Letter to the Right. Hon. and Rev. the Lord Bishop of London : on the state of the Anglican Congregations in Germany

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LETTER

TO THE RIGHT HON. AND REV. THE

LORD BISHOP OF LONDON,

ON THE STATE OF THE

ANGLICAN CONGREGATIONS

IN GERMANY.

BY THE

REV. JOHN HAMILTON GRAY, M.A.

OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD,
VICAR OF nOLSOVER AND SCARCL1FF.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON,

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD,
AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL.

1S43.

LONDON :

GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.

A LETTER,

MY LORD,

THE peculiar opportunities which I have long en-
joyed of acquaintance with very influential Germans,
and the fact that I have recently been eye witness of
the evils to which it is the object of this Letter to
suggest a remedy, will, I trust, in some measure
justify me in venturing to address your Lordship. —
Indeed, the subject of the following remarks is of
more especial interest at a time like the present,
when there is among us an increasing desire for in-
tercourse with other branches of the Christian
Church, and when pious and earnest minds seem
influenced by a feeling of necessity to seek for an
extension of Catholic communion. And this interest
is heightened, since the prospect of a nearer con-
nexion between us and the principal division of
German Protestantism, the United Lutheran and
Reformed Establishment of Prussia, has of late

A 2

gladdened the hearts of some, while it has afforded
matter of exciting speculation to many.

However little immediate prospect there may be of
any such consummation, which is deprecated equally
by the extremes of party in England and in Prussia,
the fact that such a connexion has been contemplated,
and is regarded as possible and desirable by some
influential persons in both countries, has made our
church an object of intense interest in the eyes of
German Protestants. The feeling, it is true, with
which they regard us is that of jealousy. They will
not admit that they are in want of any thing which
we can give them. And they are extremely sus-
picious, lest, contrary to their wishes, an apostolical
gift should be imparted to them ; a gift, from which
their inability to appreciate it, proves that in their
present state of mind, at least, they could derive no
benefit. It is indeed to be hoped that this very
opposition to Anglican Catholicity, which has been
so strongly brought out within the last eighteen
months by the proposed partial connexion in the
Levant between the Church of England and the
Lutherans, may be the dawn of better things for the
Church of Prussia. Because, where there is a
strong opposition to any measure, the subject is
debated, the conflicting arguments are weighed, and
from the collision of opinion the truth in the end
remains victorious.

Thus, had the Protestants of Germany continued
to regard the Anglican Church as a distant object, with

which there was no prospect of collision either for good
or for evil, their long engendered habit of apathy and
indifference to much that we consider Catholic and
Apostolic, might yet have endured for years to come.
They might still have considered our Church in the
light of a mighty state establishment, a powerful po-
litical engine, a convenient provision for the sons and
favourites of great families, a wealthy harvest field,
where a golden crop was to be reaped, not of souls to
the Lord of the Harvest, but of guineas to the purse
of a Right Reverend political jobber, or Reverend
foxhunter. There can be little doubt that such was
the very prejudiced idea entertained of us in general
by the majority of the German clergy. The more
learned of them could not indeed but know that
giants had existed in every age of the English
Church. But the intercourse which had been
maintained in modern times between them and
England was with Protestant Dissenters, with whom
lay their sympathies, and from whom they derived
their idea of our position.

But now this rich, luxurious, and secular Church is
brought before them in a new light, as the earnest
and anxious assertor of orthodox truth, the refuter
of error, whether Romish, Puritanical, or Rational-
istic, and the zealous extender of Catholic apos-
tolicity. In this character is the Church of England
of the present day, forced, as it were, upon the
notice of Germany. Yet this character, though
asserted with an appeal to truth which must stagger

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a gainsay er, is, nevertheless, vehemently disputed.
And we may with confidence expect that the at-
tempt to refute the truth will, in God's own good
time, have the effect more fully to elicit it.

Thus I venture to predict, that, however unpro-
mising the appearance of a Catholic reaction in
Germany may be, the day is not far distant when
this great movement will spring forth from the only
real and enduring source, an inward consciousness of
necessity, a feeling of want, which will then cause
that to be craved as a boon, which would now be
rejected as an insult. It is not the arm of a King,
however pious and powerful, nor yet the consecra-
tion of a Bishop, however apostolic and venerable,
that will bring this to pass. It is the arm of the King
of kings, it is the working of the Spirit imparted to
his Church by the Bishop of souls, which will thus
change the hearts and sway the minds of the Ger-
man people. And this most blessed consummation
will probably arrive more quickly than, judging from
mere human probabilities, we have reason to hope.
It might be difficult to point out the quarter from
whence a general Catholic reaction in Prussia was
likely to come. But that it will come, we may rest
assured ; and that too, mainly through the agency of
the Anglican Church. Not indeed by immediately
sending forth a Hierarchy to supply that which to
our eye is manifestly wanting, or to complete that
which is glaringly defective. But by demonstrating
by words of argument and power, and deeds of holi-

ness and Jove, the rightful authority of our system ;
by leading the Germans to turn their minds to these
unaccustomed subjects ; by placing before them
the example of Catholic truth, and Apostolic zeal,
and by holding out to them the arms of brotherly
affection1.

