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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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sake do pccur , 1 think it is highly proper that they should be made known for the encouragement of others , and as an inducement to them to act in a similar manner . An instance of this kind having lately occurred where a friend of mine entered
his protest against the Marriage ceremony , I have obtained from him his permission to transmit a copy thereof for insertion in your valuable publication , as also of a letter he previously wrote to the clergyman officiating ,
together with a brief statement of the interview that in consequence took place between them . Copy of the Letter .
Manchester 9 Sir , June 14 , 1822 . As it is my intention , under the permission of Divine Providence , to enter into the Marriage state , in the course of this month , and as I am informed it will be your duty to perform the service on that occasion , I take this opportunity to
request of you , that , in the solemnization of that event , such expressions may be omitted in the ceremony which at all inculcate a belief in or worship of the Trinity . Upon similar occasions , I am informed , such omissions have been made by ministers of the Established Church ,
when they have been requested by the parties concerned ; as , indeed , expressions may be substituted that would not be offensive either to you as a Trinitarian , or to me as a Unitarian . I really cannot see the necessity of your
rigorously adhering to certain words which may be omitted without iujury to you , and with advantage to myself ; nor am I aware that , by the laws of this country , Unitarians are compelled publicly to profess their belief in that doctrine which forms the main ground of their dissent from the Established Church . If my information
relative to the Marriage Act be correct , the object of it is not to prescribe a set form of words which shall imply a belief in any particular doctrine , but was enacted for the purpose of having the contract ° f the parties publicly registered by the mi
nister , so as to prevent illegal or improper Marriages , which object I conceive will be sufficiently answered by perform-1 "g the ceremony in tbe way I wish , without compelling trie to give either my tacit or verbal assent to a doctrine in
which I do not believe . I sincerely trust that you will give the matter a serious and candid consideration ; as it is not ° nly to me ,. bat also , to the lady with whom I ioteud to be united , a matter of luoju seriomsi h ^ pqrt ^ uce .
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Protest against the Marriage Service . 487 ,
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Should you wish any further Information upon the subject , I am willing to wait upon you to afford any explanation in my power . If , however , upon such consideration , you should feel unable , or not inclined tu allow me the indulgence I request , and if I am compelled to submit to the form of service as it is laid down ' in the Book
of Common Prayer , or otherwise forego the advantages of matrimony , it is my intention to enter my solemn prQtest ^ against those parts of the ceremony of which I disapprove , and which at all inculcate the belief and worship of the Trinity . Because , as a Unitarian , I believe such a doctrine to have no
foundation in the Scriptures , and to be unsanctioned by their authority ; and so believing , I should shew myself greatly wanting in a proper regard to religious independence and principles , silently to
acquiesce in those parts of a service to which I cannot give the assent of my understanding , and of which my conscience disapproves . Your early answer will confer an
obligation on Yours respectfully , ( Signed ) PETER ECKERSLEY To the Rev . Mr . Fielding , Curate of St . Johrts Churchy Manchester .
In consequence of the above letter , the gentleman to whom it was addressed waited upon my friend in a few days afterwards , when a conversation ensued between them upon the subject . On being asked if he could comply with the request which the
letter contained , he replied , that , as a minister of the Established Church , he could not conscientiously make any alteration in the ceremony as imposed by the Church ; for that , by the oath taken by him at his ordination , he was compelled strictly to adhere to those
forms which the Church had enjoined , otherwise he should be a perjured man . He disclaimed all bigotry , and expressed himself in terms of approbation of the course Mr . E . had pursued , and said it was that which all conscientious Dissenters from the doctrine
of the Trinity ought to adopt . On Mr . E . learning the determination of the minister , he informed him that he should , in consequence of his refusal , be compelled , before the ceremony commenced , to deliver a protest against those objectionable parts of the service , which appeared to him
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1822, page 487, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2515/page/31/
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