The Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol (Dr. Ellicott) has written
a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury with reference to the wish of some of the members of the English Church that a protest should be put forth against the (Ecumenical Council, or its pro- ceedings, or both,—a wish which Dr. Ellicott very wisely does not support. Ho remarks that if the protest were to be against the composition and authority of the (Ecumenical Council, it should have been made months ago ; if against any of its decrees, it would be a protest against what lies so entirely beyond the view of the Anglican Church, as to seem like meddling in affairs with which that Church has nothing at all to do. In this view the Arch- bishop quite concurs, and remarks that if Infallibility is to be proclaimed, the Pope will do his own cause infinite damage and great good to the cause of truth. There are some persons who are always for " doing something " when they are un- comfortable, but we had hoped that the safety-valve for this class was writing to the Times, and in that way no end of waste steam has escaped already. Somebody proposed the other day to produce a thunderstorm by firing off cannon ; but even that is hardly equal in wisdom to alleviating Infallibility by lodging a fallible protest.
Previous page
