BISHOP ENTHRONED

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 573, 3 July 1933, Page 7

BISHOP ENTHRONED

* , skk ok SOUTHWARK A DIGNIFIED AND YERY IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY. A STIRRING ADDRESS. . . Twenty-seven years after his own translation, Bouthwark's first Bishop ip thq jQatbedral sgnctuary. ton Saturday afternoon, watching the enthronement of his third successor in the see, says the Church Times. It was a memoraible scene , on which Bishop1 Talbot's eyes rested, the ceremonial di'gnified and the setting worthy of it, for of late years Southwark Cathedral has increased in beanty as the diocese has increased in population, >and the stone angels of the reredos now smile above a high altar that glows with crimson and gold. The rich vestments and the crimson damask that draped the hase of the sanctuary uiers, eandlelight, and the fugitive sunshine, also made their contribution of colour and warmth. iRichard Godfrey Parsons, Southwark's fourth Bishop, stood before the hight altar in cope and mitre, carrying his pastoral staff. Grouped around him wer.e the Bishop of Kingston, also in cope! and mitre, the Cathedral Chapter in copes of cloth-of-gold, 'and legal dignitaries in wig and gown.; It is customary now to! see the black headdresses and robes of Orthodox priests in English churehes on great occasions, and in .th©4 sanctuary were the great Archinmandrite Qonstaittinides^ reprf5a(enting the •Oecumenical Patriarch, the Russian Bishop in London, Nikolai, and Fr. Khorkov of the Armenian Church. Near them sat the , Bishop of Gibraltar. In his sermon, the Bishop said that the day saw the opening of a new chapter in the history of the diocese, and certainly the scene suggested the magnificent capital letter with which the medieval scribes were wont to begin a new chapter in their transcripts of the Gospels. The various processions had been carefully arranged. In the first, walked the Lords Lieutenant of London and Surrey, the Mayor and Council of Southwark, the mayors. of otber boroughs in the diocese, to their plaees in the front of the nave.. Next, head-

ed by a crucifer, entered representatives of the Catherdal Fellowship, Grey Ladies, lay readers in surplices, deacons and priests and rural deans, filling the south transpet and part of the nave. The hymn, "Blessed City, Hea.venly Salem," was sung, as a third procession, composed of crucifer, choir, banner-bearers, honorary canons and visiting dignatories, made its way through the nave to the choir. The Chapter clergy, and the rector and churchwardens entered by the south choir door, and walked down the nave to meet the Bishop, who waited without the south-west door, which was opened after he had knocked thrice with his staff, and, his petition for admission having been granted, the Chancellor of the diocese read the Archbishop's mandate. The Ceremony. The Bishop knelt at a faldstool in the nave, while th'e sub-dean and the Chapter proceeded to the choir', to the singing of the Psalm Laetatus sum. At its entrance they halted to reeeive the Bishop, who was aecompanied by his chaplains, the Dean of Manchesterj the Archdeacons of Canterbury and Kingston, the Bishop of Kingston, the Chancellor and Registrar, the President of Magdalen College, Oxford, the Master of University College, Oxford, the Vice-Chancellor of Ma\ncheste(ci University, the Precentor of Manchester Cathedral, and the Archdeacons of Manchester and Rockdale. Having petitioned the Chapter to be inductedfi, installed and enthroned, the Bishop took on the Gospels the oath' that he would "well and faithfully rule and govern the Church in this diocese, and as far as .they concern me and are not repugnant to the word of God and the laws of this realm of England, will most firmly observe all the rights and liberties both of the clergy and laity, and in partieular the rights and liberties of this Cathedral Church of St. Saviour, Southwark." The Bishop knelt on the steps of the choir entrance for prayers, then proceeded to the sanctuary,. kneeling again before the high altar, while the Bishop of Kingston prayed that he might worthily and faithfully rule the flock committed to his charge, and as a good shepherd bring them to the pastures of everlasting life. Taking th'e Bishop by the right hand, the Archdeacon of Canterbury led him to his throne on the north side of the sanctuary and placed him therein, afterwards saying a collect ano a, blessing. After the singing of Brahm's anthem, "How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings Fair," the Bishop walked to the entrance of the choir, and the Sub-Dean presented him to the the clergy and the people. ; From the pulpit the Bishop recited the Bidding Prayer which preceded his sermon. Bishop's Address. "We have," he said, "together celehrated a beautiful and signifioant rite, an act of mutual trust and fellowship, whereby ithe Bishop, the clergy and th'e people of the Church of God which sojourneth in Southwark are joine.d together in eommon loyalty and in common service to our Saviour, as long as He shall will. A new chapter opens in the .long history of this ancient and 16vely house of prayer, and of the populous young diocese of which it has become the central heart and shrane. God of His mercy grant that its record may he one of increasdng love and service in the housebold of faith, and to all whom we can help in thle world around us, consecrated by continual benediction from on high." Continuing his address, the Bishop said: "The Church of Christ is engaged in a desperdte struggle with th'e world, the flesh and the devil. > It cannot afford to waste its strength on internal controversy and strife. Greatly as opinions may diff er. among us in the Church of England as to the precise handling of ministries other than that we have ourselves iiihie'rdted, we can all of us agree in hailing them as gallant fellowTfighters with our own, however much some of. them may seem, at times to fight as free lances in the hosts of thje Church militant embattled against the powers of evil.

The cause of Christian reunion is very dear to my heart. Learhed study and corporate effort will do much to further it; but co-operation in work and prayer will do more. As Allies. "But the point I would make is this: that, as. Christians and as Churchmen, we regard them, not as rivals, hut as allies. I hope that there will be increasing co-operation and goodwill between all workers in the sacred cause of human welfare, whether they work in the name of the Church or in the name.of the civil community... But we of the Church must never let it be forgotten that we are inheritors and trustees of something yet m'ore. precious and sublime than happiness and social progress h'ere on earth. We are pilgrims, not of time, but of eternity. From Christ we have received the sec_ ret, not merely of goodwill towards men, of eternal life at peace with God. Of that mystery we are His stewards. Woe beide ns if we are faithless to that trust! "This building in which we are assembled is, in itself, a strdking emblem of the Church's renewal and growth, for it is true to say that never in its long history has it been more beautiful than it is now, never has it been more devoutly or more widely used. For all which we thank God, and take courage. It may well he that in the twentieth' century the Church's special task will be intensive rather than extensive. What the world needs most id that the ideals of the Spirit of Christ shall triumph and inspire all the varied interests and activities of human society. In our own age, as in every age, this can only be done by means of the personal conversion, the deeper and truer discipleship of individual men and women." After a. hymn, prayers, the singing of Te Deum, and the giving of his blessing, the Bishop led the procession of choir and clergy through' the nave •and out of the south-west door into the sunshine, arresting the traffic as it crossed the high road to the Chapter House and the gaze of the casual P'asser-by, for Southwark's workaday throng had deserted its streets and warehouses and markets, and missed the first public appearance of their new Bishop, who w.ent on to the Court Room of Guy Hospital, to be entertained to tea by the Mayor and Mayoress in company with a large number of otber guests..