A digest of the proceedings of the conventions and councils in the diocese of Virginia, Part 21

Author: Dashiell, Thomas Grayson, 1830-1893
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Richmond : W.E. Jones
Number of Pages: 454


USA > Virginia > A digest of the proceedings of the conventions and councils in the diocese of Virginia > Part 21


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Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, a Supreme Court of Appeals for deciding questions of law arising in Diocesan judica- tories, is needed, and that the want of such tribunal is a marked deficiency in our otherwise admirable and republican system of Church government.


Resolved, That as a natural consequence of the absence of some general judicial review of mooted law points arising in various Dio- ceses, the legislation of the General Convention has assumed, to some extent, the form of special enactment, tending to change the nature of our great law-making authority, and to substitute for its legitimate functions the exercise of powers judicial in effect.


Resolved, That an important principle of all free governments for- bids the vesting of legislative and judicial powers in the same hands; and as such combinations of functions in the same man or body of men is in civil governments deemed tyrannical, it cannot be safe in ecclesiastical politics, because experience has shown that ecclesiastics may run the same career of ambition and despotism as that pursued by other men.


Resolved, That while we have no disposition to dictate a course of conduct for our delegates to the General Convention, neither do we express any opinion with regard to the precise organization of the supreme tribunal, yet we cannot but hope that a just and effective scheme may be presented and adopted for remedying the defect referred to; and we cannot but express our earnest solicitude, that those who have been constituted proper authorities for regulating the important matter, may be so guided in their deliberations and fur- thered in their efforts, that the rights, liberties and privileges of all within our borders may be secured from the evils of injustice and oppression.


They were referred to a Special Committee to consider and report to the next Convention.


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The Bishop was requested to put forth a form of prayer to be used at a service on a Sabbath named by him, when the congregations should have their attention directed to the great and increasing want of ministerial services.


It was-


Resolved, That this Convention heartily approves the course of many of its members in forming themselves into convocations for continuous preaching, and for the purposes ordinarily contemplated in such organ- izations; and that we do recommend to those of the clergy who have not yet adopted this practice, to unite in convocations whenever it may be practicable. .


A committee was appointed to present to the Governor a memorial from the Convention, to appoint a day for public thanksgiving.


The Rectors of the churches in Richmond were requested to cause collections to be made to-morrow morning in their respective churches, in aid of the Education Society.


Measures were taken to raise the balance of the money necessary to pay for the Virginia Female Institute. The deficiency reported was $5,132.20


The Trustees of the Seminary reported thirty students- $62,000 invested funds. They also reported the High School to be in a very flourishing condition.


CONVENTION OF 1853.


Convention met in St. Matthew's church, Wheeling, May 18th.


Bishop Johns presided, Bishop Meade being absent be- cause of sickness.


Rev. George D. Cummins was elected Secretary.


16


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CONVENTION OF 1853.


Johns' parish, Loudoun county, St. James' parish, South- am, Powhatan county, and Luther parish, Clarke county, were admitted into union with the Convention.


The Secretary read the report of Mr. George M. Carring- ton, treasurer of the fund for the purchase of the Virginia Female Institute at Staunton, showing a sum total received for that object of $2,843.04.


The following resolution was offered and adopted :


Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to obtain informa- tion, and report some plan to the next Convention for the relief of disabled clergymen.


Rev. Dr. Sparrow, chairman of the committee to whom was referred, at the last Convention, the resolution intro- duced by the Rev. Mr. Norton, relative to the establishment of an ecclesiastical appellate court, read the report of the committee. We quote from it as follows :


The committee appointed on the resolutions offered at our last Con- vention, touching the subject of a supreme court of appeal in the general Church, beg leave to report: They regret that they have to begin with the remark that though they did not forget the matter referred to them at the close of our last Convention, they have been placed in circumstances in every view unfavorable to the satisfactory discharge of the duty devolved upon them. A meeting of the mem- bers, at which they might, by a mutual comparison of their views, and a full discussion of principles, evolve the truth in their own minds, and arrive at a definite and settled conclusion, has been altogether impos- sible. They are under the necessity of presenting results of very little conference and consultation.


