THE PRIMACY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 19

THE PRIMACY.

BISHOPS' CHOICE. INTERESTING ELECTION. QUESTION OF LOCATION. I (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, March 14. On Tuesday, March 12. the bishops and archbishops of the Anglican Church from all parts of the Commonwealth met in Sydney to elect a primate to fill the vacancy left by the death of the late Archbishop Wright. The duties of the office have been carried out lately by the senior metropolitan, Dr. Le Fanu, Archbishop of. Perth, as acting-primate. There has been considerable delay over the election due chiefly to a rule of the constitution which forbids the election of an archbishop until four months after the last appointment to one of the four metropolitan sees; and the last appointment, that of Dr. Ward to the Archbishop of Brisbane, was made less than five months ago. The right of election to the primacy is vested in the House of Bishops, which including the four archbishops numbers 24 members, but for various reasons six of the bishops are absent on this occa- . sion, and the election is by an absolute majority vote.

Secrecy of Ballot. Strictly speaking there are no "candidates" for the primacy. All the four metropolitans are eligible, and the bishops know precisely the limits of their charge. The procedure is by ballot, and the most careful precautions are taken to ensure secrecy —even to the exclusion of all strangers and outsiders from the diocesan office buildings while the election is in progress. Proxy votes are permitted, and therefore the absentees have exercised full voting power. At the meeting on Tuesday no absolute majority of votes was recorded for any one of the four archbiehops; and therefore, in accordance with the constitution, the election was adjourned for a day. On Wednesday the result was the same, and as only one ballot per day is permitted, the bishops adjourned again to reconsider the situation.

To-day (Thursday) the third vote is to bo taken, and if none of the four archbishops secures an absolute majority the constitution provides that "the metropolitan receiving the lowest number of votes shall be omitted from the succeeding ballot." If there are still three names on the list, there is a further adjournment, and after dropping the lowest the final vote is' taken on tlie two remaining names. If neither secures an absolute majority the chairman (in this case the Bishop of Adelaide) must give a casting vote, and the. metropolitan receiving the largest number of votes under these conditions becomes primate.

Claims of Sydney. Aβ explained above, the selection lies between the four archbishops—Dr. Le Fanu, of Perth, Dr. Mowll, of Sydney, Dr. Head, of Melbourne, and Dr. Wand, of Brisbane. As Dr. Le Fanu is senior metropolitan and ho has been actingPrimate, he would probably have good prospect of selection, if he were not handicapped by the remoteness of his see* It is important to notice that ever since the primacy was established the office has been held by the head of the Anglican Church in New South Wales. This has been in part a tribute to the 6ize and importance of Sydney; but now that, the tradition has been established, many church men hold that it should be maintained —just as the office of Primate of -England : has been attached to the See of Canterbury for nearly 900 years. Apart"' from this important consideration, a f great deal will depend upon the personal convictions and preferences of the electors.

Discipline and Doctrine. So far as a line of demarcation could be drawn between two sections of the Anglican Church of Australia, in matters of discipline and doctrine, it would separate the High Church party from the Evangelical party. Sydney diocese has long been Evangelical, as it is today, and it is largely followed £y the other New South Wales dioceses. In Victoria the Anglican Church is Evangelical, but also terms itself "Liberal" —which means that it concedes greater freedom for High Church tendencies and . practices than is permitted in New South Wales. The same description applies, accurately enough to the Anglicanism of South Australia and West Australia. But Queensland has always been "distinctly High Church with a tendency toward Anglo-Catholic-ism"—l quote from the "Sydney Morning Herald" —and this tendency Jiae certainly been strengthened by the appointment of Dr. Wand, a prominent supporter of the Anglo-Catholic movement at Home, to be Archbishop of Brisbane. It is easy to imagine that this conflict ■ of ideals may result in a trial of strength between the High Church and Evangelical parties, in which case the local lines of cleavage may disappear, and anything may happen. . • The Choice. I re-open this letter a little later to inform my readers that Archbishop Le Fanu, of West Australia, has been elected Primate. An official statement has been published to the effect that "the issue from the beginning was- the relative importance of the traditional location of the Primacy in Sydney, and the value of the Archbishop of Perth's long experience of Australian problems and conditions."

Dr. Le Farm became sub-dean of Brisbane Cathedral in 1905, he was consecrated Coadjutor Bishop of Brisbane in 1015, and he was Appointed Archbishop of Perth in 1929. He has thus been associated intimately with tho Anglican Church in Australia in various important capacities for 30 years, whereas Dr. Head came to Melbourne in 1029. Dr. Mowll was- appointed to Sydney in 1933, and Dr Wand was enthroned in Brisbane oniv last September. The case for Dr. Le" Fanu, as stated, above, is thus a very

strong one and his wide and prolonged experience of ecclesiastical affairs in Australia should far more than outweigh the disadvantages inseparable from the seclusion of his episcopal scat in a detached and remote corner of the continent.