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u
SERMON
I'llEACUElJ AT THK
CONSECRATION OF ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.
QUEBEC,
ON ALL SAINTS' DAY, 1892,
BY
THE VEN. HENRY ROE, D.D.,
ARCHDEACON OF QUEBEC.
» -^^ ^^ •♦^ 4
QUEBEC :
PRINTED AT THE " JIORNING CHRONICLE" OFFICE.
1892.
To
CHARLES HAMILTON,
Lord Bishop of Niagara,
To whose devoted zeal, sound judgmenl
And loving heart,
The Church in Canada, especially in Quebec,
Owes so much,
This Sermon is affectionately inscribed
By its Author.
PREFACE.
•
All Saints' Day, ]892, will long be remembered by
the congregation of S. Matthew's, and will always be
a marked day in the annals of the Church. On it the
Church, now free from any legal incumbrance, was
solemnly consecrated for ever for the worship of God,
according to the rites and discipline of the Church of
England, by Andrew Hunter, Lord Bishop of Quebec.
At 7 o'clock, Morning Prayer was said by the Rer.
T. A. Williams, assistant Priest; the Rev. Lennox W.
Williams, M.A., Rector, reading the Lessons. At 7.30
there w^as a celebration of the Holy Communion ; the
Rector being the celebrant, the Rev. G. G. Nicholls,
M.A., formerly curate of S. Matthew's, now Rector of
Shigawake, Gospeller, and the Rev. T. A. Williams,
Epistoler.
The Consecration Service began at 1 0.30 —the churc
being crowded to its utmost capacity— with a procession
of the choir, church-wardens, clergy and the Bishop,
round the church, singing » The Church's one Found-
ation." The procession entered the church by the
porch under the Tower, and at the door leading into
the nave, the Bishop was received by the clergy and
church-wardens, and John Hamilton, Esq., B.A., the
Rector's church-warden, read a petition, signed by the
Rector and church-wardens, and, Robert Hamilton,
Esq., D.C.L., the Honorable Georsre Irvine* Jurlo-e nf
the Admiralty Court, Cornelius Judge, JBisq., Henry
Pratten, Esq., and William Henry Carter, Esq., mem-
6
bers of the congregation, praying him to consecrate
the church.
The procession now reformod and marched towards
the chancel, singing the XXI Vth Psalm to a Gregorian
chant, the Bishop taking one verse and the choir and
congregation the other. When it reached the chancel,
the Bishop look a seat plated for the purpose, imme-
diately above the chancel steps, and there accepted the
Title Deed from Edwin Pope, Esq., the people's church-
warden ; then conducted by his chaplains, the Vener-
able Archdeacon Roe and the Very Kev. Dean Norman,
he proceeded to the Altar, and kneeling there, invoked
the Divine Blessing in special prayers appointed in the
"Form of service for the consecration of churches." He
now returned to the chancel steps, and E. G-. Meredith,
Esq., N.P., Registrar of the Diocese, read the Sentence
of Consecration, which the Bishop signed and ordered
to be placed in the Registry of ih.3 Diojese ; then,
together with his chaplains and the Priests of S. Mat-
thew's, he proceeded to the sanctuary, while the choir
and congregation sang for introit the Hymn " thou
"Who sitt'st enthroned above all worlds "
The celebration of the Holy Communion then fol-
lowed, the Bishop being celebrant. The service was
Merbeck's and was well rendered. The Archdeacon
read the Epistle (Eph. ii. 13.) and the Dean the Gospel
(S. John ii. 13-18,) the collect Epistle and Gospel were
taken from the " Form of service for the consecration
of churches." After the creed the Hymn " Holy, Holy,
Holy, to Thee our vows we pray," was sung. The
Archdeacon then preached the sermon. The Offertory
was for church improvements. There was no break
made in the service after the prayer of " Church
militant " ; and after the prayer of consecration, the
anthem " O Lamb of God " was sung kneeling. There
was a large number of communicants. The ablutions
were duly made after the Blessing, and the Nunc
Uimittis was sung to a Gregorian chant as a recessional •
and thus was brought to a close one of the most beau^
tiful and reverent services ever h.-ld in the An-lican
Church in Quebec.
The clergy present, in addition to those already men-
tioned, were the Kev. Canon Richardson, Rector of S
Paul's, and Canon of the Cathedral of Quebec ; thJ
Rev. H. J. Petry, B.A., assistant Priest at the Cathedral •
the Rev. J. B. Debbage, B.D., Incumbent of Bourn- Louis •
the Rev. A. J. Balfour, M A., Rector of St. Peter's • the
Rev. W. T. Noble, B.A., Rector of Trinity; the Rev.
