{"pages":{"341":{"imagePath":"H:\\web_projects\\corpus-web\\electron-app\\data\\5e07978430078cb56ea89a104e5a0c0e50b3aa1618e48c486c8af005ae015143\\raw\\pages\\00365-00a64c077b206746b42a.webp","width":1170,"height":1680,"segments":[{"text":"SOURCE MATERIALS","box":{"x":472,"y":167,"width":251,"height":18}},{"text":"341","box":{"x":1005,"y":164,"width":55,"height":20}},{"text":"on the land; and the entire colony had been placed on a firm","box":{"x":136,"y":216,"width":921,"height":31}},{"text":"financial footing, and was capable of supporting its entire native","box":{"x":137,"y":244,"width":921,"height":31}},{"text":"population as well as the white missionaries. Several German","box":{"x":132,"y":272,"width":925,"height":29}},{"text":"Brothers were in charge of the boys' school and orphanage and","box":{"x":130,"y":296,"width":926,"height":36}},{"text":"assisted Fr. Felix in ministering to the spiritual needs of the","box":{"x":137,"y":328,"width":922,"height":28}},{"text":"converts; Franciscan Sisters of the Propagation of the Faith of","box":{"x":134,"y":356,"width":926,"height":31}},{"text":"Lyons looked after the girls' school and orphanage and the","box":{"x":132,"y":382,"width":925,"height":32}},{"text":"dispensary, and taught catechism to old and young females.","box":{"x":133,"y":410,"width":837,"height":32}},{"text":"165.","box":{"x":242,"y":507,"width":56,"height":22}},{"text":"CONGREGATIONALIST CRITICISM OF","box":{"x":332,"y":507,"width":614,"height":22}},{"text":"THE PROPOSED SCHEME OF UNION IN SOUTH","box":{"x":200,"y":540,"width":791,"height":24}},{"text":"INDIA (1929 A.D.)","box":{"x":463,"y":573,"width":263,"height":27}},{"text":"These critical comments by A. H. Legg, a London Missionary","box":{"x":221,"y":630,"width":785,"height":25}},{"text":"Society missionary, were in response to the publication, in 1929, of","box":{"x":183,"y":655,"width":827,"height":25}},{"text":"the First Edition of the Scheme of Union put forward by negotiators","box":{"x":185,"y":682,"width":823,"height":25}},{"text":"representing the South India United Church, the Anglican Church,","box":{"x":185,"y":706,"width":824,"height":27}},{"text":"and the (English) Wesleyan Methodist Church. Legg spoke for a","box":{"x":182,"y":728,"width":826,"height":28}},{"text":"number of persons both within the SIUC and abroad who felt that.","box":{"x":183,"y":755,"width":830,"height":25}},{"text":"union on the proposed terms was sacrificing too much Christian liberty.","box":{"x":181,"y":781,"width":827,"height":27}},{"text":"From a pamphlet entitled 'An Examination from the Congregational","box":{"x":182,"y":805,"width":824,"height":25}},{"text":"point of view, with some suggestions', cited in A. J. Arangadan,","box":{"x":183,"y":829,"width":823,"height":28}},{"text":"Church Union in South India, its Progress and Consummation, pp. 35-43.","box":{"x":182,"y":857,"width":826,"height":25}},{"text":"The advocates of the scheme claim that an attempt has been","box":{"x":178,"y":914,"width":880,"height":29}},{"text":"made to conserve for the united Church the elements of value in","box":{"x":132,"y":941,"width":925,"height":27}},{"text":"each of the traditions that are to be brought together, and the","box":{"x":130,"y":969,"width":928,"height":32}},{"text":"scheme itself contemplates affiliation with, amongst others, the","box":{"x":133,"y":995,"width":922,"height":32}},{"text":"World Union of Congregational Churches. It seems to me doubt-","box":{"x":127,"y":1025,"width":931,"height":29}},{"text":"ful whether the vital elements in such diverse traditions as are","box":{"x":132,"y":1051,"width":924,"height":28}},{"text":"represented can be preserved in any scheme which contemplates","box":{"x":132,"y":1081,"width":925,"height":32}},{"text":"so close and rigid an organic union as this scheme