The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-10-24 00:00:00

PROCEEDINGS OF THE INHIBITED

CLERGYMAN.

The Rev. Mr. Purehas, of Brighton, who bee been
inhibited by the Bishop of Chichester, has resolved to
uersevere in his ritualistic course, and defy his
diocesan, taking his stand upon the fact that he is a
practically beneficed inemnlient, and not a mere
stipendiary curate. A correspondent of The Titers
states that in taking this position he is largely helped
by the anomalous arrangements which prevail in
Brighton, where, though the population has gone on
growing till it has reached a very long way towards
100,000 souls, there is still only iine parish church, to
which all the other places of worship—excepting such as
are geographically included in Hove—stand in the rela-
tion of mere chapels of ease. It is said, however, that at
the next vacancy of the living of Brighton an end will
be put to this state of things, and that the town willbe
divides! into between 20 or 30 benefices, a separate
district being assigned to each of the existing chapels.
Public feeling at Brighton with respect to the
ritualists is very much divided. The great mass of the
community at large is dead against them ; and for the
last week or two the town has been extensively pla-
carded with articles on Mr. Purchas and his proceed-
ings at St. ,James's Chapel. Added to winch, the
council of the Brighton branch of the Church Asso-
ciation have issued placards urging on every elector to
refuse to give a vote to any candidate who will not
pledge himself to do his best to put down ritualism, as
introducing into Brighton the thin end of the wedge of
Popery.
On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Mr.
Parches and his doings are supported by an extensive
and highly-cultivated body if regular attendants at the
churches of St. Paul's, St. Michael's, and St. .James's,
in which the ladies, as usual, largely predominate, and
even the moderate High Church party say that the
doings of the ritualists are only a just Nemesis for the
lax way in which the Evangelicals have tampered with
the Prayer-book and its rubrics.
The eleven o'clock morning service at St. James's
. . .

on Sunday was conducted in the usual manner, that is
the manner usual at that chapel; the altar decorations,
the lights, the flowers, the incense, the processional
cross, the troop of scarlet cassocked acolytes, the little
bell --all these accessories were there, and before the
service commenced there was a grand procession of
banner-bearers and candle carriers, Shlgitig "tile St.
James's Processional Hymn" WI they marched slowly
round the chapel, ill-suited as are its style and plan and
general arrangements to such performances. The prayers
were read, or rather intoned by Messrs. Gwynne and
Purchas, and the minister pronounced the absolution in
a standing pmture. After the "State Prayers" followed
the communion office, the "celebrant". being Mr.
l'urchas, assisted as before, by a deacon and sub-
deacon; and the Ten Commandments were not for-
gotten. The sermon, wa.spreached by Mr. Gwynne, and
was a plain, practical discourse upon St. Luke' whose
festival it was on Sunday. Mr. Gwynne took for his text
the words of St. Paul to the Colossians : " Luke Mr
loved ph ysirian." His sermon contained no allusion to
any of the matters in dispute—a circumstance which,
no doubt, greatly disappointed a very large exingregic-
tion, whom curiosity had attracted to the chapeL
' The only other things that struck the correspondent
as eccentnc were the facts that the epistle 1,76.13 read by
a person who, though be wore a vestment, was not in
orders ; and that some gentlemen who tried to obtain
admission into the chapel were informed that they
could not come in inceso they were seat-holders, as
St. James's was the private property of Mr. Purchas.
In the evening the cCapel was again lit up as before,
and the procession round the chapel was repeated,
while the choir and choristers sang, to a most spirit-
. . .

stirring tune, the Processional Hyilia The ohm' was
incensed as usual at the " Malioniticat," before which a
versicle was inserted: and Mr. Purchas, who appeared
to be labouring under great emotion or from illness, or
from both, preached, taking his text from St. Luke,
xv., 1, "Then drew near the publicans and sinners."
The service was concluded by the collection of the
offertory during the singing of a hymn, after which the
" lte,;.essional Hymn" and the "Te Penni" were
, sling, and the congregation were dismissed with a
blessing.
It was expected that the services of the day would
not pass off without a disturbance ; and, considering
the excitement which prevails on the subject of ritual-
ism throughout the town, it is much to the credit of
the people of Brighton that they offered no serious
maestation to the jocund ant of St. James's, but have
left him to fight the question with his bishop, either in
a court of law or elsewhere.
The crowd in the evening, though immense, was
quite orderly inside the chapel, and there was no oc-
casion for any interference on the part of the police,
who were stationed close at hand; though outside, in
the streets, some roughs began hooting when Mr.
Purchas and his friends left the chapel. Though the
chapel will hold some twelve hundred worshippers, it
is thought that nearly as many persons were turned
away from the doors as those who were fortunate
enough to gain adiniss;ou, and a large and is day crowd
was gathered outside in consequemg. The glove,
however, has been fairly thrown down by Mr. Fur, has,
and it now remains to be seen whether the bishop will
Itivk it up or not. One thing only is certain, and that
is that the matter will not and cannot end here. Either
ritualism is a right thing in the Church of England,
and ought to be left to do its work in its own way,
or else it should be put down by the bishops, and,
if the bishops cannot put it down by legal measures,
their hands ought to be strengthened by additional
powers bestowed on them by the legislature for that
purpose.