LI SUGGESTIONS ON CHURCH LAW. CHAP. I. CHAPTER I. Churches to the THE American Revolution found the Church existing in all the colonies, but it was everywhere weak, and nowhere self-sustaining, unless in the cities of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, and in the states of Maryland and Virginia, in which states it was established by law. The Book of Common Prayer, to- Relations of the Colgether with the offices and articles of the Church of onial England, were, from the first, in use in the colonial churches; and thus the essential principles of the doc- Church of England, trine, discipline, and worship of the Church of England, were adopted by them. Recognizing in accordance with primitive order, and the principles of discipline thus adopted, the need of Episcopal oversight and service, the colonial churches from an early day, and down to the time of the Revolution, availed themselves voluntarily of the Episcopal supervision of the bishops of London, which was kindly given at their earnest request; and the informal Episcopate thus established, was the principal, if not the sole bond of union among these colonial churches. CHAP. I. The legal status of these churches, excepting as modified in some of the colonies by civil enactments, was according to the decisions of the English courts, that of entire independence. In the case of Long vs. The Bishop of Capetown, I Moore, N. S. 411, the language of the Court is as follows: "The Church of England in the colonies which have an established Legislature, and no church established by law, is to be regarded in the light of a voluntary association, in the same situation with any other religious body, in no better, but in no worse position, and the members may adopt, as the members of any other communion may adopt, rules for enforcing discipline within their body, which will be binding on those who expressly or by implication have assented to them. It may be further laid down that, when any religious or other lawful association has not only agreed on the terms of its union, but has also constituted a tribunal to determine whether the rules of the association have been violated by any of its members or not, and what shall be the consequence of such violation, the decision of such tribunal will be binding, when it has acted within the scope of its authority, has observed such forms as the rules require, if any forms be prescribed, and if not, has proceeded in a manner consonant with the principles of justice. In such cases the tribunals so constituted are not in any sense courts; they derive no authority from the Crown; they have no power of their own to enforce their sentences; they must apply for that purpose to the courts established by law; and such courts will give effect to their decisions, as they give effect to the decisions of arbitrators, whose jurisdiction rests entirely upon the agreement of the parties." In re The Lord Bishop of Natal, 3 Moore N. S., page 152, the Court says: 'It cannot be said that any ecclesiastical tribunal or jurisdiction is required in any colony or settlement where there is no established Church; and in the case of a settled colony the Ecclesiastical Law of England cannot, for the same reason, be treated as part of the law which the settlers carried with them from the mother country.' If these decisions of the Privy Council be recognized as sound law, English Ecclesiastical Law could have been of no force in a colonial Church in this country, until adopted by it, and such adoption could only be by express enactment, or by general usage for so long a period of time as to ripen into law. See also, Bishop of Natal vs. Gladstone, L. R., 3 Equity Cases, before the Master of the Rolls, page I, Merriman vs. Williams L. R. 7 Appeal Cases, 509. Sir R. Phillemore's Ecclesiastical Law, page 2244. The fair construction of the authorities, both Eng. lish and American, shows that the essential points. of the doctrine, discipline, and worship, that is, the essential principles of the constitution of the Church of England, those that are not local, limited to this or that country, but universal wherever the Church. of England exists, those which the colonial churches in this country brought with them with the Book of CHAP. I. CHAP. I. Common Prayer, and from which the Church in this country has never departed, are binding upon the members of the Church of England in a colony, on the ground of their having assented to and adopted them, by becoming a branch of such Church. But so far as ecclesiastical law is concerned, as to which different localities may differ consistently with true loyalty to these essential principles, the members of the Church of England in a colony that has an established legislature and no established Church are, according to the English authorities, placed on the footing of voluntary religious societies, and may adopt their own rules precisely as may the members of any other religious body; and any tribunal of such colonial church, in the exercise of its authority, must proceed in accordance with such rules, or if no such rules have been adopted, then in a manner consonant with the principles of justice; and the civil courts will carry into effect the decisions of a tribunal so proceeding, if they shall be found to be consistent with the essential principles of the constitution of the Church. The colonial churches having, brought with them and voluntarily adopted the essential principles of the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Church of England, and thus preserved their continuity with that church and through it, with the Primitive Church, established from time to time such rules and usages as, in their judgment, were, in their circumstances, best suited for properly maintaining such doctrine, discipline, and worship. In establishing such rules, it has generally been sup CHAP. I. posed in this country, and such undoubtedly has been the current of American authority, although not fully acquiesced in, that the colonial churches respectively had the right, in analogy, to the principle of law universally recognized by the civil departments of the colonial governments and their courts of justice, to avail themselves of any of the laws of the English Church, that they Their should, from experience, find to be suited to their rights as to English needs, and should choose, therefore, to adopt; but Law. they do not seem to have availed themselves, to any considerable extent, of this privilege. In adopting the English Book of Common Prayer, with the articles of faith and offices, rites, and ceremonies connected therewith, its definitions and terminology, they recognized adopted the principle of a common liturgical public worship, by them. the three orders of the ministry, with their inherent spiritual prerogatives and relationships, and the essential principles, forms, and usages which together constitute the peculiar discipline of the Church of England, and are elements of continuity with the Primitive Church. The precise significance of the word "discipline" will be considered hereafter, when it will be seen that a difference of opinion, touching its meaning, has led to widely different conclusions as to the sources and scope of our ecclesiastical law. Such was the condition of the colonial churches at the date of the Declaration of Independence. They were in full accord with the Church of England, in all essential points of doctrine, discipline, and worship, and thus, while entirely independent of her, were substantially identified with her. What was |