Untitled - Electric Scotland

5 o8 LIKK OF ARCHBISHOP TAIT [CH. xvm.
of these important words. It is granted also that the Church of
England, preserving the reverent silence I have spoken of above,
and never venturing beyond Holy Scripture, has left great liberty
to the feelings and imagination of our people in all matters con
nected with the mysterious subject of the condition of the dead.
But it is one thing to feel ourselves at liberty to form uncertain
conjectures, and quite another for a clergyman to avail himself
of the authority of his office to supply his people with forms of
prayer for the souls of their departed relatives, and to teach
them (as 1 understand you to mean) that they are bound as a
solemn duty, to ask (iod for the prayers of the blessed saints
departed. Let me earnestly press upon you that you will commit
a grave error if, imitating and exaggerating the private opinions of
any individual teachers whom you esteem, you go thus far beyond
the boundaries which your Church has marked. I fear you will
not conciliate those whose longings you wish to satisfy ; for cer
tainly, if they are clear-sighted, you
i
will never convince them
that you have with you the authority of your Church. Rather,
by encouraging the state of mind which yearns on this mysterious
subject for explicit teaching beyond what Ood has been pleased
to give, you will minister to feelings that have led many to be de
luded by a Church which has no scruple in speaking dogmatic
ally where (lod is silent.
"II. I gather further from your pamphlet that you hold
some exaggerated view of our blessed Lord s presence in
the Holy Communion, from which you think it follows as
a necessary inference that our Church s rule there shall
be no communion except four, or three at the least (even in
our smallest parishes), communicate with the priest - -needs to
be extirpated, as greatly objectionable in mind and intention.
Indeed, I gather that you almost feel yourself called upon to act
in direct contradiction to this rule, lest by obeying the law of
your Church you should injure yoi r people s souls, who may, you
seem to think, derive a much greater blessing from being present
while you communicate without communicating themselves, than
is attainable either through hearing the Word of God preached,
or joining in the prayers. Now I will not undertake to say
whether there is that really sound logical connection which you
of the
suppose between your speculative belief on the subject
Holy Eucharist and this practical violation of the Church s law ;
but I do very earnestly beg you to pause before you proceed in