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 L I E) RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N 1 VLRSITY 
 
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 THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE LAITY. 
 
 A CHAEGE 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN WORCESTER CATHEDRAL, 
 
 AND AT 
 
 STRATFORD-ON-AVON, 
 
 AT HIS 
 
 SIXTEENTH GENERAL VISITATION, 
 
 May 13th and 14th, 1872. 
 
 RICHARD BRINDLEY HONE, M.A., 
 
 ARCHDEACON OF WORCESTER. 
 
 WORCESTER:— J. COOMBS, HIGH STREET. 
 LONDON :— HAMILTON, ADAMS, & Co. 
 
 PRICE SIXPENCE.
 
 A CHARGE. 
 
 My Brethren of the Clergy and Laity, — 
 
 Never, as I believe, was there a time, within the recollection of 
 the oldest amongst us, when there was so great necessity as at 
 present for strengthening the position of the National Church, for 
 correcting ascertained defects, and for devising the most effectual 
 means of qualifying her for the exercise of a beneficent influence 
 on the largest scale. 
 
 Amongst important subjects intimately affecting her welfare, 
 and claiming immediate attention, are the place which the Laity 
 are entitled to occupy, and the duties which they ought to fulfil, 
 in relation to her interests ; and I cannot think that any apology 
 is needed if these are made the subjects of my present Charge. 
 
 Allowing for justifiable causes of absence from my Visitation, 
 I ought to be heard by upwards of 300 of my Brethren of the 
 Clergy, and by double that number of Churchwardens, gathered 
 from all parts of a large and populous Archdeaconry, and 
 possessed of considerable influence, — a great opportunity of 
 usefulness which I desire to be enabled to turn to profitable 
 account. 
 
 In what relations the Laity should stand towards the Synods of 
 the Church, — whether they ought to be invested with a controlling 
 power over the selection of the pastors of their several parishes, 
 —whether, and to what extent, and by what means, provision 
 should be made for their being consulted before alterations are 
 made in the manner of conducting the services in their parish
 
 churches, — these are questions which, at the present moment, are 
 demanding, with increasing importunity, the grave and intelligent 
 consideration of every loyal and consistent member of the Church 
 of England, with a view to their speedy settlement, on wise and 
 safe principles. 
 
 In venturing to address you on subjects at once so important 
 and so difficult to deal with, I am not presumptuous enough to 
 suppose that I can prescribe their proper solution ; and my desire 
 and aim will rather be to commend them to your own thoughtful- 
 ness, and to urge that they are not likely to admit of a long 
 postponement, and that they are liable in the end to be treated 
 unwisely, if left to be entered upon with an enforced precipitancy. 
 
 May it please the great Head of the Church to endue us, her 
 members, with a right judgment, and to prepare us to take our 
 own proper part, whatever that may be, when either counsel or 
 action are required of us ! The day may perchance arrive much 
 earHer than many of us at present expect. 
 
 The questions which now appear to press most strongly for our 
 anxious forethought, and on which I now proceed to address you, 
 are, as I have already intimated, the rights and duties of the 
 Laity, in relation to CHURCH COUNCILS, CHURCH 
 PATRONAGE, and CHURCH SERVICES. 
 
 I. And first, of Councils or Synods. The Church is far from 
 being in a quiescent state. Measures affecting her welfare are in 
 progress, or under discussion, without intermission, in Parliament 
 and in the two Convocations. The circumstances of her relation 
 to the State are brought under the eye of the Legislature; and 
 action, often touching her in tender places, is taken, in almost 
 every session of Parliament. A few words may suffice to suggest 
 how momentous some of these subjects are. There is the increase 
 of the Episcopate, the formation of new Dioceses, the reconstruc- 
 tion of the constitution of Cathedral bodies, the reform of the 
 Ecclesiastical Courts, the remodelling of the Convocations of 
 Canterbury and York, Parochial Councils, Subdivision of Parishes, 
 Clergy Discipline, Amendments of the Act of Uniformity, the 
 
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 Laws relatino^ to Marriage, and a multitude of other subjects, all 
 made questions of the day, upon which legislation is sought. 
 No one would be rash enough to suppose that any single year 
 will pass, for a long time to come, without Parliament, and the 
 Convocations also, being occupied with matters which concern the 
 whole Church, and which will affect her seriously, whether for 
 good or evil. 
 
