Coming Around

New Zealand Tablet, 26 July 1906, Page 10

Coming Around

When Hudibras ' Abandoned dwelling, And out he rode a-colonelhng ' he brought his creed in his p*ack. 4 It Avas 1 A godly, thorough reformation, Which always must be carried on, And still be doing, ne-ver done ; As if religion were intended For nothing else but to be mended.' The creed of Hudibras was of a Puritan type. The ' godly, thorough reformation ' that stamped out the Old Faith in England was of a more piebald and eclectic kind. Pitt once described it as 'a Calvimstic creed, a Popish liturgy, and an Arminian clergy.' In the mature of things, such a combination would require a fast deal of tinkering—' like an old brass seething-pot or the wellworn wheels ot a yeoman's wain '. And as a matter of fact, it has, ever since it was first invented, been in the workshop undergoing repairs, replacements, alterations, and additions. One of the next additions to be placed by episcopal authority u-on the official creed and ritual is the re-introduction of Extreme Unction. This has been strongly urged by the Bishop of London and his Diocesan Conference. But the ordinance was long ago advocated by earnest members of the English Church. We find, for instance, a strong plea for Extreme Unction in ' A Manual of Instruction for Members of the • Anglican Church', by the Rev. Vernon Staley (published in 1894). The writer says (p. 274) that ' the English Church ' came out of the Reformation with ' certain losses which we need to repair. Of one of these losses— and that a serious one— we must now speak. We refer to the Sacrament of Unction, or the Anointing of tlie Sick '. * The Rev. Mr. Staley then continues (pp. 174-6) : ' Bishop Forbes writes : " The Unction of the Sick is the lost pleiad of the Anglican firmament. One must at once confess and deplore that a distinctly Scriptural practice has ceased to be commanded in the Church of England. . . It cannot be denied that there has been practically lost an apostolic practice whereby, in case of grievous sickness, the faithful were anointed and prayed over, for the forgiveness of their sins, and to restore them, if God so willed, or to give them spiritual- support in their maladies. 'Is any sick among you ? ' Let him call for the elders of the Church ; and let Hhem pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name' of the Lord. Anfl the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up ; and if he Have committed sins, they shall tie forgiven him '." And the Bishop adds : " Since, however, th^ Visitation of the Sick is a private office, and uniformity is required only in public offices, there is nothing to hinder the revival of

the apostolic and Scriptural custom of anointing the sick, whensoever any devout person may desire it ".' The form for such administration is given in the First Prayer Book of Edward V1., -ordering the oil to be blessed by a bishop '. • We ha-.e before us Parker and Uo's reprint (1887) of ' The First Prayer Book, as Issued by the Authority of the Parliament of the Second Year of King Edward Vl.' At page 140, it says • 'If the sick person desire to be anointed, then shall the priest ' (that is, the Anglican clergyman) ' anoint him upon the forehead or breast only, making the sign of the cross, saying thus ' (then follows the formula of anointing, pp. 140-1). In the Second Prayer Boot (1352— a150 reprinted by Parker and Co.) there was no direction either to place bread and wine on the table, or even to bless or consecrate them. And the religion-menders of the day actually omitted and even protested against ah consecrations, as we le a m from Bucer and Willock. Extreme Unction was also jettisoned. It was contemptuously referred to by the innovators of the time as ' greasing ', and the holy oils were devoted to the lubrication of cart-wheels and other profane uses. The re-introduction of the ceremony of anointing is a Welcome return to old beliefs and practices that were rejected in the days when men that were dressed in a little brief authority set out to mend and tinker the Church of the Luinq; Cod.