USA > Alabama > History of the Protestant Episcopal church in Alabama, 1763-1891 > Part 10
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* The Recent Past, pp. 144 and 145.
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eral Council. This is a question for future ecclesias- tical determination.
"As to the changes in the language of certain prayers, which are made necessary by late political events, I observe that the lapse of the Confederate Government requires, of necessity, the omission of the ' Prayer for the President of the Confederate States and all in civil authority.'
"The immediate substitution of another form of prayer does not follow of the same necessity, as will appear from the following considerations:
"To pray for all in authority is, unquestionably, a duty, but a duty of religious, and ,not of political origin and obligation. The mode of discharging that duty must be determined by the proper ecclesiastical authority. Consequently, any attempt on the part of a civil or military power to dictate to the Church in this matter cannot but be regarded as unauthorized and intrusive. Certain tests of loyalty have been established by authority; and they who faithfully conform to these tests have fulfilled the requirements of the law, and have a right, in equity and under the Constitution of the country, to manage their ecclesias- tical affairs according to their own discretion. The Church has due regard to established authority, and is not to be presumed regardless of her sacred obliga- tions. She must be left free and untrammeled in her legitimate sphere of action. Any attempt to dictate to her can only serve to retard the action which, in pursuance of her obligations of God and to her own
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traditions, she will unquestionably take at the proper time and in the proper manner.
"Now the Church in this country has established a form of prayer 'for the President and all in civil authority.' The language of that prayer was selected with careful reference to the subject of the prayer- ' All in civil authority;' and she desires for that au- thority prosperity and long continuance. No one can reasonably be expected to desire a long continuance of military rule. Therefore, the prayer is altogether inappropriate and inapplicable to the present condi- tion of things, when no civil authority exists in the exercise of its functions. Hence, as I remarked in the Circular [of May 30], ' We may yield a true alle- giance to, and sincerely pray for grace, wisdom, and understanding in behalf of, a government founded upon force, while at the same time we could not, in good conscience, ask for it continuance, prosperity,' etc., etc.
"When the Civil Authority shall be restored, it will be eminently proper for the Church to resume the use of that form of prayer which has been established by the highest ecclesiastical authorities, and which has for so many years constituted a part of her Liturgy. " You are aware that in times past I have expressed a strong desire 'that the regular and ordinary forms of public worship should be so entirely Catholic in character as to be adapted to all the exigencies of time, place, and circumstance,' and that I urged this matter upon the attention of our Diocesan Council in 1864, with a view to action at the approaching General
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Council. I still entertain the preference which I then expressed, but it is not for me, in my individual ca- pacity, to introduce into the Liturgy any other form of words than that which the Church, in her collective and legislative capacity, has already established.
"My conclusion is, therefore, and my direction which I hereby give, that when civil authority shall be restored in the State of Alabama, the Clergy shall use the form entitled ' A Prayer for the President of the United States and all in Civil Authority,' as it stands in the Book of Common Prayer."
To a man the clergy of the diocese fell into line, and for several months the services of the Church were peaceably conducted according to the Bishop's direc- tions. But soon it became manifest that the military government purposed to review the Bishop's action. The headquarters of the Department of Alabama being at Mobile, and the Church's greatest strength being there, Mobile would evidently be the storm center in the event of a clash between ecclesiastical authority and military. Accordingly the Bishop, who had refugeed in Greensboro, went immediately to Mobile to be on the scene of action. He had scarcely arrived in the city when General Woods sent an officer of his staff to know when the Bishop meant to use the prayer for the President of the United States. The Bishop replied that as the question was put in a tone of au- thority he declined to answer it. The officer then proposed to talk over the matter "as between man and man." The Bishop acceded to this proposition, and the officer asked, "When do you think you
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will use the Prayer Book prayer for the President?" "When you all get away from here," was the reply of the Bishop; and he then asked the officer if with conditions reversed and the Confederate heel on the neck of the Union he could sincerely ask for life, health, and prosperity, to the Confederate General ? The officer very excitedly exclaimed that he would be-something very dreadful-if he would. "Well," returned the Bishop, "I am not disposed to use your phraseology; but, if I do that thing that you come to order me to do,-address the Almighty with my lips, when my heart is not in my prayer,-I run great danger of meeting the doom that you have hypothetic- ally invoked upon your own head."
