L I B RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N I VLR5 ITY 
 
 or 1 LLl N O IS
 
 
 / 
 
 /'^ fb'H
 
 Q 
 
 CHARGE 
 
 DELIVKKKD TO 
 
 THE CLERGY and CHURCHWARDENS 
 
 DIOCESE OF LINCOLN, 
 
 AT HIS 
 
 PRIMARY VISITATION, 
 
 OCTOBER, 1886, 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD, 
 LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN. 
 
 ilmcoln: JAMES WILLIAMSON, 290, HIGH STREET. 
 
 ©a-fort & ilontion: parker & co.
 
 TO THE 
 
 CLERGY AND CHURCHWARDENS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DIOCESE OF LINCOLN, 
 
 ^hi0 Qlhargc 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY 
 
 DEDICATED, 
 
 BY THEIR FAITHFUL FRIEND AND SERVANT, 
 
 E. LINCOLN. 
 
 Hilton House, Lincoln, 
 
 F. of St. Hugh, 1886.
 
 UIUC
 
 ANALYSIS OF CHARGE. 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1. Apology 
 
 2. Bishop Wordsworth ... 
 
 II. INCULCATION OF CHURCH PRINCIPLES 
 OUR PRESENT WORK. 
 
 1. Preparation for this during last 35 years 
 
 (a) Belief in God 
 
 (b) Oar own personality 
 
 (c) Christian Ethics .. . 
 
 2. Reasons for considering this subject 
 
 3. Difficulties 
 
 (a) Rome 
 
 {h) Paradox of use of " Media" 
 
 (c) Dissent ... 
 
 (d) Ignorance of Church History 
 
 4. Remedies suggested 
 
 (a) The Church as a Society 
 
 (6) The Scriptural Authority for the Church 
 
 (c) Belief in the Church an Article of our 
 
 Creed 
 
 (d) Evidence from Church History ... 
 
 III. DIOCESAN INSTITUTIONS, etc. 
 
 1. Thanks to Archdeacons, Rural Deans, Laity 
 
 2. Thanks to School Inspectors — Our Schools 
 
 3. Confirmation Candidates 
 
 4. Communicants... 
 
 5. Our Churches ... 
 
 6. Bishop's Hostel 
 
 7. Mission Clergy at Burgh 
 
 8. Novate Novale 
 
 9. Augmentation of Small Benefices 
 10. Clergy Widows and Orphans ... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 16 
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 22 
 27 
 27 
 28 
 29 
 31 
 31 
 32 
 33 
 
 35 
 38 
 
 44 
 47 
 53 
 54 
 58 
 (50 
 (U 
 63 
 65 
 65
 
 ANALYSIS OF CHARGE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 11. Training College for Mistresses ... ... 66 
 
 12. Hospitals, &c. 
 
 (a) Lincoln County Hospital ... ... 66 
 
 (b) Mablethorpe Convalescent Home ... 67 
 
 (c) Lincoln Institution for Nurses ... ... 68 
 
 13. Church of England Temperance Society ... 68 
 
 14. Other Societies ... ... ... ... 70 
 
 15. Three new efforts ... ... ... ... 70 
 
 (a) Penitentiary at Frieston ... ... 70 
 
 (b) Ladies' Association for A.PC. ... ... 71 
 
 (c) Diocesan Magazine ... ... ... 72 
 
 16. Suggestions for Diocesan Organization of 
 
 Societies ... ... ... ... 73 
 
 IV. SUMMAKY AND CONCLUSION. 
 
 1. A word of warning ... ... ... ... 75 
 
 2, Need of Encouragement — Causes of Depression 
 
 (a) Decrease of Incomes ... 77 
 
 (b) Prevalence of Dissent ... ... ... 79 
 
 (c) Change of Parishioners ... ... ... 83 
 
 (rZ) Isolation ... ... ... 83 
 
 V. NOTES. 
 
 A. — Bishop "Wordsworth's Interpretation of 
 
 Scripture ... ... ... ... 89 
 
 B. — Books on the Church... ... ... ... 91 
 
 C. — Frequency of Communion ... ... ... 92
 
 My Rev. Brethrejt, and my Brethren of the Laity, 
 
 ACCORDING to the usual custom of this Diocese, 
 the Bishop's Visitation should have been held 
 last year, that is, after an interval of three years : 
 but, as not more than half that period of time has 
 elapsed since it pleased God to entrust me with the 
 spiritual oversight of this great Diocese, I was advised 
 by some persons to postpone this my Primary Visitation 
 for another year and a half, until I should be better 
 acquainted with my own duties and your needs. 
 
 The advantages of such postponement are obvious, 
 and yet I have thought it better, on the whole, to 
 issue the questions of inquuy, and to hold this 
 Visitation, that at least you might be assured of my 
 readiness to do my best to serve you, trusting to 
 your forbearance and kindness if the object of this 
 Visitation is as much for my own instruction as 
 yours, so that we may learn together to serve our 
 God more acceptably in the years that may remain. 
 
 Short as the time is, during which I have been 
 amongst you, my brethren, it has been long enough 
 to afford us good reasons for serious reflexion ; no less 
 than 23 of our brethren of the Clergy have been called 
 to their great account, their pastoral staff broken, their 
 flock given to another. They did not work for me, 
 but for Him, the one Bishop and Shepherd of Souls ; 
 and yet, as having shared with me the common burden 
 of the cure of souls, I thank God for their labours,
 
 and desire that they may rest in peace, and " find 
 mercy of the Lord in that day," and that His Blessing 
 may abide continuously on their labours. 
 
 Indeed, since you last met your Bishop in 
 Visitation, those solemn warnings have been very 
 plain to this Diocese. Your Bishop, and one who had 
 been formerly Bishop of this great See, as well as 
 your Dean, have all been, I will not say taken from 
 you, but withdrawn from your sight. 
 
 How much this Diocese owes to them, you, my 
 brethren, well know by a grateful experience better 
 than I can tell you. But of one, at least, you will 
 pardon me if I attempt to speak, even one unworthy 
 word. 
 
 " Great men " have received the title of their 
 greatness, not merely from the attainment of an 
 actual standard in the things which they have said or 
 done, but from their relation to the persons and times 
 in which they lived. They were men born for their 
 day, gifted with the gifts required, and they used 
 them. Such men are God's gifts, and they are great ; 
 both according to the Divine Standard, "they have done 
 what they could," and also in the sight of men, by being 
 greater than their fellows ; they are great in what 
 they do and say, even though their greatness be partly 
 proved by enabling those who come after to do and 
 say more than they themselves have done. 
 
 Bishop Wordsworth was consecrated Bishop of 
 Lincoln on St. Matthias' Day, 1869. On the 8th of 
 December in that same year the Vatican Council was
 
 assembled in St. Peter's Cliureii at Rome. Bishop 
 Wordsworth's Primary Visitation was in the following 
 3^ear, 1870, His Primary Charge^ declares at once 
 his position : he pronounces union with the Church of 
 Rome on her present terms to be absolutely impossible, 
 and yet he rejoices in the thought that many thought- 
 ful persons in Roman Catholic countries are now being- 
 led by God's providence, which overrules evil for 
 good, to examine the claims of the Roman Papacy, 
 and to test them by Holy Scripture and Primitive 
 Antiquity.^ 
 
 These words, the " test of Holy Scripture and 
 Primitive Antiquity," occurring as they do in Bishop 
 Wordsworth's Primary Charge, might be taken as the 
 motto of his Episcopate, and of his whole life. His 
 work seemed eminently to be to maintain the 
 Principles of the English Church on Scriptural and 
 Primitive lines, to set out and maintain Anglican and 
 Primitive Church Principles.^ 
 
 But great as was Bishop Wordsworth's labour in, 
 and knowledge of, Primitive and Anglican Theology, 
 the work which renders him most sino-ular amono- 
 
 o o 
 
 Students of Theology is his Commentary on the whole 
 Bible. The very idea is exhausting ; and the courage, 
 and patience, the varied knowledge, and spiritual 
 insight, which enabled him to undertake and 
 
 ^ Primary Charge, 1870, p. 6. * Primary Charge, p. 8. 
 
 •' The very valuable little book, Theo])hihis Anglicanus, published as early 
 as 1843, represents very much what he means ; it wouhl be well if it were in 
 the hands of (at least) the younger Clergy, and of Laymen who are anxious to 
 know what Church Principles are.
 
 10 
 
 accomplish so vast a work, make him great indeed ! 
 How rich this Commentary is in Patristic and 
 Anglican Theology would be better appreciated if the 
 references were more frequently verified by his readers. 
 If it is not too great a presumption to offer a 
 remark on such a work, I should desire to arrest the 
 attention of, at least, my younger brethren, on one 
 special feature of Bishop Wordsworth's Commentary — 
 its spiritual unity. Unity of style is perhaps what we 
 might expect in a Commentary from one hand ; but 
 here there is much more than that: the hand was 
 guided by a mind itself illuminated by the Holy Spirit 
 of God, and it is the manifestation of the spiritual 
 articulation, if I may use the word, the Divine 
 connexion, by which the several Books of the Bible are 
 linked as by golden links together, which renders this 
 Commentary so precious to the seekers after Divine 
 Truth ; for the Truth is Christ, and the object of 
 revelation is to brings us to Christ, and in Christ to God. 
 I have often wished that the Prolegomena of the several 
 Books might be published in a separate volume by 
 themselves, as a key to the right understanding of 
 Holy Scripture ; I believe such a volume would be 
 found to be in harmony with the Master's plan, when 
 He opened the eyes of the Disciples, " that they might 
 understand the Scriptures," and "beginning at Moses 
 and all the prophets, expounded unto them, in all the 
 Scriptures, the things concerning Himself."* 
 
 * S. Luke xxiv. 45-27. 
 e[Xo\ Se ap^ila icTTCv 'l-qcrovi Xptcrro? — S. Ign., Ep. ad Pliilad. viii.
 
 11 
 
 Bishop Wordsworth, in his book on the interpre- 
 tation of the Bible, has told us in his own words : ^ 
 " If we wish to understand the Bible, we must not " 
 " separate one portion of it from another ; we must " 
 " endeavour to ascertain its sense by comparing " 
 " spiritual things with spiritual ... all parts " 
 "of Scripture are dependent on one another, like" 
 "joints in a well-organised body, or like j)arts of a" 
 '■ beautiful building ; . . . we may not confine " 
 " our attention to any one part of Scripture to the " 
 " neglect of others, but must carefully consider the " 
 " whole ; Almighty God has not revealed all truth in " 
 " one book of Holy Scripture, but He has made one " 
 " portion of Scripture ministerial and subsidiary to " 
 " another : He has made the Book of Genesis to reflect " 
 " light on the Book of Revelation, and He has made " 
 "the Book of Revelation to illustrate the Book of" 
 " Genesis." 
 
 Of Bishop Wordsworth's outward life, you, my 
 brethren, do not need that I should speak : of his 
 inner life, I cannot refrain, for my own edification, as 
 well as for yours, from quoting the loving words of one 
 who has a right to speak, his learned son, now, to our 
 joy, Bishop of Salisbury. Preaching the Memorial 
 Sermon in Lincoln Minster, his son said : "of his inner 
 " life it is no secret to tell you that it was made up of" 
 " constant, careful, prayer at stated times, and during " 
 " many intervals of leisure throughout the day, for all " 
 
 ' Interpretation of the Bible, by Christopher Wordsworth, 1S61, pp. 108-118, 
 
 cf. Note A .
 
 12 
 
 the work in which he was engaged, and all the " 
 
 persons of whatever estate with whom he came in " 
 
 contact, and of the constant study of Holy Scripture." 
 
 I believe that he never preached a sermon without " 
 
 preparation before it on his knees, and private " 
 
 prayer after it beforehe took off his robes (and that " 
 
 throughout his life) that God would forgive its " 
 
 imperfections, and prosper what was good and true " 
 
 in it. So it was when coming from a Confirmation, " 
 
 he knelt down at once in the house with the constant " 
 
 companion of his journeys, whose prayers were so " 
 
 closely linked with his, and prayed for those to whom " 
 
 he had heen administering the rite. It was the same " 
 
 with Holy Scripture, he rarely, if ever, read the " 
 
 Lessons, even in his own Chapel at Riseholme," 
 
 without first going through them and meditating on " 
 
 them in private. Unless you could see the books " 
 
 which we have the privilege of now turning over, " 
 
 you could hardly believe the though tfulness and " 
 
 minuteness with which all this side of his life was " 
 
 marked " I make no apology for this long extract 
 
 nor yet for another from the same source, the 
 
 Sermon of his son.*' It is from the Bishop's last words : 
 
 they show us, as the title of the sermon " Love and 
 
 Discipline " reminds us, that the Bishop was not a 
 
 stranger to suffering, but that he regarded it as from 
 
 the Lord, as from the hand of a loving Father. I quote 
 
 the words both because they are so characteristic of the 
 
 poetical and spiritual mind of their author, and because 
 
 ® Memorial Seiinon by John WoidswortL, Marcli 29, ISS.').
 
 13 
 
 they may be a comfort to others in the hour of trial. 
 "Amongst his last words (writes his son) novissima 
 verba, I find in several forms this thought appearing, 
 both in English and Latin, which he called the * Law of 
 suffering in nature ' — the pruned Vine bearing purple 
 clusters, the Grape crushed beneath the feet that tread 
 the wine- vat, the Olive in the })ress, the Corn upon the 
 threshing-floor, the Grass cut down and turning into 
 fragrant hay, the Bread that supplies man's food when 
 the corn is ground, the Lightning flashing from the 
 darkest clouds, Gold tried and bright from the furnace. 
 Gems that are brought to light and polished when 
 rocks are broken up — all those were comforting images 
 to him." 
 
 Let me conclude my unworthy memorial of my 
 great predecessor by reminding you of the words in 
 which he accepted me as his successor, " Deo gratias,'' 
 and that he gave me his blessing. " He was in truth 
 a great man for his learning, for his liberality, for his 
 piety, and for his winning unworldly courtesy. He was 
 and must ever remain great, even among the great 
 men that during the past 800 years have been called 
 to this ancient See."' 1 ask, brethren, for your 
 constant prayers that I may follow him as he followed 
 Christ. 
 
 When the Saviour ascended, the Angels warned 
 the Disciples not to stand gazing up into Heaven, but 
 to return to the place in which He had commanded 
 
 ' Bishop of Lincoln's Address, Diocesan Confi'ience, ISS.*).
 
 14 
 
 them to remain ; to wait until they knew what 
 their work was to be, and until they had re(;eived 
 power to do it. Of His own peculiar work, the Saviour 
 could say " It is finished :" but we must look to begin 
 more than we can finish here below. 
 
 " That low man seeks a little thing to do, 
 Sees it, and does it : 
 This high man, ■with a great thing to pursue. 
 Dies ere he knows it."^ 
 
 David, the man after God's own heart, prepared 
 with all his might for the house of his God : but his 
 son built it, enough for David that he had been 
 entrusted with the Divine Pattern, and given strength 
 to keep it to the end, and to hand it on for others to 
 build by who should come after. 
 
 What is the special work then, which God has 
 called me to do ? if I am not too presumptuous in 
 speaking so definitely of myself in relation to God, I 
 will say, i hope, if it be His Will, that my work 
 may be to bring home to the hearts of the people, 
 and especially of the poor, the blessings of the Church. 
 
 It seems to me that to this point God has been 
 bringing us during these last thirty years. The last 
 thirty, or five and thirty years, have been years of 
 severe discipline lor some of us ; severe, either in the 
 suff"ering which we ourselves have suffered, or in the 
 suffering which we have seen in others. The very 
 foundations of the Faith have been assailed ; but, 
 thanks be to God, they stand, for many of us, firmer 
 than before ; or rather we stand firmer in our relation 
 to them. 
 
 " Browning, A OrRmmarian's Funeral.
 
 15 
 
 Two lines of thought have especially impressed 
 themselves on my mind with regard to our belief in 
 God, and I offer them for your consideration — one is 
 that the evidence of our Faith is complex. 
 
 It is not in our power by the mere force of logic to 
 arrive with perfect satisfaction at the conclusion — 
 God is.^ The subject is too great for such a method. 
 We need rather considerations, lines of thought, than 
 arguments ; we need the conjoint complex help of all 
 our powers, physical, intellectual, moral, to enable 
 us fully to rest in Him.^^ If it vvere not so, if we 
 could have the power of knowing that He is, and Who 
 He is, by the mere exercise of our minds, without 
 turning our hearts and our bodies to His service, 1 
 fear some of us might be tempted to use our minds 
 sufficiently to free ourselves from the misery of doubt, 
 and give our hearts and our bodies to another} Under 
 
 " I do not forget S. Anselni's Treatises : or Professor Mozley's clear and 
 simple way of putting it, the mind demands "a cause with a stop in it" ; 
 nor the line of arguments lately given us by Dr. J. G. Cazenove. But for my- 
 self the conclusion from such reasoning has rather been " God must be than 
 'God is,'" and thus the result of the purely logical argument, if satisfactory 
 to the intellect, still falls short of the " perfect satisfaction " which is desired. 
 Cf. Dante Paradiso, ch. xxiv., 131 : — 
 
 " E a tal creder non ho io pur prove 
 
 Fisice e metafisice, ma dalmi, 
 
 Anche la verita che quinci piove 
 
 Per Moise, per piofeti, e \\cv salmi, 
 
 Per r evangelio, e per voi che scriveste, 
 
 Poiche r ardente Spirto vi fece almi." 
 ^^ Cf. Oxfonl House Pajins, No. viii., by T. B. Strong, p. lu. "The 
 knowledge of God — which is man's highest knowledge — comes only through an 
 effort of his whole humanity." Cf. Bishop Ellicott's Lectures on the Being of 
 (?orf.— S.P.C.K. 
 
