20 



ANGLICAN CHURCHES. 



The movement for a reunion of the South- 

 ern dioceses with the General Convention of 

 the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United 

 States, which began at the close of the year 

 1865, made rapid progress after the beginning 

 of the year 1866. The diocesan convention of 

 Alabama voted in favor of reunion in January, 

 those of South Carolina and Florida in Feb- 

 ruary, and those of Virginia, Mississippi, and 

 Louisiana in May, thus completing the resto- 

 ration of the national unity of the Church. In 

 most of the diocesan conventions the vote was 

 unanimous in favor of reunion ; a notable op- 

 position being made only in that of Virginia, 

 in which fifty-four clerical and thirty-six lay 

 delegates voted in the affirmative, and seven 

 clergymen and eleven laymen in the negative. 

 The bishops of the dioceses notified the presi- 

 ding bishop of the Church in the United States 

 of the fact, and the president bishop in his turn 

 officially announced to the Church the consum- 

 mation of the reunion. Bishop Wilmer, of 

 Alabama, who had been elected and consecrated 

 while the Southern dioceses formed a separate 

 organization, complied on January 31st with 

 the conditions provided for his recognition by 

 the triennial General Convention of 1865, 

 namely : first, that he should transmit in wri- 

 ting (to be signed by him in the presence of 

 three bishops of the Church) to the presiding 



bishop of the House of Bishops, the promise of 

 conformity comprised in the office for the con- 

 secration of bishops ; and, secondly, that ho 

 should also transmit to the said presiding bishop 

 the letters of his consecration, or, in default of 

 the existence of such letters, other sufficient 

 evidence as to the fact of his consecration, and 

 the bishops by whom it was done, and the 

 other persons by whom it was witnessed. The 

 presiding bishop thereupon officially announced 

 that the necessary regulations having been ful- 

 filled, " the acceptance and recognition of the 

 Eight Rev. Richard Hooker Wilmer, D. D., as 

 the Bishop of Alabama, is now complete." 



The annual meeting of the Board of Missions 

 was held in October, in Providence. The re- 

 ceipts of the domestic committee for general 

 purposes amounted to $54,645, and those of 

 the foreign committee to $71,000. The " Amer- 

 ican and Church Missionary Society " held its 

 seventh anniversary at New York, in October. 

 The society employed during the past year 38 

 missionaries, of whom 12 were new appoint- 

 ments, and 24 recommissioned ; seven resigned. 

 The receipts were $56,412.38, and the expen- 

 ditures $54,227.62. The balance on hand Octo- 

 ber 1, 1866, was $2,184.76. It was resolved at 

 the anniversary meeting that " a committee 

 of five be appointed to confer with the Evan- 

 gelical Educational Committee, already existing. 



