THE PRAYER BOOK

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20126, 20 April 1928, Page 7

THE PRAYER BOOK

ANGLICAN SYNOD Archbishop Averill States Viewi on Revision WEAKNESSES ENUMERATED 1 Per Press Association. ) WELLINGTON, April 19. Archbishop Averill, Primate of NeH Zealand, referring to the Prayer Book revision in his presidential address at the General Synod this afternoon, said, \\ e cannot but feel profound thankfulness to the English Episcopate for the product of 20 years of Labour and for the excellent result of that labour. Taken as a whole the .. evision is fully worthy of the great Church which has produced it, and it will remain as a monument of patience, wisdom and honest endeavour to unite the Church more closely without being the cause of offence to any party in the Church. It was naturally to be expected that so important a measure, supported by nearly the whole of the Episcopate an*d by so great a majority of representative members of the Church, would have received the consent of Parliament and consequently Royal Assent. “To my mind its weaknesses consist fl) In the retention of the Ornaments Rubric; (2) In providing an alternative to the services for the Administration of Sacraments; (3) In permitting a continuous reservation.

“Whatever may be the ultimate of the measure in England, I should be sorry to see the Church of this province accept it as it stands.”

The Archbishop also referred to the loss suffered by the church through tho resignation of Bishop Steward of the Alelancsian Alission. After .‘-ferring to Bishop Steward’s 26 years uf service in the tropics he said that even, his decision to resign his solemn charge and hand over the control of the Mission to another, lest physical disability should detract from the efficiency of his work would entitle the name of John Manawaring Steward to rank with the heroes of the Mission, including the great Missionary Bishops who had preceded him.

The Archbishop, referring to the question of the status of thc Missionary Diocese of 'felanesia in relation to thc Province of Now Zealand, and as to whether the diocese . hould bo divided as between the Australian Church and tho New Zealand Church said,

“Both’"for political and ecclesiastical reasons it is highly desirable that the Australian Church should take ovoi full responsibility for the Northern Territory, and that it should be disso* eiated from thc sphere of the present Melanesian Mission. The Australian Church, with financial assistance from England was willing to finance operations in that area, and it was inadvisable that there should be any kind of dual control.

The Synod elected the following offlccrS: Clerical Secretary. Canon Kayll; Lay Secretary. Air R. E. H. Pilson; General Treasurer, Archdeacon Sinkin; Chairman of Committee, Air J. W. Henderson; Clerk of Committee, Air J. H. Harkness.

A BLENHEIM DISCUSSION

INTRODUCTION UNANTMOTTSI ” OPPOSED. [ Per Press Association. | BLENHEIM, April 19. The much-debated attempt to introduce the new Prayer Book into the Church of England was responsible for an animated discussion and some rather tense moments at the annual meeting of parishioners at thc Church of the Nativity last evening, when Air A. Bent moved thc following motion: — “That, this meeting protest against any attempt to introduce thc new Prayer Book into the Church of England on the grounds that: (1) Its teachings are contrary to the 39 articles of the Church of England; (2) that it opens the door to the unscriptural docItrines of thc real presence of Christ in thc bread and wine at “Holy Communion” and “prayers for thc departed faithful,” thus being contrary to God’s Word; (3) that it tends to bring the Church back to the darkness from which it emerged at the Reformation; and (4) that it is the cause of strife in our Church, and for the sake of unity should not be introduced, and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Diocesan Synod, and to the representative at thc General Synod.” After a lengthy discussion, during I which Archdeacon Ybrk expressed the ’opinion that the meeting should not discuss such controversial subjects, the motion was carried unanimously.