Volume 8, Issue 3, October 1995

The dispute in the early church about the appropriate time to end the Easter fast is of particular interest because in it we see bishops of Rome defending the Apostolic Tradition against bishops of some other churches.  The analysis of the Easter Dispute suggests that the theme of mutual interiority, in which the Roman primacy is said to be within each particular church, would be better expressed as mutual hospitality.  This phrase more accurately accounts for history, and serves as a powerful corrective to the belief that particular churches relate to the Roman church as local branches of a company to their head office.

Antonio Rosmini and Garrett Sweeney have each contributed to the debate on the appointment of bishops in the Roman Catholic Church.  Revisiting their arguments reminds us of the changes in the mode of appointment in the course of church history, and of the comparative recency of the current mode.  The vigour of the debate in recent years may be traced to a shift in the self-perception of the church since Vatican II.  This shift seems to demand a re-examination of the mode of appointment, and its adaptation to the times.

This article examines the intellectual and ecclesiastical baggage which W. G. Broughton brought with him when he came to New South Wales as Archdeacon in 1829 by tracing Broughton’s early life and education, his early ministry and scholarly writings, and identifying Broughton’s circle of friends in the Church of England.  The travel diary which Broughton kept on his journey to New South Wales is examined for his estimate of the books he read while on ship.  Broughton emerges from this study as a person of considerable scholarly talent, and a member of the old High Church group by both theological, and political conviction as well as personal friendships.

The dispute in the early church about the appropriate time to end the Easter fast is of particular interest because in it we see bishops of Rome defending the Apostolic Tradition against bishops of some other churches.  The analysis of the Easter Dispute suggests that the theme of mutual interiority, in which the Roman primacy is said to be within each particular church, would be better expressed as mutual hospitality.  This phrase more accurately accounts for history, and serves as a powerful corrective to the belief that particular churches relate to the Roman church as local branches of a company to their head office.

There is a moral obligation on human beings to preserve all other living species.  The beauty of God, as revealed and mirrored in creation, is the basis for such an obligation.  We cannot idealise such beauty; it is marked by contingency and suffering.  This approach draws from the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar.  While this moral obligation imposes demands on humans, it also sets limits to such demands.