in Berkshire, formed by the Rev. Mr. Searle; and the parish of St.John's Church, Worthington, constitute the present cure of Mr. Chase. In his cure, comprehend ing these last named parishes, he has baptized rising of a hundred persons; and, at stated times, administers the Holy Communion to about sixty-five. Notwithstanding the many difficulties incident to infant parishes in new settled countries, there is, under the smiles of a benignant Providence, much to cause the heart of a Christian to rejoice for the present, and to take courage for the future. A Bible and Prayer Book Society has been formed in Worthington and vicinity, of much promise; and a Female Tract Society, under the direction of the Rector of St. John's Church, is recently organized, and bids fair to be very useful. The constant accession to the number of communicants at the Altar, as well as the awakened attention of the congregations in general, to the necessity of Holy Baptism, and other ordinances of the Gospel, afford great cause for gratitude to the divine Head of the Church, for the operations of his grace, and prompt the ardent prayer for future blessings. P. CHASE. The Committee appointed to "Suggest measures for the Support of the Episcopate," made report; on which, Resolved, That this Convention do appoint a Committee consisting of gentlemen from dif. ferent parts of the state, who shall be earnestly requested, jointly or severally, to digest a plan or plans for the support of the Episcopate of this state, and to report at the next Convention. Whereupon the following persons were appointed; viz. the Rev. P. Chase, the Rev. R. Searle, Nathan Stone, and Arthur St. Clair, Esqrs. Cincinnati; Benjamin Gardiner, Esq. Columbus; James Kilbourn, and Chester Griswold, Esqrs. Worthing ton; John Matthews, Esq. and Dr. Conant, Zanesville; Solomon Griswold, Esq. Windsor; TurhandKirkland,Esq. Poland, Trumbull county. On motion, this Convention adjourned till to-morrow, 9 o'clock. January 7, 1818. The Convention met pursuant to ad-journment. After prayers being read by the Rev. P. Chase, the minutes of the Convention were read. Resolved, That this Convention view with lively emotions of pleasure, the flourishing, though infant state of our Church in Ohio; and that they earnestly recommend to the several parishes in the state, that each send at least one delegate to the next Convention, to meet at Worthington, on the first Monday of June next. Resolved, That the minutes of this Convention be referred to a Committee of three for correction and engrossing: and the same Committee shall then take steps for the printing and distribution of the same. The following gentlemen were ap pointed: The Rev. P. Chase, the Rev. K. Searle, and E. King. On motion, this Convention adjourned without day. Signed, PHILANDER CHASE. President of the Convention. DAVID PRINCE, Secretary. EDWARD KING, Assistant Secretary? CONSTITUTION. Art. 1. This Convention shall consist of the Bishop, Presbyters, and Deacons, and Lay Delegates of the Diocess of Ohio, in communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. If there be no Bishop for the time being, the oldest Presbyter present shall cause the Convention to be opened with prayers, and preside himself at the same. Art. 2. The Presbyters and Deacons of this Church, in order to be qualified for a seat in this Convention, must show that they have been regularly admitted, or settled as officiating ministers in some parish or congregation in this diocess or state, in communion with this Convention; or that they are employed as missionaries under the direction of this Convention or that they are the stated professors or teachers in some College, or incorporated Academy of learning, in this state. The Lay Delegates must show that they have been duly chosen or appointed by the Congregation or Vestry of the Church which they represent. Art. 3. The Bishop has power to call special Conventions, when, in his opinion, it is necessary for the good of the Church, or when applied to for that purpose by the Standing Committee; and, in case of a vacancy of the Episcopate, the Standing Committee, on urgent reasons, may call a special Convention. Art. 4. There shall be an annual Convention of the Church in this diocess or state, on the first Wednesday of June in every year, in the town of Worthington; the time and place, however, subject to be altered by the Convention, provided such alteration be on the minutes of the Convention, and due notice thereof given to the several parishes. Art. 5. At every annual Convention a Secretary shall be appointed to record all proceedings of the Convention, to preserve their Journals, and hand them to his successor; and give notice to the clergy and parishes of the meetings of the Convention. Art. 6. The Standing Committee of this diocess or state shall be chosen by the annual Convention; they shall consist of two or more Presbyters, and two Laymen. Art. 7. All officers of this Convention or diocess shall be elected by þallot, and a majority of the whole shall decide. In the choice of a Bishop, the Clergy and Laity shall vote separately: the Clergy individually, and the Laity by congrega tions; and a concurrence of a majority of each order, shall be necessary to constitute a decision. Art. 8. A proposition to alter this Con stitution shall be inadmissible, unless made in writing, and approved by two thirds of the Convention. If so made, and so approved, it shall lie over to the next Convention; and if again approved by the next Convention, by a majority of the two orders of Clergy and Laity, voting separately, the amendments shall take place, be valid, and obligatory. EASTER. THE day on which Easter falls in the present year having become a subject of considerable conversation and discussion, the following remarks may be useful. 