USA > Louisiana > The Diocese of Louisiana, some of its history, 1838-1888; also some of the history of its parishes and missions, 1805-1888 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
An extract, here and there. from the reports on the state of the Church. will illustrate the development. In 1848. it was noted that " within less than four years the parochial clergy doubled in number, and the congregations nearly trebled. Six new church edifices had been erected. and funds provided. in whole or in part, for four more." In 1855, the number of clergy were " one-half more than we had before our ranks were so fear- fully thinned by the ravages of death, within the last twenty months." There were in that year congregations of colored per-
14
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
.
sons on thirty-one plantations, numbering in the aggregate 3,600 persons.
There were three church edifices in 1841: there were thirty- three in 1861. There were six congregations in 1841; there were forty-seven of whites and upwards of thirty others of colored per- sons in 1861. There were six priests in 1841; there were thirty- one priests and a deacon in 1861. There were two hundred and twenty-two communicants in 1841: there were 1859 in 1861. In 1840 (the census year), there was one communicant to every 1762 souls in the State: in 1860 there was one to every three hundred and ninety-seven souls.
On the 26th January. 1861, the State of Louisiana declared the union existing with the other States dissolved, and subsequently connected herself with the new, union of the Confederate States. That the Church must follow the political lines of the State had been taught in every age of the Christian dispensation, and the Diocese of Louisiana was faithful to the traditions of the Church. At the Convention of 1861. she declared herself, therefore, no longer a Diocese in union with the Church in the United States.
Measures had been taken for the union of the Dioceses within the Confederate States, and this Diocese elected the Rev. Drs. Leacock. Lewis and Hedges, and Messrs. George S. Guion, Alex- ander Montgomery and JJ. M. Davidson, delegates to a joint meet- ing to be held at Montgomery. Alabama, July 3, 1861. Louisiana was represented at this Convention by the Rev. Mr. Fulton (an alternate), and by Messrs. Montgomery and Davidson. It ad- journed to October. when the Rev. Dr. Leacock represented this Diocese. At the latter session a Constitution was adopted, which was to be operative in a Diocese, only when ratified by such Dio- cese. This Diocese failed to meet in Convention during the period of the existence of the Confederate Church, and therefore was never under its authority. It was a Diocese independent of all others and affiliated with none from 1861 to 1866. But during those days there was civil war through the length and the breadth of the State: the Bishop was absent from the Diocese, many of the clergy were in exile-in short there was no Diocesan life in those years, Hence we write that the epoch of development closed in 1861, and that there succeeded five years of destruction. Where there is no life, there can be no history made. The memorial of the wrecks and of the deaths of those years is written elsewhere in this volume.
٠٠ مكمياه
15 +
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
THE FOURTH EPOCH.
THE Convention of 1866, meeting in St. Paul's Church. New Orleans, found throughout the Diocese, beyond the bounds of the City of New Orleans, desolation everywhere. "The universal havoc," said Bishop Wilmer, afterwards, "incidental to the polit_ ical convulsion of the country. has not failed to leave its malignant influence upon the Church. I speak not of external spoliations, of its temples in ruins, its holy vessels surrendered as the spoils of conquest, its consecrated places now changed into ghastly solitudes. * * It may safely be asserted that no portion of the Church in the South emerges from this war so bereft and desolate as the Church in Louisiana."
There were left twenty-six church buildings, but many unfit for worship; thirty congregations, but only twenty-two maintain- ing services; twenty clergymen actively employed in the Diocese, and 1556 communicants.
The Convention, finding the State of Louisiana again in the union of the United States, resumed her relationship with the other Dioceses of the American Church, and elected the Rev. Dr. Wilmer, Bishop. He was consecrated November 7, 1866. Then began the work of strengthening those things that remained. Never was there a more tender Shepherd in the Apostolic line than he who went from hearth to hearth, binding up the wounds of the bruised, strengthening the feeble and encouraging the weak to mighty acts.
But the years of the Episcopate of the second Bishop were not only years of resuscitation. The good man was fated to live into ill-starred days-the days of revival and increase did not extend through his Episcopate-they ended in 1874.
