USA > Maryland > A compilation containing the constitution and canons of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of Maryland; > Part 4
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§ iv. Copies of this folio Standard Book of Common Prayer, duly authenticated as in the case of the Standard Book, shall be sent, when issued, to the Ecclesiastical Authority of each Diocese or Jurisdiction in trust for the use thereof, and for reference and appeal in questions as to the authorized formularies of this Church.
§ v. No copy or edition of the Book of Common Prayer shall be made, printed, published, or used as of authority in this Church unless it contain the authorization of the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, certifying that he or some person appointed by him has compared the said copy or edition with the said Standard or a certified copy thereof and that it conforms thereto.
§ vi. The House of Bishops shall nominate a person, who, after confirmation by the House of Deputies, shall be appointed the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer and shall have charge of the same. He shall hold office until his successor is appointed, and any vacancy occurring during the recess of General Convention may be provisionally filled by appointment of the Presid- ing Bishop. It shall be the duty of the Ecclesiastical Authority of any Diocese or Jurisdiction in which any unauthorized edition of the Book of Common Prayer or any part or parts thereof shall be published or circulated, to give public notice that the said edition is not of authority in this Church.
§ vii. This Canon shall take effect immediately.
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CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
CANON 23. TITLE I.
Of the Due Celebration of Sundays.
All persons within this Church shall celebrate and keep the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday, in hearing the word of God read and taught, in private and public prayer, in other exercises of devotion, and in acts of charity, using all godly and sober conversation.
CANON 24. TITLE I.
Of the Use of the Book of Common Prayer.
§ i. Every Minister shall, before all sermons and lectures, and on all other occasions of public worship, use the Book of Common Prayer, as the same is or may be established by the authority of the General Convention of this Church; and in performing such services no other prayers shall be used than those prescribed by the said Book.
§ ii. [1.] If any Bishop have reason to believe, or if complaint be made to him in writing by two or more of his Presbyters, that within his jurisdiction ceremonies or practices not ordained or authorized in the Book of Common Prayer, and setting forth or symbolizing erro- neous or doubtful doctrines, have been introduced by any Minister during the celebration of the Holy Communion (such as,
a. The elevation of the Elements in the Holy Communion in such manner as to expose them to the view of the people as objects toward which adoration is to be made.
b. Any act of adoration of or toward the Elements in the Holy Communion, such as bowings, prostrations, or genuflections ; and
c. All other like acts not authorized by the Rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer:)
It shall be the duty of such Bishop to summon the Standing Com- mittee as his Council of Advice, and with them to investigate the matter.
[2.] If, after investigation, it shall appear to the Bishop and Standing Committee that ceremonies or practices not ordained or authorized as aforesaid, and setting forth or symbolizing erroneous or doubtful doctrines, have in fact been introduced as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Bishop, by instrument of writing under his hand, to admonish the Minister so offending to discontinue such practices or ceremonies ; and if the Minister shall disregard such admonition, it shall be the duty of the Standing Committee to cause him to be tried for a breach of his ordination vow.
Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prevent the pre- sentment, trial, and punishment of any Minister under the provisions of Title II., Canon 2, Section i. of the Digest.
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CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
[3.] In all investigations under the provisions of this Canon, the Minister whose acts or practices are the subject-matter of the investi- gation, shall be notified, and have opportunity to be heard in his defence. The charges preferred, and the findings of the Bishop and Standing Committee, shall be in writing, and a record shall be kept of the proceedings in the case.
CANON 26. TITLE I.
Of the Consecration of Churches.
§ i. No Church or Chapel shall be consecrated until the Bishop shall have been sufficiently certified that the building and ground on which it is erected have been fully paid for, and are free from lien or other incumbrance; and also that such building and ground are secured, by the terms of the devise, or deed, or subscription by which they are given, from the danger of alienation, either in whole or in part, from those who profess and practise the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, except in the cases provided for in Section ii. and iii. of this Canon: Provided, that this shall not preclude the alienation of lots for burial in vaults or otherwise, nor apply to land owned by the Church corporation and not neccessary for religious uses.
