The Religious Outlook in Bulgaria.
Very interesting notes of the Bible Society’s work in Bulgaria for the past year have recently appeared in the English Churchman. People on all hands seemed to welcome the circulation of the Bible. The number of copies sold reached the unprecedented total of 25,000. The supply is not equal to the demand, and the press is busy with new editions of the Psalms and the New Testament. The revision of the entire Bulgarian Bible has also been taken in hand by the Bible Society.
The New Archbishop of York.
A petition was recently forwarded to the King by Mr. J. A. Kensit, on behalf of the Protestant Truth Society, asking that the Royal assent should not be given to the appointment of Dr. Lang to the Archbishopric. The King has sent the following reply:—”Sir, I am commanded by the King to acknowledge receipt of the petition signed by you on behalf of the Committee of the Protestant Truth Society, and I am directed to inform you, in reply that His Majesty has instructed me to refer the statements contained therein to the Prime Minister.—I am, Sir, your obedient Servant, KNOLLYS.”
Mr. Kensit has brought his objections before the Commission met at the Church House, Westminster, on 20th January, for the confirmation of the new Archbishop, but this Commission, consisting of several Bishops, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, ruled that the matters alleged in the petition of protest did not fall within the purview of the action and responsibility of those engaged in the Confirmation. Among other matters brought forward by Mr. Kensit are the following:—”that the said Dr. Lang has encouraged during his tenure of office in the east-end of London the most flagrant law-breaking in many churches; that in some of these churches Confessionals have been set up, High, Low and Requiem Masses regularly offered, and at two of them the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph invoked as the ‘friends of sinners’; that Dr. Lang himself has taken part in the most extreme ritualistic services; that no less a sum than £6,036 was voted last year from the East London Church Fund, of which Dr. Lang is president, to fifty-one parishes where the law is systematically broken and defied.” All this speaks for itself, but it seems that vain is the help of “the Lords spiritual” in the Church of England. Some of them are the chief promoters of these Popish practices.
“Points for Thought.”
A writer, signing W.M., contributes a long letter to the January number of the Free Church Record, under this heading, in which he first criticises the affairs of his own Church, and then gives three reasons why he chooses to be a Free Churchman rather than a Free Presbyterian. In a future issue we hope to answer his statements about the Free Presbyterian Church. Meantime we quote some of his remarks on bazaars, social meetings, and other things in the Free Church. “What the Church means to do in order to put a stop to these abuses I do not know, but I have an idea where she ought to begin. She should first discontinue the Moderator’s Reception, which is purely a social meeting, and the most offensive of them all because it commits the whole Free Church. At last Assembly we had the painful spectacle of some members of Assembly holding a prayer meeting while the reception was in full swing. Others who were opposed to it and who did not hear of the prayer meeting passed the evening in the Exhibition. Speeches were made at the reception which ought to have been given in the Assembly for the information of all the members.
“The last thing I should wish to do is to criticise the conduct of any minister, far less Free Church ministers—but there are ministers and ministers. In his very excellent address at the closing of the Assembly, the Moderator, the Rev. William MacKinnon, Gairloch, commends to the ministers of the Free Church to ‘sail in the wake‘ of eminent Free Church leaders such as Dr. Macdonald, the apostle of the north, and others, and thus ‘imbibe the Free Church spirit.’ These ministers followed closely the apostolic example of giving themselves ‘continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.’ So true was this that very little was seen of them between Thursdays and Mondays when at home. But how do some of our ministers regard this counsel? One or more of them is reported in the press as presiding at concerts; another attending sports on a Saturday; another airs his vanity on a week day specchifying at the opening of a golf bazaar, while others hurry from the golf course to the prayer meeting. If all this or even part of it is true, it need not surprise us if things are not so prosperous in the Free Church as we would wish. And a remedy should be found. Her duty is to work on the lines recommended by the Moderator, and not on the lines of the neighbouring churches. If that is going to be the way, her existence is not necessary.”
The Italian Earthquake.
The whole world has been startled during the past month by a tremendous earthquake which took place in Southern Italy, and affected chiefly two towns, on either side of the Straits of Sicily—Reggio on the Italian side, and Messina on the Sicilian. The loss of life has been unprecedented in the history of earthquakes, over 200,000 people having perished—a number truly appalling. Can such an extraordinary dispensation be regarded as anything else than the rod of the Lord? There are possibly as wicked, or even more wicked, places in the world than the towns which have suffered on this occasion, but there is good ground for the opinion that Reggio and Messina were very wicked towns. Messina, especially, was noted as a great gambling centre—another Monte Carlo—and much looseness prevailed. “The voice of the Lord is to the city”—to many cities besides in more enlightened countries which have no guarantee that they will always escape open judgments. “Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it.”