CHURCH UNITY MOVE

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 104, 27 January 1938, Page 13

CHURCH UNITY MOVE

Comments By Archbishop Averill “MOST OPPORTUNE TIME” By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, January 26. In the course of a special message concerning the recent proposals for the fusion of various Christian Churches, Archbishop Averill, Primate of New Zealand, stated that he considered the cabled draft of the scheme for union between the Church of England and uon-episcopal Churches was the logical outcome of the Lambeth appeal foi unity in 1920 and, to some extent, the climax of continuous and vigorous steps taken by the Church of England during the past 18 years to commend the appeal to all sections of Christian thought. “Before any scheme for unity can possibly succeed, there must be a real desire for unity among the rank and file and not merely among the leaders of the various religious bodies, and a real acknowledgment that a divided Christendom is wrong, and contrary to the will and purpose of God,” sa»l 'the Archbishop. “Penitence and prayer are essential, and open and generous acknowledgment that all have sinned and contributed to the rending of the body of Christ. It is not sufficient to approach the question from the point of view <>f'expediency, but of right and truth. It is useless to confuse the issue by endeavouring to substitute federation for unity. Anglicans, at any rate, can have absolute trust in the leadership of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and doubtless the other negotiating bodies will have equal trust, in their representatives, and it behoves all men and women of goodwill to trust their leaders in this momentous move and to pray continuously for them that they may have right judgement in this matter. Those who cannot at present give their hearty support to the scheme should at least be prepared to suspend their judgment until they know and understand more about it.

“The proposal for unity comes at. a most opportune time and it is difficult to see what power can possibly bring about greater unity between peoples and nations than the tremendous power of a united Church. The world may well say to a divided Church, .‘Physician, heal thyself,’ and may well turn a deaf ear to all her exhortations until she is prepared to sacrifice herself in loyal and loving devotion to her Lord aud Master and accept His way before her own.”