ANGLICAN CHURCHES. 



15 



of bishops from various quarters of the earth, 

 for discussion and consultation on matters of 

 common interest. On the 28th of June, at a 

 meeting held in connection with the Society 

 for the Propagation of the Gospel, previous to 

 the formal opening of the Conference, several 

 of the foreign bishops gave accounts of the 

 condition of their churches in their several 

 countries. The Bishop of Madras told of the 

 conversion during the year of more than twen- 

 ty thousand inhabitants of the district of Tin- 

 nevelly within his diocese ; the Bishop of Bom- 

 bay read a paper on associated missions ; the 

 Bishop of Colombo gave an account of the 

 various tribes of Ceylon ; papers were read on 

 mission work in China by the American Bishop 

 of Shanghai, on foreign missions by the Bishop 

 of Ohio, and woman's work in his diocese by 

 the Bishop of Bloemfontein ; the Bishop of 

 Maritzburg spoke on the Church in Africa ; a 

 paper by a woman was read on the value of 

 the female education undertaken by women in 

 India; and the condition of the Church in 

 Australia and America was reviewed. One 

 hundred bishops were in attendance during 

 the sessions of the Conference. An opening 

 declaration was adopted : first, giving thanks 

 to Almighty God for having brought the mem- 

 bers together for common council and united 

 worship ; second, expressing sorrow at the di- 

 vided condition of the flock of Christ through- 

 out the world, and an ardent longing for unity ; 

 and lastly, recording the conviction u that unity 

 will be more effectually promoted by maintain- 

 ing the faith in its purity and integrity as 

 taught in the Holy Scriptures, held by the 

 primitive church, summed up in the creeds, 

 and affirmed by the undisputed general coun- 

 cils, and by drawing each of us closer to our 

 common Lord by giving ourselves to much 

 prayer and intercession, by the cultivation of 

 a spirit of charity and a love of the Lord's ap- 

 pearing." During the earlier sessions of the 

 Conference the following subjects were dis- 

 cussed and referred to committees, viz. : " The 

 best mode of maintaining union among the va- 

 rious churches of the Anglican communion"; 

 " Voluntary boards of arbitration for churches 

 to which such an arrangement may be applica- 

 ble " ; " The relation to each other of mission- 

 ary bishops and of missionaries in various 

 branches of the Anglican communion acting 

 *n the same country"; "The position of An- 

 glican chaplains and chaplaincies on the conti- 

 nent of Europe and elsewhere"; "Modern 

 forms of infidelity, and the best means of deal- 

 ing with them " ; and " The condition, prog- 

 ress, and needs of the various churches of 

 the Anglican communion." The Conference 

 then adjourned, July 5th, till July 22d, to give 

 the committees time to consider the subjects 

 which had been referred to them. On reas- 

 sembling an address was presented from the 

 Association for the Promotion of the Unity of 

 Christendom, urging that the present time was 

 favorable to the purpose of the Association, 



and calling upon the Conference to " issue a 

 solemn and consentient declaration that it is 

 the first duty of all Christians to labor and pray 

 for the uniting into one body of all those who 

 call upon the name of Christ and agree in the 

 divine authority of Holy Scripture, in the 

 creeds, and in the decrees of the Church, so 

 that there be no more divisions among us " ; 

 and, further, asking it "to recommend some 

 practical means and mode of action whereby 

 a consummation so devoutly to be wished for 

 may, in God's good time, be accomplished." 

 The discussions of the questions which were 

 considered at the earlier sessions were contin- 

 ued until the day of adjournment, July 27th. 

 The reports adopted by the Conference were 

 published after the adjournment. The first re- 

 port deals with the best mode of maintaining 

 union among the various churches of the An- 

 glican communion. It admitted that the as- 

 sembling of a true general council, to which 

 the Church of England has always declared its 

 readiness to resort, is, in the present condition 

 of Christendom, unhappily but obviously im- 

 possible; and that the difficulties attending 

 the assembling of a synod of all the Anglican 

 churches, though different in character and 

 less serious in nature, are too great to allow 

 of its being recommended for present adop- 

 tion ; but suggested that such conferences as 

 the present one and the one which was held 

 in 1867, called by the Archbishop of Canter- 

 bury at the request of or in consultation 

 with the other bishops, might with advan- 

 tage be invested in future with somewhat 

 larger liberty as to the initiation and selec- 

 tion of subjects for discussion, concerning 

 which the report mentioned a few particu- 

 lars. Nevertheless, although there was no 

 hope of a general council, the reunion of Chris- 

 tendom should be kept in view ; and it was sug- 

 gested that the Tuesday before Ascension Day 

 be set apart as a day of intercession for that 

 object. Concerning ritualism, the report af- 

 firmed the principle that " no alteration from 

 long-accustomed ritual should be made contra- 

 ry to the admonition of the bishop of the dio- 

 cese." Concerning confession, it affirmed that 

 "the churches of the Anglican communion 

 hold fast those principles which are set forth 

 in the Holy Scriptures, which were professed 

 by the primitive church, and which were re- 

 affirmed at the English Reformation"; that 

 "no minister of the church is authorized to 

 require from those who may resort to him to 

 open their grief in particular or detailed enu- 

 meration of all their sins ; or to require private 

 confession previous to receiving the holy com- 

 munion; or to enjoin or even encourage the 

 practice of habitual confession to a priest ; or 

 to teach that such practice of habitual confes- 

 sion, or the being subject to what is termed 

 the direction of a priest, is a condition of at- 

 taining to the highest spiritual life." At the 

 same time, the committee would not be under- 

 stood as desiring "to limit in any way the pro- 



