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Show PROTESTANT UNITY. The dream of unity holds a strange fascination for the Protestant mind. The fascination is the greater in proportion to the disintegration every- where visible among those who at the time of the great revolt against the Church of Eome in the sixteenth century set up private judgment as the ultimate court 'of appeal in matters pertaining to faith and dogma. Last week at a meeting called by Presbyterians in New York City for the purpose of celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of their church's independence even of other Presbyterian Presby-terian churches, the speeches were practically all expressive of the hope that the time was not far distant when there would be a celebration of !..;-inter-dependence, the unity, not only of all tnc Presbyterian churches but of the Protestant churches church-es of the United States. One of the most eloquent in voicing this hope was a reverend Episcopal minister min-ister who had seceded from the Presbyterian Church ten years ago, no doubt conscientiously persuaded that there was no room for a man of his heterodox or orthodox views among the followers follow-ers of Calvin.. One would think that the reverend speaker would be ready to further the movement he so earnestly prayed for by expressing regret for his conversion and begging to be readmitted in the church he had abandoned. Clearly ten years have not witnessed any noted approach in doctrine between the twosects. "As we know a little more," said another reverend minister, "the better we understand, un-derstand, and the nearer we come to unity." Is that true in the light of facts? Between Episcopalians Episco-palians alone, with increase of knowledge for we cannot in charity suppose ;that ignorance is becoming becom-ing more' dense divisions are if anything increasing increas-ing and the lines'of separation more strictly drawn. In England the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, in a recent charge to his clergy on the subject of "Eucharist" (sic) approves the policy of introducing a white vestment in the commemoration of the Lord's Supper. But the Churchman, the American organ of the Episcopalians, says that if white were adopted, "many High Churchmen would find it hard to sacrifice colored vestments, while many Evangel- j icals would have to abandon their opposition to any kind of Eucharistic vestments." When such a trifle as the shade or color of a vestment is made a serious stumbling block and stands a solid barrier between great divisions of a single denomination, it is not easy for the most hopeful Christian to see how the Protestanc adherents adher-ents of a hundred sects can ever be brought together to-gether as Protestants in the unity of "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism." America. |