Once more, revd. Sir, I take ye Liberty of expressing my Hopes of seeing you at N. York on ye 5th of Octr. & am Your Brother & humble Servt., Philada. Aug. 10, 1784. Revd. Mr. PARKER. W. WHITE. P.S. Our Brethren in ye Ministry here desire their kind remembrances. Through the exertions of Mr. Parker, the few Clergy of Massachusetts and Rhode Island gathered together in Boston the month preceding that appointed for the Convention in New York. The following correspondence, now first printed from the original Manuscript, preserved among the Bishop White papers, fully explains their action, and marks the zealous Rector of Trinity Church, Boston, as the leading spirit of them all. Revd. Sir: I have the honour to enclose you an Extract of the Proceedings of a Convention of the Episcopal Clergy of the States of Massachusetts & Rhode Island held at Boston the 8th Instant & also a Letter from said Convention to the Comtte. of the Churches in your State, both which I hope you will safely receive. The Perusal of these will fully inform you of the Sentiments of the Clergy in these States, & will preclude the Necessity of my enlarging on these points. You will perceive they have adopted your plan with a small addition to your first Article, without which, as I mentioned to you in my Letter by Mr. Morris I supposed the Article would be objected to. In my private Opinion I do not see that the Limitation was at all necessary, because I do not apprehend the Independency there intended would in the least be affected by an application to a foreign Power for the Succession of Episcopal Authority. The churches here being most of them without a Minister, a representative body chosen by the several Churches would consist almost entirely of Laymen & if they are vested with the Power of making Laws, it will be in their power to subject the Clergy to what Laws they please, & for that reason the Convention thought best to add a clause to your fifth Article to put the Clergy & Laity more upon a par, & they have accordingly proposed & adopted this mode of Representation, that each Church chuse one lay Delegate in conjunction with their Minister & that those Churches that are destitute of a Clergyman shd chuse one of the neighbouring Ministers to represent them with one of their own Laymen, & in this mode they think there is no great danger of their having too much Power. I have yet heard nothing more of the Meeting of the Churches by their Committees at New York than what you mention in yours by the Revd. Mr. Clark, & therefore shall not proceed thither agreeable to the Request of our Convention unless I can learn that such a meeting will certainly be held. The I have flattered myself that you would before this have favoured me with further Information upon that as well as some other matters. Plan of Correspondence agreed on between your Brethren in New York & New Jersey mentioned in yours of May 30 has not taken Effect as we have in these parts had not the least Intelligence from that Quarter. Should any general Meeting of the Churches be proposed, we shall be obliged to you for Notice thereof as we are perfectly disposed to adopt any measures calculated to promote the Welfare of our Church. I am requested by the Comtee. of our Convention to ask the favour of you to transmit an Account of our proceedings to the more southern Churches & also would acquaint you & them that we shall be happy to receive any Communications you or they shall be pleased to favour us with. We wish also for your Opinion whether it is probable Congress will interfere in any matter of an Ecclesiastical Nature & whether they would countenance a Request made to England for a Bishop. Wishing you all possible happiness I remain Revd. Sir, with the utmost Respect & Esteem Boston, Sept. 10, 1784. Your Brother & very humble Servt. Revd. Dr. WHITE. SAM'L PARKER. At a Meeting of the Episcopal Clergy of the States of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, held at Boston, Sept. 8, 1784, Voted. That the Episcopal Church in the united States of America is & ought to be independent of all foreign Authority ecclesiastical & civil. But it is the Opinion of the Convention that this Iudependence be not construed or taken in so rigorous a Sense as to exclude the Churches of America separately or collectively from applying for & obtaining from some regular Episcopal foreign Power an American Episcopate. Secondly. That the Episcopal Church in these States hath & ought to have in common with all other religious Societies full & exclusive Powers to regulate the concerns of its own Communion. Thirdly. That the Doctrines of the Gospel be maintained as now professed by the Church of England & Uniformity of Worship be continued as near as may be to the Liturgy of said Church. Fourthly. That the Succession of the Ministry be agreeable to the Usage which requireth the three Orders of Bishops, Priests, & Deacons, that the rights & Powers of the same be respectively ascertained & that they be exercised according to reasonable Laws to be duly made. Fifthly. That the Power of making Canons & Laws be vested solely in a representative Body of the Clergy & Laity conjointly; in which Body the Laity ought not to exceed or their Votes to be more in Number than those of the Clergy. Sixthly. That no Powers be delegated to a general ecclesiastical Government except such as cannot conveniently be exercised by the Clergy & Vestries in their respective Congregations. Voted. That the Revd. Mr. Parker, Revd. Mr. Bass & Revd. Mr. Fisher be a Comtee. on behalf of the Churches in these States to correspond & consult with the Clergy of the other Episcopal Churches in America in Convention, Committees or otherways. Voted. That a circular Letter be written in the Name of this Convention to the Episcopal Clergy in the States of Connecticut, New York & Pensylvania urging the Necessity of their uniting with us in adopting some speedy Measures to procure an American Episcopate. As it is the unanimous Opinion of this Convention that this is the primary Object they ought to have in view, because the very Existence of the Church requires some speedy Mode of obtaining regular Ordination. Voted. That in Case a general Meeting of the Episcopal Churches in the united States by their Representatives is now or shall at any future time before the next Meeting of this Convention be proposed by any number of Churches to be held for the purpose of promoting the Welfare of said Church, the Revd. Mr. Parker be desired to meet & act with said representative body on behalf of this Convention. Voted. That the Convention or Committee of Churches in the States of Connecticut, New York & Pensylvania be informed of the Proceedings of this Convention & that they or some of them be requested to transmit the same to our more southern Brethren. A true Extract from the Minutes. Reverend & Honoured Brethren. Having been favoured with the Minutes of the Meeting of the Clergy & Lay Delegates from sundry Congregations of the Episcopal Church in the State of Pensylvania held at Philadelphia the 25th of May last, communicated to us by your Chairman, We the Clergy of the Episcopal Churches in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts & State of Rhode Island met in Convention at Boston Septemr. 8th, 1784, have duly considered the same and have unanimously adopted the fundamental Principles or Instructions to which you are bound, and think the same not only unexceptionable but such as the Episcopal Churches in the united States ought to adopt. We have indeed thought proper to add a Restriction or an explanatory clause to the first and fifth Article, more for the Sake of avoiding any Mistakes hereafter than because we suppose we differ from you in Sentiment. But it is our unanimous Opinion that it is beginning at the wrong end to attempt to organize our Church before we have obtained a head. Our Churches at present resemble the scattered Limbs of the body without any common Centre of Union, or Principle to animate the whole. We cannot conceive it probable or even possible to carry the Plan you have pointed out into Execution before an Episcopate is obtained to direct our Motions, & by a delegated Authority to claim our Assent. It is needless to represent to you the absolute Necessity of adopting & uniting in some speedy measures to procure some reputable Person who is regularly invested with the powers of Ordination, &c. to reside among us, without which scarce the Shadow of an Episcopal Church will soon remain in these States. Many are the Congregations here destitute of a Clergyman, & we must be left to the disagreeable Alternative of having no Church in many of our Settlements where there would probably be a respectable one, or of having clerical Powers conveyed in an irregular manner. As to the mode of obtaining what we stand in such need of, we wish above all things to procure it in the most regular manner & particularly from our mother church in England. Whether any of the Bishops in England or Ireland would consecrate a Person chosen among ourselves & sent there for that Purpose without a mandate from the King of England or the authority of his Parliament, we are at a loss to determine; but we have no doubt that a regular Application made by a representative Body of the Episcopal Churches in America would easily obtain a consecrated head, & in order to this we earnestly wish a mode of applying in some such way may be immediately adopted by the American Churches. We are of Opinion that we ought to leave no means untried to procure a regular Succession of the Episcopacy before we think of obtaining it in an irregular Manner. To accomplish this we have chosen a Committee of our Body to correspond with you upon this Subject & adopt such Measures for the same as may be expedient or necessary. And in case a Meeting of a representative Body shall be agreed upon, we have delegated a Power to one of our Number to represent us & our Churches in such a Meeting. We are extremely anxious for the Preservation of our Communion & the Continuance of an Uniformity of Doctrine & Worship, but we see not how this can be maintained without a common head, & are therefore desirous of uniting with you in such Measures as shall be found expedient & proper for the common good. We are Gentlemen your affectionate Brethren Signed in behalf of said Convention, Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusets, J GRAVES, Modr. Septemr. 8th, 1784. The Committee of the Episcopal Churches in the State of Pensylvania.(1) In Connecticut, the Clergy, though assembling from time to time in Convocation, adhered to the principle of their primary action, which was, that the Episcopal Succession should be first secured, and that measures for re-organizing and perfecting the system of Ecclesiastical government should then be taken With this feeling, the Clergy of Massachusetts (1) From Bishop White's MSS. Collections, compared with the original draft among the Bishop Parker Correspondence in the possession of the Editor. |