A HISTORY OF IN THE CARIBBEAN AND IN THE BAHM,1AS

Rev. Noel Titus Principal

In attempting to speak on a topic such as of the settlers and those who ministered to th , one recognises that it is impossible them. Like sugarcane or breadfruit, t deal with the topic in the space of a Anglicanism was an import which slowly took single lecture. I have of necessity to be root in the new locale. The developments selective. What I shall try to d~ therefore, during the English Reformation had settled is to paint a picture of the Anglican Church English religious attitudes for the future over more than three hundred years of its as far as Englishmen could see. The life in these parts. I trust that the possibility of English settlers worshipping picture will enable you to understand in any other way than that prescribed by better how our Church has grown and the English law ,(;TaS beyond the realm of performed. possibility.. Strangely enough., Presbyterial: seem to have been excluded. That system did E:cclesia Anglican ,vas the Church of England not appeal to Elizabeth I; James I, her not only in England but also in the successor, put matters beyond doubt in his Caribbean area, ,,,here it gradually took famous dictum: "No , no King." And root in the seventeenth century. Its it is significant that the words 'loyalty' advent into the region was part of the and ~piety' became watch-words of the process of migration from England duri.ng Royalists in 17th century . Loyalty that century. European trading nations was to the King, piety expressed itself had already successfully challenged the through the medium of the Book of Common existence of a will by Adam giving to the Prayer. iards a title to the New World. The ri,ght of other nations to lands which ltThen Cromwell had hanned the Prayer Book in their people had settled was, one may say, England, his Commissioners met '(.;rith almost the new doctrine being evolved. The advent total compliance in Barbados. The only of the;::ommercial rivals did not only make minister vlho is on record as opposing the the Caribbean a theatre for military ban was the minister of IAII Saints' Church activity, it also made this region the in the parish of St. Peter. 1 This does not stage on ,.,hich religions intolerance \07as prove that those 1;"ho complied "Jere adherents acted out~ Just as residents of English of the Parliamentary party and disloyal to Islands were expected to be Protestants. the King. It may only indicate a lack of To be more precise, they were expected to conviction both as regards the form of be members of the Church of England. worship, and as regards the right to resist the authority in the Island. The banning The advent of Anglicanism to the region of the Book of COF~on Prayer, however, was coincided with the political and religious only a refl.2ction of the intolerance which unease of England in the early seventeenth was characteristic of the age, It showed century. Presbyterians had found. advocates itself in the general hostility to Quakers in England as well as in Scotland, and. the in the West Indies - especially in Barbados. puritan movement of the previous century There, in addition to the hostility towards was already advancing in the direction of their religious practises, their kindness to Independ~nce - the Congregational system. slaves earned them enemies. So that the This fennent of thought means that one fact that the Church of England started the cannot be sure of the orthodoxy ar the eighteenth century from such a position of ~onsistency of those who implanted the strength may well be due to the elimination, soil~ li:3D Church on our by statutes ,. of groups like the Quakers 0 And the action ,ilas not instigated by the ;d,fhen the LIl...nglican Church TUB.G2 its appecu:-·­ Churcll~ but by legislators intolerant of any aace on the West Indian stage in the 16208. system that they could not themselves control it ,las the Church of England for Englishmell. Ii: came ,vitI, the tide of settlers to these What of the Clergy who came OUL: "lith the parts and it was regulated by the customs settlers? Very few na-mes hErve come dO-~ln to

14 us, but this does not alter the basic actively involved in influencing the thesis that one can advance. For the most selection of Clergy for the West Indies. part, they were free lancers - persons In a memorandum by the then Bishop of whose function in these parts was not under London concerning the Church in Barbados, the auspices of any ecclesiastical the writer asked that the following steps authority. Nicholas Leverton, who first inter alia be taken: served Barbados, promptly transferred to Tobago when the settlers in the An investigation should be former Island appeared to him recalcitrant. carried out to discover There is no indication as to the ecclesias­ whether every minister was tical authority from whom Leverton's a member of the Vestry as successor, Kentlane, received his right had been ordered. to function. This is true for the greater part of the century, qualified A Commissary should be only by the fact that Governors erected appointed under the parishes and appointed Clergy to them from Governor to exercise time to time. ecclesiastical juris­ diction. The disorganized state of things is further evidenced by Cromwell's appointment of An investigation should seven Chaplains to Jamaica. It can be taken be carried out to determine for granted that these were neither Royalists whether every minister nor Episcopalians. Some of them doubtless held orders according to continued to minister after Cromwell's death, the Church of England. so that in 1661 a plea was made for the appointment of orthodox ministers. It was Books of Homilies, Canons, only after this date that any effort was and Arcicles were to be made to ensure that the Clergy were the kept in every Parish Clergy of the Church of England. Church. 3

