The letter addressed by the Archbishop of York to his
clergy, not as Metropolitan of the Northern Province, but as a Diocesan, is excellent in tone and temper, and puts the injunction to obedience in the matter of the liturgical use of incense exactly on the right grounds. If the authority of the Metropolitans is denied, "it is difficult to see where any authority is to be found for dealing with such questions excepting the authority of the ecclesi- astical Courts. Convocation itself, even in the form of a national Synod, has no judicial power." It seems to us that there can be no escape from this plain statement. As our readers know, we wish that the Archbishops had made obedi- ence easier by ordering the disuse of incense without stating their reasons. Again, we should have rejoiced had it proved possible to allow the Bishops to authorise the use of in- cense in churches where it was already in use, provided that it was made clear to the Bishop that its discontinuance would be most unwelcome to all but a very small part of the con- gregation. In this way the general use of incense would have been disallowed, and yet the feelings of the congregations respected. Since, however, a competent authority has decided otherwise, obedience must follow till a change has been effected in the law of the Church. We cannot admit that a Ritualist has the right to be his own Bishop and his own Metropolitan, and to order his services according to his own view of what ought to be the rule of the Church.
Previous page