does. But let","box":{"x":132,"y":1110,"width":925,"height":28}},{"text":"us examine some of the vital elements in Congregationalism and","box":{"x":129,"y":1135,"width":926,"height":31}},{"text":"see what prospect there is of their conservation. We have,","box":{"x":130,"y":1165,"width":922,"height":32}},{"text":"of course, to bear in mind that Congregationalists who have","box":{"x":127,"y":1191,"width":928,"height":35}},{"text":"entered the S.I.U.C. have already to some extent modified their","box":{"x":129,"y":1221,"width":926,"height":29}},{"text":"congregational practices. We shall refer again to this matter later.","box":{"x":130,"y":1249,"width":924,"height":32}},{"text":"Meanwhile it will be interesting to see how far this new scheme","box":{"x":127,"y":1275,"width":928,"height":31}},{"text":"will take us from the strictly Congregational position.","box":{"x":127,"y":1304,"width":770,"height":34}},{"text":"1. The individual congregation and the individual church","box":{"x":175,"y":1359,"width":883,"height":31}},{"text":"member. One of the most obvious characteristics of historic Congre-","box":{"x":130,"y":1389,"width":925,"height":29}},{"text":"gationalism has been the importance it has attributed to the indi-","box":{"x":129,"y":1416,"width":926,"height":31}},{"text":"vidual congregation and to the individual church member. The","box":{"x":126,"y":1441,"width":925,"height":34}},{"text":"ideal of a Congregational Church is a group of sincere believers","box":{"x":130,"y":1471,"width":922,"height":32}},{"text":"in Christ, conscious that they are called by Him out of a wordly","box":{"x":130,"y":1498,"width":922,"height":35}},{"text":"life, to live in fellowship. Gathered together in solemn meeting","box":{"x":129,"y":1527,"width":924,"height":32}}]},"342":{"imagePath":"H:\\web_projects\\corpus-web\\electron-app\\data\\5e07978430078cb56ea89a104e5a0c0e50b3aa1618e48c486c8af005ae015143\\raw\\pages\\00366-c6de4d8eb60155344d25.webp","width":1170,"height":1680,"segments":[{"text":"342","box":{"x":119,"y":150,"width":55,"height":17}},{"text":"HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA","box":{"x":347,"y":155,"width":474,"height":20}},{"text":"they believe their Lord is in the midst of them guiding them by","box":{"x":119,"y":204,"width":924,"height":29}},{"text":"His Spirit. Thus they cannot submit their consciences to be guided","box":{"x":118,"y":232,"width":922,"height":29}},{"text":"by any outside authority. Hence such a congregation claims the","box":{"x":116,"y":260,"width":926,"height":29}},{"text":"right to govern itself, to call its own minister, to decide its own","box":{"x":122,"y":287,"width":919,"height":32}},{"text":"membership, to decide its own form of worship, and to formulate","box":{"x":119,"y":315,"width":922,"height":32}},{"text":"its own statement of belief if it desires to do so. It may take advice","box":{"x":122,"y":344,"width":919,"height":28}},{"text":"from outside its membership, but the responsibility of decision","box":{"x":122,"y":371,"width":919,"height":31}},{"text":"remains with it. In this governance of the Church each adult com-","box":{"x":123,"y":400,"width":918,"height":29}},{"text":"municant member has an equal voice. The knowledge and gifts","box":{"x":120,"y":427,"width":921,"height":31}},{"text":"of the members will certainly vary and so will the influence they","box":{"x":122,"y":455,"width":922,"height":31}},{"text":"exert on the common life. But we cannot confine the guidance","box":{"x":120,"y":483,"width":922,"height":29}},{"text":"of the Holy Spirit either to the intellectually gifted or to the theo-","box":{"x":120,"y":514,"width":924,"height":29}},{"text":"logically learned each member should, in fact, feel a personal","box":{"x":120,"y":539,"width":921,"height":32}},{"text":"responsibility