Having said this, I must perforce corrrrnent on It is only after this that one can see an the London episcopate. For it is staunchly insistence that Clergy corning to work in held that the Bishop of London was. from the the West Indies should have a licence from beginning, the Bishop of the West Indies. the Bishop of London. And later aD. it This is based on the erroneous belief that became customary for aspirants to L:ad was influential in getting an Order ecclesiastical position to travel to London in Council passed giving jurisdiction to to be admitted to Orders. I use the ex­ the Bishop of London for overseas work. pression "'aspirants to ecclesiastical This authority of the of London position" to emphasise the fact that not all cannot be verified. There seems to have those who went to England for Orders were been an arrangement for that Bishop to be interested in the Priesthood. Some were responsible for Englishmen in vlhat was then unsuccessful sons of planters or profession­ called the Low Countries - that is Holland. als. some were favourites of different But I have detected nothing about the Governors. In fact Bishops of London, had. extension of this authority to the Western on two occasions, rejected candida~es Hemisphere, or vaguely to the Church over­ recommended to them. One of these was not seas. Laud in 1633 was Archbishop of known by the person who recommended him, Canterbury, which fact would disqualify the other has failed in everything he had him for the office of 1st Bishop of the previously tried. 4 West Indies. His History of His 9wn Times, written in his last years, surprisingly omits In spite of the insistence that Clergy be any reference to this among his achievements. licenced by the Bishop of London, some In default of better evidence we must adopt obviously obtained appointments without the position of historians: that the Bishop fulfilling the obligation. One Governor in of London was reputedly Bishop of the Church Barbados once reported that 10 of the 11 in the West Indies. 2 Rectories were filled, and that most of the incumbents were in Orders. In the Bahamas It was not until 1680 that one has clear there was the case of Thomas Curfey who evidence of the Bishop of London being functioned without a licence from the Bishc

15 of London, because there was no proof of his was first settled around 1627, the first having been ordained. Yet Curfey continued parishes were marked out in 1628. The his ministerial office for six years after his process was completed eleven years later. peculiar situation first became known. Sim­ Thereafter, both Clergy and people fitted ilarly, John Mitchell in Jamaica functioned into the system, the insidious character of as a Rector without being ordained. Event­ which was to be seen in later years. As the ually he admitted that his letters of orders 17th centurycame to a close, the Vestry had been forged. S The Church, therefore, system was introduced. The Rector became a could not perform as it should have done member, and the Vestry was not to meet in because it was weak at precisely that l~vel his absence unless he was ill;6 but the at which it needed to be strong - the level summoning of the Vestry was not his to do. of leadership. Uncommitted jobbers, as some The Vestry was controlled by the pro­ of them \.Jere, they gave very little to the prietors of the parish; and their attitudes task which was peculiar to the Church. to the Church. as well as their relations with the Rector, determined the growth Without attempting any special pleading on and functioning of the Church, behalf of the Ch'Jrch, it must be acknowledged that persons sueh as these - the ones who It is significant that this be remembered, slipped through - are responsible for the since people have always tended to speak of negative picture of our Church which stares at the estbalished Church as a privileged body. us from the broad canvas of the eighteenth That privilege began and ended with the century. This is not to say that they were legal acceptance of the Church of England all bad either. There were countless numbers as the state Church, and with the recogni­ who "'.TOrked diligently, but who remain unsung tion that the legislature was to allocate because so mu·ch attention is given to the funds for the maintenance of the Church. failures of their colleagues. In reality the established Church became a dependent institution, not an arm of the The Bishops of London had no jurisdiction state. In the early days, the stipend was over these Clergy. Their functions ended computed by the acreage of the parish - one when they had either ordained the candidates, pound of sugar for every acre in the parish. or supplied the necessary licences for them At a later stage, the stipend was fixed to function. A Bishop could not appoint a at 16000 Ibs. of sugar per year.? This man tn parish, nor deprive him of raised two problems for the Clergy, one is ecc~~lasdcal office. This was because that sugar was often of poor quality, as the ,0 ~rnor was the ecclesiastical the noted historian Ragatz pointed out. officer in each colony, acting as the Another, l'laS that the value of sugar varied King?s deputy. The situation may well be even 1,17it111n the same c.olony. Thus one developed in this way because the Bishop clergyman got +60 sterling for his sugar, was lethargic as far as the colonial while another got {80 sterling ~ and both Church was concerned. In this respect, it witllin the Leeward Islands" G·o";lernment. would not be unfair to accuse successive Finally, it is the Rector himself who attend~ Bishops of London of exercising a sedentary Ed. to the. sale of his sugar; and he may not ministry. The possibilities for mobilising have got what his sugar was worth. the Church are seen by contrast with the "episcopate" of Thomas Coke. In approx­ It was a different matter TIlhen the Rectors imately fifteen years he visited the "'irere given their stipends in money, rather West Indies three times, giving a filip to than sugar. This was a feature of the Methodism in the area. Had each Bishop of mid-eigteenth century. It happened, London visited the Western Hemisphere however, that in some colonies the Vestries once in his episcopate, the story our were permitted by law to gi.ve to the Rector historians n2rrated may well have been a certain sum over and above the actual different. One only has to look at the deve­ stipend. this bonus was often used as a lopments after 182S to see the truth of this. means of controlling the Clergy, So that if Clergy acted only in accordance with their A~ this stage it becomes necessary to say conscience, or with what they believed to a word about the way the Church in the West be Anglican policy, they were in danger of Indies was organised. The parochial f2rfeiting their bonus. Not infrequently structure was inherited from England. This complaints were sent to successive Bishops consisted of a Church, a Rectory, fees, and of London to the effect that they were ex­ in come cases a glebe. In Barbados, which pected to be subservient and to close their 16 eyes to blatant irnrrloralities on the part of frequently complaints occur in the Bishop's Vestry members. In general, moral rectitude correspondence about lack of discipline or was not a characteristic of white planters, neglect. Commissaries often came into con,-· managers or officials in the West Indies. The flict with Governors when they suggested practice of sexual licence with the femalce the institution of ecclesiastical courts. slaves vlaS so i.ngrained that a challenge to Though these applied only to the Clergy, it the system ,·ms almost an unforgiveable was seen as suggesting a jurisdiction vJhich offence. And Clergy silence was bought by the Bishop of London did not enjoy. They a threat to withhold their stipends. were never permitted to start.

