PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



part taken by the Rev. J. J. E. Bennett, of 

 Frome Selwood, England, in the recent vin- 

 dication of the doctrine of the Anglican Church 

 teaching the most Holy Blood of Christ. The 

 Committee on Vestments reported that the 

 Confraternity had supplied vestments and 

 altar-linen to several churches, and that there 

 was a alow but steady advance in the use of 

 such articles. 



After the publication of the report of the 

 conference and celebration in the American 

 papers copying the English report, the pro- 

 ceedings and objects of the Confraternity were 

 severely criticised in communications in the 

 Church papers. At length, in order to cor- 

 rect alleged misrepresentations, and to set 

 forth what were regarded as the true objects 

 of the order, the following circular was pub- 

 lished by the authority of the Superior-Gen- 

 eral of the American branch of the Confrater- 

 nity: 



WTurtai, Continued attacks, arising from grave 

 misapprehension, have recently been made upon the 

 American Branch of the Confraternity of the Blessed 

 Sacrament ; and 



Whmat, The language of those Associates of the 

 Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, whose com- 

 munications have been published, has, on highly- 

 Important point*, been perverted, and held up as 

 expressing what was neither expressed nor to be 

 implied, and as indicating designs and action on the 

 part of the American Branch of the Confraternity 

 of the Blessed Sacrament which are not true : and 



Wkfrtai, It is due to our Right Reverend Fathers 

 the bishops, and to our brethren the clergy and 

 laity, whose minds may have been influenced by the 

 above-named attacks, that they should be officially 

 certified of the Incorrectness of the charges made : 

 therefore 



Retolrtd, That we place on record the following 

 statement, namely : 



I. That it ia justice to the American Branch of the 

 Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament that a dis- 

 tinction be made between the personal acts, words, 

 or designs of any individuals who may be Associates 

 of the Confraternity of the Blesaed Sacrament and 

 the acts, words, or designs of the Confraternity as an 

 organization. And that any unauthorized acts, words, 

 or designs of the former, if any there have been or 

 are yet to be, should not be charged to the latter. 



If. That the American Branch of the C. B. 8. is 

 not. and never has been, a secret society. 



III. That the American Branch of the C. B.S. did 

 nol interfere in any manner whatever with the late 

 Kpiscopal election in Massachusetts ; that it was not 

 organized for the purpose of mingling at all in Church 

 politics ; that it has not so mingled at any time ; and 

 that a* a Confraternity it Is wholly averse to ecclesi- 

 astical or any other Intrigue. 



IV. That the members of the American Branch of 

 the C. B. 8. are not associated for any other purpose 

 than solely and strictly to promote the " object*," 

 and conform to the " Rules " set down in the Manual 

 of the Confraternity, which are as follows, viz. : 



osnon. 



1. The honor due to the Person of our Lord Jesa* 

 fhrlrt in the Blened Sacrament of his Body and 

 Blood. 



S. Mutual and Special Intercession at the time of 

 Md In union with the Kucharistic Sacrifice. 



S. To promote the observance of the Catholic and 

 primitive practice of receiving the Holy Communion 



And 'that the sole rules that bind the Associates, 

 an aa follows, viz. : 



MUM. 



1. To communicate or at least to be present on 

 Sundays and the greater festivals and other holy 

 days, when the Holy Eucharist is celebrated, unless 

 prevented by sickness or other urgent cause. 



5S. To promote, by all legitimate means, frequent 

 and reverent celebrations of the Holy Eucbarut, as 

 the cliiefact of divine service. 



8. To make such special intercessions as shall be 

 from time to time directed. 



5. That this council recognizes the truth of the 

 words of the Superior-General in his Annual Ad- 

 dress, namely, " Whatever means we may lawfully 

 use as separate individuals, to promote the catholic 

 truth as set forth by our Church, we should bear in 

 mind that as a Confraternity, our great means to that 

 end is combined prayer." And, as all wrangling in 

 connection with its solemn objects is distuMeful to 

 the Confraternity, the Council therefore places this 

 statement on record in no spirit of discussion, but 

 solely for the information of our brethren. By order 

 of the Council : 

 F. C. EWER, Superior-General Am. Br. C. B. 8. 



T. McKEE BEOWK, Secretary. 

 The first step in organizing Protatant Epit- 

 eopal Ctiurchet in Europe was taken by the 

 I!ev. \Villiam O. Lumson, in Paris, in 1858. 

 With the consent of some individual bishops in 

 the Protestant Episcopal Church, but without 

 official support or sanction, he comim-iurd 

 services lor the benefit of the American Kj>is- 

 copulians who might be sojourning in that city. 

 The General Convention of 1859 enacted 11 

 canon making lawful the opening and organi- 

 zation of Episcopal Churches on the Continent 

 of Europe. In the fall of the same year, Mr. 

 Lamson organized a church in Rome, and the 

 next year one in Florence. The services in 

 Rome were, however, interrupted, in conse- 

 quence of the breaking out of our civil war for 

 a year, and those in Florence till 1867, when 

 they were resumed. A fourth Episcopal church 

 was organized in Dresden in 1868. The (ii n- 

 eral Convention of 1871 took these churches 

 tinder its care, and deputed the bishop of Penn- 

 sylvania to visit them as the representative of 

 the presiding bishop. In 1878, churches were 

 r-ialilishcd in Geneva and Nice, making six 

 churches in all. A handsome church-edifice 

 has been built at Paris, and one is under course 

 of construction at Rome. 



The Dean of Canterbury, of the Church of 

 England, was a delegate to the World's Con- 

 ference of the Evangelical Alliance, which met 

 in New York in October, 1873, and bore to the 

 body a letter of sympathy from the Archbishop 

 of Canterbury. On one of the Sundays which 

 occurred during the meeting of the Conference, 

 he participated in the celebration of a com- 

 munion service in the Madison Square Pres- 

 byterian Church, New York, Rev. William Ad- 

 ams, D. D., pastor, in conjunction with minis- 

 ters of the Presbyterian. Methodist, Baptist, 

 and other non-Episcopal churches. Bishop 

 Tozcr, late missionary bishop to Zanzibar, 

 who was in New York at the time, took notice 

 of this act, and addressed a letter to Bishop 

 Potter, of the Diocese of New York, in which 

 he expressed his concern that the dean had so 

 far forgotten what was due to the bishop of 