 ^ Ps. xvi. 4. — So I remember Dr. Puscy saying in the last year of 
 his Lectures, " it docs not .say exjilicitly another Cod, but ' another,' anything 
 than God."
 
 16 
 
 the discipline of doubt, God has been leading us to 
 lay hold on Him with all our powers, and thus has 
 brought us again to see, with a new clearness, that 
 our reasonable service is to offer to Him ourselves, 
 our souls, and our bodies. You will easily see, my 
 brethren, what a wide field of work this opens before us 
 with our people ; even the perfecting of their several 
 faculties, that they may rest more completely in God : 
 what scope there is here for physical, intellectual, 
 moral, and spiritual progress •} what need of reverent 
 and loving labour to watch and train and perfect the 
 several faculties in man's mysterious nature ; what 
 need to put away all envy and jealousy of each other, 
 and with united efforts each to contribute what he 
 may to accomplish for his brother this complex, this 
 blessed result. God is the end of Man, not of his 
 mind only, but of his heart and will : nay, the Apostle 
 tells us, the " body is for the Lord."^ 
 
 The other line of thought which has impressed 
 itself upon me in these last years is that faith, after 
 all, is a gift from God. It is not the mere sum of 
 probabilities, conjectures, or reasonings of any kind, 
 but, as Bishop Pearson has expressed it, " Faith is the 
 gift of God, not only in the object, but also in the 
 act."* " By grace are ye saved through faith ; and 
 
 '^ This sliows the true importance of Atliletic Societies, Literary Institutes, 
 Schools of Art, etc., Guilds, and Retreats. 
 
 •' 1 Cor. vi. 13. 
 
 * Bishop Pearson On the deed, art. viii., p. 387 ; cf. also p. 388, "As 
 the increase and jierfection, so the original, or initiation of faith is from the 
 Spirit of God, not only by an external proposal in the word, but by an internal 
 illumination in the soul."
 
 17 
 
 that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God :"^ a gift, 
 be it remembered, which is never denied to those who 
 seek it with true lowliness and sincerity of heart. 
 
 And yet I think Bishop Pearson's definition of 
 Faith in his first Article led me more or less to a 
 dangerous line of thouglit, where he speaks of Faith 
 as an " act or habit of the understanding f " as the 
 " assent unto that which is credible as credible." This 
 is true, no doubt : but Faith is more than an act of the 
 understanding : it implies the action of the affections 
 and of the Will, the exercise of all those inner powers 
 of our being which the Hebrews called the Heart. 
 So again, I think, in the atmosphere of the last thirty 
 years, even the golden sentence of Bishop Butler has 
 been dangerous " To us probability is the guide of 
 Life," We all know what the great Bishop meant ; we 
 do act to the death on evidence that is but probable, in 
 temporal matters, and we ought not to refuse to do so 
 in matters of religion (for religion is a practical thing ;^) 
 because we have not another kind of evidence which 
 satisfies the vanity of intellect better. Sailer has ex- 
 pressed the truth of our position very well. " We 
 require," he says, "a surrender,"^ an " acceptance," and 
 
 "' Epli. ii. 8. " Bishop Pearson, art. i., 2. 
 
 ^ CI'. Bishop Butler's Analoiji/, pt. ii., cap. viii., p. 279. " Keligiou is a 
 practical thing." 
 
 * Sailer, Bishop of Katisbon, (Ti-uncUehrcn dcr BeUcjivn, iv., 55 — 83 ; 
 Aufzngebeu, aiinehmeii, glauhen. 
 
 I am indebted to Dr. Dollinger for my knowledge of Sailer's Works. 
 They are very simple, and perhaps others might not care for them, but he hijd 
 his ground througli all the troubles of the French devolution and the influence 
 of Voltaire, and threw himself head and heart into the work of helping the 
 young Students in Germany ; and I am grateful lor his n)any writings, not 
 scientifically, perhaj^s, very important, bnt evidently united, and fired by some- 
 thing of a spiritual genius.
 
 "Faith." This need of a gift to enable us fully to believe 
 in God brings out with a new clearness the fundamental 
 importance of Revelation, the inestimable value of our 
 Bil)le even in relation to Theism. It is one of the 
 results of these last years, that, by the comparative study 
 of Religions, we have seen how hardly one, if one, of 
 all the Philosophies and Religions of the world has 
 been able to establish in its purity the belief in One 
 God.^ If the present learned Bishop of Salisbury has 
 told us that Theism is implied in the ordinary 
 reliofious lang-uaofe of the Heathen world, we must 
 remember how he has added that this is but as a sort 
 of quiet back-ground of belief waiting to be called into 
 actuality at the approach of light. Nature (our Arch- 
 bishop has lately told us) suspects a God, but cannot 
 prove it.^ Without the aid of Revelation the Apostle 
 has told us men are but seeking God if haply they 
 might feel after him and find Him ; ^ just as we may 
 be conscious of the presence of a person in a dark 
 room, though who he may be, or where, we cannot tell. 
 My brethren, you will easily see with what zeal 
 and enthusiasm, we should strive to make the Scrip- 
 tures known to our people, lest they should lose the 
 very knowledge of God. Earnestly as I would exhort 
 you to have faith in the " unapparent capabilities " of 
 our people for social and political progress, yet still 
 more earnestly do I desire to warn you that no mere 
 
 5 Present Bishop of Salisbury's Bampton Lectures. 
 1 The Seven Gifts, Archbishop Benson, p. 228. "The conscious God, 
 whom nature suspects but cannot prove." Cp. Ro. i. 20. 
 ' .\(?tR xvii. 27.
 
 19 
 
 progress iu secular education or political power will 
 teach men the full knowledge of God. The experience 
 of the world teaches us that there may be wealth, and 
 power, and art, without the knowledge of the true God. 
 
 Consider then, dear brethren, whether we are not 
 allowing our people individually, and our nation col- 
 lectively, to run great risk from the thoughtless 
 neglect of their Bible. 
 
 I have ventured to speak to you of these, elementary 
 truths because some of us have learnt under the 
 dicipline of doubt to consider again these first principles 
 of our Faith, and, through God's mercy, the result has 
 been, to many, a closer and more real relation to their 
 old belief ; and though I would not have you thought- 
 lessly disturb the minds of the people by unnecessary 
 speculative questions, yet I believe we might do them 
 good service, and help them to a firmer and more 
 living faith, if we spent more time and labour in 
 bringing each separate soul to the prayerful consider- 
 ation of these fundamental truths, instead of confining 
 ourselves merely to practical exhortations ; our people 
 need exercising in rehyious thought as well as ourselves; 
 they need S. Bernard's rule,^ "get time to think, "f«care 
 considerationi ; they need the warning of the Psalmist, 
 " be still then and know that I am God." 
 
 But if these last years have been years of discipline 
 with regard to our belief iu God, hardly less have 
 thev been so with res^ard to belief in ourselves. There 
 have been times during these last thirty years when 
 
 3 S. Bernard de Consideratione.
 
 20 
 
 it has seemed to some as though the brilliant and 
 beneficial progress of natural science would cause the 
 study of morals to be like silver in the days of Solomon, 
 ''nothing accounted of: " nay more, it has almost seemed 
 as if morals would be scientifically destroyed, and be 
 shown to lack a rational basis. It is in a sense a new 
 gift, for which we ought with all thankfulness to 
 acknowledge the responsibility, that this is so no longer. 
 Ethics have again a position among scientific realities.* 
 But here again God has brought us through the 
 darkness into clearer light : and on two points I would 
 venture to ask your consideration, for the sake of your 
 people (for it is for them that I am speaking). 
 
 1. We need a true standard of morals. 
 
 2. We need more careful cultivation of the 
 
 moral life. 
 By a true standard of morals I mean the Christian 
 standard. It is one of the points which have been 
 made clearer to us during these last years, that we 
 have made so little of Christian Ethics. While the 
 Universities were by statute Christian it was assumed 
 that their members were instructed in the principles 
 of the Christian Faith, and that the deficiencies of 
 Heathen Ethics would be at once supjolied ; but when 
 it was no longer necessary for the members of the 
 Universities to be Christians, and men studied Pagan 
 philosophy independently of, or as a substitute for, the 
 
 ■* I cannot help here expressing, as an Oxford man, liow inestimalile a debt 
 we owe to the work and writings of tlie late Professor of Moral Philosophy, 
 T. H. Green.
 
 21 
 
 Cliristiau Faitli, tlicu we saw our weakness, aud felt the 
 need of eonsiderino- afresh what the moral nature of 
 man ought to be under the perfect example of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and with the new 
 powers which flow to us through His Incarnation. 
 The doctrine of perfection, which formed an attractive 
 part of John Wesley's preaching, could never be satis- 
 factorily dealt with by a Church which was content to 
 base its moral teaching chiefly on the four cardinal 
 virtues, and to illustrate them from the writings of the 
 heathen : thous^h it must be confessed that it would 
 have been well if all those who wished to go on unto 
 perfection had kept these four stones among the founda- 
 tions of their more ambitious building. 
 
 We need to bring more vividly before our people 
 the pattern of our Lord's Life, and of His Life in His 
 Saints, to make them dissatisfied with the too common 
 standard of self-measurement and mutual comparison, 
 and to fire them with the true ambition of being like 
 Him. 
 
 And if we need a true star^dard of Ethics so do 
 we need more careful cultivation of the moral powers. 
 I do not forget that the great moral life of humanity 
 is progressing, and that w^e are in some ways better 
 than those wdio lived before us. But to those 
 who have the perception of moral phenomena, 
 it is sheer misery to see the needless waste which 
 is going on all around us for want of due cultivation. 
 Here again we have a new responsibility from the 
 example which has been set us in our day by
 
 22 
 
 the students of natural science. What reverent, 
 loving, labour do they bestow to discern the ways of 
 a worm or a j^hint ! What constant persevering efforts 
 will they make with the microscope to see into the 
 nature and relations, if ihey will not call them the 
 causes, of things I And what are we doing, my 
 })rethren, which will in any way bear comparison with 
 these labours, to find out the ways of our people, to 
 know, that is, what is in man, what labour we need 
 to surmount the barriers of class, and wealth, and 
 education ? How hopeless it often is to speak of 
 moral perfection with such reckless surroundings ! 
 How unscientific to expect to make man act rightly 
 without studying the motives of his actions ! We 
 have indeed a noble field of work before us — the 
 perfecting of the English people — but before we can 
 hope to succeed we must study the problem more. 
 
 You see, brethren, what is in my mind, and in my 
 heart ; it is a practical matter : it is how to bring the 
 Truth to the people, that in the Truth they may be 
 made free, and in this freedom draw nearer to one 
 another and to God. For this is the perfection of man, 
 to love God, and to love his fellow-men. And this 
 brings me back to the point from which I have so long 
 diverged, where I ventured to state what, in submission 
 to the Divine will, I hoped, with your aid, might be 
 my work — to bring home to the hearts of the people, 
 and especially of the poor, the blessings of the Church. 
 
 If the practical question before us is : " How to 
 bring the truth to the people," I answer, in and. by
 
 23 
 
 the Churcli. If the practical questiou is, " How are 
 the people to reach this intended moral perfection," 
 I reply again, in and by the Church. It was for these 
 purposes that our Blessed Lord founded His Kingdom 
 on earth ; that in it man might know the Father and 
 His Son Jesus Christ, and be a partaker of His merits, 
 and be truly sanctified by the indwelling of the Holy 
 Ghost. It was for this that He entrusted to His 
 Church the two-fold ministry of the Word and Sacra- 
 ments. In the Church the essential truths of salvation 
 were to be preserved and taught. The Church was 
 to be the living instrument of our sanctification ; in 
 the Church and by the Cliurch He w^ould give us the 
 sanctifying power of His Holy Spirit. In the Church 
 He instituted the Sacraments as the special means 
 whereby we might become partakers of His Divine 
 nature through the operation of the Holy Spirit. 
 The object of the Church, the end for which 
 it was founded, is expressed by S. Paul, " He 
 gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and 
 some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; 
 for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the 
 ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ : till 
 we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the know- 
 ledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto 
 the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ : 
 that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and 
 fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, 
 by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby 
 
 B
 
 24 
 
 they lie in wait to deceive ; but speaking the truth 
 in love, may grow up unto Him in all things, which is 
 the Head, even Christ : from whom the whole body 
 fitly joined together and compacted by that which 
 every joint supplieth, according to the efi'ectual working 
 in the measure of every part, makcth increase of the 
 body unto the edifying of itself in love."^ 
 
 In other words the great ends for which the Church 
 of Christ was in God's mercy founded are the restora- 
 tion of man to himself, to his God, and to his fellow 
 man, in love, i.e., in God. 
 
 And here, my brethren, I feel I need to offer you 
 an apology forrepeatingtruths with which youhavebeen 
 so long familiar. My apology is that I do this not for 
 your own sake but for the sake of the poor and un- 
 instructed, who are our common responsibility. Bear 
 with me then if I repeat what you know ; l)earing in 
 mind who He was Who at the great crisis of the world's 
 history "spake the same words."'' Indeed there need be 
 no mental tautology in the repetition of pregnant words. 
 Our danger, in a day of cheap printing and constant 
 speaking, lies rather the other way. We pass on to 
 new words too quickly, we pay too little attention to 
 the responsibility of speech, and the depth and unity of 
 truth. 
 
 But if I offer a sincere apology for this repetition, 
 " is there not a cause " ? Are all our people intelligent 
 members of the Church ? Does the phrase, " Church 
 of England," mean that every Englishman is an 
 
 5 Eph. iv. 11—16. « St. Mark xiv. 39.
 
 25 
 
 instructed Churchman ? Is it not a common complaint 
 amongst the Clergy that even their good people have 
 but a poor idea of what the Church is ? Are not 
 Church principles very often a " Missing Link " ? 
 And one reason of this is not hard to find. It comes 
 partly from the very fragmentary instruction which 
 has been given on this great subject to most of us of 
 the Clergy. 
 
 At Oxford, lately, a School of Theology has been 
 established which has done, and 1 trust will do 
 increasingly, by God's blessing, a good work for the 
 Church ; but what does it reveal as to the amount of 
 definite Theological instruction which is given to 
 English Students of Theology with regard to the 
 (church ? On the being and nature of God, on Revela- 
 tion, on the relation of man's natural powers to the 
 Holy Spirit, on Grace, on special Forms of Christian 
 Worship, on the History of the Church from the 
 earliest to the present time, on these, and on some 
 kindred sul)jects, there is now excellent instruction 
 given. ^ And yet the Church is not given as a separate 
 subject to be studied in relation to the Incarnation, 
 in its origin, object, organization, and essential charac- 
 teristics. I do not say that such knowledge is not to 
 be obtained, but it is gathered indirectly, and not in 
 that definite and scientific form which, at least for 
 beginners, is generally helpful. The truth is, that in 
 this matter we suffer still from the want which Bishop 
 
 '' May I sugijest to any of my younj^er brethren that the Syllabus of iiooks 
 recommended for this School at Oxford, contains one of the best schemes for 
 Theological reading that the Church of England has had for many years ?
 
 ^6 
 
 Pearson felt, which he pointed out and hoped to remedy 
 when he was appointed to teach Theology in Cambridge, 
 and determined to write a " Summa Theologise ex 
 sententia Doctoris in Ecclesia Anglicana tradita."^ 
 If we ourselves, my Reverend Brethren, have received 
 but irregular instruction on this great subject, it is 
 not improbable that oar teaching may not always have 
 possessed that simplicity and fulness which are the 
 marks of thorough knowledge, and which our people 
 require. 
 
 That there is need for more definite instruction as to 
 the nature and privileges of the Church, we might 
 infer again from the Committee which has been lately 
 appointed by the Lower House of CouA^'ocation of this 
 Province, to draw up certain questions on the Church, 
 to be added to the Church Catechism. This Com- 
 mittee is, indeed, an acknowledgement that our poor 
 people need more help in this matter. 
 
