The Newtown bee., 1889-09-20
Canon Farrar on the Church.

Presbyterian.
 Cansn Farrar on the Church. In anticipation of the assemblage with in Westminster Abbey of the bishops at tending the Lambeth Conference to be addressed by the Archbishop of Canter- bury, Archdeacon Farrar, preaching on the previous Sunday afternoon, gave ut terance to these timely and courageous sentiments:
 ssLet us remember that the majestic gathering of tomorrow is but the gath ering of the representatives of one com munion of the great Church, of one house hold in the great family, of one fold amid the mighty flock. Far wider and far more majestic and far more irresistible is the total unity of the universal Church. Perish the hand which would circum- scribe by one hair's-breadth the limits or the definition of the Church of Christ; that one flock of the Good Shepherd the other sheep which are not of this fold; perish the narrow superstition that the wind of God, which bloweth where if listeth, and thou nearest the sound there of but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth, can only be conveyed by mechanical transmissions. I, for one. at any rate, refuse to flatter the priestly pride which would sectarianize the cath olicity of the Church of Christ. The Ar ticles which I accepted at my ordination taught me that the visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men wherein the pure word of God is preach ed and the sacraments duly administer ed; and l. for one, even if l were to st,nd alone, would still repudiate and protest against the uncatholic teaching | which would pretend to do what it can not do. by unchurching any who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and in truth. When I speak of the Church in general do not mean this or that com munion, under this or that organization, | but mean in their ten thousand times | ten thousand, and thousands of thous- ands, the whole multitude of the saints of God. When Tertullian said. Where there are three, even though they be lay men, there is the Church, what said he more than repeat the words of Christ, ssWhere two or three are gathered to- l gether in my name. there am l in the midst of them!' Where the world is said Irenaus, there are the churches and it is equally true that where the Spirit is, there is the Church. What. are we not to claim as full and honored members of the Church of Christ, in every possibly true sense of that word. because they were Morayians, those holy missionaries who planted successfully Sweet Sharon's rose
 | On icy plains or in eternal snows" Or Williams, the Apostle of Polynesia and the martyr of Eromanga, because he
 was Dissenter? Dr Cary and others in
 India, because they were Baptists? Or
 Elizabeth Fry, because she was Quak- eress? If there are any who think that
 he who died for all mankind cares mainly
 or chiefly for outward organization, their views of Christ are not such as l learn from him who made keeping the com mandments the essential of entering into the kingdom of Heaven. I say with whitefield, Do they profess repentance
 toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus , Christ? If so, they are my brethren.
 True and unswervingly loyal in my love
 for the Church of England, yet would stand bareheaded before any true saint
 of God; and be he Romanist or Inde-
 pendent or Quaker or Presbyterian. 90
 he be saint of God, desiring ten thous- : and-fold more that may stand with him
 before the throne of Christ, rather than with those who, though they may have
 had Lord, Lord ? or sThe Church. the
 Church!' forever on their lips, and hays
 spent their lives in the endless round oi
 outward ordinances, may yet, Il theiI g lives have been unloving and unworthy hear those awfnl words. Woe unto you
 scribes and Pharisces, hypocrites, and : Depart from me, never knew you. g For it is Christ, and Christ aione-it ii
 not episcopal government, or apostolic
 succession, or ancient ritual. or the or. thodoxy of curiously articulated creed<
 -it is Christ, and Christ only, and the
 innocence which shines in the lives oI
 them that truly believe in him, which has g been the strength of Christianity. With,
 out him, what would the world in gener- al have cared for magnificent ceremon- ies, or imposing hierarchies, or elaborate {. theologies. No. The Church has wou liner splendid victories, Not by might oz
 by power, but by my Spirit. saith the
 Lord of Hosts.