The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY', DECEMBER 2, 1950. THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

Wanganui Chronicle, 2 December 1950, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY', DECEMBER 2, 1950. THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

'T'HE presence in New Zealand for the first time in history of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr.G. F. Fisher, carries attention to the singularity and the uniqueness of the office which is held by the distinguished visitor. The English people are not expected to be logical in their constitutional arrangements. The most logical peopte in the world t iiey prefer to have arrangements that, like Topsy, just grow and if they present a crazy pattern, then so long as they are convenient in operation the lack of logic or order is nothing to worry about. This willingness to accept an incongruous pattern on the ground that it works is the height of logic, for it puts the purpose first and the machinery of doing things second. The direct mind of the Gaul simply cannot comprehend such conduct and the Englishman remains in French eyes the everlasting enigma, while the more mechanical thinking German throws up his hands when he contemplates the ‘‘impractical English.’ ’ The English could be expected to have at least one archbishop as the titular head of the Church of England, but .just because that would be plain sailing they have two such dignatories, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Y ork. Why there should be two of them nobody knows, but as there are two Sees there must be two Archbishops. There it is, take it or leave it! ! It’s the onlv explanation available. The Archbishop of York is the Primate of England, which in ordinary circumstances should place him at the pinnacle of the clerical ranks. But no! That is not the case. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Primate of All England. This is to signify that the two Primates although firsts in the race are not equal. It is to the Archbishop of Canterbury that the nation turns when the sovereign has to be Crowned. Not only does Canterbury place the Crown on the head of the Sovereign but he takes precedence of York in the processions. To make doubly sure that York keeps his place the Lord Chancellor is interposed between them. It so happens that the Archbishop of York is almost invariably the successor of the Archbishop of Canterbury, but that is by the way. The election of an archbishop is not essentially different from that of a bishop except that the oath of obedience to the Archbishop is necessarily omitted. He has the title of “Grace” and “Most Reverend Father in God” while a Bishop is “Lord” and “Right Reverend Father in God.” The Archbishop of York presides over the Province of York which includes 13 dioceses, the rest of England (with Wales until 1920) forms the province of Canterbury and contains 30 dioceses. The Church of England presents in the field of religion the result of the English genius for working out a compromise and accepting it notwithstanding its illogical nature in respect to details. Where in other countries, particularly in France and Spain, one party was eliminated by the other, in England the two parties in a rough and ready way natural to rough and ready times worked out a way of living together. Naturally enough there were personalities such as Henry the Eighth and Mary who were by no means amiable persons to those with whom they disagreed. In a time when kingship meant practically absolute power, it was not to be expected that such absolute power would be put under restraint, when the disputations in the religious field rose to national schisms. The Church of England was born of the Renaissance, but at the back of the Renaissance Movement stands the mighty figure of John Wycliff, the Father of the Reformation. That his work seemed to pass away does not detract from its greatness, nor because it did not remain in the front of the stage for all to see is it to be implied that his influence did not continue to operate long after his death. The Lollards might have become an insignificant seet, but they at least did make a departure from the established religious order of the time and what can be done once will be likely to be attempted again. The disunity of the religious world prior to the Reformation was brought about as much as anything by the uprising of the spirit of nationality and the English people living in an Island were naturally early in developing their distinct national life. The Renaissance added to this growth a fertilising stream of ideas which affected the national life in many ways. It is wrong, to assume that the break with the Papacy was due solely to the desire of Henry the Eighth to secure a divorce which the Pope could not grant without displeasing the King of Spain, a step which would have been highly impolitic for him to have taken at the time. The Papacy during the fifteenth century, while maintaining its absolutism, nevertheless was wise enough to temper its application in England and a working compromise was established which could long have continued but for the conflict between the Pope and Henry over the divorce of Katherine of Aragon. Strangely enough Henry was a devout Catholic who wrote a treatise on the Faith and thereby received the papal title of “Defender of the Faith.” Ho had little love of Lutheranism and it was after his death that the developments occurred which brought into being the Church of England as the institution it was to become. When Henry assumed the headship of the Church of England he also disclaimed any spiritual office, thereby providing another of those yes-noes of English history. Like every other church, that of England has been affected by the atmosphere in which it lived at any period of time in its history. It has had periods of spiritual ferment, to be followed by periods of lassitude or laxity. Archbishop Laud made his office and party obnoxious by his high-handed manner in promoting wellmeaning reforms and the example which he provided has ever since inclined Archbishops to temperate courses. In this they have been on the whole remarkably successful, for the Church of England has retained the affections of English men the world over. Wherever there has been established an English community there will be found the Church of England, working unobtrusively and not very aggressively perhaps, but remaining always in its niche where Englishmen as a whole like to find it when they want it. Whether the Englishman is an intensive sort of religious animal may be subject for argument, but he doesn’t like to flout his religion and so the public procession comes a little amiss to him in contradistinction to, say, the Italian, who is very happy in such activities. But just as the English character is an enigma to the world, so is the Church of England an enigma to many who see it only from the outside. Its capacity for having within its fold men of divergent views seems to indicate its lack of capacity for steering, yet it is this very diversity which provides the necessary ferment which keeps the institution lively. As a church it goes its own way, but of later times it has proved its capacity in joining with other churches in promoting the work of God on earth, a work which its Archbishops have been ready to proclaim has been greatly advanced by the work of its sister communions.