While the Church of England is thus regarded
with intense interest by Protestants, she is no less
narrowly watched by Roman Catholics, who, indeed,
profess to hail her as rapidly approximating to a
union with Rome; though they really behold with
dread that spirit which reminds her of her glorious
privileges, and impels her to act according to a right
view of her peculiar position. In the many oppor-

1 We have, perhaps, little idea of the jealous irritability with
which our expressions are sometimes misconstrued by the Ger-
mans. For instance, the sentence which appeared in the admir-
able document published by authority, on the subject of the
Jerusalem Bishopric, in which it is said ; " We may reasonably
hope that it may lead the way to an essential unity of discipline,
as well as of doctrine, between our own Church and the less
perfectly constituted Churches of Europe," has excited the
strongest feelings of opposition. These words have been sup-
posed to convey much more than was really intended, and to
express a censure on the doctrines, as well as the discipline of the
Church of Prussia. This misapprehension has been in some
measure removed by the recent ordinance of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, which has been made public in Prussia, authorizing
the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem to ordain any approved Ger-
man candidate for orders, who has subscribed the Augsburg Con-
fession and the three Creeds, and to admit him to minister, under
his jurisdiction, to a German congregation.

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tunities which I have had of late years, of mixing in
the soqiety of very distinguished members, both lay
and clerical, of the Church of Rome, I have been
greatly struck by their altered tone towards the
Church of England. They seem scarcely so much to
expect or to desire the conversion of individuals, as
the accomplishment of a union with her as a body.
They diminish as much as possible the immense
differences which distinguish us from themselves,
glossing over the points which are at issue between
us, and professing to cherish the hope of a better
understanding. When hard pressed, however, the
truth will out. It is to be a union all on their own
terms. Whatever appearances there may be of
sympathy at the present time, between a portion of
our clergy and the Romish Church, are exaggerated,
and caught at as realities. The number of those
said to be so predisposed in favour of Rome is increased
an hundredfold. All those who stand up for the
integrity of the Church of England against Protes-
tant schism, are enlisted among the favourers of
Romanism. While inferences most untrue are drawn
from gross misstatements, and conclusions from con-
tradictory premises.

As an instance how things the most adverse are
often misconstrued by Romanists according to their
wishes, I may mention to your Lordship a circum-
stance, though in itself trivial, which happened very
lately within my own observation. An Archbishop
and Patriarch of the Church of Rome, with whom I

then had the honour of daily intercourse, mentioned
to me with uncommon satisfaction, the important
and valuable aid which was expected from the Bishop
of Oxford in bringing about the reunion of the
Church of England with that of Rome; and he
pointed out as the ground of this expectation, certain
extracts from his lordship's late charge in the news-
paper called the "Univers," and which had been
artfully put together so as to present a somewhat
startling appearance. Fortunately, I was able to
give to the Patriarch a copy of the charge itself; and
the perusal of it filled him with dismay. For he
declared that he had never read so decided, and, as
he thought, violently unjust an attack upon his
Church. And though himself the most amiable and
benignant of men, he immediately sent me a letter
couched in extremely strong terms, with a view to
vindicate his Church from the Bishop's censures.

It is not too much to say, that the Church of Eng-
land is at this moment placed, as it were, upon a
pedestal, as an object of prominent observation, and
is regarded with interest, curiosity, and respect, by
the whole Christian world ; by some, with affection
and hope, while, by others, with dislike and dread.
But the affection and hope are increasing, the more
the pious and earnest-minded portion of Protestants
consider her claims and observe her practical work-
ing; and the more the Christianly liberal portion of
Romanists compare her doctrines and discipline with

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what their own true tradition informs them was the
faith of their forefathers in early days. The dislike
and dread may, on the other hand, be said also to be
on the increase; for the more clearly truth is set
before the hardened in error, the more intense will
their opposition become : and while many are gained
over by its influence, some will be led away to still
more violent extremes.

A reflecting mind that is acquainted with the claims
of the Anglican Church, and is persuaded of her zeal
to vindicate them for the glory of God, and that has, at
the same time, had opportunity to observe the actual
condition both of Popery and Protestantism in Ger-
many, must feel that she has indeed a mission of
immense importance to fulfil in that country. A
mission which, if wisely and strenuously fulfilled,
may produce the most important results, immediately
among Protestants, and mediately among Roman
Catholics. The Protestants are now inquiring, with
a spirit of hostility, it may be, but still they are
inquiring, and are therefore no longer indifferent.
And the result will be, that ere long they will be
led to seek from us that which is wanting among
themselves. And the more candid members of the
Church of Rome, when they see that want supplied,
and a great error rectified among so influential a
portion of their countrymen, may be gradually led to
merge the distinction of Romanist in a general
Catholicity. Thus it is not too much to indulge the

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hope, that, with God's blessing, the apostolicity of
Protestant Germany and the reformation of Ro-
manist Germany may, in after ages, be ascribed to
us as instruments.

It has seemed not altogether out of place to en-
large upon this matter, as prefatory to the more
immediate object of requesting your Lordship's at-
tention to the condition of the Anglican congrega-
tions in Germany. That our holy services should be
performed well and unto edification at all times, and
in all places, must be the heart's desire of every
pious Churchman. But if there ever was a time
when it was more especially to be desired that we
should appear on vantage ground, that time is the
present. And if there ever was a place, where, with
a view to our increased usefulness, it was necessary
that our zeal should be adorned with piety and
graced by wisdom, that place is Germany. Were
our congregations in that country no more in number
than one or two, they should be still carefully at-
tended to, and should be supplied with such pastors
as might not only be ensamples to their flocks, but
also favourable specimens of the clergy of our Church
before the eyes of the two great divisions of Western
Christendom, who are now busily scrutinizing all
our acts, and listening with anxious attention to all
our words. But the necessity for this is daily be-
coming greater, because the number of Anglican
congregations in Germany has of late much increased,
and is even now increasing. And this will probably

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go on progressively, from the number of our country-
men, who, unfortunately, from various causes, are
settling more or less permanently in almost every
considerable European city ; and perhaps with greater
advantage to themselves in those of Germany, than
in those of any other foreign country.

