BX 5098 !w3 1899" '
Walsh, Walter, 1847-1912.
The secret history of the
Oxford movement
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the Internet Archive
in 2015
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THE SECRET HISTORY
THE OXFORD MOVEMENT
WALTER WALSH
NEW PREFACE CONTAINING A REPLY TO CRITICS
POPULAR EDITION
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
LONDON
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN AND CO., Lim.
PATERNOSTER SQUARE, E.C.
A3ERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS
PREFACE TO THE POPULAR EDITION.
This Popular Edition is issued.atthe urgent request of a large
number of friends of the Protectant cause, who are anxious to
bring the book within reach of the working classes. It is
hoped that many of those to whom God has given wealth will
purchase large quantities for free distribution amongst those
who cannot afford to purchase even this Popular Edition. In
view of the forthcoming General Election it is most important
that the working men voters may clearly understand the
importance of the issues with which they will have to deal,
and the serious evils to Church and State which would follow
the triumph of Priestcraft in the Church of England.
The book has now stood the test of two years' sharp criticism
from the Eitualistic enemies of the Protestant religion, and with
the result that I have nothing to apologise for, and nothing to
withdraw, except a slight error of date mentioned in the Preface
to the Fifth Edition, which injures nobody.
An additional proof of the secrecy and dread of publicity on
the part of certain Eitualistic Societies has come to light since
the issue of the sixth edition by the publication in the English
Churchman, of February 23rd, 1899, of a correspondence
between the Eev. G. J. Watts, Vicar of St. Mark's, Oldham,
and the Secretaries of the Eitualistic Societies therein named.
Mr. Watts wrote as follows to the Eev. H. Montague Villiers,
Vicar of St. Paul's, Knightsbridge : —
St. Mark's Vicarage, Oldham, February 7th, 1899.
Dear Sir, — My attention has been called to your letter to the Bishop
of Hereford of the 30th ult.
You there state that "these societies to which I presume you allude
are not secret societies. The names of members are published annually,
and though not circulated as advertisements, are always procurable."
Will you be so kind as to tell me where I can obtain the last published
lists of members and reports of the following societies, viz. : — (1) " C. B. S.,"
(2) " S. S. C," (3) " A. P. U. C," (4) " O. C. E.," (5) " S. O.," (6) " G. A. S." ?
Yours truly,
G. J. WATTS.
To The Bev. H. Montague Villiers.
iv
PREFACE.
In answer to this letter Mr. Watts received the following
reply : —
St. Paul's Vicarage, Wilton Place, S.W., February 8th, 1899.
Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter respecting certain societies, the
Rev. H. Montague Villiers desires me to refer you to the various secretaries
of the societies you mention for reports and lists of members.
Yours truly,
MARGARET VILLIERS.
Mr. Watts thereupon wrote the following letters to the officials
of the various Ritualistic Societies, and received the subjoined
replies : —
St. Mark's Vicarage, Oldham, February lltk, 1899.
Dear Sir, — Will you have the kindness to send me a copy of the last
report of the ? Also list of clerical and lay members.
I enclose stamp for postage.
Yours truly,
G. J. WATTS,
Vicar of St. Mark's, Glodwick, Oldham.
To -, Secretary of .
St. Mark's Vicarage, Oldham, February 11th, 1899.
Dear Sir, — Will you have the kindness to give me some information
respecting the " Order of Corporate Reunion?" Can you let me have a
list of the clerical members ? Also a copy of your last report.
I am sorry to trouble you, but I know not to whom else to apply for
information on this subject.
I enclose stamp for postage.
Yours truly,
G. J. WATTS,
Vicar of St. Mark's, Glodwick, Oldham.
To The Rev. Dr. Lee.
The following replies have been received : —
C. B. S.
From Rev. James Dixon, Secretary-General.
65 Sutherland Avenue, W., February 15th, 1899.
Dear Sir, — I enclose the last report of C. B. S. The list of clerical and
lay members is not issued.
Yours truly,
JAMES DIXON.
The Rev. G. J. Watts, St. Mark's, Oldham.
S. S. C.
Gamlingay Vicarage, February 15th, 1899.
Dear Sir,— S. S. C. does not publish list of members or report. If you
are considering the question of joining the Society, I shall be pleased to
send you a paper explaining its nature and objects.
Yours faithfully,
W". CROUCH,
tttEFACfi.
Association for Promoting the Unity of Christendom,
1 King Street, Westminster, S.W., February 15th, 1899.
Sir, — In reply to your note of yesterday, the last annual report and
list of subscribers and the prospectus are enclosed. There are many
thousands of members on the roll, and to print it would be a greater
expense than it would be reasonable to incur for any advantage that
would be gained by doing so.
Your obedient Servant,
GEORGE A. MALISONE.
The Rev. G. J. Watts, St. Mark's Vicarage, Oldham.
The Alcoin Club, London, February 15th, 1899.
Rev. G. J. Watts, St. Mark's Vicarage, Oldham.
Dear Sir, — As requested, I beg to enclose copy of the last annual
report of the Club, which contains a list of members.
Yours faithfully,
A. E. M. DAVIS, per B. F.
G. A. S.
Dacre House, Arundel Steeet, Strand,
London, W.C., February 15th, 1899.
Dear Sir, — In reply to yours of yesterday, we have no printed list of
members, and our report is nearly a year old, so is somewhat out of date.
The next report will not be ready till April or May, but if you will kindly
tell me for what purpose you are making your inquiries, I will endeavour
to find a copy of the old report to send you.
Yours faithfully,
WALTER PLIMPTON,
Secretary, G. A. S.
Rev. G. J. Watts.
O. C. R.
>■}• Beati Pacipici.
All Saints Vicarage, Lambeth, February 15th, 1899.
Rev. Sir, — I am a member of the O. C. R., which by prayer, interces-
sion, and the quiet diffusion of old Christian principles, endeavours to
bring people together.
There are no " Reports " nor is there any list, so far as I know, of
clerical or other members. It is exclusively confined to the Church of
England ; but avoids publicity, talk, agitation, fuss, boastings, and other
modern methods.
It is spread throughout the Established Church, and in twenty-two
years has largely altered the sentiments of many influential persons. Of
the falsehoods circulated concerning it, no notice is taken, and I believe
that no notice will be taken. Such, of course, are acceptable to the
Father of Lies, whose influence appears to increase.
Vale Dominus tecum,
FREDERICK GEORGE LEE.
The Rev. G. J. Watts, Oldham.
vi
PREFACE.
St. Mark's Vicarage, Oldham, February nth, 1899.
Dear Sir,— As you referred me on the 8th inst., to the various secre-
taries of the Societies 1 mentioned for reports and lists of members, I
wrote to them asking for their last report and for list of clerical and lay
members.
The following is the result of my application :• —
(1) " C. B. S."— " I enclose the last report of C. B. S. The list of clerical
and lay members is not issued."
(2) " S. S. C. does not publish list of members or report."
(3) " A. P. U. C." — " The last annual report and list of subscribers, and
the prospectus, are enclosed. There are many thousands of members on
the roll, and to print it would be a greater expense than it would be
reasonable to incur for any advantage that would be gained by doing so."
(4) " O. C. R." — A member of the " O. C. R." writes,—" There are no
' reports,' nor is there any list, so far as I know, of clerical or other mem-
bers.''
(5) " S. O." is, I am informed, now merged into the " Alcuin Club."
The secretary of the "Alcuin Club" sends "copy of last annual report
of the club, which contains a list of members."
(6) " G. A. S." — " We have no printed list of members, and our last
report is nearly a year old, so is somewhat out of date. ... If you will
kindly tell me for what purpose you are making your inquiries, I will
endeavour to rind a copy of the old report to send you."
You will see from the above that five out of the six societies I mentioned
in my letter of the 7th inst. , do not issue a list of members. This fact, I
venture to submit, stamps them as " Secret Societies."
Yours truly,
G. J. WATTS.
The Rev. H. Montague Villiers.
Apparently the Kitualistic party is not quite satisfied with the
reply of The Church Times to my book, since, if that had been
conclusive, there would have been no need for another. The
Liverpool papers a few months since announced that the Eev.
John Wakeford, the somewhat fiery "Vicar of St. Margaret's,
Anfield, was at work preparing a thorough exposure of " The
Secret History of the Oxford Movement." The promised
exposure has made its appearance, but not even the greatest
stretch of imagination, on the part of friend or foe, can assert
that Mr. Wakeford's little book is worthy of the name of an
answer. Whether he found the task more difficult than he
anticipated, and therefore wisely withdrew from the attack, I
cannot say.
But now the Church Review has taken up the task in serious
earnest, and has published a series of articles with a view to
annihilating my work. I propose to deal with such portions of
these articles as seem to demand a reply. But before doing so
there are two or three other matters which first of all seem to
PREFACE.
Vii
require notice at my hands. In the fifth edition of The Secret
History I have written a special preface (reprinted in this edition)
of thirty-four pages in reply to the Church Times and other critics.
In it, amongst other matters, I replied at some length to the
comments of The Church Times denying the existence of Secret
Societies in the Church of England. To this a rejoinder has been
issued by that paper, as a second edition to its pamphlet, with the
elegant title of A Protestant Mare's Nest. In this rejoinder The
Church Times says : — " We have shown his [Mr. Walsh's] utter
misconception or misrepresentation of the ' secrecy ' against which
he railed. He makes no defence." It seems almost incredible
that any professedly Christian paper could make such an untrue
assertion as this, when, as a matter of fact, my " defence " on this
one point of " secrecy " extended to no fewer than four pages !
(Pp. xxiv.-xxix. of this edition.) This audacious assertion of The
Church Times reminds me of the advice of Newman, adopted by
him from Clement of Alexandria, to the effect that a Christian
" both thinks and speaks the truth, except when careful treatment
is necessary, and then, as a physician for the good of his patients,
he will lie, or rather utter a lie, as the Sophists say. Nothing,
however, but his neighbour's good will induce him to do so.
He gives himself up for the Church." (Newman's Arians,
p. 74.) In the case of The Church Times I would alter the
quotation from "for the good of his patients" into "for the
good of the Romanizing party."
I find that the Rev. T. A. Lacey is very angry with me, and
has poured forth his wrath in a half-column letter in The Church
Times, of February 10th, 1899. He charges me with making
an " abominable insinuation " concerning himself in my book,
though why he waited sixteen months before he dealt with it
is not very clear. The following is the paragraph which has
raised Mr. Lacey's anger. I state that he —
" Wrote a document for the private use of the Roman Cardinals, to whom
the question of Anglican Orders had been remitted for consideration. Pro-
bably Mr. Lacey never dreamt that such a document would ever see the
light of day in England ; but somehow or other, the Tablet got hold of a
copy, and published it in full— translated from the original Latin— in its
issue for November 7th, 1896." (Secret History of the Oxford Movement,
Popular Edition, pp. 249, 250.)
I regret that I do not yet see my way to withdraw my sugges-
tion, excepting to this extent. When the Roman priests in
this country and abroad had called attention to Mr. Lacey's
document then, but not till then, he was unwillingly compelled
viii
PREFACE.
to give'it a circulation in England, but even then not in the
English language, but in its original Latin. That Mr. Lacey
did not, at first, intend it for publication was acknowledged by
himself in an article which he wrote in the Guardian, of October
7th, 1896.
" It [the document in question] was not published," writes Mr. Lacey ;
" it was printed for private circulation, and it consisted of matter so familiar
to every instructed Englishman that Oiere would be no point in circulating
it in England. But it has been so savagely attacked as untruthful and
treacherous that some people may be interested to see what it contains,
and as there are some few copies in hand, I have sent them to the British
Museum, to the University Libraries, and at this juncture to the reception
room of the Church Congress, where any who care to do so may consult
them."
On October 8th, 1896, Mr. Lacey delivered a speech at the
Shrewsbury Church Congress, in which he referred to the
document in question in a way which confirms my belief that
when he wrote it he had no expectation that it would ever see
the light of day in England. I quote from the official and
verbatim report of his speech issued by the Church Congress : —
"And now that it has been challenged," said Mr. Lacey, "I am not
afraid of the public seeing it, and I have consented to its publication.
Originally it was printed privately for the information of certain highly
placed dignitaries of the Boman Church. It was answered with equal
privacy " (p. 380.)
It is evident, therefore, that if the Roman priests had not
forced Mr. Lacey's hands, the document in all probability
would never have been seen in England, and even the "few
copies " which he refers to would not have been circulated.
The document was of an outrageously Romanizing character,
and when it could no longer be kept back from the public, a
virtue was made of necessity, and some " few copies " were
sent round to the libraries. How many have since been
circulated I cannot say. Mr. Lacey must, I respectfully sug-
gest, have been very short of material for an attack upon myself
when he thus, late in the day, makes such a mountain out of a
mole-hill imaginary grievance, which, he kindly and politely
mentions, was, he " supposed," made out of " pure stupidity."
Truly, Ritualistic gentlemen have their own way of conducting
a public controversy !
This reply of mine to Mr. Lacey appeared first as an article
in the English Churchman, and led to the following correspon-
dence, which appeared in the issue of that paper for April 6th,
1899 :—
PREFACE.
The Rev. T. A. Lacey and Mr. Walsh.
The Rev. T. A. Laoey writes to us as follows :—
Sir, — The reason why I " waited sixteen months " before dealing with
Mr. Walsh is that I was indignant, not so much at his original statement,
which I attributed to honest stupidity, but rather at his sticking to it
when corrected, which I can only put down to malice.
Mr. Walsh's original statement was that I printed privately in Rome a
document which I never dreamt would see the light of day in England,
but " somehow or other the Tablet got hold of a copy and published it " on
November 7th, 1896.
A reviewer pointed out (1) that I had myself called attention to this
document in the press and at the Church Congress a month before this
publication in the Tablet ; (2) that it had been " widely circulated both
in England and abroad " ; and (3) that copies were placed in the reading-
room of the Church Congress.
In his next edition Mr. Walsh retained his insinuation unchanged,
ignoring the first and second parts of this correction, and saying on the
third that he "never saw a single copy" of the document in the reading-
room.
It was this treatment that I indignantly complained of in The
Church Titties.
Mr. Walsh now returns to the charge in the old style of odious insinua-
tion. He appears to claim the power to read hearts. Note the italics
below. He says : — " When the Roman priests in this country and abroad
had called attention to Mr. Lacey's document then, but not till then, he
was unwillingly compelled to give it a circulation in England." Again,
" When it could no longer be kept back from the public, a virtue was made
of necessity , and ' some few copies ' were sent round to the libraries."
The facts are .these, and Mr. Walsh knows them, for they are set out in
the authorities which he quotes. The attack made on me by " Roman
priests in this country and abroad " was strictly private until I myself
called attention to it in the Guardian. It was entirely my own doing,
and no one else's, that any public notice was ever drawn to the pamphlet.
Moreover, long before this public notice, many copies had been freely
circulated in England, and of this also Mr. Walsh has been informed.
I have one thing more to add. Mr. Walsh said that he "never saw
a single copy " of this pamphlet in the reading-room of the Church
Congress. In The Church Times of February 10th I categorically stated
that I had myself called Mr. Walsh's attention to it in the reading-room.
I observe that he passes by this without answer.
Mr. Walsh's reply was as follows : —
If I have done any one an injury in the above extract it is, not Mr. Lacey,
but the Tablet, when I say that " somehow or other " it got hold of a copy.
I did not intend that to imply that the Tablet got its copy in any unfair way,
but if it is open to that inference, or to the inference that Mr. Lacey was
unwilling to let that paper have a copy I now withdraw it, not as untrue
in itself, but as liable to misunderstanding. What I meant to convey to
my readers was that I did not know how it got a copy, nor, as a matter of
fact, do I know now. That Mr. Lacey, when he first issued his pamphlet,
" never dreamt that such a document would ever see the light of day in
X
PREFACE.
England," I still believe to be true, and I am quite certain that its being
made public in England was an afterthought, the result of the Romish
attacks upon it. I have already quoted Mr. Lacey's own statement in the
Guardian of October 7th, 1896, that "it was printed for private circulation,
and it consisted of matter so familiar to every instructed Englishman,
that there would be no point in circulating it in England." What is that
but an acknowledgment, by Mr Lacey himself, that when hefirst '"privately"
issued it, he had no intention of "circulating it in England," which is
exactly, though in other words, what I have said in my book ? I have,
therefore, told only the truth, and do not deserve to be insulted with
charges of "honest stupidity" and "malice."
What, then, induced Mr. Lacey to afterwards circulate his pamphlet in
England ? He told the Shrewsbury Church Congress that " now Oiat it
lias been challenged [that is, by ' Don Gaspard and Canon Moyes'] I am
not afraid of the public seeing it, and I have consented to its publication."
It is, therefore, evident, that up to the time when the Roman priests
replied, Mr. Lacey was not willing, that is, had not willed to circulate it in
England. In my remarks in the English Churchman, of March 16th,
I drew from these facts the inference that Mr. Lacey "was unwillingly
compelled to give it a circulation in England." I think that was a very
natural inference to draw, nor can I see that there is any " abominable
insinuation " in it.
Mr. Lacey now assures us that he, and he alone, first called attention
to his pamphlet in this country. Of that I was not aware when on March
16th I wrote in the English Churchman : — " When it could no longer be
kept back from the public a virtue was made of necessity, and some ' few-
copies ' were sent round to the libraries." That assertion I now willingly
withdraw, on learning the facts of the case, for the first time, from Mr.
Lacey himself. But nothing Mr. Lacey has written would, I think,
justify me in explaining any part of the statement in my Secret History
which has raised his anger, excepting the words "somehow or other,"
which, though strictly true of the Tablet, are liable to be misunderstood.
As to Mr. Lacey's assertion that at the Shrewsbury Church Congress
he called my attention to copies of his pamphlet in the reading-room, I
can only say that I have not the slightest recollection of his having done
so, nor can I conceive how I could have forgotten an event in which I
must necessarily have taken the deepest interest.
WALTER WALSH.
392 Clapham Road, London, S.W., April 5th.
The Church Review is good enough to begin its lengthy
criticism of my book by saying that at a certain meeting of the
E. C. U., at which I was present, I " behaved like a gentleman " ;
and it assures its readers that " whenever we say or suggest
that any statement of Mr. Walsh is not true we shall not
impute deliberate untruth." Well, this, at any rate, is a vast
improvement on the Billingsgate style adopted by The Church
Times, and makes me all the more willing to give special
attention to what it has to say.
In the first place, the Church Review calls attention to my
assertion that there are private burial grounds in Eitualistic
PREFACE.
Convents. It does not deny their existence, but invites its
Eitualistic readers to send on information about these places,
and expresses a special anxiety for " a description of this private
burial ground in Ascot Priory " to which I had alluded by name.
That invitation appeared in the Church Review of February
23rd, 1899, but down to the time I write no answer has
appeared in its columns. There can, I venture again to
suggest, be no valid reason for the existence of these private
burial grounds within convent walls, and the sooner they
are closed by the authority of Government the better it will
be for the country.
The Church Review is much disturbed because I have quoted
testimonies from prominent Eoman Catholics acknowledging
the important services rendered to the Church of Eome by
the Eitualists. This is a kind of testimony which is very
unpalatable to the Eomanizers. Yet even the Church Review
admits (p. 119) that " it cannot be too often repeated that what
is called Eitualism, where it stops at fussy ceremonialism, may
disgust devout souls and suggest secession " ; but it earnestly
pleads that " where the Catholic faith and religion is lived, as
well as taught, then secession to Eome is most powerfully
hindered." I have never denied that, in a few instances,
Eitualistic priests do succeed in preventing some of their
followers going over to Eome ; but I believe that in most of
these cases it is by means of the unworthy tactics suggested
by Dr. Littledale, who maintained that the only way to prevent
would-be seceders from going over to Eome "is to give them
here [in the Church of England] what they are going to look
for " in Eome. (Defence of Church Principles. Secessions to
Rome. By the Eev. Dr. Littledale. Page 4. Mowbray.) Loyal
Churchmen, however, object more strongly against Popery
within the Church of England than against the same thing
in its legitimate place — the Church of Eome. In proof of the
services rendered to the Papacy by the Oxford Movement,
I have quoted the testimonies of Pope Gregory XVI.,
the Eoman Catholic Rambler, Cardinal Manning, Bishop
Samuel Wilberforce (as against Dr. Pusey) (pp. 251, 252),
the Irish Ecclesiastical Record, the organ of the Irish
priesthood, the Eoman Catholic Ransomer, the Eev. Father
Whelan, and the Month, the organ of the English Jesuits,
all acknowledging that the Eitualistic Movement is a great
benefit to the Church of Eome. And to this I may now
add that every list of prominent seceders to Eome which
xii
tKEFACK.
has been published confirms the opinions I have quoted.
All that the Church Review has to say on the other side
is that a Father Selley, of Cork, has announced that as to
the many perverts he had received into the Eoman Communion
" they have been nearly all from the ranks of the Low Church
part of the Establishment." But I may well ask, what else
could be expected in Cork ? In that town there are no Ritualists
to pervert. Then we are told that a Mr. E. Peacock, F.S.A.,
believed that "the Eitualists are the main hindrance to con-
version at the present time." But we have yet to learn the
value of Mr. Peacock's testimony. Was he, a layman, more
likely to know the facts of the case than Pope Gregory XVI.,
Cardinal Manning, and the English Jesuits whom I have
quoted ? And all this testimony is strengthened and confirmed
by the testimony of Pope Leo XIII., which has been published
in the Morning Leader, to the effect that he expects the Eitualists
as a body will soon come over to him, and become " Catholics
in reality.
But it seems that "Bishop Bilsborough, of Salford, told the
late Duke of Devonshire some years ago " that " for one convert
from the Vicar's Church he received ten from the Noncon-
formists." No reference is given in proof of this conversation
having ever been held, and until it is forthcoming I may pass
it over as valueless, merely adding that if it were a true state-
ment, the case of this one parish wTould be but " the exception
which proves the rule." Next the Church Review quotes the
testimony of Monsignor Capel, made many years after he had
left England for America, when he was far away from the
original sources of information. Any one who has read Purcell's
Life of Cardinal Manning will marvel much at the Church
Revieiv for relying on Capel as an authority for anything.
It is no use for the Church Review to thus vainly endeavour
to make out that the Eitualists are the bitterest enemies of
Eome, especially since we are all aware that they are labouring
with all zeal for corporate reunion with her. Do we wish to
be united to those we hate '? The Eitualists seek a wedding
of affection between the Church of England and the Church of
Eome, but the common sense of all loyal Churchmen forbids
the banns. And as to individual secession, I may repeat the
opinion of Cardinal Manning, who spoke with a unique know-
ledge of the facts of the case. He wrote of the Eitualistic
clergy : —
PREFACE.
Xiii
" Every parish priest happily knows how empty and foolish is the boast
they make of keeping souls from conversion [to Rome]. The public facts
of every day refute it. They may keep back the handful who surround
them, and hide the truths from their own hearts, but the steady current
of return to the Catholic and Roman Church throughout the whole of
England is no more to be affected by them than the rising of the tide by
the palms of their hands." (Essays on Religion and Literature." Edited
by Archbishop Manning. Second Series, p. 14).
The Church Review, after dealing with the general question,
proceeds to discuss the case of Dr. Pusey. At page 251 of
The Secret History I gave evidence in support of the assertion
that Dr. Pusey's labours were beneficial to the Church of
Eome. I quoted Bishop Samuel Wilberforce as saying that
the influence of Pusey's ministry did " more than the labours
of an open enemy to wean from the pure faith and simple
Eitual of our Church the affections of many of those amongst
her children ; " that in Wilberforce's opinion Pusey " tried to
retain these souls to the Church of England ; " but that his
efforts were " in vain," and that, instead of preventing them
seceding to Eome they had " practically been set by him
[Pusey] on a Eomish course." I thus acknowledged that,
in Wilberforce's opinion, Pusey did make efforts to prevent
secession. But the sorest point of all is my quotation from
Keble, who was Pusey's Father Confessor, who acknowledged
that " a larger number, possibly, has seceded to Eome under
his [Dr. Pusey's] special teaching than from that of any other
individual now amongst us." The Church Review does not
deny that this was so. It only complains that I omitted to
quote Keble's reasons for the existence of such a deplorable
state of things, and especially that I did not quote his asser-
tion that " if more have passed from his teaching to Eome
than from the teaching of any other, more also by very many
have been positively withheld from Eome by his teaching than
have been kept back by any other." I fail to see how this, or
similar statements, affect the point with which I dealt. I
believe that Wilberforce was right when he declared that the
secession of Pusey's disciples to Eome was the direct result of
his teaching. They were " set by him on a Eomish course."
"You seem to me," wrote Wilberforce to Pusey, "to be
habitually assuming the place and doing the work of a Roman
Confessor, and not that of an English clergyman " (Life of
Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. II., p. 90). The harvest of such a
work was sure to be largely reaped by the Church of Eome.
xiv
PREFACE.
The Church Review claims the late Dr. Littledale as one of
" the real champions against Rome," because he wrote Plain
Reasons Against Joining the Church of Rome. But, as I have
shown, the most powerful weapon on which Dr. Littledale
relied to prevent Ritualists going over to Rome was, not his
book, but the policy of giving them in the Church of England
what they were going to Rome for. And no one gave more
Popery in his day to the Ritualists than Dr. Littledale himself.
The Priest's Prayer Book, of which he was joint editor, is full
of it. The Church Review wishes its readers to believe that
the champions of the Church of Rome in England do not
think it worth their while to answer Protestant writers against
Popery. I can only say in reply that the publications of the
Roman " Catholic Truth Society " amply refute the assertion.
It is noteworthy that while Lord Halifax and The Church
Times deny the existence of secret societies in the Church of
England, the Church Review acknowledges the secrecy of the
Society of the Holy Cross. It says of it : — " The charge of
privacy, or secrecy, if Mr. Walsh prefers, we have no objection
to admit," and it adds that : — " Mr. Walsh is only wasting time
in his endeavours to prove the secrecy of the S. S. C." Yet ' '
the Bradford Congress, in September, 1898, presided over by
Lord Halifax, the Rev. William Crouch, Secretary of the
Society of the Holy Cross, assured his hearers that there was
no secrecy whatever in that Society ! Which is right, the
Church Review or Mr. Crouch, who thus flatly contradict each
other ? For my part I believe the Church Review is right on
this point. The ample evidence of secrecy given in my book
has not been dealt with yet by those who deny the existence
of secrecy. And, as to the early Tractarians, whom I have
accused of secret work, the Church Review candidly says : —
" Now we do not deny for a moment that there was much
' reserve ' or ' secrecy ' in the early days of the Tractarian
Movement," and it asks in pious astonishment as to the
Ritualists of the present day: — "What need to wonder at
practising reserve and secrecy, and saying as little as possible
about the truths they hold dear?" — that is, when they are
" worried, ridiculed, and hindered " by the Protestant party.
The latest Ritualistic policy seems, therefore, to be that
of acknowledging the secrecy of these Societies and of the
Tractarian Movement, now they can no longer deny it, and
to defend it as a right and proper thing. My critic even tries
to prove that the Church Association is a secret society, and
PREFACE.
XV
it boldly asks : — " Does it print the names of all its guarantors
and subscribers ? " The answer is : — Yes, it does, and sells it
publicly over the counter for a shilling, which is more than can
be said of the English Church Onion Directory.
^1 have called attention to the fact that in his Manual for
Confessors Dr. Pusey recommends as a mortification for Sisters
of Mercy " The Discipline for about a quarter of an hour a
day " — that is, the use of a cat-o'-nine tails on the Sister's
bare back for that period ! Instead of being heartily ashamed
of such cruel advice the Church Review says not one word
against it. " If," it writes, " Eitualists are more ascetic than
Eomanists, provided they do not injure their health, and the
health and comfort of others, what harm is done?" "What
harm is done by the Discipline ? What a question to ask ! I
wonder the Church Review is not heartily ashamed of asking
it. Instead of this it actually declares that " to scourge a
woman" is "a punishment sanctioned in the Bible by
God Himself ! " Hear that, ye people of England, and do
not forget it ! My critic refers me to Leviticus, chap, xix., in
■-roof. I turn to it and read : —
And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bond-maid,
oetrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her,
she shall be scourged."
Does the Church Review imply by its assertion that this sin
is committed in Ritualistic Convents, and therefore that the
guilty one should be " scourged " with a " Discipline for about
a quarter of an hour a day?" Are there "bond-maids" in
these Convents, who deserve that such a punishment should be
inflicted upon them? And is the Levitical law binding on
Christians? It is true that the Church Review says: — "We
are not advocating such treatment of-' women," but it takes
care not to say one word against the use of the cruel
" Discipline."
It tries, however, to get out of the difficulty in another way.
" Mr. Walsh," it remarks, " does not tell his readers that what
he calls Dr. Pusey's ' Advice on Hearing Confession ' is not his
' advice,' but a translation by somebody else of the Eoman
Catholic Abbe Gaume's manual on the subject, which Dr.
Pusey prefaced and published." Why should I tell my
readers that it was not his advice, when it really was his ?
It was his by adoption. He states on the title-page that it is
" Adapted to the Use of the English Church," and he pleads
xvi
PREFACE.
in the preface that he has omitted from it everything in the
original contrary, in his opinion, to the teaching of the Church
of England. If I adopt another man's "advice," I make it
my own. It is pitiful to see what straits the Church Beview
is driven to to get out of an awkward difficulty.
One remarkable feature of the Church Revieiv's criticisms is
the number of charges brought against myself which are utterly
without foundation. I am charged, for instance, with making
my readers " understand that the Bitualists are in some way
responsible for, or are mixed up in " the work of the Order of
Corporate Eeunion. Now, as a matter of fact, I did nothing
of the kind. On the contrary, I expressly stated (Secret
History, p. 110) that " The schemes of the Order of Corporate
Eeunion did not receive the approval of the great majority of
the Eitualistic party," and that " even the secret Society of the
Holy Cross has taken up arms against the Order of Corporate
Eeunion." The Church Beview, being utterly unable to prove
that I have made a single misstatement, finds it necessary to
charge me with offences which are the product solely of its
own imagination. Again, it charges me, in common with
others, with persisting in " foully slandering some of the purest
women in England who go to Confession." I should be very
sorry to slander any pure-minded woman, or anybody else,
and I ask in astonishment when and where have I done so ?