 If the want of more instruction may form parb 
 of my apology, so also, perhaps, may the opportunity 
 which the present circumstances afford. The discipline 
 of doubt under which God has been pleased to bring 
 us during these last thirty years has, by His mercy, 
 brohght many into clearer relation with the old 
 utruts. The questions of the Personality of God, 
 of man's Personality, of the union between God 
 and man in Christ, have led men to consider with a 
 new reality how this is to be ; to ask, since they are to 
 
 8 Cf. Bishop Pearson's Minor Works, vol. i., p. Ivii., by E. Chnrton^ 
 and Bishop Pearson's 2mi Lecture, " De existentia Dei." " More plane 
 scholastico sed secundum principia reformata. "
 
 27 
 
 be saved by Christ, which is the way of Salvation 
 that Christ has appointed for them : and this has, I 
 thank God, brought not a few to the okl position of the 
 early Christians : that as Christ discloses the mind of 
 the Father, so the Church tells us the mind of Christ : 
 that the Church is the Body of Christ, and that to be in 
 Christ we must be in His Body. Men's minds have been 
 purified by the suffering of doubt to see these truths 
 more clearly than before, and subjects which had little 
 interest before the troubles came are now eagerly 
 attended to. 
 
 I need not remind you of the recent interest given 
 to the Church Question from its connexion with the 
 State. The political circumstances of the present time 
 give us an especial opportunity to teach the people 
 both what the Church is not, and what she is. 
 
 But I believe that my apology is sutiicient, and 
 that it is rather the difficulty of doing it, than want 
 of conviction of the need for its being done, that keeps 
 us from bringing Church Principles more clearly and 
 fully before the people. 
 
 Let me mention what some of the difficulties are — 
 First, there is still the confusion between Catholic and 
 Roman Catholic. Men fear when we speak about the 
 Church, that we mean "to assert some special privi- 
 leges of the Clergy ; that we are preferring authority 
 to reason ; that all individual judgment will be 
 crushed, and that the end of Church teaching must be 
 submission to the Bishop of Bome. We must recog- 
 nise, and do our best to remove this fear, and let
 
 26 
 
 it be clearly known, and understood, that while we 
 desire earnestly reunion with the Church of Rome, if 
 she will first brinsr herself into doctrinal union with 
 the Primitive Church, yet we cannot accept her new 
 additions to the Faith ; and though we would grant to 
 the See of Eome her ancient primacy, yet we 
 cannot accept it as it is now offered, transformed into 
 a quasi sacramental Headship. 
 
 Another more subtle difficulty lies in the apparent 
 paradox in the use of media. The soul is jealous of 
 any interference between itself and God. Possessing 
 powers for the enjoyment through eternity of the 
 unveiled visiou of God, the soul is impatient of the 
 mediatorial kingdom ; it feels the restraint of times, 
 and places, and persons ; it longs for the communion 
 with God and with the saints in Heaven wliere the 
 Lord is the temple.'' This fear of interference between 
 the soul and its God makes the soul jealous of Sacra- 
 ments, of Priesthood, of Creeds, of a Church, even in 
 some cases of a Bible. 
 
 This jealousy for union with God is worthy of the 
 greatest respect and consideration, for it speaks of a 
 great past, and is a pledge of a still greater future. But 
 it needs Fatherly instruction and correction. We are 
 on our way back again to God, but it is as those who 
 have fallen from God, and we need the discipline of 
 times, and places, and persons, if we are to inherit the 
 fulness of the freedom that is prepared for us, and to 
 follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. \A'e need 
 
 •' Rev. xxi. 22.
 
 29 
 
 to consider the apparent paradox that by separation 
 and limitation God is reconciling the world back again 
 to Himself. G< d loved all the world, yet He chose 
 one nation to be His own. God loved the Chosen 
 People, but He chose one particular Tribe to minister 
 to Holy Things. He loved all the sons of Levi, but 
 chose the Family of Aaron to be His Priests. God was 
 in all the world, yet He chose Jerusalem to be the City 
 where He would dwell. In the language of Scripture, 
 God deviseth means that His banished be not ex- 
 pelled from Him.^ What the soul requires to know 
 is that there is no union between God and man, 
 except through Him Who is both Man and God ; 
 that in the Church, and by the Sacraments, we are 
 made Partakers of Him ; that the Chureh is His 
 Body, that as members of His Church we are incor- 
 porated into Him, and in Him are reconciled back 
 again to God. The Sacraments, the Priesthood, the 
 Creeds, the Bible itself, the Church, are not barriers 
 between the soul and God, but the divinely appointed 
 media for re-union : for as Hooker says, " faith in the 
 Sacraments is part of belief." 
 
 Another great hindrance to the definite inculcation 
 of Church principles is the presence of Non-conformists 
 amongst us. Our reverence and love for their zeal 
 and religious eftbrts, our unwillingness to disturb the 
 peace and goodwill which often exists between us and 
 them ; this kindly feeling hinders us from the truer 
 kindness of speaking the truth. On both sides there 
 
 1 II Sam. xiv. 14.
 
 so 
 
 IS often need of more knowledge, and of that quiet 
 trustfulness in the truth which comes with know- 
 ledge. All we desire is the full and patient statement 
 of the truth ; and then we may trust to the working 
 of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction in His own 
 time. 
 
 On our part, my Reverend Brethren, I would 
 suggest a more thorough acquaintance with the history 
 and tenets of the different forms of Dissent. In such 
 study we should assume that no body of men will 
 band themselves together upon the basis of error as 
 error, but either because they hold, or think they 
 hold, some elements of truth not recognized by others. 
 Our endeavour should be to sec what those elements of 
 truth are which have so attracted them as. to cause 
 them to separate from us, and then to show them 
 how they may be had in the Church in greater per- 
 fection, being there held in harmoDy with other truths. 
 
 Too often, it must be confessed, it has been the 
 neglect of some truth on the part of the Church 
 which has provoked an exaggerated reaction ; and the 
 neglected truth has become the watch-woid of a 
 sect. No one can doubt that the great spiritual 
 movement, whose birth-place is it: this county, arose 
 from a desire for higher personal holiness, the desire 
 to make sure that religion was a personal thing ; from 
 a sense of the need of more help in the religious life, 
 the help of system and discipline. It was this which 
 led to the establishment of a system of classes 
 graduated according to the spiritual capacity of the
 
 31 
 
 individual members, so tliat each mio^ht be brouoflit 
 to God, niid led on to perfection. In all this there is 
 surely much truth wliidi the Church should well con- 
 sider, and provide accordingly. 
 
 Another great difficulty in teaching Church 
 principles to the uneducated arises from their ignor- 
 ance of Church History. To appeal at once to Church 
 History is too often unmeaning and useless. We must 
 seek for some lines of thought, by which the system 
 of the Church can be brought before the people with- 
 out requiring a knowledge of Church History ; and we 
 should seek for new ways by which Church History 
 may be taught. 
 
 Two or three such lines of thought have suggested 
 themselves to me, which I desire to mention. 
 
 1. First there is the consideration of the Church 
 as a society. The recent extension of the franchise 
 has led many of our agricultural poor to see that they 
 have capacities for wider and higher relations than 
 they thought. They can see now that they not 
 only may have an interest in themselves, but in the 
 welfare of their fellow-countrymen ; and not only so, 
 but, as nations are interlaced with nations, national 
 politics they (^an see must have a European, and even 
 a wider interest : and thus an individual may see now 
 that he has an interest, not only in the welfare of his 
 fellow-countrymen, but in the brotherhood of man. It 
 is greatly to be hoped that the new opportunities for 
 local government will enable people to rise higher above 
 all local selfishness, and self-interest, and regard these
 
 32 
 
 opportunities as initial spheres of education for the 
 discharge of higher political responsibilities. The 
 thoughtless and unintelligent discharge of local 
 government has often, I fear, led to great waste of 
 opportunities for political education. 
 
 The same is true in the government of the Church. 
 It should be the ambition of every Church Layman 
 to contribute something to the common good ; the 
 intelligent discharge of the duties of Vestry-man, 
 Sidesman, and Churchwarden might lead on to a share 
 in the Meeting of the Rural Deanery, in the Diocesan 
 Conference, and now in the Provincial House of 
 Laymen. 
 
 The Church, as a society, with rules and laws, 
 supplies the need of external help wdiich even the 
 Heathen moralist declared man to have — leading us 
 to the conclusion that ni'in reaches his individual 
 happiness and perfection by acting in union with his 
 fellow^ men, and that the human will needs the external 
 assistance of rules and laws to enable it to carry out 
 the principles which reason and conscience approve. 
 We need to be placed in a society, .ve need a rule of 
 life. It was this line of thought, you will remember, 
 which led Aristotle when he had finished the Ethics 
 to write the Politics. Ethics, jjersonal morality, 
 should be regarded as the Vestibule to Politics, the 
 principles of the life of nations 
 
 If our people now see that they have capacities for 
 relations and powers of which they were hitherto not 
 aware, is it not an opportunity for asking them to
 
 53 
 
 consider the still wider relations and higher capacities 
 which lie in them and around them in their relation 
 to the Catholic, or Universal Church ? 
 
 2. Another consideration is the Scriptural evidence 
 for the Church. 
 
 This we should try to set before our people, not 
 by quoting one or two individual texts, but rather by 
 showing that the idea of the Church, as a Society, with 
 definite organization and means of grace is Scriptural, 
 i.e., according to the revealed mind of God. 
 
 We should point out how before the Law, and under 
 the Law, and in the Gospel, God's Will has been to use 
 the media of times, and persons, and even things 
 inanimate, for the restoration of man. We should 
 point out how to preach Jesus, in Apostolic times, 
 implied the Sacrament of Baptism which Jesus had 
 appointed. ~ 
 
 We should show^ them how the Scriptures speak 
 of the Church as the " Body " of Christ, as the 
 " Spouse " and " Bride " of Christ, and therefore that 
 the Church was meant to be one. We should show 
 them how Christ added to the Church such as were 
 being saved : how, as Bishop Pearson says,^ " Christ 
 never appointed two ways to Heaven, nor did He 
 build a Church to save some, and make another 
 institution for other men's salvation" : how, as Bishop 
 Taylor* has said, " There is, in ordinary, no way to 
 
 * Acts viii. 35-38. ' Acts ii. 41. Bishop Pearson, Creed, ait. ix. 
 
 * Bishop Taylor, On J^cpeniavcc, vol. ix. p. 258 ; Worrlsworth, Theoph. 
 Aiiijl. {>. 'JS.
 
 34 
 
 Heaven but by serving God in the way whicli Be hath 
 commanded us by His Son ; that is, in the way of the 
 Church which is His Body, of which He is the Prince 
 and Head." And all this is but the extension of that 
 same principles of mediation upon which when the Son 
 of Man took upon Him to deliver man He did not 
 abhor the Virgin's womb. The instrument by which He 
 then executed the Will which He came to do was that 
 Body which was prepared for Him ; that soul which 
 was made an offering for sin ; that spirit which, when 
 He had finished His work, He commended unto His 
 Father's hands. 
 
 We must show them moreover how the Old 
 Testament ministries of Prophet, Priest, and King are 
 not wholly exhausted in their meaning by the coming 
 of Him who is the Prophet, Priest, and King. 
 
 We must explain Scripture as the Early Fathers 
 did both in the East and West ; and explain the 
 Pastoral Epistles as relating to the Christian Ministry 
 as they had it, and as we now have it, with Bishops, 
 Priests, and Deacons. 
 
 We must tell them, as the Early Fathers did, 
 (even St. Cyprian and St. Irenasus) how the lesson 
 of schism in the histories of Korah, Nadab, and 
 Jeroboam is a warning to those who break aw^ay from 
 the Divinely appointed Ministry of the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 We must show them how the greatness of their 
 own position as "Priests and Kings" no more docs away 
 wdth a definite Christian Priesthood than it did away
 
 35 
 
 with the Aaronic Priesthood, when the words were first 
 spoken under the Law, or any more than it does away 
 with the rights of Kings in a Christian hmd. We may 
 tell them, if we think it necessary, as S. Augustine told 
 his Catechumens, that there is an element of iemporarij 
 imitation and discipline in all this, for the Kingdom 
 of God of which we are speaking is the Kingdom in 
 its militant condition. We may remind them that there 
 will come a time when this Militant Kingdom will be 
 delivered up to the Father, and then we shall no longer 
 need this ministry of men, neither the Sacraments, nor 
 the Scriptures, nor the latter petitions at least of the 
 Lord's Prayerr But if we tell them this it must not 
 be to flatter any spirit of self-righteous independence 
 of the means of grace which God has provided for 
 them, but rather to warn them against impatience in 
 accepting the conditions of the Militant Kingdom, 
 The C'hurch is the ark which God has builded for our 
 safety, and in which we are being brought unto the 
 Haven where we would be. 
 
 3. There is another consideration which raiocht be 
 made of far more practical value than it often is, I 
 mean the consideration of the clause in the Apostles' 
 Creed, " I believe in the Holy Catholic Church " ; and 
 in the Nicene Creed, " I believe one Catholic and 
 Apostolic Church." 
 
 Many of our people would be shocked at the im- 
 putation of rejecting, or mutilating the Creeds, who, 
 nevertheless, do not give themselves time to c( nsider 
 what they mean when they say, I believe in "One
 
 36 
 
 Holy Catholic Apostolic Church." And yet, every 
 child that is brougjht to Church to be Christened, 
 or, having been privately Christened, is publicly 
 received into the Congregation, does, by its Godfathers 
 and Godmothers, promise to believe the Articles of the 
 Creed, and Godparents are admonished to take care 
 that the child shall be taught it. And again, at the 
 close of life, in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick, 
 the question is to be asked among the fundamental 
 articles of the soul's belief, " dost thou believe in the 
 Holy Catholic Church?" Twice, every day, the 
 Church requires, at least, of her Clergy, this statement 
 of our belief to be made, and as often as we celebrate 
 the Holy Communion. I'his we all know, but do all 
 who accept these facts, practically realise what they 
 involve ? Is it not true that on this article of the 
 Creed the teaching has often been, from different 
 causes, short and vague ? Have we not much work 
 yet to do before all those who accept the Creed shall 
 individually, and with a practical intelligence, accept 
 this clause in the sense in which it was understood 
 when inserted in the Creeds by the Fathers of the 
 Primitive Church ? What the meaning of the Primi- 
 tive Church was we can see by the position of this 
 clause in the Creeds. It follows the clause which ex- 
 presses our belief in the Holy Ghost, and it tells us 
 that the means of grace and salvation are to be 
 obtained in and throuo^h the Church : that the Church 
 is the present manifestation of the power of Christ, 
 the divinely appointed sphere for the operations of
 
 37 
 
 the Holy Spirit. And so the four great wants of 
 man, expressed in the four following clauses, — holiness : 
 " the forgiveness of sins," — the certainty of a con- 
 tinuing personality : " the resurrection of the body" 
 — the rest and bliss of sinless love : " the Com- 
 munion of Saints," — and that for ever and ever : 
 " the life everlasting," — these four great wants of 
 man, we are given to understand, are to be had in, or 
 through, the Church ; " per Sanctam Ecclesiam," as 
 it was sometimes expressed. 
 
 Let me, for the sake of your poor people, remind 
 you of the words of my learned predecessor. Bishop 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 " What," he asks, " was the judgment of the 
 Primitive Church upon this point ? " And his reply is. 
 "It declared in its Creeds, that the means of grace and 
 salvation can only be obtained in the Church ; that 
 remission of sins can only be had there ; that the 
 Sacrament of the Eucharist, the graces of the Spirit, 
 and the Word of God, pure and incorrupt, can be 
 received only in the Church ; that prayer can only be 
 offered up acceptably to God, and that benediction 
 can only be received in Communion with the Church 
 of Christ. ' Nulla salus, nisi in Ecclesia ' was the 
 concurrent language of all antiquity; and in the w^ords 
 of S. Cyprian and of S. Augustine, ' Nemo potest habere 
 Deum Patrem, qui uon liabet Ecclesiam Matrem.'"^ 
 Such language, I know, at once excites feelings of 
 opposition, as if the liberty of God, and the law of 
 
 5 ThMph. Any., cli. iv., pp. 28, 29.
 
 38 
 
 charity, were being broken ; but it need not be so 
 Because we believe that " Whoso hath the Son hath 
 life, and whoso hath not the Son hath not life," we 
 do not necessarily condemn those to whom the Name 
 of the Son has never been made known ; we pass no 
 judgment on the world before Christ came, nor on 
 those portions of the world which remain, alas ! 
 heathen at the present day ; nor yet upon the irre- 
 sponsibly or invincibly ignorant or on the imbecile. 
 Man's responsibilities vary with his privileges : Christ's 
 merits we know are infinite. " Every one shall be dealt 
 equitably witli " ; all will be judged by God, and " God 
 is love." " Indeed the thought of the heathen and the 
 ignorant may rather suggest thoughts of fear and 
 warning for ourselves than for them, unless we pray for 
 them, and regard it as a part of oar Christian duty 
 to do what we can to make known to them the 
 blessings of the Gospel of Christ. We must accept the 
 responsibilities, as well as the privileges, of the 
 Church. 
 