It will scarcely be disputed, that wherever we have
an ambassador or minister, there ought to be a regular
chaplain. And although this want has not yet been
fully supplied, our increasing sense of the expediency
of the measure promises a speedy remedy. In Dres-
den, a year ago, a large and influential English
society were in the habit of attending the ministry
of a Lutheran pastor, who read the English Service,
and preached in the English language for their pecu-
liar benefit. And, strange to say, an Anglican Bishop
and two Presbyters, who were domiciled at Dresden,
thought proper themselves to form a portion of the
flock. A singular irregularity, which would have
been prevented if there had been a chaplain attached
to the legation. This is, as we understand, now in
some measure remedied, by the presence of an offici-
ating English clergyman in that city ; though we
know not with what prospect of permanency. In
Berlin, which is certainly the city in Germany
where we have most reason to wish our Church to be
fully and efficiently represented, there is no Anglican
chaplain or clergyman whatever. And even were the
English there scarcely in sufficient numbers to form
a congregation, our legation at the Prussian court

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ought, for reasons too obvious to require explana-
tion, to be provided with an able chaplain, who
might exercise a conciliatory influence both with
the laity and the clergy, in a city which is the centre
of German philosophy and learning, and where the
king is an admirer of Anglican Institutions. Yet
even in Berlin, where there is proverbially no foreign
society, and where the only English house is that of
the minister ; a nobleman who very lately held that
situation there, surprised me by assuring me that
a chaplain was greatly needed, on account of many
of our countrymen settled there as operatives in the
employment of some long established English master
manufacturers.

In the following list, I do not pledge myself to an
exact enumeration of all the English congregations
which have been formed in Germany ; for as I have
lately seen large ones in places where I had been
previously unconscious of their existence, there may,
in like manner, now be some of which we in this
country are ignorant. But taking it for granted that
if there are not chaplains, there at least ought to be,
in every place where we have an ambassador or minis-
ter, let us thus reckon them ; Vienna, Berlin, Dres-
den, Munich, Stutgard, Carlsruhe, Hanover, Franc-
fort and Hamburgh. Besides these nine 2 principal
stations, there are several towns, (some of them con-

2 Carlsruhe is not, indeed, the seat of a separate legation, as
our minister at the court of Wirtemberg is also accredited to
that of Baden. But it is a town where there are respectable

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taining baths and mineral waters,) which have be-
come permanent abodes of many English families,
such as Manheim, Bonn, Coblenz, Ems, Baden Baden,
Heidelberg, and Wiesbaden. And there are some
baths very numerously attended during summer and
autumn, where service has been for a considerable
time regularly performed, such as Carlsbad and Kis~
singen ; and others where it ought to be performed,
such as Aix la Chapelle and Marienbad. In addition
to these, there are large cities containing many
English residents, such as Dantzig and Lubeck on
the coast of the Baltic, and Trieste on the Adriatic,
where, if congregations do not already exist, they
may probably soon be formed.

We may thus calculate the number of English
congregations in Germany, which either do actually
exist, or of which the existence may be considered
necessary, at not less than twenty-two, without cross-
ing the frontier either towards Switzerland or Holland.
Here then is a pastoral care in itself most import-
ant, but which the peculiar circumstances already ad-
verted to, render infinitely more so. A pastoral
care, which might almost rival in importance that
which has just been committed to the Bishop whom
we have sent to Malta and Gibraltar, and which
very greatly surpasses in immediate importance (in
so far at least, as relates to the number of the flock)
that which has been placed under the Anglican

English families resident, and through which many English are
constantly passing.

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Bishop in Palestine. Here is an important addition
to the already overwhelming cares of the Prelate
whom I have the honour to address, and whose life
has been an unwearied endeavour to bring piety and
energy to bear upon as great a load of responsibility
as ever pressed upon man, since the days of him,
who conscious indeed of infirmity, but also conscious
of the honest discharge of duty, exclaimed, " Besides
those things which are without, that which cometh
upon me daily, the care of all the Churches."

Let us inquire, what is the state of ecclesiastical
discipline among our congregations in that part of the
Continent, where it most of all behoves us to appear
with the full advantages of our system. Where there
is a regular chaplain attached to an embassy or consu-
late, the episcopal power is immediately felt and can
be enforced. But in other cases, (for anything that
exists in order to prevent such a scandal,) it is pos-
sible that a place selected as a residence by a num-
ber of pious, well educated, and distinguished En-
glishmen, may be inflicted with the ministry of a
most improper clergyman. One, for instance, who
has been deprived of his living or cure of souls for
some gross fault, or who has incurred the censure of
his ordinary for some great error in doctrine. Or
one, on the other hand, who is incompetent to fulfil
the ministerial functions decently and creditably,
from folly or defective judgment.

