RITUALISM AT ST. PAUL'S.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13926, 7 December 1908, Page 8

RITUALISM AT ST. PAUL'S.

! Sir,—l owe some thanks to your correspondent, Mr. Jeffreys, for pointing out to me so strongly my faults. I .am no saint and pride and vanity are not the least of those sins which I daily confess to my Master, and ask for His help to overcome them. So much for myself. But Mr. Jeffreys says further that this subject is purely" a matter for St. Paul's parish, and, moreover, that the public know next to nothing about ritualism. I was trying to reach through the columns of tho Herald, not tho general public, but those 105,000 of the Auckland province who call themselves Church of England, and I thank you heartily, Mr. Editor, for giving me such a fair chance. Let mo reason with Mr. Jeffreys. Sixty years ago our Church in the Old Country was in a similar state to tho Church ;in New Zealand to-day, and was just awakening to tier responsibility, as a missionary and progressive Church, with a vast ■ work before her, to those mighty nations under British rule. Just then a band of zealous men at Uxtorct mado themselves famous in what is now known as the Oxford movement. lney made their views plain for a time by needlessly vituperating the Church of Rome and the Pope, but in a few yearsWst of them had quite changed their attitude, and had so far reasoned with themselves that they ended in joining the Roman Church. Those of them who remained in our Communion held tho doctrines now followed by our ritualists, and they taught them to any who came under their influence. _ Just at .nat time, and later, several societies of a secret nature wore founded among Anglicans, with tho object of diffusing these teachings. it was a small beginning, and no doubt people said then that it didn't concern anyone much, except Oxford. , ' ';, , Sixty years have passed, and asHho result of -those secret energies in our Church wo seo to-day several vast, societies, some working secretly, some openly, all teaching those doctrines which were so diligently promulgated by a few at first. Iho English Church Union of to-day comprises some 3000 or 4000 clergy and bishops, much ■ol whoso teaching is out of harmony with, and even contradictory to, the Prayer Book teaching, given us by our reformers. Ihey teach among other things that after the prayer of consecration, Christ is present on the Communion table, under the forms of bread and wine. Many of them teach thfl duty of confession to the clergy, and absolution as a sacrament, In churches under their influenco may be seen confessional boxes, crucifixes, and ail the numerous ornaments of ritualism. The Order of Corporate Reunion has at least 800 clergy of the English Church. It teaches that Anglican obders aro invalid, and one of its members can say, " We frankly acknowledge that the Roman Pontiff is the first Bishop of the Church, and, therefore, its visible head. Tho Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is a body whose chief teaching seems to be that Christendom can be united only by all Christians holding the same belief in the Mass—a belief not taught by our Prayer Book in her 28th article. The SuperiorGeneral once said, "We must endeavour to keep as far as possible out of public notice." / The Alcuin Club, embracing laity, clergy, and bishops, can say, "The institute, in conjunction with other societies, works with steady perseverance against every obstacle opposing Catholicism and its ritual, until they shad have succeeded in banishing for ever from England the bastard Protestant faith." Part of its teaching is belief in Masses for the dead. At one of its services in' a London church the clergy, choir, and- laity prostrated themselves in turn at the foot of a cross, and kissed it, in what was termed the "service of the veneration of the cross." There are numbers of these societies of different sizes and influence, some of them more extreme than others, hut ail teaching that Protestantism in our English Church is a gross error, and that the sole hope of England lies in the Restoration of those conditions existing before the Reformation. Some of them make a specialty of teaching young boys the duty of going to confession. Now. all of these societies confess one Lord, Who said when Ho stood alone, a prisoner before His enemies, that He had " ever taught openl* and in secret, had taught nothing." But these good folk think it their bounden dutjr to propagate their teaching in secret, lest'the ignorant laity should " misunderstand" and misjudge" them; they do not believe that "Ho that doeth , truths cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."., Now, does Mr. Jeffreys still protest that' what happens in one part of the Church is a matter concerning that part only? Look at our Church in England to-day as a'result of tho small Oxford movementhundreds of churches and thousands of clergy and bishops teaching the doctrines of ritualism. lam not rushing in to say that all their teaching is wrong, but I emphasise the fact that the commencement of ritualism in one parish in New Zealand may rosult. in a generation, in a repetition hero of those conflicts that are rending the Church at Home to-day,- and it is no wonder if men become non-church-men from sheer disgust and weariness. I say once more, that while we are united in New Zealand, let us inquire into this mattor, and be ready to give a judgmont on it, based on a knowledge of facts from both sides; and let those clergy who believe in confessionals, ritualism, etc., come forth, and boldly teach us what are their real beliefs, and not lead us astrav little bv little in our innocence. No good can come of deceit unless wo are to admit that Christianity, is altogether wrong. • GILBEKT ROLLIXSON.