point in dispute was whether Origen ought to preach in the presence of a bishop. The 98th Canon of the 4th Council of Carthage, A.D. 398, lays down that the layman shall not teach in presence of clerics, unless bidden by them to do so; and the 99th, that women, however holy and learned, may not presume to teach even in the assembly. These two Canons seem to indirectly sanction lay-preaching when clerics are absent. Whatever might have been the practice in the early Church, when we come to the Middle Ages, we find preaching orders of laymen sanctioned throughout Western Christendom.

(b.) In the Old Testament the prophetical office did not presuppose the sacerdotal. The Jewish layman was allowed to speak and read publicly in the synagogue, a liberty of which we find our Lord availing Himself in the synagogue of Nazareth. And although our blessed Lord knit together into one in His own Person the offices of prophet, priest, and king, yet as before in the Jewish Church, so afterwards in the Christian Church, they are capable of being separately exercised. It appears, then, that to permit laymen sometimes to preach is not repugnant to any fundamental Church principle. It is only liable to create a confusion between the clerical and lay office, when the clergy, by their teaching or practice, do not sufficiently make clear what are their exclusively sacerdotal functions, or where the layman has permission to preach without proper restrictions.

3. The restrictions which I would venture to suggest are four, and are contained under the heads-Matter, Place, Sanction, Qualifications. (a.) Their preaching should be of an elementary and awakening character; laymen should not be suffered to preach upon sacramental mysteries, or to enter upon deep questions of doctrine, which should be reserved for the parish priest. (b.) As to the place of preaching. They should not be allowed to preach in churches, or consecrated places of any kind, as that would be a direct contravention of the 23d Article of our religion. John Wesley warned his disciples that because they were made preachers, they must be careful not to act as priests. (c.) As to sanction. No layman should officiate in any parish without the sanction of the bishop of the Idiocese, and that of the incumbent of the parish. (d.) The layman, before his name is placed on the list of lay-preachers, should pass an examination as to his knowledge of the Scriptures, and shall be required to produce testimonials as to conduct. If he is found of sufficient knowledge and character, he shall receive a certificate or "testamur," which shall be recalled upon any great failure in doctrine or life. I think if the employment of laymen as preachers is hedged about with these restrictions, they may form a valuable aid as subalterns to the clerical special preachers in the conduct of missions, and to the clergy whose work lies in the great centres of manufacture and commerce.

DISCUSSION.

The REV. D. R. NORMAN, Rector of Stafford.

IN speaking on this subject of Special Preachers, I want to allude to a word or two in Canon Titcomb's paper. I believe he would like an order of preachers rather than that special preachers should be drawn from the parochial clergy, and the later paur seemed to lead to the same conclusion. There are two orders of such men in existence -one at Stoke-on-Terne, and the other at Cowley. Well, it is true that those men are specially trained, but still there are parishes where, if a man came from either of those two institutions, there would be quite a little stir. I think it should be in the power of the bishops to draw from the ranks of the clergymen those who are apt and fit for this work. There is abundance of room in the Church for every man who has such special gift as mission-preaching. I was led into this kind of work myself by a letter of the Rev. George Venables. I had then a little parish, and I thought it would be doing some service to go to a large parish in Leicester to help the vicar, and there learn the needs of the people. From time to time I have done this during the last four or five years, and I recommend country clergy to spend part of their vacation in some large town. Many vicars would be glad to have their help for a week or so. One other point. Special preachers-are they needed? There are men in this room who can tell us there is a need. But shall these special preachers be recognised? I for one say this, let no man stir from his parish until he obtains the sanction of the bishop. The bishops are ready to a man to lend their names, and give permission to men of experience; and not only give them permission, but a hearty welcome. There is not a bishop who is not ready to licence and to employ a special preacher if he can produce satisfactory testimonials from his friends.

The REV. R. RHODES BRISTOW.

I WISH to set before the Congress some of the needs for special preachers which have not yet been touched on, with a view to making the discussion as practical as possible. We have heard of the necessity of them for missions, but besides missions there are other portions of our duty which must not be lost sight of. I mean two points specially the giving of "instruction" and "conferences." We have too often to lament that the people are not grounded in the faith they profess; but they have not been taught, and they need much teaching. There are many clergy who are not able to give "instructions," which are appeals to the intellect rather than to the heart or conscience, and special preachers could be employed to set before the minds of the people in this way special points of the faith. Then there are "conferences." Who has not heard of conferences in Paris, and elsewhere on the Continent? And who has listened to Canon Liddon's afternoon sermons at St James', Piccadilly, and not longed for him to preach in the other great cities of our country in the same way? We hear from time to time in London that a city church is doomed, and is to be pulled down; but why should not these churches remain, so that "conferences" could be preached in them by eminent theologians on important matters? Then those churches need not be destroyed, for they would be full. This is no mere theory, for have we not seen the church of St Margaret, Lothbury, filled in the busiest part of the day by merchants and city men to hear the "golden lecture" preached by Henry Melville, and since by Daniel Moore? The merchants and traders of our great cities don't want to

be sceptical, but they want to be instructed; and though ordinary sermons can scarcely be made vehicles for such instruction, "conferences" would be most useful for this purpose. I hope these two points will be kept before us.

The REV. R. W. RANDALL.