There is nothing of the kind in my book, and the Church
Beview produces no evidence in support of its charge. The
same charge, in different words, is brought out'in another'part
of the criticisms, where my critic says : —
" We have now, we think, printed enough in refutation of the cowardly,
wicked, scandalous insinuations and charses made against priests and
penitents, to the effect that the former pollute, and the latter submit to
have their minds polluted, in the Confessional."
What it has " printed " is a few of the cautions given in The
Priest in Absolution as to care, in questioning the penitent, not
to impart any knowledge of sin. Every one, who has read the
book, knows that such cautions are given, and certainly are
very much needed. They are to be found not only in The
Priest in Absolution, but also in Dr. Pusey's Manual for Con-
fessors, and in my book I have printed several such cautions,
which the Church Beview would not like to reproduce in its
columns. Such, for example, as the following : —
PREFACE.
xvii
" Nothing more shows the tearfulness of Satanic devices than that it is
possible that a Sacrament which was instituted to drive forth from souls
sin and the Devil, and make them temples of the Holy Ghost, may be
profaned by abusers of its ministrations to t)ie grossest iniquity" (Priest in
Absolution, Part EL, p. 77).
Could any Protestant say anything stronger than this? The
Ritualistic Confessional may be profaned to " the grossest
iniquity " ! And the unpleasant truth for the Church Review
is that I have proved that it has already been so used. The
Church Review cannot be ignorant of a very abominable
instance of the kind which took place a short distance from
the Convent with which it boasts a connection extending over
thirty years. The Convent and its authorities had nothing to
do with the case ; but would the Church Review like the
private evidence given in the case to be published on the
house-tops ? And what are we to say about Dr. Pusey's
testimony ? which, if it had been given by myself, would
have been denounced by the Church Review as " cowardly,
wicked, scandalous insinuations and charges made against
priests." This is what Dr. Pusey wrote, adopting it as his
own from the Abbe Gaurne, as suitable for the guidance of
Ritualistic Father Confessors : —
" It is a sad sight to see confessors giving their whole morning to young
women devotees, while they dismiss men or married women, who have,
perhaps, left their household affairs with some difficulty, to find them-
selves rejected with ' I am busy ; go to some one else ' " (Pusey's Manual
for Confessors, p. 108).
No doubt Dr. Pusey knew very well what need there was
for advice of this kind, and also for telling the Ritualistic
Confessor that he might pervert the Confessional " into a
subtle means of feeding evil passions and sin in your own
mind " (p. 102) ; and make himself therein " the cause for
temptation to others, thereby proving yourself no spiritual
father, but rather a ravening wolf ; no minister of God, but
of the devil ; no physician, but the murderer of souls " (p. 99).
Under such circumstances I do not wonder that Dr. Pusey
had to make the following awful acknowledgment : —
" Be assured that this is one of the gravest faults of our own day in the
administration of the Sacrament of Penance, that it is tlie road by which
a number of Christians go down to hell " (p. 315).
My advice to any Ritualist who may read this article is, if
you do not want to "go down to hell," keep out of "the road"
xviii
PREFACE.
to it. One would suppose, to read the Church Review and the
statements of interested Father Confessors, that such awful
things could never result . from the use of the Eitualistic
Confessional. That organ of the Eomanizers terms those
Protestants who protest against the evils of the Confessional
" prurient cowards," and asserts that " they lie, and that
knowingly." But was Dr. Pusey also amongst the "liars"?
Or the editor of The Priest in Absolution ? It is said that
Protestants who never go to confession are not qualified to
give an opinion on this subject. But that can hardly be. said
of Dr. Pusey and the Bev. J. C. Chambers, both Bitualistic
Confessors of many years' experience. The Church Review
treats me as though, in my book, I had desired to make out
every Bitualistic Father Confessor a villain, and every woman
who goes to confession a depraved character. I have done
nothing of the kind, and I should be very sorry to do so. A
penitent need not say anything about sins of which he or she
is not guilty. But I do assert that private conversations in
the Confessional on sins against the seventh commandment
are abominations which ought not to be tolerated, and that in
The Priest in Absolution certain questions are suggested, to be
asked from wives, under certain circumstances, which if they
were known to their husbands, would make their blood boil
with just indignation. If I were to challenge the Church
Review to meet me on a public platform, in an audience of
men only, and argue the matter out, I have no doubt as to the
verdict of the majority. No doubt it would be said, in pious
horror, that modesty forbids this, even between persons of the
same sex. But, if so, how much more should modesty forbid
these things to be talked about at their discretion — or want of
discretion — between priests in the Confessional and our wives,
sisters, and daughters?
Canon Malcolm MacColl has favoured me, in his new book
on The Reformation Settlement, with several pages of abuse.
I regret that I cannot call it anything else, for from the be-
ginning to the end of his tirade there is no attempt at argu-
ment. He is generous enough to give me '- credit for good
faith," but that is all. His abuse is, if anything, more venom-
ous than that of The Church Times, and he makes no pretence
of hiding the evident fact that he wrote in a bad temper. But
he forgot that it requires reason and evidence to convince men
of intelligence. The Canon declares of my book that he has
"examined it in the light of the author's evidence," and he
PREFACE.
xix
affirms "without hesitation" that my "evidence in the bulk
crumbles to pieces under cross-examination." My only regret
is that he did not give his readers a summary of this cross-
examination. Bare assertions carry no weight in controversy.
Canon MacColl gravely assures the public that the Secret His-
tory of the Oxford, Movement consists for the most part of "garbled
quotations, pure fiction, silly utterances by irresponsible per-
sons, and a ridiculous travesty of real facts " ; and, apparently,
the public are expected to believe that it is so, merely because
he says it, even though he does not name one of the " garbled
quotations," or quote even one line of my alleged " pure fiction ".
Now sensible people, I respectfully suggest, when they note
these omissions on my opponent's part, will shrewdly suspect
that he possesses no evidence to back up his intemperate and
reckless charges, for if he possessed it he would undoubtedly
have produced it. And yet this angry controversialist boldly
declares that "it is an imperative Christian duty to sift, before
publishing, statements and stories which, if not true, are gross
slanders." That is exactly the line of duty which guided me
in writing my book, and I only regret that in criticising it
Canon MacColl has neglected to act upon it. He hints very
broadly that I am guilty of a " violation of the Ninth Com-
mandment," and that I have written in a "diabolic temper " ;
nor is he ashamed to write : — ■
" Indeed, I am inclined to think that Mr. Walsh would rapidly rise to
high rank in the Turkish service. His book reminds me on every page of
a report by a Turkish Commission which invariably proves by plausible
evidence that all the massacres that take place in Turkey are the work of
secret societies of Christian revolutionists. I do not believe that all
Turkish officials are in every case deliberate liars. But they are eager to
accept, without sifting, any evidence, however monstrous, that tells
against the Christians ; and persons so disposed are sure to receive any
amount of evidence to support their foregone conclusions. False evidence
is a regular profession in Turkey, and indeed in all Mussulman lands."
Now all this is simply gross personal insult, quite unworthy
of what ought to be the dignity and self-respect of a gentleman.
Indeed, I suspect that the more respectable members of the
Eitualistic party are heartily ashamed of it. It is, however,
the line of conduct frequently adopted by those who feel that
they have no stronger controversial weapon to rely on. I
should have felt grateful to Canon MacColl if he had patiently
set to work to point out my errors as to matters of fact ; and if
he had succeeded I would gladly have withdrawn any such
PREFACE.
errors, and expressed my regret for their insertion. But
unhappily for my opponent he has a bad cause to defend, and
seems to think — at least while dealing with my book — that the
Dark Ages have come back to England, when it was expected
that a priest's bare word was sufficient to settle every dispute.
He forgets that we are about to celebrate the birth of the
Twentieth Century, to be inaugurated by a warfare against
priestcraft aud superstition which, let us hope, will sweep every
Sacrificing Priest out of the Reformed Church of England. The
Protestants of this nation are determined, by God's help, never
again to be brought, by Romanizing and traitorous priests, into
the condition of those of whom it is written : —
" They must give their souls to triple crowns and copes and scarlet hats ; —
Themselves — and not their idols — to the moles and to the bats ;
Themselves, their homes and substance, their bodies and their souls,
To the blind who lead the blinder — to the bats and to the moles.
"For liberty of mind and will — for bold unfettered thought, —
They must think as they are bidden, and believe what they are taught ;
They must shut their eyes and ope their ears, fast bound by slavish laws,
Rome's hook within their nostrils, and her bridle on their jaws."
WALTER WALSH.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION.
The Church Times, in its issues of September 9th, 16th, and
23rd, 1898, devoted a considerable portion of its space to a
criticism of this book, and has now reprinted these articles as
a pamphlet of thirty-two pages. It is generally understood
that this is the recognised reply of the Eitualistic party, and
therefore it has been thought well that I should answer it in
these pages.
I freely admit, at the outset, that if personal insult, libels,
and vituperation could kill a book, The Secret History of the
Oxford Movement could not survive the attack of The Church
Times. But I venture to submit that the thinking men and
women of England view with natural distrust a cause which
cannot exist without descending to tactics of this kind. They
require something more than outbursts of anger, and an exhi-
bition of vexation and annoyance, to convince them that my
book cannot be relied on. The public care little or nothing as
to what my personal views may be. What they want to know
is,— Did the Tractarians and Ritualists really utter the words
cited in the book, and did they do the deeds therein attributed
to them ? They will judge according to evidence, and not
according to the opinions either of the author or of The Church
Times.
It may be well to give some specimens of the insult and
abuse heaped on my head by my critic. Here are a few ex-
tracts : — " The incident provokes more than one question about
the ' honourable and straightforward ' mode in which Mr.
Walsh obtained the private papers of gentlemen who intended
them to remain private " — implying, of course, that I obtained
them by dishonourable and crooked methods. There is, I
freely admit, no doubt whatever that these gentlemen "intended "
their papers "to remain private " ; and their anger arises from
xxii
PREFACE.
the fact that they are now published in the light of day. Men
who work in the dark always hate the light. Again, it is
affirmed that I am " either a fool, writing of things which he
does not understand, or a knave, trying to gull a still more
ignorant public." It would have been wiser for The Church
Times to prove me either a " fool " or a " knave," than to thus
libel me in its columns. It also affirms that in my book I have
inserted " something out of the purloined papers of the Society
of the Holy Cross." To charge a man with using stolen pro-
perty, without producing a scrap of evidence in support of the
accusation, is an offence which is held in abhorrence by all
upright men, no matter what their religion may be. Yet one
more Church Times libel I must quote before I pass on. It
affirms that " the perusal of his book is rather like peering over
the shoulder of a man who is reading a stolen letter."
Now all this is simply an unworthy attempt to blacken the
character of a man whose book it has failed to refute. There
is not one word of truth in these discreditable accusations, and
no one is more convinced of their falsehood than The Church
Times itself, for — be not too much startled, my reader, when I
tell you — that paper has, within the past twelve months, given
me, on these very points, a character for honesty, fairness, and
honour, of which, for a time at least, I was exceedingly proud,
since I thought I had fairly done my best to earn it. According
to The Church Times, of September, 1898, I must be a kind of
sneaking villain ; yet in the opinion of the same paper, of
January 21st, 1898, page 63, 1 was fully entitled to the following
testimonial (the italics are mine) : — ■
" In Tlic Church Intelligencer, for January, there appeared considerable
extracts from what seem to be the private papers of the Society [of the
Holy Cross]. It was well known that Mr. W. Walsh had the same laudable
object in view as Mr. Miller, and had for a long time been trying in a fair
and honest way to obtain some of the Society's papers for publication.
Mr. Walsh is a fair and open opponent, and we regret that he has been
less successful than his rival."
After reading the above unsolicited testimonial to my fairness
and honesty, I am afraid that my readers will think that the
editor of The Church Times has a very bad, or at least a very
convenient, memory. The desperate necessities of the Ritual-
istic cause, owing to the wide circulation of my book, seem to
have led my reviewer into the dangerous paths of inconsistency
and libel. His conduct, at any rate, furnishes loyal Churchmen
with one more illustration of the very tactics exposed in my
PREFACE.
xxiii
book. I do not think it will tend to raise the Romanizers in
the estimation of straightforward Englishmen. And here I
may remark that this is not the first time that The Church
Times has noticed my book. It reviewed it with all the
honours of leaded type — though now it says it " did not think
it worth powder and shot " — in its issue of December 3rd, 1897,
pp. 663, 664. It then adopted the line of ridiculing the book,
but it ended its review by giving me, in all seriousness, the
following testimonial : —
" Whatever we may think of his hook, we cannot but respect Mr. Walsh.
In honourable contrast to most of our latter-day Tappertits, he has regard
to the decencies of controversy, and we 'could wish his pen enlisted in a
better cause."
What, may I ask, has happened since December 3rd, 1897,
that has led The Church Times to alter its estimation of my
personal character ? Then I was worthy of honour and respect.
Now it declares that " Mr. Walsh has queer notions of honour."
I have stated that my copy of The Priest in Absolution cost
£6 6s., and my critic asserts that " None but a dirty-minded
man, bent on misusing the book, would buy it at such a price."
Evidently the desire is to produce the impression that I have
written a dirty and indecent book, like The Priest in Absolution
itself. But I appeal to my readers against such an unworthy
insinuation. They know that I have not written one word
which could not be read without a blush by the purest minded
man or woman that ever breathed. What, I again ask, has
happened since December, 1897, to induce this change of front ?
Is it not the desire, somehow or other, to get out of a most
unpleasant difficulty? " If we cannot answer his book, we can
at least throw mud at the author," is a statement which would
accurately describe the new attitude of The Church Times.
The great object of The Church Times is to persuade the
public that, after all, there are no such things as secret
societies within the Church of England, excepting, perhaps,
the Order of Corporate Eeunion. But in order to succeed in
its task it has to resort to misrepresentation. If it cannot
succeed in blackening the character of a Protestant, it may at
least hope for success in white-washing the men who work in
the dark to destroy the Protestantism of the Church and
Nation. It might just as well try to persuade sensible men
that there is nothing which bats and owls love more than the
noonday sun, and that they hate to be seen prowling about
xxiv
PREFACE.
at night. If ever there was an ecclesiastical society which
deserved to be termed secret, as I have amply proved, it is
the Society of the Holy Cross. But according to my critic it
is only —
"A private Society of English clergymen who meet together for the
conduct of their own private affairs. We cannot imagine anything more
detestable, more utterly opposed to gentlemanly feeling, than to pry into
the doings of such a Society."
I have no doubt that the Clan-na-Gael, Fenians, and In-
vincibles would say the same thing about any person who
revealed their secret doings to the British Government. But,
after all, here comes in the question, Is it truthful to describe
the S. S. C. as merely a body of clergymen " who meet together
for the conduct of their private affairs " ? I have shown, by
clear and indisputable evidence which The Church Times has
not dared to attempt to refute, that they meet together to
secretly discuss public affairs. Again, if there be no secrecy
in the societies named, how is it that The Church Times is
unable — so it says — to test my quotations by the original
documents? "Many of his statements," it declares, "are by
their very nature unverifiable. ' I have given,' he says, ' full
references and proofs for everything.' But references to in-
accessible documents are useless." " The greater part of Mr.
Walsh's history is, therefore, unverifiable " ; and consequently
it leaves "the greater part" of this book untouched by its
criticisms. In reply to all these excuses for inability, it may
suffice to state that the admissions of The Church Times supply
me with an unexpected additional proof of the secret nature of
these Bitualistic societies. Their documents must indeed be
secret, when the leading champion of the Bitualistic party is
not allowed the use of them for the purpose of crushing The
Secret History of the Oxford Movement. As to these secret and
tell-tale documents, my opponent, not having anything better
to say, discreditably insinuates that I may have forged some
of them ! " Even," it shamelessly asks, " if Mr. Walsh should
produce them, who is to say whether they really are what
they purport to be ? " The question implies a libel on my
character, but passing that by, the answer is obvious. I
profess, for instance, to quote speeches made at secret
Synods of jthe Society of the Holy Cross, and I give the dates
on which they were held, and the pages of the documents
from which I take my extracts. Let the authorities of the
PREFACE.
XXV
Society of the Holy Cross be applied to, and asked to produce
their copies of the reports of the Synods in question. I am
prepared to produce mine, and then let some outside authority
judge between us. This, I venture to suggest, is a more manly
and Christian way of settling a dispute than that of inflicting
a back-handed and cowardly stab on a man's character.
The Church Times pleads that the Society of the Holy Cross
is not a secret society, because it has issued a paper on " The
Nature and Objects of the Society," and also an " Address to
Catholics." "As soon," it says, "as the members felt their
inner life strong enough for the strain they launched forth into
publicity ; they took the most public occasion possible to make
themselves known." The documents referred to were cir-
culated first in the year 1867. Yet ten years later, in 1877,
at a monthly Chapter of the Society of the Holy Cross, the
Eev. Nathaniel Dawes, now Bishop of Eockhampton, com-
plained that " Our weakness hitherto has been our secrecy ; "
and the Eev. Joseph Newton Smith, founder of the Society
boasted that " our secrecy had been a protection to us." And
even as late as the May, 1881, Synod, the Eev. William
Crouch affirmed that " he thought the secrecy of the Society's
doings a mistake." The published documents referred to
above were only bait to catch fish. The fish cannot judge
from the bait the reception which awaits it when landed
by the fisherman. That is a secret only made known to
the fish when hauled on shore. Those documents were not,
after all, scattered abroad indiscriminately, and those who
read them gained thereby no adequate knowledge of the
secret policy of the Society of the Holy Cross. If the Society
of the Holy Cross is not secret, why are such efforts made to
keep its documents from the light of day '? Is it not because
it has " loved darkness rather than light"? "For every one
that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved" (Margin, "discovered,"
John iii. 20).
I notice that The Church Times admits that there is a
Secret History of the Oxford Movement. "The Oxford
Movement," it reluctantly confesses, " undoubtedly has its
secret history. ... It is interesting to calculate how much
of it is locked up in the muniment jroom at Hawarden. A
great part of this secret history will, by degrees, be revealed."
My fault seems to be that I have revealed it too soon to suit
the convenience of the Eitualists, and that I have revealed too
xxvi
PREFACE.
much of it for their comfort. Indeed, my opponent evidently
approves of the secrecy of the Tractarians, when it assures its
readers that " A little more of the old secrecy of the Trac-
tarians would not harm us."
On the subject of " Eeserve" and " Economy," The Church
Times seems to think that the Tractarians were anything but
wise, though it by no means censures their teaching. The early
Tractarians were, it asserts, "unfortunate in many of their ex-
pressions," and " were singularly incapable of judging the effect
upon their contemporaries of what they might say." But, after
all, it boasts that " the Tractarians freely published their theory
of ' Eeserve ' ; they taught it openly as the solemn duty of all
who were engaged in communicating religious knowledge." I
have never denied that the Tractarians published their doctrine
of " Eeserve " openly ; what I have asserted, and still assert,
and have fully proved in the following pages, is that they prac-
tised it in secret, and that the theory led in many instances to
double-dealing, evasions, and deceptions, such as were utterly
inconsistent with Christian ideas of truthfulness and straight-
forward dealing.
In the course of its attack The Church Times makes one or
two admissions about The Priest in Absolution which are worth
remembering. It carefully abstains from uttering one word of
censure of that book, which the late Archbishop of Canterbury
(Dr. Tait) denounced as " a disgrace to the community " : but it
frankly admits, and apparently glories in the disgraceful fact,
that " the book deals, of course, with filth," and it pleads in
excuse that " a book of moral theology must, therefore, deal
with certain disgusting subjects." If the book deals with
" filthy " and " disgusting " subjects, it is only in order that
the Father Confessors who read it may subsequently deal with
these loathsome subjects in the Confessional. These acknow-
ledgments of The Church Times reveal the character of the
Eitualistic Confessional in its true light. It is a place where,
at the will and discretion of the Father Confessor, cer-
tain " filthy " and " disgusting " subjects are talked about,
often by persons of opposite sexes. It is pleaded by my critic
that The Priest in Absolution " exactl}' resembles a medical
work on pathology." I imagine that the overwhelming majority
of medical men will resent the comparison as a gross insult on
an honourable profession. There is nothing secret in medical
books. They may be bought by anybody in the open daylight ;
while of The Priest in Absolution it was said, by Canon Ehodes
PREFACE.
xxvii
Bristow — then a member of the S. S. C. — that " If the book
were published it would be prosecuted as an obscene book "
(infra, p. 94). Yes ; and, unfortunately, there is reason to
fear that it is " an obscene book," which has frequently led to
" obscene " talk between the Father Confessor and his penitent.
Herein lies its condemnation in the minds of all right-thinking
men and women.
As to the semi-secret Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament,
The Church Times has the unblushing audacity to declare that
it " offends Mr. Walsh by praying in secret " ! There is not a
line in my book to justify such an assertion. What I complained
of was that its semi-secrecy was used for the purpose of pro-
pagating, with greater safety, doctrines and practices which
are unlawful within the Church of England. My critic denies
that the monthly Intercession Paper of the C. B. S. is secret
in any sense. Then why did the Superior General advise that
the back numbers should be " destroyed," to prevent outsiders
reading them ? The Bev. James Hodgson, formerly Superior
of the Bloxham Ward of the C. B. S., was of an opinion different
from that of The Church Times. He wrote to the Ritualistic
Church Review, July 5th, 1873, p. 400 :— " Why are they
[Intercession Papers of C. B. S.] marked ' Confidential'? Does
not this imply secrecy ? Undoubtedly."
But it is pleaded that there cannot be any secrecy in the
C. B. S. because its "annual meetings and services are advertised
in the public press." There would, of course, be nothing secret
in those "meetings" if the general public were invited to attend
them ; but that is the very thing which the authorities of the
C. B. S. do not want. They cannot legally keep the public out
from their Bequiem Masses in Church, yet no one is allowed
to be present at the annual meetings except those who can
produce the medal showing that they are members. The
secrecy of the C. B. S. is also shown in the fact that it never
prints the names of its lay members, and although the names
of its Priests-Associate are printed every year, care is taken
that no Protestant Churchman shall see a copy of the list.
Some of the Priests-Associate refuse to allow their names to
be printed even in this secretly circulated list, for fear lest they
should be found out. Is there no secrecy in all this ?
The information which I have given about Bitualistic Sister-
hoods may, The Church Times thinks, be " largely bogus,"
though it fails to produce any evidence in proof of its sugges-
tion. It declares that a Convent is " essentially a private
XXV111
PREFACE.
house," and that therefore outsiders have no right to take
notice of what goes on within its walls. This was the plea
put forward some years since by the keepers of " private "
lunatic asylums, but the Legislature paid no attention to the
plea. The English public insisted on having such " private
houses " placed under public inspection, and I have no doubt
that ere long they will insist on a similar inspection of the
" private houses " termed Convents. The plea of privacy did
not avail for Convents at the time of the Beformation, and I
do not see why it should avail now. The Church Times is
discreetly silent about the private burial grounds in some of
these Eitualistic Convents. Is it afraid that some day an
awakened and indignant British public will close them for
ever, as ought to have been the case long ago ? After all,
Convents are no more " private houses " than are the factories
in which women are employed, and they ought to be as fully
open to Government inspection. Those who have read what
has already taken place in Bitualistic Convents, as revealed in
the unrcfuted books of Miss Margaret Goodman, Miss Cusack,
" Maude," and " Sister Mary Agnes," will be the first to laugh
the plea of privilege to scorn. But if The Church Times cannot
refute the damaging exposures of these ladies, it can at least
insult the ladies themselves. To insult honourable ladies is
not generally considered manly conduct. It terms them "these
wretched women " ! It declares : — " We cannot control our
indignation " — merely because I have quoted a book printed
for the use of the St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, Sisterhood.
I freely admit that it does not " control its indignation."
From the beginning of its criticism to the end its indignation
runs away with its reason. There is nothing which so rouses
the " indignation " of secret plotters as to be found out. I did
not base my charge of secrecy against Bitualistic Sisterhoods
merely on the ground of a Blue Book, which might be bought
and sold by anybody, but on documentary evidence which The
Church Times has not dared to refute.
In an appendix to my book, I give a lengthy collection of
extracts from what I expressly term the " published writings "
(pp. 261-293) of the Bitualists, as distinguished from their secret
writings which are largely cited in the body of the book. This
is the way in which The Church Times comments on this col-
lection of extracts : —
" Most of them arc plain statements of Christian doetrine ; some of
them are in very bad taste; some we dislike intensely; some would be
PREFACE.
xxix
almost universally repudiated by our friends. But of all alike we ask,
Where is the secrecy ? Whore is the plot 1 Where the conspiracy ?
Wise or foolish, they are all published utterances. . . . But these things
were not done in a corner. They were done with ferocious publicity. We
are grateful to Mr. Walsh for collecting the evidence ; he saves us so much
trouble ; his own pages pulverize his theory of secrecy and conspiracy."
If I had tried to prove the secrecy of the Oxford Movement
from this collection of extracts, the comment of The Church
Times would have been very much to the point. But I have
done nothing of the kind. They are placed in the appendix for
the express purpose of separating them from the secret history.
They were inserted " for reference." The evidence of secrecy
is contained in what The Church Times terms " the greater
part of Mr. Walsh's history," and which it has not even at-
tempted to refute.
It- is a significant fact that out of nearly twelve columns
given to an " examination " of my book The Church Times
devotes only about two and, a half columns to an attempt to
disprove my accuracy. At the commencement of its tenth
column only does it set itself seriously to work to prove me
inaccurate on matters of fact. It begins that tenth column
(September 23rd, p. 830) with the remarkable acknowledgment :
— " We have, so far, assumed that Mr. Walsh's information is
accurate." If so, nine columns of its space were either wasted,
or simply used for the purpose of personal insult and libellous
statements which it is quite unable to substantiate.
At last, then, The Church Times commences work which, if
well done, would help the cause of my opponents more than
any amount of mere bluster. "We can," it states, "take
certain of its [Secret History] statements which concern
matters of public knowledge, and see how they will stand the
test of inquiry." Here, at long last, we come to fair and
proper criticism, as to which no author has a right to complain.
As a matter of fact I court criticism of this kind. If any one
can prove that, on matters of fact, I have misrepresented my
opponents, I shall be grateful to him for pointing out my
mistakes.
I need hardly add that my critic places in the forefront of
its "examination" the very worst (supposed) blunders that it
can possibly produce against me. They are exactly seven in
number, and are of so unimportant a character that were I to
plead guilty of error in every instance they would not affect
my general trustworthiness. Even historians of the highest
XXX
PREFACE.
esteem with the public are found to be occasionally inaccurate
on minor points ; but that does not induce their readers to be
so foolish as to throw away their books, as though they were
produced by conscious liars. My own book extends to over
350 pages. I have, in compiling it, received not the slightest
assistance from any one. The wonder to me is, that, although
I took the utmost possible pains to be accurate, The Church
Times can only produce seven unimportant instances in which
it assumes that I am historically wrong. But it assumes too
much.
(1) I plead guilty to being inaccurate as to one charge alone,
and that an inaccuracy which injures nobody, and is so trifling
that it amuses me to find The Church Times making such a
great mountain out of its little mole hill. It is connected with
the visits of Lord Halifax, " Father Puller," and the Eev. T. A.
Lacey, to Rome, with reference to the recognition of Anglican
Orders by the Church of Eome. It is admitted by those who
know the facts of the case that each of these three gentlemen
went to Eome on the same errand, and had a common object ;
and that the travelling expenses of the two last named were
paid by the English Church Union. In the annual report of
the E. C. U. for 1897, page 17, occurs the following item of
expenditure, under the heading of " Eeunion Expenses " : —
" Expenses at Eome of Eevs. Father Puller and T. A. Lacey,
£145 15s. Id." Where then does my inaccuracy come in? I
wrote (p. 356 of previous editions) : — " There went with Lord
Halifax to Eome two members of the English Church Union." It
seems that, after all, they did not go " with " Lord Halifax, but a
few months later on ! I frankly acknowledge that my chronology
was in this instance inaccurate. But who, I may well ask, is
injured by it? Is "Father Puller," or Mr. Lacey, or Lord Halifax,
or the English Church Union, or anybody else, the worse for this
inaccuracy ? In connection with these visits I quote a certain
outrageously Eomanizing document which Mr. Lacey, when at
Eome, circulated amongst the Cardinals there, a translation of
which appeared in the Roman Catholic Tablet, November 7th,
1896, and I add this comment : — " Probably Mr. Lacey never
dreamt that such a document would ever see the light of day
in England." In reply to this The Church Times asserts it
saw " copies of this document in the Eeading Eoom of the
Shrewsbury Church Congress," in October, 1896. I can only
state that I was present at the Shrewsbury Church Congress,
that I attended the Eeading Room several times every day
PREFACE.
xxxi
during the Congress, and that I never saw a single copy of
the document in question. Then, I have said, with reference to
the visits of these three gentlemen to Rome, that ' ' A verbatim
report of their interviews with the Pope would be interesting
reading." It now appears that only one out of the three had
an interview with the Pope, and that was Lord Halifax. So,
in my next edition, I will alter " their " into " his."
Having thus pleaded guilty to an error on the subject of
these visits to Rome, I may as well say at once that I am not
going to plead guilty to any other charge brought against me
by The Church Times.
