THE RITUALISTS AND HOW TO TREAT THEM.
THE painstaking discussion in Convocation on Ritualism has • certain air of sad unconscious humour about it, to those who- know the sort of problems which are really occupying the minds- of men in general both outside and inside the Church of England, No doubt the question really presses what to do with the Ritual-- ists,—with those who think it a point of conscience to have biscuit rather than bread for the Communion Service, to put on chasubles of gorgeous workmanship, to fumigate the priests or the utensils of the Eucharist with incense before the service commences, to elevate the elements, to have lighted candles on the altar, and so forth,— all practices which suggest, if they are to mean anything, that arrival of a divine Person in bodily presence on the altar to which a certain solemnity of physical ceremonial is in some sense suitable. Still, when we find the clergymen of the Church of England pain- fully sitting hours and hours- to discriminate between the finer shades of these practices, devoting many weeks to producing" wise and temperate sayings concerning vestments" which seems to be the Dean of Ely's great ambition,—pondering in sweet communion with each other, and also in the more perfect retirement of their own parishes,—some of which, as Archdeacon Denison says of East Brent, are 'very quiet places,' suitable to profound meditation,— what is "the mind of the Church" as to the bread or biscuit question, searching their hearts and reins as to whether the Church since the Reformation has established a " use " for lighted candles on the altars or not, and deciding that, whether it has or not, "the mind of the Church of England" has certainly not specifically encouraged them, taking deep distinctions between incense for sweet fumigation or as an expressive symbol and the same incense used to " cense " priests and vestments,—we cannot help a sad and almost a bitter smile at these general councils and saintly musings on the mint and anise and cumin of the Church's procedure, while millions believe the churches them- selves to be unmeaning ornaments of the land, and hundreds of thou- sands at least entertain doubts which go as deep as the existence of God. The "mind of the Church," says the Dean of Ely, prefers common baker's bread to unleavened bread or biscuit,—we conclude because "the mind of the Church" does not like to make a fuss about small points, and sees bread close at hand, while the other has to be specially made for the purpose, —but why can't the "mind of the Church" express itself simply as not caring a straw about the matter, so long as every clergyman does what he thinks honestly in keeping with all his professions, and especially does not waste upon the mere crumbs of ritual the attention needed by the deepest spiritual wants and doubts? The true way to meet the ritualists is by showing them that they are either' making a fuss about the pettiest trifles, or, if that be not so, if they have notions in their head which really require all this Court etiquette in dealing with the sacred elements, then that they are in the wrong Church, and should transfer themselves to that which really does believe in a bodily arrival and departure of God whenever the elements are brought to and taken from the altar. To try of Ely's report on ritualism so unworthy of the occasion. It the legality of the question, to deliberate for weeks and months treats the- whole subject of ceremonial as if the Church really on the best words in which to say "wise and temperate things believed it to be a matter of first-rate religious importance, about vestments," is to assume that vestments are proper whereas the exigencies of the case required the express treatment of subjects for wisdom and temperance of thought. We main- it as a question of mere expediency and decency, on which a moral Min that the Church of England will deal best with these scruple is only possible so far as a clergyman fears that ritual matters by showing a good deal of scorn—not cynical scorn, conveys to ordinary minds a false belief. In and for itself it can not scorn for the small scruples of honest consciences, but in - be of no more importance whether clergymen preach in surplices tellectual scorn for the points in dispute. The true thing to say, or without surplices, and burn certain perfumes or not in their whether its effect be to -make those who are not genuine tran- churches, than it is whether a woman wears silk or muslin, or substantiatianiats ashamed of their mincing ecclesiastical ways, or uses eau de Cologne or not. Some decent kind of order—it does to make those who are, own that they ought to be elsewhere than in not matter much what, so long as it is not likely to convey false the Church of England, is that all these small matters do not matter beliefs—there must be. But what it was desirable to say, was, a straw, except BO far as they take away time and thought from that it no more matters what, than it matters whether a man goes the deeper morality and the larger