THE NEW PRIMATE
By THE BISHOP OF SOUTHWELL (The Right Rev. F. R. Barry)
tyl EMPLE "—observed Dr. Randall Davidson—" is indisput-
ably the strongest man among the English bishops—the one man whom we can everyone of us welcome, as our leader at a moment when a strong leader is so pre-eminently necessary." A strong leader is always "so necessary." For that was written about Frederick Temple, nominated rather to the Queen's chagrin to succeed Benson in 1896.* (He was then 75.) It might equally well have been written about his son, who now goes back home again to Lambeth. In a sense it has always been a foregone conclusion. That is, there can never have been any real doubt that in sheer distinction, ability and moral stature Dr. William Temple was the one man to approach the eminent Primate whom he follows. There is hardly another bishop in England who, had he been translated to Canterbury, would not have been overshadowed by York. There is scarcely anyone else whose claims are comparable. Such hesitations as have been felt by some were entertained on quite different grounds. Was it— one has heard asked—the best thing for the Church or for the man himself to lay upon him the burden of more administrative work and heavier shackles of official reticence such as might—it was hinted—be incompatible with his own interpretation of religious leadership? At York he would keep more freedom and more scope for those brilliant gifts of thought and utterance which have made him, more than any other one man, the spokes-
man of the national Christian conscience. Might not his contri- bution be impaired rather than enhanced if he went to Canter- bury? If so, would it not be almost a crime to take him?
Such questions have been asked in many Church circles ; they must have been asked also in the highest quarters and not least by the future Primate of all England. But there is another and more important question to which his appointment is the best answer. What kind orman, what gifts and qualities, are needed Today for an Archbishop of Canterbury?
If a perfect Permanent Secretary is wanted, then this is definitely a bad choice. But it is not the gifts of diplomacy which the Church needs at this tremendous moment. The primary need of the hour is not "wisdom," but fire and courage and imagination. Now is the time when Christianity must either ach ince on a wide front to win or become a " minority " in a secular State. A defensive policy would be suicidal. The next • G. K. Bell: Randall Davidson, I., 286. twenty-five years may decide whether the Church in England is to go forward and regain the moral leadership of our people,
or whether it is to shrink into a sect, dominated by the clerical mind. Never has it been more important that its chief representa- tive and spokesman should be the biggest and ablest man we have. If the Church is to serve its cause effectively there will have to be far-reaching reconstruction, alike in its organisation and its methods, under unimaginably changed conditions. Some will want to scrap all traditions, others will offer a thousand cogent arguments for not making any change at all. There will be demanded of the new leader the highest degree of courage and independence. None of those—and there may be many—who differ from William Ebor's opinions has ever dared to impugn his integrity or to call in question his entire fearlessness. To credit any man with all the gifts and qualifications needed for the Primacy would merely be fulsome and could not be true. That he will be infallible in judgement is more than can be predicted of anybody. But it is certain that he will not allow himself to be rendered incapable of action by the fear of ever making a mistake.
Again, if the Church is to hold (or regain) the allegiance of ordinary thinking men, if it is to uphold the standards of truth and the permanent values of Christian culture amid the inevitable post-war confusion, neither repeating antiquated formulas nor yet surrendering to the Time-Spirit, there will be needed drastic re- translation and wide re-application of its theology in concrete relevance to the social order. Here, too, we may confidently look for leadership to one of the keenest minds in Great Britain and one of the few speakers on religion to whom the young are prepared to pay attention.
The Archbishop of C.anterbury holds an office which is unique in the English-speaking world, and the greatest position in non- Roman Christendom. It is far more than the headship of his own Church ; it is bound up with our whole social legacy. After all, the Archbishopric of Canterbury is at least as old as the English Crown, if not older, and very much older than the House of Commons. It wields potentially a commanding influence, and the last two incumbents made that influence world-wide. Dr. Temple may, of course, prove to be the last Primate of an established Church ; or he may live to be the first Archbishop of a re-united Church in this country : at any rate, we can hope that during his reign the National Church will be re-established in the confidence and loyalty of our people. For he will remember what ecclesiastics have recently been in danger of forgetting— that beyond the clergy and the institution is the great mass of God-fearing Englishmen who are now, for one or another reason, unchurched. Perhaps the real test of his Primacy will be the power of its outward-moving sympathy.
But the See of Canterbury is not merely insular. The next Lambeth Conference after victory will have an unparalleled responsibility for the moral direction of the post-war world. (No archbishop before this has taken office when dioceses of the Anglican Communion and at least one bishop are in enemy hands.) Indeed, it is hardly too much to say that the future of English- speaking Christianity is to a terrifying extent dependent on the faith and insight of the next archbishop. All men of good will must wish him well. No sane man who knew anything about it, and had even elementary qualifications for it, would want to accept such a task at the moment. But we may be thankful that Mr. Churchill, in tendering his advice to the Crown, has given the call and that it has been accepted.
When we see our leader translated we may feel inclined in the Northern Province to cry out, like Elisha in the story, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." Yet the North, which has been so proud to claim him, will fry to be glad as it gives its own Primate once again to the chair of St. Augustine. •
The future Archbishop of York will be received with a confi- dent and eager welcome. His wide experience and proved leader- ship in so many spheres of national and religious life mark him out as the obviously right man. This too is an admirable appointment.
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