations of peoples to each
other have these convictions prevailed. Therefore the existing order of
society has come to confusion. From this it follows that the one hope
for society is that it should now be rebuilt on Christian foundations, and
that the mind of Christ should be expressed in every human relationship,
overcoming the forces of disintegration, and rebuilding civilization on a
higher plane.
u We maintain that the consciousness of right and wrong, and the sys-
tems of law and political order which spring from that consciousness are
good gifts from God to man. Therefore, we are bound as Christians to
assert the authority of justice and law, and to fight against any glorifi-
cation of violence and force alike in the social and the international
spheres. At the same time we believe that every existing system of law
and justice is incomplete, and will have to be continually renewed as the
moral sense becomes more perfect. It is therefore our duty as Christians
to help on that renewal in every social and international relationship.
"We therefore are convinced that the time has come when a strenuous
effort should be made by all Christians to realize all that is implied in
Christ's teaching of the brotherhood of mankind, and to impress alike
upon themselves and upon others that here alone lies the hope of perma-
nent peace among the nations, and of any true solution of social and in-
dustrial problems.
"But we would go farther. We believe that in the good providence
of our God He will bring out of all the darkness of the last years a
new and fuller understanding of His redeeming purpose. Out of this
'day of the Lord' there is being revealed to all, as is witnessed by the
thoughts of many hearts, a quite new understanding that His holy will is
not only the salvation of individuals, but the transformation of the whole
life of humanity and of all its corporate activities, by the Eedeemer's kingly
law of love."
"Against this consummation every form of human sin and all the power,
of darkness will strive to the uttermost, clouding the world with guilt and
sorrow. Herein is the supreme challenge to all followers of the Lord to
consecrate themselves anew to the service of mankind, for fidelity to this
sacred cause is the crucial test by which nations and individuals alike will
be judged. And our help is in God, Whose promise is to give the victory
to His Kingdom."
Following immediately upon this was the assuring
resolution offered by Dr. Hodgkin :
"That this International Committee, gathered from fourteen countries
and containing members of many Christian communions, rejoices in the
unity in Christ here manifested although national and confessional dif-
ferences are many and profound. We affirm our deep conviction that the
healing of the wounds of the nations and the rebuilding of the social and
international life of the world can only be accomplished in and through
Jesus Christ our Lord, under whose Lordship we are met here. The
CHUEOH AND IN T E E N A T I O N AL PEACE 15
unity of His disciples is a fact which even war and economic strife can
by no means destroy. We earnestly desire that this fact of unity should
be more deeply felt and more plainly demonstrated in the midst of a world
still torn and distracted, in order that Jesus Christ may be set forth as the
world's Eedeemer and the solution of the deepest problems of humanity.
With this brief survey of the outstanding action of the
conference it may be of further interest to give some
of the opinions of the delegates in interviews taken at
random in matters of Christian unity.
In one of these interviews with the Archbishop of Upp-
sala* on the porch of the hotel, he said that we must first
look at history and see how the divisions have arisen.
There are two chief missions: (1) God sent His son.
He had sent also the Old Testament prophets, but Jesus
was the best of all. Some went with Him and others
remained where they were and so there was division.
(2) The same is true when God sends a prophet to His
church. Will the new spirit be able to penetrate the
whole body? That is the great question. It never occurs.
Will that part of the church that has not been reached
react and make division or not? Augustine himself was
not the immediate cause of division, but he came with a
new spirit from God and was one of the causes why the
Greek and Eoman divided. Luther came from God. He
had no idea of making a new church, but he proclaimed
God's message and that new spirit, penetrated the
church, causing reaction. The Vatican was not able to
receive the new spirit, just as the Pharisees and Scribes
in the days of Jesus. Through Luther the church got a
positive evangelical spirit, but division came on two defi-
nite lines — one emphasizing the evangelical and the other
the mystical. It may, of course, be said that all deep re-
ligion is mystical. We must distinguish between that
mysticism which heightens and accentuates personality
and that mysticism which abolishes personality. Another
instance is Wesley. When they organized the strict so-
ciety in Oxford it meant the rise of a new spirit from
God and division was inevitable, for the Church of Eng-
land could not be penetrated. Divisions in their origin
revealed the unity in the great plans of God. If we com-
pare the divisions between the Protestant movements and
orders in the Eoman Church we will find very often that
16 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
the antagonisms are no deeper among Protestants than
the divisions in the Eoman Church. We recognize
one holy catholic church including all of us, but that holy
catholic church has three main divisions — Greek Ortho-
dox, Eoman Catholic and Evangelical Catholic. Contin-
uing, the archbishop said: "I use the word 'Evangeli-
cal' in preference to ' Protestant.' I do not care for
words, however, but I do care for things." Greek Catho-
lics, Eoman Catholics and Evangelical Catholics more
nearly cover the real condition. The Evangelical union
is the most practical and agencies are at work through
various channels for the consummation of this ideal. The
ecumenical conference referred to should have well de-
fined objects, preparing the way later on for the World
Conference on Faith and Order, making it easier and
more natural to get into unity on the urgent needs of the
church at this time.
In an interview with the Bishop of Winchester around
the breakfast table, he emphasized unity and cooperation
rather than corporate unity at this time. There must be
a full appreciation of the work of scholars in all branches
of the church and at the same time a faith in the reality
of our religion as God's gift to us. There is not much
hope of adjusting matters with Eome at this time, but
from the Anglican point of view the prospect with the
Greek Church is hopeful. We will have to move slowly.
There can be no permanent union if it comes by the sac-
rifice of principle. Our beginning place must be in recog-
nition of the unity that already exists. The lack of a
larger unity in the Church of Christ has made it weak.
The churches cannot promote international friendship
unless there is a unity among themselves — a unity that is
greater than political or national connections. When
asked regarding the union of the Protestant household,
the bishop somewhat hesitated and then said: "Of
course every follower of Christ must rejoice in all at-
tempts toward reconciliation in every part of the
church. ' '
Dr. Hodgkin, at the dinner table, talked of the result of
the Second Interim Eeport sent by the Archbishops ' Com-
mittee and Nonconformist representatives, and also the
Life and Liberty Movement in which Canon Temple is
very active, both of which are projecting toward a bet-
CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE 17
ter understanding of Christians. He regards the great-
est need to be a rebaptism of the conscience by the Spirit
of God before much advance can be made. It is to be
rather a fusing together of living believers than a skele-
ton to be filled in by agreements. There must be such a
unity as will not crush the minorities so that there will be
freedom for witness.
Dr. Cairns, while puffing away at a familiar Scotch
pipe, talked of church union in Scotland in particular.
He said it had been interrupted by the war, but plans are
now being resumed and he felt that in these days of re-
construction conditions were such as to demand a speed-
ing up; that there were some delicate problems to be
solved, but the feeling between the parts of the divided
church was far better than it had ever been and there
was likelihood of some advanced step at any time, for
there was a growing weariness of separation and a long-
ing for the common fellowship of the whole Church of
Scotland. One of the problems in Scotland is the endow-
ments. After discussing some of the problems regard-
ing it he said: "We are going to get together. As to
what name we will wear has not figured very much in it.
We do not wish to throw away anything that is being
treasured by any part of the church, but the churches of
Scotland must become one. The last General Assembly
looked favorably on the plans and prospects. In the next
few years the union will be accomplished. ' '
There were other interviews but already this article i&
too lengthy. After all it must be recognized that as mem
think paths are being made for the coming generations.
A united church is the great necessity of these times.
Brotherhood cannot be a term exclusively applied to
certain parts of the church without being involved in the
gravest of heresies. The whole church must be a brother-
hood before the will of God can be done in His church
and His will must be done in His church before His will
can triumph in the world. All irenic conferences to this
end will hasten the day when His will shall be done on
earth as it is in heaven. The Hague Conference made
a definite contribution to the ideals of brotherhood and
international friendship.
THE CHRISTIAN REUNION MOVEMENT IN
ENGLAND
By Alfred E. G-arvie, M.A., D.D., Principal of New College, London, and
Chairman Elect of the Congregational Union of England and Wales.
It may be of interest to the readers of The Christian
Union Quarterly if I endeavor to state as briefly and
clearly as I can how the Christian Reunion Movement ap-
pears to me at the present moment. The Second Interim
Report of the committtee discussing matters of faith and
order at first seemed to show a marked advance. The
recognition of the Nonconformist communions as
churches by the Anglican members on the one hand and
the declaration by the Nonconformists on the other, that
in the reunited church there should be a reformed epis-
copate, was welcomed by the friends of reunion and re-
garded as almost a betrayal by those on both sides desir-
ous of asserting and maintaining differences. It has
since become evident that the recognition of the Noncon-
formist communions as Christian churches did not for
many Anglicans involve, as was too hastily assumed by
some Nonconformists, a practical application of the prin-
ciple of intercommunion and interchange of pulpits.
While the evangelical and liberal clergy in the Church of
England for the most part desire such a step, the catho-
lic are opposed to it. Now and then a clergyman acts
without his bishop 's sanction and invites a Nonconform-
ist minister to preach for him. The Bishop of Norwich
has himself preached in a Baptist Church and has pro-
posed certain conditions under which a Nonconformist
might preach in an Anglican pulpit, and some Noncon-
formist leaders have welcomed that approach. The whole
matter is at present held over for the next Lambeth Con-
ference. The bishops then assembled will be confronted
with a dangerous dilemma : whatever decision they reach
BEIT NI ON MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND 19
will cause disappointment, and it may be even division.
On the one hand there are many of the clergy, and a still
larger proportion of the laity, who passionately desire
that the scandal of division among fellow Christians in
England should be removed. On the other, there are
the high churchmen, or catholics, as they seem to prefer
being called whose convictions are still rigidly opposed
to any modification of what they regard as a sacred in-
heritance, to be preserved at any cost, the catholic prin-
ciple and practice of the apostolic succession in the his-
toric episcopate for the validity of ministry and sacra-
ments. It would be foolhardy for a Nonconformist to
conjecture how the bark of the Church of England can be
safely steered between Scylla and Charybdis.
As regards the liberalism becoming another movement,
the volume of essays on The Early History of the Church
and the Ministry, edited by the late Dr. Swete, was heart-
ily welcomed by some Nonconformists as holding out
some hope that on the ground common to scholars there
might be a closer approach to mutual understanding ; but
this hope was very much reduced by the new edition of
Bishop Gore's book on The Church and the Ministry, in
which the catholic position is rigidly maintained, and any
concessions made by other scholars are deplored. There
is probably no bishop in the Church of England more
highly respected by Nonconformists for his advanced
political and social ideals than this most uncompromis-
ing ecclesiastical opponent. A more cheering token,
however, is the volume of essays Towards Reunion, by
an equal number of evangelical clergymen and Noncon-
formist ministers, in which the writers deal with the ne-
cessity and the possibility of reunion. No man has la-
bored more zealously for this cause than the Eev. Mr.
Shakespeare, the secretary of the Baptist Union; but his
book The Church at the Crossroads has not found gen-
eral acceptance among the Free Churches, as it appears
20 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
to many to be an attempt to force the pace in a movement
in which careful deliberations must prepare for assured
conviction. The volume edited by the Eev. Dr. Cairns,
on The Army and Religion, comes as a challenge to all,
however, who would treat the movement towards
unity with indifference, as it offers overwhelming evi-
dence that the division among the churches is one of the
very potent causes of the indifference, if not hostility, to
the witness, worship and work of the churches of the
great majority of the manhood of the nations. In prov-
ing also beyond doubt or question how ineffective has
been the religious education given in the elementary and
secondary schools, it is a call to the churches to abandon
their sectarian jealousies in this important matter, and
to attempt a united effort to secure the proper place of
religion in education. Such an argument for unity will
probably have greater influence over the laity in the
churches than any discussions about faith and order ; but
these must not be despised, as scholars and theologians
are needed to lay the foundations on religious convictions
on which the structure of practical effort can be raised.
Only one other matter need be mentioned. The Church
of England is seeking in an Enabling Bill to secure a
measure of self-government which for its vitality and
vigor is essential. However sympathetic Nonconformists
must be with any effort for spiritual freedom, they are
justified in their hesitation in relieving of the control of
Parliament a national church, the dominant party in
which seems to have as its aim sectarian exclusiveness.
There are liberals and evangelicals in the church itself
who fear that such freedom would mean the outcry of the
catholic party.
Alfred E. Garvie.
New College, London.
PLAN OF THE COUNCIL ON ORGANIC
UNION OF THE EVANGELICAL
CHURCHES OF AMERICA.
On recommendation of its committee on business and
resolutions, the Conference on the Organic Union of the
Evangelical Churches in the U. S. A., held in Wither-
spoon Hall, Philadelphia, December 4-6, 1918, created
this ad interim committee, and, inter alia, gave it the fol-
lowing instructions :
"That the members of this Conference from each com-
munion, whether present in official or personal capacity,
be asked as soon as possible to appoint representatives
on an ad interim committee to carry forward the move-
ment toward organic union here initiated.
This committee shall be charged with the following
duties :
(a) To develop and use at its discretion agencies and
methods for discovering and creating interest in the sub-
ject of organic union throughout the churches of the
country.
(b) To make provision for presenting by personal del-
egations, or otherwise, to the national bodies of all the
evangelical communions of the United States urgent in-
vitations to participate in an interdenominational coun-
cil on organic union.
(c) To lay before the bodies thus approached the steps
necessary for the holding of such council, including the
plan and basis of representation and the date of the
Council which shall be as early as possible, and, in any
event, not later than 1920.
(d) To prepare for presentation to such council when
it shall assemble a suggested plan or plans of organic
union.
(e) To consider and report upon any legal matters re-
lated to the plan or plans of union which it may propose.
22 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
In requesting the ad interim committee to undertake
the arduous task outlined, the Conference desires the
committee to proceed with freedom at every point. As
of possible assistance, however, in the deliberations, the
Conference expresses its present judgment as to certain
aspects of the problem to be faced.
1. The Conference is profoundly solicitous that the ef-
fort for organic union shall have first regard to those
forces of vital spiritual life which alone give meaning to
our effort. No mechanical uniformity must be sought,
nor any form of organization which ignores or thwarts
the free movement of the Spirit of God, in the hearts of
His servants.
2. In line with this desire the Conference hopes the
committee will be able to devise plans so broad and flex-
ible as to make place for all the evangelical churches of
the land, whatever their outlook or tradition, tempera-
ment or taste, whatever their relationships racially or
historically.
3. The Conference regards with deep interest and
warm approbation all the movements of our time to-
wards closer cooperative relations between communions,
especially the notable service rendered by the Federal
Council of the Churches of Christ in America. While
the ad interim committee's aim and function will lie in
a field entirely different from those movements, it will
be expected to maintain sympathetic relations with them,
and to regard with satisfaction any reinforcement which
its activities may bring to them.
4. The notice of the committee is directed to the efforts
for organic union represented in other lands, especially
the churches of Canada. The remarkable and significant
statement recently issued by a joint committee of Angli-
can and Free Churches of Great Britain will also call for
the study of the committee.
5. The Conference calls attention to the fact that in its
COUNCIL ON ORGANIC UNION PLAN 23
search for a plan of organic union, the committee will
not be precluded from considering plans of federal union
such as are in varying forms present to the minds of
members of this Conference. Our nation is a federal
union but it is none the less an organic union. Care
should be used not to confuse the term "federal" as thus
employed, with this meaning when used to signify "as-
sociated" or "cooperative."
Accordingly, we, the members of the ad interim com-
mittee created by said Conference, together with repre-
sentatives of other churches who have since been sim-
ilarly delegated, in obedience to the direction that we
prepare for presentation to an interdenominational coun-
cil on organic union a suggested plan of organic union,
do hereby recommend the following plan:
Preamble :
Whereas: we desire to share, as a common heritage,
the faith of the evangelical churches, which has, from
time to time, found expression in great historic state-
ments; and
Whereas: we all share belief in God our Father; in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Saviour; in the Holy
Spirit, our Guide and Comforter; in the holy catholic
church through which God's eternal purpose of salvation
is both to be proclaimed and realized ; in the Scriptures
of the Old and New Testaments as containing God's re-
vealed will, and in the life eternal ; and
Whereas: having the same spirit and owning the same
Lord, we none the less recognize diversity of gifts and
ministrations for whose exercise due freedom must al-
ways be afforded in forms of worship and in modes of
operation:
Plan:
Now, we the churches hereto assenting as hereinafter
provided in Article VI do hereby agree to associate our-
selves in a visible body to be known as the "United
24 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Churches of Christ in America' ' for the furtherance of
the redemptive work of Christ in the world. This body
shall exercise in behalf of the constituent churches the
functions delegated to it by this instrument, or by subse-
quent action of the constituent churches, which shall re-
tain the full freedom at present enjoyed by them in all
matters not so delegated.
Accordingly, the churches hereto assenting and here-
after thus associated in such visible body do mutually
covenant and agree as follows :
I. Complete autonomy in purely denominational af-
fairs.
In the interest of the freedom of each and of the co-
operation of all, each constituent church reserves the
right to retain its creedal statements, its form of gov-
ernment in the conduct of its own affairs, and its particu-
lar mode of worship.
In taking this step, we look forward with confident
hope to that complete unity toward which we believe the
Spirit of God is leading us. Once we shall have cooper-
ated wholeheartedly, in such visible body, in the holy
activities of the work of the church, we are persuaded
that our differences will be minimized and our union be-
come more vital and effectual.
II. The Council. (Its Constitution.)
The United Churches of Christ in America shall act
through a council or through such executive and judicial
commissions, or administrative boards, working ad in-
terim, as such council may from time to time appoint and
ordain.
The Council shall convene in 19 and every second
year thereafter. It may also be convened at any time in
such manner as its own rules may prescribe. The Coun-
cil shall be a representative body.
Each constituent church shall be entitled to represen-
tation therein by an equal number of ministers and of
laymen.
COUNCIL ON ORGANIC UNION PLAN 25
The basis of representation shall be: two ministers
and two laymen for the first one hundred thousand or
fraction thereof of its communicants ; and two ministers
and two laymen for each additional one hundred thou-
sand or major fraction thereof.
III. The Council. (Its Working.)
The Council shall adopt and promulgate its own rules
of procedure and order. It shall define the functions of
its own officers, prescribe the mode of their selection and
their compensation, if any. It shall provide for its bud-
get of expense by equitable apportionment of the same
among the constituent churches through their supreme
governing or advisory bodies.
IV. Relation of Council and Constituent Churches.
The supreme governing or advisory bodies of the con-
stituent churches shall effectuate the decisions of the
Council by general or specific deliverance or other man-
date whenever it may be required by the law of a partic-
ular state, or the charter of a particular board, or other
ecclesiastical corporation; but except as limited by this
plan, shall continue the exercise of their several powers
and functions as the same exist under the denominational
constitution.
The Council shall give full faith and credit to the au-
thenticated acts and records of the several governing or
advisory bodies of the constituent churches.
V. Specific Functions of the Council.
In order to prevent overlapping, friction, competition
or waste in the work of the existing denominational
boards or administrative agencies, and to further the
efficiency of that degree of cooperation which they have
already achieved in their work at home and abroad :
(a) The Council shall harmonize and unify the work
of the united churches.
(b) It shall direct such consideration of their mission-
ary activities as well as of particular churches in over-
churched areas as is consonant with the law of the land
26 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
or of the particular denomination affected. Such consoli-
dation may be progressively achieved, as by the uniting
of the boards or churches of any two or more constituent
denominations, or may be accelerated, delayed, or dis-
pensed with, as the interests of the united churches may
demand.
(c) If and when any two or more constituent churches,
by their supreme governing or advisory bodies, submit
to the Council for its arbitrament any matter of mutual
concern, not hereby already covered, the Council shall
consider and pass upon such matter so submitted.
The Council shall undertake inspirational and educa-
tional leadership of such sort and measure as may be
decided upon by the constituent churches from time to
time in the fields of evangelism, social service, religious
education, or the like.
VI. The assent of each constituent church to this plan
shall be certified from its supreme governing or advisory
body by the appropriate officers thereof to the chairman
of the ad interim committee, which shall have power to
convene the Council as soon as the assent of at least six
denominations shall have been so certified.
Accordingly this committee has submitted but one plan
with its recommendation, but there appear in the Blue
Book among other plans considered by the ad interim
committee, documents embodying plans of such complete
united church, with more specific articulations of powers
and functions, which can be preserved for the considera-
tion of the Council at some future time when it may be
deemed expedient to take a further step in the direction
of organic union.*
We respectfully submit that the form of union at pres-
ent commended for the consideration of the Council does
not interject into its deliberation any disputatious topic,
any question of the validity of orders or of the modes
•Other plans referred to are suggested by Dr. H. C. Herring", Dr. R. W. Peach,
President W. H. Black. Rev. John S. Romig and Mr. Alfred H. Garrett.
COUNCIL ON OEGANIC UNION PLAN 27
and subjects of baptism or of the formulation of a spe-
cific or comprehensive creed. But that we contemplate a
preliminary period of cooperating in this union that shall
fulfill the hope and longing expressed by the Conference,
i ' that the evangelical churches may give themselves with
a new faith and ardor to the proclamation of the Gospel,
which is the only hope of our stricken world, and to all
those ministries of Christian love and leading for the
community, the nation and the nations, by which they
shall reveal to men the mind of Christ and hasten the
coming of His Kingdom."
We call to the notice of the Council that the taking of
this first step toward unity will not call for a present re-
port on any legal questions since denominational auton-
omy is continued and no property rights impaired.
KECOMMENDATIONS.
First. We recommend that the foregoing plan be
placed upon the docket of the Council for its considera-
tion and action.
Second. We recommend that, in contemplation of the
fact that in the various groups of churches belonging to
the same denomination mergers or unions may from time
to time occur by appropriate ecclesiastical action and re-
sulting in the creation of new or consolidated denomina-
tions: the Council should establish a commission to be
known as "The Commission on Group Union of Constit-
uent Bodies," for the purpose of conferring with any
communion about to merge or consolidate, with a view
if possible to the unification of the constitutions of such
consolidating churches in order to simplify the progress
of all the churches toward the ultimate adoption of a con-
stitution for the United Church of Christ in America.
Third. We recommend that the Council consider, and
if deemed advisable, make provision for its relationship
to such independent, unattached, or so-called union or
28 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
community churches which shall hold to the faith com-
monly held in the Council as shall in time effectually re-
late them to this movement for the organic union of the
evangelical churches of America.
Fourth. We recommend that the attention of the con-
stituent churches be called to the fact that the assent
called by Article VI. of the plan should be secured in con-
formity with the constitution of each constituent church.
W. H. Koberts,
Chairman Ad Interim Committee.
Eufus W. Miller, Secretary.
Witherspoon Building,
Philadelphia, Pa.
CHURCH UNITY*
By Henry W. Jessup, New York City.
The man in the pew is weary of a church program
based on the maintenance and repair of denominational
fences and the excessive cost of staking sectarian claims.
His ears are deaf to the dogmatic theologian whose pride
of opinion is responsible for many of our separations.
How many men here can give an accurate definition of
dogma? A boy at a grammar school was asked to write
a sentence containing the word in its right use. He wrote,
after mature deliberation, the following: "Our dog ma
has three pups." Well, our denominational dogmas in
the United States have 201 pups, 166 classed by Dr. Car-
roll as denominations. The others are, many of them, so
small as to justify the remark that they should not be
known so much as ' ' sects ' ' as " insects. ' ' Each of these
confidently asserts and sincerely believes that it is in-
trusted with some peculiarly distinctive trust of Chris-
tian truth which warrants its separate existence, and de-
mands unswerving sectarian loyalty.
But for the first time in the history of the divisions
of Christendom there has emerged what I may call the
will to unite. Schemes of unity have often been put
forward, for the fulfillment of Christ's great prayer
has intrigued the minds of Christian men all down the
centuries. But now there is a determination manifest-
ing itself all over the land to do away with the things
that divide and to get together in "furthering the re-
demptive work of Christ in the world." And it is a
purpose which is being expressed, not so much by the
*This is an address delivered by Mr. Jessup at a men's banquet in Scranton, Pa.,
on Nov. 25, 1919, at which 1400 men from all the city churches were present. Bishop
Wilson made the principal address.
30 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
clergy alone, as by the laity of the church. And in
this lies the great hope of its accomplishment. We
must remember that the church of Christ was not
created to conserve a creed, but is a " Society for the
Propagation of the Faith, ' ■ a name too long appropriated
by our Catholic friends. If this be our united purpose,
then American laymen can be relied on to put it across.
I am not attacking the clergy, mind you, for many of
them have been quick to acknowledge the need for unity ;
but I call attention to a handicap upon their efforts.
The minister of a particular denomination, as a gen-
eral rule, is ordained upon taking an oath before God and
his brethren to maintain the standards or dogmas or
creed as well as the form of government or order of his
particular denomination, and common honesty requires
that if he cease to adhere to the tenets of that sect or de-
nomination, he should withdraw from its distinctive min-
istry. Consequently, until the denomination itself, by its
action in uniting with another denomination, formally re-
leases him from this separatist oath or vow, you cannot
expect to find in him an ardent champion of a plan that
implies that some of his distinctive claims are not so vital
after all and can be surrendered in the general compro-
mise. But the majority of the laity in the Christian
churches of America are admitted to church membership
merely upon confession of their faith in Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Savior, and to them theologies and creeds
are often a sealed book. Of course, even ignorance is
often as obstinate a champion as learning. But the time
has come when the man in the pulpit and the man in the
pew, and particularly those men who have been face to
face with death in the Great War and have worked shoul-
der to shoulder with men of many other creeds, or of no
creed at all, and have realized the brotherhood of the race,
and have learned to acknowledge the tender and strong
Fatherhood of God, have not only felt impatient at their
CHURCH UNITY 31
existing divisions, but are voicing that impatience in a
demand calculated to put an end to the over-churching of
small communities and overlapping, friction, competition
and waste in the work of existing denominational boards
and administrative agencies of the various churches in
preaching the Gospel to every creature.
Dr. John Kelman, in his book, "The War and Preach-
ing," narrates the following incident:
"There were four corpses: One was a Presbyterian,
the next an Episcopalian, the next a Jew, and the fourth a
Roman Catholic. They lay waiting in the mortuary for
burial, the times of their respective services being fixed
with a quarter of an hour 's interval between each. By
some misunderstanding, the first padre came at the end
instead of the beginning. So it came to pass that the
Episcopalian buried the Presbyterian, the Jew buried the
Episcopalian, the Roman Catholic buried the Jew, and
the Presbyterian buried the Roman Catholic. It would
not be edifying to put on record the speculations of the
messroom as to what happened on the other side in con-
nection with these perplexing ceremonies.' '
No one here, I assume, supposes for one moment that
the fate of the souls of these four gallant soldiers was in
any way influenced by the clothes or creeds of the devoted
chaplains who committed their bodies to the grave.
My friend, Mr. James M. Speers, tells the following
beautiful story : A friend of one of his sons having been
killed at the front, they desired to bury his body in the
church yard of the little French village near which they
were billeted. They went to the cure, who asked if the
deceased was a Catholic, and being told he was not, he
required under the rules of his church that he should be
allowed to baptize the body before interring him in holy
ground. This they were unwilling to agree to, and he
then courteously offered to inter him just without the
wall, in ground also owned by the church, but not conse-
crated. The service was held late in the afternoon, but
the village people, grateful for the gallantry of their
32 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
American defenders, in the dead of night, with pick and
shovel, repaired to the church yard, took down the wall
and rebuilt it so as to include the grave!
II
I view the existence of this Will to Unite as cognate to
the enormous dynamic so long left unused in the great
water power of our land. Once realized, the way was dis-
covered to generate and harness the energy up to produc-
tion. The power is there. How can we gear it up to our
church work?
If we consider unity as our goal, it is obvious that it
must be reached in the normal way — one step at a time,
and surmounting one obstacle after the other. Saint Paul
wrote of the race which the Christian had to run, and de-
scribed it in the terms of the Greek sports familiar in his
day. But, had he been writing in a Presbyterian mood,
and in this particular context, he might well have re-
ferred to it as a hurdle race, not as the race in which "all
run, but one alone taketh the prize ; ' ' rather, as a race in
which the attempt is that all together shall surmount the
obstacles and reach the goal at one and the same time.
Viewed as such a race, you must concede that it must
be run at the pace of the weakest competitor. That pace
must be a slow and uniform stride so that all may get
over the first and the successive hurdles in an orderly, ef-
ficient manner.
Years ago, in the Adirondacks, on a little island in
Lonesome Pond, I saw an extraordinary sight. A pine,
when it was young and tender, had been crushed by a
boulder that had been rolled over it, and broken the
stem apart, but it had groivn up on either side and by
some extraordinary miracle of nature, the trunk had re-
united above the boulder and this Rock of Offense was
some twelve inches from the ground, but the single united
trunk rose straight and stately to the sky. This leads
f
CHUECH UNITY 33
me to observe that the union of Christ's church is not
only logically demanded, bnt biologically possible.
Following the suggestion of our figure of a race, and
reviewing the history of all movements towards union, we
find that the differences or hurdles to be negotiated are
those of creed and of order, or of form of government,
including forms of worship; and those differences,
whether rooted in conviction or in prejudice, are suffi-
ciently strong to prevent any immediate eradication. So
if there is to be an ultimate union of the evangelical
churches it may profitably commence by taking one im-
mediate step contemplating an organic union, with all the
seeds of growth and development implicit in its plan of
union looking toward an ultimately united church in
America; but let that first step be like the coming to-
gether of our thirteen American colonies : that is, under
the present guise of a visible body to which certain
powers may be delegated, and which might be called the
United Churches of Christ in America, based upon the
idea that while preserving for the present their denomi-
national autonomy they will unite in their evangelical and
missionary and benevolent work. That is, to be specific,
let them preserve for the time their forms of worship,
their modes of baptism, their distinctive creeds, but try to
learn to know one another and when they see that an
Episcopalian can work as hard as a Presbyterian, and a
Baptist as efficiently as a Methodist, and a Lutheran as
earnestly and tenderly as a Disciple of Christ, then the
denominational differences will sink into the background
of unimportance little by little, and a time will surely
come when, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, men
will say : ' ' Let sleeping dog mas lie ! Why do these things
divide us? and, "Why should we not enter into a closer
and more vital unity V 9
Take the matter of creeds ! Most churchmen will tell
you, "Our creed is vital." Yet, in Smyth & Walker's
34 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
book on " Approaches Towards Church Unity," atten-
tion is called to the " peril of identifying a formula of
words with essential truth.' ' There are large denomi-
nations in this country which do not believe in a formu-
lated creed. If all Scripture is of private interpretation,
may not creeds also he! Let me illustrate. You are
aware that in some of the southern states the negro min-
isters and congregations are segregated into separate col-
ored presbyteries by our church, and they proceed in all
matters according to the formulae of the Presbyterian
law. Such a presbytery met, and a candidate was under
examination for ordination to the Gospel ministry. At
the end of the examination a brother rose and said, "Mr.
Moderatah, Ah move dat de examination be not sustained.
De candidate am mighty weak on de doctrine ob election. ' '
Whereupon an old gray-haired brother rose slowly and
said, "Mr. Moderatah, Ah suahly hope dat dis motion
will not prevail. I'se been preaching de Gospel for
nearly three sco' years and I'se a little weak on dat
doctrine mahself." Whereupon a young mulatto in the
prime of life sprang to his feet and said, "Mr. Moder-
atah, Ah sho 'ly am sprised. Dat doctrine ob election am
as plain as de nose on yo' face, and Ah can splanify it to
dis presbytery in about three minutes. De way ob dat
doctrine am dis : De good Lawd, he votes dat a man go
to Heaven, and de debbil, he votes dat a man go to hell —
and de way de man votes — dat carries de election ! ' ' The
negro 's definition was theology. And you can define that
theology as near-Calvinistic or neo-Arminian, or what
you please, — yet, isn't it the theology of the man in the
pew? And if it is the theology of the man in the pew,
then we have all got to get together to "carry the elec-
tion. ' ' We must start a campaign to persuade the man,
Everyman, to vote right. And we don't want to confuse
the voter by inconsistent arguments and claims, call them
dogmas or doctrines or creeds. In a town of less than
CHURCH UNITY 35
two thousand inhabitants we don't want to have eight or
more Christian churches in painful competition, with
half -starved ministers, and not a single, well-equipped
department of efficient social service, and contributing
their paltry hundreds to a lot of competing mission
boards, each loaded down with administration and over-
head charges, when we ought to be putting up a united
front for the purpose of " carrying the election," and the
world for Christ.
But, it is urged, you can 't graft the Baptist Church on
the Episcopal tree, nor expect the Episcopal Church to
bear fruit if grafted upon Congregationalism.
