Points.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XIV, Issue 4, 1 October 1923, Page 311

Points.

FROM THE ANGLO-CATHOLIC CONGRESS.

LONDON, "JULY 10th, 11th, 12th. The Congress suffered somewhat from the great heat wave that oppressed London during the whole of its session. The opening service was held m St. Paul's Cathedral and consisted of a High Celebration, About a dozen bishops took part. Several of the bishops wore copes and mitres, and the Cathedral clergy their copes. Among the bishops was the Metropolitan Eulogie, chief bishop of all Russians m Western Europe m his episcopal vestments, the Greek Archimandrite and another Eastern dignitary. A very short but wonderful sermon was preached by Father Mcntford on the text "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." The essence of it is contained m the following quotation: We are fellow workers, with Christ. ' ' Our work is to draw men into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus our Lord. When He gives Himself to us, it is not only for the sake of cur spiritual progress as individuals, but also that we may give Him to others." Simultaneously with the service at St. Paul's (to provide for some of the rest of the crowd of worshippers who could not obtain admission to St. Paul's) a celebration was held at St. Alban's, Holboru. At this service the sermon was preached by Father Huntingdon, Superior of the Order of the Holy Cross, New York. The meetings of the Congress were held m the Albert Hall, which was much too small for the crowds who sought admission. Meetings were also held m the Queen's Hall m the evenings. The Bishop of London opened the proceedings, but, having to attend the National Assembly he merely gave his address and then left the Bishop of Zanzibar m charge. The Bishop of London's address was a magnificent exposition of the AngloCatholic standpoint though it contained a few expressions with which not everyone was m agreement. A letter was read from the Bishop of Chelmsford sending his "loving affection" and a "real God bless you. ' ' The Bishop referred to himself as " a convinced' Evangelical " but one who saw m Anglo-Catholics "a band of men and women whose hearts are full of devotion to their Saviour. ' ' ' ' By His grace the spiritual life of the whole Church has been "enriched by you — of this there can be no doubt. The Cross is the centre of your faith and message, and therein lies your strength. " .

The Bishop underwent an operation on, the day of the Congress opening and died on the 14th. '-■ MESSAGES. ' ■ •.-■■■ On the suggestion of the Bishop of Zanzibar the Congress' decided to^ send messages to the King. and to the chief bishops of the three main divisions of the Catholic Church, viz., to the Archbishop of. Canterbury expressing "respectful homage, ' ' to the Patriarch of Constantinople offering "roost respectful greeting and sympathy, ' ' and to the Pope offering "respectful greetings" and a hope "that the day of peace may quickly In-oak." Taken at their face value "these messages would seem to most unprejudiced persons entirely consistent and . fitting, but a large number of the members of the Congress, when they heard the terms m which the Bishop had cast the message to., the Pope, privately expressed their disapproval and Father F'rere m an address next day referred to it thus: "As one who yields to nobody m a desire to see re-union, I cannot but feel that messages, of that sort do more harm than good, because they are bound to be misunderstood both here and there. ' ' In itself the message to the Pope was perfectly correct, hut some people are suspicious and always -sec something* behind that is not there. It is a question whether it. is not necessary sometimes m the interests of truth and courtesy to say things that are ' ' convenient" and risk the persistent perverseness of people who insist on attaching an unnatural meaning to plain words. The enthusiasm of the Congress from first to last, m spite of the fearful heat, was wonderful and the papers as reported m the "Church Times" must have been very stirring. We will try' to find room for a few quotations. . . The Archbishop Eulogie said the Russian Church was the»ai)cient historic church of the martyrs and eonfesscrs of the faith.- Russian Churchmen regarded the Anglo-Catholic movement with sisterly love. "May it, by the help of God, grow ever greater, and may the Lord God bring you and us mto full unity and dogmatic agreement. Let us Love one another m the unfailing love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May the Lord God bless you all and your labor m the Lord Christ." Dr. Gore warned Anglo-Catholics of the risk of not making it constantly evident that Sacraments arc means not ends ; that there is only one end,, and that is likeness to God. Mrs Scharlieb, M.D., M.S., read asplendid paper on Marriage. Speaking of Divorce, she said: "Divorce is. impossible for the practising Christian, because Christian marriage . is a Sacrament that confers character —once a spouse always a spouse.

