ANGLICAN CHURCHES. 



officiating at St. James's, Hatcham, was heard 

 by Lord Penzance at Lambeth instead of in 

 London or Westminster, or within the diocese 

 of Rochester. The rule was made absolute in 

 November, and Mr. Tooth afterward resigned 

 the incumbency of the parish at Hatcham. 



In the House of Lords, July 14th, Lord Red- 

 esdale called attention to a book entitled " The 

 Priest in Absolution," which had been pri- 

 vately printed and placed at the disposal of an 

 association of clergymen called " The Society 

 of the Holy Cross," for private and limited cir- 

 culation among the clergy. It was described 

 as containing directions for the examination 

 of both adults and children on the most private 

 and delicate matters, including special questions 

 to be put to children of seven, six, and even five 

 years of age, and also to married persons, tho 

 priests being advised in all cases to be careful 

 to frame their questions in discreet language. 

 The book was pronounced directly opposed to 

 the doctrines of the Church, as justifying con- 

 fession, absolution, and the judicial character 

 of the priest. The Archbishop of Canterbury 

 said that it was a disgrace to the community 

 that such a book should be circulated under 

 the approval of the clergy of the Established 

 Church. The subject of the book and the So- 

 ciety of the Holy Cross received a full discus- 

 sion in the Convocation of Canterbury at its 

 session in July, of whose action a statement is 

 given in another place. From a communica- 

 tion which was presented to the convocation by 

 the authority of the society itself, it appears 

 that it " is a society of clergy, founded in 1855, 

 for the primary purpose of deepening the spir- 

 itual life in its brethren. Besides this main 

 object, it is also engaged in aiding or carrying 

 on mission work, at home and abroad ; it pro- 

 motes spiritual and temporal charity among 

 the brethren, and unites them in common con- 

 sultation on matters affecting their duties and 

 the interests of the Church. The connection 

 of the society with the book called 'The Priest 

 in Absolution ' arose from accidental circum- 

 stances. Some members of the society, feeling 

 the need of a manual to help them in the diffi- 

 cult and important duty of hearing confessions 

 and giving absolution, to which priests are 

 obliged by their commission at ordination and 

 the requirements of the Prayer-Book, informal- 

 ly asked one of their number to compile such a 

 treatise. The society, under the peculiar circum- 

 stances of the case, was never called upon to 

 revise, read, or pass judgment upon the book.'' 

 The communication further stated that the 

 book was designed for use only in extraordi- 

 nary circumstances and under peculiar safe- 

 guards, and claimed that it was wrong to judge 

 it as if it were a book for common use ; also, 

 that the number of persons of all classes who 

 resorted to confession had multiplied year by 

 year, and that many of them were " persons 

 of the highest education and refinement." It 

 was asserted by the Rev. A. H. Mackonochie, 

 one of the most prominent of the Ritualists, 



that, before the book was prepared, the bish- 

 ops had been asked to provide for the educa- 

 tion, selecting, and licensing of duly qualified 

 confessors ; and that for this request the mak- 

 ers of it " were rewarded by the bishops and the 

 public with scorn and obloquy." The society, 

 after the matter was brought to the notice of 

 the public, resolved that no more copies of the 

 book should be supplied ; and added, in their 

 action, the expression of the opinion that their 

 commission at ordination and the express terms 

 of the Prayer-Book required them to hear the 

 confessions of those who wished to make them ; 

 and that, while the Church taught that confes- 

 sion was not a matter of compulsory obligation, 

 all Christian people had the right to observe 

 it. The society was said to have on its rolls 

 the names of two hundred and seventy mem- 

 bers. 



An address signed by ninety-six peers was 

 forwarded to the Archbishop of Canterbury 

 in August, directing the attention of his grace 

 to the disclosures concerning "The Priest in 

 Absolution," expressing alarm at the introduc- 

 tion into the Church of the practice of auricu- 

 lar confession, and urging him to express con- 

 demnation of the system. In acknowledging 

 the address the archbishop assured their lord- 

 ships that nothing should bo wanting on his 

 part to maintain the scriptural character of tho 

 Church, and reminded them of the recent for- 

 mal statement of the bishops of the Province 

 of Canterbury, and the pastoral letter issued 

 by both provinces in March, 1875, with refer- 

 ence to the doctrine of tho Church of England 

 on the subject of confession. 



The pastoral address of a new society called 

 the Order of Corporate Reunion, having for 

 its professed object the restoration of the spir- 

 itual authority of the Church, was issued on 

 the 8th of September. The address is headed 

 with the words Pro Deo, pro ecclesia, pro pa- 

 tria, and begins with the formula: "In the 

 sacred name of the most holy, undivided, and 

 adorable Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

 Amen. Thomas, by the favor of God, Rec- 

 tor of the Order of Corporate Reunion, and 

 Pro-Provincial of Canterbury ; Joseph, by the 

 favor of God, Provincial of York, in the king- 

 dom of England ; and Laurence, by the favor 

 of God, Provincial of Caerleon, in the Princi- 

 pality of Wales, with the provosts and mem- 

 bers of the synod of the order, to the faithful 

 in Christ Jesus, whom these presents may con- 

 cern, health and benediction in the Lord God 

 everlasting." A sketch follows of the history 

 of the Church of England from St. Augustin 

 to the present time, which is made to indicate 

 indirectly the aims and policy of the order by 

 pointing to the mistakes and failures of the 

 past, the repetition of which should be avoid- 

 ed. In it the submission of the bishops and 

 clergy in 1586 is declared to have been the 

 turning-point of their own and their succes- 

 sors' degradation. The paragraphs following 

 this declaration state that, notwithstanding the 