In many cases the stipend was withdrmvn The COffiluissary was often the incumbent in sometimes for as long as three years. It J.S the chief town of a colony. As the Rector, not surprising that the Church1s performance he was also a member of the Vestry which, in was defective. If the Clergy were not com­ those days, had certain civic responsibil·_· fortable, they could not be expected to per­ ities. The Vestry could levy taxes, run form a conclusion as true then as it is now. scbools, administer poor relief, and so on. That is not to say that the only reason for The demands made by tfJ.e Commissary I s civic their failu.re to perform was the non-payment and parochial responsibilities left him of stipends. l'heir whole dependent situation little time for visitations to other parishes; was part of the reason. Poverty was another. and few were ever undertaken. Similarly, There were, for instance, cases in which the Clergy were seldom assembled for con­ there were no rectories and the rectors had sultations. Scattered parishes in Jamaica to accept accommodation \V':Lth pIc.nters. So made this impracticable. In the Leeward great was the poverty in some cases that Islands. ':,rhich formed one colony for a here in the Bahamas >- traditionally the long time, assembling was more difficult. poorest part of the region in those days - a In the Bahamas vJhere things could be regard­ rector found in Harbour Island a Church com­ ed as reaching the height of ridiculous pleted, but poverty had prevented the people one man moved between several Islands as from making pews. It is perhaps only in the Rector~ The separation from a leader~ and Ba11amas pOlle.rty pro\!ed to be the cause of the separation from a leader, and the the non-paym.ent of salaries. In 1730, for separation from on,e another, compounded to one rector only f80 could be raised by render united action impossible. The Church sl1bscriptiol1~ G;vernor R.ogers assured tJ:~2 could not function effectively~ Bishop of London of the colony's wi.llingness to support a Clergyman, but the stipend could Te whom did the Church minister? To a very not be raised. As late as 1790 one rector's large extent, the focus of attention was on salary here consisted of an aggregate of the EnglistL settlers and the white creoles~ ,L70 f~o; tt~e British GoverIlment,~ 1-50 fl-orH This is n.ot to say that these were ever --... ., I ~"'" - .,~·R, the S.P~G~ aua t24 ralsea ~ocally~v These active involved in the life of the Church. are some of the realities of life In the Given the quality of social life in the

