might induce the convention at Philadelphia to make sucly large substractions from our liturgy, and the real propriety or impropriety of those substractions, at least so far that the latter need not be held forth as a ground of objection against the candidates for consecration, if in other respects the candidates themselves should be found unexceptionable, and should readily profess a sound and unequivocal belief in the fundamental articles of our faith; for this will surely justify their consecration before God and man; and more especially if they will previously engage and promise, that when they have received authority, they will not lay hands on any man except on the like Christian conditions, independent of all national forms and rituals of mere human authority, which cannot annul the necessity of maintaining an orthodox ministry in Christ's Episcopal Church, howsoever the governments under which they live, should think proper to model the public forms of worship for their respective jurisdictions. And therefore I beg leave humbly to submit to your grace, that if any notice is to be taken of the late rejection of creeds from the liturgy in your grace's intended answer to the American requisition, whether, instead of stating that measure as a just cause of refusal, it may not be more advisable to mention it rather as a just cause for your exhorting and giving them timely warning NOT to send over any candidates for consecration, but such as are known to profess a sound belief in the fundamental articles of the Christian faith? and more particularly in the scriptural doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and in the real personality and actual agency of the Holy Spirit as the Divine Comforter and Instructor to the end of the world? For these necessary articles of faith are not more perverted by the Socinians, than by a sect professing principles diametrically opposite to them, I mean the modern Mysticks, who assert that Christ is the only God; though the effect of these very opposite tenets is precisely the same, viz. that both sects are led to deny the personality of the Holy Spirit; and therefore, by what spirit they are so led, we may fairly judge by the fruits. Some Americans have lately adopted these strange notions, which is the reason of my mentioning them," &c. DEAR SIR, Letter to Dr. Franklin. Old Jewry, London, August 19, 1786. Nothing could have been more truly acceptable to me than your excellency's obliging present of the new American Prayer Book; and the more especially as I had the happiness of finding that the convention have retained, in the litany and other prayers, as well as in the articles of religion, an ample testimony to the most essential doctrines of the Church of England, and that they have really proceeded upon the plan laid down by the king's commissioners in 1689, of whom my own grandfather, (afterwards Archbishop Sharp,) was one, who took a very active part in that business, though he is not mentioned in the preface of the new Prayer Book. This I discovered by a MS. account of my grandfather's life, much about the time that many vague reports were current here, of immoderate and unjustifiable changes made in the liturgy by the American convention; for the Socinians flattered themselves (through a mere mistake of Dr. Price, in a note which he had added to Dr. Rush's letter of October 25, 1785, as published in the newspapers) that the proceedings of the convention had been similar" to those of one Episcopal congregation at Boston, which adopted a liturgy-" formed after the manner of Dr. Clarke and Mr. Lindsey." These reports would have given me much more uneasiness, if the perusal of Dr. Smith's sermon, (preached before the convention) had not induced me to hope that the plan of the year 1689 would really be adopted by the convention as a model of proceeding; and I was well satisfied that the said plan was sufficiently orthodox, because I was confident, that if it had been otherwise, my grandfather would not have endeavoured to promote it. Nevertheless, the reports of Socinianism gave great offence to many worthy people here, and more especially to the bishops, who had been sincerely disposed to promote the Church of America, as declared in my former letters; but on hearing of the confident reports of the Socinians, they seemed to give up all hopes of being able to hold any communication with the convention. In this state of the business, I thought it my duty to explain in writing to our worthy primate, the archbishop of Canterbury, my reasons for hoping that the convention would be able to assign such a reasonable excuse for the changes they were reported to have made, as might be sufficient to remove that ground of objection against the candidates for consecration, if, in other respects, the candidates themselves were found unexceptionable. An extract from that letter I have enclosed for your excellency's perusal, dated February 17, last; and I earnestly entreated that the bishops here might, at least, be prepared with authority to dispense with the oaths in giving consecration, a point which I had also previously solicited in a letter dated September 13, 1785. As the convention transmitted no account of their transactions, when they wrote to the two archbishops, there was no sufficient evidence for a direct confutation of the reports respecting Socinianism; and therefore the great caution and reserve expressed in the joint answer of the archbishops, was unquestionably right and perfectly necessary, under such a state of uncertainty respecting Christian doctrine! The archbishop of Canterbury, with his usual condescension and politeness, was pleased to communicate to me, very lately, the contents of that letter, as also the proposed forms of testimonials which it enclosed: and howsoever these may be received by the convention, I am bound