 4. There is one more consideration on which I 
 desire to ask your attention in relation to our people 
 and their belief in the Church, and that is Church 
 History. Our diificulty is very great. The Church 
 was intended to be the Divinely appointed instrument 
 for teaching the people, and we have now, for the 
 most part, to teach our people to listen to their teacher ; 
 to teach them who their teacher is, that they may 
 trust her, that they may " hear the Church." And 
 
 ^ Bishop Butler's Analogy, pt. ii., ch. vi., Theoph. Aug., p. 31.
 
 39 
 
 yet we may be sure, as she is the appointed teacher of 
 the people, we shall, in the end, teach them best if we 
 teach them in God's way. As to many persons their 
 knowledge of Church History must, of course, be very 
 small. And yet might we not, if we freed ourselves 
 from sloth and despair, do something more than we 
 have done in the matter ? The efforts and progress 
 in technical knowledge in other sciences are very ^reat ; 
 new efforts are being constantly made to break up the 
 great mass ot the knowable, so that, according to 
 capaciby and aptitude, each miy receive something. 
 
 In every villagje there would be some who miofhl 
 make some progress in this matter. 
 
 The teachers in our day schools, our pupil teachers, 
 our Sunday-school teachers — might make some progress ; 
 and, here and there, one or two of the more educated 
 parishioners. I hope with the assistance of the Diocesan 
 Board of Education to establish a scheme for hio-her 
 religious education such as has been lately established 
 in the Diocese of Oxford ; a part of which is to deliver 
 Lectures on Church History in different centres in the 
 Diocese, and to offer questions for examination to any 
 who may desire such assistance. Something again, I 
 think, might be done by creating a local interest in 
 Church History. Several Diocesan Histories have been 
 written in the last few years : might we not advance a 
 step further and obtain, if not separate histories of 
 each Parish, yet histories of each Rural Deanery made 
 up from the histories of each separate Parish, as far as 
 they could contribute ? Such histories might form 
 
 C
 
 40 
 
 from time to time part of the Parish Magazine, and 
 would be read with interest by some, at least, in each 
 separate neighl)ourhood. 
 
 I cannot help adding here that we might, I think, 
 do more in keeping the Dedication Festival of the 
 Parish Church. No doubt such festivals have desfene- 
 rated into mere secuUir feasts, and we must be 
 content with simple results, and results of a very mixed 
 character, from suah an effort ; but 1 believe the 
 sympathies of the young might be largely drawn 
 towards the Church by such means ; while the aged 
 would enter more into the Services of the day, and 
 understand, at least in some degree, what a blessing 
 it is to have a Church, 
 
 For yourselves, my Reverend Brethren, I hardly 
 like to presume to suggest anything, when you may 
 be so much more able to do it tnan I am. I will, 
 however, offer two more suggestions : — Might not our 
 teaching about the Church have been more strong and 
 definite if we had seen more clearly the gradual 
 growth of the errors of the Church of Rome ? Have 
 
 o 
 
 we not lost members of our Church to the Church 
 of Rome, because they were so imperfectly instructed 
 in the answers to modern Roman claims, and has 
 not this w^ant of instruction partly arisen from our 
 ignorance of the years in which Roman error has 
 grown up ? The usual knowledge of Church History 
 requijcd of the Clergy of the Church of England 
 has been of the first three or four centuries, and of the 
 Reformation, which leaves a blank of a thousand or 
 twelve hundred years, I know that the Modern History
 
 41 
 
 School at the Universities has done much to remedy 
 this danger, but might we not improve ? The other 
 suggestion I venture to offer is to invite your 
 attention to a double responsibility which rests upon 
 us in this Diocese, one indeed in common with the 
 whole Church — I mean the re-assurance we have 
 lately had given us by the learned labours of the 
 Bishop of Durham of the genuineness of the Ignatian 
 Epistles. This should make us consider again how 
 necessary the three sacred orders are, if we would enjoy 
 the full blessings of the Church, aud a valid Eucharist. 
 This is certainly the teacbing of St. Ignatius,''' and 
 it is in harmony with the teaching of our own Ordinal, 
 " It is evident unto all man diligently reading the 
 Holy Scriptures and Ancient Authors, that from the 
 Apostles' time there have been these three orders of 
 ]\linisters in Christ's Church : Bishoj)s, Priests, and 
 Deacons."' '"We recjuire you, says Hooker, to find 
 out one Church upon the face of the whole earth that 
 hath not been ordered by Episcopal regiment since the 
 time that the blessed Apostles were here conversant."^ 
 If we need the study of the middle ages to 
 teach us the origin of the Roman additions to the old 
 faith, we need the study of the early centuries to 
 save us from using the word 'Church' of Organizations, 
 
 ' Cf. Ep. ad Smyrn. C viii. €K€iV); ftefSaia ivxapiCTTia rjy€ia-dw rj 
 
 vwo Tov ariCTKOTrov oij-a rj a av avros kTriTpk\pij ovk k^ov iariv 
 
 \u)piS Tou eTTicTKOTrov ovTC /SaTTTi^eLv ouTC dyar^^v Trotetf. 
 
 Bishop Lightfoot's note on the last words is " the ayaTii must include 
 the Eucharist." 
 
 ^ Preface to Ordination Services, Prayer Rook' Service. * Preface iv. 1.
 
 42 
 
 for which it was never used in primitive times. In 
 this Diocese we have a special responsibility from the 
 writings which have been lefc us by your late revered 
 Bishop. I will ask you, in this my first Charge since 
 he has been taken from you, to look again, and yet 
 agjain, at the Patristic and Ang^lican evidence which he 
 has given us on the organization and privileges of the 
 Church in that small but pregnant book, to which I 
 have already referred — " Theophilus Anglicanus ". 
 
 Let it be a labour of grateful love that w^e try to 
 follow up that Patristic teaching, to enrich it by further 
 reading, to make it our own by prayerful meditation ; 
 and then to labour unceasingly, and by every 
 available means, to make that teaching known to the 
 people. For this, my brethren, I earnestly invite 
 your renewed assistance, that we may bring home to 
 the people the blessings of the Church.^ That is, 
 in other words, let us show how the Church in her 
 ministry of the Word and Sacraments provides for the 
 three great wants of man : — 
 
 Truth — Holiness — Peace. 
 
 I will conclude these simple suggestions for a 
 renewed effort to instruct our people in the doctrines 
 
 ^ What those blessings are Bishop Wonlsworth has well set out in his 
 chapters on the Privilec^es of the Church. Theoph. Angl., pt. i. ch. vi.-xvi. 
 l_The Word of God. 
 
 2— The Right Interpretation of the Word of God. 
 3 — The Administration of tlie Sacraments by a Lawful Ministry. 
 4 — Discipline, Power of the Kej's. 
 5 — Absolution. 
 
 6 — Sacerdotal Intercession and Benediction. 
 7 — Set Forms of Public Prayer,
 
 43 
 
 of the Church, by some words from a treatise by an 
 Eastern (a Paissian) Bishop.^" 
 
 1 — The Lord Jesus has founded His Church that 
 
 that in it we miojht be born affain. We ouo^ht 
 
 therefore, to show her the love and obedience 
 
 of chiklren. 
 2 — The Lord Jesus has charged His Church to 
 
 teach men His loving doctrine. We, therefore, 
 
 should receive her teaching as from the Holy 
 
 Spirit. 
 3 — The Lord Jesus has intrusted to the Church the 
 
 Sacraments and Divine Offices for the sancti- 
 
 fication of men. We should accept and use 
 
 them wdth fitting reverence. 
 4 — The Lord Jesus has appointed the Church to 
 
 guide and strengthen men in a life of piety. 
 
 We should loyally follow and obey her rules 
 
 and laws. 
 5 — The Lord Jesus has appointed in His Church a 
 
 distinction between the pastor and the flock. 
 
 We should receive these different gifts as 
 
 determined by His Will. 
 6 — The Church of Christ is One. Therefore we 
 
 should preserve the Spirit of Unity in the 
 
 bond of peace. 
 7 — The Church of Christ is Holy. Therefore we 
 
 should strive to keep ourselves fitting mem- 
 bers of the Body of Which Christ is Himself 
 
 the Head. 
 
 ^^ Macaire. Thiologie Dogmatique Orthodoxc, V. iii., s. ii., ch. i.
 
 44 
 
 8 — The Churcli of Christ is Catholic, or universal. 
 Therefore it is for the whole world, and our 
 love should be for all mankind. 
 
 9 — The Church of Christ is Apostolic. Therefore we 
 should stand firm in the Faith, being built on 
 the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, 
 united in Jesus Christ, who is Himself the 
 Chief Corner Stone. — Eph. ii. 20. 
 
 From the reconsideration of these general prin- 
 ciples let us now turn our attention to the present 
 condition of our Diocese. 
 
 1. First let ms offer both to you, my brethren of 
 tha Clergy, and to you my brethren of the Laity, my 
 grateful thanks for the kind forbearance, and ready 
 assistance, which you have shown me during the past 
 eighteen months. I accept it as your answer to that 
 touching appeal made to you, on my behalf, in our 
 Minster by your late Bishop's son : " Will you not, 
 for your part, who loved my father, do him this best, 
 this greatest kindness, to transfer your love and 
 g3nerous forbearance, your respect and loyal confi- 
 dence, to the successor whom Cod, I believe, has sent 
 in answer to his earnest and anxious prayers ? "^ 
 
 It is not possible for me to give my thanks indi- 
 vidually to all of you to whom my thanks are due, 
 but you will expect that I should make some special 
 reference to the Bishop of Nottingham, whose valuable 
 services as Bishop Suffragan, (I say it with regret for 
 
 ^ Memorial Sermon by John Wordsworth, M.A., 1885, p. 9.
 
 45 
 
 your sake, as well as for my own,) I have not felt able 
 to continue, now that the Diocese has been relieved of 
 more than one half of its population by the creation 
 of the See of Southwell. I am thankful, however, to 
 assure you that the Bishop of Nottingham will both 
 continue to aid me by his services in the Archdeaconry 
 of Stow, and in those many known, and unknown, 
 generous ways by which he has assisted the work 
 of the Church in this Diocese for so many years. 
 
 ]\Iy thanks are due to the Dean and Chapter of our 
 Cathedral Church for the readiness with which they 
 have accorded lo me the special use of the JMinster for 
 Ordinations, Confirmations, and at other times, as well 
 as for their continued readiness to aid me by their 
 counsel and loving sympathy. I trust that my removal 
 of th3 Episcopal residence back again to the site of the 
 Old Palace of St. Huo:h, so as to be able to live among^st 
 them, may be the outward sign of a real and increasing 
 union in brotherly love, and united labour for the 
 Diocese. 
 
 To the Rural Deans I wish indeed that I could 
 give my thanks individually for the readiness with 
 which all were willing to continue their unremunerated 
 office on my appointment to this See, or to accept the 
 office as vacancies occurred. 
 
 I am aware that the new Pluralities Act makes 
 new demands on the self-sacrificing sincerity, and 
 Christian tact, of the Rural Dean ; but I cannot but 
 believe, if we remember Whom we serve, that grace 
 will be given. I take this opportunity of returning
 
 46 
 
 my thanks for the record of your Chapter proceedings 
 which many of you have been good enough to send me. 
 I observe in some cases that the Laity attend ; might 
 not this attendance be increased, and be made a 
 valuable means of enlisting the interest of the Laity 
 in the Church's work ? 
 
 And to you, my brethren of the Laity, 1 offer my 
 thanks in the Name of Him, Whose we are, and Whom 
 we serve, for your self-denying services for His Church. 
 To Him you look for praise and reward, and not to 
 me. I trust that no change in the financial position 
 of the othce will prevent those who are able from 
 undertaking: the valuable and ancient office of Church- 
 warden : and that, whether in the Parish Vestries, or in 
 the Meetings of our Rural Deaneries, or in the Diocesan 
 Conferences, or as our representatives in the House of 
 Laymen, Church Laymen will be ready to come 
 forward and do their utmost to support that Church 
 which is the indestructible and divinely appointed 
 means of our salvation, and which has contributed so 
 greatly to the Power and Peace of our Country. 
 
 I may, I feel sure, take this opportunity of offering 
 on my own behalf, and on behalf of our whole Diocese, 
 our grateful thanks to Sir Charles Anderson, Mr. 
 A. S. Leslie Melville, the Right Hon. Edward Stanhope, 
 and Sir William Welby-Gregory for their willingness 
 to render such assistance in the House of L^aymen.^ 
 It would be presumption to speak with confidence of 
 
 ^ The Honble. M. E. G. Finch-Hatton would have been nominated again 
 for the House of Laymen, but he declined on account of the pressure of 
 Parliamentary and other duties.
 
 47 
 
 the great work which this newly-constituted assembly 
 may accomplish ; but all truo Churchmen must be 
 thankful that an attempt has been made by which the 
 new problems of the Church's welfare may be discussed 
 by the most competent persons, without violating the 
 ancient Synodical Constitution of the Church. 
 
 2. O'lr Schools. To none perhaps should my 
 thanks be more readily, or more sincerely, given than 
 to the Inspectors of our Schools. I do desire to offer 
 you my thanks most sincerely, on behalf of those 
 whose Ano;els we know behold the Face of their Father 
 in Heaven. Now, indeed, they do not themselves 
 know what you have done for them, but they hereafter 
 will be your joy and crown. It is indeed a most 
 Christ-like and blessed work to see that children are 
 tauofht the truths of Eternal Life. 
 
 o 
 
 Four hundred and fifty-two Schools have been 
 visited by Diocesan Inspectors during the past year, a 
 number which is again in excess of those inspected in 
 any previous year ; and the number would have been 
 higher if all the reports had been sent in. More 
 Schools are reported as good, fewer as fair, and still 
 fewer as bad, than in any previous year. The num- 
 bers showing the degree ol excellence of the Religious 
 Instruction are— schools. 
 
 Excellent or good in . . . . 338 
 Fair or moderate in .... 95 
 Indifferent or bad in ... . 19 
 
 452
 
 48- 
 
 No Church School has been given over to a Board 
 during the year. 
 
 With regard toPupil Teachers and Monitors, about 
 the same number attended the Examination: but Canon 
 Matthew doabts whether the results quite reached 
 the usual level of excellence. When it can be done, 
 I would earnestly remind my brethren of the Clergy, 
 of the great importance of bringing the Pupil Teachers 
 under their iuflueiicc. 'I'hey are the future Masters 
 and Mistresses of our Schools ; in moulding them we 
 are moulding hundreds of our children. It is not 
 merely by giving them definite instruction to help them 
 in their different Examinations, valuable as that is, 
 but by letting them know something of your mind and 
 heart, that you will lift them up out of the low me- 
 chanical and mercantile view of their profession, and 
 help them to realise, in some degree, the privilege of 
 their high calling in training children, not only to be 
 good citizens in this world, but of Heaven. I am glad 
 to see by the answers to my Visitation Questions that 
 many of the Clergy continue to give Religious Instruc- 
 tion in their Day Schools. I believe that the syllabus 
 of religious instruction has wonderfully improved the 
 religious teaching given by the Clergy in their Schools, 
 by giving it method and precision. I wish I could 
 feel quite as sure that there was the same hope and 
 love centred in the Parish School as there was forty 
 years ago. 
 
 There are still some Parishes insufficiently provided 
 with Schools ; and some Schools which are not under
 
 49 
 
 Diocesan Inspection. I shall be glad, where this is the 
 case, if the Clergy will communicate with me, that we 
 may see if any remedy can be suggested. 
 
 The two ditiiculties which seem especially to 
 demand our consi'leration are the early age at which 
 our children leave our Country Schools (being generally 
 in the Fourth Standard, and not older than 11), and 
 the difficulty of maintaining an efficient Sunday School 
 in Country Ptirishes, where the houses are scattered, 
 where a Dissenting School may exist, and where few 
 competent teachers are to be found. 
 
 The first difficulty is increased by the fact that 
 Night-schools seem, speaking generally, to be no longer 
 cared for ; in a few instances they are still spoken of 
 as doingr well and flourishinsr, but the lanoruaofe of the 
 returns generally is, " We used to have them, but they 
 have ceased to attend ; the young men do not care to 
 come " : the truth being that most of the young lads 
 can read and write and do a little summing, and they 
 care for nothing more. 
 
 I do not know what the complete answer to this 
 difficulty ought to be, but let us remember that the 
 difficulty is partly the result of success ; it is be- 
 cause we have quickly reached a certain point, which 
 was not reached before, that there is, at present, no 
 desire to learn more. Let this give us hope, and let 
 us watch patiently and unweariedly till we see by what 
 next step those who have thus risen may yet rise 
 higher. There are some cases in country villages, and 
 still more, of course, in towns, where the advantages
 
 50 
 
 of a prolonged education are easily shown by the 
 possibility of obtaining places in offices, on the railway, 
 or in domestic service. When this is the case, classes 
 however small, however irregular, should be formed to 
 give just that kind and degree of higher intellectual 
 instruction which is found to be acceptable : but in the 
 country villages there are many to whom this canuot 
 apply. 
 
