HIGH CHURCH SERVICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19626, 3 May 1927, Page 12

HIGH CHURCH SERVICES.

Sir, —The church whose services are being so severely criticised is, I understand, St. Paul's, It is alleged that there has been a doorcase in the attendance at St. Paul's and that this decrease is due to high ritual. But the recently published annual report states that there has been a marked increase in the congregations during the past year. It is only fair to the present vicar to point out that the size of the congrgations began to decrease many years ago'before old St. Paul's was pulled clown. "Canon Nelson was then vicar. The decrease was caused by the removal oi many church families from the city to the suburbs. This exodus has gone on steadily ever since. The falling off in the attendance became still more marked while the services were being held in the temporary church in Eden Orescent, and had nothing to do with ritual. This trend of population from the city to the suburbs has created a problem for the Church in other parts of the world—in the City of London, for instance. The falling off in the attendance at public worship is felt by all the churches. It is due to the general breakdown of the puritanical Victorian Sunday. Norman Burton. Sir, —Loyal churchpeople of all shades of opinion must b© pained by the controversy now going on in your columns. They had hoped "that the day of such things was past. The intolerant folk who must use a daily newspaper in order to decry a particular mode of Christian worship do not deserve to live in the twentieth century. If these people are members of the* Church, then the more shame to them for venting their spleen in the secular press. If they are not members then the matter is" no concern of theirs. " The Church of the Province of New Zealand, commonly called the Church of England" is not a State church, but is | on the same footing as all other religious bodies. Its worship concerns its members and 110 one else. If any churchman or churchwoman has a grievance there is a remedy provided, and no one need go in for the public washing of dirty linen. But enough of hard words. It ought to bo realised that the Anglican communion is a world-wide body comprising all sorts and ! conditions of people. The Church holds that truth is like a many-faceted jewel; that it is greater than any of the diverse modes of expressing it. " Our desire," said the Archbishop of Canterbury in speaking of the new Prayer Book, *' has been to secure, not compromise for the saka of peace, but rather comprehension for the sake of truth, of the fulness and richness of the one fellowship of faith and life." The Anglican Church might well take as her motto the words of St. Augustine: "In things essential, unity; in things indifferent, liberty; in all things, charity." The things of which your correspondents complain are, to millions of loyjtf Anglican!!, "indifferent." Why not leave them alone '! A.F.G. Sir, —One of your correspondents writes: " There was grandeur in those simple services that is not to be found to-day." Apparently your correspondent refers to the services which were held in the Jewish Church when Our Lord was on earth. Any scholar knows that tho ceremonial of the Jewish Church was far more elab- ! orate than that of the Christian Church. ! Yet Our Lord was most careful to attend | the services in the temple on all the great festivals. Often He made long journeys in order to bo present. No word of condemnation fell from his lips. Words many He uttered ngainst tho hypocrisy ! of the times and He did whip tho moneychangers out of the temple, hut no word against ceremonial is recorded anywhere in the Gospels. Christians who later died for tho Faith used incense in the catacombs and burned candles on th.e altar. The Church in. England before St. Augustine likewise used incense*. If right in Our Lord's day and later, ceremonial in divine service is not wrong to-day. I resent tho use of the form "high church." There is no such thing. In the service of the Holy Eucharist—the Mass, if you I will—the Catholic finds his loving Saviour, j It, is the one service which Jesus appointed. He did not say, "Read vour Bible," or "Hold simple services." What He said was, "This do in remembrance of Me." St. Anne. Sir, —I know there are many sound church people in this country alone who are shocked at this pre-Reformatiou tendency that - is insidiously creeping back into our beautiful and spiritual reformed Church of England service; are simply saying nothing and dropping out of church-going—or, recognising tho need of religion in life, are sending their children to other Protestant Sunday Schools. At a time when a new generation with so many distracting material considerations has arisen—a better educated mass that is "free thinking" (I use the word in its best liberal sense) for itself—this trend back to Rome instead of reformation from within, is significant and ill-advised. Many are asking, if for 60 years we have got on without all this genuflecting, etc., why go back to it now? It waS almost pathetic to hear a local archdeacon lamely apologising for the high church proclivities of certain other divines who have recently come here to take charge of our spiritual life. But why the need j to apologise! Excess of form and ritual may have been a necessary adjunct in ! an ignorant and subject people and age, | but surely this return to an over-elabora-tion that killeth the spirit in tho outward form is not the religion of the humble, kind, and truth-loving Christ—tho Christ j of love and sacrifice. We do not find this | irritating imitation of Rome among tho highest dignitaries of our church in the Dominion—mature, sincere, humblehearted, kindly Christians who must, while keening silent, often wonder whither i* will all lead their younger brethren who have mistaken their church and vocation. But Mr. Norman Burton's haughty diatribe cannot and will not silence the many laity who are no doubt quite as good churchmen as ho, and who still have a right to subscribe themselves Churchman. Hamilton, April 29, 1927. | Sir,—As the honorary secretary of the League of Our Lady dubs those who differ from him as "ignorant" and "illinformed," it may bo permitted one such to challenge his amazing assertions and to question big clever but untenable appeal to Scripture. Catholic doctrine, Roman or Anglican, can doubtless justify itself to Romanists and Anglicans. But when it leaves the safe precincts! of traditionalism and ventures to claim history and the New Testament in support of its claims then tbev are seeking trouble—and will get it! Take his statement: "Her bishops (despite the quibbles of Rome) can trace direct succession to the Twelve Apostles, the first bishops of the Church Universal, founded hv Our Lord Jesus Christ." It is open to anyone to believe that, of course. And, since the whole claim for superiority on the part of Roman and Anglo-Catholics hangs upon this belief, it is only human to bold it. Bat there is not a shred ■ rf historical evidence in support of ft. It is merely traditional, and the whole trend of New Testament scholarship to<3ay implicitly denies this flimsy assumption of a divinely appointed episcopate. Whatever was the case in the postapostolic Church, the s.,c!*tv founded by the disciples of onr Lord knew nothing of the order of bishop*. Even Paul was an cnordained man and must be voted as the arch heretic by our modern Catholics? But I find the most inexcusable suggestion# in the concluding sentences: "If vre believe that He is really there pleading for love. . T submit that that begs the whole question. | Where and when did oar Lord plead for j love ? His quest'on to Peter was a I challenge to orte who had denied bis Master; and nowhere else in the New Testament is there any support -or this emasculate contention of the captain of our salvation. Even less pardonable is the next phrase; '* . . Willing to give Himself to all who ar® wean* . and heavy laden." To take these hallowed words from their context, where the

