17 JULY 1947, Page 16

THE 1928 PRAYER BOOK

Sm,—The object of my letters has not been to raise a discussion but to call attention to facts. The validity or otherwise of Anglican Orders is chose jugie so far as concerns the Catholic Churches of both East and West. The question can be disposed of in a few words. If the Dean of Wells will refer to the Prayer Book issued in 1559 and used until the death of Queen Elizabeth, lie will find that it contains an ordinal. If the Dean refers to the Prayer Books ordered to be used by her successors James I and Charles I, he will find that they contain no ordinal or any reference to one. The ordinal was restored to the Prayer Book in 1662. Thus from 1604 to 1662—a long period of fifty-eight years —there was no ordinal, and the law forbade the use of pne. During this fifty-eight years the Apostolic Succession was lost—an obvious fact. In actual fact, however, the Apostolic Succession was lost in 1558 when Pole, the last consecrated bishop, died. An ordinal was only inserted pro forma in the Prayer Book of Queen Elizabeth, and there is no record of it ever having been used. If, then, the Church of England has the Apostolic Succession, it commenced in 1662—which is very late in the day.—Yours

faithfully, G. W. R. THOMSON. 13 Kings Hall Road, heckenhatn, Kent.

[This correspondence is now closed.—En., The Spectator.]