 Still let us not expect too much. It cannot be 
 said of all the members of educated families that be- 
 tween the ages of eleven and twenty-two they have 
 an intelligent interest in their own self-culture : the 
 purely intellectual is not the ruling influence of their 
 lives. Let the Parish be to us as our own family. 
 Judging from the way in which we w^ere educated 
 ourselves, I cannot help suggesting that something 
 more might be done in the direction of strengthening 
 the religious principle, and in exercising, in inno- 
 cent and intelligent amusement, the knowledge the 
 young people have. With this object, I believe, in 
 towns, clubs and reading-rooms, with lectures and 
 music, and other innocent recreation, are found to 
 answer ; and something of the same kind might be 
 adapted, in winter months, to our villages. The 
 village school, or a central club room, or a room in the 
 vicarage, might be opened occasionally for a lecture, or 
 a concert, or for classes in carving or art of some kind. 
 Books and games, and papers and picture papers might 
 be sent to the foremen at farm houses, or even to cot- 
 tages, where possible. The moral value of games, as
 
 51 
 
 affording innocent occupation, and subject for innocent 
 conversation,^ is exceedingly great. 
 
 But with all this very definite and perseveri)ig 
 efforts must also be made to deepen the religious 
 principle. Thefailure of abeneficialinfluence in Athletics 
 or Art has been due to the want of proportion in 
 their use. When people have trusted to a philan- 
 thropic supply of amusements as a sul'stitute for the 
 Gospel, they have naturally been disappointed with 
 the result. We want something in the poor lad's 
 home which sh dl correspond to the patient, humble, 
 wise, holy, and loving power which a mother's influence 
 is in our own. Perhaps the wife and daughters at the 
 Rectory, or the Hall, and the younger Clergy can best 
 supply the need. Much, I know, they have already 
 done. 
 
 We need some kindly light to lead the young 
 people through the common age of wreckage, between 
 the years of 17 and 27. The less-educated have hardly 
 any adequate conception of the degree of self- 
 mastery, self-culture, and self-sacrifice which a real 
 life requires. This is to be gained by deepening the 
 religious principle — by showing them the examp^.e of 
 Christ, Who pleased not Himself; and teaching them 
 that a Christ-like life may be (and should) be theirs. 
 
 This leads me to the second difiiculty — the Sunday 
 School. In towns there seems little in this matter to 
 be desired, except that all should be encouraged to 
 
 * I am indebted for this thought to a Paper by tlie Head Master of 
 Clifton College, Mr. Wilson.
 
 52 
 
 persevere iu their good work ; and where possible, that 
 increasing opportunities shoukl be devised for teaching 
 the Teachers ; and perhaps a more graduated system 
 of C^itechising be adopted ; and more effective Child- 
 ren's Services. We should remember the rule of our 
 Church in her Canon requiring all Fathers and Mothers, 
 Masters and Mistresses to send not only the young, 
 but the ignorant to be catechized ; — we should try 
 to provide Elementary Instruction for the adult 
 ignorant as well as for the young. The Sunday School 
 in this sense might take the form of '^ Instructions" 
 after Service on Sunday in the Church — and this 
 during special seasons, as Advent and Lent. But in 
 the country villages there is more need for anxiety. 
 
 The difficulties are, I know, almost insuperable — 
 where the Clergyman is single-handed with, perhaps, 
 two Churches ; where his people are scattered, and 
 there are few to help. Still I will venture to ask : — 
 Are there not some cases where a Sunday School 
 might be held where at present there is none ? 
 
 According to the Diocesan Calendar for 1886, 
 120 Parishes are without Sunday Schools. But by 
 the Visitation Returns, 72 of these Parishes are re- 
 turned as havino[ Schools. Of the remaininof 48 — in 
 6 Parishes the children go elsewhere, 4 Parishes have 
 made no return, and 6 Parishes have made uncertain 
 returns. This will leave a remainder of 32 I^irishes 
 in which there does not appear to be any provision for 
 a Sunday School.
 
 53 
 
 Might we not find more Teachers if we took more 
 pains to explain to members of our own family, or 
 household, or to two or three more educated and pious 
 members of our congregation, what a proof of love to 
 our Blessed Lord it would be to feed His lambs ? 
 
 Might we not in time create more Teachers of our 
 own, if we were content to work as our Divine Master 
 did, in a centrifugal manner, and so reach the many 
 throuo-h the few ? A few chddren well tauo;ht, and 
 influenced by close and loving contact with the 
 Teacher's hand and heart, would themselves be 
 examples of what Christian children can be, and thus 
 unconscious teachers of others. 
 
 3. The religious teaching of the young leads me 
 naturally to speak of Confirmation. Here, my first 
 desire is to express to you the great satisfaction which 
 my Confirmation tour has given me, not only for the 
 good behaviour of the candidates, but for the evidence 
 of their religious capacity and interest. JMost sincerely 
 do 1, for His sake, thank you for your labour. 
 
 I h ive confirmed during the last eighteen months 
 5058 persons.* The number of candidates confirmed in 
 the Spring time is rather less than in the same district 
 two years ago. Butthere may have been sufiicient causes 
 for this. Nevertheless this leads me to say, with a 
 sorrowful sincerity, that in some instances the number 
 of candidates presented was not I fear, judging from 
 the population, A\hat it ought to have been. I can 
 
 * Autmmi, 18S5— Males. 742 ; Fein iles, 1078. Sprin;,', 1886-Males, 1327 ; 
 Females, 1746. Miscellaneous— Males, 73 ; Females, 92.
 
 54 
 
 conceive, my brethren, few sorrows more bitter to the 
 true Pastor's heart thin to hear of someone who, 
 throusrh his neoliaence, had fallen from his first love — 
 even though in God's mercy that negligence should be 
 brought home to him by the cry of a returning 
 penitent, " God, unmake me, remake me, make me 
 what I mio^ht have been if I had never sinned." 
 
 I am thankful to see by the returns to my questions 
 that, on the whole, a satisfactory proportion of those 
 confirmed have made their first Communion. 
 
 4. With regard to the frequency of Holy Com- 
 munion I see from the Visitation Returns that the 
 Parishes in which it is celebrated 
 
 Weekly, or more frequently, are 120. 
 
 Fortnightly „ 101. 
 
 Monthly .... „ 288. 
 
 Less than Monthly ... ... ,, 86. 
 
 I have been glad to notice in several instances 
 that the desire is expressed for more frequent Celebra- 
 tions of the Holy Communion than it has been found 
 possible at present to obtain. I should not desire to 
 press any of my brethren forward in so sacred a matter 
 with undue haste, but I earnestly hope that it will be 
 the aim of all to celebrate the Holy Communion on 
 all Sundays and Holy Days. In our smallest Country 
 Parishes it may take some little time safely to reach 
 this standard, but if it be accepted by all Incumbents, 
 and made a definite part of their teaching in the 
 Pulpit, and from house to house ; and, moreover, if 
 it be put before the people in the Parish as a great
 
 55 
 
 object for which they should work together, both by 
 mutual arrangement between employed and employer, 
 and also by the employed among themselves, then a 
 very great improvement, I believe, might, by God's 
 help, quickly be attained. 
 
 The proportion of newly Confirmed who make 
 their first Communion fills one both with hope and 
 anxiety. We must not expect too much from them, 
 surrounded as they are by prejudices and temj^tations, 
 but my belief is that a considerable number, if we 
 could thoroughly win their confidence, would be both 
 fit and glad to come more often afterwards than they do. 
 There is room here for earnest prayer and watching. 
 Communicant Classes, and Services for Preparation 
 late on Friday or Saturday Evening, or before the first 
 Sunday in the month, would often, I believe, be a help 
 and comfort to many. 
 
 We must not expect too much from our people, or 
 we shall dishearten them and ourselves too. 
 
 It would be better to try and find out just what 
 standard we ought all reasonably to aim at now, 
 things being as they are, and then to see what higher 
 standard we should be justified in working towards, 
 not aiming necessarily at a uniformity, much less at 
 a simultaneous uniformity, of practice, but waiting 
 upon God's Will. 
 
 Thus though we have, no doubt, fallen below the 
 Scriptural and Primitive Standard and the Standard 
 of our own Church, which requires every Parishioner 
 to communicate three times a year, yet I believe we 
 
 D
 
 56 
 
 may be thankful for the position which our Communi- 
 cants hold, in the j)resent state of Christendom. 
 
 The standard, with regard to frequency of Com- 
 munion, from Scripture and the Early Church, given 
 in Bingham {Eccl. Antiq., Bk. xv., chp. 18), shows 
 the following results : — 
 
 1. Weekly. 
 
 " It is certain," he says, " it was both the rule and 
 practice for all in general, both clergy and laity, to 
 receive the Communion every Lord's Day, except 
 Catechumens or Penitents." The Scriptural Evidence 
 is Acts XX. 7, " and upon the first day of the week, 
 when the disciples came together to break bread." 
 
 The Patristic evidence is explicit in Justin Martyr 
 Apol. ii , A.D. 140, and in the writings of many others. 
 
 2. Three or Four times a week. 
 
 " It appears undeniable that in many Churches 
 they had the Communion four times every week, on 
 Wednesdays, Frida3^s, Saturdays and Sundays, besides 
 incidental festivals, wdiich were very frequent." 
 
 3. Daily. 
 
 " In some places they received the Communion 
 every day"; and again— "In the greater Churches, 
 probably, they had it every day ; in the lesser only 
 once or twice a week." 
 
 S. Cyprian {de Oral. Dom.) and others speak of th 
 Holy Eucharist as the Daily Bread. 
 
 S. Augustine {Ep. liv. ad Januar : ) states the 
 practice, in his time, most fully.
 
 57 
 
 " Alii quotidie communicant Corpori ac Sanguini 
 Domini, alii certis diebus accipiunt : alibi nullus dies 
 praetermittitur, quo non offeratur, alibi sabbato tantum 
 et Dominica, alibi tantum Dominica ; et si quid aliud 
 liujusmodi animadvert! potest, totum hoc genus 
 rerum liberas habet observationes": and later in the Ep. 
 S. Augustine compares these who desire to receive daily, 
 and those who desire to receive less frequently, to 
 Zacchseus and the Centurion. ' Nam et ille honorando 
 non audet quotidie sumere, et ille honorando non 
 audet ullo die praetermittere." 
 
 While there is abundant Patristic authority 
 for Daily Communion in some places, I cannot think 
 that the Catechism of the Council of Trent is justified in 
 saying that Daily Communion is the norma certissima 
 of S. Augustine, as if it were the uniform standard to 
 aim at, or that this was the opinion of all the Fathers. 
 *' Eundem sensum fuisse omnium Patrum."^^ 
 
 Thepresent Roman rule rec^uiring all to communicate 
 once a year is late, dating from the Council of Lateran, 
 A.D. 1216. The rule of our own Rubric requiring three 
 times a year is older, as old as the Council of Agde, 
 AD. 506. 
 
 But the practice of the earliest centuries was more 
 scriptural when both clergy and laity received the 
 Holy Communion every Sunday at least. 
 
 Let it then be the aim in every Parish, both of priest 
 and people, an aim for which they will work and pray 
 
 * The sermon of S. Augustine, from which the Catechism quotes, is 
 Sermon 84 in the Appendix, which, however, some ascribe to S. Ambrose.
 
 58 
 
 together, that the Holy Communion should be celebrat- 
 ed every Sunday. If priest and people were really 
 to make this a great object of their lives, there would 
 be few, if any, parishes without a weekly Eucharist. 
 And here I must quote one of the (for us) most sad 
 regulations on this great subject ; it is the Resolution 
 of the Plan of Pacification put forth by the Wesleyan 
 body shortly after John Wesley's death. During John 
 Wesley's lifetime, it is well known, the Holy riom- 
 muion was never administered in their chapels by 
 their ministers, but four years after his death the 
 following resolution was adopted. 
 
 " We agree that the Lord's Supper be administered 
 
 amongst us on Sundays nevertheless it shall 
 
 never be administered on those Sundays on which it 
 is administered in the Parochial Church." — Peirce's 
 Wesleyan Polity, p. 139. 
 
 5. The condition of our Parish Churches, thanks 
 to the energy of my three immediate Predecessors, and 
 the liberality of the Clergy and Laity alike, shows a 
 very marked improvement on what it must have 
 been at the beginning of the Century. 
 
 During the past eighteen months I have consecrated 
 5 Churches. Our greatest difficulties perhaps now 
 arise from inconvenience of position, when the Church 
 is far away from the village, or the population is 
 completely scattered, and from C(dcl. The expense of 
 warming is, I know, a great difficulty, but, as far as it 
 is possible, I feel convinced that it is of the utmost 
 importance to make our Churches comfortahle, and
 
 59 
 
 comtortable for poor and rich alike. It is not, I 
 believe, so mueli the simplicity of the Dissenting 
 Chapel which attracts, as its nearness and its warmth. 
 Few acts of charity would, I believe, be more richly 
 blessed than for the rich, when the cold weather begins, 
 to look round and see that the Churches in their 
 own neighbourhoods are, at least on Sundays, made 
 thoroughly warm. 
 
 There is, however, still building and restoration for 
 us to do. 157 Churches are returned as needing 
 restoration of one kind or another : and in our large 
 towns, especially in Grimsby, new Churches are 
 needed. I trust those to whom God has given the 
 means will consider our needs and help me in this 
 great work for God.^ 
 
 With regard to the Church-yards I find from the 
 returns that burials with services conducted by Ministers 
 not of the Church of England have taken place in 58 
 Parishes or Cemeteries. As this is, I am thankful to 
 say, so small a proportion of the whole number of our 
 Parishes, nearly 600, I see no reason to go back from 
 the announcement that I made of my readiness to con- 
 secrate the burial grounds wherever it is desired. ^ 
 
 6. The non-residence of the Clergy is, I hope, ex- 
 cept in some sad cases, nearly confined to those who 
 
 ^ The rapid giowth of the town of Grimsby has made its spiritual needs 
 very great. The population has reached 50,000 ; and I am told the number 
 of houses built there during the past year equals the number built in the 
 whole of the rest of the County. It is of tlie greate.st importance that we 
 should lose no time in providing Church privileges for the people. 
 
 " These returns refer in several cases to single burials, and apparently 
 extend over the whole period since the passing of the Act of 1880.
 
 60 
 
 are absent from the necessities of their health, or the 
 health of their families. 
 
 The increase of Parsonage Houses has no doubt 
 largely contributed to the residence of the Clergy, and 
 to the great social blessing which all acknowledge the 
 presence of the Clergyman and his family to be, as a 
 link between the different classes in the laud. The 
 chief ground for anxiety with regard to such houses 
 would seem to be that they should be kept in fitting 
 proportion with the income of the living, and in posi- 
 tion should be accessible to the people, and convenient 
 for frequent attendance in the Church. The desire 
 during the last 50 years to obtain residences for the 
 Clergy has led, in some instances, to the invitation 
 of men of wealth to build houses which are out of 
 proportion with the means of the Parish. 
 
 I desire to commend again to your prayers and to 
 your liberal support the various Institutions which the 
 wisdom and liberality of my predecessors, and others, 
 have founded in our Diocese, Among them I would 
 mention — 
 
 (a) The Bislioio's Hostel, Bishop Wordsworth's 
 College at Lincoln. My sincere thanks are due to the 
 Chancellor, the Rev. Canon Leeke ; and to the Rev. 
 Canon Crowfoot and the Eev. E. H. R. Tatham, 
 and the other members of the tutorial staff, for the 
 untiring zeal and ability with which they have con- 
 tinued their labours. 
 
 The question of training Candidates for Holy 
 Orders is one to which I have been permitted to give
 
 61 
 
 by far the greater part of my ministerial life, more 
 than a quarter-of-a-century : but it is too great and too 
 important to be considered in a mere passing 
 notice ; enough for the present that I offer you the 
 Chancellor's report on the present condition of our 
 College, and commend it again to your sympathy and 
 your prayers.^ 
 
 Since the opening of the College in 1874, there 
 have been 278 Students, of whom 54 had a University 
 Degree. There are in residence this Term*48 Students, 
 of whom 10 are Graduates. During the past year 14 
 Students of the College have been admitted to the 
 Diaconate, and 13 to the Priesthood, of whom 6 
 Deacons and 8 Priests are working in the Diocese.^ 
 
 (6) Our Mission College at Burgh. For this I will 
 more definitely ask your assistance. I desire to offer 
 
 ^ I have Ordained 23 Priests, and 32 Deacons ; of the Deacons 14 were 
 Graduates, 18 Non-Graduates. 
 
 May I take this opportunity of reminding my brethren to press upon 
 their people the duty of observing the Ember Seasons, as the Prayer Book 
 directs, with special prayer and fasting. 
 
 * This number is exceptionally large, owing to the fact that several 
 Students are remaining with us after the completion of their course. 
 
 ^ The period of residence is 2 years (6 terms) for non-Graduates ; for 
 Graduates one year or less, by arrangement. 
 
 The expenses to each Student may be estimated at £80 a year, exclusive 
 of A'^acations. In reduction of these 4 Bursaries are offered each year of the 
 value of £40 each for 2 years, so that 8 Students are at any one time in receipt 
 of a Bursary. 
 
