The Australian Reunion Conference.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XIII, Issue 2, 1 August 1922, Page 397

The Australian Reunion Conference.

(From the "Church Standard").

The Conference on. "Reunion of March 28th-29th may well come to be regarded both m character and m result as a historic gathering*. It Avas the first attempt to call together m conference representatives of the Churches on an Australian wide basis. Previously conferences had been local and informal, but had done much to clear the ground for action on a wider scale, and of a more authoritative nature. The recerit conference was. the outcome of an invitation from the Anglican Church, acting* through the committee on Reunion appointed by General Synod, to . the. .Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches to appoint representatives to confer with selected representatives of the Anglicari Church oh the basis of the Lambeth Appeal. This invitation was coi*dially accepted and eight representatives frorii each Church, men of proved ability and scholarship, met the five bishops, five priests and two laymen appointed to represent the Anglican Church. The Assembly sat for two days m the Chapter iEjfcmse

of St. Andrew's "Cathedral, Sydneyj under the presidency of.' the Primate of Australia. The subjects for discussion had been carefully selected as those round- which the main difficulties m the way of Reunion ranged and it says much for the spirit arid tone of the discussions that m each case a large measure of agreement was reached and took shape m" a formal resolution. In certain fundamentals indeed we found .ourselves from the outset on common, ground and that too, with regard to questions on which ten years ago or even less there were still wide differences of opinion.. The dangers and folly and sin of disunion were, for example, explicitly acknowledged. There was- full agreement too that the unity which was God's will and for which we were working;, must be manifested m one visible organic society; nor was there any question that the bonds of that unity must include not only a common faith but a common Ministry of the Word and of the Sacraments.

The main issue at stake was that which centred on the method of securing such a ministry, one that is commissioned and qualified to exercise all ministerial functions throughout the reunited Church. Hence the question of Episcopacy bulked large m the discussion. ' The Lambeth Appeal had pleaded that it was only through the Episcopate that a ministry coiild be secured which might claim recognition as such throughout the reunited Church. Nor was this plea denied by those whose traditions were non-episcopal. Indeed Episcopacy was unanimously recognised as that form of polity which could alone, serve ..as -a visible focus of. unity, m the Christendom of to-day. It is true that provisos were included Avhich stripped Episcopacy of any of the trappings of autocracy and hedged it round Avith constitutional limitations. Yet accepted m principle it Avas by all; and this is the more remarkable when it is remembered that the three Churches negotiating with the Anglican Church were not only built up on a non-episcopal foundation, but were largely m their origin and traditions a protest against episcopal government and its associations with political tyranny and religious intolerance. Discussion ranged longest -over the subject of ordination. The .subject was introduced m a paper which reached a very high spiritual level by the Rev. A. Depledge" Sykes,. who, while pleading for the validity of non-episcopal orders, acknowledged that they; were regular only within . the particular body through Avhich they were conferred. The main .question was that of extending the scope of a ministry at present limited m the sphere of its exercise. Was any special commission required to accord a limited

Ministry this neAV status and wider : scope, and if so what' form should it take? The Lambeth Appeal; while leaving it to other Churches to deter--mine the form of commission, which they' would adopt to authorise Anglican clergy to minister to their congregations, declared that, on the Anglican side', that" commission would naturally' take the form of Episrcopal ordination;' It was this phrase m the Lambeth. Appeal that aroused, the greatest' heartburnings. To mariy> its acceptance 1 seemed like "a 1 denial . r of their existing Orders by virtue of which they had '.exercised a fruit--ful and m some cases a, life-long Ministry:.: There were others, however, whrdv felt" that the .acceptance^ of thelawigpn of hands by a- Bishop ■ was an al% of; Christian - humility, m Avhich, without" m any degree denying or belittling their existing Or-' ders, they would gladly acquiesce for the sake Of' unity and ' the' extended 1 ministerial scope which it would give them. It was assumed rather than asserted that, when once Episcopacy had become an established institution m the ■ Church, - a Bishop would" naturally share m ; every ordination; and the difficulty was confined to the position m the reunited Church of Ministers who had received presbyteral' ordination only arid "" might conscientiously' refuse a further commission which -'took the form of Episcopal ordination. Suggestions -were made as tq' '■ -methods' by which the difficulty could be overcome, and fin-" ally a committee, representing the; four negotiating Churches was appointed to receive and report upon> such forms of commission as each Church might consider necessary or; advisable m its own ease for the purpose of authorising for lninis-i terial work' within it those who had received their orders tlrrough other Churches.

