the several states.- hut. happily, the point was conceded. though with some reluctance, by the Connecticut hi sh- op and clergy in 1789. (hie oiler point of difference existed at the time. The Connecticut sentiment was decidedh in favor of securing a bishop first, and then ! to act as a fully organized. Church, in passing laws, revising the liturgy, etc, and such was tin urse
adopted in I li.it slate. I >i. Sai 1 Seahury. hishop-eled.
meeting with annoying difficulties and delays in Eng- land, was consecrated by Scotch bishops, in November,
17*1. and. on his return home early iii the summer ol
1785, entered at once upon his duties as bishop ol I k>n-
nectii ut. The churches in the middle and more south- erly portions of the country held .an opposite opinion to thai entertained in Connecticut and Massachusi it -.and in accordance therewith went forward, and took various steps antecedent i" tie- obtaining ol I he succession from England.
The first meeting of clerg} andlaitj which can prop- erly he considered as approaching to a general conven- tion was held iii Philadelphia in September ami « tctober, 1785. Seven Btatea were represented bj 16 clergymen and 26 laymen. It was hoped that bishop Seabury and some of the New England clergy might he present; hut. as they were not satisfied a- yet on several points, they declined attending. Dr. White was chosen pres- ident, and Dr. Griffith, of Virginia, secretary, and the
convention proceeded promptly to the work of organ- ization and revision. A plan for obtaining tie episco- pal succession, and an address to the archbishops and bishops of the Church of England were discussed and agreed upon. These papers were mainlj the produc- tion of Dr. White, and were manly and dignified in tone and statement. A draft oi alterations of the liturgy, in order io adapt il to the existing condition of civil af- fairs, and to get rid of certain offensive features, was sul unit ted. as was also an " Ecclesiastical Constitution ;" and the work went on vigorously till the close ol the session. Oct. 7. The committee on altering and im- proving the Prayer-book were Drs. White, W. Smith, and Wharton. They were authorized to make changes of various kinds, "but in such a manner that noth- ing in form or substance he altered j" to accompany the volume with "a proper preface or addle--, setting forth
the reason and expediency of the alterations;" and to publish the work for the use of Episcopal churches. The result of their labors was the " Proposed Book," as it is known in Church history. The major pan of the alterations were made by Dr. Smith: and these altera- tions, both as to matter and spirit, deserve the attention of every student of our history. Besides a large num- ber of verbal changes, the article " He descended into hell," in the Apostles' Creed, .and the Nicene and Atha- nasian Creeds, were ejected: the -Article- of Religion" wire reduced to twenty: a calendar and table of holy- days were set forth: a long preface (the basis ol the
preface to the Book of Com i Prayer as it now is)
was added, etc. The volume proved to be quite unsat- isfactory. Its changes were looked upon a- too radical by many of the clergy and com enl ions; .and hardly had
the i k been issued before it became evident that the
Church was not ready or willing to accept it. from every quarter, when state conventions met, amendments were proposed and urged upon the attention of the Church : and nowhere was the book adopted, except ill a few churches for temporary use. Hi-hop White says
it was -;i great error" to print the 1 k at all in it- then
condition, and still more to print a large edition in hope
of getting, by its sale, pecuniary returns to be used tor charitable purposes. It was a crude and ill-digested affair, and it never received the first sanction of the Church. Subsequent general conventions ignored it altogether, and ii will ever remain as the "Proposed
Hook," not the Book ofComi Prayer which was later
adopted, .and is the Church's perroani nl heritage.
At the meeting of the next convention in Philadel- phia, June 20, 17m;. ten clergy and eleven laymen were present. The prospect was bj no means encouraging. Indeed, as bishop White states,"the convention as- semhled under circmnsi anc. - which bore Strong ap- pearances of a dissolution ol tie union in this early stage of it." The correspond* nc< with t he archbishops and bishops in England made il evident that there was an apprehension existing in lie ir minds that the Amer- ican Episcopal Church was scarcely sound in the faith, and they answered cautiously and with reserve in re- gard to the application for the episcopate. This was quite natural, and it need occasion no surprise thai they objected to many of the alterations in the l'rayer-hook,
PROTESTANT EPISC. CHURCH 675 PROTESTANT EPISC. CHURCH