(2) I have given a quotation from Oakeley's Historical Notes
on the Tractarian Movement, relating the Popish performances
of certain Tractarians when they travelled on the Continent,
and I commented on that quotation to the effect that when
they returned home " they were careful not to let the English
public know where they had been, what they had said, and
what they had done, when abroad. At home they had passed
as faithful sons of the Reformed Church of England ; on the
Continent they were seen in their true colours." In reply The
Church Times refers me to three books which it names, as
containing reports of such journeys to the Continent, with some
very candid acknowledgments by the authors. To which I
rejoin by asserting that we are not to judge of the conduct of a
large party by the conduct of only three of its members. Nor
do I believe that these gentlemen told all they did in the books
they wrote. Mr. Oakeley, who was himself one of those early
Tractarians who thus travelled on the Continent, tells us : —
" Whatever our Tractarian friends may have been on this side
of the Channel, there could be no doubt of their perfect Catho-
licity on the other" (p. 73). This implies that, in the opinion
of one well qualified to give an opinion, they were when at
home in England something very different from what they
seemed to be when abroad. Their " perfect Catholicity " was
evidently not manifested when they were in England. That is
exactly what I have said in my book, and I see no reason for
withdrawing what I have said on this subject. When Faber,
whde nominally an Anglican clergyman, kissed the Pope's foot,
during an interview, did he proclaim that fact in his Sights and
Thoughts in Foreign Churches ? When Manning, while Arch-
deacon of Chichester, visited Rome, and knelt down in the mud
before the Pope's carnage, did he make known his disgraceful
xxxii
PREFACE.
action to the public when he came home ? We know it was
kept secret until after his death as a Eoman Cardinal I
(3) Under the heading of " Imputations on Dr. Pusey," The
Church Times is very angry with me, because I have censured
that gentleman for his " personal and private austerities." I
have, it is true, censured him for the folly of wearing hair shirts,
and for recommending Confessors to order Sisters of Mercy to
use the cruel " Discipline "—a kind of cat-o'-nine-tails — "for
about a quarter of an hour a day," and I still think he deserves
censure for giving such advice. As to anything that I have
said against Dr. Pusey, I have given evidence for everything,
and all The Church Times can say in reply is that " Dr. Pusey
died the honoured confidant of men who knew his intimate
life." I have no doubt that he had the confidence of men and
women who believed in his doctrines and conduct ; but that can
be said of even some of the greatest heretics who ever lived.
I have nothing to withdraw on this head, because my critic has
not produced any evidence against me.
(4) Under the head of " The Petition of 1873 " I am charged
with misrepresenting the petitioners as desiring the addition of
certain doctrines to the Book of Common Prayer, " as not being
contained there already." On the contrary, I actually quoted
that part of the petition in which the petitioners plainly imply
that in their opinion the doctrines in question were those of
the Church of England. I wrote (infra, p. 71) : —
" The Book of Common Prayer, says this petition, is ' manifestly in-
complete, through the absence in many particulars of such Services and
Rubrics as would give adequate expression to this claim of the Church of
England to be Catholic in her doctrine, usage, and ceremonial.' "
No one, in his senses, would ever suppose that the Roman-
izers who signed this very Eomanizing petition, ever taught
distinctly that the doctrines of the Real Presence, Eucharistical
Adoration, and the Eucharistic Sacrifice were not contained
within the Prayer Book. Yet they certainly were most incon-
sistent when they signed a petition which asked for the " addi-
tion " of these " doctrines " to the Book of Common Prayer.
We do not ask for the " addition " of a thing to a book, when
we know that it is there already. I dealt with this PetitioD
fairly, and have not misrepresented it in any way.
(5) I am charged with " the suppression of a material fact "
because in my account of the Order of Corporate Reunion I did
not mention that Mr. Mossman, one of its Bishops, was ex-
: .PREFACE. XXxiii
in
pelled from the English Church Union for professing to confer
Holy Orders. In reply I have to state that if I had in any way
charged the English Church Union with being responsible for
the conduct of the Order of Corporate Reunion, then the
suppression of this fact in my book would be — to quote my
critic — " as misleading as a direct falsehood." But I did
nothing of the kind. I in no way even hinted at any official
connection between the two organizations. To quote (from
another part of his review) my critic himself : — " We do not
complain of mere omissions. Mr. Walsh was not bound to
say everything he knew."
(6) I am charged with misrepresentation because I state
that, in my opinion, the Alcuin Club is really the Society of
St. Osmund under another name. I made the same assertion
in a letter which I wrote in The Times of September 5th, 1898.
The Bishop of Winchester, having read the letter, wrote to me
stating that as he was himself a member of the Alcuin Club, he
wished to know on what authority I made the statement. To
that letter I sent the following reply : —
September 5th, 1898.
My Lord, — In reply to your letter of enquiry, I herewith send the
violence which, in my opinion, justified rne in asserting that " The
ociety of St. Osmund" still exists under the new name of the "Alcuin
Jlub." On February 18th, 1897, Mr. A. E. Maidlow Davis, Secretary of
le Society of St. Osmund, and now Secretary of the Alcuin Club, issued
a privately-printed letter to the members of the former of these societies,
of which I have seen a copy. It was printed in full in Tlie English
Churchman of February 25th, 1897, page 126. In it, Mr. Davis announced
that a meeting would be held of the members of the Society of St. Osmund
on February 25th : —
"For the purpose of dissolving the Society of St. Osmund. Enclosed
are particulars of the Alcuin Club, whose work will cover more ground
than our Society has been able to touch, and I consequently presume that
you will be glad to continue your support of English Ceremonial by joining
tlie Club, at least as an Associate, at the annual subscription of five
shillings. Unless I hear from you to tlie contrary on the dissolution of the
Society of St. Osmund, I shall therefore assume that you wish to become an
Associate of the Alcuin Club, and will accordingly propose you for election."
I am fully convinced that this " dissolving of the Society of St. Osmund "
was in name only, and not in reality. The free and easy way in which the
Secretary assumes that all the members of the Society will join the Club
strengthens my opinion. A similar proposal was made to the Society of
the Holy Cross, by the Eev. E. G. Wood, after the exposure of the Society's
connection with Tlie Priest in Absolution. The Society had got into public
disgrace through its Popish teaching, and therefore " he counselled dis-
banding the Society, with the view of tliereby escaping an Episcopal censure,
and of reconstructing the Society under the same or a similar title, at as
xxxiv
PREFACE.
early a date as possible" (See, for proof, my Secret History of tlie Orford
Movement, pp. 90, 91, Popular Edition).
I do not possess a complete list of the names of the Council of the
Alcuin Club. When, however, its formation was first made officiallv
known»to the public through The Church Times of March 10th, 1897, a
selection of the names was printed with the announcement. From it I
learn that at least five members of the Council of the Society of St. Osmund
were transferred to the Council of the Alcuin Club, viz., the Revs. A. L.
Coates, W. H. H. Jervois, G. H. Palmer, and Mr. W. J. Birbeck and
Mr. Athlestan Riley (formerly Chairman of the Society of St. Osmund),
and, as I have already stated, the Secretary of the Society was made
Secretary of the Club. The Church Times gives his address as that of the
Society of St. Osmund, so that, for a time at least, both organizations used
the same office. Add to this that the work of the Alcuin Club is practi-
cally identical with that of the Society of St. Osmund, and there can be
little or no cause for doubt left, that the latter, as I stated in The Times.
" still exists under the new name of the Alcuin Club."
I have known a somewhat similar transaction to take place in another
religious society, which became absorbed in a new society, giving up its
original name. The publications of the Alcuin Club are of a distinctly
Ritualistic character, and can only help on the Romeward Movement.
I do not find that my letter to The Times asserts that the Alcuin Club
is a "secret" Society. Still, if your lordship thinks it bears that in-
terpretation, I willingly admit that I have no proof of its secrecy beyond
that which is implied in the facts mentioned in this letter.
I remain, My Lord,
Your obedient Servant,
WALTER WALSH.
To The Right Rev.
The Lord Bishop op Winchester.
The Bishop of Winchester sent me an answer to this letter,
but as he marked it " Private," I am unable to print it here.
I may, however, mention that he does not accept my view of
the situation, but considers that I " have been inadvertently
misled." I much regret that I cannot accept his lordship's
view. A study of the avowed publications of the Alcuin Club
proves that it is still carrying on substantially the work of the
Society of St. Osmund, though I do not charge the present
members of the club — excepting those who were members of
the S. S. 0. — with responsibility for what the Society of St.
Osmund undertook in aid of Popish ceremonial.
(7) I quote several Eoman Catholic testimonies acknow-
ledging the important services rendered to the Church of Rome
by the Kitualists. The Church Times complains that I say
" not a word of the far more numerous occasions on which
there has come from the same quarter a wail over the effect of
the movement, in checking conversions to Papalism." If these
testimonies are so very numerous, why, may I ask, does not
PREFACE.
XXXV
The Church Times print a collection of them ? I do not believe
that they exist. I know that a few obscure individuals, not
qualified, so far as the public are aware, to speak on the subject,
have said something of the kind ; but what is the value of their
testimony compared with that of the leaders of the Church of
Eome to the contrary, which I quote in my book ?
I now respectfully submit that the criticisms of The Church
Times are remarkable most of all for their weakness ; while I
freely admit that in its personal insults and bluster it has used
the strength of a Samson, though with the self-destructive
results which marked the closing efforts of that giant's life.
The accuracy of this book is by no means injured by the
criticisms of The Church Times, but, I am happy to state, its
circulation has been thereby greatly increased.
I am not surprised at the line adopted towards my book by
The Church Times, but I confess that I did expect something
of a more elevated character from The Saturday Review and
The Spectator. Both of these papers have a high character
for literary ability ; it is, therefore, all the more to be regretted
that they have, on this occasion, ignored fair criticism, and
descended to the level of mere abuse. In one respect they are
more open to censure than The Church Times, for while the
latter does give a small portion of its space to prove me in-
accurate, they attempt nothing of the kind. The Saturday
Review speaks of the " worthlessness " of this book, which, in
its opinion, deserved to be put aside as " neither demanding
nor deserving notice " in its columns. And then it incon-
sistently gives two columns of its space to a notice of it !
"We cannot," it says, "pretend to be interested in scraps of gossip,
apparently overheard on other men's backstairs, or at the keyholes of
churches and clergy houses."
It produces no evidence for the untrue assertion contained in
this sentence, for the simple reason that it has none to produce.
Strange to relate, its next sentence is in defence of gentlemanly
conduct ! " The publication of documents," it remarks, " printed
for private circulation and marked 'Confidential,' may be con-
sistent with Mr. Walsh's notion of an honourable gentleman's
behaviour." I may be permitted to remind The Saturday Review
that, while a gentleman is bound to respect all honourable
secrets and confidences, he is bound in honour to pay no re-
spect whatever to dishonourable secrets and confidences. In
xxxvi
[preface.
the opinion of an overwhelming majority of honourable Church-
men, the Eitualistic clergymen, whose Secret Societies I have
exposed, are engaged in dishonourable conduct, and they con-
sider it as much a duty to reveal their underground and traitor-
ous proceedings, as it would be in the case of conspirators
against the State. If I had got possession of the secret docu-
ments of the Kitualists in any dishonourable way, then, indeed,
I should be justly open to a lecture on " an honourable gentle-
man's behaviour ; " and I am quite sure that if the Ritualists
had known even a single instance in which I had so obtained
them, they would have published the fact on the housetops
long ago.
The criticisms of The Spectator are written in an angry tone.
There is no attempt made to disprove a single statement made
in the book which has raised its very wrathful indignation. It
even descends to personal insult for want of a more useful
weapon. It actually affirms that " Mr. Walsh's discussion of
the question " of the Confessional and The Priest in Absolution,
" may minister a good deal of matter to the prurient." This is
a most untruthful assertion, as any one must know who reads
this book. Nothing of such a character can be found within
its pages. Being short of material for fair criticism The Spec-
tator must needs invent charges against the book. It actually
declares that, in the Appendix, under the heading of " What
the Eitualists Teach," " there is no passage from the writings
of any of the modem leaders of the High Church party ; nor,
indeed, from any one of eminence in earlier days." Now, as a
matter of fact, which anybody can see for himself, I have
quoted in the Appendix, amongst others, such prominent men
of the party as Lord Halifax, the Bishop of Lincoln (Dr.
King), Archdeacon Hutchings, Dr. Pusey, Canon Carter, the
Eev. T. Mozley, the Bev. C. S. Grueber, and the Rev. A. H.
Mackonochie. This assertion of The Spectator reminds me of
the teaching approved by Newman, who declared that a Chris-
tian " both thinks and speaks the truth, except when careful
treatment is necessary."
The Spectator thinks that I ought " in common decency "
to have left out of the Appendix " the fist of utensils used by
some Ritualists in Divine Service " ; and, especially, " the
' cautels ' or cautions for the clergy in celebrating the Holy
Communion." In this I do not agree -with my critic. Pro-
bably the Ritualists are heartily ashamed of their folly in these
matters being made known to Protestants. The Spectator
PREFACE.
xxxvii
asserts that I have " printed these for the derision of the
ignorant and vulgar." I did nothing of the kind. I printed
them, not for the " derision," but for the information of the
public, and without note or comment of my own. I should
imagine that the class of the community most likely to hold
these follies in derision, are, not the " ignorant and vulgar,"
but the learned and refined, whose common sense andjgood
taste is outraged by the grossly carnal directions given in those
" cautels." 8^35
I now rise from the criticisms of the Die Church Times,
Saturday Review, and The Spectator, to breathe the purer
atmosphere which surrounds the criticism of the Eev. W. San-
day, D.D., Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, Oxford. My
other critics, who talk so much about gentlemanly conduct,
would do well to study the courteous style of criticism adopted
by one who is their superior in every respect. Professor Sanday
did me the honour of referring to this book in a sermon which
he preached in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on August
14th, 1898, and which — with other sermons — he has since
published in a volume entitled The Conception of Priesthood.
He is by no means a friend to this book, mainly, as it appears
to me, on the ground that its tendency will be to prevent peace
being arrived at between the Protestant and Eitualistic parties.
I. frankly admit that peace between truth and error is not to be
desired. Dr. Sanday seems to think that I look upon every-
thing secret as necessarily evil. I can assure him I do nothing
of the kind. While writing about the secret plottings of the
Eomanizers I had only in my mind those " Who loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil " (John iii. 19).
Professor Sanday says of myself : — " He regards everything that
has " any resemblance to the practice of the Church of Eome as
wrong : he does not ask if it is bad, or preponderantly bad, in
itself. It is enough for him that it has the stamp of Eome." Here
again my critic is in error. Every one knows that there are good
things in the Church of Eome, as well as bad, just as in base
sovereigns there is some good gold. I have objected to nothing
as " Eoman " which an overwhelming majority of the most
learned English Divines since the Eeformation have not also
objected to on the same ground. I have written in no narrow-
minded spirit. If Professor Sanday had mentioned any par-
ticular Eoman practice which I had objected to as Eoman, but
which is in itself good, I should then be in a better position to
answer him. But he has carefully abstained from doing so.
xxxviii
PREFACE.
At the same time I have to thank him for some things he has
said about this book. He thinks it " one of the most effective "
weapons used by the Protestants against the extreme Eitualists.
" We must," he says, " take the book as an indictment — and
an indictment with evidence alleged " ; and he thinks that " if
it had come much earlier — twenty, or thirty, or forty years ago
— it might have shaken the edifice of the Church more seriously
than it can do now. And in itself perhaps it is well that some
things should be known which have hitherto been more or less
concealed."
"The effect of The Secret History of tlie Oxford Movement," says Pro-
fessor Sanday, " would be on the contrary — at least if it were read without
discrimination — rather to disunite than to unite, to discredit one large
section of the Church, to undermine and destroy its influence.
" The author himself would not, I think, disclaim this object in writing.
And his book has been taken up and is, I believe, being circulated widely
by those who openly profess to have that object. Now, a book will no
doubt work far more quietly than sensational scenes in church or before a
magistrate, but I do not on that account consider it the less but rather
the more really formidable. And this particular book seems to me very
much calculated to have the effect which is sought. For I must do the
author the justice to say that he has written calmly and temperately. He
has expressed a great desire to be fair towards those he criticizes and not
to misrepresent them. There may be different opinions as to what con-
stitutes fairness ; but so far as it consists in an appeal to documents, the
claim in this instance cannot be denied" (Tlie Conception of PriestJtood,
p. 117).
w. w.
London, January ith, 1899.
PREFACE.
I have written this book at the request of an eminent dignitary
of the Church of England, noted for the liberality and breadth
of his views of religion. He represented to me the need of a
work which might be the means, in God's hands, of opening
the eyes of loyal Churchmen to what is going on underneath
the surface ; and, as I have had exceptional opportunities for
studying this aspect of the Ritualistic question, I have, though
with not a little anxiety, complied with his request. I have
written in no narrow-minded or party spirit. There is not, I
believe, a single expression of my own opinion in the volume
which will give offence either to Evangelical Churchmen, Broad
Churchmen, or old-fashioned High Churchmen of the school of
the late Bishop Samuel Wilberforce and Dean Burgon. I have
little doubt that men of all these parties will agree with what
I have written. Ritualists and Romanizers will, of course, not
agree with me at all. Those who work in the dark do not love
the man who seeks to drag them forth into the light of day.
I have taken every pains to be fair towards those whose
conduct and teaching I criticize. I would not willingly mis-
represent them in any way whatever. It was my anxiety to
be fair and accurate, which induced me to adopt the plan
of allowing these secret workers to tell their story in their
own words. And, therefore, I have given full references
and proofs for everything, taken from the writings of the
Ritualists themselves. All my authorities are Ritualistic, with
the exception of, perhaps, a score, whose testimonies were
necessary for my purpose. The italics in the quotations are,
with a very few exceptions my own, not those of the persons
quoted.
It is a significant fact that secrecy has largely characterised
the Ritualistic Movement, even from the first year of its
existence, when it was known by another name. Abundant
proofs of this fact will be found in the following pages. Secret
I
PREFACE,
Eitualistic Societies have now come into existence, and they
are increasing in number every year. At present the Church of
England is literally honeycombed with Secret Societies, all
working in the interests of the scheme for the Corporate Re-
union of the Church of England with the Church of Eome.
These secret plotters are the real wire-pullers of the Ritualistic
Movement.
A great deal of that which was strictly secret in the early
days of the Oxford Movement has now been made public by
means of the Biographies and Letters of some of the principal
actors. I have endeavoured to utilize the revelations made in
those publications in the following pages. They are scattered
here and there through many volumes, and no attempt has
hitherto been made to bring them together in one book. But
my principal authorities have been the secret and privately
printed documents of the Ritualists themselves. From these
I have been able to give reports of speeches delivered in the
secret meetings of Secret Societies, and of Semi-Secret Societies,
several of them by men who have since risen to positions of
eminence within the Church of England. In these secret
gatherings they expressed themselves with a freedom which
they have never adopted in their public utterances.
The Secret History of the Priest in Absolution is here given
for the first time. Lord Redesdale's exposure in the House of
Lords, in 1877, of that very indecent Confessional book for the
use of Ritualistic Father Confessors, raised a great storm of
indignation throughout the country. His lordship was not an
Evangelical, but — as the present Bishop of Winchester informs
us in his Life of Archbishop Tait — "a sober and trusted High
Churchman of the earlier sort." Of course, the exposure
produced a terrible commotion in the ranks of the Secret
Society of the Holy Cross, which was held responsible for
the book. The Brethren of that Society held many occult
meetings to consider what they should do under such adverse
circumstances. I have given full reports of these secret
gatherings, as printed for the use of the Brethren only. I
think most sober-minded Churchmen will admit, after reading
the speeches delivered by prominent Ritualistic clergymen on
those occasions, that the proceedings of the Society were by
no means characterized by straightforward dealing, but that,
on the contrary, they were decidedly cunning and Jesuitical.
In this connection I have necessarily had to comment largely
on the Ritualistic Confessional ; but I have carefully abstained
PREFACE.
xli
from writing anything which would offend the modesty of any
Christian man or woman.
Of necessity much has been left out of this volume which I
should have been glad to insert. There are intervals in the
Secret History of the Oxford Movement which have yet to be
filled up, when the documents necessary for the purpose are
forthcoming.
It is hoped that this volume may be the means of proving to
many Churchmen, who have hitherto taken no interest in the
Ritualistic question, that the contest now going on within the
Church of England, and which, unhappily, threatens to rend
her asunder, is not one about trifles. There are many men and
women who love to hear the best music sung in our Churches,
and wish to have the services conducted with the utmost
possible reverence, who do not wish to surrender the priceless
privileges of the Reformation, including freedom from Papal
tyranny, in order that their Church, and the Church of their
forefathers, shall, instead of going forward, return to the
corruptions of the Dark Ages. It is hoped that this volume
may enable many to see that behind the Ritual, and the
outward pomp and grandeur of Ritualistic services, are the
unscriptural doctrines which that Ritual is designed to teach,
and which our forefathers found unendurable. All loyal
Churchmen, by whatever name they call themselves, should
unite in ejecting the lawless from their ranks, after an effort
has been made to secure their obedience. Things are rapidly
drifting towards a state of Ecclesiastical Anarchy. Indeed,
in thousands of parishes, Anarchy already prevails, where
Ritualistic priests persist in making their own whims and
fancies their supreme law, and in doing only that which is
right in their own eyes. I think it was Sydney Smith who
said, of the Tractarian clergyman of his own time, that " He is
only for the Bishop, when the Bishop is for him." It is so
still ; but with this unfortunate difference, — as a rule, the
Bishop "is for him." Episcopal smiles and favours are heaped
on the secret plotters whose work is described in this volume ;
and the leaders of the State vie with the Bishops in promoting
those who are systematically law-breakers.
The influence of public opinion needs to be brought to bear
upon this question. Compromise is out of the question.
Either our Rulers in Church and State must unite together in
maintaining law and order, or the Church of England will
cease to be the Established Church of the nation. I am not
xlii
PREFACE.
pleading in any way for the narrowing of the existing boundaries
of the Church of England, as denned in her formularies and
laws. No considerable body, at present, wishes for anything
of the kind. But I do maintain that law and order ought to be
supreme in the Church, as much as in the State, and at present
this, unfortunately, is not the case. At present the extreme
Bitualists are a law unto themselves. There is not in existence
a tribunal to whose Judgments they will yield obedience, when
they come into collision with their own superior judgments.
Reasonable men would say that it is better to have even im-
perfect tribunals than no tribunal at all ; and that it is wise to
obey those which exist until efforts for their reformation are
successful. But this does not appear to be the opinion of the
Ritualists. Better that all English Church law and order shall
go down than they should cease to do as they like. Bearing in
mind their whole-hearted efforts for Corporate Reunion with
Rome, as described in the two last chapters of this volume,
when a state of loyalty and obedience to the Pope would again
come into existence in the Church of England, does it not look
very much as though the Romanizers were bent on upsetting
all law and order within the Church of England, and producing
a state of Anarchy, solely in order that on the ruins may be
erected the law and order of the Pope of Rome?
W. W.
Loudon, September ith, 1897.
CONTENTS.
Chapter I. — The Secret History of the Oxford
Movement
Birth of the Movement — its Secret Teaching — Promoters dislike
their names being known to the public — Tract " on Reserve'" — •
Newman writes against Popery—" Eats his dirty words "—Ward
on Equivocation — Newman Establishes a Monastery — Pusey gives
his approval — Newman's double-dealing about it — Lockhart's
experience in this Monastery — Mark Pattison's experience —
"Stealing to Mass at the Catholic Church" — Faber's visit to
Rome— Faber kisses the Pope's foot — Desanctis on Jesuits in
Disguise — Midnight secret Meetings at Elton — Dr. Pusey privately
orders a "Discipline with five knots" — Dr. Pusey secretly wears
hair shirts — Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy to take the " Discipline "
— A Ritualistic Sister whipped most cruelly — Romanists sell
articles of " Discipline " to Ritualists — Maskell's Testimony as to
Tractarian evasions and trickery.
Chapter II -The Society of the Holy Cross -
Its secret birth in 1855 — Brethern forbidden to mention its
existence — Its secret Statutes — Its secret signs — Its mysterious
"Committee of Clergy"— The Roll of sworn Celibates— Their Oath
— Its secret Synods and Chapters — Brethren must push the Con-
fessional amongst young and old — Its Confessional Book for little
children — Its secret Confessional Committee — Issues the Priest in
Absolution — Secret birth of the Retreat Movement — First secret
Retreat in Dr. Pusey's rooms — Starts the " St. George's Mission "
at St. Peter's, London Docks — Dr. Pusey a Member of the Mission
— The Bishop of Lebombo a Member of the Society of the Holy
Cross— Sensational letter from him— Ritualistic Holy Water —
Brethren alarmed at publicity — The Society establish an Oratory
at Carlisle — Its Secret history — Organizes a Petition for Licensed
Confessors— Reports of Speeches at its secret Synods— Their dark
plottings exposed.
xliv
CONTENTS.
Chapter III. — The Secrecy of the Eitualistic Con-
fessional - 56
The Confessional always a Secret thing — Abuse of the Ritualistic
Confessional at Leeds — Dr. Pusey on the Seal of the Confessional
— Ritualistic Sisters teach girls how to confess to priests — Secret
Confessional Books for penitents — Dr. Pusey revives the Con-
fessional— Four years later writes against it — He hears Confessions
in private houses — "His penitent's burning sense of shame and
deceitfulness " — Bishop Wilberforce's opinion of Dr. Pusey — A
Ritualistic priest's extraordinary letter to a young lady — How
Archdeacon Manning hears Confessions on the sly, "a hole and
corner affair."
Chapter IV. — The Secret History of " The Priest
in Absolution " - 66
Part I. of the Priest in Absolution — Praised by the Ritualistic
Press — Part II. secretly circulated amongst " Catholic " priests
only — Lord Redesdale's exposure of the book in the House of
Lords — Archbishop Tait says it is " a disgrace to the Community "
— Secret letter from the Master of the Society of the Holy Cross —
Statement of the S. S. C. — Special secret Chapter of the Society to
consider the Priest in Absolution — Full report of its proceedings,
with speeches of the Brethren — Refuse to condemn the book —
Discussion in Canterbury Convocation — Severe Episcopal Censures
— Immoral Ritualistic Confessors ruin women ; Testimony of
Archdeacon Allen — Dr. Pusey's acknowledgments of the dangers
of the Confessional ; It is the road by which a number of Christians
go down to hell — Another secret meeting of the Society of the Holy
Cross — Reports of the speeches and Resolutions — Some Bishops
secretly friendly to the Society — Canon Knox-Little"s connection
with the Society of the Holy Cross — Strange and Jesuitical Pro-
ceedings at the Society's Synod.
Chapter V. — The Order of Corporate Eeunion - 102
Origin of Order of Corporate Reunion shrouded in Mystery —
Its first " Pastoral "—It professes "loyalty" to the Pope— Prays
for the Pope in its secret Synod— Its Bishops secretly consecrated
by foreign Bishops — Who were they ? " Bishop " Lee and
"Bishop" Mossman — "Bishop" Mossman professes belief in the
Pope's Infallibility— Birth of the Order rejoices the Romanists —
Its proceedings discussed by the Society of the Holy Cross — Some
secret documents— Eight hundred Church of England clsrgv
secretly ordained by a Bishop of the Order.
Chapter VI. — Eitualistic Sisterhoods - - - 113
Ritualistic Sisterhoods formed on Roman models — Dr Pusey
visits Romish Convents in Ireland — Borrows Rules from
English and Continental Nunneries— Hislop on the Pagan Origin
CONTENTS.
of Convents — Dr. Pusey's first Sister visits Foreign Convents —
Miss Goodman's experience of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Rule of
Obedience — Shameful tyranny over the Sisters — The Sister must
obey the Superior, " yielding herself as wax to be moulded un-
resistingly " — The mercenary Rule of Holy Poverty — Are Ritualistic
Convents Jails? — The Vow of Poverty at St. Margaret's, East
Grinstead — A Secret Convent Book quoted — Life Vows — Is it easy
to embezzle the Sister's money? — The secret Statutes of All
Saints' Sisterhood, Margaret Street ; and the Clewer Sisterhood-
Sisters and their Wills — Evidence before the Select Committee —
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce on Conventual Vows — Archbishop
Tait on Conventual Vows — Ritualistic Nuns Enclosed for Life —
" Father Ignatius' " Nuns — Whipping Ritualistic Nuns — Miss
Cusack's experience of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, " a Hell upon
earth " — Cases of Cruelty in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Hungry
Sisters tempted — Private Burial Grounds in Ritualistic Convents
— Secret Popish Service in a Ritualistic Convent Chapel ; a Mass
" in Latin from the Roman Missal " — Superstitious Convent
Services — Extracts from a secret book for Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood —
Sisterhoods and Education : A Warning to Protestant Parents.
Chapter VII. — The Confraternity of the Blessed
Sacrament 141
Protestant Martyrs and the Mass — Latimer's testimony —
Restoration of the Mass by the Ritualists — Birth of the Confra-
ternity of the Blessed Sacrament — Its objects and work — Its secret
Intercession Paper, ordered to be " destroyed " when done with —
Its "medal" may be buried with deceased members — First ex-
posure of an Intercession Paper at Plymouth — Great excitement —
How the Rock found an Intercession Paper— Secret proceedings
at New York — The secret " Roll of Priests — Associate " — Dread
lest it should fall into Protestant hands — Curious letter from a
Priest-Associate — Extracts from the papers of the C. B. S. — Requiem
Masses for Souls in Purgatory — Advocates fasting Communion —
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce on Fasting Communion : " detestable
materialism " — Opposes Evening Communion — Proofs that it is
sanctioned by the Primitive Church — C. B. S. term it " spiritually
and morally dangerous" — Eucharistic Adorotionof C. B. S. Identical
with that of Rome — Its Idolatrous character — The C. B. S. on the
Real Presence — The "Eucharistic Sacrifice" — Bishop Beveridge
on Sacrifice — Transubstantiation advocated by name — Bishop
Wilberforce Censures the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
Chapter VIII. — Some Other Eitualistic Societies - 159
A Purgatorial Society in the Church of England — The Guild of
all Souls — Extracts from its Publications— Masses for the Dead
in the Church of England— Festival on "All Souls' Day" — The
Fire of Purgatory the same as that of Hell — Bishop of London
(Dr. Temple) gives its President a Living — The Secret Order of the
Holy Redeemer — An Inner Circle ; The Brotherhood of the Holy
CONTENTS.
Cross ; its secret rules quoted — The " Declaration " of the Order of
the Holy Bedeemer— The Pope the "Pastor and Teacher of the
Church " — Why its members stay within the Church of England —
Extraordinary and Jesuitical letter of " John O. H. P.." — Its mys-
terious Superior said to be a " Bishop," though not in the Clergy
List. Who ordained and consecrated him ? — The secret Order
of St. John the Divine — Extract from its secret rules — Society
of St. Osmund — Its rules and objects — Prays for the Pope — Its
silly superstitions — Driving the Devil out of Incense and Flowers
— The Adoration of the Cross — A degrading spectacle — Its Mary
worship — Holy Belies — Advocates Paying for Masses for the Dead
— The Society merged in the Alcuin Club — The Club joined by
several Bishops — Laymen's Bitual Institute of Norwich — Its
Secret Oath — Secret Guild Books of St. Alphege, Southwark —
Guild of St. John the Evangelist, at St. Alban's, Holborn — Confra-
ternity of All Saints', Margaret Street— The Bailway Guild of the
Holy Cross.
Chapter IX. — The Romewaed Movement - - - 182
Corporate Beunion with Bome desired — Not individual Seces-
sion— The reason for this policy — How to " Catholicise " the Church
of England — Protestantism a hindrance to Beunion — Beunion with
Bome the ultimate object of the Bitualistic Movement — Newman
and Froude visit Wiseman at Bome — They inquire for terms of ad-
mission to the Church of Bome — Secret Beceptions into the Church
of Bome — Growth of Newman's love for Bome — Newman wants
" more Vestments and decorations in worship " — William George
Ward : " The Jesuits were his favourite reading" — Publication of
Tract XC. — Mr. Dalgairn's letter to the Univers — Secret negotia-
tions with Dr. Wiseman—" Only through the English Church can
you (Bome) act on the English nation " — Keble hopes that yearn-
ing after Bome "will be allowed to gain strength" — Mr. Glad-
stone on the Bomeward Movement — He hopes those " excellent
persons " who love all Boman doctrine will " abide in the " Church"
— " The Ideal of a Christian Church" — Dr. Pusey's eulogy of the
Jesuits censured by Dr. Hook — Mr. Gladstone's article in the
Quarterly Review— Pusey hopes "Bome and England will be
united in one " — Pusey asks for " more love for Bome " — He
praises the " superiority " of Boman teaching — Pusey believes in
Purgatory and Invocation of Saints— He yet "forbids" his peni-
tents to invoke the Saints — Manning's remarkable letter to Pusey
— Manning's visit to Bome in 1848 — Kneels in the street before
the Pope — His double-dealing in the Church of England — The
Boman Catholic Rambler on the Oxford Movement.
Chapter X. — The Romewaed Movement - - - 215
The Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom
— Sermons and Essays on Reunion — Denunciation of Protestantism
— Treasonable letter in the Union Review— The A. P. U. C. de-
nounced by the Inquisition— Degrading Beply of 19S Church of
CONTENTS.
xlvii
England Dignitaries and Clergy — Archbishop Manning's opinion
of the Romeward Movement — The Society of the Holy Cross Peti-
tion for Reunion with Rome — Signed by 1212 clergymen — The
English Church Union — Its work for Union with Rome — Approves
Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon — Pusey writes that there is nothing in the
Pope's "Supremacy" in itself to which he would object — The
Catholic Union for Prayer — A Colonial Priest on Reunion with
Rome — The " levelling up " process — The real Objects of the
English Church Union — The Lord's Day arid the Holy Eucharist —
Lord Halifax wants Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament — E. C. U.
members find fault with the Book of Common Prayer — E. C. U.
Petitions the Lambeth Conference for Reunion — Reunion asked
for under "The Bishop of Old Rome" — Lord Halifax prefers Leo
XIII. to the Privy Council — Dean Hook in favour of the Privy
Council — Mr. Mackonochie's Evidence before the Ecclesiastical
Courts' Commission — Asserts there has been no " Ecclesiastical
Court " since the Reformation — A Ritualistic Curate supplies the
"Kernel" to Roman Ritual — He preaches the Immaculate Con-
ception of the Virgin Mary — Lord Halifax and "Explanations"
of the Pope's Infallibility— The Homilies on the Church of Rome —
Rome has already reaped an hai-vest from Ritualistic labours —
Secession as well as union a Scriptural duty — Objections to
Reunion with Rome.
Appendix. — What the Eitualists Teach - - - 261
The Bible— The Book of Common Prayer — The Thirty-nine
Articles — Reunion with Rome — The Pope's Infallibility, Primacy
and Supremacy — The Reformers and the Reformation — Some
Ritualistic " Ornaments of the Church " — The Real Presence —
The Power and Dignity of Sacrificing Priests— The Sacrifice of the
Mass — The Ceremonies of Low Mass — Some Cautions for Mass
Priests — Purgatory — Auricular Confession and Priestly Absolution
— Invocation of Saints — The Virtues of Holy Salt, Holy Water and
Holy Oil — Monastic Institutions — Protestantism — The Importance
of Ritual— Dissent.
Index
297
I
THE SECRET HISTORY
OF
THE OXFOBD MOVEMENT.
CHAPTER I.
THE SECRET HISTORY OP THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Birth of the Movement— Its Secret Teaching— Promoters dislike their
names being known to the Public — Tract "On Reserve" — Newman
writes against Popery — " Eats his dirty words " — Ward cn Equivoca-
tion— Newman Establishes a Monastery — Pusey gives his approval —
Newman's double dealing about it — Lockhart's experience in this
Monastery — Mark Pattison's experience — "Stealing to Mass at the
Catholic Church" — Faber's visit to Rome — Faber kisses the Pope's
foot — Desanctis on Jesuits in Disguise — Midnight Secret Meetings at
Elton — Dr. Pusey privately orders a "Discipline with five knots" —
Dr. Pusey secretly wears hair shirts — Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy to
take the "Discipline" — A Ritualistic Sister whipped most cruelly —
Romanists sell articles of "Discipline" to Ritualists — Maskell's
Testimony as to Tractarian evasions and trickery.
The late Cardinal Newman, the first leader of the Tractar-
ians, has stated in his Apologia that he ever considered and kept
July 14th, 1833, as the start of the Tractarian Movement. Within
three months from that date he published his work on the Avians of
the Fouvth Century, in which the "Disciplina Arcani," or the
"secret teaching," which found such favour with a few of the early
Fathers, was held up to the admiration of English churchmen of the
nineteenth century. It was most appropriate that a religious move-
ment in which secrecy has played so important a part should be in-
augurated by the publication of such a work. It has served as a
seed from which many a noxious weed has grown. Closely connected
with the "Disciplina Arcani" is what is termed the " Economical "
mode of teaching and arguing. The difference between the two is
1
2
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
thus defined by Newman himself. "If," he writes, "it is necessary
to contrast the two with each other, the one nny be considered as
withholding the truth, and the other as setting it out to advan
tage."1 As an illustration of this "Economy" he quotes with ap-
proval the very objectionable advice of Clement of Alexandria : —
" The Alexandrian Father," he affirms, " who has already been quoted,
accurately describes the rules which should guide the Christian in speaking
and writing economically. 'Being fully persuaded of the omnipresence of
God,' says Clement, 'and ashamed to come short of the truth, he is satisfied
with the approval of God, and of his own conscience. Whatever is in his
mind is also on his tongue ; towards those who are fit recipients, both in
speaking and living, he harmonizes his profession with his thoughts. He
both thinks and speaks the truth ; except when careful treatment is necessary,
and then, as a physician for the good of his patients, he vnll lie, or rather
utter a lie, as the Sophists say. . . . Nothing, however, but his neighbour's
good will lead him to do this. He gives himself up for the Church.' " 2
As to the " Disciplina Arcani," Newman justifies it on several
grounds, and affirms that in the Church of Alexandria the Catechu-
mens were not taught all the doctrines of the Christian Faith.
Many of these were treated by their teachers as secret doctrines to
be held in reserve. " Even to the last," he asserts, " they wer*
granted nothing beyond a formal and general account of the article*
of the Christian Faith ; the exact and fully developed doctrines of
the Trinity and the Incarnation, and still more, the doctrine of the
Atonement, as once made upon the Cross, and commemorated and
appropriated in the Eucharist, being the exclusive possession of the
serious and practised Christian." 3 It is worthy of note that New-
man affirmed that these secret doctrines were not learnt from tibe
Scriptures. " Now first," he writes, " it may be asked, How was an3/
secrecy practicable, seeing that the Scriptures were open to every-
one who chose to consult them ? It may startle those who are but
acquainted with the popular writings of this day, yet, I believe,
the most accurate consideration of the subject will lead us to
acquiesce in the statement, as a general truth, that the doctrines
in question [i.e., the secret doctrines of the early Church! have
never been learnt merely from Scripture." And then he adds : —
" Surely the Sacred Volume was never intended, and is not
adapted to teach us our Creed."4 Thus early in the Tractarian Move-
ment were its disciples taught not to look to the Bible only for
what they should believe. The traditions of men were set up as of
equal value with the Written Word. No wonder that such a Move-
ment led to many and grievous departures from Christian truth.
Teaching like this was eagerly imbibed by the disciples of New-
man, who very naturally, though without sufficient reason, inferred
that, if the Alexaudrian Fathers were justified in hiding certain
1 Newman's Arians, p. 65. Seventh Edition. 2 Ibid., pp. 73, 74.
s Ibid., p. 45. *Ibid., p. 50.
SECRET TEACHINGS.
3
doctrines of Christianity from, the popular gaze, a3 secret* U> b*
made, known only to the initiated whom they could trust, the Trao-
tarians of the nineteenth century might lawfully imitate their
example. Accordingly, they, at first, from their pulpits preached
the ordinary doctrines of the Church of England, as they had been
taught for nearly three hundred years ; while secretly, and to those
only who could be trusted, they taught those Romish doctrines and
practices which they dared not then expose to the light of publicity.
There was a measure of secrecy observed even in the formation
of the Tractarian Movement. As early as September 3rd. 1833,
one of the party — the late Professor Mozley— writing to his Bister,
after announcing that with his letter she would "receive a con-
siderable number of Tracts, the first production of the Sooiar.v
established for the dissemination of High Church principles," pro-
ceeds to give particulars of the plans of the party; but finds it
necessary, before closing his letter, to add this caution for her guid-
ance:— "But for the present you must remember all these details
I have been going through are secret." 3 Here, it will be observed,
the real object of the Movement is frankly revealed. It is to be a
Society for "the dissemination of High Church principles." But
when the prospectus of the Society was made public, there was not
sue word in it which might lead the public to suppose that "The
Association of the Friends of the Church " — as it was termed — had
the slightest desire to promote High Church views. That, the real
object, was kept back in reserve, to be imparted only to the eloci
of the party. In a letter to a friend one of the members of the
new Association actually went so far as to assert:— "We want to
unite all the Church, orthodox and Evangelical, clergy, nobility,
and people, in maintenance of our doctrine and polity."8
" There was, indeed," writes one of the leaders of the Tractarians,
the Rev. William Pnhner, " much misapprehension abroad as to our
motives, and we had no means of explaining those motives, without
the danger of giving publicity to our proceedings, which, in the then
state of the public mind on Church matters, might have led to
dangerous results."1
This dread of the light of day was fully shared by Newman, who,
writing from Oriel College, Oxford, to his friend, Mr J. W. Bowden,
on August 31st, 1833, remarks: — "We are just setting up here
Societies for the Defence of the Church. We do not like our names
known, but we hope the plan will succeed."8 The very same day
Newman wrote to another intimate friend, Mr F. Rogers — subse-
quently known, as Lord Blachford — as follows: —
" Entre nous, we have set up Societies over the kingdom in defence of the
6 Mozley's Letters, p. 33.
6 Palmer's Narrative of Events Connected ivith Tracts for the Times, p. 212.
Edition, 1883.
7 Ibid., p. 108. 8 Newman's Letters and Correspondence, Vol. I., p. 448
i
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Church. Certainly this is, yon will say, a singular confidential communica-
tion, being shared by so many ; but the ervtre nous relates to we. We do not
like our names known. " 9
This dread of having their names "known" to the public is still
felt by the members of several Ritualistic societies of the present
generation. It is a noteworthy fact that for fifteen vears — from
1880 to 1896— no list of the Brethren of the secret Society of the Holy
Cross — though a fresh list is printed and circulated every year —
came into Protestant hands. When the " Suggestions " for the for-
mation of "The Association of the Friends of the Church" were
printed and circulated, care was even taken that no outsider, into
whose hands a stray copy might chance to fall, should be able to
discover from it whence it came, or who were responsible for it.
This was a matter for astonishment on the part of Mr. J. W.
Bowden, who, writing from London to Newman, on November 4th,
1833, mentions that : —
" Those to whom I have shown the ' Suggestions ' say, ' But where are the
names ? Who are they ? Where are they ? ' For even the word Oxford does
not appear thereon. For aught the ' Suggestions ' say, the founders of the
scheme might belong to the operative classes of Society, and their head-
quarters might be in some alley in London. The year, too, should be put;
a reader might, if he found a dirty copy, suppose the whole scheme ten
years old."
Amongst the prominent laymen who supported the Tractarian
Movement was Mr Joshua Watson. He drew up the first Lay De-
claration organized by the Tractarians at the close of 1833. His
brother wanted to knorr too much about the objects of the Declara-
tion, and was refused the information by Mr Joshua Watson in the
following terms : —
"As to the query, whence it comes and whither it goes, the only answer
is, what does that signify ? Never mind, if it dropped from the clouds. If
you like it, sign it ; if you do not, let it alone. As to its ulterior destination,
I reply that, without the gift of second sight, I pretend not to answer."11
Dr. Pusey, at this time, had not publicly joined what Newman
termed "the grand scheme." 12 But on November 7th, 1833,
the latter was able to announce to the Rev. Hurrell Fronde, then
the most advanced Rotnaniser of the new party, that Pusey was cir-
culating the recently issued Tracts for the Times.1* Six days
later Newman privately informed Mr Bowden that Pusey had
joined the new party, but he adds the caution that his name " must
not be mentioned as of our party." 14 It is interesting to note that
9 Newman's Letters and Correspondence, Vol. I., p. 450. 10 Ibid., p. 472.
11 Memoir of Joshua Watson, by Archdeacon Churton, p. 209. Second
Edition.
12 Newman's Letters, Vol. I., p. 478. 13 Ibid., p. 476. u Ibid., p. 482.
NEWMAN EXPECTS TO BE CALLED A PAPIST.
5
Newman, at the seme time, mentioned that Mr Gladstone " has
joined us." At this period Newman was writing a series of anony-
mous articles in the Evangelical Record, over the signature of
" Churchman." 15 It is certain that if he had made known his High
Church views to the then editor of that paper, his articles would
have been refused.
Already Newman was himself practising his doctrine of Reserve.
He had departed, in his own mind, from several of the Protestant
doctrines of his forefathers, but the world knew nothing at all about
the change in his views. What he kept secret from the public, ho
made known to his trusted friends. Thus, for example, he wrote,
on November 22nd, 1833, to the Rev. S. Rickards : —
" I must just touch upon the notice of the Lord's Supper. In confidence
to a friend, I can only admit it was imprudent, for I do think that we have
most of us dreadfully low notions of the Blessed Sacrament. / expect to be
called a Papist when my opinions are known. But (please God) t shall lead
persons on a little way, while they fancy they are only takiug the mean, and
denounce me as the extreme." 10
Here a truly Jesuitical spirit manifests itself. Hurrell I'Voude
acted in a similarly underhanded manner. In one of his letters to a
friend, written only one month after the commencement of the
Movement, he remarked : — " Since I have been at home, I have been
doing what I can to proselytise in an underhand way.'" 17 Is there
not reason to fear that many of the clergy, who do not call them-
selves Ritualists, are in oar own day imitating tho bad examples
shown by Newman and Froade, more than sixty years ago? The
danger is to be looked for in nominally Evangelical parishes, as well
as in those under avowedly High Church management. In looking
through the privately printed Annual Report of the Merton College
(Oxford) Church Society, for 1892, which supports several Ritualistic
causes, and advocates reunion with the corrupt Eastern Church, I was
surprised to read, in the list of members, the names of several clergy-
men who at the present time hold Evangelical incumbencies or
curacies. These gentlemen would, no doubt, bo considerably annoyed
were their connection with this private Society made known to their
present congregations. It may, however, be fairly asked, why should
they in secret be members of a High Church Society, while in public
they profess to be Evangelicals P Let them be consistent, and if they
do not hold High Church views, withdraw from such an organization.
I do not assert that these gentlemen are insincere, for we cannot read
the secret thoughts of others, but, until they cease to be members,
I cannot help wondering whether they are acting on the Ritualistic
principle of " Reserve in Communicating Religious Knowledge."
Newman's views on Reserve and Economy when first published in
1833, created a great deal of interest; but this was as nothing when
15 Newman's Letters, Vol. I. , p. 483.
17 Froude's Remains, Vol. I., p. 322.
18 Ibid., p. 490.
6
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
compared -.Tith the effect produced, is. 1538, by the publication of
Isaac Williams's pamphlet, " On Eeserve in Communicating Religious
Knowledge." It formed No. 80 of Tracts for tiie Times, and this
he subsequently supplemented by another and larger pamphlet, on the
same subject, being No. 87 of Tracts for the Times. The doctrine
taught by Wilham3 33t the whole of the Church of England in an
uproar. His tracts were condemned by almost every Bishop on the
Bench. In Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops upon Tractarian
Theology, pp. 424-472, there are printed extensive extracts from
Episcopal Charges in which the doctrine of Reserve is condemned in
the strongest terms. Tract 80 commences with a clear exposition of
its purport.
"The object of the present inquiry," writes Isaac Williams, "is to
ascertain, whether there is not in God's dealings with mankind a very
remarkable holding back of sacred and important truths, as if the knowledge
of them were injurious to persons unworthy of them " (p. 3).
Amongst the doctrines which Williams mentions as those which
are to be held back in Reserve from the uninitiated, as great secrete
of Christianity, are those of the Atonement, Faith and Works, the
free Grace of God, the Sacraments, and Priestly Absolution.
"Not only," he writes, "is the exclusive and naked exposure of so very
sacred a truth [as the ' Doctrine of the Atonement '] unscriptural and danger-
ous, but, as Bishop Wilson says, the comforts of Religion ought to be applied
with great caution. And moreover to require, as is sometimes done, from
both grown persons and children, an explicit declaration of a belief in the
Atonement, and the full assurance of its power, appears equally untenable."
(Tract 80, p. 78.)
"These riches [i.e., certain 'sacred truths'] are all secret, given to certain
dispositions — not cast loosely on the world. . . . The great doctrines which
of late years have divided Christians, are again of this [' secret '] kind very
peculiarly, such as the subjects of Faith and Works, of the free Grace of God,
and obedience on the part of man. . . . They appear to be great secrets, not-
withstanding whatever may be said of them, only recealed to the faithful."
(Ibid., pp. 48, 49.)
" With respect to the Holy Sacraments," Williams remarks, in his
second pamphlet on Reserve, " it is in these, and by these chiefly, that the
Church of all ages has held the Doctrine of the Atonement after a certain
manner of Reserve. . . . Now here it is very evident at once that the great
difference between these two systems [i.e., what Williams terms the true
Catholic, and the modern Protestant system] consists in this, that one holds
the doctrine secretly as it were, and in Reserve ; the other in a public and
popular manner." (Tract 87, pp. 8S, 89.)
" The same may be shown with respect to the powers of Priestly Absolu-
tion, and the gifts conferred thereby. It is not required for our purpose to
show the reality of that power, and the magnitude of those gifts which are
thus dispensed. But a little consideration will show that if the Church of all
ages is right in exercising these privileges, the subject is one entirely of this
reserved and mystical character. Its blessings are received in secret, accord-
ing to faith : they are such as the world cannot behold, and cannot receive.
THE DOCTRINE OF RESERVE.
7
The subject is one ao profound and mysterious, that it hardly admits of being
put forward in a popular way, and doubtless more injury than benefit would
be done to religion by doing so inconsiderately." (Tract 87, p. 90.)
No wonder that the Bishops condemned such doctrines as these.
"Far from us," wrote Dr. Musgrave, Bishop of Hereford, "there-
fore, be it to withhold from our Christian people any doctrine re-
vealed in God's Word as needful for salvation, or to impose upon
them for such, anything not there revealed." 13 Dr. Blomfield, Bishop
of London, indignantly rejected the secret teaching of Isaac Williams.
"Anything," he declared, "of the nature of a ' Disciplina Arcani,' I
as promptly reject." 19 It is worthy of note here that in his Auto-
biography— which was not published until 1892 — Williams admits that
the Evangelical party, when his Tract on Reserve was published, took
a right view as to its real meaning. " With regard to the great
obloquy," he writes, " it [Tract on Reserve] occasioned from the Low
Church party, this was to be expected — it was against their hollow
mode of proceeding'; it^was^understoodjisjkt was meant, and of this
I do not complain." 20 v).[It is certain that ...Evangelical Churchmen
understood it as meaning that the Trackman clergy felt themselves
justified in imparting to those only whom they could trust their real
and Romish doctrines concerning the Atonement, Faith and Works,
Grace, the Sacraments, Priestly Absolution, and other doctrines;
and to Protestants this naturally looked bike double-dealing and
■Jesuitism. No wonder thoy were indignant.
It is admitted by one who for many years held a prominent position
amongst the advanced Ritualistic clergy (the Rev. Orby Shipley) that
this "Doctrine of Reserve" was "both taught and acted upon" to
" a loide extent " by the Tractarians.21 And the Master of the setret
Society of the Holy Cross, addressing the May, 1873, Synod of that
Society, .said: —
" We look back to a time when Catholic truth and worship were in a con-
dition almost resembling that of the Church of the Catacombs, when the
utmost reserve was thought necessary, even in speaking of simple facts of the
Creed. The Gorham case, and the intrusion of the Sehismatieal Hierarchy
of Rome, with the anti-Catholic animus to which they gave force, were still
hanging over us, and what was done for the truth was mostly done in a
corner." 22
The subtlety of a Jesuit could not have invented a more ingenious
scheme.
Early in 1836, both the Standard and the Edinburgh Review
censured the Tractarian Party in strong terms. These attacks greatly
annoyed Newman, who, writing to Keble on January 16th of that year,
18 Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops, p. 434. 19 Ibid., p. 436.
20 Autobiography of Isaac Williams, p. 91.
21 Orby Shipley's Invocation of Saints and Angels, p. 11. London, 1869.
2-S.S.O. Master's Address, May Synod, 1873, p. 3.
8
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
remarks : — " Now, since many of these notices are made under the
impression that we are Crypto -Papists, here is an additional reason
for tracts on the Popish question." 23 Dr. Pusey readily fell in with
this subtle scheme for writing against Popery. He evidently thought
it a clever dodge for throwing dust in the eyes of the public, and lead
ing many Protestants, thu3 blinded, to adopt High Church principles,
before they were aware of it. On this subject Pusey wrote to a
friend : —
" I know not that the Popish controversy may not just be the very best
way of handling Ultra-Protestantism, i.e., neglecting it, not advancing
against, but setting Catholic views against Roman Catholicism, and so dis-
posing of Ultra- Protestantism by a side wind, and teaching people Catholicism,
without their suspecting, while they are only bent on demolishing Romanism.
I suspect we might thus have people with us, instead of against us, and that
they might find themselves Catholics before they were aware." 2i
The impression that the leaders of the Tractarians were secretly
Papists was a very natural one. Those who doubted could not pro-
duce legal evidence in proof of what they feared : but the know-
ledge of the suspicions which existed led Newman to adopt a course
to ward off suspicion which, had it been understood by his
opponents, would have greatly increased their impressions as to
Crypto-Papists being at that time in the Church of England. He
determined, as we have seen, to write against Popery. How could
anyone, then, suppose that the man who said such strong things
against the Church of Rome was in any sense a disguised Romanist?
It was not the first time he had written against portions of the
Roman system. No Protestant could have said fiercer things than
he had said in the past, and continued to say, so long as it answered
his purpose. Here are a few extracts from his utterances,
beginning with the year 1833, and ending with 1839. I take the
extracts as cited by Newman himself, in his famous letter to the
Oxford Conservative Journal, January, 1843. In the Lyra Apostolica,
published in 1833, he declared that the Church of Rome was a " lost
Church." At page 421 of the first edition of his work on the Arians
of the Fourth Century, he wrote of "the Papai Apostacy." In No. 15
of Tracts for the Times, in 1833, he wrote: —
"True, Rome is heretical now. ... If she has apostatised, it was at the
time of the Council of Trent. Then, indeed, it is to be feared the whole
Roman Communion bound itself, by a perpetual bond and covenant, to the
cause of Anti-christ."
Again, in the same year he wrote, in Tract 20. " Their
[Papists'] communion is infected with heresy ; we are bound to
flee it as a pestilence. They have established a lie in the place of
23 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 153.
24 Life of Dr. Posey, Vol. L, p. 332.
NEWMAN WRITES AGAINST POPEKY.
9
God's truth, and by their claim of immutability in doctrine, cannot
undo the sin they have committed."
In 1834 Newman affirmed that : —
" In the corrupt Papal system we have the very cruelty, the craft, and the
ambition of the republic ; its cruelty iu its unsparing sacrifice of the happi-
ness and virtue of individuals to a phautom of public expediency, in its
forced celibacy within, and its persecutions without; its craft in its false-
hoods, its deceitful deeds and lying wonders ; and its grasping ambition in
the very structure of its policy, in its assumption of universal dominion ; old
Rome is still alive ; nowhere have its eagles lighted, but it still claims the
sovereignty under another pretence. The lioman Church I will not blame,
but pity — she is, as I have said, spell-bound, as if by an evil spirit ; she is in
thraldom."
In the same year, in No. 38 of Tracts for the Times, Newman
termed the Church of Rome " unscriptural," " profane," " impious,"
" blasphemous," " gross," and " monstrous." In the year 1838, in
his lectures on Romanism and Popular Protestantism, he said
of the Church of Rome : —
" In truth she is a Church beside herself, abounding in noble gifts and
rightful titles, but unable to use them religiously ; crafty, obstinate, wiilul,
malicious, cruel, unnatural, as madmen are. Or, rather, she may be said to
resemble a demoniac, possessed with principles, thoughts, and tendencies
not her own. . . . Thus she is her real self only in name, and till God
vouchsafe to restore her, we must treat her as if she were that evil one which
governs her."
What Protestant could utter abuse of Popery more fierce than is
contained in the above extracts from Newman's own words? But
there is this marked difference between the two. The Protestant
means what he says when he denounces Rome ; while Newman did
nothing of the kind. He meant his denunciation of Popery to be
dust with which to blind the eyes of his opponents, aud prevent
Uiem discovering his real aims ; and there can be no doubt it, for
a time, in a large measure served its purpose. When the denuncia-
tions had done their work, however, they were unreservedly with-
drawn, and that by the author himself. In the letter to the
Oxford Conservative Journal mentioned already, Newman cited all
the extracts given above from his writings, together with other
similar statements, and then he adds this remarkable confession
of his guilt : —
"If you ask me how an individual could venture, not simply to hold, but
to publish such views of a Communion [i.e., the Church of Rome] so ancient,
so wide-spreading, so fruitful in saints, I answer, that I said to myself, ' I
AM NOT SPEAKING MY OWN WORDS, I am but following almost a
consensus of the divines of my Church. They have ever used the strongest
language against Rome, even the most learned and able of them. I wish to
throw myself into their system. While I say what they say I am safe.
10
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
SUCH VIEWS, TOO, ARE NECESSARY FOR OUR POSITION.' Yet I
have reason to fear still, that such language is to be ascribed, in no small
measure, to an impetuous temper, a hope of appro day myselj to person's respect,
AND A WISH TO REPEL THE CHARGE OF ROMANISM."
Accordingly he withdrew all the charges made against the Church
of Rome in the above quotations from his writings. In those
writings his denunciations of Borne are put forth, not as those of
a " consensus of divines " of the Church of England, but as his own.
And yet, all the while, he tells us, he was " not speaking his own
words ! " It was " necessary for our position " to write thus. There
was no other effectual way to gain " person's respect '; for his con-
sistency, and to "repel the charge of Romanism." In short his
conduct was a practical illustration of the doctrine of the
" Economy " advocated in his book on the Arians, in which, as wv
have seen, he cites with approval the doctrine of Clement of
Alexandria, rim i Christian "Both thinks and speaks the truth j
except when careful treatment i6 necessary ; and then, as a
physician for the good of his patients, he will lie, or rather utter a
lie, as the Sophists say." Can we wonder that the men and women
of that generation doubted the word of Newman? He did not tell
the world at that time — so far as I can ascertain — that he had ever
believed in his own denunciations of Romanism when he wrote
them. It was nearly a quarter of a oentury after, that, in his
Apologia, he let the public know that he "fully believed" all his
accusation^, against Rome at the time he made them ; but in the
same book he admitted that his letter to the Oxford Conservative
Journal was, after all, but "a lame apology."25 There can be no
question as to its lameness, and not all the subtlety displayed in
the Apologia is able to deprive it of its crippled character. A few
days before the retractation was published at Oxford, Newman
wTote to his friend, James R. Hope-Scott, to announce the coming
event. "My conscience," he told his correspondent, "goaded me
mma two months since to an act -which comes into effect. I believe,
in the Conservative Journal next Saturday, viz., to eat a few
dirty words of mine." 26 A few days later Mr. Hope-Scott acquainted
Newman with the effect his retractation hud produced on his
acquaintances. "People whom I have heard speak of it," he wrote,
"(few, perhaps, but fan samples) are rather puzzled than anything
else." 27 Newman's conduct for several years before this date had
fairly "puzzled" everybody, both friends and foes. They could
not make him out; he was a mystery they could not penetrate.
The suspicion that he was acting in an underhand way was not con-
fined to Protestants, as the rejoinder he wrote to the last quoted
letter of Mr. J. R. Hope-Scott, clearly shows. Writing to him, on
26 Apologia Pro Vita Sua, pp. 201, 204. Edition, 1889.
26 Memoirs of J. R Hope-Scott, Vol. II., p. 19. 27 Ibid., p. 20.
WAKD'S JESUITICAL CONDUCT.
