USA > Virginia > A digest of the proceedings of the conventions and councils in the diocese of Virginia > Part 6
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The Monumental church, Richmond, was admitted into union with the Convention.
On Tursday it was-
Resolved, That the appointment of a Bishop for this Diocese is. highly expedient and necessary for the maintenance and support of the Church.
On motion made and seconded,
Resolved, That the Convention proceed immediately to the election of a person to fill the Episcopate in this State.
Dr. James McClurg then presented a certified extract from the vestry-book of the Monumental Church in Rich- mond, showing the appointment of the Rev. Richard Channing Moore, D. D., of the city of New York, to the rectorship of that Church.
On motion,
Ordered, That the secretary read sundry letters exhibited by mem- bers of the Standing Committee from Dr. Moore and the Right Rev. Bishop Hobart, which was accordingly done.
Dr. Moore was nominated to fill the office of Bishop in this State.
No other person being in nomination, the Convention pro- ceeded to ballot for a Bishop.
The Hon. John Marshall and Mr. Edmund J. Lee were appointed to count the ballots, who reported that there were twenty-three votes for the Rev. Richard Channing Moore, and one vote for Dr. John Buchanan.
Whereupon, the Reverend Richard Channing Moore was declared to be duly elected to the Episcopate in the Diocese of Virginia, and the members of the Convention proceeded to subscribe the testimonial required by the Constitution of the General Church of the United States.
The resolutions passed at the last Convention touching
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CONVENTION OF 1815.
the need of efforts to revive the Church in Virginia were again adopted, except that referring to an address by the Standing Committee.
The deputies to the General Convention were instructed to invite the next General Convention to meet in the city of Richmond, or at some place convenient to themselves and as near the city of Richmond as that convenience will admit of.
Rev. William Meade was requested to deliver a sermon "the next Sabbath day," at the Monumental church, appro- priate to the admission of that church into the general Church of the Diocese.
CONVENTION OF 1815.
Convention met Tuesday, May 23, 1815. Bishop Moore, presiding. William Munford, Secretary. Present fourteen clergymen and twenty-eight laymen.
On Friday, the third day of the Convention, Bishop Moore delivered an address, for which the Convention re- turned thanks and ordered that it be printed in the Jour- nal.
In the address the Bishop gives . account of his work since his entrance upon his episcopal un~ The state- ments as to number confirmed are not very accurate. From his account and from that by the Committee on the State of the Church, there seem to have been reported about 600 communicants, 200 confirmations and 200 baptisms.
The Bishop reported as admitted to candidateship for the ministry, Messrs. George H. Norton, Benjamin Allen, Jr., Thomas G. Allen and Samuel Low.
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CONVENTION OF 1815.
Mr. Meade, from the Committee on the State of the Church, presented a report, which was read as follows:
The committee, to whom was referred the State of the Church, report that Evan Ragland, deceased, late of the county of Halifax, in this State, did by his last will and testament, dated the 4th of June, 1814, devise to the President and Professors, or Masters of William and Mary College, and to their successors, a tract of land lying in the said county, together with five negroes in trust, for the maintenance of a minister, or ministers of the Protestant Episcopal Church, within the parish of Antrim, in the said county; and also in trust, to raise there- out the sum of eighty dollars per annum during the term of fifteen years, and annually thereafter the sum of one hundred dollars forever, to be appropriated under the direction of the President and Professors, or Masters of William and Mary College, as a fund to be applied to- wards defraying the general expenses of the Church in this State, at the discretion of the Bishop and Standing Committee thereof, or of the Convention of this State, in case there should be no Bishop or Standing Committee.
Your committee further report, that the title to the land so devised is disputed by the heirs of the said Evan Ragland, the testator; in con- sequence of which, the Rev. Alexander Hay, the present incumbent of the Church in the parish of Antrim, has been compelled to institute a suit in the Court of Chancery against the heirs of the said testator and the trustees named in the said will, for the purpose of obtaining the benefit of the same, so far as he is interested; to which suit the Right Rev. Bishop of this Diocese is made a party defendant.
