LAMBETH CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 250, 15 July 1908, Page 7

LAMBETH CONFERENCE.

' REUNION AND INTERCOMMUNION." (BI TBIiEGBIPH—PBES3 ASSOCrATION^-COPIEIGHT.) ' London, July.l 3. The Archbishop of, Molbourpe ;(Dr. .LowI th'er Clarke), tho Bishop ,of. Auckland (Dr. Neligan), the Archbishop' of' Brisbane (Dr. • Donaldson), the Bishops of \Bunbury. (Right Rev. F. Goldsmith), Grafton 'and Armidalo : (Dr. Coopor), Nelson (Right-llev. C. 0. i Mules), Perth (Dr. Riiey), and' Waiigaratta ■. (Dr. Armstrong) wereappointed"Hiembera i of the Lambeth Conference Committee, which' .is to report on the questions of. reunion and intercommunion. * ' All the Australian 1 prelates' were extensively utilised on other committees. ANGLICANS AND- PRESBYTERIANS. The Archbishop of Melbourne some time ago presided over a conference between representatives of the Anglican and Presbyterian Churches of Victoria which considered'tlie possibility of union. The discussion showed a very considerable amount of, agreement, and the Archbishop has stated; that, he would have some surprising information, to jplnce before tho Lambeth. Conference. "■ ' \ THE CONFERENCE. OP -1888. " At the Lambeth Conference of 1888"tKe qii'es- ' tion was'considered and reftftred to a committee, presided over by tho Bishop of Sydney (Dr. Barry). In "Tue Episcopate, of- .Bishop Charles Wordsworth,".by his nopliew, the present Bishop of Salisbury, some light is thrown upon what took place. The committee laid ' down as tho necessary .basis of reunion • four conditions, which becam&"'well known" as tho "Lambeth Quadrilateral"—(l) The Holy Scrip- i tures as the rule of faith; (2) the Apostles'" | Creodand the Nicene Creed as the statement i of faith; (3) the tivo Sacraments ordained by i Christ Himself; (4) the Historic Episcopate; , locally adapted in tho mothmig'pf jts,'administration to varying needs. -.{The of St. \ Andrews, who was eager for reunion with ! Presbyterians in Scotland, urged that liegotia- : tions rfith non-episcopal bodies.would be fruit- i less unless the Anglican, Church bridged over ( the transitional' poriOd°'by '"tfcebgnising"the I ministerial character of those, who had al- j ready been ordained < The report, as originally drafted, contained a ' resolution to this effect, and this, • through i some breach of confident?, whs') published', wit "The Times." When the report came up for i ' discussion it was, on a division, referred back 1 to tho committee .with a virtual instruction i to omit this section. Tho loss of this rosolu- i tion was a great disappointment to Bishop 1 Charles Wordsworth. . j A PRESBYTERIAN MODi3RATOK;S VIEWS, j Delivering liis closing ■ from r the i Moderator's chair at the Church of.' Scotland I Assembly, Dr. Theodore Marshall dealt with . the. question of union.' It was,' lie said, unquestionable that devout and earnest Christians were weary of divisions...They should., however, make little satisfactory progress if they merely tried to heal divisions and initiate a system of co-operation, chiefly for tho sako of securing a saving either -of/mien; or money. While their ' presont efforts. were exclusively directed towards relations with the other Presbyterian churches in Scotland, something might be done to prepare the way for drawing near , in tho future .to other Christian Churches. And tho National Church of Scotland must consider whether,. events might not force it to a better understanding with, or a nearer approximation to, tho National Church E of England. Tho union of Presbytorianism r with Episcopacy, or tho federation of Epis- t copal or Presbyterian Churches." if .iiK'cbuldS be n accomplished on a basis satisfactory to both f and without violating-aiiy''essential principle r, of oither, would bo in itself an enormous advantage, and "both Churches I wofild s find that a , they had much in many,ways to learn from tho other. I ' • j