The sun., 1899-08-14

us Doroulede, II anyone. VINO Will disturb the
peaceful acceptance OF the righteous restora-
tion OF justice which the Rennes trial should
accom- pills h In France
Tho decision given by the Archbishops OF
Canterbury and York upon tho questions OF the
ceremonial use OF lights In PROFESSIONS. or
otherwise than stationary on the altar. has
been received on the whole with approval. The
very ground on which the Archbishops based
their decision are such as to make 1t very dlffl-
cult for any member OF the Church OF England
to protest against It. They dlsregarded en-
tirely what might be called the sentimental
point Of view. refusing to enter upon
the question as to whether such ornaments"
OF public worship were in themselves
desirable and helpful or lot. Nor did they en-
ter too ieerly into the vague historical and
antiquarian lore with which such questions
may be so successfully obscured. On the con-
trary. they went straight to tho point as to
whether the two uses In question are enjoinsd
or permitted at the present time by the law OF
tho Church OF England. and it was to the Book
OF Common Prayer that they went with dirsc-
simplicity to settle the question. From this an
authority to which all Church OF England
clergy must subscribe. the archbishops drew
the conclusion that the liturgical use OF incense
and lights in procession is distinctly neither
enjoined nor permitted by the law OF the
Church.
Taking the Book OF Common Prayer as their
basis. the Archbishops naturally considered
first the ornaments rubric. and applied them
selves to its Interpretation. The ornaments
mentioned there are limited to such as are to
be used by the ministers at all times OF their
ministrations." and such as were authorized
by Parliament IN the second year OF Edward
VI" They then quote the act Of 1859. clearly
r@kt - ,.,~N
ordered in the Book. And here OF course. lies
the condemnation OF the ceremonial use OF
incense. Nor is any loophoe left in the inter-
probation OF the word "ministration" as
used above. Examining its meaning the
decision declares that every clergyman is
required by the seth canon to use the
form In the Book OF Common Prayer pre-
scribed and none other. This preventb the in
sertion OF any additional prayer or ceremony
without special authority" And the only
authority for any variation whatever Is either
an Act OF Convocation. legalized when neces-
sary by Parliament. or the order of the Crown.
issued with the advice and consent OF the Met
ropolitan."
Having so far cleared the ground. the de-
csion proceeds to the consideration OF the in
dividual question OF the ceremonial use OF in
cense. While admitting that there seems to
have been certain amount OF conscious. and
still more OF unconscious disobedience." 1t de-
cares that forbidden ceremonies gradually
disappeared" Why the illegal use Of incense
prevailed longer than that OF other irregular
ceremonies is pointed out In the following in
teresting passaRe:
I'm it's application to the use Of incense the
law was obscured by the fact that. side by side
with the liturgical use. another use had always
been common which It was not the intention
of the rulers or OF the Legislature to interfere
with. There was nothing to prevent the use OF
incense for the purpose OF sweetening the at
mosphere OF church wherever and whenever
such sweetening was needed. And instances
OF this use can be found long after the Act OF
Elizabeth and wers produced before US at the
hearing OF the case. But such instances have
no bearing whatever on the lawiulness OF the
iturgical use But they explain why. in the
case OF incense. the law was more slowly un-
derstood because 1t was 80 natural to confuse
the two uses with one another. There are
many instances OF what is called the fumiga-
tory as distinguished from the liturgical. use.
George Herbert used incense to sweeten his
church. There is no liturgical use In this.
| And yet he is very frequently quoted "a one OF
| those who used incense in worship. When all
these instances are struck out. the number OF
| cases In which incense was used in worship Is
| utterly insufficient as evidence to show any
widespread Interpretation OF the law as per-
| hitting the retention OF the old usage In spite
| Of the plain words OF the statute
| The Archbishops next declare that tho
| Church has mover spoken OF incense as an evil
thing" but set forth these chief reasons for the
| authorities OF the Church in early Reformation
| days excluding 1t from public worship. as un-
suited to the needs OF the day. Firstly. there
was felt the need OF greater simplicity. The
| services were too complicated The rule that
| the services should be understanded by the
| people required that they should not only be
in English but that they should not be over
loaded with symbolism. making complete
| understanding difficult.
Secondly. the LiturRical use OF incense was
specially connected with the office for the
Holy Communion in relation to which many
| serious errors had arisen. and the authorities
| had a strong desire to make that whole office
as nearly as 1t could suitably be made. pre-
else repetition OF tho original institution
And. thirdly and lastly. they had the less hes
tation In emitting incense because 1t was GER
tainly not In use in the Church for at least 3O(
years from the Apostolic times To get bacl
to the earlier and purer days OF Christianity. t.
make the primitive Church the model for th'
Church OF England. was certainly part OF the
purpose which our Reformsrs cherished.
would have been a very strong reason 10
keeping incence in use could II shave beel
|
shown that this use dated from Apostoli
times. and had passed directly from the JEWS
to the Christian Ritual. But the history point
cd in quite another direction"
Plain and forcible as was their condemnatio
OF the legality OF the liturgical use OF incense
the Archbishops thought 1t fit to go a littl
outside that particular point in order to roun
Off their general views on the question
1T Is right to observe" they declared. "tha
even now the liturRical use OF incense Is not b
, law permanently excluded from the Church
Ritual. The section in Eizabeth's act whlc
, allows the Crown, with the consent OF tn
, Archbishop OF Canterbury. to order new cere
monies does not forbid the inclusion OF tn
use OF incense in such new ceremonies II sue
, are ordered. 1t would always be possible.
some great occasion made 1t suitable for tn
I sovereign. with tn" advice OF the primate'
, order great ceremonial In which the use {
| incense should form a part. The question {
probability need not now be raised. Man