1. The precise day on which Easter is observed, ought not to be deemed a matter of primary importance. The celebration of the event which the day commemorates with suitable reverence and devotion, is all that can be of real moment. For 2. There is no standard by which to determine the day on which the resurrection of Christ is to be commemorated, but ecclesiastical usage and institution; and for a long period, ecclesiastical usage in this point, differed in different places. The observation of the festival may, indeed, be traced to the apostolic age. But, for the three first centuries, the Eastern or Asi-. atic Churches, and the Western Churches, celebrated the festival on different days. Both considering that it was a feast corresponding to the Jewish Passover, Christ being the true Paschal Lamb, and also that he was crucified at the time of this Jewish festival, commemorated his resurrection about the same period. But the Eastern Churches observed Easter on the third day after the Passover, which was on the 14th day of the first month of the Jewish year, that is, the first moon after the vernal equinox, and thus frequently commemorated the resurrection on other days of the week than Sunday. The Western Churches, on the contrary, celebrated this festival on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover.* *The Eastern Churches celebrated, on the 14th day of the first Jewish month, what was called a paschai This difference in the observation of the day gave rise to great controversies, both parties pleading tradition in support of their respective days. 3. The council of Nice, in the year of our Lord 325, determined these contro versies by decreeing, that Easter should be celebrated on the Sunday next after the full moon happening upon or next after the it was supposed always would be, the vers 21st day of March, which then was, and nal equinox. Several principles appear to have go: verned in forming this rule. 1. That Eas ter was to be celebrated about the period der that the Christians should not symof the Jewish Passover; 2. and yet in or bolise with the Jews, that Easter should not be celebrated on the precise day of the Jewish Passover; 3. and that as the Christian Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week, or Sunday, in testimony of our Lord's resurrection, this event should be celebrated on that day. 4. The rule established by the council of Nice, is that by which all Churches are now governed in the observation of Easter. But in the application of this rule, difficulties arose and still exist. As the lunar year. and the solar year do not coincide; as, therefore, the first full moon after the 21st March is not always on the same day; as, from the difference between the civil year and the solar year, the vernal equinox did not always happen on the 21st March, but gradually anticipated that day; the time of observing Easter, which necessarily varied in different years, anticipated also, in several centuries, owing to the antici pation of the vernal equinox, the time de signed for its observance by the council of Nice. This deviation in the observ ance of Easter from the original institution, was in some measure corrected by the Gregorian calendar, which adapted, as nearly as possible, the civil to the true solar year. The method for the observance of Easter, founded on the rule of the council of Nice, was continued, subject to the corrections of this calendar. But this feast, in commemoration of the death of Christ; and method is not quite exact, nor can any practicable method be so, from the difficulty of making a true equation of time, or of adapting exactly the civil to the true solar year, and the civil and solar year to the lunar. Owing to this difficulty, the method for finding Easter laid down in the tables in the Book of Common Prayer, which are as accurate as is practicable, being founded on the Gregorian calendar, which is the notation of time now used, gives a day for Easter, which deviates from the rule established in the same Prayer Book. By this rule, as the first full moon after the 21st of March, happens on the 22d, which is Sunday, Easter-day is the Sunday after; but, according to the tables, Easter falls on the 22d. The tables being constructed on the correct principles of the Gregorian calendar, we adhere to the result which they give; and the deviation to which they lead from the rule is unavoidable. 5. Lastly, then, it may be observed, that all which is of importance is secured by observing Easter on the 22d of March in the present year. We commemorate the event; and we commemorate it on the same day with the great body of Christians who celebrate this festival-that is, with all the Western Churches; for it ought to be observed, that the Gregorian notation of time is not yet adopted in Russia. For the further satisfaction of our readers, we recommend to their perusal the following judicious articles which have appeared in the newspapers... From the Evening Post. Mr. Coleman, Your late correspondent, under the signature of "Conjecture," has given an ingenious but not correct explanation of the deviation this year from the strict rule of fixing Easter. The civil and ecclesiastical day are one and the same; the astronomical day does not enter into the account. The truth is, it is one of those minute deviations from the strictness of the principle, which is