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A LETTER
TO
THE RIGHT REVEREND BISHOPS
OF
TENNESSEE, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, ARKANSAS, TEXAS,
MISSISSIPPI, FLORIDA, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND NORTH CAROLINA,
FROM
THE BISHOP OF LOUISIANA.
---------------------------
NEW ORLEANS
E. M. NORMAN, PUBLISHER
1856
----------------------------------
To: the Right Rev. J. H. OTEY, D. D.
The Right Rev. S. ELLIOTT, D. D.
The Right Rev. N. H. COBB, D. D.
The Right Rev. G. W. FREEMAN, D. D.
The Right Rev. W. M. GREEN, D. D.
The Right Rev. F. H. RUTLEDGE, D. D.
The Right Rev. T. F. DAVIS, D. D.
The Right Rev. T. ATKINSON, D. D.
Right Reverend and Dear Brethren:
In considering the condition of that part of our country, in
which our combined fields of labor lie, certain facts have presented
themselves to my mind, and of so impressive a character, in view of
our duties as citizens and our responsibilities as Bishops of the
Church of God, that I have thought I could not hold myself ex-
cused if I failed to bring them to your notice. And my apology
for attempting this will be found, I trust, in the importance of the
subject; in the fact that it is one of common interest; and in the
hope of its leading to the adoption of some plan for relieving a
common necessity.
{Right page:}
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of
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The population embraced in the states covered by the dioceses
over which we preside, amounts in the aggregate to over 5,800,000.
Upon the theory of our church, we are bound to regard ourselves
as charged with making provision, to the best of our ability, for
the spiritual welfare of all within the pale of our several jurisdic-
tions.
Whatever shades of opinion there may be among us, as to the ex-
tent and authority of the commission we bear as chief ministers in
the Church of Christ, we all agree in maintaining that if any hold
such commissions, we are of their number. We believe our mis-
sion is from Christ himself, and that we are sent to those of our
fellow men, who are embraced in the boundaries of the jurisdiction
assigned us. Our mission is to all, as well to those who differ
from, as those who agree with us, and we are bound by this con-
viction to concert measures, and adopt such combinations, as shall
enable us to fulfill this mission with adequate power and efficiency.
Circumstances have placed a large proportion of this population
under the control of other forms of religious opinion, or have left it
free from all control of any kind. Whether for this condition of
things the Church of the past, we now represent, is answerable or
not, is not now the question. There is the fact. A large number
of the inhabitants of our dioceses are not under our guidance.
They are not the subjects of our instruction or of our influence.
And yet our commission stands unalterably fixed. It is the same.
The paucity of our numbers and our apparent feebleness are aside
of the point. These may argue a defect in the manner, in which
we or our predecessors have fulfilled the trust committed to our
charge, and may well suggest the expediency of our canvassing
thoroughly the causes producing such a result; but they furnish
no ground for undervaluing the genuineness or authenticity of our
commissions, or the obligations of others to inform themselves of
its claims, and to respect its authority. Our course is plain. We
have to do our work, and our whole work, in bringing men to
Christ, and to be of one mind in Christ. We have not only to
propagate the truth, but also the order of the Gospel; and this in
the spirit of the Gospel. And I cannot doubt, if—freed from the
trammels, which men of other age thought expedient to impose
upon our Church action, and for these times wisely enough per-
haps—we were to adopt certain measures, by which our strength
could be concentrated, and our power to meet the demands proper
to be made upon a Church of Christ, developed, we should speedily
find ourselves recovering the ground we have lost; the prejudice | 3{Left page:}
A LETTER
TO
THE RIGHT REVEREND BISHOPS
OF
TENNESSEE, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, ARKANSAS, TEXAS,
MISSISSIPPI, FLORIDA, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND NORTH CAROLINA,
FROM
THE BISHOP OF LOUISIANA.
---------------------------
NEW ORLEANS
E. M. NORMAN, PUBLISHER
1856
----------------------------------
To: the Right Rev. J. H. OTEY, D. D.
The Right Rev. S. ELLIOTT, D. D.
The Right Rev. N. H. COBB, D. D.
The Right Rev. G. W. FREEMAN, D. D.
The Right Rev. W. M. GREEN, D. D.
The Right Rev. F. H. RUTLEDGE, D. D.
The Right Rev. T. F. DAVIS, D. D.
The Right Rev. T. ATKINSON, D. D.
Right Reverend and Dear Brethren:
In considering the condition of that part of our country, in
which our combined fields of labor lie, certain facts have presented
themselves to my mind, and of so impressive a character, in view of
our duties as citizens and our responsibilities as Bishops of the
Church of God, that I have thought I could not hold myself ex-
cused if I failed to bring them to your notice. And my apology
for attempting this will be found, I trust, in the importance of the
subject; in the fact that it is one of common interest; and in the
hope of its leading to the adoption of some plan for relieving a
common necessity.
{Right page:}
The population embraced in the states covered by the dioceses
over which we preside, amounts in the aggregate to over 5,800,000.
Upon the theory of our church, we are bound to regard ourselves
as charged with making provision, to the best of our ability, for
the spiritual welfare of all within the pale of our several jurisdic-
tions.
Whatever shades of opinion there may be among us, as to the ex-
tent and authority of the commission we bear as chief ministers in
the Church of Christ, we all agree in maintaining that if any hold
such commissions, we are of their number. We believe our mis-
sion is from Christ himself, and that we are sent to those of our
fellow men, who are embraced in the boundaries of the jurisdiction
assigned us. Our mission is to all, as well to those who differ
from, as those who agree with us, and we are bound by this con-
viction to concert measures, and adopt such combinations, as shall
enable us to fulfill this mission with adequate power and efficiency.
Circumstances have placed a large proportion of this population
under the control of other forms of religious opinion, or have left it
free from all control of any kind. Whether for this condition of
things the Church of the past, we now represent, is answerable or
not, is not now the question. There is the fact. A large number
of the inhabitants of our dioceses are not under our guidance.
They are not the subjects of our instruction or of our influence.
And yet our commission stands unalterably fixed. It is the same.
The paucity of our numbers and our apparent feebleness are aside
of the point. These may argue a defect in the manner, in which
we or our predecessors have fulfilled the trust committed to our
charge, and may well suggest the expediency of our canvassing
thoroughly the causes producing such a result; but they furnish
no ground for undervaluing the genuineness or authenticity of our
commissions, or the obligations of others to inform themselves of
its claims, and to respect its authority. Our course is plain. We
have to do our work, and our whole work, in bringing men to
Christ, and to be of one mind in Christ. We have not only to
propagate the truth, but also the order of the Gospel; and this in
the spirit of the Gospel. And I cannot doubt, if—freed from the
trammels, which men of other age thought expedient to impose
upon our Church action, and for these times wisely enough per-
haps—we were to adopt certain measures, by which our strength
could be concentrated, and our power to meet the demands proper
to be made upon a Church of Christ, developed, we should speedily
find ourselves recovering the ground we have lost; the prejudice |
EN