In either case, the ministrations of such a man
must bring our Church into disrepute among stran-

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gers, and even among our own countrymen, as soon
as they shall have discovered the character and quali-
fications of their pastor. It might be expected,
indeed, that the effect of this discovery would be
to withdraw from him countenance and support.
But this does not by any means follow. Having
arrived amidst a considerable colony of his country-
men, who have long been anxious to enjoy the
privileges of orderly worship and sacraments, and
being personally unknown for good or for evil,
he announces his clerical position, and finds ready
and probably uninquiring aid in collecting a congre-
gation. And having once acquired a footing and
made a party, the subsequent discovery of worth-
lessness and insufficiency will probably not remove
him. This may proceed from motives not altogether
the reverse of praiseworthy on the part of the con-
gregation. An unwillingness to listen to testimony
as to former misdeeds ; a disinclination to be again
deprived of the ordinances of worship ; add to these
the spirit of party, which never predominates more
any where than among the English residents in a
foreign town.

But it is not alone by a mere private performance
of our services that this deprived, or suspended, or
incompetent clergyman may lower the ministerial
office. He may assume the character of chaplain to
his countrymen, give formal notice of public wor-
ship, and make general contributions among them,
in order that he who ministers at the altar may live

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by the altar. Evil reports may be spread on good
authority, or his incompetency may be manifest.
The one is treated as vague rumour, and the other
as ill-natured censoriousness by the party who, having
taken him up, are resolved to carry him through his
troubles. Thus, the whole affair becomes an ex-
citing occupation to a number of unemployed En-
glish men in a second-rate continental town ; and
indeed, there are not wanting recent and melancholy
instances of the fierceness and violence which have
proceeded, under such circumstances, from disagree-
ments concerning the ministry of peace.

The English residents in a town where there is no
representative of our government, and no chaplain
paid by our government, have generally a very in-
distinct notion of the extent of episcopal superinten-
dence over such a congregation as I have supposed.
And at any rate, the prelate, under whose jurisdic-
tion they properly are, is at a distance, and may have
been misinformed ; or his opinion or sentence, if
expressed, may be wilfully misinterpreted. The
cry of hardship and persecution may be raised, and
sectarian motives may be mixed up with those of
party. In short, it may be difficult, or impossible, to
enforce the will of the Bishop in places where there
is neither ambassador nor consul, and where the
British government does not contribute to the pay-
ment of the clergyman. That a stubborn party,
when once fairly formed in a continental town, might
set your Lordship's authority at defiance, is rendered

B

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but too evident by the unhappy prevalence of schisms
among ourselves ; many of them arising from per-
sonal feelings, rather than from conscientious, but
mistaken considerations. The great object, there-
fore, ought to be, to begin from the first with so
strict a discipline as to render such a state of things
impossible.

I. In order to prevent a disreputable or incompe-
tent person from taking upon him to minister, either
privately or publicly, in a foreign land, a general
rule might be established in the Church, permitting
no clergyman to officiate in any way to a congrega-
tion of his countrymen abroad, without a testimonial
from the Bishop in whose diocese his living or cu-
racy is situated ; or if he have no actual cure of
souls, from the last Bishop under whom he has had
one. And in case he never has had a cure, but has
been ordained on a fellowship, he should have a testi-
monial from the president or warden of his college,
countersigned by the Diocesan of his University. A
necessity for this testimonial would impose no hard-
ship on a clergyman about to go abroad, as, to obtain
it previous to a departure for the continent, would
become a matter of course, even as it is to procure a
passport. And no one neglecting to do this should
be entitled to minister either publicly or privately to
his countrymen. It is true that compulsion could not
be used in order to enforce this rule, neither could
its infraction be visited easily with punishment. But
if such a rule were once established, a neglect to

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comply with it would stamp a clergyman with a
suspicious character, and render his ministrations
unwelcome to those of his countrymen who were
sound churchmen. For no one who desired to main-
tain the integrity of the Church of England, or who
valued the preservation of decent order in her wor-
ship, would attend the Service, if performed by a
clergyman who could not produce this document.

II. While a right to perform any ministerial act
whatever, would thus be denied to all who had not
a proper licence, the more formal discharge of the
sacred office ought to be protected by still stronger
securities. This might be accomplished by an enact-
ment, that no clergyman should be permitted to
assume, in a foreign country, the title of chaplain to
the English, or to have a committee, or to open a
subscription book, or to receive pecuniary remunera-
tion for his services, without having previously ob-
tained from your Lordship an express licence for the
particular scene of his ministry. This also is a regu-
lation which would have force only among the willing
and obedient. It might be impossible for the Dio-
cesan to maintain discipline in a foreign country. A
clergyman without licence might publicly minister,
and receive pecuniary compensation for his ministry,
and a number of Englishmen might give him counte-
nance and support. But even so, the Church cannot
exercise power to prevent violent acts of insubordi-
nation at home, since a rebellious clergyman may
place himself at the head of a secession, and many

B2

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thoughtless or evil disposed persons may join in his
schism 3. In the one case as well as in the other it
would be an act of schism, and the parties thus
offending would, by this act, be separating from the
communion of the Church.

