THE RITUALIST AGITATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11397, 14 April 1899, Page 6

THE RITUALIST AGITATION.

GREAT MEETING OF THE CHURCH

UNION.

A REMARKABLE MANIFESTO.

The English Church Union (writes the Argus London correspondent under dato March 3) have fairly thrown down the gauntlet on behalf of the Ritualists. This society consists' of 30,000 members of the Church of England, lay and clerical, all of whom belong to the advanced or ritualist .section, Lord Halifax is the energetic president—the same who besought the Pope to recognise Anglican orders, and smooth the .way for married priests to enter tho Church of Rome. Lord Halifax is not a man of recognised tact or special ability— like many ritualists, lie is an enthusiast. We know the result of his fatuous overtures to the Pope. The Hdly Father shut the door in his face with a." bang. He lias now led the English. Church Union into what cannot fail to become a position of humiliation. He summoned them to gather round him this week—first at the reception at the Grosvenor Gallery, and next at a, mooting at the Cannon street Hotel. Two thousand persons were present at the reception. Nearly as many attended Cannon street meeting,- including delegates from 260 towns. Their deliberations were inaugurated 'by over 1000 of tho number taking Communion' at 8 a.m., at St Paul's Cathedral; The principal business ,at the meeting was the adoption of a memorial, or, more.truly, a manifesto, setting forth the demands of the.union. It was a long document, but its principal points were these: —That'the church is not a Protestant, but a! Catholic body, entitled to continue all ante Reformation practices not expressly forbidden by the'Praver Book; no prohibition.of these by bishops or courts of law. can be submitted to ; no arguments from non-user can be deferred to. Tho memorial declared that "the right of the1 Crown or of Parliament to determine tho doctrine, the* discipline!, and the ceremonial of the Church of England cannot be admitted," and finally, " we are not prepared to barter the principles of the church for the sake of establishment or endowment." One phrase of the document was notable. It warned the bishops of the consequences which would follow" the'enforcement on the "church in England" (not "of" Eng-. land) of the decisions;of the secular courts in spiritual, matters, .-,-.. " '

,' The speech of .Lord Halifax was almost as sferr.arkablo as the memorial. For instance, lie denied that high' churchmen were disobedient. He spoke- in the warmest commendation 'ofj'the new court which the two archbishops are to set up, in order to hear the explanations-of the clergy charged with committing 'offences. He even declared, the wish being father to the thought, that that coni-fc would give its . decisions irrespective of. -the decisions of the Privy Council. He., apparently regarded this new court as the setting up of the ecclesiastical synod embodied in the preface to the articles of religion, whose jurisdiction is now v in the hands of the civil judges. This is one of the burning questions of .the high' church and ritualist parlies. They claim to be .amenable to the ecclesiastical court (and to no other), which was promised by, the Parliament in the Prayer Book. ■ Lord Halifax said it, was now the plain duty of all churchmen to make the most of the opportunity given them for the hearing of spiritual matters before the 'archbishops.- They would do so in the- hove 'and confident expectation that the decisions of that court would make for peace. He then proceeded to add: — "But of course now one can pledge/himself to a decision before it is given. A bishop, for instance, who would maintain that divorce is allowed by the present law of the Church .of England, could not expect his clergy, to.conform to a statement so opposed to the- fact." Thus, Lord Halifax and his 30,000 high churchmen will only obey, their, long-desired,'ecclesiastical court when it gives decisions which they approve. Again, as' to the legality of things not forbidden by the Prayer Book—if the archbishop's .were to 'decide that it was an illegal custom to rida. a" donkey", into church on Palm; Sunday—which has actually been done in some, places—the ritualists would be justified' in' disregarding that decision, because donkey riding on that day was a mediaeval custom, and was not forbidden by the Prayer: Book. According to the English Church, Union, .old Catholic practices ; which have been discontinued .since tho reformation .may. all be revived—pilr grimages, asperges, and other custbms-^be-eause the .Prayer Book has not forbidden them. --.These."church unionists. claim- ' independence of the.civil power and the secular courts—in fact, they flout the whole authority of 'the. State, and accept the authority", of the archbishops only when it accords: with their own notions of right or wrong. The State, in short, is to be disestablished in order ,that the clergy may retain their own opinions, and—their livings.' For flic' sake "*of these people an ante-Reformation church is to be revived under, the cover of, the establishment. The lawlessness and anarchy involved in-this last ritualist ultimatum has done more than Mr Kensit or Sir W. Y. Harcburt towards opening the people's eyes to the gravity of tjie crisis iri the Church of England. The impatience and arrogance of the ■■nemorial. is the. more observable when we remember that it wiis,appi)Tently intended to repudiate by- implication the bill which., the bishops have decided to introduce into Parliament, a measure, I may-add, which will aim at giving .much- consideration. for the tender consciences of the ritualist party. Tii c Church Union lias now endorsed the defiance of the 200 .clergymen who. sent forth their ultimatum from the Hblbonv Town Hall; "These gentlemen may prefer disestablishment to willing • obedience, but the country, outside,the Liberation' Society and its friends, has not the slightest wish to see disestablishment. The intraetables will not,'l imagine, be permitted to disintegrate the church", and'even from many high, churchmen Lord Halifax and his associates will receive no support. The newspapers have' drenched the ritualists' ultimatum with ridicule. We are now threatened' with a counter-declaration from th.T Church Association, and from the churchmen who are not ritualists.