11
February 3rd, 1843, Newmaa gives the following additional
explanation of his retractation : —
" My reason fur the thing was my long-continued feeling of the great
inconsistency I was in of It tting things stand in print against me which 1 did
not hold, and which I could not but be contradicting by my acting every day
of my life. And more especially (i.e., it came home to me most vividly in
that particular way) I felt that I was taking people in; that they thought me
what I was not, and were trusting me when they should not, and this has
been at times a very painful feeling indeed. I don't want to be trusted (per-
haps you may think my fear, even before this all'air, somewhat amusing) ; but
so it was, and is ; people won't believe I go as far as I do — they will cling to
their hopes. And then, again, intimnte friends have almost reproached me
with 'paltering with them in a doable sense, keeping the word of promise to
their ear, to break it to their hope. ' They have said that my words against
Rome often, when narrowly examined, were only what I meant, but that the
elfect of them was what others meant. I am not aware that I have any great
motive lor this paper beyond this — setting myself right, and wishing to be
seen in my pioper colours, and not unwilling to do such penance for wrong
words as lies in the necessary criticism which such a retractation will involve
on the part of friends and enemies." 28
Turning back to August 9th, 1836, we note that on this date, one
of Newman's friends, the Eev. B. F. Wilson, wrote to complain of his
"unnecessary" Economy, and mentioned a case in which he had so
acted. " By-the-bye," he asked Newman, " why will you economise
so unnecessarily at times ? as if to keep your hand in. You sent
Major B. away with a conviction that you looked on D. as a very fine,
noble character. As he had this information fresh from you, I did
not venture to say anything subversive of your judgment ; so now he
will probably publish the high admiration and respect with which D.
is looked up to by his late comrades— more especially by Mr. New-
man." 29 There is something truly Jesuitical in the way Newman
acted towards " Major B." on this occasion. Unfortunately there is
reason to fear that it was by no means an exceptional case either with
himself or his disciples. There is an absence of English straight-
forwardness and plain dealing in the whole business which is far from
satisfactory.
The conduct, I may here remark, of Newman's successor as leader
of the advanced Tractarians, viz., the Bev. William George Ward
(author of the Ideal of a Christian Church) was even more Jesuitical.
Writing of the period when Mr. Ward was still a clergyman in the
Church of England, his son informs us that —
" He had long held that the Roman Church was the one true Chinch. He
had gradually come to believe that the English Church was not strictly a
28 Memoirs of J. B. Hope-Scott, Vol. II., pp. 20, 21. This remarkable letter
is not reprinted in Newman's Letters and Correspondence. Why was it
suppressed ?
M Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 207.
12
SECKET H13T0KY OF THE OXEOllD MOVEMENT.
part of the Church at all. He had felt bound to retain his externa! com-
munion with her members, because he believed that he was bringing many of
them towards Home ; and to unite himself to the Church which he loved and
trusted, to enjoy the blessings of external communion for himself, if by so
doing he thwarted this larger and fuller victory of truth, had seemed a course
both indefensible and selfish."30
No man could have acted like this, unless his views of truthfulness
had been strangely perverted. And this was markedly the case with
Mr. Ward in his Tractarian days. His sou relates of his father,
that—
"In discussing the doctrine of equivocation, as to how far it is lawful on
occasion, he maiutained, as against those who admit the lawfulness of words
literally true but misleading, that the more straightforward principle is that
occasionally when duties conflict, another duty may be more imperative than
the duly of truthfulness. But he expressed it thus : ' Hake yourself clear that
you are justijied in deception, and then lie like a tkoopek.' "'■
The establishment by Newman of a Monastery at Littlemore, near
Oxford, affords another specimen of the secrecy and crookedness which
characterized the Tractarian Movement. His plans for such a
Monastery, which was first started in Oxford, and subsequently re-
moved to Littlemore, appear to have been in a partly developed
condition early in 1838 ; but at that tune were shrouded in secrecy.
On January 17th of that year he wrote to his friend, Mr. J. W.
Bowden : —
"Your offering towards the young monks was just like yourself, and I
cannot pay you a better compliment. It will be most welcome. As you
may suppose, we have nothing settled, but are feeling our way. We should
begin next term ; but since, however secret one may wish to keep it, things get
out, we do not yet wish to commit young men to anything which may hurt
their chance of success at any college in standing for a Fellowship."32
The scheme for a Monastery was, for some unknown reason,
postponed for a time, but not abandoned. It was evidently in
Newman's thoughts very much during the following year. "You
see," he wrote to Mr. F. Rogers, September loth, 1839, " if things
came to the worst, I should turn Brother of Charity in London —
an object which, quite independent of any such perplexities, is
growing on me, and, perad venture, will seme day be accomplished,
if other things do not impede me." 33 The secrecy so much desired
by Newman, as mentioned in his letter cited above, seems to have
been successful, at least in one instance. One of the body of young
men who were Newman's disciples, succeeded, in 1840, in gaining a
Fellowship at Lincoln College, Oxford, which certainly would not
30 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 356. First edition.
81 Ibid., p. 30. 84 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 249.
33 Ibid., p. 285.
NEWMAN ESTABLISHES A MONASTERY.
13
have been the case had the authorities been aware that he was at
the time a " monk." The success of his policy of secrecy, in this
instance, appears to have given Newman intense satisfaction. He
wrote, on January 10th, 1840, in great glee to his friend Bowden,
announcing the joyful news : —
"To return to Lincoln ; after rejecting James Mozley for a Fellowship two
years since for his opinions, they have been taken hy Pattisnn, this last term,
an inmate of the Coenobitium. He happened to stand very suddenly, and
they had no time to inquire. They now stare in amazement at their feat." 34
This letter implies that the " Coenobitium," or Monastic
Establishment, was already in existence. It was possibly the same
Institution as that mentioned in the late Professor Mozley's
Letters as a " Hall " (p. 79). Professor Mozley was one cf the first
inmates of this " Hall." He was, as is well known, one of the
most enthusiastic supporters of Tractarianism in its early clays ;
but he failed to keep up with the pace at which its leaders were
marching Eomeward, and drew back. His subsequent work on the
Baptismal Controversy, in which he justified the Gorha.m Judgment,
gave great offence to his former friends. But at this period he
enjoyed the fullest confidence of Newman. There are several
allusions in Mozley's Letters to the mysterious " Coenobitium,"
though it is not mentioned by that name. Writing on April 6th,
1838, to his brother, the Bev. Thomas Mozley, the future Begius
Professor of Divinity, announces that " Newman intends putting
some plan or other of a Society into execution next term, and I am
to be a leading member — though whether principal or vice-
principal I cannot tell you. But if there are only two of us, which
seems likely at present, I must either be one or the other.
Johnson, of Magdalen Hall, will join ; he is the only one we are
certain of. But after the Oriel contest is over, others may be
willing."35 Three weeks later Newman's plans were in a more
developed condition, for Mozley writes to his sister : — " I must
inform you that Newman has taken a house, to be formed into a
reading and collating establishment, to help in editing the Fathers.
We have no prospect of any number joining us at present. Men
are willing, but they have Fellowships in prospect, as B. And P.,
who stood at Oriel, and passed a very good examination — the best,
as some have thought — has a Fellowship at University in prospect,
which would be interfered with by joining us, for we shall of course
be marked men." 36 Though the house was taken in April, it was late
in Autumn before it was occupied. To Mozley was entrusted the
task of furnishing it, and getting it ready as a place of residence for
the embryo "Monks." It was to be a comfortable place after all,
and it is somewhat amusing to read Mozley's description of his pre-
paratory labours, as sent by him to his sister on October 18th : — ■
Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 297.
Mozley's Letters, p. 75. ™ Ibid., p. 78.
14
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXEOBD MOVEMENT.
" I have been busily engaged ever since coming up with making arrange-
ments for the Hall — bustling about, calling at the upholsterers, giving orders
for coal. The place is at present airing and warming. It will look decent
enougn when everything is in it. There are quite gay carpets in both sitting-
rooms : as is natural in fitting up, one forgets the commonest things at first,
till they come upon one one by one. I shall expect to find numerous de-
ficiencies after all, when I come to the actual habitation of the place, and
just at this moment, the thought of coal-scuttles has flitted by me, and I
have booked it in my memoranda." 37
In March, 184T). Newman seems to have been considering the
advisability of moving bis Monastic Establishment to Littlemore,
about three miles from Oxford, and making it a Hall attached to.
and recognized by, the University of Oxford. On the 21s+ of that-
month he wrote to his friend Rogers, asking for his advice on this sub-
ject:—
" Supposing I took theological pupils at Littlemore, might not my bouse
be looked upon as a sort of Hall depending on Oriel, as St. Mary's Hall was ?
And if this were commonly done, would it not strengthen the Colleges in-
stead of weakening them ? Are these not precedents ? And, further, sup-
posing a feeling arose in favour of Monastic Establishment*, and my house at
Littlemore was obliged to follow the fashion, and conform to a rule of dis-
cipline, would it not be desirable that such institutions should flow from the
Colleges of our two Universities, and be under their influence ? I do not wish
this mentioned by Hope to any one else. I may ask one or two persons
besides." 38
Four days before this letter wa-, written Newman wrote from
Littlemore (March 17th), to his mere intimate friend, Dr. Pusey.
putting his plans before him in a more unreserved fashion. "Since
I have been up here,*' he wrote, "an idea has revived in my mind,
of which we have before now talked, viz., of building a Monastic
House in the place, and coming up to live in it myself." 39 Dr. Pusey
appears to have heartily approved of his friend's monastic schema
Pusey'" biographer informs us that "the plan of life contemplated
[by Newman] was substantially his [Pusey's] own."40 On March 19th,
Pusey replied to Newman's letter : " Certainly it would be a great
relief to have a /101/17 in our Church, many ways, and you seem just
the person to form one. ... I hardly look to be able to avail
myself of the ^01/17, 'since I mustA be so busy when here on account of
my necessary absences to see my children, unless indeed I should
lire long enough to be ejected from my Canonry, as, of course, one
must contemplate as likely if one does live, and then it would be a
happy retreat." 41"
The subtle scheme of attaching hi<- Monastery to a Protestant Uni-
versity under the guise of "a. sort of Hall," fortunately did not
r.uceeed. But the scheme for erecting a Monastery at Littlemore
37 Mozley's Letters, p. 83. 38 Newman's Letters, Vol. II.. p. 303.
39 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 135. 10 Ibid., p. 136. « Ibid., p. 317.
VISITORS TO LITTLEMORE MONASTERY.
15
was at once acted on. On May 28th, 1840, Newman informed Mrs. J.
Mozley : — " We have bought nine or ten acres of ground at Littlemore,
the field between the Chapel and Barnes's, and, so be it, in due time
shall erect a Monastic House upon it." 12 It was not, however, until
February, 1842, that Newman actually removed to Littlemore, and
started there his new Monastery. We gain some idea of the kind
of building it was from a passage in the Rev. Thomas Mozley's
Reminiscences of the Oxford Movement : —
"The building," writes Mr. Mozley, "in which Newman had now made
up his mind to resume the broken thread of these noble [Monastic] traditions
was a disused range of stabling at the corner of two village roads. Nothing
could be more unpromising, not to say depressing. But Newman had ascer-
tained what he really wanted, and he would have no more. He sent me a
list of his requirements, and the only one of a sentimental or superfluous
character was that he wished to be able to see from his window the ruins of
the Mynchery [an ancient Convent] and the village of Garsington. There
must be a library, some 'cells', that is, studies, and a cloister, in which one
or two might turn out and walk up and down — of course, all upon the ground
floor. The Oratory or chapel was to be a matter altogether for future con-
sideration."43
The Rev. Frederick Oakeley. one of Newman's early friends, and
oubsequently a pervert to the Church of Rome, tells us that this new
building was known as the "Littlemore Monastery" ;M and that " the
fact is generally known, that the life ai Littlemore was founded upon
the rule of the strictest Religious Orders " 45 — that is, in the Church
of Rome.
Of course Newman's removal from Oxford to Littlemore, and the
erection in the latter place of a, new Monastic-looking building, ex-
cited the greatest curiosity in the University. Visitors came to
Littlemore ha abundance, anxious to fathom the mystery, and to dis-
cover Newman's great secret ; very much to his annoyance, since for
many reasons he did not wish his privacy tc be disturbed. In his
Apologia he reveals to the world what his indignant feelings were
like at the prying curiosity of his visitors: — "I cannot walk into or
out of my house," he exclaimed, "but curious eyes are upon me.
Why will you not let me die in peace? Wounded brutes creep into
some hole to die in. and no one grudges it them. Let me alone, I
shall not trouble you long." 48
It was not the common members of the University only who took
a natural interest in his new Monastery. "Heads of Houses," ho
tells us, " as mounted patrols, walked their horses round those poor
cottages. Doctors of Divinity dived into the hidden recesses of that
private tenement uninvited, and drew domestic conclusions from
42 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 305.
"Mozley's Reminimnces, Vol. II., p. 213.
44 Oakeley's Historical Notes on the Tractarian Movement, p. 93.
aIbid., p. 94. 48 Newman's Apologia, p. 172. Edition, 1889.
16
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
what they saw there. I had thought that an Englishman's house
was his castle ; but the newspapers thought otherwise, and at last
the matter came before my good Bishop."47
The interference of the Bishop of Oxford annoyed Newman more
than anything else. The Bishop wanted to know the whole of the
facts of the case, and this was exactly what Newman did not wish
to let him know. His lordship, in a gentlemanly and straight-
forward manner, sent him a letter, asking for full information ;
and Newman replied in accordance with his "Economical" policy,
in which by this time he had become quite an adept. The reader
is already in possession of proofs, which cannot be refuted, that
Newman had set up a Monastery at Littlemore, and that its rules
were of the strictest kind. Bearing this in mind, the future
Cardinal's Jesuitical dealing with his Diocesan can best be shown
by reprinting here in full the Bishop's letter of inquiry, and
Newman's evasive answer, as published by the latter himself, in
his Apologia. The Bishop wrote on April l?th, 1842 : —
" So many charges against yourself and your friends which I have seen in
the public journals have been, within my own knowledge, false and calnm-
nious, that I am not apt to pay much attention to what is asserted with
respect to you in the newspapers.
" In (a newspaper), however, of April 9th, there appears a paragraph in
which it is asserted, as a matter of notoriety, that a so-called Anglo-Catholic
Monastery is in process of erection at Littlemore, and that the cells of dormi-
tories, the. chapel, the refectory, the cloisters of all may be seen advancing to
perfection, under the eye of a parish priest of the Diocese of Oxford.
" Now, as I have understood that you really are possessed of some tenements
at Littlemore, as it is generally believed that they are destined for the pur-
poses of study and devotion, and as much suspicion and jealousy are felt
about the matter, I am anxious to afforl you an opportunity of making me
an explanation on the subject. I know you too well not to be aware that
you are the last man living to attempt in my Diocese a revival of the Monastic
Orders (in anything approaching to the Homanist sense of the term) without
previous communication with me, or indeed that you should take upon your-
self to originate any measure of importance without authority from the heads
of the Church, and therefore I at once exonerate you from the accusation
brought against you by the newspaper I have quoted; but I feel it, never-
theless, a duty to my Diocese and myself, as well as to yon, to ask you to put
it in my power to contradict what, if uncontradicted, would appear to imply
a glaring invasion of all ecclesiastical discipline on your part, or of inexcus-
able neglect and indifference to my duties on mine."
On April 14th, Newman sent his reply to the Bishop of Oxford
(Dr. Bagot). It was as follows: —
"I am very much obliged by your lordship's kindness in allowing me to
write to you on the subject of my house at Littlemore ; at the same time I
(eel it hard both on your Lordship and myself that the restlessness of the
public mind should oblige you to require an explanation of me.
Newman's Apologia, p. 172.
NEWMAN'S LETTER TO HIS BISHOP.
17
"It is now a whole year that I have been the subject of incessant misre-
presentation. A year since I submitted entirely to your lordship's authority ;
and, with the intention of following out the particular act enjoined upon me,
I not only stopped the series of Tracts on which I was engaged, but withdrew
from all public discussion of Church matters of the day, or what may be
called ecclesiastical politics. I turned myself at once to the preparation for
the press of the translation of St. Athanasius, to which I had long wished to
devote myself, and I intended, and intend, to employ myself in the like
theological studies, and in the concerns of my own parish and in practical
works.
" With the same view of personal improvement, I was led more seriously
to a design which had been long on my mind. For many years, at least
thirteen, I have wished to give myself to a life of greater religious regularity
than 1 have hitherto led ; but it is very unpleasant to confess such a wish
even to my Bishop, because it seems arrogant, and because it is committing
me to a profession which may come to nothing. For what have I done that
I am to be called to account by the world for my private actions, in a way in
which no one else is called ? Why may I not have that liberty which all
others are allowed ? I am often accused of being underhand and uncandid in
respect to the intentions to which I have been alluding ; but no one likes his
own good resolutions noised about, both from mere common delicacy, and
from fear lest he should not be able to fulfil them. I feel it very cruel,
though the parties in fault do not know what they are doing, that very sacred
matters between me and my conscience are made a matter of public talk.
May I take a case parallel, though different? suppose a person in prospect
of marriage : would he like the subject discussed in newspapers, and parties,
circumstances, &c, &c, publicly demanded of him at the penalty of being
accused of craft and duplicity ?
" The resolution I speak of has been taken with reference to myself alone,
and has been contemplated quite independent of the co-operation of any other
human being, and without reference to success or failure other than personal,
and without regard to the blame or approbation of man. And being a resolu-
tion of years, and one to which I feel God has called me, and in which I am
violating no rule of the Church any more than if I married, I should have to
answer for it, if I did not pursue it, as a good Providence made openings for
it. In pursuing it, then, I am thinking of myself alone, not aiming at any
ecclesiastical or external effects. At the same time, of course, it would be a
great comfort for me to know that God had put it into the hearts of others to
pursue their personal edification in the same way, aud unnatural not to wish
to have the benefit of their presence and encouragement, or not to think it a
great infringement on the rights of conscience if such personal and private
resolutions were interfered with. Your lordship will allow me to add my
firm conviction that such religious resolutions are most necessary for keeping
a certain class of minds firm in their allegiance to our Church ; but still 1 can
as truly say that my own reason for anything I have done has been a personal
one, without which I should not have entered upon it, and which I hope to
pursue whether with or without the sympathies of others pursuing a similar
course.
"As to my intentions, I purpose to live there myself a good deal, as I
have a resident Curate in Oxford. In doing this I believe I am consulting
for the good of my parish, as my population in Littlemore is at least equal to
that of St. Mary's in Oxford, and the whole of Littlemore is double of it.
It has been very much neglected ; and in providing a parsonage-house at
2
18
SECKET HISTORY OF THE OXFOKD MOVEMENT.
Littlemore, as this will be, and will be called, I conceive I ani doing a very
great benefit to my people. At tbe same time it lias appeared to me tbat a
partial or temporary retirement from St. Mary's Church migbt be expedient
during tbe prevailing excitement.
" As to your quotation liom tbe (newspaper), which I bave not seen, your
lordship will perceive from what I have said that no ' Monastery is in process
of erection,' there is no 'chapel,' no ' refectory,' hardly a dining-room or
parlour. The ' cloisters ' are my shed connecting the cottage*. I do not
understand what ' cells of dormitories ' means. Of course I can repeat your
lordship's words, that ' / am not attempting a revival of the Monastic Orders,
in anything approaching to the Romanist sense of the term,' or ' taking on
myself to originate any measure of importance without authority from the
Heads of the Church.' I am attempting nothing ecclesiastical, but some-
thing personal and private, and which can only be made public, not private,
by newspapers and letter writers, in which sense tbe most sacied and con-
scientious resolves and acts may certainly be made the objects of an un-
mannerly and unfeeling curiosity."48
So it was only a " Parsonage House," and not a Monastery at all
that Newman was setting up at Littlemore 1 Twenty-two years
later, in his Apologia, he wrote that : " There is some kind or
other of verbal misleading, which is not sin." 49 This was no doubt
a case of the kind. His previous statements, however, and the after
history of the building, flatly contradict his assertions made in his
truly " Economical " letter to his Bishop. As we have seen above,
when Newman bought the land on which to build, he wrote to Mrs.
Mozley that " in due time " he would " erect a Monastic House
upon it " ; and there is nothing to show that he ever altered his
mind. His brother-in-law, the Rev. Thomas Mozley, refers to the
building also, in his Reminiscences, as a Monastic establishment
and Newman's friend Oakeley, as we have seen, admits that it was
known as the " Littlemore Monastery." Only three months before
his reply to the Bishop, Newman wrote (January 3rd, 1842) to his
friend, Mr. James Hope-Scott, in a way which clearly shows what
were his real objects at the time: — "I am." he declared, ''almost
in despair of keeping men together. The only possible way is
a Monastery. Men want an outlet for their devotional and
penitential feelings, and if we do not grant it, to a dead certainty
they will go where they can find it." 50 I do not assert that in thus
wilfully deceiving his Diocesan, Newman thought he was doing any-
thing wrong. There is such a thing as a "conscience seared with a
hot iron" (1 Tim. iv. 2) ; and his certainly appears to have been at
this period in that condition. Men may come to that lamentable
state that they think it a duty to deceive others. And what sort
of place was this "Parsonage House," which Newman falsely
declared to his Bishop was not a Monastery ? Let Father Lockhart
answer. He and Mr. Dalgairns were the first inmates, and were
48 Newman's Apologia, pp. 172-176. 49 Ibid., p. 348.
60 Memoirs of J. Hopc-Scott, Vol. II., p. 6.
LIFE IN L1TTLEM0RE MONASTERY.
L9
actually in the Monastery at the very moment irhen the Bishop of
Oxford wrote his anxious letter of inquiry. The following is Lock-
hart's own description of the life they were then leading : —
" We had now arrived at the year 1842, when we took up residence with
Newman at Littlcmore. Father Dalgairns and myself were the first inmates.
It was a kind of Monastic life of retirement, prayer and study. We had a
sincere desire to remain in the Church of England, if we could he satisfied
that in doing so we were members of the world-wide visible communion of
Christianity which was of Apostolic origin. We spent our time at Little-
more in study, prayer, and fasting. We rose at midnight to recite the
Breviary Office, consoling ourselves with the thought that we were united in
prayer with united Christendom, and were using the very words used by the
Saints of all ages. We fasted according to the practice recommended iu
Holy Scripture, and practised in the most austere Religious Orders of
Eastern and Western Christendom. We never broke our fast, except on
Sundays and the Great Festivals, before 12 o'clock, aud uot until 5 o'clock
in the Advent and Lenten seasons." 51
One day when the Evangelical Warden of Wadham College,
Oxford, knocked at the door of the Littlernore "Monastery," alias
"Parsonage House," Newman himself opened it. "May I see the
Monastery?" asked the visitor. "We have no Monasteries here,"
replied Newman, who, thereupon, angrily and uncivilly slammed the
door in the Warden's face ! 52 The Roman Catholic author to whom
I am indebted for this story gives us further evidence tending to prove
that it was a " Monastery " notwithstanding Newman's denial.
"The story of the life at Littlernore," he writes, "has never yet been told;
and it would be impossible to glean from Newman's scanty allusions in the
Apologia, or even trom his letter to the Bishop, any idea of its primitive
austerities and observances. I tell these as nearly as possible as they are
told by Littlernore men to me. Lent was a season of real penance for the
inmates. They had nothing to eat each day till 5, and then the solitary
meal was of salt-fish. No wonder Dr. Wootten, the Tractarian doctor, told
them they must all die in a few years if things went on so ; and no wonder
Dalgairns had a serious illness, at which some relaxations were made — a
breakfast, of bread and butter and tea, at noon ; taken standing up at a
hoard — a real board, erected in the improvised refectory, and called in under-
tones by some naturally fastidious ones a 'trough.' The 'chapel' was
hardly more pretentious than the dining-room. At one end stood a large
Crucifix, bought at Lima by Mr. Crawley, a Spanish merchant living iu
Littlernore. It was what was called ' very pronounced ' — with the all but
barbaric realism of Spanish religious art. A table supported the base ; and
on the table were two candles (always lit at prayer-time by Newman), the
light of which was requisite ; for Newman had veiled the window and walls
with his favourite red hangings. Of an altar there was no pretence ; the
village church at Littlernore being Newman's own during the first years of
61 Biography of Father Lockhart, p. 35. Leicester : Ratclifle College.
ss Cardinal Newman : A Monograph, by John Oldcastle, p. 23. The
author of this work is editor of the Weekly Register.
20
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
his residence there. A board ran up the centre of the chapel, and in a row
on either side stood the disciples for the recitation of Divine Office, the
'Vicar' standing by himself a little apart. The days and hours of the
Catholic Church were duly kept ; and the only alteration made in the Office
was that Saints were invoked with a modification of Newman's making — the
' Ora pro nobis ' being changed in recitation to ' Orel.' " 63
Amongst the inmates of Littleniore Monastery were Frederick S.
Bowles, subsequently a Roman Catholic priest; and, as I have
already stated, John B. Dalgairns, afterwards a priest at Broaipton
Oratory ; Ambrose St. John, who became a priest at the Birmingham
Oratory; Richard Stanton, subsequently an Oratorian priest;
Lockhart (from whom I have quoted), who died, in 1892, as a Roman
priest; and Albany Christie, who joined the Jeenit Order. Mark
Pattison, afterwards the well-known Rector or Lincoln College,
Oxford, paid a fortnight's visit to the Monastery, commencing at the
close of September, 1843. He kept a diary while he was there, from
which I take the following extract as exhibiting the kind of life,
which was led in the establishment : —
" Sunday, October 1st. — St. John called me at 5.30, and at 6 went to
Matins, which with Lauds and Prime take about an hour and a half; after-
wards returned to my room and prayed, with some effect, I think. Tierce at
9, and at 11 to Churck-Comniunion. More attentive and devout than 1 have
been for some time ; hope I am coming into a better frame ; thirty-seven
communicants. Returned and had breakfast. Had some discomfort at
waiting for food so long, which I have not done since I have been unwell
this summer, but struggled against it, and in some degree threw it off.
Walked up and down with St. John in the garden ; Newman afterwards
joined us. ... At 3 to Church ; then Nones . . . Vespers at 8, Compline
at 9 ; the clocks here very backward. Very sleepv, and went to bed at
10. " w
When Newman seceded to the Church of Rome in 1845, the Little-
more Monastery was broken up, and most of its members followed
their leader to Rome, and thus closed a noteworthy chapter in ute
secret history of the Tractarian Movement.
This may, perhaps, bo an appropriate place tc mention that some
son of a " religious community " was established at about this period,
by the Rev. Frederick W. Faber (subsequently known as Father
Faber of the Brompton Oratory), in the Parish of Elton, of which
he became Rector in 1842, though he did not enter into residence
until the following year. Meanwhile, between his acceptance of the
living, and commencing work as Rector, Faber travelled abroad, and
beoame desperately enamoured of the Roman Catholic system and
religion. " He saw then," writes his biographer, " that he must
within three years either be a Catholic, or lose bis mind." 55 Faber
55 Cardinal Newman : A Monograph, by John Oldcastle, p. 25.
"Mark Pattison's Memoirs, pp. 190, 191.
55 Bowden's Life of Father Faber, p. 168. Second edition.
TKACTARIANS ON THE CONTINENT.
21
Wi lit abroad witih loiters of introduction from Dr. Wiseman, <tnh-
seqnently Cardinal Wiseman, addressed to Cardinal Acton, and to
the Rev. Dr. Grant, a Roman Catholic priest, both then resident at
Rome. It was by no moans uncommon at that time for youn<?
Trnctarians to visit the continent, where, unknown and unobserved
by prying eyes at home, they could indulge their taste for Popery
to their hearte' content. "The disciples of the Oxford School,''
writes Father Oakeley, from personal experience, "had a general
sympathy with all foreign churches."
"We endeavoured," Father Oakelpy relates, "especially the younger and
less occupied members of our Society, to improve our relations with foreign
Catholics by occasional visits to the continent. For this purpose Belgium
was preferred to France, because of the greater external manifestation of
religion in that country. Whatever our Tractarian friends mav have been on
this side of the Channel, there could be no doubt of their perfect Catholicity
on the other. It was, in fact, of so enthusiastic and demonstrative a char-
acter as to astonish the natives themselves, and sometimes, even, perhaps, to
shame them. Our friends used to distinguish themselves by making extra-
ordinarily low bows to priests, and genuflecting, even in public places, to
every one who looked the least like a Bishop. In the churches they were
always in a state of prostration, or of ecstacy. Everything, and everybody,
was charming; and such a contrast to England! Catholics mieht have
their faults like other people, but even their faults were better than Pro-
testant virtues. There was always a redeeming point even in their greatest
misdemeanours ; their acts of insobriety were far less offensive than those of
Englishmen, and evidences of their Catholicity might be traced in their very
oaths." 66
Of course, when these young gentlemen caine back to England
from their continental trips, they wer9 oareful. not to let the
English public know where they had been, what they had said, and
what they had done, whou abroad. At home they passed as
faithful sons of the Reformed Church of England ; on the continent
they were seen in their true colours. Yet, even when at home, in
Oxford, some of the young Tractarians indulged their passion for
real Popery, in a daring though secret manner. The Rev. E. G.
K. Browne, who, before his secession to Rome, was for some years
a Tractarian clergyman in the Church of England, writing of events
which transpired in the early period of the Movement, informs un
that then men of the Tractarian party might "be found jtudying
S. Thomas Aquinas, Bellarmine and Perrone, and using the Garden
of the Soul and the Paradisus Animcs as books of private devotion,
but secretly, for fear of their fellow men — some might he seen steal-
ing to Mass at the Catholic Chapel — humble and mean as it was —
hut disguised, and pouring out their hearts to their God, concealed
from the view of man by some pillar, beseeching Him to guide them
into the truth, for none dared trust another, or confer with tiho
friend of his bosom, or the companion of his earlier days, on so
Oakeley's Historical Notes, pp. 73, 74.
22
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
sacred, so awfully sacred a subject as the salvation of the soul."57
When Faber arrived at Rome, in 1843, he was " not scandalized "
even by the "relic worship" he beheld there.68 He wrote home,
under date 'May 20th, 1S43, to state that Dr. Wiseman's letters
had engaged for him " the cheerful kindness of several of the Roman
clergy, and a portion of almost every day is spent with them, either
visiting the holier Churches and Convents famous for miracles and
the residence of Saints, or in amicable discussion of our position in
England." 59 Paradoxical it must seem to my readers to know that
in the same letter Faber declares: — "I find iny attachment to the
Church of England growing in Rome, the more I bewail our
position." He rejoiced that ' Protestantism is perishing," and
that "what is good in it is by God's mercy being gathered" — not
into the Church of England, out — " into the garners of Rome " ;
and he assured bis correspondent that his whole life, "God willing,
shall be one crusade against the detestable and diabolical heresy of
Protestantism." On Holy Thursday he went to the Church of St.
