VICARSHIP OF ST. PAUL’S

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 185, 3 May 1929, Page 8

VICARSHIP OF ST. PAUL’S

CANON JAMES APPOINTED DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR AND CHURCHMAN Dominion Special Service. Auckland, May 2. It is understood that Canon Percival Janies, vicar of St. Mary’s Pro-Cathe-dral Parnell, has been offered a similar position at St. Paul’s Pro-Cathe-dral, Wellington. This news will be received with no little interest in Auckland ecclesiastical circles, because only last week Canon and Mrs. James, who. had intended to leave almost immediately on a trip to England, were given a farewell social by the parishioners of the Cathedral, and presented with a travelling rug and suitcase. In making the presentation, Wardens Dr. Kinder and Mr L S. Rickerby paid tributes to the work of Canon and Mrs. James. Tn his reply, Canon James said that hVnine in the parish had been uniformly happy because of the fine spirit he had found at St. Mary s and the harmonious relations that had existed in all departments of parish life. Canon James was born in Durham, England, in 1882, and is a son of the Rev D W. James, vicar of Bramish, Durham. He has had a distinguished career as a scholar, as a churchman and as an educationist. He was educated at Oxford University, being scholar and exhibitioner of Queens College at an interesting and brilliant period. Amongst the fellows and tutors at Queen’s College at that time were the present Archbishop of York (Dr. William Temple), the Bishop of Liverpool (Dr. David), and Dr. Streeter, who has won for himself a world-wide reputation as New Testament critic of the modern school. Canon James obtained first class in moderatins, and after leaving Oxford became a schoolmaster. He was ordained in the diocese of Durham, and was assistant master in the Durham School, which is one of the oldest public schools in England. It is connected with Durham Cathedral. At that time the present Bishop of Durham (Dr. Henson) was Dean of Durham. During the Great War Canon James served as chaplain to the forces in Egypt and Mesopotamia. On returning to England he found waiting for him the call to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Auckland, of which he has been vicar for the past nine years. He has established a strong position in Auckland, and has done, much good work both for his own parish and for the whole diocese. He is a preacher of outstanding ability and influence. Some of his pulpit utterances have attracted the attention of the general public and have caused much controversy. He has dealt with pressing social, moral and religious problems in a fresh and courageous way, and his sermons show that he has kept pace with the best modern thought. His preaching is characterised by clear thinking and lucid expression, and he makes his points with unmistakable directness. He belongs to no party, but has a broad and liberal conception of the mission of the Church of England. His intellectual outlook is modern, and he has a gift for so interpreting the Christian faith in the light of the best modern thought and scholarship. He has taken a special interest in education and in the welfare of the rising generation. He has been a governor of St. John’s College and King’s College. Canon James has also taken a leading part in the Bible-in-schools movement. The vestry of St. Mary’s has accepted his resignation with great regret. He told them that the offer had come to him quite unexpectedly after he had completed arrangements to leave on a visit to England. He said it was with the greatest reluctance that he had decided to leave St. Mary’s after nine happy years, but he felt impelled to make the decision for two reasons: He considered it impossible to refuse a unanimous call to an important work in the capital city; he also held strongly the opinion that the prolonged tenure of one parochial charge was not in all cases for the advantage of the clergyman of the parish, and he considered this an opportune time to relinquish St. Mary’s, as the parochial finances are now in a satisfactory condition. Canon. James will take with him the best wishes of a host of Auckland friends and admirers for his success and happiness in his new sphere of work.