Well, I read in the paper the other day of a man who
had grafted thirty-three varieties of apples and two of
pears upon one old apple trunk, and each graft was doing
business and producing, and the old trunk was sucking its
sap up through its roots for the nourishment of all this
fruit. Applying the pragmatic test, the Apostle argued
that one can graft the wild olive upon the tame olive and
so increase the fruitfulness and value of the crop. Car-
dinal Mercier, in responding to greetings by the united
Christian clergy of New York last month, deprecated the
words of merely personal praise, and in disclaiming par-
ticular credit for himself, used this beautiful figure: "If
you look at a stately tree and admire the elevation of its
trunk and the spread of its branches and foliage, you
must not forget that that which is visible owes its entire
beauty and strength to the sap which it draws from the
soil in which it is planted," and the sap and the soil to
which he attributed the energy and vitality which he was,
under God, enabled to present in the great crises of the
German invasion, with which his people were confronted,
was the spirit and energy of the Belgian people. And so
I say that the movement toward unity, the Will to Unite,
must owe its energy and its ultimate success to the com-
bined determination and effort of the people of the
36 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
churches, not excluding the clergy, but absolutely includ-
ing the man in the pew. That is the fruitful soil of any
great church growth.
A great council of many of the Christian denominations
is shortly to be held in Philadelphia. A plan for taking
such a first step as I have above specified, in the form of a
federal organic union, has been wrought out after a year
of labor, by an ad interim committee appointed to that
task. It is hoped that the first step toward such organic
unity will be taken and the consenting churches unite in
' ' furthering the redemptive work of Christ in the world. ' '
It will give a great impetus to church unity. This Coun-
cil is to be democratic from an ecclesiastical point of view.
The representation is to be equally of ministers and of
laymen and it is up to the laymen of the churches to see
to it that laymen are properly and promptly chosen to
attend at that conference and to make known the will of
the churches behind them. If your denomination has not
acted, you are entitled to know why not. To this gather-
ing the plan submitted will propose the coming together
in one visible body of the "United Churches of Christ in
America," "for the furtherance of the redemptive work
of Christ in the world." I like that statement of high
purpose.
The platform of imion is that they "all share belief
in God our Father ;
in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Saviour;
in the Holy Spirit, our Guide and Comforter ;
in the Holy Catholic Church, through which God's
eternal purpose is both to be proclaimed and real-
ized;
in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as
containing God's revealed will and
in the Life Eternal."
Is there anything there to which your heart does not
cordially assent!
The extent of the first step towards complete union is
indicated by the clause :
CHURCH UNITY 37
a
Having the same spirit and owning the same Lord,
we none the less recognize diversity of gifts and minis-
trations for whose exercise due freedom must always be
afforded in forms of worship and in modes of operation.
' ' Each constituent church is to retain its creedal state-
ments, its form of government in the conduct of its own
affairs, and its particular mode of worship. ' '
You are thus not asked to surrender just now the
things that you hold distinctive of your own denomina-
tion.
But in providing for an administrative council to ef-
fectuate this ivork it asserts :
"We look forward with confident hope to that com-
plete unity toward which we believe the Spirit of God is
leading us. Once we shall have cooperated wholeheart-
edly in such visible body, in the holy activities of the
work of the church, we are persuaded that our differences
will be minimized and our union become more vital and
effectual. ' '
Of course some churches will object even to this — they
will balk at the burden of what they may call a super-ec-
clesiastical body. So some of the thirteen colonies were
reluctant to give the Federal Government of the United
States any real authority or power.
What of this objection that each church will be sub-
jecting itself in some measure to the control of others!
Well I heard a Cambridge University professor recently
tell of an experience of a friend visiting a lunatic asylum
that I think is apt. He saw one of the inmates wheeling
a barrow around the grounds upside down. He said to
him, ' ' My friend, that 's not the way to wheel a barrow. ' '
"Yes, it is," said the lunatic. "No, no," he replied,
"let me show you," and he took the barrow, reversed it,
ran it around a few times, and replaced the handles in
the lunatic's hands, saying, "That's the right way, my
friend." "Not much," he rejoined, "I tried it that way
once, and they filled it with bricks!"
To object, as some churches have done, that to unite
under a plan giving up one jot or iota of their exclusive
38 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
control and subjecting them to the direction of a council
might put a burden on them, is like that lunatic 's answer
to the plea for doing the right thing. If the bricks are
needed to build up the church, pile them on !
With what better words can I close than those of the
Apostle, not so much the exhortation of Peter, who
pointed out that if they were to build upon the chief cor-
ner stone i i a spiritual house ' ' they would have to ' ' offer
up spiritual sacrifices," which chapter I commend to
those who would still maintain divisions in the body of
Christ, but rather that appeal to the Ephesians to unite
into one family in Christ Jesus (whom Paul describes as
our Peace), "Who hath made both one and hath broken
down the middle wall of partition between us," and urg-
ing that they should grow into one household of God,
"Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Proph-
ets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone in
Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
into the holy temple in the Lord; in Whom ye also are
builded together for a habitation of God through the
Spirit."
Henry W. Jessup.
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS
By Augustus Hopkins Strong, D.D., LL.D., Former President of the
Eoehester Baptist Theological Seminary, Rochester, N. Y.
This is a world of variety. The great spaces of the uni-
verse have their myriads of rolling orbs, while our little
earth is composed of atoms infinitely small. Here in Cal-
ifornia I am told that there are two hundred and sixteen
varieties of the acacia. The Los Angeles Museum has
the skeleton of an imperial elephant twelve feet in height,
but also the skeleton of a humming-bird of only three
inches. From Mount Wilson we see Old Baldy, capped
with snow, ten thousand feet high, in contrast with the
long horizontal line of the Pacific Ocean. Varieties of
landscape are the delights of travel. Well may Tennyson
exclaim, as he views the wonders of life in the running
brook, "What an imagination God has!" for all these
things are the work of God's hands. He is the lover of
all beauty; he calls it "good;" and we may make Gray's
"Elegy" more true by altering it and saying,
There's not a flower that's born to blush unseen
Or waste its sweetness on the desert air;
for the varieties of nature are all of them objects of
God's creative love and care.
It looks very much as if variety were not only a uni-
versal mark of the creation, but as if increasing differ-
entiation were a condition of ultimate perfection. Her-
bert Spencer had glimpses of the truth when he declared
evolution to be progress from homogeneity to heteroge-
neity, and variety of environment to be one of the great
agencies of civilization. So long as we regard evolution,
not as an automatic process, but as only the ordinary
method of a personal God, still leaving room for wonders
like incarnation, resurrection, and regeneration, neither
ethics nor theology need have any quarrel with it. We
need not call Charles Darwin atheistic, when he applies
40 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
this principle to the origin of physical man; nor think
Charles Strong's argument irreligious when, in his recent
book on "The Origin of Consciousness," he conceives
the human mind to be a product of evolution. Evolution
may be perfectly consistent with theology; and, when
theistically understood, it may be only one of God's ways
of bringing about that
One far-off divine event,
To which the whole creation moves.
Individuality indeed is the goal which life seems to
have in view. The vegetable is not passive like the min-
eral ; it is evermore pushing forward to something differ-
ent and better than its present self. And, when the vege-
table is merged in the animal, there is a new impulse of
differentiation, greater and greater complexity of pow-
ers, more and more organs of movement and faculties to
use them. When at last we come to man, how wonder-
ful is the diversity of faces, and of minds, as well. "Would
you have all faces alike? You would deprive our hu-
manity of one of its chief attractions and reduce it to
wearisome monotony. Would you have all minds alike?
The poet answers well: Could difference be abolished,
"sweet love were slain." The very aim of the creation
is to develop new and yet newer types of humanity, men
with larger vision, more educated faculties, more faith
and love and power of service, real kings and priests unto
God.
This consummation, however, requires a long and slow
process to prepare the way. For man's individuality
is the individuality of freedom. Virtue cannot be auto-
matic; it is a matter of will. All this complexity of
thinking and of desire affords only new methods of mani-
festing an evil will, while at the same time it may develop
the good. For this reason God has instituted two great
means of curbing and purifying human nature. They are
the family and the nation. It is not good for man to be
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS 41
alone ; he cannot attain true individuality in solitude ; in-
deed it is doubtful whether left to himself he would be
much better than the beast. And so we read that ' ' God
setteth the solitary in families." This is the earliest
aggregation of humanity, and we may be sure that it is
to abide though freed from sensual elements, and glori-
fied by religion and the home. The tribe and the clan are
outgrowths of the family, larger manifestations of the
family instinct, methods of securing the limitation of self-
ish individuality by the cooperation and devotion of
their separate units to the common welfare and honor.
But finally, out of this ordinance of the family there
arises the nation, with its love of liberty and its patriotic
fervor. How vast a part the idea of the state has played
in the world's history! In ancient times there was dan-
ger that man would be regarded as made for the state,
instead of the state being made for man, and Germany
has sought in these modern days to revive this exagger-
ated nationalism, and has proved its falsehood by her
ruin. But, all the same, the nation is just as much an
ordinance of God as is the family. The nation is not a
mere excrescence, to be done away in course of time. Has
not God made man "of one blood V 9 you say. Yes, but
read further : He has also "made, of one, every nation of
men, to dwell on all the face of the earth, having deter-
mined their appointed seasons and the bounds of their
habitation. ' ' Nations are a divinely appointed differen-
tiation of humanity. National spirit, liberty, duty, des-
tiny — these are a priceless heritage, never to be surren-
dered, and necessary for the accomplishment of God's
purpose in humanity itself. National traits and language
have their sacredness, and are to be preserved. Wo to
the tyrant or despoiler who would uproot them! Jesus
himself was a Jew, and he wept over Jerusalem, when
he foresaw the torrent of Koman invasion. "We may
well weep, if we foresee a Bolshevik unsettlement of
our American government and nationality.
42 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Yet Bolshevism is only the fit expression of the philos-
ophy which some modern writers would have us accept.
We reply that, with all its infinite variety, this is not ' ' a
pluralistic universe." Harmony is as necessary as in-
dependence. The motto of our country is "E phiribus
unum," — "The many make one." Not every state for
itself alone, but each member for the whole body of
which it forms a part. Not every man for himself alone,
but for the whole commonwealth to which he belongs.
The self -centered life is isolated and fruitless, like the
branch cut off from the vine. And this illustration sug-
gests the true nature and limitations of individuality.
We are parts of a great whole. Christ's life is in us,
and we are created to manifest him. Even the myriad-
minded Shakespeare cannot be comprehended or repre-
sented by a single critic. The infinite Christ has so
many sides and aspects, that only all the men of all the
ages together can adequately perceive or reflect his glory.
The whole human race is but the partial expression of
Him who is ' ' the Way, the Truth, and the Life, ' ' for in
Him are "summed up all things," "the things in the
heavens and the things upon the earth." God is thus
"manifest in the flesh," in order that we may "see life
steadily, and see it whole."
We are bound to stand for the parts, because the whole
cannot be separated from them. This is the new and
more Scriptural philosophy which is now capturing the
intellectual world, and which is bound to make our the-
ology more rational and persuasive. You may find this
philosophy expounded in the book entitled "The Idea of
God," by Pringle-Pattison, professor in the University of
Edinburgh. It is a complete refutation of the Deism of
the last century and a recognition of the immanence of
God in human life and suffering. God is not far away, a
merely creative and cognitive Being, who looks on and
judges, while men sin and die. The life of Christ shows
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS 43
us in visible form what God's life really is, so that in
seeing Him we see the Father. "Blessed be the Lord our
God, who daily beareth our burden,' 7 said the Psalmist of
old. Jesus is simply the manifested God. He shows us
that the loving Father enters into the very life of His cre-
ation. He struggles in and with His creatures, that He
may redeem them from their sin, lift them up to union
with himself, give them a share in His own knowledge
and love and power and blessedness. From the very
dawn of creation, He, as the preexistent Christ, was the
immanent conscience of the race, the gleam which its
religious leaders followed, the ideal which exalted them,
the Comforter who inspired them. He made good men
partakers of His own great faith, and ever predicted the
day when sin and death should be no more.
The fault of the pluralistic philosophy, as of the Bol-
shevistic politics, is not its emphasis on individual inde-
pendence, but its ignoring of the all-inclusive Whole, in
which the individual lives, moves, and has his being. Be-
cause he has no God, the purely individualistic philoso-
pher has no hope. Not recognizing in Christ the mani-
fested God, who furnishes the key to the great system,
he can people the universe with monads, or little minds,
with nothing back of them to explain either their origin
or their cooperation. There is no ascertainable end to-
ward which the universe is hastening, and there is nothing
to prevent individual life from final extinction. If this
philosopher is also a Bolshevist, he can in imagination
people the earth with self -centered and warring person-
alities, who seek only their own, and so lose all for them-
selves, while they bring the whole structure of organized
society to chaos and ruin.
Independence has its value only as it is the element in
a larger harmony. But separate selves are not simply
pipes through which the great Whole flows. They have
value for the Absolute, as well as for themselves. God's
44 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
life completes itself and reveals itself in their lives. "Not
a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father, ' ' says
Christ. "The hairs of your head are all numbered."
"There is joy in the presence of angels of God" — yes,
joy of God Himself — "when one sinner repenteth."
"There is a diversity of gifts, but one Spirit. " "From
whom all the body, fitly framed and knit together through
that which every joint supplieth, according to the work-
ing in good measure of each several part, maketh the in-
crease of the body unto the building up of itself in love."
So each finite part is organically united to the whole, and
made a voluntary instrument in revealing the virtues of
the infinite God.
It may seem to some that this is a long preface to my
real subject, "Missions and Denominations." I hope still
to convince you that it is the most effective way to pre-
sent the theme. We are in danger of seeking unity at
the price of truth, organization at the cost of Scripture,
liberality by the sacrifice of obedience. We need to learn
that God wants no union of automata, but only of living
men, each one of whom has reason and judgment of his
own. Harmony gained by surrender of conscientious
conviction is abhorrent to Him. His truth is many-sided
and He would have each side of it represented by those
who apprehend it and love it. As He has divided human-
ity into families in order that differentiation may bring
out more aspects of the one great Father "from whom
every family in heaven and on earth is named, ' ' so when,
as we are told, "the Most High gave to the nations their
inheritance, " " separated the children of men, i ' and ' ' set
the bounds of the peoples," He must have had the pur-
pose of showing how the larger aggregations of men
would illustrate the greatness of His thoughts of human-
ity in Christ the Son of man as well as Son of God, when
all the nations should see Him lifted up upon His Cross
of sacrifical suffering and should be drawn in love to Him
and to one another.
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS 45
And so I come to my main thesis and contention. Over
against nations I would set denominations, and would
maintain that, as the nation is a natural outgrowth of
the family and is therefore an ordinance of God, so the
denomination is a natural outgrowth of the church, and
is an ordinance of God also. I have not* spoken of the
church specifically thus far, because it needed no argu-
ment to convince you that the church is Christ's own
body, so beloved that he gave His life for its redemption
and still by His omnipotent life ensures its preservation.
"Fear not, little flock,' ' He says; "it is the Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." With all its
diversity of gifts each single church represents some as-
pects of Christ's character and influence. But as the
nations are a larger outgrowth of the family, so denomi-
nations are a larger outgrowth of the church ; each by its
providential origin and growth, its religious aims and
spirit, proving its right and duty to express, in a larger
way than any single church can do, at least one side of
Christ's infinite truth and being. These denominations
can perceive more of His truth than if they were organi-
cally one, and can better body forth that truth in mission-
ary enterprise. They represent more phases of the Chris-
tian life, and appeal therefore to a larger variety of hu-
man nature, while at the same time they show the world
that Christianity is not a narrow and restricted affair,
but is consistent with the broadest liberty of thought and
action.
Let me illustrate this by the analogy of our own United
States and our relation to the Dominion of Canada. We
are outgrowths and representatives of different families,
North and South. We have different tastes and tradi-
tions. Our ways of speech and of thought are not
all the same. We grapple with the same problems of
immigration and of finance from different points of view.
In practice we are different nations. But we do not seek
46 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
annexation. Each of us can paddle his own canoe. Yet
we have lived together for a hundred years without army
or navy, forts or ships to divide us, and now our boys
have fought together, side by side, at Chateau Thierry
and Mihiel, in perfect amity, and to the confusion and
defeat of our common foe. Why should not all denomi-
nations, and all nations too, live thus together in peace,
loving each other and cooperating in the common work
which God has set them to do ?
But you tell men of unity beyond this, such as Augus-
tine depicted in his "Civitas Dei," his "City of God;"
a unity more outward and impressive; and one which
you think is needed, if the world is ever to be brought to
the feet of Christ. I have shown God's regard for indi-
viduality, and for His desire that the different phases of
Christ's truth should be expressed in our great religious
organizations. I am just as ready to recognize God's de-
sire that these religious organizations should be compre-
hended in a higher and larger unity. But I believe that
unity to be one not of form, but of spirit. ' ' The kingdom
of God cometh not with observation, ' ' said Jesus ; i ' the
kingdom of God is within you. ' ' Even if those two words
are to be translated "among you," it is a spiritual and
not an outward and visible kingdom, which our Lord is
describing. In that spiritual kingdom there are no lim-
itations of nationality, or of denominationality, if I may
coin the word. Even a Jewish high priest could proph-
esy that Jesus "should die not for His nation only, but
that He might also gather together in one the children of
God that are scattered abroad." "That they all may be
one," was the prayer of our Lord Himself, even when
He also prayed that His disciples might "be sanctified
in truth." And the apostle Paul regarded this posses-
sion of Christ's spirit as sufficient to make all classes
and all races one, in spite of their outward environment
and their dividing lines; for in Christ, he says, "There
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS 47
cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircum-
cision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman; but
Christ is all and in all. ' '
Is there, then no further step which a true denomina-
tion may take to show forth this unity to the world? I
reply: Yes, there is the possibility of confederation,
though not the possibility of organic union and common
government. And here, too, the progress of our modern
civilization furnishes us with not only an incentive but a
useful analogy. The League of Nations, by which it is
proposed to put an end to war, is just such a union of
independent units, for purposes of common defense and
service. I am glad to think that the union of our Ameri-
can States furnished the suggestion for this League. But
each one of our separate states surrenders to the general
government a portion of its sovereignty, while the League
only confirms and defends the sovereignty of its individ-
ual members. The two are alike, however, in that the
claims of the small and weak are recognized and guaran-
teed, as well as the claims of the great and strong. A
league of denominations might in like manner recognize
the independence of each religious body that claims to
stand for Scripture truth, while it unites them all as
varied expressions and reflections of the one Spirit of
Christ.
This recognition of Christian spirit in other denomi-
nations is not assent to what we regard as their errors
of Scripture interpretation or of ecclesiastical practice.
But it is a concession and glad acknowledgment that other
bodies than our own are members of Christ and are pos-
sessed by his Spirit. "We can freely cooperate with them
in all ways that do not involve surrender of our faith in
Christ as our divine Saviour, and of our obedience to
His word as our divine Lord. But organic union, that
involves the giving up of New Testament polity and or-
dinances, or assent to the doctrines or commandments of
48 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
man, is beyond our power; it would be apostasy from
Christ, for the sake of pleasing men ; it would put us out-
side of that spiritual body of Christ which is the only
true church in this world or in the world to come. And
what is gained by external union when there is no union
of spirit? The time of the church's most perfect external
union was the time of Pope Hildebrand. But it was also
the time of the church's deepest moral corruption. Ag-
gregation is not unity, and imposing numbers are not
power. The rope of sand may look well, but the first
wave will break it.
' ' God fulfils Himself in many ways ; ' ' but he never ful-
fils Himself through conscious surrender of His truth or
desertion of a post of duty. We Baptists are trustees
for Him. We believe in the unity, sufficiency, and author-
ity of Scripture; in the guilt and penalty of sin; in the
preexistence, deity, virgin birth, miracles, vicarious
atonement, physical resurrection, omnipresence, and om-
nipotence, of Christ ; in regeneration by His Spirit, and
union with Him by faith ; in a church of regenerated be-
lievers who show forth the Lord's death in His ordi-
nances ; in the life everlasting assured to those who have
received Christ as their life on earth, and have shown
their possession of that life by their works of mercy.
Which of these articles of faith are we willing to give up
in order to attain more perfect union with our brethren?
Not one jot or tittle of them all! They are the truth of
God and the word of the Lord abideth forever.
Merely man-made forms and customs are temporary,
and may be surrendered, so long as the Scripture rule
of faith and practice is not ignored or violated. The
Spirit of God can and will lead us to many sacrifices of
mere taste and preference, in order to preserve unity of
spirit, in the bond of peace. Denominational independ-
ence is perfectly consistent with a league of denomina-
tions, so long as no matter of principle is surrendered.
The body of Christ has many members, but one and the
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS 49
same Spirit moves each member to hold its own place
and office. Jnst as we Americans are more national to-
day than ever before, while yet onr new nationalism is an
internationalism as well, so we may be better Baptists
than ever before, while entering into a confederation of
evangelical churches or a league of denominations, and
cooperating with others in all common Christian work.
The sum of all I have said is this : The whole and the
parts are mutually dependent, and the one cannot fulfil
its mission and reach perfection without the other. God's
plan aims at harmony only through individuality, and at
individuality only as compatible with inner harmony.
Family union does not require each child to be precisely
like all the others. I have never been able to make my
own sons think just as I do ; yet our family meetings are
all the more interesting and stimulating for the variety.
Our American union holds as loyally to the independence
of the states, as it holds to the supreme authority of the
general government in matters affecting the common
weal. We are coming to see that internationalism is a
duty as we]l as patriotic devotion to our own land and
people ; and that an exaggerated nationalism like that of
Germany brings not prosperity but ruin. In the words
of Dr. Sidney L. Gulick: "More and more the essential
unity and community of mankind is coming to light. No
fragment, no nation, can continue longer to live as if it
were the whole. Each part must accept its place as a
part of the whole, and live for the welfare of the whole.
Failure to do this will bring disaster after disaster, if
not complete destruction. ' ' This utterance of a great
missionary may well be urged in favor of denominational
cooperation. The indwelling Spirit of Christ is the only
security for the independence of the members of His
body. As a league of the nations may recognize and de-
fend the sovereignty of each constituent nation, so a
league of the denominations may recognize and defend
the sovereignty of each constituent denomination.
oi) THE CHBISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
Missions are simply efforts to exemplify Christ's truth
and to make it effective. If denominations have valid
claim to permanent existence, missions may properly rep-
resent them. As each denomination professes to have its
portion of truth to proclaim and to defend, so its missions
should be faithful to the truth which that denomination
represents. The Chinese will not reject our Western
medicine because some of our physicians are homeopathic
and others allopathic. Many voices of different tones
may utter different parts of the divine message, yet one
and the same Spirit may inspire them. Shall the flutist
in the orchestra be silent because he cannot play the
violin! Each performer has his own place in the or-
chestra and no performer can desert his post without in-
jury to the rendering as a whole. The great composition
provides for many kinds and grades of excellence, and to
each performer his part is assigned according to his sev-
eral ability. So, among the denominations there is a di-
versity of gifts. We are not required to have the same
view of the truth or the same province of action that
others have. We may not even see that their views are
correct or salutary. The only test is found in the word
and Spirit of Christ. "He that is not against me is for
me," says our Lord. But He also says, "He that is not
for me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me
scattereth abroad."
I have been greatly pained of late by the seeming dis-
loyalty to our denomination which is creeping in among
us. Ministers who were once evangelical and missionary
have resigned their pastorates to enter other bodies of
Christians; churches have given up their time-honored
articles of faith and have accepted statements which are
purely Unitarian; others have surrendered their very
existence and have merged themselves in organizations
where devotion to country has replaced faith in Christ as
a means of salvation. In some quarters, we are urged to
MISSIONS AND DENOMINATIONS 51
accept apostolic succession and the rule of bishops, as
the price of church union ; in others, seminary grounds,
buildings, and endowments are offered, to secure our ad-
hesion to a common institutional government. I can ex-
plain these disquieting incidents only by supposing that
there is a marked change in the attitude toward Scrip-
ture on the part of those who are thus tempted or led
astray. They have ceased to regard Scripture as a rule
of faith and practice ; they no longer believe in its unity,
sufficiency, or authority; they can take reason for their
guide or can follow the mere commandments of men. It
is my earnest prayer that these brethren may reconsider
their views, may return to the evangelical and Baptist
faith, may accept Christ as their manifested God
and the New Testament as His authoritative word. Un-
less they do this, they can only wreck our churches, di-
vide our denomination, and put an ultimate end to our
missions.
I have tried to show that denominations, like nations,
are ordained of God and have their appointed places and
duties on earth. Over against what we may call God's
secular ordinance of family, nation, and league of nations
I would set God's religious ordinance of church, denomi-
nation, and league of denominations. When Jesus says,
"They shall become one flock, one Shepherd,' ' He does
not say ' ' one fold. " It is not external unity that He has
in mind, but one flock in many folds, all the members of
which, in all these folds, with all their varieties of inter-
pretation and judgment, are recognizing and worshiping
Him as their common Lord and Master. As nations are
diversified expressions of "one blood," so denominations
are diversified expressions of ' * one faith. ' ' The body of
Christ has many members, and each member has its part
to perform and its truth to proclaim. It takes all the
parts to manifest the whole. Those parts are to be found
in the past, as well as in the present and in the future.
52 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
We Baptists have behind us a glorious history of perse-
cution and martyrdom, of missions and evangelization.
The faith of our fathers has wrought wonders in heathen
lands. Carey and Judson were not ashamed of the Gos-
pel of Christ. Let us not be ashamed of our lowly origin
nor of our early friends. Let us, like the heroes of the
past, show our love for Christ by ' * contending earnestly
for the faith once for all delivered to the saints," as
God by His Spirit has permitted us to see it. Let us mix
no false coin with the treasure committed to our steward-
ship. Confederation we may welcome, but not absorption
in other bodies; a league of denominations, but not or-
ganic union with them ; unity of the Spirit, but not that
of mere numbers; harmony through independence, but:
not through surrender of principle — this is Baptist doc-
trine ; let it also be Baptist practice ! Cooperating, under-
one great Leader of the spiritual orchestra, in the ren-
dering of the sublime symphony of the ages, and play-
ing well our particular part in the divine composition, we-
may well leave the rest of the orchestra to God. For, to
change the figure we shall find that "we builded better
than we knew, ' ? and shall be approved by the great Mas-
ter-Builder,
When God hath made the pile complete.
Augustus Hopkins Strong.
CHRISTIAN UNITY PULPIT
CHRIST ALL IN ALL
By the Bishop of Bristol.
Preached before the University of Oxford, England.
' ' The new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him
that created him; where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all and in
all."— Col. iii. 10, 11.
Every great truth which lies at the heart of life passes
through certain stages in its appreciation by men. It
starts with a sudden and almost blinding flash upon the
mind. Not, indeed, without preparation for its advent,
though this has not usually been in evidence, and it ap-
pears to those who grasp its meaning to be a sudden rev-
elation. In some hour of crisis, just when everything
which can give it emphasis by contrast or comparison is
present, it comes and life is illumined by its light. It has
flashed like the vision on the Damascus road to Paul ; and
for the man who sees it, it is as though —
A sudden blaze is round him poured
As though all heaven 's refulgent hoard
In one rich glory shone.
But though it may start thus, its later progress is not
infrequently disappointing. Little by little it becomes so
familiar as to become unimpressive. What at first had
lifted up the heart in joy conveys no longer its earlier
meaning. Familiarity has bred a kind of contempt. The
thoughts which at their inception entranced men lose by
repetition. They no longer awaken the response of the
imagination nor act as incentives to conduct. It is not
that the truths which they represent are less essential, or
that the development of life's experience has robbed
them of importance. In theory men would still declare
54 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
they most assuredly held them. But it is that they have
been so continually taken for granted that they have
ceased to be recognised impulses of conduct.
It needs some great crisis, a crisis when the inner sig-
nificance of life stands revealed, to restore the truth to its
original place in thought and in practice. The expres-
sion, indeed, may be different and the language of its defi-
nition scarcely that of its first proclamation ; but there it
stands afresh with a new power and a restored purpose.
What had for so long been a matter of tacit acquiescence
now becomes a vital matter, whose application to prac-
tical life is seen to be at once imperative and inspiring.
Perhaps in no department of life is this more con-
stantly illustrated than in the domain of religion: for it
is thus that every great revival has manifested itself.
We are apt to think as we survey the movement that some
new idea has possessed men. But closer examination
generally shows that this is scarcely the case. More usu-
ally some old and forgotten truth has reasserted itself.
New conditions, new needs, new opportunities have given
fresh and restored significance to old inspirations and
ancient facts. They are perceived to be just what the
latest development of life requires for its uplifting. Men
discover that truths which had been taken for granted
had never really been assimilated by them. They had in-
deed been acknowledged as principles, but scarcely been
applied in practice. The crisis has shown them to be es-
sential.
Now I venture to think that something of this has hap-
pened to the truth which our text expresses. We all speak
of the Christian religion as a universal one. We all ac-
knowledge as Christians that the character of the
Founder has a universal significance. In theory we re-
fuse to draw any distinction between privilege and non-
privilege, between social grades or different races. It is
a familiar truth, noted in every Christian treatise and
CHEI8T ALL IN ALL 55
loudly proclaimed from every pulpit, that there is one
Mediator between God and man, Jesns Christ Himself
man. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God y
and Father of all men. There is one scheme of salvation,
one method of approach, one Spirit working on the hearts
of men, one character produced by His activities, one
code of Christian ethics, one character in those fruits by
which men recognise the disciples of the Christ. It is a
magnificent and inspiring conception.
But how far has the familiarity of long ages with this
thought obscured its implications and hindered the prog-
ress of its application?
Consider for a moment how revolutionary the words of
St. Paul in our text, and in parallel passages in his writ-
ings, must have sounded to an outsider, and how stupen-
dous the practical application was within Christian cir-
cles in early times.
All who know anything of the structure of the ancient
world perceive how sharp were the distinctions between
man and man, class and class, race and race. It was not
merely that they were separated from each other geo-
graphically or socially, but radically. Language is some-
times used which is the negation of the oneness of flesh
and blood. National pride, intellectual exclusiveness, the
institution of slavery, political conceptions, these, in spite
of some noble protests and notable exceptions, produced
an impression that mankind consisted of a series of dif-
ferent orders of beings.
Christianity started to change all this. . And it did so
by a policy of inclusion based upon a common character
and a common experience. The Jew, with his proud
sense of national privilege, is bidden to remember that in
becoming a Christian his privilege ceased to be an exclu-
sive possession ; the Gentile is also a part of the Israel of
God.
56 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
Nineteen centuries of Christianity have so familiarised
us with the growth of these ideas that we have scarcely
realised their call upon our own age to carry out their
implications. For we cannot regard their novelty, nor
their revolutionary character in the conceptions of a by-
gone age as the motive impulse of the power. We have
to look deeper. The power lay in the fact which made
them true and in the inspiring experience which their
adoption had called forth. And that fact was the com-
mon experience of a living and indwelling Christ.
My brethren, I venture to think that this old familiar
truth is being flashed anew upon us at this time in our
national life and experience. We are passing through a
crisis which is surely destined to mark a change, not only
in the map of Europe, but in the attitude of men to men in
their social and religious experience. For every crisis
in human life is ever a challenge to examine the basis of
belief and practice. It drives men back in the pressure of
its experience upon essentials. And the sterner, the more
terrible and the more intense that crisis be, the more in-
evitably does everything tend to assume its proper pro-
portion.
The war has driven us back, as probably we have never
been driven before, to elementary principles and basic
facts. We can see this everywhere. The stilling of con-
troversy; the surrender of much which to many has
seemed so important in social or political life ; the silence
in the region of ecclesiastical differences; all this is a
testimony. But it is more. It is a challenge to consider
what is the implication. For none of these things are
reasonable if the most important principles of life and
conduct lie behind. They are only justified because there
appears under the pressure of the crisis some greater
principle, in the presence of which these others become
secondary.
What is that principle? It is surely the supremacy of
CHEIST ALL IN ALL 57
the moral law in conduct and the right to liberty for its
expression. For let us make no mistake. At the back of
every other issue, and of every fresh one as it emerges
in this international strife, there lies the challenge of the
world to Christianity.
For the purpose, then, of practical Christianity, what
is essential? Is it not the need of the harmony of the hu-
man will with the divine will, illustrated in the Person of
Christ and expressed by His followers through union
with their Head?
All Christian theories, all Christian methods, all Chris-
tian organisation, however overlaid with other considera-
tions, have this in view. Their purpose and aim is the
production of "the new man, which is renewed after the
image of Him that created him." Christian character,
founded on the example of Jesus, inspired by His spirit,
fruitful in knowledge of Him, expressing Him in Christ-
like conduct and Christlike life, all this constitutes the
essential purpose of the church. In its production we
find but two factors — God in Christ and Christ in man.
