THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SEVEN ADDRESSES /!.;.''•.;'■' v'vVliv' jfev^'T^^;':;!:.::^;';;;:;;;:^ /''■^^•i ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY 1872 LIBRAEY Theological Seminary* Case, Shelf. Book, -EHINrFTON. N. J. BX 5034 .T235 1873 Tait, Archibald Campbell, 1811-1882. The present position of the -Church nf Rrrn lsnrt - ; II THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. SEVEN ADDRESSES DELIVERED TO THE CLERGY AND CHURCHWARDENS OF HIS DIOCESE, HIS CHARGE, %t Ijis |)rimartt Rsita&tt, 1872. i ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, AECHBISIIOP OF CANTERBURY. THIRD EDITION. $?0iiiF [III. our Church, have a freehold in the position which they occupy. Some may say, " This is bad ; it is one of the very things we complain of." And no doubt it is one of the things which cause us difficulty, but it might be a fifty-fold greater evil to get rid of it. For suppose the clergy had not this freehold in their offices. What is the alternative ? They must be subject to the arbitrary will of some one. Of whom ? If we go to France, we see to whose arbitrary will the priests of the once free Gallican Church have been reduced to be the slaves. Few clergymen in France hold their office except at the arbitrary will of the Bishop, and that is not what the clergy of the Church of England desire, if I am not mistaken. Well, if they are not subject to the arbitrary will of the Bishop, perhaps they would be subject to the arbitrary will of their congregations. I do not think the clergy of the Church of England, with all the respect they have for our lay members, would feel comfortable if they were liable to be dismissed, as soon as their con- gregations objected to their teaching or their mode of conducting divine service. Nor do I believe our laymen have such a desire to exercise tyranny over the clergy. My conclusion therefore must be that, notwithstanding all the difficulties attendant on our system, nothing better can be suggested than that the clergyman shall retain his freehold without disturbance except by judg- ment of law. Now, if I am right in my view of this whole matter, I wish to ask this further question, whether there be not some advantages which the Church of England as an Established Church possesses over other bodies which are not established, in respect to its relation III.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 33 to Courts of Justice? I believe we shall find that a great characteristic of the Church of England as an Established Church is this : that as it is an Established Church the courts of the Church are recognized as courts of the realm. Other bodies, when any difficulty arises as to property, or as to whether a man is straying beyond the limits which the system of his community has laid down, are obliged to go to a purely civil court ; but it is of the essence of our Established Church that there is no necessity for this, because, according to our constitution, the ecclesiastical courts are courts of the realm, and their decisions are as binding as the decision of the Queen's Bench or any other civil courts. The Bishop's Court, which in any non-established body must be a mere private court of reference, becomes a court of the realm. To the Archbishop's Court there is a regular appeal by law, and its judgments have binding force as the decision of a court of the realm. And when we rise beyond the Archbishop to the Queen in Council, I do not know that we have any right to say that we have left ecclesiastical courts to go into the civil court. The fact is that a very old dispute must be considered in reference to this matter. Long before the Reformation the sovereigns of these realms claimed that in all causes and over all persons in these their dominions they should be supreme, and that the last appeal should be to the sovereign, even from those courts in which jurisdiction is exercised distinctly in the name of ecclesiastics. The only period during which this was not the case was when such appeals went straight to Rome. We know that the sovereigns of these realms before the Reformation contended strongly against the right of the Pope to D 34 PRESENT POSITION OF [III. draw appeals to Home, and at the Reformation these appeals to Rome ended. What, therefore, was the natural consequence ? Why, of course, that these appeals having been taken from the Pope were to go to those from whom the Pope had unjustly drawn them in the first instance ; and hence, accordingly, as a matter of history, whether we approve of it or not, between appeals going to Rome and appeals being decided by the Sovereign, there was really no other course left. That course was adopted which was sanctioned by the custom of the country. Now, I suppose, as none of us wish to go to Rome, we must be satisfied with a decision according to the authority of the sovereigns of the realm. As you are aware, such trials of appeal came, after the Reformation, to be conducted in the name of the Queen in a depart- ment of Chancery. You are aware, in all probability, that there was a court called the Court of Delegates, which heard these appeals ; that the sovereign appointed persons, many of them laymen and some ecclesiastics united with them, whose business it was to hear these appeals ; but that this system of the Court of Delegates was found to be inconvenient. You are aware that some thirty years ago a commission was issued to inquire into the whole matter ; and the result of this commission was to remove these judgments in cases of appeal of this kind from the Queen in Chancery to the Queen in Council. It is sometimes said that it was by a mere accident that cases strictly ecclesiastical were consigned to the Privy Council ; but I believe that a candid examination of the reports made by the Commissioners who were appointed to investigate the question, and to the Acts of Parliament in which those reports were afterwards embodied, will III.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 35 prove that it was by no accident whatsoever, but most deliberately, that these cases, being taken from the Court of Delegates and the Queen in Chancery, were trans- ferred to the decision of the Queen in Council. And in order that there might be careful attention to matters strictly ecclesiastical in cases under the Church Dis- cijjline Act, care was taken that in such cases the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishop of London should be members of the Judicial Com- mittee of the Privy Council, in order that they might advise the civil judges who sat upon it. Now, I am not here to say that this is the most per- fect court for deciding such questions; I am not here to say that the Queen's Bench is a perfect court ; I am not here to say that any court in existence lias attained perfection ; and I am not here to say that this court should not be reformed : — but 1 do say that so long- as it is a court we are bound to obey it, and I say we shall be very negligent of our duty both as English Churchmen and citizens if we allow our private feelings to stand in opposition to the law of the Church and the land. We shall do despite to our holy calling if we set up our own arbitrary will against the calm decision of a court, which, whatever may have been said of it, I think will be allowed to have shown itself in recent cases very impartial in the way in which it has adminis- tered justice to all parties who have come before it. But, my brethren, on a future occasion I hope to enter more at length into some of the difficult questions which have arisen from the decisions of this court. At present I have spoken merely of our necessary con- nexion with the civil power from the fact of our having D 2 PBESENT POSITION OF [III. property to dispose of, and of the peculiarity which cha- racterizes our position in reference to the civil power in our being members of an Established Church. And I am very much mistaken if on full and serious considera- tion of this matter you do not come with me to the con- clusion, that on the whole we have little to dread from the interference of the civil power in causes ecclesiastical, and that we receive greater benefits from our connexion with it than are possessed by any other religious body either in this or in any other country. But, having touched upon this matter, and endeavoured to lay before you what is our position in reference to the judicial decision of questions which from time to time arise in our Church, let me, before we part, most ear- nestly beg you to consider what is the duty of a Christian man as to obedience to the law under which he is placed. In addressing a large and thoughtful body like this, of clergy and laymen, it would seem almost ridiculous to dwell upon the duty of obedience to the law, and I do not believe amongst the persons to whom I am now speaking there is anything but an infinitesimal minority that would dispute the duty of obedience to the law of the Church and of the land. And when we speak of the law of the Church, I wish it to be under- stood that no man is entitled to say, " I myself will interpret the law of the Church." Neither civil society nor ecclesiastical society can hold together if every man, in spit? of the decision of the judges, is to lay down for himself what he considers to be the law. I believe there are very few clergy who will differ from my views on this matter ; but there may be a few, and w e III.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 37 live in an age when a very few persons, by making themselves very conspicuous and talking very loudly, are able at times to persuade the community that they, a small minority, are really a majority. And therefore the mischief which may be done even by a few persons acting in a lawless and insubordinate spirit, taking upon themselves to interpret where they ought to listen to authoritative interpretation, may greatly injure the Church. I trust, therefore, that all who are tempted to do so will consider with themselves that it is un- christian thus to act, and that no man placed under authority can justify it. I must charge the few clergy who, in this diocese, are in the habit of doing so, hereafter to abstain from introducing into the services of the Church anything which they know has no place in the Prayer Book or in the Articles, or from taking on themselves in doubtful cases to decide what is lawful in the Church of England. No desire for unity with other bodies will justify any clergyman in adopting such a course. Do not let it be supposed that I wish that we of the Church of England should be tied hand and foot in the bonds of a narrow uniformity. Look at the services in this Cathedral and compare them with those in some ordi- nary parish church, and you will find both of them strictly abiding by the law and custom of the Church of England. Here is diversity enough, but yet there is essential unity. But those to whom I allude are not satisfied with this wide range, and are determined to introduce from foreign churches practices which have no justification cither in the custom or in the law of the Church of England. I most earnestly charge them to be content with that liberty 3S PRESENT POSITION OF [III. which the Church of England allows, within the limits of which there is ample room for great diversity in the midst of a loyal unity. But if on the one hand, in matters of doctrine, we try to include persons who are not believers in Christianity at all, or on the other hand persons who have abjured their allegiance to the Church of England, and are looking to a foreign church to which to give their allegiance, we destroy all essential unity, and our diversity would very soon end in complete destruction of the body to which we belong. But I have little fear that there is danger of destruction from such a cause as this. The Church of England is wide, and I am glad it is, for if it were not it would not be Catholic. The Church of England has existed ever since Christianity was founded on these shores, altered indeed in external form, purified and reformed three hundred years ago, and even in those three hundred years there has been great and natural diversity of opinion and yet the same essential unity. With this diversity, which is not inconsistent with essential unity, we may well be contented. I knew two Bishops of the Church of England who died a few years ago. One was my contemporary and friend, the other my pupil. They were both members, as it happened afterwards, of the same cathedral chapter ; both were called to the highest posts of the Church of England ; both were struck down in a remarkable manner by sickness, and cut off in the prime of life, but not before each in his Master's cause had performed signal services to the Church of which each was an ornament. Walter Kerr Hamilton and Samuel Waldegrave were as different as any two men III.] THE OR URCH OF ENGLAND. 39 who were both attached members of the Church of England and thorough Christians could be. No two men could take more diverse views of the great theological questions that divide us, or have more dissimilar tastes as to ritual. But each of them was a father in Israel ; each left his mark on the diocese over which he faithfully presided ; each was revered and honoured as a saintly character. Attention was drawn to the lesson to be learnt from their case in a consecration sermon by my friend the Dean of Durham, three years ago, when each had been prematurely cut off by a mysterious blow. Each loved the Church of England, each was faithful to his trust in his own way, and according to the con- victions of his own heart, though their convictions were in many respects diverse. But they had that essential unity which consists in the love of their common Lord, in the belief of His eternal Deity, in the deep conviction of their own lost state by nature, and of the absolute necessity of His atonement to wash away their sins. And who that knew them doubts that they are now united before the throne of God? Let us be content with this unity which belongs to us all ; and if we are diverse in the expression of our feelings within the proper limits which the law allows, no one will find fault with us, and we shall each be better able to do our work, because we work conscientiously as in Christ. Another name occurs to me, of one differing from both of these — a name known and honoured wherever the English tongue is spoken, as a faithful minister of Jesus Christ and a great reformer in this land — Thomas Arnold. Who will venture to say that he was not a faithful minister of the Church of England X And yet his 4<> pi: e sent position of [in. convictions were very different from the convictions of these two Bishops. This is the sort of width as to opinion and practice which it is wise to allow in the Catholic Church of England. The Catholic Church of England, which, in its Ritual as in its teaching, was wide enough for these, may well satisfy us. We are not tied to a dull, over-strained uniformity of thought and worship, but we can allow no unauthorized eccen- tricities borrowed from a foreign system. The few who would drag us into these extremes will do no good to themselves, and I am quite sure they are not acting faithfully to the Church. But let me for one moment press this upon you : That the sort of questions with which we have been dealing to-day may withdraw us from the more important question : How are we each striving in our several places to fulfil our deep responsibilities ? As to my brethren the Churchwardens, — some of them have stated that they have great difficulty in performing their duty, and that in consequence of recent legislation, which has altered the right of collecting money from church-rates, their churches are not in the good order in which they desire to see them. Let me impress upon them the absolute necessity of taking some steps for the full performance of their duties. It is the condition of all of us from time to time to find ourselves in a new position in consequence of alterations in the law : our business is, of course, as soon as possible, to adapt ourselves to that changed state of things, and to find some substitute for what has passed away. Now, with regard to the maintenance of our services and churches in proper order, two modes may be suggested : one is to levy a volun- III.