But the authority of the Bishop's licence might be
protected by an additional security, besides that of
respect and influence. The government of foreign
states (we are speaking more particularly of Ger-
many) might be generally requested not to sanction
or permit the public performance of the Anglican
service by any one who is not authorised to do so by
your Lordship's licence. This is a measure which
they would perfectly understand, for it is similar to
those to which they are accustomed at home. And

3 Since these words were first written, they have been verified
by the grievous act of schism which is even now taking place in
the Church of Scotland, in the diocese of Edinburgh, where a
presbyter, in defiance of his Bishop, has become minister of a con-
gregation of Independents, and is said still to consider himself a
member of the Anglican Church. May not the Church of Scot-
land expect, and may not the Church of England respectfully
hope, that the highest authorities of the communion in which this
unhappy person was ordained as a minister, will take some method
of expressing their disapprobation of conduct which strikes at the
root of all ecclesiastical subordination ? We are surely called upon
to discourage schism, not only in our own, but in every orthodox
and regular branch of the Church of Christ. If the Scottish Church
is in full spiritual communion with that of England, a congrega-
tion that has wilfully separated itself from the former cannot be
in communion with the latter, and, consequently, both minister
and people are schismatics, and should be noted as such.

21

it is not proposed hereby to abridge the liberty which
every clergyman, who possessed the first mentioned
testimonial of his own diocesan, might enjoy, of per-
forming divine service privately in his own house to
his friends, or in their houses. It is only intended
in order to prevent any one, without the licence of
the Continental Diocesan, assuming the public office
of minister, collecting subscriptions, and making it
an object of interest and gain ; and moreover, to
enable the Bishop to put a stop to improper conduct,
by depriving the clergyman of his licence. Above
all, it is designed in order to prevent the possibility
of collision between clergymen and disputed juris-
diction ; each pastoral cure being almost as strictly
defined thereby as a cure at home ; and it being as
little competent for any one, without abandoning
sound church principles, to interfere with the minis-
try of a clergyman thus licensed, as it would be at
home to interrupt the pastoral functions of a regu-
larly appointed parochial minister.

Thus the obligation to produce a testimonial from
his own diocesan, would in all cases check an as-
sumption of the pastoral office by the unworthy, or
the grossly incompetent. While the necessity for
your Lordship's licence would prevent the possibility
of such collisions and disputes between clergymen,
as have been ere now unhappily witnessed. And at
the same time, it would add a degree of responsibility
and consistency to the position of a chaplain, favour-
able alike to the preservation of his influence among

22

his countrymen, and to the increase of his respecta-
bility among the people of a foreign country, and the
ministers of other communions, among whom his lot
may be cast. In a town where there is an English
resident or consul, and where the chaplain is paid by
the government, these objects are, or ought to be,
already attained. But in places where England is
not represented, and yet where Englishmen abound,
there is much room for irregularity. But the pro-
posed rule would place the Anglican chaplain, every
where abroad, as completely under Episcopal juris-
diction as it is possible for him to be, out of his
native country and its dependencies.

This subject has been more particularly suggested
by an instance of the full evil of the present irregu-
larity, which was very lately forced on my notice.
The names of the parties in question, as well as the
merits of the case, in so far as depends upon the
conduct and character of individuals, shall not be
given, as a full disclosure might not be agreeable to
all of them, and is wholly unnecessary. No remarks
will be made which can be justly considered offen-
sive. Only certain facts will be stated, in order to
show the evil consequences of want of discipline,
and how these consequences might have been ob-
viated, if some such plans as those suggested above
had been acted upon.

Within the last few years, the number of English
visitors at the baths of Carlsbad has very greatly
increased ; and three summers ago, a considerable

23

congregation was formed, who invited a clergyman to
minister to them, who had, at that time, no permanent
duty, but had been travelling in various parts of the
Continent, and came to Carlsbad, it is believed, on
account of his health. The Rev. Mr.. A. had of
course no testimonial, such as that which we have
suggested ; but he was received as a clergyman, it is
presumed, upon showing his letters of orders. The
service was permitted by the Austrian authorities,
as one of a strictly private nature ; but among the
English residents it was public, inasmuch as Mr. A.
had a collection-book, received pecuniary compen-
sation, and was in all respects considered as chaplain
to the English. At the commencement of the fol-
lowing summer, Mr. A. being still without any other
permanent clerical duties, returned to Carlsbad, and
again undertook our Church services. There were
several other clergymen of the English Church resi-
dent there during one or other portions of that
season, but they considered it due to Mr. A. to
regard him as the English chaplain, he having offi-
ciated in a former year, and having then already
recommenced the services, in which, however, they
afforded him very considerable assistance.

But with the commencement of this last season of
1842, unanimity ceased. During the spring another
clergyman, also of course unfurnished with any
testimonial such as that above suggested, Mr. B.,
an old man, who had been absent from England for
very many years, and had officiated in more than

24

one continental town, arrived at Carlsbad. He im-
mediately assumed the title of chaplain to the Eng-
lish, at the invitation of three individuals, who hap-
pened to be there thus early, hired a room, published
an advertisement, opened a subscription-book, and
commenced a pecuniary collection by application to
each successive new comer. After he had been
officiating for some time, just as the season of the
baths was beginning, Mr. A. arrived, with the inten-
tion of ministering again, as he had done during the
two preceding summers : but Mr. B. would not resign.
If the one pleaded prescription, the other pleaded
possession. And where neither party had a real
right, who was to decide ?

