THE GREAT CHURCHES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 132, 2 December 1930, Page 13

THE GREAT CHURCHES

REUNION MOVEMENT

ARCHBISHOP AVBEILL'S ." IMPRESSIONS

(By Telegraph.) '-.. (Special to "The Evening Post.") AUCKLAND, This Day. "I am inclined to think that party feeling in the Church has become more chrystallised and a little bit more gene- i ral than formerly).but I should not say tho intention of even the; extreme-man is to Romanise the Anglican Church," said Archbishop Averill this, morning. "There are those who certainly seem to be endeavouring to bring the Church of England as near to the Roman,position as possible, and even - try .to! out-: Borne Borne. Personally, f cannot understand it. To me it is most' extraordinary. The Anglican Church has a very wonderful position to fill in the world.- It has been called the 'bridge' church, and if there is to be a real reunion it has got to be largely on the basis of the standard of {he Church- of England. I think the extremists are doing a good deal of harm in keeping back the question Of ■ reunion,' but this important question has made" great strides forward during the last ten years. It was a decade ago that,the Lambeth Conference appealed to all Christians on the question of unity, and it was a great surprise to the present Conference'to realise" the tremendous advance that has been made in this direction. I was on the Committee bf Unity, and it amazed me to find the rsponse that has been made. ' "The Eastern Orthodox Church is most anxious for inter-communion with the Anglican Church, and I think it will come about before long.. The same can be .said 6f the old Catholics who split from the Church of Rome in 1870 because they would not accept the doctrine of the infallability of the Pope laid down by the Council of Trent. They have been independent ever since, and have apjjroached tho Church of England with tho ddsiro ■ for: intercommunion.- It was a surpriso to find that the appeal had!: such far-reaching effects. Various- other .churches had ;.sho-vvtLvthe same spir.it.J '."The general" movement towards unity was one Of the good things of the Conference. The BisTiops interviewed representatives of. the Scots Church and the Federal Council of Non-Episco-pal Churches in England, and we'hope the result ■will be in the direction of us drawing more closely together. I think the advance."towards unity -will ,be even more rapid in the future."