to acknowledge my hearty approbation of them, being thoroughly convinced that they were dictated by the most unaffected sincerity of heart, and (I may even say) apostolical concern for the promotion of the true Catholic Church in America. Nevertheless, the archbishops have not yet received any acknowledgment that their letter has reached America, except the short mention of it in your excellency's obliging letter to me. Had the gentlemen deputed by the convention to correspond with the archbishops, thought proper to send them a short general description of the new liturgy, with some account also of the plan upon which it was formed, they would have prevented the apprehensions and suspicions occasioned by the late reports about Socinianism, against which the liturgy itself bears ample testimony. I had hoped, however, that nothing would have been omitted therein, but the too frequent repetitions of our liturgy and that if more creeds than one had been considered as falling under the same head of correction, that, at least the Nicene Creed might have been appointed to be used instead of the common creed, on some particular festivals, as Christmas day, or Trinity Sunday, with a discretionary power in the minister to use occasionally the Athanasian Creed, as all these creeds may equally be proved by unquestionable testinonies of scripture. Nevertheless, the resolution expressed in the preface, that they do not mean to separate from the Church of England in principles, together with the unequivocal declarations still retained in the new liturgy, of the indispensable faith and worship due to the three divine persons (whose existence in the one divine nature or godhead is so clearly revealed in scripture, and into whose religious service we are equally enlisted by the baptismal profession and vows being made expressly in the names of all the three), must undoubtedly give sincere satisfaction to all true Christians, notwithstanding the omission of several other things which they would wish to have been also retained. And, therefore, from my confidence of the unexceptionable religious character of the English bishops in general (without waiting to hear their sentiments declared by themselves,) I may venture to repeat what I asserted in my former letters, that the bishops of England will be still sincerely inclined to promote the welfare of the Episcopal Churches in America, and to maintain an affectionate communication with them as sister Churches, provided that the gentlemen elected to be sent for consecration are really in themselves unexceptionable: and I have the satisfaction to inform your excellency, that the archbishops have already prepared themselves to comply with the requisition of the American Churches. by obtaining an act of parliament in the last session, to remove the former difficulty about the oaths, a copy of which is enclosed. The late accounts in the public papers, that the Episcopal Churches of Virginia and NewYork had elected candidates for the Episcopal office in their respective provinces, gave me very particular satisfaction, because I had understood from former accounts, that the General Convention had nominated the candidates; which would have been a dangerous precedent of infringement on the ancient rights of the clergy and people in each province respectively, to elect their own bishops; and I should have had still much more sincere satisfaction, if these two provinces had adopted the apostolical mode of electing two unexceptionable candidates for each see, whose acceptance should be determined by lot, as revived by the Spanish bishops in the council of Barcelona, (see my tract on Congregational Courts, p. 89, 90,) but perhaps, upon the whole, it may be more prudent to defer the decision of the lot, until three or four bishops are actually resident in America; who can then more effectually examine (as their apostolical duty requires) the qualifications and characters of the elected candidates, by calling upon the people, publicly, for information, whether any just exceptions are known, before the lot is cast, because even a legal exception would seem to be made too late, if discovered after the solemn appeal to divine Providence by lot and previous prayer; for in such a case there seems to be no alternative: nothing but an humble submission and reliance on the same Providence, for all the future consequences of the decision, whatever they may be; unless some subsequent misconduct should render the interference of the other bishops necessary. I send herewith a duplicate of my letter respecting a paper currency not liable to depreciation, which was sent by the Mediator, Captain Kennydy; and I remain with true respect and esteem, dear sir, Your excellency's most obliged, GRANVILLE SHARP. His Excellency Benjamin Franklin, Esq. No. 13. Page 124. An Act of the General Convention of Clerical and Lay Deputies of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the States of New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South-Carolina, held at Wilmington, in the State of Delaware, on Wednesday, the 11th of October, 1786. Whereas, at a General Convention of clerical and lay deputies of the Protestant Episcopal Church in sundry of the United States of America, viz. New-York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and SouthCarolina, holden at the city of Philadelphia, on the Tuesday before the feast of St. Michael, in the year of our Lord 1785, and divers subsequent days, it was agreed and declared, that "the Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, according to the use of the Church of England," should be continued to be used by this Church, as the same was altered by the said convention, in a certain instrument of writing, passed by their authority, entitled, "Alterations of the Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal |