be said at each of these stations. They pervert the Communion Table into an Altar, the Communion into a Mass, and the Clergyman into a Sacriﬁcing Priest. They turn their backs upon the people in consecrating the elements, and reading different portions of the service. They elevate the elements, and direct that they be adored by the worshipper. They use wafer bread in the administration of the sacrament, and mix water with wine. They enjoin the reservation of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. They advocate processions and the veneration of relics. They recommend the celibacy of the clergy and deny the sole authority of God’s Word. They introduce the practice of extreme unction. They use incense, and the ringing of bells, during the celebration of divine service; have lighted candles and cruciﬂxes on the altar. They use holy water, consecrate Palm branches on Palm Sunday, Ashes on Ash Wednesday, and Candles on Candlemas Day; and yet, notwithstanding all this, they say they are not Romish either in doctrine or worship.86

The Staff Question.

The Reverend Dr. Fitzgerald’s attack on what he would term as ‘UN Anglican’ practices was not solely restricted to the Reverend G.W. Hodgson and the congregation of St. Peter’s. During a visit to the Island in August 1872, Bishop Hibbert Binney was refused entry into St. Paul’s Church to oﬂiciate at a wedding ceremony because he was carrying his Pastoral Staff as an emblem of his office. Dr. Fitzgerald was supported in his action by the Church Warden of the Parish Church who was present when the incident took place on August 29th. The action taken by the Reverend Dr. Fitzgerald was prompted by the concern he felt over where to draw the line on the introduction of what he considered ‘innovations’ in the forms of worship Services conducted in the Church of England and the conduct of the Ministers of God’s Holy Word. He rationalized his action, saying:

If one Bishop may, at his pleasure, cause an unauthorized staﬂ” to be carried before him, another may order sundry banners with keys, and miter, and various pictures to be carried in procession, or where would there be any uniformity if ceremonies were to be allowed, for which there is no express or implied direction .987

Bishop Binney, in return, pointed out that he had used a Pastoral Staff since it had been given to him by a large body of the Nova Scotia clergy, and

86. Ibid.

87. The Staff Question. Letters of the Bishop of Nova Scotia, 1873 and the Reverend Mr. Fitzgerald Replies Thereto.