The epoch of revival did not close until 1874. but it reached its flood in 1873. In that year there were reported eight new churches erected, and a number of others in progress. The Bishop was able to say that there was not a town in the State, containing a thousand inhabitants, in which the services of the Church were not regularly sustained. This was his tribute to his staff: "There never was a body of clergy more abundant in labor, more self- denying and earnest in spirit, than the clergy of this Diocese;" and this his testimony to the laity of that day : " And nowhere is there a body of laity who give more liberally, according to their ability, to sustain the ministers of the Gospel."
16
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
There was but slight increase in the number of clergy actively employed from 1866 to 1874. from twenty to twenty-two. The congregations increased in mimber from thirty in 1866 to seventy- four in 1874. and the church edifices from twenty-six to forty-eight : the communicants from 1556 to 4351. And during this time the Children's Home in New Orleans was erected. and a beginning made of a Diocesan Sisterhood.
THE FIFTH EPOCH.
THE Church necessarily shares in the fortunes of the State. The years of the semi-decade from 1874 to 1880 were years of dis- aster to the body politie. of unrest. decadence of values, of recon- struction of commercial and agricultural habits. It is necessary to an explanation of the causes of the disasters that overtook the Church in those years, to call to mind some of their political events. In 1873 a financial panie ran its destructive course throughout the country, and its effect upon the Church was to check its growth, and in 1874. to produce decadence. In that lat- ter year the great river rose up above the barriers that hemmed it and spread havoc along both its coasts. In that same dark year also a government was installed by the Federal power. after its overthrow by the people. that for that reason was for the people worse than no government at all. Landed values, the basis of all valnes, were destroyed. and many left the State for more favored «limes. This juncture of misfortunes made evident to the people the necessity for new combinations of their forces. For two years longer the alien government was held in power, and then for three years there was a transition period. during which the people were studying and experimenting with their surroundings, giving up the old habits of life and adopting new ones. To obtain the priv- ileges of self-government was the first necessity. and then came the accommodation to the new life. From 1865 to 1876 the people had endeavored to carry on their pursuits, as far as might be, on the ante-bellum lines. It was largely a failure, yet there was stability. The Church had rest and grew. From 1876 to 1880 the revolution was in incubation that would turn the government from prodigal- ity to economy. and the agriculturalist from the princely planter to the skilled farmer : from the lordly baron, surrounded by ole-
17
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
gance and steeped in debt. to the independent freeman, who would look upon smaller fields, but fields that were unmortgaged. better worked and more productive. Many could not lend a hand to make a new Louisiana out of the old. Many that could have done so, preferred to give their energies to other States. But this sub- jeet is a large one. and it is only to put us in mind of the unrest and instability of the people in the years 1874 to 1879 that it is thus barely alluded to here. In 1879 the new State Constitution was proclaimed, and with it came the new era.
So when we resume our survey of the history of the Church. we find the period from 1874 to 1880 an epoch of disaster and decadence. The civil and political misfortunes told against the Church. Priest after priest was compelled to resign deserted temples, and communicant after communicant wandered away in poverty and despair. The first year, namely. in 1875. there was a net loss of five hundred and fifty-nine communicants, and for three years thereafter the net loss averaged two hundred and fifty-four a year. In 1879 the decadence was checked, the net loss being thirty, and in 1880 the tide was turned with the in- coming of the third Bishop. But between 1874 and 1880, the communicant roll ran down from 4351 to 2957. a loss of one third. The loss during the war was only a sixth. Yet here it may be noticed, in passing, that notwithstanding such losses. the strength of the Church gained in its ratio to the population of the State. There was one communicant to three hundred and ninety-seven souls in 1860. In 1880. there was one to every three hundred and seventeen souls.
The faithful Bishop, whose heart was bleeding at every down- ward step of the Diocese, died just as the cheek came to the decadence. uncheered by the knowledge that the worst was over.
A Special Council met in St. Paul's Church. New Orleans. January 29, 1879. The Rev. John Francis Girault was elected president. There were twenty-seven clergymen present and twenty-four parishes represented. On the seventh ballot the Rt. Rev. Dr. Wingfield. Missionary Bishop of Northern California. was elected Bishop of Louisiana. He subsequently declined the office.
The Annual Council met April 23, 1879. , The Rev. Mr. Girault was elected president. Only routine business was trans- acted.
