On Being Catholic

Although the Church of England was not part of the Protestant Reformation resulting from the teachings of Martin Luther in the early 1500s, there was a great deal of Protestant influence in the English Church after its break from Rome in 1543. There followed several centuries of political and religious unrest within the Church, whether in the hands of loyal English churchmen, or when controlled by monarchs who would have returned it to papal control. The other divisive factor was the growth of the Puritan Movement whose mission was to remove all vestiges of the Catholic nature and appearance of anything “Romish” from the Church of England. So drastic were their actions that the Church as we know it today all but ceased to exist during the years when the Puritans were in control.

These terms, which identify the two major “parties” within the Anglican Church, came into use near the end of the l7th century; however, the attitudes expressed by those in each party were in evidence as far back as the time of Elizabeth I

1533-1603). Persons siding with the Protestant reformers tried to bring the English Church back from the brink of Rome, as they put it, and more in line with the evangelical movement. High Churchmen, on the other hand, stressed reform of errors in the Roman Church, while remaining loyal to the elements of Catholicity which had been practiced from the days of the Apostles. The term “High Churchmen” came from their giving a “high” place to the importance of the Episcopal form of government, the sacraments, and liturgical worship. In contrast, “Low Churchmen” placed less emphasis on the Apostolic Ministry, some thinking it totally unnecessary, and other sacramental rites, including baptism, penance and unction. Over the years there has been, and undoubtedly will continue to be, great variation in the definitions of “High Church” and “Low Church.”

Early in the 19th century a religious revival known as the “Oxford Movement,” brought new life to the Church of England. Centered at the University of Oxford, it was led by John Henry Newman, Richard Hurrell Froude, John Keble, and Edward Pusey, all priests of the Church of England. In 1833 Keble preached a sermon on “the National Apostacy,” in which he attacked Parliament’s plan to disestablish the Anglican Church of Ireland in that primarily Roman Catholic country. Liberals argued that since most Irishmen were Roman Catholics, their taxes should not support the Anglican Church. In contrast, the conservative leaders of the Oxford Movement held that the government had no right to interfere in spiritual matters whatever the cause, and that the Church of England was not dependent on the State, having gained its authority through the Apostolic Succession and the teaching of Christian truth.

The Tractarians, as they were called, began publishing a series of pamphlets called “Tracts of the Times.” In the tracts, these reformers emphasized the divine character of the Church and the Sacraments, the unbroken continuity with the ancient church and many other aspects of Catholic doctrine and discipline that had been either abandoned or ignored. Ninety such tracts were issued over a period of eight years, and they served as a wake-up call to the Church leadership and lay members to return to the Faith of the early and undivided Church. The Tracts had a profound effect on the fledgling Anglican Church in America, some negative and some positive. In an overall sense, the Oxford Movement provided a clearer view of High Church principles and brought new life to the Catholic movement in the American Church.

The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism were first used in some of the writings of the leaders of the Oxford Movement to emphasize the historical continuity of the English Church with Catholic Christianity. In more recent times, those who prefer to call themselves Anglo-Catholics associate, whenever possible, with parishes where Catholic elements in worship and theology are boldly advanced. They are, in varying degrees, opposed by the Evangelical wing of Anglicanism, where the stress continues to be placed on the Protestant heritage of the Church.

Although these differences have existed over hundreds of years in the Church of England, the Episcopal Church in America, and now within the body of churches comprising the Continuing Anglican Movement, the true nature of Anglicanism, that is, its Catholicity, is beyond dispute. Incense, votive lights, statues, and crucifixes do not of themselves constitute Catholicity, even though most Anglo-Catholics value them highly; likewise, the rejection of their use does not equal heresy. As one Anglican writer puts it, “The simplest service or parish of the Church is just as Catholic as that richest in ornamentation. It must be of the Catholic Church, as we all profess in our Creed, for there is no other.”

This parish can rightfully claim the term “high church” as defined herein. Here we emphasize our heritage as Catholics, and particularly as Anglo-Catholics. Here we kneel before an image of our crucified Lord; we light a candle beneath a bas-relief plaque of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus; and during Lent we walk the Way of the Cross, praying at each wall plaque (or Station) depicting a scene in the crucifixion of our Lord. Idolatry? No! We do not worship these objects, any more than we worship a picture of Jesus which we may keep in our homes. These are but symbols, or representations, of our Lord and His Church, and we use them to awaken our senses to the wonder and the mystery of His Love.

Sources of Information for this pamphlet:

The Catholic Religion by Vernon Staley first published in 1893.

The Catholic Movement in the American Episcopal Church first published in 1941.