, 1877-08-19
An Energetic Protest Against Danc-
ing for the Benefit Of the
Church, .
General Notes from the Church
at Home and Abroad.
i. Pious SrtiIes for the Wor|diy---
Persona! NeWs-..Services
To-Day.

TIE ANGLICAN DESEDlcT1EE cOMMuSE1Y II;
wALES-FA1uER 1GNATIUs.

TIE ANGLICAN BESEplcTIHE COMMUNITY II
wLEs-FA1uER IGNATIus.
-ae.p |oyk 1iEes.
On one Of the Black Mountains in Monmouth
shire, Wales, few miles from the market
town OF Abcreavyenuy, arc located the frotes
tant Monka Of the Catholic Order Of ST. Bene
dict Their home Is barD4ike tenement, {
stone church, the shrine in which they worship
These two buildings, situate near the ancient
ruins Of Llanthony Priory, supposed to have
been founded by St. David, are occupied by d
peculiar people, who call themselves Protestant
members Of the Order OF St. Benedict. Perse-
cuted, ridlculed, and illuminated at Norwich
and elsewhere, these monks OF the Church OF
England placed themselves far from the busy
hum Of men, and in their new home far up the
mountain side remain, with Father Ignatius,
their Abbot, comparatively undisturbed. The
service in their little church is conducted with
mach pomp and ceremony, aud It would be dif-
6cult for a 1ayman 10 distinguish 1t from the
ritual oi Rome. Candles, incense, vestments,
are layisnly used; the elevation Of the Host is
indulged in; the prayers and psalms are chanted
III Latin, and auricu1ar confession is necessity.
The head Of this order OF Llanthony Benedic-
tines is Father 1gnatius, whose real name is Jo-
scph Lycester Lyme. Born in 1887, he received
bis early education at ST. PauI's School, but,
owing to i'll health, at the age Of Is was sent to
Q private tutor in the country. AT l9 young
Lyme entered as divinity student at Trinity The
olosical College, IN Scotland From the very
outset OF his career he made no secret OF his cx-
treme high Church views, though IN early
life he converted many members Of the Presby-
teriau faith to the communion of the Episcopal
Church. Years passed On, and the idea came TO
him Of the secluded life Of the monk. He be-
gan to read the lives OF the Saints OF the Desert
and the records OF the monks Of old. At the
are Of g. after serious Illness, he took the VOW
and habit OF monk. For while he worked in
tile mission Of st. Georges, in the East: subse-
brethren at C1oydon Rectory, Suffolk, thence re-
moved to Norwich, where they were prosecuted
and charged with all mapner Of misdemcauors,
and and finally took refuge in thei1r present noun
They are saiL to be very poor, and live solely
upon the proceeds Of Father I.1,atius' lectures,
aud tue charity OF certain deyout people in Liy-
erpooI, Brighton, and one OF two other places.
In the course OF the year, Father 1gnatius has
many applications from men of all classes IN life
who desire to be candidates for mopasticis1n.
Hc never encourages any one to become monk.
Is the monks are dead to the world, so must
thuse who desire to join them seek them out
When novice first enters the monastery every
thing is done to disgust him. He is employed
in the most meniai offices. He must scrub and
scour the floors, wash the feet Of the brethren,
and generally become domestic drudge. At
the eud Of six months he is free to leave Most
noviecs do SO, weary Of the work and worn out
BY vigils and fasting IT, however, the appl-
cant still wishes to become monk. he enters
second noyitiatc Of twelve months, during
which period his menial duties are light
cncd. At the expiration OF the year he is
free to return to the world; but II he still
a third period Of twelve months, after which he
Is asked Tor the last time If he is determined to
"liye 1or Jesus cnly." II be Is resolute,
lc formally takes the three VOWS Of poverty.
obedience and chastity. he lies down
upon bier stretched oil the ground. and, cover
cd with pail, hears the funeral service read
over his body. The ceremony concluded. be is
dead to the world. and is then led to the altar:s
aud goes through the marriage service, by which
be is welded to Christ forever.
=. Asked recently how he reconci1ed monastic
lie with the doctrine OF the Church OF England,
which he processes, Father 1gnatius said: 1.-The
question respecting monasticism is not, What
does the world or the age We live tn think Of 1t!
The monastic Or solitary lie has always
existed in the sChurch, and the Christian
religion, By the mouths Of her teachers
and saints, has declared it to be the
highest, holiest, best, and most useful Our
which He spent thirty in seciusiou. hilden, un-
kno*n, among the bills OF Ga'uee. Ouly
ttree did He spend in active life, going about |
doing good The monastic life is divine Chris
tlanity, the secular life is human Christianity.
1or want of a monastery. All men," be con-
nnucd, "are not in love with the nineteenth !
century, the discoveries of modern science and |
tae Development OF human thought give neither
peace nor content-'' In answer to another i
question, the Abbot said: 1--WE do not claim to ]
be part of the Roman Bencdictine order. St. |
benedict is de facto our legislator: We may.
therefore not unrcasonably regard him as our |
PATRON he gave certain rules Of life to the !
monks who came to him for advice and guio" |
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