NEW BISHOP OF WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 257, 27 July 1936, Page 10

NEW BISHOP OF WELLINGTON

Consecration Service SEVEN PRELATES TAKE PART Moving Simplicity Keynote of St. Paul’s Ceremony In a«ordance with the ancient forms of the Church, Archdeacon Herbert St, Barbe Holland was con" secrated as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Wellington at St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral yesterday in the presence of a congregation which filled the church. Many persons were unable to find a place, every seat being occupied some time before the ser ‘ vice began at the hour of 10.30 a.m. The service was deeply moving because of its simplicity and solemnity, and it represented another milestone in the young history of the Church of England in this country.

Including the Archbishop, the Most Rev. A. W. Averill, seven bishops took part in the consecration, each performing the laying on of hands on the head of him who was elected as the spiritual father of the Anglican Church in this diocese. They were the retired Bishop of Wellington, the Rt. Rev. T. H. Sprott; the Bishop of Dunedin, the Rt Rev. W. A. R. Fitchett; the Bishop of Waiapu, the Rt. Rev. R. W. Williams; the Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt. Rev. F. W. Bennett; the Rt. Rev. W. G. Hilliard, Bishop of Nelson; and the Bishop in Jerusalem, the Rt. Rev. G. F. Graham-Brown, who is visiting New Zealand. The Rt. Rev. C. West-Wat-son, Bishop of Christchurch, was unable to be present, through indisposition.

The service combined the Communion service with the special form for the consecration of bishops, the whole proceeding occupying a full two hours. It began with a processional hymn, “At the Name of Jesus,” a choir of men and boys, headed by a cross-bearer, making the entrance from one of the vestries and another consisting of the archbishop and the other bishops and clergy coming into the church from the other side of the aisle. After the archbishop had conducted the first part of the Communion service from the sanctuary the Bidding Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer were said by Canon James from the pulpit, these being followed by his sermon, which is reported separately. Colourful Scene in Sanctuary. The address concluded, the scene moved to the altar steps where the bi-shop-elect, vested in his rochet (a form of surplice), was presented to the Archbishop by Bishop Williams and Bishop Fitchett. The cardinal red robes of the seven bishops grouped in the sanctuary were in colourful contrast with the plainer habit worn by the bishopelect. Archbishop Averill then demanded the Mandate for the Consecration, a document in legal language bearing the names of the bishops of New Zealand, the Bishop of Melanesia and his assistant bishop, and the Bishop in Polynesia. The mandate was read by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Mr. E. F. Hadfield, who was attended by a brother lawyer, Mr. H. E. Evans, the Church advocate, both of whom were in the wig and gown of the profession. This done, the bishop-elect took the Oath of due obedience to the Archbishop, the terms of which were, “In the Name of God. Amen. I Herbert St. Barbe Holland, chosen bishop of the Church and See of Wellington, do profess and promise all due reverence and obedience to the Archbishop of the Church of the Province of New Zealand, and to his successor. So help me God, through Jesus Christ?” The congregation took part in the I.itany, and the Archbishop, seated in his chair, examined the elected bishop in the manner appointed. When this was ended Archdeacon Holland retired to put on the rest of the episcopal habit, the congregation meanwhile standing and the choir singing the-an-them, “The Lord be a lamp unto my feet.”

At this point tho ceremony entered its most solemn stage. The bishop-elect having returned, he knelt before the Archbishop, the Veni Creator (“Come Holj' Ghost Our Bouls Inspire”) being sung over him, the bishops leading, with the congregation responsing with the alternate lines. Consecratory Prayer. All eyes were upon the bishop-elect as be knelt in the sanctuary. The hands of the Archbishop and those of the other prelates were laid on the bowed head, the Archbishop pronouncing the consecratory prayer: ■“lleceivo tho Holy Ghost for tho office and work of a bishop in tho Church of God, now committed unto thee by tho imposition of our hands; in tile Name of the Father, and of the Son. and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And remember that thou stir up rhe grace of God which is given thee by this imposition of our hands; for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love and soberness.'' Then the Archbishop delivered into tho hands of Bishop Holland tbe Bible, saying, “Give heed unto reading, exhortation and doctrine. Think upon tbe things contained in this Book. Be diligent in them, that the increase coming thereby may be manifest unto all men. Take heed unto thyself, and to doctrine, and be diligent in doing them; for by so doing thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. Be to the flock of Christ a shepherd, not a. wolf; feed them, devour them not. Hold up the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring again the outcasts, seek the lost. Be so merciful that ye be not too remiss: so minister discipline, that you forget not mercy; chat when the chief Shepherd shall appear ye may receive the never-fading crown of glory; through Jesus Christ our .Lord. Amen.” It remained now for Archbishop Averill to present a crozier (a shepherd’s crook), the episcopal ring, aud the pectoral cross to Bishop Holland. The second portion of the Communion service was conducted by the Archbishop, and all the bishops, with Bishop Holland and members of his family, received tbe sacrament The service concluded with the Benediction, the Nunc Dimlttis (“Lord now lettest Thou I’hy servant depart in peace”) and the jecessional hymn, “Praise, my soul, the ■ting of Heaven.”