John Lateran. The Pope was present, and Faber was in an ecstasy.
"I got,'" he says, "close to the altar, inside the Swiss Guards, and
when Pope Gregory descended from his throne, and knelt at the
foot of the altar, and we all knelt with him, it was a scene more
touching than I had ever seen before. ... In the midst that old
man in white prostrate before the uplifted Body of the Lord, and
the dead, dead silence— Oh, what a sight it was'! ... I bared my
lead and knelt with the people, and received with joy the Holy
Father's blessing, till he fell back on his throne and was borne away.*'
On June 17th Faber had a private audience with the Pope. He
appeared in "full dress" at the Vatican, and was told that "as Pro-
testants did not like kissing the Pope's foot," he would "not be ex-
pected to do it." But this clergyman of the Reformed Church cf
England— Rome's greatest enemy — scorned to avail himself of the
proffered dispensation! On entering the audience chamber — to quote
Faber's own report of the interview — "I knelt down, and asain, when
a few yards from him, and lastly, before him ; he held out his hand,
but I kissed his foot; there seemed to me a mean puerility in refus-
ing the customary homage. ... I left him almost in tears,
affected as much by the earnest, affectionate demeanour of the old
man, as by his blessing and his prayer. I shall, remember St Alban's
Day, in 1843, to my life's end." Faber prayed at the shrine of " St."
Aloysius, the Jesuit, on the feast of that " Saint ; " and his biographer.
Father Bowden, says that "he left the Church as if speechless,* and
not knorring where he was going." Twice he took up his hat to go
to the English College at Rome, for the purpose of ab juring the Church
of England; but on each occasion some unrecorded event prevented
him from carrying out his impulse. The longer he staved in Rome
< he more he loved both it and its Church. On July oth," he declared :
87 Browne's Annals of the Tractarian Movement, p. 41. Third Edition.
68 Bowden's Lift of Faber, p. 156. 69 Ibid., p. 156. 80 Ibid., p. 162.
DESANCTIS ON JESUITS IN DISGUISE.
23
— " The nearest approach I can make to an imagination of heaven is
that it is like Rome." He went to a Pontifical Mass, and the sight
filled him with rapturous joy. " When the Pontiff, his eyes stream-
ing with tears, slowly elevated the Lord's Body, suddenly from the
roof some ten or twelve trumpets, as from heaven, pealed out with
a long, wailing, timorous jubilee, and I fell forward completely over-
come." 61 From Rome Faber went to Florence, and while there he had
gone so far away from the sound judgment of an English Churchman,
that he was actually "persuaded to wear a miraculous medal"; and
" on his return home he brought with him two rosaries blessed by the
Pope."62 After all this he actually began once more to act as a
Church of England clergyman, by taking up his residence at Elton
as its new Rector. How he could do so with an easy conscience is a
mystery to any truth-loving Englishman. It certainly was not honest
on his part ; and' the whole transaction has a very ugly look about it.
I do not say that Faber was at this time a Papist in disguise, for I
cannot prove it. But if anyone came forward now and proved it I
should not feel the least surprise.
I am not one of those who suffer from "Jesuitism on the brain,"
and I do not, so to speak, see a Jesuit round every street corner.
But I certainly am inclined to attach a good deal of importance to
the revelations made by the late Rev. Dr. Desanctis, formerly
parish priest of the Madallena, Rome, Professor of Theology, Official
Theological Censor of the Inquisition, and subsequently Minister of
the Reformed Italian Church at Geneva. Desanctis was a man of
high personal character, and from the offices he held while at Rome
was enabled to obtain an intimate acquaintance with the inner
working of Romanism and Jesuitism. In his work on Popery and
Jesuitism in Rome in the Nineteenth Century, a translation of
which was published in London, in 1852, he gives a great deal of
valuable information concerning the secret and inner working of
Tractarianism, which, at that period, was popularly known in
England and abroad as Puseyism.
" My Jesuit Confessor," says Dr. Desanctis, " was Secretary to the French
Father Assistant [of the Jesuit Order], and as he esteemed me much, and
accounted me an affiliated member of the Society, he made many disclosures
to me."
Amongst these disclosures were the following : —
" Despite all the persecution they [the Jesuits] have met with, they have
not abandoned England, where there are a greater number of Jesuits than
in Italy; that there are Jesuits in all classes of Society; in Parliament;
among the English Clergy; among the Protestant laity, even in the higher
stations. I could not comprehend how a Jesuit could be a Protestant
priest, or how a Protestant priest could be a Jesuit ; but my Confessor
silenced my scruples by telling me, omnia munda rn.und.is, and that St. Paul
Bowden's Life of Faber, p. 170.
™Tbid., pp. 175, 177.
24
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
became as a Jew that he might save the Jews ; it was no wonder, therefore,
if a Jesuit should feign himself a Protestant, for the conversion of Protestants.
But pay attention, I entreat you, to my discoveries concerning the nature of
the religious movement in England termed Puseyism.
"The English Clergy were formerly too much attached to their Articles
of Faith to be shaken from them. You might have employed in vain all the
machines set in motion by Bossuet and the Jansenists of France to reunite
them to the Romish Church ; and so the Jesuits of England tried another
plan. This was to demonstrate from history and ecclesiastical antiquity the
legitimacy of the usages of the English Church, whence, through the exertions
of the Jesuits concealed among its clergy, might arise a studious attention to
Christian antiquity. This was designed to occupy the clergy in long,
laborious, and abstruse investigation, and to alienate them from their
Bibles."63
On another occasion a Roman priest was asked by Desanctis: —
" But do you not think it would be for the greater glory of God, that
all the Puseyites should become Catholics?" The reply to this
question was : —
"No, my son, the Puseyite movement must be let alone that it may bring
forth fruit. If all the Puseyites were to declare themselves Catholics, the
Movement would be at an end. Protestants would be alarmed, and the
whole gain of the Catholic Church would be reduced to some million of
individuals and no more. From time to time it is as well that one of the
Puseyite leaders should become a Catholic, in order that, under our instruc-
tions, the Movement may be better conducted ; but it would not be desir-
able for many of them to come over to Catholicism. Puseyism is a living
testimony to the necessity of Catholicism in the midst of our enemies; it is
a worm at the root which, skilfully nourished by our exertions, will waste
Protestantism till it is destroyed." 64
I know very well that Ritualists will pooh-pooh and laugh at these
statements of Desanctis. But, for my part, I cannot see that I should
reject his testimony merely because he was a convert from Borne. "Why
should I not trust the word of a Protestant, against whose character
— so far as I can ascertain — nothing can be said, and who had excep-
tional opportunities of getting at the real facte of the case ? If we
reject the evidence of reliable persons, how oan history bp properly
written ? In dealing with the Secret History of the Oxford Move-
ment, it would be highly improper not to quote what Dr. Desanctis
has written on this important subject. And those who have moet
closely studied the Secret History of Tractarianism, Puseyism, end
Ritualism, will be more disposed than others to give credence to his
statements.
To return to Faber. When he commenced his work at Elton, as
Rector, he determined, says his biographer, "to model his pastoral
operations on the system pursued by the [Roman] Catholic Church,
and to work bis parish, as he expressed it, 'm the spirit of St. Philip
M Desanctis, Popery and Jesuitism in Rome, pp. 128, 134. M Ibid., p. 17.
SECRET MEETINGS AT ELTON.
25
and St. Alphonso.' " M No doubt these two " Saints " were " St."
Philip Neri, founder of the Oratorian Order, of whioh Faber subse-
quently became a member; and "St." Alphonsus Liguori, author of
the Glories of Mary. Faber circulated amongst his parishioners a
History of the Sacred Heart,1* in which he advocated the adoration
of the material heart of our Lord — a modern custom invented by the
Jesuits. His biographer has to admit of this practice tJiat it cannot
" be said that, it belongs to the genuine spirit of the Established
Church." After he had been at Elton about six months, Faber found
that it was not so easy as he expected to pervert his parishioners to
his Romanizing views. On March 24th, 1844, he wrote to a friend : —
" I feel impatisnt, thinking I could do all things in my parish as if
I were a Roman." After a time, a measure of success attended his
efforts, and he was able to start in his parish the Religious Com-
munity to which I have already alluded. The mystery and secrecy
with which Faber shrouded this Community cannot be better de
scribed than in the words of Father Bowden : —
"A number of persons, chiefly young men, began," writes Faber's
biographer, " to go to confession to him, and to receive Communion. Out of
the most promising of these penitents he formed a sort of Community. They
were accustomed to meet in the Rectory every night at twelve o'clock, and to
spend about an hour in prayer, chiefly in reciting portions of the Psalter. On
the eves of great feasts, the devotions were prolonged for three or four bonis.
The vse of the Discipline ivas also introduced on Fridays, eves of festivals,
and every night in Lent, each taking his turn to receive it from the others."*1
It may be well to explain here, for the benefit of the Protestant
reader, who may bo pardoned for want of information on the subject,
that the " Discipline secretly used by the fanatics at Eton, is a kind
of oat-o'-nine tails, knotted, and made with, either cord or steel, with
which each penitent is whipped on the bare back, either by himself or
another, as a penance for his sins. Very early in his career the late
Dr. Pusey seems to have fallen in love with this form of Roroith
superstition ; but his early regard for it remained concealed from
the public gaze, until the publication of the Memoirs of James
Robert Hope-Scott, in 1884, when a letter from Dr. Pusey to Mr.
Hope-Seitt, dated Sept-amber 9th, 1844, first saw the light of day.
The latter was travelling abroad at the time he received this letter,
which contained two or three commissions for him to execute while
on the continent. One of these was to purchase a number of Roman
Catholic books, for Dr. Pusey's use ; the second, to collect informK-
tiom concerning "the system as to Retreats" amongst Roman
Catholics ; and tho third, was to puroha.se a specimen " Discipline. "
The latter commission was put into the postscript of bis letter, and
was as follows : —
84 Bowden's Life of Faber, p. 179.
« Ibid., p. 183.
"n Ibid., p. 180.
26
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" There is yet a subject on which I should like to know more : if yon fall
in with persons who ha ve the guidance of consciences, — what penances they
employ for persons whose temptations are almost entirely spiritual, of delicate
frames often, and who wish to be led on to perfection. I see in a spiritual
writer that even for such, corporal severities are not to be neglected, but so
many of them are unsafe. / suspect the 'Discipline' to be me of the safest,
and with internal humiliation, the best. Could you procure and send me one
by B. ? What was described to me was of a very sacred character : 5 rords,
each with five knot?, in memory of the 5 wounds of our Lord. I should be
glad also to know whether there were any cases in which it is unsafe, e.g., in
a nervous person." 68
One cannot help wondering, if a cat-o'-nine tails, or rather of five,
with five cords, was not thought too severe for persons of " delicate
frames," what would be the penance inflicted on those who possessed
strong constitutions ?
About two years after his letter to Mr. James Hope-Scott, Dr.
Pusey appears to have commenced the use of "Hair Cloth" and
"Disciplines." On the "Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude," 1846,
he wrote to the Rev. J. Keble, who at about that period became
his Father Confessor, — "Will you give me some penitential rules
for myself? I hardly know what I can do, just now, in a bodily
way, for nourishment I am ordered; sleep I must take when it
comes; cold is bad for me; and I know not whether I am strong
enough to resume the Hair Cloth. However, I hope to try." *
The word " resume " in this letter proves that Pusey had used " Hair
Cloth" before the date of his letter; but for how long I cannot tell
Later on in the same year he wrote again to Keble : —
"I am a great coward about inflicting pain on myself, partly, I hope, from
a derangement of my nervous system. Hair Cloth I know not how to make
pain : it is only symbolical, except when worn to an extent which seemed
to wear me out. / have it on again, by God's mercy. I would try to get
some sharper sort. Lying hard I like best, unless it is such as to take away
sleep, and that seems to unfit me for duties. Eeal fasting, i.e., going without
food, was very little discomfort, except in the head, when the hour of the
meal was over, and Dr. Wootten said and says, ' It was shortening my life.'
Praying with my arms in the form of a cross, seemed to distract me, and act
upon my head, from this same miserable nervousness. I th ink I should like
to be bid [i.e., by Keble as his Father Confessor] to use the Discipline. I
cannot even smite upon my breast much because the pressure on my lungs
seemed bad. In short, you see, I am a mass of infirmities."70
This is, indeed, a most pitiful letter, and one to be wondered at.
Instead of saying that he was wearing Hair Cloth again, " by God's
mercy," it would have been more accurate to have said thnt he was
wearing it through his own folly and superstition. He certainly
could not plead either Scriptural or Church of England authority
88 Memoirs of J. Hope-Scott, Vol. II., pp. 52-53.
" Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 99. 70 Ibid., p. 100.
DR. PUSEY WEARS HAIR CLOTH.
27
for the practice. One might make some excuse few Dr. Pusey on
the score of his then enfeebled state of health, were it not tbat
when he regained his ordinary health there is no evidence to show
that he gave up the use of either Hair Cloth, or the Discipline.
On the contrary, in his Manual for Confessors, published in 1878,
he recommends both as penances for sinners. His biographer
informs us that "with Keble's sanction" Pusey made it a rule
" to wear Hair Cloth always by day, unless ill " ; and that " he was
very anxious to use ' the Discipline ' every night with Psalm li.
Keble did not advise it. Pusey entreated. ' I still scruple,' wTote
Keble, 1 about the Discipline. I could but allow, not enjoin it to
any one.'"71
The use of the :< Discipline," and of other penitential " articles of
piety," as they are sometimes termed, is, almost of necessity, kept
secret by those who adopt them. Some idea, however, of fho
extent to which ;:he3e articles of torture are used at the present
time within the Church of England may be gained from the follow-
ing article, which appeared in the Westminster Gazette, of
September 9th, 1896--a paper which cannot be accused of any
undue partiality for Protestantism: —
"John Kensit, 'the Protestant Bookseller,' has given Paternoster Row a
new sensation this week. For some days past a large part of his window has
been used for the exhibition of a large sheet displaying half a dozen 'instru-
ments of torture ' said to be used and recommended by ' Members of the Church
of England.'
" Whoever they are used by — and it is pretty certain they are not mere
ornaments or playthings — these ' instruments of torture ' by no means belie
the name Mr. Kensit has bestowed upon them. Take that broad stomacher
of horse-hair, for example, and place it next to the skin ; imagine the dis-
comfort of the first five minutes as each bristly hair presses against the body,
and picture the torture of each succeeding five minutes it is worn. Then
turn from this mild ' Discipline ' to the severer penance of the Barbed Heart.
This is a maze of wire, the size of the palm of one's hand, upon one side of
which barbs project, finer than the ends of the barbed fences of our fields.
How many of' these are pressing to-day against lacerated breasts ? Of similar
construction, and equally fiendish in purpose, are the Wristlets and Anklets
and the broad band of netted barbs which the penitent fastens around his or
her leg. All of these may possibly be worn under conditions which will
mitigate the severity of the torture ; but there would seem to be no way of
softening the lash when applied to the bare skin, so what can be said of the
two Scourges exhibited by Mr. Kensit ? One is of bard knotted ropes, half
a dozen ends attached to a pliant handle ; the other is of well-hardened and
polished steel, each end of the five chains neatly finished with a steel rowel.
Ever}' blow from this, wh<m the penitent swings it over his shoulder upon
his bare back, must produce five wounds, bruises, or sores. No wonder the
crowd gazes incredulously until ordered to ' move on.'
" Since this queer little exhibition opened, the bookseller has stood a
running fire of question and expostulation. The instruments had not been
71 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., pp. 104, 108.
28
SECRET HISTORY OK THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
on view an hour before a gentleman entered the shop and delivered himself
after this fashion : —
" ' Look here, sir, whoever you are, if you're the proprietor of this place
take those things out of your window. It's a lie. It never could be done.
I believe it's just one of your advertising dodges. I won't believe that those
things were ever made to be used in this day.'
"Mr. Kensit is accustomed to that soit of salutation, so he waited till his
visitor had ended a long tirade, and then quietly remarked : —
" 1 Will you take the trouble to go into the shop next door and ask the
shopman to show you a selection of these things ? Ask him [a Roman
Catholic publisher] to name his price, and let him tell you who buys them.
Then you can come back and apologise to me.'
" ' The gentleman,' said Mr. Kensit, when he told a representative the
story on Monday, ' went into the shop next door. In five minutes he was
back again with a bundle under his arm. Mr. Kensit,' he said, ' you're
right. They sell them, and I've bought a few to take home and show to my
family. They'll never believe it unless I do.' •
" ' Well,' said Mr. Kensit, ' did you ask who purchases them t '
" ' I did,' said the gentleman, ' and if you'll believe me, the shopman said
that for every one he sold to a Catholic he sold three to Church of England
people I '
" ' I not only believe it,' said Mr. Kensit, ' but I know it.' "
There is eertamly, as I have already said, :io Scriptural authority
lor the use of the " Disoiphne." We do read that "By His stripes
we are healed" (Isa. lin. o); but never that we are spiritually
healed by the stripes and bruises inflicted by ourselves. How far
the use of the " Discipline '? has spread amongst Ritualists at the
present day is one of those secrets which have not been fully
revealed. Yet there is roason to fear that it is on the increase,
and is much more widespread than is generally supposed. There
ie cause to believe that in some Ritualistic Convents the
" Discipline " is not unknown. Dr. Pusey, as is well known, in con-
junction with the late Miss Sellon, founded several Convents, and
retained spiritual authority over them until his death. In his
Advice on Hearing Confession, for the use of Ritualistic Father
Confessors, directions are given as to the penances bo be imposed
by the Confessor on Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy. One of these, if
" the Superior of the Convent approves," is as follows : — " For
mortifications ; the Discipline for about a qnarter of an hour a
day." 72 It may here be asked, if a Sister refused to undergo this
severe and cruel penance, would she be considered as having broken
her Vow of Obedience ? The answer to this question is given by Dr.
Pusey himself. His advice to Sisters of Mercy is: — "Study to be
perfectly obedient to your spiritual father. . . . Now perfect
obedience implies prompt, punctual, willing, unquestioning obedience,
unless the thing commanded be evident sin."73 There can be
no doubt, therefore, that the Sister would feel it a bounden
duty to take the " Disc:pliae for about a quarter of an hour a day,"
7a Pusey's Manual for Confessors, p. 243.
73 Ibid., p. 245.
THE DISCIPLINE FOK RITUALISTIC SISTERS.
29
if ordered to do so by her " Spiritual father," the Conf essor. The
subject is not a pleasant one to those who hate cruelty ; but it is
of so secret a character that it seems almost impossible to discover
the priestly culprits who order English ladies to be thus whipped
on their bare backs, as they may think right and proper. One of
these cases has fortunately come to light, in which the Discipline
way used most cruelly and shamefully in a Ritualistic Convent,
.inflicted on the Sister, not by command of her Confessor, but by a
"Mother" of the Convent. The story is related by Miss Povey,
who, as " Sister Mary Agnes, O.S.B.," was for seventeen years a
Nun in Convents controlled by the notorious " Father Ignatius."
She writes : —
" One day I was coming from Nones at 2.45 p.m. This ' Mother ' [' Mary
Wereburgh of the Blessed Sacrament '] commanded me to stay where I was,
and not to return to work, and then said : ' You have got the Devil in you,
and I am going to beat him out.' All left the sacristy but myself, the
Mother Superior, and one Nun, who was ordered to be present at the casting
out of the devil. I was commanded first to strip. 1 saw ' the Discipline,'
with its seven lashes of knotted whipcord in her hand, and I knew that one
lash given (or taken by oneself) was in reality seven. I should mention that
at certain times it was the rule to Discipline oneself. . . . Then I began to
undress ; but when I came to my vest, shame again overcame me. 1 Take
that thing off,' said the Mother Superior. I replied, ' I cannot, reverend
Mother ; it's too tight.' The Nun who was present was told to help me to
get it off. A deep feeling of shame came over me at being half-nude. The
Mother then ordered the Nun to say the ' Miserere,' and while it was recited
she lashed me several times with all her strength. I was determined not to
utter a sound, but at last I could not restrain a smothered groan, whereat
she gave me one last and cruel lash, and then ceased. Even three weeks
after she had ' Disciplined ' me, I had a very sore back, and it hurt me
greatly to lie on it (our beds were straw put into sacks). There was a
looking-glass in the room I now occupied (Nuns do not usually have them),
and I looked to see if my back was marked, as it was so sore. Never shall I
forget the shock it gave me. I turned quickly away, for my back was black,
blue, and green all over."''*
Many of my readers, on reading this horrible yet true story, will
naturally ask themselves, are there any other Mothers Superior who
aot in a similar manner '< If the secrets of Convents were revealed,
how many more tales of "Discipline" cruelty should we hear?
We need not make rash and wholesale assertions, but is there uor
cause for inquiry and anxiety ?
Faber, to whom we once more return, not only used the
"Discipline" himself; he also, as a penance, wore "a thick horse-
hair cord tied in knots round his waist." 76 He still, however,
continued to act as Rector of Elton. On August 12th, 1844, he
74 Nunnery Life in the Church of England, by Sister Mary Agnes, O.S.B.,
pp. 97-99.
75 Life of Faber, p. 178.
30
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
informed Newman : — " I seem to grow more Eoman daily, and
almost to vrrite from out the bosom of tlie Roman Church, instead
of from where I am." 70 By December he made the discovery — which
he ought t-o have made long before — that his position in the Church
of England was a dishonest one. "I feel as if I was living a dis-
honest life,"77 he wrote to Newman. And yet, strange as it may
seem to some, with this conviction upon him he continued for
nearly another year to officiate in the Church of England. At this
time he published a Life of St. Wilfrid, of which Father Bowden
says: — "It is difficult to conceive how" certain passages in it
" could have been written by a member of the Church of England " 78
— so thoroughly Roman were they. Bowden quotes several
passages from this "Life," from which I take the following
specimens : —
" He (Wilfrid) saw that the one thing to do was to go to Rome, and learn
under the shadow of St. Peter's Chair the more perfect way. To look Home-
ward is a Catholic instinct, seemingly implanted in us !or the safety of the
faith " (p. 4).
" Certainly, it is true that he materially aided the blessed work of rivetting
more tightly the happy chains which held England to St. Peter's Chair —
chains never snapped, as sad experience tells us, without the loss of many
precious Christian things " (p. 84).
At last the time came when Faber publicly renounced his con-
nection with the Church of England. On Sunday, November 16th,
1845, he addressed his congregation in Elton Church for the last
time. He told them that " the doctrines he had taught them,
though true, were not those of the Church of England ; that, as
far as the Church of England had a voice, she had disavowed them,
and that consequently he could not remain in her communion." 79
The next day he left the parish, accompanied by his two servants,
and by seven members of his ''Religious Community," all of whom
were admitted the same evening at Northampton, by Bishop
Wareing, into the Church of Rome.
It would have been well for the Church of England had the ease of
Faber been the last of its kind. But I think that any one who,
during the past twenty years, has carefully read the Ritualistic news-
papers, must be of the opinion that Faber1 s example is more or less
followed at the present time by many hundreds, not to say thousands,
of Ritualistic clergy, who have no greater moral right to remain in
the Church of England than Faber had during the last two years of
his ministry as Rector of Elton. The gates which admit t-o the
ministry, be it remembered, are kept by the Bishops, who have
admitted to the ranks of the clergy of the Church, by ordination,
every one of these traitors and conspirators, and therefore on the
Episcopal Bench the responsibility of the mischief caused by them
7S Life of Faber, p. 187.
78 Ibid., p. 190.
77 Ibid., p. 189.
nIbid., p. 201.
MASKELL ON TRACTARIAN TRICKEBT.
31
primarily rests. It is certain, therefore, that greater care is needed
now than ever before, on the part of the Bishops, to prevent the ordina-
tion or men who hold Roman doctrines. And the laity have a right
to complain, and they do compkin justly and bitterly, that in many
instances these Romanizing conspirators are preferred by the Bishops
to influential dignities and valuable livings in their gift, while hard-
working and law-abiding clergymen arj coldly passed by, a-s quite
unworthy of Episcopal notice or favour. These things are alienating
the hearts of multitudes of the laity from the Church of England ;
and it is the truest wisdom of our rulers in Church and State to
reflect that widespread discontent is not a thing to trifle with. The
results of Archbishop Laud's efforts to Romanize the Church in the
seventeenth century ought to serve as a salutary warning to Statesmen
and Bishops of the nineteenth century. The dangers arising from
the labours of the Ritualists are far greater than from those of their
predecessors two hundred and fifty years ago. Laud and his party
would never have dared to make such strides Romewards as have been
made by our modern Ritualists. May God grant that the civil wars
which were largely the result of Laud's foolish and disloyal opera-
tions, may not be repeated in England ere the close of the forthcoming
century ! We make no rash prophecy : no one can. tell what tli6
future may bring forth. But are there not already clouds in the
ecclesiastical and political sky, which may suddenly grow larger and
larger, until they burst forth in civil and religious convulsions which
every lover of his country must dread ?
I do not think that I could more appropriately close this chapter
than by citing a very accurate description of the secret policy of the
early Tractarians, given by one of the party, the Rev. William
Maskell, Vicar of St. Mary's Church, in a letter which he published,
in 1850, shortly before his secession to Rome.
"As a fact," wrote Mr. Maskell, "the evangelical party, plainly, openly,
and fully, declare their opinions upon the doctrines which they contend the
Church of England holds : they tell their people continualiy, what they
ought, as a matter of duty towards God and towards themselves, both to
believe and practise. Can it be pretended that we [Tractarians], as a party,
anxious to teach the truth, are equally open, plain, and unreserved ? If we
are not so, is prudence, or economy, or the desire to lead people gently and
without rashly disturbing them, or any other like reason, a sufficient ground
for our withholding large portions of Catholic truth ? Can any one chief
doctrine be reserved by us, without blame or suspicion of dishonesty? And
it is not to be alleged, that only the less important duties and doctrines are
so reserved : as if it would be an easy thing to distinguish and draw a line
of division between them. Besides, that which we are disputing about can-
not be trivial and unimportant ; if it were so, we rather ought, iu Christian
charity, to acknowledge our agreement in essentials, and consent to give up
the rest.
" But we do reserve vital and essential truths ; we often hesitate and fear
to teach our people many duties, not all necessary in every case or to every
person, but eminently practical, and sure to increase the growth of the inner
spiritual life ; we difl'er, in short, as widely from the Evangelical party in the
32
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
manner and openness, as in the matter and details of our doctrine. Take,
for example, the doctrine of Invocation of Saints ; or, of Prayers for the
Dead ; or, of Justification by Faith only ; or, of the merit of good works ;
or, of the necessity of regular and obedient Fasting; or, of the reverence due
to the blessed Virgin Mary ; or, of the Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Blessed
Eucharist; or, of the almost necessity of Auricular Confession and Absolu-
tion, in order to the remission of mortal sin ; — and more might be mentioned
than these. Now let me ask you ; do we speak of these doctrines from our
pulpits in the same manner, or to the same allowed extent, as we speak of
them one to another, or think of them in our closets ? Far from it; rather,
when we do speak of them at all, in the way of public, ministerial, teaching,
we use certain symbols and a shibboleth of phrases, well enough understood by
the initiated few, but dark and meaningless to tlie many. All this seems to
me to be, day by day and hour by hour, more and more hard to be reconciled
with the real spirit, mind, and purpose of the English Reformation, and of
the modern English Church, shewn by the experienec of 300 years. It does
seem to be, daily, more and more opposed to that single-mindedness of pur-
pose, that simplicity and truthfulness and opentk H of speech and action, which
the Gospel of our Blessed Lord requires. We are, indeed, to be ' wise as
serpents ' ; but has our wisdom of the last few years been justly within the
exceptions of that law ? Let me not be understood as if supposing that any
motive, except prudence and caution, has caused this reserve ; but there are
limits beyond which Christian caution degenerates into deceit, and an enemy
might think that we could forget that there are more texts than one of Holy
Scripture which speak of persecution to be undergone, for His sake, and for
the Faith.
" And if reserve in teaching carried to such an extent be, as I conceive it
to be, unjustifiable, it is equally wrong, and xo be condemned, in the practice
of those who listen to, and endeavour to obey such teaching. What can we
think — when honestly we bring our minds to its consideration — what can we
think, I say, of the moral evils which must attend upon and follow conduct
and rule of religious life, full of shifts and compromises and evasions? a rule
of life based upon the acceptance of half one doctrine, all the next, and none
of the third ; upon the belief entirely of another, but not daring to say so ;
upon the constant practice, if possible, of this or that particular duty, but
secretly and fearful of being 'found out ' ; doing it as if under the pretence
of not doing it ; if questioned, explaining it away, or answering with some
dubious answer ; creeping out of difficulties ; anything, in a word, but
sincere, straightforward, and true. It would really seem as if, instead
of being Catholics — as we say we are— in a Christian land, we were living in
the city of heathen Rome, and forced to worship in the Catacombs and dark
places of the earth." 80
80 A Second Letter on tlie F resent Position of the Eigh Church Party in the
Church of England, by the Rev. William Maskell, pp. 65-68. Third Edition.
London : Pickering, 1850.
CHAPTEE II.
THE SOCIETY OF THE HOLY CROSS.
Its secret birth in 1855 — Brethren forbidden to mention its existence — Its
secret Statutes — Its secret Signs — Its mysterious " Committee of
Clergy " — The Roll of sworn Celibates — Their Oath — Its secret Synods
and Chapters — Brethren must push the Confessional amongst young
and old — Its Confessional Book for little children — Its secret Confes-
sional Committee — Issues the Priest m Absolution — Secret birth of the
Retreat Movement — First secret Retreat in Dr. Pusey's rooms — Starts
the " St. George's Mission" at St. Peter's, London Docks — Dr. Pusey
a member of the Mission — The Bishop of Lebombo a member of the
Society of the Holy Cross — Sensational letter from him — Ritualistic
Holy Water — Brethren alarmed at publicity — The Society establish
an Oratory at Carlisle — Its secret history — Organises a Petition for
Licensed Confessors — Reports of Speeches at its secret Synods — Their
dark plottings exposed.
