Notwithstanding these words, the first episcopal act of the Bishop of Silchester drove many poor souls away from God.

The effect upon Mark, had his religion been merely a pastime of adolescence, would have been disastrous.  Owing to human nature’s respect for the conspicuous there is nothing so demoralizing to faith as the failure of a leader of religion to set forth in his own actions the word of God.  Mark, however, looked at the whole business more from an ecclesiastical angle.  He had reason to condemn the Bishop for unchristian behaviour; but he preferred to condemn him for uncatholic behaviour.  Dr. Cheesman and the many other Dr. Cheesmans of whom the Anglican episcopate was at this period composed never succeeded in shaking his belief in Christ; they did succeed in shaking for a short time his belief in the Church of England.  There are few Anglo-Catholics, whether priests or laymen, who have never doubted the right of their Church to proclaim herself a branch of the Holy Catholic Church.  This phase of doubt is indeed so common that in ecclesiastical circles it has come to be regarded as a kind of mental chicken-pox, not very alarming if it catches the patient when young, but growing more dangerous in proportion to the lateness of its attack.  Mark had his attack young.  When Father Rowley left Chatsea, he was anxious to accompany him on what he knew would be an exhausting time of travelling round to preach and collect the necessary money to pay off what was actually a personal debt.  It seemed that there must be something fundamentally wrong with a Church that allowed a man to perambulate England in an endeavour to pay off the debt upon a building from ministrating in which he had been debarred.  This debt, moreover, was presumably going to be paid by people who fully subscribed to teaching which had been officially condemned.

When Mark commented on this, Father Rowley pointed out that as a matter of fact a great deal of money had been sent by people who admired the practical side, or what they would have called the practical side of his work among the poor, but who at the same time thoroughly disapproved of its ecclesiastical form.

“In justice to the poor old Church of England,” he said to Mark, “it must be pointed out that a good deal of this money has been given by devout Anglicans under protest.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t seriously affect the argument,” said Mark.  “You collect I don’t know how many thousands of pounds to put up a magnificent church from which the Bishop of Silchester sees fit to turn you out, but for the debt on which you are still personally responsible.  It’s fantastic!”

“Mark Anthony,” the priest said with a laugh, “you lack the legal mind.  The Bishop did not turn me out.  The Bishop can perfectly well say I turned myself out.”

“It is all too subtle for me,” said Mark.  “But I’m not going to worry you with any more arguments.  You’ve had enough of them to last you for ever.  I do wish you’d let me stick to you personally and help you in any way possible.”