Anglican Church early in its Hest Indian West Indies y and the exigencies of the • [listary ... plantation routine, there was little or no effort: to give place to things spirituaL Attention has already been draWl!. to the fact Sugar demanded the loyalty of the planters, that the Bishop of London had no jurisdiction and they were-concerned to serve only one in the West Indies. The absence of a resi­ master. dent Bishop posed a serious problem where Church discipline was concerned. In each colony or group of colonies one of the One obvious result of this was that the Clergy usually held the post of COilimissary _. plantation OWIler or attorney was' seldom, if in vlhieh office he was little more than a ever, a worshipper; and the vast slave correspondent of the Bishop of London. The population, totally under his control. was COlliuissary relayed to the Clergy such seldom allowed the time for worship. The instructions as he received from the Bishop, picture of a Church-going planter whose collected and transmitted to him such in­ slaves were forced to stand outside holding formation as the la~ter required. The the horses needs to be carefully reexamined. Commissary had no disciplinary authority It is an exaggeration} to say the least~ over the Clergy, that function resting solely We know for certain that Moravians, with the Govenor. vmar the Governor winked Methodists and other missionaries ex­ at the Bishop could not redress; so that perienced considerable difficulty either 17 in getting to the slaves, orin having them betweem the Churches were at their worst. come to Church. In some cases laws were It is invidious to try to apportion blame, passed prohibiting services before dawn or hence I would only indicate some of the after sunset. And since that left only factors which were responsible. At the the working hours, slave worship was very root of the intolerance was the system effectively proscribed. Any participation of establishment. This system left hardly therefore, on their part, was necessarily any room for the exercise of tolerance in clandestine. The difference between the an unduly competitive atmosphere. Clergy Methodists and others and the established of the Church of England were opposed to Church was that the latter was far less others entering the sphere they considered aggressive than the former. The exclusively theirs. It happened for established Church up to the early 19th instance in Trinidad, where action was taken century was not sufficiently missionary. against missionaries for presuming to function as ministers. 10 It happened in The lack of dynamism was to show itself Barbados where the activity of the with respect to the evangelisation of missionaries was generally frowned on. In slaves when the Bishop of London in 1723 fact, it is a matter worthy of notice that, sought to find out what was being done throughout his three-volume History of the where the slaves were concerned. 9 That so West Indies, Thomas Coke spoke with un­ many Rectors reported so little activity qualifi~d approval of only one Clergyman testified to tremendous sloth on their part. of the established Church. This was the The few who were trying were overshadowed Rev. J. M. Dent, formerly a curate of by the negligence of the many who did not St. Michael's Church in Barbados, and try. There is evidence, however, to show later the Rector of St. George's, Grenada. that letters of protest had been written by Dent was prepared to allow that the work Clergy to successive Bishops of London pro­ was 'sufficient to be shared. testing against the plantation system. Unlike the Methodist authorities, the Bishops The very intolerance which Coke reprobated of London did not publish the letters they also leaps at the reader from the pages of cJ~:~..:::.:::...... t~._'_:';:~.~JD 5_,,_.~.E~ ,_~,~,.b.t~.....2.wn ~Ll531..Yf r e c e i v e rn 1. S "'.f °12£'_.... '; ,0 Hist a rz . He ref e rre d d ly, " cali "oiiTv surmise that more vj,gorous to the Roman CatholIc C~':~l'C.[;'-as- \popery' leadership at that level might have evoked or 'papism' or as the 'Popish Church'. great~r energy on the part of the Clergy. He was equally derogatory about the es- Support from the top did help in the case tablished Church, which in his view did of the missionaries; it was likely to help not preach the pure gospel. Those in the case of the ~stablished Church. Methodists who followed Coke, even when they themselves complained of intolerance, The first section of our history came to a were anything but models of tolerance close around the year 1824. The implanting themselves. On the contrary, contemporary of the Anglican Church was started in an Moravian works do not contain any strictures atmosphere of disturbance with the struggles on their fellow christians, and we shall for basic rights against an unscrupulous look in vain for any strictures by the monarch. In 1823-1824, the West Indies was established Church against the Moravians. caught up in the struggle for basic human rights for the majority of the population. The truth is that there WaS no need for The difference is that, whereas the fight the attitudes which were adopted. In such in England was against one monarch, in the a time of stress, it was urgent that those West Indies the system which prevailed who had the welfare of the slaves at produced several monarchs. Each plantation heart should work together. But owner had absolute control over his slaves; competition for the souls of men was fierce and wherever his abuse of authority was and no Church was happy to be outdone. challenged, or he was taken to court, planter The missionary bodies were advancing their juries acquitted him of that abuse. In 1823, work because they had been able to organise a process of slave amelioration was initiated themselves and to hold meetings of their to correct these abuses. pastors to plan strategies. The established Church drifted because there In the early part of the nineteenth century, '~as no one authority to act; and pastoral when the condition of the slaves were attract­ meetings were so rare as to be considered ing more and more attention, relations non-existant.

18 0/1'·.1 tii4i'

In 1824, at the height of the controversy was perhaps far greater than statistics surrounding the amelioration of slavery, can adequately express, especially since the the British Government decided to establish statistical information is inadequate. two episcopal Sees in the West Indies. At Nevertheless, it is worth noting that in the root of this decision was the belief Jamaica the Clergy increased from 45 to 56 ":~ that religious instruction was vital to im- between 1825 and 1834; by 1834 the number proving the condition of the slaves. So of Churches was 61 and by that date there that Bishops were to be appointed in the were 142 schools. 11 By comparison, the figUrE hope that they would more effectively for the (excluding the mobilise the Clergy. The ineffectiveness Leeward Islands) showed an increase in the of the Clergy was ~o obvious for there to number of Clergy from 31 to 52; in Barbados be any dispute. By letters patent the alone an increase of Churches from 14 to two SeeS\iTere created and the Bishops 21. From a mere handful, the number of consecrated, both arriving in the West schools rose to 258 in 1834. 12 Indies in 1825. William Hart Coleridge arrived in Barbados on January 29th, 1825, In the third place, the advent of Bishops to preside over a Diocese stretching from provided a chief pastor for each Diocese. St. Kitts in the North to Guyana (then One aspect of the so-called London oversight British Guiana) in the South. which is not given any attention is the Christopher Lipscombe arrived in Jamaica effect of the entire absence of episcopal on February 11th, 1825, his Diocese ministrations within the West Indies. comprising that Island, the Bahamas and Admission to full memberships in this Church Belize (then British Honduras). has always been by Confirmation administered by the Bishop. With the permanent absence The advent of the two Bishops provided of Bishops this sacrament could not be the Church in the West Indies with what had administered. The preparation of persons always been a serious deficiency. And for full membership must undoubtedly have I represent the improvement under five created a great degree of frustration to in­ heads. First, it provided the Church cumbents of parishes. It is the same with a visible head - someone with real frustration which faced a young West Indian authority - to whom the various insular missionary in West Africa as he and his and continental governments could relate. people waited for the Bishop of Sierra Leone In the period prior to their arrival, the whose arrival seemed to be in the distant Commissaries only functioned as the channel future. 13 It is the lack of such episcopal through whom information passed to or from presence which saw the Governor of the Bishops of London. These Bishops had St. Vincent preside over the consecration the ear of me Eritish Government and of St. George's Church in 1820, and the could more effectively request of the Governor of Trinidad preside over the con­ Goyernments in the West Indies provision secration of Holy Trinity Church in 1823. for their Clergy. Coleridge, for example, could do so in Trinidad in 1827, having Fourthly, the advent of Bishops provided an previously been accorded a seat on the authority for ecclesiastical discipline. Legislative Council of that Island. In This is not to say that previously Clergy Jamaica arrangements were made for could act immorally with impunity. On the increased salaries for the Clergy, and an contrary, they were deprived of office by Act was passed rendering the ecclesiastical the Colonial Governor when the occasion laws of England in force in Jamaica. merited such action. My point is that any lack of discipline among the Clergy was In the second place, the advent of Bishops directly traceable to the quality of person provided an administrative head who could recommended for . Such recommend-­ give direction to the activities of the ation was at the discretion of Governors Church. One notices at once the dynamism or Officials who did not choose candidates which attended the early years of both on the basis of vocation. The Bishops Bishops as they sought to increase the chose their candidates for Orders, and pastoral staff of the Dioceses and to their contact with those to be ordained urge on their Clergy greater zeal for the ensured a better quality of person. Several instruction of slaves and free coloured of these persons were trained for ministry people. The transformation in both cases at Codrington College - the first

