A Bishop questions, a rector answers: Bishop Inglis' questionnaire of 1788
https://archives.anglican.ca/link/article37850
- Author
- Banfield, Paul (Paul Anthony), 1951-
- Journal
- Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society
- Date
- 1993 April
- Date
- 1993 April
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 1
- Page
- [23]-48
- Notes
- Charles Inglis, the first bishop of Nova Scotia, arrived in Halifax on 16 October 1787. One of Inglis' first duties was "to gather the clergy of the Diocese to a particular locale for the issuing of his charge, or official instructions. This time-honoured process is usually referred to as a Visitation" (p. 25). "The practice of the Visitation, whether it be annual, triennial, or at some other period of time, was based on a standard set of practices and procedures. Central to the entire process was the creation and receipt of three sets of documents connected with the episcopal office. First, there was the notice of the Visitation; second there was the articles of inquiry; and third, there was the 'Acta' which included the minutes of proceedings, an inventory of ornaments, vestments, books of the church, financial arrangements, and a general survey of the fabric. Of the three, arguably the most important were the articles of inquiry of the 'Questions'" (p. 26). Inglis sent out a "Letter & Questions" to the clergy of his diocese in March 1788. The request would "have provided the clergy with a feeling that they actually had a hand in the running of the diocese. Such a questionnaire that asked for their input on a wide variety of matters, both of this world and the next, would undoubtedly have appealed to their sense of democracy" (p. 26). The bishop's letter and questions did not reach the Rev. John Stuart, rector of Catarqui (Kingston, Ontario), until September 1789, after he returned from attending the Visitation in June 1789. The 1788 questionnaire sent to Stuart is the only copy to have survived. "The author would like to thank Brian Cuthbertson, Inglis' biographer, who sent a copy of Inglis' 'Letter' to the Diocese of Ontario Archives, thereby re-uniting the Bishop's 'Questions' and the Rector's 'Answers' for the first time in two hundred years" (p. 40).
- Article include the complete text of Inglis' "Letter" and the "Rector's" (John Stuart's) answers. Questionnaire divided into sections: Title I: Concerning the extent and population of Parishes -- Title II: Concerning Churches -- Title III: Concerning the Celebration of Divine Service, and other Ministerial Duties -- Title IV: Concerning Glebes, other property of the Church -- Title V: Concerning Churchwardens -- Title VI: Concerning Schools -- Title VII: Concerning Confirmation -- Title VIII.
- Subjects
- Inglis, Charles, 1734-1816
- Stuart, John, 1740-1811
- Anglican Church of Canada. Diocese of Nova Scotia - History
- Church management - Anglican Church of Canada - History
- Anglican Church of Canada - Bishops - Office
- Cuthbertson, Brian (Brian Craig Uniacke), 1936-2023