They believed it would be impossible for them
to remain a dominant priesthood if Episcopalianism, supported by the
patronage of the crown, should be allowed to take root in the land; yet
the Episcopalians represented conservatism, therefore they were forced to
become radicals, and the liberalism they taught was fated to destroy their
power.
Meanwhile their sacred vineyard lay open to attack upon every side. At
Boston the royal governors went to King's Chapel and encouraged the use of
the liturgy, while an inroad was made into Connecticut from New York.
Early in the century a certain Colonel Heathcote organized a regular
system of invasion. He was a man eminently fitted for the task, being
filled with zeal for the conversion of dissenters. "I have the charity to
believe that, after having heard one of our ministers preach, they will
not look upon our church to be such a monster as she is represented; and
being convinced of some of the cheats, many of them may duly consider of
the sin of schism." [Footnote: Conn. _Church Documents_, i. 12.]
"They have abundance of odd kind of laws, to prevent any dissenting ...
and endeavour to keep the people in as much blindness and unacquaintedness
with any other religion as possible, but in a more particular manner the
church, looking upon her as the most dangerous enemy they have to grapple
withal, and abundance of pains is taken to make the ignorant think as bad
as possible of her; and I really believe that more than half the people in
that government think our church to be little better than the Papist, and
they fail not to improve every little thing against us.
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