19 Theological Collsge to be established As a further sign that the Church was 2Dywher in the Anglican comi11union. Thi'3 merely looking inwards, '.'1e take note of College is older than those of Chichester the growth of a missionary consciousness md \.lel1s; in. fact; the first Fr.,"".~_ci-"-'~ in the West Indies. Not only was there f Wells was a man who resigned as the idea of the Church carrying the gospel 2r:i,lcipal of Codrington" (Incidentally, to distant lands,there was also the con­ it th.is sam,e institution lvhose ception of Africa being the destination of eX.iitence is frequently at risk oec:J.use ilm:nediate concern. It probably originated we in the West Indies seem or in Jamaica \,;-here Baptist and Presbyterians )~r ')le. to support our o'~vn notable herit.age) '" were to launch schemes of their own. The man ,,7[lOm credit would be given for i.n~Ltiating a sc:he.me in our Cb.urch 'Was one Finally, the advent of the Bishops arted J< M. Trew, a former Archdeacon of the a pastoral sense to the Clergy. They Bahamas. Trew argued that a collosal actually became more diligent in their injustice had been done to Africa by the ministrations, sometimes attracting to removal of so many millions of her themselves hostile criticism for attempt-­ children: and that an evangelistic effort ing to infect the people with Tractarianism from the \qest Indies would be 'N'orthwhile Tr 16 or npuseyism. '0 Yet a very able l-lethodist though partial reparatiOTIe It is one of Minister, John Horsfard, gave a ~est the inj ustices of history· that so runcb_ of of the episcopate which indicated that the scheme has been attributed to its influence extended beyo:ud its Dvm t<-ic.hard R'::'Hl\)"le, ~vhile hardl~7 a mel1tion is membership. It is to this effect that maGe of Archdeacon 'rre'",. Hhile Rawl::: must

the~. "EngL" ioh.:.:,>~ "hiTChv.-J. ~},~.nro''''''l'ed1~1l"' ~. 1-.",j] nor_~_~_: be ackD.mvledged as the man "'Jho helped to Bishop> also sti.mulated t1ethodism" .1'-1- This make the mission a reality, he added nothing is a compliment indeed when one considers to Trew's conception of it? that the high-churchmanship of men like Coleridge was anathema to Methodists~ The TDj.ssiouary enterprise can~not but e~;roke COTIIm.ED.cla tion for tTvVo reasons.. Ill.. the: first It must not be thought, however, that the place bec.ause i.t recognj_sed the dynarrtlc ATlglican Churc.h ,,,as merely immrd looking "" character of christi.anity. ~n.,at the pro­ concerned with its own survival. A ponents and organisers of the mission. were considerable amount of effort and f;:;:,ds trying to stress was that christianity is were poured into the education of the essentially a missionary movement~ It is ex-slaves~ In this regard the establish­ a TIlO".7emer.tt vlrlicrl thri-ves on gro,\:-Jth and ed Church was aided by the governments activity. It is at once a catalyst both which tended to depend on it for admin""" for a change of life and for a change of istering this area of work. So that all society. In the second place, they strove schools of this Church tended to be to show that the injustice perpetrated on state schools in so far as their funding Africa needed some conscious effort on was concerned. On the other hand, large the part of those who profited by the sums of money were contributed through labour of Africans. It may well be re­ the S.P.G. which en.ablec the continued garded as the local challenge to the view development of this \oTor1\.. For example> in that emancipation had brought the issue of 1836 the Society supported no fewer than slavery to an end. Compensation had been 28 Clergy in Jamaica and Barbados. In given to those persons who lost the 1845 it was supporting four missionaries services of their slaves. This venture in the Bahamas; and giving about 1)000 was the token compensation of the West to Guyana. In the latest report we Indian Church of Africa~ have available in the \,-,Test Indies ~ that for 1853 - it was supporting the Ame~indian There were in the scheme defects to which mission financially. The 1845 Report not~d attentton ill.uet be draw.. Orl€. of trieSE. was thatf24,OOO had been raised by the Society the bE:lief that missioD. Ineant going to a. for use in Negro Education. The list to the distant land~ Nothing so clearly ignored end of the c~ntury would certainly be the tremendous significance of Acts 1:3 ...L';mTP'pC'-'J..""\T"_::,>- __ 00 ~ __ "" IJ ::You shall be my witness in Jerusalem and