C. B. Washer, Incumbent at Portneuf ; the Rev. F. W
Fyles, Immigrant Chaplain at Quebec ; the Rev. L. V.
Lariviere, B.A., acting Rector at Point Levis, and the
Rev. R. H. Cole, B.D., late curate of St. Matthew's.
At 7.45, in the evening, the church was again filled
with a devout congregation, and at 8 o'clock. Shortened
Evensong was sung by the Rev. R. H. Cole and the
Rev. T. A. Williams. The processional Hymn was
" Hark the sound of holy voices." The Hymn "Christ
is made the sure Foundation" . ^.s sung after the third
collect. The Psalms appointeu were the LXXXIVth
CXXIInd, CXXXIInd. The first Lesson was read by
the Rev. Canon Richardson, and the second by the Rev.
Canon Yon Ifliand, M.A., Rector of S. xMichael's and
Canon of the Cathedral. The Hymn "We love the place
O God" was sung before the sermon. The Lord Bishop
preached from the text Haggai ii. 9. The earnestness,
simplicity and beauty of the sermon, deeply impressed
those who had the privilege to hear it. The followino-
IS but the very briefest outline of it : °
8
i. The glory of the iirst Houso-Tomple-was indeed
great ;
ii. The Ibundations of the latter House were laid in
tears ;
iii Yet its glory was to be greater than the glory of
the iormer House, beeauso—
(a) The Incarnate Son of God was to come into its.
(b) to give Peace !
iv. The glory of this Ilouse-Church-is also o-reat
because : — o »
(a) The building and ornaments are indeed beautiful
and are Ihe Iree will offerings of loving hearts
(b) The good works of the Congregation abound.
(c) The men who have been at the head of it have
been devoted and noble men,
(d) Hut above and beyond all the Incarnate Son of
God IS present here-and specially so in the Blessed
Sacrament of the Holy Communion-to give peace and
strength to all who devoutly come here to worship
Him. '■
When the offerings were presented, the Te-Deum
was sung as a solemn act of thanksgiving to Almighty
God, lor the innumerable blessinjrs He had showered
upon the people, and work, of S. Matthew's. Afterthe
Blessing, the Hymn " For all the Saints who from
their labours rest" was sung as a recessional, and thus
brought to a conclusion a very happy, and a blessed
day. m the history of S. Matthew's Church.
At the request of the Bishop and others, the sermon
preached in the morning by the Archdeacon is here-
with printed.
About its merits it is superfluous to say one word
-It speaks for itself. It contains valuable historical
mafter ior S. Matthew's Church, and is full of earnest
exhortafioii to its congregation to "hold fust that
which tliou ha«t that no one lake thy crown." The
selection of the preacher could not have been a happier
one. I rom hh intimate connection wi«h S. Matthew's
trom the hr«t day until now," as being its first Kector
and from the -reat part he has taken, for the last
forty years, in all the noble works of the biocese,
he speaks with authority. But though the selection
was a happy one. yet, from the nature of the case,
thirteen years of the life of the Church->the tenure of
his oflice hrst as curate-in-charge for seven and Rector
for SIX years— could only be referred to.
Sullice it to say, among other things, that it ^^us
largely owing to him under Divine Providence, assisted
by a band of noble and earnest laymen, that the Church
was safely piloted through those troublous times re-
lerred to in the sermon : and, when ho left S. Mat-
thew s, he left it an independent Parish, with more than
p K? , ""^'^"^ communicants, large Sunday Schools and
iiibie Classes, a daily service, an endowment sufficient
to secure its continuance as a free Church for ever and
a llectory built.
Quebec, November. 1892.
Pv. H. C.
*'
SERMON.
Phil. 1, 3, 5, 6, 11. V.
" / tlianlc my God upon all my remembrance qfyou, for yourfellotO'
ship in furtherance of tlie Gospel from the first day until novo; being
confident of this very thing that He which began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.
I need not say, my Brethren, how happy I am to be
able to share with you in this day's festival.
It is a marked day and to be remembered forever in
the life of this conjrregation ; a day when a great
achievement has been completed, when after long years
of patient effort, of large hearted generosity on the part
of some, and of steady self-denying gifts on the part of
others, you are at length able to offer this noble and
beautiful building to the most High God, the Holy
Blessed and aiorious Trinity, for His worship and ser-
vice forever.
In the ages to come, when we who are here shall
have long since passed away, this Church will remain
a monument to the everlasting honour of those brave
and faithful souls who planned and carried out an un-
dertaking of such magnitude.