Here then, was a full display of the evil to which
the attention of your Lordship is now respectfully
called, in the hope that it may be remedied. Neither
Mr. A. nor Mr. B. possessed such a testimonial as
that which is here proposed, as a sine qua non in similar
cases. Their claim, therefore, to be received by their
countrymen as duly qualified by conduct and acquire-
ments to minister in sacred things, rested on what-
ever private means they had of proving a good
reputation. And neither Mr. A. nor Mr. B. pos-
sessed a licence from your Lordship, sanctioning their
performance of the office of chaplain at Carlsbad.
This would at once have settled the question and
ended the dispute. But as it was, the effects of this
want of discipline became a matter of surprise and
scandal to the clergy and laity of most European

25

countries and Christian denominations, who happened
to be assembled at Carlsbad — Episcopal Lutherans
from Sweden, bishops, professors, and civilians ; Ger-
man and Hungarian Lutherans, superintendents, pas-
tors, and people ; Greeks and Roman Catholics of all
ranks and degrees, patriarchs, bishops, priests, and
princes, were witnesses to our disunion, and made
our Church a by-word.

Mr. A., who, it is only due to him to say, acted in
the whole affair with great propriety and moderation,
would not for some time commence an opposition
service, in order to avoid the appearance of schism.
But many English arrived at Carlsbad, who, for
reasons which seemed satisfactory to themselves,
would have no ministerial intercourse whatever with
Mr. B., declining to attend his service, and refusing
to admit his claim to be chaplain to the English;
and some of these, moreover, had attended the minis-
try of Mr. A. during a former year. It was, there-
fore, at length judged expedient to have another
service, at which Mr. A. officiated, with the constant
assistance of several other English clergymen resident
at Carlsbad, and with a larger congregation than the
other. The Austrian authorities, however, regarded
this apparent schism with displeasure. And the Bur-
grave of Prague directed the Inspector of Police at
Carlsbad to use means to put a stop to the second
service. And, indeed, it was only owing to the
liberality and kindness of that functionary, to whom
the peculiar circumstances of the case were made

known, and who saw that the proscribed congrega-
tion was the more numerous and respectable of the
two, that the majority of the English were not alto-
gether deprived of the blessing of social worship.
For very many, at least, declared that they would
have found it quite impossible to attend the ministry
of Mr. B

Thus was exhibited on every Lord's day, the
melancholy spectacle of two rival congregations, who
crossed each other's path, instead of proceeding to
the house of God as friends. The evil which this
state of things produced, not only among our own
countrymen, but among the foreigners of various
communions, who held this English schism in deri-
sion, pressed with peculiar force on several of the
Anglican clergymen who were witnesses to it. And
they did all that, under the circumstances, appeared
to them to be possible. They addressed an official
letter to your Lordship, as Diocesan of the Continent,
stating the very disadvantageous position in which
the Church of England had been placed, their own
deep sorrow, and their fervent wish that a recurrence
of such scenes should be prevented. And, moreover,
they ventured to entreat that your Lordship would
take some effectual means to prevent, in future, any
similar scandal.

These details, although they relate to a small
number of our countrymen in a distant land, and to
an event which is past, and will soon be forgotten by
them, are not however of trivial importance. For it is

impossible to measure the extent of prejudice against
our Church, which this most unseemly rivalry and
contention about sacred things may have produced
in the minds of the eye-witnesses of it, belonging to
other communions, Greek, Lutheran, and Romanist.
And unless the proper Ecclesiastical authorities en-
force some such regulations as those which have been
suggested in these pages, or some regulations still more
effective, as shall seem best to their wisdom, it may be
impossible to prevent a frequent recurrence of such
disgraceful scenes. Indeed, to those who have been
much on the continent, the numerous disputes and
quarrels which have arisen concerning the perform-
ance of our services, have been a frequent cause of
mortification and shame, of busy gossip, or of irre-
verent sarcasm, according to the disposition of the
individuals. And most especially, our great and
increasing intercourse with Germany, our peculiar
position with respect to its most powerful Protestant
communion, and the great attention which every act
of ours excites, as well among Protestants as Roman
Catholics in that country, combine to give a peculiar
importance to all our measures in reference to it ;
and to demand that above all, in matters of religion,
every thing should be performed in the most edifying
and dignified manner.

III. These considerations, indeed, would seem to
render a further measure expedient, viz. that our
congregations in Germany should be placed under
some more immediate superintendence than that

12

28

which it is possible for your Lordship personally to
bestow. And this superintendence might be exer-
cised either by a Presbyter, who should possess no
jurisdiction beyond a delegated one, as your lordship's
commissary ; or by a clergyman episcopally conse-
crated, and having the English congregations in that
portion of the continent as his diocese.

I would crave your Lordship's indulgence, when I
attempt briefly to consider these alternatives, with
their advantages and objections.

It might be said, without entering into the merits
of the question, that there seemed a sort of Ecclesi-
astical symmetry, (if one may use this expression) in
sending an Anglican Bishop to minister to our
countrymen sojourning in a Protestant land, as we
have already supplied the wants of the English re-
sidents in the Roman Catholic countries of the south
of Europe, by bestowing a Bishop upon them. This
would be a practical illustration in the eyes of Europe
of our position, the via media; and it would be a dis-
tinct recognition of the necessity of guarding our
people against two opposite extremes of religious
error, and of providing for their continuance in a
right path with a right form, by furnishing them with
a full development of our Ecclesiastical system for
their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.

