The Globe. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1876.

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 782, 22 December 1876, Page 2

The Globe. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1876.

The Kaiapoi caae has advanced a stage. The verdict of the Court is a lengthy one, and is to the effect that the whole of the with one exception, have been admitted or proved. This verdict is to be forvy ua vlwvl iLw Ppm-Vt —T»y whom it will be decided, whether the ceremonies adopted by Mr. Carlyon and his teaching are contrary to the usages of the Church of England. The caae will, no doubt, be carefully and solemnly enquired into, and judgment given. And when it is given, what then ? Will both parties be satisfied, and rest contented, or will war be continued to the discredit of the Church, and the astonishment of those the Church calls the world ? It is exceedingly difficult for those not trained in that school to realise the state of mind which regards forms and ceremonies of such vast importance, as to be fought over to the death if necessary. Whether this act of worship is only effective when performed in a particular dress, or that religious observance beneficial, if gone through according to certain recognised rules, is puzzling to the uninitiated mind. Yet it appears to us that all the machinery of the Chancellor’s Court, and Bench of Bishops, has to be set in motion in order to ascertain whether Mr. Carlyon is justified in remaining a member of the Church of England, and yet teaching doctrines and ceremonies which we had hoped were things of the past, to us in IS'ew Zealand at least. It does not say much for our boasted advancement or enlightenment, to find our religious guides and teachers in angry debate as to whether certain prayers should be said with the face turned in a particular direction, or whether the bread at the Communion should be made of a certain quality, and given to the communicants only after some empty ceremonies have been gone through over it. We do not question the earnestness of both parties. The ceremonialists, no doubt, believe that religion is with out them, and their opponents are equally sincere. But that does not alter the fact that while they are ng-iting over these matters, and trying to settle them among themselves, they are rapidly losing their hold upon the world at large. Other teachers are gradually taking the place once occupied by the Church of England in this settlement, while its clergymen are squabbling over what we cannot help regarding as matters of very minor moment indeed.