2
18
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
A Special Conneil met November 12, 1879. The Rev. Dr. Goodrich was elected president. There were twenty-four clergy- men and representatives from fourteen parishes present. On the second ballot the Rev. Dr. Galleher was elected Bishop, which election was unanimously confirmed by the laity.
THE SIXTH EPOCH.
THE Rev. Dr. Gallcher was consecrated Bishop of Louis- iana. and with the advent of the new Bishop opened the epoch of renewed development of the Diocese.
In 1880 there were twenty nine priests and deacons actively employed in the Diocese : there are now thirty-two. There were forty-seven congregations in 1880; there are now eighty-five. There were forty-five church edifices in 1880; there are now sixty. There were thirteen rectories in 1880 ; there are now twenty-one. There were 2957 communicants in 1880; there are now 4438. There are now, also, 5212 confirmed persons in the parishes.
New ground has been purchased for the Children's Home at a cost of $5000, and the buildings have been enlarged and com- pleted at an expense of some $20.000.
An Episcopal residence has been purchased at a cost of over $14,000.
The communicants of the Diocese were one for every three hundred and seventeen souls in the State in 1880; they now num- ber one for every two hundred and twenty-six souls. By another calculation it appears that we have one communicant for every one hundred and thirty nine souls sixteen years of age and up- wards, and a confirmed person for every one hundred and twenty- four such persons. If two hundred is allowed as the number of colored communicants, there is a communicant for every eighty- two white persons, native and foreign, sixteen years old and up- wards.
The fifty years of the Diocese shows that it has grown from two clergymen to thirty-eight ; from three congregations to eighty- five; from two church edifices to sixty; from one hundred and fifty communicants to 4.438; from a ratio of one communicant to every 2157 souls in the State to one to every two hundred and fifty-four, and that while the population of the State has increased
19
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
two hundred and fifty per cent., the growth of the Church has been 2,863 per cent.
There have been 11,353 persons confirmed by the Bishops of Louisiana to the time of the last Council ; the average of Bishop Polk being one hundred and sixty-four annually ; that of Bishop Wilmer three hundred and ninety-eight. and that of Bishop Gal- leher four hundred and seven.
There have been forty-three deacons and fifty priests ordained for the Diocese. There was an ordination to the diaconate during the Episcopate of Bishop Polk on the average every fifteen months ; during that of Bishop Wilmer. every eight months ; during that of Bishop Galleher, every nineteen months.
20
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
CANONICAL LEGISLATION.
THE Constitution of the Diocese was drafted in 1838 by the Rev. R. H. Ranney and the Hon. Thomas Butler.
The first Code of Canons was presented in 1839 by Lneins C. Duncan.
The Rules of Order were drawn up in 1844 by the Rev. Dr. Lacey. the Rev. D. S. Lewis and the Hon. Thomas Butler.
In 1848 a commission was raised to revise the Constitution and canons. The celebrated canonist, the Rev. Dr. Hawks. was the chairman of this commission, and associated with him were the Rev. Charles Goodrich. Lucius C. Duncan. John L. Lobdell and J. Dale Powel. They reported in 1850. and the revision was carried through in the Convention of 1852.
In 1871 the Rev. Herman C. Duncan. Rev. Charles Morison and Thomas Henderson were appointed a committee to prepare a duly authenticated copy of the Constitution and Canons, which was done, and it was deposited in the archives.
In 1875 the Rev. Herman C. Duncan, Rev. A. Gordon Bake- well and James McConnell were appointed a committee to codify the Constitution, Canons and Rules of Order. with authority to report amendments. The chairman of this committee prepared a report, and on leaving the Diocese, which he did before the next Council. placed it among other Diocesan documents. requesting that it be given to the other members of the committee. No rec- ord exists of its disposition.
In 1879. the Rev. Dr. Charles Goodrich. Rev. H. H. Waters. Rev. Dr. John Percival. W. W. Howe. James McConnell and Robert Mott were appointed a commission to revise the Constitu- tion and Canons, but on their own motion this commission was discharged in 1880. no alterations or amendments being sug. gested.
In 1882 a new Commission was appointed : Rev. Herman C. Duncan. Rev. Dr. Ingh Miller Thompson (replaced subsequently by the Rev. Dr. W. T. D. Dalzell). Carleton Hunt. James MeCon- nell and A. J. Lewis. This Commission reported in 1883 and 1SS4. and the revision was carried through the Council of 1886.