20 lTI all Judea and Samaria and to the end of TJle other fa.ctor of Tibicb RavJ·le ~las a 1;;vCtre ~ the eartr.~!~ ~ T1:1e Church ·wa.s prepared to lea\Ie ar}.d v\Tl1icb. exacerbated his difficulty \:~;a8 a field of mission on its doorstep to engage that the Indian popul.ation was essentially in lTi.issiofl els8"C'1[lere ~ It is sign.ificarlt t.I·a11sitor~y~. Feople w'ere al\"rays re. that neither Trinidad nor Guyana took any to India: so £ha~ atrempts at evangelisa- activ'8 part in tL-IE enterprise" .Pi more tion constitutes a series of new crucial defect was that the mission was that the mission was not intended to have African a.nd t,b.out re.sOUI'cJ?:S C~ Governor Colebrooke of Barbados spoke on the chri.stian Indian in the CoJ.onial Hospital t mission in 1850, they stressed the t RawJ.e lent him some Hindi tracts to read. that the area selected was well suited to This man spoke to others in That consideration has no mean- .:lI.ld there the work had its ing except in terms of the personnelu It the space of about four weeks j Rawle had is D.01v history that the effort ~:ised 2 COrr\72rts a11d had, ct:b.er tlIlder collapsed be.fore anyone ernbarked fO·L instruc.tion for isrn 1I1 his .z ea.l. ~co Africa, and that John Duport went e,.-~~t.elJ.d this aspect of h.is e.piscopate:: Ra"~vle as a lay assistant to H" J. Leacock. sent 'to Calcutta to acquire books for his v-That his -has n.ot yet~ recorded is tha.t Indian COllV2rcs~ So grea was the were it not for John Duport, the mission which Rawle atta.ched. to this could not ·ha.\/2: SL1L1]ived... For seve-nteen task, that in 1877 he ordained a deacon to

:years b.e ~',TaSj' hum.anly speak:.i-r1g s, its work among ttlem~ 1881 another was fOundation and buttress~ The West Indies ordained - an East Indian of Greek ga·ve. Se\7eral. of her 80115 to t11Eit lYiission. YJiho spoke Hi-rldj~ '" To t~his effort including the Bahamian Samuel Higgs, the S~FoG~ I.ent its aid so that in J.883 a plaque in lllemory of ~vhOlfi no'\;

Church of St~ Agnes a for the Indians~ All of this work was being carried out as a cooperative venture ily aTiY distortion in rnlssl.onary per-· with the bllt as a separate specr..:i-'Je Vtl2.S corrected in other parts of and distinct taske The Presbyter'ians had the Province~ The C:hurch in Trinidad in this work some four or five and Guyana saw the needs of mission close years before Rawle~ ReI was at hand, and both made determined efforts still a way of life, however~ and was to to grapple with those needs. In Trinidad. continue so lor many decades yet~ Richard Rawle (Bishop since 1872) 'pioneered t11e ·work. among ttle indentured ·Cn there was similar work among Indiarls ~ H_avJle iJ'Jas uneasy at tD.e .influx, the indentured India[lS~ This began i_ll of Indians whose language, in his view, 186 when a mercllant company made available rendered them inaccessibleo Never the sum of [150 for missionary work among dauIlted by such. obstacles, he erlcea\loUred tllem, and the S.P~Go later granted tIOO~ l::'D_o~vled.ge to acquire a of HiT1Gtlstani J So er;_tlYusiastlcal1y did Bisb.op .l;,ustin and wrote to the S~P~G~ seeking helpD greet this response that he quickly secured Yet H.avi".e \~7a.S a"\iJare all along that D.1ere the services of a missionary from Calcutta. preaching "JaS not the way towards the rap schools were built for them, conversion of these Indians. Only his adding education to T,JOraS can ade.quately convey his lof ty ideai: Even before this, the Church had begun work The Hindoa will not be brought a'moD_g the L:l.merindi.ans.. Between 1835 and to Christ by the tightness of J.843 the work progressed slowly, but the gospel to him ..• he must methodical J heing superintended during be acted upon by christian the latter three years by William Henry Brett. love, in contact with some Brett was icant less for his length of those in whom Christ of service than fer his diligence in trans­ lives and workse The Gospel~~~ lating the scriptures into the langllage of as a converter, is not a the ...LurLerindia.Hs.. It 'f7aS the killd of tvork book, but a loving human done in our paxt of the "lOr Id, and vihich heart filled with Christ. 1? was the distinctive contribution

