The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-14 00:00:00

The Bristol Church Congress.

COLLEGIATE CHURCHES.
On Wednesday morning two sections again sat, as on
Tuesday, at the Victoria Rooms, one being presided over by
the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, and the other by the
Archdeacon of Bristol.
Mr BERESFORD HOPE road a paper on Collegiate Churches
in Great Towns.— This was the age in mercantile concerns of
co operation and limited liability, and ho proposed to apply
the principle in a manner to the maintenance of collegiate
churches. The early Church thoroughly understood the co-
operative centralised agency, and worked step by step that
complex system of mediteval dominion which went on ad-
vancing until it broke down at the Reformation, through
the very minuteness of its organisation, to pass over other
reasons. The Reformation left England with the organisation
of collegiate bodies entirely submerged, with a few excep-
tions. No one would now dream of rcs'oring monastic in-
stitutions in England— (hear, hear) ; but on the other hand,
collegiate churches and institutions founded on the Reformed
Church of England might be employed as antidotes to that
seething vice and identity of our towns, in the same way as
a company with limited liability. As to details, he thought
towns should be divided into portions of 2,0'30 to 3,003 po-
pulation, and collegiate districts should be formed embrac-
ing a population of about 8,000 each, The larger parishes
would thus be served by a body of clergy organised on the
collegiate principle, and thus hare a central church, ar
ranged far more with free sittings, and subservient chapels,
permanent or temporary, consecrated or licensed, and
either exclusively used far worship or for schools and
lectures. A special advantage of the system might be
summed np in the phrase " centralise.' ion of power," After
giving his idea of the limit of the collegiate stipends, he
acid he had no wish to use the collegiate system as a lever
to revive celibacy. (Hear, hear.)
Papers were then read by Mr ...,..RNOTT and Mr CLABON
on the organisation and action of parishes in defence of the
Church.
Archdeacon DENISON did not think Mr Clabon's propo-
sal practicable. He had scme experience of country pa-
rishes. In many of them when the parishioners had finished
their milking and cheesemaking, they liked to sit down and
smoke their pipes and drink cider until it was time to go
milking again. (A. laugh,) How many of them could be got
when they had finished their milking to go into the vestry
and begin agitating for Church defence ? (Elear.) In his
parish there were few people who would not do anything he
asked of them, but he was afraid if he proposed to them to
form themselves into a committee, they would ask him to be
chairman, secretary, treasurer, and in fact the whole com-
mittee. (Laughter.)
Lord LYTTELTON expressed his concurrence in the view
taken by Archdeacon Denison.
Canon TRuvoit, in a humorous speech, approved of Mr
Hope's suggestion.
APPEARANCE Op BROTHER IGNATIPS.
At this stage a a mewh at exciting incident took place.
The PRESIDENT (the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol

announced that the Rev. Mr Lyne would speak next on
this question.
The so-called " Brother Ignatius" presented himself on
the platform, clad in his peculiar costume—costume of the
Benedictine mode), and resembling more nearly than any-
thing else a rough:lnverness cape many sizes too large, with
sleeves and hood--his head completely shaven, with the
exception,d a narrow ring. Ile was greeted with a storm
of disapprobation such as one would hardly have believed
clerical throats to be capable of, though at the same time
there was a large minority which cried out to give him a fair
hearing, The ladies certainly did not join in the hisses and
crice, but many of them were conspicuously vehement in
waving him away, and in encouraging their male friends to
compel him to silence. Mr Lyne faced the storm bravely
for several minutes, but finding it impossible after one or
two attempts to make his voice heard, eat doWn in a chair
which Lord Lyttelton vacated for him; and
The PRESIDENT, who for some time had been vainly
endeavouring to calm the storm, when silence was thus
restored, said—l hope you will listen to the counsel of your
president. A member of the congress—a Clergyman of the
Church of England—has sent in his name to speak. Let us
show that we are Christian men; let us hear what he has
to say in a Christian spirit. I am sure that we shall dO
wisely, and respect ourselves in so doing. lam certain
also, though I have never had the pleasure of seeing him
before, that Mr Lyne will only say what is proper and cont•
formable to an occasion like the present. Let us be large-
hearted, whatever we are. (Cheers.)
Mr LYNE, who speaks with considerable energy and
fervour, and with the graceful action of a consummate
actor, then stood forward and said :—Fellow countrymen
and fellow-Churchmen,—l appeal to you to give me a few
moments' audience, and I hope, with the help of Almighty
God, that I shall not abuse your indulgence. The aubk ct
under consideration ie, how our national Church of England
can bo enabled to reach the heathen masses of our home
population. I have laboured in some of the worst districts
among the most degraded masses of our home heathen, 1
have seen as much misery as most of my fellow clergymen
have seen, and the mor stem the more I feel convinced that
our present parochial sy cannot grapple with the fearful
misery around us. It our present church system is unable
to grapple with these Oils, the question is, how is she to be
put into a poeition ti do it t Bir the eeiabliShrnent of col-
legiate churches in our large towns. In this I feel a solemn
and,deep interest. I do not wish to stand before you to con-
tend spa Imnaex, to bring before you anything which may bo
obnoxious—anything which mare he eonsiilered of a party
character. All I long for is, that our Mother Church of
England should be the. mother of the people and the
nurse of the siik and spiritually dead. (Appian„.) The
question is, how ? It is of no use our meeting together lie
large numbers, either in congresses or other assemblies, if
we only deal with the theatrical part of the question. We
must be tap
and doing, for sotils perishing. This Bristol
Congress
establishing some such bodies of
men,
They
by
yies such as our Churchof England
sho
mustd b ebge
oan sanction as ecriptura. (Hear.) Suppose we got toge-
ther a certain number of men devoted heart and soul to the
service of God; it would be impossible that such men could
go without rules. Rules must be laid down, which those
men would faithfully- agree to submit to, If rules are to be
aid down, where shall we find them? If you will look for
yourselves into the rules of St. Benedict—(loud cries
of disapprobation)--I am sure those who cry "Oh I"
!,annot have read for themselves you will find
that the essence of that rule is the lovo of Jesus for
Llhneelf and the leeo cf cur fetilow-uren for His eeke. No