Episcopal Election

In many an Episcopal diocese a constant undercover struggle for control goes on between High-Church and Low-Church factions. When a special convention of the diocese of Chicago met last September to elect a successor to the late Bishop George Craig Stewart, this struggle came into the open. Chicago traditionally has a High-Church bishop, though its richest parishes (St. Chrysostom's, St. James's, St. Paul's in Chicago; Holy Spirit, Lake Forest; Christ, Winnetka) are Low-Church. High-Church candidate was a handsome monk, the Right Rev. Spence Burton, Suffragan Bishop of Haiti. Low-Church candidate was a handsome rector, Dr. Dudley Scott Stark of St. Chrysostom's. In 17 ballots, neither could muster a majority. Nor could a middle-reader, Dr. Harold L. Bowen of St. Mark's, Evanston.

After the convention adjourned, Dr. Bowen came out for a compromise candidate: the Rev. Wallace Edmonds Conkling, rector of St. Luke's, Germantown, Pa., who was described as a "liberal Catholic"--the liberal to satisfy Low-churchmen, the Catholic to appease High-churchmen. Last week the convention met again, chose Father Conkling on the second ballot. For the first time in the history of the diocese, the bishop-elect did not accept at once, said he would first have to go to Chicago and survey the situation.

Father Conkling had good grounds for hesitation. Quite apart from High-Church-Low-Church bickering, the Chicago diocese owes $1,500,000 in bonds on real estate which is earning practically nothing. Chicago's wealthy laymen, weary of annual drives which merely meet the interest, consider that the new bishop's first job should be to jack up the diocesan finances.

If Father Conkling accepts, Chicago will have its youngest (45) bishop ever. Tall, vigorous, blue-eyed, prematurely white, a graduate of Williams and Oxford, he served in the Navy during World War I, has been at big (1,419 communicants), fashionable St. Luke's since 1924. There he has introduced, but not publicized, two services which most Episcopalians do not even know exist, though provision was made for them in the last prayer-book revision of 1928. These are Holy Unction (anointment of the sick with olive oil specially blessed by a bishop), and a Laying on of Hands at the altar rail for spiritual healing. Father Conkling says: "I have never known a single case where there was not some benefit, spiritual or physical. ..."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.