theology on which the whole to an evening party in a dress or morning coat. All this anxious life of the Church depends. We say heartily with the Dean of talk about what Edward VI. authorized seems to us so much con- Westminster, let those people who insist on chasubles, and un- cession to the idea that ritual is a matter of conscience. Why leavened bread, and who play at censing the vestments, and so forth, cannot the committee say out at once, "Any one who believes stay in the Church as long as ever they can, still making, as it is that ritual, except so far as it might happen to be irreverent or to quite certain many of them do, all sorts of noble and spiritual sacri- convey false ideas, could be a matter for conscientious adoption, flues for the good of others, in spite of this fiddle-faddle with ex- or even conscientious criticism at all, is not in his heart an ternals. But let them know that the Church really thinks it fiddle- Anglican? Ritual is etiquette, and no more, and therefore the 'addle, that the Church will not devote hours, and dap, and less burdensome it is made the better. But let those who prefer weeks to deciding on ridiculous little externalities of this sort.; and a burdensome etiquette have it, so long as they do not repel any true then, if they are really of the Church of Transubstantiation, they worship by it. Only let them be aware that the Church of Eng- must feel their utter alienation and leave us; and if they are not, land regards all reintroduction of splendour in minutim that they will soon drop these small superstitions, distract the attention of the worshipper from God as BO much dead Except in a Church really accepting the principle of transub- loss, so much childish frippery." And for the rest, as the evil of en- stantiation, where the principle of adornment is the same as forcing too narrow a unity even in matters of express dogma is that of loyal State preparation for a King who bodily visits admitted, no prosecutions ought to be instituted on account of His people, it is difficult to understand how any point of cere- ceremonies which can at worst only hint false creeds. Let us wait menial can be made a question of conscience at all. It may to prosecute at least till the priest says out in plain words the be, it certainly is, better, for the sake of the worshippers, to make heresy which as a ritualist he cannot do more than suggest, —and the Church a place associated with all grand, and stately, and that in a cowardly sort of fashion, if he is afraid to expound the subduing thoughts, but then the obvious limit to our efforts of this true meaning of his own gestures and symbols.
kind lies in the character of the effect produced on the mental condi- tion of the worshipper. Wherever wholeness of effect, wherever a general subduing influence over the imagination, begins to give place to the minute curiosity excited by small sparkling impressions, such as grand novel dresses or numerouschangesof dress produce, itis obvious that the salutary character of external beauty or splendour on the mind of the worshipper ceases. A worshipper whose senses are.so mach filled with the gorgeous chasubles, and banners, and the clouds of incense, and the stately processions, and the pealing music, that worship becomes to him a sort of dissolving view of rich colours and sweet sensations, is not likely to have much room for deeper thoughts of God and Christ. It is barely pos- sible that any man who thinks that the advantage of ceremonial depends wholly on its effect on the mind of the worshipper, can feel any sort of moral scruple about either putting on, or ceasing to put on, a certain vestment, about turning or ceasing to turn to the East when he says the Creed, about lighting candles on the altar, or putting unlighted candles on the altar, or dispensing with candles altogether on the altar, about producing, or declin- ing to produce, certain agreeable smells in the place of worship, about consecrating biscuit without yeast, or bread with yeast, or in fact about any of these things. It will be to a man who regards ceremonial as existing for the sake of the worshippers, and only for their sake, a matter of pure expediency whether he lends himself to these things or not. If he found himself amongst people so used to this kind of worship that the absence of it would jar upon them like a rude blow, and disturb with a sense of nakedness minds already acclimatized to worship in the midst of a gorgeous ceremonial, and if he could happen to know that all this grandeur did not lead their minds astray as to the fundamental meaning of worship, he would ac- cept it without further ado, and try as quickly as possible to lose his own sense of the fussiness of so much worry about a great spiritual act. But in England this would be very rarely indeed the case. As a rule, worship is much easier to Englishmen without ceremonial as grand as that of a coronation to provide it an outward expression, and where it is otherwise, it is not merely from being accustomed to a certain richness of