THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG 70
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will be abortive. Sincere Christians will not unite at the cost of convictions which they deem (whether rightly or not) to be vital. The problem of unity is inseparable from the problem of securing sufficient agreement concerning questions of faith and order for Christian communions to unite without sacrificing anything which they deem to be vital, and without sanctioning anything which they consider to be subversive of Christian principles. And yet the cause of unity is too vital, and too directly commended to our efforts by Christ, to be abandoned because formal negotiations for union are not yet practicable. The essentials of Christianity are too well attested, and too mighty in their practical and persuasive power, to be permanently obscured by the controversial issues and prejudices of our time. The work for unity must go on. Christ prayed for it, and declared that his followers should constitute one flock. God wills it; and what God wills he helps us to bring to pass by his Holy Spirit. Recent defeats mean simply that there must be further preparation; and formal schemes of unity must be deferred until efforts have been made to secure a better mutual understanding, and foster common growth into the larger mind of Christ. The only external procedure for promoting union which appears to be available consists of candid and loving conferences between leaders of different communions for the discussion of difference in faith and order.
The appointment of a joint commission for a world conference on faith and order by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church at Cincinnati Oct. 19, 1910, was dictated by these considerations, and its significance can best be defined in the terms of the report and resolution which that convention accepted and unanimously adopted: ‘‘. . . We be-
AS 5 lieve that the time has now arrived Geniniasion when representatives of the whole famfor a Worla Hy of Christ, led by the Holy Spirit, Conference. ay be willing to come together for
the consideration of questions of Faith and Order. . . . We would heed this call of the Spirit of God. . . . We would place ourselves by the side of our fellow Christians, . . . convinced that our one hope of mutual understanding is in taking personal counsel together in the spirit of love and forbearance. It is our conviction that such a conference for the purpose of study and discussion, without power to legislate or to adopt resolutions, is the next step toward unity. With grief for our aloofness in the past, and for other faults of pride and self-sufficiency, which make for schism; with loyalty to the truth as we see it, and with re-
spect for the convictions of those who differ from.
us; holding the belief that the beginnings of unity are to be found in the clear statement and full consideration of those things in which we differ, as well as of those things in which we are at one, we respectfully submit the following resolution: Whereas, There is to-day among all Christian people a growing desire for the fulfilment of our Lord’s Prayer that all his disciples may be one ; that the world may believe that God has sent him: Resolved - . . That a Joint Commission be appointed to bring about a conference for the consideration of questions
touching Faith and Order, and that all Christian Communions throughout the world which confess our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior be asked to unite with us in arranging for and conducting such a conference.” Seven bishops, seven presbyters, and seven laymen were duly appointed to constitute this commission, and several members have since been added. The commission organized at once, and appointed a committee on plan and scope to which the executive business is largely given. The Rt. Rev. Charles P. Anderson, bishop of Chicago, is president of the commission; the Rev. William T. Manning, rector of Trinity Church, New York, is chairman of the committee on plan and scope; Mr. R. H. Gardiner, 11 Pemberton Square, Boston, Mass., is secretary; and Mr. George Zabriskie is treasurer. It is to be noticed that the commission is not authorized to retain in its hands the preparation for, and management of, the proposed conference, for this is left to the representatives in general of the commissions which consent to participate, and all are equally to share in the business. While the Cincinnati convention was sitting, the American Congregationalists and the Disciples were constituting similar commissions, and these are in cordial touch with the Episcopal commission. The Presbyterians have also welcomed the movement, and representatives of other bodies, including the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, have shown interest. The undertaking will necessarily require several years for its achievement, but the signs are encouraging.
8. Principles of Unity: These can be briefly stated. Unity is inseparable from some form of corporate or organic union. Whatever passing expedients may be adopted to reduce the evils of sectarian division, real union is vital to the fulfilment of our
_ Lord’s prayer, and of New-Testament tere teaching—a union that will restore full mionin . . hie Faith ang 2tercommunion between Christian Order, believers; that will eliminate rivalry between Christian ministries in their internal, religious, and sacramental functions, as well as in those external activities which existing federations seek to harmonize; and that will foster such world-wide harmony of working conditions as is needful for the growth of Christians in one mind and one faith. The New Testament, as has been stated, treats the Church not only as having one Lord, but as constituting one body, which upbuilds itself in love. Corporate union should, therefore, be consciously kept in view as the ultimate aim of all efforts for Christian unity. This is not generally realized; and to bring Christians to see that it is so is an important part of present labor for unity. Nor can this unity be secured except on the basis of a common faith and order—that is, substantial agreement concerning matters which are deemed essential to Christianity and to the fulfilment of Christ’s will. This agreement can only be obtained, as the bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church say in their declaration of 1886, “‘ by the return of all Christian Communions to the principles of unity exemplified by the undivided Catholic Church during the first ages of its existence.” If any principles can constitute a common faith and order, they must