If it be objected against sending a Bishop to Ger-
many, that he would have no district for his diocese,
it may be replied that this was the position of the
Apostles themselves. Though it is doubtless true

29

that, from the necessity of the case, they were in the
strictest sense missionary bishops, their diocese being
the widest extent of the world, into which they were
sent forth by our Saviour himself. And we have,
moreover, reason to believe that diocesan Bishops
were appointed as soon as the Church had advanced
to such a state of forwardness as to admit of it ;
witness the examples of Timothy in Ephesus, Titus
in Crete, and the angels of the Asiatic Churches.
Onr Church has also very lately sent a Bishop to the
Holy Land, who cannot be said, strictly speaking, to
have a district for his diocese. But Palestine being
a land emptied of its proper inhabitants, has been
and is, as it were, the common ground of Christen-
dom, where almost every great Christian communion
has a representative. And we have now only claimed
the privilege of a full development of our branch of
the Church, in a place where other Christian commu-
nions have been fully developed for ages.

A case perhaps still more in point, is the Bishop
whom we have lately sent to Gibraltar and Malta. For
though these seats of his Episcopate are stations
which form part of the territorial possessions of Great
Britain, his jurisdiction extends over congregations
widely scattered in lands inhabited by other branches
of the Christian Church. On the shores of the
Mediterranean there exists a national establishment,
which though greatly erring, is, strictly speaking,
more ecclesiastically regular than that of Germany;
and as we scruple not to send a Bishop to the former,

30

there is no reason why we should not send one to the
latter also.

It might be objected, that the appointment of a
Bishop for the continent recognizes an unnatural
state of society, of which the existence, to its actual
extent, is a serious evil, and of which the continu-
ance is to be deprecated, viz., a population existing,
and a generation arising, of Englishmen aliens to
England, and permanent inhabitants of lands differ-
ing in religious principles, moral feelings, and social
usages from their native country. This is at best a
grievance, and although it is one which may probably
continue, it may be deemed questionable whether it
ought further to be sanctioned by any solemn act of
the Church or legislature. Yet, on the other hand,
it may reasonably be urged that the most ample
pastoral superintendence is nowhere more truly re-
quired than by the youth of a half English, half
foreign population, deprived of many of the natural
feelings of Englishmen, without being able to iden-
tify themselves with those of the people among whom
they sojourn ; and thus in danger of losing the best
points of the English character, without the possi-
bility of gaining an honest nationality elsewhere in
exchange.

It may be urged against the appointment of a
Bishop, that it has already been tried in the case
of France ; aud that the result can scarcely be
regarded as satisfactory. But this trial cannot be
considered a fair one, from the peculiarity of the

31

circumstances, and the embarrassed nature of the
Episcopal jurisdiction. For, although the clergyman
who exercises the functions of chaplain to the British
Ambassador at Paris, has received episcopal consecra-
tion from our daughter Church in Scotland, he was
in our Church nothing more than a Presbyter, and
he has, or had, no jurisdiction whatever over the
Anglican clergy in France or anywhere else, except
such as your Lordship may have thought proper to
delegate to him as your commissary : which authority
might as well have been delegated to him, had he
remained in the position of a Presbyter. This trial
therefore, of an Englishman of the episcopal order,
residing on the continent, cannot properly be ad-
duced as a case in point, on account of the ano-
malous position of him who holds the Episcopate,
belonging, as he does, to another Church, and any
jurisdiction which he may ever have had, being dis-
tinct and separate therefrom.

Another objection to the appointment of a Bishop
seems to be, that it would be sending out a clergy-
man of the highest order, without at the same time
securing to him a permanent field of exertion. The
present lengthened peace may be succeeded by a
general European war, in which, above all other
countries, Germany, the centre of Europe, is sure to
be engaged ; and in such a case, the objects of the
Bishop's pastoral care would be scattered, and his
office would be rendered superfluous.

But the principal ground of inexpediency which

might be brought forward against the appointment of
a Bishop to Germany, seems to me to result rather
from the circumstances of the present time, than
from any permanent objection. I have already re-
marked, that the Church of England is regarded by
the people of Germany with an intense and jealous
interest. The Protestants of that country would
consider this measure as the second step in an ag-
gressive course, of which many of them look upon
the Jerusalem Bishopric as the commencement ; and
which has for its imagined object the subjugation of
the religious nationality of Germany to that of Eng-
land. And thus their opposition to Episcopacy, and
consequently their unfitness to derive benefit from it,
would be increased, and the period of their receiving
it, which is, as we trust, after all, not very remote,
would be postponed. This jealousy would be felt in
an equal, if not greater degree, by the Roman Ca-
tholics ; though of them indeed we need not make
the same account, as we can have no reasonable
hope of their ever meeting us even half way in inter-
communion. Yet they too may be affected, though
not perhaps immediately, by the conduct of their
Protestant countrymen. For their reformation might
be proportionably deferred by any thing which would
retard a joyful and ready adoption of more regular
Church government on the part of the German
Protestants ; as we have already remarked, that the
abandonment of error by Protestants, and their re-
turn to primitive order, is more likely than any-

33

thing else, to win over German Romanists from the
abuses of Popery.

Such seem to be some of the objections existing
against the appointment of a Clergyman of the epis-
copal order to oversee the clergy and the congrega-
tions of our Church in Germany. Your Lordship
will observe that they are to a certain extent counter-
balanced by advantages ; and that in themselves they
are, so to speak, provisorial, and depending on cir-
cumstances, and not on principles. And indeed it
is probable that so much weight would not have
been here assigned to them, were it not for the hope
that the time is not very distant, when an increase
to the number of our Bishops at home, will enable
episcopal superintendence to be extended to the
stragglers of our flock abroad, without any absolute
necessity for the residence of an Anglican Bishop in
foreign lands, beyond the colonies and dependencies
of England.