The closer we study the New Testament the more we
seek to trace in the history of Christianity the aim of its
movement, the more minute our investigation of the aims
which have animated all churches in all ages, the clearer
there emerges this one great purpose. Often obscured
T>y spiritual failure, continually being shifted into the
background, as organised Christianity tended from time
to time to regard itself as an end in itself, every fresh
reform and every new crisis have inevitably forced this
aim and purpose to the front anew.
Union with Christ and a consequent union with one an-
other is the raison d'etre of the church's activity. Christ
the pattern, His Spirit the inspiration, man His image
and expression, these sum up tersely the essentials of
Christianity. Of course, much more is involved and finds
expression, but only because it is contained and implied
58 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
in these. And the corollary is evident. Wherever the
living Christ has so touched the lives of men that they
know Him, love Him, express Him, there all accidental
differences between them tend to disappear.
My Brethren, once again in a new and dangerons form
all this is being challenged, and because it is so it becomes
a challenge to Christianity, for the conflict looked at
broadly is one between the anti- Christian spirit of ex-
clusiveness and the Christian one of inclusion.
The clash of arms and the methods in which warfare
was waged by our enemies have brought to the sur-
face the fact of the clash of ideals. With this result : In-
stinctively those nations, not controlled by the spirit I
have indicated, sink all racial, temperamental and second-
ary differences. It is not merely national existence which
is threatened, but the elemental rights of humanity. A
common ground is found in a passion for freedom and a
claim to its unhindered expression in the varieties of na-
tional life. In a very real sense they are declaring,
" Where the spirit of freedom is, there is liberty." Sur-
face differences disappear in the struggle to assert this.
But my point this morning is that if we survey broadly
our religious life, with all its divergences, whether in
forms of worship, organisation or expressions of belief^
something of the same movement is apparent. Less and
less are we alluding to the unhappy divisions that exist in
religious and ecclesiastical matters. More and more are
we tacitly accepting positions not our own as not alto-
gether out of place. Our exhortations are assuming a
wider range of appeal and are being based upon ground
which we take it for granted is common. In a word, we
are flinging ourselves back upon the essentials of our
faith. And those essentials are being declared to be
bound up in a common experience of a common Lord.
They are personal and experimental. The stress is upon
the personal Christ, whose person is of universal signifi-
CHEIST ALL IN ALL 59
cance, and upon our own knowledge of Him, a knowledge
which is conceived of as universal in its character. I do
not say that there is formulation of this conception, but
it is, consciously in some directions, unconsciously in
others, being acted upon; in a word, we are basing our
appeals and realising our conduct in spiritual experience
on the words of our text. In the creation of a new man
in Christ we are enlarging our conceptions of cooperation
between Christians, and the proportion in which we meet
with success is governing all unconsciously the propor-
tion in which we view our differences. The pressure of
external circumstances is reviving the old world revolu-
tionary force of a common Christian experience.
The signs of this appreciation are about us in the stress
of the time, nor are they wanting in the development of
Christian thought in the period before the war.
Once again the pressure of a great crisis has brought
into prominence the inclusive power of a common spirit-
ual experience. Discipleship of the Christ is seen to
carry with it a fellowship in personal relationship. In a
spot where the trappings, so to speak, of Christianity are
conspicuous by their absence, where men face hourly the
elemental facts of life and death, essentials emerge and
refuse to be hampered by accidental differences. Nor are
the same tendencies in our midst, to which I have already
alluded, out of harmony with the course which the de-
velopment of Christian thought and teaching has been
pursuing during recent years.
Nothing perhaps so significant of this as the modern
form, in which the conception of God and of the purpose
and effect of the incarnation have found expression. The
writings, for example, of one whose loss, not only this
university, but the whole world of Christian scholarship,
deplores, I mean the late Dr. Illingworth, have familiar-
ised us with the thought of the immanence of God. We
have been bidden to see how the harmony of nature, the
<60 THE CHBISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
character of men, even the reasonableness of miracles,
are all bound np in this thonght-compelling fact. Safe-
guarded from a false and dissipating pantheism, the
doctrine is presented to us as an essential factor in our
conception of the relationship between the human and
the divine. Such inclusive Pauline phrases as "God all
in all," or "to sum up all things in Christ," acquire new
force and startling significance. We are being guided
into wider and more comprehensive views of the action of
the Spirit of God upon human life and conduct. Instinct-
ively we busy ourselves less with formulae and theories
and more with lives. The stress on organisation, machin-
ery,, means and methods becomes subordinate to the
stress on organisms, lives and ends. Life, which is "Life
indeed, ' ' in contact with life as lived here and now, this is
the ruling and dominant thought.
Nor is the study of man in relation to this informing
spirit less fruitful. Psychology is helping us to under-
stand more and more clearly the nature of apprehension
by the human mind of facts and truths. There is a soli-
darity in the character of the processes employed. The
factors appealed to are the same in each man, the nature
is human nature everywhere, the way in which the mind
acts, the feelings respond, the influences exercised, are
sure in all cases to be essentially the same.
Nor is the teaching upon the nature and effect of the
incarnation behind in its impressiveness. For many
years now the stress on the meaning of the incarnation
has characterised almost all Christian writings. The
older idea, though it was far from being universally held,
which viewed the incarnation mainly in the light of Cal-
vary, has been succeeded by one in which the order of
importance is reversed. Language, the most impressive,
is used to illuminate the doctrine of One who sums up all
things in Himself. In Him the immanence of the divine
and the fellowship of the human meet together, and dis-
OHEIST ALL IN ALL 61
cipleship carries with, it in its own degree the same ex-
perience.
But has the implication of all this teaching been ade-
quately realised? It has, for example, something to say
to us on the subject of Christian unity. For the teaching
to which I have referred has one special characteristic.
It is markedly inclusive. It speaks of a divine life pene-
trating all human life. It refers all Christian experience
and all true Christian discipleship back to a single source-
and a single inspiration. It recognises the presence of
that source and that inspiration by one evidence, the evi-
dence of the fruits of the Spirit. We have the best of all
authority for the test of discipleship; "by their fruits ye
shall know them." Love, joy, peace, patience, purity —
these are the signs of the Spirit's presence. We recog-
nise them in all types of churchmen and in all kinds of
Christians. It would sound as meaningless, as it would
be absurd, to speak of a Roman love, a Greek love, an
Anglican love, or a Nonconformist love. God is love, and
where love is, there is God. The intensity of expression
may vary, but in essence the fruits of the Spirit. are the-
same everywhere. They are all derived from One, "Who
divideth to every man severally as He will. ' ' The impli-
cation is clear. We are forced to consider how far we are-
allowing conceptions of ecclesiastical organisation, of cre-
dal formulae, or of ministerial order, to obscure the fact
that in greater or less degree all Christian churches are 1
but phases of the activity of the immanent God and the
incarnate Christ.
Permit me to quote two passages from sermons
preached in this pulpit by two eminent bishops :
"Systems must be judged," writes Dr. Creighton, "not
by traditional records which embody antiquated prej-
udices, but by actual observation grounded on sympathy.
Any definite schemes of reunion are premature and in
themselves are liable to suspicion. The line of progress.
<62 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
seems to me to lie in the direction of removing from all
differences all that is not essential, all that is not in-
herent in the principles on which they rest. ' '
" Great as the part is,-" writes Dr. Gore, " which the
Christian communities have played in human history, the
whole according to the Christian is after all a mere phase
of the activity of Jesus Christ. ' '
Thus are we taught that the sympathy which springs
from a common inspiration is a guide to a fellowship ever
becoming more and more real as we concentrate our at-
tention upon what is essential.
To-day, then, alike by the pressure of a world crisis
and by the direction which theological thought has for
long been taking, are we being guided back to the basic
elements of our common faith and to rediscover the de-
mands which the fact of discipleship makes upon us, a
discipleship in which we learn anew the meaning of our
text, "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumci-
sion nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free ; but Christ is all and in all. ' '
Thus if in the domain of world politics we see devotion
to the broad, moral law of life asserting itself as a bond
of union between nations, so also in the domain of Chris-
tian experience do we see discipleship of the Christ pro-
claiming itself as a call to a fuller fellowship among all
"who profess and call themselves Christians."
"Discipleship of the Christ." It summons us, not to the
surrender of any real principles, whether of belief or of
organisation, but to a remorseless and critical examina-
tion of those which we declare to be such ; it demands that
where the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in character,
there we cannot in the long run stand aloof from closer
fellowship ; it compels us to regard every theory of organ-
isation which limits our conceptions of the activity of the
Spirit as suspect ; above all, it calls us to the experience
of personal religion in our own lives and to strenuous ef-
fort to produce it in the lives of others. Half our embit-
CHEIST ALL IN ALL 63
tered controversies would surely be avoided if we made
this our absorbing occupation. "In His light we should
see light."
Sharing a common experience, presenting a common
Christian character, exhibiting the like fruits of the
Spirit, holding a common love of One "Who loved us all
and gave Himself" for all— all this will draw us closer
to each other, will gift us with the power to distinguish
the accidental and the essential ; it will lift us into regions
where, united in effort even if separated by method, we
can realise something of what "the unity of the Spirit,
the bond of peace and righteousness of life" must in-
evitably mean for all Christian relationships. What a
tragedy it is when the men who have hazarded life
and limb, learning in stress and awful struggle to
understand each other better, to know what it means to
share a faith undaunted by shot and shell and undimmed
by apparent failure, shedding religious prejudice and los-
ing all those unworthy suspicions which spring from so-
cial distinctions — what a tragedy, I say, when they re-
turned to find that the old differences, the old prejudices,
the old separations still divide those whom they left
behind at home ! It goes far to shatter that faith which
they have bought so dearly.
To-day then, brethren, we are called anew to concen-
trate all our energies upon this one task of making dis-
ciples. It is a call which touches not one type of Chris-
tianity, but all types, for by bringing men into contact
with the Christ we bring them into more understanding
contact with each other and hasten that day for which the
Lord Himself prayed in that great High Priestly prayer
in words at once a declaration of what constitutes Chris-
tian fellowship and of what provides the most effective
method of Christian witness. ' ' That they all may be one ;
as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also
may be one in Us ; that the world may believe that Thou
hast sent Me."
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS
ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY
Members of the commissions and committees on the
World Conference on Faith and Order appointed in the
United States and Canada, as well as representatives
from other parts of the world, met at Synod Hall of the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York; November
20, 1919, at the call of the Protestant Episcipal Commis-
sion, to hear the report of the deputation to Europe and
the East and to make plans for the next step to be taken
to bring about the World Conference. Mr. Robert H-
Gardiner, Gardiner, Maine, secretary of the commission^
sends the following report :
"The meeting was called to order at 10:15 a. m. by the Rt. Rev.
Charles P. Anderson, D.D., president of the Commission of the American
Episcopal Church and chairman of the deputation. Of those present the
following registered their names:
ANGLICAN — Protestant Episcopal Church — Et. Eev. Charles P. An-
derson, D.D., Et. Eev. C. B. Brewster, D.D., Et. Eev. P. M. Ehinelander,.
D.D., Et. Eev. E. H. Weller, D.D., Eev. W. Eussell Bowie, D.D., Eev. H. E.
W. Fosbroke, D.D., Eev. Berryman Green, D.D., Eev. F. J. Hall, D.D. r
Eev. W. T. Manning, D.D., Eev. B. Talbot Eogers, D.D., Eev. C. L. Slat-
tery, D.D., Eobert H. Gardiner, William C. Sturgis, Ph.D., George Zabris-
kie, D.C.L. ; Church of England in Canada — Et. Eev. J. C. Farthing, D.D.,
Et. Eev. J. A. Newnham, D.D., Et. Eev. David Williams, D.D., Eev. G-
Abbott-Smith, D.D., Chancellor Davidson, Eev. Principal Parrock, L. IL
Baldwin, Hon. E. Harcourt; BAPTIST — Northern Baptist Convention —
Eev. W. C. P. Ehoades, D.D.; Seventh Day Baptist General Conference —
President B. C. Davis, D.D., Eev. Edwin Shaw; CONGEE GATIONAL—
National Council of Congregational Churches— Eev. Nehemiah Boynton,
D.D., Eev.. Newman Smyth, D.D.; DISCIPLES— Disciples of Christ— Eev.
Peter Ainslie, D.D., Eev. H. C. Armstrong, Eev. E. B. Bagby, Eev. F. W.
Burnham, LL.D., Eev. F. S. Idleman, D.D., Eev. F. D. Kershner, LL.D.,
Eev. B. H. Linville, Eev. B. H. Melton, Eev. Z. T. Sweeney, Carl Van
Winkle, Eev. H. L. Willett, Ph.D.; EASTEEN CHUECHES— Armenian
Church — Et. Eev. Shahe Vart. Kasparian; Bulgarian Church — Archiman-
drite Jerome Theophylact; Greek Church — S. G. Canoutas, LL.D.;
FEIENDS— Society of Friends— Professor Allen D. Hole; LUTHEEAN —
United Lutheran Church in America — Eev. M. G. G. Sherer, D.D., a visitor,.
Eev. C. J. Smith, DJD., Eev. A. E. Wentz, Ph.D. ; METHODIST— Methodist;
Episcopal Church — Eev. Bishop J. W. Hamilton, D.D., Eev. H. K. Carroll,
D.D. ; Methodist Church in Canada — Eev. S. D. Chown, D.D., Hon. Justice
Maclaren, D.C.L., L.L.D., Eev. T. Albert Moore, D.D.; MOEAVIAN —
Moravian Church in America, Northern Province — Eev. Paul de Schweinitz,
D.D.; PEESBYTEEIAN— Presbyterian Church in the United States of
America — President .George Alexander, D.D., Eev. W. H. Black, D.D.,,
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEBS SAY 65
LL.D., Rev. E. H. Hartley, D.D., Henry W. Jessup, Eev. John A. Marquis,
D.D., L.L.D., Eev. H. G. Mendenhall, D.D., Eev. George Eeynolds, D.D.,
Eev. G. A. Johnston Eoss, D.D., Eev. J. Eoss Stevenson, D.D. ; Presbyte-
rian Church in the United States — Eev. Eussell Cecil, D.D., Eev. W. H.
Marquess, D.D.; United Presbyterian Church of North America — Eev.
David F. McGill, D.D., Eev. T. H. McMichael, D.D., Eev. W. B. Smiley,
D.D. ; Presbyterian Church in Canada — William M. Birks, Eev. E. Bruce
Taylor, D.D. ; EEFOEMED — Hungarian Eeformed Church in America —
Eev. Louis Nanassy, Ph.D.
After a brief statement of the purpose of the meeting and of the present
status of the movement, Bishop Anderson led in prayer.
Bishop Anderson then presented the report and recommendations of the
deputation which had visited Europe and the East in the interests of the
World Conference.
On motion of Dr. Ainslie, Eesolved: that this meeting expresses to the
deputation and to the Episcopal Commission its appreciation for what
they have done for this great cause and service to the Church of God.
The motion was passed by a rising vote.
The secretary made a statement showing the progress of the movement
in countries other than those visited by the deputation.
Moved by Mr. Zabriskie: (A) that this North American Conference of
Commissions on a World Conference, having been informed of the progress
of the World Conference movement to the present time, and rejoicing in
the hopeful prospect of holding the proposed World Conference, earnestly
recommends to all commissions and committees to expedite their prepara-
tions in order that the Conference be not delayed through the unreadiness
of any communion to do its part either with respect to the subject-matters,
of conference or with respect to provisions for expenses.
(B) This Conference further approves the proposal for a preliminary
meeting at The Hague or elsewhere to make arrangements, and recommends
to the several participating commissions to take their part in it. Carried.
Eesolved: that the time and place of the preliminary meeting be re-
ferred to the Commission of the Episcopal Church. Carried.
The Et. Eev. Charles S. Burch, D.D., Bishop of New York, made an
address of welcome.
Eesolved: that as part of the preparations for the World Conference,
specific recommendations shall be requested from the various commissions
all over the world as to what they desire included in the programme.
Eesolved: that this meeting expresses its absolute confidence in the
Commission of the Episcopal Church.
The secretary reported that only about half a dozen statements had been
received as to the truths which each communion believes it holds in common
with all Christendom and those which it believes justify it in standing
apart. It was suggested that these statements might best be secured by
means of a questionnaire.
Eesolved: that each commission be asked to appoint a subcommittee to
see that the schools and seminaries of its communion are thoroughly in-
formed with regard to the World Conference.
On motion of Dr. Ainslie, the following preamble and resolution were
adopted :
Whereas, an interdenominational conference of evangelical churches on
organic union, held at Philadelphia in December, 1918, appointed an ad
interim committee to frame a plan or plans for organic union and to
reconvene said interdenominational conference, and
66 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Whereas, such conference is shortly to be reconvened to consider such
plans, and if the way be clear, to send the plan it may adopt down to the
supreme governing bodies of the constituent churches for their consideration
and action,
Resolved: that we express our hearty sympathy and accord with the
purpose of this conference, that organic union of the evangelical churches
of the United States may be accomplished.
On motion of Dr. Burnham, Resolved: that the Episcopal Commission
make up a budget of what it considers to be the probable expense of the
preliminary meeting, and submit the budget to each commission through-
out the world with a suggestion that it underwrite its proportion of the
budget.
The Rev. Dr. Ainslie urged (a) that the Commission of the Episcopal
Church should provide all the ministers in North America with information
about the World Conference movement and ask them to preach about that
and the need of Christian unity on a given Sunday, (b) that Christians
should be exhorted to constant and fervent prayer for unity, and (c) that
men should be sent out, two by two, to spread information and arouse
interest.
On motion of Dr. Black, Resolved: that we adjourn with thanks to the
brethren here on the hill for the courtesies of the day, for the spirit of
the meeting and for the presidency of the bishop.
After prayer by the chairman, the meeting adjourned at 4:30 p. m. "
We are glad to announce that the Protestant Episcopal
Commission on the World Conference has named August
12, 1920, for the opening date of the preliminary meeting
and the place is Geneva, Switzerland. Each commission
is urged to give immediate attention to the announcement
and prepare for representation. Mr. Eobert H. Gardi-
ner, Gardiner, Maine, secretary of the commission, has
sent out the following announcement:
Nearly all the invitations to the Churches throughout the world which
accept the fact of the Incarnation to unite in arranging for a World Con-
ference on the Faith and Order of the Church of Christ have been sent
out and most of them have been accepted, the Church of Rome being the
only one which has refused. The Commission of the American Episcopal
Church therefore requested the other Commissions in North America to
meet to consider the next step to be taken. The meeting was attended by
members of Commissions appointed by Anglican, Baptist, Congregational,
Disciples, Friends, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian and Reformed
Churches in the United States and Canada, by a member of the Commission
appointed by the Church of Bulgaria and by members of the Armenian
and Greek Churches and of the United Lutheran Church in America. The
meeting voted to recommend to the Commission of the Episcopal Church to
call a preliminary meeting of representatives of all the Commissions through-
out the world at such time and place as it thought best.
The American Episcopal Commission has complied with that recommen-
dation and hereby invites each other Commission to send delegates to such
a meeting as shown by the following votes:
Besolved: that the Secretary be instructed to call this preliminary meet-
ing for August 12, 1920, at Geneva, to determine when and where the World
Conference shall be held, what subjects shall be discussed, what prepara-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 67
tions shall be made for the discussions, the basis of representation of the
participating Commissions, the executive direction of preliminary arrange-
ments and any other pertinent matters.
Resolved: to request each Commission to appoint a deputation to that
meeting of not more than three members, and to suggest that Commissions
may unite in the appointment of a common deputation.
Resolved: that in the judgment of this Commission, the meeting will
probably find it necessary to remain in session fourteen days.
Resolved: that at present, this Commission is unable to suggest definitely
any plan as to the expenses except that each Commission shall provide for
the traveling expenses of its own delegates and their hotel expenses during
the session.
Resolved: that the general expenses incident to the meeting, such as
the cost of necessary cables preliminary to the meeting, the hire of halls
and committee rooms, printing, and the salaries of such clerks and inter-
preters as may be needed, be provided by this Commission.
Resolved: that each of the other Commissions be requested to send to
the Secretary at the earliest possible moment any suggestions it may wish
to make with regar.d to the preliminary meeting and the business to be
there transacted, and the cable address of its President or Secretary.
Resolved: that this Commission requests that the Secretary be notified of
the name and address of every delegate as soon as appointed. Each dele-
gate is requested to keep the Secretary informed of any change of address
for letters and cables before the meeting. The Secretary's address for
letters is: Robert H. Gardiner, 174 Water Street, Gardiner, Maine, U. S.
A., and for cables: Robgard, Boston, U. S. A. Each delegate will be ex-
pected to engage his own hotel accommodations. The offices of Thomas
Cook and Son, or other similar travelling agencies, can doubtless give
information and reserve rooms.
Resolved: that this Commission requests every other Commission to give
immediate and vigorous attention to the effort to make the World Confer-
ence movement more widely known and to develop the spirit of conference
and the desire for the reunion of Christendom and begs most earnestly for
frequent, regular and fervent prayer for the guidance of the preparations
for the meeting and of the meeting itself.
One of the most notable gatherings of recent months
was the Leicester Chnrch Congress. The Challenge, Lon-
don, sums up the section of the Congress dealing with re-
union as follows:
"The Rev. N. P. Williams dealt with the relations to the Church of
Rome. He assumed the desirability of union, but admitted that we were
faced by a brick wall. The difficulty was not the papal claim any more
than the adamantine conception of unity upheld by the Roman Church.
The only hope lay in a gradual transformation of that church so that
union was possible without abject and unconditional surrender. At present
our policy must be to leave Rome respectfully on one side and to federate
all non -Roman but catholic Christians.
"The Rev. Leighton Pullen spoke on the relations to the churches of the
East. He said the schism of the eleventh century had destroyed the nat-
ural balance of tendencies in the church, and described the many practical
steps that have been! taken to draw the Anglican and Eastern Churches
together.
68 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
" Canon Temple then dealt with Home Reunion, urging that the prin-
ciple and episcopal ordination must be maintained, but that all Christians
should be welcome at the altars in the Church of England. He made fur-
ther suggestions with regard to proposals for the actual transition which
will be given in full later.
"The Rev. Guy Rogers dwelt on the urgency of the question and the
hindrance of divisions to the church's spiritual witness. Canon Aitken
urged that we should begin with the fact of unity among all believers in
our Lord. This was the basis of the desire for the interchange of pulpits.
The Rev. Spencer Elliott maintained that one great need was to distin-
guish between prejudices and principles among the causes of division.
The Bishop of Bombay gave a message from India, describing the pro-
posals for corporate union, based on the Lambeth quadrilateral as a whole,
coming from Indians. The home church could hold back the Indian church
if it would. Bishop Welldon held that some manifestation of unity was
necessary if the church was to have any influence on the national life.
Now was the time for action. Union could only come through the general
acceptance of episcopacy. But conciliatory action could be taken at once.
"Canon Lacey gave the closing address on the spiritual basis of fellow-
ship; this he found in acknowledgment of Jesus as God. All who so
acknowledge Him are Christians and members of the one catholic church,
so that all divisions among Christians are divisions within the Body. "
In his address on ' ' Relations With Nonconformists at
Home," Canon W. Temple says,
"We cannot sanction intercommunion without disparaging that univer-
sality of the commission of the celebrant which is the outward form of, and
therefore the means of sustaining, one supremely important element in
sacramental worship. But if a whole Christian denomination has agreed to
accept episcopal ordination for its ministry, then as far as its intention
goes the schism would be healed. Pf the Church of England has already
recognized explicitly (as I should desire to happen) that these bodies
have in fact been used by the Holy Spirit for the advancement of God's
Kingdom, and that their sacraments are real and effective sacraments,
though the ministry by which they are administered is defective in its com-
mission, then, to prove the sincerity of such declarations, I would propose
that the archbishop who was • to confer the priesthood and episcopate on
chosen representatives of those bodies should, before doing so, be formally
received into their fellowship (now ex hypothesi free from all intention of
schism) and receive the Holy Communion as a member of such body from
the minister commissioned to administer it in that body.
"I have said that I offer this suggestion for discussion. I am quite
prepared to be persuaded that it is one that ought not to be adopted. Per-
haps in the process of proving it mistaken, other more hopeful suggestions
will be thrown up. But we are past the stage where complimentary plati-
tudes are in place. "We must tell the Free Churches what we can and what
we cannot do. We must state the obstacles and face them. Then by hope
and faith and love they may be surmounted. But they will not be sur-
mounted either if we refuse to face them, or if we state them as a kind of
ultimatum without any effort to get over them.
"One more point, and I have done. The Free Churches will never unite
with an Erastian system of church government; and in my judgment they
ought not to do so. I hope that the Enabling Bill will pass; I hope that
when it is passed it will be found to leave the church so free in practice
that the Free Churches will be satisfied. I hope this because I value very
highly the national profession of faith implied by a church establishment.
But if it ever becomes apparent that the connexion of the Church of Eng-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEES SAY 69
land with the state is the only obstacle to the full unity of the church, apart
from Rome, in this country, then I would scrap the Establishment, not
without regret but certainly without hesitation. At present it is assuredly
not the only obstacle, and I hope that by the time that other obstacles are
surmounted the Establishment may have been so far modified as to be
an obstacle no longer.
"The unity of the church is the will of God; of that I can conceive no
doubt. If we face all difficulties in loyalty and in prayer, if we seek to
promote mutual understanding and charity — if, in short, we try to remove
all in ourselves that is not in harmony with God — then we know that God's
purpose for His church will be accomplished. ■ '
The favorable consideration at the recent Protestant
Episcopal Triennial Convention in Detroit of the pro-
posed canon of interdenominational ordination was the
most significant step taken by that church in the canse of
unity in its history. The concordat was published in the
July number of The Christian Union Quarterly. A
joint commission will report to the General Convention
in 1922. In the discussion before the convention Bishop
Brent strenuously objected to delay in favorable action
and said,
* ' l There are those, who are hungering and thirsting for unity who might
think we are side-stepping if we postpone the decision for another three
years. I am loyal to the Anglican Communion, but I am disloyal to a dead
conservatism. ' With telling effect he read an extract from a letter by one
of the Congregational supporters of the concordat. 'Of course, if the
bishops should hold that they have demitted their power to act as bishops
of the catholic or universal church, and to negotiate with us on the basis
of the historic episcopate, and that they must wait for an amendment
to the constitution of the Episcopal Church, why then the only possible re-
course left open to us would be to carry our plea for unity to the coming
Lambeth Conference and the Anglican bishops who are not so limited. I
should greatly deplore seeing the American Episcopal Church put into such
a position of ecclesiastical powerlessness to meet the present duty to all
the Christian communions.'
11 Bishop Vincent stated that the English Church recognized the right of
initiative in this church and quoted the Archbishop of Canterbury, saying
that no church can take such steps with greater freedom or authority.
Bishop Rhinelander urged action by this convention, saying that the mo-
ment was now ripe. Bishop Sessums renewed the resolution for a special
committee of nine bishops to report as soon as possible. It was adopted
by a vote of sixty to thirty-three. The committee consists of Bishops
Gailor, Nichols, Brent, Sessums, Guerry, Bratton and Irving P. Johnson. "
The Eev. W. T. Manning, D.D., rector of Trinity
Church, New York, speaking on the subject at the Detroit
convention, said,
70 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
"Now what are the proposals?
"A group of serious and most eminent Congregational ministers come
forward asking — mark the word, asking — for episcopal ordination to the
priesthood. They are willing to be examined as to their soundness in the
faith, to be confirmed, to be ordained deacon and priest, to minister the
sacraments thereafter according to prescribed forms, and to remain always
in. communion into and under the discipline of the bishop. And they are
to do all this with the consent of their own ecclesiastical authorities, and
of their congregations. But, someone says, these people will not have been
confirmed. True. But so high an authority as the Catholic Encyclopedia
says that any baptized person may receive Holy Communion — and, under all
the conditions, is it likely that they would long remain unconfirmed?
"But, says another, these people will not understand what they are
doing. What right have we to assume this? When they have attended to
all the provisions I think they will understand what they are doing as well
perhaps, as the majority of our own communicants. But someone says, many
of the Congregationalists will not accept these proposals and do not want
them. I submit that this is quite beside the point. The point is that a
number of eminent and responsible Congregationalists do want this ar-
rangement and come to us asking for it.
"But again some one says the form prescribed for the celebration of
the Holy Communion is not sufficient. It is sufficient for a valid celebra-
tion. But if it is thought better to make it fuller let this be done. Per-
sonally I hope this will be done and I have good reason to believe that
the Congregationalist signers of the proposals would assent to this.
"But still again, some one says, 'If they will go so far why do they not
go the whole way and come into the church?' My brother what do you
mean by that? Surely we do not mean that the one road to unity is for all
other Christians to be absorbed into the Episcopal Church! Surely it is
not our object merely to change Congregationalists into Episcopalians!
That certainly is not my idea of unity. What we want to do is to bring
all Christians and ourselves along with them into the larger life and fel-
lowship of the catholic church and that is what the proposals aim to do.
The congregations that act under these proposals will not be in the Episco-
pal Church. They will not be under our constitution or bound by our
canons, but they will be in the unity of the catholic church; they will be
in communion with and under the guidance of a catholic bishop; they will
be very much in the position of a congregation of Christians in the early
days of the church.
"In closing let me say this: This is the most serious definite proposal
looking towards reunion since disunity began. It is the first time since
the divisions of the sixteenth century that representatives of one of the
great Protestant communions have come forward openly offering to receive
episcopal ordination to the priesthood. Think what it means for them to
make such an offer. And think what it would mean for us to reject it.
For us it means some minor concessions and some uncertainties a3 to
whether it will work satisfactorily or not. For them it is revolutionary.
It is a tremendous step for them to take as they fully realize. If we have
any real will to unity we cannot disregard a proposal like this. It is
just what we have been praying might take place. Let us think not only
of its dangers, but of its wonderful possibilities if it should be successful.
It is not a compromise. It is a challenge to our faith. It is a challenge
to us to have the courage to go forward and to lead in the work of reunion.
"There are risks and dangers in these proposals. But when was there
every any real step forward which did not involve risks and dangers? I
believe that the risks in rejecting such proposals as these are far greater
than the risks in accepting them.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEES SAY 71
"If we are to lead in the work of reunion, or in any other matter, we
must be willing to take some risks.
"I believe that the time has come for us as a church to make some
positive, well considered and daring, advance in the direction of unity and
I believe that these proposals offer us the opportunity to make such an
advance.
Commenting on the action of the Protestant Episcopal
Convention, The C ongregationalist, Boston, says,
"It is the first official recognition by the Episcopal Church that such
conference with a view to unity lies within the bounds of its own practical
church policy. As such it is an enormous gain and encouragement to all
who desire the united life of Christians for a witness to the world. There
is an end at last of that passive attitude of refusal to consider overtures
from other Christians which has discouraged approaches to our Protestant
Episcopal brethren. The resolutions of the Triennial Convention at Detroit
in regard to the proposed action on ordination are, in our opinion, the most
catholic utterance in the history of the denomination.
' ' The resolutions adopted are given in full on page 695. They recognize,
'With profound gratitude to Almighty God the earnest desire of these
representative members of Congregational churches and of this church to
find a way by which the first step toward eventual church unity may be
taken, and especially the irenic attitude of those who are not in communion
with this church but who have indicated their desire to enter into certain
relations with it for the furtherance of that unity for which we together
pray. * * * As a step toward the accomplishment of so great a pur-
pose this church declares its willingness to initiate action that may
make it possible to enact legislation such as shall permit the ordination as
deacons and as priests of ministers in other Christian bodies,' who accept
the conditions of belief and action set forth in the original proposals.
Careful guarding of faith and practice are stipulated and a joint com-
mission was approved to ' continue conference with the Congregational
signatories to the said proposals, and to report to the next General Con-
vention. '
"In addition to these resolutions steps were taken to clear the way
for definite action by amending the constitution of the Protestant Episco-
pal Church so as to make room for ordination without acceptance of 'the
doctrine, discipline and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church' and
in making express reference to those who being ordained are to act 'in
otherwise exceptional cases. ' These are clear evidences of a purpose on
the part of the Protestant Episcopal Church to take decided steps toward
securing a unity that can be defined in practical terms. Constitutionally
that church could only accomplish this by absorption of other bodies; its
legislators have shown their sincerity by taking the preliminary steps to re-
move these constitutional limitations. And they have gone further to-
ward making the action positive and immediate by appointing a commis-
sion for conference.