The officer then returned to General Woods. A few days later-September 20, 1865, exactly three months after the appearance of the Bishop's Pastoral-the following remarkable document was promulgated from military headquarters at Mobile, as " General Orders, No. 38." It is so unique in its bold attempt to over- turn constitutional religious freedom and to prescribe forms of public worship, that it deserves to be recorded in full :*
* The author is indebted to Mr. Richard Hines, of Mobile, for the following exact transcript of the Order, as it appeared in The Daily Register the following morning, September 21.
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"HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT "OF ALABAMA,
"MOBILE, ALA., Sept. 20, 1865.
"GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 38.
"The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States has established a form of prayer to be used for ' the President of the United States and all in Civil Authority.' During the continuance of the late wicked and groundless rebellion the prayer was changed to one for the President of the Confederate States, and, so altered, was used in the Protestant Episcopal Churches of the Diocese of Alabama.
"Since the ' lapse ' of the Confederate Government and the restoration of the authority of the United States over the late rebellious States the prayer for the President has been altogether omitted in the Episcopal Churches of Alabama.
"This omission was recommended by the Right Rev. Richard Wilmer, Bishop of Alabama, in a letter to the clergy and laity, dated June 20, 1865. The only reason given by Bishop Wilmer for the omission of the prayer, which, to use his own language, 'was established by the highest ecclesiastical authorities, and has for many years constituted a part of the Liturgy of the Church,' is stated by him in the fol- lowing words:
" 'Now, the Church in this country has established a form of prayer for the President and all in civil authority. The language of the prayer was selected with careful reference to the subject of the prayer- 'All in Civil Authority'; and she desires for that
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authority prosperity and long continuance. No one can reasonably be expected to desire a long con- tinuance of military rule. Therefore, the prayer is altogether inappropriate and inapplicable to the pres- ent condition of things, when no civil authority exists in the exercise of its functions. Hence, as I remarked in the Circular, 'we may yield a true allegiance to, and sincerely pray for grace, wisdom, and under- standing in behalf of, a government founded upon force, while at the same time we could not in good conscience ask for it continuance, prosperity,' etc., etc.
" It will be observed from this extract-Ist, That the Bishop, because he cannot pray for the continu- ance of ' military rule,' therefore declines to pray for those in authority. 2nd, He declares the prayer inappropriate and inapplicable, because no civil authority [exists] in the exercise of its functions.
"On the 20th of June, the date of his letter, there was a President of the United States, a Cabinet, Judges of the Supreme Courts, and thousands of other civil officers of the United States, all in the exercise of their functions. It was for them specially that this form of prayer was established, yet the Bishop can- not among all these find any subject worthy of his prayers. Since the publication of this letter, a Civil Governor has been appointed for the State of Ala- bama, and in every county Judges and Sheriffs have been appointed, and all these are, and for weeks have been, in the exercise of their functions; yet the prayer has not been restored.
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"The prayer which the Bishop advised to be omitted is not a prayer for the continuance of military rule, or the continuance of any particular form of government, or any particular person in power. It is simply a prayer for the temporal and spiritual weal of the persons in whose benefit it is offered. It is a prayer to the High and Mighty Ruler of the Universe that He would with his power behold and bless the President of the United States and all others in authority-that he would replenish them with the grace of His Holy Spirit that they may always incline to His will and walk in His ways; that He would endow them plenteously with heavenly gifts, grant them in health and prosperity long to live, and finally after this life to attain everlasting joy and felicity. It is a prayer at once applicable and appropriate, and which any heart, not filled with hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness, could conscientiously offer.