Your committee, after such inquiries as it has been in their power to make in relation to the value of the property charged as aforesaid, with the bequest made in favor of the Protestant Episcopal Church of this State as aforesaid, and also to the title to the land so devised, are clearly of opinion that all proper means should be immediately pur- sued for securing to the Church the benefit of the aforesaid bequest, and that the expenses which may be necessarily incurred in asserting the right of the Church, ought to be defrayed out of the funds belong- ing to the said Church, at the disposal of the Convention of this State.
Resolved, therefore, That it be the duty of the Standing Committee, under the direction of the Bishop, to pursue all proper means for securing to the Church the full benefit of the aforesaid bequest, made in her favor by the will of the said Evan Ragland, and to draw upon the treasurer of the said Church from time to time for such sums as may be necessary for defraying the expenses which may be incurred in the discharge of this duty.
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71.
CONVENTION OF 1815.
The committee to whom was referred the proposition from the President of William and Mary College, on the expediency of providing a sum for the support of the theological chair in that institution, have taken the subject into consideration, and recommend to the Conven- tion the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Bishop and Standing Committee be requested to ascertain what practicable mode can be devised to that effect, and that they be authorized to adopt measures for the promotion of an object of so great magnitude, and which may under the blessing of God be productive of the most beneficial consequences.
The resolutions of the said committee, on the subject of the devise from Evan Ragland, deceased, and in relation to the proposed establishment of a theological professorship in the College of William and Mary, were, on questions severally put thereupon, agreed to by the Convention.
The Right Rev. Bishop Moore delivered to the Convention an Address on the State of the Church, which being heard,
Resolved, unanimously, That the thanks of the Convention be pre- sented to the Right Rev: Richard Channing Moore, D. D., for his excel- lent address this day delivered, and that the same be inserted in the journal, which address is in the following words :
" Brethren,-It becomes my duty, by virtue of the canon of the General Convention, to lay before you a view of the State of the Church in this Diocese. As my residence in Virginia has been of short duration, it cannot be supposed that I could have possessed myself of information very general in its nature. The visitations, however, which I have made, though very circumscribed, have enabled me to form some view of the state of our ecclesiastical concerns, and from that view I think myself justified in drawing the most pleasing conclusions.
"In every parish which I have visited, I have discovered the most ani- mated wish in the people to repair the waste places of our Zion, and to restore the Church of our Fathers to its primitive purity and excel- lence. I have found their minds alive to the truths of religion, and have discovered an attachment to our excellent liturgy exceeding my utmost expectations. I have witnessed a sensibility to Divine things bordering on the spirit of gospel times. I have seen congregations, upon the mention of that glory which once irradiated with its beams the Church of Virginia, burst into tears, and by their holy emotions perfectly electrify my mind.
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CONVENTION OF 1815.
"The apostolic rite of confirmation, which I have administered in several parishes, was received by people of all ages with the greatest joy, and a general principle of union and exertion was, upon those oc- casions, universally expressed. Parishes which have been destitute of ministerial aid for many years, which had slumbered until the warmest friends of the Church conceived it to have been the sleep of death, have, in two instances, been awakened from that state of torpor in which they were involved, and have arisen in all the vigor of perfect health. The younger clergy of this Diocese, who, from their youth and spiritual attainments, are well qualified for the glorious work, have exerted themselves in a manner deserving the most honorable men- tion. They have carried the standard of the Lord Jesus Christ through a considerable portion of this Church; they have gone out into the highways and hedges, preaching the truths of their Divine Master ; and by their holy conversation with the people, have adorned the gos- pel of Christ. A number of their elder brethren, though prevented by age from using the same exertion, have labored with fidelity, and contributed their best efforts to promote that work which has been committed to their hands. The laity have been equally assiduous in the discharge of that duty peculiar to their station-the duty of pro- viding for the ministers of religion. May heaven reward them for their labors of love; and may every cup of cold water which they have given to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, receive a disciple's reward.
"The members of the Church in this city, brethren, deserve my sin- cerest thanks, for the friendship, affection and indulgence with which they have favored me-they have shown, by their marked and con- tinued tenderness towards me and my family, that they are alive to all the sensibilities which adorn our nature. I have found in them not only friends, but brothers and benefactors; they have met my necessi- ties with a solicitude beyond my expectations; they have anticipated my every want; they have discharged the duty of the most affectionate children towards their spiritual father.
