CHURCH REUNION

Hokitika Guardian, 11 October 1929, Page 5

CHURCH REUNION

PROGRESS OF MOVEMENT. RCHBISHOP AVERILL’S ADDRESS AUCKLAND, Oct. 9. “If the reunion of Christendom was the great question at the Lambeth Conference in 1920, it will certainly be the greatest of all questions at the Lambeth Conference of 1930, and the decisions of that Conference will be fraught w'ith tremendous consequences to the future, not only of the Anglican Church, but also of the whole Church of God.”

In these words, . Archbishop Averill prefaced his remarks on the question of Church reunion in the first part of his charge to the Auckland Diocesan Synod in St Mary’s Cathedral tonight. The appeal made for reunion at the last Lambeth Conference was one of the most Christ-like things that the Anglican Church had ever done, the Archbishop said. It, was a refusal to bei bound by old fettered and even . by old ideals. “The fact that the appeal has not met with fhe response from Christian people that one might have expected in : no way detracts from the willingness of Church of England to sacrifice much that is dear to her for the sake • of unity, and has surely paved the way ? for a still greater effort to prove,her j willingness and fitness to be the bridge ■ Church in bringing about fulfilment of i the prayer, “ut unern sint,” he said, j “The truth of the matter is that the ; rank and file of Christian people Have < not realised the sinfulness of divisions { in the body of Christ and therefore ,i have no real passion for unity." It seemed almost paradoxical that whereas there was a movement for closer fellowship and goodwill among the people of the world to-day; the efforts of the Church in the same direction were so feeble that there was widespread distrust of organised religion “The Church needs the,vision to see that our unhappy divisions are hiding the Christ from the eyes of the world and putting a stumbling block in the way of His working and mission to-day.” his Grace added. “We talk about unity,' and is hot the time overdue for really working for unity, instead of spending so much time and in discovering obstacles? Fortunately, I think the. question of reunion is ceasing to be an academic one, in the mission field at any rate, and the movement toward indigenous selfgoverning churches which was strongly supported by the last Lambeth Conference, is now a question of vital importance for the progress of the Church. yVhy should yourtg Native churches be hampered in their development by the divisive spirit of sectarianism 5” Intheory no oile could • defend the perpetuating of schisms in the mission field. In Great Britain reunion was desired academically and without passion; ;biit in’ Persia India, China, elsewhere the issue was one of vital and immediate importance. It was quite certain that union among the great majority of non-episcopal bodies would come within the next decade, perhaps. The most momentous discussion at the next Lambeth Conference would centre round the South Indian scheme for reunion. Negotiations had commenced in 1919 with the object of formulating' a scheme for reunion in South India to embrace practically all the main missionary activities outside those of the Roman Catholic Communion. According to the last report of the negotiating bodies held at Madras this year the Government of such a united Church would be constitutional episcopacy, the appointment of bishops being by election. It was laid down that while episcopacy with all its legitimate functions would be without any reservation, it would be understood that no particular interpretation of the fact of the historic Eniseopate was implied. In other words, the United Church would be as broad on the point as the Church of England to-day.