 The measures submitted to the consideration of Parliament 
 are, many of them, conceived in a most friendly spirit, with a 
 pure desire to enlarge the sphere of the Church's usefulness, to 
 strengthen her hold upon the hearts of the people, and to equip 
 her for the most effectu&l fulfilment of her own proper work, in 
 the service of her Master, Christ. Other measures are framed in 
 jealousy and hostility, sometimes openly avowed and sometimes 
 awkwardly disgniised under a pretext of friendly intentions. 
 
 But in no case have the Laity been consulted. Every proposal 
 that touches the Church is of interest to the Layman, and many 
 of the Bills debated in Parliament are of vital importance to 
 him. But nothing is referred to his consideration. He is con- 
 strained to be a passive spectator of all that is going on. There 
 is no organization by which he can make known his judgment or 
 his wishes. He has no representatives anywhere. It used to be 
 said that the Laity have a powerful representation in Parliament, 
 but the hollowness of that suggestion is now universally admitted. 
 It is owned that no one member of the House of Commons was 
 elected by his county or borough because he was judged to be 
 the fittest representative of Churchmen that could anywhere be 
 found. 
 
 It may be said that Laymen can use the right of petitioning, 
 as citizens of this country. But petitioning is not in good 
 repute, owing to the fi-aud and delusion by which names are 
 procured. 
 
 But whether this mode of representing an Englishman's desires 
 to Parliament be still of value, or be almost devoid of significance, 
 it remains equally true that the Laity, as such, have no means of
 
 turning it to account, in as much as there is no organized body 
 through which their desires can be expressed. The Laity, as 
 such, can scarcely be said to have declared their minds, on 
 ecclesiastical subjects, since those days, in the distant past, in 
 which they were integral parts of an Anglo-Saxon Council. 
 
 This was a matter of comparatively little consequence so long 
 as Parliament consisted wholly of Churchmen. Still less was it 
 important while the legislature gave no attention to questions 
 affecting the interests of the Church, and while the Convocations 
 of the Clergy transacted no business, and therefore took no steps 
 which could, directly or indirectly, influence the course of 
 legislation. But all this is changed. Parliament is not an 
 assembly of Churchmen. The Convocations of the Clergy, using 
 their newly restored life, are exercising a perceptible influence over 
 public opinion, and over the proceedings of the legislature ; but 
 the Laity have no legally constituted representative assembly, 
 through which to declare their minds. 
 
 This seems in itself unjust ; and surely the Church stands at a 
 great disadvantage while thus deprived of the counsel and action 
 of her lay members ! 
 
 Some nineteen years ago, at my third Visitation, I thought it 
 right to plead for the admission of the Laity into the existing 
 Synods of the Church. In the Convocation of the Province of 
 Canterbury, at that time, there were many other members who 
 desired that a place might be found in that assembly for represen- 
 tative Laymen. The subject has never since been allowed to 
 sleep ; and one of your own Proctors has been a principal means 
 of keeping it alive, and recently of procuring a careful examina- 
 tion of it by a Committee, of which he was the Chairman. 
 
 But further reflection has long since satisfied me (and the 
 conviction is only strengthened by the Report of that Committee), 
 that the difficulties in the way of effecting such a change in the 
 structure of the Provincial Convocations are of the gravest 
 character, involving practically the destruction of an ancient and
 
 eonetitutional council, and the virtual substitution of another 
 differently framed. 
 
 But farther, such a transformation, unless accompanied by a 
 provision scarcely less subversive of the original institution, 
 would leave the Church under her acknowledged present dis- 
 advantage of having two independent Provincial Synods, whose 
 decisions, without objectionable compromises, might often be at 
 issue with each other. 
 
 What the exigencies of the Church of England appear to 
 demand is the revival of one council for the whole Church, leaving 
 intact the old Provincial Synods of the Clergy (which are a part 
 of the constitution of the country), except so far as they might 
 be made more efficient by reforms consistent with their original 
 character. The Convocations of the Clergy might still find their 
 appropriate work to do ; and they would be ready to go on, 
 fulfilling their proper functions, if perchance the projected 
 National Assembly should on trial be found wanting. 
 
