Charge of the Lord Bishop of Toronto, to the Synod.

The unprecedented and prolonged contest which signalised the recent election of a Bishop by this Synod will always be remembered as a re- markable and instructive episode in the history of the Church in Can- ada.It attracted the attention of the whole country, and was watched with anxious interest, not only by the members of our own communion, but by those of all denominations ; for it was evident that very dearly- cherished principles on either side were at stake, and it is a matter of deep thankfulness to know that the struggle, determinedly, persistently as it was maintained, was yet conducted throughout with a temper, a a dignity, a courtesy and a solemn, prayerful sense of a weighty duty that reflect lasting honour upon the Christian spirit of this body.The happy result of so fairly, so ably waged a conflict was, not to embitter the feelings of those who had faced each other in the manful championship of convictions, but to draw them closer together in mutual respect and esteem, and we may, with good reason, believe that the compromise, ultimately arrived at, was directed by that Holy Spirit of God, who is the abiding guide, disposer and arbiter of the Church of Christ on earth, and whose aid had been throughout so unceasingly and importunately invoked.It was only this conviction that, when the unexpected summons to such a sacred and difficult office came to me, prompted me with all hu- mility and yet truthfulness, to respond to it as to a Divine call to duty.I am thus, brethren, though a comparative stranger to you, your Bishop ; not by my own seeking, but by your choice and, I trust, the will of God ; and for the successful discharge of my duties, I have to look, not to my own strength or wisdom, but to your generous constructions, your loyal support, your constant prayers on my behalf, and above all to the direction, the strengthening succour and the heavenly grace of the Spirit of God.The circumstances to which I owe my elevation to the government of this Diocese-that it was placed in my hands voluntarily and in a spirit of confidence, by an almost unanimous vote of both parties in the Church, not only entitle me to expect a readiness to accord me a general and hearty support, but lay me under a moral obligation to adminis- ter my trust, as indeed a Bishop of the Church should, and as my own predispositions would compel me to do, with the strictest impartiality towards those who differ.That there should be divergences of opinion on points of doctrine and practice among those who are yet sincere sons of the Church of England we must concede to be inevitable and allowable-inevitable, since it has pleased God to endow the human mind with so wide a diversity in its views of truth and its processes of thought ; and allowable, because the authoritative standards of our Church have been wisely framed with a sufficient comprehensiveness of range as to their construction to embrace such diversity.Unity is, without doubt, a necessary mark of the true Church of Christ -may we strive with all our hearts to attain to it !-but I do not be- lieve that to realize that unity for which He prayed and taught us to pray, it is necessary that we should wait until our own visionary dream of uniformity is fulfilled.Indeed, the study of all God's works in nature C CHARGE OF depression of the British Christians, who also had their Bishops and their liturgy, to the vgry apostolic age.Our Church of England dates from thence, and not from the Refor- mation ; the separation from Rome was not a schism from the body, but a self-emancipation from an imposed yoke, a return to original in- dependence ; the renunciation of the errors, the idolatries, the super- stitious ceremonies of Rome was the purging of the ancient Church from the accretions of defilement, through the mediaeval period, that had dim- med her light and sullied her purity.And therefore, although with just pride we claim for our Church that she is no new Church, but the oldest of Churches, cleansed, remodelled, and restored nearer to the pris- tine purity and the primitive pattern of faith and practice than any other Church, we cannot deny, if we would, that what we are as a Church to-day was the work of the Protestant Reformers.To these noble, holy and learned men, even if they were erring, who shed their blood to purchase with it for us the priceless heritage of a pure faith, enshrined in a form of worship that is sublime in its dignity, venerable for its antiquity, and glorious with the beauty of holiness, we owe a debt which we cannot over-estimate, a debt which it were the climax of base ingratitude for us to repay, as some who call* themselves Anglican

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.