ANGLICAN UNITY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17410, 7 November 1930, Page 8

ANGLICAN UNITY

LAMBETH CONFERENCE OVERSEAS INFLUENCE BISHOP WEST-WATSON 1 RETURNS l Bishop West-Watson, of Christchurch, returned by the Niagara from England, where he attended the Lambeth Conference. Ho also inspected a. number of training colleges for clergy in England, Canada and tin* United States. Speaking; of the deliberations of the Lambeth Conference, Bishop WestWatson said in Auckland on Monday that he had been impressed with (lie increasing weight which overseas delegates were exercising at successive conferences. Another noticeable feature of the representation at the conference was the large proportion of delegates from the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. They numbered about 50, or one-sixth of the total representation. “Nob everybody realises the enormous importance and influence of the conference,” lie said. “The Anglican Church is now so wide-flung, penetrating so many lands possessing our own life and outlook, and indeed a great many parts that are not British soil at all, that it is no longer possible to view it as an influence limited solely to the English people. In recent years, too, the church lias been widened very considerably by the transformation of many of tlie overseas missions into churches. For all these reasons the bringing together of the widely scattered parts of the church has become an increasingly important matter. “The conference was of immense value in bringing about a greater measure of unity of thought and action among the bishops,” said Bishop West-Watson. “It enabled fltem to get to know each other and appreciate each other’s point of view. It has undoubtedly helped to create that greater bond of unity in the church which is becoming increasingly important its the church grows up in the younger countries of the world. Due uf the most significant things about the conference in this connection was the reunion scheme for certain of the churches in Southern India.”

Archbishop Averill, together witl Bishop Richards and Bishop Cherrington who also attended the conference, is ex pee ted to return later this month.— Dominion correspondent.