The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-01-07 00:00:00

THE ENGLISH CHURCH UNION IN
GOMEL

The following ham been addressed, by the Rector of
West Compton, to the branch of the EnglA Church
Union, formed at YctintniVer and Frome Vauehurch,
and is well worthy of attention. We should may that
the article entitled " Serum and Nat.]," which appears
in the third sage, was written before we received Yr.
Flolthis communication :

To Me Vonnialre of the Yelmiattre nod Proust
Vuuchurch Branch, llupliM Church Union.
Gentle:init.—You have 1et...1y favoured me with a
copy of • sermon preachxd before your branch of the
English Church Union ; and I suppose that, by printing
and circulating that sermon, you endorse the principles
contained in it, as fairly representing yours, and those
of the English Church Union generally. By sending the
sermon to me you seem to have invited the expression
of my opinion on the sentiments contained in it. Allow
me then to enumerate cane of the points in which I
agree with you, and some of those on which as yet we
differ.
I. The motto inicribed on the title page, "Love the
truth and peace," has my most cordial assent. In its
scriptural sartinereed order I adopt it e.r alliNIO. And
if! may venture to answer for my Evangelical brethren,
I dorm' not that every one would acknowledge it to be
7r worthy to be eng yen on the table of his heart.
2. Your ser n informs us that the Roman Breviary-
inverts the or rof the woe& and use., "PaCCIII er'
neritatenx dilio ,"and the sermon, adopting the Rojsh.
tie
order. actual invites the hearers and readers, as
individuals, give the truth a secpnitary place, dealer,
ing that it is as if God should say " Love pence first,"
(The nail% are In the sermon.) You invite no to give
up our cm iciences into the keeping of some eominunity
called by cpu the Catholic Chureti, though evidently
not that Cixfarch defined in our Igth Article, and to sub.
irdinate trdtth to nesee. This is the ehiel point in the
sermon, and seems to wne, as it evidently does to you, to
represent correctly a distinguishing meet et the English
fher alcumenical Councils may lay down,
who refu
Chinch Union. It has not my assent, sod I most
caroestly vise you to give up the Boman Breviary,
and retti to Vie simple uninverted truth.
3. Th preachsr aricerts (page 5) that the Catholics
Church n
dogmata of the faith, and may anathematise all those
ti re to accept them, "because she known that sly.
of the? st Article of the Church of England, to 4iab
the prehicher has declared his assent, and by virtue of
ii infalli de." This I hold to be • direct coutradiano';
that Minot gained and still holds his kaition
in Übe Church of England. To deny what
he 'once affirmed, and retain the oflsol which
he ' gained by the affirmation,
ictii his theory of wohordinating the trutk to .......
Bs this does wit approve Itself to my.
n do I think that the bishop is honoured by . .1;-,,,t;7_
mew who tepudiates the articles of his church audio
dilweesatt, which I undentand the preacher to do in tin,
so doing claims the sympathy and supports+T4oo, of his
. The preacher goos on to speak of "The heavy-
pression of Parliamentary governmerit.” "Th. „,..„._
.nil injury of heretics forced upon us by ~.""..Z
court.," "The oppressive tyranny ~1 the state.. and.
to say that "The church is determi-P"'iiament," and much
.ced to have her faith.
. ith these complaints
of the government of our chtir,3h and country / b...
and
p
re‘foifacthi
not the slightest syinpathr. I should be sorry to see
efine....nodtiacrihvertlioty.
sk,
the temporal courts give nlne to miscsllcd spiritual'
warts. I should be ~.5, sorry to see trial by juty
give place to the inqui or Acta of Parliamentg6it
i.
iddeo by Conroe...on, sad Allocutions of a foreign
prelate, even jibe
"°'llld be at once a kingly father an,!
a faithful son." d _

OrP.7"inn

-
nainelv. that Coiyoottioo •ood, to be tthamed,
5. On anothei point I agree with the preaches.
6. Ido notagree with the preacher in him opinion
that .n SPP'.I to the Prayer Book by the Evangelical
me.lbe" ' the Church was a mistake. if by thee
PIAPr° 801 he means the "Roman Breviary, ' Pam.
not .warn that low Churchmen ever appealed to it ;;
but if h° ovum the Rook of Common Prayer, the user.•
!ion tha the appeal to it woo a rash and fatal mistake,
Fmnatent enough with the subordinate gositior.i
reccenmends to be asaigned to "truth."
I agree with you in she opinion that it is very de-
fable that the "separate bodies of Nonceonformiets".
should be reunited to the Church of England. But I
neither hope nor fear that you will ever pet-made them
te give up their eonsciencies to the keeping of your so-
called Catholic Church, or to degrade truth from the
place appointed to it in tire Bible, to the position assigned
to it in the Roman Breviary.
it. I observe that the preaeher recommendu that the
Wesleyan, should be gained over by the adoption of •
barge portion of their system, and so bought in; but
he does not tell us how the reabsorption of the other
Nonconformists is to be accomplished. It may, for
ought that appears, be the rack on one side, the stake
on the other, and Armstrong gems and bayonets behind.
It is time that all Nonconformists should see that the
tenets put forth by the English Courch Union are not
no touch those of a party in the Church of England. as
of the common enemy corning in behind a mask. I fully
admit that that enemy has already made an alarming
progrea, and that our litetties, both civil and religiose!,
are endangered. I trust that all orthodox Churchmen,
and Nonconformist, will unitedly support the Earl 01.
Shaftesbury and the Church Association in their efforts
to stop the progress of the common enemy.
The 'sermon which you have sent me is so calculated
to show the real object of your "Union," that I can
with truth thank you for it. I hope that some of your
own body may have their eyes opened to see the nature
of the principles which you have adopted, so as to
abandon them and return to the system in which
"Truth" holds its Scriptural position in evi ry member,
and in the general body. I can, in conclusion, adopt
the very words of your peva:her, only restoring those
quoted from the Bible to their original and Scriptural
order, /man thane featly, ifo-um atgue ilcriam
elantabo "reritatem ef facto diliote."
Relieve me, Gentlemen, yours very faithfully
sern it CS KONIS.
West Compton, Dorchester, Dee. 30, 1667.