THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AGAINST ROME.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 28, Issue 12, 1 February 1938, Page 3

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AGAINST ROME.

AN IMPORTANT PAMPHLET LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR PAPAL CLAIMS An important pamphlet has been issued entitled, "The Case of the Church of England against Rome," by the Yen. C. P. S. Clarke, Archdeacon of Chichester. It is published by the Press and Publications Board of the Church Assembly, Church House, 2, Little Smith Street, S.W.I. Price 3d., by post 3|d. The keynote of the pamphlet is struck m the opening paragraph: "The Roman Church is untiring m its proselytizing efforts. From the Catholic Truth Society there has issued a stream of controversial tracts aimed for the most part at the Church of England. In them are reiterated statements which we believe to have no foundation m fact, but which,

unless contradicted, may be believed by the< unlearned through their constant repetition." After pointing out that "the keystone of the Roman Faith is Papal autocracy," the pamphlet goes on to survey briefly the evidence of the New Testament and of the Fathers on this subject. It suggests the precariousness of building theology on a single text such as Matthew xvi, 18, 19 ("Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church"), the supposed doctrinal importance of which was apparently unknown to St. Mark and St. Luke. The argument from the Fathers concludes: — "Cyprian thought that nothing was given to Peter which was not given to the other Apostles. Allnatt, the learned Roman Catholic author of Cathedra Peteri, can find no earlier instance than Pope Siricius (A.D. 386) of any writer who claims that the promise was one exclusively to Peter, and that it conferred cm him powers which were to be a permanent endowment of the see of Rome. If the text has to bear the tremendous weight that is placed on it, it is indeed strange that for 350 years no one realised its importance." In summing up this section of the pamphlet the Archdeacon states: — "As against the claims made for Peter, we note that no one of the Apostles was to be called Master; and that all alike were to sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel; that the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem were to be the twelve Apostles of the Lamb, no special position being accorded to Peter. The promise that the Comforter should guide the Church into all truth, was given to you (plural), not to St. Peter alone. In this commission which Our Lord bestowed after the Resurrection He says: 'As My Father hath sent me, even so send I you (plural). . . . Whose soever sins ye (plural) remit they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye (plural) retain, they are remitted." .... "When the Apostles heard of the. conversation of the Samaritans 'They sent unto them Peter and John.' Surely an impossible way to speak of the visit of a sovereign Pontiff. In no single case is Peter treated as

supreme, while m several instances the Apostles are treated as though equal. Moreover, we find that Paul, not Peter, is quite definitely the leading figure among the Apostles m the second half of the Acts. St. Peter, indeed, is rebuked and corrected by St. Paul. We are, therefore, unable to believe that there was m Peter even the embryo of a sovereign pontiff; even if he were, we have no reason to suppose that he transmitted his powers to the Pope. The tradition . that he was Bishop of Rome is derived from the Clementine Homilies, a religious romance dating from well on m the second century A.D." AMBIGUOUS INFALLIBILITY Turning to the claim of Infallibility, it is pointed out that there is nothing about this m the New Testament; that there is no evidence even of the claim before A.D. 325; and that there was no resort to it m the controversy on the date of Easter, or by Athanasius when Pope Liberius signed an heretical confession of faith. The pamphlet continues: — "But for practical purposes it is as though the doctrine had never been defined, as there is no means of knowing for certain when the Pope speaks infallibly. Certain conditions are laid down, but no one can be sure if they have been fulfilled. No one knows for certain if the decree of Infallibility has itself fulfilled all necessary conditions, and was therefore infallible. Pope Leo XIII issued a Bill m 1896 declaring Anglican Orders invalid, but no one knows if it was infallible. ... PERSECUTION. "Again, though none have entirely clean hands m their attitude to persecution, or the use of physical force to promote spiritual ends, official Roman, that is papal, doctrine outrages the conscience as its official doctrine on Biblical criticism does the intellect. Innocent 111 inaugurated the use of fire and sword on the grand scale m his sermon at the enthronement m 1198, when he called upon Christian princes to extirpate the Albigensian heretics. ... The Pope had medals struck to commemorate the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.

; "Now, all this policy of persecution was definitely papal. 'The Popes,' wrote Lord Acton, himself a Roman Catholic (Historical Essays and Studies, p. 505), 'were individually and collectively responsible for persecution m the thirteenth and fourInqnisition. Dealing with the claim for Rome as a bond of unity, the Archdeacon suggests that on the contrary "the bond -of unity m the Church of the New Testament was m the Apostles." He also points out the difficulty which the anti-Popes present for the Papal theory of unity, and the "conspicuous failure" of the Roman theory of unity to preserve m practice the unity of the Church. ENGLISH BREACH WITH ROME. After mentioning the "centuries of protests" which preceded the English breach with Rome, and noting the general acceptance of the Act of Supremacy m 1534 by "Bishops, mitred abbots, monks, secular clergy, and laymen," the Archdeacon concludes: — - . "The Church of England, as we know it, took shape under Queen Elizabeth. Her aim was twofold. First, she was determined that it should be independent of the Pope. Secondly, she wished to preserve the existing Catholic Church m England instead of founding a new Protestant Church on the lines favoured by Continental or Scottish Protestants. The first object was achieved by the Act of Supremacy (1559). This Act gave the sovereign the title of Supreme Governor, upon which Elizabeth insisted, as being less pretentious than the title Supreme Head, which Henry had assumed, as, indeed, had Mary on her accession. Its object was (1) to prevent the Pope from exercising authority over the Church, and (2) to give the sovereign a visitatorial authority, the right, that is, to stir up ecclesiastical authorities to correct abuses, to inaugurate reforms, and to remedy injustice. "Her second aim of keeping the Church Catholic she sought to achieve by the Act of Uniformity, which established the Prayed Book services as the only worship recognised by the State. The Prayer Book was not drawn up by Parliament, but Parliament accepted it as expressing

the religion of the country and penalized those who rejected it, just as Mary had revived an Act of Parliament which prescribed burning alive as the penalty for heresy. The Book of Common Prayer itself is essentially Catholic. It retained the Catholic faith, as expressed m the Creeds, the Sacraments, and to . a great extent the ancient prayers; it also preserved the historic ministry, the greatest possible care being taken over the consecration of Matthew Parker that the chain of apostolic succession should not be broken. "That more of the ancient forms and ceremonies were not retained was due to persecution under Mary, who had caused nearly 300 people to be burnt alive. This had produced a reaction m the Protestant direction, too strong for Elizabeth and the Conservative non-papal Churchmen to' withstand altogether. CONCLUSION. "If as we believe, the Papal claims have no warrant m Scripture, or m early Church history, and have, led to innumerable wars, to bloody persecutions, to the suppression of reasonable freedom of thought and discussion, and to disunity, we must look elsewhere than to Rome for an ultimate spiritual authority and the piecing together of the once seamless robe of Christ."