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 41 tary rate, which will no doubt be readily paid ; and the other is to have offertories in the churches, appropriated to the purposes which church-rates formerly served. It will not do to say that the law is altered and that there- fore everything must take care of itself. That the law is altered, this is the very reason why we should exert our- selves and see that some substitute is provided for that which by the action of the law has been taken away from us. I thoroughly believe that the laity of the Church of England are determined not to allow their churches to fall into ruins or their worship to be conducted in a slovenly manner. Before another visitation, some mode will be found, which, by appeal to the voluntary allegiance of those who love their Church and arc ready to advance its interests, will fully supply the lack of that which has disappeared. The duties of the churchwardens in this matter are plain, and they are important, and they bear very much upon the maintenance of religion. With- out these outside signs that our religion is flourishing, inward and spiritual religion will suffer loss. I fear that the heart of religion will be injured if injury befall the churches which are the enduring ornaments of our land. To my brethren the Clergy, let me say before we part, that as to all the questions which may engage our thoughts, no inquiry is so important as this : — Am I, in the sphere in which God has placed me, discharging my duty and responsibility to the flock of Christ 1 Am I attending to the poor ? Am I teaching children in my schools ? Are my sermons week after week the utterance of my heart to the hearts of my people ? Do I study as for my life the Gospel which is the charter of their and 42 PRESENT POSITION OF [III. of my salvation ; and am I determined, God helping me, that the Church of England shall at all events have this strength — that it has in my person a godly, self-denying, and persevering minister ? If so, if this spirit spreads amongst us, our Zion is secure. Nothing can ever pre- vail against the Church if its ministers and its people are faithful to that Gospel which He sealed with His blood. IV.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 43 IV. (Delivered at Canterbury to the Rural Deaneries oj Bridge, Elham, Sandivich, and Dover, on October ith.) My Eeverend Brethren, and my Brethren the Church- wardens : I endeavoured yesterday to bring before those who were here assembled, some thoughts on the adminis- tration of our ecclesiastical law in the Church of England ; and the conclusion to which I desired to lead their minds was this, that no individual scruples or dissatisfaction with the law could justify anyone in acting in a disobedient spirit, where the proper autho- rities of Church and State had spoken without any doubt as to what was the duty of a clergyman of this Established Church of England. We saw, when we were examining this matter, that though the law, having been now several times invoked in cases which have occupied much of recent attention, had laid down with tolerable precision what things were not lawful in the Church of England, still there was a wide field for those differences of sentiment and even of practice, which, in the midst of essential unity, have always more or less characterized this National Church ; but that there were limits beyond which the law had explicitly stated that no one should go. And I stated then, what I gladly and honestly repeat now, that I 44 PRESENT POSITION OF [IV. believe the loyalty of our clergy is such, that they are quite ready to yield obedience to the law of the Church and the State within these limits ; and if there be here and there one or two persons who claim for themselves a liberty which the Church does not allow, I cannot but trust that their good sense and sober consi- deration of the matter will ultimately bring them to a better mind. And I feel confident of this, that the public opinion of the Church is against all self-willed innovations which individuals take upon themselves to make against the declared authority of the Church. You Avill easily understand that I do not consider it a part of my business, nor do I consider it to be the business of the Bishops who preside over the Church generally, to act in any inquisitorial spirit as to the conduct of the various clergy who are placed under their charge. This, however, 1 have no hesitation in saying, that I do believe it to be the duty of the Bishop, if any complaint is regu- larly addressed to him, to examine into the matter care- fully ; to consider with himself whether or not there has been a violation of the law ; to reason in the first place with those who may have been misled into any such violation ; and in the last resort, if he finds it impossible to compass by persuasion the end which it is his duty to promote, then to exercise that authority which devolves upon him as a chief magistrate of the Church. You will not, I am sure, suppose that I am for a moment forgetful, how dangerous it would be to excite men's minds to a narrow criticism of everything which takes place in every church within our diocese — how unwise it would be to infuse suspicion into the minds of the laity, and set them watching every minute gesture of IV.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 45 the clergyman in the discharge of his sacred duties. I trust that we are none of us forgetful that things may- change, and change for the better, even though at first those who are the witnesses of the change very much dislike it. It is impossible for anyone to have arrived at my time of life and to look back upon the state of parish churches some thirty years ago — to remember the walls damp with mould, the careless way in which the communion table was treated, the bad psalmody and worse instrumental music which used to be heard in many of our parish churches, to remember the very few who used to gather round the Lord's table as compared with the hearty bands of worshippers who gather there now, and the general improvement in the whole externals of our worship which has been brought about I must say principally through the instrumentality of one section of the clergy, — it is impossible, I say, for any man of fair mind to look back upon all this, and not to allow that changes may occur which are, at first, unpalatable to those who witness them, and yet, after a course of a very few years, are recognized to be extremely useful, and conducive to God's glory. But while we allow this fully, it is plain that here, as in the points which we noted yesterday, there must be a limit ; and if there be a tendency anywhere, as undoubtedly there is in some quarters, to push matters to an extreme and to introduce practices not sanctioned by the law or custom of the Church, and which savour of an uneasy hankering after a foreign and less pure system of re- ligion, then if is only natural that the laity should consider themselves aggrieved by the introduction of such practices, and it is the duty of the heads of the 46 PRESENT POSITION OP [IV. Church carefully to watch that no excess arise which shall alienate the laity and destroy the purity of our reformed worship. Now, having said thus much — a recapitulation in some sort of what I said yesterday — and having re- minded you that the limits within which a clergyman is confined in these matters are now tolerably explicit ; and having pointed out, I trust with sufficient clearness, to the churchwardens, that as they are the officers of the Bishop, it is their business, in case of their seeing any- thing introduced beyond what they conceive the law allows, to communicate with the Bishop or Archdeacon, after having first talked the matter over in a friendly way with the clergyman ; — having, I repeat, stated all this with reference to mere ceremonial, I turn to-day, in connexion still with the administration of ecclesias- tical law, to another matter which requires a somewhat different treatment. You are all aware that a very distinct decision was pronounced last year as to the practices which were to be allowed in our ceremonial worship, and many practices which were gradually creeping into some parishes were pronounced to be illegal. Another case has since that time arisen which has to do, not now with the outward ceremonial of religion, but with the doctrines which it is lawful to preach from our pulpits. But, before I enter upon the particular case to which I have alluded, let me say a few words as to the general rule which those who administer the law of the Church of Eno-land in such matters seem to have laid down for themselves during the last twenty or twenty-five years, to guide them in their decisions. As I said yesterday, the Church iv.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 47 of England is intended to be a National Church. It is not intended to be in any sense a sect. It is a Catholic Church, embracing in its teaching all the great Catholic truths which have been witnessed to since the days of the Apostles. It is also a National Church, including persons of very various minds, according to their various circumstances, and the various education and training which they have received. The history of the Church of England, carrying us back to the age of the Eefor- mation, presents peculiar features. In the days when Popery disappeared from high places amongst us, the very difficult task devolved upon the Sovereign and her advisers of constructing a system which was to embrace the whole English nation. If it is difficult even in the present time to bring men to accord, with differences of training and of natural character, how much more diffi- cult this must have been at a time when the traditions of many centuries were so distinctly at variance with the new light which had burst upon the world with the Reformation ! Those, therefore, who had to conduct that most difficult experiment were bound to make the limits of their Church as wide as might be, in order, if possible, to embrace the whole English people. Hence Ave should natuL-.illy expect that though the great men who lived at that time, had distinct convictions as to the essentials of the system which they were about to present to the world in opposition to that which had so long darkened its horizon, yet they were very anxious, and very justly anxious, not to magnify into a matter of primary im- portance anything on which it was reasonable and right that freedom of opinion should be allowed. Some scoff at the Service Book of the Church of England and its 48 PRESENT POSITION OF [IV. Articles as if it were a mark of some failure or insincerity in its leaders that it allows this diversity of opinion. I, for my part, consider it to be greatly to its glory that the Church which is presented to us is no sect, but a branch of the Catholic Church as well as a body accommo- dating itself to the varying sentiments which must arise amongst earnest and godly men in a nation like ours, accustomed to freedom. Now, such being the case as to the original compilation of our formularies, — and our Reformers having, as I thoroughly believe, acted in full accordance with principles which had come down to them from the time of the Apostles, — for the difference of cha- racter in the different Apostles, as is now granted I think by all who have carefully studied the New Testament, was not without influence upon their mode of presenting the one truth of which they were the heralds, — I say, our reformers having wisely adopted this system, what has been the result in the Church of England ? We who live in this generation, and look back upon the time of com- parative deadness in which our fathers lived, rejoice to think that the Church of which we are members was wide enough to admit Simeon and Wilberforce. Those who in their day, in spite of much opposition, held forth the great evangelical truths which had for a time been overlaid or overlooked, never thought of leaving the Church of England, but found within its formularies full scope for the preaching of that Gospel in its purity which their hearts loved. When we look still further back we have no reason to regret that the Church of England was able to lead the van, in the struggle against Deism and various forms of infidelity, under such men as Paley ; and if we look back to the time of Archbishop Tillotson, IV.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 49 we do not, I think, regret that the Church of England found in its formularies sufficient room for men of his turn of mind. When we look back further, I suppose there is not one of us who would wish that George Herbert or Bishop Andrewes should have been cast out of the Church of England. Therefore we enter upon this question with a distinct conviction that the Reformers, when they made our formularies such as they are, were wise. The result has been that, amid all the fluctuations of opinion and of the history of the country for the last 300 years, this Church, with its formularies such as I have described them, has a strong hold over the great majority of the nation : it is loved and honoured by persons who under any other system might have been separated one from. the other, whereas the experience of 300 years has shown that they are able heartily to co-operate under the guidance of those formu- laries. Now, with such views before them, what is the duty of those who are called upon to administer the law of the Church of England in matters of doctrine ? I suppose most who are here present remember what is called the Gorham Case. I am not going to trouble you with entering upon the question which in connexion with that case was raised before the highest Court of Appeal ; but I am just going to remind the juniors amongst you of the trembling anxiety with which the decision of the judges was awaited : how anxious most of us felt that no judgment should be pronounced which should in any way restrain the liberty of the great Evangelical party, or declare that their common mode of interpreting the formularies, and especially the Baptismal Service, was not fairly admissible within the Church of England. We E 50 PRESENT POSITION OF [IV. remember also — those of us who are old enough — not only the anxiety with which the judgment was awaited, and the relief which was felt by so large a body when it was pronounced, but also the cry of dissatisfaction with which it was received by many ; the threats — in some cases unfortunately carried into effect — of secession from the Church, and the general attempt on the part of extreme persons to represent that the Church, because it was wide enough to include, honestly and fairly, the great Evangelical party, had been unfaithful to its trust. That time passed away. Another case came before the same tribunal of a very different character. The ques- tions now raised had no longer anything to do with the Sacrament of Baptism ; they had to do chiefly with the doctrine of the inspiration of Holy Scripture. All of us — for it is but a recent matter — remember the anxiety felt by many in that case. However little sympathy men* might have with the persons whose case was brought before the court, there was great anxiety lest there should be such a decision on the subject of inspiration as should go beyond the wise limits which the Church had hitherto maintained. Well, there was a decision, guarded and wise, as I venture to think, on that very intricate question. I do not know that any evil has followed from that decision. Men see as clearly as they did before how the Church of England maintains the majesty of Holy Scripture ; how it tests every doc- trine by its accordance with Holy Scripture. They have as readily as before prized as one of its noblest features that readiness which the Church of England has always shown to open the Bible to its people and invite them to study its pages as the charter of their salvation. I see IV.