"The advice of the Bishop to omit this prayer, and its omission by the clergy, is not only a violation of the canons of the Church, but shows a factious and disloyal spirit, and is a marked insult to every loyal citizen within the Department. Such men are unsafe public teachers, and not to be trusted in places of power and influence over public opinion.
"It is therefore ordered, pursuant to the directions of Major General Thomas, commanding the military division of Tennessee, that said Richard Wilmer, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Alabama, and the Protestant Episcopal clergy of said diocese be, and they are hereby for-
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bidden, to preach or perform divine service, and that their places of worship be closed, until such time as said Bishop and clergy show a sincere return to their allegiance to the Government of the United States, and give evidence of a loyal and patriotic spirit by offering to resume the use of the prayer for the Presi- dent of the United States and all in civil authority, and by taking the amnesty oath prescribed by the President.
"This prohibition shall continue in each individual case until special application is made through the military channels to these headquarters for permis- sion to preach and perform divine service, and until such application is approved at these or superior headquarters.
" District commanders are required to see that this order is carried into effect.
" By order of Major General Chas. R. Woods.
"FRED. H. WILSON, A. A. G."
Immediately upon the publication of these orders, which are sufficient in themselves to prove that the civil power had not been restored, save in empty form, Bishop Wilmer inquired of General Woods whether it was his intention to use military force in case the clergy of the diocese should disregard their suspension by the secular arm. This the Bishop did in order to bring out unmistakably the intent of the orders and to make it clear that he and his clergy would yield not to usurped authority but to force. It did not ap- pear seemly that an issue of force should be made at
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the very Altar of God, and the Bishop insisted in his note of inquiry that the declaration of intention to use military force would be regarded by him as equiva- lent to a forcible ejection from the precincts of the Sanctuary.
General Woods' reply was curt: He would if neces- sary use military force in closing the churches, should his order be disobeyed. Accordingly the Bishop ad- vised that until the order was revoked or military force was withdrawn no attempt to worship in public should be made. At the same time he reminded the Church- men of Alabama that communication with God's mercy-seat could not be obstructed by any created power. Individual prayer could be made. Two or three could be profitably gathered together in Christ's name. Where soldiers were stationed the churches were closed. Where no soldiers were stationed the churches were opened and the usual services main- tained. Under the most stringent restrictions private houses made favorable chapels, and personal freedom allowed the Bishop to confirm and to issue pastorals; much to the indignation of the general who had sus- pended him from the exercise of his functions, and who threatened imprisonment and possible death, but dared not place him under arrest for an offence of which no law of the country took cognizance.
Meanwhile the Bishop was not content with this condition of affairs, which hampered the Church so greatly. His first attempt was to secure from the General Convention of the Church in the United States, of which, on its own theory, the diocese of
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Alabama was a component part, a solemn protest against secular interference with ecclesiastical pro- cedure. He hoped that the importance of the prin- ciple involved might unite in public expression those who differed as to his application of the principle. But the hope was vain. Political feeling was too high for the members of the Convention then sitting in Philadelphia to view the Bishop's action with un- prejudiced eye, and the only step taken was by the House of Bishops, which ineffectually sent a single Bishop to Washington to procure if possible a revo- cation of the military interdict.
The Bishop's next step was to appeal to the Provi- visional Governor of the State-Lewis E. Parsons. General Orders No. 38 had stated that there was a civil Governor, and the Bishop determined to test him for authority. In October he called on the Governor to show the truth of his assertion that the military authority was subservient and subordinate to the civil authority. The Governor was unable to substantiate his claim, but in a very courteous note he promised to lay the whole affair before President Andrew Johnson. This note was shortly followed by another stating that the President declined to consider the matter.