It seems to be becoming a matter of general
admission among members of our Church, that the
number of our Bishops requires to be considerably
increased, and that the appointment of Suffragans
would be an expedient measure. And in the event
of any such alteration, the immense and daily in-
creasing diocese of London will be among the first to
claim this aid. And it might come properly within
the province of such a Suffragan, from time to time, to
visit, confirm, and settle the English population in
different countries out of England, which had no local

C

34

Bishops set over them. Provided always, that the
prolonged peace of the continent admitted of such
continued colonization. And otherwise, there would
be still less occasion for the residence of a local Bishop
than for the superintending visits of a Suffragan.

It would seem that none of these objections, if
indeed their validity as conclusive objections be ad-
mitted, apply to the other of the two above men-
tioned alternatives, viz. the superintendence of the
Anglican congregations in Germany by a presbyter,
who should possess no jurisdiction beyond one dele-
gated to him by your Lordship as your commissary.
Difficulties it may be apprehended there would be,
in the way of the appointment of a Bishop, arising
indeed rather from circumstances than from the real
rights of the matter. But still, in the face of these,
it may be that the other alternative, if not so truly
answering to the wants of the Church, is at least
more practicable and simple.

A title of some sort the episcopal commissary
ought to have. And that of Archdeacon would be a
sufficient distinction to ensure respect, as well from
the clergy and laity of our own Church, as from those
of other communions : while at the same time, it is
one which might without difficulty be laid aside, did
political or other causes interrupt the continuance
of English congregations in Germany. While this
appointment could not cause either to Protestants,
or to Romanists, any reasonable jealousy, it would
inspire them with additional respect for the principle

7

35

of good order, which they would thus see carried out
into the more remote ramifications of our Church.
And thus, the more urgent wants of the Anglican
congregations would be supplied; for the Arch-
deacon would be in constant communication with
your Lordship. And the degree of authority with
which he would be invested, might be most benefi-
cially exerted in keeping up decency and good order
in the congregations, in enquiring into the previous
character of the chaplains, and watching over their
conduct ; in communicating with the local authorities
in any case of dispute or misunderstanding, in de-
ciding upon any point of disagreement between the
clergy and people, and in preventing any unseemly
collision between the clergy themselves. In short,
to return to the painful instance already cited, it is
conceived that such an appointment as that now
suggested, might operate beneficially in preventing
the recurrence of any such discreditable scene as that
which was displayed last summer at Carlsbad.

If it is admitted that this appointment would be
beneficial, there could be no insuperable difficulty in
carrying it into effect. Its expense need not be great,
even were that a right consideration in a matter of ac-
knowledged spiritual usefulness, admitting the present
to be such a case. Indeed, economy might be one
reason, although a very inadequate one, why an Arch-
deacon should be preferred in Germany to a Bishop.
A few hundreds per annum would suffice, in order to

c2

36

defray his frequent correspondence, and his occasional
visits to the different English congregations. It is
not even apprehended that his constant residence
on the continent would be necessary. He might
make his visitations once in the year, or once in two
years, as occasion required ; and travelling is now so
rapid and easy, that on any particular business he
might make a journey on purpose.

It is also deserving of consideration, that the ap-
pointment of an Archdeacon would not require a
previous application to parliament. It is conceived
that nothing more is requisite, than that your Lord-
ship should appoint a commissary to visit the foreign
stations, and that all other Bishops should agree not to
license or institute to curacies or livings within their
respective dioceses, clergymen who have held the
position of continental chaplains, without a testimo-
nial countersigned by the commissary.

In conclusion, it is humbly and most respectfully
entreated, that some consideration should be given
to the three important points which have been ad-
verted to in this letter.

1st. The necessity that every clergyman who
ministers to his countrymen in Germany, or indeed
in any part of the continent of Europe, should be
furnished with an express testimonial or licence, from
the Bishop of his own diocese, or from the Bishop
in whose diocese he has been most recently
settled.

37

2d. That in those parts of the continent of
Europe which have not already been placed under
the jurisdiction of an Anglican Bishop, (as has re-
cently been effected in Gibraltar, Malta, and the
shores of the Mediterranean,) no clergyman shall
take it upon him to minister publicly to the English
as their chaplain, to open a subscription book, or to
collect pecuniary remuneration for his services, with-
out an express licence to do so from the Bishop of
London.

3d. That some ecclesiastical superintendence should
be appointed to watch over the spiritual interests of
Anglicans in certain districts of the continent of
Europe, where they are numerously settled, as, for
instance, in Germany ; and that the proposed super-
intendent should be invested with power to act as
the Bishop of London's commissary, and that he
should have the title of Archdeacon.

It now remains for me to express the humble and
earnest hope, that your Lordship will pardon me
for having presumed to address you on this subject.
My long and intimate acquaintance with the Ger-
mans, and my heart's cherished desire that they may
one day be brought within the influence of our aposto-
lical Church, will, I hope, in some measure, plead my
excuse. For it is certain that our success or failure
in the great mission which the providence of God
seems to have assigned to us, in relation to this

38

people, will be very materially affected by the degree
in which the system of our Church is brought before
their eyes as one of piety, dignity, and good order.

"Jl have the honour to be,

My Lord,

With the most sincere respect,
Your Lordship's obedient and obliged Servant,

JOHN HAMILTON GRAY.

BOLSOVER CASTLE,
Christmas-Eve, 1842.

THE END.

GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers^ St. John's Square, London.

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