membership of Parliament has, in England at least, profoundly changed the whole position. This is true. But though Parliament no longer speaks as a body of lay members of the Church, yet it does speak as, in some degree, the organ of the national life. It does, while it has the right to discuss Church questions, voice the prejudices and opinions, the desires and aspirations, of the nation. And these we cannot ignore. For a national Church must be sensitive to the currents of thought of the national life, it must learn to hear as well as to speak, to be taught as well as to teach. It must listen patiently to the critic as well as the eulogist. It must be willing to concede much, if it can keep that which is essential to its life. It must remember that its glory is in service, and that the Body of Christ must still be given for the life of the world. For what, after all, is it that we ask when we ask that our position as an established Church shall not be taken from us? It is easy to represent the demand as a mere clamour for endowments or privilege, for the highest seats in the synagogues, and the best rooms at the feasts. But we do not care for these things; they are the accidents of history, and must perish. No. What we ask for is the recognition of our right to serve the life of the nation, not merely as individuals but as a corporate body; for the right to consecrate every English child at our fonts to the great |