§ ii. It shall not be lawful for any Vestry, Trustees, or other body authorized by law of any State or Territory, to hold property for any Diocese, Parish, or Congregation, to incumber or alienate any conse- crated Church or Chapel without the previous consent of the Bishop, acting with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee of the Diocese in which such Church or Chapel be situated : Provided, that this Section shall not be operative in any State with the laws of which, relating to the title and holding of property by religious corporations, the same may conflict.
§ iii. No consecrated Church or Chapel shall be removed, taken down, or otherwise disposed of for any "unhallowed, worldly or com- mon use," without the previous consent of the Bishop, acting with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee of the Diocese in which such Church or Chapel may be situate.
CANON 4. TITLE II.
Of Differences between Ministers and their Congregations, and of the Dissolution of a Pastoral Connection.
§ i. A Rector, canonically elected and in charge, or an Instituted Minister, may not resign his Parish without consent of the said Parish or its Vestry (if the Vestry be authorized to act in the premises) ; nor may such Rector or Minister be removed therefrom by said Parish or Vestry against his will, except as hereinafter provided.
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CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
§ ii. In case any urgent reason or reasons should occasion a wish in a Rector or Minister as aforesaid, or in the Parish committed to his charge, to bring about a separation and a dissolution of all pastoral relation between such Minister and Parish, and the parties be not agreed in respect of such separation and dissolution, notice of such desire and disagreement may be given by either party to the Ecclesi- astical Authority of the Diocese or Missionary Jurisdiction, in writing. And in case of any difference between the Minister and Parish or Vestry as aforesaid, which may not be satisfactorily settled by the godly judgment of the Bishop alone, or which he may decline to con- sider without counsel, the Bishop (or if the Diocese be vacant, any Bishop selected by the Ecclesiastical Authority), acting with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee of the Diocese or Missionary Jurisdiction, or with that of the Presbyters only of said Standing Committee (if both parties shall assent to such limitation in writing), shall be the ultimate arbiter and judge; and refusal to accept and comply with the arbitration and judgment on the part of the Minister aforesaid, shall not work a continuance of lawful and canonical Rec- torship or settlement beyond the date fixed, conditionally or other- wise, for its termination by such arbitration and judgment, should such termination be recommended and required ; but such pastoral connection shall, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, cease and terminate as therein required. But such refusal shall subject the Minister so refusing to inhibition by the Bishop aforesaid from all ministerial offices and functions within the Diocese or Missionary Jur- isdiction ; and such refusal on the part of a Parish shall disqualify it from representation in the Convention of the Diocese until it shall have been declared by the Ecclesiastical Authority to have given sat- isfactory guaranties for the acceptance of and compliance with the arbitration and judgment.
§ iii. In case of the regular and canonical dissolution of the con- nection between a Minister and his Congregation, the Bishop, or if there be no Bishop, the Standing Committee, shall direct the Secre- tary of the Convention to record the same. But if the dissolution of the connection between a Minister and his Congregation be not regular or canonical, the Bishop or Standing Committee shall lay the same before the Convention of the Diocese, in order that the above-men- tioned penalties may take effect.
$ iv. This Canon shall not be in force in any Diocese which has made, or shall hereafter make, provisions by Canon upon this subject, nor in any Diocese with whose laws or charters it may interfere.
CANON 12. TITLE II. Regulations Respecting the Laity.
§ i. A communicant removing from one Parish to another shall procure from the Rector (if any) of the Parish of his last residence, or, if there be no Rector, from one of the Wardens, a certificate stating
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CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
that he or she is a communicant in good standing ; and the Rector of the Parish or Congregation to which he or she removes shall not be required to receive him or her as a communicant until such letter be produced.
§ ii. [1.] If any persons within this Church offend their brethren by any wickedness of life, such persons shall be repelled from the Holy Communion, agreeably to the rubric.
