The Prayer Book Measure, 1928
THE text of the Prayer Book Measure which is to be submitted by the Archbishops to the Con- vocations of Canterbury and York next week; was pub- lished on Monday, and the Bishops are to be congratulated on the manner in which they have performed their difficult task. An admirable explanatory memorandum was issued under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Its chief merit lies in the fact that all the cards are laid on the table, and the House of BishopS have taken the public into their confidence in language which everyone can understand, and have explained just where the new Measure differs from its predecessor.
In the SpeCtator we have never concealed our sympathy with the Prayer Book Measure of 1927. In our view; the greatest glory of the Church of England is its cOmpre- hensivenesi. It would indeed be a bad day if either of the extreme .Wings got control. The difficulty with religious controversy is that feelings are so deeply. stirred 'that many 'of the participants see only their own, point of view. There must be give., and take,. and no doubt many of those who have given their assent to the. new Measure have not allowed personal predilections to stand in the way. . , The ehanges which have been made shenkl be" read in conjunction with the Hansard Report of the debate in the House of Ciimmons, and the unbiased laYman must idniit ithit the -tiihOpS; baCked up. by the votes in the 'House of Clergy and the House of LaitY, have made the utmost econcessions concessionspossible in the circumstances. The changes made are neithei feir nor and they go a long way to remove much of the oppoSition whic made itself heard when the Measure came before Parliament. - Final revision has effected the following changes.' It has.afeguarded the continued use of; the Book of COminon Prayer of 1662 for. those who desire it. It has made the daily Prayer for the King more obligatory than before, the connexion between the State and the National Church being thereby emphasized. Under the heading "General. Rubrics for the Administration of the Lord's Supper or Holy Com- munion," munion," the practice of Fasting Communion is referred to as " an ancient and laudable custom," and this problem is left " to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
The section which naturally attracts most attention is that dealing with the reserving of the Consecrated Elements. _ Here the Bishops have given a definite decision, and the Rubric dealing with Reservation has been practically recast. There is no ambiguity here. Reservation of the Elements is to be " only for the Communion of the sick " and " to be used for no other purpose whatever." The place where the consecrated Bread and Wine are to be set apart is clearly set forth, with the definite objeet of preventing the ack;ration . .
any Corporeal Presence. • The Measure is now in the forin in which it will be submitted to the Convocations and in which, subject to their assent, it will be passed finally to the Church Assembly before being sent to Westminster. That the new Measure will not satisfy the " die-hards " on both sides can be taken for granted.. Nothing short of treating the whole project of Revision as a scrap of paper and beginning afresh would satisfy the extreme Protestant group. On the other hand, many of the advanced Anglo- Catholics will, no doubt, sympathise with the Bishop of Truro, who has intimated that the changes made render it impossible for him to give his further support. Critical days are ahead of the Church of England, and once again we would appeal for a wise tolerance. If Parlia- ment were to throw out the revised.Measure, it is difficult to see how the Establishment could be preierved, and the . state of the Church would be serious. But if the time 'ever comes for the severing of the tie which unites Church and State in this country, we dO not think that the Church will be the chief loser.
The question which. each individual should ask hiniself is, . • " Will my action strengthen Or weaken the ' Kingdom of God and of His Christ ? ' " Nothing diecounts in comparison. As the writer of a letter in the who had spent most of his life as a missionary in `India; said, weshould appreciate the fact that there are different _roads to the hilltop. To some of us ritual and elaborate ceremonial is anathema, while to others they provide essential spiritual food. Cannot we agree to differ and yet all of. us find our place in our dear Church of England, which has so vital a part to play in linking 'Up the various sections of Christendom ? Whatever our .persOnal views may be, this is not the time for intolerance or rejoicing at the discomfiture of those who do not-think with us. As the Bishop of Southwark reminded us, there are six hundred Churches in England where the Consecrated Elements are continuously reserved, and among them are to be found some of the most living , Churches in the land. We should be careful that no act of ours drives these earnest Christians outside the . fold of the Anglican Communion.
There ,are many urgent tasks awaiting the Church and, therefore, it is to 'be hoped that the present Measure will pass into Jaw. Too much time has already been taken up in the effort to reach agreement. The ineffable mysteries of our Faith cannot be docketed like the contents of a Parliamentary Bill. But the time spent during these anxious months will not have been in vain if it has made us, as, a nation, realize the great part the Church occupiei in our national life.
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