"Our Council in response has appointed a similar commission. The
joint commission thus constituted is not in any way limited to the pro-
posals already submitted to the Episcopal Convention. It may and should
take into studious and solemn consideration the whole possible way of
recognition and unity. The joint commission has a right to ask for sus-
pense of hasty criticisms, for patient waiting and for prayerful considera-
tion and help. We should have the final conclusions of the commission be-
fore us before we make up our minds in regard to the price which evi-
dently must be paid by both parties to such an agreement for manifest
gains of brotherly cooperation and united witness. ' '
72 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
The Federal Union of British Nonconformity is told in
The Living Church, Milwaukee, as follows :
"The Federal Union of all the great Nonconformist denominations in
England, except the Wesleyan Methodists, became an accomplished fact
last week. The Union is the issue of three conferences held in 1916-17 at
Oxford, Cambridge, and London, at which a large number of leading Non-
conformist ministers and laymen were present. It is interesting to note
that up to the present the Wesleyan Methodists have kept out of the Union.
Many Nonconformists are hopeful that they may yet be brought in, and
a strong committee has been appointed to meet representatives of the Wes-
leyans and discuss the subject. But the fact is that very many Wesleyan
Methodists are even more shy of the Union than they are of the Free
Church Council. They have, times without number, been described as the
weakest link in the organization of the Council, and there can be no doubt
that such support as they give is, to say the least, very half-hearted. In
view of the negotiations between representative Wesleyans, the Bishop of
London, and others, for reunion with the Church of England, these facts
are distinctly illuminating. While it is true that many Wesleyans, if
they move at all, will move in the direction of a more pronounced Non-
conformity, it is equally certain that as many more, if they desire to
change, will come over to the Church of England. When one thinks of the
number of clergy who, at one time or the other, have been Methodist
ministers, it is astounding, and they are not Protestants by any means! A
short time ago, in one diocese alone, twelve Wesleyan ministers were or-
dained deacons. "'
A two days' conference of Anglicans, representative of
the South India United Church, Wesleyans and Luther-
ans, was held at Traiquebar, in South India, and accord-
ing to The Guardian, London, the following statement
was issued :
"We face together the titanic task of the winning of India for Christ
— one-fifth of the human race. Yet we find ourselves rendered weak by
our unhappy divisions — divisions for which we were not responsible, and
which have been, as it were, imposed on us from without; divisions which
we did not create, and which we do not desire to perpetuate.
"In the church we believe that three Scriptural elements must be con-
served: — 1. The Congregational element, representing 'the whole church,'
with 'every member' having immediate access to God, each exercising his
gift for the development of the whole body. 2. We believe it should in-
clude the delegated, organized or Presbyterian element, whereby the church
could unite in a General Assembly, Synods, or councils in organized unity.
3. We believe it should include the representative, executive, or Episcopal
element. Thus all three elements, no one of which is absolute or sufficient
without the others, should be included in the church of the future, for we
aim, not at compromise for the sake of peace, but at comprehension for
the sake of truth.
' ' In seeking union the Anglican members present stand for the one ulti-
mate principle of the historic episcopate. They ask 'the acceptance of
the fact of Episcopacy and not any theory as to its character. The South
India United Church members believe it is 'a necessary condition that the
episcopate should reassume a constitutional form' on the primitive, simple,
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEES SAY 73
apostolic model. While the Anglicans ask for the historic episcopate, the
members of the South India United Church also make one condition of
union — namely, the recognition of spiritual equality, of the universal
priesthood of all believers, and of the rights of the laity to their full ex-
pression of the church.
"Upon the common ground of the historic episcopate and of spiritual
equality of all members of the two churches, we propose union on the fol-
lowing basis: — 1. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as
containing all things necessary to salvation. 2. The Apostles' Creed and
the Nicene Creed. 3. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself —
Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 4. The historic episcopate, locally
adapted. We understand that the fact of the episcopate does not involve
the acceptance of any theory of the origin of episcopacy, nor any doctrinal
interpretation of the fact. It is further agreed that the terms of union
should involve no Christian community in the necessity of disowning its
past, and we find it no part of our duty to call in question the validity of
each other's Orders.
"Fully recognizing that we do not commit our respective bodies to any
action, we individually and unofficially agree upon the following plan for
union. After full deliberation let the South India United Church, if it
desires union, choose from its own members certain men who shall be con-
secrated as bishops. In the consecration of these first bishops it is sug-
gested that three or more bishops of the Anglican Church shall lay their
hands upon the candidates, together with an equal number of ministers
as representatives of the South India United Church. As soon as the first
bishops are consecrated the two bodies would be in intercommunion, but
the further limitation of existing ministers with regard to celebrating the
Communion in the churches of the other body might still remain. In ac-
cordance with the principle of spiritual equality we desire to find some means
to permit ministers of either body to celebrate the Communion in the
churches of the other body."
The Bishop of Norwich and nine other Anglican bish-
ops favor an interchange of pulpits with representative
ministers from the Free Churches in England. In reply
to the letter from the Bishop of Norwich, the Archbishop
of Canterbury wrote, as published in The Guardian,
"With the knowledge before us that next summer the bishops assem-
bled at Lambeth from all parts of the world are to discuss the whole
question of the relation of our church to non-Episcopal churches, I could
not but yield to the anxious desire of many of the foremost members
of our Convocation that our provincial debates, and possible provincial
action, upon a particular matter of administration, should follow upon,
rather than precede, those wider discussions. The personal friendship
which I enjoy with several of the eminent Nonconformist divines who
signed on August 29th the published letter to which you direct attention,
enables me to feel assured that they will understand and appreciate that
decision, and will in no way suppose that there is on the part of myself,
or those who are cooperating with me, any thought of postponing in-
definitely the settlement of the practical question at issue. * * * Most
cordially do I appreciate the fraternal Christian spirit which finds ex-
pression in the published letter of the seven representative Free Church-
men. I distinctly believe that it will be helpful to the wise furtherance of
74 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
the larger unity which we all have at heart that we should follow the order
of procedure which we have now recommended. ' '
The Free Church ministers referred to in the arch-
bishop's letter are Drs. Forsyth, Simpson, Jowett, Lid-
gett, Selbie, Gillie and Shakespeare.
In all this discussion there is a hopeful note, although
some plain things are being said. The Eev. T. Herbert
Darlow in The Methodist Recorder writes a long article,
one paragraph of which is as follows:
"When we survey the English-speaking democracy today in America
and Australia, as well as Great Britain, we Free Churchmen find our-
selves already in communion with two or three times as many Christians
as the whole Anglican Church contains within its pale. Turn for a mo-
ment to the modern mission field. Take the figures prepared by Canon
Temple, and published last year by the Anglican Board of Missions.
Leaving out the Eoman Church, it appears that the remainder of Christen-
dom spent during 1916 nearly nine million pounds on foreign missions.
Of that total less than one-sixth came from Anglican sources, and
the remainder from non-Episcopal churches. Money can never be the
gauge of spiritual work, but in this case money does furnish a rough
index of the number of workers.
"The Methodist Recorder makes a suggestion to which there are many
obvious objections, but its intention is to speed the cause: — 'We may note
the signs of difficulty; but it is intolerable to think of failure. * * *
The Bishop of London made a gallant attempt. So far, so good. It is
now the duty of the Bishop of London to convince his own people, to
produce some evidence that the Church of England is behind his scheme.
When that is done, we may begin to talk to our people and express our
own mind."
One of the most outstanding men for Christian unity
in England is the Rev. J. H. Shakespeare of the Baptist
Church. A remarkable gathering of Free Churchmen
was held recently in the Baptist House, London, when a
portrait of Mr. Shakespeare, painted by the Hon. John
Collier, was unveiled. At the same time an illuminated
album containing signed appreciations of his work in the
cause of unity was presented to him. According to the
London Daily Chronicle the signatories included the
archbishops, all the bishops of the Church of England,
the prime minister, Lord Hugh Cecil, Lord Kinnaird, the
leaders of the Free Churches of the United Kingdom,
etc. Mr. Lloyd George said,
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 75
I have followed for many years, with deep interest, the important and
efficient work which he has done for the life of the nation and the great
cause of Christian unity. I have admired his singular devotion to duty,
his fine statesmanship, his fortitude, and his faithfulness to high ideals.
Begarding Christian unity in India, the Bishop of
Madras has recently issned the following pastoral let-
ters:
"I also specially ask your prayers on behalf of a movement towards
unity among the Indian Christians in South India which promises to be
of very great importance. Some years ago I held a Bound Table Con-
ference of Europeans and Indians belonging to different denominations at
my house in Madras, and we then agreed that what is known as the
Lambeth Quadrilateral might form the basis of union between the Anglican
Church and the South India United Church. Since that time the opinion
of the various bodies which form the South India United Church has been
steadily moving in that direction. The visit of Mr. Sherwood Eddy has
recently brought the movement to a head, and at the convention of Tamil
pastors from different churches in South India, held recently at Tran-
quebar, it was decided unanimously that an attempt should be made to
bring about unity between the South India United Church and the Angli-
can Church of South India on the basis of the Lambeth Quadrilateral
which lays down four conditions of unity:
"1. The acceptance of Holy Scripture as the ultimate standard of doc-
trine.
"2. The acceptance of the Nicene Creed.
"3. The use of the two sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion in
accordance with our Lord's command.
"4:. The acceptance of the historic episcopate.
''There is, I think, good reason to believe that an over-whelming ma-
jority of the Indian Christians belonging to the South India United
Church are quite willing to accept these conditions. On the other hand,
we ourselves are fully prepared to recognize the validity of the spiritual
experience of the Nonconformist bodies during the last century. We ad-
mit fully that they manifest the power of the Spirit in the conversion of
souls and the building of men and women throughout the world in faith and
holiness. We do not question the reality of the spiritual experience
of their ministers when they say that they are conscious that they have
been called by God to their ministry and that like us they have felt the
power of the Holy Spirit inspiring them in preaching God's word and in
ministering to souls. On both sides we have moved far away from the preju-
dices, and, I hope, from the bitterness of fifty years or even twenty years
ago; certainly in the mission field in India we no longer regard one an-
other as rivals and enemies, but as brethren in Christ and fellow-helpers
in the great work of establishing on earth the kingdom of God. There is
a strong feeling on both sides that the time has now come when the mis-
understandings on both sides should be swept away, past wrongs and in-
juries be forgotten and the bitterness and suspicion which those wrongs
have engendered should give way to a spirit of fellowship and brother-
hood. It may be our privilege in South India to lead the way and take
the first steps towards 'building the old wastes and raising up the former
desolations.' No doubt the difficulties in the way are great, but God
calls us in reliance upon the power of His Spirit boldly to face the difficul-
ties and to achieve impossibilities. I earnestly ask your prayers that the
76 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Indian Christians of South India may be rightly guided in this great
movement towards a true unity which is in accordance with the mind
and the will of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and which may be a true
answer to His prayer 'that they may be perfected into one.' "
Methodist reunion in England is the occasion of seri-
ous debate. The Methodist Times, believing that the
hour has come for definite action, says,
"There is no need to labor the advantages of Methodist union. Its
accomplishment would mean the elimination of much wasteful competition
and overlapping. It would secure the most powerful consolidation of
evangelical forces in these islands. It would bring new hope and life to
village causes. And it would be an example to Christendom of a practical
realization of a vision which many have desired to see, but have died
without the sight. "We doubt if some of those who are strong opponents
of Methodist union realize how serious a set-back will be given to all pro-
jected reunion if our immediate family differences cannot be dissolved.
If Methodist union is not possible, what hope is there for any other,
at least in our day and generation? And if it is achieved, why should it
not be the inspiration and example of a fellowship which may ultimately
embrace the Protestant churches of the English-speaking world?* '
Canadian Anglicans have taken action regarding
Christian unity in Canada. The Christian Century, Chi-
cago, says,
"At the recent General Synod of the Anglican Church in Canada the
Archbishop of Rupertsland was authorized to appoint a committee to en-
ter into 'conversations' with representative men from among the Presby-
terians, Methodists, Congregationalists and Baptists on the subject of
interim reports of the sub-committee appointed by the Archbishops of
Canterbury and York's Committee, and by representatives of the English
Free Church commission in connection with the proposed World Con-
ference on Faith and Order. The members and priests of the church
were urged to cultivate pleasant relations with their Christian neighbors
but not to attempt any personal negotiations on unity. These should be
undertaken 'collectively and officially,' the archbishop said."
The Methodist Times, London, states positively that it
will not commit itself to a reunion like that urged by
Bishop Gore and the Bishop of Zanzibar. It says,
' ' With the spirit of the bishop 's proposals, and with the position of many
representative Anglicans, we find ourselves in hearty agreement. But we
neither hope nor desire that the Wesleyan ministry shall be asked to accept
a scheme of compulsory reordination. The kind of reunion contemplated
by Bishop Gore and the Bishop of Zanzibar is of a type which Wesleyan
Methodism could not accept and retain its self-respect. In effect, to both
these saintly and scholarly men history is everything and the living church
is nothing. And it is not a case of history only, but of an individual in-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPEES SAY 77
terpretation of history, about which at best there is a very divided opinion.
There is no matter in which it is more needful to let patience have her
perfect work. To hasten or to delay unduly will be equally fatal. But,
for the sake of the peace of the two churches concerned, we desire to state
authoritatively that what is known as the Bishop of London's scheme
embodies proposals which are purely tentative, and have been, so far, ad-
vanced only for unofficial consideration. ' '
However an interesting voice comes from India, ac-
cording to the United Church Herald, by a Tamil Chris-
tian as follows,
"It is the Westerner that considers the divisions of the church as im-
portant. Our own divided state is entirely due to the accident of the
mission where we were born or the mission where we were educated and
engaged in work. We have no spirit of argumentativeness and obstinacy
in this matter as the Westerner. Our forefathers shed no blood for these
church divisions as theirs did. Whatever arguments may be adduced by
the early reformers against a united church and a primitive order, surely
there is no reason why we Indians in harmony with our national traditions
should not accept these. Several reasons might be given why we ought
not to accept episcopacy. It may be said that such a large responsibility
should not be placed on a single individual. My answer is, We do not
create an autocratic episcopacy at all. It will be a constitutional episco-
pacy, even as the British Government is constitutional. There will be coun-
cils, synods, and general assemblies that will direct, advise, and help the
bishops. Such a method is not novel for us. The episcopacy we accept
is that which has come down from the primitive church, that dissociated
from all doctrine. We Indians want such an episcopacy.
A conference on Christian unity was held at Swan-
wick, England, December 9-12, and the notice of the con-
ference is suggestive for similar conferences. It says :
The committee of the Anglican Fellowship took steps during the summer
to call together a conference on the subject of unity. The original invita-
tions have been sent out to representatives of the Fellowship itself, Free
Church Fellowship, Churchmen's Union, Liberal Catholics, Free Catholics,
Mansfield Group, Student Christian Movement, proposed Chaplain's Fellow-
ship and Life and Liberty Union. The project of the committe has met with
both enthusiastic support and some criticism. At a meeting to which repre-
sentatives of all the groups cooperating were invited, the whole proposal was
rediscussed with the result that the decision to hold the conference has been
unanimously re-affirmed, it being clear that there is no conference or group
at present holding sessions where both men and women are meeting, and
representatives of all sections of the churches and of the younger men and
women. A number of individual invitations have been issued to strengthen
the High Church representation, and also to ensure for the Conference the
help of some who are not included in any of the above groups.
The program has been carefully prepared so that it shall provide the
best possible opportunity for enabling those present to understand each
other 's point of view, and to show what it is in their position that they hold
essential and would desire to see secured for a united church.
The conference will therefore be representative of members of all parties
who believe that steps should be taken toward unity and who think that
to stand still at the present time is impossible.
BOOK REVIEWS
APPROACHES TOWARDS CHURCH UNITY. Edited by Newman
Smyth and Williston Walker. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1919. 170 pages.
This is one of the most valuable books on Christian unity that has recently
appeared. The names associated with its production attract immediate at-
tention. Professor Williston Walker of Yale University, Rev. Newman
Smyth, for twenty-five years minister at Center Church, New Haven, Rev.
Raymond Calkins, minister at the First Congregational Church, Cambridge,
and the Rt. Rev. C. H. Brent of the Protestant Episcopal Church. There
has always been a strong tendency, reaching back as far as the second
century, to trace ecclesiastical organizations back to the apostolic age, but
because of the scantiness of evidence the reliability of those claims has
remained in obscurity. The first chapter threads its way from the begin-
ning of the church through this period of obscurity to the fact of the
monarchical bishop, but as Harnack has said, ' ' It is impossible to say when
the monarchical bishop began. " On its establishment the monarchical
episcopate rapidly extended and was well adapted to meet the heresy of
Gnosticism. It is doubtful if anything less rigid could have guided the
church through those periods of struggles with the heathen forces without
and divisions and fermentations within.
The time may come when it will be acknowledged that biology has a more
distinct contribution to make for the unity of the church than theology.
The second chapter deals with this problem biologically, showing that dif-
ferences are capable of assimilation as the organization of the higher forms
of life through the processes of natural selection. In the biological criti-
cism of Newman's development of Christian doctrine, it is shown that
starting with the conception of preformed ideas involved in the original
conception of the Christian dogma, "it puts a dogmatic limitation upon
the teaching Spirit of Christ in history to conceive of it as showing solely
the things of Christ in any past age. ' ' Later Newman wrote this fine
word: "It seems to me the first step to any chance of unity amid our
divisions is for the religious minds, one and all, to live upon the Gospels.' '
Biological analogies throw light upon the problems of organic unity by
finding new ways for life when old roads are ended. In the vital values
of various symbols of faith and worship there may be assimilation in the
growth of a healthy Christian character, adopting the principle of Chil-
lingworth, who subscribed to the articles of the church as articles of unity
because he believed the truth in them was more than their errors.
The chapters on schism and the historical methods of approach are
large and catholic in their presentation. The place of the creed in the
life of the church is defined as not to be used as a test of discipleship, but
first as a standard of the teaching of the church and second as a general
confession of faith for the worshiping congregation. The creed is not so
much the definition of philosophy as it is the expression of life. Lyman
BOOK REVIEWS 79
Abbott recognized the worth of the creed, putting it as an act of worship,
saying "worship is feeling and feeling can never be accurately defined."
From this point of view the Apostles' Creed is discussed and makes one
of the most interesting chapters.
Under some historical material numerous conferences are mentioned
reaching back as far as the Conference at Thorn in 1645, etc. The seventh
chapter deals with historical precedents and opinions concerning ordination
by bishops and sacraments and orders, this being followed by a brief dis-
cussion of Christian unity and some valuable material in the appendix. The
most distinct contribution of this book is its fairness. It thinks on both
sides of the question and its whole spirit is for the unity of the church
by the way of that which is fair and true.
TOWARDS REUNION. Being Contributions to Mutual Understanding by
Church of England and Free Church Writers. Macmillan and Co.,
New York and London, 1919. 391 pages.
The outlook for Christian union is brightened not only by conferences be-
tween representatives of different communions, but the publication of books,
in which representatives of different communions speak freely regarding
their approaches toward each other. This volume is one of the very best
instances of that class, having originated out of two successive conferences
at Mansfield College, Oxford, in 1918 and 1919 between members of the
Church of England and members of the Free Churches. It is edited by
Rev. A. J. Carlyle, rector of St. Martin's and All Saints' Oxford; Rev.
Stuart H. Clark, vicar of Tonbridge; Rev. J. Scott Lidgett, former presi-
dent of the Wesleyan Conference; and Rev. J. H. Shakespeare, secretary
of the Baptist Union. The subjects and authors are as follows: "Re-
union and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom," by Rev. J. Scott Lid-
gett; "Evangelicalism and Its Revival," by the Lord Bishop of Durham;
"Unity and Theology," by Rev. P. T. Forsyth; "Grace and Sacrament,"
by Rev. P. Carnegie Simpson; "The Historic Episcopate," by Rev. A. J.
Carlyle; "The Reformed Episcopate," by Rev. A. E. Garvie; "Universal
Priesthood," by Professor A. S. Peake; "Corporate Authority," by Rev.
J. Vernon Bartlet; "Intercommunion," by Canon E. A. Burroughs; "Re-
union and the Christian Conscience," by Rev. J. Gough McCormick;
"Democracy and Church Unity," by the Lord Bishop of Warrington;
"Reunion, East and West," by H. Gresford Jones; "Reunion and the
War," by Rev. T. Guy Rogers; and "The Holy Spirit in the Churches,"
by Rev. Robert F. Horton. The subjects as well as the authors invite at-
tention. As a matter of fact, says one of the writers, "the spirit, not to
say the passion, of real union, union effective and not merely ideal or sym-
pathetic, is in the Christian air; it is also, and far more, in the Christian
Gospel; and the only question is as to its focus and its forms." All of
these writers recognize this fact and each seeks to find the long sought for
focus and forms. Whether it is the position of the Church of England or
that of the Free Churches, each chapter reveals sincerity and scholarship.
The more freely men think together the more they are unconsciously influ-
enced by each other and are brought to see the comparatively little influ-
80 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUABTEKLY
ence that organized religion is exerting upon worldly affairs and that a
way out of the tangle is the most immediate issue of these times. Says
another writer, "Let the churches go on seeking unity, and the Spirit of
God will come in such Pentecostal power of contrition for the past, conse-
cration for the present, and confidence for the future, that none shall dare
to challenge the holy unction." The power in the churches must be of
the character "to learn and to repair mistakes; power to profit by expe-
rience and to cement new bonds; power to grow up to God and into one
another; power to manifest the life and mind of Christ.' ' The secret
lies more here than in any agreement between men. Every move toward a
fuller surrender to the Holy Spirit is a move toward the unity of the
Church of Christ, and this book opens the way toward that surrender, for
it is a reverent approach to this sacred problem.
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. By Walter
M. Haushalter. Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1919. 122 pages.
This little volume of four chapters dealing with Christian unison, uniform-
ity, unity and union, abounds with good things. The author sees in the pro-
gressive and reactionary elements centrifugal and centripetal influences,
which are necessary to make the future church orbit safe. He advocates fed-
eration — municipal, national and international — as the first step, sees the
deadening influence of uniformity, recognizes the underlying unity in the
church since the "days of His flesh,' ' and argues for the union of Chris-
tian forces for accomplishing the purpose of Christ on earth. It is uni-
versal in its sweep, practical in its applications, and helpful in the direc-
tion of unifying the divided church.
PRIMER OF CHRISTIAN UNITY. One Hundred Questions Answered.
By H. J. Carroll, LL.D. New York: The Christian Herald.
This little book of fifty-eight pages in vest-pocket size is so informing
that it will be found valuable to all who are interested in Christian unity
and likewise valuable to place in the hands of those who would be awakened
in this interest. It is arranged in catechetical form with one hundred
questions briefly but satisfactorily answered, as is characteristic of Dr.
Carroll's style.
HOPE OF REUNION. Selections from Important Addresses Given under
the Auspices of the Anglican and Eastern Association. With Portraits.
Published by William J. Ellis, Hulmeville, Pa. 1919. 30 pages.
The interest in this pamphlet lies chiefly in the approaches between the
Anglican and Orthodox churches. Some of the material has appeared in
The Christian Union Quarterly. It has in it a helpful note. It
would be a most happy condition if these branches of the church could
form such an alliance now as would lead later to a real and permanent
union.
VOL. IX NO. 4
"Let no man glory in his denomination; that is sectarianism: but let all men
glory in Christ and practice brotherhood with men; that is Christianity"
■TOT?
CHRISTIAN UNION
QUARTERLY
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
rHE poison of division iri^the church lies
in its subtle attack upon love, which is
essential to spiritual life. To speak of "the
brotherhood" in reference to a party in the
church at the exclusion of other parties belongs
by the side of the gravest heresies. The whole
church is the brotherhood and all Christians
are under obligations to love all other Christians.
APRIL, 1920
THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY, Inc.
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THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
A Journal in the Interest of Peace in the Divided Church of
Christ. It is issued in January, April, July and October.
Edited by PETER AINSLIE
Vol. IX. APRIL, 1920 No. 4
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL:
The Union of Evangelical Protestantism 9
PLAN OF UNION FOR THE EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN THE
U. S. A. . . . 28
THE CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL GOODWILL. His Grace,
Archbishop Soderblom 33
WHENCE SHALL COME UNITY? Ferdinand Q. Blanchard . . 44
FACING THE PROBLEM OF CHRISTIAN UNION. Ellis B.
Barnes 52
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY . 67
BOOK REVIEWS 78
THIS JOURNAL IS INTERDENOMINATIOAL AND INTERNA-
TIONAL and is the servant of the whole Church, irrespective of name or
creed. It offers its pages as a forum to the entire Church of Christ for a
frank and courteous discussion of those problems that have to do with
the healing of our unchristian divisions. Its readers are in all communions.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.00 a year— fifty cents a copy. Remittance
should be made by New York draft, express order or money order.
Entered as second-class matter in the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo.
THE SPIRIT OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
The favorite figure in which the church of the first century set forth its
conception of the Spirit of Christianity is that of "the Good Shepherd.' '
The emblem which appears on this page is a reproduction of one of
the early Christian gems.
"ONE FLOCK
ONE SHEPHERD."
"No one has written more appreciatively respecting this symbol
than Dean Stanley in his Christian Institutions. It appealed to all his
warmest sympathies. 'What,' ne asks, 'is the test or sign of Christian
popular belief, which in these earliest representations of Christianity
is handed down to us as the most cherished, the all- sufficing, token of
their creed? It is very simple, but it contains a great deal. It ia
a shepherd in the bloom of youth, with the crook, or a shepherd's pipe,
in one hand, and on his shoulder a lamb, which he carefully carries, and
holds with the others hand. We see at once who it is; we all know with-
out being told. This, in that earliest chamber, or church of a Chris-
tian family, is the only sign of Christian life and Christian belief. But,
as it is almost the only sign of Christian belief in this earliest catacomb,
so it continues always the chief, always the prevailing sign, as long as
those burial-places were used.'
"After alluding to the almost total neglect of this lovely symbol
by the Fathers and Theologians, he says that it answers the question,
what was the popular religion of the first Christians? 'It was, in one
word, the religion of the Good Shepherd. The kindness, the courage,
the love, the beauty, the grace, of the Good Shepherd, was to them, if
we may so say, Prayer Book and Articles, Creed and Canons, all in one.
They looked on that figure, and it conveyed to them all they wanted.
As ages passed on, the Good Shepherd faded from the mind of the
Christian world, and other emblems of the Christian faith have taken
His place. Instead of the gracious and gentle Pastor, there came the
Omnipotent Judge, or the crucified Sufferer or the Infant in His mother's
arms, or the Master in His parting Supper, or the figures of innumerable
saints and angels, or the elaborate expositions of the various forms of
theological controversy.' But 'the Good Shepherd represents to us the
joyful, cheerful side of Christianity of which we spoke before. . . .
But that is the primitive conception of the Founder of Christianity in
those earlier centuries when the first object of the Christian community
was not to repel, but to include; not to condemn, but to save. The popular
conception of Christ in the early church was of the strong, the joyous
youth, of eternal growth, of immortal grace.' " — Frederic W. Farrar in
The Life of Christ as Represented in Art.
Organizations for the Promotion of Christian Unity
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Inc.
Having its inception in the work of Thomas Campbell, 1809, present or-
ganization 1910, President, Rev. Peter Ainslie; Secretary, Rev. H. C. Arm-
strong, Seminary House, Baltimore, Md., 17. S. A. For intercessory prayer,
friendly conferences and distribution of irenie literature, ' ' till we all attain
unto the unity of the faith. " Pentecost Sunday is the day named for
special prayers for and sermons on Christian unity in all Churches.
ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE UNITY OF CHRIS-
TENDOM, 1857, President, Athelstan Riley, Esq., 2 Kensington Court,
London; Secretary in the United States, Rev. Calbraith Bourn Perry, Cam-
bridge, N. Y. For intercessory prayer for the reunion of the Roman Cath-
olic, Greek and Anglican Communions.
CHRISTIAN UNITY ASSOCIATION OF SCOTLAND, 1903, Secretary,
Rev. Robert W. Weir, Edinburgh. For maintaining, fostering and ex-
pressing the consciousness of the underlying unity that is shared by many
members of the different Churches in Scotland.
CHRISTIAN UNITY FOUNDATION, 1910, Secretary, Rev. W. C. Em-
hardt, Newtown, Bucks Co., Pa. For the promotion of Christian unity
throughout the world by research and conference.
CHURCHMEN'S UNION, 1896, President, Prof. Percy Gardner; Hon.
Secretary, Rev. C. Moxon, 3 St. George's Square, London S. W., England.
For cultivation of friendly relations between the Church of England and
all other Christian bodies.
COMMISSION ON THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON FAITH AND OR-
DER, 1910, President, Rt. Rev. Charles P. Anderson; Secretary, Robert H.
Gardiner, Esq., Gardiner, Me., U. S. A. For a world conference of all
Christians relative to the unity of Christendom.
COUNCIL ON ORGANIC UNION, 1918, Ad Interim Committee, Chairman,
Rev. W. H. Roberts, Philadelphia, Pa.; Secretary, Rev. Rufus W. Miller,
Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia. For the organic union of the Evan-
gelical Churches in the United States of America.
FEDERAL COUNCIL OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN AMERICA,
1908, President, Rev. Frank Mason North; Secretary, Rev. Charles S. Mac-
farland, 105 E. 22d St., New York. For the cooperation of the various
Protestant Communions in service rather than an attempt to unite upon
definitions of theology and polity.
FREE CHURCH FELLOWSHIP, 1911, Rev. Malcolm Spencer, Colue
Bridge House, Rickmansworth, London, N. For the cultivation of cor-
porate prayer and thought for a new spiritual fellowship and communion
with all branches of the Christian Church.
INTERCHURCH WORLD MOVEMENT OF NORTH AMERICA, 1919,
Chairman Executive Committee, John R. Mott, New York; General Secre-
tary, S. Earl Taylor, 920 Broadway, New York. For giving and accom-
plishing an adequate programme for Protestantism in the world.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCHES
OF ENGLAND, 1895, President, Rev. Principal W. B. Selbie, Mansfield
College, Oxford; Secretary, Rev. F. B. Meyer, Memorial Hall, E. C, Lon-
don. For facilitating fraternal intercourse and cooperation among the
Evangelical Free Churches in England.
CHRISTIAN UNITY CALENDAR
At the instance of the Association for the Promotion of Christian
Unity, Pentecost Sunday has been named primarily as the day for
special sermons on Christian unity in all Churches, along with prayers
to that end.
World's Student Christian Federation, Sweden, July 30-August
10.
Lambeth Conference, July and August.
Preliminary meeting of the World Conference on Faith and Order,
Geneva, Switzerland, August 12. Robert H. Gardiner, Gardiner,
Maine, Secretary.
International Committee of the World Alliance for International
Friendship through the Churches, Geneva, Switzerland, August 20th.
Rev. Henry A. Atkinson, 70 Fifth Ave., New York City, Secretary.
Bibliography of Christian Unity
THE BOOKS included in this list are by Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Roman
Catholics, Congregationalists, Unitarians, Lutherans, Baptists, Disciples of Christ, etc.