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 51 no symptoms that the Bible is less thought of among those who highly prized it before, and the danger was avoided of defining with scientific accuracy the nature of God's influence upon the hearts of inspired men, and so of our Church substituting a mere human dogma in place of that free acquiescence in the guidance of the Holy Spirit which has been sufficient for Christians of all ages who reverence God's Word, without inquiring too minutely as to the exact mode in which God caused it to be uttered. I think that was a wise decision, and no harm happened from it. What, then, do I think of the latest decision which has caused so much alarm in the Church ? Now, first, I would call your attention to this fact, which is characteristic of all the three cases to which I have alluded. The judges have in each made this the basis of their judgment, that it is not their part to settle what is the doctrine of the Church of England ; that the doctrine of the Church of England is clearly settled and laid down in its Articles and formularies, and that their business is merely this — when a man in a penal case is brought before them, and the question is whether or not he is to be punished, to settle whether he has so flagrantly transgressed the law that he ought to receive condign punishment. Now, let us suppose for a moment that this were not a case of theological speculation or teaching, but one of morality : let us suppose for a moment that a man were brought before the Supreme Court charged with some act of immorality ; that it was found he had gone very far, but that he had not actually gone beyond those limits within which a charitable interpretation might be put upon his conduct, E 2 52 PRESENT POSITION OF [IV. and that therefore the decision of the court was that he should not be punished. Would any man in his senses say that the court which came to this decision had decided that the immorality of which he was accused was of no importance ? The question is — Has the particular person who is accused in this instance so fla- grantly transgressed the limits of the law that the court feels it cannot give him the benefit of the doubt, and therefore cannot, without swerving from the maintenance of the law, allow him to go unscathed ? That I consider to be the exact issue which in all these cases is brought before the court. I, therefore, cannot understand that anyone can maintain that, because in the particular instance in point a certain theologian has been acquitted, therefore the law of the Church of England has been altered. It should be remembered, that the court had only a few months before declared, in the most formal manner that those ritual acts which seemed to symbolize the doctrines of which this clergyman was accused were altogether illegal. This also ought to be remembered, that in the particular case in question the statements made by the person accused had been modified by him- self ; because he was told by his friends that if his work went forth in the form in which he had published it, it was impossible but that a fair tribunal must find him guilty. I think, therefore, that an escape under such circumstances does not give any ground for our believing that the particular practices and doctrines which were brought before the court at the trial have been declared in any sense'to be the doctrine of the Church of England, but that we are referred for decisions of what our Church of England doctrine is to the whole Articles and the IV.] THE CUURCH OF ENGLAND. 53 formularies of the Church. And so the sole question in this case, and in all such cases, has been — Has the person who is brought before the court been found to have so completely transgressed the law that it is impossible to give him the benefit of a doubt in his favour ? At the same time, of course it is quite impossible to shut one's eyes to this fact — that it is a wide view of the doctrine of the Church of England on which all decisions on these matters have for the last thirty years been based ; and, as I have already stated, I .conceive such width is consistent with Catholic usage in the best sense of the word, and with the traditions of the par- ticular Church to which we belong. I am not going to maintain that there ought to be room for every man in the Church of England for whom there is room in heaven. Of course there are points, some even not of primary importance, on which if men differ it is im- possible that they can be united in the same outward communion. All who know the history of the dis- cussions of former ages, to say nothing of our own, grant that it is totally impossible to have in the same Church persons who cannot do with Bishops and persons who cannot do without Bishops : if one man holds Presbyterianism of Divine authority, and another thinks it most important that Bishops should exist, of course there must be separation. If one man holds that infants ought to be baptized, and another that they ought not, it is a very difficult matter indeed to suppose that they can be united in the same outward communion. But still it does seem to me that the ideal of our Church is this — that men who agree in the grand essentials of Chris- tianity, who reverence the Lord Jesus Christ in I lis 54 PRESENT POSITION OF [IV. Divine nature as our Lord and Saviour, who look to His purifying blood as the atonement for their sins, who con- fess themselves to have no hope of salvation without His death and passion, who point to the written word of God as the test by which all our doctrines are to be tried — such men should, as far as possible, be united in one communion, and I trust that as men become earnest in the great duties of their calling they will more and more realize such truths. Those who wait as faithful pastors by the beds of the dying will come to think less than in clays of carelessness of the divisions which keep men asunder ; and the lay brethren who see their clergy labouring heartily for the good of Christ's people, showing in their self-denying lives that they are animated by the influence of the Holy Ghost, will not be very captious in watching their peculiar modes of worship, or their peculiar opinions on less important points. We are all soon to stand before the Judgment-seat of Christ, and the ques- tions which at that great award will be settled for us will have little to do with the differences which separate Christians on earth, but will all refer to those great Gospel truths through belief in which we hope to enter into the enjoyment of our Lord's presence. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 55 V. (Delivered at Ashford to the Deaneries of North and South Lympne, and East and West Charing, Oct. 1th.) My Reverend Brethren, and my Brethren the Church- wardens : I endeavoured at Canterbury on the two last days of our visitation to bring before the clergy and church- wardens some thoughts on the condition of the Church of England as an Established Church in reference to the administration of its ecclesiastical law. I wish to-day to turn to another subject, on which it is still supposed particular difficulties attach to the Church of England from its being an Established Church — I mean our ecclesiastical legislation. It is sometimes said that we are bound hand and foot by our connexion with the State, so that we are quite unable to accommodate ourselves to the changing cir- cumstances of the changing ages through which the Church of England has to minister. It is said that the system which is thus rigid and immovable is altogether unfitted to deal with the wants of the great Christian community. I wish that we should examine this ques- tion quietly and calmly to-day — how far we in our par- ticular position as an Established Church are under any peculiar disadvantages as to ecclesiastical legislation. Now, I would first remark that, looking to the nature 56 PRESENT F0K1TI0N OF IT- of the Church of Christ and its duties, it does not seem desirable that there should be a system of incessant change going on in its organization. The truths which we have to communicate from age to age are one and the same, and no variety of circumstances can justify any alteration of that Gospel which, once for all, was delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles, and which can know no change. But even with regard to other matters we are not to take it for granted that it is a very desirable thing that change should be easy. Indeed, I know of no system in any of the non-estab- lished branches of the Church in other lands, which are in full communion with our own, in which greater facility is given to change in their formularies and con- stitution. And I think it is worth inquiry whether in other religious bodies, when changes have been made, considerable difficulties have not followed. The Non- conforming bodies have exhibited to the world in the course of their history a perpetual tendency to split into smaller sections, and I suspect, if you examine these splits in Nonconforming bodies, you will generally find that they have arisen from some change which the majority have forced upon the minority, and the minority has had no means of defending itself except by separating from the body which has overruled its will. But turn to another body very differently situated from the Nonconforming communities. We have heard a great deal within the last few years of changes in that which has hitherto claimed to be unchangeable ; and those who have watched the condition of things in Italy, in France, in Germany, and in our own country, may be inclined to think, perhaps, that the attempts to intro- V.] THE GE UBC II OF ENGLAND. 5 7 cluce great changes in the Church of Rome have caused very great difficulties, which a more quiet and consistent adherence to things as they were might have avoided. Having laid down this principle, that upon the whole we are not to desire great and rapid changes in the system of the Church, yet still, I am free to confess that, to meet the varying circumstances of our community, certain changes must from time to time be required, and I wish to know whether the Church of England has ex- hibited to the world a peculiar inability to make them when necessary. There are many of us old enough to remember the very great changes which occurred in relation to the system of the Church of England some thirty or forty years ago. I am not going to recapitulate the alterations which the wisdom of Archbishop Howley thought it right to sanction in the system of our Church : the restraining of non-residence and pluralities, the alter- ations of limits of diocese, and various other matters. But let us rather look at things which have lately come under our own immediate observation. It so happens that, during the time in which I have been privileged to take part in public affairs, there have been some important changes. We remember a certain deadness and unreality which used to be felt at our public worship on the 5th of November. We felt that the " State services," as men named them, had outlived their day, and did not call forth that grateful recollection of the events which they expressed, nor that degree of religious feeling which it is desirable should pervade the congregations assembled on such solemn occasions. Well, somehow or other, by a distinct act of those in authority, these State services have disappeared, all except one, 58 PRESENT POSITION OF which I am sure there is no clergyman or layman pre- sent this day who would not desire to see retained — the service in which we pray the blessing of Almighty God upon our gracious Queen on the day on which she ascended the throne. But other changes have also been legitimately and regularly made within our memory, which most of us will agree are good, and which were really not very difficult to attain as soon as people had made up their minds that they were desirable, and were ready to face the slight difficulties which stood in the way. Those who began life at the time I did will remember that there was a superabundance of oaths and declarations which met men on their entrance into office, civil or ecclesiastical. They will remember that a good deal of opposition was from time to time expressed as to the very rigid words in which adherence was declared to the Articles and formularies of the Church. Many thought- ful men could not be reconciled to the old mode of expressing their adherence to those formularies, a mode which had been originally adopted at a time when those in authority were desirous, if I may use the' word with- out offence, of being revenged upon the Puritan party, who had ejected them from their livings a few years before. It was naturally felt that the very rigid terms in which men declared their assent and consent to all and every the words of the Thirty-nine Articles and the Prayer-book went a little beyond what was really necessary for those who were to be faithful ministers of the Church of England. Hence, as the legitimate and constitutional mode of remedying the difficulty, a com- mission was issued, of which I had the honour of being a V.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 59 member, with the late Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York and many other eminent and learned dignitaries of the Church, as well as laymen of great authority. The result was a recommendation that these modes of subscription should be relaxed. The matter, as was right, was submitted to Convocation, and, as the time had come when the Church was ripe for change, Convocation at once assented. A bill was brought into Parliament, and the terms of subscription have been changed. Now I think no one who has considered our relation to bodies external to the Church of England, or to the rising thought of the country, will hesitate to allow that this was a salutary change ; and the moment men recognized that it was a thing to be desired, the supposed difficulties in the way of doing it disappeared. I doubt whether other bodies have been as ready to adapt their forms of subscription to the wants of the age as we have. I suspect if you examine the matter you will find that in other communities very antiquated declarations are still made with reference to heresies, the very ex- istence of which is scarcely retained in the memory of those who make the declarations. However that may be, at all events we had little difficulty in placing ourselves in accord with what the voice of the Church and the nation considered to be necessary for the times in which we live. Again, in 1871 was passed the new Table of Lessons' Bill, founded on a report of the Eitual Com- mission, in consequence of a generally expressed wish. Now I turn to another matter, which is of yet more recent occurrence. Most persons have felt that, with the vast change in the population of this country, the mode in which great masses of workmen grow up in particular GO PRESENT POSITION OF [v. neighbourhoods, uninstructed in the Church's system — through whose fault it is needless to inquire — it is very- difficult to bring that full and well-regulated system of the Church's worship, which, when drawn up, was in- tended for its well-trained and well-disciplined members, to bear upon the wants of such populations. Hence there has been a growing desire that the system of the Church of England should become somewhat more elastic, in order that it might meet such cases as this. In the diocese of London I heard a great deal of such cases, but we hear of them in other places, in large rural districts, as well as in places like this, where the railway has ac- cumulated great numbers of labourers. Well, has any great difficulty been experienced in finding a remedy ? As soon as people were convinced of the necessity of bringing forward the change which was required, the ordinary process, according to the constitution of our Church, here also was adopted. The Queen issued her commission to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and various other Bishops, to various learned divines from the Universities and elsewhere, as well as to various laymen known to be interested in the spiritual welfare of their fellow-citizens. The result was, that meetings of the Commission were held, and in course of time a report was made. It was laid before Convoca- tion ; Convocation approved it ; the matter was embodied in a bill and laid before Parliament, and before the end of last session — having been only introduced at the beginning — this bill became law. It seems, then, that many of the difficulties as to necessary changes in the Church of England, of which we have heard so 1 See Appeodix D. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 61 much, were difficulties which consisted in two things : first, in men making up their minds as to what changes were really desired; and, secondly, when these changes were settled as desirable, in other persons making up their minds to have the boldness to propose them. As I have entered on this subject, let me now call your attention to the changes which have thus been made, the greatest which have been introduced in such a matter since the time of Charles II., which would not have been introduced in the formal way in which they were, unless it were intended that the clergy should carefully consider how far it is desirable in each parish to use the liberty now granted. Let me, therefore, as shortly as I can — not to weary you — point out what is the liberty that has been given. First, with regard to the daily services. No one can doubt that there are in all town parishes, and often in country j>arishes, persons to whom it is a great blessing to have daily access to their parish church, in order that they may invoke God's blessing upon the labour of the day ; but there are few people who will not agree with me that experience has shown how difficult it is to gather together any large congregation of hearty worshippers in the midst of the busy occupations of men's lives in this age. The law which has recently passed has enabled the clergy to accommodate the daily services to the wants of their people, and I think every clergyman will be naturally expected to consider carefully in his parish how far this new system opens to him opportunities of Common Prayer which were denied to him before. Now I turn to the second point. In town parishes, and in most parishes where there is anything like a large 02 PRESENT POSITION OP population, I am thankful to believe that the zeal of the clergy has not confined their public ministrations to the two stated services which the law requires. Now it was felt, and very justly, that the repetition three times a day of the same service was not, upon the whole, the system of worship most conducive to edification ; and hence, during the last session of Parliament, on the recommendation of the Commission and of Convocation, power was given for the introduction of a third service, which should vary from the others. Again, we have felt that special occasions arise in every parish when it is desirable that there should be special prayers differing from the ordinary service in use at the ordinary time. Such liberty of introducing special ser- vices for harvest festivals, or on an occasion of any great sudden judgment which happens to visit a neigh- bourhood, or for any other remarkable occasion, is now sanctioned by the authorities of the Church and State. Again, it was felt that there might be in r - many of our parishes, especially in towns, difficulties from the length of the services ; that the very great length of three hours or more for services when the Holy Communion was administered, was not, on the whole, conducive to edifi- cation. Hence it was distinctly sanctioned by the legis- lation of last session that, in cases where it was found desirable, services might be divided. Many held that this could lawfully be done before, but doubts existed, and it was thought best to have a distinct assertion of the legislative authority both of the Church and State, that there was nothing irregular or belonging to any peculiar sect or party in this dividing of the services. Again, it was felt that in great towns, round our Cathe- V.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 63 drals and other great churches, there were many persons living who might be attracted by preaching, but who are very little accustomed to the ordinary services of the Church of England. It was thought that there could be no harm, but a great deal of good, in drawing them into our churches that they might hear what we had to say, and thus making our churches more available for the preaching of the Word of God. I repeat, therefore, that as these changes have been made, we are all bound in our several spheres to consider how far it is desirable that we should avail ourselves of the liberty thus given. I have spoken hitherto of the changes which, as a matter of fact, have been introduced. I believe also that there is no great difficulty in introducing others as soon as it is recognized by the Church generally that the time has come for them to be desirable. For of course, if Ave have made .some which prove to be beneficial, we shall naturally consider whether there are any still before us. Far be it from me to penetrate into the unknown future. I believe we shall find that the mode in which alone such changes can legitimately be introduced is a safeguard against any rash innovation ; and, at the same time, that wherever changes are really proved to be necessary to the Church and nation, they will be introduced. I must not, however, fail to mention one other great and important change with reference to one of the Creeds, which has been very much in men's minds during the last few months, respecting the desirableness of which there is, in many minds, great doubt. You are aware that the moment it was considered right that a commission should be issued for the consideration of all the rubrics, those who knew the past history of men's minds felt per- 64 PRESENT POSITION OF [V. fectly convinced that it was impossible longer to delay a full inquiry into the question as to the retention of the Athanasian Creed in our public services. Those who look back some thirty or forty years remember the discussions which had arisen on that subject then, and those who are acquainted with the history of the last century know that these discussions were not new. If other matters have for a time drawn away public attention during the last thirty years from this subject, still I think we must ail be aware of the difficulties which have often stood in the way of young men entering upon holy orders, and that the general feeling of the country has been that wheuever the rubrics were to be examined, this ques- tion of the Athanasian Creed, among others, would have to be considered. Therefore the Commission of which I have spoken did not avoid this subject. First, let us ask whether there was any real difficulty which it was necessary that the Commissioners should discuss. With regard to the declaration of the Atha- nasian Creed on the subject of the doctrine of the Trinity, all members of the Church of England are, I believe, agreed ; but that the minute logical statement of the particulars of this doctrine should be rehearsed in public worship, on this there has been legitimate diversity of opinion. All of us agree that the hopes of our salvation depend upon the Three Persons in One God. It is not the declaration of this doctrine that has caused difficulty. It is chiefly the statement of what are called the damnatory clauses. Now all of us who have subscribed to this Creed know that there is some expla- nation which prevents these clauses from having the full force which they appear grammatically to have. V.] TITE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 65 I am not very much concerned as to the antiquarian questions about the origin of the Creed, or at least w ith their bearing upon the matter now before us. But one point all are agreed upon ; that is, that the Creed was not written by the Apostles, nor by any infallible or inspired authority, and therefore, as the work of man, it stands in a totally different position from the inspired Word of God, and the mere antiquarian ques- tion does not affect the point which is now before us. If our friends, in the University of Cambridge or else- where, are enabled to throw any light upon the earliest Manuscripts, of course we are very grateful for their assistance. But still the plain question is this : Is it desirable that this Creed, with what are commonly called the damnatory clauses, should continue to be recited twelve times a year in the services of the Church of England ? On the one hand it is urged that the Church dares not conceal the stern denunciations of God's judgment on unbelief, set forth by Christ Himself, and by St. John ; while on the other it is pleaded that, in announcing these judgments, we have no right to be more explicit than the Lord Himself, and that the great divine truth, which the damnatory clauses imply, suffers, rather than gains, by its human adaptation to a specific form of teaching. It is granted that this Creed is not used in the public services, as we use it, by any other Church. It is admitted that the Greek Church repudiates those statements which contravene its own peculiar doctrine denying the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son. We, in these days, have been brought near to the Oriental Churches ; we have been visited, for p 66 PRESENT POSITION OF example, by an Oriental Archbishop, who was welcomed in our homes, and in some of our churches. I have more than once been called upon, l>y those who have authority in the Church, to put myself in communi- cation on important matters with the Patriarch of Con- stantinople, thereby acknowledging him and his brethren as Bishops of an orthodox Church. I pronounce no opinion here as to the errors into which the Greek Church may have fallen, but many have urged with great force the inconsistency of thus addressing its chief pastor, while we continue to use habitually in our service words which would naturally appear to him to declare that he and all his people shall without doubt perish everlastingly. In the Eitual Commission this question was discussed, and a proposal was made to the Commission by an eminent layman of this diocese (Earl Stanhope) to the effect that in the rubric, which directs its use, the word " may " be substituted for " shall." The Commission came to the conclusion that it was not wise in that stage of the matter to allow this alternative to the clergy. It was then proposed that a rubric should be introduced, similar to that sanctioned by the Commission of 1689, to the effect that the damnatory clauses are only intended to apply to those who wilfully reject the catholic faith. Since that time another explanatory rubric has been suggested, which has received the assent of Dr. Pusey and the other Divinity Professors at Oxford, to the following effect ; that the condemnations objected to do not apply to anyone who, through involuntary ignorance or invincible prejudice, refuses to assent to the catholic doctrines. I have lately met with another explanatory THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 67 note, mentioned by my revered friend Dr. Moberly, Bishop of Salisbury. He, while himself desiring the total omission of the damnatory clauses, calls attention to a proposed explanatory rubric, stating that God's threaten- ings are to be understood only as they are generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture. None, however, of these proposed explanatory rubrics has met with general acceptance, and many persons think that words which require so much explanation had better be omitted. On the whole, opinions have now generally come round to what was at first rejected in the Commission, viz. that an option should be allowed as to the use of this Creed, and the Archbishop of York and myself have been addressed by a large body of laymen, recommending this course. It is well to remember that the practical solution of this question may be far more difficult than many think. I know that much obloquy has been cast upon the Bishops for not having given their own opinion, and for having rather thrown the burden of the dis- cussion upon the Lower House of Convocation. Now I beg you to remember that there are two ques- tions — one, what is the best course in itself, and the other, what alteration is feasible under the circumstances. On the first of these questions most of the Bishops, I believe, have expressed their own opinion, in some public way, as to what they think best to be done. Certainly I have expressed mine in the most explicit manner, viz. that the best plan would be to remove the Creed from the regular services of the Church, and to retain it in the Articles, for I hold that it is quite legitimate to declare, as we do F 2 68 PRESENT POSITION OP [V. in the Articles, that the Creed may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture, while we maintain that the Creed itself is separable from the anathema which accidentally accompanies it. I trust we may arrive at a satisfactory conclusion respecting the second question. I believe I could m)-self acquiesce in any one of the suggested alterations, all of which I consider to be, on the whole, preferable to the existing state of things. But now I must state, though with much reluctance, that the greatest difficulty in the way arises from the unreasonable conduct of certain eminent persons, who declare that they will break the Church in two, if we adopt any other than their own particular way of settling this grave difficulty. Such conduct, I say, is deserving of our reprobation, and I trust that, after full consideration, those who are guilty of it will come to a better mind. All of us are anxious to maintain the great doctrine of the Trinity, and that there shall be reality in our declarations ; and if we meet with a great difficulty, which has long pressed on the minds of earnest men, we have a right to seek the best advice, and to request these learned and devout members of the Church to assist us, and not to commence the discussion with an unwarrantable declaration that they are prepared to break the Church in two if the decision arrived at does not meet their own particular views. But, after all, I trust it may be possible to settle the matter. A very large committee of both Houses of Convocation of the Province of Canterbury will soon meet, and endeavour to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. The Archbishop of York and myself have promised to give our most serious consideration to the subject, and, if we can, we shall THE CHURCB OF ENGLAND. 