cribed would be leaving to no man a security, either of interest or of or any reputation.] "Although we have no reason to complain that or deg sentiments in contrariety to these. prevail among us to any concording siderable extent," [i. e. no one but Bishop Jarvis has assumed ich he this power,]" yet we freely deliver our sentiments on this subby insta ject,in order to give us an opportunity of calling on all wise and good men, and we shall not call on them in vain, to aid us in resisting that mischievous spirit, which confounds right and wrong, in judging the character and rights of others. Signed by order of the House of Bishops in General Convention, at Baltimore, May 23d 1818. thing esent and ab e, to be his chur ch under ge of d L, THAT OID WEA Attested by WILLIAM WHITE, Presiding Bishop. JAMES WHITEHEAD, Secretary." Thus the papers issued against me, by Bishop Jarvis, are WHOLLY REVOKED AND DECLARED VOID by the house of estrable Bishops, the highest ecclesiastical authority in the EpiscoP Jarvis pal church, in the United States. I am by them virtually deperson hclared a clergyman of good standing in the Episcopal church, man sik and the conduct of bishop Jarvis, in regard to me, is reprobated in language of great justice and severity. I by the eventh State of Connecticut, ss.--Tolland Co. Hebron, June, 25, 1818. We, the undersigned, hereby certify, that we have this day degradat carefully examined and compared an extract of the minutes of the louse of Bishops, in Baltimore, in the state of Maryland, on the 20th day of May, 1808, which is in body, in signa ch, to ave into rry eighty are end Whitehead, D. D. their secretary-that on the aforesaid care, and fro ture, and duty, attested in the hand writing of the Rev. James draw. ful examination and comparison with the printed journal of of indif the said House of Bishops, there are material additions, establish t which Da secun Ause than be l гп declar hearing of omissions and alterations in the said printed journal, all to the particular disadvantage of the Rev. Ammi Rogers, viz. the word this, page 22, line 14, is altered to their determination, and in the next line, the word properly is omitted. In the 23d line of the same page the word censure is altered into sentence, and in the next line the word now is omitted, and the words or attention are added, &c. entirely altering the Cortified by Andrew Mann Justice of Renee Is it no crime to forge and alter the journal of the House of Bishops, and to represent them as saying and doing that to my particular disadvantage which they never did say or do is there no crime in this? Are the Episcopal clergy calling upon all people to assist them in sanctioning these nefarious doings? and can you support them in doing it. without being as bad as they are? Do you ask, who has done this abominable thing? turn to the journal of the general connection in 1808 and you will see who, were the committee for printing the said journal, and they were my particular enemies. Do you ask, why have the bishop and clergy of Connecticut persecuted me, and refused me a seat in their convention? I answer, because they knew assuredly that I would bring these things up against them. To take from me my certificate, the evidence of my innocence, without my knowledge; to misrepresent and falsify the truth, and induce the House of Bishops, in 1804, to do the same; and in 1808 to forge and alter their journal, is certainly worse than for Mr. Davis to forge the truth to contradict a falsehood. See page 19. In the year 1813 I removed from Saybrook and was employed to perform ministerial duties in St. Peter's church in Hebron, in Tolland county, one part of the time. I also collected a congregation, and was employed to preach a part of the time in Jewitt City, a handsome village, which was then a part of the town of Preston, and near Lisbon, but is now a part of the town of Griswold, in New London county. The next year I was employed to preach a part of the time in Poquatanic, which is a handsome village on a bay on the east side of the river Thames, ten miles from New-London, on the line between the towns of Groton and Preston. In these parishes, and in some other towns in that part of the state, religion and the Episcopal church were blessed and prospered exceedingly under my ministry. The congrega tions were large, attentive, united, and I believe were happy. The reader is desired to read a letter on this subiect from the ne Har al cle doing who of the g e the c re my p and e a seat Wassure -To cence, e truth same; tainly w a falseho nd was -'s churc me. to pread llage, wi Lisbon, don cour of the ti bay on Few-Lood Preston part of blessed ported many false and foolish stories, and represented me as silenced and degraded, the pastoral letter of the House of Bishops, and the decisions of our courts of law to the contrary nothwithstanding. The Rev. Mr. Burhans, the Episcopal minister in Newtown, furnished Elder Amos Reed, near Jewitt City, with Jarvis's papers against me, and endeavoured to embark the Baptists in the controversy. Many of the clergy in the western part of the state, for reasons unknown. to me, had determined to carry Jarvis's doings against me into effect; and my opposition to them naturally excited their