How happily, too, the day for the dedication has
been chosen ! All Saints.—a festival peculiarly valued
by the founder of this congregation, =* and peculiarly
• Bishop Mountain required his clergy, in cases where they could not
observe all the minor festivals, never to fail in observing All Saints' Day.
boand up with its present life,=Jf will henceforth be
sacred in this parish to a twofold commemoration,—
first of the vast array of the Blessed Dead at rest in the
Paradise of Qod, among whom are many who owe their
souls to the religious training imparted on this spot—
and more specially of those devout men who gave
their thoughts and their time and their money to the
building of this Holy House.
And as in that distant future All Saints' Day returns
m Its yearly round, your children's children will look
back,— just as we now look back over the ages to the
builders of those splendid temples which are the glory
ofour fatherland.-will look back to this day with grate-
ful love ; will look round these walls and up to" this
roof, and through these windows, and onward to this
altar,— and will thank Qod for the good deed you have
done, and which remains to the Church a possession
for ever.
But there is something else besides joy and cono-rat-
ulation on such a day as this; there is a graver lide,
there is responsibility also ; there is the great future of
work and progress. And I would invite you. Brethren,
to spend a few minutes with me now, in considering
the responsibility upon its present congregation which
the possession of so noble a Church with all its inspir-
ing traditions, and the ordering of its services and the
organization of its parish work, must involve.
And first let me lay down one great principal on
which we may safely build.
There are two dangers assailing the life of every
Christian congregation, both carefully to be avoided,
—the danger of a se/fish Congregationalism ; and the
• Oa AH Saiats' Day, 1886, the Rev. Lennox W. Williams was ordained
pneat m St. Matthew's. Tlio Sermon was by Dr. Roe, and was printed.
«
\
18
danger of sinking and forgetting, in care for one's own
soul the all' important relation which each one of us bears
to the congregational life. "
1. For there is such a thing as congregational life.
Every Christian congregation is a corporation, not a
mere chance gathering together of so many individu-
als;— a corporation, with a corporate life and character
which it transmits from generation to generation.
Just as in the natural order, not the State alone is
a corporation with a corporate life and responsibility,
but also within that State,— under and in subordin-
ation to that great supreme corporation,— every Prov-
ince, every City, every Village has its own corporate
life,— as our Lord recognizes and enforces when he
says : •' O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thy house is left unto
thee desolate ; " *' Woe unto the, Chorazin ; woe un-
to thee Bethsaida ;" and " thou Capernaum which art
exalted unto heaven shalt be thrust down to hell."
Yes and every family, too, (and perhaps this is the
best and closest analogy, the Church, every Church,
St. Paul expressely tells us, is the family of God ;)
every family has a family life and character, in a true
sense, apart from the life and character of the individu-
als who make it up,— a life and character which it
hands on and for which it is judged and rewarded or
punished,— advanced in honor and power, or destroy-
ed, as we see going on before our eyes every day. And
just so it is with the Christian congregation.
A Christian congregation is a Christian Church
with all the duties and responsibilities of a Christian
Church ; and everything that is said about the Church
ill the Bible, the promises and the warnings, all belong
to it.
P V
14
Just as it is a sound Church principle that every
Diocese is an independent Church, — a miniature but a
true Kingdom of God, — and that every Bishop is an in-
dependent Prince, as the Psahnist foretold, "Instead of
thy fathers thou shalt have children whom thoumayest
make Princes in all lands," — an independent Prince
ruling over his own principality, — " Ye shall sit upon
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel,"
— notwithstanding that the Holy Church throughout
all the world is one undivided body, — so is a Christian
congregation, presided over by one Pastor, a true Chris-
tian Church, — with a certain independence and person-
ality, — with a tiue Church life, for the care of which it
is responsible, and which it hands down in succession
from generation to generation.
2. And to change that corporate character and life,
once fully formed, is very difficult, — to change it for
the better, if once it be allowed to degenerate, is all but
impossible.
Is it not so, brethren ? Look around you and consider.
The congregation is a large family, — look at the families
you have known, and see how the family characteristics,
— the family type and moral character, are handed on
from generation to generation unchanged. Apart from
and in addition to the character and life of the individual
members there is the family personality, — a certain
stamp, a certain distinguishing colour, or odour, —
we speak of 'the odour of sanctity,' — which attaches it-
self to the man or woman as part of the family, and
which they insensibly hand on.