 The voice of a great National Council, composed of Clergy and 
 Laity, would secure a measure of attention and confidence which 
 no purely clerical council will ever be able to command ; and 
 moreover, such joint deliberation, and concurrence in action, 
 might consolidate the whole body of the Church, producing an 
 enthusiastic unity where now there is too much of coldness and 
 indifference. It might, with God's blessing, renew the youth of 
 the Church, and enable her to put forth fresh strength for God's 
 services and glory, and for the welfare of the people of this land. 
 The Legislature might be expected to Hsten with favour to the 
 representations of such an assembly, and to ratify its schemes for 
 purely Church purposes, so long as they did not trench on the 
 rights and liberties of the people. It is not beyond the reach of 
 hope that, within prescribed limits, the right of making canons, 
 binding upon members of the Church, might be conceded to such 
 a body. One great advantage might confidently be expected, 
 namely, that Parliament would not legislate in the supposed 
 interest of the Church without having first ascertained, at least
 
 8 
 
 indirectly, in what light the subject was regarded by the represen- 
 tative ecclesiastical council. 
 
 Should such a Synod be framed, in answer to the desire of 
 many loyal members of the Church, it can scarcely be doubted 
 that its constitutional basis would be identical in principle with 
 those of the Synods of the Church in Ireland, in the Colonies, and 
 in the United States of America. In these, the common principle 
 prevails of voting by Orders, in the last resort, — the Bishops, 
 Clergy, and Laity, apart, — so that the veto of either Order sets 
 aside any proposed resolution or canon ; and the sanction of a 
 majority in each divisioii (it might be a majority of two-thirds 
 in each), if claimed according to a known rule, is requisite to the 
 validity of any acts of the Synod. The necessity of securing so 
 great an amount of concurrence as would be expressed by three 
 distinct majorities, might sometimes retard the progress of useful 
 measures ; but on the other hand, it would serve to prevent hasty 
 legislation, and to give additional weight to such decisions as had 
 been made under these conditions. 
 
 If our eyes and ears are open, we must be aware that a great 
 and increasing number of the Laity not only complain of, but 
 resent, the practical suppression of what they hold to be their 
 rights, and the denial to them of any opportunity, in a corporate 
 capacity, of advancing the interests of the Church ; and that the 
 consequence is, not only a loss of valuable services, but a smaller 
 share of affection and devotedness to the Church than might 
 otherwise be secured. 
 
 Feeling as I have now expressed myself, I listened with 
 unmixed thankfulness to the words of our Bishop, at his last 
 Visitation, when he was sustaining by argument what he had 
 previously advanced in his Primary Charge. 
 
 After speaking of the " vital importance of engaging the 
 counsel and help of the lay members of the Church, in all church 
 affairs, whether of legislation or administration," he declared it 
 to be his firm belief that "no greater benefit could l)e given to 
 our Church, or to the bjst interests of the nation, than to put the
 
 9 
 
 course of church legislation on an improved footing, such as may 
 approve itself to the practical good sense of our people, and win 
 their confidence. Happy for us the day," he added, "if the 
 good providence of God so order it, when we may have a body 
 fairly representing the Church, and in which, not as a matter of 
 concession, but of right, the Laity shall have their due place ; to 
 which shall be entrusted the task of regulating by authority 
 all matters touching the Church, within well defined limits, as 
 also preparing, with due care, measures which lie beyond those 
 limits, for discussion and final decision by Parliament. Who can 
 doubt," he asked, " that the action of such a body, well and 
 wisely constituted, would provide us, at no distant day, with 
 measures corrective of many evils by which we are now vexed, 
 giving increased stability and efiiciency to onr Church, and 
 famishing us with fresh power to carry the saving health of the 
 Gospel far and wide among our people ? " 
 
 I make no apology for conveying these weighty words once 
 more to your ears. 
 
