THE NEW SCPIAFF-HERZOG
Priscilla Lydia Sellon organized the Sisterhood of Mercy at Dcvonport, binding herself with thri'C other ladies to an association for the relief of the Bufferings of the poor. They adopted a uniform dress, the use of the cross, etc. They founded at Devonport a house of destitute children, a "House of Peace " for older girls, and an industrial school. Miss SeUon was addressed as mother superior. Since then many sisterhoods with various names have been founded in the Church of England, e.g., the Sisterhood of St. John the Baptist at Clewer, founded in 1S49, which devoted itself more especially to the reformation of fallen women. The difference between the sisterhoods of the Church of England and the order of deaconesses consists in this, that the sisterhood leans in its organization to the convent as its model. The sisters take vows, live strictly in communities, acknowledge a mother superior, and often find refuge in the sisterhood for the sake of pious devotion more than for philanthropic activity.
The deaconess idea as carried out at Kaiserswerth was formally commended by Dr. Tait, then bishop of London, in his charge May 2, 1850. From 1858 to 1871 woman's work was the subject of animated discussion in the convocation of Canterbury. In 1861 Bishop Tait invested Elizabeth Catherine Ferard (d. 1883) with the office of deaconess, and it was generally regarded as a revival of the apostolic office. Miss Ferard had been trained at Kaiserswerth and with the aid of Dean Champneys and others opened the deaconesses' institution of North London, a diocesan institution founded on the Kaiserswerth model. In 1871 rules were laid
down for diocesan deaconesses' homes 2. Deacon- ^^^^^^ archbishop of Can-
in^the terbury and eighteen bishops. The Church of first principle sets forth " that a deacon- England. *^ ^ woman set apart by the bishop
under that title for service in the Church. She is at liberty to resign her commission as deaconess or may be deprived of it by the bishop." She was to be an auxiliary to the pastorate, and not a conventual. Dean Howson contended for this idea and he saw it prevail. The institution was taken up as a diocesan matter and in 1904 there were deaconesses' homes in the dioceses of Canterbury, Chester, Ely, London, Salisbury, Winchester, Llandaff, Exeter, and Rochester. There are also deaconesses' institutions in Lichfield, Durham, and Worcester. The Mildmay institutions with the deaconesses' home as the center were due to the zeal and organizing power of William Pennefather, an English clergyman. The beginning was made at Barnet in 1860, and the institutions moved to Mildmay in 1864. The deaconesses' department has three branches . medical work, parish work, and foreign mission work. The Institution has stations in Malta, Jamaica, and Hebron. While the Mildmay institutions were founded by Anglicans, they are not intended to be strictly denominational. The only mother house in England belonging to the Kaiserswerth group is Tottenham, North London, founded in 1877 by Dr. ^lichael Laseron, a converted Jew, and his wife, and aided by Samuel Morley with a
gift of £7,000. Dr. Laseron was very successful in training deaconesses. The institution supplies a number of hospitals, including one in Sierra Leone.
The Wesleyans of England have been active in promoting the work of the deaconess. In 1888 the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes (q.v.) formed an organization called " The Sisters of the People " with a home near the British Museum, named Catherine House after his wife; in 1891 it was removed to larger quarters in Viceroy Street. The sisters do all kinds of mission work, visit the 3. Wesley- poor, conduct midnight missions, teach
an Dea- in kindergartens, etc. The Wesleyan conesses. Deaconesses' Institution was founded in 1890 by the Rev. T. B. Stevenson, and has two training-schools, Newburn House, London, N. E., and Calvert House, at Leicester. The deaconesses are stationed in all parts of England and are employed chiefly in parish work. The institution has stations in New Zealand, South Africa, and Ceylon. There are three departments of work contemplated by the training : the teaching and care of children, nursing the sick, and home and foreign mission work. The training includes Biblical and medical instruction, and lasts a year. The Institution was formally adopted by the Wesleyan Conference in 1902. The following extract from an official report gives an idea of the Wesleyan conception of the deaconess and her work:
What is a Wesleyan deaconess ? One who belongs to the Order so-called, governed by the Council, and sanctioned by the Wesleyan Methodist Church. But her work is not sectarian, and she may by arrangement serve other than Methodist churches. The work of the deaconess is anything that the cause of Christ and the poor demand. She is nurse, teacher, visitor, even preacher when necessary. She is a helper in sorrow and a rescuer from all sin. Her work varies in every locality.
c. Scotland: Fliedner visited Scotland in 1846 and met Chalmers. In 1886 the Church of Scotland took the matter of deaconesses' work seriously in hand, and in 1887 the Assembly commended the establishment of deaconesses' training-schools and more especially the Edinburgh House, a home for deaconesses established the same year. Dr. Archibald H. Charteris was the most influential person in bringing about this consummation. St. Ninian's Hospital is connected with the home. The first deaconess was instafled in office Dec. 9, 1888. The work is incorporated in the constitution of the Established Church, which not only commended the training of deaconesses, but established rules for their admission, garb, etc.
d. America: Practically all denominations in the United States have adopted in one form or another the special training of women for Christian work. Some have made the work of the deaconess a part of their constitution, or have officially recognized the deaconess as a local church official or functionary appointed by the local church. The fathers of the deaconess movement in the United States were the Rev. W. A. Passavant and the Rev. W. A. Muhlenberg (qq.v.), the former a Lutheran, the latter an Episcopalian of Lutheran birth. The Lutheran Church first recognized the Kaiserswerth movement. At the age of t wenty-four Dr. Passavant was sent as a delegate to the meeting in Lon-