CHRISTIAN UNION, Van Dyke, Appleton, 1885 .".. $1.00
CHRISTIAN UNION, Garrison, St. Louis, Christian Board of Publication,
1906 , 100
CHRISTIAN UNION IN EFFORT, Firth, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1911.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNION IN SOCIAL SERVICE, Carlile, London, Clarke &
Co., 1913 2/6
CHRISTIAN UNITY, Briggs, Scribner, 1900 1.00
CHRISTIAN UNITY AT WORK, Macfarland, Federal Council 1.00
CHURCH DIVISIONS AND CHRISTIANITY, Grane, Macmillan, 1916 2.00
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ADVOCATING CHRISTIAN UNION,
Young, Chicago, The Christian Century Co., 1904 1.00
HOW TO PROMOTE CHRISTIAN UNION, Kershner, Cincinnati, The
Standard Publishing Co., 1916 1.00
LECTURES ON THE REUNION OF THE CHURCH, Dollinger, Dodd, 1872 1.50
LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN COOPERATION (Federal Council) Macfar-
land. 5 Vols 5.00
OUR PLEA FOR UNION AND THE PRESENT CRISIS, Willett, Chicago,
Christian Century Co , 50
PASSING PROTESTANTISM AND COMING CATHOLICISM, Smyth,
Scribner, 1908 1.00
PROGRESS OF CHURCH FEDERATION, Macfarland, Revell 50
RELTGIOUS SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD, London, Swan Sonnenschein &
Co., 1908
RESTATEMENT AND REUNION, Streeter, Macmillan, 1914 75
SOME THOUGHTS OF CHRISTIAN REUNION, Carpenter, Macmillan,
1895 1.25
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF UNITY IN CHRISTEN-
DOM, Tamer, London, Elliott Stock, 1895
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Wells, Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1905 75
THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE, Whyte, Armstrong, 1907 25
THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM, Campbell, St. Louis, Christian Board of Pub-
lication, 1890 1.00
THE CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS UNITY, Kelly, Longmans, 1913 1.50
THE CHURCHES OF THE FEDERAL COUNCIL, Macfarland, Revell.... 1.00
THE LARGER CHURCH, Lanier, Fredericksburg, Va 1.25
THE LEVEL PLAN FOR CHURCH UNION, Brown, Whittaker, 1910 1.50
THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN UNITY, Cobb, Crowell, 1915 1.25
THE MESSAGE OF THE DISCIPLES FOR THE UNION OF THE
CHURCH, Ainslie, Revell, 1913 1.00
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS SECTS, McComas, Revell, 1912.... 1.25
THE SEVENFOLD UNITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Hall, Long-
mans, 1911 75
THE UNION OF CHRISTIAN FORCES IN AMERICA, Ashworth, Phila-
delphia. American Sunday-School Union, 1915 75
THE UNITED CHURCH OF THE UNITED STATES, Shields, Scribner,
1895 , 2.50
THOUGHTS OF THE PRESENT POSITION OF PROTESTANTISM,
Harnack, Macmillan, 1899 1.00
UNITY AND MISSIONS, Brown, Revell, 1915 1.50
WHAT MUST THE CHURCH DO TO BE SAVED? Simms, Revell, 1913.. 1.50
CHRISTIAN UNITY PRAYER LEAGUE
(Membership in this League is open to all Christians — Greek, Soman,
Anglican and Protestant, the only requirement being a notice by post
card or letter of one's desire to be so enrolled, stating the Church of
which he is a member. Address, Association for the Promotion of
Christian Unity, Seminary House, 504 N. Fulton Ave., Baltimore,
Md., U. S. A.)
MEDITATION AND PEAYEE:
O LAMB of GOD most merciful, Who on earth didst obtain no
mercy: we thank and bless Thee for the tender compassion of Thy
heart.
We bless Thee for Thy mercy to the suffering, the sick, the dis-
tracted, the insane.
And they brought unto Him all that were sick, holden with divers
diseases and torments, possessed with devils, and epileptic, and palsied,
and He healed them.
We bless Thee for Thy mercy to the untaught and ignorant.
And He came forth and saw a great multitude and He had com-
passion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd:
and He began to teach them many things.
We bless Thee for Thy mercy to the sinful.
I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she
loved much.
We bless Thee for Thy mercy to the outcasts of society.
They that are whole have no need of a physician but they that
are sick.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out ; and finding him, He said,
Dost thou believe on the Son of GOD?
We bless Thee for Thy lessons of heavenly mercy.
I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times
seven.
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing.
But when he was yet afar off, his father saw him, and was moved
with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
We bless Thee for Thy mercy in showing us the Father.
I and My Father are one.
Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
O LAMB of GOD most merciful, who hast revealed to us the
Father : we pray that in our daily life we may learn of Thee. Let no
one ever find us harsh or cruel, quickly angry or difficult to be under-
stood: as we pray for Thy mercy upon us, so teach us to be com-
passionate and tender-hearted towards all. Amen.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy
toward them that fear Him.
And what doth the LOBD require of thee, but to do justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy GOD?
Judgment is without mercy to him that hath shewed no mercy.
— The Challenge.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS NUMBER
His Grace, Archbishop Soderblom
is the most outstanding prelate in the Scandinavian countries. He
has had positions of trust in both Paris and Berlin and is foremost in
his advocacy of Christian unity.
Ferdinand Q. Blanchard,
the minister of the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, Cleveland,
is the president of the Cleveland Federation of Churches and for
years has been a member of the governing Board of the American
Missionary Association, which has charge of schools and colleges for
the backward races in America.
Ellis B. Barnes,
minister of the Franklin Circle Disciples' Church, Cleveland, is a
Canadian. He was educated at Transylvania College and has held
important pastorates in Kentucky and is a vigorous newspaper corre-
spondent.
THE TIME IS RIPE FOR ACTION
I believe the time is ripe for action. The evils caused by unneces-
sary competition, the economic waste of men and money, the failure
of a divided Christendom to impress or convert the world, the desire
to answer the Master's prayer, "That they all may be one" — all
demand immediate action. In this age of reconstruction it is my
profound conviction that God is calling us to follow the guidance of
the Spirit to unity, that He may make the new world wherein dwell-
eth righteousness. The hour has struck; if we |ail to hear God's
call it will be another case of the rejection of the Olive Tree. The
call comes specially to us in America. We havef not inherited the
prejudices of the past, or the connection between Church and State —
our Church governments are representative and democratic, and we
have in our country representatives of all Churches in Christendom.
Therefore, let us prepare to take the next step, believing that if
we agree on the essentials of the Faith, the details that must follow
may be safely left to the guidance of the Spirit of God, manifested
in the council of a united Church.
The steps taken in the past fifteen years have clearly manifested
an unsuspected agreement in the essentials of the Faith — the his-
torical investigation of our differences has shown that there is no
valid reason to-day for our continued separation; in all our churches
there is a growing "will to unity." The present situation in the
world's crises demands that we nail our colors to the mast, arouse
the members of our respective Churches and resolve "not merely to
promote hut to secure reunion," — Bt. Eev. Thomas J. Garland, D.D.,
Philadelphia, in a recent address at the Brick Presbyterian Church,
New York City.
THE
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Vol. IX. APRIL, 1920 No. 4
EDITORIAL
THE UNION OF EVANGELICAL PROTEST-
ANTISM
The most practical and hopeful plan for the union of
evangelical Protestantism in America has been presented
by the American Council on Organic Union, which met in
its second meeting in Witherspoon Hall, Philadelphia,
February 3-6, 1920. The communions represented were
as follows: Armenians, Northern Baptist, Christian,
Christian Union, Congregational, Disciples, Evangelical,
Friends (two branches), Methodist Episcopal, Primitive
Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian in the U. S. A., Unit-
ed Presbyterian, Welsh Presbyterian, Protestant Epis-
copal, Eeformed Episcopal, and Keformed in the U. S.
The plan is published on another page of The Quar-
terly.
There are fewer points of criticism in this plan than
any document that has ever been written for the union of
the Protestant household. It leaves each communion free
in matters of doctrine, administration of the ordinances
and modes of worship and it provides a board, upon
which all the communions will have representation, to
deal with matters of polity. It begins therefore at the
place of least resistance; then through cooperative and
educational campaigns the plan gives hope of an eventu-
ally united Protestant household as one of the great
steps toward the union of the whole church of Christ.
10 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
It is the open door against which multitudes have been
knocking for many years. All whose interest is toward
the unity of Christendom will rejoice in this step, which
means a reduction of unnecessary overlapping and un-
holy rivalries in at least a part of the divided church.
Some of us would like to have gone further, but the
Council voted unanimously to go as far as the plan speci-
fied and that is a long step. It will be presented to the
national gatherings of the communions this year and the
years following for their ratification. The divisive prac-
tices of the church have about wasted themselves. The
turn of the tide is toward unity. There are surely enough
Protestant bodies ready to make ' ' The United Churches
of Christ in America' ' a reality at an early date. Others
will follow later until the whole evangelical forces will be
represented in the union. It must come. It would be
looking backward to think otherwise.
Twenty-six delegates to the Philadelphia Council were
written to for an opinion regarding the plan. Several
withheld their opinions, but nineteen answered as fol-
lows:
Mr. Henry W. Jessup, of the Presbyterian Church,
New York, a lawyer, to whom most credit is due for the
writing of the plan, says,
Naturally I think well of the plan, and am more than
ever convinced of its affording the right approach to ul-
timate organic union by reason of the notable, scholarly
extempore reply of Dr. George W. Eichards to a ques-
tion which affected the whole matter, when he was on
the platform and was asked what the ultimate relation of
this union would be to the denomination entering into
such union. His answer was :
"The genius of a church is manifested through its
doctrine, cultus, polity and piety. Points of agree-
ment and difference between the churches would re-
late to these four aspects of organization and life.
The plan of union leaves intact the doctrine, the
cultus, and the piety of each church, but it requires
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT UNION 11
a modification of the polity, and in due time such
modification in polity will affect also the piety, the
cultus and doctrine. Yet such effect will be almost
imperceptible, and will be wrought in course of a
long time.
"In adopting this plan a church will begin to cease
to be what it was and will begin to become what it
was not. This is the surest proof that the plan calls
for more than federal and nothing less than eventual
organic union."
The conference was remarkable for the moderation
shown by the members in the debates. It was well known
that the question of the relation of this new plan to the
Federal Council would emerge during the deliberations,
and, although the Ad Interim Committee had had confer-
ences with the representatives of the Federal Council, the
report as printed contained no reference to that fact,
which was, of course, an oversight, and very misleading.
But the friends of the Federal Council showed the same
spirit of Christian courtesy on this as they did on other
issues before the Council, and, it having developed from
an analysis of the constitution of the Federal Council in
comparison with the purpose and modus operandi of the
plan of union, that the two movements did not have the
same ultimate goal, nor the same relation to their respec-
tive constituencies, nor the same kind of powers and
functions, the Council readily disposed of what might
have been an unhappy issue by referring the whole matter
of these relations of the new Council to the Ad Interim
Committee for fraternal conference with the Federal
Council leaders. This makes the question one still open
for deliberate consultation in the church world, and it
ought to be obvious that, just as the Interchurch World
Movement will readily and happily relate itself to a
council of the evangelical churches, when it has been cre-
ated, and that the work which this movement is engaged
in prosecuting will be increased in efficiency by the unit-
ing of the churches, so, in the long run, the work done by
the Federal Council, so efficiently in the past, is more
than likely to be the kind of work which will have to be
done in the interests of the United Church for a long time
to come, and, naturally, by the same agency. There is
nothing in the relationship of the Federal Council to its
12 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
constituent churches that would prevent it from conduct-
ing the publicity work and propaganda in support of the
inspirational and educational movements initiated by the
new Council, properly differentiated from that which it
conducts in behalf of its constituent churches.
I refer to this discussion because nothing could have
so felicitously brought out the fact that the plan of union
is really a plan of organic union, creating a body such as
the thirteen colonies created when they set up the Fed-
eral Government. Specific powers are delegated to that
body, and all others are reserved to the constituent
churches. Little by little they may increase the number
of powers delegated, but it is obvious that during the
time while the first step alone is being taken there is
nothing contemplated to which any of the denominations
can properly object, if in sincerity and in truth their
primary object is to "further the redemptive work of
Christ in the world," rather than to preserve their sep-
arateness as an organization.
In my judgment, the acid test of this sincerity of ul-
timate purpose will come when the various supreme gov-
erning or advisory bodies deliberate upon the giving in
of their adherence to this plan. I cannot forbear, in
giving my impression of the Council, from commenting
upon the fact that the Ad Interim Committee, which had
been discharging its duties in relation to the preparation
of a plan, or plans, of union, for thirteen months, had so
thoroughly covered the ground that it was possible to
give a reason for its peculiar phraseology in the face of
almost every criticism that was made. Bishop Talbot's
suggestion that the word "evangelical" should be strick-
en out of the recital in the preamble, "Whereas, we de-
sire to share as a common heritage the faith of the evan-
gelical churches which has, from time to time, found
expression in great historic statements," was a perfectly
valid one. The use of the word "evangelical," was im-
proper as a limitation at that point, and would, of course,
have shut out the great creedal statements of the pre-
Eeformation period. But, through a misunderstanding,
it was supposed that the idea was to eliminate the word
"evangelical," as an adjective in reference to the
churches invited to come into this proposed union, and
thus limit its ultimate scope.
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT UNION 13
In this aspect any suggestion of elimination would be
unfortunate. It is the invitation of the General Assem-
bly of the Presbyterian Church which was originally is-
sued to the evangelical churches of the United States. It
is hoped that they may stand together as a united body
when the great World Conference on Faith and Order is
ultimately convened, affording an object lesson to the
world. From this point of view, to have the United
Church of Christ in America in existence and function-
ing at that time would be equivalent to the culmination
of a series of group consolidations within a body to be
known first as The United Churches of Christ in Amer-
ica, and there would be nothing inconsistent with the
present limitations of the plan in its being confined to
the evangelical churches in a wider objective relation-
ship to bodies perhaps not at present within the strict
intent of that term.
In conclusion, I beg to suggest that the key note of all
conference and propaganda in support of the adoption of
this plan must be the acknowledgment of the leading of
the Spirit of God moving upon the heart of the laity and
the ministry alike in our churches, which has manifested
itself in what I ventured to call, in a previous article in a
recent issue of The Christian Union Quarterly, the
Will to Unite, and the operation of which Spirit has been
so wonderfully exhibited in the tone of the deliberations
of the two Councils on Organic Union that have already
been held. The harshest, severest criticisms which I
have received in a miscellaneous correspondence extend-
ing over a couple of years have been that our proposal
does not go far enough, nor fast enough. The reasons
for this were very carefully expounded in the detailed
report of the Ad Interim Committee, and we feel that to
take the first step, however short it may be, is to make a
giant stride in advance, if you will pardon the Hibernian-
ism.
Our motto, during this period when the various su-
preme governing or advisory bodies are meeting and
deliberating on the plan, must be festina lente.
Prof. George W. Eichards, of the Reformed Church
Theological Seminary, Lancaster, Pa., who was the floor
leader for the plan in the Philadelphia Council, says,
14 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
The eighteen churches represented, the 135 delegates
registered, the spirit prevailing in the consideration and
discussion of the plan, and the unanimity of its adoption
were, to say the least, encouraging to those who are
praying and working for a closer union of the Christian
churches. Yet one must not fail to recognize that the
work of the Council has just begun. The plan must now
be submitted to the supreme judicatories of the churches
and upon their action will depend the adoption or rejec-
tion. It may require a period of three or more years
before final action can be taken by all the churches.
The proposed union of the churches is organic, not
merely federal. It has the vital principle of organic
union in that it calls for a new ecclesiastical body com-
posed of a number of churches, to be known as "The
United Churches of Christ in America.' ' This body will
work through a council which has all the powers of a ju-
dicatory — the legislative, the executive, the judicial. It
will have the same relation to the supreme judicatories
of the constituent churches as each of these judicatories
has over its church at the present time. The scope of
the new council is defined clearly in Article V. Its de-
cisions are to be put into effect by the supreme governing
or advisory body of each church. Thus organic union in
its infancy is proposed; nurture it, let it grow, and we
shall have organic union in its maturity.
The plan, however, carefully guards against a paralyz-
ing uniformity and makes large room for the freedom of
the individual and the group. Each church is given the
right "to retain its creedal statements, its form of gov-
ernment in the conduct of its own affairs, and its partic-
ular mode of worship. " In this way the freedom of
evangelical Christianity is conserved and yet unity of
action for the Kingdom of God is attained. The evils of
sectarianism will be largely overcome and the blessings
of denominationalism will none the less be conserved.
The plan, moreover, if adopted, is subject to modifica-
tion and of expansion as experience may^ suggest and the
interest of the work of Christ may require.
Rev. George E. Hunt, pastor of Christ Presbyterian
Church, Madison, Wis., who offered the resolution in the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the
EVANGELICAL PBOTESTANT UNION 15
U.S.A., at Columbus, Ohio, May, 1918, calling for the
American Council on Organic Union, says,
I believe real progress was registered. I confess I ap-
proached this second council with some misgivings. The
high idealisms of the war period in which this movement
for organic union of our churches was born, have largely
subsided and in many sad ways our American thought
and action has reverted to the old selfish and rather
narrow habits. This inevitable reaction set in soon after
the armistice and has been revealing like an ebbing
tide the sordid refuse of human nature and selfishness
with each passing month. Many of the fine things pro-
posed during the war have fallen by the wayside since.
It was this that led me to fear a let down from the high
enthusiasm of the first council. And there was a let
down. There was very little high tide enthusiasm during
our quiet meeting last February.
But there was a steadiness of purpose, a quiet deter-
mination to push along toward the goal that greatly
heartened me. There was no bickering, no disposition
on the part of anybody to hedge on the main issue, to
pick flaws in a captious spirit. Everybody wanted a def-
inite and practical plan worked out that could be put
across. And this is just what has happened. Without
excitement or froth, those churchmen sat there and
steadily worked out a practical scheme that will stand a
good chance of being accepted by the denominations.
Had they adopted a more radical plan it would certainly
have developed there some division and would have per-
ished on the denominational rocks later. The conserva-
tism, the evident sanity, the real bones for organic union
without subterfuge or evasion, and the large liberty left
to the various bodies who accept this plan give it a very
fair chance to be accepted widely. And like the League
of Nations, once set up and the machinery started, it has
in it the possibility of a complete and unforced merging
of our American Protestant bodies.
Of course, there are many of us who would have pre-
ferred a more radical plan, after the type of the sur-
geon's knife. Hundreds of small communities out here
in the middle west are all ready now for a legal and or-
derly way of merging their churches. And this move-
ment of community merging of churches, that is actually
16 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
on, will go right on, no matter how many bishops and
secretaries throw fits over it. God is behind it, common
sense urges it, truth illumines it, and the whole New Tes-
tament teaches and approves it. But we had better make
haste slowly if we want speed. And this plan adopted
in Philadelphia is sane and wise and practical. I be-
lieve nothing but God's Spirit guided those men in fram-
ing the plan, and I believe that God's Spirit will guide
this new bit of promising ecclesiastical machinery safely
through the denominational rocks and that in a very few
years now we will actually accomplish the United Church
of Christ in America.
Mr. Eobert H. Gardiner, Gardiner, Me., secretary of
the Protestant Episcopal Commission on a World Con-
ference on Faith and Order, says,
The formation of the American Council for Organic
Union seems to me one of the most remarkable of the
various movements for Christian reunion which has
been taking place all over the world. I have seldom been
more deeply impressed by the ability, earnestness and
sincerity of a gathering, than I was at Philadelphia. I
am sure that very many of us had a deeper recognition
than ever before of the guiding presence of God and the
Holy Spirit.
It is true that the plan adopted does not go very far,
but that we should all have felt the wisdom of proceed-
ing slowly and with the utmost care, is a guarantee that
the movement is willing to submit to the guidance of the
Spirit.
While it was not talked about much, the underlying
motive of the meeting was the recognition that only by
universal obedience to Christ's new commandment of
love is there any hope for the future of civilization and
for enduring peace and righteousness, international, in-
dustrial or social. Next that only the visible unity of
Christians can convert the world to Christ and so estab-
lish that new commandment. Then that only through
fervent and regular prayer can Christians obtain grace
to surrender their wills to God's in order that His will
for unity may be achieved and Christ, the one way, the
one truth, the one life, be all in all. Lastly it has be-
come clear that if Christians be truly filled with Christ's
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT UNION 17
love they will seek unity through conferences such as
this was, not controversy, for in conference they can un-
derstand and appreciate one another and so help one
another to a more complete comprehension of God's will
for our visible unity.
Eev. C. M. Chilton, St. Joseph, Mo., former president
of the General Convention of the Disciples, says,
For the churches that really desire unity the Philadel-
phia plan provides a way that is worthy of the most se-
rious consideration. It is not a way that is without risks
and problems. It will be hard for the ecclesiastical bod-
ies to go under such a composite council as is contem-
plated. On the other hand the congregational churches
will find it equally objectionable. They will stumble at
the principles of delegation and authority. But every
one realizes that there must be some sort of a beginning
if there is ever to be union, and what plan can be thought
of that is free from risks? This plan seems to involve
the minimum of difficulties of every kind. While it pro-
vides an organic means of accomplishment it leaves to
the constituent churches and the members that compose
them, the largest possible measure of liberty. It is sin-
cerely to be hoped that at an early date a sufficient num-
ber of denominations shall certify their assent to justify
the convocation of the Council. The event will mark a
new era in the progress of Christianity.
Bishop John W. Hamilton, of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, Washington, D. C, says,
What have I to say of the proceedings of the recent
Council! Must I say something of what I by my vote
helped to decide? Then I will say what I said in the
Council : No body of believers representing so many dif-
ferent denominations has had the prophetic vision of this
one ; no movement of the Christian Church since the Lu-
theran Reformation has nailed such advanced theses to
promote actual fellowship to the doors of their respec-
tive communions.
Now the value in part, but only in part, of what we
have done in Philadelphia can be estimated by what the
churches themselves will do after they open their doors
to see what is written thereon.
18 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Eev. Floyd W. Tompkins, rector of the Church of the
Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, says,
Not for many generations has such a gathering of con-
secrated men been known as assembled in Witherspoon
Hall, Philadelphia. And never has a plan of union been
suggested so far-reaching and so generous as resulted
from this Council. The preamble seems apostolic in its
catholicity. The plan itself is so broad that only those
who hold to some traditional policy can fault it, and so
concise that it touches the very nerve of unity.
It was wise to press denominational autonomy. There
can never be uniformity of polity or worship so long as
men are made as they are. And indeed such uniformity
would lead to mechanical religion.
But the greatest wisdom is shown in the harmonizing
and unifying of the missionary work of the churches. It
is worse than an economic waste — it is almost a deadly
sin — to crowd small towns with churches and to confuse
heathen folk by varied and hostile bodies calling them-
selves " Christian' ? and yet having no real fellowship.
In this day the necessity for such unified effort is so
great that it simply must come or Christianity will be
discredited and God will remove His blessing.
In order that the endeavor might come to maturity it
was wisely decided that when six denominations shall
have certified their consent the Council shall convene or
may convene. It is too much to hope for speedy and
unanimous action by all the bodies interested. The thing
must be started, and it will be started. We are on the
road to organic union even if all will not come in. When
they see the blessed results which, by God's grace, will
come, they will seek admission. Personally, I thank God
for this plan and I have faith in it.
President Henry C. King, of Oberlin College, Oberlin,
Ohio, says,
The plan as adopted by the Philadelphia Council seems
to me the most hopeful step yet taken toward the organic
union of the churches.
Eev. John A. Marquis, general secretary of the Pres-
byterian Board of Home Missions, New York, says,
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT UNION 19
All of us who have been praying for a united church
ought to be encouraged by the outcome of the Philadel->
phia Council. It did not result in organic union, which
many of us want, but it did result, I sincerely believe, in
a better understanding and in closer relationships. If
the constituent bodies adopt the plan proposed it will
mean that we will work and plan together on the field
whether we live together at home or not.
It is a singular thing that the Christian Church
through the ages has generally been pushed into forward
steps she has taken. That is, she has not taken them be-
cause her leaders believed that they ought to be taken,
but circumstances compelled them. If the question of
admitting Gentiles to the church in apostolic times had
been submitted to the Council in Jerusalem before Paul
started his missionary tours, I suspect it would have
been voted down. The Gentiles were received because
that restless, non-conforming and unecclesiastical apos-
tle went out and converted a lot of them and the church
was compelled to do something with them.
I am also informed that the Methodists, Presbyterians
and Congregationalists have come together in Canada,
not because they have agreed to think alike, but because
the urgency and emergency of occupying the rapidly de-
veloping West have compelled it. When we get used to
working together at our missionary tasks it is inevitable
that we will come to know and love one another sufficient-
ly to want to live in the same household. At any rate let
us thank God that something was done and keep on work-
ing and praying that more may come.
Eev. Eobert Bagnell, pastor Grace Methodist Episco-
pal Church, Harrisburg, Pa., says,
I am deeply impressed with the work done at Philadel-
phia. I believe the first step has been taken that will
lead to the union of Protestantism in America. As the
urgency of the great facts and principles involved be-
come known to all our members the movement will gain
momentum. It seems to me that the entire Presbyterian
and Eeformed bodies will promptly ratify. The outlook
for the Congregational Church is very favorable. A
large number of the smaller bodies also will ratify at
once. There are a number of bodies like the Baptists
20 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
and the Disciples that will divide upon it, a considerable
number of churches joining the movement. The move-
ment will have large support in the Episcopal Church.
I think the Methodist Episcopal Church will ratify —
perhaps not at the General Conference in May, but cer-
tainly four years hence. At this General Conference the
question of the unification of Methodism will have right
of way. Men's minds will be so full of that that they
will not be able to give the general movement for organic
union adequate attention.
The movement is of God. The first steps have been
taken. The tide is rising ; it will not turn back.
Et. Eev. Samuel Fallows, of the Eeformed Episcopal
Church, Chicago, 111., says,
The Council was a marked advance towards organic
church unity. Many of the difficulties in the way of the
coming together of the more than twenty denominations
represented were considered in general in a fraternal
spirit.
There was no question regarding the really fundamen-
tal questions of the Christian faith on which all were
agreed. In essentials there was unity. The questions
of church order were lightly touched. Enough, however,
was disclosed in the discussions to show that such church
order was not to be elevated to the plane of Christian
faith. This was a non-essential. Yet there was an evi-
dent tendency of belief that these variations of order
might in time, without any sacrifice of principle, result
in concordant unison. To the attainment of this end we
must all prayerfully and unwaveringly work.
President W. H. Black, of Missouri Valley College,
Marshall, Mo., says,
The Council at Philadelphia in February was a nota-
ble, though not a large, gathering of representative men
from various denominations. They considered, adopted
and recommended to the various churches of the country,
a plan not so much for the organic union of the churches
as for the beginning of organic union among the
churches. The plan is doubtless familiar to the read-
ers of The Christian Union Quarterly.
I was personally disappointed that the Ad Interim
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT UNION 21
Committee was not willing to go further in making a
plan than it did. The call was for a conference on or-
ganic union. The small germ which was finally obtained
could hardly be a realization of the meaning of the call.
But when so many different denominations are concerned
a small beginning is better than no beginning. The ulti-
mate object is clearly expressed of reaching the end of
complete union, but at the same time complete union is
not reached in this plan and it will take a long time to
work it out.
While I did not feel at liberty to consume the time of
the meeting, (in view of the carefully prepared plans
submitted by the Ad Interim Committee) to discuss the
weaknesses of the plan, I nevertheless felt that it was
wiser to postpone organic union for a little while than
to have a weak solution of organic union as is contained
in this plan. The greatest problem in connection with
organic union is just the multiplicity of denominations,
and the plan should be aimed at, in my judgment, first of
all at the reduction of these denominations in the inter-
ests, first, of efficiency in the country ; secondly, efficiency
in the small towns ; thirdly, efficiency in all church areas ;
fourthly, reaching the down town masses which are
scantily provided for in this plan. However, I am for
the plan plus a great deal that is not in the plan, there-
fore will work for it though I should like to work for
more.
Eev. William F. Kothenburger, pastor of the First
Christian Church, Springfield, 111., says,
The Council was, without doubt, the marking of a new
milestone in the progress of the kingdom. It displayed a
most unexpected unanimity of sentiment in favor of ul-
timate organic union among Christian believers. The
adoption of the plan as proposed by the Ad Interim Com-
mittee was so hearty and so unanimous as to occasion
surprise even among the most sanguine. I cannot but
believe that when, through the process of information, the
whole rank and file of the churches is apprized of the
stagnant and discouraged condition of religion in over-
churched areas, the unmistakable helplessness of a divid-
ed church which is face to face with a materialistic and
pleasure-loving world, these lofty sentiments will rise
22 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
within the sonls of millions. To me, the proceedings of
this conference stand out as a glowing testimony to the
pleading of the spirit of God for the oneness of His peo-
ple in this tragic hour of the race, the consummation of
which cannot help multiplying the power of the church
and hastening the evangelization of the world.
Eev. Joseph A. Vance, pastor of the First Presbyte-
rian Church, Detroit, Mich., says,
Certainly the most conservative could not claim the
Philadelphia Council was stampeded, neither could the
most ardent advocates of the organic union of evangel-
ical Protestantism claim they were half-hearted.
First and best of all, the gathering was permeated with
the spirit of prayer and devotion to Jesus Christ. These
men were not seeking to exploit either themselves or
their denominations. Their vision was wide and their
purpose was to discover and do the will of Jesus Christ.
But they were very canny and cautious. A large pro-
portion of them were church officials. Few pastors were
there. Board secretaries were there, college and sem-
inary professors, a few editors of religious papers, and
a very few laymen. There may have been some impul-
sive middle-aged men, but the group contained no hot-
headed youths.
The Council found a real organic unity, on which all
who sincerely pray for it can unite. When their recom-
mendations go before the different denominational bod-
ies, they will be an acid test of all past pretensions. Are
we really trying to find some common ground where we
can make headway in answering our Lord's prayer for
his people's unity; or is it all a poorly concealed effort
to persuade other denominations to swell ours?
The findings of the Council were by no means so ad-
vanced as some of us wanted, but they are far and away
ahead of the mere federation idea. They contain the
germ of real organic unity. Maybe the preservation of
its vitality is made surer by this fact. By all means, it
is up to all of us, but especially to those who have been
afraid to make the start with ideas more advanced, to
help God make this one grow.
EVANGELICAL PEOTESTANT UNION 23
Prof. Charles R. Erdman, Princeton Theological Sem-
inary, Princeton, N. J., says,
All the sessions of the Council were pervaded by a spirit
of true Christian sympathy and fraternity. The report of
the committee which formed the basis of the discussion
was regarded by all who took part in the debate as a seri-
ous and worthy endeavor to secure a forward step in the
matter of Christian unity. The differences of opinion
seemed to concern matters which were not fundamental.
The points of agreement at least were those which were
more continually emphasized. The plan of union as
finally adopted when submitted to the various evangelical
communions of America will prove to be a means of se-
curing some definite expression as to the extent of the
present desire for some form of vital and organic church
union.
President F. GL Coffin, of the American Christian Con-
vention, Albany, Mo., says,
The Philadelphia Council was in its spirit and purpose
all that could be desired. It is certain that no religious
gathering of such denominational diversity has been
marked by the love, liberality and catholicity which dis-
tinguished this Council. In the whole discussion of plan
and purpose there was not a single evidence of selfish
ambition, denominational jealousy, or undue denomina-
tional pride. The Council was careful to proceed no
more rapidly than the constituent bodies were likely to
follow. It was steadfast for truth with great regard for
the convictions of all Christians. It sought a breadth of
platform sufficient for the inclusion of all followers of
Christ of whatever name or creed. Its fine spirit was its
great strength and prophecy of success. The mechanics
of union will be comparatively easy to provide when the
spirit upon which they can be safely built is securely es-
tablished.
The plan of union proposed, though admittedly aca-
demic, is quite all that can be undertaken at this time. It
would seem that there could be little objection to it,
though there might be preferences for other items or
different phraseology. Any plan produced out of such
varying theological latitudes would have to embody cer-
24 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
tain compromises. Aside from its merit as a plan it is
a great document because it boldly admits the need of
organic union and actually attempts its accomplishment.
It places emphasis upon the development of a spirit
which will make continued progress possible. It pre-
sents a working programme which imposes no constric-
tions to conscience. It voices the hope and sets the goal
of the perfect union later on. The fact that twenty de-
nominations could adopt any plan embodying the pur-
poses of this one is in itself a great achievement. The
whole plan and purpose seems to me to be worthy of the
heartiest endorsement.
Eev. Eeuben H. Hartley, pastor of the First Presby-
terian Church, Quincy, 111., says,
I find my thoughts running on lines of this sort: In
December of 1918 at a similar council we planted a fer-
tile seed. With much skill the Ad Interim Committee
warmed and nurtured it. At our recent council it became
visible, of specific type and form, qualified for classifi-
cation and the little sapling is a sequoia. Modest and
unimpressive as to size — the milkweed and gourd vines
of one summer easily overtop it. Possibly in minds not
given to discriminating they seem also of more value.
The sequoia can be small and grow slowly with compla-
cency for it is potentially all of size and majesty of its
kind. So this plan is generic to the organized church of
Christ from which it comes. It roots in the eternal ver-
ities and purposes of God.
Because our plan is of the genus sequoia it makes
royal challenge for our nurturing care, for our valiant
defense against its enemies, for our stalwart, unqualified
advocacy. It challenges open, clarifying comparison
with the welter of milk weeds, gourd vines and the like.
Because it is sequoia it challenges a new appraisement of
the denominational plants and flowers of which we are so
proud. It will raise in a conquering church the disturb-
ing question as to whether or not it is any longer rational
to devote the garden of the Lord to growing isms,
schisms and petty shibboleths, homing places for many
pests when that same good garden will grow sequoia.
When the age long urge of God's spirit, and the age
long hope and prayer of God's people finds incarnation
EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT UNION 25
a
and dwells among us ' ' in a plan like this— I take it that
it is the bugle hour to all forward looking men to awake
out of complacent sectarian drowse and help make
Christ's great prayer a reality.
