Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 17.djvu/630

 FB0TE8TAKTISM 614 PB0TESTAKTI8M

The Anglican community of the Atonement, a substantially the Thirty-nine Articles of the Protest- Protestant Episcopal religious community consist- ant Episcopal Churchy but specifically rejects the ing of 2 men and 15 women following the Francis- doctrine that ^'regeneration is inseparably connected can rule were received into the Catholic Church 30 with Baptism"; it considers episcopacy merely as a October. 1909, and in 1919 the Protestant Episco- desirable form of government, not a divine ordi- pal bisnop of Delaware, Frederick J. Kinsman, nance; it rejects the distinction between clergy and made his submission, these being the two most laity, holding that ministers are merely included notable cases in a series of conversions. in the same way as all believers in ''a royal priest-

The Episcopalian Church has been prominent in hood.'' Since 1905 there has been a decrease of 22

its efforts toward church union in recent years, churches, and 23 ministers. In 1921 there were 65

Several cases have occurred of admission oi non- churches, 65 ministers, and 11,806 members (13,022

Episcopalian ministers to Episcopalian pulpits, and in 1922).

of local "concordats" with dissenters, a notable in- Kinsman, Salve Mater (New York. 1920): MacGill, Bal^e

stance being the tentative arrangement (later 3fat«r ond <*« iff jnacopoi CAurcA in CaiAoiic WorW, CXI (1920) ,

abandoned) with, the Congregationalista for the '/^""f^^^*""*,^-^" tL^^Tt^J^r

admission of mimsters of the latter to Episcopal to be tMbmiiUi to Convention, 1922 (New York. 1921); Second

ordination while continuing to minister in the Report of UmJoUu CommMon on t^^

Congeptional. Church (see Congbb«ationau8m). fc5rilJlS7^hr^)K^%SS:.\S?6'(^MS2:

In 1922 a quasi-organic union with the Hungarian 1919); Fear BooA;o/(A«CAurohe« (New York, annual).

Reformed Church was effected, the ministers of Gebald Shaughnessy.

the latter, without repudiating their existing or- ders, agreeing to accept Episcopal ordination. Par- Protestantism (cf. C. E., XII— 495c) will be

ticipation by the Protestant Episcopal Church m treated under three heads: 1) theology, or attitude

the Congress on Christian Work in Latin America toward creed, faith or doctrine; 2) work;

in 1916 (see Pbotestantism) was strongly opposed 3) statistics.

by those who did not desire to see their church j Theolooy.— -Protestantism has in recent years committed to a policy of pan-Protestantism, and tended to become more and more "liberal" in its who considered such a congress an intrusion on attitude toward theology, creed, or "creedal state- Latin America. The Board of Missions, however, ments." Both as cause and as effect the fever for voted to participate and five members resigned gome kind of reunion (see Union of Christbn- their connection with the board as a consequence, dq^), especially prevalent since 1910, brings out The leading work of this church along the lines of clearly that many, if not most, of the sects of reunion was the inauguration at the General Protestantism have already given up, or are will- Convention of 1910 of arrangements preliminary ing to give up, behef in revealed truth as the test to a World Conference on Faith and Order (see of ^ Christian. Most sects, it is true, continue Union of Christendom), to consider the ques- officially to hold a *'creed" but their indifferent at-


 * 9?i of church union. titude toward the question of the relation of the

The Protestant Episcopal Church m the United individual to the creed may be summed up in States consists of sixty-eight dioceses (1922). various statements made at the preliminary meet- Home mission work is carried on for the white ing of the World Conference on Faith and Order population, for Indians, negroes (there is now a (Geneva, August, 1920). **There was no idea, when negro suffragan bishop), Swedes, Japanese, and the the Nicene Creed was formulated, of requiring the

^^'Sil.*®? ^°. ^^^ ^^^\ *°^ ^®^*- ^ .^"^^ ^\ subscription of the laity. ... I desire that there

$9,000,000 has been raised as a sustentation fund may be as little inquisition as possible into the

for the sick and retired clergy. opinions and beliefs of private individuals" (Re-

Foreign missionary work is earned on in Africa, port, p. 63). That the Anglican bishop who uttered

China, Japan, Haiti, Brazil, Cuba and Mexico, these words could reconcile them with his previous

They reported m 1916, 463 stations, 346 American statement that *'a united church can never come

missionaries, 247 churches, 346 schools, 14 hospi- into being or exist without articles of faith," and

tals, 6 asylums, 17,551 members. In China a un- his subsequent defense of the Nicene Creed as

ion was effected in 1912 with the Anglicans of "obligatory upon the Church's teachers" and as the

England and Canada. ^ ^ ^ ^ only "basis on which any religion can maintain

The educational svstem of the Protestant Epis- itself in the long run without becoming a mere

copal church includes 14 theological institutions theism," indicates a truly puzzling confusion of

with 462 students m 1916, and 3 distinctively ideas as to what faith means. Again another

church colleges, while the non-sectarian Columbia Anglican bishop argues along the same lines:

University, Hobart College, Trinity College "What is the word, creed? ... It is always the

(Hartford, Conn., not to be confused with the expression of the Christian experience, burning

Catholic institution of the some name in Washing- intimate in the very heart, deep down in the

ton, D. C), and Lehigh University have a loose soul. ... It is not a statement. It is unfair to

connection with the church. There are also about say that a creed is an intellectual statement." Yet

122 academic institutions with 12,000 students, and he too stands uncompromisingly for the Nicene

261 parochial schools with 14,000 pupils. In 1922 Oeed. In answering him a Presbyterian rejects

the Protestant Episcopal Church reported in the his distinction, and adds, "it seems incredible to

United States, 8103 churches, 5677 ministers, and me that spiritual communion in any way depends

1,104,099 communicants. upon holding the same intellectual statement of

The Reformed Episcopal Church, an offshoot of truth." While the foregoing opinions are not en-

the Protestant Episcopal Church, was founded in tirely official utterances on the part of any church,

1873 by Bishop George CJummins of the latter it remains true, however, that the men quoted are

church, in protest afcainst criticism directed against representative leaders of Protestant thought, vested

him for having participated in a communion service with authority to present to the CJonference at

in a Presbyterian church. He was joined by several least to a certain extent, the views and official

clergymen and a few laymen, all of whom were attitude of their churches. It is only fair to add

opposed to the '^ritualistic" tendencies of Episco- that it is precisely the question of creed which so

palianism at the time. In doctrine this sect accepts far has proved the greatest obstacle to the success