 The Bishop's Hostel paj's its way and enables us to set aside more than 
 £100 a year in r(duction of the original debt on the Furnishing Fund. The 
 rent of Lindum Holme, together with the Student's Tuition Fees (£30 a year 
 each) forms a Fund out of which we are at present able to pay £805 to our 
 Tutorial Staff, and £320 to the maintenance of 8 Bursaries. It will be seen 
 that, as there are 6 Members of the Tutorial Staff, this arrangement can only 
 be carried on by the generous co-operation of those concerned.
 
 62 
 
 my grateful thanks to the Rev. W. A. Brameld for the 
 untiring patience and self-sacrificing zeal with which 
 he continues to win, and mould, and fit for still higher 
 training, the students committed to his care. The 
 condition of our College is most encouraging. It is 
 quite full ; the Committee report as follows : — (and 
 here let me ofi'er them and especially the Rev. S. 
 StafFurth, Honorary Secretary, and W. Lane-Claypon, 
 Esq., my sincere thanks for their freely given labours) 
 " Every year the Mission House proves more and more 
 its raison d' etre ; every year it gains in standmg, and 
 in its just demands upon the confidence and support 
 of the Diocese." 
 
 The Principal's own report tells us — " The work of 
 the Mission House, both spiritual and intellectual, has, 
 I trust, been going on as satisfactorily as we could 
 expect, and I am thankful to be able to note that a 
 higher level seems, in some measure at any rate, to be 
 attained in both respects. The reports of the Exam- 
 iners speak of an advance intellectually in the House, 
 while there is every reason to be thankful and hopeful 
 as to the spiritual standard aimed at by the whole 
 body of Students." 
 
 The College has been enlarged by the addition of a 
 new wing, called, after the generous benefactor by 
 whom it has been built, " The Wordsworth Wing." 
 
 All this is well : but the Committee report a falling 
 off" in the annual subscriptions and ofi^ertories ; in 1878 
 they amounted to £269 17s. ; in 1886 they are only 
 £170 17s. 5d. : nearly £100 less. This has been no
 
 63 
 
 doubt chiefly through the death and removal of former 
 friends, but it shoukl arrest our attention, and will, I 
 trust, quicken your sympathy. The sum required is 
 not large, about £30 a year more are needed for the 
 Bursary Fund, to place it in a satisfactory condition. 
 If those who are especially able w^ould communicate 
 with the Secretary or Treasurer, they would learn what 
 sum is required. I believe there are many who 
 will be willing to avail themselves of the privilege 
 of giving and collecting money to train those who are 
 to spread the Gospel in Heathen Lands. ^ In thus 
 pressing upon your consideration the needs of our 
 Diocesan Missionary College, I would not have you 
 forget the great Parent Missionary Societies — the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. and Church 
 Missionary Society. 
 
 (c) Novate JSovcde, or the Society of Mission 
 Clergy. — This Society had its origin in a letter written 
 by Chancellor Benson in the month of September, 
 1875. 
 
 At the close of a decade we ask : How far have 
 our hopes been realized ? Has the Society fulfilled 
 the promise of its beginning ? 
 
 * I cannot refrain from printing the words which have reached me a few 
 days ago from a distinguished Missionary in Zanzibar (A. C. Madan, Esq.) 
 The words, Mr. Madan says, are from a letter written to him by a native 
 boy, teaching what he had learnt, as well as he could, to other black boys, in 
 an island of Lake Nj^assa. "Ring the bell in England, Sir, and tell the 
 great men of the Universities to send us white teachers, for there are many 
 here who have never seen a white man, or heard of God. Tell them not to 
 lose a minute." It is a grateful pleasure to me to be able to let this young 
 Christian's words be heard in this Diocese. May God bless them according to 
 His will !
 
 64 
 
 1. This Society was, I believe, the first Diocesan 
 Society organized to promote the holding of Parochial 
 Missions, It has thus been the forerunner of several 
 societies which have been formed during the last ten 
 years. Similar organizations, all drawn up more less 
 closely after the model of its rule, now exist in the 
 Dioceses of Bath and Wells, Gloucester and Bristol, 
 Norwich, Peterborough, and Salisbury. Yet more 
 close, in all probability, is the relation in which it 
 stands to the office of Canon Missioner in the Diocese 
 of Truro, and, through the Diocese of Truro, to the 
 similar offices which have been called into being in 
 the Dioceses of Lichfield, Durham, and, more recently, 
 of Canterbury. 
 
 2. Bishop Wordsworth was a true prophet when 
 he sketched the character of the Country Parson as a 
 Missioner. His picture has become a living reality. 
 The best Missioners of the Society have been the 
 Pastors of Country Parishes, and in some instances of 
 very small parishes indeed. Men of study, and medi- 
 tation and prayer, they have gone forth like the 
 eremites of old, and year by year have conducted 
 Missions in this and other Dioceses. It would be 
 faithless to doubt, and unthankful to the Giver of all 
 Grace, not to acknowledge the blessings which we 
 know to have followed their teaching and preaching. 
 It would, however, be well to look round, and see by 
 "what methods this our Society of Mission Clergy may 
 be made more of a Diocesan Agency. Its original 
 purpose was for the benefit of the Diocese, at least in
 
 65 
 
 the first instance, and I will ask all who are interested 
 in its welfare to consider in what ways we might in- 
 crease its Diocesan efficiency. I shall be glad to 
 receive suggestions from any of the Clergy or Laity 
 on this point. 
 
 (d) Augmentation of Small Benefices. — How 
 greatly this valuable Association is needed may be 
 gathered from the appeal printed in the Report ; in 
 which it is stated that of the 588 Benefices in Lincoln- 
 shii'e, the income of one -ninth is not more than £100 
 a year ; the income of one- third does not exceed £200 
 a year ; and of half is not more than £300 : indeed, 
 there are few matters more worthy of our serious and 
 united consideration than the maintenance and in- 
 crease of the funds for providing spiritual aid in our 
 Diocese. How highly my benevolent predecessor 
 valued this Society he showed to the last by bequeathing 
 a legacy of £500 to its funds. I earnestly commend 
 this good work to the S5^mpathy of all, reminding you 
 that " a number of small contributions, making up 
 together £100 towards the augmentation of any small 
 Benefice, will as fully eff"ect that purpose as the gift 
 of the whole sum by one person." 
 
 (e) A Fund for the Relief of certain necessitous 
 Clergymen and Widows and Orphans of Clergymen. 
 
 Our grateful thanks are due to the Rev. Canon 
 Smyth and others, for their labours in support of this 
 fund. In the present agricultural distress few funds 
 are more worthy of support. If means could be 
 obtained to provide assistance for aged or infirm
 
 Incumbents, it would relieve the smaller livings of the 
 burden of a retiring pension, which too often results 
 in the crippling poverty of both the old and new 
 Incumbent. 
 
 (/) The Training College for Mistresses in our 
 Schools. This excellent Institution continues under 
 the wise and loving experience of Canon Nelson to 
 maintain its usual efficiency. To him, and to those 
 who work with him, we owe our continued thanks. 
 
 From the printed Report of last year I gather that 
 the supply of Candidates was almost the same as the 
 year before, 98 against 99. Of these, in Religious 
 Knowledge, 5 obtained a place in the First Class, 30 
 were in the Second, 49 in the Third, and 15 failed. 
 In Secular Knowledge 12 were placed in the First 
 Class, 51 in the Second, 9 in the Third, and 27 failed. 
 
 The same Report tells us that the health of the 
 Students " has been veiy good." " The financial 
 position of the Training College continues to be highly 
 satisfactory." 
 
 Canon Nelson tells me in a private letter this year, 
 " the finance, health, and all essentials continue in as 
 satisfactory a state as when the Report of last year was 
 printed." I have only to remind you that this year 
 Canon Nelson will have carried on his excellent work 
 for a quarter of a century. Many will, I am sure, be 
 glad that I should assure him of their gratitude, their 
 sympathy, and their prayers. 
 
 (g) The Hospital, Lincoln. — This ancient and ex- 
 cellent Institution, under the Presidency of Earl
 
 67 
 
 Browiilow, coutiuues to cany ou its benevolent work 
 with thorougii efficiency. "The Medical Officers express 
 themselves quite satisfied with the general condition 
 of the Hospital, and consider the Nursing to be 
 efficiently performed." I am sorry, however, to learn 
 from the Yearly Report^ that there is again a falling 
 oft^in the Subscriptions : so that in spite of the strictest 
 economy, " scarcely a week passes but patients are 
 refused admission an account of want of accommo- 
 dation." I desire to commend this truly Christian 
 Institution to your renewed and increased support. 
 
 (h) Mahlethorpe Convalescent Home. — All who 
 have had the privilege of visiting the poor in their 
 homes must be well wishers to this kindly and hope- 
 ful Institution. Too often the good received in the 
 Hosj^ital is lost by the necessity of returning at once 
 to work, or to a noisy and comfortless home. Mahle- 
 thorpe is not a Hospital, but a Home, where rest, and 
 brightness, and fresh air, and sea bathing, may, by 
 God's blessing, make the convalescent strong. The 
 buildings have been enlarged, and now leave little or 
 nothing to be desired. There is accommodation for 
 6 1 Patients. The cost of enlargement has been £ II 00, 
 and though the Subscriptions have been, we are thank- 
 ful to say, w^ell maintained, there is need of additional 
 donations to furnish the new apartments. For 
 this work especially I ask your assistance, and 
 desire to commend again our Institution to your 
 sympathy and aid. 
 
 1 Cf. 116th Annual Report, 1885.
 
 68 
 
 (i) The Lincoln Institution for Nurses. — The 
 19tli Report of this most useful Institution tells us 
 that " the work has been carried on as usual, and 
 presents no feature calling for sj)ecial comment." 
 
 I cannot, however, commend this good work again 
 to your sympathy without expressing the great loss 
 which the Institution has sustained since the Report 
 was printed, in the death of Mrs. Bromhead. To her 
 wise and kind superintendence the Institution is 
 greatly indebted for its present efficiency. The Nurses, 
 and many of the sick, will, I feel sure, unite with me 
 in offering this grateful tribute to her memory. 
 
 There are now 47 fully trained Nurses employed. 
 Two, and often more Nurses regularly attend, gratis, 
 cases of illness among the poor; 148 such cases have 
 •been attended during the present year in Lincoln and 
 its neighbourhood. To continue this charitable part 
 of our work, and to maintain so excellent an Institution 
 generall}^^, I thankfully and confidently ask the con- 
 tinuance of your support. 
 
 (j) Church of England Temperance Society. — 
 The public service rendered by the Temperance move- 
 ment has been acknowledged by our Judges, and by 
 many public men who do not themselves belong to any 
 Temperance Society. 
 
 The evil of drink was so strong and so widely 
 spread, that it needed organization and public protest 
 to check it. 
 
 The Lincolnshire Church of England Temperance 
 Society has lately been newly organized, the Diocese
 
 69 
 
 beiug divided into eleven Districts, with Honorary 
 District Secretaries, and with an Honorary Diocesan 
 Secretary for the general work. To them, as well as 
 to other kind friends and helpers, our sincere thanks 
 are due. 
 
 The value of the Temperance movement is not 
 confined to reclaiming the drunkard, glorious as such a 
 work is. Temperance in drink is an easily understood 
 example of that self-respect, self-control, self-mastery, 
 which every man must attain if he would be the true 
 man God intended him to be. 
 
 I cannot help therefore asking my brethren of 
 the Clergy whether they have sufficiently considered the 
 advantages which the Church of England Temperance 
 Society might bring to their Parishes ? 
 
 I observe by the Report that there are but 79 
 Parochial Branches in the 588 Benefices in the Diocese ; 
 and 2 5 of these are in the large towns : 8 are in Grimsby. 
 
 Are not the words of the Report very true ? "It 
 may be difficult, or even impossible, to carry on a 
 Temperance Society in some Parishes, but are there 
 many Parishes where a Temperance Meeting may not 
 occasionally be held with advantage ? " 
 
 With a view to bringing the value of the principles 
 of this Society more generally before the people, I 
 propose to ask the Clergy of this Diocese on the Third 
 Sunday in Lent to preach Special Sermons on its 
 behalf. 
 
 There are still, alas ! thousands every year who are 
 ruined by this sin ; and tens of thousands in whom
 
 70 
 
 the spiritual sight is made dim, and whose usefulness 
 and happiness are needlessly wasted. 
 
 (k) Other good work in the Diocese. — Besides these 
 more formally Diocesan Societies there are, thank God, 
 many other valuable, benevolent, and Christian agen- 
 cies at work amongst us ; such as the Girls' Friendly 
 Society, the Young Women's Help Society, the Church 
 of England Working Men's Society — all, and each of 
 them, I desire to commend to your consideration and 
 support, believing that, by God's blessing, they may 
 be the means of drawing us nearer to one another, and 
 to Himself. 
 
 8. Three new efforts have been made this year to 
 meet the moral and spiritual needs of the Diocese. 
 
 One is the carrying into effect a Eesolution of a 
 Committee of the Diocesan Conference of 1883, for 
 the Establishment of a Penitentiary. 
 
 Tliis merciful work has been happily commenced 
 at Frieston, near Boston ; 1 1 Penitents are already in 
 the House, under the charge of three Sisters from 
 Horbury. The Rev. S. Staffurth, Vicar of the Parish, 
 most kindly gives his services as Chaplain, and 
 W. Lane-Claypon, Esq., has most disinterestedly con- 
 sented to act as Treasurer. To them both, and to the 
 whole Committee, I offer my grateful thanks. We 
 hope to earn as much as possible by washing sent 
 from Boston ; but still the Institution will require the 
 charitable support of friends ; about £230 a year are 
 equired. To meet this we have at present Subscrip- 
 ions, £120 ; Offertories, £50 ; and £50 we have
 
 71 
 
 applied for current expenses from the Donation Fund, 
 which ouo:ht to be left as a bea-inninsf of a fund for the 
 ultimate purchase of the House : there is, therefore, 
 immediate need of an increase of annual subscriptions 
 to the amount of £60. 1 hope that this Institution 
 may form part of a more complete scheme for carrying 
 on this much needed work in the Diocese, by the estab- 
 lishment of Houses, or Refuges, in our towns, and by 
 establishing Branches of the Church of England 
 Purity Society, not only in our towns, but in our 
 country villages. No one with a true Christian heart 
 can be content to rest and leave things as they are, and 
 to see the bloom and fruit of our youth, year after year, 
 marred by needless sin from which they might have been 
 saved. I earnestly li ope that many will be glad of 
 this opportunity of rescuing the fallen, and of giving a 
 contribution to the evidences of the Christian faith by 
 joining in this Christlike work, and vindicating the 
 power of the Grace of Christ. It is for His glory — they 
 are members of His Body, for whom we ask your aid 
 — and they should be as Jewels in His Crown. 
 
 The Rev. S. Staffurth or Mr. W. L. Claypon will, 
 I am sure, be ready to give any information that may 
 be required, and supply Boxes and Cards for the 
 collection of small sums. 
 
 A second effort is the Society for raising money in 
 aid of Additional Curates. It has been found in other 
 Dioceses that a Ladies' Association for this purpose 
 has met with marked success ; and all will, I am sure, 
 join with me in expressing our grateful thanks to Miss
 
 72 
 
 Susan Wordsworth for giving us the assistance of her 
 labour, and the influence of her name, to further so 
 good a cause. So far the effort has been well responded 
 to. The Association has already begun its work in 
 twenty out of the forty Rural Deaneries in the Diocese, 
 and upwards of £60 has already been subscribed. 
 Working parties have been formed both in the towns 
 and in country villages, aod have been well attended ; 
 and it is hoped that before the end of another year 
 the Association will be represented throughout the 
 Diocese. I desire to commend the eff'ort to your 
 continued sympathy and support. 
 
 The thii'd eff'ort that has been made is in accord- 
 ance with a resolution passed at the Diocesan Con- 
 ference last year, when it was resolved that a Diocesan 
 Magazine should be started, as in Lichfield, and some 
 other Dioceses. By the aid of the Committee, and by 
 the intelligent zeal of the Rev. R. E. Warner, who has 
 most kindly undertaken the responsible and laborious 
 office of Editor, this has been done ; and, so far, the 
 eff'ort bids fair to succeed. Between one thousand and 
 fifteen hundred copies have been circulated, and many 
 subscribers have expressed themselves with satisfaction 
 and pleasure for the information they have received. 
 I offer my sincere thanks to the Committee, and 
 especially to the Editor, and to all our kind friends who 
 have helped us by their contributions. I trust that 
 our Magazine may, under God's blessing, be a bond of 
 union amongst us, reminding us of our common work, 
 and making us, more and more, of one mind and of one 
 heart in our Master's service.
 
