About Anglo-Catholics

Its chief object was the defence of the Church of Engalnd as a Divine institution, of the doctrine of the Apostolic Succession, and of the Book of Common Prayer as a rule of faith. The Tracts for the Times were designed for this purpose. The leaders of the movement were Keble, J H Newman and E.B.Pusey. It soon gained influential support, but it was also attacked by the liberals within the University and by the Bishops. Within the movement there gradually arose a party which tended towards submission to Rome. After the censure by the Convocation of Oxford in 1845 of a book by W G Ward, and again after the Gorham case in 1850, there were a number of conversions to the Roman Catholic Church. But the majority remained in the Church of England and despite the hostility of the press and of the Government, the movement spread. Its influence was exercised in the sphere of worship and ceremonial, in the social sphere (the slum settlements were among its notable achievements), and in the restoration of the religious life in the Church of England.

Extract from 'A Manual of Anglo-Catholic Devotion' published byCanterbury Press ISBN 1-85311-354-9

In the nineteenth century, 'Anglo-Catholic' asserted the historic claims of the Church of England - the Church of Augustine and Anselm, as well as the Church of Cranmer and Laud - to be the Catholic Church in England. The distinctive claims of Roman Catholicism, especially as regards England, were thought to be erroneous. As Article XXXVII of the Thirty-Nine Articles said, 'The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.' At the same time, there was a fascination with the culture and fashions of contemporary Roman Catholicism, especially the continental variety. The Ritualists, in particular, were concerned to recover for the Church of England all the privileges of Catholicism: the Mass at the centre of the Christian life, the Reserved Sacrament as a sign of God's promise to tabernacle among his people, the place of Our Lady, the celebration of seven sacraments (and in particular Penance and Extreme Unction), and the joy and wonder of Catholic worship, with its appeal to all five senses. Made defiant by the verdict of Pope Leo XIII in 1896 that the Anglican Church lacked Catholic orders, Anglo-Catholicism continued to grow in the first half of the twentieth century. In the last thirty or forty years of the twentieth century, thoughtful Anglo-Catholics wondered whether they had 'lost the battle but won the war': Anglo-Catholicism was in steep decline: meanwhile Anglicanism, world-wide, had accepted so much of what Anglo-Catholics had campaigned for. Perhaps Anglo-Catholicism was 'a grain of wheat' which 'if it dies ... bears much fruit' (John 12:24), a not inappropriate image for a movement whose energy and focus is the Mass. At the same time, ecumenical understanding was growing, especially since the Second Vatican Council, and Anglo-Catholics - and indeed Anglicans as a whole - became much less certain that the distinctive claims of Rome must be rejected. Some Anglo-Catholics began to style themselves 'Anglican Catholics' (or even 'Catholic Anglicans'). The Anglican-Roman Catholic Intentional Commission explored, amongst other things, Roman ideas of primacy and the role of the successor of Peter. Anglicans became more relaxed about the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the British Isles and were as likely, it seems, to refer to 'Catholics' when they meant 'Roman Catholics' as Anglicans of an earlier generation were to refer rather rudely to 'Romans'. Since one of the conceits of Anglo-Catholicism has been to use the word 'Catholic' as a synonym for 'Anglo-Catholic', there has been increasing ambiguity - not among the general public, for people know full well that a 'Catholic' is a 'Roman Catholic' - but within Church circles. ……. Some Anglo-Catholics in the 1990s were less convinced that they had lost a battle and won a war. Perhaps instead they had 'won the battle and lost the war'. A painful division between those who whole-heartedly welcomed the priesting of women and those who believed that the priesting of women was either impossible or ecumenically inexpedient was one indication of a war lost. Another indication was that 'Catholic', for Anglicans, was becoming an aesthetic and even sensual thing, devoid of doctrinal and theological rigour. The battle for lovely things like votive candles in cathedrals and holy week liturgies in parish churches was won, but the war - and the 'vision glorious' of the Tractarian pioneers of the Anglo-Catholic revival - was all but lost. Some Anglo-Catholics sought refuge in Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Others bided their time, praying for, and working for, 'a Catholic moment' when there would be a substantial realignment of Catholics in England, and perhaps further afield, a moment not of individual submission but of ecclesial reconciliation. Others still, it has to be said, continued to believe in the vocation of Anglicanism as a whole to be a bridge between Protestant and Catholic Christianity in the search of all the churches to respond faithfully to the prayer of Jesus 'that they may all be one' (John 17:21).