 Very valuable essays and speeches on this subject have been 
 put into circulation by the Association for Promoting the Reform 
 of Convocation. It is true that the avowed aim of that 
 Association is the amalgamation and reconstruction of the two 
 Provincial Convocations ; but the able papers to which I refer 
 plead strongly for the establishment of one great National 
 Assembly, comprising the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity, 
 some of them not mentioning the Convocations at all, and there- 
 fore of course, not treating them as the only germ out of which 
 the new council should spring. 
 
 To such a Synod, were it now in active life, might wisely be 
 left the treatment of those other questions, affecting the Laity, of 
 which I have still to speak, and with respect to which, as things 
 now stand, there is a wide-spread and increasing dissatisfaction 
 amongst intelligent churchmen, which will probably exact, ere 
 long, a favourable settlement of its demands. 
 
 II, I come then to what is commonly denominated Church
 
 10 
 
 Patronage, but for which I would bespeak your more serious 
 consideration by describing it as the solemn and responsible trust 
 of providing for the spiritual charge of the people of this land, 
 in their several parishes, by the appointment of clergymen to 
 undertake the care of their souls. It is the duty, as much as 
 the right, of selecting, when a benefice is vacant, an ordained 
 minister of Christ, who shall thenceforward live amongst the 
 people, and be to them what the Church so beautifully describes 
 as a " Messenger, Watchman, and Steward of the Lord, to teach 
 and to premonish, to feed and to provide for the Lord's family, 
 and to seek for Christ's sheep that are" dispersed abroad." 
 
 It is a great responsibility. Our minds cannot fathom its 
 depths. But patrons might learn to appreciate it more justly if 
 they could be induced occasionally to read thoughtfully that 
 exhortation in the Ordination service, from which I have now 
 made a brief quotation. 
 
 It must be acknowledged that this duty is fulfilled with 
 conscientious forethought by many patrons, public and private. 
 But there is no security for such care beins- taken ; and there is 
 no redress where it has been utterly disregarded. In some cases, 
 pecuniary considerations alone prevail. And beside all this, it may 
 be the affliction of a parish, at the will each time of a single 
 person, and he probably not a resident, to be visited with an 
 alternate succession of conflicting theological and ceremonial 
 systems, confounding and distressing the simple people, if not 
 working greater mischief amongst them. 
 
 To many of the Laity, this uncontrolled exercise of patronage 
 is acutely painful. In proportion as care of their own souls, and 
 scriptural knowledge, and value for the avowed doctrines of the 
 Reformed Church, have spread amongst them, they have grown 
 more sensitive with regard to the appointment of those who are to 
 minister amongst them, and more anxious when a vacancy occurs. 
 Every fresh step towards what is called " greater hberty " for the 
 clergy, every fi'esh relaxation of old rules, either conceded, or in 
 practice assumed to be lawful, only strengthens their sense of being
 
 11 
 
 wronged, so long as they are left, unprotected, to submit to 
 whatever appointment it may be the pleasure of the patron to 
 make. 
 
 The precise nature of the control which it would be wise and 
 just to place at their command will raise a difficult question, 
 whenever this subject comes to be dealt with ; and its day appears 
 to be at hand. 
 
 Many will agree with me that it should not be an immediate 
 and absolute veto, or a virtual transfer of the patronage, but 
 rather a check held in reserve, rarely used, and the mere existence 
 of which would generally prevent any occasion arising for its 
 being called into action. It might be a right of appeal to the 
 Bishop, guarded and limited as to the grounds on which it is 
 exercised, and used, if at all, between the presentation and the 
 institution of a new incumbent, a definite time being appointed 
 to elapse between some public notification of the presentation, 
 and the act of institution. 
 
 But a better method of treatment may be devised by more 
 competent persons ; and I only wish to urge that the absolute and 
 unrestrained exercise of the rights of patrons cannot be much 
 longer maintained, under the circumstances in which the Church 
 at present stands. 
 
 On one point I must speak, in order to provide against any 
 misconstruction of my meaning. Of all modes of appointment to 
 the cure of souls, popular election appears to me to be the worst, 
 in as much as it places the whole power of selection in the hands 
 of those who, fi'om a variety of causes, are the least competent to 
 use it with advantage to themselves or others. 
 