69 •ndeavbur to relieve those who declare that they suffer under a grave difficulty. We shall consult, as we arc bound, our brother Bishops and the clergy gene- rally, our anxious desire being to modify the rule as to the use of this Creed, if it can be done consistently with the maintenance of truth and of the peace of the Church. There arc other questions awaiting solution which have jeen treated of in the Report of the Ritual Commission. Amongst them stands the difficulty which many of the Clergy state that they have found in the indiscriminate use of the Burial Service. When the Church comes to consider this or any other question that may arise, let us not doubt that God will be with us to guide us. If changes be found to be really desirable, then He will be with us to show us our path. And now let me end with this solemn word of admo- nition : — I have been speaking of the outward forms and organ- ization of the Church. These are things of which we can all take cognizance. But let it not be forgotten that the first mark of the Church which is mentioned in our Creed is its holiness. It is " the Holy Catholic Church." This is a mark concerning which each of us is bound before God to examine himself unceasingly, and no ques- tions of mine can search your spirit. I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, beseeching you to remember that if the Church be not holy it is none of His, that if its priests be not holy, they cannot be its faithful pastors, nor win souls to be partakers of its Lord's holiness. The words of the Head of the Church still remind us that as " Men cannot gather grapes from 70 PRESENT POSITION OF [V. thorns nor figs from thistles, so cannot a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." May this lesson abide with us, that the clergy of the Church of England may bear forth to their congregation that witness which the priests of the ancient Church of God bore upon their foreheads continually, " Holiness to the Lord ! " VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 71 VI. {Delivered at Sevenoaks to the Deaneries of Shoreham and East and West Dartford, October 17th.) My Reverend Brethren, and my Brethren the Church- wardens : On other occasions when we have met on this visita- tion I have spoken chiefly of matters concerning the outward constitution of the Church. I desire to-day to turn rather to some points concerning our ministerial faithfulness. It is well that the outward machinery of the Church should be rightly arranged ; it is well that if there be anything lacking it should be supplied ; but after all it is on the mode in which we one by one acquit ourselves in the duties of our ministry, and avail ourselves of the machinery with which our Lord has supplied us in His Church, that the safety of the Church of England depends, and by our faithfulness to this that we ourselves shall be tried. Many of you, I am sure, must have been struck last Sunday with the words of the First Lesson when it was read in church. 1 They certainly seemed to me very appropriate for a visitation ; and if you will allow me, I will read a few of them now : — "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel ; prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the 1 Eaekiel xxxiv. 72 PRESENT POSITION OF [VI. Lord God unto the shepherds ; . . . The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again , that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost. " Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord ; Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against the shepherds ; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock ; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more." Thanks be to God, the chapter, taken as a whole, ; s a wondrous exposition of His love and tenderness. The greater part of it is the announcement of Ilis care :br the sheep, an encouragement to shepherds who seek o be found faithful, as well as a warning to those that are selfish and negligent. What higher comfort can you have in your daily work for the welfare of the poor than remembering that God is working with you ; that He Himself hath said : " Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed L .hem, even my servant David : he shall feed them, md he shall be their shepherd. And 1 will make with them a covenant of peace." I do not suppose that the warning words which I have pioted apply only to those whom we are in the habit >f calling " Pastors." They apply to all who hold any >ffice, pastoral or other, in the Church of Christ. They ipply to civil rulers, and to all who have any influence which they can use for the good of men's souls; and VI.J THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 73 therefore, while I trust that their severe reproof is not addressed to any of you, certainly they contain for us all a most solemn warning. A visitation ought to he a time for us all of much searching of heart, I trust also of much spiritual refresh- ment. The Great Shepherd of the sheep on this occasion puts to you, to me, to all, the searching question, " Are you faithful according to the means which I have given you, in feeding my flock ? " I have issued a great number of questions, which to some of you may seem almost too minute, on the subject of the condition of your parishes. I hope care- fully to peruse the answers, and where necessary I will communicate with you, by writing, on the matters you suggest. And now, leaving general questions re- specting the condition of the Church, let me address myself to a few of the distinctly practical questions which a visitation ought to bring before us. I shall dwell first on the mission which is assigned to us as ministers, each of his own parish. No degree of ex- ternal activity can compensate for the neglect of that which is distinctly committed to you, each in his own peculiar sphere. Each man must begin with the dis- cipline of his own soul. Next, let him order well his own household and family, through which untold influence may be exercised over the parish of which he is the centre. Let these matters therefore pass in review before us now. The Church of England, in its parochial system, possesses peculiar means of influence, there being a minister in the centre of every parish, and a parsonage in almost all cases, the residence of the clergyman's 74 PRESENT POSITION OF [VI. family. Let each of us, then, look well to our own personal influence and the influence of our families. Let each of us take account not only of the direct work which we are doing, but of the indirect influence which flows from our homes. The clergyman's family is dear to the Church of England. We rejoice to be a Church the clergy of which live in family life. And the mention of this reminds me that in this diocese there is a society very intimately connected with the families of our clergy, the society which provides for their widows and orphans. 1 Its rules are simple and good. Prizing family life, you will not neglect to provide for those who are dear to you, for it is of great importance that in the uncertainties of life you should do so, as much as you may, in case any sudden blow comes upon you. I commend that part of our diocesan arrangement to your careful attention. No doubt many of the laity would be glad to assist this society, for they know how inadequate are the means of the clergy, with the many calls upon them, to provide for their families, and I believe that the laity only need to be called upon to give their ready assistance in this very im- portant matter. But turning from your own families and your own private life, let xis now think of your public ministra- tions. Let each one ask himself what is the condition of that house of God in which he ministers. Are all outward things so arranged in it as to tend to the edification of Christ's people ? Is the building in good order, decently furnished and arranged? Are the ser- vices of the Church so ordered that all your people 1 See Appendix E. VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 75 may benefit by them % Many matters of detail might here be alluded to. It is sometimes complained that merely such a matter as the reading of the service requires greater attention than it has hitherto received. In other professions in which a man has to come for- ward in public, if he does not acquit himself well in his public ministrations no one employs him. But the clergyman has in .this matter a sort of monopoly, and is therefore bound to see, by his own watchfulness, that there be in his peculiar mode of reading the services nothing that shall be an offence to his people. This may seem to some of you a matter of small import- ance, but it is not, and it is well that the younger clergy especially should guard against any habit which, however trivial it appears, may be a real impedi- ment in the way of the success of their ministry. I would also ask what is the number of services in our churches. Do we take care that there shall be services at such times on the Lord's Day as are most suitable for the peculiar wants of each parish ? Do we take care that all the adjuncts of those services shall be so arranged as to conduce most to the edification of our people ? Are our churches closed from one Sunday to another, or do we take care that the spirit of those enactments of our Church which require that the house of God shall be often open is not neglected in our case % I think a man acts somewhat thoughtlessly who allows, for example, the various Saints' Days which have been appointed to be observed, in order that great truths might in regular succession be brought before the minds of our people — I say, I think a man acts unwisely who allows those days to pass without any mark. It may 76 PRESENT POSITION OF [VI. be a matter of discretion what service you will have whether you will have it in the evening, or whether you will have the regular morning service— but under any circumstances I do not think it will be wise to allow the Saints' Days to pass unheeded. Efforts have of late been made to revive the observ- ance of Ascension Day. Let me express my earnest hope that a day to which the Church attaches such great importance that a Special Preface is appointed in the Communion Office, will henceforward be always duly observed. Arrangements, as you know, are now made for giving greater facilities to the people for public worship, by shortened services. I have spoken of these elsewhere, and only remind you of them now in order that you may avail yourselves of the opportunities which they offer. And now I come to the great ordinance of preaching. What makes a good sermon ? A great many things go to the making of a good sermon. Nothing so much as this, that we should speak from the heart to the heart. A dull discourse, which does not speak the real senti- ments of the preacher, which does not try to search the conscience of the hearer, certainly will never come up to the idea of a good sermon. Much reading is required of the clergy, especially in these days, when all men read, and when the clergy, who are teachers, cannot, with safety to their cause, be behind those whom they teach. There must be reading of all kinds —reading of ordinary literature— but, above all, regular and careful " reading of the Holy Scriptures, and .all such studies as help to the knowledge of the same." No man who is to do his duty in the preaching of the VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 77 Gospel can neglect such .studies. But, after all, there may be the utterance of the fervid spirit, there may- be the results of much reading ; but for your preaching to be effectual, there must be added to these things the speaking forth of the experiences of your own spiritual life. If a man does not himself understand and appre- ciate the spiritual truths of which he speaks to others, his voice will be to them but as the sound of " one that can play well upon an instrument," and will never reach the heart. And then what is to be the matter of our preaching ? All other subjects sink into utter insignificance compared with the one subject of our Lord Jesus Christ. An essay, however ingenious, however learned, however it may go through the great truths of morality, and cull from all sides illustrations of the importance of those truths, will altogether fail of doing Christ's work unless He Himself is the main subject of the whole of it. Christ in all His offices, ministering to the wants of His people, Christ dwelling amongst us in His human nature, giving Himself a sacrifice for our sins, raised to the Father's right hand, and perpetually making inter- cession for us, yet evermore present with His people now, according to His own most holy promise — this must be the sum and substance of our preaching if we are to reach our people's hearts. But the preaching of the Sunday will have little effect unless it be followed up by private ministrations. A parish is neglected if the various persons living in it are not distinctly aware that they are continually under their pastor's eye, and that their wants are known to him. Hence the necessity of a subdivision of large parishes, that no one may be left 73 PBESENT POSITION OF out in a crowd ; but that, going from bouse to house, the pastor may be felt to be the friend and guide of old and young within the whole limits of his parish. No doubt there are great difficulties in doing this. How are you to reach the working men ? They are not to be found at home except at unusual hours. How are you to reach the lads who are disposed to break off from the dis- cipline of the school, of which they are tired \ All these things we have to lay carefully to heart, and everyone is bound to ask himself what effort he is making to over- come these plain practical difficulties, which stand daily in our way. In every well-regulated parish the clergy will not work alone. Did we say that it is a great blessing to have a family in the clergyman's house % No doubt through the family influences will be extended over classes which otherwise could not be reached. And we must call in the assistance of our lay neighbours. Every clergyman who works his parish well must have a large staff of persons on whom he can depend to assist him in the visitation of his people ; otherwise, however active he may be himself, I fear he must leave some unattended. Now, you are aware that in London a great movement was made lately for the establishment of a society of lay assistants, and the numbers who have now joined that society are very great indeed. I remember that at the time when the Bishop of London's Fund was originated, a demand was made for five hundred additional voluntary lay assistants. I do not know that that number has been reached, but a large body of lay assistants have associated themselves together. 