21 of John Duport who laboured in West Africa. Jamaica, Enos Nuttall; the Bishop Coadjutor This work, which evoked great enthusiam of Antigua, C. J. Branch; the Bishop of under the leadership of Bishop Austin, Barbados, Herbert Bree; and the Bishop seems to have declined early in this of Nassau, Edward Chaston. Those absent century. It became increasingly difficult were the Bishop of Trinidad, Richard Rawle; to enlist persons for that enterprise. A and the Bishop of Antigua, W. W. Jackson. new start, however, has been given to it Their first task was the preparation of through the setting up of the Alan Knight Canons for the infant Province. Training Centre where approximately twelve Arnerindians are currently in training. The Provincial arrangement got off to a In the late 1860s and early 1870s, the slow start; but it was considered to be Church in the West Indies faced perhaps of great benefit in that it renewed its sternest test. With an eye on economy, Church life. The author of this view the Anglican Church in the West Indies was indicated the ways in which this carne disestablished and disendowed. Except for about, by means of certain observations the Diocese of Barbados, the Anglican which it might be useful to record here. Church in the West Indies was left to pro­ There were indications, he said, of a vide its mill funding; and though it con­ readiness on the part of the Diocesan H tinued to enjoy "most favoured status , Synods to strengthen the hands of it never received anything beyond the Provincial Synod by carrying out the capitation grants given other Churche~. latter's wishes without surrendering In the new Diocese of Trinidad, the B1Shop, "reasonable local predilections". He began his ministry at the end of what must observed further a desire shown to make the have been the shortest establishment in Provincial Synod representative of Bishops, history. The Church was established in Priests and Deacons, and Laity. His final 1844 and disestablished in 1870. It was observation was of an increase of interest therefore not as well off as its sister in one another by the Dioceses, and a Dioceses, many of which had at least readiness to profit by the experiences of secured sound Churches and schools before each. 18 the axe fell. Barbados enjoyed status and funding for another hundred years These views were written in 1889, six years before disestablishment finally carne in after the institution of the Province. What 1969. These Dioceses, even under estab­ the writer observed about the mutual rela­ lishment, were poor. The kind of planning tions of Provincial and Diocesan Synods is needed at the change had not been done, worthy of further reflection at this time. so that for many years thereafter the It is·still a matter worth considering as Church in the Province entered a stage to what extent Provincial Synod is upheld of virtual mendicancy. Its finances and strengthened by the Diocesan Synods, were always shaky and Bishops were always or whether the Diocesan Synods are "doing t~ seeking recoup their deficits by their own thing". In other words, we appeals to contacts in the north. As we shall need to consider seriously where the celebrate this centenary, we shall need strength of the Province lies: whether in to correct this trend if we are to pass a strong unifying organization or in on a solvent Church to the next generation. decentralized, strongly individual units. In 1890, there was, to an observer, a clear It is said that in unity there is strength. indication that the Dioceses were making And it is not insignificant that it was at the Province strong. The other observation this time that the thought of forming a which deserves comments is that which Provinc~ was born. At a meeting of the speaks of the interest in each other Bishops in Guyana in 1873, a resolution generated among the Dioceses. and their was passed to the effect that this end willingness to learn from each other's be actively pursued. It was ten years experiences. When one considers the before this was finally achieved, and the comparative lack of communication in those inaugural meeting of the Provincial Synod days, their sharing of information is was held in St. Luke's Church, Jamaica, highly commendable. Even more so was their November 1883. That Synod comprised the ·~illingness to learn from each other. We BishoD of Guiana - Hilliams Piercy Austin occupy a small section of what is now w~s who elected Primate; the Bishop of called global village. We may well ask

22 ",,) "

ourselves whether we share experiences as The present offers us our most severe much as we might. Certainly it has become challenge - and it does so from two per­ painfully obvious that we seem to believe we spectives. One concerns the very problem cannot learn from each other, and therefo~e which faces the West Indian community as always turn our eyes to those outside the·· a whole: the inability to accept the region. What aggravates this tendency to leadership of its own people. 1~1d so we look outwards is the fact that it comes at tend always to be more understanding and a time when the entire bench of Bishops is tolerant of the gross inequities of the indigenous. Is there any significance in outsider than of the merely human foibles this? How do we account for the fact that of our own people. We shall have, before under expatriate leaders we learned from one the end of the next century of our Church, another? If we do not address these to emancipate ourselves from the worst kind questions, the centenary observations will of slavery to which we have yet been t. prove to be a farce. subjected: slavery of the mind. The Church - the people of the region - needs The third observation has a bearing on the to be sure that they are willing to accept composition of Synod. Originally, Provincial West Indian leadership. and that they Synod was composed solely of the Bishops, evince a conscious will to work with that though there was an early desire for exten­ leadership for the future. This 'r,eans sion of the membership to comprise three accepting and supporting our own people houses. It took the Province just over as Bishops, Archdeacons, Deans and three quarters of a century to attain that Theologians. It would also be a challenge goal. So that 1959 marked a significant to those who hold leadership positions to milestone in our Provincial history. desist from the i.nfighting which often mar:" Effectively one house has funcUoned the transition from expatriate to local since then - and that is the house of leadership. Bishops. The metamorphosis to triple house meeting has fittingly come in our centenary There is a second perspective from which year. and it is to be hoped that the houses the challenge comes to the Church that is w~ll be enabled to meet regularly. It can the perspective of the leadership itself. be opposed on the ground of cost. naturally. And here I shall be very brief. The future But from the point of view of equity, to of the Church in the Province rests. in no persist in only one house meeting ~ill small measure, on the shoulders of our continue the unfortunate and unforgiveable present leaders. Those who currently bear impression that the house of Bishops is office will be severely tested by those