The mean and unworthy qualities which mark some
families,— hirdness, selfishness;— or again, indolence,
luxury, self-indulgence ; — want of natural affection, dis-
honour to parents, — untrustworthiness ; — how sadly
15
and surely are these transmitted ! And the noble and
generous qualities,^thank God ! none the less surely,
—honour, truth, modesty, generosity,— is it not true',
matter of universal experience, that you can trace these
two types of character in families from generation to
generation ? The proverbs of all nations bear witness
to it. What a sad tale does our own homely proverb
" What is bred in the bone, " tell ! And Noblesse oblige,
what an incentive,— what a world of encouragement
does it not include ?
Andjust as families degenerate, so may and so do
churches.
What a mournful picture is presented by the decay of
/a;»//iW,— families once in high positions of wealth, res-
ponsibility and honour, of which they proved them-
.selves unworthy and from which they fell ! And what
noble and inspiring thing to see in other families the
assured principles of permanence— truth and honour,
mutual affection, public spirit, a sense of responsibility!
You can in your own personal knowledge, it may be,
trace that family life backwards and forwards for 'two,'
or three, or four generations ;— you see it with all those
principles of permanence ruling throughout in its
family life ; and you feel a joyous confidence that it
will be lasting.
And this,— this general law, which rules everywhere
in God's Providential Government over the affairs of
men.— finds its fulfilment also in the Church of Christ.
Tarn your thoughts upon the congregations you have
known and pass them in review before your mind one
by one, and must you not recognize this as true ? Must
you not recognize that there are these great radical dif-
ferences,— this healthful development and progress of
religious life, and these heart-breaking hopeless°decay8
16
in Christian con2rre,:rations ? Some con-re-ations,-
the very thought of them is m^^^,/,_al ways to be relied
upon always to be found pn the ri^ht side,-full of
he pfulness and kindly sympathy for all good works
both within and outside their own borders, and with
a warm intelligent interest in the Church's ^T '^ire in
distant lands. Others.-selfishly absorbed in pi -dino.
for their own congregational needs and comforts-
perhaps luxuries, and looking coldly and grudgingly on
claims from abroad for " fellowship in futherance of tho
Gospel of Christ." To say nothing of congregations
censorious, disloyal, suspicious.-congreffations, divided
and rent asunder by faction.-congregations whose life-
blood is poisoned by social je^lousies,-none of which
we may hope are to be found within measureable dis-
tance of this loyal and united Diocese.
3. And when we bring this view of congregational
life and responsibility to the test of the loord of God, will
not the least examination show that it is entirely borne
""n rt '°f "^^^ • One fact is enough.-the fact that
all St. Pauls letters with one exception are addressed
to Chnrches not to individuals,-and that in those let-
ters the iaults he reproves, he charges not upon the in-
dividuals but upon the Church ;-the congregation it is
that he holds responsible. The good works which he
commends, the healthful progress in love and faith
which he praises,— he credits to the Church --the
congregation is praised for it aIl,-not the individual.
But all this comes out with overwhelming vividness
and force m quite a different place of Holy Scripture
-m the Seven Epistles of Our Lord to the seven Church^
es of Asia in ihe openingof theBookof the Revelation.
There you have seven neighbouring Churches.-con-
gregation8,-each with its own distinctive character -
■ r
'■r
17
each praised, or blamed, as a Church ;— the commenda-
tion of the most varied character given to the Church,
to the Society, to the congregation in its corporate capac-
ity ;— the censure again widely varied,— from blame
comparatively mild, mingled with praise, to unmixed
censure of the extremest severity,— but all addressed to
the Church, to the congregation, which is held respon-
sible for the spiritual condition of the whole.
Glance at the characterization of each:— The first,—
" Thou hast left thy first love ; remember from whence
thou art fallen and repent, or I will come to thee and
remove thy candlestick out of its place."— The 2nd,—
" I know thy poverty, but thou art rich ; fear not ; hi
thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of
life."— The 3rd,— "Thou holdest My Name ; but I have
a few things against thee ; repent or else I will come
unto thee quickly."— The 4th,— Pure praise—" I know
thy works, and thy love, and faith, and service and pa-
tience ; and that thy last works are more than the
first."— The 5th,— unmixed censure—" Thou hast a
name that thou livest, and thou art dead ; I have
found no works of thine perfect before my God."— The
6th, — the highest commendation- ' I know thy works
that thou didst keep My word, and didst not deny My
name. Because thou didst ko.>p My word I will' also
keep thee from the hour of trial."— The 7th,— absolute
condemnation—'- Because thou art naither cold nor hot
but lukewarm, I will spui^ thee out of My mouth."
