CHURCH RE-UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 260, 27 October 1908, Page 2

CHURCH RE-UNION.

A STKOiNG APPEAL. By Telegraph.--Press Association. Duni'din, Last Xight. In his address to the Anglican Synod to-aigiil, the Primate (Bishop Neville) made'n strong a>ppeal for the co-operate re-union of Hie Anglican and I'tv&afteriau Churliccs. The Bishop stated there was a movement very observable to-day which was intimately connected with the very life of Christian society, one which had been urgently and mysteriously, yet powerfully and universally, at work for some time within tiae Church herself—a movement toward the union of Christendom. The movement was bursting lorth simultaneously in far distant quarters, and no better .proof of this was needed than the recent Lambeth Conference, which attested "the divine purpose of visible l unity among Christians as a fact of reflation. When Divine Providence opened out for us at some particular' time the opportunity of doing tint which, was manifestly right, our duty was to do that right if possible, and. leave to the Sovereign disposal of events the ultimate issues. The Bishop referred at length to the position of the Russian and Difteh Churches, and | went on to say that the great value of certain negotiations which had recently been carried on in the neighboring colony of Victoria, was that they hafiw pretty clearly Bhown that re-union wajj feasible. All difficulties had not biSn removed but thu admirable spirit which had been hitherto displayed nugureff well for a successful issue. The manner in which resolutions of the conference and the scheme prepared for solemn, formal and public consummation of the proposed union had been received by ilie leading clergy and laity in tire .Presbyterian Church at Punedin had filled him with a hope that the subjects upon which an agreement had already been arrived at between the representatives of Churches were the foundations of the faith, sacraments of salvation, and the authority and grace of Christian ministry. After reviewing the difficulty presented by the fact Hint Anglicans would probably object to having the Holy Eucharist presented to them by clergymen only Presbyterially ordained and his belief that such might be overcome by a clear conception of the Word of God, his Lordship said he believed that were John Knox here today, he would say: "Sirs, ye are brethren, why do ye wrong one to another, weaken the Christian cause and paralyse even tire power of love by remaining apart when united ye might evangelise the world?"