21
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
THE CONSTITUTION .- The Constitution adopted in 1838 does not seem to have been formed on any of its predecessors, but was evidently written de noro.
It established the following fundamental principles : (a) the name chosen was "The Church in Louisiana," and the Constitu- tion of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America was acceded to and its authority accepted : (b) the annual Conventions were appointed for the third Wednesday in January : (c) a secretary was provided for and made treasurer ex officio ; (d) the Conventions were to be composed of both clergy and laity. Six months residence was made a pre-requisite to suffrage for the clergy ; (e) each parish was given a representation of three dele- gates, and, if of more than fifty families, five ; (f ) a quorum was declared to be a representation, whether clerical or lay, from two- thirds of the parishes ; (g) a Standing Committee was provided for. to be composed of three clergymen and three laymen ; (h) the man- ner of electing a Bishop was provided-there was to be four weeks notice given by the Standing Committee of the purpose to elect : the clergy and laity were to vote separately. the clergy to choose a qualified person. and the laity approving, to constitute an election : (i) deputies to the General Convention were to be elected for three years, and vacancies occurring in the delegation were to be sup- plied by the Bishop, or in his absence, by the Standing Committee.
From time to time this Constitution has been amended, but many of the amendments have been only developments of its prin- ciples, made. doubtless, to elneidate them ; and many have been verbal only. It is not necessary to take note of any but those of important character. To facilitate such explication the principles above enumerated have been lettered.
(a) These principles have never been amended. although the second one was declared suspended in 1861.
(b) This was amended in 1843. so as to provide that every Council should fix the time as well as place of meeting of its im- mediate successor. In 1869, the name was changed from Conven- tion to Council.
(c) In 1852, the offices of secretary and treasurer were sepa- rated, and in 1886, the manner of supplying vacancies in these offices was provided.
(d) In 1886, the declaration of duty of attending Councils was elevated from a canonical to a constitutional provision.
22
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
(e) In 1871. the eligibility of lay delegates was restricted to baptized persons and membership in the parish they were elected to represent. In 1886. it was further restricted to those who pos- sessed the right of suffrage in their parishes. In the latter year the number of delegates allowed a parish was extended to five, and provision was made that in a vote by orders each parish should have but one vote.
( f ) In 1846, one-half of the parishes was made a quorum. In 1856. one-third was made sufficient. In 1877, parish representation was restricted to its lay delegates. In 1886. one-third of the clergy and such lay representation as might be present was made a quorum. This was a reversion to the constitutional provision of 1835, which read " the members of the Convention present, on due notification, shall be a quorum." just as that for parochial equality was a reversion in exact terms to the Constitution of 1830. the " Hawks' Constitution."
(g) In 1852, the lay members of the Standing Committee were restricted to those who were communicants. The committee was vested with power to fill vacancies in their number, and provision was made for their organization and meetings.
(h) In 1852. the required notice previous to the election of a Bishop was extended to six weeks, and provision was made for the number of votes necessary to an election a majority. if two-thirds of the clergy and of the parishes were present or represented. otherwise a two-thirds vote of those present was required. In 1886, the presence of two-thirds of the elergy and of the parishes was made necessary to an election. and provision was made for the clergy to retire to a separate room to ballot, and the laity to vote by parishes.
(i) In 1852. the election of deputies to the General Convention was made annual. and the supply of vacancies was delegated to the ecclesiastical authority. In 1877. the choice of alternate deputies was vested in the Council itself.
(k) In 1852, provision was made that amendments germain to the subject might be offered at the time of final passage of an amendment. Previously all amendments had to be adopted by two Conventions in ipsissimis rerbis.