An able paper - . on < the use and necessity of a Creed Avas read by the Bishop of Goulb'urn, which advocated the recognition Of the Apostles' arid Nicene Creeds as standards of faith and doctrine m the reunited Church So far as any issue was raised on this question it took the form of questioning not whether a Creed was necesr sary or desirable for the reunited Church, but whether the Creeds proposed and particularly the Nicene Creed, expressed the essentials of the Christian faith m sufficient fulness and m sufficiently modern-terms.- '-In response to this plea for a Cresd brought up tb date, the overwhelming prestige of the traditional formula Avas forcibly asserted; and there was little or no dissent to the resolution moving for the acceptance of the two ancient and Catholic summaries of the faith. - Another resolution Which was passed deserves notice as calling attention to that conception

of unity which underlies the proposals of the Lambeth Appeal. Reunion was not regarded by the bishops at Lambeth as the absorption of one Church or Churches by another, or as the reduction of all to a common level of uniformity m Avays of worship and fellowship. It was freely and' gladly acknowledged that each' group or communion of Christians with a history and tradition behind it had some special and peculiar gift to .contribute, .to the spiritual Avealth of the whole-. Church; and while - the- gifts of each; could not be shared by all so. long as the existing divisions; remained; room must be found for each- group, to retain its own identity within the larger fellowship. So would each both be enriched by those aspects, of Christian life and truth which other churches had manifested and itself make common to all that truth and grace for which it had traditionally stood. It was therefore agreed that, subject to the great common bonds of visible felloAvship m the Church, each existing communion might still retain m the larger unity its characteristic ways of worship and service.

To sum up: the Conference broke the ice. It brought us face to face with each other. Not the least valuable element m the Conference' was the personal contact between man and man Avhich it made possible, an aspect of it which was emphasised m the recommendation that the next similar Conference, to be held within twelve months, should be called at some spot remote from the -great centres of population where there would be greater opportunity for common prayer and personal intercourse. The Conference served further to bring into clear relief the things which still held us apart and the difficulties m the way of closing the breaches. But yet it revealed a readiness to discuss those difficulties ■with complete friendliness and candour and a united resolve under Divine guidance to' overcome them. We separated feeling that Aye, and the Churches that we represented, were henceforth definitely committed to the task of giving, visible shape to that unity Which is already ours and must not cease to strive and labor; arid pray till the ask is achieved. P. A. MICKLEM. . The following resolutions were passed:—^ „Bishop, Bishop Long moved, and Rev. Dr. Prescott seconded, and it was agreed, "That, while the right of the Church to determine its own policy at any time is recognised, iii tlie opinion of

this Conference, iii^view of all the circumstances, it is expedient that the policy of the reunited Catholic Church be episcopal, provided that (1) the appointment to the office of a bishop, be shared m by. ministry and laity; (2) that such office .be exercised m a represeritative and • constitutional manner, i;e., that m all; administrative actioris the bishop should be responsible to the representative assembly,, conference, or synod of the Church; (3); that such acceptance of episcopacy does not necessarily imply that ministerial authority cannot be otherwise obtained or' that episcopacy is the only channel of divine, grace."

It was further moved, by Canon Batty, seconded by Principal Gla'ister, and agreed: "That this conference Avelcomes the assurance implied under clause four of the Lambeth Appeal, that each group within the reunited Church would be free to retain its characteristic method of worship and service, iii so far as . such retention is. not inconsistent with the fellowship of the whole."