[2.] There being the provision in the second rubric before the Communion Service requiring that every Minister repelling from the Communion shall give an account of the same to the Ordinary, it is hereby provided that, on the information to the effect stated being laid before the Ordinary, that is, the Bishop, it shall not be his duty to institute an inquiry, unless there be a complaint made to him in writing by the repelled party, within three months from such repulsion. But on receiving complaint, it shall be the duty of the Bishop, unless he think fit to restore him from the insufficiency of the cause assigned by the Minister, to institute an inquiry, as may be directed by the Canons of the Diocese in which the event has taken place. And should no such Canon exist, the Bishop shall proceed according to such principles of law and equity as will insure an impartial decision. And the notice, given as above by the Minister, shall be a sufficient presentation of the party repelled.
[3.] In case of great heinousness of offence on the part of members of this Church, they may be proceeded against to the depriving them of all privileges of Church membership, according to such rules or process as may be provided by the General Convention ; and until such rules or process shall be provided, by such as may be provided by the different Diocesan Conventions.
CANON 13. TITLE II. Of Marriage and Divorce.
§ i. If any persons be joined together otherwise than as God's Word doth allow, their marriage is not lawful.
§ ii. No Minister, knowingly after due inquiry, shall solemnize the marriage of any person who has a divorced husband or wife still living, if such husband or wife has been put away for any cause arising after marriage ; but this Canon shall not be held to apply to the innocent party in a divorce for the cause of adultery, or to parties once divorced seeking to be united again.
§ iii. If any Minister of this Church shall have reasonable cause to doubt whether a person desirous of being admitted to Holy Baptism, or to Confirmation, or to the Holy Communion, has been married otherwise than as the Word of God and discipline of this Church allow,
.
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CANONS OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
such Minister, before receiving such person to these ordinances, shall refer the case to the Bishop for his godly judgment thereupon : Provided, however, that no Minister shall, in any case, refuse the Sac- raments to a penitent person in imminent danger of death.
§ iv. Questions touching the facts of any case arising under Sec- tion ii. of this Canon shall be referred to the Bishop of the Diocese or Missionary Jurisdiction in which the same may occur; or if there be no Bishop of such Diocese or Missionary Jurisdiction, then to some Bishop to be designated by the Standing Committee; and the Bishop to whom such questions have been so referred shall thereupon make inquiry in such manner as he shall deem expedient, and shall deliver his judgment in the premises.
§ v. This Canon, so far as it affixes penalties, does not apply to cases occurring before it takes effect, according to Title IV., Canon 4.
RESOLUTIONS
PASSED AT VARIOUS TIMES BY
THE CONVENTION OF MARYLAND, AND OTHER KINDRED MATTERS.
1. Thanks for Convention Sermons.
Resolved, That the practice of presenting thanks to the clergy, for ser- mons preached at the opening of the Conventions of the Protestant Epis- copal Church of Maryland, be discontinued .- (1823, pp. 8 and 15.)
2. Lay Delegates to be residents of the Parishes which they represent.
Resolved, As the sense of this Convention, for the information and direc- tion of the Vestries of this Diocese in future, that the parishioner who may be appointed in any Parish as lay Delegate to this Convention, should always be a resident in the Parish from which he is sent .- (Ibid., p. 16.)
3. The Episcopal Fund.
Resolved, That this Convention doth hereby accept of the act of the General Assembly of Maryland, passed at its December session, in the year eighteen hundred and forty, chapter sixty-seven, entitled, “ An Act to incorporate the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland, for the purposes therein mentioned ;" and that a certificate of such acceptance be transmitted to the Secretary of State, in the form following :
" At a Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Maryland, begun and held at the City of Baltimore, on Wednesday, the 26th day of May, in the year eighteen hundred and forty-one, being the next annual meeting of said Convention held after the passage of an act of the General Assembly of Maryland, passed at December session (in the year 1840, chapter 67,) entitled, 'An Act to incorporate the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland ;' a copy of said act was laid before the said Convention, and upon consideration thereof had, it was resolved, by said Convention, that the aforesaid act of the General Assembly of Maryland be, and the same is, hereby accepted, and that a certificate of the acceptance thereof be filed with the Secretary of State, according to the provisions of said act."