If therefore one partner m a Christian marriage divorces the other partner and' takes another, the second union is a civil contract, not a Christian marriage". '' There are 1500 women m English Sisterhoods. Dr. Hall's paper on' Reunion was one. of the best. Dr. Hall is professor of Dogmatic Theology/ General Theological Seminary, New; York. We' give a few quotations: — ■ ■ . , The Need of Reunion:. "Christian divisions confuse the Church's message and reduce its persuasiveness; they cause much overlapping- and waste of Christian resources ; and, most sadly -of - all, they -reduce the Christian brotherhood to a congeries of mutually isolated sects, -necessarily fatal to the richness of faith and. practice, and to the fulness of spiritual life' and loVe, which Christ provided for iii His Church. " • " That the Lord wills Christian -unity is too plain to be denied.' ' " The life of . grace, of which the Church, is God's" appointed sphere and medium, is social ; mutual union m <>wr ' sacramental life, Eucharistic worship and spiritual discipline, is its' appointed form as well as the condition of ■■■ its fulness. Therefore, if. we would truly promote Christian unity, we- ' must promote the corporate reunion of all Christians.'' " • . Our Idea of Reunion: "Thereunion m which we are interested " is the ending of all denominations by the united allegiance of all Christians . to the ancient Catholic Church; a common acceptance of its primitive faith, ministry, Eucharistic worship, and sacramental discipline; and a renewal between Catholic bodies of full inter-communion and co-ordination m Oecumenical concerns. To us the reunion problem has world-wide scope; and the value of .each lesser reunion or scheme depends upon its being somewhat helpful to the cause of full Catholic reunion. Catholic reunion does not mean the building of a new Catholic Church, endowed with the treasures of the several existing denominations. It means a return of all to loyal obedience to the ancient but living Catholic Church, and- a healing of the wounds which schism has inflicted on that Church. All denominational good things were orig; inally committed by Christ to the "Universal Church, and, only m .-its Catholic atmosphere can each of them be cherished without one-sided -caricature, and without driving other vital things out of sight." .-. .... "We desire the real thing, and are' convinced that "old wounds cannot safely be sewn up until all foreign matter has been removed.^ -^ ' Reunion with Rome: "We may not rightly ignore the obstacles to reunion with the Papal See, and per-

haps much time will be required for their removal-. But it-shows lack of faith m the Holy Spirit to think that effort m this direction is useless. The situation continually changes, and there is evidence for those who have- eyes to-sec; that the conditions both Roman and Anglican, which now prevent reunion are slowly but surely being 1 outgroAvn. Human accretions cannot for ever abide, and being human, the present obstacles to reunion m this direction will siirely pass away." ..... ''Reunion, with Rome left out, is plainly not a true Catholic reunion.". • . The closing speech of the Bishop of Zanzibar was a wonderful inspiration. It "cannot be condensed. It ' dealt ' with the need of self-sacrifice arid complete devotion to Christ 's service, and specially to the need for living the life of Christian brotherhood. "Get back into your parishes and rural deaneries and dioceses and work out what Christian fellowship means." "Make it one of the conditions of membership m the AngloCatholic Congress, that you shall live simple lives and that you shall fight against luxury and self-indulgence. Encourage the rich- to set a limit to the amount of money they use upon themselves .... out of personal devotion to Jesus. " - As to the young: "We need the young men m the priesthood if God calls. We need the women m the re- , ligious life, we need them m the AVOrk of teaching for the Church; we need men and women, priests and other workers abroad m the foreign mission field. And where are they? Why don't they come 1 ?' Because they are not "yet recalled to the Christ of Calvary." ' - ' - Fellowship : ' ' You have begun with the Christ of Bethlehem; you have gone on to know something ' of the Christ of Calvary, but the" Christ of the Sacrament— hot yet ! Ohj ' brethren, if you will listen to-night,' your "movement is going to sweep • England. If you listen! I am not talking eeonoiriies, because I do not understand them; I am talking Gospel. ' And I say to you that, if you are Christians, your Lord is one and the same with Jesus on the Throne of His Glory, with Jesus in 'His Blessed. Sacrament, with Jesus received ' into your hearts m Communion, with Jesus who is mystically with you as you ' pray, and with Jesus enshrined m the hearts and bodies of His brothers and sisters up and down this world ; arid it is folly, it is madness to suppose that you can worship Jesus m the Sacrament and' Jesus on the throne of Glory when you are sweating 1 Hini m the bodies and souls of "His children. It is our present duty to "serve Jesus m the souls and bodies of our fellow men. ... Go out into

the highways and hedges,, and look for Jesus m the ragged and the naked, m the oppressed and m the sweated, m. those who have lost hope and m those who are struggling to . make good. Look for Jesus m them; and, when you find Him, gird yourselves with His towel of fellowship, and wash His feet m the person of His brethren." As the Bishop spoke he pointed to the figure of the naked Christ on the big crucifix on. the platform as he begged his hearers with impassioned "earnestness to "follow the lonely Christ, the naked Christ, to go out and look for Him m the ragged, the helpless and the unloved." •Thousands, unable to' obtain admission to St. Martin's m the Fields for the thanksgiving service, were addressed by the Bishop of Nassau. A wonderful procession of clergy and bishops walked through the streets m their. full vestments. The heat m St. Martin's was intense and all present used fans, and handkerchiefs m a vain endeavor to cool themselves, but the hymns were sung with such vigor that the powerful organ could not be heard. Hymn singing was a. feature of the Congress. Community hymn singing occupied the time before each session. The favorite hymns were "For all the Saints", (tune,- Sine Nomine) as sung at our choir festival, ' ' Ye who own the faith of Jesus ' ' (English Hymnal 218), "How sweet the name, of Jesus." As the procession passed through the streets, hymns were sung, the. thousands . m the crowd joining m, especially m "Ye who own" and '.'For all the Saints." One thousand nine hundred and seventyTsix clergy attended the Congress, including 39 bishops ; 4251 beneficed clergy sent messages of sympathy with the objects of the Congress. .