"I have admitted within the pas tyear, as candidates for the ministry, Mr. George H. Norton, Benjamin Allen, Jr., Thomas G. Allen, and Sam- uel Low. I have licensed as lay readers, Mr. Benjamin Allen, Thomas Allen, William Keith and Thomas Henderson. I have admitted to the order of deacon, Mr. Edward C. M'Guire and John P. Philips; and to the order of Priesthood, the Rev. William Hawley. I have held a confirmation in the Church of Alexandria, at which place upwards of fifty persons received that holy rite. I have held a confirmation in Culpeper, when upwards of sixty, and in Fauquier, when upwards of fifty received that rite. I have visited and consecrated the Church at
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CONVENTION OF 1816.
Petersburg, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Syme ; at which time upwards of twenty were confirmed. I have preached in Manchester twice, and in Hanover in three different places.
"Should my health be continued, brethren, it is my intention to visit as many parishes this summer and autumn as my parochial engagements will admit of, and shall thank the Convention or the Standing Commit- tee to direct me to those parts of the Diocese where my labors may be thought to promise the most benefit to the Church. My Brethren of the Clergy,-The welfare and advancement of our Zion depend upon our joint and vigorous exertions. Great is the duty imposed upon us, and great is the responsibility of that character which we fill, as minis- ters of the gospel of peace. If there ever was a period in which exer- tion was necessary, and if there ever was a period which bids fair to crown that exertion with success, this is the time. Though few in number, yet depending for support upon the promises of God, we may look for an abundant blessing upon our labors. Jehovah has promised to be with his Church to the end of the world, and he will fulfill his declaration. The parishes are invoking our aid. Oh! listen, I beseech you, to their numerous entreaties. Be steadfast then, be unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and your labor will not be in vain in the Lord."
Revs. William H. Wilmer, William Meade and William Hawley. And Messrs. Charles F. Mercer, Hugh Nelson and Dr. John Adams were elected deputies to the General Con- vention.
CONVENTION OF 1816.
The Convention met on Tuesday, May 21, 1816. Present sixteen clergymen and twenty-seven laymen.
In view of canons adopted in 1815, concerning discipline, the following was unanimously agreed to :
Be it ordained, That any lay member of the Church, being a com- municant thereof, conducting himself unworthy of a Christian, may and ought to be admonished by the minister and vestry of the parish or
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CONVENTION OF 1816.
congregation; and if such member persevere in such conduct he shall be suspended or expelled by the minister and vestry, in which case he may appeal to the ordinary, who shall have power to confirm or reject the sentence.
It was-
Resolved, That "A Common Prayer Book and Tract Society, for the Diocese of Virginia," be formed under the patronage of the Conven- tion, according to the following plan :
Constitution of the Common Prayer Book and Tract Society of the Diocese of Virginia.
I. Every person who pays not less than three dollars at the time of subscribing, and not less than two dollars annually, shall be a member of this society.
2. The business of the society shall be conducted by a Board of Managers, consisting of the Bishop and Standing Committee of the Diocese for the time being. A majority of the managers shall consti- tute a quorum to do business. The Board of Managers shall make all laws necessary for the government of the society, and shall cause a statement of the receipts and expenditures of money, with other such matters as they may deem proper, to be laid before the Convention of this Diocese at its annual meeting.
3. At some time during the session of each Annual Convention a suitable sermon shall be preached by some person whom the Bishop shall appoint, after which a collection shall be made, to be appropriated to the funds of the society.
4. The Constitution of the society shall be unalterable, except by a vote of the Convention.
The following preamble and resolution were agreed to :
Whereas, the extent of this Diocese will not enable our venerable Bishop to visit as frequently the several parishes as might be desired, and preparations might be made to receive him ; and as it is truly de- sirable, in the present state of the Church, that there should be a regular organ of communication between the several parishes of the State and their Diocesan, therefore,
Resolved, That the Convention recommend to the members in the several parishes throughout the State, when there is no rector or ves- try, to elect a vestry of at least eight of the most pious members of the
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CONVENTION OF 1817.