necessarily inherent in every practical rule, applied to so complex a subject as the regulation of the calendar. Macclesfield, president of the Royal Society, at the time of introducing the Gregorian style into England, says though the Gregorian method of finding the time of Easter be not quite " The rule for findingEaster was first adopted at the council of Nice, A. D. 325, in order to create uniformity in the time of two errors: First, in supposing their noholding it. In doing this, they fell into tation of time was so exact, that the vernal equinox would always fall, as it did that year, on the 21st March, which led them to put that date in their rule, instead of the vernal equinox. Secondly, in adopting the cycle of nineteen years, as the period of time in which the motions of the sun and moon passed through all junction: to this circle of years had been their variations, and met again in conaffixed by Meton, a succession of num. bers called the golden numbers, and upon his calculations they established the tables for finding Easter for the future. The consequence of the first error was, that the Julian calendar, on which they went, falling behind the real time 11 min. 5 sec. every year, in 400 years carried them backward more than three days; which error amounted in 1752, when the new style was introduced into England, to 11 days. The consequence of the second error was this: in 19 Julian years, the new moons would fall earlier than the calculation nearly one hour and a half, making an error of one day in 310 years. The inconvenience resulting from this erroneous calculation was so sensibly felt, that in 1582, under the patronage of Gregory XIII. who then filled the papal throne, a reformation in the calendar was introduced, approximating to the truth, but still not exact. This did not find its way into England until 1752, when the civil notation of time had fallen back 11 days, and the ecclesiastical had advanced 3 days; so that the calendar was corrected by advancing the civil notation 11, and the ecclesiastical 8 days. It is on these principles, therefore, that the tables for finding Easter have been constructed, and not on the precise calculation of the individual full moons. That they sometimes vary, is well known; but those slight variations are more than compensated by the advantage of a general rule; which we know to be as accurate as the case admits of, since it is the result of the combined science of the greatest astronomers for 1500 years. The Episcopal Church have, therefore, sir, fallen into no error: to secure uniformity in the celebration of Easter, they have adopted a rule as perfect as the nature of the case admitted of. The variation of this year was not the result of error or ignorance, but foreseen and acknowledged ever since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. All the tables since that time, give the 21st March as the Paschal full moon for the year 1818; although by calculation they were aware that it actually fell 9 hours 4 minutes later. The rule, and the principle of a rule are two different things. In morals, in deed, the rule is interpreted by the principle, but in things arbitrary, it super. sedes it. Thus, in the present case, although the principle of the rule be the full moon of the vernal equinox, the rule itself is that equation of time which has been formed upon it. The reason for selecting the vernal equinox as the criterion, was to keep Easter-Day as near as possible to the period of the Jewish Passover. The motive for the adoption of a general rule, was the preservation of uniformity. Both these are attained: Easter is celebrated as near as possible to the period of the year in which the blessed event it celebrates actually took place; and all Churches that keep it at all, keep it on the same day. All, therefore, that is important in the rule, is preserved; the theory on which its first framers went, is to us a matter of little importance. AN EPISCOPALIAN. From the Philadelphia United States Ga zette. Easter-Day, 22d of March.-Doubts have been expressed as to the day on which this Festival will fall in the present year. It is desirable, on every account, that they should be cleared away; and to assist in doing this, the following remarks are submitted to consideration: Easter, the Christian Passover, is substituted in the place of Pesach, the Jewish Passover, which was ordained to commence on the 14th day of the first month in every year. As the Jewish months were lunar, they began with every new moon, and, consequently, the full moons happened on the 14th day of every month; and the month in which the full moon happened at the time of the vernal equinox, or whose full moon next succeeded it, was the first month of their year. Easter-Day, strictly conforming to the time of the Jewish Passover, according to the manner of reckoning among the Jews, would, it is believed, happen in the present Christian year on the 21st day of April. The accuracy of this supposition, however, is not important in relation to the main object of inquiry as not only the Christian mode of calculation, prefixing the time of the full moon, but the day of the week for celebrating Easter have long varied from the Jewish Passover. Before the sitting of the Council of Nice, (A. D. 325,) the Christian Churches were divided as to the day of the week upon which Easter should be celebrated, the Asiatic Churches contending that it should be kept on the day of the Jews Passover, on whatever day of the week it might fall; while the others, and especially those of the west, in conformity, as they alleged, to