The laws which regulate Church affairs are contained in the " Digest of the Canons for the Government of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States," as passed and adopted in the general conventions from 1859 to 1877. The canons are arranged in the most method- ical and approved style of legal enactments ; they have been prepared by some of the ablest canonists and law- yers in the communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and they cover the entire ground respecting which the Church can legislate as a whole or united body. They are distributed into Four Titles, Canons of each Title, and Sections of Canons. Historical notes as
PROTESTANT EPISC. CHURCH 683 PROT. EPISC. CH. OF IRELAND
I Theological seminaries and schools (iu 15 dioceses and 1 missionary jurisdiction) 1G
to dates are added, so that any particular canon upon any subject legislated upon by the Church may be traced from its origin through all its modifications to the present time. Title 1 is "< tf the Orders in the .Min- istry and of the Doctrine and Worship of the Church." There are twenty-four canons under this Title, and they cover fully and explicitly all questions relating to can- didates t"r orders, examinations, ordination of deacons, ordination of priests, general regulation of ministers and their duties, qualifications, consecration ami work of bishops, domestic and foreign missionary bishops, mode ol securing an accurate view of the Church, tin- use of the Book uf Com mon Prayer, etc. Title II is" ( if Disci- pline." There arc thirteen canons under this Title, re- lating to offences for which ministers may be tried and punished, dissolution of pastoral connection, renuncia- tion of the ministn . abandonment of the communion of the Church by a bishop, the trial of a bishop, judicial sentences, regulations respecting the laity, etc. Title III i> "Of the Organized Bodies ami Officers of the Chinch." There are nine canons under this Title, hav- ing n ference to meetings of General ( Convention, stand- ing committees, trustees of the ( leneral Theological Sem- inary, congregations and parishes, organization of new dioceses, etc. Title IV relates to " Miscellaneous Pro- visions." It has four canons, in reference to repealed canons, enactment, etc, of canons, time when new can- ons take effect. Our limits do not admit of printing these canons in full, nor is it necessary, inasmuch as they are readily accessible to all interested in their contents.
III. Statistics. — As showing the steady increase and spread of the Protestant Episcopal Church, we give the bishops, clergy, and dioceses by decades since 1820, as follows:
Years.
Bishops.
Presbyters
Total.
Dioceses.
1820
9 11
19 32
4:\
52 02
301 514 1040 1557 2113 2T80
310 525 1059
1589 2150 2838
15 20
27 29 33
:;;» 48
1830
1MO
L850
1860
1870
1878
From the Church Almanac and the summary in the journal of the General Convention of i,s77. we learn that in 1*77 there were nearly 3000 parishes, with churches and chapels, in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.
Baptisms, during the year (infant and adult).. 46,233
t lonflrmations, during the year 28,300
Marriages, " " " " (about) 10,
Sunday-school teachers 30,323
Sunday-school scholars (about) 270,000
Communicants 302,009
ations, foi missionary and church pur- poses $0,500,000
Home missionary bishops nine, exercising jurisdiction in the great territories as well as several of the Western states, in Texas, and on the Pacific coast. Their sala- ries and travelling expenses (amounting to at least $30,000 per annum) are paid bj the domestic commit- tee. There are over 200 missionaries at work in these Gelds. Foreign missionary bishops three— one in China, one in Japan, one in Africa (to which add bishop in Hayti). There are iii these jurisdictions, in addition to the bishops, thirty-live other clergymen (foreign and native), together with about 200 assist- itechists, lay readers, and teachers, The missionary work in Greece is simply educational, and is conducted by one lady, assisted by 12 native teachers. In the Mexican Church there are at work II. < . Riley, D.D.,and P.G. Hernandez (bish- ops elect I, with four oiler presbyters, two ladies, and 79 lay reader-. The number ol communicants in foreign fields i- about W00. rhen are also 31 day-schools with 1800 scholars, and 18 Sunday-schools with Mil scholar.-.
Church colleges (in 12 dioceses and 2 missionary juris- dictions) ]4
Academic institutions (in -jo dioceses and 6 missionary
jurisdictions) si
Other educational institutions (in 13 dioceses) .'..' 32
Church hospitals (in 20 dioceses and 2 missionary
jurisdictions) 27
Church orphan asylums (in 20 dioceses and 2 mission- ary jurisdictions) 30
Church homes (in 21 dioceses) 84
Periodicals devoted to the interests, support, and de- 1 fence of the Protestant Episcopal Church : Thi Church- man (weekly), New JTork; The Southern Churchman (weekly), Alexandria. Va. : Tht Episcopal Register (weekly 1. Philadelphia. Pa.; The Standard of the Cross (weekly), Cleveland, O.; Tht Western Church (weekly), Milwaukee, Wis.; Tht Pacific Churchman (weekly), San Francisco, Cal.; Our Dioceses (weekly), Detroit, Mich. ; Tht Spirit of Missions (monthly 1, New York: Tht Church Magazim (monthly), Brooklyn, X. V.: Tht Church Eclectic (monthly), fjtica, X. Y.\ The Aim ria in Church Review (quarterly), New York.
IV. Authorities.— Worka used in the preparation of the present article: White | Bp. |, Memoirs of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church (1836, 8vo); Wilson, Life of Bishop While (1839, 8vo); Wilberforce [Bp.], History of tht Protestant Episcopal Church (1849, 12mo); An- derson, History of th ('lunch of England in the Colo- nies (185ti. :! vols. 12mo); Hawkins. Missions of the Church of England in tht North American Colonies (1845, 8vo); Hawks. Contributions to tht Ecclesiastical History of tht United States 1 1836, vol. i. 8vo, Virginia; 1839, vol. ii. 8vo, Maryland); id. Constitution 1 ons of the Protestant Episcopal Church ( 1*11, 8vo); Sprague, A mails of tht American Pulpit ; Episcopalian ] (1850, vol. v, 8vo); Coit. Puritanism | 1845, 12mo); Hoffman [Murray], I.mc of the Pi'otestani Episcopal Church (1850, 8vo ) ; id. Ecchs'uiMh-nl Law in the State oj New York (1868, 8vo), and Tht Ritualistic Law of the Church (1872, 8vo); Vinton, Canon Law and the Constitution of tht Protestant Episcopal Church (1870, 8vo) ; Perry [Bp.], Handbook of the Can ml Conven- tions, 1785-1877 ( 1N77. 12mo) : Hawks and Perry, Jour- nals of General Convention from 1785 to 1853 (1861, voL i, 8vo, with notes).*