Kev. Gr. Woolsey Hodge, of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, Philadelphia, says,
I think the most marked and striking characteristic of
it was the manifest desire expressed by many speakers of
promoting a real church unity, going much further than
the report of the committee. As to the plan itself, it did
not seem to me to go much further than the present Fed-
eration and that is not the unity that will give the church
the power it should possess.
The Council to my mind was most valuable as being
the greatest indication I have yet seen of an earnest, sin-
cere desire on the part of representatives of so many de-
nominations to promote actual organic unity. I am sure
it must lead to further steps in that direction.
Prof. Herbert L. Willett, of Chicago University, says,
I was deeply impressed by the spirit and proceedings
of the Philadelphia Council. Its seriousness of purpose
and unanimity of mind were reassuring to one who had
questioned whether it was possible at this moment in the
development of union sentiment to capitalize the desire
for organic union. Of course very much remains to be
accomplished. Everything will depend upon the enthu-
siasm with which the friends of the movement cultivate
the sentiment in their own religious bodies. It will be an
impressive task to carry the message of the ad interim
committee to the various denominational bodies. It may
take some years to accomplish the full results forecast at
Philadelphia, but the movement for organic union passed
its most critical stage with the adoption of the plan there.
Of the denominational papers, some have been silent,
some have been non-committal, some have been antago-
nistic, some have been outspoken in advocacy for the
plan. Two of the most significant utterances come from
The Living Church (Episcopalian) and The Christian
Century (Disciple). The former says,
26 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
So heartily do we sympathize with their desire, so
thoroughly do we appreciate the spirit of magnanimity
that seems so generally to have prevailed, that it is with
real reluctance that we find ourselves bound, at the con-
clusion of the event, to express the conviction that the
church called Protestant Episcopal cannot ratify the po-
sition taken by several of its own members at that meet-
ing. Notwithstanding that, we believe that if the evan-
gelical bodies, without our own church, can ratify and
hold to the covenant there made, it will be the longest
single stride toward the end so earnestly desired that has
been taken since disunion began.
The latter says,
Here, plainly, is the embodiment of a new vision in
Christian statesmanship. It goes far beyond anything
that has yet been undertaken by Protestantism. The fact
that the type of organic union proposed is called "fed-
eral" should not lead to confusing it with the now exist-
ing Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America.
There are radical differences between them. The Fed-
eral Council was created to act for the denominations in
the performance of certain functions which the denom-
inations were not doing, and were by their separateness
incapable of doing. The plan of organic federal union
proposes to assume certain functions the churches are
now exercising because those functions belong to the
whole body of Christ and not to a sect. The denomina-
tions in creating the Federal Council jealously guarded
their absolute ecclesiastical independence, and the spirit
and practice of Federation is to magnify and intensify
sectarian "loyalty" and to make sectarian distinctions
seem important. The plan of organic federal union
works in the opposite direction ; the churches adopting it
commit themselves to the ideal of a united Protestant-
ism; they pass over at once to the United body two of
their ecclesiastical prerogatives and pave the way for the
passing over of yet other prerogatives, as rapidly or as
slowly as the Spirit of God makes plain the practicability
of doing so. Federation faces in the direction of the de-
nominational order. Federal union faces in the direction
of a united church. Federation seeks to enhance the wel-
fare of each constituent denomination. Federal union
EVANGELICAL PEOTESTANT UNION
27
explicitly assumes the passing of denominationalism and
the final consummation of the organic and vital unity for
which Christ prayed.
. The Philadelphia plan marks out the best path that has
yet been descried for the attainment of unity. It does
not propose the impossible, neither does it delude with
pretty but insincere talk about unity. It has substance to
it. It is positive. It is statesmanly in what it leaves
alone as in what it touches. It avoids disputatious topics
like orders and modes of baptism and ritual, as well as
creedal refinements. But it faces the church in the right
direction. It outlines the goal, and bravely takes the
first step toward its realization.
The American Council has brought a great moment to
American Christianity. There are difficulties to be sure.
Sectarianism is everywhere strongly entrenched. But
this movement for the unity of Protestantism must be of
God and therefore it will win, if not immediately even-
tually, for the church must abandon its divisive policy
else it is doomed to wreck and ruin.
^""Because of the high price of production The
Christian Union Quarterly will have to return
to its former price of $2.00 a year and fifty
cents a copy.
In our next issue, beginning the tenth volume,
we shall announce an editorial board including
membership from various communions and var-
ious countries.
PLAN OF UNION FOR THE EVANGELICAL
CHURCHES IN THE U. S. A.
The following plan for the union of American Protest-
antism was adopted by the American Council on Organic
Union of the Churches of Christ, meeting in Wither-
spoon Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., February 3-6, 1920 :
"This Council instructs the Ad Interim Committee to
present the plan to the supreme governing or advisory
bodies of the several communions in such manner as the
Committee shall devise and at its discretion to such
other evangelical denominations as may not here be rep-
resented."
William H. Eoberts, Pres., Eurus W. Miller, Sec,
Witherspoon Building, 15th and Eace Streets,
Philadelphia, Pa. Philadelphia, Pa.
Preamble :
Whereas: We desire to share, as a common heritage,
the faith of the Christian Church, which has, from time to
time, found expression in great historic statements ; and
Whereas: We all share belief in God our Father; in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Saviour; in the Holy
Spirit, our Guide and Comforter; in the Holy Catholic
Church, through which God's eternal purpose of salvation
is to be proclaimed and the Kingdom of God is to be real-
ized on earth; in the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments as containing God's revealed will, and in the
life eternal ; and
Whereas : Having the same spirit and owning the same
Lord, we none the less recognize diversity of gifts and
ministrations for whose exercise due freedom must al-
ways be afforded in forms of worship and in modes of
operation :
Plan:
Now, we the Churches hereto assenting as hereinafter
provided in Article VI do hereby agree to associate our-
AMEEICAN PLANFOR- PROTESTANT UNION 29
selves in a visible body to be known as the "United
Churches of Christ in America/' for the furtherance of
the redemptive work of Christ in the world. This body
shall exercise in behalf of the constituent Churches the
functions delegated to it by this instrument, or by subse-
quent action of the constituent Churches, which shall re-
tain the full freedom at present enjoyed by them in all
matters not so delegated.
Accordingly, the Churches hereto assenting and here-
after thus associated in such visible body do mutually
covenant and agree as follows :
I. Autonomy in Purely Denominational Affairs.
In the interest of the freedom of each and of the co-
operation of all, each constituent church reserves the
right to retain its creedal statements, its form of govern-
ment in the conduct of its own affairs, and its particular
mode of worship :
In taking this step, we look forward with confident hope
to that complete unity toward which we believe the Spirit
of God is leading us. Once we shall have cooperated
wholeheartedly, in such visible body, in the holy activi-
ties of the work of the church, we are persuaded that our
differences will be minimized and our union become more
vital and effectual.
II. The Council. (How Constituted.)
The United Churches of Christ in America shall act
through a Council and through such Executive and Judi-
cial Commissions, or Administrative Boards, working ad
interim, as such Council may from time to time appoint
and ordain.
The Council shall convene as provided for in Article
VI and every second year thereafter. It may also be
convened at any time in such manner as its own rules may
prescribe. The Council shall be a representative body.
Each constituent church shall be entitled to represen-
30 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
tation therein by an equal number of ministers and of lay
members.
The basis of representation shall be : two ministers and
two lay members for the first one hundred thousand or
fraction thereof of its communicants ; and two ministers
and two lay members for each additional one hundred
thousand or major fraction thereof.
III. The Council. (Its Working.)
The Council shall adopt and promulgate its own by-
laws and rules of procedure and order. It shall define
the functions of its own officers, prescribe the mode of
their selection and their compensation, if any. It shall
provide for its budget of expense by equitable apportion-
ment of the same among the constituent churches
through their supreme governing or advisory bodies.
IV. Relation of Council and Constituent Churches.
The supreme governing or advisory bodies of the con-
stituent churches shall effectuate the decisions of the
Council by general or specific deliverance or other man-
date whenever it may be required by the law of a particu-
lar state, or the charter of a particular board, or other
ecclesiastical corporation; but, except as limited by this
plan, shall continue the exercise of their several powers
and functions as the same exist under the denominational
constitution.
The Council shall give full faith and credit to the au-
thenticated acts and records of the several governing or
advisory bodies of the constituent churches.
V. Specific Functions of the Council.
In order to prevent overlapping, friction, competition
or waste in the work of the existing denominational
boards or administrative agencies, and to further the
efficiency of that degree of cooperation which they have
already achieved in their work at home and abroad :
AMERICAN PLANFOR PROTESTANT UNION 31
(a) The Council shall harmonize and unify the work
of the united churches.
(b) It shall direct such consolidation of their mission-
ary activities as well as of particular churches in over-
churched areas as is consonant with the law of the land
or of the particular denomination affected. Such consoli-
dation may be progressively achieved, as by the uniting
of the boards or churches of any two or more constituent
denominations, or may be accelerated, delayed, or dis-
pensed with, as the interests of the Kingdom of God may
require.
(c) If and when any two or more constituent churches,
by their supreme governing or advisory bodies, submit
to the Council for its arbitrament any matter of mutual
concern, not hereby already covered, the Council shall
consider and pass upon such matter so submitted.
(d) The Council shall undertake inspirational and edu-
cational leadership of such sort and measure as may be
proper, under the powers delegated to it by the constit-
uent churches in the fields of evangelism, social service,
religious education, and the like.
VI. The assent of each constituent church to this plan
shall be certified from its supreme governing or advisory
body by the appropriate officers thereof to the chairman
of the Ad Interim Committee, which shall have power
upon a two-thirds vote to convene the Council as soon as
the assent of at least six denominations shall have been
so certified.
VII. Amendments.
This plan of organic union shall be subject to amend-
ment only by the constituent churches, but the Council
may overture to such bodies any amendment which shall
have originated in said Council and shall have been
adopted by a three-fourths vote.
32 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
Note: The Churches represented in the Council were
the Armenian, Baptist, Christian Church, Christian
Union of United States, Congregational, Disciples, Evan-
gelical Synod of North America, Friends (two branches),
Methodist (Primitive), Methodist Episcopal, Moravian,
Presbyterian Church in United States of America, Prot-
estant Episcopal, Eef ormed Episcopal, Kef ormed Church
in the United States, United Presbyterian, Welsh Pres-
byterian.
"The attention of the constituent Churches is called
to the fact that the assent called by Article VI of the plan
should be secured in conformity with the constitution of
each constituent church.' '
THE CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL
GOODWILL
By His Grace, Archbishop Soderblom, Upsala, Sweden.
Now that the spirit of pride in us has been cast down by
the misery of the world, we may well be willing to recog-
nize the greatness of the despised Middle Ages. The
universal state which the church then claimed to be, rep-
resented in principle a higher form of unity among peo-
ples than self-sufficiency and balance of power in sover-
eign states.
It is undoubtedly easy and natural for the ordinary hu-
man mind to conceive a policy which carefully brings
about a state of equilibrium by allowing the selfish in-
terests and aims of individuals, social classes, and peo-
ple to compete one with another, and balance one an-
other. In the days of the Renaissance, when the culture
of pagan antiquity was revived, for good or evil, heathen
ideas of this sort were advanced and received with new
effect and influence. In the sphere of politics also, Mach-
iavelli is the principal representative of the movement.
At the present time the perilous unwisdom of such a
course is generally recognized: its results have suffi-
ciently demonstrated that it is a curse, and not a blessing.
Mankind has learned from bitter experience, that even in
politics it is necessary to work upon sound moral prin-
ciples ; that policy should be guided, not only by the mu-
tual compromise of natural interests, but by the ideal of
justice, and even more, by that of charity and peace, mu-
tual aid and solidarity. However far we may be from the
application of such principles in the present state of the
world, there can be no doubt as' to their necessity. Our
system of politics itself stands in need of conversion, of
salvation.
The mediaeval theocracy was succeeded by sovereign
states and nations. It was as we shall see, a necessary
34 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
development. But the world has now learned, from
dreadful realities, that the sovereignty of states is not
the last word in politics ; that, on the contrary, each must
relinquish something of its sovereignty for the sake of
the whole, and recognize itself as belonging to a higher
unity, subordinating itself thereto, if our civilization is to
be saved from mutual destruction of its component parts.
In both these respects, the theocracy of the Middle
Ages was superior in its idea to the present system of
states in modern Europe.
Yet, despite this, it was doomed to perish. The cause
was twofold. The church paid no heed to the right of
nationality. And the nations required to live their own
lives ; they could not long endure to be oppressed, indis-
criminately mingled, and arbitrarily exploited by Eome.
And during the fifteenth century an awakening of the
nations took place. But Rome was incapable of meeting
the just demands of the individual peoples. Now, when
nationalism has disarmed itself, and the very word is be-
come almost a term of abuse; when nationalism as a
whole seems likely to be trampled underfoot with the
same brutality which former nationalisms exhibited to-
wards one another, we should remind ourselves that a
nation, a people, is in reality a home, with the blessings of
a home. National life has been of the greatest impor-
tance to the development of the human spirit, furthering
culture and fostering delicate inner peculiarities; its
value cannot be measured or expressed. But evil influ-
ences have entered in. Mammon, the policy of might for
right, whatever we may call them, have transformed the
kindly home once freely open to all honest guests and
good neighbors into a school of self-sufficiency, an inhos-
pitable enclave, or even an ambush craftily prepared with
hostile intent. But the fact should not be allowed to ob-
scure the justification and necessity of national life.
The second and more serious cause of the dissolution
CHUECH AND INTEKNATIONAL GOODWILL 35
of the mediaeval theocracy lies in the fact that it failed to
supply the needs of the soul. Under the suzerainty of
the church, the soul was not allowed to enter freely into
full evangelical communion with God ; the religious needs
of the individual were neglected.
I have mentioned here two sides of the religious duty
of the church.
(1) The chief of these, beyond all comparison with all
else, is that just referred to: the salvation of the soul,
the soul's communion with God. This is the alpha and
omega of the church's task and unless the work of bring-
ing the Gospel directly to each and every individual soul
be placed before all else, the mission of the church must
fail. All its educational effort in other respects, all its
organization, will avail but little indeed. This, however,
is not the point with which we are here concerned.
(2) The church is likewise charged with the upbring-
ing of the people; it has a sacred mission in and to the
nation. True, even the church has been infected by na-
tionalism ; has, indeed, at times succumbed to the tempta-
tion of setting up the supremacy of the temporal com-
munity, and its policy, as idols to be worshipped. And
in consequence, the idea of a national church, or of
"church and state" in intimate alliance, has fallen large-
ly into ill-repute. It is the fashion now to look down
upon the national churches of different countries as com-
pared either with Rome, or with more democratic con-
gregational units. But it may be well to consider what
these national churches, replacing the medieval theocracy
and cult, have accomplished in the sphere of religion. It
is refreshing to read Emile de Laveleye's book on the
subject. We need not wish to encourage Protestant self-
righteousness — which is strong enough as it is — but for
the sake of fairness and justice we should consider what
our despised national sections in the common evangelical
Christian world have achieved in educating our people in
36 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
the way of knowledge, sense of responsibility, self-deter-
mination and humane principles. Whence comes the cu-
rious fact that in Switzerland certain cantons with Latin
population are prosperous and widely schooled, while
others of the same race are poor and generally illiterate 1
Why should the same difference also be observable be-
tween other Swiss cantons where the population is Ger-
manic? We find the same thing, too, in Holland and Bel-
gium. It is not a question of race, or of geographical or
historical influence, but is purely and simply due to the
activity of the evangelical national churches. At the
present time, it seems to me more than ever advisable to
emphasize the unity of the Christian Church, and rele-
gate points of difference to the background. But the
fact which I have pointed out should not be overlooked
nowadays, when there is a general tendency to under-
value the evangelical national churches and their work.
(3) This national task, however, has led us into a
dangerous forgetfulness of the supernational, universal
character of the church itself. Do we not one and all pro-
fess to belong to the one Catholic Church? During the
war, Christians and servants of the church have exhib-
ited national self -worship in a manner which we might
well desire to efface from the page of history. And this
has been the case at least quite as much in the Eoman
Church as in the national churches and free congrega-
tions. But in them all there have been found some who
would not bow down before the altar of Baal ; who worked
instead as a moral leaven among their people, putting
into practice the idea of brotherhood, even at the cost of
finding themselves deserted by their fellows, or reaping
abuse. During the war I have learned more than ever to
appreciate two small communities which are inspired to
a higher degree than others by the original idea of Chris-
tianity. They are to be found distributed among both the
combatant parties, and it is their practice to address one
CHURCH AND INTERNATIONAL GOODWILL 37
another in simple Christian terms, as "brothers" and
"friends." I refer to the Herrnhuter and the Quakers.
Certainly it must be added that neither of these commu-
nities stands in that relation of solidarity to the people
which a state church or national church derives from its
position as part of the recognized educational system.
The third task of Christianity and of the church is su-
pernational, and includes, as I look at it, two main duties.
Before proceeding briefly to state these, we owe a tribute
of respect to the Labour Movement, which, though its in-
ternational coherence has not remained altogether un-
broken, has yet, through the Conference at Berne, and in
other ways, put the church to shame.
The nearest universal task of the church may be formu-
lated as follows : The unity of nations must become reli-
gious. The uniting element among nations is already
religion. In the services of the church we are regularly
reminded of the coming of universal peace through right
and justice. We hear the angelic message of peace on
earth. And in these times millions of souls have clung
to this thought of a community of mankind in justice as
to a plank of safety on a sea of despair. Such a hope,
and that alone, has for innumerable human beings been
the means of saving their faith in the future, and in a
justification, an ultimate purpose, behind the ghastly con-
fusion of the world. Now, the supernational code of jus-
tice is being warped by the greed and weakness and
passions of mammon. But however the thought may
be obscured, it can never die. If the unity of nations, the
League of Nations, is ever to be more than a dreadful
caricature, or an empty form, effective only by means of
might and oppression, it must become Christian in ear-
nest, even as the very thought of it is regarded with faith
and enthusiasm by hundreds of thousands who rarely if
ever enter any church. Disregarding all minor differ-
ences of creed, Christianity must, as far as it is in-
38 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
spired by the spirit of Christ, unite in common prayer,
teaching, exhortation and effort toward the strengthen-
ing of brotherhood and nnity among nations.
Has the church no need to be reminded of the Gospel of
Christ? The brotherhood of mankind, and the equal
rights of peoples should be drawn from the Gospel itself.
The ideal will remain vague, and without prospect of re-
alization, if it be not supported in its faith by recognition
of God's fatherly care, and the conviction of Christian
charity that divine mercy exists, and that God 's will man-
ifests itself throughout mankind. Neither the false
pathos of an arid, bureaucratic state religion, trusting
ultimately to unaided human power, nor the self-satisfied
egoism of. piety in restricted circles can alone avail,
whether the unit concerned be small, or the most magnif-
icent clerical institution ever seen.
In all countries there are to be found some who realize
that the only remedy for all this misery is Christian
charity; those who have themselves experienced some-
thing of the secret of atonement and redemption, and are
thus in their hearts no longer arrogant but penitent.
They seek with God's aid the highest of all powers,
whether in great things or small, the power to forgive.
Such Christians as these, in all classes and countries,
should unite in prayer and in work, to make the unity of
nations something more than at best a lofty dream or a
bold political thought — to make of it a faith able to ac-
complish miracles.
In social respects also, the task of reformation and re-
construction necessitates working in common to main-
tain Christian principles. The Conference at Upsala in
1917 also put forward proposals in this respect for a
common Christian programme. This social task of the
church, however, though also of international character,
may likewise be passed over here.
In order to fulfill its mission of uniting the peoples to-
CHUBCH AND INTERNATIONAL GOODWILL 39
gether, the church must first of all bring about the unity
of its own various sections. And this unity must also
find expression in an organization which can provide a
common channel of utterance for Christianity generally.
How can the catholicity of the church be realized?
Eome answers : I have everything in order. Leave your
various spiritual homes, your chapels and churches and
cathedrals. Pull them down, if you will, for the sake of
unity, and come over to me. My judgment is after all
the most worthy of esteem. Here is everything needful
in the greatest hierarchical organization ever known
throughout the history of religion.
Is catholicity to be realized thus in the form of the Ro-
man institution? Church history, as well as the Chris-
tian conscience in the great majority of Christians, an-
swers as clearly as possible : No. Those parts of Chris-
tendom which have tasted spiritual freedom can never
barter it away even to obtain so great a boon as outward,
institutional unity. I am entirely in agreement with the
English layman who wrote, some years back, that Eng-
land, Germany and Sweden would never again submit
themselves to the yoke of Eome. And this I say with all
appreciation and respect for many of our brethren and
sisterhood in the Church of Rome, and for much of Ro-
man Catholic piety.
History confirms this refusal. The Anti-Reformation
movement and subsequent similar attempts, especially in
Austria, show what can be accomplished by force against
a religious manifestation. But after the Thirty Years'
War the respective values of Roman and Evangelical
Christianity have remained on the whole constant. It is
evident that two such spiritual powers must in many re-
spects overlap; that each will appeal to temperaments
seeking a new spiritual home in place of worldly inter-
ests. But even in Bavaria, for instance, where the birth-
rate is higher among Catholics, the proportions remain
40 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
unchanged. Even such a movement as the "Los-von-
Bom," in Austria and Bohemia, which, as shown by a
man like Peter ^Rosegger, and by the feeling in wide cir-
cles of the highest Austrian culture is not merely polit-
ical, but religious — even such a movement has achieved
no essential change beyond securing some 20,000 con-
verts. We should here rather consider the results which
are slowly but surely being achieved by evangelical
Christianity in the United States, where out of thirty
million Irish, with their descendants, scarcely more than
ten per cent are reckoned as Eoman Catholics, while the
percentage in Ireland itself is no less than eighty. I
would here refer to the article by Peter Coudon, in the
Catholic Encyclopaedia, and to the calculations made by
the French national economist, Charles Gide, on the basis
of the most thorough religious statistics ever issued, to
wit, those of the United States in 1910. In any case no
one can study carefully the history of the church, and the
conditions of the time, without being compelled to realize
that the Eoman Catholic programme for unity has no
great prospects.
There remains then an evangelical catholicity ; one that
should allow the various religious communities to retain
their creeds and organizations undisturbed, and continue
their accustomed manner of divine service, but at the
same time serve and strengthen the cause of spiritual
unity, realizing that each one of the different sections of
Christianity has its own gift of grace in the common heri-
tage of faith ; its contribution to worship, to the ideal of
life and the future. An evangelical catholicity is impera-
tive, or division will end in helpless weakness. Unity
should be manifested in externals at once, without wait-
ing for the uniformity of creed and church government.
If we look at the development of the church, the appar-
ent confusion of its manifold branches falls into order be-
fore our eyes. From time to time God has sent prophets
CHUECH AND INTEENATIONAL GOODWILL 41
into the world, but not all His people have followed them ;
some of the religions and churches have remained where
they were before. Keligious organization has not been in-
spired as a whole by the new spirit; instead of this, a
part has isolated itself from the rest, and continued its
own life, perhaps also finding new positive ideals.
Thus it was at the coming of our Saviour. The church
called itself the True Israel. But in the eyes of the Jew-
ish congregation this was presumptuous beyond all
bounds. Can any deny that Jesus was the true continua-
tion and fulfilment, not only of Moses and the prophets,
but also of the deep piety of late Judaism? Heroes of
religion have also appeared without involuntarily caus-
ing disruption. St. Augustine and Augustinism did, no
doubt, point in some degree a new road for the Western
Church, which the Oriental would not follow. But St.
Bernard, St. Francis, and others accomplished religious
revivals without schism. Martin Luther is the greatest
example since the introduction of Christianity of a
prophet seeking, albeit vainly, to leaven the whole organ-
ism of the religious community. A new break then oc-
curred, and was further emphasized when Rome itself
gained new positive religious ideals from Ignatius
Loyola.
Something of the same thrilling drama may be found
in the origin of Methodism, for it was surely that ' ' strict-
ness of religion" which in 1729 united the brothers Wes-
ley with two spiritual equals, that gave embodiment to
the new movement. But its soul was derived from Mar-
tin Luther's experience in faith, when Wesley, on his
journey to America in 1735, became acquainted with it
through the Herrnhuter, and later, in 1738, with the writ-
ings of Luther himself. John Wesley had likewise no
desire to divide the church against itself. But the divi-
sion came after all.
When we consider these things we find stronger
grounds for an evangelical catholicity.. It is the only way
42 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
to avoid disintegration. A common organization must be
formed of such a character as to be capable of worthily
representing Christendom, without sectarian exclusion of
any part.
It is a magnificent and lofty task to work for greater
uniformity in creed and church government, as the Con-
ference of Faith and Order seeks to do, but the unity must
find expression now, among the various parts at present
composing the whole.
The Catholic Church has three main divisions : the Or-
thodox Catholic, the Roman Catholic and the Evangelical
Catholic. Among the last-named, the Lutherans amount
to sixty millions, Anglicans and Episcopalians to forty-
five millions. Methodism, which has become the most
characteristic form of religion in the New World, Lu-
ther's evangelical certainty of faith, translated into soul-
sufficing intensity and Anglo-Saxon capability of action,
counts twenty-five millions, etc. There are, of course,
among these many who are only Christians in name, and
many who would not even care to be called Christians.
But a characteristic religious tradition has nevertheless
set its mark upon their spiritual life where any such
exists. Auguste Comte, the founder of Positivism, de-
nied the existence of God, but is nevertheless as genuine
a Roman Catholic as the philosopher, Immanuel Kant, is
a Protestant.
All this Christendom calls for a common channel of ut-
terance. From the throne of St. Peter, as well as from
other parts of the Christian world, words have again and
again gone forth which find echo in every truly Christian
heart, and are spoken on its behalf. But a common plat-
form is lacking. What I propose is an oecumenical coun-
cil, representing the whole of Christendom, and so con-
structed that it can speak on behalf of Christendom,
guiding, warning, strengthening, praying in the common
religious, moral and social matters of mankind. It should
be composed partly by the appointment of men specially
CHUECH AND INTEENATIONAL GOODWILL 43
qualified, partly by election on broad democratic lines. It
is too much to hope that Borne, with its exclusive secta-
rian isolation, should as yet be willing to be represented
in any such common council. There remain then two an-
cient offices in the Christian Church which should qual-
ify their holders without question for the oecumenical
council; to wit, the Patriarchate of Constantinople and
the Archbishopric of Canterbury. The remaining parts
of the evangelical-catholic church in America and Eu-
rope should then be represented, according to their im-
portance and characteristic influence, by three or more
elected members. The first to be considered here would be
the largest contingents of evangelical Catholicism, which
are found in Germany and the United States. After these,
the Scandinavian countries, Finland and the Baltic prov-
inces, and further, Hungary, Switzerland, Holland and
France, where Protestantism possesses a spiritual and
moral influence out of proportion to the number of indi-
viduals actually to be reckoned, etc. This oecumenical
council should not be invested with any external author-
ity, but should have and gain its influence according to
the degree in which it was able to act as a spiritual power.
It should speak, not ex cathedra, but from the depths of
the Christian conscience. A few years back this idea was
still but a dream, a new Utopia. Now the world is become
far smaller, man and mankind likewise, but Grod is grown
greater, and the Gospel and Christ also greater. The
time has come then, when we may venture to believe in the
unity of Christianity and take definite measures to ex-
press the same.*
Upsala, Sweden. Nathan Soderblom.
*The work for an oecumenical conference with certain practical aims, and an
oecumenical council, as here referred to and recommended, make up one of the use-
ful preparations for the World's Conference on Faith and Order, for which an Ameri-
can commission, founded by the episcopal church, and since extended, has been
working during the last eight years with the greatest zeal and method. A complete
agreement on this point was one of the chief results attained in the Conference held
on the 4th of June, 1919, in Upsala, between the President of the Commission for
the Conference on Faith and Order, the Bishop of Chicago, the Bishop of Southern
Ohio, and the Rev. Dr. Parsons, of San Francisco — sent as a delegation to the
Commissions in Furope and Western Asia — and the Archbishop of Upsala, members
of the Cathedral Chapter of Upsala, and other Swedish churchmen.
WHENCE SHALL COME UNITY?
By Rev. Ferdinand Q. Blanchard, D.D., Minister Euclid Avenue
Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio.
All right-minded Christians desire Christian unity. No
one who has any perception of the Spirit which inspired
Jesus can think that He would not be sorry to have His
followers competing for mastery at the expense of one
another. So much is clear as we approach the question of
a united Christendom. But having said this we must
needs realize there are differing points of view existing
which should be fairly recognized before they are, as
they may be, harmonized.
There are some who believe that Jesus had in mind a
great institution. They feel that He must have contem-
plated the world wide institution of the church and that
His purpose is only truly realized in a church which is
thus universal. This idea immediately carries on into the
thought clearly conveyed by these words recently ut-
tered : ' ' The church is not an artificial union of sympa-
thetic souls, drawn together by whatever holy influence ; it
is an organic unity, contained in the nature of things, a
work of God.
Nor is this a merely spiritual unity. It is a concrete
fact, attested by a visible ordering. It is by one baptism
that all are brought into the one Body. And unity is
maintained, as it is begun, by a visible ordering. The
bread which we break, together with the cup of blessing
is a communion, a common participation of the Body of
Christ; so that 'we, who are many, are one bread, one
body; for we all partake of the one bread.' The unity
of the church is a visible unity; there are sacraments,
visible signs, of this work of God. The church itself is,
in St. Cyprian 's language, ' a sacrament of unity. ' ' '
Division thus becomes not a great misfortune simply
but fundamentally a heresy. Jesus grieves over the pres-
ent situation because it defeats His definite plan for an
WHENCE SHALL COME UNITY? 45
institution. The ideal implicit in the words "That they
all may be one as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee"
can only be fulfilled in a great visible organization which
concretely expresses unity.
There are others, on the other hand, who believe that
institutions and organizations had practically no place
in the thought of Jesus. He was concerned with the crea-
tion of a life and that life does not submit itself to me-
chanical or external tests. This would clearly seem to be
the import of the word "The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every
one that is born of the Spirit." And most certainly, it is
argued, He meant this when He said, " So is the kingdom
of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and
should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should
spring and grow up, he knoweth not how."
So deeply concerned was He with the sowing and the
cultivation of the harvest of the right spirit and such
were the external conditions under which He worked that
He did not give any thought to a great organization such
as the church became. The church developed in due time
necessarily to continue the work He began. In this very
real sense it is a divine institution because inherent and
inevitable in the plan of God revealed in Jesus. But it is
always simply an instrument subject at every turn to the
needs of the life of the spirit.
Division is thus primarily a folly so great as to be
really criminal. Because of competitive struggle and the
energy wasted in it the real aim of the church is defeated.
This is inexcusable from the view point of common sense.
It must be a grief to Jesus not because of its effect upon
a mystical unity in the church of His planning but be-
cause it delays the realization of the life of the kingdom
which was His great concern.
Now the divergence in views which is suggested if not
fully defined in the foregoing paragraphs, leads to dif-
46 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
ferent emphases in the effort for unity. The first point
of view involves quite logically the bringing of all men to
a common creedal confession. The visible organic unity
which is predicated can hardly be conceived apart from a
body all of whose members accept practically the same
body of doctrine and agree to its declaration in given
terms. And equally essential is a single unified govern-
ment. An institution which is truly one cannot exist in
unrelated parts.
The other viewpoint, caring very little about doctrinal
agreement and suspicious of governmental unification, is
concerned to bring Christians together for common serv-
ice in the spirit of Christ. It assumes that they will thus
be unified in the true sense. Unity in service for the
Kingdom of God is all important. This attained it will
create the church as a by-product.
Now it is fundamentally necessary in our progress to-
ward unity that these two parties should come into a
larger sympathy. An approach must be made from both
directions to a common ground of meeting. For certain
it is that neither one will ever go over fully to the other.
Nor should this be expected. It would mean a surrender
of views which to each are all important and such as
could not conscientiously be laid aside for the sake of
unity. Therefore neither party alone can achieve the
end sought. Either theory might enroll many present
diverse elements which have in common a theory of the
church at least. So many, however, would still hold out
that the utmost attainment would be only a somewhat
nearer approach to unity than to-day, but by no means
anything like full attainment.
Shall anyone in advance presume to declare authorita-
tively what are the limits beyond which neither may pro-
ceed in concession to the other. If once desire for unity
is given place, and sympathy for those who differ from
one is earnestly cultivated, it is sure that a larger open-
WHENCE SHALL COME UNITY? 47
ness of mind will discover a new empire of real fellow-
ship.