 73 
 
 Before I close this portion of my charge 1 desire 
 to make one sus^o-estion, on which I shall be o-lad to have 
 your opinion and counsel, and the resolutions of your 
 Chapters in the Rural Deaneries. Now that the Diocese 
 is limited to one County, we have special opportunities 
 for renewed unity of Diocesan action. There is, I 
 believe, room for an increase of such unity. The 
 Diocese, though now limited to one County, is 
 still more or less divided by the threefold divisions 
 of the County. I am, therefore, anxious to learn 
 whether you would think it advisable that we 
 should establish a Board, composed of Clergy and 
 Laity together, for three principal Diocesan Societies 
 for Spiritual Aid, Church Building (ivith Parsonage 
 Houses), and Education. Such a Board, gathered from 
 all parts of the Diocese, and meeting once a quarter 
 in Lincoln, would bring before us, for common discus- 
 sion, the various local needs in different parts of the 
 County, which without some such general organization 
 may be over-looked, or be unable to obtain sufficient 
 assistance in the separated districts. I feel sure that 
 such a Board would be of very great assistance to 
 myself, in enabling me to know what the great needs 
 of the Diocese are, and, as far as possible, in helping 
 me to devise means to relieve them. There need be 
 no immediate hurry in the establishment of such a 
 Board ; but 1 shall be grateful for your consideration 
 of this scheme, and it might be further discussed, 
 please God, next year at the Diocesan Conference. 
 If this suggestioij should be carried into effect, I
 
 74 
 
 should propose to issue a Pastoral Letter each year 
 on behalf of one of the three Societies. 
 
 Summary and Conclusion. 
 
 From these particular needs of our Diocese, let me 
 now in conclusion pass to some general reflexions 
 suggested by the answers to my Visitation questions. 
 But first let me thank you for the trouble you have 
 taken to o^ive me the information 1 desired. 
 
 If I were only to use the language of praise, such 
 praise would be valueless. Bear with me then, my 
 brethren, if I say that there are some Parishes in 
 our Diocese which cause me much anxiety, and in 
 which I fear there must be a sad forgetfulness of the 
 solemn words of the Ordination Service. " Have always, 
 therefore, printed in your remembrance how great a 
 treasure is committed to your charge. For they are 
 the sheep of Christ, which he bought with His death, 
 and for whom He shed His blood. The Church and 
 Congregation whom you must serve, is His Spouse, and 
 His Body ; and if it shall happen the same Church, or 
 any member thereof, to take any hurt or hindrance by 
 reason of your negligence, ye know the greatness of 
 the fault, and also the horrible punishment that will 
 ensue." 
 
 There are Parishes where there seems to be little 
 or no provision madefor the religious instruction of the 
 young, from which few or no Candidates were presented 
 for Confirmation, or where, of such Candidates as were 
 presented, few, or none, made their first Communion ;
 
 75 
 
 where the Holy Communion is but rarely celebrated, 
 and where, though the population is not large, the 
 Communicants do not number more than one-fortieth, 
 or one-sixtieth, or even one-hundredth part of the 
 people : while in other Parishes of the same size, or larger, 
 the proportion of Communicants is one-tenth, or one- 
 fifth, or one-third. Brethren, these are the places 
 where Church Reform is most needed, and where it 
 may most safely begin. They are " spots " and 
 " blemishes," and grievous causes of ofi'ence ; not only 
 in the Parishes where the wrong is done, but to the 
 whole neighbourhood. The weeds that spring up in 
 the field that is uncultivated scatter their seeds beyond 
 the limits of the neglected land. 
 
 It will be my duty, after due warning, and with 
 all fatherly forbearance and gentleness, to use such 
 power as the Law may give me to redress these 
 wrongs. The recent additions to the Pluralities Act 
 were made for this purpose. 
 
 Brethren, I do not judge, I do not know either the 
 special difficulties which may exist in these Parishes, 
 or the unavailing eflforts which may have been made 
 to meet them. There is One Who knows all things ; 
 but my duty is, for my own sake, and for your sake, 
 and for the Flock, to ivarn and remind you of the 
 word which came to the Prophet of old. " If the 
 watchman see the sword come, and blow not the 
 trumpet ; if the sword come, ajid take any person 
 from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity ; 
 but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand." — 
 Ezekiel xxxiii., 6.
 
 76 
 
 This short word of warning, my brethren, I have 
 given you as a proof of my sincerity. Pardon it, if it is 
 undeserved ; accept it, if it be in accordance with 
 His will. 
 
 But do not let me be misunderstood ; even in 
 these words of warning there is ground for hope. The 
 wrongs which call forth this warning are not such 
 wrongs as in former years were known as " Clerical 
 Scandals ": there is no insinuation implied of any breach 
 of social morality. The wrong refers rather to minis- 
 terial neglect, or incapacity. The improved moral 
 tone among the Laity has relieved the Clergy of many 
 of the duties which formerly they rendered to the 
 County as Magistrates, and Guardians, and upholders 
 of Law and Order in their several neighbourhoods. 
 The increased interest in Church aflfairs shown by 
 many of the Laity leads them to desire a higher stan- 
 dard of ministerial efficiency in their Clergy. It is want 
 of zeal, want of Scriptural and theological knowledge, 
 want of spiritual capacity to undertake the "cure and 
 government " of souls, which now forms the ground of 
 complaint, and raises the cry of Reform. It is not 
 simply a higher moral tone, but more ministerial effici- 
 ency which is required. 
 
 From this short word of warning, which an honest 
 consideration of the answers which I have received 
 seemed to require, I gladly pass to a final word of 
 direct encouragement. Indeed this is the general 
 impression left on my mind after considering the returns 
 from the Diocese — the need of encouragement. I
 
 77 
 
 would that I knew bow to give it effectually : but it is 
 something when our trouble is noticed and recognised. 
 In many parts of the Diocese there seems to be a sense 
 of depression, a loss of brightness, a want of hope — 
 and this, I think, from four j^rincipal causes. 
 
 1. The decrease of Income. — This is an almost 
 universal complaint, and the cause often of the greatest 
 anxiety, and, I fear, in some cases of great distress. 
 Where there is a family to educate, or where there is 
 sickness, it often must be so. If the price of corn 
 remains as it is , it is difficult to see the remedy. Some- 
 thing might be done to bring the incomes of the Clergy 
 more on an equality ; but in the present uncertain value 
 of land it is important that any charge made upon the 
 richer Livings to relieve the poorer, should not be a 
 fixed sum, but a proportion of the net annual income 
 of the Living upon which the charge is made ; and that 
 the sum charged should bear its proportion of the 
 rates and taxes. Greater facilities might be given for 
 holding two, or more, small livings together, either 
 by consolidation or in plurality. Two causes seem to 
 point to this — the decrease of income, and the increase 
 of zeal and devotion among the younger Clergy. They 
 wiU not accept livings where there is little to do. It 
 may seem a retrograde movement to give up the resi- 
 dence of the Parish Priest in each Parish ; but apart 
 from the almost necessity of the case, I believe the 
 increased ministerial zeal and efficiency might more 
 than compensate for the loss. As the work of a Priest 
 is better understood, both by Priest and people alike,
 
 78 
 
 it will be possible to use more freely the assistance of 
 duly authorised Laymen, and thus to commit a larger 
 area, with a larger income, to the (3are of individual 
 Priests. The difficulty lies chiefly with the Patrons. 
 
 But meanwhile the anxiety and distress go on : and 
 I can only appeal on behalf of my brethren to any to 
 to whom God may have given the means, to consider 
 in what way they may relieve the anxiety of their 
 poorer brethren ; especially, if I may suggest one way 
 out of many, by helping them to carry out the 
 education of their sons at the Universities, in order, 
 that they may be ordained. I fear one of the greatest 
 evils of the present clerical distress will be the loss to 
 the Church in the future of just those very persons, 
 who, by social position, and inherited culture, and 
 early training in their fathers' Parishes, would, with the 
 addition of a University education, be the fittest can- 
 didates for Holy Orders — I mean the sons of our 
 present Clergy. The depression and distress are so 
 much the greater because they have come upon us un- 
 expectedly. Husbands cannot make the homes they 
 had reason to expect for their families. I do not 
 believe that poverty would intimidate men from off"ering 
 themselves for the Ministry, much less that it could 
 destroy the Church of England ; only let men know 
 what to expect, and what is expected of them ; let their 
 spiritual position be clearly understood, let them have 
 free access to the people, and if it be God's will to 
 take away our income I believe it may go without loss 
 of happiness or spiritual power. But, as it is, there
 
 79i' 
 
 is distress. " Blessed is the man that considereth the 
 poor and needy." 
 
 2. Dissent. — A second cause of depression is the 
 prevalence of Dissent. The influence of Dissent is 
 depressing in many ways : it divides the congregation, 
 it weakens the school, it makes it more difficult to keep 
 up a choir, it interferes with the discipline of the 
 Parish, it destroys the feeling of confidence which 
 unity gives, it turns the cords by which we would 
 draw our people into a rope of sand, it substitutes 
 a spirit of disintegrating individualism for the bond 
 of Church principles. 
 
 This is true, and is hard to bear, especially in small 
 Parishes ; but we ought not to be too much depressed, 
 and it should be a matter of faith not to lose heart. 
 A very small portion of our Dissent is Theologically 
 hostile to the Church. Those who go to Chapel go to 
 Church too. Of all the answers to my Visitation 
 Questions there is only one instance in which definite 
 unbelief is mentioned. In the main our people are 
 believers in God, and in our Lord Jesus Christ ; they 
 are baptized, they hold to the Bible, they are frec[uent 
 in prayer and praise. Truly in all this there is matter 
 for great thankfulness and hope. With some sad 
 exceptions, which speak of lialf the population going 
 nowhere ; or, even worse, where the language is, " as 
 a rule the agricultural labourer seems to go nowhere ; " 
 with these sad exceptions, I do not gather from the 
 Visitation Eeturns that actual godlessness is so pre- 
 valent amongst us as I have sometimes feared. I have
 
 80 
 
 been thankful to see that the large majority are seeking 
 to worship God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. There is, I 
 believe, among our people an imperfect, but a very real 
 and precious, belief in and love of God. Nevertheless 
 we should take pains to let our Nonconformist brothers 
 clearly understand what we mean. We should tell 
 them that by virtue of their Baptism they have been 
 made members of the Catholic Church, that they have 
 been incorporated into the Body of Christ ; but that 
 in failing to continue stedfast in the Apostles' doctrine 
 and fellowship, and in the Breaking of Bread and in 
 the Prayers, and by setting up rival places of worship 
 they are, so far, separating themselves from the 
 covenanted sacramental means of grace. We must 
 tell them plainly that though they are members of 
 Christ's Body the Church, they are so in virtue of 
 their Baptism and in spite of the distinctive tenets 
 of the diflferent sects, which tend to draw them 
 away from the Unity of the Faith. We must re- 
 member Hezekiah's prayer, "the good Lord pardon 
 every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the 
 Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed 
 according to the purification of the sanctuary." ^ 
 
 We in Lincolnshire have the birth-place of John 
 Wesley : and it should be our unceasing prayer and effort 
 to be among the first to bring back his followers to 
 the church to which he belonged, and which he exhorted 
 them never to leave. "Be Church of England men 
 still," are John Wesley's own words. 
 
 2 II. Chron. xxx. 18, 19.
 
 81 
 
 I will not repeat what I have said already, as to 
 the true way in which, I believe, this may be done ; 
 viz., by the faithful and loving inculcation of Church 
 Doctrine as being indeed Bible Truth : ^ but I will ask 
 you once more to listen to the words of my great pre- 
 decessor. Bishop Wordsworth : " Wesleyanism, he says, 
 " is to be ascribed to our non inculcation of the dis- 
 " tinctive doctrines of the Church, and to our non- 
 " observance of her laws. Clerical non-residence, 
 " churches closed from Sunday to Sunday, single 
 " services on Sundays, — sometimes only once a fort- 
 " night — cold, dry, dreary essays read from the 
 " pulpit, instead of heart-stirring sermons preached ; 
 " infrequent Communions, neglect of the sacred 
 " seasons, the Fasts and Festivals of the Church, 
 " monotonous music drawling on in dirge-like strains, 
 " instead of a living flood of melody gushing forth in 
 " full streams from the hearts and lips of the whole 
 " Congregation of Worshippers — these were the causes 
 " of Wesleyanism. . . . ' For my own part, the 
 " gi"eat Bishop adds,' ' I feel a strong persuasion that 
 " our best method of healing this unhappy breach is 
 " to make the Church of England to be in practice 
 "what she is in theory."'*' 
 
 It is brethren, because I believe that this is just what 
 is going on amongst us increasingly, that I bid you 
 not to lose heart. Our OTound of confidence is that 
 
 o 
 
 we are cowing good seed. Enough for the Disciple 
 
 ' See Prebendary Sadler's excellent little book with that title. 
 * Primary Charge, 1870, pp. 76, 77.
 
 82 
 
 that he be as his Master, Who came not as a reaper 
 but was content as a Sower to go forth to sow. 
 
 3. A third constant cause of discouragement is the 
 annual change of the greater part of at least the 
 younger portion of our people. No sooner are they 
 prepared for Confirmation than they leave ; and happy 
 is it both for Priest and people if they have made their 
 first Communion ; still it is disheartening year after 
 year to begin again with new faces and with the feel- 
 ing that they " will also go away." 
 
 What can I say to this ? I think, Brethren, we 
 may derive some relief if we can make it the opport- 
 unity for rising out of one of the dangers of our 
 Parochial system, Ministerial jealousy. 
 
 Pardon me if I seem hard, but there is danger in the 
 Parochial system 'of a certain narrowness of soul which 
 makes us forget that there is really but One Shepherd, 
 and one Flock, and that we are but Shepherds under 
 Him. The intensity of pure love which is required to 
 be concentrated on each soul to convince it of its 
 capacity to receive the love of God, makes the exercise 
 of the spirit of detachment and self-sacrifice implied 
 in a continually changing flock, exceedingly hard : 
 only by the grace of God can it be attained ; but to 
 God all things are possible. For ourselves a heart 
 more completely given to Christ would be the remedy. 
 A more spiritual insight into the reality of the union 
 between Christ and His Flock, to see Him in them, 
 and them in Him, would make us ready to welcome 
 each of the new comers as they came, and to find our satis-
 
 83 
 
 faction and rest not in uniting them to ourselves, but 
 to Him. And for the young people themselves, when 
 they leave us might we not find help by establishing 
 for them a Guild or Society, by whatever name it may 
 be called, which should be wider than the narrow 
 limits of the Parish, and yet by its definite, but simple 
 rules touch them more closely than the great 
 brotherhood of the Catholic Church ? The advantages 
 of su('h religious societies are generally two-fold, they 
 are the shield of love, the safeguard against solitude 
 on the one hand, and on the other, by their wise and 
 simple regulations, they are the safeguard against 
 religious extravagance and eccentricity. 
 
 The Wesleyan District Register is an instance of 
 the value of such a method. Might we not establish 
 a Diocesan Society both for young men and young- 
 women which would explain at once to the Clergy 
 their religious position as they passed from one Parish 
 to another, and be to the young people themselves as 
 a continuous voice of warninsj and encoura2:ement in 
 the first weeks of their loneliness in their new homes ? 
 
 I shall be very glad, if such a scheme is considered 
 possible, to call together a Committee to carry it into 
 efi'ect. Loneliness, solitude, is a great hindrance to 
 perseverance in excellence of any kind, and the 
 frequent cause of sin. 
 
 4. The fourth and last cause of discouragement 
 which I have noted is the smallness of many of the 
 Parishes. The difficulty ofobtaining any kind of practical 
 organization in such a Parish is very real. The Day-
 
 84 
 
 School, the Choir, the Night JSchool, can hardly be 
 maintained. Confirmation and Communicant Classes 
 must be small. The Sunday Congregation the same. 
 Week-day congregations almost impossible. In a 
 Parish of two or three thousand there are always some 
 cases of special interest : in populations of one or two 
 hundred it is not so. They do exist, and are of equal 
 interest and importance, but they occur but rarely, there 
 are dull monotonous intervals with little to excite. 
 To preach to a crowded Church with a congregation 
 of 800 or 1000 souls is itself stimulating, but to preach 
 in a Church three parts full to a congregation of 60 or 
 30, Sunday after Sunday, requires a purer zeal. There 
 are few or no secondary causes of assistance. 
 
 What can we say to this ? Fii'st, I would remind 
 you my dear Brethren, of our Divine Master's example. 
 When He came down to this earth, He did not come 
 to the great cities of Greece or Italy, but confined 
 His ministry to a relatively obscure portion of the 
 world ; and even in the narrow limits of Palestine He 
 did nor confine His teaching to the towns, but went 
 through the cities and villages teaching, journeying 
 towards Jerusalem. Indeed, this seems to me, to be the 
 very picture that we need : teaching in the villages, 
 but continually drawing nearer to our heavenly home, 
 making progress in our own Spiritual Life. He taught 
 in the villages, journeying towards Jerusalem, and 
 Jerusalem meant for Him Calvary, and the Ascension 
 and return to the Father. 
 
