ANGLICAN CHUKCHES. 



published in 1866 its first annual report. The 

 principles of the association are thus stated in 

 the report: "To establish such relations be- 

 tween the two communions as shall enable the 

 laity and clergy of either to join in the sacra- 

 ments and offices of the other, without forfeit- 

 ing the communion of their own church ; sec- 

 ondly, that any overtures toward such an ohject 

 should be made, if possible, in cooperation 

 with those churches with which the Church of 

 England is in communion; and thirdly, that 

 such overtures, whenever made, should be ex- 

 tended to the other Eastern Patriarchates, and 

 not confined to the Russo-Greek Church. The 

 association numbers two hundred and eighty 

 members, and among its patrons are English, 

 Scotch, Colonial, American, and Eastern 

 bishops. (On the results of the Society's 

 labors in the East, see the article "EASTERN 

 CHURCHES.") A number of the Anglican 

 friends of this movement regarded the Eastern 

 Churches as right in rejecting the addition of 

 filioque (the procession of the Holy Spirit from 

 the Father " and the Son" to the Athanasian 

 Creed, and one of them (Rev. J. Ouseley) pub- 

 licly declared that he had abandoned the An- 

 glican communion office, and ihejfilioque too, for 

 at least the last two years. A priest, claiming to 

 be an Eastern bishop (Rev. Julius Ferretta), who 

 made his appearance in England, met with a 

 cordial reception on the part of a number of 

 Anglican clergymen. (See EASTERN CHURCHES.) 

 Some advance was also made in 1866 toward 

 a closer intercommunion with the Episcopal 

 Lutheran Churches of the Scandinavian coun- 

 tries. (See LUTHERAN CHURCH.) An important 

 step toward effecting a closer union between 

 the Established Church of Great Britain and 

 Ireland on the one hand, and the Scottish Epis- 

 copal Church on the other, was a declaration 

 made by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the 

 laying of the foundation-stone of a cathedral at 

 Inverness, Scotland, in October, 1866, that the 

 Scottish Episcopal Church is the only true rep- 

 resentative of the Church of England in Scot- 

 land, and that the prelates of the Church of 

 England pretend to exercise no jurisdiction over 

 clergymen in Scotland. 



The House of Bishops of the Convocation of 

 Canterbury, took, in 1866, for the n>st time, de- 

 cided steps for an increase of the number of 

 bishops. The Bishop of Oxford presented the 

 unanimous request of a committee appointed to 

 consider " as to the best mode of providing as- 

 sistance for bishops in the event of illness, or 

 old age, or the like, rendering them unable to 

 discharge the duties of their office, and needing 

 some assistance in the performance of the same." 

 The committee considered the appointment of 

 coadjutor bishops cum successions, would be un- 

 advisable, being not suited tb the Church of 

 England. But, on the otlier Wnd, they con- 

 sidered it very desirable to bring into active 

 operation the act of Henry VIII., which em- 

 powers the nomination of suffragan bishops to 

 Different posts in England, who might render 



every assistance that might be required. The 

 committee were of opinion that in most cases 

 the expense of those suffragan bishops could be 

 met by their holding important posts, such as 

 deaneries and canonries, in connection with' the 

 Church. Any legislation for the settlement by 

 law of any expense upon those bishops to whom 

 the assistance was rendered, was deemed inex- 

 pedient. The committee also recommended that 

 an attempt should be made, through the Arch- 

 bishop of Canterbury, to sweep away any diffi- 

 culties which have existed in regard to the mat- 

 ter. As regards the appointment of suffragan 

 bishops, the bishop is to nominate two, and the 

 crown to select one of these. On motion of the 

 Bishop of Oxford, seconded by the Bishop of 

 London, the report of the committee was 

 adopted. 



The sixty-seventh annual meeting of the Eng- 

 lish Church Society was held May 1st, at Exeter 

 Hall. From the report, it appeared that the total 

 ordinary income amounted to 146,208 Is. 9<2. ; 

 total ordinary expenditure, 144,558 11s. 4d. ; 

 surplus, 1,649 4s. 5d. The local funds raised 

 in the missions and expended there upon the 

 operations of the society, but independent of 

 the general fund, were not included in the 

 above figures, amounted to 20,000. The so- 

 ciety has at present 148 missionary stations, 278 

 clergymen, 21 European laymen, 9 European fe- 

 male teachers (exclusive of missionaries' wives), 

 and 2,122 native and country--born catechists 

 and teachers of all classes, not sent from home. 

 The number of communicants in I860 was 

 19,828; 1861,21,064; 1862, 21,261; 1863, 18,- 

 110; 1864, 18,124; 1865, 14,155. These figures 

 did not include the New Zealand mission, the 

 returns from which had not been received on 

 account of the disturbed state of the colony. 

 The society has withdrawn from seventy-seven 

 stations, chiefly added to parochial establish- 

 ments in the "West Indies or transferred to the 

 native church in Sierra Leone, containing ten 

 native clergy, 4,356 communicants, and 12,866 

 scholars. The annual meeting of the Society 

 for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 

 Parts, was held April 26th. The income of the 

 society for 1865 Avas 94,957 11*. 3d.; and the 

 expenditure for the same period was in British 

 North America, 22,120; in the West Indies, 

 1,328; in South Africa, 11,000; in the rest 

 of Africa, 1,460 ; in Asia, 31,372, and in 

 Australia and New-Zealand, 6,271. The Eng- 

 glish "Church Congress" for 1866 was held 

 at York, and both -the archbishops of England 

 took an active part in its proceedings. 



The archbishops and bishops of the United 

 Church of England and Ireland, in 1866, gave 

 their assent to the establishment of a lay dia- 

 conate, the persons composing it to be set apart 

 by episcopal authority, to act in all cases under 

 the direction of the parochial clergy, and to be 

 designated as "readers." They are to be pub- 

 licly appointed after an examination by a bishop, 

 but not to be set apart by the imposition of 

 hands as in the case of bishops, priests, and 



