Waiapu Church Gazette. FEBRUARY, 1940. GENERAL SYNOD

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume 30, Issue 12, 1 February 1940, Page 4

Waiapu Church Gazette. FEBRUARY, 1940. GENERAL SYNOD

For the first time since 1913 General Synod will meet m Neison, this month. This has been an unusually long interval, for as a rule the Synod visits all the Dioceses m rotation, but it has chanced that Nelson missed its turn some time ago. It is curious to look back at the changes that have taken place m the Church m the last twenty-seven years. The whole of the Episcopal bench has changed, m some cases two or three times over. The present Archbishop was there as Bishop of Waiapu, and the junior bishop of the bench. Bishop Sprott still lives m retirement, but all the other Bishops of 1913 have passed out of this life. This diocese was represented by Archdeacons Chatterton, Ruddock and Herbert Williams of the clergy, Messrs Andrews, Fielder, Sheath, and Tanner of the laity. All are gone, and there will not be six members of the 1913 Synod present this year at Nelson. Normally General Synod meets once m three years and most people think that enough, though three years ago at Hamilton some enthusiastic spirits suggested an annual meeting, though others shuddered and thought once m ten years would be more than sufficient. There is usually a fair but not an enormous amount of business to be done. Of course a great deal of time is wasted, but that is the common fault of all deliberative and legislative assemblies, not by any means excepting parliament. The appointment of a new Primate is one thing to be done at this Synod, and it is curious that the retiring Archbishop will be at the opening, .though of course he can have no part m the election of his successor. The

manlier of it is this. When General Synod decides to proceed to an election, the Bishops, meeting privately, elect by ballot one of their own number. The name is then communicated to the clerical and lay members sitting m separate chambers with closed doors. If both chambers, voting by ballot, confirm the choice of the Bishops, then that bishop becomes Primate. If there is no agreement, the whole procedure is repeated, and if that too fails, then the Senior Bishop becomes acting-Primate. It would be interesting but futile to speculate on the result on this occasion. There are five possible choices, as two sees are vacant (Auckland and Nelson).. But there is a further complication this time, because it is most .probable that before the election the question of making the Primacy fixed to a certain see will come tip for settlement. Wellington seems the obvious choice if one is to be made at all. There was much agitation on the subject about twenty years ago, but the proposal collapsed because no one could see how to safeguard the interests of both the Province of New Zealand and the Diocese of Wellington. And, be it whispered, jealousies between the different cities were not , yet dead. In most countries the Primacy is fixed, m England, Canterbury and York; m Ireland, Armagh and Dublin; m Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. But it is not always the case. That very vigorous little body, the Episcopal Church of Scotland has no Archbishop, but one of the Bishops, who may belong to any see, is chosen to be Primus The provinces of the West Indies follow the same plan as New Zealand. .

Our own way works well enough, and it is not easy to see very much gain m making a change. It hasbeen suggested that the Church is lacking m leadership, but it is hard to see that there would be any better leadership necessarily from an Archbishop fixed m Wellington than from an Archbishop who may be m Napier or Dunedin or elsewhere. perhaps the real need of the Church is not so much leadership as (to coin a word) followership. Howmany people are ready to follow a lead when they get it? And to ask another question, how many readers of this article could name the representatives of this Diocese at the coming General Synod?