4. And now, my Brethren, shall I venture to apply
the touch-stone of this great principle to St. Matthew's,
the Church and congregation we all love so well ?
Can we trust ourselves to weigh the matter f lirly,
to judge impartially in a case so entirely our own?
Yes, I think we can, if we remember two things, —first,
2
18
that the present congregational life of any Church is
not due for the main part to what those who now form
the congregation have done, but to the labours and
lives of those who have gone before ; and, secondly,
that the congregational life and conscience may be
sound and healthy on the whole, while the private
life and conscience of any one who is now a member
may be most miserably defective,— may be a blot and a
hindrance— a menace and a source of danger to the
whole body. A humble minded Christian may form a
true judgment and render a true verdict in deciding
that the congregational life is healthy while in his own
inmost heart of hearts before Goc^ he may disclaim any
personal share in the congregation's victories and tri-
umphs. And so, while I would have you all join with
one heart and one soul in thankful acknowledgment of
what this your congregation is doing and has done, I
would counsel you to be far from taking praise for the
same to yourselves individually. What a Christian
congregation is at any time is an inheritance,— handed
down to it, in most cases, from a long succession of
men and women who have passed away to God. So
our Lord teaches :— '« Other men laboured and ye are
entered into their labours."
My Brethren, in the congregational life of St. Mat-
thew's, we who are outside recognize that you have a
very precious inheritance, a great trust and responsibil-
ity. An inheritance to be handed on improved, we hope,
developed, enriched ever more and more " with the
fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to
the glory and praise of God." We trace,- 1 for one do,
—most of what is most precious in the past and in the
present of this Church to the faith and heroism of those
l^oly men ^nd women— not now with us,— but who
19 •
having served their generation by the will of God in
this place are surely to be remembered in this day's
festival.
The life of this congregation, like that of many in
our young country, is short and easily traced out.
I am one of the very few living who may claim in
the words of my text to have known it almost " from
the first day until now." To the love and zeal of
Bishop George Mountain, exclusively, this parish
owes its existence. Happily we possess an authentic
account of those beginnings :— '• He had a monthly ser-
vice on Sunday, in French," writes his son Armine,
" at the Burying-Ground, for the benefit of Jersey and
Guernsey people. The Sunday Evening Services at
that place were however his chief delight. He began
in the end of 1822 with a large room in the Sexton's
house. This room very soon became too small for the
congregation, and the whole house was then thrown
into one. In 1827-8 the windows were arched, a cu-
pola was built, in which a bell was placed, and the
interior was fitted with open benches, and decently
furnished, so that it had a sufficiently ecclesiastical
appearance. His sermons here always consisted of
plain and familiar expositions of Scripture, delivered
without a book, and there was scarcely ever standing
room in the chapel. The service and singing were
most hearty, and he so loved to preach the Gospel to
the poor that often on Sunday nights, when he came
home nearly worn out in body, he would say ' his soul
had been refreshed.' I shall never forget his sorrow,"
Mr. Mountain adds, " when he saw the place he loved
so well destroyed by fire on the 28th June, 1845." ^
* Memoir of Bishop G. J. Mountain, by the Rev. A. W. Mountain.
Quebec, 1866, page 100,
20
Such wore tho beginnings:— it sprang out of the
heart, and was nurtured l)y all tho best powers of a
true saint.
I suppose there was scarcely ever such a ministry
as that of Uishop George Mountain,— a ministry in
which tho pastor was so entirely absorbed in his work
day and night, so much of it spent in the houses of the
poor, by the bedsides of tho sick and dying,— a minis-
try so characterized by hoaveiily-mindednoss, humili-
ty, the very fire of love, carrying the cross in his heart
every day and hour,— and which evoked from his
people so entire a reverence, trust and love. "The
people of Quebec in those days," I was told by an
aged member now with God, " so loved Archdeacon
Mountain, that they would have paved tho streets
under his feet with gold if it would have done him
any good." No wonder that such a ministry left so
indelible a stamp upon this so peculiarly his own con-
gregation !
Tho chapel burnt down in 1845 was replaced by a
plain stone church in 1840. Sunday evening services
only were held down to the end of 1852, exactly
thirty years, when a Sunday morning service was pro-
vided at his own expense by Mr. Armine Mountain,
then his father's curate. Two years lator— after five
years of the most devoted service here— Mr. Mountain
removed to St. Michael's, when St, Matthew's w^as
made a separate charge, and I became its first Incum-
bent. Bishop Mountain however reserved to himself
the right to preach in St. Matthew's every alternate
Sunday evening when he was in town, and continued
to do so down to the year 1858. I had thus the privi-
lege of listening for Ibur years to those expoulory ser-
mons of his. And what wonderful sermons they were !
t
il
■
t
I V
r
And what a sij^ht it was to sco the whole congregation
hanging upon his lips and eagerly drinking in his
words !
