CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 151, 23 December 1929, Page 13

CHURCH OF ENGLAND

CHOICE OF CREEDS

ALAI FOR MODERNISTS

(From "The Posts Representative.)

LONDON, loth November.

The Eev. H. D. A. Major (principal of Ripon Hall, "whose appointment to the living of Merton Bieester, Oxon, has been announced this week) addressed the Modern Churchman's Union at St. Edmund Hall; Oxford, on "The Present Situation and Modernist Policy."

Points from the address are:—

That the Church of England and the other reformed Churches in England should re-unite as the prelude to asking Parliament for a wider form of Church establishment.

That many Church of England clergy are intellectually not equal to the situation created by the advance in modern knowledge.

That the modernists should strive to get the chui-ch authorities to sanction" the use of alternative creeds to be used for baptising, catechising, and liturgically.

"I do not think," Dr. Major said, "the Church of England, which is the most comprehensive church in Christendom, can hope to formulate a doctrine within at least the next thirty years which "will satisfy both the traditionalist and the modernist. To amend the creeds would be impossible; it would be like putting modern carving on' to a Norman font, and would be shocking to a person with any historic sense. The solution for which the modernists must strive is to get the Church authorities to sanction the use of alternative creeds, which may be used for baptising, catechising, and liturgically.

"That is a policy which I know will excite a great deal of opposition, but one for which we ought definitely to work. Although the modernist greatly desires corporate reunion, he is not going to work for a form of reunion of Christendom which will be hostile to progress and Christian freedom. It is far better to remain divided than to secure some sort of static reunion of Christendom."

In regard to establishment, he said: "No modernist regards establishment as an essential to" the English Church, but he regards it aa a very useful and practical arrangement, at any rate for the present time. Disestablishment would most certainly be followed' by disruption. The English Church is engaged in the very difficult task of trying to house three religions under one roof, and establishment does help it in that task, whether the task is legitimate or not. Ido not think anybody who loves the English Church will feel that anything is gained by disruption. That would only be playing into the hands of Romanism, sectarianism, and secularism. For that reason the modernist is opposed to disestablishment, but that does not mean that he is entirely satisfied with it as it exists at present. If you could secure the reunion of the reformed churches in this country you could then, I think, go to Parliament and ask for a wider form of establishment, such as that to which, I belieVe, the Archbishop of Canterbury looks forward."