"In witness whereof the said Convention have caused this act to be signed by William R. Whittingham, Bishop of said Diocese and ex officio President of said Convention, and sealed with the Episcopal seal of the
RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 43
said William R. Whittingham, which is for this purpose adopted by the said Convention, as its corporate seal, this 28th day of May, in the year 1841."
Resolved, That, for the purpose of administering "the permanent fund for the support of the Episcopate in this Diocese," a Board of Trustees, to consist of the Bishop for the time being, and six lay members of this Church, shall be appointed :-- and that, for the election of the said lay members and the administration of the said fund, the following rules be adopted :
1st. This Convention shall, after the passage of these resolutions, pro- ceed to ballot for six lay trustees, and the persons having the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.
2d. The trustees, to be elected as aforesaid, shall be distributed by arrangement amongst the members, into three classes. The first class, consisting of the two having the highest number of votes, shall serve until the adjournment of the next annual meeting of this Convention. The second class, consisting of the two receiving the next highest number of votes, shall serve until the adjournment of the second annual meeting of the Convention hereafter ; and the third class shall serve until the adjourn- ment of the third annual meeting of the Convention hereafter; and, to continue the succession of the Board, the Convention, at its next and succeeding annual meetings, shall elect, by ballot, trustees in the stead of those whose term shall have expired. The persons, thus to be elected, shall serve until the adjournment of the third annual meeting of the Con- vention after their election.
3rd. Any vacancy which may happen, by death, resignation, refusal to serve, or removal out of the Diocese, may be supplied by appointment, by the Board of Trustees, of a suitable person, who shall serve until the next annual meeting of the Convention thereafter, which shall elect a trustee tc serve during the residue of the term of the person in whose stead he shall be elected.
4th. The Board shall meet, on some day prior to the first day of July next, to be appointed by the Bishop, and at such times thereafter as the Board shall direct ; or, upon the requisition of the Bishop, or any two of the trustees. A meeting shall likewise be held, on the day next preceding the day appointed for the next and succeeding annual meetings of this Convention, and at the place at which the Convention shall hold its meeting. A majority of the Board shall be a quorum for the transaction of business.
5th. The Board, at its first meeting, and from time to time thereafter, shall appoint one of its members to act as Treasurer, who shall continue in office until removed by the Board, or until the expiration of his term of service as trustee. The Treasurer shall have the custody of the securities and moneys belonging to the said fund, subject to such order as the Board may take, from time to time, in relation thereto. It shall, likewise, be his duty to keep an accurate account of his receipts and disbursements, which shall be laid before the Convention, at every meeting.
6th. (See infra, Resolutions 14, 25, 68.)
44 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND.
7th. The funds raised and to be raised shall be invested in stocks of the United States, State of Maryland or City of Baltimore, in ground rents, or first mortgages, or fee-simple real estate in the City of Baltimore, or Washington City, or in such registered first mortgage bonds as may be approved by the trustees, in their discretion. (As amended 1884, p. 20, and 1891, p. 18.)
8th. Every investment shall be made in the name of "The Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Maryland;" and no investment, so made, shall be transferred or assigned, but by deed under seal of the Treasurer of the Board, and of the Bishop or .other two mem- bers of the Board.
9th. The Board shall keep a journal of its proceedings, in which shall be entered the attendance of its members, and its acts and resolutions, in regard to the administration of said fund ; and on every question, moved and decided, the ayes and noes shall be taken and entered, if required by any member. This journal, with a summary report of the proceedings of the Board, and the book of accounts of the Treasurer, shall be laid before the Convention, at every annual meeting.
10th. The foregoing rules may be altered, and any one or more of said Trustees may be removed, at any time, by a vote of a majority of all the members of the Convention .- (1841, pp. 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59.)
4. Resolutions concerning Congregations and Parishes.
1. That the independent congregations, in the country and smaller towns, organized under the law of 1802, organize, when practicable, under that of 1798, with metes and bounds.
2. That Vestries make themselves acquainted with the bounds of their respective Parishes and cause them to be recorded in their Vestry books, if already they be not; and whenever a new Minister shall be appointed by them, that they make him acquainted with such bounda- ries, that he may know the territorial extent of his cure and of his field of labor.