But even if they had enjoyed every opportunity of the kind referred to, they still must confess that they have found the subject submitted to their examination to be one involved in difficulty, so much so as to admit, on their part at the best, of a somewhat diffident and hesitating conclusion.


The report states at considerable length and with great ability the difficulties of the question, and concludes by saying:


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CONVENTION OF 1853.


In view of these considerations, your committee do not feel strongly impelled to favor the movement made at our last General Convention towards the organizing of a Supreme Court in the Church, and likely to be farther prosecuted at the next. They think it a happy circum- stance, however, that the subject has been brought before this Conven- tion by-the resolutions which have been submitted to it. The question of a court, whether it shall be or not be, is most important, and if de- cided in the affirmative, then what form it shall assume, and what shall be its jurisdiction and its powers, is also most important. While, there- fore, your committee are not at present very decided on these questions, they are ready to offer, in conclusion, for the adoption of this body, the following resolution :


Resolved, That the question of a supreme court of appeal is one of the first importance, whichever way decided by our Church; and that, if brought before the next General Convention as part of the unfinished business of the last, it should receive the deep and earnest attention of the delegates of this body.


The resolution was adopted.


A paper expressing affectionate sympathy with Bishop Meade and heart-felt confidence in him, was adopted, and the Secretary was directed to communicate the same to him.


The following preamble and resolution were adopted:


Whereas, The Protestant Episcopal Church acknowledges her obli- gations, and professes herself to be a missionary Church; therefore,


Resolved, That in view of the great scarcity of clergy, the ministers of this large, and still, to a great extent, destitute diocese, be requested, either agreeably to their own arrangements in their convocations, or otherwise, to extend a portion of their labors to such fields as may be destitute in their respective vicinities; and, furthermore, that the par- ishes which have pastors, be requested to allow a reasonable portion of their time for this purpose.


In their report the Committee on the State of the Church say:


Another particular of encouragement: it makes us hopeful in regard to our condition as a church, that the laity seem to be taking a more active part than formerly in the spiritual as well as temporal interest of our communion. In these eventful times, this is an important fact. Accurate observers have been led to remark, both in this country and


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in England, that, so far as the class of mere instruments is concerned, the hope of the Church for escape from the troubles which beset her is the laity. Perhaps the evils which we at this day deplore may be in part owing to this, that in former times the laity did not, in the measure and spirit of their calling, stand in their lot and discharge the duties belonging to them; that by transferring to other hands what should have been tended by their own, they violated practically the proportion which the Spirit has established in the Church between clerical and laic functions and administrations ; and that this practical error has led to a corresponding theoretical error, or at least has fostered and sustained it. Be this as it may, we think there are indications that the laity are beginning to discover that they have an integral and substantive part, and above the mere supply of pecuniary means, in the great work which Christ has committed to his Church; that, holding as they do the Holy Scriptures, the common standard of divine truth, in their hands, they ought to be jealous for the purity of Christian doctrine; and that possessed as they are of the influence which piety, intelligence and prominent station carry with them, they ought to be, in every way which does not trench upon the public preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments, active for the diffusion of the truth throughout society and in the hearts of men. This is as it should be, for it is eminently Scriptural and Protestant. We pray that these indica- tions may continue to increase. It may also be properly mentioned here, that it seems to your committee that this is one of the good results which God is working for us out of the notorious evils under which we labor as a Church at this time. If the supiness of the laity, and their readiness to let their own proper duties be discharged by proxy, or go altogether neglected, may have in any measure conduced to bring about existing evils, we trust the magnitude of these evils will be made the means of teaching the laity a solemn and long-to-be-remembered lesson, that their Master cannot dispense with their services in the affairs of his kingdom; and that by failing to take a free and effective share in the various causes of truth and love which should engage the ener- gies of the Church, and to qualify themselves for it by Scriptural study and the cultivation of a high style of Christian character, they expose their Zion to the inroad of error even amongst its ministers, and the cause of the gospel to decline and shame.