Apostolic tradition, fixed its celebration on the same day of the week (Sunday) when the Resurrection, which the Festival is designed to com memorate, happened. This, however, was finally settled by the Nicene Council, who, adopting the opinion of the Western Churches, decreed that thereafter EasterDay should be celebrated, not on the day of the full moon, but on the following Sunday. Conformably to which, the rule laid down in the calendar is, that "Easter-Day is always the first Sunday after the full moon which happens upon or next after the 21st day of March. And if the full moon happens upon a Sunday, Easter-Day is the Sunday after." The old Calendar and Tables for finding Easter was made in conformity to this rule, founded upon the decree of the Council of Nice; but for the purpose of fixing the time of the full moon they were calculated upon the supposed accuracy of the Metonick Cycle, agreeably to which, the members of the Council and their cotemporaries thought that, after every revolution of 19 years, the new and full moons would always fall on the same days of the year that they had in the preceding 19 years. This mode of calcula tion was sufficiently accurate at the time; but as in fact the Metonick Cycle proved to be incorrect, the new and full moons not happening on the same days in the year after every revolution of 19 years, but falling short nearly one hour and a half, the old Calendar and Tables became more and more erroneous in their exhibition of the times of the happening of the new and full moons, and consequently in the fixing of Easter. To correct this error, the 3d section* of the "act for regulating the commencement of the year, and for correcting the The prefatory part of the section is worthy of notice" And whereas according to the rule prefixed to the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England Easter-Day is always the first Sunday after the first full moon which happens next after the one and twentieth day of March; and if the full moon happens on Sunday, Easter-Day is the Sunday after; which rule was made in conformity to the decree of the General Council of Nice, for the celebration of the said feast of Easter: And whereas the method of computing the full moons, now used in the Church of England, and according to which the table to find Easter for ever, prefixed to the said Book of Common Prayer is formed, is, by process of time, become_considerably erroneous: And whereas a Calendar, and also certain Tables and Rules for the fixing the true time of the celebration of the said feast of Easter, and the finding the times of the full moons, on which the same dependeth, so as the same shall agree as nearly as may be with the decree of the said General Council c." It is to be remarked that this statute is expressly extended to this country. Calendar now in use," (24Geo.2.A.D. 1751) provides that the feast of Easter shall be no longer kept according to the table prefixed to the Book of Common Prayer as it was then published, and that the table, as well as the column of golden numbers therein prefixed to the respective days of the month in the Calendar, shall be left out in all future editions of the Book of Common Prayer; and then declares that the new Calendar Tables and Rules thereunto annexed, shall be prefixed to all future editions; and that after the second day of September, 1752, the feast of Easter shall be observed according to the said new Calendar Tables and Rules," that is to say, on the same respective nominal days on which the same are now kept and observed, but which, according to the alteration by this act intended to be made, will happen eleven days sooner than the same now do." That it was foreseen that the Calendar, Tables, and Rules annexed to the statute would not conform precisely to the Almanack or astronomical observations, will appear by consulting the publications of the day; and that they do not we now find by experience, still they furnish us with the only authority by which we can fix upon the day of the full moon, which is to regulate the celebration of the Resurrection; and "to understand them aright, it must be supposed that by the full moon is meant the time as found by the golden numbers affixed to the Calendar, in the Common Prayer Book, and not to the true full moon as found in the Almanack, or by astronomical observations." According to these, the full moon for fixing Easter would fall on the 22d of March; but according to the golden numbers, it will fall on the 21st of March, and, therefore, the 22d of March being Sunday, is Easter. This result is confirmed by a reference to the Calendar Tables and Rules, both in Pickering's and Rughead's editions of the Statutes at large, and in those prefixed to Reeve's edition of the Book of Common Prayer, (believed to be among the most correct,) and the Oxford edition of 1769; and also to a new table, first published in a late Oxford edition, which was calculated to begin after the year 1804, where that annexed to the statute ends. A LAYMAN. HYMN TO THE DEITY. (From "Select Poems, translated from the Greek of Sy. nesius and Gregory Nazianzen.") THEE, peerless monarch of the sky, Whilst angels, quickened by thy glance, Heaven He spread, and framed our earthly ball, The embryo deep who brooded o'er, THE Rev. Dr. BOWEN, late Rector of Grace Church, New-York, has been elected Rector of St. Michael's Church, Charleston, and Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South-Carolina. It is presumed his consecration will take place on bis return to the northward. Printed by T. & J. SWORDS, New-York. |