3. That every Minister and Vestry are solemnly responsible for looking after the spiritual interests of the entire Parish, and providing for the same as far as they may .- (1853, p. 10.)
5. Resolution respecting the Duty of Churchwardens.
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Chair, to report to the next Convention, full and proper information as to the duties of Churchwardens .- (1855, p. 56.)
Report on the Duties of Churchwardens.
The committee appointed by the Diocesan Convention of Maryland of 1855, to report to the next Convention full and proper information as to the duties of Churchwardens, (see Journal, p. 56,) respectfully report that the office of Churchwarden, or guardian of the Church, seems to be of English origin, and to have grown out of the constitution of the Church of England. Blackstone says that they are the guardians and keepers of the Church,
RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND. 45
and representatives of the body of the Parish. England is divided into Parishes, or territorial districts, for Ecclesiatical purposes, in each of which there is a Church edifice ; which is, in a certain sense, the property of the parishioners, or inhabitants of the Parish. This edifice is to be maintained, and the expense of public worship, except the support of the Clergy, provided for, by a rate or tax levied upon the property of the parishioners. This rate or tax is to be laid by the parishioners themselves, assembled in Vestry. The primary meaning of the phrase was, a meeting of the parish- ioners held in the vestry, or room in the Church in which the clerical vest- ments are kept, but the name Vestry is now applied to the meeting itself. Every person who is liable to pay Church rate is a member of the Vestry, which is consequently a large and cumbrous body, incapable of performing administrative functions. These are therefore devolved on the Church- wardens. The business of the Vestry, which meets only once or twice a year, is confined to imposing the rate, electing Churchwardens, and examining their accounts.
The duties of the Churchwardens, in England, are threefold : to take care of the property of the Parish, and administer its finances ; to act as a sort of Ecclesiastical police, in preserving order in the assemblies for public worship, and as a sort of Ecclesiastical grand jury, for the present- ment of Ecclesiastical offenders. In Maryland, the first of these three classes of duties seems to be transferred to the selected Vestry of eight persons, chosen by the parishioners; who are here, what the Church- wardens are in England, the representatives of the parishioners. The Vestry act (1798, ch. 24, §9,) gives to these bodies the property in, and management of, the estates and goods of the Parish, and the whole scope of the act seems to imply that they are to have the control of the temporal affairs of the Parish. The Churchwardens are thus superseded in the principal part of their office. In fact, the Vestry act leaves them nothing to do with the property or finances of the Church ; except that, by the 29th section, the Vestries are prohibited from selling, aliening or transferring any of the property of the Church, without the consent of both the Church- wardens.
With respect to that portion of the duties of English Churchwardens, which consists in acting as an Ecclesiastical police, in preserving order in the assemblages for public worship, it was fully recognized by the twelfth section of the act of 1798, ch. 24. But by 1802, ch. 111, §11, so much of that act as confers on them the powers of civil officers of the peace, is repealed. They are still, the committee apprehend, charged by the Church with the duty of preserving order, and are the representatives of the Vestry and parishioners, for that purpose. They have at common law, as the agents of the proprietors of the building, the right to remove from it any person who may be misconducting himself ; using no more force than is absolutely necessary for that purpose. They have no right to demand the assistance of other persons, but may accept that which is offered.
The duties of Churchwardens, as an Ecclesiastical grand jury, are much modified by the system of discipline which has been adopted in this Church. In this Diocese they seem, so far as clerical discipline is con- cerned, to be superseded by the Standing Committee, and, so far as
46 RESOLUTIONS, ETC., OF CONVENTION OF MARYLAND.
relates to lay discipline, by the Minister. On this subject the committee would refer to the sixth and twenty-third Diocesan canons of 1847. It would seem, nevertheless, that there remained a residuum of the ancient obligation, by which the Churchwardens are the proper persons to report Ecclesiastical offences to the persons on whom those canons imposed the indictive duty, that is, the Bishop, the members of the Standing Committee, or if the offender be a layman, the Minister of the Parish.
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