Thirteen years later,— now exactly twenty-five yenrs
ago,— I resigned the charge into the hands of Charles
Hamilton. My sense of the value of his ministry I
have often expros,sed/i<= Under him this noble church
was built, and the work of the parish, which makes it
a praise in the whole Church, organized. As to the
labours of Bishop Ilamiltoii's su(^cessors, in their pre-
sence I say nothing.
5. A few words, in conclusion, from my own per-
sonal knowledge of the work done by St. Matthew's in
" furtherance of the Gospel from the first day until
now."
The text w^hich I have chosen exactly expresses
what I myself think and feel, and I am sure I am not
misinterpreting your thoughts, brethren, when I add,
—which we all think and feel about the past and fa^
ture of St. Matthew's.
Looking back over the past history of the Philippian
Church, St. Paul sees the whole of it to be matter of
thankfulness. Surely that is how we must all feel to-day
in looking back over the past history of this church.
♦ Extract from a sormoa preachcl by Arclideacon Roe at tho onlitia-
t.on hold by the Lord Bishop of Quebec at St. Matthew's Church on All
Hainta' Day, 18S6, page 13 :
"The whole history of this parish, how animating to the heart of its
pastors, how comforting to every true Christian heart! Two families shine
out, who may well be commemorated on All Saints' Day. Bishop George
Mountain, Armine Mountain, George Hamilton, as already gathered to the
hamts of Gou, we may name. And another, though still with us, yet, as
Ills work on this spot is closed, we may also venture to name, as one whose
m.nistrj-of recouciliation has surely borne tho stamp of true sanctity,
whose example must remain a tower of strength to his successors for ever-
ourown beloved Charles Hamilton." '-See also JanuKE MEMomof Chuhch •
SOCIKTT, 1892, p. 16.
The grouarl of his thankfulness ho declares to bo
their folUnrship. the joiat shar. they had always had,
—'from th« drtf day until now,' in the fuilherance of
the Gospel. Thut vv * have the same grounu of thank-
fulness in abundant measure I shall show.
Looking on to the future, he sees in store for them
an e\'(3r progressive development and growth of the
noble 'work',— the noble character and temper which
G-od had begun in them,— a growth never to cease
until it became perfect at the day of the Lord Jesus.
These without question are our hopes and prayers also
for the future of this church and parish.
" I thank my God for your fellowship in furtherance
of the Gospel from the first day until now."
The fellowship of this Church and congregation in
the i\L herance of the Gospel from the first day until
now,— it would be a long story to sot this forth in its
fulness.
i. There is, first, the conspicuous part which St.
Matthew's has taken directly and indirectly in the
general organization of the finances of the Diocese, an
organization truly wonderful.*
There is next the good example the congregation
has always shown in cheerfully contributing its
money, when asked, for all the varied enterprises of
Christian benevolence in the Diocese and elsewhere.
It is no small thing that when our reverend clergy
have been compelled to take upon themselves for
Christ's sake that most burdensome of all tasks, soli-
citing money from door to door, from office to office,
for providing the i -truments of their warfare,—
churches, schools, cli^r^-^ Jv.:ise-, colleges for training
• Full details of this remanvab;'.- cvTatiiiation ma; oe found in the Ju-
BiLKE Memoir of the Chobch Society, lc>92.
i
23
i
the clor-y, thoy well know i.'iat they will moet with
no rough imp itiont ropiilsj from the congregation of
St. Matthew's— no cold shoulder from its clergy. The
liberal and loving spirit shown by this congregation
in sending their money away to help the work of the
church not only in th.i Diocese but outside, has both
r.mutod ai blessing upon the congregation itself, by
iiurf-iring unselfish habits and principles in their own
souls, -and also helped towards evoking the same
spirit everywhere.
ii. But this.-though it is what St. Paul is especiallv
reierring to in ray text, -the encouragement alForded
him by the money contributions sent again and again
from Philippi to help his work,— is after all the least
part of what this church has done towards the further-
ance of the Gospel.
Three things of the first importance I will mention
m which the religious life and example of St. Mat-
thew's has been of marked value to the church.
