SIR,—In order to fully understand the significance of a Lambeth
degree one must delve into history. Prior to the Reformation there was no faculty of divinity at any university, and the only person who could grant a degree in divinity was the Pope as head of the Church. In the reign of Henry VIII the powers of the Pope to grant faculties, licences, degrees and so on in connection with the Church ceased, and his powers were, by Acts of Parliament, transferred to the Archbishop of Canterbury. At no time in history bas a Lambeth degree been regarded as a test of scholarship or learning; rather is such a degree a confirmation or licence and a sign that the person honoured is sound in doctrine. It must be remembered that divinity deals in the main with spiritual matters, so that the faculty should best be under the ultimate control of the Church. Whether or not the Archbishop of Canterbury should ever have been empowered to confer degrees, and whether or not his degrees are of importance in these days, are other questions.—Yours faithfully, G. W. R. THOMSON. 13 Kings Hall Road, Beckenham, Kent.
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