Your answers
I once heard a sham grace that sounded like Latin but
was a list of household products, including Domestos, Omo, and
Paxo. Can anyone recall the whole of it?
"Omo Lux, Domestos Brobat." I learned this from a clergyman
(name forgotten) some 15 years ago.
Geoffrey Robinson
Clifton, Bristol
Should former canons who have ceased to hold office on
moving out of the diocese or retiring, and who are not "Emeritus",
still be addressed as such? Crockford seems ambivalent
about this. [Answers, 20
September]
It seems inappropriate after retirement to continue to use a
title that ordinarily denotes an office carrying responsibilities
unless it has been officially conferred. Our retired archbishops
style themselves as bishops; this clerical example is more suitable
and persuasive than the military parallel suggested by Canon
Palmer.
Service officers while on a Reserve List legitimately retain
their rank. Thereafter, salutations are sometimes courteously
accorded in deference to the wishes, and modesty or otherwise, of
their recipients. Crockford's Clerical Directory may adopt
a similar practice in relation to the clergy.
Interestingly, the senior ranks of the judiciary and the police
do not seek to retain distinctive professional appellations in
retirement.
Anthony Hewins
London NW8
Your questions
I remember with nostalgia the days when bishops,
archdeacons, and deans wore gaiters - still to be seen on some very
formal occasions, such as state banquets. Did the wearing of
gaiters extend to any other ranks in the Church - cathedral
residentiary canons, perhaps? R. H.
Christ told us to live in the present moment. How can we
forget the past and the future? G. C.
A Sunday-school teacher is to marry a server from the
same church and have announced that their wedding will take place
during a Sunday parish eucharist with everyone invited to the
buffet reception that will follow in the hall. It sounds wonderful,
but it is so unusual that I am wondering whether it is
permitted. G. F. S.
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