(1) The first is, the Worship of God. The o-reatest
practical evil in the Church of England at the°bigin-
mng of this century was the decay of public worship;
and there is no reform to be compared in. value to the
restoration of worship to its proper place in the con-
science and lives of our people.
The bright example St. Matthew's has shown in
making worship the first thing in the Christian life by
giving back to the people the Daily Service, now thirty,
two years ago, -by restoring the Holy Eucharist
to Its place as the pr .per distinctive service of the
Lord's Day,— and by making all the services congrega-
tional,— attractive bv their dirrnitr nnri Kaa,,f,r ^^ulu
tree Irom meretricious ornaments, and absolutely loyal
to the prayer book,-has been of unspeakable value to
24
the Diocese and to the church. It has helped to raise
the conceptions of our people everywhere on the sub-
ject of worship to a better standard ; and it has helped
to show how such a great practical reform as this may
be effected with the hearty good will of the whole con-
gregation.
(2) I place next, the loyal support which St. Mat-
thew's has always from the first day until now, given
^^'ith unswerving fidelity to the Church's legitimate
rulers and to the Church's legitimate principles.
There was a time when the rulers of the Church in
this city might have said with St. Paul-what the
saintly Bishop, your founder, did say again and again,
— " We are troubled on every side, -distressed,— cast
down,— pressed out of measure above strength ; with-
out are fightings, within are fears."'
There was a time, -my younger hearers know little
or nothing of it, though there are still many amon-
the older men who can enter into what I say,— there
came a time of fierce persecution in this city,— a per-
secution ol principles, and of men with a view to root
out sound principles,— a persecution which it would
be difficult to make the younger members of the
church now even understand, so wicked and senseless
was It, and so completely did it defeat itself and come
to naught.
Think what it must have been to wring from the
gentle and saintly Bishop Mountain such an appeal as
this,~an appeal made in print, to his own people in
his own Cathedral city, (I cull a sentence or two from
a book of more than seventy pages :— )
"Suffer me^to speak one poor" word of the present
i^ishop of this Diocese. I have gone in and out
before this people,-my own people in Quebec,-for
n
t
I ^
1
II.
n
k
forty-one years. For forty-one years I have Watch-
ed and prayed and worked for them.-without ceasing
watched and prayed and worked. • I am old and
grey-headed and I have walked before you from my
youth unto this day. Behold here I am, witness
against me before the Lord.' I challenge the world to
show that I have been unfaithful to the true interests
of the Church of England or swerved from the procla-
mation of Christ crucified." And again,—" You, then,
in this Diocese, who love the Reformed Church of
England, know I beseech you who are vour friends.
They are not your friends who sound an alarm in this
Diocese. The interests of our Anglican Protestantism
m this Diocese, I am bold to say, are much safer in my
hands and in the hands of those who support me, than
m the hands of men who would bring our fidelity into
question. For my own fidelity, of course, is brou"ht
into question."^ °
Judge from these words of deeply wounded feelino-
wrung from the very heart of the aged Bishop, what
the times were.
The steadfastness of St. Matthew's in those days of
trial,— its thorough loyalty to its Bishop,-the quiet-
ness and peace and goodness which reigned within
the congregation,— the calm good sense with which its
members withstood the efforts ceaselessly made to
alarm them, with false cries of Romanizing innova-
tions,— all this was a tower of strength to the whole
Diocese, and helped largely to make it come forth, as
it did, out of a storm of such violence, not only not in-
jured but immensely strengthened. To the laity this
• CoNsiDBiiATioNS Relative to certain luterruptions of the Peace of tiie
2^
was hrgely due. Never, surely, were there a body of
laity so loyal, so true, so intelligent as were the laity
of St. Matthew's in those old formative days, when the
links which bound them and their pastors together
were forged in the very fire.
(3) The storm passed over, and we were left some
years m peace. Yet one more trial came,_one last
desperate eifort,-falling like a thunderbolt out of a
clear sky,_by which the loyalty of St. Matthew's and
Its smcere adherence to sound principles wore put to
perhaps a still severer test.
Our saintly founder, Bishop Mountain, died on the
6th January, 1863. On the very day on which he was
buried a formal proposal was ^nade to the rector elect
--bt. Matthew's being still technicall v a chapel of ease
within the parish, -to endow the chapel with a lam-e
sum of money,-enough to free the congregation for
ever from the burden of its own maintenance,-on con-
dition thit the selection and appointment of the cler-y-
man should be made over in perpetuitv to the same
extreme party in the Church.
How was this received ? The congregation came to-
gether to consider the matter. No clergyman was
present, the laity asking to be left to themselves. The
Church was crowded. Henry Pratten was in the chair.
