RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 216, 12 September 1925, Page 22

RELIGIOUS WORLD.

PRESENT-DAY OUTLOOK. (Contributed.) COUNCIL OF NICAEA. 3CJNIQUE SERVICE IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. The London "Times" gives a graphic description of a great service held in Westminster Abbey in commemoration of the 16th centenary of the Council of Nicaea. The service was attended by a number of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs and Prelates. The "Times" thus describes tho entry of the Eastern dignatories:— Then appeared the procession oi Eastern visiting dignitaries, wonderfully impressive figures with long patriarchal beards and clad in purple and gold, They wore preceded by an embroidery of the Entombment of Christ which is known as Epitaphion, and was rescued from the Eighth Century Church oi Nicaea, destroyed by the Turks in 1020. First came tho Russian dignitaries witfc their white veils, each Prelate being escorted by his deacon in cloth of gold Last came the Greeks, with remarkable serpent-headed pastoral staves, the pro cession being brought up by His Beat' itude the Lord Damianos, Patriarch o! Jerusalem and President of tho Confra ternity of the Holy Sepulchre, followed by the Senior Patriarch, His Beatitude the Lord Photios, Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria and Ecumenical Judge .... It was a stately procession and the dignitaries were received with pro found obeisances from members of th( congregation and the Anglican clergy Following the Eastern guests came th< procession of Bishops, brought up by th< Archbishop of Canterbury. "The Archbishop of Canterbury's ser inon concluded with an invitation toth< Eastern visitors to recite the Nicene Creed. "In response to this invitation tn< Lord Photios advanced to the centre o' the sanctuary and recited the creed ii Greek according to the Orthodox use It was a solemn moment, this meeting of East and West in a solemn act o worship. Eastern Pontiffs crosset themselves and made genuflexions. Thei followed an impressive silence. Th< choir silently filed down and took up « position at'the foot of the sanctuary The Archbishop of Canterbury, holding his Cross, stood upon the altar step and pronounced the blessing." A Significant Event. The "Church Times" states that thi visit of the Eastern Prelates is "Ai event of outstanding interest and ma; mark an important advance towards thi union of Christendom. It is doubtfu whether an Eastern Patriarch has eve: visited England before, and such « gathering of Orthodox Prelates hai never taken place in the West since thi great schism, with the possible excep tion of the abortive Florence Confer ence in the fifteenth century. Certain o "the Eastern Patriarchs have already acknowledged the validity of Englisl Orders." Speaking at a dinner in honour of th visitors, the Patriarch of Alexandri: declared that he was hopeful, indee. certain, that the meetings in Londoi would 'bring about the desired results particularly as the basis of unity wa tho Creed of Nicaea, which was thi eymbol of the ancient unity of thi Church. He concluded by referring t( the affection and esteem with which thi Archbishop of Canterbury is regarded iby the Orthodox world. The Metropolitai of Kiev said he was certain that the tw< Churches—Orthodox and Anglicanwere drawing closer together. He prayec God to bless the efforts for union whicl they were making. Referring to the service in West minster Abbey, the "Messenger," one oi the leading Athens newspapers, states: "A t> event of great importance has occurred in the past few days. Th< Primate of tho Anglican Church decided to hold a commemoration of the Council of Nicaea, and considered that the occasion made it incumbent upon him t( Invite the heads of the Orthodo Churches to take part in the solemnity Two of the most eminent, the Patriarch of Alexandria and Jerusalem, acceptec ihis invitation. The Greek Orthodoj Church ought to have taken thi initiative in the celebration, but th< Ecumenical Patriarchate, the centre o ' the Orthodox Church, has just beei passing through a crisis which made i impossible, not only to organise a celebra tion of the kind, -but to take any actioi of any sort whatever. . . Therefore, whili we regret tho forced abnegation of thi Greek Orthodox Church, we are bound t< acknowledge that the 'beau geste of thi (honoured Anglican Primate came at th< right time to lessen our sense of fch< impotence of the Greek Church. Tha venerable prelate, alike a worthy apostl< of our Lord, and the admirable guardiai of the Church's traditions, concluded thai an occasion of so great importance must not pass uncommemorated, and, althougl Hie was under no obligation to do co made arrangements for the celebratioi of the sixteenth centenary of the greal council with that dignity which it characteristic of Anglican ceremonial. . In that celebration the Patriarchs oi Alexandria and Jerusalem took a principal part, the former reciting the Creed of Greek. In view of the relations existing already between the Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church. . . this participation of>the Greek Church in the celebration of the sixteenth centenary of the great Council has a significance which is altogether extraordinary." BOOK REVIEW. ("Hebrew Illumination," by W. Winelow Hall, M.D., London: The C. W. Daniel Company.) This book is an endeavour to show that the phrase, "The Inner Light," most commonly met with from Quaker lips, is faT from being met with there alone, but has floated down to us through all the centuries from the Hindu, Gautama, to the American, Walt Whitman. The writer traces Hebrew illumination through fifty instances collected from the Old and New Testaments, beginning with Adam and Eve and ending with John, the Revelationist. He takes the story of the garden «SS e v a P° etical description of the birth of the moral sense in every •human child, and developing into an understanding that woman is sanctified through a ministry of suffering and sorrow and endurance, while it is the lot of man to be the toiler, the hread■winner, and the defender till his dust ehall return to the dust whence it came. He contrasts the illumination of Abraham with that of Isaac, and shows how the Mc of Abraham was marked by an innate seriousness and a. fearless dbinsr of God's -wilL -wh2e Isaac was a ijuiet,