The Seminary Trustees reported the resignation of Rev. E. A. Dalrymple as rector of the High School, and the election of Rev. John P. M'Guire to fill the vacancy. They report an invested fund of $66,000.


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. CONVENTION OF 1854.


CONVENTION OF 1854.


Convention met in St. Paul's church, Lynchburg, May 17. A special report was made by the Seminary Trustees an- nouncing the passage by the Legislature of "AN ACT incor- porating the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary and High School in Virginia." Passed February 28, 1854.


Resolutions were adopted expressing gratitude to the Legislature for the act, and to the Rev. John Cole for his agency in securing the same.


The name of Luther parish was changed to Clarke parish. The following resolution was offered and adopted :


Resolved, That with a view to the general and united action on the subject, the Bishop be requested to appoint some particular Sunday during the year for a collection to be made in the churches throughout the Diocese in aid of the Educational Society.


The following resolution was offered and adopted :


Resolved, That the Special Committee appointed on the interests of the Southern Churchman, be requested to address a communication to the members of the Church throughout the Diocese who are parents, suggesting that they enlarge the circulation of that paper by sending a copy of the same from the office of publication to their sons and daughters who may be prosecuting their studies in colleges and schools away from their homes, it being the sense of this Convention that there would be few better methods of promoting the spiritual welfare of their offspring.


Rev. J. Grammer presented the following document:


"I beg leave to state to the Convention that I have set upon the table three pieces of communion plate, which originally belonged to the Church of Jamestown, the first Protestant Episcopal Church that was planted on the American continent. This plate was under the care of the vestry of Bruton parish, Williamsburg, when the Jamestown church fell into disuse and became extinct. In the summer of 1827,


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CONVENTION OF 1854.


when I was about to be ordained a presbyter, the vestry of that parish learning through the Rev. Dr. Wilmer, who was then rector, that the parishes in which I was ministering, and endeavoring to revive and reorganize, were destitute of communion plate, very kindly and most unexpectedly sent me these three pieces, accompanied by a res- olution requiring me to preserve the same and to return to said vestry an acknowledgment of its receipt, and an obligation binding myself, in the contingency of the future resuscitation of the church in the old Jamestown Island and the canonical organization of a parish therein in connection with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia, to restore the said plate to such church. Such acknowledg- ment and obligation I accordingly forthwith forwarded to the said vestry, and from that time have kept the said plate under my own cus- tody, having used it only on the first occasion of my administration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, when, finding the size of the chalice rendered its use inconvenient, and being also otherwise provided with more convenient plate, this has since remained in disuse. These three pieces comprise a large silver chalice inscribed on the side with the words, 'Mixe not holie thinges with profane,' and under the foot the words, 'Ex dono Jacobi Morrison armigeri, A. D. 1661.' A silver Patten, with the same words inscribed on its bottom and underneath its foot, and a silver Alms Basin or Plate, having inscribed on its rim the. words, 'For the use of the James City Parish Church.'


"Having occasion, some few years since, to make enquiry, I learned from the Rev. H. M. Dennison, then Rector of Bruton parish, that my obligation to the vestry above mentioned could not be found, and that no record of the proceedings of the vestry of Bruton parish for 1827, and several succeeding years, had been preserved, and the knowledge of this fact suggesting to me the impropriety of leaving property, over which the Convention only can be regarded as having any rightful ownership, in irresponsible and consequently insecure hands, I have- brought the said plate with me to this place, and now present it to the Convention, with the suggestion and request that it be committed to - -, to be deposited by them in the library of the Theological Seminary of Virginia, there to be carefully preserved as a venerable historical memorial of our fathers, by whose pious zeal the Church of our affections was first planted in our land."


On motion, it was-


Resolved, That the communion plate surrendered to the Convention by the Rev. J. Grammer be now committed to the charge of Rev. Drs.


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CONVENTION OF 1854.


Sparrow and Packard, to be by them carried to the Theological Semi- nary and deposited in the Library thereof, to be there carefully pre- served.


