Bishop James Parker Dees, A Low Churchman? Part 5

Excerpt from "Concept of the Holy"

A sermon by Bishop James Parker Dees

God has chosen certain places and things and people and days to be particularly holy in order that He may speak through them to the world.  He has set up holy places in which we worship.   We believe that God is everywhere, but we believe that He has particularly set aside His Church, our church, as a place in which His children may come and find Him and find salvation. A church building is not just something of boards and bricks or mortar, an organ, and pews, and so on; it is a holy place, dedicated to the Holy One who makes it holy by His Presence.  And His children know He does.  And that is why we kneel when we come into church--not simply because it is the practice of the Church, but because we are in the House of God, and in His presence, the presence of Him who sanctifies the Church and His people.  This is why we don't play light or unseemly music in Church—because it has been consecrated to God and is consecrated by His Spirit.  That is why we don't talk about unseemly and frivolous things in church -because reverence and worship are fitting in His presence. This is why we bow our heads when we pass in front of the Cross, recognizing the presence of Christ Jesus. The Church is a holy place; it is a holy place because it is dedicated to the worship of God and is blessed with His Spirit.  When we come into church, we should be reminded of the words of God to Moses:   "The ground whereon thou standest is holy ground ...

God has also called a people to be a holy people, and out of this holy people, He has called a sacred ministry.  He has called men into Holy Orders, His ministry, to make Him known to the world, and He gives to them His Holy Spirit. He has called them to mediate his Divine Grace which is able to save souls. His ministers are called by God for a special task, and have a special task, and are endowed with His Holy Spirit for that task. Their task is to bring God to man and to lead man to God. Ministers should be called of the Lord, and should be considered to be holy to the Lord, and they should consider themselves to be holy to the Lord. God's ministers are called to mediate God's Holy Spirit through the Holy Sacraments, through the Sacrament of Baptism, in which we are born into God's Holy family, and through the Sacrament of the Holy Communion, in which we are spiritually fed with our blessed Saviour himself for the strengthening and nourishing of our souls.  Jesus said, in the sixth chapter of St. John, "Except a man eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, he hath no life in him."  

Bishop James Parker Dees a Low Churchman?

June 28, 1972

Memorandum To: The Clergy

Subject: The significance of the Episcopate, Holy Orders, and the Sacraments in this Church.

My dear Brethren:

Greetings!

As all of you know, we have been relying heavily on Bishop J.C. Ryle in the preparation of Lay Readers’ sermons.  Bishop Ryle was a man of great spiritual depth and was a profound Biblical Scholar.

Bishop James Parker Dees, 3/1969

I have found, however, that Bishop Ryle, in his writings, tends to minimize the Episcopate, Holy Orders, and the Sacraments.  He places great emphasis on the Scriptures and Biblical Truth and on a man’s personal relationship with God, but he belittles Ecclesiastical structure and the things mentioned above.  I have found that he has virtually no conception at all of the sacramental nature of the church, and he does not hesitate to run it down on many occasions in his writings, casting aspersions on the Episcopate, Holy Orders and those who are in Holy Orders, and on the significance of the Sacraments as well.

When preparing Lay Readers’ sermons from Bishop Ryle’s writings, we have wisely deleted Bishop Ryle’s observations concerning these things and have used his positive contributions in the area of the Scriptures.

I want to warn you all about this weak spot in Bishop Ryle’s writings.  His position in regard to these matters is not the position of this Church. 

[This] Church recognizes the Episcopate, Holy Orders, and the Sacraments as being the essence of this Church.  These things constitute the “esse” of this Church; and not just the “bene esse,” as some would contend.**  This is not to say that people in churches without the episcopate are lost.  It is to say that they lack something that this church has and which we think is necessary in order to have Apostolical ecclesiastical authority, and which we think is desirable for this and other reasons.

I consider the proclamation of the Gospel is also the essence of the Church.  If a church does not preach the Good News of salvation available to all mankind though faith in the redemption effected on the Cross, it certainly is not the Church of Jesus Christ.  We affirm that [this] Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic in all that these terms imply.

Clergymen in this Church are expected to strongly affirm their regard for the Episcopate, Holy Orders, the Sacraments and the Gospel Message, and not to emphasize one at the expense of the other.  They all stand together.

Be careful, therefore, in using Bishop Ryle and others who may not have concern for these things that we do.

God bless you all.

Sincerely,

James P. Dees

Metropolitan

The Orthodox Anglican Communion

*Bold emphasis added 
**bene esse (of the well being), plene esse (of the fullness of being), esse (of the necessary being)