"Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Thou madest room for it; and when it had taken root, it filled the land.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedar trees.

She stretched out her branches unto the sea, and her boughs unto the river."-PSALM LXXx, 8–11.

EARLY

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

IN

PENNSYLVANIA,

AND SOME OF THE ADJOINING STATES.

It has been well and truly said, in the Preface to our book of Common Prayer, that the Protestant Episcopal Church in these United States is indebted, under God, to the church of England, for her first foundation, and a long continuance of nursing care and protection. The remark is more immediately applicable to the venerable society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, established in England in the year 1701, under royal patronage, for the express purpose of disseminating the doctrines and worship of the Episcopal Church in the British colonies. The history of that society for the first seventy or eighty years of its operations, until the American revolution put a stop to its benevolent labours here, is the history of the establishment and progress of the church in this country. A large debt of gratitude is certainly due from us for their successful efforts. Nor can we forbear acknowledging the truth of a prediction made

more than a hundred years ago in reference to this subject, "that the principles implanted in the people then, would influence future generations; and though that age was greatly indebted to the society, their posterity would be exceedingly more so."* The same writer remarks of the Archbishop of Canterbury, through whose influence the royal charter was granted and this society established, that it "was an action suitable to Archbishop Tenison's public spirit and honest zeal for the protestant religion, and exceedingly becoming his high station and authority in the church. The American colonies sure," he adds, "can never without the greatest veneration and gratitude remember him, when they shall, many ages hereafter, feel the happy effects of having the christian religion planted among them, and reflect how hearty and forward Archbishop Tenison appeared, to obtain that charter which gave life and authority to so glorious an undertaking."+ Every Episcopalian will heartily respond to this sentiment, and bless God for having put it into the heart of so great and good a man to exert his influence in behalf of an institution, from which we derive such priceless privileges.

The following interesting account of the early introduction of the church into this and the neighbouring states, is taken from a work entitled "An account of the Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, established by the Royal Charter of King William III., with their proceedings and success, and

* Humphreys's Hist. of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, London, 1730, Preface, p. 4.

† Ibid. p. 13.

hopes of continual progress under the happy reign of her most excellent majesty QUEEN ANNE." "Printed by order of the Society, John Chamberlayne, Secretary." London, 1706.

This is a small quarto of about one hundred pages, No. 478, of the Philadelphia Library, and contains a very valuable history of the origin of the Society and its operations for the first four years. It is the most particular account I have yet seen, of the first efforts to plant the church in this country, by the venerable Society to which, under God, we owe so much.

Speaking of the condition of the Church in these colonies before the Society was organized, the author says,

"An order of King and Council is said to have been made to commit unto the bishops of London, for the time being, the care and pastoral charge of sending over ministers into our foreign plantations, and having the jurisdiction of them. But when the present Lord Bishop of London was advanced to that see in 1675, his lordship found this title so defective, that little or no good had come of it. For it being left to such as were concerned in those parts to provide for the transporting of such ministers as should be appointed or allowed by the bishop, there was so little done, that when his lordship inquired how the several colonies were provided, he found there were scarce four ministers of the church of England in all the vast tract of America, and not above one or two of them, at most, reg. ularly sent over. To supply this sad defect, his lordship made his proposals to several of those places to furnish them with chaplains, and had generally an encouragement from them so to do. And for the better effecting of it, his

lordship prevailed with his Majesty King Charles I. to allow to each minister, or school-master that should go over, the sum of twenty pounds for his passage, which royal bounty hath been ever since continued. And instructions were given to each governor, to admit none authoritatively to serve any cure of souls, or to teach school, but such only as brought over the bishop of London's license with them. And as a further great favour, it was ordered, that from that time, every minister should be one of the vestry of his respective parish. Upon this, they built churches generally within all their parishes in the Leeward Islands, and in Jamaica. And for the better ordering of them, his lordship prevailed with the King, to devolve all ecclesias. tical jurisdiction in those parts upon him and his successors, except what concerned inductions, marriages, probate of wills, and administrations, which was continued to the governors as profitable branches of their revenue. And for their better encouragement, his lordship procured from his majesty the royal gift of a fair bible, common prayer book, books of homilies, articles and canons, and tables of marriages, for each parish, to the value of about twelve hundred pounds. At that time, there was no church of England minister either in Pennsylvania, the Jerseys, New York, or New England; only the chaplain to the fort at New York officiated in those parts, till a church was opened at Boston; and soon after the people of Rhode Island built a church to the same purpose, and Colonel Fletcher, when Governor of New York, procured the assembly to set out six churches, with allowances from forty to sixty pounds a year, for the maintenance of ministers. And the better to accommodate the residing clergy, there was order given to several of the governors in the Islands, that as escheats should fall in any parish that was not provided of manse and glebe, some part of