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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 898, 7 December 1867, Page 2

Sic, —lt appears that a reverend gentleman, a member of the division of Christ's Church known as the Church of England, has been appointed the Bishop of Dunedin; and feeling, as a layman of that church, that in this time of inquietude, arising from alterations made, or attempted to be made, in its management, or in the performance of the services of that venerable institution, that all its members should be aware of the part in the matter which may be expected to be taken by any fresh, directors or rulers thereof in this colony, and having accidentally fallen in with, in an English provincial newspaper, Dr. Jenner's (the fresh appointed Bishop for Dunedin) opinion as publicly expressed by him upon the subject, I beg leave to hand the same to you, with a very few remarks, for publication in your columns. The reverend gentleman, in September last, preached a sermon in St. Lawrence Church, in the city of Norwich, in behalf of the mission in the province of Dunedin, in the colony of JS Tew Zealand. The Bishop and his two chaplains wore the hiretta —l don't know what that is; and the other clergy present, in addition to their usual dresses when engaged in the performance of their sacred duties, each wore a "green stole." During the service theclergy went to the altar, and were incensed by the thurifer, but not the bishop. On the altar were four candles lighted, and two not lighted." At the conclusion of the service, as the Bishop was about to leave the church, the rector of the parish led up to him an elderly lady, and after she had removed her bonnet, and fallen at the bishop's feet, he extended his hands over her, and, it was understood, pronounced a blessing upon her." I have above merely spoken of things done under the eyes of our embryo bishop; I would now call attention to some things which were said by him. He said that " the missions would consist not of priests, but chiefly of laymen, who would livo the lives the old friars lived in the middle ages." Queer lives they were, if what is reported of them by middle age laws, history, or poetry, speak anything like truth. The Bishop also went on to say that "an attempt is now being made to prevent my taking spiritual rule over those in my diocese, because I have tried in some measure to promote the worthy, the efficient, the dignified, the gorgeous, rendering of the service of the ritual of the Church of England. That you know, my brethren, the men of this generation will not as yet bear; they will put up with any amount of meanness in Gfods worship, because

they do not recognise that he is. present, above all in the messed sacrifice of ; the altar." ■-•'■- : I have great faith in the correctness of the newspaper from which the above was extracted. The sentiments enunciated in it are certainly not those of a preacher or advocate of our Blessed Saviour's injunctions or express commands, but of the gabbling of a man-milliner. Christ, in not less than a dozen places in the Gospels, mostauthoritativelydirectshisdisciplesand representatives to call all men to repentance, and to preach to them sincere faith in him as the true means of attaining that end, and also of obtaining everlasting happiness. And what is more, so imperatively necessary and so sufficient is this course considered to be for the souls of men, that not one word, either by Himself or His apostles', is ever said about their dressing their bodies for the part. But this man, from whose expressions I have been quoting, looks upon gorgeous display in approaching the Almighty by sinful men, to beg his mercy, to be the one thing necessary. I will not detain you or your readers by making any remarks upon the low, theatrical exhibitions made at the time and place where the sermon was preached, but I would wish to observe on what I look upon as a blasphemous expression, stated to have been made by the Bishop, and which really amounts — whether he intended it or not — to a denial of the omnipresence of the second person of the Godhead. He says that the " dear Lord is present amongst us, above all in the blessed sacrament of the altar." He thus, in fact, absolutely asserts that Christ is at one time more our God than at another — that Christ is not at all times equally with us, to hear our prayers, or to witness our impieties. Neither Christ, nor Peter, nor Paul, have ever uttered anything that can be so construed, but entirely the contrary. Is not that man insane, who, in the least matter whatever, presumes to doubt the universal presence of the entire Godhead ? It appears to me to be no wonder that men, sincere believers in the truth and beneficence of Christianity, should demur to there being placed over them menmilliners, as well as atheists or Godmakers. I trust, sir, that you and your readers will forgive my troubling you to so great a length, but being bred up from a race who, at least ever since the days of Cromwell, have held to the same tenets, I feel on the subject as do many others. — I am &c, A Chuech of England Man, November 28, 1867.