the Prov"ince <;. for vrhom local leadership at all levels is comparatively new. Either to over­ One of the failures of missionary enterprise react. or to seek greener pastures will ~n our region was the absence of any expose the Church to a level of mediocrity conscious effort to train persons for in leadership from which it would deserve leadership at the highest level. The to be released. If the leaders of the Anglican Church, emanating from England, past failed to train their successors, the seemed always to see its leadership leaders of the present must not succumb arriving by boat or aeroplane from the same to the same error. It may only be our source, ~Jhen our Church started a mission task to sow; in that case, let us ensure to Africa. it sought European leadership that there is a crop worthy of the there, John Henry Dupart, the first reaper. black West Indian to be ordained, was admitted to orders virtually by default, I wish to end with a word on the ecumenical H. J. Leacock the leader had become too dimension of Church life in the Caribbean. ill to function; and his two successors, A mere thirteen years ago, a letter written afrer his death, died without being able to in support of a candidate for election settle ammo For a long time during this as a Bishop, contained these words: "He century Clergy were trained, but there was is ecumenical but not ecumaniac". I no conscious effort to groom persons for understood those words to mean that the high office" candidate was willing to work with other

23 Churches, but not to the extent of eradicating all traces of his Anglican heritage. The task which may face us in the future is that of recognising that we are Anglicans, and knowing why we are Anglicans. And then, there will be the additional task of making an Anglican contribution to the ecumencial movement. I stress this point because I have often detected a desire on the part of some people to be so much Hone with everybodyf! that they fail to be anything at all. That, to me, is to be ecumaniac. It fails to enrich the ecnmenical dialogue, and it robs our partners of the opportunity to see and to share what ltle have. In emphasising \

24 NOTES

1. This incident is recorded in Vincent Harlow, A History of Barbados, 1625 - 1685, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1926, pp. 96f.

2. J. H. Rose, etal (Eds.) Cambridge History of the British Empire, vol. 2, p. 293.

3. Calendar of State Papers, American and Colonial Series (C.S.P. Col) 1677·-80, No. 1488: "Nemorandum by the Bishop of London Concerning the Church in Barbados", August 28, 1680.

4. Fulham Papers, XVIII, III: Bishop Portens to Lord Bakanas, February 10, 1801.

5, Ibid., XVII, 103-4: John Mitchell to the Archbishop of Duthan, London, July 31, 1711.

6. C.S.P. Col., 1677-80, No. 1270: Lords of Trade and Plantations to Sir Jonathan Atkins, January 16, 1680.

7. See~ for example, R. H. Schombu:cgk, History or Barbados, London, 18 i ,8, pp. 92f.

8. Fulham Papers, XV, 80-2: Thomas Robertson to Bishop Portens, Harbour Island, June 17, 1790. For other examples of poverty see Ibid., 70-1: Woods Rogers to Bishop Gibson, New Providence, October 13, 1730; and 83-6: l",Tilliam Gordon to Bishop Partens, Exuma, June 18, 1792.

o -" . Ibii., XV, 203-14; XVII, 211-35; XIX, 116-20: Answers to Queries Addressed to the Clergy.

10. Trinidad Duplicate Despatches, Vol. 3, No. 254: Woodford to Bathurst, August 1, 1817, with enclosures. Cf. 3,290: Same to same, Nay 31, 1818, \flith enclosure.

11. These figures are taken from J. B. Ellis, The Diocese of Jamaica, Kingston, 1890, pp. 62-66.

12. See Schomburgk, op. cit. p. 99.

H 13. "Report of the Pongas Hission , 1865, pp. 9, 10.

14. J. Horsford, A Voice from the West Indies, London, 1856, p. 38.

15. The "Report of the S.P.G., 1845", pp. Iii - lxx gives a wide coverage of work in the West Indies.

16. J. H.Trew, Africa Wasted by Britain and Restored by Native Agen9" in a letter to the Right Honourable and Right Reverend The Lord Bishop of London, London, 1848.

17. G. Hather & C. J. Blagg, Bishop Rawle: A; Memoir, London, p. 250.

ISs West Indian Guardian, July 1, 1889~

25