The Archbishop of Canterbury's judgment in the Bishop of Lincoln's
case, which was delivered yesterday week, has gained for Dr. Benson the reputation of a great ecclesiastical Judge, —a Judge great not only in ecclesiastical learning, but in im- partiality, which has not generally been the distinction of ecclesiastics. It is lucid, convincing, and perfectly calm, entirely free of irritating matter, and singularly terse and interesting. To sum up the results, his judgment goes for the Bishop on the subject of the mixed chalice, on the assump- tion, of course, that the water is mixed with the wine before the consecration, and that the mixing is no part of the ser- vice. This is shown to have been the universal practice in the East during the early centuries, and a common enough practice even in the West. (We believe that at the present time this is the custom with the Dominican Order, though the ordinary Roman Catholic service makes the mixing of the water with the wine a part of the rite.) The " ablution " of the chalice, with which the Bishop of Lincoln was charged, is confessedly an act done after the Communion Service is over, and is treated by the judgment as no part of the rite,—only a performance of the directions as to the proper cleansing of the vessels. Nevertheless, the Court intimated that it would have been better to perform the ablution at the credence-table than at the altar, though it declined to condemn the latter practice.
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