to participate in (the affairs of the Church) to the best","box":{"x":122,"y":566,"width":921,"height":35}},{"text":"of his opportunity and ability.","box":{"x":122,"y":595,"width":434,"height":32}},{"text":"Now in the United Church as outlined in this scheme it seems","box":{"x":168,"y":641,"width":873,"height":27}},{"text":"certain that this emphasis on the importance of the individual","box":{"x":123,"y":668,"width":918,"height":32}},{"text":"congregation and individual church member would disappear.","box":{"x":120,"y":696,"width":917,"height":31}},{"text":"They would be swamped in a vast and complex organisation, would","box":{"x":118,"y":724,"width":925,"height":32}},{"text":"become mere cogs in the machine. A church would not be able to","box":{"x":119,"y":752,"width":922,"height":35}},{"text":"call its own minister or suspend its own backsliding members.","box":{"x":122,"y":780,"width":919,"height":31}},{"text":"The bishop or the Diocesan Council might often act in accordance","box":{"x":120,"y":808,"width":922,"height":31}},{"text":"with the wish and judgement of the congregation, but they might","box":{"x":119,"y":834,"width":925,"height":35}},{"text":"also often act contrary to them.","box":{"x":123,"y":865,"width":448,"height":29}},{"text":"2. The ministry and the sacraments. Congregationalists believe","box":{"x":169,"y":913,"width":875,"height":32}},{"text":"in a ministry. But they have no room for priests. Let me explain","box":{"x":127,"y":941,"width":917,"height":32}},{"text":"more closely what I mean, for the terms are open to various inter-","box":{"x":122,"y":969,"width":922,"height":34}},{"text":"pretations. We believe in a ministry in the sense that we believe","box":{"x":120,"y":996,"width":922,"height":32}},{"text":"that Christ calls certain people to devote themselves specifically","box":{"x":122,"y":1023,"width":924,"height":34}},{"text":"to the work of the Church and of evangelisation, and that the Holy","box":{"x":125,"y":1051,"width":921,"height":32}},{"text":"Spirit guides the Church to set apart such people for that work.","box":{"x":125,"y":1080,"width":919,"height":32}},{"text":"But we do not believe that there are any functions of the ministry","box":{"x":118,"y":1107,"width":926,"height":32}},{"text":"which cannot be properly and validly performed by unordained","box":{"x":119,"y":1135,"width":924,"height":32}},{"text":"members of the Church...","box":{"x":125,"y":1166,"width":375,"height":25}},{"text":"From what has been said above it will be clear that our idea of","box":{"x":169,"y":1210,"width":878,"height":28}},{"text":"the ministry leaves no room for the theory of Apostolic Succession,","box":{"x":123,"y":1237,"width":921,"height":35}},{"text":"for that introduces again the idea of a ministry to which certain","box":{"x":125,"y":1265,"width":919,"height":32}},{"text":"graces and powers are inherent and restricted. Now the Proposed","box":{"x":120,"y":1295,"width":925,"height":34}},{"text":"Scheme does not include belief in the theory of Apostolic Succes-","box":{"x":123,"y":1322,"width":922,"height":31}},{"text":"sion. It bases itself on the 'Historic Episcopate in a constitution","box":{"x":125,"y":1350,"width":919,"height":31}},{"text":"form and distinctly says that no particular theory concerning","box":{"x":125,"y":1378,"width":919,"height":32}},{"text":"episcopacy is intended to be implied thereby","box":{"x":125,"y":1408,"width":627,"height":34}},{"text":"3. Creeds. I do not think that as Congregationalists we have","box":{"x":174,"y":1454,"width":871,"height":32}},{"text":"any fundamental objection to statements of belief provided that","box":{"x":126,"y":1483,"width":918,"height":34}},{"text":"they are not thrust upon us by others against our conscience. But","box":{"x":127,"y":1512,"width":919,"height":32}}]}}}