CHURCH CONGRESS

Church Congress: translation

   An organization of the Clergy and Laity in the American Church having for its object the general discussion of living questions of the day and the application of Revealed Truth to the needs of our modern life. It was organized in 1874 on the model of the English Church Congress which, no doubt, suggested such an organization for the Church in the United States. It is not a legislative body, but rather an "Open Court" for the free exchange of views. Meetings are held annually and an elaborate programme of subjects is prepared for each meeting, with appointed essayists and speakers, and volunteer speakers are permitted. The proceedings of each Congress are published in book form, of which the Rev. Dr. Wildes for so many years the General Secretary says, "The proceedings, addresses and speeches of the several sessions embodied in annual reports form a thesaurus of ripe learning, vigorous thought and eloquent utterance upon great questions of the times, of which the Episcopal Church may well be proud. To the student in Theology and its cognate topics, no less than to clergymen and thoughtful laymen, these volumes will be found most valuable."