The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-09 00:00:00

" INTRODUCTION.

" We, bishops of Christ's Holy Catholic Church,
in visible communion with the united Church of
England and Ireland, professing the faith delivered
to us in Holy Scripture, maintained by the Primitive
Church and by the fathers of the English Reforma-
tion, now assembled, by the good providence of God
at the archiepiscopal palace of Lambeth, under the
presidency of the Primate of all England, desire—
first, to give hearty thanks to Almighty God for
having thus brought us together for common coun-
sels and united worship ; secondly, we desire to ex-
press the deep sorrow with which we view the divided
condition of the flock of Christ throughout the
world, ardently longing for the fulfilment of the
prayer of our Lord, 'That all may be one, as Thou,
Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may
be one in us, that the world may believe that Thou
has sent Me ;' and, lastly, we do here solemnly re-
cord our conviction that unity will be most effectu-
ally promoted by maintaining the faith in its purity
and integrity—as taught in the Holy Scriptures,
held by the Primitive Church, summed up in the
Creeds, and affirmed by the undisputed General
Councils—and by drawing each of us closer to our
common Lord, by giving ourselves to much prayer
and intercession, by the cultivation of a spirit of
eharity, and a love of the Lord's appearing.
" Resolution I.—"fhat it appears to us expedient
for the purpose of maintaining brotherly intercom-
mullion, that all cases of establishment of new sees,
and appointment of new bishops, be notified to all
archbishops and metropolitans, and all presiding
bishops of the Anglican Communion.'
" Resolution That, having regard to the
conditions under which intercommunion between
members of the Church pa.ssing from one distant
diocese to another may be duly maintained, we
hereby declare it desirable-1, that forms of Letters
Commendatory on behalf of clergymen visiting
other dioceses be drawn up and agreed upon ; 2,
that forms of Letters Commendatory for lay mem-
bers of the Church be in like manner prepared ; 3,
that his Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury
be pleased to undertake the preparation of. such
forms.'

" Resolution III.—" That a committee be ap-
pointed to draw up a Pastoral Address to all mem-
bers of the Church of Christ in communion with the
Anglican branch of the Church Catholic, to be
agreed upon by the assembled Bishops, and to be
published as soon as possible after the sitting of the
Conference.'

" Resolution IV.—' That, in the opinion of this
Conference, unity in faith and discipline will be best
maintained among the several branches of the
Anglican Communion by due and canonical subor-
dination of the Synods of the several branches to the
higher authority of a Synod or Synods above them.'

"Resolution V. That a committee of seven
members (with power to add to their number, and
to obtain the assistance of men learned in ecclesias-
tical and canon law) be appointed to inquire into
and report upon the subject of the relations and
functions of such Synod; and that such report be
forwarded to his Grace the Lord Archbishop of
Canterbury, with a request that, if possible, it may
be communicated to any adjourned meeting of this
Conference.'

" Resolution Vl.—' That, in the judgment of the
Bishops now assembled, the whole Anglican Com-
munion is deeply injured by the present condition
of the Church in Natal ; and that a committee be
now appointed at this general meeting to report on
the best mode by which the Church may be de-
livered from the continuance of this scandal, and
the true faith maintained. That such Report be
forwarded to his Grace the Lord Archbishop of
Canterbury, with the request that he will be pleased
to transmit the same to all the Bishops of the
Anglican Communion, and to ask for their judg-
ment thereupon.'
" Resolution VII.--' That we who are here pre-
sent do acquiesce in the Resolution of the Convoca-
tion of Canterbury, passed on June 29, 1866, re-
lating to the diocess of Natal, to wit—
, " If it be decided that a new Bishop should be
consecrated,--As to the proper steps to be taken by
the members of the Church in the province of Natal
for obtaining a new Bishop, it is the opinion of this
House—first, that a formal instrument, declaratory
of the doctrine and discipline of the Church of South
Africa, should be prepared, which every Bishop,
priest, and deacon to be appointed to office should
be required to subscribe ; secondly, that a godly and
well-learned man should be chosen by the clergy,
with the assent of the lay communicants of the
Church ; and, thirdly, that he should be presented
for consecration, either to the Archbishop of Can-
terbury—if the aforesaid instrument should declare
the doctrine and discipline of Christ as received by
the United Church of England and Ireland—or to
the Bishops of the Church of South Africa—accord-
ing as hereafter may be judged to be most advisable
and convenient.'

" Resolution VIII.--' That, in order to the bind.
ing of the Churches of our Colonial Empire and the
missionary churches beyond them in the closest
union with the Mother Church, it is necessary that
they receive and maintain without alteration the
standards of faith and doctrine as now in use in
that Church. That nevertheless each province should
have the right to make such adaptations and addi-
tions to the services of the Church as its peculiar
circumstances may require, provided that no
change or addition be made inconsistent with the
spirit and principles of the Book of Common Prayer,
and that all such changes be liable to revision by any
Synod of the Anglican Communion in which the
said province shall be represented.'
" Resolution IX.—That the committee appointed

by Resolution V., with the addition of the names of
the Bishops of London, St. David's, and Oxford,
and all the colonial bishops, be instructed to consider
the constitution of a voluntary spiritual tribunal, to
which questions of doctrine maybe carried by appeal
from the tribunals for the exercise of discipline in
each province of the colonial Church, and that their
report be forwarded to his Grace the Lord Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, who is requested to commu-
nicate it to an adjourned meeting of this Conference.'
" Resolution X.—, That the Resolutions submit-
ted to this Conference relative to the discipline to be
exercised by Metropolitans, the Court of Metropoli-
tans, the scheme for conducting the election of
Bishops when not otherwise provided for, the decla.
ration of submission to the regulation of Synods,
and the question of what legislation should be pro-
posed for the colonial Churches be referred to the
committee specified in the preceding Resolution.'
"Resolution Xl.—`That a special committee be
appointed to consider the Resolutions relative to
the notification of proposed missionary bishoprics,
and the subordinates of missionaries.'
" Resolution That the question of the
bounds of the jurisdiction of different Bishops, when
any question may have arisen in regard to them, the
question as to the obedience of chaplains of the
United Church of England and Ireland on the con-
tinent, and the Resolution submitted to the Con-
ference relative to their return and admission into
home dioceses, be referred to the committee speci-
fied in the preceding Resolution.'
" Resolution That we desire to render our
hearty thanls to Almighty God for His blessings
vouchsafed to us in and by this Conference ; and we
desire to express our hope that this our meeting
may hereafter be followed by other meetings to be
conducted in the same spirit of brotherly love.'
" After a resolution of hearty thanks to his Grace
the Archbishop of Canterbury, for having convened
the Conference, and for having presided at it, the
Archbishop solemnly offered up the prayer for the
Church militant. The ' Gloria in Excelsis' was
then sung by the assembled Bishops; his Grace the
President pronounced the benediction, and the pre-
sent session of the Conference came to its close."