On November 27 the Bishop himself made direct appeal to the President, calling it to his attention that the Constitution, the supreme law, prohibits Con- gress from interfering with religious worship and that Congress cannot allow her military arm to do what the Constitution expressly forbids to her civil arm ; representing that he found himself, not having been
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accused as a lawbreaker, subjected to the operation of pains and penalties, and assailed with ignominious epithets; affirming that even if he were guilty of vio- lating the law of his own Church (though he was not, for he was not a member of the ecclesiastical organiza- tion mentioned in General Orders) the secular power was not competent to construe and enforce her rubrics and canons; and demanding in equity and constitu- tional law that the unauthoritative General Orders No. 38 be rescinded. After hanging fire some time the appeal was successful. Much against his will, and with much bitterness of soul and pen, General Woods' superior, Thomas, withdrew the offensive General Orders, at the same time using his official position as a cloak for the deepest maliciousness. In tone the last Order was even more violent, in its con- scious impotence, than the first :
" HEADQUARTERS "MILITARY DIVISION OF THE TENNESSEE, "NASHVILLE, TENN., Dec. 22, 1865. 7 "GENERAL ORDERS, NO. 40.
"Armed resistance to the authority of the United States having been put down, the President, on the 29th of May last, issued his Proclamation of Amnesty, declaring that armed resistance having ceased in all quarters, he invited those lately in rebellion to recon- struct and restore civil authority, thus proclaiming the magnanimity of our Government towards all, no matter how criminal or how deserving of punishment.
"Alarmed at this imminent and impending peril to
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the cause in which he had embarked with all his heart and mind, and desiring to check, if possible, the spread of popular approbation and grateful apprecia- tion of the magnanimous policy of the President in his efforts to bring the people of the United States back to their former friendly and national relations one with another, an individual, styling himself Bishop of Alabama, forgetting his mission to preach peace on earth and good will towards man, and being animated with the same spirit which through temptation be- guiled the mother of men to the commission of the first sin-thereby entailing eternal toil and trouble on earth-issued, from behind the shield of his office, his manifesto of the 20th of June last to the clergy of the Episcopal Church of Alabama, directing them to omit the usual and customary prayer for the President of the United States and all others in authority, until the troops of the United States had been removed from the limits of Alabama; cunningly justifying this treasonable course, by plausibly presenting to the minds of the people that, civil authority not yet having been restored in Alabama, there was no occasion for the use of said prayer, as such prayer was intended for the civil authority alone, and as the military was the only authority in Alabama it was manifestly improper to pray for the continuance of military rule. "This man, in his position of a teacher of religion, charity, and good fellowship with his brothers, whose paramount duty as such should have been character- ized by frankness and freedom from all cunning, thus took advantage of the sanctity of his position to mis-
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lead the minds of those who naturally regarded him as a teacher in whom they could trust, and attempted to lead them back into the labyrinths of treason.
"For this covert and cunning act he was deprived of the privileges of citizenship, in so far as the right to officiate as a minister of the Gospel, because it was evident he could not be trusted to officiate and confine his teachings to matters of religion alone-in fact, that religious matters were but a secondary consideration in his mind, he having taken an early opportunity to subvert the Church to the justification and dissemina- tion of his treasonable sentiments.
"As it is, however, manifest that so far from enter- taining the same political views as Bishop Wilmer the people of Alabama are honestly endeavoring to restore the civil authority in that state, in conformity with the requirements of the Constitution of the United States, and to repudiate their acts of hostility during the past four years, and have accepted with a loyal and becoming spirit the magnanimous terms offered them by the President; therefore, the restrictions heretofore imposed upon the Episcopal clergy of Ala- bama are removed, and Bishop Wilmer is left to that remorse of conscience consequent to the exposure and failure of the diabolical schemes of designing and corrupt minds.
"By command of Major-General Thomas,
"WM. D. WHIPPLE, "Assistant Adjutant-General."
This order was promulgated from Mobile, by Gen- -13
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eral Woods, on January 10, 1866, and on January 13, civil authority then having been restored, Bishop Wilmer issued a final pastoral, calling on the clergy and laity to use the prayer for the President of the United States.
This pastoral was not a retreat from his former position. Neither was it a compromise. The Bishop's position was never changed. On occasion of the closing of the churches he had written: "Should the General Council, of which the Diocese of Alabama is a component part, order any prayer in place of that which has ceased of necessity, then, from that time forth, the ordering of the Council would be decisive as the supreme law of the churches constituting said Council." The General Council had provided for such a prayer while the Alabama churches were closed, and its provision was to have force of law in any diocese when approved by its Bishop or its Dio- cesan Council. On account of military dictation the Bishop withheld his approval, and gave it only when secular pressure was withdrawn.