"weary and heavy lladen" are invited U} come to Christ, not to partake o£ Huif substantially, and apply them as ao argument for the doctrine of the Mass, is a piece of subtlety to which, indeed, wo are accustomed;, but to which, as honest men. we aro not reconciled. Lastlv, may I suggest that, the aire for all "our "misunderstandings and the bridging for all our differences is pre r sented with unconscious naivete in the verse with which your correspondent closes. Though he does not know it, be has, there, given the true definition of Catholic in our Lord's own words: "Where two or three aro gathered together in My Name there arn I in the midst." The earliest definition of the Church is by Ignatius: "Chi Christ us ibi ecclesia" "(where Christ is, there is the Church). It is where two aro gathered "in His Name." But even these two must not be exclusive. They must be willing to admit anyone who comes in under the Name. That is the mark of a truly Catholic Church—the ever-own fellowship which Christ adorns with His Presence, whether with or without sacraments, episcopal or non-episcopal. The essentials are "fellowship" and "in His Name." and it. is open even to the ignorant and ill-informed W. Lawson Marsh. Devon port. Sir. —I have looked in vain through the 39 Articles in our Prayer Book for authority for some of the extraordinary practice? which take place in some (happily not- all) of our Anglican Churches to-day. The curious aspect of the matter is that while a few of your correspondents indignantly object to "these letters of criticism, they do not offer any authority or justification for tho ritual which they are endeavouring to defend. Further, it- might be of interest to '' C. of E.." who in Saturday's issue upheld his vicar, to learn that recently a young man who served his apprenticeship as an altar boy to tho vicar of tho particular church to which he is probably referring has now become a bona fide member of the Roman Church. Tho fault, however, in my opinion, lies with the vestries of the * churches concerned, who usually accept any priest about whom they know very little, and who immediately foists upon the congregation theso alien practices. Finally the writing is on the wall. If the good old Church of England, which since the Reformation baa been the bulwark of the Empire, is to survive more effective measures than passive resistance will hav» to bo employed. Lot our synods and church councils get busy and fight to the hist ditch any encroachment on our simple and unadorned Anglican Service. True Anglican.