 It is encouraging to see that our small Parishes 
 give us the most satisfactory results of Parochial
 
 85 
 
 Work ; the highest averages of Confirmation Candi- 
 dates and Communicants are to be found there. It 
 is most encouraging : for it shows that where the 
 ministrations of the Church are more brought home 
 to the people she is the more accepted. Qui- small 
 Parishes should be to the rest of the Diocese as the 
 seed plots which gardeners keep in their gardens, from 
 which they plant out the pHnts they have there raised. 
 We need some patterns, some models, of what English 
 Agricultural poor can be, when they have been made 
 intellio:ent members of the Church. We do not know 
 yet what spiritual capacity and beauty there is in our 
 people ; from our acceptance of the low average standard 
 which we have inherited from past neglect. Our 
 Blessed Lord worked in a centrifugal way ; radiating 
 from Himself knowledge and holiness, reaching the 
 many, through the few. His method of training 
 was first by giving men Companionship with 
 Himself, and then by sending them away to teach. 
 " He ordained twelve that they should be loith Him, 
 and that He might send them forth to 'preach.^' ^ 
 
 He sat alone at the well and gave his time to one ; 
 and she a schismatic and socially fallen. But His 
 treatment was thorough, both morcdly, " he whom thou 
 now hast is not thy husband," and doctrinally, " I that 
 speak unto thee am He." And she became a believer 
 herself, and an apostle to others. Would not a greater 
 thoroughness in individual teaching go far to relieve 
 the dullness of our Country Parishes ? Other con- 
 
 ' S. Mark. iii. 14.
 
 86 
 
 siderations also might be always present to the Priest 
 of the smallest Parish. The young people will be sure 
 to change and go to other parts of the Diocese — any 
 of my people or their children may emigrate to foreign 
 lands. Will they carry good seed with them to sow 
 in the new country, or, from my neglected field, shall 
 1 scatter, I know not whither, the tares of schism 
 and heresy, and unbelief ? When good and evil are 
 traced to their true sources, verily in many cases the 
 last will be first, and the first last ! 
 
 I do not mean to imply that these simple consider- 
 ations will remove all the trials of our smaller Parishes ! 
 the trial is a real one, and I think greater than ought 
 to be allowed. I have already suggested that I think it 
 would be well if our smaller livings were consolidated 
 or held together in Plurality. 
 
 Meanwhile, my Brethren, whether in small Parishes 
 or large, our real strenoth and comfort will be found in 
 a closer companionship with God. Let me ask you, 
 dear Brethren, to consider whether the recital of our 
 daily office, as our Church directs, either openly or 
 privately, would not give us ground for that true sat- 
 isfaction, which comes with the consciousness of a daily 
 duty done, and be a blessing both to ourselves and 
 to our people. The daily office faithfully said, and the 
 weekly Eucharist in small country Parishes, may here- 
 after be shown to have been the real power by which 
 the great masses in our towns were converted. We 
 know "the efi'ectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
 
 87 
 
 availetli much." ^ That we may not forget these our 
 higher privileges and duties, I hope to hold, from 
 time to time, in different centres of our Diocese, 
 Special Days of Prayer and Instruction ; that we may 
 be better able to understand the value of the souls 
 entrusted to our care. Through the great kindness of 
 some well-known benefactors to this Diocese such days 
 have been already held at Ijouth, and at Spalding, and 
 at Alford : and please God, we shall be able to con- 
 tinue them. 
 
 If we can only bring our wills into more perfect 
 union with God's Will, and learn t(D walk in His way, 
 and abide His time, we shall not be discouraged. We 
 know that power belongeth unto God ; we know that 
 the great head of the Church holds the seven stars in 
 His right hand ; we know that He is actively present 
 in the midst of the Churches ; we know that He 
 knows our "works," "our labours," "our patience"; 
 and we know the condition upon which the reward will 
 be given : "to him that overcometh." It is intended 
 therefore that we should have difficulties : difficulties 
 should not discourage us, but remind us of the con- 
 ditioned reward ; even the reward of sinless liberty, 
 walking with Him in white ; the reward of resting 
 with Him in eternal love and glory — " To him that 
 " overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne, 
 " even as I also overcame and am set down with my 
 "Father in His Throne"" 
 
 ** St. James, v. 16
 
 To this oTeat endless end it is the Will of our 
 
 O 
 
 Heavenly Father that both we and our people should 
 come, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Even so may it be for His sake.
 
 89 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 Books are so easily laid aside and forgotten, that I shall not apologise for 
 reminding you once more of the principles for understanding the Scriptures 
 which Bishop Wordsworth has himself left us in his book on Interpretation. 
 
 In answer to the question, how are we to interpret the Bible, Bishop 
 Wordsworth replies — First, by the right use of the two great faculties God 
 has given us. Conscience and Keasou, but these are not sufficient. 
 
 "Conscience is given us by God; it is His Voice within us. . 
 . . but it is net a Mide of Faith. 
 
 "God has given us Keason, He also gives us Faith. Each of these has 
 its proper office in Keligion, and must be employed in its proper place, and in 
 t?iat only."^ 
 
 1. "Fiist, our Reason is to be used in proving that Holy Scripture is the 
 Word of God." 
 
 "Thus Reason leads us to the door of the Sanctuarj'. Faith will take us 
 by the hand, and enable us to see the mysteries of the most Holy Place, and 
 will speak to us of that blessed time, when we, who now watch by its light, 
 shall pass into the true Holy of Holies in Heavenly places, and shall see face 
 to face, and knoiv even as we are known,"^ 
 
 But Conscience and Reason are not enough. We need the supernatural aid 
 of the Holy Spirit "We cannot understaiid the Bible, except by the Light 
 of the Holy Ghost, Who wrote the Bible." "He who would understand the 
 Bible must love the Bible, he must revere the Bible, he must not treat it as a 
 common book, he must regard it with holy awe, he must listen to it as God's 
 oracle speaking from the Holy of Holies, he must pray over it, he must read it 
 on his knees." "We must prepare ourselves for the study of the Bible by 
 holiness of Life." 
 
 n. The Incarnate Word is the author and giver of the Written Word. 
 He is also its true Interpreter. 
 
 1. By His oxen icord, as in S. Luke xxiv. 45, "Then opened He their 
 understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures " ; and S. Luke xxiv. 
 27, "beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded unto them in 
 all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." "If you knock at the 
 door of Scripture with the hand of Faith, " says an ancient Father, "that door 
 will be opened by Christ." 
 
 2. By the ministry of His Apostles and Evangelists, e.g., S. Matt. ii. 15, 
 "Out of Egj'pt have I called My Son" ; 1 Cor. x. 4, "and that Hock was 
 Christ." 
 
 3. By the Bible itself, ichen we compare Spiritual things with Spiritual. 
 "Our Lord Jesus Christ, our great Prophet and Teacher, the incarnate Word 
 of God, the Divine Inteii^reter of the Written Word, wills us to receive 
 
 (1) Cf. Uante, Purgatorio, c. xXvii., UG— 1-4-.' : 
 
 — e se' venuto in parte 
 ov ' io per me piti oltre non disoerno. 
 
 (i) Cf. Pascal, opuscules, Preface sur le Trait<j du Vide, ed. Ch. Louandre, p. hm. 
 
 " In Theology it is Authority -which has the principal weight The case is very 
 
 dlfiEerent with things which are in the domain of the Senses and of Human Ueason 
 
 Anthority is useless then .... This essential difference between Theology and Physical 
 Science may well inspire us with sorrow for the blindness of some who apply Authority alone 
 to Natural' Philosophy, instead of resorting to Reason and Experiment. And it may also 
 fill us with horror for the wickedness of others, who employ Ueason alone in Theology, instead 
 of appealing to the Authority of Holy Scripture and the Fathers of the Church. Our duty 
 is to e.xcite the courage of those timid spirits, who dare not find out anything in Physics, and 
 confound the insolence of those rash adventurers who broach novelties in Theology."
 
 90 
 
 Scripture as one luminous wbole. If we wish to understand the Bible, we 
 must not separate one portion of it from another ; we must endeavour to 
 ascertain its sense bj^ comparing spiritual things with spiritual. He does it 
 in order to teach us that all parts of Scripture are dependent on one another, 
 like joints in a well organized body, or like parts of a beautiful building ; 
 He does it in order that we may not confine our attention to any one part of 
 Scripture, to the neglect of others, but may carefully consider the whole." 
 " We confess that the living waters of His grace flow freely to all. We hear 
 the Holy Spirit's voice, to every one that thirstcth, come ye to the waters, and 
 he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. I tvill give unto him that is 
 athirst, of the fountain, of the ivater of life freely. 
 
 " But, brethren, we should not rightly interpret the mind of the Holy 
 Ghost, if we did not combine such gracious intimations as these with His own 
 Divine declaration in other parts ot that Word, that the Living Waters of His 
 Grace ilow freely indeed to all, but also flow regularly in certain rivers and 
 channels, especially in the Holy Scriptures, and in the Holy Sacraments, and 
 in Prayer, and in Confirmation." 
 
 " Almighty God has not revealed all truth in one book of Holy Scripture ; 
 but He has made one portion of Scripture ministerial and subsidiary to 
 another. He has made the Book of Genesis to reflect light on the Book of 
 Revelation, and He has made the Book of Revelation to illustrate the Book of 
 Genesis." 
 
 4. By the Universal Church. — Christ is the Everlasting Word ; He is the 
 author of the written Word ; He is the interpreter of the Bible. He has given 
 us the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit, and he expounds the Scriptures by the 
 same Spirit, and tliat Spirit is in His Universal Church. He declares to us 
 the true meaning of Holy Scripture, in all necessary points of Christian 
 doctrine, in her Creeds and Confessions of Faith." " Christ first declares His 
 universal supremacy, 'All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth.' And 
 what follows ? A commission, extending to all place and time, ' Go ye and 
 
 teach all nations Here is the root of the Christian Faith. It is more 
 
 ancient than the New Testament." 
 
 " In the Ancient Creeds of the Church Universal, Jesus Christ, who has 
 promised to be present with His Church, speaks to us by His Spirit, and 
 declares to us the true sense of the Bible." 
 
 " Let it not be alleged, that we thus elevate the Church, to the disparage- 
 ment of Christ her Lord. No, we contend for Christ's universal supremacy ; 
 we proclaim His perpetual presence, and continued operation in the Church 
 . . . Christ is the Head, and the Church is His Body ; and He animates 
 the Body. Let us not separate the Head from the Body ; let us not divide 
 Christ from the Church. Unless we have both we cannot have cither — "Let 
 us therefore have both ; let us cleave to the Body for the sake of the Head ; 
 let us hold fast to the Church for the sake of Christ. " But by separating 
 the Church from the Bible they forfeit the blessings of both. Let u.s, 
 brethren, endeavour, by God's help, to maintain both — the Bible is God's 
 Word, the Church is God's House, let us reverently listen to that Word, 
 preached and interpreted by His Spirit abiding in His House. " 
 
 I cannot help adding the following words from a Paper read at the 
 Wakefield Church Congress, 1886, on the Devotional Study of the Psalter : — 
 
 " The vast and varied literature to which we give the name of the " Bible," 
 enters upon every field of intellectual enquiry ; it touches upon every topic 
 that is of interest to man. The unrolling of that literature, the order and 
 course of revelation, the philosophy and the science, the poetry and the history, 
 the date and authorship of the various books, the text and the interpretation 
 of the text, all fall under the province of the student. He will follow the
 
 91 
 
 methods which are proper to each subject of enquiry. Devotion, by her loyalty 
 to the Holy Spirit, is bound to accept the conclusions which study reaches, 
 however cherished may be the traditions which those conclusions overthrow." 
 
 " It is the function of " devotion " to give life ; it is the office of " study " 
 to shed light. A devotional use of the Bible apart from critical, systematic 
 study is danf;erous. It is sure to place self where the Church ought to be 
 placed, it separates the Bible from the Church, and both from history, and 
 falls into schism or heresy." 
 
 NOTE B. 
 
 It may seem superfluous to mention any Books on the Chiu'ch, yet I 
 venture to hope it may not be quite so, at least to all, especially if the point 
 of view is remembered which has been pressed above namely : that many of us 
 have neglected a full consideration of the clause in the Creed which expresses 
 our belief in the Church, and that we too often avoid the full weight of the 
 evidence, from the sacrifice which it would involve in our social or ministerial 
 position. The divisions of Christendom have made some of us almost despair 
 of Unity, and thus we have been tempted to lose faith in the Church. 
 
 What is required is that we should diligently and prayerfully consider a 
 sufficiency of the old evidences, and be prepared to follow God, wheresoever 
 He may lead us, and to give ui> all for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. 
 Perhaps in this way there ma}' be found opportunities for self-sacrifice even 
 now in England, not less in their way than in the great work abroad. 
 
 The Pastoral Epistles, with the Modern Commentaries : and of the ancient, 
 S. Chrysostom's Homilies. 
 
 The Apostolic Fathers. Lightfoot. Holland. 
 
 S. Irenaeus Adversus Hfereses. 
 
 Tertullian de Pr?escriptione. 
 
 S. Cyprian de Unitate, and many of his Epistles. 
 
 S. Augustine de Unitate, and all the Treatises Contra Donatistas. They 
 set forth the evil of Schism, and show the principles on which Controversy 
 .should be settled, viz.. Scripture and the Appeal to the Church throughout 
 the world and a General Council. 
 
 S. Vincent of Lerius, The Commonitorium. Ed. C. Marriott, 1851. 
 
 Hooker, Eccl. Pol., Bk. vii. Jer. Taylor, Episcopacy Vindicated. Bp. 
 Bilson, Perpetual Government of the Church of Christ. 
 
 These give sufficient summaries of the Historical Evidence. 
 
 I should like to remind you yet again of Theophilus Anglicanus, and the 
 cheap abri<lgnient. Elements of Instruction on the Church, by Ch. 
 Wordsworth, D.D., Bishop of Lincoln, 1879. This might easily be adapted 
 for Parochial Lectures. 
 
 Notes on the Four General Councils, by W. Bright, D.D. , Profes.sor of 
 Eccl. History in the University of Oxford. 
 
 Lectures on the Holy Catliolic Church, Canon Ashwell, 1878. 
 
 Dr. Liddon's Sermon, "A Father in Christ," ed. 3d. 
 
 Dr. Moberle)', " The Great Forty Days." 
 
 Of Special Treatises on the Work and Character of the Clergy, .showing 
 what manner of men we ought to be, we might mention :
 
 92 
 
 The Old Patristic Treatises- 
 
 S. Gregory Nazianzen Apologeticus printed in C. Marriott's Anelecta 
 Christiana. 
 
 S. Ambrose de OfRciis Ministrorum. 
 
 S. Chrysostom de Sacerdotio. 
 
 S. Jerome, Ep. ad Nepotianum. 
 
 S. Gregory de Cura Pastorali, ed. with Translation by Eev. H. R. 
 Bramley. 
 
 Of English "Writers, among many ve may mention — 
 
 George Herbert's Country Parson. 
 
 Bishop Burnet's Pastoral Care. 
 
 Bishop Bull's Sermon on the great Difficulties and Dangers of the Priestly 
 Office. 
 
 Blunt's (Prof. J. J.) Parish Priest. 
 
 Bishop Wilberforce's Ordination Addresses. 
 
 Bishop Woodford, "The Great Commission." 
 
 Heygate, W. E., Ember Hours. 
 
 The Priest in His Inner Life. Masters. 
 
 NOTE C. 
 
 1. — Wc via;; consider flic Standard of our 'present Rubrics. 
 
 (ft) For our jieople the rule is that every Parishioner should communicate 
 at least three times in the year, of which Easter is to be one. 
 
 (6) For our Clergy, where there are many living together, all are to com- 
 municate every Sundaj- at the least. This points to a weekly Communion at least 
 as a standard for tlie Clergy. 
 
 (f) The Rubric which begins "Upon the Sundaj's and other Holy Days 
 (if there be no Communion,)" suggests Communion on Sundays and Saint 
 Days as the rule ; as of course does the provision of a special Collect, Epistle, 
 and Gospel. 
 
 (d) The Rubrics for the use of the Proper Prefaces for Christmas, Easter, 
 Ascension Day, and Whitsundaj', emphasize daily Communion during the 
 octaves. 
 
 (c) The Rubric for small Parishes contemplates a Communion, provided 
 three are ready to communicate with the Priest. Assuming for the moment 
 that such persons might communicate monthly a band of tu-elve ov fifteen per- 
 sons would secure a weekly Celebration. 
 
 2. — The Standard aiyparently attainable at present. 
 
 (a) We have no discipline to enforce the rule of Communion three times 
 a year on all our Parishioners. 
 
 (&) It would seem from the returns for the Diocese that to have one- 
 tenth of the population on the communicants' roll is a standard that might be 
 attained in average Parishes. In the large Town Parishes this standard is 
 rarely reached, while in our small Countrj' Parishes the proportion is some- 
 times one-fifth or one-third. 
 
 James Williamson, Printer, High Street, Lincoln.