REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



721 



An article embodying a constitution for a court 

 of appeal was reported by a committee ap- 

 pointed to consider the subject, and was laid 

 over for further consideration till the next 

 meeting of the General Synod. The Synod 

 decided to be represented in the General Coun- 

 cil of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches to 

 be held in Philadelphia in 1880, and delegates 

 were appointed to the same in such a manner 

 as to give a representation to each of the dis- 

 trict synods. 



REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The 

 statistical returns of this Church, which were 

 presented to the General Council in May, 1878, 

 represented a larger proportion of the parishes 

 than had reported in previous returns, but 

 were still not complete. So far as they were 

 presented, they showed that the Church com- 

 prehended 80 regularly organized churches 

 and 50 missionary stations in the United States 

 and British America, with which were con- 

 nected 100 ministers and 17,057 persons. The 

 number of communicants reported was 5,808; 

 of Sunday-school scholars, 7,814; of teachers 

 in Sunday-schools, 744; of persons baptized, 

 715 ; of persons confirmed, 615 ; amount ot 

 collections for benevolent, religious, and paro- 

 chial purposes, and for church buildings, $280,- 

 785; value of church property, $600,031, sub- 

 ject to incumbrances of $138,750. Adding 

 the value of the lands held for educational 

 purposes in the city of Chicago, the total value 

 of the property held by the Church was $800,- 

 021, showing an increase of $172,000 since 

 1877. During the year 14 congregations had 

 occupied their own churches, 6 congregations 

 had taken steps to erect churches, and 7 new 

 congregations had been formed. The Church 

 was represented in the principal cities of the 

 United States as follows : In New York City, 

 2 churches ; in Chicago, 111., 8 ; in Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., 8 ; in Brooklyn, N. Y., 4 ; in Boston, 

 Mass., 4; in Louisville, Ky., 1; in Jackson- 

 ville, Fla., 1 ; in Tallahassee, Fla., 1 ; in Wash- 

 ington, D. C., 1 ; in Memphis, Tenn., 1. The 

 establishment of the Church in England was 

 a noteworthy feature in the history of the year. 

 Reports were made to the General Council of 

 the progress of the Church among the colored 

 people in the South, where much success had 

 been attained. Fourteen colored churches had 

 been organized in the neighborhood of Charles- 

 ton, S. 0. 



The sixth General Council of the Reformed 

 Episcopal Church met at Newark, N. J., May 

 8th. Bishop Fallows was chosen President. 

 The reports of the Bishops showed that the 

 growth of the Church had been prosperous in 

 all of their districts in the United States and 

 Canada. Bishop Fallows reported concerning 

 the consecration of Bishop Gregg as Bishop of 

 the Reformed Episcopal Church in England, 

 and of his visit to England in company with 

 Bishop Gregg. While in England he had called 

 upon the Archbishop of Canterbury, and had 

 been courteously received by him. The fol- 

 YOL. xviii. 46 A 



lowing resolutions were adopted respecting the 

 relation of the Church and its communicants 

 to popular amusements : 



Jfaolved, That as tlio sense of this Council it is 

 the duty of our parishes to exclude from all meet- 

 ings that have the sanction of the Church, and for 

 which it is therefore responsible, all theatrical ex- 

 hibitions, dances, and gaining, as tending to lower 

 the tone of Christian purity, hinder the growth of 

 personal piety, and weaken the influence of the 

 Church in the community. 



Jtesolved, That this Council affectionately warns 

 the communicants of the Church it represents against 

 those forms and assemblies in which the children 

 of this world would find their chosen joys, such as 

 the theatre, the public dance, and kindred places ; 

 and they exhort them to afford examples of that 

 Christian purity which, though in the world, is not 

 of the world. 



fiesolved, That this Council earnestly dissuades 

 the parishes of the Church from adopting frivolous 

 and worldly modes of raising funds for church and 

 charitable purposes, as having a tendency to stifle 

 the Christian duty and privilege of giving for the 

 promotion of the Lord's work from simple love to 

 Him, and paralyzing Christian benevolence. 



A report was adopted on the subject of the 

 diaconate, which advised that the office of 

 deacon should be made manifestly distinct from 

 that of presbyter ; that the deacon should not 

 be allowed to assume charge of a church ex- 

 cept in very extreme cases, and then only on 

 the written consent of the Bishop ; and that 

 he should not be allowed to administer baptism 

 or the Lord's supper except by the special 

 license of the Bishop. The Reformed Epis- 

 copal congregations in Great Britain and Ire- 

 land were authorized to form a General Synod, 

 which should be empowered to frame and revise 

 the Book of Common Prayer for the use of the 

 congregations under its jurisdiction, " provided 

 that the Protestant and evangelical principles 

 of this Church, as set forth in the Declarations 

 of Principles, be maintained therein, and re- 

 tained as found amended." Commissioners 

 were appointed to confer with commissioners 

 from the English General Synod, to prepare 

 and report such changes in the offices and or- 

 ganic law of the Church as should be necessary 

 to secure to the congregations in each coun- 

 try their own more immediate self-government. 

 A draft of a Catechism was submitted to the 

 Council by the committee having the subject 

 in charge, and was referred to the next meet- 

 ing of the Council for action. An amendment 

 to the Constitution of the Church, providing 

 for the appointment of additional lay delegates, 

 in the proportion of one to every one hundred 

 communicants, instead of one to every fifty, 

 was approved, subject to the approval of the 

 next General Council. 



Trinity Church, South end, the first house 

 of worship built by the Reformed Episcopal 

 Church in England, was opened April 23d by 

 Bishop Gregg. Notice was given about the 

 same time of the intended opening of a church 

 at Little Hampton, upon which the Bishop of 

 Chichester issued a pastoral, warning the mem- 

 bers of the Church of England in the parish 