Suppose, to speak more concretely, that those whose
conception of unity involves agreement on creed and
conformity in government should recognize that they
must make great concessions in both respects to Chris-
tians who could never stretch their consciences to accept
in a literal way any of the famous doctrinal utterances of
Christendom, and who being products of democracy look
with extreme suspicion on the older forms of church
government fashioned in any age when democracy had
never made its power felt in the state. On the other hand
consider those who believe, to quote recent significant
words which describe the view of many more than the
group concerning which they were written, that "The
only church universal is spiritual fellowship of individ-
ual souls with God. We do not believe in any form of
sacerdotalism or sacramentalism among Christians who
are all equally priests of the Most High. We reject ec-
clesiastical orders and hold that all believers are on a
spiritual equality. ? '
If upholders of this view should see that in this world
a spiritual fellowship can certainly impress itself more
effectively upon men if possessed of adequate organiza-
tion and that liberty need not be lost in a centralized con-
trol which promotes efficiency, surely liberty and effi-
ciency, the institution and the free life of the spirit would
both be developed.
And if the necessity for such concessions is frankly and
sympathetically considered, the logic of making them be-
comes clear. However one values the institution and de-
sires to make its divine unity visible by doctrinal and
governmental conformity, he must admit that ' ' the king-
dom ' ' filled a central place in Jesus ' ministry. Whatever
he may feel to be implicit as to the church in the gospels
he will frankly recognize what is explicit as to the King-
dom. The emphasis upon the free life of the Kingdom
48 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
which is cherished and cultivated by those who hold a
different theory of the church, certainly will enrich his
point of view, and as he dwells upon what they have to
bring to him he may see that what he has to concede to
them will not affect the great end for which the church
exists.
However one believes in the life free and unfettered
by form, he cannot fail to appreciate that a disembodied
spirit lacks steady and abiding influence. As he dwells
upon this he is easily led on to appreciate fhe worth of a
stately home for the spirit. He grows increasingly to
admire an organization which has preserved glorious
memories and moving traditions, which proceeds down
through the centuries attended by the service of saintly
and heroic lives who have deeply loved it, and which
stands to-day not simply as an aggregation of spiritual
force for the present but as a mighty influence enshrining
and marshalling the power of the past as well.
Do not logic and sentiment combine, therefore, to bring
believers in these divergent theories into a workable fel-
lowship 1 Can it be done 1 If it cannot be, unity is hope-
less. And the blame will rest equally on all elements.
But what gives to many great courage to believe it will
be done is the experience of the war. How little denomi-
national differences mattered in thought and practice!
But what patriotism, love of country, helped to make
possible, shall not Christianity, love of the Kingdom of
God, make inevitable?
Let this war experience point out the way. There were
present two factors; first recognition of a common and
imperative task, secondly, the willingness to work sacri-
ficially upon the task. When we all accept these guiding
principles then church unity will become established in
fact even before it is reached in name.
The common and imperative task is to bring the influ-
ence and spirit of the gospel declared by Jesus into the
life of the world. Is a church essential to this task at
WHENCE SHALL COME UNITY? 49
any point? Then it will be established and maintained.
Is it not absolutely essential? Then it will not be estab-
lished. The question is not, is a church essential to Con-
gregational or Methodist or Episcopal or Roman Catholic
influence in this region; nor will the prestige of this
branch of Christendom suffer if its church is not there.
It is rather, will the progress of the Kingdom of God suf-
fer. On the answer to that query the fate of the church
organization will turn.
And the willingness to raise and answer that query
will involve sacrifice, not always as great as it may seem,
but very real to those who must make it. For we have so
long and so often followed the plan of thinking first if
our branch of the church was represented in a locality
that it will cost many a pang no doubt to make a new
alignment. Some things done will have to be undone, and
some things we are prompted by the old Adam to do, we
shall have to refrain from doing. But when we will make
the sacrifice, then and there apart from all oecumenical
conclaves and perhaps in spite of them we shall have
church unity. The recognition and sacrificial acceptance
of a common goal mark out the road, the only road to
travel.
A second influence to bring together the holders of
differing concepts of the church will be the actual prac-
tice of unity by the free exchange of church letters. This
must be done not in some left-handed fashion with reser-
vations. It must be done cordially and heartily on the
basis that anyone who joins a church that is deliberately
and in straightforward fashion founded on and for the
gospel of Jesus becomes thereby a member of every part
of that church, and thus removal from one local organi-
zation to another must be effected with the least possible
red-tape and the largest amount of fraternal courtesy.
The practice of transferring Christians from one portion
to another of the Christian Church as their residence may
change, without the slighest prejudice to their former
50 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
connection, cannot but create an atmosphere of goodwill
in which the issue of unity will be most wisely and hope-
fully treated.
Finally in the securing of the essential approach such
practical steps for dealing with the the ministry as have
been considered by Episcopalians and Congregationalists
are most significant. Theories as to the clergy involve
the most perplexing and disturbing questions with which
church unity must eventually deal. Progress at this point,
therefore, will be slow. Patience with deep rooted con-
victions must needs temper zeal for the ideal. But prog-
ress must be attempted. And failing of a perfect justice
some sacrifice on one side or the other may be endured
for the sake of the greater ultimate good of a truly uni-
fied church. Until some first steps are taken in a con-
crete, definite way to recognize sympathetically and com-
bine effectively different views of the clergy, endless de-
bates about the general issue of unity are as valuable as
resolutions at an afternoon tea to change the time of the
tides.
In conclusion it would appear to follow from the three
contributing influences to unity suggested that the doing
of practical work together is the supreme need. This the
present writer emphatically believes. Federation is not
church unity. Unified service is not church unity. But
the sound law is enunciated by the fourth Gospel. "If
any man will DO His will, he shall KNOW of the Doc-
trine. " This is the true psychology of the situation.
Leaders may confer. Doubtless they must. Such confer-
ences help at least a little. But we shall learn by doing.
A practical scheme of real cooperation is worth more for
final unity than volumes of resolutions and centuries of
debate. And unless we do practice the things which unity
implies our acceptance of the theory is a pious fraud.
In a little Massachusetts village two churches have
reached unity. They have done for the community what
will be effected for the world when church unity is
WHENCE SHALL COME UNITY? 51
achieved. Human nature is the same sort of stuff in most
particulars in that little village that it is elsewhere in
Christendom. Hence the basis on which they effected
actual unity may well suggest what the larger attain-
ments will involve.
The words constituting their life as a people in a
church of Christ are as follows :
The undersigned have associated themselves together
for the purpose of better fulfilling the common religious
purposes of the community ; to conserve the resources of
the Kingdom of God ; to promote the unity of His disci-
ples for which Christ prayed ; to act as one congregation
for all purposes of work and worship, and to accept as a
bond of union the teachings of Jesus Christ under the
name of The Community Church Society of Pepperell.
Recognizing the divine purpose in organized religion
in the world, for the worship of God, the service of men
and the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ on the
earth ; we hereby covenant with God and with each other
that we will do all in our power to promote these great
ends ; that we will be mindful of the necessity of worship,
of prayer and of fellowship and both by precept and ex-
ample we will endeavor to sustain them at all times ; that
we will be loyal to this church of which we are members
and will share in its worship and other activities and in
the expenses of its work and support, and we will walk to-
gether in brotherly love.
This we covenant looking for strength and guidance to
the great need of all mankind.
Other elements in the attainment of a truly unified
church may appear necessary to some. But this actual
achievement of one church of Jesus Christ in a village
where schism had been a disgrace points a road that must
be travelled and calls us back from debate of theories to
the practice of the thing itself.
Ferdinand Q. Blanchard.
FACING THE PROBLEM OF CHRISTIAN UNION
By Rev. Ellis B. Barnes, Minister Franklin Circle Disciples ' Church,
Cleveland, Ohio
" Where the moral element has been foremost, where men have been
chiefly bent upon contending with practical evil, and making so much as
they can understand of the law of God the rule of their dealings among
themselves, there the religion has spread over the earth like water for
the purifying of the nations. Where the superstitious or theological element
has been in the ascendant, where charity has been second to orthodoxy,
and religion has been an affair of temples and sacrifices and devotional re-
finements, there as uniformly it has lost its beneficent powers, it has frat-
ernized with the blackest and darkest of human passions, and has carried
with it as its shadow, division and hatred and cruelty. The power in the
universe, whatever it be, which envies human happiness, has laid hold of
conscience and distracted it from its proper function. Instead of looking
any more for our duties to our neighbors, we go astray, and quarrel with
each other over imaginary speculative theories. We wonder at the failure
of Christianity, at the small progress it has madeTin comparison with the
brilliancy of its rise ; but if men had shown as much fanaticism in carrying
into practice the Sermon on the Mount as in disputing the least of the
thousand dogmatic definitions which have superseded the Gospel, we should
not now be lamenting with Father Newman that ' God's control over the
world is so indirect, and His action so obscure.' "
Short Studies, Vol. I, pp. 100-1.
How will Protestantism feel if she still bears the sword
of division after the warring nations of Europe have
thrown their swords away 1 How will she feel after hav-
ing preached of peace and good will to be rebuked by a
world controlled by much lower principles than her own?
For while the church has an abundance of peace and good
will it is much like a rich man's finances, not always avail-
able. What a calamity if the internal strife continues
while seasoned warriors are sitting at their ease under
their own vine and fig-tree. Too often the church with
the best of intentions has waited for an opportune mo-
ment that never came and, like the lame man at the pool
of Bethesda, while she is coming another steppeth in be-
fore her. The greatest of opportunities is already at her
door.
I am not among those who believe that a united church
could have prevented the Great War, but I do believe
that never were our divisions so inexcusable or so in-
tolerable as at this present hour. Yet there are signs of
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 53
promise everywhere. No longer do rival congregations
indulge in denunciation of each other — we are often
united in spirit, and that fact makes the divisions seem
less culpable than they are. Denominational leaders can
now get together and discuss the problems of unity in the
best of tempers ; maybe the tempers are too urbane for
the best results, and that a good old-fashioned discussion
of differences might be the best thing that could happen.
Be that as it may, the terrible bloodshed of recent years
makes anything that savors of strife seem impossible to
justify.
I do not believe we have yet set for ourselves the task
of getting to the root of our divisions, and it is to a few
of these which I desire to call attention, hoping others
with a wider knowledge of the subject will carry the dis-
cussion to greater lengths.
Matters of Emphasis and Interpretation
It is claimed by some that if we will renounce our
creeds and confessions of faith and take the Bible only
as our rule of faith and practice, that the divisions will
come to an end. So far as my acquaintance with evan-
gelical bodies goes they do take the Bible as their guide,
even with the creeds and confessions (to which a very
subordinate place is given) yet we are far apart, and the
reason is not far to seek. All reforming bodies in Prot-
testantism went directly back to the Bible in the begin-
ning of their enterprises, e.g., Wycliffe and Luther. The
Bible must be interpreted and every sect soon comes to
regard those interpretations as identical with the Word
itself. With so many interpretations it is not surprising
that the divisions continue, even with the Scriptures ac-
cepted as the infallibly inspired guide.
Moreover, the purely denominational doctrines which
are emphasized week after week, with the sanction it may
be of centuries, come to be of peculiar sacredness, and are
fortified by reason and association alike. What is vital
54 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
to one sect is a matter of indifference to the other. Some
of these represent the life of the donomination which, if
they were given up, the denomination would cease to be.
Yet every denomination believes its peculiar doctrines to
be the essence of Christianity. What would the Sabbita-
rian be without his Sabbath, yet if he proposed that the
observance of that day be made the basis of agreement how
would his proposal be received? If he gave up his be-
lief he would feel that he was renouncing the faith and
would be worse than an infidel. And with this class of
doctrines goes a zeal which is not easily checked by the
most powerful appeals to reason. It is easy to ask a man
to give up a doctrine which to us is a matter of indif-
ference, and he can just as easily turn the tables and ask
us to give up what is a matter of indifference to him.
So the remedy is not in receiving the Bible alone as the
rule of faith and practice, but in devising some means
whereby we could come to a clearer understanding of its
meaning.
The Liberty of Prophesying
Divisions seem to have their root in the doctrines of
Christianity itself. We have at this hour something like
164 denominations in America and 183 in Great Britain.
These seem inseparable from the genius of our religion.
Schisms began under the eyes of the apostles at Corinth
and divisions have continued ever since. They are as in-
digenous to Eomanism as to Protestantism, despite a su-
perficial unity which easily deceives. One need but to re-
call the persecutions of the centuries immediately pre-
ceding the Eeformation to understand how deep some of
these dissensions were. All through the centuries we
hear of the "scandal" of a divided church. There were
divisions in the last century and there will be others in
days to come, unless the future shall prove to be very dif-
ferent from the past.
Why do I think so 1 Because with the Protestant doc-
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 55
trine of the liberty of prophesying, dissent and division
seem to be inevitable. Separations are the final appeal
of the conscience in matters of difference. Yet without
the doctrine of the liberty of prophesying there can be no
Protestantism. It has remade Christendom. It means
liberty and life even if it means division now and then.
It has shaped the destiny of more than one nation. It
has helped man to discover himself and his possibilities.
It has set the printing press running night and day to
tell of his achievements. It has lifted horizons that the
mind may lose itself in immensities. It has clearly de-
fined the boundaries of the cathedral — the antithesis of
the press. It has made the difference between Spain and
England, between North and South America. It has
made freemen out of slaves. It has made the Bible an
open book. It has taken it out of the solemn retirements
of the cloister and set it in the light of noon-day. This
doctrine is the inspiration for mighty men who think
great thoughts into iron and steel, and put the burdens
of the world on the shoulders of steam and electricity.
Because of it men incarnate themselves in the whirling
wheels of countless factories until machinery seems to
reach out its hands to find a soul. The doctrine of the
rights of conscience (to use a synonym) has given great
books to the world wherein shall live again the souls that
overflowed in light and blessing from one country to
many countries, from one day to all the days, and has
made these souls to walk with the humblest down the
eternities. The page whereon is found "the life-blood of
a master spirit" is ever the banner that leads men from
darkness to light. On this great doctrine the public li-
brary is built which stands in the crowded city to invite
the multitude to turn from the clamor and dust to the
quiet and untainted air wherein pure spirits lived and
moved to help us on toward the perfect. On it is built
the chapel and the church which tell of ancient battle-
fields whereon brave men died that posterity might live
56 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
to guard well the treasure they bequeathed — the right to
worship God as every Protestant believes he should be
worshipped without the intervention of creed or priest.
In churches, the friends of freedom dedicate themselves
anew to the work they began, and record the long story
on the tablets of their hearts. The triumphs of science,
of invention, of the human mind in many ways are found
most frequently in those countries which reverence most
this great doctrine which has its roots in the Bible, and
its boldest affirmations, though not then fully understood
in the Lutheran Eeformation. What America is to-day,
what Protestantism is, is due to the application of the
doctrine of the right of prophesying, the right of men to
read and understand the Bible for themselves as those
who must give account to God.
Perils of This Liberty
Undoubtedly this doctrine has its perils. To Eome
such a doctrine is anathema. She denies the right of
every man to become his own priest, or to study the Bible
for himself. Against that doctrine Eome has set herself
with all her power. Why should she not when it has
in it the elements that will wear her thrones to shifting
sands 1 Why should not the papalist look with fear upon
a doctrine that makes every man a law to himself, and
sets the heads of the church at nought, as surely as it
sets at nought the claims of any human infallibility?
The authority of the pope, as set over against the liberty
of the individual, has kept the Eoman Church united ex-
ternally, at least, while the exercise of that liberty which
is the glory of Protestantism, has broken the unity and
brought many sects into being. That liberty produced
Protestants before the days of Protestantism, and re-
formers before the days of the Eeformation. The age-
long struggle of the church has been between the right
of the individual and the principle of authority.
Let us hear what Eome has to say on this subject : The
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 57
following is taken from the Jesuit weekly, America, and
reprinted in The Outlook of July 12, 1916 :
"The American Bible Society has just completed a
century of endeavor, and throughout the country there
has been ringing a chorus of congratulation. Almost the
only voice not heard is that of the Catholic Church * * *
What is the reason for this attitude of hostility?
The first reason is that the American Bible Society,
from its very inception, has raised the standard of revolt.
The church, from the time of the Council of Trent, has
repeatedly forbidden that any versions of the sacred
Scriptures should be printed without the sanction and ap-
proval of the Bishops or the Apostolic See.
The American Bible Society has refused to recognize
the existence of this law. Unauthorized and unguided
by an authoritative teaching body, this association has
during the past century promoted the translation of the
Scriptures * * * In every copy thus translated or dis-
tributed there have been passages more or less tinctured
with dogmatic error ; from every copy, too, whole books
of the sacred texts have been omitted. How then could
the church congratulate any society on such an achieve-
ment?
Besides, the church wishes by her opposition to empha-
size her entire disapproval of the underlying principle
which is the motive force of all the activity of the Bible
societies. It is a cardinal Protestant principle that the
Scriptures are the one and all-sufficient rule of faith ; that
the individual reading of the Bible, without assistance
from notes or commentaries, is the sure guide to revealed
religious truth. Not such is the doctrine of the church,
which has always held that the Scriptures are a supple-
mentary, not the primary, much less the exclusive, source
of revelation; that Christ's doctrines in the economy that
He himself established, were to be conveyed to the world
by the preaching of the apostles and their successors;
and that Holy Writ is to be interpreted, not at the in-
dividual reader's pleasure, but strictly in accordance
with the sense of living tradition which has come down
unbroken from the apostles. This doctrine the American
Bible Society denies ; in its opinion each reader may in-
terpret the Bible as he thinks best."
58 the christian union quarterly
Are Divisions Sinful?
So insistent are we that divisions are sinful that we
stop to raise the question, Are they sinful! If so, they
must be judged in the light of their later history, for in
their inceptions they may be wholly justifiable and in-
evitable. Did Luther do what God would have him
do when he followed the leadings of his conscience or
exercised the liberty of prophesying which, at root is the
same thing, and broke with Rome thereby further de-
stroying the unity of the ancient church? Every Prot-
estant will justify Luther, else the world would have re-
mained under the dominion of the pope, and the reign of
the Dark Ages would have continued until a Luther did
arise. The battles as a result of his revolt were san-
guinary, the price paid for liberty was incalculable, but
not too great. The Protestant who turns his face from
Rome to Jerusalem, as did those who answered the trum-
pet call of Luther, becomes the real successor to the
apostles, even though he severed an alleged line of suc-
cession that had continued for centuries. The divided
church becomes a better one than the " united " one had
been ; it becomes more conformed to the original pattern
and ideals, if we may accept the testimony of all the
great Protestant leaders; and even the good effects of
the Reformation may be seen in the Roman Church it-
self. Slowly but surely the causes that led to abuses
were removed, and the fruits of repentance began gradu-
ally to appear. When, therefore, we speak of the "sin
of division" we must do so with reservations, for divi-
sion, as in the case of Thomas and Alexander Campbell
may be a work of righteousness. And we cannot forget
that the earlier Reformers were moved to cry aloud and
spare not when they saw the immoralities and the doc-
trinal perversions of their time ; and to the end that both
might be corrected they made their appeal to the New
Testament to justify the divisions they created. They
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 59
were Bible teachers and Bible translators. They could
have had earthly rewards and their names inscribed with
the names of saints and heroes if they had been willing to
pay the price for such renown by their silence or their
submission in the face of wrongs against which they had
raised their voices. But in many instances they chose
the lot of suffering and the martyr's crown. They felt
that to be freemen among the lowly was a greater honor
than to be slaves among the princes and rulers of the
earth. To such as these we owe all that we are religiously
and politically — priests and kings are we before God —
and to these Eeformers we owe a debt that we can only
repay, not by slavishly following in their footsteps, not
by repeating old phrases out of which the meaning has
dropped long ago, but by daring to rebuke the wrongs of
our age as they rebuked theirs, by being willing to suffer
for truth and righteousness, and to have such faith in
our cause that we can live serenely above all the scorn and
the injustice of any officialism which devours widow's
houses and for a pretence makes long prayers. Some-
times the overzealous speak of the denominations
which are the outgrowth of the genuine reforming spirit
in an uncomplimentary way, and have the habit of re-
ferring to them as the "sects." If ever any are tempted
to do so with any feeling of superiority, let us remember
the chiding Isaac Errett, the founder of the Christian
Standard, gave such people in his day :
Are these sects in the Scriptural sense of that term?
Unquestionably they are sects, viewed in the Eomeward
bearing and connection of their history; for they came
out from Eome, and separated themselves, or were sepa-
rated from that communion. To the Koman Catholic
Church, then, they are sects ; and such of them as have
come away from other Protestant bodies are sects as they
stand related to those from whom they came out. But
are they sects in the Christward bearing of their history?
It would be well for many who are constantly denouncing
the "sects" as the daughters of the "mother of harlots"
60 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
to pause and consider this question. They acknowledge
themselves to be, in a certain sense, sects ; but that there
is a marked and fundamental distinction between the
sects denounced in the Scriptures and these Protestant
parties, must be conceded by every intelligent reader of
history. Those broke away from the church of Christ —
these from the church of Eome; those went away from
the truth; these are coming back to it ; those turned their
backs to the authority of Christ, and set their faces to
falsehood and delusion — these have turned their backs to
the pope, and set their faces to the word of God and the
cross of Christ; the leaders of those [factionists in the
apostolic church] were men of corrupt and ambitious
minds, with whom gain and power were godliness — the
leaders of these [men who left Eome] were men who feared
God and wrought righteousness, and "counted all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus
Christ." How is it possible to place the latter in the
same category with the former, unless apostasy and ref-
ormation mean the same thing? To our mind there is a
grave injustice in this estimate of the great Protestant
parties. Granting that Rome is ' ' the mother of harlots, ' ?
by what peculiar logic is it made to appear that these are
her offspring? Is it because they came out from her?
Then were the ancient sects the children of the church of
God, and this divine institution must be recognized as the
mother of sects ! But John says : ' ' They went out from
us because they were not of us; for had they been of us
they would have continued with us ;" and so, justly, Eome
says of the revolting Protestants. * * * * People
who leave the pope for Christ, and commandments and
traditions of men for the word of God, and the mummer-
ies of a debasing superstition for the light of truth and
the simplicity of spiritual worship, and who bravely suf-
fer unto death for the testimony of Jesus, have won, at
the very least, a right to be spared this sort of slander, es-
pecially at the hands of those who profess supreme de-
votion to the word of God, and who are indebted to these
very Protestants for all the advances they have been en-
abled to make in spiritual knowledge and enjoyment.*
Truly, we err when we so glibly denounce many as sec-
*Memoirs of Isaac Errett, vol. 2, pp. 56-58.
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 61
tarians who are our fathers in the spirit, from whom we
have received the blessings that we to-day enjoy. There
are sectarians in the world, and oftentimes those are the
most sectarian themselves who most loudly denounce the
sectarianism of others.
Unity Not the End of the Church 's Existence
It must be evident to us all that union is not the end of
the church's existence, but only a means to an end, viz.,
the spread of righteousness in the earth. Hence when
righteousness was to be attained, there was often the ne-
cessity of sacrificing the unity of the church. ' ' Better, ' '
said men in every time, "to join the few meeting in some
obscure corner, devoted to what we believe to be the
ideals of Christ, than to be identified with the multitudes
under the dome of some lofty cathedral where those
ideals are violated, even if the unity there be conspic-
uous." Of what value to a man is unity whose concep-
tions of life and duty are wholly at variance with
those held by the organization in which he has mem-
bership? There is nothing for him to do but to find a
place with kindred spirits, even though another denomi-
nation be born. Was not this the course of all the Ee-
formers? While some of them, as the Campbells, were
devoted heart and soul to the principle of unity they sac-
rificed that in order that a more enduring amalgam might
be found. They exercised the right of protest at the cost
of unity, even when unity was the goal they sought. So
that unity belongs to the superstructure rather than to
the foundations. Without righteousness unity becomes
a rope of sand.
The Intercessory Prayer
We should all read the seventeeth chapter of John's
Gospel anew. I wish we would read it as it is, not as we
often do with a veil over our eyes. We have read it as a
prayer for denominational or church unity. Our sermons
62 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
for union are based largely on that chapter. But there
is no such hint in it of the union of a divided household of
faith. Is not the oneness for which Christ prayed that
of the believer with Himself? "As Thou art in Me and I
in Thee, ' ' ' ' that they may be one in Us, ' ' so runs the text.
Is that passage to be thought of at all with a divided
church before our eyes 1 The union Christ prayed for is
of a wholly different kind. The chapter is a repetition
of the teaching of the parable of the vine and the
branches, and must be interpreted in harmony with that.
When we give an exposition of the parable we are quick
to say that the "branches" do not refer to Christ's
church because it had no branches. We make it clear
that the believer is the branch. Yet we are swift to read
"branches" into the intercessory prayer, and imply that
the union of separated churches is meant. In other
words, we read "branches" out of one passage, so as to
make it clear that the church is not meant, and read it
into another passage so as to make it clear that the church
is meant. Then we must remember that the church was
not in existence, and it would require a mighty stretch of
the reason to concur in the assumption that Christ knew
that His church would divide, and that this prayer was
made in anticipation of that fact, especially when we
know how little Christ said of the church, how unorgan-
ized it was in the beginning, and how soon its simplicity
was developed into many complex elements. The unity
for which Christ prayed, let me repeat, was that of the
believer with Himself, a spiritual oneness, a vastly dif-
ferent thing from what we mean by Christian union.
That there are Scriptures covering the doctrine of Chris-
tian union is beyond question, but the intercessory prayer
is not one of these.
The Pull or Property Interests
As we have indicated elsewhere organizations are
great enemies to the pursuit of truth. The official mind is
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 63
ever antagonistic to the prophetic spirit and the conflict
is unending. Officialism sets itself up to resist every re-
form and innovation which is not agreeable to the exist-
ing order. This conflict can be distinctly traced in the
beginnings of Wycliffe's reform, no less than Luther's.
The earthly love of power and privilege and money has
played a tremendous part in the affairs of the church
from the earliest period in its history. It is never easy
to adjust the rights of property to the demands of prog-
ress.
If such interests lay a restraining hand upon reforma-
tory movements; they also lay a hand upon every ap-
proach towards Christian union. The question naturally
arises: "How can we give up property representing mil-
lions of dollars, the buildings, the annuities, the bequests
which we have received for many years ; the sums given
to one denomination which would not be given to an-
other V 9 If it be suggested that all property be held in
common it will be found that the proposal is much easier
than the consummation of such a plan. The poorer de-
nominations would be willing, while the wealthier would
dissent. Every denomination feels the pull of property
interests and very justly. When different denominations
come to draw up proposals for the union of all, this dif-
ficulty will be one of the most serious to adjust.
What can be done about it ? Only this : churches must
subordinate all temporal interests to the one interest of
knowing and doing the truth. Property cannot be abol-
ished, but it can be given a subordinate place in the think-
ing of the leaders in every denomination. If men are to
be made free in the truth, then no inhibitions are to be
laid on men while they attempt to find the truth. It is
folly "to send men to the Scriptures, and to tell them be-
fore they go that they will be driven from the church on
earth and in heaven, unless they find in the Scriptures
the doctrines embodied in the popular creed. ' ' And equal
folly to ask men to be true to the light that is in them
64 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
when what is meant is that the light shall not disturb a
bat or an owl anywhere within the sacred precints of the
denomination. Men must get every weight off their
backs, and every drag from their feet and every shadow
out of their hearts before they can stand up straight as
men who do not fear to face the sun, as men who have
turned toward every shining goal, as men whose lives are
thrilled with joy in every worthy quest and who are never
moved by fear. Men must think in denominational terms
often, but more often in interdenominational terms, if
they are anxious for unity. If organizations are magni-
fied there will never be union. But if brotherhood, the
spirit of unity, truth, love, peace and goodness be exalted,
then union will be more than a remote possibility; and
we shall lose sight of the greatness of our house in the
grandeur of our Guest.
Union by Deeds, Not Creeds
The prospect for union to-day is more hopeful through
cooperation in good works than it ever has been. If we
may find ground for encouragement it is here. Doctrinal
disagreements are still in a deadlock, or old subjects of
dispute are dropped, with no gain on either side. Nor is
there any likelihood for doctrinal adjustments, even if
some loose ends of doctrine are floating in the air in the
hope of finding connection somewhere, since doctrinal em-
phasis is being moderated all the time. As long as people
discussed their differences there was hope ; now the dis-
cussions are a sort of complimentary address on the
points of agreement. Wherein we differ, silence gives
consent to disagree. Possibly, the agreement to disagree
pro tern, may help us to come to an understanding later
on. It is not a dream that severe and crucial doctrines
sometimes mellow when we get them out of the spot-
light. But there is no controversy to-day over the har-
monizing tendencies of good works, such as movements
for civic betterments, the works of charity, the encourage-
ment of public morality in union meetings, and even union
FACING CHRISTIAN UNITY PROBLEM 65
revivals. It is not likely that we shall ever pass into one
body by way of doctrine ; it is much more likely we shall
reach our final agreements by way of deeds. Europe was
hardly human in the days when doctrinal tests were su-
preme. No man was safe if he questioned the accepted
standards, no matter how saintly his life. While the the-
ological temper prevailed, Europe was a shambles where
blood ran like water. As long as that temper remains
there will be strife and confusion and every evil work.
When that theological era passed away Europe became
civilized and the new world was born. It is possible now
with the abandonment of the theological habit for men to
live together under one church roof, despite their differ-
ences, while thoroughly united in forwarding every good
work. It ought to be possible for men to live together in
peace and harmony, enjoying the communion of saints,
devoted to the task of serving their fellow-men, even if
on many texts they do not agree. And with the doctrine
of the right of prophesying, to which I have devoted so
much space in this discussion, within the reach of every
dissenter and the bold and adventurous spirits in every
denomination, it is not easy to see how creedal bonds can
be framed to hold very many. We come, however, into a
different world the moment we come into the realm of
practical affairs. Whether the dream of unity on good
works as a basis shall ever remain a dream I know not,
or whether the doctrinarian will consent to any union
without the adjustment of doctrinal difficulties I know
not. But I do know that a union on the basis of deeds has
back of it the Saviour's test of discipleship, "By their
fruits ye shall know them. ' '
Keligion as Seen by the Practical Observer
The world thus far has been saved by the fundamentals
upon which all are agreed. Those fundamentals have
ripened into helpful Christian service, whether done by
the Salvation Army or by the Sisters of Charity. There
is neither creed nor cult in Christ-likeness. The scholar
66 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
may know much about the issues involved in our fine dis-
tinctions, but the man of the street, and he is a very im-
portant man in this discussion because of the numbers of
such, knows Christianity only as he sees it in works of
charity and mercy. To him the activities of the Eed
Cross nurse on the battlefield present a picture of Christ
walking once more in many forms among the sons of men.
Whatever be the defects of creed, we must admit that the
lives of thousands have been deeply touched by the Life
of lives. The churches which to-day are emphasizing the
social and humane side of Christian effort are praying
that all Christians may be one. This cannot be said of
those who seem to find in Christianity a system that ad-
mits of endless debates and hair-splitting over dogmas.
And above all the forces that make for Christian union
let us not forget those unseen yet real powers which are
moving us closer together, although we may not be able
to set them down on paper, but which may be felt wher-
ever men gather of different names who have the mind of
Christ. It is under the ripening sun of summer that the
distances between the rows of grain disappear.
Every denomination is willing that unity should come
by the acceptance of its doctrinal standards. There will
be general rejoicing if such an hour should come. But all
of us should rejoice as sincerely that if by way of doctrine
we should not find it possible to come together, then by
way of deeds, that from us, as Christians of one heart
and one soul, the world will learn, amid many varying ex-
pressions, the secret which inspired the lives of the saints
who have made our faith the glory of the world.
From the fanatical narrowness which goes hand in
hand with our religious earnestness ; from the harshness
which clings to our love of truth; from the indifference
which results from our wide toleration ; from the inde-
cision which intrudes itself into our careful discrimina-
tion ; from the folly of the good, and from the selfishness
of the wise, Good Lord deliver us. Amen. — Dean Stanley.
Ellis B. Barnes.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS
ARE SAYING ABOUT UNITY
The passage of the Enabling Act by the British Parlia-
ment has some admirable features, but on the whole the
tendency will be toward sectarianizing the Anglican
Church. The Congregationalist, Boston, says :
"The British House of Commons has passed to its third reading what
is called the Enabling Act. It is a new charter of self-government for
the English Established Church. Voting membership in its assemblages
is expressly confined by the measure to those who are members of the Es-
tablished Church and no other. That immediately changes the character
of the body from that of an age-long and on the whole amazingly suc-
cessful attempt to include the whole nation religiously, to that of a more
or less comprehensive but creed-bound sect which makes its own limitations
of membership. It excludes all but its declared adherents — among them
technically also the King, who is also a member by virtue of his office of
the Established Church of Scotland. The British government, as repre-
sented by the House of Commons, is always loath to intrude upon eccle-
siastical affairs and while its control of church legislation is reasserted,
practically it will not go beyond a reluctantly exercised veto power. The
logical result of the sectarianizing of the tolerant National religious es-
tablishment of England is its inevitable disestablishment, which cannot
long be delayed. It will soon follow the fate of its daughter churches in
Ireland and Wales. To what extent disendowment will follow depends in
part upon the use which the Established Church makes of its new charter.
