The Henson Journals

[126]

16th Sunday after Trinity, September 19th, 1920.

This day may be of notable and happy significance, for the assistance of two English bishops at a Swedish Consecration, and their reception of the Holy Communion from Swedish ecclesiastics cannot but be important in the relation of the two churches. The presence of the Greek Archbishop, a friendly spectator of the ceremonial, may suggest some larger possibilities. Allowing fully for the saving factor of episcopacy, the fact that the Church of Sweden is a Lutheran church is the salient ^feature^ in this whole incident. The Church of England breaks through the isolation into which the Oxford movement has brought her, and recovers touch with the other Churches of the Reformation.

The consecration in the cathedral was preceded by the first part of the Communion Service (High Mass), and a rather lengthy sermon. In this we (the Archbishop & other officiants including myself) took no part, but sate unvested in the congregation. Then we went to the vestry, & robed. The display of vestments, mitres, & pastoral staves was very splendid, and the singing, which was thoroughly congregational, pleased me greatly. The Archbishop stood before the altar, and on either side of him, were two bishops, the old bishop of Lund (Billing) and me on his right hand, the bishop of Skåna and the bishop of Peterborough on his left. When we faced the congregation during the Abp's address, the spectacle of the crowded cathedral was most impressive. The Crown Prince attended; Ella sate on his right hand, and Mrs Söderblom on his left. Peterborough and I read our lections in Swedish unblushingly. The vesting of [127] the new bishop of Westerås (Billing) was rather complicated, for his father, the old Bishop of Lund, is 80 years old, & neither he nor I were ^as an^ adept in the work. However the matter was achieved ^sufficiently^ & then both of us (Peterborough & I) ^joined in laying^ hands on the two bishops, while the Archbishop repeated the Lord's Prayer. [There is no other formula of consecration in the Swedish Church.] We returned to the Palace, and talked to the Crown Prince while he lunched before returning to Stockholm by motor–car. Then we took part in the consecration feast, which began at 3 p.m., and ended at 7 p.m. The Archbishop made felicitous speeches in Swedish, English, French, ^German^ & modern Greek. He presented a decoration from the King to the Archbishop Germanos, who replied in modern Greek, which was translated by the young clergyman ^who^ played the rôle of interpreter at the lecture last night. The two new bishops of Westerås & Wisby replied in Swedish, and their speeches seemed to give much satisfaction to the company. I made a brief speech also: & this ended the proceedings.

This banquet can hardly be thought an edifying conclusion to so solemn a service, or a fitting preparation for the Holy Communion, which follows at 8 p.m.: but it answers to the similar Feast which was long customary in England & probably gave rise to the scurrilous Nag's Head fable about Parker's consecration. Indeed, in many ways, the Church of Sweden appears to represent a phase of thought and religious practice similar to that of the Church of England in the pre–Tractarian epoch.

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The Archbishop wore a mitre, & as did the Bp. Of Skära, but the old bishop of Lund did not. It would seem that, though the mitre is insisted upon in official acts, it is not much liked. The Abp. himself expressed his dislike of it very freely. But my brother of Peterboro is enamoured of it.

The Bishop of Peterborough gave an address before the Communion, and Brilioth acted as interpreter. Then the communion followed. It certainly was very impressive, especially the actual administration. Everything was arranged with the utmost solemnity. The consecrated wafer was placed in the mouth of the communicant. During the administration the congregation sang a long devotional chant or chorale, which was also very impressive. Everybody sate throughout save for rising to their feet at one or two points in the Liturgy and kneeling at the communion rail when receiving. The assistant clergy communicated at the end rather than (as with us) at the beginning of the administration. I was struck by the naturalness of the service. There was a complete absence of the fussy self–consciousness which disfigures our ceremonial functions in England. The reason is not obscure. Here in Sweden the medieval system, though drastically altered, has really continued: in England it has been revived. Thus the oldest & most habitual things in the Swedish Service are medieval: in the English Services only the medieval element of dress & ceremony are innovations! Hence our clergy in vestments move with the awkward concern of a nouveau riche in a drawing room.

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I am impressed also by the supreme place ascribed to the Lord's Prayer. [It is the formula of consecration]: it is printed always in the service book in the largest type; it is repeated with a marked solemnity which is very impressive.

The Swedish clergy impress me as very like our own. There are the bovine Silenus types, mainly among the senior men, the clericalists mostly juniors, and ('rari nantes in gurgite vasto' [few swimmers in a vast sea].) the scholars and the saints. There is, perhaps, less uniformity of aspect and manner than among ourselves. The distinctive procedures of our "Anglo–Catholicks" are, however, coming in. There is talk of "retreats", and "quiet days": there is more emphasis on the vestments etc.: and a disposition to sniff at the non–episcopal Lutherans. I have no doubt that the attentions showered upon the Greek Archbishop have their explanation in the same cause. In his case, however, there may be also some political motive, for the Swedes are very anxious to make sure that Constantinople does not fall to Russia. The Greeks are served in their ambitions by the national fear of the Swedes. I interpret by this consideration the bestowal of a Swedish decoration on Germanos. There seems no particular fitness in decorating him for his ecclesiastical activities. Indeed I suspect that the Greeks are steadily pursuing the policy of assisting their diplomacy by the action of their ecclesiastics, who travel far and near, creating public opinion favourable to Greek aspirations. Their complaisance to the Protestant churches is not so religiously significant as politically adroit: but the vanity of the Protestants lays them open to easy delusion.

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