GESERAL PRINCIPLES 23 



by Bishop Littlejohn, of Long Island, 

 chairman of the Episcopal Commission. 1 



In the preamble, after referring to the 

 Muhlenberg Memorial, the bishops de- 

 clared: (1) their earnest desire that the 

 Saviour's prayer for unity may be speedily 

 fulfilled; (2) their belief that all duly bap- 

 tised persons are members of the Holy 

 Catholic Church; (3) their readiness to 

 forego all things of mere human ordering 

 as to modes of worship and discipline or 

 traditional customs ; and (4) their disavowal 

 of any wish to absorb other Christian com- 

 munions into their own church, but only 

 co-operate with such communions on the \ 

 basis of a common faith and order, to dis- ; 

 countenance schism and heal the wonndsin 

 the body of Christ At ffifi same Sme, the 

 ^bishops affirmTffiS the unity sought can 

 only be obtained by a return of all Chris- 

 tian communions to its first principles as 

 exemplified by the primitive, undivided 



i The Rev. Dr. Huntington, of Grace Church, in his 

 •Ewy towards Unity," also foreshadowed some of its 

 essential statements, and gave to the four articles the 

 name of "Quadrilateral." by which thev have become 

 known "These four points, like the four famous for- 

 tresses of Lombards, make the ' Quadrilateral ' of pure 

 Anglicanism." — p. 157. 



