Religion: Things Are Different Now

Two externals distinguish a Church of England bishop from a U. S. Episcopal bishop. For outdoor wear the Church of England bishop affects long gaiters of snug black broadcloth. He is ranked a Lord and so addressed by his flock. But these distinctions have lately seemed irksome to Anglican clergymen. During the Oxford Movement centenary (TIME, July 17). the Bishop of Kensington complained of his gaiters, crying that “100 years have failed to provide us a sensible costume.” And last week the Bishop of Bristol told his congregation to cease calling him “My Lord.” Declared he: “In the old days, when Bishops were amicable scholars living in dignified ease apart from the clergy, such titles were perhaps not inappropriate, but, thank God, things are different now.”