Church, whose duty it shall be to communicate with the Bishop from time to time upon the prospects in their several parishes, and to en- deavor, by every possible means, to obtain visits from the ministers of the adjoining parishes as often as the nature of their charges and other circumstances may admit.
The said preamble and resolution being twice read, were, on the question being put thereupon, agreed to by the Con- vention.
A letter was read from the Standing Committee recom- mending that there be constituted "a fund for the support of the episcopate," and asking the Convention to consider the establishment of a Theological Professorship in Wil- liam and Mary College. The letter was referred back to the Standing Committee, with the request to mature some plan for their object, and to transmit the same to the differ- ent ministers and vestries in the Diocese.
The Bishop's address was not exact as to its figures. It reported about 730 confirmations.
Candidates admitted-Mr. John L. Bryan and Mr. John Ravenscroft.
Deacons ordained-Mr. Clark Brown, Mr. Low, Mr. Steel.
Priests-Rev. John Philips and Rev. William Hart.
CONVENTION OF 1817.
Up to the year 1814 the Conventions met in the Capitol in Richmond.
In 1815 and 1816 the meetings were held in the Monu- mental church, Richmond.
In 1817 the Convention met in the church in Fredericks- burg, Tuesday, May 6. Present sixteen clergymen and twenty-four laymen.
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CONVENTION OF 1817.
The Committee on the Accounts of the Prayer Book and Tract Society reported as follows:
The committee, to whom were referred the accounts of the Common Prayer Book and Tract Society, report that they have duly examined the same, and find them correct, a balance being due the treasurer of $318.75.
A motion was made by the Rev. Benjamin Allen that the Convention agree to the following resolutions:
Resolved, That the existing Common Prayer Book and Tract Society be extended to the promotion of Christian knowledge in general, the funds to be apportioned among the respective means made use of as the managers may determine.
Resolved, That it be recommended that an auxiliary society be established in each parish, one-half of whose funds shall be thrown into the treasury of the Diocesan Society, the remainder to be applied as its managers may determine.
On motion,
Ordered, That the said resolution be laid upon the table.
The following preamble and resolution were unanimously agreed to:
Whereas an erroneous impression prevails among the members of the Protestant Church of this Diocese that the Convention at its last session in May, 1816, by repealing the sixth canon, then in force, in- tended thereby to withdraw from the ministers of the Church the power which the Rubric gave them of reproving, censuring, or repel- ling from the communion any member who may be guilty of the of- fences in the said sixth canon described :
This Convention, for the purpose of removing such impression, feel themselves bound to declare, as they do now unanimously declare, that such cannot be fairly considered as the effect of the repeal of the sixth canon; and, further, that the Convention expects each minister will conscientiously execute the duty imposed on him by the Rubric of the Church as it relates to communicants.
Resolved, unanimously, That the Convention do seriously, and in the most affectionate manner, call on the members of this Church, and par- ticularly heads of families, to comply with the requisitions of the third * and fifth canons of the Church of this Diocese.
* Of family worship.
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CONVENTION OF 1817.
Rev. Messrs. William H. Wilmer, Oliver Norris and John Dunn, and Messrs. Charles F. Mercer, Hugh Nelson and Hugh Mercer were elected deputies to the General Con- vention.
In his address the Bishop speaks encouragingly of the interest wherever he preached, but gives no figures at all as to his confirmations.
Resolutions were offered with a view to the revival of the Church in the Diocese, and were referred to a commit- tee, who reported as follows.
The committee to whom were referred sundry resolutions on the subject of dividing the Diocese into convocational districts have, ac- cording to order, had the same under consideration, and have agreed to the following resolutions, which they beg leave to submit.
Resolved, That for the purpose of raising a fund for the support of ministers who may be appointed, according to the rules and canons of the Church, to preach in those sections of the Diocese which are now or may hereafter be without a minister, and also to raise money for the support of the Bishop, without being attached to any particular parish, the ministers of this Church do, in their respective parishes, at such time as they shall deem most fit, endeavor to collect, by a collection in their churches, or by subscriptions, such sums of money as the friends. of religion shall be disposed to contribute towards the objects of this resolution.
