New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-05-15
THE ENGLISH CHURCH.
RENEWAL OF THE AGITATION AGAINsr
RITUALISM-DECLIN IN THE POWER
OF PREACHING.

London April IL
There are many signs Of q renewal Of tha
irrepressible conflict over details Of ritual In Tie
English Church The Lambeth Judgment
which was Archbishop Benson's chief title 70
fame as a statesmanke primate, legalzed nexi-
biIity in the order Of the communion service
and committed bishops to the policy Of toler.
ance and naction in dealing with extremists
and Zealots. great expansion Of ritual In ths
English Church has been the practical conse-
quence OF that decision When the Bishop Of
London was recently asked to interdct certain
practices in an advanced church, he remarked
that verybody was at liberty to attend services
which he might like best. The evangelical
leaders contend that discipline and order are
now at an end in the English Church, since any
and every departure from the established ritual
Is tolerated and cOndOned, and bishops instead
OF enforcing obedience advise protesting lay.
men to patronize the kind Of service which b
most congcnial to them, and to leave other pee-
pie free to do likewise. They rldicue the neA
that the voluntary principle can be set up b
an Established Church. which is under oblsa-
lions to obey the law and not to abuse liberties
conferred and regulated by statutes.
There has been an exciting election this veek
In the parish of st. Marks. Marylebone, whess
the churchwarden Mr. Bishop, has been invok-
ing the law against the Rtualistic vicar. tn
churchwardcn was reelected after sharp anA
acrimonious struggle between two factions IN
wears address was entirely in line with thA
Bishop OF London's advice. II the services y
ST. Marks he replied did not please the warden
and his friends they ought 10 go 10 some oth@
church where affairs we're 10 their liking n
any event. he added. parochialism In IL
metropolis was dead and it was useless to ~
tempt to put fresh life into it. and for his pUa
he should conduct the services without refer
ence to the views OF the churchwarden. IN
Lambeth Judgment and the Bishop 81 Londou1
practical commentary upon 1t were revealed b
this assertion OF independence on the part Of
the vicar The order o! services vas entirely q
his discretion. and those who did not Ike tn
ritual could go 10 some other church whore they
would be pleased I
The Wears assumption respecting his oWn
discretion was not illogical. since for -four
months he had been allowed to violate an ord0
Of the London Consstory Court. He had intro
duced books OF devotion containing Hal
May" and other hymns and services peculiar
to the Roman communion; and he had erected
a large crucihx over the entrance TO the chan
eel and n sercs Of Stations Of the Cross around
the church lie had been ordered by the Con
sistory to remove these Illegal books and orna-
ments. but had not done so until second ap-
plication was made after the lapse OF -four
months Even in that instance he was neithS
nned nor reprimanded FOR disregarding direct
summons: and he would no, have been SUB
jected TO any pressure whatever If the com'
plainAnt had not been the churchw&iden. WIZ
Z recognized local right OF interference.
A sEIF-APPOINTED CHAMPION.
This Is proved by the experience OF Mr. JON.
Ksnstt who has assumed with moro zeal INN
discretion the championship of Protestant IN
tercsts In the Church OF England He attendd
At ST. Marks, Marylebone a Passion Week SCI
vice known as "Tencbre." and protested again2
II AZ Illegal. calling upon the Bishop ~ Roches-
ter to prohibit II. Bishop Talbot replied thaa
he could not accept any suggestion OF nterfer>