ECCLESIASTICAL.

Southland Times, Issue 867, 18 December 1867, Page 3

ECCLESIASTICAL.

We have been requested to publish the following address, which was read last Sunday, at St. John's Church, Invercargill, by the desire of the Bishop of Christchurch : — To the faithful in Christ Jesus, the Priests and Deacons, and the lay members of the Church of Christ in Commuuion with the Anglican branch of the Church Catholic. We, the undersigned bishops, gathered under the good providence of G-od for prayer and conference at Lambeth, pray for you that ye may obtain grace, mercy, and peace from God our Pather, and from the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. We give thanks to God, brethren beloved, for the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love towards the saints, which has abounded - amongst you ; and for the knowledge of Christ which, through you, has been spread abroad amongst the most vigourous races of the earth. And with one mouth we make our supplications to. G-od even the Pather, that by the power of the Holy G-host He would strengthen \ us with His might, to amend amongst us the things which are amiss, to supply the things which are lacking, and to reach forth unto higher measures of love and zeal in worshipping Him, and in making known His name ; and we pray that in His good time He would give back unto His whole church the blessed gift of unity in truth. And now we exhort you in love that ye keep whole and undefined the faith once delivered to the saints, as ye have received it of the Lord Jesus. We entreat you to watch and pray, and to strive heartily with us against the frauds and subtleties wherewith the faith hath been aforetime, and is now assailed. ~We beseech you to hold fast as the sure "Word of God all the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and that, by diligent study of these oracles of G-od, praying in the Holy G-host, ye seek to know more of the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, whom they reveal unto us, and of the will of G-od which they declare. Purthermore, we entreat you to guard yourselves and yours against the growing superstitions and additions with which in these latter days the truth of G-od hath been overlaid ; as otherwise, so especially by the pretensions to universal sovereignty over G-od's heritage asserted for the see of Eome, and by the practical exaltation of the blessed Virgin Mary as mediator in place of her divine Son, and by the addressing of prayers to her as intercessor between G-od and man. Of such beware, we beseech you, knowing that the jealous God givetb not his honour to another. Build yourselves up, therefore, beloved in your most holy faith ; grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Shew forth before all men by your faith, self-denial, purity, and godly conversation, as well as by your labours for the people amongst whom Grod hath so widely spread you, and by the setting forth of His G-ospel to the unbeliever and the heathen, that ye are indeed the servants of Him who died for us to reconcile His Pather to us, and to be a sacrifice for the sins ofthe whole world. Brethren beloved, with one voice we warn you ; the time is short ; the Lord cometh , watch and be sober. Abide steadfast in the communion of saints, wherein God has granted you a place. Seek in faith for oneness with Christ in the blessed sacrament of His body and blood. Hold fast the creeds, and the pure worship and order, wliich of God's grace ye have inherited from the primitive church. Beware of causing divisions contrary to the doctrine ye have received. Pray and seek for unity amongst yourselves, and amongst all the faithful in Christ Jesus, and the good Lord make you perfect and keep your bodies, souls, and spirits until the coming ofthe Lord Jesus Christ.