Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-27 00:00:00

THE CANONS ECCLESIASTICAL

WE allowed our correspondent, A Lover of the
Church and of Freedom, yesterday, to reiterate his
latitudinarian notions about the Canons Ecclesias-
tical ; and the inconsistency, as well as the
heterodoxy, of these notions, is so palpable, that
they can scarcely fail to carry along with them
their own refutation. But there can be so little
satisfaction in arguing with one who, though
professing to be a Churchman, holds so monstrous an
opinion, that a branch of a divine institution, like
the Church of Christ, cannot make its own rules
and regulations unless sanctioned by Parliament !
He asks of the Canons, " How can they be binding
on the consciences of the clergy ?" And he

answers,—" It must be either because of their
innate justice and wisdom, or because of Convoca-
tion having been properly deputed to legislate for
the Church in matters ecclesiastical." Now, to go
no further, the very issue here settles the whole
question against him. The validity of the Canons,
he admits, depends upon the Convocation which
passed them "having been properly deputed to
legislate for the Church in matters ecclesiastical."
Well—and .the Convocation was thus properly de-
puted to legislate. The Convocation, the lawful
legislative Council of the Church of England, was
legally summoned by the King's writ, in 1603, for
the' express purpose of passing a code of canon
laws. That Writ set forth that it gave " full,
free, and lawful liberty, licence, power, and
authority" to the Convocation it summoned,
to " confer, treat, debate, consider, consult,
and agree of and upon such canons, orders,
ordinances, and constitutions, as they should think
necessary, fit, and convenient, for the honour and
service of Almighty God, the good and quiet of
the Church, and the better government thereof, to
be from time to time observed, performed, fulfilled,
and kept by all persons within this realm, as far as
lawfully, being members of the Church." This, we
repeat, was what the Convocation of 1603 was
" properly deputed " to do ; and this it did. And
having done the duty assigned it—having, as the
King's legal Ratification of their work expresses
it, " treated of, concluded, and agreed upon certain
canons, orders, ordinances, and constitutions, to
the end and purpose by us limited and prescribed
unto them, and having thereupon offered and pre-
sented the same unto us, most humbly desiring us
to give our Royal Assent unto their said canons,
orders, ordinances, and constitutions, according to
the form of a certain Statute or Act of Parliament
made in that behalf, in the twenty-fifth year of
the reign of King HENRY the EIGHTH, and by our
said prerogative royal and supreme authority in
causes ecclesiastical, to ratify by our Letters
Patent, under our Great Seal of England, and to
confirm the same,"—the Convocation, we say, hav-
ing thus presented these Canons, thus legally
framed and passed, the King gave the Royal
Assent to the same, as follows :

"We, of our princely inclination and Royal care
for the maintainance of the present estate and
government of the Church of England, by the laws
of this our realm now settled and established,
having diligently, with great contentment and
comfort, read and considered of all these their said
Canons, Orders, Ordinances and Constitutions,
agreed upon, as is before expressed ; and finding
the same such as we are persuaded will be very
profitable, not only to our Clergy, but to the whole
Church of this our kingdom, and to all the true
members of it, if they be well observed ; have there-
fore for us, our heirs, and lawful successors, of our
especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere
motion, given, and by these presents do give, our
according to the form of the said
Statuteß°Ya Assent,or o of Parg4l4ent aforesaid, to all and

every of the said Canons, Orders, Ordinances, and
Constitutions, and to al and everything in them
contained, as they are before written."
Such, then, is the lawful character, such the
legal force, of these Canons Ecclesiastical. They
have no such general authority, of course, as they
would have had under an Act of Parliament ; but
to all the subjects of this realm " being members of
the Church," they are laws of the Church. And
that the Church has the power, and ought to have,
to make such laws for her own members, surely no
one of any just notions, be he Churchman or
Dissenter, can reasonably object,—least of all has
one any right to do so who, like our much mistaken
friend, the Lover of the Church and of Freedom,
has, as a Churchman, signed the Thirty-Nine
Articles, the Twentieth of which declares that,

" The Church hath power to decree rites or cere-
monies, and (even) authority in controversies of
faith,"—let alone to make Canons, or rules, for her
own government and discipline.