THE ANGLICAN CHURCH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18942, 13 February 1925, Page 10

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH.

AUTONOMY IN FACT. LEGISLATIVE PROVISION. FEARS FOR THE PRAYER BOOK. ARCHBISHOP'S REASSURANCE. [by telegraph.—press association.] DUNEDIN. Thursday. The 23rd triennial session of Anglican General Synod continued to-day when Archbishop Julius moved'" That a bill be promoted in Parliament by the General Synod to enable the Synod from time to time to alter, revoke add to or dimmish the fundamental provisions of the constitution so that the church shall have practically the autonomy which as a branch of the Catholic Church she now possesses theoretically." It was the first i of several motions standing in the name of the Archbishop and bearing on church autonomy. Arising out of it there was a long discussion on the subject of prayer Hid the motion had some strong opponents. Dean Fitch ett, of Dunedin, said that, the idea of rewriting the prayer book in modern journalese should be repugnant to all. He added that the proposals should be subjected to the closest scrutiny. The restrictions placed on them by the provisions of the constitution _ were that there should be no alteration in the authorised version of the scriptures or m the prayer book. Strange to say there was a desire to revise the prayer book It was not only their manual of devotion but their manual of doctrine, and the only one they had. Why should they want to get at it't Its language was very much on a level with that of the Bible. There was a notion that there were phrases here and here in the prayer book that were not understood. That was not so. They were all understood. _ The Prayer Book was now being revised in England and they should wait until that revision had appeared. They did not want to make one of their own. Clergy Hot,. The Church. It was the Church of New Zealand which advised the constitution and imposed these restrictions. The General Synod was not the Church, nor were the clergy nor the bishops. The Church was made up of the faithful people of God in this country, from the North Cape to the Bluff, and" its voice, if it were heard, would be, " hands off the Prayer Book." The legal position in regard to the constitution could be ascertained by going to the Supreme Court under _ an originating summons and getting a judicial decision. Their strength was to sit stili until the revision of the Prayer Book in England was completed, till they saw what it was, and also looked into other ways of finding out their legal position. Archdeacon Mac Murray (Auckland) said that attempts to make these changes had been put forward for many years and had fortunately always failed. It was quite clear that the outcome would be disastrous to the Church, and even the promoters oi the idea would admit that it would involve serious risk of the loss of church property. The present proposals were, however, somewhat different from those of bygone days. The appeal would be successful oftly if there were practical unanimity in, the , Church. These fundamental clauses were intended to protect them from any change in the formularies. The Church of England could make changes in these directions, but they could not. That being so, they were at a disadvantage. That . lessened the hostility of a great many church people to the proposal. The one thing that could justify the change would be a practical unanimity of the Church, and he could not vote for it if there was any evidence of divided opinions. Old Conditions Changed. Dean Carrington (Christchurch) asked members to see that this did not affect anything in the way of changing any fun- | damental principle or changing the Prayer Book. The. General Synod could not possibly go back on that. There were times i when they regretted the laying down of these formalities. Since then there had been an immense change in the English State. The Dominions had become selfgoverning. The idea of having autonomous churches was not then contemplated. This proposal was not a move to get the Prayer Book revised. Archbishop Julius said he was one of many who would say that, beautiful as the old Book was, and sufficient for him till tho end of his days, it was not sufficient to qualify for the needs of the people as they live to-day, for the masses of the people wanted something more. He moved that the resolution be passed, and this was carried after a division had been taken. Various Motions Adopted. At yesterday's sittings Bishop Averill (Auckland) moved: "That the following be nominated as members of the Board of Theological Studies: The Dean of Church, Archdeacons Williams and Johnson, Canon .lames, Revs. A. W. Payne and E. H. Strong." The motion was carried. Archdeacon A. S. Innes Jones moved: "(a) That the number of communicants on Easter Day in each year be included for the future "in the triennial returns; (b) that, in view of the fact that the receipts from the various dioceses for foreign missions have been omitted by the General Synod from the triennial returns, the New Zealand Board of Missions be requested to present full returns to the General Synod at each session, showing receipts for various missions from each diocese; (c) that full diocesan triennial returns be pointed with the proceedings of this ses- ; sion of the synod." After some discussion tho various clauses were carried. On the motion of Bishop Averill (Auckland), it was decided: "(a) That the report of the select committee on work ' among the Maoris be adopted, and that a commission be appointed to give effect to the recommendations contained in the report: (b) that the commission consist of the bishops in the North Island, Archdeacons Hawkins, Chatterton and Simpkin, and Revs. W. G. Willams and J. T. McWilliam, the bishop of Auckland to be convener." The Veil. Archdeacon Hawkins moved: "That this syi'o«l desiies to place on record its appreciation of the splendid services rendered to St. John's College bv the Rev. P. T. Williams during his 15 years' tenure of office of warden " The motion was earned. New Maori Bible. Mr. C. A. de Lautour moved: "That this synod congratulates the Veil. Arch* j deacon H. W. Williams upon his revision I and supervision in London of the New j Maori Bible for tho British and Foreign | Bible Society, and regrets that his engage jnont in this valuable work has precluded I him from being in his. accustomed place |in this synod." The motion was seconded and carried. It was decided that the following be a j commission on tho tenure of vicars in 1 parishes . and parochial districts: Tho j bishops of Auckland, Woiapu and Dunedin, Dean Carrington, Rev. W. Fancourt, Messrs. 11. D. Andrews, C. J. Tanks, C. W. Pitts-Brown, J. W. Hsndurson ad the mover.