George Irvine moved the resolution. The temptino.
offer was calmly considered; its advantages and the se"-
nous consequences of its rejection fully and fairly set
torth ; and then by a unanimous vote it was deliber-
ately rejected. When one remembers that the great "
body of the congregation were then of the workinn-
class, the noble heroism of this rejection of so great a
sura Ox money will be understood.
It would be ungrateful to forget how much St. Mat-
' I ^
4
' I ">
' I ^
2^
the w's was indebted at this time of trial in the matter
of securing its status as an independent congregation
to the wisdom, firmness, and sense of justice of one
w^ho must be much in our loving memories on this
day,— our late beloved Bishop Williams *
It is not easy to say what the result would have been
if this attempt to gain possession of St. Matthew's had
been successful. Certainly, the religious history of the
Diocese must have been widely different. And we
may safely say that the faithfulness to principle on the
part of St. Matthew's at that crisis was one of the
most important services ever rendered in this Diocese
to the true furtherance of the Gospel.
This was the last attempt to disturb us. " The over-
flowing scourge passed over." The fires of fanaticism
burnt themselves out. And a blessed peace ensued
which has made the Diocese of Quebec a sort of
Paradise amid the divisions and vexations of party
warfare which have so greviously marred the fur-
therance of the Gospel in other fields.
This blessed " Peace of God " I trace largely to St.
Matthew's,-to the wisdom and Christian temper then
displayed by its clergy and its laity,-to their generous
kindness and forbearance towards those who had
"despitefully used then and persecuted them "—to
their absolute freedom from party spirit, and to the
genumeness of their loyalty to the Church of England.
•Bishop Williams, then newly consecrated, refused, notwithstanding the
utmost pressure brought to bear upon him, to induct the Rector-elect until
he Synod had been called and pronounced upon the question of dividing
tJe K"t Jo' r "f °" ''''' ''•'"' ''''' '^"'^ ^''''"^ -^ C'^"^" 'l-'^'ine
t'a...h.{ Quebec, and erecting St. Matthew's and all the other Church-
es w.thm the parish into independent Chapelries. These Chapelries were
raised to the status of Rectories by an amendment to the Canon passed in
My brethren of St. Matthew's, this is your peculiar
f?lory. This is pre-eraiuently the " jrood work " which
aod be-an on this spot seventy >ears ago. under
liishop Mountain's wonderful preaching and more
wonderful life,-the good work of building up here a
congregation of loyal English Churchmen, -faithful
helpful, true.hearted.-planting in their hearts true'
principles, which should be the antidote to the disloyal
and disintegrating principles which tried with such
energy and persistency to dominate this Diocese -a
congregation whose spirit and temper and -'ood
example should be the best instrument for the fur-
therance of the Gospel.
And He who began this good work in that humble
room seventy years ago, and has nourished it ever
since ;-He who has kept the congregation. His chosen
instrument for the doing of His work, so far throu^-h
so many trials, and made it what it is to-day —He
surely will perfect that same good work amon^ you
until the day of Jesus Christ.
This is your inheritance. Brethren, this is the rrreat
trust He has committed to you,-a life, a congregational
lite, character, traditions, inestimablv sacred and pre-
cious. Will you let it degenerate? God forbid! But
remember that the only way you can preserve and trans-
mit it safely, is, by every one of you individuals cul-
tivatmg as the first and most necessary and best' fruit
of your congregational life,-the fruit it gives to you
and which you must be ever giving back unsullied to
it,-personal holiness.-entire personal consecration to
the love and service of Jesus Christ. The true saints
of God alone, All Saints' Day surely teaches us this,
do further His gospel upon earth and will reign with
Him in Heaven.
APPENDIX.
It is proposed to place on record here the main facts
m the history of St. Matthew's Church as matters of
interest to those who shall come after.
THE SITE.
The Burial Ground, part of which forms the site of
the Church, was made over by letters patent from the
Crown dated 19th August, 1823. to the Rector and
Church- Wardens of the Protestant Parish of Quebec
the Mmister and Trustees of the Church of Scotland'
and the Military Chaplain, and to their successors, as
a Protestant Burying Ground for ever.
The building then on the ground, (the first St
Matthew's Chapel) used by the Church of England for
public worship, was secured to that body.
In 1868, the Legislature of the Province of Quebec
granted to the authorities of St. Matthew's Chapel the
right of appropriating so much of the ground as mi-ht
be needful for the enlargement of the building. °
THE FIRST BEGINNINGS.
The Jlrst beginnin