 III. Another subject, which wiU not bear much longer post- 
 ponement, and which will require equally cautious and delicate 
 handling, is the Layman's claim to be consulted before alterations 
 are made in the accustomed manner of conducting the services in 
 his parish church. He urges that when the services in all churches 
 were of one general character, differing chiefly in the degree of 
 thoughtfulness and devoutness which pervaded them, or by the
 
 12 
 
 musical portions being a little more or a little less in quantity, 
 there was no ground for his wishing to be consulted ; but that 
 now, when sudden and great transformations are possible, his 
 consent ought first to be obtained. Such is his plea for a right to 
 be heard. It finds utterance in Parliament. It is the parent of 
 proposals for the establishment of parochial councils. The proper 
 response to it may not yet have been discovered, but it can scarcely 
 be doubted that either the ground of complaint must be removed, 
 or the right of control conceded. 
 
 Now I believe that it may be said, without fear of contradiction, 
 that it is a general characteristic of the Clergy to be anxiously 
 considerate of the feelings, and even of what may seem to them 
 to be the weaknesses, or prejudices, of their parishioners ; and 
 that they often waive the gratification of their own predilections, in 
 things indifferent, rather than give needless offence. Sometimes 
 also, they have to use a wise discretion, as between the parishioners 
 themselves, of whom some may persistently urge the adoption of 
 changes which would be repugnant to the feelings of others. To 
 this christian wisdom and forbearance on the part of the parochial 
 Clergy, it is owing that peace and goodwill between minister and 
 people prevail in most of the parishes in the land. 
 
 But it is equally certain that alterations are sometimes made 
 without any such consideration of the wishes and judgment of the 
 people, to the discouragement of many, and to the banishment of 
 some from their parish churches. 
 
 To the irritation thus produced must be attributed the desire, 
 extensively felt, to put some restraint upon the absolute discretion 
 in such matters now lodged in parochial Clergy. That restraint 
 may ultimately be found in its being made unlawful to introduce 
 any alterations, except they be absolutely required by tlie Rubric, 
 without permission from the Bishop,— and in the Bishop being 
 authorised to institute an enquiry in the parish, if he see occasion 
 for doing so, and to judge and decide, finally, whether the proposed 
 alteration, being in itself lawful, would also be expedient under 
 the circumstances of the parish. I would hope that the remedy
 
 la 
 
 will not come in the form of a Parochial Council elected by the 
 ratepayers, for that would set many a parish in flames, and would 
 often be fruitful of far more mischief than could spring from the 
 grievance it is intended to avert or correct. 
 
 Perhaps the consent of the Churchwardens would be all that 
 need be required, subject to a reference to the Bishop. 
 
 My object, however, is not so muchtodiscuss the method of pro- 
 cedure, as to intimate that the question is ripening for a settlement 
 and is even impatient of delay ; and that either the boundaries, within 
 which variations may be made in the services, must be distinctly 
 defined, or else that some means of control must be yielded to those 
 for whose sake our liturgical services are provided. 
 
 I believe that Voluntary Parochial Councils, composed of Com- 
 municants, are working excellently in many parishes, to the comfort 
 and relief of the Clergy ; but it is obvious that the requisite 
 elements of an efficient council of Communicant Laymen are 
 wanting in a much greater number, and that in such cases some 
 method of indirectly ascertaining the minds of the parishioners is 
 all that at present can be attempted. 
 
 I have now endeavoured to represent, and, to some extent, to 
 discuss, certain claims of the Laity which are entitled to be listened 
 to with respect. I trust that their importance and urgency may 
 have been acknowledged by many, and that we may have taken at 
 least a few steps forward in preparation for the day when legislation 
 can no longer be delayed, and it may be our duty to use such 
 influence as we possess in promotion of measures not hasty, nor 
 crude, much less conceived in a hostile spirit, but prudent, beneficent, 
 and just. 
 