The result of secular interference was to delay the use in Alabama of the Prayer for the President of the United States just two months. What the Church refused to do of compulsion she did of her own free will. Some whose loyalty to the Union blinded them to the presence of a matter of principle, profound and far-reaching, criticized Bishop Wilmer severely for his course. But thirty years later, when time gave sufficient perspective, and the blindness of prejudice had largely disappeared, no one disputed the con-
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clusion of the Historiographer of the American Church, the Rt. Rev. William Stevens Perry, Bishop of Iowa: "This action of the Bishop established for all time to come, in this land at least, the principle that in spiritualities the Church's rule is supreme."
CHAPTER V.
THE BISHOP AND THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
T HE Church in the United States was not consulted either in Bishop Wilmer's election or in his consecration. And for this reason: The seceded states formed another nation, and in that nation was erected a national Church, declaring that it held, as regarded intercommunion and legislative independence, the same relationship to the Church in the United States that that Church held to the Church of England. It had its own presiding Bishop, Meade of Virginia, and its own supreme legislative body, the General Council. Its constitution and canons were but slightly altered from those in force in the United States. A majority of the Bishops and a majority of the Standing Com- mittees must consent to the election of a Bishop before his consecration could occur. In Bishop Wilmer's case, the only one that arose within the period of secession, this consent was given and the Bishop was duly consecrated.
When this action became known in the United States it created much indignation and a considerable amount of intemperate writing. The patent fact was ignored that, though supporting itself against outside aggressions by force of arms, an autonomous, regu- larly constituted, civil government existed, known as the Confederate States, and that the ancient custom of legislative independence for branches of the Church
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in separate countries was but followed by the Church in the Confederate States. In diocesan journals, pas- toral letters, and resolutions found in the Journal of the General Convention, the words "rebels," "trai- tors," "schismatics," and the like, were not infre- quently used by the Church's adopted but unassimi- lated sons. In the General Convention of 1862 it was proposed that Bishop Wilmer's jurisdiction be pro- claimed null and void; but the resolution was 110t adopted.
With the lapse of the Confederacy it became neces- sary for the Southern dioceses to determine upon a course of procedure. Very pronounced differences of opinion arose. Some claimed that the absorption of the Confederacy into the Union carried with it, and without formal action, the dissolution of the General Council and the attachment of the Southern diocese to the General Convention. It was urged by these that the Bishops and deputies from the various dioceses should take their seats in the General Convention of 1865 as if nothing had occurred since the harmonious Convention which had met in Richmond in 1859; that nothing unpleasant would occur; and that the Convention had no other wish or expectation, as witness the fact that even in 1862 the roll-call was never curtailed, but always began, in a vote by orders, with Alabama, and contained in alphabetical order the name of every seceded state. Among the most pro- nounced advocates of this view were Bishops Atkinson of North Carolina and Lay of Arkansas, who pro-
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ceeded to Philadelphia and took their seats in the House of Bishops.
But the majority of Southern Bishops and dioceses, led by Bishops Elliott, Green, and Wilmer, contended that this view was entirely Erastian and un-Catholic; that no organization of associated dioceses that bases itself on geographical and national boundaries can urge any higher claim than mutual agreement, or con- sideration of high expediency; and that, in the present instance, expediency was a matter to be demonstrated. One party in the Church of the General Convention proposed "to keep the Southern Churchmen for a while in the cold," and "to put the rebels upon stools of repentance." Not knowing the strength of this party, but well aware that, generally, fanaticism grows fast in the hour of triumph, having no data on which to estimate the concessions and admissions that would possibly be required but having no concessions and no admissions to make, most of the Bishops and their dioceses determined to maintain the organization of the General Council until the temper of the General Convention should make clear their future course.
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