useful, gentleman, contemplative, poetical, and loving, faithful and receptive, and responsive to God. Somo of his studies of Hebrew character will probably strike the reader as a little fanciful, but his description of Joshua as possessing talent, while Moses possessed genius, is full of insight. When he comes to deal with the prophets he is dealing with men to whom symbolic visions came as interpretation of the will of God. Ho shows how Amo3 saw a "day of the Lord" as a period of privation and suffering and insecurity, while the people saw it as a day of luxury and prosperity. He accepts the modern idea of three Isaiahs, whom he names Isaiah of Jerusalem, Isaiah of Babylon, and Isaiah of Zion. The Isaiah of Jerusalem taught the possibility of illumination for all Who lived righteously, and he is described as a man of great intellectual and poetical gifts, with an astute statesmanship which was prompted by an insight and a foresight born of the keen use of his natural gifts of observation and inference. Isaiah of Zion, who is credited with chapters xxiv. to xxvii., is joyful, while Isaiah of Babylon, who wrote from chapter xl. to the end, is interpreted as lyrical drama. With Isaiah of Babylon illumination comes through a baptism of suffering, and a constancy that is tried by moral tests. 1 He stands these tests victoriously, and I when illumination comes he takes with • fervour the life of service that his in--1 ward light demands. The author's chap- • ter on Job seems a little disappointing, ■ inasmuch as he deals with its illuminsP- ' tive work alone, and hardly attempts ■ any interpretation of this difficult : drama. Nor does he tell us by what ! means he arrives at the conclusion that '■ the words, "the Lord gave Job twice as ■ much as he had before," mean that Job • gained a life of multiplied spiritual ' intensity. ■ In his New Testament studies it is ■ difficv\lt to say how far the author ! accepts what most churches regard as ■ the fundamentals of the Christian faith. What, for instance, are his views on the " divinity of Christ? He says: "This Gali- '■ lean peasant's unparalleled influence. ! mighty and inexplicablo as it is, has existed, and it still persists. Most of ; those who feel and own its power have [ claimed that ft is due to some quality 1 Inherent in Jesus, and in Him alone, • They may be right: who can say? Here [ it is enough to aver that He was a f Hebrew illuminate; aye, the greatest brightest, dearest illuminate of whom Iwe have any knowledge." The writei ! rejects any sacramental view of the 1 Last Supper, and takes it as beins ' merely symbolic of union with God. ' The book will interest all who are ' students of the mystical side of reli gion. The author writes with ease anc clarity, and frequently throws new lighi 5 on obscure passages in the Bible. l< i will be difficult for those not of his owi r religious persuasion to follow hin 3 through all but the boot I is always suggestive of thought, anc r illustrates the Johannine doctrine of th« l in-dwelling light which lighteth every i man as he comes into the world. '. CURRENT NOTES. f ' ,_ T \ An effort is.being, made in England t< 1 raise £25,000 for the equipment anc maintenance of Spurgeon's College in tht B new premises. ■ The current number of the Salvatioi 1 Army "War Cry" has a frontispiece show I ing Queen Mary accompanied by Genera s Bramwell Booth, inspecting the Mothers i Hospital at Clapton, London. Her Maj i esty opened important extensions to th< ' hospital. It was announced at the meeting of the Council of Christian Churches on Monday evening that Sir Hcnrj [ Lunn will visit New Zealand nexl year and address meetings in the 1 churches about the work of the League of Nations. The fast before Communion is a i valuable practice, especially at a tim< ! when many are only too ready to choose the path of ease. But those who would [ impose that fast as a universal obliga- ■ tion, go 'beyond what the Church oi i England requires. They impose new ; burdens, and they will in the end defeal , their own chief aim—the love of th< i sacrament and the acceptance of Catholic [ authority.—The "Guardian." s Speaking at a dinner, Colonel Johu s Buchanan, the novelist and historian E said: "If Britain would assist Anierii cans in preventing the smuggling oi ; aliens, drugs and drink, it would dc • more to bring the United States into th( i common tasks of the world than a cenj tury of unintelligent satire and meloJ dramatic appeal." • Dr. Fosdick, in taking the charge ol 5 Park Avenue Baptist Church, stipulatec i that his stipend should not exceea £iOO( ; per annum, also that the Church should ! not insist on baptism, but should opei 1 its membership to all Christians ' A sky-scraper church building is to b< • erected near Columbia University. Dr 1 Woelfkin does not close his ministry ai • Park Avenue Church until the end of the \ year. Dr. Charles R. Erdman, Moderator o: : the General Assembly of the Presby terian Church in the United States, was Professor of Practical Theology ai 1 Princeton Theological Stininary since 1906. The Fundamentatists recently se cured his removal from the post o: student adviser at Princeton because h( opposed the excommunication of the so called Modernists. Dr. Erdman, however does not belong to the liberal school p: theology. On July 13, the Archbishop of Nicaea Basilius, was elected by the Holy Synoc of Constantinople to be Ecuinenica Patriarch of Constantinople in successioi to the Patriarch Constantine, wh< resigned after Ms expulsion by th< Turkish Government. The new Patriarcl is one of the most learned prelates o: the Eastern Orthodox Church, and ha* published many elaborate works oi theology, ecclesiastical history anc kindred subjects. He has rendered greal services to the Church and to his owr nation. Dr. J. D. Jones, of Bournemouth Con gregational Church, said in an address to students at Hackney and New Col lege, that he regarded real preaching ac essential to the health of the churches but warned them it was not. the same thing as lecturing. The aim of real preaching was not to the- mind, but- to the moral soul. Let the preacher preach to the souls of men, and his modem views would disturb nobody. He questioned whether any man who neglected his purely pastoral duties had a place in the Congregational ministry. He advised young ministers to systematically visit their people. The' only .way to become friendly with the people was to visit them in their home*.