REJECTED PRAYER BOOK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20286, 20 December 1927, Page 9

REJECTED PRAYER BOOK

BISHOP OF RIPON’S APPEAL. SUPPORTERS TO STAND FAST. (Freu Association—Bj Telegraph—Copyright ) LONDON, December 18. “ Let us concentrate our thought on political happenings, and not alter spiritual facts,” says the Bishop of Ripon in appealing to the supporters of the new Brayer Book to stand fast. If we love and believe in the church let those ready for sacrifices, whereby the new Praeyr Book may be validated more still toward the centre, proving that their attitude, is due to God’s unchanging spirit in the church, and not, as our opponents suggest, due to indifference to the truth Let us bravely learn the lesson that the fruit of our toil has been lost owing, first, to the rank and file of the laity' ignorance and prejudice, which teaching might have dene more to dissipate, secondly, to the suspicion of anything suggesting the surrender of the heritage of the Reformation; and, thirdly, to the extremist intolerence which is a negation of the spirit of Christ, If the spiritual forces which, at the end of 20 years labour, have drawn churchmen closer can survive the trial, the church will soon qualify to give a spiritual lead to that which the Commons declined to accept.” He urges prayers for the bishops, especially the archbishops, for whom the blow is the most crushing of all.—A. and N.Z. and Sydney Sun Cable. ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. NO INTENTipN OF RESIGNING. LONDON, December 18. The convocations of the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, which were originally fixed for Tuesday and Wednesday, have been cancelled. The Sunday News says that it is able to state that the Archbishop of Canterbury does not contemplate resigning.—A. and N.Z. Cable. A movement for the. disestablishment of the English Church started about 1831. The Society for the Liberation of Religion from State Patronage and Control, known as the Liberation Society, was founded in 1844, and the Church Defence Institution in 1860. In 1896 the latter became the Church Committee for Church Defence and Church Instruction. Bills to disestablish and disendow the English Church were rejected in 1871 by 374 votes to 89 and in 1872 by 295 to 61. Lead ing members of the English Church have expressed themselves willing to agree to disestablishment, but regard disendowment as confiscation. They point out that the Free Churches themselves are bound by the doctrinal provision;, of their trust deeds. The liberationist argument is that disestablishment must be accompanied by disendowment of all the ancient endowments, which include those of the cathedrals.

THE NEX'T MOVE. PROPOSAL BY MODERATE SECTION. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 17. (Received Dec. 19, at 5.5 p.m.) Sir William Joynson-Hicks, who moved the rejection of the Prayer Book measure in the House of Commons, told the Daily News: "I do not think there is any question of disestablishment at present. He added: “ The next move, it must be expected, will be a proposal by the moderate section of the church for the revision of the Prayer Book without any change in the communion service or the introduction of any doctrinal changes in a pre-Refor-mation direction.' We should support it, and then we could see how many people in the country are really opposed to the present position.”

ATTITUDE OF THE NATION. AGAINST THE POPE’S SUPREMACY. LONDON, December 19. (Received Dec. 19, at 7.40 p.m.) The majority of the Anglican preachers yesterday referred to the rejection of the Prayer Book and the difficulties of the situation, but little real guidance is possible in the absence of a definite decision of the bishops. Speaking in Hereford Cathedral, the Bishop of Hereford (Dr Smith' said that the question of the relation of the church and the State had been raised acutely, but before the church demands, at whatever cost, her complete independence there must not be a hasty demand for disestablishment and disendowment. “ I believe that the verdict of the House of Commons accurately represents the general attitude of the nation, which is against the supremacy of the Pope and against certain practices in connection with the sacrament ; but the verdict, which is based on a lack of information, robs the church of real "afeguards for its Protestant position.”

The Rev. R. J. Campbell, who was interviewed in Glasgow, emphasised the fact that the majority against the Prayer Book were non-L'nglish Commoners, who were largely influenced by the eloquence of Mr Rosslyn Mitchell, ‘‘ who is not a member of the Dfturch of England, but a Theosophist. What moral right Mr Mitchell had to make his impassioned speech is a mystery.”—A. and N.Z. Cable.