Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881

St Andrew's Church, Taunton

by Henry Haslam of St. Andrew's Church

The first Lambeth Conference, in 1867, took place at a time of controversy in the Anglican Communion. John Colenso, Bishop of Natal and a distinguished mathematician, had been deposed by Robert Gray, Bishop of Cape Town, on account of his liberal views on such matters as polygamy (if a man had several wives before he became a Christian, should he be told that he can only keep one when he converted to Christianity or should he be allowed to keep them all?). He also objected the doctrine of the eternal punishment of the non-believer and held other views that were considered heretical. Colenso appealed against his dismissal to the Privy Council and they upheld his appeal for technical reasons. Bishop Gray publicly excommunicated him and appointed another bishop with authority over practically the same diocese.

Against this background, Samuel John Stone, wrote the hymn ‘The Church’s one foundation’. The third verse was particularly apt then – and now:

Though with a scornful wonder

Men see her sore oppressed,

By schisms rent asunder,

By heresies distressed,

Yet saints their watch are keeping,

Their cry goes up, ‘How long?’

And soon the night of weeping

Shall be the morn of song.

 

As a footnote, it is curious to see that some modern hymn books include the hymn but omit this verse. Presumably their compilers reckon that we don’t have any schisms these days.