1 Hitherto in this diocese, though some slight progress has been made in this work of lay 1 See Appendix F. VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. ?9 association, it has only been here and there, and I trust that before another visitation comes round, there maybe, as suggested by Archbishop Longley. a large body of lay assistants associated together in this diocese. And while you visit your people one by one, and attend both to old and young, you certainly will not neglect the duty of catechising the young. This matter is so important that it has found a place in our rubrics. Confirmations have been greatly multiplied in the diocese of late years, mainly through the untiring exertions of the Suffragan Bishop. Last year there were eighty confirmations in Kent. 1 We used to think sixty a large number in the great diocese of London. You will not, I trust, fail to appreciate the importance of drawing the young members of your flock to Confirmation, and of seeing that they be duly prepared and diligently instructed. Certainly at no time was this ever more important than now. I am not prescribing when or where this catechising is to take place, but, as things now stand, if our children are not carefully taught through our instrumentality the value of the formularies of our Church, they will not learn them at all, and a vague and indefinite system will take the place of that regular training in the doctrines of the Church of England which has hitherto been maintained in all our schools. Every faithful clergyman will there- fore now, more than he ever did before, determine that, God helping him, he will attend to the specific and regular religious training of the children in our schools. But the Church of England does not confine its work to the regular routine of that sphere to which each of us is appointed. We do our work best, perhaps, within 1 See Appendix G. 80 PRESENT POSITION OF [VI. our own particular sphere, if at the same time we are ready to go beyond it. .Sympathy grows by its expan- sion, and those who are most laborious in their regular parochial work are also most ready to co-operate in the general mission work of the Church. Now it is a great mistake to suppose that all our mission work has to do with people at a great distance. Many of the parishes from which the clergy and churchwardens have been summoned to-day touch the metropolis, and the very same difficulties which prevail in the metropolis also prevail in those parishes adjoining, in which the popu- lation is growing so rapidly that the ordinary means of grace cannot penetrate the mass. There are many labourers coming down from the great metropolis into the adjacent villages, and going up daily to their work, whom, if the clergyman does not seek in a missionary spirit and by some distinct missionary efforts, he must leave altogether neglected. It is a good and hopeful sign of the times that our churches in such districts are now often used for missionary services. There are other parishes in this diocese presenting very peculiar features, besides those which adjoin the metropolis. Our long line of sea-coast has many towns in which a population grows up with very peculiar characteristics. Those populations of seamen — and some of those towns are also military stations — present great difficulties. The clergy who work in those parishes will not fail to make every possible missionary effort to reach those who are abandoned and outcast, whom, if they neglect, no one will care for. You aie aware that there exists in this county a Penitentiary Insti- tution at Stone, and that several self-denying women VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 81 have associated themselves to rescue the outcasts of their sex. 1 Many, by God's blessing, have thus been rescued. In all large towns, especially in such places as those I have alluded to, there ought to be a house of refuge, and the clergyman of the parish ought to see that the home or refuge is rightly managed, and that the claims of the outcast body are brought regularly before his people. Assuredly the Lord Jesus Christ, who in the course of His earthly life was ever ready to reclaim those who had fallen, and to bring back those from whom others, priding themselves on their own uprightness, were ready to turn aside, will look with favour upon every devoted act by which we now endeavour to rescue our fallen sisters. Once more let me return to His gracious words in the chapter I have brought before you already to-day : — " As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." But there are, close to our homes, other fields of dis- tinctly missionary work beyond the limits of our parishes. I am glad to see here to-day the chaplains of our work- houses. I trust that those to whom this most important charge is committed will most faithfully watch their opportunities of fully accomplishing their work ; and I trust that any of our lay brethren who are here to-day, and who in their office of guardians are called to select chaplains for our workhouses, will remember that there is scarcely any position more important or more ditficult properly to fill than the chaplaincy of a workhouse. To give the smallest conceivable salary, and take the 1 See Appendix H. 82 PRESENT POSITION OF [VI. first man that offers, will be a great neglect of duty. Eemember how arduous and difficult the work is. Be ready to give a proper remuneration for most important services, and select as before God the man whom you deem best fitted for some of the most difficult parts of Christ's work. The chaplain of the workhouse has to deal with those whose former life very often has unfitted them for easily receiving religious impressions. He has to deal with the most outcast and abject. It is his duty to see that the young are rightly taught ; that they have been baptized, and that they be brought, as far as his exertions will extend, to Confirmation. He must watch that old age is soothed in its decline, and that those who go forth from the workhouse are not neglected. He will not do his duty well unless he watches over the girls who leave the house, and see, as far as he can, that they are provided with suitable employment. And seeing how very difficult this part of his work is, he certainly requires every encouragement and help which can be given him by the laity. In London and elsewhere, ladies have associated themselves, with the full approval of the guardians, to visit in our workhouses, and the most beneficial results have followed ; persons leaving the workhouse, who otherwise would have been altogether lost, have been helped to live a consistent and useful life. I trust, therefore, that all of us, both clergy and laitv, will remember this most important mission of the Church of England. 1 I have spoken of the great difficulties of reaching the 1 Besides those who actually enter the workhouse, there are in every large parish orphan children whom a little assistance rendered in time may rescue. For such we have now our Diocesan Orphan Home, which I earnestly commend to attention. (See Appendix I.) vr.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 83 working classes who are gathered together in our villages and towns ; but time would fail if we were to enter on a full consideration of the machinery which we ought to organize in our parishes to reach the working classes. I may say, however, that a clergyman is not rightly fulfilling his duty who does not endeavour to have some institution in his parish, a reading-room or a lecture-room, whereby the men who are growing every year in intelligence may find that that growing intelli- gence need in no way separate them from the influence of the Church. There is one dreadful evil overspreading the whole land which makes havoc of thousands of our working men — the evil of intemperance. This is one of the practical matters to which Convocation has addressed itself. A com- mittee was appointed to examine into this subject of in- temperance under my friend the Archdeacon of Coventry, and results of the labours of that committee have been embodied in a report which has already received wide circulation, and I believe has done much good. I com- mend it to your most serious consideration. It is the bounden duty of every clergyman to see what efforts can be made in his parish to bring men to an under- standing of the misery of drunkenness. I say not to what association you ought to join yourselves, but this I do say, that unless you make distinct and positive efforts against intemperance, you will be neglecting an evil which is eating out the very heart of society, de- stroying domestic life among our working classes, and perhaps doing greater injury than any other cause which could be named in this age. 1 1 See Appendix K. a 2 84 PRESENT POSITION OF [VI. These few hints will suggest to you practically how much distinct missionary work there is, besides the ordinary mission to our parishes, which each of us has received from our Lord and Master. But a man does not rise to a sense of the full responsibilities of a clergyman of the Church of England, who does not continually remember that it has a mission far wider than our own land. In every well-regulated parish there will certainly be some effort to stir up interest in missions to the heathen. One or other of the great Societies will be brought particularly before your people's minds. It is proposed to observe the 20th December next as a day of special Intercession for an increased supply of Mission- aries. 1 Some persons suppose that in this age, heathenism, like vice itself, may be robbed of all that is bad in it, provided it be refined and varnished over with a thin coat of civilization. I do not think that is the view which either you or I will take of our duties to the heathen. The Lord Jesus Christ has charged all of us to spread His Gospel throughout the world ; and Churches will be judged by this, whether they have taken their part in that great work ; and each individual Christian, and especially each minister of our Church, who neglects his duty in the matter of missions to the heathen, will cer- tainly not escape the condemnation of the Lord to whom their souls are dear. But, my friends, we might stay here all day think- ing of various matters on which, at the time of a Visita- tion, we have to examine ourselves as to our practical faithfulness to our trust. Let me once again ask each of you to take himself seriously to task. Let the 1 See Appendix L. VI.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 85 Visitation be the subject of our individual prayers, that we may learn, each of us, better to estimate the degree in which we are fulfilling our responsibilities. The Church of Christ needs a godly clergy and a godly laity ; godly Christian homes amongst rich and poor ; vigorous efforts made by all to reach those whom Christ has com- mitted to them ; farmhouses and large mansions sanctified by family prayer; a general interest in the work of Christ; and this general interest leading us to see His image in the men and women and children around us : an interest in the value of souls, beginning with our own persons and our own homes, extending then to our own parishes, and spreading thence through our whole country, and from our own country to distant colonies and the most distant parts of the earth. The man who wishes to know whether he is answering to his responsibilities as a clergyman or lay office-bearer of the Church of England, will pass all these needs in review before his mind, and ask himself serious questions as to each. Do they say the Church of England is in danger ? No doubt it is. As long as the powers of evil are busy in the world, there is danger for the Church to which Christ has com- mitted the great work of resisting the powers of evil. But where is it to seek for its defence ? In the hearty, godly, Christian profession and practice of its members On all of us individually, on the way in which each fulfils his responsibilities, far more than on any outward supports, far more than on any admirably adapted machinery, does it depend that the Church of Christ shall do His work, and the Church of England remain taking its full part in that work till time ends. 86 PRESENT POSITION OF [VII. VII. (Delivered in Tonbridge Church, to the Rural Deaneries of North and South Mailing, November 5th.) My Eeverend Brethren, and my Brethren the Church- wardens : We are now approaching the end of this Visitation. I have thought it well to-day, at our last meeting, to address to you a few thoughts on this subject— the relation in which the Church of England stands to other religious bodies, both at home and abroad. I do not think that this subject will be unprofitable for those lay members of the Church who are here in an official capacity to-day. It is well for us, both clergy and laity, to examine carefully the position in which our Church stands in Christendom ; and though possibly some here present may not entirely agree with the views which I wish to bring before you on this subject, still I think it will do all of us good carefully and calmly to consider the matter ; and you will not refuse to give due weight to what I lay before you. Five years have now passed since Archbishop Longley assembled at Lambeth a great gathering of the Bishops of the Anglican Communion throughout the world. At that time there were many— not unnaturally, for almost VII.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 87 every measure of the kind was sure to be objected to — who felt objections, and stated them, to the course which he pursued. But I believe that, in an age which rather delights to magnify differences than to draw men together in the Christian Church, Archbishop Longley adopted a wise course. He assembled our Bishops from all quarters of the globe, and thus exhibited before the world the greatness and extent of our Church, and showed how those who preside over its remoter branches are able to co-operate with us at home in the spirit of love, and thus he gave an answer to many who are dis- posed to represent the Church of England as so divided that it is impossible for its ministers to act heartily to- gether. From China, from the Cape of Good Hope, from New Zealand, from Canada, from our brethren in Scot- land, from our brethren in the United States of America, and from Ireland, was gathered together that great assem- blage at Lambeth. The result of our deliberations was, I think, very satisfactory. Some matters of detail with regard to the mode of carrying on the discipline of the Church were carefully talked over and arranged ; and there issued from that body a Pastoral which had this characteristic, — that it set forth, solely and simply, the great Gospel doctrines in which the Church of England rejoices. We added, and attempted to add, nothing to the Creed and Articles which we had received from the Lord and His Apostles and those who followed faithfully in their steps both before and at the time of the Reformation ; but a simple statement went forth of what, in the belief of the members of the Anglican Communion throughout the world, were the great Gospel doctrines which all of us accept. And I think that that 88 PRESENT POSITION OF [VII statement, though there was no novelty in it, — for the subject admitted of no novelty, — was a valuable docu- ment, as showing how we of the Church of England hold fast by our old faith, have no desire for novelty, have nothing to add and nothing to take away from that which we have received from the Apostles. That assembly dispersed. But its effect has remained. All of us heard this year with great interest of that testimony of affectionate regard which our brethren in the United States of America sent to England by the hands of the Bishops of Lichfield and Ohio, and which in the name of the Mother Church of England I had the privilege of accepting in the Cathedral of the metropolis. Everyone who fears lest wars and rumours of wars should keep good men asunder, must rejoice that in the Church of which we are members there is a pledge of brotherly affection and regard even amongst those who are separated by many political considerations. The object of the Lambeth Conference, as you see, was confined entirely to bringing together the scattered members of our own communion ; but we should form a very inaccurate estimate of our position in Christendom if, wide as we know the Church of England to be, in the extent to which it is diffused throughout the world, we did not recognize that there are many other bodies in Christendom besides that to which we belong. Hence I have always looked with great interest on the exertions of the Anglo-Continental Society, which endeavours to spread throughout Europe a knowledge of the works of our great divines. I do not pledge myself to agree in all respects with the principles laid doAvn by VII.