them by announcing his deieminati >f withdrawing
from the Protestanl Episcopal Church, when urged U>
reconsider his decision, be promptly stated that this was
i aide ground — that it was a question between
himself and God, and as such he had Fettled it, and that
mination was unalterable. He then said that Ids
object in c a at together was to advise as to his future.
i roposil ions before him. He had been
Mexico, and give himself to the work of
■ ition and building-up of the Chnrcb of Jesus.
Should he do this? or Should he remain In this country,
ami here ministry and his episcopal office}
Those who fell rree to speak advised his remaining in this
country by all mi ins, and then and there he determined
th .1 this country s<h and be the 'sphere of labor' to which
he would transfer his 'work and office, ' Steps were taken
nrnment of this meeting looking toward*
in the hands of the printer the book which the
bishop refers to In Ids letter of resignation, written Nov.
to thai l'i iyer-1 k sanctioned
by William White.' We may regard this meeting as the
Bret movement, outside of bishop Cummins himself, tow- ed- the formation of the Reformed Episcopal Church."
November 10, the bishop addressed a letter to bishop Smith, his superior in the diocese of Kentucky, and the presiding bishop of the general Church, resigning bis position as a bishopofthe Protestanl Episcopal Church. • hi tin' I2ib of November he paid an unannounced \ Mt to the Rev. Marshall I!. Smith, a! Passaic, N. J., set k- ing rest and quiet of mind. Mr. Smith had withdrawn from the same church, for the same causes, and con- nected himself with the ministry of the "Reformed Church of America" in the year 1869, During this visit, without any prearrangement, be was met by the Rev. Mason Gallagher, who had also withdrawn from the Protestant Episcopal ( 'hureh in 1*71. and ( oL 11. n- jamin Aycrigg, a prominent layman of that church In New Jersey, who bad withdrawn October 30, 1873. I bese gi ntlemen testify that, in the deeply serious and interesting interview, which was greatly protracted, there was. in the beginning, no foreshadowing of its practical issue. They cannot recall the precise poinl in the con- versation where the thought of concerted action took shape. Underwhat they fully believe Divine guidance, i bat thought did rise, take form and body, and grOTI into purpose, until, in the form dictated by the bishop, the call for a meeting of clergymen and laymen of like mind was written and issued. It was in these words, inserted here as important history :
" New V,i:k. Nov. 15,1873. "Dkar Broth™,— The Lord lias put into the hearts of some of his servants who are, or have been, in the Protestant Episcopal Church, the purpose of restoring the Old truths of their lathers, and of returning to the use of the Prayer-book 0fl785, set forth by the General Conven- tion of that year, under the especial guidance of the vener- able William White, D.D., afterwards the first bishop of the same church in this country. The chief features of that Prayer-book, as distinguished from the one now in use, are the following: 1. The word ' priest ' does not ap- pear in the book, and there is no countenance whatever to the errors of sacerdotalism. 2. The Baptismal Offices, the Confirmation Office, the Catechism, and the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper contain no sanction of the errors of baptismal regeneration, the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the elements of the communion and of a sacrifice offered by a priest in that sailed feast. These are the main features that len- der the Prayer-book of 1785 a thoroughly scriptural litur- gy, such as all evangelical Christians who desire liturgical worshipcan use with a good conscience. On Tuesday, the second day of December, 1S73, a meeting will be held in Association Hall, comer of Twenty-third street and fourth avenue, in the city of New York, at in o'clock A.M., to oiirani/e an Episcopal church on the basis of the Prayer- book of L78S a basis hi'oad enough to embrace all who
hold 'the faith once delivered to the saints.' as that faith is maintained by the Reformed churches of Christendom ; with no exclusive and unchurching dogmas towards Chris- tian brethren who differ from them in their views of polity ami church order. This meeting you are cordially and af- fectionately invited to attend. The purpose of the meeting is to organize, and not to discuss the expediency of or- ganizing. A verbatim reprint of the Prayer-book of its;, is in press, and will be issued during the month of Decem- ber. May the Lord guide you and ue by his Holy spirit. i.i. ikge Davis Ct trains. "
That meeting was held on the day appointed, and the "Reformed Episcopal Church" organized with eight clergymen and twenty laymen, all of whom were ai the time, or had been, ministers or laymen in the Protestant Episcopal church and actively identified with the Evan- gelical or ••Low-Church" parly in that Church, no one being allowed to vote but those who had signed i he call. The Rev. Charles Edward Cheney, of ( Ihicago, v a- . 1. ct- ed bishop, bis consecration to the office taking place later in the same month.