THE CANONS .- In 1839. a Code of Canons was adopted. Their provisions were : (1) Organization of New Parishes .- The friends of the Church should meet. choose two wardens, not less
23
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
than five vestrymen and a parish clerk. To entitle a parish to admission to union with the Convention, it must adopt resolu- tions declaring adhesion to the Constitution and canons of the General Convention and also of the Diocese : (2) Parish Meetings, to be held Easter Monday for the election of wardens and ves- trymen. The suffrage was given to those who owned or hired a pew. or contributed annually to the support of the ministry ; (3) Courention Fund .- An assessment equal to one per cent. on the salary of the minister, at least ten dollars annually : (4) . Parish Registers and Parochial Reports .- The parishes were to provide themselves with registers for the recording of official acts, and were required to make reports to the annual Conventions; (5) Standing Committee .- This canon provided for the organization and meetings of the Standing Committee : (6) The Courention .- Every Convention was to be opened with prayers and a sermon and the administration of the Lord's Supper, and prayers were to be said every morning during its session.
In 1848, the canon on New Parishes was amended so as to require that they should become incorporated under the civil law. In 1873, it was further amended so as to require that the Bishop should take the initiative in the organization ; that the rector should be recognized as a member of the vestry, and that the act of conformity should be embodied in the charter. In 1886. the organization of a parish was forbidden unless it was self-sup- porting.
In 1852, the canon on Parochial Elections and Suffrage was amended so as to require a year's membership as a prerequisite. In 1886, the annual parish meetings were required to make pro- vision for any deficits happening during the year then closed.
In 1852, the canon on Convention Fund was so amended as to provide that no parish should receive its quota of journals unless its assessments were paid. This was, however, subsequently, in 1871, repealed.
In 1869. the canon on Parochial Reports was amended by providing a form for such reports.
In 1852, the provisions of the canon on the Standing Com- mittee were embodied in the Constitution.
In 1886, the canon on the Convention was made part of the Rules of Order.
In 1852, three new canons were adopted : (1) rehearsing the duties of wardens and vestrymen; (2) providing for the prepar-
24
& HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
ation of a clerical list by the Bishop as the Roll of the Conven- tion: and (3) regulations for the trial of a clergyman not being a Bishop.
This latter canon was amended in 1886, so as to require the prosecution to be conducted by a judge advocate instead of by the Board of Inquiry. as originally provided, and also that oaths or affirmations should be made before some authorized eivil officer.
In 1866, a new canon was adopted on the duty of attending the Conventions. In 1886, this canon was in substance embodied in the Constitution.
In 1869, provision was made for the amendment of the canons.
In 1886, five new canons were adopted, creating the (1) office of chancellor, and (2) of registrar; (3) adopting a basis of assess- ments; (4) making the Rules of Order standing regulations; and (5) providing for the organization of missions.
RULES OF ORDER. - The Rules of Order were first adopted in 1844. They were readopted in substantially the same words from year to year, until 1886. when they were made standing regula- tions.
INCORPORATION OF THE BISHOP AND CONVENTION .- In 1858, the Convention raised a committee to inquire into the propriety of obtaining incorporation of the Bishop and Convention. They reported that it was not only practical but expedient, and they were instructed to draft the proper act. The committee reported it to the Convention of 1861 and it was accepted, and a committee was appointed to present it to the Legislature. But this for some reason was not done. In 1866 the act was referred to a new com- mittee. They recommended that the Convention again accept it. This the Convention of 1867 did do, and instructed the committee to present it to the Legislature. They failed to do this. The Convention of 1868 " continued them," and thus ends the record.
OFFICERS OF THE DIOCESE .- The office of Secretary was created by the Constitution in 1838. It then carried with it. ex officio. the functions of a treasurer.
The Rules of Order of 1844 made provision for an Assistant Secretary, but this authority was not used except in 1852 and in 1858, until 1860, from which Jatter year the office has been con- tinuously filled.
In 1852, the functions of Treasurer were separated from those of the Secretary, and theoffice made independent.
25
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
In 1886, the office of " Conservator of Church Documents" was created by resolution. In 1871. the title of the office was changed to "Registrar and Historian," also by resolution. In 1866, the office of Registrar was made a canonical one.
In 1886. the office of Chancellor was created by canonical action.
26
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
MISSIONARY OPERATIONS.
PREVIOUS to the assembling of the Annual Convention of 1843, a missionary meeting was held in Grace Church. St. Fran- cisville, and a resolution was adopted which resulted in the ap- pointment by the Convention of a Missionary Committee to receive and disburse funds intended for Diocesan missionary pur- poses. It was also recommended that a collection be made in all the parishes on the first Sunday after the Epiphany.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.