GENERAL SYNOD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 April 1940, Page 8

GENERAL SYNOD

“WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY." BISHOP OF WAIKATO'S VIEWS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) HAMILTON, March 30. “Apart, from the election of the Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand. and from the pleasant greetings we had in Nelson and the opportunity of meeting one another between meetings, General Synod was a dull affair,” states the Bishop of Waikato, the Rt Rev. C. A. Cherrington, in his letter to parishioners in the latest issue of the Diocesan Magazine.--Nothing of note was accomplished and several members of Synod were profoundly disappointed. A waste of time and an appalling' waste of money, General Synod seems to be a worn-out system of Church Government and needs to be reformed in toto. This feeling of dissatisfaction was fairly general, and if it persists it may lead to something good. “It is self-complacency that retards progress and there was little evidence of that at Nelson. “The Bishop of Christchurch was duly chosen to be Primate and Archbishop of New Zealand. This was what everyone who knew anything about things expected. Both you and I wish his Grace all help during his occupation of this important office. “Now that the election has taken place, one may be permitted to make a few remarks about the office of Archbishop. Many other people have already done this, not always in the best informed way. “What is an archbishop For convenience, dioceses from time to time form themselves into a province, so that the bishops by mutual counsel may be helped in the work in their dioceses. The archbishop is chairman of such episcopal meetings. He is ■primus ' inter pares.’ An archbishop cannot and does not interfere with the episcopal work of any See. He does not even visit a diocese without invitation. When he wishes to put forth anything in the name of the church, he does so in consultation with other bishops. This applies to special prayers. special Sundays, special messages. “It is well for church people to be informed on such matters, for quite a number of people suppose that an archbishop resembles a Pope or a school inspector, or a G.O.C. of an Army Corps. The last thing in the world that the retiring archbishop ever thought of doing was to encroach on the rights or dignity of another diocese. I can say this wholeheartedly, as it has been my experience during the last 14 years, even though Waikato is a daughter See of the Diocese of Auckland.”