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XII.

The Church and the Empire

BY B. R. WILSON, M.A.

E

I.

NGLISH national life has been revolutionised during the past three centuries by the process known as the Expansion of England.

The tide of English life-political, commercial, industrial -has been setting with steadily increasing volume and velocity into the widening channel supplied by the evergrowing empire.

A process of restatement of ideas has been going on with regard to our current conceptions of the British constitution, of British politics, and literature, and commerce, in the larger terms suggested by the word "Imperial." And the nation is learning the lesson sometimes in a stern school. We are waging an Imperial war. British soldiers bred in four continents are fighting side by side under the British flag to vindicate British freedom. Federation is in the air. What seemed but yesterday to be the distant ideal of a few visionaries is rapidly becoming an established fact of mighty import, forced into expression by the day of trial.

Has the Church shown a like power of adaptation? Does the average Churchman realise the paramount im

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portance, the inspiring interest of the problem suggested by "the Church and the Empire"?

Can the Church, which has been the moulding influence of English national life-which has made for unity, for freedom, for education-rise to the level of a great opportunity and become the informing power of the greatest empire in the world, exercising a like moulding influence upon Imperial development? And if so, on what terms and with what necessary limitations can it aspire to fulfil its mighty mission?

II.

The antecedent probability is distinctly favourable. For (i.) the direction of expansive development in which the national life is setting is essentially congenial to the spirit of the Church.

For the Church is essentially expansive. The Christian "Standing Orders," as the great English general well called them, enjoin a steady advance to "make disciples of all nations."

Expansion is an accident of national life. It is an inherent vital necessity of the Church. When expansion ceases the vigour of its inner life fades, and the faith which is not strong enough to compel its propagation is in danger of becoming too weak to dominate the life, and at last of dying out or crystallising into unfruitful superstition.

Nothing is more notable than the missionary enthusiasm of the first and keenest days of the Christian Society. If the tradition of apostolic work, which was current in the days of the first Church historians of the third and fourth centuries, may be trusted as substantially correct, already, within the lifetime of the first preachers of the

gospel, Christian communities had sprung into being from India to Spain, and from Russia to the heart of Africa. And a similar enthusiasm in furtherance of the gospel is characteristic of the earliest days of most Christian Churches.

(ii.) Nor is the conception of the Christian Church, as the informing power of a world-wide empire, derived from any less high authority than that of the greatest and most untiring Christian missionary, the Apostle Saint Paul. At the moment when it started upon its course-to all appearance a mere schismatic sect of an obscure and isolated people, full of narrow prejudicesin serious danger of being stamped with all those narrowing ideas and influences of Judaism which would have made it at best a national religious movement-it was his genius to catch the conception of the great Roman empire, with its perfect organisation of provinces and regions, as the ideal framework round which might be built up the fabric of a Catholic Church. To this end he waged a ruthless warfare against the cramping bigotry of Judaisers. With this purpose in view he hurried on, bearing his message from province to province, planting the banner of the cross in the heart of the Imperial city, that from the golden milestone in the Forum the good news might pass along the radiating Roman roads to the uttermost parts of the earth. He is impatient of delay. Centres of Christian influence must be planted in every province. He devotes himself to the great centres of the world's busiest life. From Asia to Macedonia and Achaia, from Rome to distant Spain he hastens on, leaving the Christian leaven to do its work, with the result that during his own lifetime marvellous progress had been made towards the realisation of the Master's great anticipation, "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations," and that

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within three centuries "the world awoke to find itself Christian."

(iii.) Nor is this restless energy of missionary enthusiasm peculiar to apostolic days; it is a significantly frequent characteristic of the early history of the Church, in all parts and in all times, as land after land was awakened to new life and vigour by the gospel message. A wave of missionary enthusiasm marks the maturity of the Church. And usually the particular national environment sufficiently indicates the natural line and direction of spiritual expansion-the missionary responsibilities of each particular Church. Community of race forms naturally the clearest ground of call. We may trace and illustrate the process by the story of Christian effort in our own land. The obscure history of the Celtic Church is sufficiently clear to allow us to discern a strong and vigorous Christian community, which reaches the zenith of its power and influence in its missionary heroes who go forth to the evangelisation of kindred Celtic peoples. Patrick stands out pre-eminent as the Apostle of the Irish. Ninian evangelises the Picts of the Lowlands of Scotland. Columba and Kentigern take up and carry on the work. Other missionaries make the name of “Scotia" famous in Switzerland and Italy. The Saxon invasion crippled the power and damped the enthusiasm of the British Church, and as a result it sank into a depressed and isolated community.

The Saxon Church in turn became the mother of missionary leaders, to whom the Continental Teutons formed the natural object of effort. England supplied the Apostle of Germany in the person of Boniface. But, again, the savage incursions of the Danes had a paralysing effect; and with the deadening of missionary ardour the Church, of which the clergy had been "the wonder of the world" for vigour and for learning-which had sent forth

from the famous school of Eghbert an Alcuin to guide the counsels and educate the ruler of the Western worldsank into an illiterate and unprogressive body, isolated and without influence in the counsels of Christendom.

From the days of the Norman Conquest down to the times of the Tudors-a period of 450 years—the activities of the English Church were chiefly confined to work at home. It produced great prelates and great statesmen; it won for the people their freedom, fostered the development of constitutional government, promoted education. But of expansive missionary work there is little or no record, in spite of the fact that Continental nations remained heathen down to the fourteenth century. But the times were unfavourable to missionary enterprise. The sword was regarded as the legitimate weapon for the propagation of the Faith. The enthusiasm of Christendom lay rather with the Crusades. Similar methods were adopted for the conversion of the pagans of Europe by the knights of the Teutonic order.. And the final overthrow of heathenism among the German races was due rather to the power of the sword than to the faithful preaching of the gospel.

(iv.) It appears then that the missionary enthusiasm. which makes for constant expansion is not only essentially bound up with the most vital principles of the Christian religion, but also that this impulse has been characteristic of Church life, especially at times of crisis and newlyawakened vigour, and that it has found its readiest expression in working along lines of national life or racial connection. And this would lead to the anticipation that the expansion of England would have supplied just the inspiring impulse to a quickened missionary enthusiasm. For the whole movement was largely due to the upheaval of the national life caused by the great religious crisis of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The revival

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