Resolved, That all money which may be collected as aforesaid, in- tended by the contributor to be applied to the support of the Bishop, shall be transmitted to the treasurer of this Church, to be applied in such way as the Standing Committee shall direct. And so much of the money as shall be raised for the support of the ministers shall be placed in the hands of the vestry of the respective parishes in which it may be raised.
Resolved, That four hundred copies of the following address and of these resolutions be printed, and eight copies thereof be transmitted as soon as practicable by the secretary to the clerical and lay delegates attending the present Convention, and to such of the ministers of this Church who are not attending the Convention, all of whom are earn- estly solicited to use their best exertions to effect as speedily as they can the object of the first and second resolutions.
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CONVENTION OF 1817.
Resolved, That the said address be printed in such a form as to admit subscribers names to the same.
Resolved, That as soon as the delegates of any one or more adjoin- ing parishes have funds, separately or unitedly, sufficient to maintain for one year, at a reasonable allowance, a minister or ministers in the same, that the vestry, if any there be, or, if there be none, then the delegates from the said parish or parishes do give information of the same to the Bishop.
To Christians of the Protestant Episcopalian Denomination in the Diocese of Virginia.
The visitations with which it has pleased heaven, for a period (not a very short one) to afflict our country, are sufficient to manifest the powers of its wrath, and are well calculated to excite supplication to its mercy. War has afflicted us with much of its desolation; sickness has raged with little less than pestilence, and want approaches (at least to many) with almost the aspect of famine. Human affliction is always Divine correction; the pious man bows to its weight with submission; he mitigates its severity by supplication; and thus, at least, prepares the sublimest consolation for ills which come not from mortal hands. What have we done in the eyes of heaven to merit its bounties or to avert its chastisement; or, rather, what have we not done, in the total neglect of God, the abandonment of his worship, the ruin and destruction of his temples, the profanation of his word, the contempt of his revelation, the pursuit of all follies, the practice of all impieties? What have we not done to kindle the hottest wrath of heaven upon our heads, and to exasperate the relenting mercies of God into the just severity of eternal death. * * *
These considerations are awfully affecting to us all, but touch parents and the heads of families with a vital keenness. The patrimony of guilt and irreligion upon which we are rearing, and which we are pre- paring to bequeath to our children, will accumulate in rankness in the inheritance. If the father does not live to curse himself as the pro- genitor of his family's shame, his children will live long enough to riot in the unbridled corruption of their hearts, which no check but heaven can reclaim, and to despise, if not to curse, the author of their exist- ence, who neglected to impose religious restraints on appetities which no earthly influence can subdue. If our own hearts have been rendered so callous by our neglect of public worship, that we are ourselves wil- ling to forego its enjoyments and its blessings, let us not, however, fling them away from our children.
You are Christians. The divine intercessor for man has said, "When
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CONVENTION OF 1817.
two or three meet together in my name, there am I in the midst of them;" will you renounce the promised intercourse with God? Are you parents ? Intercept not from your children the light which heaven would shed to illumine their path through life to eternity. As citizens, you love your neighbors and your countrymen. Will you withhold from them the moral and religious instruction of the liturgy and the pulpit, inspiring "on earth peace, good will towards man;" uniting them in bonds wrought by Almighty hands; and subliming their affec- tions from the low and grovelling objects of sensual appetite into social benevolence and Christian charity ?
The Committee on the State of the Church presented a report, which was read, and being on motion amended, approved by the Convention; and the amendment thereby proposed to the sixth canon was agreed to as follows:
The committee appointed to take into consideration the State of the Church, and report thereon, having taken the same into consideration, and examined the canon of the Church, report that the uniting of the vestry with the minister in the admonition and the suspension of a lay- member, being a communicant, as in the sixth canon, is inconsistent with the Rubric. The committee, therefore, recommend that the said canon be so altered as to give to the minister alone the power of ad- monishing and suspending; then the canon will read thus : " Be it or- dained, That any member of the Church being a communicant thereof, conducting himself in a manner unworthy of a Christian may, and ought to be, admonished or suspended by the minister of the parish or con- gregation, according to the Rubric."
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