opposition to me. CHAPTER VI. BISHOP HOBART IN CONNECTICUT, &c. In the year 1816, Bishop Hobart of New-York, was requested by the convention of the Episcopal church in Connecticut, to take charge of their churches, for the present, and to perform Episcopal duties in the state; with this request he complied; and soon after the Rev. Mr. Blakeslee of NewLondon, and the Rev. Mr. Tyler of Norwich, addressed to him the following letter, viz. RIGHT REVEREND SIR, New-London, Oct. 10th, 1816. We deem it a duty which we owe to ourselves and to the church, but more especially to the Bishop, to express our sense of the obligation he has conferred in extending his care to the interest and welfare of the church in this diocess. We should be pleased to attend the convention at New-Haven, with our brethren, if it were practicable, and testify our acle congre knowledgments, and welcome the bishop; but we hope and were ha trust our absence will not be construed into a want of respect, or prevent the Bishop from visiting our churches as early as may be. Our people are looking with anxiety for the ject from 5 Hobart and we certauly feel as much anxiety for the church as our western brethren. And while we deem it our duty thu to apologize for our absence, we wish respectfully to sugges our feelings on a subject, in which, from our local situation, w may be supposed to feel a peculiar interest. We are located in the neighborhood of Mr. Rogers, whose standing is not, wo presume, unknown to the Bishop. To dictate any mode of proceeding, is far from our intention; but we beg leave to suggest whether something cannot be done that may conciliate the feelings, and produce that unity which is so desirable. and we may say, so absolutely necessary, to the prosperity of the Episcopal church. Mr. Rogers has several churches in our neighbourhood, entirely built up (under the care of superinter.ding Providence) by his own exertions, under all the opposing difficulties which attend him. His parishoners and many other gentlemen, as well clergy as laity, seem to doubt the constitutionality of his trial, [he never had a trial] and the correctness of the sentence of degradation which is said to lie against him; of course the decree has not been regarded by great bodies of people. He is now performing the stated duties of a presbyter in the Episcopal church. His friends say (and we believe with strict propriety, so far as respects the churches in our neighbourhood.) that Mr. Rogers has been exemplary in his conduct, zealous in the discharge of his duty, correct in his doctrines, persevering in the cause of the church; and they most devoutly request that the bishop would advise some method, either by trial or reconciliation, by strict constitutional discipline, or by an indulgence, founded on a wish to conciliate, and a charity which inclines to mercy, where the technical rules of legal administration will permit. And, sir, when we view this unhappy misunderstanding in all its bearings, we cannot but feel a wish that the bishop would, in his wisdom, (for we are satisfied with his zeal for the promotion of the blessed Episcopal church,) devise some method by which this unhappy division may be healed, and the peace, honour and welfare of that communion to which we belong, be preserved and con The nex cree he is now e Epis trict p hbourh luct, ze trines, f ost der od, eithe discipl , andad I rules d we vier e canno (for we lessed E his unta d well ed and h be depre respect and dutiful submission to the direction of our ordina- JOHN TYLER, Rector of Christ's Church, Norwich. Rector of St. James' Church, New-London. I attended the convention of the Episcopal church in New- RIGHT REV, SIR, New-Haven. Oct. 15th, 1816. After what has passed, with how much reason I can apply to the goodness of your disposition, to your justice, to your mercy, or to the charity of the disciple of him who hath said, "condemn not and ye shall not be condemned," the result of this communication will in some measure evince. It was twenty-four years on the 24th day of last June, since I was ordained a DEACON, and it will be twenty-two years on the 19th day of this present month, since I was ordained a PRIEST. And in entering this holy and all-important MINISTRY, I did then, and do now, humbly trust and believe that I was inwardly moved by that ever blessed Spirit of God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed; that I was truly called according to the will of God and the canons of the Episcopal church; and I have, as God has enabled me, endeavoured with all faithfulness rightly and truly to administer the doctrines and sacraments of the church of God, and to make myself a wholesome example to the flock of Christ. I have administered, during my ministry, about three thousand baptisms to men, women, and children. I have, upon their credible profession of faith and repentance, and an assurance of their earnest intention, by God's grace, to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways, admitted to the holy communion more than five hundred persons, and administered to them the blessed sacrament of the Lord's supper. [I have administered the sacrament of the Lord's supper to more than eleven hundred different persons.] I have joined have 1 |