Anglo-Catholics Extracts from The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church The Group in the Anglican Communion (ie in England the Church of England) which stresses her historical continuity with Catholic Christianity, and hence upholds a 'high' conception of the episcopate and of the nature of the Sacraments. The existence of such a school goes back to the Elizabethan Age; it flourished under the Stuarts, and came into prominance again with the Oxford Movement.
	Pusey and Newman
The Oxford Movement .. in the Church of England .. aimed at restoring High Church principles. In the early 19th century various factors caused misgivings among Churchmen including the decline of Church life and the spread of Liberalism in theology. The plan to suppress ten Irish bishoprics in 1833 evoked from John Keble a sermon in the university church in Oxford which is regarded as the beginning of the movement. Its chief object was the defence of the Church of Engalnd as a Divine institution, of the doctrine of the Apostolic Succession, and of the Book of Common Prayer as a rule of faith. The Tracts for the Times were designed for this purpose. The leaders of the movement were Keble, J H Newman and E.B.Pusey. It soon gained influential support, but it was also attacked by the liberals within the University and by the Bishops. Within the movement there gradually arose a party which tended towards submission to Rome. After the censure by the Convocation of Oxford in 1845 of a book by W G Ward, and again after the Gorham case in 1850, there were a number of conversions to the Roman Catholic Church. But the majority remained in the Church of England and despite the hostility of the press and of the Government, the movement spread. Its influence was exercised in the sphere of worship and ceremonial, in the social sphere (the slum settlements were among its notable achievements), and in the restoration of the religious life in the Church of England. Extract from 'A Manual of Anglo-Catholic Devotion' published byCanterbury Press ISBN 1-85311-354-9 In the nineteenth century, 'Anglo-Catholic' asserted the historic claims of the Church of England - the Church of Augustine and Anselm, as well as the Church of Cranmer and Laud - to be the Catholic Church in England. The distinctive claims of Roman Catholicism, especially as regards England, were thought to be erroneous. As Article XXXVII of the Thirty-Nine Articles said, 'The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.' At the same time, there was a fascination with the culture and fashions of contemporary Roman Catholicism, especially the continental variety. The Ritualists, in particular, were concerned to recover for the Church of England all the privileges of Catholicism: the Mass at the centre of the Christian life, the Reserved Sacrament as a sign of God's promise to tabernacle among his people, the place of Our Lady, the celebration of seven sacraments (and in particular Penance and Extreme Unction), and the joy and wonder of Catholic worship, with its appeal to all five senses. Made defiant by the verdict of Pope Leo XIII in 1896 that the Anglican Church lacked Catholic orders, Anglo-Catholicism continued to grow in the first half of the twentieth century. In the last thirty or forty years of the twentieth century, thoughtful Anglo-Catholics wondered whether they had 'lost the battle but won the war': Anglo-Catholicism was in steep decline: meanwhile Anglicanism, world-wide, had accepted so much of what Anglo-Catholics had campaigned for. Perhaps Anglo-Catholicism was 'a grain of wheat' which 'if it dies ... bears much fruit' (John 12:24), a not inappropriate image for a movement whose energy and focus is the Mass. At the same time, ecumenical understanding was growing, especially since the Second Vatican Council, and Anglo-Catholics - and indeed Anglicans as a whole - became much less certain that the distinctive claims of Rome must be rejected. Some Anglo-Catholics began to style themselves 'Anglican Catholics' (or even 'Catholic Anglicans'). The Anglican-Roman Catholic Intentional Commission explored, amongst other things, Roman ideas of primacy and the role of the successor of Peter. Anglicans became more relaxed about the role of the Roman Catholic Church in the British Isles and were as likely, it seems, to refer to 'Catholics' when they meant 'Roman Catholics' as Anglicans of an earlier generation were to refer rather rudely to 'Romans'. Since one of the conceits of Anglo-Catholicism has been to use the word 'Catholic' as a synonym for 'Anglo-Catholic', there has been increasing ambiguity - not among the general public, for people know full well that a 'Catholic' is a 'Roman Catholic' - but within Church circles. ……. Some Anglo-Catholics in the 1990s were less convinced that they had lost a battle and won a war. Perhaps instead they had 'won the battle and lost the war'. A painful division between those who whole-heartedly welcomed the priesting of women and those who believed that the priesting of women was either impossible or ecumenically inexpedient was one indication of a war lost. Another indication was that 'Catholic', for Anglicans, was becoming an aesthetic and even sensual thing, devoid of doctrinal and theological rigour. The battle for lovely things like votive candles in cathedrals and holy week liturgies in parish churches was won, but the war - and the 'vision glorious' of the Tractarian pioneers of the Anglo-Catholic revival - was all but lost. Some Anglo-Catholics sought refuge in Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Others bided their time, praying for, and working for, 'a Catholic moment' when there would be a substantial realignment of Catholics in England, and perhaps further afield, a moment not of individual submission but of ecclesial reconciliation. Others still, it has to be said, continued to believe in the vocation of Anglicanism as a whole to be a bridge between Protestant and Catholic Christianity in the search of all the churches to respond faithfully to the prayer of Jesus 'that they may all be one' (John 17:21). 'Copyright Andrew Burnham' . Canterbury Press 2001 and 'Used by permission'