The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-19
Education in the Church OF England

At the opening Of the Anglican Church
Congress, which was lately held at
Barrow-in-Furness the presiding officer,
the Bishop of Carlisle, said in an intro
ductory address that in his judgment
the Church Of England must be progress
sive, or it must decay and perish. In
the secular world knowledge is growing
steadily, and the Church's knowledge
must keep abreast Of it. The Bishop
pointed out that in two distinct and very
notable directions the worlds knowl-
edge to-day is very different from that
of a hundred years ago. 1t is becoming
increasingly scientific in temper, and it
is penetrating down to the masses Of the
people. The Bishop went on to recog-
nize that the fundamental attributes Of
the scientific temper are a passion for
fearless inquiry and a devotion to lemon
strated truth, however contrary to ac-
cepted opinion. How, he asked, does
the Church Of England to-day intend to
treat the scientific temper OF the age!
Would she welcome it as a friend or resist
il as a foe? Would she shut herself in
behind walls of tottering traditions, edu-
cate her priests as seminarists and shrink
into a denomination within the British
nation? Or would the Church OF Eng
land, while not Ceasing to be definite,
desire to be enlightened, prefer truth to
tradition, and train her clergy in clear,
comprehensive thinking, according a
glad welcome to all reverent inquiry and
o loving embrace to every kind Of TRUTH
1t is evident that II the knowledge OF
the Anglican Church is, in accordance
with the Bishop Of Carlisle's desire, to
keep abreast Of the worlds knowledge,
not less but more pains must be taken
with the liberal education OF the Anglican
| clergy. Can it truthfully be said that
| the average Anglican clergyman is better
educated to-day than he was thirty,
| twenty or even ten years ago? We do
not mean TO ask whether successors OF
| BENTLEY and PoRsON in technical schol-
arship are now to be looked for in holy
orders. or whether the counterparts OF
| IH1RLwALL and STUBS are to be looked
for In the twentieth century. The truth
seems to be, il statistics may be relied
upon. that the indispensable ground
work for clear thinking on scientific OF
philosophical subjects, to wit, a COM
prehensive and thorough university edu-
cation, is much less frequently possessed
by Anglican Clergymen to-day than II
was some decades ago. DR.. GEE, adj
dressing the Church Congress two days
after the Bishop Of Carlisle had deliv-
cred his opening address. complained
| that in England the intellectual qualifica,
ton ofcandidates for orders was stead
ily declining. 1t appears that in 1898
for instance, SO per cent. Of the candi.
dates for ordination were university
graduates. With the growth OF theo'
logical colleges this percentage has nov
fallen to 81. DIR. GEE submitted thai
the tendency TO substitute the specialized
training Of a theological school for I
more general culture is a degenerate
tendency. He went on to contrast the
proportion Of the university graduates
in the English Church with that in thu
Scottish Presbyterian churches. In th'
former case the percentage is, as We
have seen, 81; in the latter it is 90.
To what should the marked falling Of
in the attendance of prospective Anglican
clergymen at the English universities b.
attributed? DR.. GEE and many othe
observers hold that the relatively higl
cost Of education at Oxford and Cam
bridge is beginning to tell on the EnglisI
Church. It is certain that the cost o
education in the four Scottish universe
ties is very much less, and a question
likely to be considered BY the next uni