Already a well-known public man has openly advocated the sale to the
highest bidder of all the church properties, on the ground that the Estab-
lished Church serves only a part of the English people."
When Bishop F. J. Kinsman resigned from the bishop-
ric of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Delaware to
enter the Eoman Catholic Church, in accordance with the
canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the presid-
ing bishop sent to the retiring bishop the following letter :
"December 29, 1919.
The Et. Rev. Frederick Joseph Kinsman, D.D., Bishop :
Rt. Rev. and Dear Sir:
In pursuance of the provisions of Canon 34 I beg hereby to give you
notice that, acting with the consent of the three Bishops next in senior-
ity, and because of your formal admission into a religious body not in
communion with this church, and upon a certificate of facts furnished
on December 12, 1919, by the Standing Committee of the Diocese of
Delaware and recorded, I do now suspend you from the exercise of your
official ministry until such time as the House of Bishops shall investigate
the matter.
"I furthermore give you notice that, unless you shall within six months
68 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
make declaration that the facts alleged in said certificate are false and
shall demand a trial, you will be liable to deposition from the ministry.
"In testimony whereof witness my hand in the city of St. Louis, and
in the State and Diocese of Missouri, this twenty-ninth day of December,
A. D. 1919.
DANIEL S. TUTTLE,
Presiding Bishop. "
There is nothing improper in this letter according to
the custom of the Protestant Episcopal Church, or any
church for that matter, It is only mentioned here to show
the wide division in the Church of Christ. Usually on a
minister's going from one body to another instead of a
letter of greeting and good-will, he is deposed from the
ministry of the body which he leaves. Of course we
recognize that there are grave difficulties in the way of
its being otherwise, but it is pertinent to ask, Is this the
proper procedure! In the instance of the Protestant
Episcopalians and the Eoman Catholics their ministers
are episcopally ordained, and there is a large party, if not
the controlling party, in the Protestant Episcopal Church
that looks with more favor upon the Eoman Catholic
Church than upon any other church in Christendom, yet
for one of their clergymen to go to that church he will be
deposed from the ministry. We are still living at that
period when it is a common belief that a minister commits
a great sin when he leaves one religious body for min-
isterial service in another and deposition from the for-
mer ministry or exclusion from the former fellowship
is a common practice. So long as this custom continues
it goes to show (1) that all ordinations are the ordina-
tions of a party in the church, (2) that under present con-
ditions there can be no ministry for the Church of Christ
universal, (3) that as long as this fallacy prevails there
can never be a united church, and (4) that the imperative
need is for a change in the present custom, as a contribu-
tion to the unity of the church.
Regarding the Lutheran union in America, The Living
Church, Milwaukee, says :
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 69
' ' A special report of the Lutheran Year Book, just issued, indicates that
the greater portion of the Lutheran Church in America is to-day working
together, the problem of uniting the branches of that Church in America
having in large degree been solved by organization of the National Lu-
theran Council, with 1,693,947 Lutherans cooperating. The Synodical Coun-
cil is the only group so far which has not joined the rest of the Lutherans
in the National Council. A little over a year ago, instead of two bodies
there were twelve separate and distinct bodies within the Lutheran Church
in America, each independent of the others."
However friendly Roman Catholics may be unofficially,
when they speak officially it is with the rigidity of the
Eoman Caesar, claiming themselves the legitimate off-
spring and the rest of ns the illegitimates. In The Con-
structive Quarterly for December Dr. Pierre Batiffol,
canon of Notre Dame, Paris, writes :
''Catholicism does not content itself with desiring to be a visible unity
and claiming that it has an episcopate of bishops in succession from the
apostles, in other words, that it possesses an historic continuity which
links it with the apostolic age: Catholicism claims the obligation of being
what it is by virtue of the Institution of the Saviour. It is a legitimacy
by divine right. Outside of it, there is no legitimacy. Not long ago I read
in the Guardian (August 21, 1919) that the attitude of the Roman Church
towards the movement for the reunion of the churches is ' Bourbonesque ;'
this cannot be denied, and we accept this qualification of our conception of
unity. But we must at once add that it is the old conception of Catholicism
and of the church, the conception of St. Cyprian, St. Ambrose, and St. Augus-
tine, the conception which Leo XIII expounds and makes his own when he
writes: 'The Church of Christ is one; it is perpetual; whoever separates
himself from it is unfaithful to the will and command of Christ our Lord,
he abandons the way of salvation and goes to his doom.' "
It is this kind of talk that makes the world look con-
temptuously upon the whole church, one sect sending an-
other sect to its "doom" because it does not subscribe to
certain theological dogmas. A century ago people of one
sect would become angered on being sent to their "doom"
by the authority of another sect, but to-day nobody takes
it seriously. Some laugh about it ; others are grieved be-
cause of its unbrotherliness. The Et. Eev. William Pat-
erson, moderator of the Church of Scotland, in his ad-
dress before the General Assembly, according to The
Constructive Quarterly, says:
"If the difference between Romanism and Protestantism is, as I con-
ceive, nothing less than a difference in the view taken of essential provisions
of the Christian religion, and also a difference as to the relations of au-
thority and liberty in the religious sphere, it is difficult to see how a basis
70 THE CHRISTIAN" UNION QUARTERLY
of union could be found which would be an intellectual and religious pos-
sibility, and also morally satisfactory. A less formidable gulf separates
the Church of England from the Protestant Churches of the Reformed
group, of which the Church of Scotland would be generally accepted as
one of the best accredited representatives. There are many circumstances
which would dispose us to welcome union with the Church of England —
among them our debt to the great Anglican divines, scholars, and idealists,
as well as a recognition of the need of the Empire for a unified church;
but we cannot be blind to the fact that the dominant school of Anglican
theology has ostentatiously dissociated itself from the Protestant name and
heritage which most of us regard as our precious possession, and that it
treats almost as dogmas of the first rank certain tenets touching church
government and Orders which, apart from any bearing which they may
have on the validity of our ministry, seem to us to be more than question-
able excrescences on the sum of authenticated Christian doctrine. "
In the same magazine President William Douglas Mac-
kenzie, of the Hartford Seminary, writes regarding the
type of unity as follows :
"In this connection it ought to be clearly realized that the unity for
which I am pleading may be of a form entirely new in the history of the
church. Historians know that the type of unity by which the various por-
tions of the Greek Church are held in one great communion is entirely
different from, in many important ways directly contradictory to, the
type of unity which has been established by the Roman Church. The
principle of unity in the latter case is derived from the history of the
Roman Empire amidst which it arose. It is unity of governmental con-
trol, the submission of all to one personality. The Greek type of unity is
derived from the political history of Greece, and is found in the main-
tenance of one doctrine and one liturgy in all its self-governing parts.
Each type is real and distinct from the other."
Speaking of the American churches, he says :
"If we look for some sources of influence which can be immediately
brought to bear upon them all, I turn with great confidence to the fact
that in the great cities a range of consultation can be at once entered
upon, an intensity of will can be awakened that will immediately produce
a revision of thought, of feeling and jpurpose throughout these denomina-
tions to the remotest corners of the land. My proposal is not that the
churches, say of New Yorky should prepare a plan of reunion, but that
they should study thoroughly the situation, discover the evils of division,
conceive of their powers when united, awaken among all their members a
desire for cooperation and unity. When that has been done, the churches
of New York, and of other cities acting likewise, can send to the supreme
court or council of each denomination a united deputation and memorandum
of resolutions, demanding that they take forward action towards union.
This is the shortest road to actual reunion open to the churches of America.
If the Christian leaders of these great centres of national life were to take
such action, if they combined to thresh through the whole subject with
their eyes on immediate and practical results, it is certain that all the
leaders of all the churches would hear them; it is certain that everywhere
the hearts of true Christians would respond. Denominational peculiarities
will seem small; denominational rivalries will seem mean in the presence
of what they will be able to describe and to urge upon the conscience and
the heart of the church.
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 71
Bishop Edwin James Palmer, of Bombay, dissents
from Protestant union, however, in an article in the same
magazine and says :
" About Pan-Protestantism a word of warning needs to be uttered. If
all the Protestants in the world succeeded in uniting together over against
those who held the historic Catholic position, ultimate unity would be re-
tarded, not advanced. English Churchmen must remember that they have
already in the English Church a more inclusive unity than any which could
be made out of a Pan-Protestant alliance or union. Inclusive is our
watchword. If we can achieve a unity which will include the energy,
power and liberty of Protestantism with the stability, humility and order
of Catholicism and its unbroken connexion with the past, then by all means
let us join it. On the other hand, if we are invited to join a Pan-Prot-
estant unity, which is unconnected with the past by its ministry or by
respect for past experience and past decisions, let us firmly and deliberately
refuse. We have at home in our own church, however numerically small,
a more inclusive unity, a nearer approach to the church of the future. By
developing that church, by forcing it to be more many-sided, more elastic,
more alive, we shall serve the purposes of God better than by abandoning
our Catholic heritage and our Catholic hope.
In an article in The Challenge, London, Canon E. A.
Burroughs says regarding unity and liberty:
"Anything that deals in condemnations, exclusions, monopolies of truth
and grace, puts itself outside the pale of true catholicity. But for any-
thing that is doing Christ's work and revealing His Spirit, though it be
in what we think heterodox or superstitious (and therefore dangerous)
ways, we must yet provisionally make room, so long as the rite or custom
or belief in question pretends to no superior validity or exclusive sanction
from God, and is content, on the same principle, to 'live and let live* —
the 'dangerous' leopard, spots and all, lying down with the 'safe' and cus-
tomary kid.
"My time is gone, and I cannot try to illustrate this principle of ex-
cluding only what is itself, in intention or effect, exclusive, and working
towards a true Catholicism, not by authoritative inclusion or exclusion of
this or that, but by the Christian plan of faith in God and inspired sym-
pathy with the mind of Christ. It can, I think, be exactly applied to
the current problems which lie behind such words as 'reunion,' 'benedic-
tion, ' and ' modernism. ' I have not attempted to submit a map with
boundaries marked. But the formula which has been offered instead will,
I believe, suggest solutions of all our 'delimitation' problems which will
at least accord with the Spirit of Christ, with the needs of our age, with
the genius of the Church of England, and with the true tradition of the
Evangelical school of thought. For, after all, cannot we, as children of
the Reformation, adopt the very words of Fathel Tyrrell, Jesuit and Mod-
ernist at once though he was? And does not this itself suggest how wide
the true catholicity may be ? ' Liberty, ' he writes in his ' Reply to Cardinal
Mercier, ' — ' Liberty, and not compulsion, is the only way to secure a healthy
progress towards that free theological unity which, though not a necessity,
is a primary desideratum for the well-being of the church. Had no more
ever been imposed as of necessity than what Christ imposed — the Kingdom,
the Way, the Life; had faith in the living personality of Christ not been
confounded with intellectual assent to Christological speculations, the whole
world might have been Christian by this time. * * * Not till the
72 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
church is content with unity in necessaries, not till she grants liberty in
uncertainties, will she attain unity either in these or in those. ' ' '
A priest sends this clipping from The Christian World,
London, being part of a series of "Letters to a Priest."
He asks in his letter ' * Is this last point well taken — that
God can sanction anything irregular I ' ' And he answers
it himself by saying, ' ' Yes. ' ' The clipping is as follows :
"Christian scholarship has challenged the 'Catholic' doctrine of Orders
and the Sacerdos alike on historic, philological, and spiritual grounds.
The time has now arrived when you and those who hold with you must
justify it or abandon it. It will not do simply to reaffirm it. The world,
athirst for reality, requires more than a profession of faith; it demands
justification by works. You must prove the reality of your priesthood
by the effects it produces. If, as you say, none but those episcopally or-
dained possess a valid ministry and can rightly administer the Sacraments,
you must prove that the effects of a valid ministry exist nowhere beyond
the confines of your church, and that ' grace, ' which you claim to be saera-
mentally conveyed, does not operate in us who have no such conveyance.
*****
"I think I know your answer. You will not deny the existence of such
grace beyond your own borders, but you will call it ' irregularly ' conveyed.
But I shall submit that this entirely begs the question. The question is,
does the minister, episcopally ordained, become the sole channel of ' grace'?
Is his ministry alone valid? You must answer it. To admit the existence
of spiritual effects through other agencies gives away your whole case.
If God, as you say, has only one cmtliorized, channel for conveying blessing
to men, He will not acknowledge any other. But the fact that He uses
all kinds of channels for the spiritual blessing of men is proof that your
exclusive claim is not true. The facts are against you. The ' saints,' as
you would call them, are found amongst the Quakers — who have no Sacra-
ments — and in all those churches which have no sacerdotal foundation.
What have you to say to this? It seems to me that there is a call upon
you to reconsider your sacerdotal theory in the light of overwhelming
facts which tell against it. You will forgive my saying that to me it
savors of the profoundest irreverence to try and save your theory by
foisting a doctrine of an l irregular' ministry approved by God. As if
God — the verv soul of order — ever sanctions anything ' irregular ' ! "
The union of family groups in the Protestant house-
hold is the first step toward the union of Protestantism.
Consequently it is gratifying to know of preparation to-
ward Methodist reunion. The Christian Work, New
York, says :
"On Tuesday, January 20th, the Joint Commission of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal, South, meeting at Louis-
ville, finally came to agreement on a plan for union of these two churches.
The movement started at least eight years ago. In 1915 a commission of
fifty members, ten bishops, twenty laymen and twenty ministers, half from
each church, was appointed by the General Conferences to work out the
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 73
details of union. The plan will affect six million members, four million
in the Methodist Episcopal Church and two million in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South. The Joint Commission suggests that for the
purposes of church government the United States be divided into six re-
gions, each having a regional conference, with a seventh regional con-
ference for Negroes. The Negroes will have representation in the Gen-
eral Conference. The Regional Conferences will elect bishops in numbers
set by the General Conference. The bishops, although they may be chosen
from any part of the country, must remain in their region unless trans-
ferred temporarily or permanently with the consent of the region by which
they were first selected. The General Conference, corresponding in the
church government to the United States Congress, will be the legislative
body. Its numbers will be chosen from the Northern and Southern Metho-
dist Episcopal churches in proportion to their memberships, about sixty
per cent from one and forty per cent from the other. In addition to this
body there will be an organization corresponding to the United States
Supreme Court, the business of which shall be to pass upon all laws of
the church. This plan of the Joint Commission will be submitted to the
two General Conferences. If the Northern Church in its meeting at Des
Moines in May approves of it, it will pass to a special session of the other
church. If approved there, it will be submitted to the hundred or more
annual conferences for their action. This process will take at least a year.
Under the plan the preliminary general conference of the two churches
will consist of eight hundred members, four hundred from each of the
uniting bodies. But in later conferences naturally there will be no such
provision for equal numbers. The two churches separated over the ques-
tion of slavery. ' '
The Challenge, London, speaking editorially regarding
the preliminary World Conference at Geneva, August
12th, says :
"The mere fact that such a Conference is actually planned is a sign
of change. It is a direct outcome of the World Missionary Conference
held at Edinburgh in 1910. On that occasion all questions dividing the
separated communions were excluded; this Conference is called for the
express purpose of discussing precisely those questions. It is the first
occasion, since the break up of Christendom at the Reformation was defi-
nitely accepted, on which all sections have thus come together. But while
it is a great thing that the Conference should be held at all, it is inevitable
that its effectiveness should be limited by the spirit and the knowledge
of the church as a whole. The spirit of unity is abroad; it expresses it-
self in perpetually increasing cooperation, and in meetings for prayer and
conference. To that spirit the appeal before us is issued. It needs no
commendation. A man who professes to believe in Christian unity is
convicted of hypocrisy if he fails to pray for it; unless indeed he lacks
belief in prayer, and then it is hard to see why he should care whether
the sections of the church are united or not, and even whether any church
at all exists or not. * * *
"But the spirit is not enough; there must be knowledge and mutual
understanding. At present there is a fair amount of mutual understand-
ing among those in all sections of the church who are ignorant of the
real points at issue. They are naturally impatient of divisions for which
they see no ground. But their failure to see a ground is no proof that
grounds do not exist. The plain fact is that every considerable section
of the church stands for some real principle which is both true and im-
74 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
portant, and that the harmonious balance of these principles is singularly
difficult to achieve. Thus, broadly speaking, the Protestants stand for
the liberty of the spirit, and the Catholics for sacramental order. Both
are right, both are important; but it is extremely hard in practice to give
full recognition to both. It is to promote mutual understanding on a
basis not of ignorance but of knowledge that the World Conference is sum-
moned; and such understanding is indispensable if lasting unity is to-
be achieved. ' '
A representation of the African Steamship and Saw-
mill Company, with offices in Philadelphia, was inter-
viewed recently by The Afro- American, Baltimore, and
Mr. Logemoh, the representative, said :
"One of the reasons why Christian missionaries are unwelcome in
Africa is that Africa is already divided. The people up in the head waters
of a river speak a certain dialect, those at the mouth speak a different
dialect, while the natives on the East and West banks cannot understand
either of the others. Then the missionaries come.
"Each one of the Christian denominations starts up the mission station,
to teach the natives the true God. It would be all right if they would
stop there,, but the Catholic says we cannot be Catholic and worship in.
the Baptist station and the Methodists teach us to stay away from the
Episcopal station, so that the net result of the work of all! the mission
stations is to divide us more than we were before. What Africa needs is
a religion that will bring their tribes together, not pull them apart.
"Another fault that we find with Christian missionaries is that they
make fun of our worship of images and say that they are idols. They are
no more idols than Catholic images are idols. The African worships na-
ture, or he worships God through Mohamet.
"Now what do the Christian missionaries teach? They teach us to
eat at a table, wear clothes, and tell us we are going to hell if we do not
go to the church services. Eating at a table is all right, and so is the
wearing of clothes, but we are not caring about death so much that it
should frighten us out of our wits. Our problem is how to live, not how
to die. In the wake of the so called civilized customs, lying, stealing,
rape, gambling and drunkenness have gained a foothold among African
natives. They are worse off under Christianity than they ever were-
before. ' '
The decision for Christian unity must be taken to the
people. This is the opinion of a writer in The Guardian
regarding Christian unity in Scotland among the Presby-
terians, and what he says in this instance applies to the
whole church everywhere. He says,
"The opposition to the union of the Established and United Free
Churches seems to be, if not growing, certainly finding greater expression.
Some time ago the Synod of Glasgow rejected the Articles of Union, and
last week the Presbytery of Glasgow only succeeded in carrying them by
a vote of forty-six to forty-four, a number of members refusing to vote.
The opponents are choosing their ground with skill. While attacking the^
Articles as denationalizing the church, they appeal to democratic senti-
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 75
ment in demanding that kirk sessions and congregations should be con-
sulted. The friends of union would do well to accept this challenge and
refer the matter to congregations who would probably give a large ma-
jority for union, although it must be confessed that there is no great
interest in the question among the rank and file of the Presbyterian laity.
There is little doubt that public opinion, so far as it is expressed in the
press and by leading laymen, approves the scheme for union, but it is no
less true that the Scottish people as a whole are not alive to the importance
of Christian unity. This view was stated by a lay elder the other day in
a Presbytery that rejected the Articles of Union by two to one. The gen-
eral apathy which prevails outside ecclesiastical circles might be dissipated
to some extent if congregations received an opportunity of expressing their
views on the question. ' '
Speaking of a national church in England, the Bishop
of Birmingham, addressing the Kingsway Fellowship in
London, is reported by The Guardian to have said that
he was not looking forward to religions uniformity, for
he could imagine nothing more contrary to the life of our
Lord Himself.
1 * We all bow before the same Christ. We look around and see things in-
terfering with the progress of Christianity; we see vice and ignorance and
every conceivable machinery operating against that Christianity. That is
where we should stand together, for the one great common Master. I hear
a good deal about preaching in other people 's pulpits. I find it a big enough
job to preach in the pulpits of my own denomination. But I have never
interfered with it in my own diocese. And I do look forward to a time —
and here some members of my own church will not agree with me — when
the baptized members of all denominations may meet occasionally to show
their unity at the Table of the Lord. ' ' That, he added, was, in his opinion,
far more important than preaching in one another's pulpits.
As to social and industrial problems, he considered that the church
should strive to help the people to settle these upon Christian principles.
"For instance, " he said, "I would have every clergyman before he goes
to work as a clergyman know something about social conditions. If you
want to be trusted by the ordinary people with whom you have to do
you should know something of their lives and their difficulties, and then
they will pay attention to you."
The recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America
was held in Baltimore. Eegarding the meeting its public
service department through Rev. Jasper T. Moses makes
the following statement:
ft At a time when the attitude of the Senate of the United States toward
the brotherly obligation of America to share the world's burdens and prob-
lems is in serious question, the Protestant churches of our land have spoken
out clearly, and, through their representatives on the Executive Committee
of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, have mani-
fested a new and splendid realization of their world-wide responsibility.
76 THE CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
"In the three days' session just closed at Baltimore, the most widely
attended, most representative and powerful gathering of the kind yet held
by the Council's Executive Committee, such international questions were
dealt with as our Christian duty to Mexico; the necessity for a League of
Nations; the calling of a world conference of the Christian churches in the
near future; our opportunity to help the emerging nations of the Orient
and especially to guard their citizens in our borders from unjust treatment ;
the obligation to restore to pre-war strength the churches and Christian
institutions of the Protestants of France and Belgium and our further
pressing duty to hasten to the economic relief of the starving peoples of
Europe (this last call coming from an outside secular source). The splendid
bond of national and religious brotherhood that binds American Protestants
to churches of like faith in England and Holland was emphasized through
plans for the celebration both in America and abroad of the Mayflower
Tercentenary. ' '
The preliminary meeting of the World Conference on
Faith and Order will be held at Geneva, Switzerland, in
August. It will be the most significant gathering of the
summer. Mr. Robert H. Gardiner, secretary of the con-
ference writes,
' ' As has been announced, the World Conference being practically assured
by the cooperation of almost all |he churches throughout the world, a
preliminary meeting of three representatives of each commission has been
called to assemble at Geneva, Switzerland, August 12, 1920, to settle the
details of further procedure.
"Notice of the appointment of delegates to that meeting has already
been received from the following churches or commissions: South India
United Church, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Church of Greece, Old Catholic
Churches of Europe, Methodist Conference of New Zealand, Disciples of
Christ in North America, Church of Serbia, Eeformed Church in the
United States, Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, Church of
Norway, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Church of England in
Australia, and Tasmania, and the Church of Ireland.
"Promises of early action have been received from the Archbishops'
Committee (Church of England), Methodist Church in Canada, Seventh
Day Baptist General Conference, Society of Friends in America, United
Free Church of Scotland, Presbyterian Church in the U., S. A., German
Province of the Moravian Church, and the Presbyterian Church of New
Zealand.
"The Lutheran Archbishop of Finland writes that the war with Eussia
will prevent the appointment of delegates by his church. It has been dif-
ficult to secure the names and addresses of the proper officials of the
churches in Central Europe to whom invitations should be sent, but of-
ficial invitations to take part in the Conference and to send delegates to
the Geneva meeting have been sent to the five Bishops of the Eeformed
Church of Hungary, and to the Et. Eev. Alexander Eaffay of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church of Hungary, also to the autocephalous Monastery
of Mount Sinai.
"Mr. Thomas Whittemore, who has been doing valuable relief work in
Eussia, has sailed again for Eussia taking with him official invitations
to the Metropolitans of the churches of Ukrainia and Georgia, to be de-
livered only with the approval of the Patriarch Tikhon of all the Eussias,
WHAT PEOPLE AND PAPERS SAY 77
to whom Mr. Whittemore also carried a letter asking the Patriarch to send
delegates to Geneva if in any way possible.
"The Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift had printed in its issue of
October to December 1919 translations of Bulletin 21, sent out by the
commission of the American Episcopal Church announcing the calling of
the meeting at Geneva, and also translations of the invitation by that com-
mission to the Old Catholic Churches "of Europe, of the appeal for the
last Octave of Prayer, and of the Report of the Deputation to Europe, and
the East. Der Katholik published a translation of the invitation to Geneva.
"The Ecclesiastical Herald, of Athens, December 25, 1919, reports that
in consequence of a telgram from the presbyter Kaklamanos in< London,
announcing that the Archbishop of Canterbury had informed him that he
had called together an official committee under the presidency of Bishop
Gore, to develop friendly relations between the Anglican and Eastern
Churches, and the study of all that relates to their rapprochement, the
Holy Synod had appointed a committee for the same purpose consisting
of the University Professors Archimandrite Chrysostom Papadopoulos, G.
Derbos, Gregory Papamichael and A. Alivisatos.
"New efforts have been made to interest secular and religious papers
in the United States in the World Conference movement. A short pam-
phlet has been issued by the Episcopal Commission in French, German
and modern Greek, giving an account of the aims and progress of the
movement.
"A place of meeting has been engaged in Geneva for the assembly in
August, and inquiries are being made about hotels.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has appointed a commission.
Official invitations have been ordered sent to the Eastern Section of the
Presbyterian Alliance, the Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchenausschuss, the
American Christian Convention, the Waldensian Church, the Polish Na-
tional Catholic Church of America, the Nederlansch Hervormde Kerkgeno-
otschap and the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland.
' l A skeleton programme for the meeting at Geneva is being prepared, and
the secretary of the Episcopal Commission, Robert H. Gardiner, 174 Water
Street, Gardiner, Maine, will be glad to receive suggestions as to topics
to be included, and also requests for pamphlets issued explaining the
movement. ' '
BOOK REVIEWS
PATHWAYS TO CHEISTIAN UNITY. A Free Church View. By
Arthur Black, G. E. Darlaston, W. E. Orchard, William Paton, J. H.
Squire aud Malcolm Spencer. Macmillan and Co., St. Martin's St.,
London. 226 pages.
No finer contribution has been made to a better understanding of the
way to Christian unity than is presented in this book. The six authors
deal with their theme under the following heads: "The Ideal of Chris-
tian Unity in the New Testament," "The Importance of Christian
Unity, " l ' The Groundwork of Christian Unity, " ' i The Contribution of
the Free Churches to the Catholic Ideal, " "The Contribution of Ca-
tholicism to the Free Church Ideal," "Movements Toward Unity,"
and "The Way Towards Union." Eepudiating the dogmatic position of
old controversies, the authors make their approaches from the stand-
point of experience. Beginning with the New Testament conception of
unity, it moves toward an ultimate visible union to be achieved by the
perfecting of the saints and the deepening knowledge of Christ until
the whole church is perfected into unity. There is a freedom of
thought in every approach, a catholic spirit in treatment and a gen-
uine passion for unity in every chapter. Through these six authors
the British Free Churches have made a worthy contribution to Chris-
tian unity. Something of the temper of their work is indicated in the open-
ing paragraphs of the chapter on ' ' The Importance of Christian Unity. ' '
They are as follows:
"At no period since the Reformation has the importance and urgency
of church unity been so clearly and widely recognized as to-day. In this
recognition there lies great promise of achievement, for in every quarter
of the globe movements towards reunion are on foot. A conjunction of
forces is pressing home the desire and the demand for unity.
"In the first place, a more careful reading of the gospels has made it
clear that our present divisions are contrary to the mind of Christ, and that
unity is implicit in the very idea of the church. As Christ formed it, the
church was one, even as the gospel is one, and God is one. A thorough-going
examination of the Acts and the Epistles has left it beyond doubt that in
the apostolic church, amid considerable adversity of type and polity, unity
was regarded as an essential note, a unity spiritual first but also visible
and effective.
1 ' In the second place, the spirit of the age is a factor in what has been
called the catholic reaction. The new and ever deepening social conscious-
ness, the great processes of unification going on in other spheres, are in-
fluencing that conservative body, the church. It is becoming increasingly
clear that in every realm, truth and right, strength and efficiency, lie not
in competition but in cooperation, not in rivalry but in unity.
BOOK REVIEWS 79
1 1 Thirdly, in the present world situation there is a clamant call for unity.
The great and pressing task of World Evangelization, and the vast prob-
lems caused by the war in every country of the world, bring home to us with
a new intensity the real urgency of this problem. From our Christian
workers on the mission field and in the Army and Navy, there comes a de-
mand for a closing up of the ranks in face of the tremendous and aggressive
powers of evil. There is in our hearts a feeling of humiliation and shame
that, in face of an international crisis unparalleled in its gravity, the voice
of Christendom as a whole has been inarticulate, and the one church of
Christ has failed to bear a corporate witness.
li Whether we think of the claims of the past, the present or the future,
we cannot escape the conviction of the urgency of unity among the follow-
ers of our common Lord. We need only say here that by unity we mean
not an external and enforced uniformity of creed and polity, not even at
this stage a single organization, but such a fellowship of the churches as
would bring with it a more vital realization of our oneness in Christ and
His atoning gospel, such a cooperation in thought and purpose as would
give us a concerted policy in confronting a common task, and would pro-
vide effective means for expressing our collective will — and all that Christ
may be enthroned as King in the life of the nation and of the world. ' '
THE EOAD TO UNITY AMONG THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. By
Charles W. Eliot, LL.D. The Beacon Press, 25 Beacon Street, Bos-
ton, Mass.
This little book of eighty pages contains the first of addresses on the
Pearson Foundation of the American Unitarian Association, the pur-
pose of which is to promote by public addresses "the advancement of
mutual understanding and helpfulness between the people of all denom-
inations and creeds." Dr. Eliot maintains that creeds, dogma and the
priesthood have not been able to maintain unity, but that the way to-
ward unity is effective cooperation for beneficial, practical ends. He
wisely advocates the education of ministers, not in denominational
seminaries, but in such theological seminaries where the various com-
munions are represented in their faculties; also revising of liturgies and
rituals to present day intelligence, the unifying influence of music and
poetry, cooperating and federating of churches, frequent use of union
services and emphasizing the agreement in essentials. It is a fine
message.
SPECIAL, LITANIES. Published by The Challenge, Effingham House,
Arundel Street, Strand, W. C. 2, London.
These litanies are for the nation, for the nations of the world, for the
church at home and for the church abroad, closing with a memorial serv-
ice. The arrangement of prayers and Scripture selections is very ap-
propriate and, being published in paper binding, it is so inexpensive that
every one may possess a copy. Following this is a small pamphlet of
children's prayers beautifully written and greatly needed in every home.
80 THE CHEISTIAN UNION QUAETEELY
THE CHUECH WE FOEGET. By Philip Whitwell Wilson. Published
by Fleming H. Eevell Co., New York. 1919. 359 pages.
In this remarkable book the author of ' ' The Christ We Forget ' ' pre-
sents a graphic and illuminating picture of the early church. He styles
his work "a character sketch of the disciples who tried to carry out
Our Lord's plans for the world. " It is a direct and straightforward
study of why and how they "turned the world upside down. " The
author is rightly impressed first of all by the unity of the early church
as the inevitable out-working of its inner life and as the prime secret
of its power. In the second chapter entitled "The United Family" he
writes: "Let us take up the New Testament and read for ourselves
the Acts of the Apostles, and then record our first and immediate im-
pression. Does it not strike you at once that if these early Chris-
tians revisited us to-day they would need a dictionary? It seems to me
that they would have been utterly puzzled by our sectarian labels. *
* * I hardly dare to think what Paul would have said about the
schisms which now cleave asunder the Body of Christ. " The book
sketches in a most suggestive manner the career of the early church
through the Acts and the Epistles and closes with "The Beatific Vision
of St. John the Divine."
ON TO CHEIST. By Edwin A. McAlpin, Jr., President of the College
Board of the Presbyterian Church U. S. A. Published by George H.
Doran Co., New York. 180 pages.
The purpose and outlook of this valuable and interesting book is ex-
plained by its sub-title, "The Gospel of the New Era." In stating his
purpose the author says: "The object of this study is to bring home
to all thoughtful minds some of the problems of the church in dealing
with the opportunities of the New Era." The author believes that "the
time has come for the church to turn her eyes to the front — this means
getting her attention on the future." The work is divided into two
parts: The Past — Its Failure, and The Future — Its Hope and Promise.
One of the most important chapters of the book is that on "The Weak-
ness of the Denominational Appeal." The argument is based on ex-
tensive studies and investigations concerning the religious attitude of
the men of our army. Indeed the whole book has a practical basis in
the author's own labors and experiences. He gives us a constructive
programme at once reasonable and stimulating and much needed at the
present time.
CHRISTIAN UNION QUARTERLY
1919-1920
DATE
ISSUED TO
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