 It might be expected that after having advocated a restoration 
 to the Church of a great Synodical Council— combining Bishops, 
 Clergy, and Laity, and in which each of the three constituent 
 elements should be invested with co-ordinate powers, in the last 
 resort ; and wherein, perhaps, other safeguards against imprudent 
 action might be provided ; I should proceed to take account of 
 Diocesan Synods and Conferences, composed also of Clergy and
 
 14 
 
 Laity, such as have recently been called into existence in some of 
 our twenty-eight Dioceses. But, obviously, the proper sphere of 
 action for such a council must be its own Diocese ; whereas the 
 subjects of our thoughts to-day have been neither Diocesan nor even 
 Provincial questions, but interests common to the whole Church, 
 requiring a uniform treatment, the which it would be hopeless to 
 expect from twenty-eight minor Synods. 
 
 Trusting that you may be disposed to give further consideration, 
 at your leisure, to the suggestions which I have now thought it 
 right to offer, I cannot conclude without adding a few words for 
 the special consideration of my brethren of the Laity, both those 
 who are now present, and any others who may happen to read my 
 charge. 
 
 I have spoken of the just claims of the Laity to have a voice in 
 the councils of the Church, in the administration of patronage, 
 and in the regulation of the services, — unless, indeed, in the two 
 latter instances, some protection from what they complain of as a 
 wrong can be provided by other means. 
 
 But I would also remind them that they have duties to perform, 
 and that the circumstances of the times demand of them, with a 
 peculiar urgency, that they be faithful and zealous in their fulfilment. 
 
 i. They have duties to Christ our Lord, to live by faith in Him, 
 and in the fear of God. Oh, that there were more of deep heart- 
 felt reUgion, Christ's rehgion, amongst the people ! The 
 scantiness of it, and our internal divisions, are the two great and 
 lamentable sources of our weakness, at a time when we specially 
 need to be strong. May God help us ! 
 
 ii. The Laity owe a duty to the Church of England, being 
 members of it ; to stand by it, to uphold it, to strengthen it, and 
 to repel the hand of the destroyer. They may do this, in perfect 
 consistency with a determination to strive for the correction of 
 everything that is defective in her system or administration. There 
 is a Church Defence Association, already well established, which 
 they will do w^ell to support, and which puts upon its banner 
 " reform," as well as " defence." It is also, I hope, not inconsistent
 
 15 
 
 with my duty to suggest that the time is come in which the 
 maintenance of the Church should have precedence of all party 
 considerations in politics, and when the Churchman, whatever his 
 political principles may be (and happily all parties are represented 
 amongst us), should refuse his vote to any candidate for his suflPrage 
 who will not pledge himself to offer firm resistance, in Parliament, 
 to the avowed enemies of the Church. 
 
 iii. The Laity have also duties to fulfil in their own parishes, — 
 to uphold that which is good,to promote the work of Christ amongst 
 the people, to discountenance vice, to be examples of a christian 
 life. The intelligent and educated have a further call to use their 
 talents in teaching the ignorant. Then, there is the parish church 
 to be kept in repair, its internal comfort and seemhness to be 
 maintained, and the churchyard to be treated with reverent care ; 
 and although it be true that the latter points are the special charge 
 of the Churchwardens, yet, assuredly, they cannot fulfil their duties 
 without the sympathy and aid of the parishioners in general. 
 
 But from man, let us look upward, to our Father in heaven ! 
 
 Our struggles for progress, the invitations we are receiving into 
 fresh fields of usefulness, the yearnings of many for changes on 
 which momentous issues depend, our elements of weakness, and 
 our exposure to ag-gression, — all combine to make this a time of 
 much anxiety, and of special need for the loving care and guidance 
 of Almighty God. Huw appropriate for such days is the prayer 
 of that Collect in which we ask that the " continual pity " of the 
 Allwise may ''cleanse and defend" His Church ; as well as that 
 of another Collect, in which we offer our " supplications and prayers 
 for all e&tates of men " in His holy Church, and ask that " every 
 member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may truly and 
 godly serve " the Lord, by whose Spirit we acknowledge that " the 
 whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified." 
 
 May our hearts often carry such petitions before the Throne of 
 Grace, and infuse life into them by fervent desires ; and may our 
 prayers bring down upon us corresponding blessings, to the glory 
 of our Lord and Head, and to the welfare of his people in this land !
 
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