The Executive Committee of the Diocesan Missionary Society reported having added sixteen missionaries, at a cost of $1,975.


A lengthy report upon the affairs of the Virginia Female Institute, was presented by Mr. D. H. Conrad, and laid upon the table. Other resolutions were adopted looking to the transfer to the Convention of all the stock of the Insti- tute.


They are as follows :


I. Resolved, That funds collected for the purchase of the Virginia Female Institute be deposited with Colonel George M. Carrington, subject to the order of this committee just appointed, whenever in their opinion the objects of this Convention can be fully carried out.


2. Resolved, That the stockholders of the Virginia Female Institute having signified their willingness to transfer their interest in the Insti- tute to this Convention, on the payment of a certain sum towards the liquidation of the indebtedness of the same, be respectfully requested to assign over and transfer, or cause to be assigned and transferred, in due legal form, to H. W. Sheffey, Eugene Davis, and the Rev. R. H. Wilmer (who are hereby appointed special trustees for the purpose), the whole of the stock held in said Institute; and the trustees above named are requested to cause to be transferred to them the same, to be held by them, in their names, as stockholders in said Institute, in behalf of the Convention; and, further, it is hereby earnestly recommended to those liberal laymen of our communion, who are sensible of the great value of this school to the Church, to subscribe for stock in this Institute to the amount of about $3,100, which will make the full sum of $7,000 originally assumed by the Convention.


3. Resolved, That Messrs. H. W. Sheffey, E. Davis, and Rev. R. H. Wilmer, the trustees above named, be requested to see that the real estate and other property of said Institute be fully released from the deed of trust and other obligations against the same.


The law of the State of Virginia prescribing the duty of ministers celebrating the rites of marriage, was ordered to be placed in the Journal.


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CONVENTION OF 1855.


CONVENTION OF 1855.


Convention met in Grace church, Lexington, May 16th.


A committee of five laymen was appointed to report a scheme for the relief of disabled clergymen.


H. W. Sheffey, Esq., in behalf of the Trustees of the Virginia Female Institute, appointed by the last Convention, made the following report, accompanied with a resolution :


The committee consisting of Hugh W. Sheffey, Eugene Davis, and Richard H. Wilmer, appointed at the last Convention to carry out the views of the Convention, respecting the Virginia Female Institute, having reported that they have been embarrassed in the discharge of their duty, by doubts as to the wishes of the Convention, and having asked the instruction of the Convention in respect thereto, therefore, be it


Resolved, That H. W. Sheffey, T. S. Gholson, and Rev. R. H. Wilmer, be and they are hereby appointed a committee, whose duty it shall be to consider and report the most expedient plan for holding the title to the Institute property, and for managing the affairs of the Institute.


On motion, the resolution accompanying the report was adopted.


A letter was read from the Presbyterian Synod proposing to the Convention to unite with them in appointing the fourth Thursday in November as a day of public thanks- giving.


The Convention replied kindly through a committee, but declined because of the Rubric in the Prayer Book upon that subject.


The following resolutions were adopted by the Conven- tion :


I. Resolved by the Clerical and Lay Delegates of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Convention, That they cordially concur with the


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CONVENTION OF 1855.


Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Virginia in their desire to have a day of public thanksgiving to Almighty God, fixed by the common consent of the Christian churches in Virginia, or by the proper civil authority, on which they may offer up their united thanks and prayers to God for his manifold blessings.


2. Resolved, That the first Thursday in November having been estab- lished by the supreme legislative authority of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and which they have no power to repeal, alter, or annul, they respectfully state this as the reason why they cannot resolve to fix upon the fourth Thursday in November, the day recommended by the Synod.


3. Resolved, That the Synod be respectfully requested to join with this Church, and such other of the Christian churches in Virginia as may come into the measure, in memoralizing the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to issue his proclamation for a day of thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God, to be kept and observed as such by all the good people of Virginia, by solemn worship in their several churches; and that he would be pleased to designate the fourth Thursday in November as that day, because of its general observance as such, in nearly all the States of the Union.