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 69 that Society, but no one, I think, can doubt that it is the duty of the Church of England to take some distinct steps to make its doctrines clearly known throughout the continent of Europe, — among Roman Catholics, and among other bodies who are generally very ignorant of the principles of our Church : and I believe you will find that the publication by this Society of works approved in the Church of England has been attended with a very good result in conciliating to our Church the friendship of many who are separated from it, and also in bringing before many who otherwise could not have received them the great Gospel doctrines on which our Church is founded. A few weeks ago there met at Cologne the representa- tives of that body which has attracted so much attention lately in Germany, — the Old Catholics ; and I, for my part, rejoice that two Bishops and another dignitary of the Church of England were present upon that occasion. I do not say that we can look with unfeigned satisfac- tion on the doctrinal statements which have been brought forward as yet by that body, but we could not fail to regard this meeting with great interest. Looking back in our own Church to the time which immediately preceded the Reformation, I suppose there is not one of us who does not venerate the names of Sir Thomas More, Archbishop Warham, and his friend Erasmus ; and if we find men now much in the same position in which Erasmus stood to the predominating Christianity of his day, it would be very strange if we did not feel a Christian interest in the struggle through which they are called to pass. But all these matters on which I have now touched 90 PRESENT POSITION OF [VII. refer to a union either amongst ourselves as members of the Episcopal Church of England and its daughters, or to hopes of a union which may in some time to come be effected between this Episcopal Church of England and other Episcopal Churches from which at present we are greatly separated. We have rejoiced, as the communication between ourselves and the East has increased, to welcome from time to time distinguished ecclesiastics of the Eastern Churches. Not that we are insensible to the grave errors which still overspread their several communions ; but we are glad if any opportunity occurs for making them better acquainted with the Church of which we are members, and for doing them what good we can in a kindly spirit of brotherly love. But everyone knows that the Episcopal Churches, widely as they are spread throughout the world, do not comprise the whole of Christendom. Everyone knows that we of the Church of England, in the early times of our history, after the Reformation, were much more connected with the non-episcopal than with the Episcopal communions ; and therefore I for one am glad that good Archbishop Sumner, in his day, called together another assembly at Lambeth, at which I was present, the object of which ' was to foster brotherly love between our- selves and the Protestants of the Continent. I think it was right that Lambeth should be now, as it was formerly, the centre to which the Protestant Churches looked for help. And as there were gathered together on that occasion many of our own countrymen from whom usually we are separated, and all of us heartily prayed to God for blessings upon the pure Gospel of VII.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 91 Christ, wherever it was preached and whosoever were its ministers, so I think we shall fail of our duty if we confine our regard to the Episcopal Churches, and are not anxious to give the hand of brotherhood to others also with whom we are intimately connected in the bonds of a common faith. I consider that it was a great privilege which I enjoyed as Bishop of London when, in the year 1862, the metropolis was full of strangers from all parts of the world, and when I had the opportunity of opening many of our chapels, so far as the law of the land, allowed, to pastors from Germany, from France, from Switzerland, from the Waldeusian Valleys ; and I believe they went home with a kindly feeling of brotherly love, not only to the English Church but to the English nation generally, which it would have been difficult to foster without this kindly welcome. In our many unconsecrated places of worship which the law allowed to be so opened for their use, these pastors had, under the invitation of the authorities of the English Church, an opportunity each of preaching to his own people, in his own tongue, "the unsearchable riches of Christ." No doubt also it is a grave and important subject for us to consider, that, while men are holding out the right hand of fellowship to the Episcopal Churches of the Continent, there are so many of our own brethren at home from whom we are estranged. Every effort which can be made to unite us more truly in the bonds of Christian love with these our brethren at home, seems to come to us recommended by something- more practical than is found in efforts to unite with PRESENT POSITION OF [VII. foreigners, many of whom show little inclination to admit us to their fellowship, and some of whom could not admit us, without our denying the great principles of our Reformed Church. I am no visionary looking forward to a time when all the various denominations throughout Britain are to come and desire admission into the Church of England ; but still I think, if we persevere in the loving, faithful discharge of our duty, if we adhere faithfully to the formularies which we have received from the time of the Reformation, and if we show in all things, where we can without any compromise of principle, a hearty spirit of Christian love, there is every hope that in Christ's good time the differences that keep us apart may disappear. Now the peculiar qualification which the Church of England possesses for thus working for the union of divided Christendom, springs from the twofold character impressed on it by the mode in which its Reformation was conducted. There was no rash sever- ance from the past, and therefore we retain all Catholic doctrine and many old Catholic forms, and present to those who have not yet passed through a Reformation many features which attract them, and without which we should have little hope of bringing them to a better mind. And with regard to the other features of our Church, — that steady adherence to the written AVord of God, that distinct maintenance of the Reformation formularies which has hitherto characterized us, — these do give us great power of influencing other Protestant bodies from which we have been long estranged. If you cast your eyes over the state of Europe at this moment, you will, I think, have a very uneasy VII.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 93 feeling as to the present prospects of religion. You see infidelity in two forms, either in the shape of cold indif- ference or of that coarse and violent Atheism which has hurried men to such brutal acts in a neighbouring country. How far is its influence spread ; and in most of the countries of the Continent, or at least of Southern Europe, how little is there to oppose it ! You see super- stition bursting forth occasionally, in the midst of the light of this nineteenth century, into acts of idolatry which we should scarcely have thought possible in the darkest age before the Reformation. Here then seems to be the only alternative which in most of these countries is presented to earnest-minded men — either float with the current of the age and give up Chris- tianity altogether, or make a stern resistance to it in the spirit of the most narrow-minded bigotry and super- stition. Can we then venture to stand apart from the efforts of those struggling communities which uphold Gospel truth in the midst of prevailing error ? Switzer- land and all Protestant Europe are now mourning the loss of Merle d'Aubigne ; and in France the greatest of her living statesmen is contending in his old age for the maintenance of pure religion. The Church of England dare not show indifference to the cause so dear to these men's hearts. In Germany indeed we may hope that the state of matters is better ; but still the view is nowhere satisfactory. In this our Church of England, I think we find the sole example of a Church at once holding all the old ceremonials, as far as they are consistent with the Scriptures and the teaching of the immediate successors of the Apostles, and at the same time showing a readiness to admit all the light which 9 i PRESENT POSITION OF [VII. our growing intelligence in this age places within our reach. It is commonly said now-a-days in many countries that Christianity and Eeason must be divorced ; that Christianity and Civilization, — modern Civilization, — are antagonists to each other. Certainly we, in the Church of England, have no fear lest there should he any real antagonism between God's two great lights to man, — Reason, and Science as its product, on the one hand, and Revelation on the other. We, of this free country, who desire to see civilization spread far and wide, and who recognize in. civilization the perfection of humanity, have no fear lest the human race, as it approaches per- fection, should more and more separate itself from Him who is the model of all perfection. We have no fears lest Science and Reason should be found irreconcilable with the truth of God. We have no fear lest the perfection of civil society should be found inconsistent with the perfection of that ecclesiastical society to which we belong. There are certain names which occur to us, of famous ministers of the Church of England, — Richard Whately, Thomas Arnold, Julius Hare, Frederick Maurice, Frede- rick Robertson, — I name only those who have gone to their rest; — these are not the names of the clergy who are most popular throughout England, but I am bold to maintain that they are the names of men who have done a good work in their day and generation, for their very presence amongst us has been a standing protest against any notion that inquiry and the fearless love of truth can be inconsistent with the Gospel which we preach. These men, — had they lived under another VII.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 95 system, and in another age, it might have been very difficult to say what would have become of them. They could not certainly have joined the Church of Rome without crushing their convictions, as many have done in past times, under the weight of an overwhelming tyranny, or seeking relief from their doubts and scruples by a silence akin to death. But also I say, these men could not well have found a home in any of the ordinary sects which exist amongst us. It is then, I am bold to say, no blame to the Church of England, but rather it may be its pride, that it is able to include amongst its ministers the most active and inquiring intellects, and that it has no fear lest a bold examination of truth should destroy those truths of Cod on which it teaches men to depend for their salvation. Such then I believe to be the sort of position which the Church of England occupies at this time. On the right hand and on the left it invites to fellowship those from whom others are necessarily entirely sepa- rated ; but let it not be supposed that on this account there is any faltering as to the maintenance of Christ's truth in the Church to which we belong, or that a mere system of indifferentism is put up in place of that Gospel which we prize. If men desire to corrupt the pure Gospel of Christ, either by unauthorized additions, or by watering it down so that it becomes a mere senti- ment alism, the Church of England has no word of encouragement for either of these mistakes. I desire that all persons who are alienated from the Church of England at this time should read carefully its formularies and the books of its great writers, to whatever school they belong, — that it should be understood that the PRESENT POSITION OF [VII. Church of England protests now, as much as it ever did, against all errors which are anti-Christian or which corrupt Christianity ; while in the wide spirit of com- prehensive love it desires to draw into its fold all those who are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Does anyone say that there is faltering in our views as to the errors of the Church of Rome ? Does the Church of Rome teach a doctrine respecting the blessed sacra- ment of the Eucharist which, beginning in superstition, generally ends in idolatry ? Does not the Church of England, with unfaltering voice, declare against the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation ? Does it not declare that the mean whereby we feed upon the body and blood of Christ is faith ? Hence it is consistent in adopting the Rubric appended to the Communion of the Sick, which says that a faithful and penitent man, who is prevented by lack of opportunity from receiving the outward elements, doth yet eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ to his soul's health, though the outward communion be altogether absent. For our Church has distinctly asserted in her Articles that Christ's Body when- present in the Eucharist is there only after a heavenly and spiritual manner, and in the famous Rubric at the end of the Communion Service that no adoration " ought to be done either unto the Sacramental Bread and Wine there bodily received, or unto any corporal presence of Christ's natural Flesh and Blood. For the Sacramental Bread and TVine remain still in their very natural substances, and therefore may not be adored (for that were idolatry, to be abhorred of all faithful Christians) : and the natural Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ are in Heaven, and not here ; it VII] < THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 97 being against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at one time in more places than one." Does not all this set before us distinctly that the Church of England is faithful now, as it ever was, to that scrip- tural doctrine of the Eucharist, which our fathers died to maintain ? Again, does the Church of Rome tell us that the Bible is not sufficient ; that there must be other teachers and another system of inspiration besides that which comes down to us from Christ and His Apostles in the written Word ? Does not the Church of England tell us that neither any particular Church nor yet any gathered assembly of the universal Church is free from error, and that the only hope of the Church is to keep stedfast by the written Word ? Does the Church of Rome, with faltering voice, hesi- tate as to how we are accounted righteous before God ; setting forth indeed the Lord Jesus Christ as our atone- ment, but telling us that partly by sacraments, and partly by works, and partly by faith, we become par- takers of justification ? The Church of England has no hesitation in saying, as it said of old, that the doc- trine that we are justified by faith only is a most whole- some doctrine. And whatever other errors there may be of the Church of Rome which militate against the pure Apostolic faith, to all of them we may find an antidote in the approved formularies of our Church and the writings of our divines. Or, on the other hand, would anyone say that our Christianity may become a sort of half infidelity Who can read the formularies of the Church of Eng- land without seeing that the person of Christ, His H 98 PRESENT POSITION OF [VII incarnation, His death for our