After Tractarianisin had become known as Puseyism, and both had
developed into what is now termed Ritualism, it was felt by many
members of the party that the time had come when the secret
workers in what Hurrell Fronde had so truthfully termed, in 1834,
"the Conspiracy,"1 should combine together in secret societies, the
more effectually to carry out their objects. One of the most dan-
gerous of these organizations is the Society of the Holy Cross, which
was founded on February 28th, 1855. It began in a very small way,
and gradually extended its borders, until it became the most powerful
of all the secret organizations connected with the Ritualistic Move-
ment. It began with only six members, of whom three subsequently
joined the Church of Rome ; 2 and its founder was the Rev. Joseph
Newton Smith,3 who still survives. The only other surviving member
of the original six is the Rev. A. Poole, Rector of Laindon Hills, Essex.
A few others joined the Society during the year 1855, of whom the
following are still living: viz., the Rev. John Sidney Boucher, now
Rector of Gedding, Bury St. Edmunds (who withdrew in 1877) ; the
Rev. Canon Francis H. Murray, Rector of Chislehurst (who withdrew
1 Froude's Remains, Vol. I., p. 377.
2 S. S. C. Master's Address to May Synod, 1875, p. 3.
8 Twenty-one Years in St. George's Mission, p. 18.
(33) 3
34
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
in 1877) ; and the Rev. G. Cosby White, now Vicar of Newland,
Malvern Link. It so happens that several oi the secret documents
of the Society of the Holy Cross have come into my possession, in an
honourable and straightforward manner, and on these my description
of the Society is mainly built. I have no more hesitation in making
use of these documents than Her Majesty's Government would have
in using the secret documents connected with a conspiracy against the
State, should they come into their possession. For the early history of
its movements I am much indebted to the Master's [the late Bev. A. H.
Mackonochie's] Address Delivered to the Society in Synod, on the Festival of
the Invention of the Holy Cross, 1870, and privately printed for the use of
the brethren only. For the first twelve years of its existence, that is,
until 1867, "caution was," said the Master, "enjoined upon the
brethren in the matter of mentioning it " (p. 3). This one official
statement is alone sufficient to show its secrecy, and how much it
dreaded publicity. It has not lost its secret character yet. It so
happened that I was at Folkestone during Church Congress week, in
October, 1892, and while there I met a clergyman whom I knew to be
still a member of the Society. I ventured to ask him — he knew who
I was at the time — whether the Society of the Holy Cross had
increased in numbers during the past fifteen years ? " Don't you
know, sir," was his very emphatic reply, "that the Society of the
Holy Cross is a secret Society, and that its members are pledged to
secrecy ? " " Oh, yes," I rejoined, " I know it very well ; but I never
before heard it so candidly acknowledged by one of its own mem-
bers " ! He declined to give me the information asked for, though I
should have thought that such a very harmless question might easily
have been answered.
The information which I am now about to give my readers concern-
ing the Constitution of the S. S. C. — as it is commonly called— is taken
from its official book, entitled Societatis Sanctce Cruris Statuta, which is
printed in English, the title alone being in Latin. So fearful is this
Society of the Holy Cross lest any one outside its ranks should see
these Statutes, that it is expressly provided (chapter ii., sec. 10, page
4) that when a brother resigns his membership of the Society, he
" shall return to the Master his Cross, and the Books of Statutes and
Offices ". The Cross is one of a peculiar pattern, made expressly for
the Society, and is usually worn suspended on the breast, or from the
watchchain, so that, as they walk along the streets, the brethren of
the S. S. C. may be able to recognise one another as belonging to this
secret Society, even though they may not know each other personally.
The Books of Statutes and Offices are three in number, viz., the
Statuta, already mentioned ; the Preparation for and Thank-yhing after
Mass, printed in English ; and the Societatis Saiictx Cruris Uffiria, which
is entirely in Latin, and contains the " Officium Proprium"; the
" Ordo ad Synodum"; the '"Formula ad Cruces Benedicendas " ; the
"Ordo ad Recipiendum Candidatum Electum in Societatem " ; the
" Ordo ad Fratrem Admittendum," the " Ordo ad Admittendum
atre m in Begulam Bubram " ; a somewhat similar office for admit-
THE MYSTERIOUS " COMMITTEE OF CLERGY."
35
ting to the " White Rule " ; and an order for admittance into the Roll
of Celibates.
The Society consists (Statuta, chapter i., sec. 1) "of Bishops, Priests,
Deacons, and candidates for Holy Orders." " The Objects of the
Society" are, as stated (in chapter i., sec. 2) "to maintain and extend
the Catholic Faith and Discipline, and to form a special Bond of Union
between Catholic Priests: (!) By promoting Holiness of life among
the Clergy ; (2) By carrying on and aiding Mission work at Home and
Abroad ; (3) By issuing and circulating Tracts and other Publications ;
(4) By the exercise af Temporal and Spiritual Charity among the
Brethren ; (5) By holding Synods and Chapters for Prayer and Con-
ference ; (6) By common action in matters affecting the interests of
the Church ; (7) By correspondence between the Brethren ; (8) By
the affiliation of Guilds of Laymen."
A prominent official of the S. S. C, with whom I had an interview
about two years since, informed me that no action whatever has been
as yet taken with reference to the last of these objects. "With
reference to the third of these objects a " Tract Committee " has been
formed in the Society, whose work is (chapter vii., sec. 4) "to prepare,
procure, revise, adapt, and publish Books and Tracts useful for further-
ing the objects of the Society." Now it is one of the proofs of the
Jesuitical tactics adopted by the S. S. C. that although this Tract
Committee has published a considerable number of books and tracts
they never make known to the public the fact that they really
emanate from the S. S. C. The most advanced Ritualistic doctrines
are taught in these publications, which — I am happy to inform my
readers — may henceforth be known to them by the statement on the
title-page of each — "Edited by a Committee of Clergy.'" Whenever
this is read on the title-page of any book or tract, it may be safely
translated into " Society of the Holy Cross Tract Committee.'"
The identity of the Society with the " Committee of Clergy" seems
to have been kept a profound secret, for some of the brethren appear
to have known nothing at all about it. At the September, 1877,
Synod, the Rev. Charles Edward Hammond expressed " the surprise
he felt on discovering that the Tract Committee [of S. S. O] and the
Committee of Clergy were the same body." 4 At the same Synod the
Rev. Robert James Wilson " said that until then he had no idea of
the identity of the Tract Committee and the Committee of Clergy."6
The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie informed the brethren that "the Tract
Committee came into existence soon after he became Master. Its
work was to bring out Tracts, and it adopted some already in
existence. He stated that the Tract called Pardon through the Precious
Blood, and the Altar Manual, had been considered clause by clause by
the Society." 6
There are two classes of members, viz., " Brethren " and " Proba-
tioners." Both are required to "wear openly the Society's Cross,"
I S. C. Analysis of Proceedings, September Synod, 1877, p. 23.
'Ibid., p. 24. * Ibid., ]>. 2i.
36
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
when "practicable" (chapter ii., sec. 5). This, of course, may be
done with safety, since the outside public are not able to identify it.
When two brethren meet " the one shall salute the other with the
words, 1 Pax tibi' to which the reply shall be, 'Per Crucem;'" but it is
cautiously provided that these salutations shall not take place "in the
company of strangers " (chapter ii., sec. 6). One brother writing to
another must begin his letter thus : — "P. >J< T. My Dear Brother " ;
and end with "'In D. N. J. C.,' or some corresponding form of sub-
scription" (Ibid., sec. 7). It is provided by chapter ii., sec. 9, that: —
" Upon the death of a brother notice thereof shall be given to the
Secretary, as soon as possible, by any brother cognizant of it, and the
Secretary shall, forthwith, inform the brethren, that they may say Mass
for the soul of their brother, either on the day of the funeral, or as soon
after as practicable." In this Statute the reader will perceive one
proof of the Eomanizing character of the Society.
"Every brother," says chapter ii., sec. 3, "shall be required to
attend all the Synods and chapters he can, and positively the two
Synods on May 3rd and September 14th (Feasts of the Holy Cross),
unless unavoidably prevented, in which case he shall state the reason
to the Master, and ask for a Dispensation." " These two Synods,"
I may here remark, are held in the Church of St. Peter's, London
Docks, with locked doors ; and this has been the case for many years
past. Is it not time that the Bishop of London prevented a church
in his diocese from being used for secret meetings, where plots are
continually being hatched for the destruction of Protestantism ? The
brethren are required to maintain strict secrecy as to what takes
place in these Synods and Chapters. By chapter vi, sec. 24, it is
provided that : — "The Brethren shall be strictly forbidden to divulge the
proceedings of the Synods and Chapters, except so far as the publication
is authorized by the Society." It is further ordered (Ibid., sec. 8),
that : — " The Brethren and Probationers in Synod shall sit vested in
Cassock, Surplice, and Biretta, and in Chapter in Cassock and Biretta."
These " Chapters " are meetings of the members, held on the second
Tuesday of every month, except May and September. They have
been held in various places during the history of the Society, includ-
ing the House of Charity (1855-56) ; the Clergy House, 10, Great
Tichfield Street (1856-57) ; the Mission House, Wellclose Square
(1857-58); and the Clergy House, Crown Street, Soho. Next it
shared a room with the Guild of St. Alban's, in Langham Street, from
which they moved together to 3, New Boswell Court, Clare Market;
and, again, in 1863, to the Clergy House, St. Alban's, Holborn. It
was also located for some years in a house in a back street near St.
Alban's Church, viz., 5, Greville Street, Brook Street, Holbom, now
the headquarters of the " Guild of St. Martin " for postmen. Its
present meeting place I have been unable to discover. In addition to
these Synods and Chapters, special District Meetings of the brethren,
living in various parts of the country, are held in the provinces from
time to time.
It is ordered that " Before the holding of any Synod, Mass shall be
THE SECRET OATH OF CELIBATES.
37
Celebrated solemnly, with a short Sermon from a Brother, and the
Oflkium Proprium shall be said " (chapter vi., sec. 4). " When the
Synod shall extend over two days, a Mass shall be said for Departed
Brethren on the second day, in a Church selected by the Master "
(sec. 5). Those of the Brethren unable to attend the Synod, are
expected, " if practicable, to say Mass for the Intention of the
Society " (sec. 6) whenever an opportunity may be given them. It
is also directed that " An Analysis of the Proceedings at Synod and
Chapter shall be sent by the Secretary to all Officers, and to such
Brethren who may desire it" (sec. 21). The Analysis is headed
" S. S. C." The greatest care is taken to prevent copies falling into
the hands of outsiders.
"There are," says chapter x., sec. 1, "four progressive degrees of
obligation in the Society, termed respectively, the Ordinary, the
Green, the Bed, and the White Bule ". The Ordinary Rule is " bind-
ing upon all the Brethren and Probationers. The other three (are)
entirely voluntary, but recommended for adoption ; the White Rule
being restricted to Celibates." These Celibates are, apparently, con-
sidered as the very Cream of the Society of the Holy Cross. Their
names are kept on a separate list, which is known as the " Celibate
Roll." A full list of the Brethren and Probationers of the Society is
privately printed every year, for confidential use ; but the " Celibate
Roll," so far as I can ascertain, has never been trusted to print.
There is a "Vicar" of this Roll. At the May Synod, 1881, the
Rev. H. D. Nihill, then Vicar of St. Michael's, Shorediteh, was nomi-
nated as "Vicar of the Celibate Roll." In 1895 the Vicar was the
Rev. E. G. Wood, Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge. By chapter
xviii., sec. 5, " It is recommended that some external Symbol, and by
preference a ring, be worn by Brethren of the Celibate Roll." A
gentleman with whom I am acquainted, some years since came into
the possession of one of these "rings," made of iron — I understand
that others are made of silver, and some of gold — and he could not
for some time make out its use. On looking more closely into it he
discovered a very tiny indentation ; but that was all. Wondering
very much what it meant, he secured the assistance of a powerful
magnifying glass, and then discovered within the indentation, the
magic words " S. S. C." It was the Celibate Ring of the Society of
the Holy Cross! Each member of this "Roll" takes a vow, or,
rather, an oath of celibacy, "for a limited period, ox for life" (chapter
xviii., sec. 1). It is made in Latin, of which the following is a
translation : —
"I, N — — , profess and promise to Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy
Ghost, and to all the Saints, that I will lead a life of Celibacy for [so many
years, or the rest of his life]. So help me God ! " 7
The regulations for the guidance of the daily life of those attached
to the various " Rules " are very minute. Those attached to the
7 S. S, O, Officio,, p. 31.
38
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" "White Eule " — that is, the Celibates — must " say Mass daily "
(chapter xvi., sec. 4) ; " frequent the Sacrament of Penance at least
monthly " (sec. 7) ; " say daily an office for each of the Hours, Prime,
Terce, Sext, None, or Vespers, and Compline " (sec. 8) ; and "make a
Eetreat each year" (sec. 14). Those attached to the "Red Rule"
must " say Mass on all Sundays and other Holy Days " (chapter xiv.,
sec 4) ; " frequent the Sacrament of Penance at least three times a
year" (sec. 7) ; observe the " Hours " of Prime, Compline, Sext. and
None (sec. 8); and "make a Retreat each year" (sec. 15). Those
attached to the " Green Rule " must also " say Mass (if practicable)
on all Sundays and other Holy Days " (chapter xii., sec. 4) ; " frequent
the Sacrament of Penance at least once a year " (sec. 7^> ; make a yearly
Retreat (sec. 12) ; and daily say a Mid-Day Office and Compline or
Family Prayer (sec. 8). Those attached to the "Ordinary Piule "
have a lighter set of directions than their brethren. The following
" Rules and Usages of the Church (sic !) are said to be binding on all
who belong to the Society of the Holy Cross, which professes to be
unable to grant any " dispensation therefrom " : —
" 1. To Celebrate, or at least to hear Mass (if practicable), on all Sundays
and other Holy Days.
" 2. To say Mass or Communicate fasting since the midnight preceding.
" 3. To use Sacramental Confession as the conscience requires it." 8
It will thus be seen that this secret Society of the Holy Cross is
officially pledged to maintain much which ordinary loyal Churchmen
consider as nothing less than Popery. The Confessional has always
been a strong point with the Society. The importance attached to it
is further seen in the Chapter of its Statutes devoted to " The Spirit
and Discipline of the Society." Section 5 of that Chapter orders
that :—
" The Brethren shall devote themselves diligently to the Science of the
Care of Souls, and shall labour in bringing young and old who are under
their influence to value duly the Sacrament of Penance."
We here discover that wherever members of the S. S. C. are found
they are expected to act as missionaries of the Confessional, and that
not only for the old, but also for the young. It is now many years
since the Society, under its Jesuitical disguise of " A Committee of
Clergy," issued a series of little " Books for the Young." No. I. of
this series (a copy of the fourth thousand of which lies before me)
was written for very little children, " six and a half or seven years
old." 8 The following extracts from this book will show to my
readers the fearful character of the Confessional teaching, imparted
by the Society of the Holy Cross to very young children : —
8 S. S. C. Statuta, p. 34.
» " Books for the Young." No. I., Confession. Edited by a Committee of
Clergy. Fourth thousand, p. 15. • .
CONFESSIONAL BOOK FOR CHILDREN.
39
" It is to the priest, and to the priest only, that a child must acknowledge
his sins, if he desires that God should forgive him. Do you know why ? It
is because God, when on earth, gave to His priests, and to them alone, the
Divine power of forgiving men their sins." 10 •
" Go to the priest, who is the doctor of your soul, and who cures it in the
name of God." "
" I have known poor children who concealed their sins in Confession for
years. They were very unhappy, were tormented with remorse, and if they
had died in that state they would certainly have gone to the everlasting fires
of hell ! ! ! " 12
" This acknowledgement, made in secret, once for all, this acknowledge-
ment which the Confessor himself forgets the next minute." 13
" Whilst the priest is pronouncing the words of Absolution, Jesus Christ
pours the torrents of His grace into the soul of the penitent Christian. . . .
During this time the happy penitent ought to keep him.ielf very humble,
very little, at the feet of Jesus, hidden in the I'i'iest." 14
"A little sinner of six an I a hall' or seven years old, if he his sinned
seriously, and if he repents and confe.-ses seriously, has as much right to
absolution as if lie was twenty." 15
" However painful it is to acknowledge a fault of this kind, it must be
bravely confessed, without lessening it ; it is almost always sins of impurity
that weak penitents dare not tell in confession." 16
To help on its Confessional work the Society of the Holy Cross
possesses a " Penitentiary Committee," whose work is " to advise,
when referred to, on Cases of Conscience, and other matters con-
nected with the Sacrament of Penance." 17 This Committee forms a
consultative body to which Father Confessors throughout the country
may apply for advice aud help in their work. The latest privately
printed list of Members of this Committee which I have seen, is that
of 1895-96, issued with the official " Poll of the Brethren and Pro-
bationers of the Society of the Holy Cross," in that year. The
members of the Committee were then : the Eev. E. G. Wood, Vicar
of St. Clement's, Cambridge ; the Rev. S. G. Beal, Rector of Ronaldkirk,
Darlington ; the Rev. A. Poole, Rector of Laindon Hills, Romford ;
the Rev. A. J. Micklethwaite, Vicar of St. Luke's, Chesterton, Cam-
bridge (Secretary) ; the Rev. R. A. J. Suckling, Vicar of St. Alban's,
Holborn ; and the Rev. T. A. Lacey, Vicar of MadLngley, Cambridge.
It was the Society of the Holy Cross that made itself responsible
for that abominable book, written for the guidance of Ritualistic
Father Confessors, and known as the Priest in Absolution. This work
was issued in two parts, the first of which was published ; and the
second issued for private circulation amongst those Father Con-
fessors who could be trusted by the S. S. C. The price of Part II.
was, to the brethren, 5s. 4d. post free. I possess a copy of both
10 " Books for the Young." No. I., Confession. Edited by a Committee of
Clergy. Fourth thousand, p. 3.
11 Ibid., p. i. 12 Ibid., p. 4. 13 Ibid., p. 7.
14 Ibid., p. 13. 15 Ibid., p. 15. 16 Ibid., p. 24.
17 S. S. 0. Statula, chapter.viii., sec. 4, p. 22.
40
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
parts, which I purchased a few years since, after the work had been
exposed in the House of Lords, in 1877, by the late Lord Redesdale.
My copy contains a cutting, pasted on the inside, from the catalogue
of Henry Sotheran & Co., the well-known London second-hand book-
sellers. After mentioning that the price of this copy was no less
than £6 6s. it is added : —
" So zealously guarded from public observation (for obvious reasons) is the
Priest in Absolution, that it is most unlikely that another copy will ever be
offered for sale."
The second part was issued without even the printer's name
attached. On the title-page it is stated that the book is " Privately
Printed for the Use of the Clergy h ; and it is dedicated : —
" To the Masters, Vicars, and Brethren, of the Society of the Holy Cross.
This volume, begun at their request, and continued amongst many labours
and infirmities, with the hope that it may serve to increase piety and
devotion, is humbly and affectionately dedicated by an Unworthy Brother
Priest."
The " Unworthy Brother Priest" carefully abstained from putting
his name to his book, which was a translation, with adaptations, from
a filthy French Roman Catholic book, being A Manual for Confessors,
by the Abbe Gaunie. It so happened that this priest was dead when
his translation was exposed in the House of Lords, but it was then
made known to the public, for the first time, that his name was the
Eev. J. C. Chambers. We shall return to this important event in
the Society's history later on.
The " Retreat Committee " of the S. S. C. has increased its opera-
tions very much during recent years. In fact, the Society claims to
have been the first to introduce Retreats into the Church of England.
The Master of the Society, addressing the Synod of 1870, boasted that
i " the Retreat Movement " was " begun and fostered by the Society." 18
The first Retreat for the Clergy was held during the month of July,
1856, in Dr. Pusey's house at Oxford. It was marked by the secrecy
which has ever characterized the movements of the Society of the
Holy Cross. The outside public knew nothing at all about it ; and
so anxious were its promoters to prevent Churchmen generally from
obtaining information, that the late Rev. Charles Lowder, who was
present, and who was then a member of the S. S. C, and in charge of
its East London Mission, found it necessary, in writing about it con-
fidentially to his mother, to add this caution : — " This account that I
have given you is meant to be private, so do not let it go out of the
house."19 About seventeen or eighteen clergymen were present at
this secret Retreat, which lasted a whole week. " Dr. Pusey has
entered," wrote Mr. Lowder to his mother, " very kindly into it, and
given us the greatest assistance, besides lodging and boarding us
all." 20 The Romish offices of Prime, Terce, and Sext, were used at
18 TJic Master's Address, 1870, p. 7.
19 Charles Lowder : A Biography, p. 96. First edition. 20 Ibid., p. 96.
ST. GEORGE'S MISSION.
41
this Retreat, and several conferences were held by the members, at
which various subjects of interest were discussed, including the Con-
fessional. By the Statutes of the S. S. C. it is provided that the
Eetreat Committee shall " Prepare and publish, as near as practicable
to the Feast of Epiphany in each year, a list of Retreats, stating the
place where each will be held ; the persons to whom communications
may be addressed ; the times at which each will begin and end ; the
expense of living during the Retreat, and the name of the conductor "
(chapter vii., p. 21). Now, here it seems as though all secrecy were
cast aside, and the utmost publicity required. The Committee shall
not only "prepare" but also "publish" the List of Retreats. And
yet, notwithstanding this rule, a measure of secrecy is thrown around
this List. It is periodically advertised in the Church Times, but no
intimation is given that the Retreats have been organized by the
Society of the Holy Cross. It would never do to make such a public
display of its work, moderate High Churchmen might be thus fright-
ened from taking part in Retreats organized by such a very advanced
Society! Accordingly, a much needed "Economy" and "Reserve"
is practised by the authorities. The Confessional is a special feature
of these Retreats. The ordinary printer for the S. S. C, Mr. Knott,
Brooke Street, Holborn, has published a four-paged tract, entitled
Instruction for Retreats, which in all probability is the production of
one of the brethren. Those who enter the Retreat are here directed
that, before it commences, they should "go to Confession," and "join
in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice " ; and they are told :— "If you
have made a Confession in Retreat, go back to your own Director as
soon as possible." At these gatherings, whether for the clergy or the
laity, for men or for women, the full Romanizing doctrines held by
the Ritualists may be — and, I understand, really are — taught with
safety, and with a frankness which could not be practised from the
pulpit. Loyal Churchmen would do well to avoid Retreats, if they
wish to retain their allegiance to the principles of the Protestant
Reformation.
The year following the formation of the Society of the Holy Cross
witnessed the starting, by that Society, of " The St. George's Mission,"
in the East End of London. The Rector of St. George's, at that
time, was the late Rev. Bryan King, and he approved heartily, not
only of the general principles on which it was proposed to carry on
the Mission, but also of that necessary secrecy as to certain parts of
the scheme which it was desirable to keep from the knowledge of the
public. The first clergyman placed by the Society of the Holy Cross
in charge of the Mission was the late Rev. Charles Lowder, and to
him, on May 31st, 1856, the Rev. Bryan King wrote as follows : —
" Upon the principles of your scheme for the Mission, of course, I
quite agree ; as to the time for carrying some of them out, and the
Christian Economy and Reserve to be observed {respecting some of tliem), of
course that must be left to the members of the Mission." 21 This
Charles Lowder : A Biography, p. 93. First edition.
42
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Eeserve and Economy was particularly shown in the earliest Reports
of the " St. George's Mission," in which its Ritualistic character was
studiously kept out of sight, and thus, no doubt, many were induced
to aid it who would otherwise have withheld their subscriptions and
donations on conscientious grounds. It is only fair to add here that
this-Economy and Reserve is no longer observed in the annual Report
of the Mission. It is no longer necessary. The Mission was largely
indebted to the assistance and advice of the late Rev. Dr. Pusey.
There are several allusions to his help in the Life of Charles Lowder,
and it would appear from one of these that Dr. Pusey was at one time
himself a member of the Mission. Writing to his father, with refer-
ence to the Mission, on May 6th, 1856, Mr. Lowder said : — "I pray
that it may be a good work for the Church ; my desire is to make it
a thoroughly Catholic one, a life of poverty, and self-denial, and
dedication to God's service, and, if it may be, the revival of a really
Religious Order for missionary work — men trained in holy living for
the work of winning souls. Dr. Pusey and the utlier members of the
Mission wish me to go, and we have had already sufficient promise
of support to justify our commencement. . . . Dr. Pusey has about
£150 or £160 at his disposal, which he will give it." 22 On May 16th,
1856, the Rev. Bryan King wrote to Mr. Lowder : —
" As we are beginning a very eventful experiment in the Church of
England, it is most important that we should begin it upon a sound
and safe basis. Both you and I may be deceived or biassed : you
may regard the Mission too exclusively from your point of view, as of
course I may from mine. Send then your letter and this to Dr. Pusey
for his counsel ; he, in Oxford, has the advantage of consulting far
better and wiser heads than yours or mine, learned Canonists and
earnest and experienced parish priests. Beg him to draw up an experi-
mental scheme or Constitution for the Mission." 23 There was a difficulty
in securing a licence from the Bishop of London for Mr. Lowder to
work in the Mission, and Dr. Pusey was consulted about the diffi-
culty.24 The late Dean Stanley, and the Archbishop of Dublin (Dr.
Trench) gave help to this Mission from time to time. Even the late
Bishop of Oxford (Dr. S. Wilberforce), in less than a year after its
foundation, became quite infatuated with the Mission. On May 10th,
1857, he wrote to the Rev. W. J. Butler concerning it : "I quite long
to go and cast myself into that Mission." 25 Those dignitaries of the
Church would never have given their aid had they been made fully
acquainted with the objects of those who controlled the work. How
the S. S. C. must have " laughed in their sleeves " at the success of
their Jesuitical manoeuvres ! But what will straightforward English-
men think of them ?
In 1877 Mr. Lowder wrote a volume entitled Twenty-One Years in
St. George's Mission, in which he describes at length the work carried
22 Charles Lowder: A Biography, p. 86. First edition. 23 Ibid., p. 90.
M Ibid., p. 99. 26 Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. II., p. 341.
THE BISHOP OF LEBOMBO.
13
on there. He tells us, amongst other interesting information, that in
the Mission work : —
" When the soul is touched with contrition, and anxious to make her
peace with God, we recommend Sacramental Confession, and have reason to
be most thankful that this has been our practice from the beginning." 26
" It is very gratifying to witness the reverence of our worshippers, and to
know how many devoutly appreciate the blessings they enjoy in the constant
Celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. ... Is it a time of sorrow, the anni-
versary of a death or funeral ? They fly to the Altar, and ask the Priest
who Celebrates, and some ol their friends also, to remember before God the
soul of their departed one."27
The work of the Mission grew more and more Romanizing as the
years went on, until at the present time the services are as advanced,
if not more advanced, in a Eomeward direction, than in any other
church in London. The " Thirty-seventh Annual Keport," issued
in 1893, mentions that during the year 1892 no fewer than 3500 Con-
fessions were heard in the church ; and it is recorded that one of the
former clergy of the Mission, " Father W. Edmund Smythe," had
been appointed Bishop of Lebombo. In the St. Peter's (London
Docks) Parifh Maguzine,3* there is published a letter from this gentle-
man, who is a member of the Society of the Holy Cross (then only
Bishop-Designate), dated Isandhlwana, Zululand, November 4th, 1892,
in which he describes the opening of a new chapel in South Africa
(towards which the S. P. C. K. gave £25), which clearly shows the
Romeward tendencies fostered in its past and present workers in East
London by the Mission of the Society of the Holy Cross.
" We can't," writes the Bishop-Designate, "do very much in the way of
ceremonial out here of course, but the College students are getting to under-
stand how to do things properly, and so we do our best. We vested in the
Chapel and then went round the outside of the building in procession, the
Bishop in Cope and Mitre, with two boys to support him, Mr. Gallagher, as
Subdeacon, carrying the Cross in front. We had License, but not Roly
Water!"™
It is evident from the whole tone of this letter that this S. S. C.
Episcopal Brother very much regretted the absence of the "Holy
"Water" ; but he comforts himself by adding : "By degrees we shall
get more things." At the opening of the chapel he tells us that
" High Mass " was celebrated by the Bishop, and then he describes a
number of Bomish ornaments already in use in the chapel : —
" It will interest yon," he writes, "to know that the Altar Cross is one
of the large Crucifixes which Fr. Massiah (another S. S. C. Brother) sent out
for me. I have just received an anonymous present from England of some
28 Twenty-one Years in St. George's Mission, p. 48. 27 Ibid., p. 5i.
38 The "St. George's Mission" is now popularly known by the name of
" St. Peter's, Loudon Docks."