IN taking up this subject, let me say one word in behalf of the parish priest. It will not have failed to come to your notice that some of the best and most valuable men in the Church have broken down because of the burden of mission-work which has been thrown on them in addition to their own regular parochial work. We may, therefore, well ask for the institution of an order of preachers to take mission-work off the hands of the ordinary parish priest. But it may be that the same objection may have occurred to you which occurred to me while one of the former speakers was addressing you, that to set a class of men apart for a special work would tend to narrow their minds. There can be no doubt that there is some danger of this; but in a wisely-ordered society it may well be avoided, and the Cowley fathers have shown singular wisdom in guarding against it. It may surprise some to hear that when I was passing my time in retreat at Cowley, I found in the library a large collection of the lives of Nonconformist ministers; and I do not know that anything has ever moved me more than the history of the inner lives of those men, and of the struggles of their souls in their conversion to God. On another occasion, when I was staying in the House at Cowley, the books read aloud during dinner-time were histories of missions in India conducted by Nonconformists, and the "Life of John Wesley." In this way the minds of the members of that order are influenced by all that is good and earnest even in men differing in some respects widely from themselves. A wise governor of such a society would take care that the studies of the members should not be confined to one class of writers, but should embrace books of all kinds bearing upon the manner of teaching and illustrating the truths which the missionpreachers have to deal with. It may seem strange to some here that such a class of Nonconformist writers as I have mentioned should be studied at Cowley; but it will not seem strange to any who know that those who believe most strongly that the Holy Ghost is pledged by the promise of our Lord to work in the Church of God, are of all others the quickest to recognise the workings of the same blessed Spirit outside the Church through the tenderness of God for all His children.

The VENERABLE ARCHDEACON EMERY.

Ir seems to me to be an important point that on this subject we have, as it were, united the different classes of thought in agreeing to the want of this special system of preachers. This want is evidently recognised by the different schools in the Church. All honour is due to those in the Church (and I am sure we are all ready to give it) who have always maintained the importance of preaching. I remember twenty years ago an effort was made to get a college sermon, and it was then said, What do you want with college preaching? Men go to the college chapel for prayers, and that is enough. It may be that a certain school did not then give that attention to preaching which they now do, and it is a matter of congratulation and thanksgiving that now the various schools of thought in the Church alike recognise the

Importance of supplementing the work of the parochial clergyman by the special preacher. There can be no doubt that those who can preach are worried to death by applications from all parts of the country. I am no great preacher myself, but the number of noes I am obliged to give is alarming; for I could not do anything else, if I accepted all the invitations to preach that I receive. The more you try to reach all classes, the more you find out that you want this kind of help. There is the pastoral as well as the preaching gift; and it is most important if we can, under the authorisation of the Bishop, to get men who can preach to help and supplement the pastor's work. There are a great many of our clergy who have the advantage of being trained to special preaching, and they preach all the better for it; therefore if there is provided a distinct body of men, who could take a parish for a week or so at a time, and let these preachers go somewhere else, much good may be done in the way of exchanging, and by giving the power to the parochial clergy to get away from their parishes for a week or so. That would, I think, also go far to meet the objection one hears occasionally of a clergyman who is said to have stopped too long in his parish, and that his people are looking for the time when he will have a successor. I am most delighted that all schools of thought are agreed on the point, but we do not wish to rush forward too fast. If the Bishops will take it in hand-the movement may be made a most important and yet safe one. I do trust that the speeches made to-night will lay the foundation of a system that will help forward the Church to do what she can to reach, if possible, all classes of the people in this country.

The CHAIRMAN.

WE seem to have, I think, a warrant for such a class of men as is suggested, in Holy Scripture; for St Paul, of whose baptism such great things are said, so that he could not possibly regard that sacrament as a secondary matter, nevertheless exercised specially the office of herald, and was sent to preach the gospel, not to baptize. What we want also is a supplementary body of preachers and evangelists—the latter may be in minor orders, with a limited authority to deal with a certain range of subjects. I think one part of those in holy orders might be employed to supplement the parochial work of the other part; and considerable advantage might be derived if we appointed men to the diaconate at twenty-one instead of twenty-three years of age, for then they would have more training. What we want is more theological training, and training in the art of teaching. The regular ministry does not seem to satisfy the demands on the Church, without some supplementary aid, and the employment of special preachers will be most helpful.

FRIDAY MORNING, 8th OCTOBER.

The RIGHT REV. the PRESIDENT took the Chair at a quarter-past Ten o'clock.

PERSONAL HOLINESS AS INFLUENCING CONDUCT IN THE FAMILY.

The RIGHT REV. the PRESIDENT.

By an almost invariable rule, in the performances of the "Messiah" the audience mark their reverence by standing during the Hallelujah Chorus. In the same spirit it has always been felt that reverence for this morning's subject will teach us to abstain from outward demonstrations. Our aim to-day is to draw nearer to God. The speakers desire most earnestly to humble themselves before Him. They must not have their minds disturbed by the praise of men. The grace of God, we trust, will work in the hidden man of the heart. May His still small voice speak to the conscience of us all. May His word be hidden in our hearts. May His Holy Spirit so bless the words spoken to-day, that they may move us to thoughts too deep for utterance, and approbation too heartfelt for applause.

PAPERS.

EARL NELSON read the following paper:

Ir is easy to trace in the history of all nations a natural inward longing after a higher and a better life in the mind of man-bearing witness to the Scripture truth that God created man after His own likeness (Gen. i. 26). St Paul clearly bears witness to this "feeling after God" (Acts xvii. 27-29), and shows the way in which the minor revelations of God as the Creator and Dispenser of all earthly blessings have ever had a tendency to draw men unto Him (Acts xiv. 17; Rom. viii. 19–22).

In us, who have been made "members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven," this natural longing after holiness, witnessed to, moreover, by the heathen in all their old philosophies and schemes of religion, should be greatly intensified and quickened. For to us God has vouchsafed a fuller revelation of Himself, not only as a loving, true, and holy God, but as the Perfect Truth-the Perfect Love-the Perfect Purity, from whence all truth, all love, and all purity must proceed, and to which Eternal Source all that is holy, and loving, and true, must return, even as the dew and rain return to the clouds again to continue