sins, His intercession for us at the Father's right hand, His gift of the Holy Spirit, is set before us in every page ? Who can douht that the Church of England upholds the doctrine of the personality of the Holy Ghost, and teaches us, depending alone on the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to pray for the influence of the personal Comforter that we may be brought to our risen Lord ? My friends, I do believe that with the clearest and most unhesitating maintenance of the great Gospel truths, with the clearest protest against errors which are dangerous to the soul, on one side and on the other, the Church of England still stretches wide its arms and desires to bring souls to God, and is antagonistic to no Church or individual, so far as that Church or indi- vidual is faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. And now, my friends, if this be the work of the Church of England, how shall he answer for it who thwarts its fulfilment of its sacred mission ? How shall he answer for it if, by violent assaults from without or faithlessness from within, he injures this great cause ? How shall any of us answer for it if, through a restless disobedience to authority, a straining after novelties unheard of before, or the revival of old exploded errors, we injure this great Church of Christ, — how shall we answer for it if we fail through any cold indifference to the great doctrines which our Church upholds ? Still more, how shall we answer for it if, through listless neglect of duty, thoughtlessness as to the value of the souls the Lord has committed to us, we do the Church far greater injury even than could be inflicted on it by VII.] THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 99 false doctrine — the injury which flows from a false and sinful life ? Our years, my friends, are passing with marvellous rapidity. Our homes, our Church, the nation, all testify, through the changes which are passing over them, that the time of our trial is short. God grant that, when it is over, you and ' I and all of us may be found to have been faithful in our day and generation to the great work entrusted to us by the Lord. IT 2 APPENDICES. APPENDICES. A. CANTEEBUEY DIOCESAN EDUCATION SOCIETY. o*»»*w.v. \ Rev. E. Gilder, St. Dtrastan's, Canterbury. Secretaries, j REy , p Q ^tone. * The Society, established in 1839, after having been actively- engaged ever since in promoting the establishment and efficiency of Church schools in the diocese, has during the last four years accomplished the following results, including its special efforts to meet recent legislation : — FUNDS. In answer to a special appeal made by the Archbishop in 1870 for funds to assist parishes in the diocese in meeting the demands for additional accommodation, and to maintain a second diocesan inspector, there have been contributed— Special Subscriptions and Donations .£3,582 3 0 Collections made, in conformity with a Pastoral Letter, in 145 Churches 743 10 7 Total ordinary Subscriptions for four years 2,133 18 4 Total Receipts £0,459 11 11 BUILDING GRANTS. During the same period of four years the following Grants have been made : — For Building, Enlarging, and FMing-np Schools and Teachers' Houses : — Grants amounting to £4,360. In 114 Parishes. Affording additional accommodation for . . 8,847 Scholars. And additional residences for 27 Teachers. At an estimated cost of £59,640 19*. 9rf. 104 APPENDICES. A few of these undertakings have not heen completed. As a matter of fact, however, those that are completed will be found to have cost much more than was expected, so that the whole sum expended will be quite as great as lias been stated above. During the same period seventy-nine diocesan monitors have been appointed and paid by the Society, in as many schools, for periods of service not exceeding five years. These monitors have been annually examined by the diocesan inspector, and many of them have become pupil-teachers. The amount of grants paid for this object has been 3691. Grants have been made to 155 evening schools amounting to 353/. 13s. Gd., at a rate varying from three shiliugs to half-a- crown on behalf of each scholar whose proper attendance and conduct was duly certified, on condition that some religious instruction was given. The Society made itself liable in November 1870 for the salary of a second diocesan inspector ; and an offer of inspection in religious knowledge is now made annually to every Church school in the diocese, and has been almost universally accepted. This involves an annual charge on the Society of 450/., towards which the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge contri- uted for the first year 100/. The work of the diocesan inspectors for the first completed year has been as follows : — DIOCESAN MONITORS. EVENING SCHOOLS. PIOCESAN INSPECTION. Rev. B. F. Smith . . lie v. E. W. Knollys . Scholars n Buoks. 22,967 Scholars 16,280 16,192 Total 45,355 The diocesan inspectors also examined in religious knowledge 240 pupil teachers at collective examinations aud 21 in private APPENDICES. 105 PRAYER-BOOK TKIZE SCHEME. A scheme for examining elder children in parochial schools in the knowledge of the Prayer-book was set on foot by the Society in 1871. Small grants were voted to each local board willing to expend an equal sum in prizes for successful candi- dates. The first examination was held in March 1872, in which 100 candidates satisfied the examiners and were classified in three classes. B. CANTERBURY DIOCESAN CHUKCH BUILDING AND ENDOWMENT SOCIETY. Established January 27th, 1865. Hon. (Sec.— REV. W. FIELD, Godmersjiam Vicarage. OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The erection of churches and chapels, the purchase of buildings to be used as churches or chapels, and the enlarge- ment, increase, or improvement of the accommodation of exit-ting churches and chapels. 2. The endowment of buildings intended to be consecrated as churches and chapels, by augmenting local benefactions raised for that purpose. The grants in such cases not to be paid until the buildings shall have been corjsecrated. 3. The increase of such endowments of existing churches and chapels as do not afford a stipend of 200/. a year to the incumbents; by augmenting local benefactions raised for that purpose. !0<> APPENDICES. 4. The increase, by annual grants, of incomes of incumbents who do not receive a net stipend of 150/. a year, in cases where there is a reasonable prospect of a permanent increase of such incomes, from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners or any other source. 5. The erection or enlargement of parsonage-houses, and the purchase or improvement of buildings to be used as parsonage- houses. G. To promote the increase of church accommodation generally, by paying one-fourth of any sums collected in churches, in behalf of this Society, to the Incorporated Society for Buildino- and Enlarging Churches and Chapels in England and Wales. SUMMARY OF THE SOCIETY'S OPERATIONS FROM ITS COMMENCEMENT. 1 Number .of Churches assisted. ArMitiona Seato. Amount or Society's GranU Total Cost. £ 46,683 9,032 5S,393 New Churches . . Churches rebuilt Churches enlarged or improved . Temporary Churches .... Increase of Small Benefices . Parsonage-houses Annual Grants to Incorporated ) Church Building Society . . . \ i 6 6,714 728 6,623 1,511 £ 4,470 416 5,152 19 35 15,576 10,415 2,975 5,550 1,185 117,379 52,140 131 15,576 £20,125 J £169,519 The Archbishop strongly urges on his Clergy to have parochial collections for this and the Educational Society. APPENDICES. 107 C. STATUTES OF CANTEEBUEY CATHEDEAL. The Statutes of Canterbury Cathedral, drawn up by Arch- bishop Laud, and confirmed by King Charles L, a.d. 1G36, are given in Laud's Works (Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology), vol. v. part ii. pp. 506 — 545. They are accompanied by a letter from the King, and there is also a letter from the Archbishop given in vol. vi, part ii., p. 484. " I left out divers superstitions which were in the old book, and ordained many sermons in their room," writes the Arch- bishop in his " Troubles and Trials " (iv. 224). D. THE ACT OF UNIFOEMITY AMENDMENT ACT. The Act of Uniformity Amendment Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict ch. 35), contains the following provisions : — 1. The Shortened Order for Morning Prayer or for Evening Prayer, specified in the Schedule to this Act, may, on any day except Sunday, Christmas Day, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Ascension Day, be used, if in a cathedral in addition to, and if in a church in lieu of, the Order for Morning Prayer or for Evening Prayer respectively prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer. 2. Upon any special occasion approved by the Ordinary, there may be used in any cathedral or church a special form of service approved by the Ordinary, so that there be not intro- duced into such service anything, except anthems or hymns, which does not form part of the Holy Scriptures or Book of Common Prayer. 3. An additional form of service varying from any form prescribed by the Book of Common Praj'er may be used at any 108 APPENDICES. hour on any Sunday or holy-day in any cathedral or church in which there are duly read, said, or sung as required hy law on such Sunday or holy-day at some other hour or hours the Order for Morning Prayer, the Litany, such part of the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion as is required to be read on Sundays and holy-days if there be no Communion, and the Order for Evening Prayer ; so that there be not introduced into such additional service any portion of the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, or anything, except anthems or hymns, which does not form part of the Holy Scriptures or Book of Common Prayer, and so that such form of service and the mode in which it is used is for the time being approved by the Ordinary : provided that nothing in this section shall affect the use of any portion of the Book of Common Prayer as otherwise authorized by the Act of Uniformity or this Act. 4. "Whereas doubts have arisen as to whether the following forms of service, that is to say, the Order for Morning Prayer, the Litany, and the Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, may be used as separate services, and it is expedient to remove such doubts: Be it therefore enacted and declared, that any of such forms of service may be used together or in varying order as separate services, or that the Litany may be said after the third collect in the Order for Evening Prayer, either in lieu of or in addition to the use of the Litany in the Order for Morning Prayer, without preju- dice nevertheless to any legal powers vested in the Ordinary ; and any of the said forms of service may be used with or without the preaching of a sermon or lecture, or the reading of a homily. 5. Whereas doubts have arisen as to whether a sermon or ecture may be preached without the common prayers and services appointed by the Book of Common Prayer for the time of day being previously read, and it is expedient to remove such doubts : Be it therefore enacted and declared, that a sermon or lecture may be preached without the common prayers or services appointed by the Book of Common Prayer being read before it is preached, so that such sermon or lecture be preceded by any service authorized by this Act, or by the Bidding Prayer, or by APPENDICES. 109 a collect taken from the Book of Common Prayer, with or without the Lord's Prayer. SCHEDULE. Note. — The Minister using the Shortened Order for Morning Prayer or for Evening Prayer in this Schedule, may in his dis- cretion add in its proper place any exhortation, prayer, canticle hymn, psalm, or lesson contained in the Order for Morning Prayer or for Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer and omitted or authorized to be omitted from such Shortened Order. Each of the twenty-two portions into which the one hundred and nineteenth psalm is divided in the Book of Common Prayer shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Schedule, to be a sepa- rate psalm. SHORTENED FORMS OF SERVICE. The Shortened Order for Morning Prayer daily throughout the Year, except on Sunday, Christmas Day, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Ascension Day. At the beginning of Morning Prayer the Minister shall read ivith a loud voice some One or more of these sentences of the Scriptures that follow. When the wicked man, &c. A General Confession to be said of the whole Congregation after the Minister, all kneeling. Almighty and most merciful Father, &c. The Absolution, or Remission of sins, to be pronounced by the Priest alone, standing ; the people still kneeling. Almighty God, the Father, &c. The people shall answer here, and at the end of all other prayers, Amen. Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord's Prayer with an audible voice; the people also kneeling, and repenting it with him. Our Father, which art in henven. kc. 101 APPENDICES. Tlt&n likewise he shall say, 0 Lord, open thou our lips. &c. &c. &c. Here, all standing up, the Priest shall say, Glory be to the Father, &c. Then shall follow one or more of the Psalms appointed. And at the end of every Psalm throughout the year, and likewise at the end of Benedieite, Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc dimittia, shall be repeated, < dory be to the Father, &c. Then shall be read distinctly, with an audible voice, either the First Lesson taken out of the Old Testament as is appointed in the Calendar, or the Second Lesson taken out of the New Testament, except there be a Proper Lesson assigned for that day. in which case the Proper Lesson shall be read, and if there are two Proper Lesson, each shall be read in its proper place; he that readeth so standing and turning Mnaelf at he may best be heard of all such as are present. Note that before every Lesson the Minister shall say, Here beginneth such a Chapter, or Verse of such a Chapter, of such a Book And after every Lesson, Here endetli the Lesson, or the First or the Second Lesson. And, after the Lesson, or between the First and Second Lessons, shall be said or sung in English one of the following : - Either the Hymn called Te Deuni Laudanms. We praise thee, O God, See. Or this Canticle, Benedicite, omnia opera. 0 all ye works of the Lord, &c Or the Hymn following (except when that shall happen to be read in the Lesson for the day, or for t/te Gospel on Saint John Baptist's Bay) : Benedictus. St, Luke i. G8. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Sec. APPENDICES. Ill Or this Psalm : Jubilate Deo. 0 be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands, &c. Then shall he sung or said the Apostles' Creed by the Minister and the people standing. I believe in God the Father Almighty, &c. And after that, the people all devoutly kneeling, the Minister shall pronounce with a loud voice, The Lord be with yon. Answer. And with thy spirit. Minister. Let us pray. Then the Priest shall say, 0 Lord, shew thy merry upon us. &c. &c. &c. Then shall follow three Collects. The first of the day, which shall be the same that is appointed at the Communion ; the second for Peace ; the third for grace to live well ; and the two last Collects shall never alter, but daily be said at Morning Prayer throughout all the year, as followeth, all kneeling. The second Collect for Peac. 0 God, who art the Author of peace, &c. The third Collect for Grace. O Lord, our heavenly Father, &c. Here may follow an Anthem or Hymn : Then these two Prayers following : A Prayer of Saint Chrysostome. Almighty God, who hast given us grace, &c. 2 Corinthians xiii. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c. Here endeth the Shortened Or