expression, but from attach- ing wholly different conceptions to the act of worship. Hence there may be a real conscientious scruple against a burdensome ceremonial in the mind of any clergyman who otherwise regulates his ideas of all ceremonial by mere expediency, if he believes it to con- vey a totally false impression, but there can scarcely be any moral scruple in favour of it, except on the part of men who believe that God has specially commanded various rites on occasion of His visits to their altar. It is for this reason that we think the Dean the elements are brought to and taken from the altar. To try of Ely's report on ritualism so unworthy of the occasion. It the legality of the question, to deliberate for weeks and months treats the- whole subject of ceremonial as if the Church really on the best words in which to say "wise and temperate things believed it to be a matter of first-rate religious importance, about vestments," is to assume that vestments are proper whereas the exigencies of the case required the express treatment of subjects for wisdom and temperance of thought. We main- it as a question of mere expediency and decency, on which a moral Min that the Church of England will deal best with these scruple is only possible so far as a clergyman fears that ritual matters by showing a good deal of scorn—not cynical scorn, conveys to ordinary minds a false belief. In and for itself it can not scorn for the small scruples of honest consciences, but in - be of no more importance whether clergymen preach in surplices tellectual scorn for the points in dispute. The true thing to say, or without surplices, and burn certain perfumes or not in their whether its effect be to -make those who are not genuine tran- churches, than it is whether a woman wears silk or muslin, or substantiatianiats ashamed of their mincing ecclesiastical ways, or uses eau de Cologne or not. Some decent kind of order—it does to make those who are, own that they ought to be elsewhere than in not matter much what, so long as it is not likely to convey false the Church of England, is that all these small matters do not matter beliefs—there must be. But what it was desirable to say, was, a straw, except BO far as they take away time and thought from that it no more matters what, than it matters whether a man goes the deeper morality and the larger theology on which the whole to an evening party in a dress or morning coat. All this anxious life of the Church depends. We say heartily with the Dean of talk about what Edward VI. authorized seems to us so much con- Westminster, let those people who insist on chasubles, and un- cession to the idea that ritual is a matter of conscience. Why leavened bread, and who play at censing the vestments, and so forth, cannot the committee say out at once, "Any one who believes stay in the Church as long as ever they can, still making, as it is that ritual, except so far as it might happen to be irreverent or to quite certain many of them do, all sorts of noble and spiritual sacri- convey false ideas, could be a matter for conscientious adoption, flues for the good of others, in spite of this fiddle-faddle with ex- or even conscientious criticism at all, is not in his heart an ternals. But let them know that the Church really thinks it fiddle- Anglican? Ritual is etiquette, and no more, and therefore the 'addle, that the Church will not devote hours, and dap, and less burdensome it is made the better. But let those who prefer weeks to deciding on ridiculous little externalities of this sort.; and a burdensome etiquette have it, so long as they do not repel any true then, if they are really of the Church of Transubstantiation, they worship by it. Only let them be aware that the Church of Eng- must feel their utter alienation and leave us; and if they are not, land regards all reintroduction of splendour in minutim that they will soon drop these small superstitions, distract the attention of the worshipper from God as BO much dead Except in a Church really accepting the principle of transub- loss, so much childish frippery." And for the rest, as the evil of en- stantiation, where the principle of adornment is the same as forcing too narrow a unity even in matters of express dogma is that of loyal State preparation for a King who bodily visits admitted, no prosecutions ought to be instituted on account of His people, it is difficult to understand how any point of cere- ceremonies which can at worst only hint false creeds. Let us wait menial can be made a question of conscience at all. It may to prosecute at least till the priest says out in plain words the be, it certainly is, better, for the sake of the worshippers, to make heresy which as a ritualist he cannot do more than suggest, —and the Church a place associated with all grand, and stately, and that in a cowardly sort of fashion, if he is afraid to expound the subduing thoughts, but then the obvious limit to our efforts of this true meaning of his own gestures and symbols.
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