29 St. Peter's Parish Magazine, January, 1893, p. 3.
44
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Cruets, one pair of which will go there. We have one Altar Frontal, which
the Bishop has given us, and have managed to spare a linen Altar Cloth and
some Purificators, etc., from our store at Isandhlwana. There is also a large
picture of Our Lady ; so the Chapel is not altogether unfurnished. By
degrees we shall get more things."30
It may be useful to mention here that the use of Holy Water is
spreading considerably amongst the Ritualists. As far back as 1870
it was recommended, in a popular Manual of Devotion, which has
had a large circulation amongst members of that party. The title of
the book is the Golden Gate, and its author is the Rev. S. Baring-
Gould, the well-known writer of novels, and now Rector of Lew
Trenchard, Devon. In the service termed the " Last Agony,1' for a
dying person, the author gives the following superstitious directions
as to what should be done in the room immediately after death : —
" The body is then decently laid out, and a light placed before it. A
small Crucifix is put in the hands of the deceased upon his breast, while the
body is sprinkled with Holy Water." 31
The Priest's Prayer Booh, a large volume which has passed through
seven or eight editions, was edited by two members of the Society of
the Holy Cross, viz., the late well-known Rev. Dr. Littledale, and the
Rev. J. E. Vaux. It provides for the use of the clergy in the Church
of England a special form for blessing Holy Water, to which it actually
attributes the power of curing bodily diseases, and driving the devil
out of people ! Here is the rubric and prayer for this purpose : —
" Be [the priest] shall then bless the water on this wise : —
" O God, Who, in ordaining divers mysteries for the salvation of mankind,
hast been pleased to employ the element of water in the chiefest of Thy
Sacraments : give ear to our prayers, and pour upon this water the might of
Thy blessing, that as it serves Thee in those holy mysteries, so by Thy
Divine Grace it may here. avail for the casting out of devils, and the driving
away of diseases ; that whatsoever in the houses or places of the faithful is
sprinkled therewith, may be freed from all uncleanness, and delivered from
hurt." 32
In the Master's Address to the Society of the Holy Cross, in 1870, he
said : — " The policy of the Society, up to the September Synod of
1867, was that of privacy. Caution was enjoined upon the Brethren
in the matter of mentioning it. It was thought, and no doubt wisely,
that the first thing to be done was to deepen the inner life of the
30 St. Peter's Parish Magazine, January, 1893, p. 4.
31 The Golden Gate, by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Part III., p. 128.
Edition, 1875.
32 The Priest's Prayer Book, p. 221, seventh edition, issued in 1890. The
same form appears in all the subsequent editions, including that still on sale.
A similar form for blessing Holy Water is printed in the Bay Office of the
Church, p. xiii., together with another form for driving the devil out of the
water before it is blessed
THE DANGER FROM POST CARDS.
45
Brethren before launching out into greater publicity. In view, how-
ever, of the Church Congress at Wolverhampton, in the above year, it
was determined to reverse this policy, and to distribute broadcast a
new paper of the Nature and Objects of the Society, specially drawn
up for the occasion. Together with this was issued a short Address to
Catholics, and both obtained great publicity." 33 Three years later, the
then Master of the S. S. C. in his " Address," said that the Society had
" developed from secrecy to the most open publicity, so far as its
existence and objects are concerned." 34 It is well for his veracity that
the Master added the saving clause " so far as its existence and objects
are concerned " ; because its essential secrecy has continued ever
since, and at the present time is even more marked than ever. The
Society gives to the public occasionally — very rarely, it should rather
be said — a certain amount of information concerning its work, but as
recently as its May, 1881, Synod, Brother the Rev. William Crouch
said that " he thought the secrecy of the Society's doings a mistake," 35
and, as we have already seen, the Statutes of the Society continue to
enjoin secrecy on the Brethren.
The Master of the S. S. C, addressing the May, 1876, Synod, said
that the Society " started with its secrecy " ; 36 and that " during the first
eight years of the Society's life, its Statutes and Rules existed only in
Manuscript." 37 He also said that from the formation of the Society,
" The bond of union between the Brethren was to be as strict as
possible. None but themselves were to know their names, or of the
existense of the Society, except those to whom it might be named
to induce them to join: but this only with leave of the Society." 38
Care was also enjoined on the Brethren to keep secret even the old
documents of the Society, and, if necessary, to destroy them, lest any
outsiders should know what was going on in their dark apartments.
The Master, addressing the May, 1875, Synod, expressed his feelings
of alarm on this point in the following terms : — " The question has
again arisen of the use of Post Cards in writing on Society business.
I earnestly hope that the Society will let me press upon each Brother
most strongly the undesirability of this practice. In these days there
is great strength in a Society like ours being able to keep its private
character. At present outsiders know only of our existence ; but each
little liberty, such as the use of these Post Cards, opens one more
aperture for the entrance of inquisitive eyes. This same principle
applies to taking the greatest possible care, either to destroy, or to keep
in some safe place, the old Rolls, and other printed matter, such as
Acta, Agenda, and Notice Papers."39 At the September, 1876, Synod,
the Master found it necessary to refer again to the subject. "Let
me," he said, " urge upon you care with regard to the Statutes, Roll,
Acta, and other documents of the Society. A description of it from
33 The Master's Address, S. S. C, 1870, p. 3. 34 Ibid., 1873, p. 4.
35 S. S. C. Analysis of May Synod, 1881, p. 24.
38 The Master's Address, May, 1876, p. 6. 37 Ibid., p. 3.
38 Ibid., p. 3. 39 Ibid., May Synod, 1875, p. 10.
40
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
a ' London Correspondent ' appeared a few weeks ago in an Aberdeen
newspaper. It was accurate enough to be correct in the names of the
Saints to whom two of the local branches are dedicated. If we are to
maintain the privacy which has hitherto been our rule, it can only be
done by caution."40
At the May Synod, 1870, of the Society, a paper on " The Establish-
ment of an Oratory in London by the Society of the Holy Cross," was
read by Brother the Rev. Orby Shipley, who some years later seceded
to the Church of Rome. Mr. Shipley was well known as the writer of
advanced Romanizing works on various theological subjects, and was
a very active supporter of the S. S. C. His paper was during the
summer of 1870 " Privately Printed for the Society," at its expense,
and in the following year was published by him, as an appendix to a
book entitled Tlie Four Cardinal Virtues. The Oratory which he pro-
posed was to be a centre for all the advanced Ritualists of the country,
at which they could meet from time to time, and in which the Ritual
should be of the most extreme character.
" Thus we should desiderate," for the Oratory, said Mr. Shipley, "these
elements at the least : — The Asperges ; the ' Censing of persons and things '
or the use of Incense in a Ritual manner ; the correct Introits, Graduals,
Offertories, Communions ; Gospel Lights ; Consecration Lights on the Altar
and Consecration Candles in front of the Altar, in addition to the Six Altar
Candles and two Sacramental Lights ; the use of the Altar Bell ; the Lavabo ;
and, of course, the Eucharistic Vestments, for Celebrant, Ministers, Servers,
and Acolytes."41
In short, the founders of the Oratory, Mr. Shiplej- said, " would not
feel satisfied until they had restored to the Church of England a ren-
dering of the sacred Mass which was fully Mediaeval in the richness,
costliness, taste, and perfection of its details." The Synod decided,
after hearing Brother Shipley's paper, that the establishment of such
an Oratory was deserving of further consideration. The idea of having
such an Oratory in London appears to have been abandoned for a time,
but not forgotten. Two years later it was determined to erect such an
Oratory, not, however, in the Metropolis, but in the far North, in the
city of Carlisle. For this purpose funds were necessary, but it was
decided not to make a public appeal, but to set all the Brethren to
work privately collecting amongst their friends the necessary pecu-
niary assistance. Accordingly the late Rev. A. H. Mackonochie wrote
letters on the subject to the Brethren, but very much to the annoy-
ance of the seeret wire-pullers a copy of one of these letters came into
the hands of the editor of the Rock, who published it in his columns,
40 The Master's Address, September Synod, 1876, p. 8.
41 On, the Establishment of an Oratory by tlie S. S. C. Privately printed
edition, p. 17. Mr. Shipley stated that the Society as such " is in no way
responsible for the opinions " which he expressed in his paper ; but it waj
certainly read by request of the authorities of the S. S. C. , who paid £5 lis.
for printing it, and who did not censure Brother Shipley's opinions.
AN ORATORY AT CARLISLE.
47
and thus removed the mystery which served as a protection to a
dangerous movement, and made known to the public its real objects.
Mr. Mackonochie's letter was as follows : —
"S.S. c.
" St. Alban's Clergy House, Holborn.
"May Uth, 1872.
"P. * T.
" My Dear Brother,— The Vicar of the Carlisle Branch has asked
me to commend to your notice the following resolution passed at the Synod
last week : —
" ' That the S. S. C. approves of the scneme for the proposed Oratory in
Carlisle, and, subject to the necessary funds being raised by private sub-
scription among the Brethren, undertakes to treat for the securing of a site
for the purpose.'
" The Carlisle Oratory is a work which the Synod considered to deserve
the utmost attention of the Society. — 1. The Carlisle clergy are completely
overridden by an Ultra- Protestant clique, the strength of which lies in the
Dean,42 and a powerful tradition left by the two late Bishops. ... 4. The
Bishop is quite willing to encourage work (especially an increase of celebra-
tions), and he has consented to license a Chaplain to the proposed Religious
House. 5. There is an earnest demand for the privileges which such a House
would afford. A site may be had in the parish of Holy Trinity (the poorest
in Carlisle), of which the priest has given his consent to the scheme, but it is
of the utmost importance the site should be secured at once. If you will
kindly exert yourself among your friends, and send any money you can get
at once to Brother the Rev. C. H. V. Pixell, Skirwith Vicarage, Penrith, he
will account for it to the Society, in Chapter, and send you a receipt.
" Believe me, Dear Brother,
" Yours most truly in our Blessed Lord,
" A. H. Mackonochie." 43
At that time the Eev. T. S. Barrett (now Rector of Teversall,
Mansfield), was Rector of St. George's, Barrow-in-Furness, and, being
one of the Brethren of the S. S. C, and living in the district, he
naturally took a deep interest in the Oratory scheme. In November,
1872, he also made an appeal for furniture for the Oratory, mentioning
that, amongst other things, it would require an Altar Cross, Altar
Lights, Vesper Lights, Cottas, Cassocks and Stoles, a Sacring Bell,
Frontals and Super Frontals, Banners, Flower Vases, &C.44 These
Ornaments were not then as common as they are now, and that they
should be required for the new Oratory was a clear proof that its
promoters intended to work on advanced Romanizing lines. But,
unfortunately, the public knew nothing about Mr. Mackonochie's
letter or Brother Barrett's appeal, until a full six months after the
Oratory was actually opened, and the mischief done.
42 That is, Dr. Close, who was then Dean ef Carlisle.
43 The Mock, July 4th, 1873, p. 448. 44 Ibid.
48
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
About a month before Mr. Mackonoehie's letter was written, anony-
mous letters were sent to the Protestant Dean of Carlisle (Dr. Close),
and these contained intelligence of such an alarming character that
he at once wrote to the Bishop of Carlisle on the subject. The Bishop
replied that an application had been made to him to grant a licence
for certain clergymen to work in a Carlisle parish, under the " Private
Chapels Act." He had taken a legal opinion on the question of his
powers to do this, and had been " informed that it would be within
the law." " This being so," continued the Bishop, " I said that in the
event of an Institution being established upon the scheme described
I would give a licence on certain conditions. The chief of these was
that I should require to be satisfied that there would be no Ritual
developments, contrary to what had been decided to be lawful." 45
Meanwhile, the clergy of Carlisle and neighbourhood had taken alarm,
and towards the end of April, 1872, they presented an Address on the
subject to the Bishop of Carlisle, signed by no fewer than 120 of their
number, earnestly asking his lordship to give no encouragement to
those who asked his licence for Brethren of the Society of the Holy
Cross to officiate in the proposed Oratory. " Should such a step be
taken," they said, " the consequences would be most disastrous to the
best interests of the Church in this diocese. Schism and division
would be multiplied and aggravated, and a permanent feud established
in the heart of the Cathedral city." The Bishop was rather in
favour of the scheme of the S. S. C, than otherwise, yet he could not
ignore the opinions of such a large number of his clergy. So in his
reply to their Address he tried to allay their fears, but would make no
definite promise either way. And thus the matter rested until the
new Oratory was actually opened in the January of the following
year, when another storm of public indignation arose. On January
17th, the Dean once more wrote to the Bishop calling his attention
to the reports of the opening ceremony which had appeared in the
Carlisle papers, and at which " the high Ritual " was witnessed which
" usually characterised " the proceedings of the Society of the Holy
Cross ; and he asked the Bishop " whether the building in question,
or the officiating clergyman were licensed " by him, " or whether they
have obtruded themselves on the citizens of Carlisle without your
Lordship's permission " ? To these questions the Bishop replied : —
"The services to which you refer have had no sanction from me —
unless it be regarded as a sanction that I have taken no active steps
in opposition to them."46 Thus the Society of the Holy Cross
triumphed in Carlisle, mainly through a want of firmness on the part
of the Bishop, who could easily have inhibited all the brethren, but
did not. And so it has been ever since on the part of only too many
46 The correspondence is published in full in the Church Association Monthly
Intelligencer, June, 1872, pp. 146-148.
46 Carlisle Journal, January 31st, 1873. from which this correspondence
was reprinted in the Church Association Monthly Intelligencer, March, 1873,
pp. 20, 21.
PETITION FOR LICENSED CONFESSORS.
49
of the Episcopal Bench, who, rather than permit a "row," have been
willing to allow the Bornanizing party to have their own way. These
Bishops have reversed the Apostolic order which declares that " the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable " (James iii.
17). The fault has not been confined to our prelates, it has been
shared also by both clergy and laity. It would be well if all these
timid ones, who love peace more than the purity of the Faith, were to
lay to heart the words and act in accordance with the spirit which
moved Martin Luther when, at the Diet of Worms, he said: — "It is
for me a great joy to see that the Gospel is now, as in ancient days,
a cause of trouble and discord. That is the character and destiny of
the "Word of God. Jesus Christ hath said, ' I came not to send peace
on earth, but a sword.' God is wonderful and terrible in His counsels ;
let us dread lest, in thinking to stop discords, we persecute God's
Holy Word, and bring down on our heads a fearful deluge of insur-
mountable dangers, of present disasters and eternal desolations." 47
Early in 1873 a petition was presented to Convocation, signed by
483 Bitualistic priests, asking for Licensed Confessors in the Church
of England. This petition naturally created a great sensation at the
time, and led to many large anti-confessional meetings being held in
London and the Provinces ; to an important declaration on the sub-
ject by a Committee of the Upper House of Convocation for the
Province of Canterbury ; and a discussion in the House of Lords, on
July 14th, in the course of which the Marquis of Salisbury denounced
habitual confession. "We know," said his lordship, "that besides
its being unfavourable to what we believe to be Christian truth, in its
result it has been injurious to the moral independence and virility of
the nation to an extent to which probably it has been given to no
other Institution to affect the character of mankind." Everybody
was talking about this daring petition, but not one of the public
knew who its real organizers were. The real wire-pullers preferred
to remain in the dark, and they were the authorities of the Society
of the Holy Cross. On March 14th, 1873, the Bev. A. H. Mackonochie,
who was then Master of the Society of the Holy Cross, sent out to
all the brethren a printed circular letter, enclosing copies of the
petition for signature, in the course of which he informed them that
" The memorial was presented to the Society in Chapter last month,
and again, after a further revision by the Committee, on Tuesday
last. It was then adopted, considered clause by clause, a few
verbal alterations being left to the final decision of the Committee, and
finally agreed to." In the confidence of its secret May, 1873, Synod, the
Master of the Society talked freely on the subject. "You are aware,"
he said, " that it [the petition] was not presented in the name of the
Society, and the public papers have shown you that the blame of it is
principally laid on me personally. It seems to have done for the
Truth much more than the most sanguine expectations of its pro-
47D'Aubigne's History of tlie Reformation, Book VII., chapter ix., p. 206.
Edilion, Edinburgh, 1846.
4
50
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
moters anticipated, and, if I were entitled to it, I should gladly accept
that blame as praise. I am, however, bound to say that it belongs to
brethren senior to me, and far more able."48 It had been organized
by a special Committee of the S. S. C, who had collected the signatures.
There was certainly something Jesuitical in the way it was managed.
The petition asked for many things besides Licensed Confessors, and
clearly proves that the Society of the Holy Cross, and large numbers
of other Ritualists, are far from satisfied with the existing formularies
of the Church of England. The Book of Common Prayer, says this
petition, is " manifestly incomplete, through the absence in many
particulars of such Services and Rubrics as would give adequate ex-
pression to this claim of the Church of England to be Catholic in her
doctrine, usage, and ceremonial." This "want of completeness" is
considered by the petitioners as a "distinct grievance." They object
to any scheme which would " alter the Book of Common Prayer in
what they term "an un-Catholic direction"; but they are most
anxious for a revision of that Book on Romish lines, for they suggest
that Convocation should " promote " the " addition " to the Prayer
Book of the following matters : —
" The doctrines, that is to say, of —
" I. The Real Presence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Holy
Communion, ' under the form of Bread and Wine.'
" II. The adoration due to Him there present.
" III. The Sacrifice which He there offers by the hands of His Priest to
the Divine Majesty."
The petitioners further pray that any "alterations" which may be
made in the Book of Common Prayer shall include : —
"The full provision of the ancient ana proper Introits and Graduals,
together with the Secreta, Communions, and Post-Communions, for Festivals,
Sundays, and Ferial Days."
"That provision may be made for the decent and reverent Reservation of
the Blessed Eucharist, and that an Office be prepared for the Communion of
the Sick therewith."
"That the use of Unction may be restored in Holy Baptism and Confir-
mation, as well as in the Visitation of the Sick, together with the proper
Services for the Consecration by the Bishops of the Oils for the said pur-
poses."
The clause which gave its name to this petition of dissatisfied
Ritualists was as follows : —
" That in view of the wide-spread and increasing use of Sacramental Con-
fession, your Venerable House may consider the advisability of providing for
the education, selection, and Licensing of duly qualified Confessors, in
accordance with the provisions of Canon Law."49
There is one other feature of this petition worthy of special note.
It mentions certain usages which, " while they are extensively pro-
48 The Master's Address, S. S. C, 1873, p. 10, note.
49 The full text of the petition was published in the Bock, June 6th, 1873,
p. 383,
AN ENCOUNTEE OF LIFE AND DEATH.
51
moted by or used under Episcopal countenance and sanction, are
nevertheless neither expressly nor by necessary implication enjoined
by the Book of Common Prayer" — such as, "The use of solemn and
other processions as well in Cathedral and Parish Churches as else-
where. The formal presentation to Archbishops and Bishops of
Croziers and Pastoral Staves, and the ceremonial use thereof. The
use of Processional Crosses and Banners, Credence Tables, Chalice
Veils, coloured Altar Cloths, and the like." It is indeed noteworthy
that the Society of the Holy Cross should thus frankly admit that
none of these things have the sanction of the Book of Common
Prayer. But, it may well be asked, if not by that authority, by what
other authority are they introduced ?
Of course Convocation declined to grant the impudent request of
the petitioners. It had neither the power nor the will to do anything
of the kind. Whatever official statements on the subject of Con-
fession may have been issued by the Convocations of the Church of
England, from time to time, they have never been favourable to the
claims of the Society of the Holy Cross. The wish expressed for
additions, of a Eomanising character, of services for special occasions,
was really an attempt to alter the Constitution of the Church of
England, and in such a manner that, if granted, every true lover of
the Beformation would have been compelled, by the dictates of his
conscience, to leave at once a Church which sanctioned ceremonies
of such a Popish and superstitious character. Nothing less than
Bevision of the Book of Common Prayer on Bomanizing lines will
ever satisfy the aspirations of the Bitualists. It is sometimes said
that we " shall soon have to fight the battle of the Beformatisn over
again." But those who carefully study what is now going on in the
Church of England do not look forward to the commencement of such
a warfare. They know that the great battle has already commnced.
It is an encounter of life and death. Bishops and Statesmen may
wilfully shut their eyes to the dangers that surround the Eeformed
Church, and cry " Peace, peace, when there is no peace," and vainly
strive to reconcile the opposing sections. But the attempt is in vain.
It is impossible to reconcile Protestantism and Priestcraft, or Sacer-
dotalism ; nor is such a peace on Christian principles desirable. The
end of the struggle must be that either Protestant Churchmen — old-
fashioned High Churchmen were not ashamed to call themselves
Protestants — must retain their position, and recover the lost pro-
perty which honestly belongs to them ; or else the Sacerdotalists will
oust them out of their rights and out of the Church of England, which
will then once more place on itself that fatal chain of Papal bondage
which has been the curse of every country that has submitted to it.
It may now be serviceable to take, as it were, a glimpse into a few
of the Synods and Chapters of the Society of the Holy Cross, with a
view to finding out the kind of business usually transacted at these
secret gatherings. For this purpose we shall consult some of the
official reports privately printed for the use of the brethren only. We
commence with the "Analysis of Proceedings of May Synod, 1874,"
52
SECKET HISTOKY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
which, as the document itself records, "was held in St. Peter's Church,
London Docks." At 10 a.m. on the first day of the Synod, there was
a "Solemn Mass" offered. The special subject for discussion was
" The Sacrament of Penance, its present position, and future prospects
in the Church of England." It was opened by a speech from Brother
the Eev. H. D. Nihill, who "contended that the great need of the
present day was, to set forth the power and dignity of the Sacrament
of Penance itself, as apart from all questions of the benefit of Direc-
tion, or the comfort of consultation with a clergyman."
Brother Canon Carter, of Clewer, maintained that before Penance
can be regarded " as established on its true grounds, two points must
be enforced, neither of which are as yet countenanced by authority —
(1) Its Sacramental character, as really conveying grace : and (2) Its
habitual use, as a means of growth of the spiritual life."
Brother Macfarlane, Vicar of Dorchester, Oxon, spoke of his ex-
perience in an agricultural parish. He found that the poor "when
in earnest gladly receive the means of reconciliation for sins after
Baptism"; but they "do not come habitually to confession, except
in few cases." It is " not so generally welcomed by the tradesmen or
farmers." As to the future prospects of the Confessional, that " seems
to depend upon the degree of toleration which the Catholic Move-
ment obtains at the hands of our rulers in Church and State. If the
Catholicity of the Church of England is preserved, the Sacrament of
Penance must daily gain ground." He recommended the establish-
ment of a " Chair of Moral Theology."
Brother the Rev. Charles Lowder thought they " must be prepared
to show that Confession is neither unmanly nor un-English " — which
was, I should think, a somewhat formidable task to undertake.
Brother the Rev. Rhodes Bristow, now Canon Missioner of the
Diocese of Rochester, and Rector of St. Olave, Southwark, said that
he valued the freedom accorded by the Church of England. We
must, he said, " strive to raise the Sacrament of Penance to its due
position, but we must be careful to do so as English Churchmen."
Brother the Rev. James Dunn, now Vicar of St. John the Baptist,
Bathwick, Bath, " spoke of the difficulty felt by old people in going
to confession to young priests. He suggested that more experienced
priests should visit country parishes from time to time for the pur-
pose of hearing Confessions."
Brother the Rev. H. P. Denison, now Vicar of St. Michael and All
Angels', Notting Hill, " distinguished between voluntary and com-
pulsory Confession. He maintained that the Church of England
puts a man upon his honour to confess his mortal sins before Com-
munion."
Brother the Rev. C. Bodmgton, now Canon of Lichfield, and
Diocesan Missioner, lamented that " Our people do not realize what
the Sacramental system of the Church is. If we get them to under-
stand this, they will quickly see that, without Confession, there is a
link missing."
Brother the Rev. R. C. Kirkpatrick, Vicar of St. Augustine's, Kil-
SPEECHES AT A SECRET SYNOD.
53
burn, "expressed a wish that country brethren would make it known
that they were ready to hear Confessions."
The Synod next proceeded to consider a pamphlet by Brother the
Rev. E. G. Wood, now Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge, on "Juris-
diction in the Confessional," in the course of which he maintained
that every Eector, Vicar, or Perpetual Curate of a parish "can, with-
out license of the Bishop, give to another priest jurisdiction to hear
the Confessions of all who may come to him at the church or other
place, within the parish, appointed for the hearing of Confessions." 60
Brother F. W. Puller, now Head of the "Cowley Fathers," "main-
tained that we should be careful to find out when our Absolutions are
valid " ; but it does not appear that he told his brethren how this
difficult question was to be solved.
A discussion next took place as to the alteration of the fourth of
the Society's Statutes, in which Brother W. M. Bichardson (now
Bishop of Zanzibar) ; Brother T. Outram Marshall (now Organizing
Secretary of the English Church Union) ; Brother Bagshawe ; Brother
F. H. Murray (Rector of Chislehurst) ; and Brother G. A. Jones
(Vicar of St. Mary's, Cardiff), took part. This closed the first day's
proceedings of the Synod, at which one hundred and thirty-six
brethren were present.
On the second day of the Synod, a " Mortuary Mass " was offered
for the dead brethren at 9 a.m. I need not summarize the discussions
on this occasion, further than to state that the subjects considered
included the revision of the Statutes of the Society, the results of the
London Mission, the position of the Ritualistic clergy in view of
ecclesiastical proceedings against them, and the Public Worship
Regulation Bill, then before the country. It is important, however,
to record that Brother N. Dawes (now Bishop of Rockhampton,
Queensland), who had become a Probationer of the Society of the
Holy Cross in 1872, was at this Synod promoted to the ranks of the
Brethren.
The September, 1874, Synod met as usual in St. Peters's, London
Docks. On the first day, after the " Solemn Mass " and the prelimi-
nary business had been transacted, a number of letters from absent
brethren were read. Brother Hutchings (now Archdeacon of Cleve-
land) wrote, " expressing a hope that in Ritual, S. S. C. would move
in the direction of the Roman rather than the Sarum Use." Brother
J. E. Stocks (now Vicar of St. Saviour's, Leicester) also wrote with
reference to a motion by Brother Bodington. After this the Synod
discussed the following subject :— " That the action of the Society in
1868-9, committing itself to the principle of the Roman Ritual, be
reconsidered."
Brother Linklater (now Vicar of Holy Trinity, Stroud Green) urged
that " the Society should leave the brethren free in the matter of
Ritual." He personally preferred the Sarum Use.
°° Jurisdiction in the Confessional, by the Rev. Edmund G. Wood, M.A.,
p. 15. Printed for the Society.
64
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Brother Bristow, Canon Missioner of St. Saviour, Southwark,
" hoped that the Boman Use would still prevail."
Brother C. Parnell (Curate of St. Bartholomew, Brighton) declared
that he " would follow the Kornan Ritual at the services of the Society,
while individual brethren might follow their own bent."
Brother E. M. Chaplin " advocated the use of the Boman Bite, both
for accuracy and uniformity."
Brother J. B. Powell (now Curate of St. Paul's, Knightsbridge,
London) " was strongly in favour of the Sarum Use, but hoped that
liberty would be granted by the Society to use either form."
Brother N. Green-Armytage (now Perpetual Curate of the Chapel-
of-Ease, Boston), Brother Grieve (now dead), and Brother C. E.
Hammond (now Vicar of Menheniot, Cornwall,) would all '; leave
the brethren free."
Eventually it was decided to appoint a special Committee to
consider the question more fully. Brother Bishop Jenner, it should
be added, moved the following amendment which was lost : — " That in
the regulations hitherto laid down, the Society does not intend to bind
the brethren to the adoption of the principle of any particular Bite.1'
The next subject considered by the Synod was "The present Con-
stitution and Reform of Convocation."
Brother Rhodes Bristow "reminded the brethren that Convocation
might step in to-morrow, and take away our locus standi altogether."
Brother Charles Lowder said that " while Convocation needs much
reform, it is the Assembly which, by God's providence, is the repre-
sentative of the Church. We should welcome the co-operation of the
faithful laity, as in Diocesan Conferences, while refusing to give them
equal power to that of the clergy."
Brother Orby Shipley gave as " his opinion that Convocation is not
the sacred Synod of the Church."
Eventually it was decided that " The Master be requested to com-
municate to the President of the English Church Union the opinion
of the Society," which was that the Union should issue special Tracts
on the subject of Convocation.
On the second day of the Synod (September 16th) after the
" Mortuary Mass " had been offered, it was proposed by Brother
Bagshawe (now dead), seconded by Brother Bhodes Bristow, and
carried unanimously : — " That the Boll of the Brethren be referred to
the Master's Council before it is republished." This motion led to a
speech by Brother Bagshawe, which shows in a very marked manner,
how much the Society of the Holy Cross dreads the light of day. He
said that " we should be most careful to preserve the strictly private and
confidential character of the Roll, but in the event of a copy falling into
hostile hands it is most important that all the Brethren, whose names
are therein printed, should be staunch and true to S. S. C." At that
time the names of the members were quite unknown to the public,
and it was not until 1877 that a copy of the Roll fell into the hands of
the Editor of the Rock, who at once published it in his paper. The
publication caused the utmost consternation in the ranks of the
The "koll" of the s. s. c.
55
S. S. C, and, coming as it did immediately after the exposure of its
Confessional book, the Priest in Absolution, in the House of Lords by
the late Lord Eedesdale, it led to the secession of nearly one-half of
its members, who suddenly left the Society in a fright as soon as their
identity was discovered. The Roll of the S. S. C. for 1895-96 has
printed on its outer cover, and a^ain on its title-page, the following
significant directions, which clearly show how anxious the Society still
is that the names of its brethren shall be kept secret : —
" Phivate and Confidential. To be relumed to the Secretary by any
brother leaving the Society ; or by the representatives of a deceased Brother."
The Society of the Holy Cross still continues to exist, and its
energies are as great as ever. But its secrecy is greater than ever.
Amongst its members are the Bishops of Zanzibar and Lebombo, and
many of the most prominent of the Ritualistic clergy. So carefully
are its papers — generally headed with the letters " S. S. C." — kept,
that I have been unable to get any reports of its Synods and Chapters
dated later than 1881, with the important exception of a recent Roll
of Brethren. If any of my readers are in a position to supply me with
any of the more recent papers of the Society I shall be thankful, in
order that I may use them in any later edition of this book which
may be called for. I have, however, some reason for believing that
a few years since a serious schism took place in its ranks, and that
the seceders have formed themselves into another Society, whose
name I have been unable to discover. Nearly all the old members,
whose names appeared in the Roll for 1880, have disappeared in the
more recent Roll which I possess.
CHAPTEE III.
THE SECRECY OF THE RITUALISTIC CONFESSIONAL.
The Confessional always a secret thing — Confessional Scandal at Leeds —
Dr. Pusey on the Seal of the Confessional— Ritualistic Sisters teach
girls how to confess to priests — Secret Confessional books for penitents
— Dr. Pusey revives the Confessional — Four years later writes against
it — He hears Confessions in private houses — His penitent's "burning
sense of shame and deceitfulness " — Bishop Wilberforce's opinion of
Dr. Pusey — A Ritualistic priest's extraordinary letter to a young lady
— How Archdeacon Manning heard confessions on the sly — " A hole
and corner affair."
Auricular Confession is always a secret thing. