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Growth of Church Life

missionaries, such as S. Augustine's, Canterbury, and S. Boniface at Warminster. Church Missionary Colleges also exist at Islington, at Dorchester, and Burgh-le-Marsh in Lincolnshire. Theological knowledge is also given at King's College, London, and many men are ordained on becoming Associates of this College. Keble College, Oxford, must also be mentioned. It trains scores of our clergy. The Pusey House, Oxford, also does the same, and Selwyn College, Cambridge. Even in the case of those men who cannot go to these Colleges—and men who do pass through them also have the same test—a test of their theological requirements is made by the Bishops under whom they seek work. Every Bishop has theological examinations, which the clergy had to pass before they were ordained deacons, and again before they could be ordained priests. The standards in the examinations vary in the different dioceses.

In speaking of the renewed life of the Church in recent years we must speak on other facts. Since the beginning of this century 9,000 Churches have been built or restored.[1] Between the years 1840–1874—I do not know the figures since that time—as much money has been spent for building Churches as ₤24,403,261. There has also been a large increase in the number of clergy. At the beginning of the century there were about 10,600 parishes. Since then 2,700 more have been added to them. At the beginning of the century there were 10,300 clergy. In the year 1891 there were 14,603 clergy, and now the number is over 23,000. You sometimes hear it said to-day that it is a difficulty to find clergy. That does not mean that their

  1. See Lane's Notes for these details, and Hore's Vol. II.