THE OFFICIATING CLERGY.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11347, 9 August 1902, Page 7

THE OFFICIATING CLERGY.

The most prominent of the officiating clergy at the Coronation service in Westminster Abbey will be the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of' York, the Bishop of London, and the Dean of Westminster, while the Bishops of Bath and W r ells and of Durham wifl act as supporters to the King during the ceremony, and will, if required, support his crown iwhile he is receiving the homage of the princes and peers. - Previous to coming out to New Zealand the R«v. R % A. Woodthorpe, Vicar oi St.

John's: Christoktrch, had the privilege of meeting several of these dignitaries of the Church of tngCand, and in the course of conversation fthe other day with a representative of "The Press" he gave some '< very interesting details of their life and character. T__E ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. In a preceding note we have referred to the main incidents "in the career of the venerable Dr. Temple, Primate of AI England. Mr Woodthorpe mentioned that! by his appointment to the See of London in 1885, Dr. Temple became the 108 th Bishop of that diocese. "Physically," said Mr Woodthorpe, 'Dr. Temple is of unusual strength and stature. His head is indicative of great brain power, and his features j are strongly chiselled, with occasionally a I somewhat piquant expression. His manner to strangers is rather distant and reticent, but on more intimate acquaintance he is i found to be gracious and gentle, and beneath a hard exterior he possesses the kindest and softest of hearts. It may *be said that about the only way one can get into his good books is by exhibiting that quality which he himself calls 'hard work.' He is at his best when addressing, say, the Church of England Temperance Society gatherings, and an undergraduate, after hearing him deliver a lecture on temperance at Oxford, described him as 'granite on fire.'" 'Eminently characteristic of the man is the reply he gave to the query as to what he considered the secret of long life. "I do not find the burden of life heavy," he said. "I .have observed no particular rule I about food, etc.. except not to eat or drink i what I found disagree with mc. I have little doubt that total abstinence from intoxicating liquors conduces to longevity, j I know nothing for or against the use of I tobacco except that it is an annoyance to those who do not smoke." Archbishop Temple is said to be very fond of a good joke, and the following, which occurred when he was Bishop, is one out of many connected with his name: —"The Bishop recently took a cab from the House of Lords to Fulham Palace, and, on arriving there, tendered the cabman his legal fare. The cabman remonstrated, and firally asked the Bishop whether 'Paul,' if h-3 were living then, would live at Fulham Palace. 'No,' replied the Bishop, 'he would be Archbishop, and would live at Lambeth. The fare there is only one shilling.'" MV Woodthorpe said the amount of work Dr Ufemple can get through is astounding. He is a man who leads a continually busy life, and yet remains fresh when he appears on. the platform or in the pulpit. He is a man of strong personality, some-what-rugged, a very keen discerner of character, and probably there is no man in England better .trusted alike by clergy and laymen than the Archbishop". Certainly no cleric of modern time has made a stronger impression on the working classes than Archbishop Temple. As a speaker he is clear and logical, the very embodiment of common sense, and a typical Englishman. Perhaps what makes his influneoe felt more than anything besides his personality is the fact that he worked up through considerable difficulties to the highest educational positions in England, and to the leading position in the English ChUrch. THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK. Of Dr. W. ,D. Maclagan, Archbishop of York, and Primate of En.land, Mr Woodthorpe says:—"The Archbishop holds a very unique position in the Anglican Church. He is a man of some distinction as a preacher, very sympathetic and devout, and is especially known to the clergy by the keen interest he has taken in every movement to develop their efficiency as a body. He is the founder of a society which is widely known in the Anglican Communion for the development of study and intercession. It is known as the "Pastoral Order of the Holy Ghost." Archbishop Maclagan is a man of great discernment of character, and takes a deep interest in the modern problems of the British Empire. He is not only deeply respected, but beloved, by the clergy and laity. He was the writer, with the late Archbishop of Canterbury, of that famous reply to the Pope on the question of Anglican Orders, which was considered at the time as being the most powerful utterance that had proceeded from an Anglican Episcopan since the Reformation. THE BISHOP OF LONDON. Dr. Ingram, the present Bishop of London, to whom was offered some years ago the Bishopric of Wellington, New Zealand, was formerly chaplain to the present Archbishop of York, and through him he was in 1889 elected to succeed Canon Henson as Head of the Oxford House, and practically the whole of his work has been given to the Oxford House- The House was founded as a centre for religious, social, and educational work in Bethnal Green and East London generally, and the objects of the institution were vividly paraphrased by Canon Holland thus:—-"There is more than one social problem that this movement has to solve. There is the problem of the surplus of educated gentlemen. One of the congested districts where they accumulate is in the West End, round the clubs. They move and cadge up and down Piccadilly, totally unemployed. Being unemployed, they have to fill up their time with horse racing and so on, and then they get submerged. It is partly with a view to this problem that labour refuges or shelters for submerged gentlemen have been established in the East End. Oxford House brings these unfortunate gentlemen under the healthy influence of contact with the working men." Bishop Ingram really made the House what it is, both in London and at the University, and in East London he seriously set himself to appreciate the difficulties, which, rightly or wrongly, kept men away from the Church. Ingram was irresistible, and the beautiful House, opened by the Duke of Connaught in 1892, is a monument of his energy. From Oxford House Dr. Ingram was appointed Canon of St. Paul's, and in 1897 he succeeded the present Bishop of Bristol as Bishop of Stepney. Four years later he bscame Bishop of London. In that capacity, 'Mr Woodthorpe remarked, "Dr. Ingram is almost an idol in the metropolis. Id is his work among the working classes and his sympathetic personality that has m;ide him what he is to-day. That he is a ' persona grata' to the King was shown by his selection as the preacher of the Coronation service." THE DEAN OF WESTMINSTER. "Bradley's Latin Prose Composition" is a book tolerably familiar to school boys, few of whom, however, take the trouble to learn that the author is Dr. Bradley, the present Dean of Westminster. Concerning Dr. Bradley, Mr Woodthorpe said that he is a distinguished classical scholar, and was one -of the most successful headmasters that Marlborough College ever had. He became Dean of Westminster on the death of Dr. Stanley. He has not published, very much with the exception of a book on ' Ecclesiastes. He is a very scholarly man, over 70 years of age, and lives a very retired life. THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLS. The episcopal career of Dr. Kennion, Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose traditional light is to suport the Sovereign at the Coronation, is of peculiar interest to colonials. Dr. Kennion. who succeeded Dr. Short as Bishop of Adelaide in 1882, was for many years one of the most popular cf Australian Bishops. His apj ointment to the »cc of Bath and Welis is, in some wsiys, remarkable, his was <j_c oi the few appointments tint fell to ths lot of the Earl of Ro*_bery. v. r.en he Premier. Years ago Lord Rcsebery v _-i----'ted Australia, -and was evidently by the reputation o/ the iii<<_op :-f Adelaide, and when he suenoed.'d ■■i the I"iemisrs'hip. his first appointment made to the Episcopal Bench w..s t:-it of !>•. Kennion to the see of Barh ;.n<! *Veils. "Dr Kennion,'" Mr Woodthorpe said, "is a charming man, and ens of the finest types of Bishops we have, had in Australasia. He is an able preacher, sympathetic and genial, and universally popular, both with £_s clergy and laity.''