4. Resolved, That the Secretary of the Convention be requested to transmit to the Chairman of the Committee of Synod, and through him to the Synod of the Presbyterian Church in Virginia, a copy of this report and these resolutions.


5. Resolved, That the Synod of the Presbyterian Church be respect- fully requested, if they concur in this proposal, to communicate with the other Protestant denominations of the State for their concurrence, and to memorialize the Executive of Virginia on this subject.


Resolutions were adopted expressing deepest interest in, and calling for generous cooperation by, the Diocese, with the work of Foreign Missions, in order to repair a present deficiency in the funds and to provide abundantly for the future.


The scheme for relief of disabled clergy was brought forward in an elaborate report and laid over to the next Convention.


The following was ordered to be printed in the Journal :


We, the undersigned, having been appointed by the Convention of the Episcopal Church, held in Lexington, to receive and hold the addi-


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CONVENTION OF 1856.


tional shares of stock, and to receive assignments of other shares of stock in the Virginia Female Institute at Staunton, do hereby covenant and agree, to and with each other, as follows : that we will act as stock- holders in said Institute, and that a majority of those of us who are present, in person or by proxy, at any meeting of stockholders, shall cast the entire vote vested in us; and that in case of a vacancy in our number, by death, resignation, or otherwise, we will fill such vacancy by a retransfer of the stock into our names, and the names of such other persons as the next Convention of the Episcopal Church in Vir- ginia, held after such vacancy occurs, may be suggested by said Con- vention; and we do further covenant and agree with each other that in case of the death, resignation, or removal from this Diocese of either of us, the entire interest and estate of the party who may die, resign or remove, shall become ipso facto vested in the residue of us. Witness the following signatures and seals, May nineteenth, one thousand eight. hundred and fifty-five.


Signed, sealed and delivered in open Convention.


S. H. LEWIS, [Seal.]


ALEX'R BROWN, [Seal.]


D. H. CONRAD, [Seal.] ED. T. TAYLOE, [Seal.]


R. K. MEADE, [Seal.]


CHARLES CARTER, [Seal.]


THOS. S. GHOLSON, [Seal.]


(Attest,) A. L. SEABURY, Assistant Secretary.


There were reported to the Convention 6,081 commu- nicants, 473 confirmations, and $36,900 contributed to the cause of religion and the Church.


CONVENTION OF 1856.


Convention met in St. George's church, Fredericksburg, May 21st.


Rev. George Woodbridge, Secretary.


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CONVENTION OF 1856.


Grace church, Alexandria, was admitted into union with the Convention, and Brandon church, of Martin's-Brandon parish, Prince George county, united with the church at Cabin Point, Surry county, as a separate congregation.


The Executive Committee of the Diocesan Missionary So- ciety reported having aided twelve missionaries, and having devoted $100 to Rev. Lewis Walke during the prevalence of the yellow fever in Norfolk, in the summer of 1855.


Receipts for the year, $1,726.57.


The amount due by the Convention on account of the Virginia Female Institute, was reported to be $341.31, which was announced to be raised immediately by persons present.


The Bishop recommended in his report that steps be taken to provide for the education of the son of Rev. James Chisholm, who died during the yellow fever pestilence in Portsmouth, in 1855. He reported that he had received already $1,600 for that purpose, and asked that further action be taken.


The matter was referred to the Committee on Widows and Orphans, who recommended that $150 be paid for the purpose annually until otherwise ordered.


In his address the Bishop said :


"Having, during the past year, been engaged in the more special examination of the history of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, from its. first establishment to the present time, I have had forced upon my mind the conviction, that few if any portions of the Church of Christ can have had more unfavorable circumstances to contend with, as far as its. spiritual prosperity has been concerned. Commencing though it did in the most pious missionary spirit, it was soon assailed by numerous untoward events well calculated to arrest the progress of true religion. Many of its ministers partook most largely of the coldness and for- mality which, in a century after the Reformation, came over our Mother Church. Immense difficulties stood in the way of the successful minis- tration of the more pious, arising from the size of the parishes, the sparseness of the population, and the entire want of education among




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