CHURCH AND WORLD

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 40, 15 August 1930, Page 9

CHURCH AND WORLD

LAMBETH ENCYCLICAL -/-■■■■

QUEST FOR VISIBLE UNITY

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

United Press Association—By Electric Tel*

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LONDON, 14th August.

The Lambetli encyclical letter, in which 300 archbishops and bishops review the conference resolutions, which number 70, is a stirring call to church people individually and collectively to bear more faithful witness in word and deed to the faith, hopes, purposes, and resources which are theirs as members of the Church.

The letter emphasises the remarkable progress lately made toward a reunion of churches through important conversations during the conference with delegates from orthodox churches, Old Catholics, the Church of Sweden, the Church of Scotland, and other bodies. The most notable is the proposed union of churches of South India. Besolutions generally approving the lastnamed were unanimously adopted. The report stated that the suspended discussions with leaders of the evangelical free churches would be shortly resumed. In the meantime' the faithful are enjoined to persevere in the quest for visible unity.

A church memorandum comprising the resolutions points out that the conference decisions aye mainly in the nature of recommendations, and are, therefore, not binding to any churches within the Anglican communion until confirmed by the respective church authorities.

The conference attaches weight to the serious necessity of Christian people banishing from their minds ideas concerning the character of God as inconsistent with the character of Christ. "We affirm the supreme unshaken authority of the Bible as presenting the truth concerning God in its progressive relation throughout the Old and New Testaments." ■

WAB AND DIVORCE.

The conference presumes that public attention will probably be fixed on three other groups of resolutions in relation to: — , .

(1) Church union in South India. (2) The attitude of the Anglican Church towards war. (3) Bemarriages of divorced persons.

The war resolution reads: —"When nations bound themselves in a treaty or paat for the pacific settlement of international disputes, the conference holds that the Christian Church , of every nation should refuse to countenance war in regard to which its Gov-, ernment has not declared its willingness to submit to arbitration or coneili- j ation." j In cases of divorce the conference! disapproved of remarriage by the Church while the former partner was living. • The conference affirmed the duty or parenthood as the glory of married life. "Where there is clearly felt moral obligations to limit or avoid parenthood, tho method must be decided on Christian principles." The conference strongly condemned the use of any methods of contraception from motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience. . ...... , . The memorandum concludes witn a reference to unity. "The Anglican Union is becoming a'world-wide community of free, self-governing churches. Among these there stands already the churches of the, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, and India. In such a partnership none can, or wishes, to dominate others." ■■;.; : 'T _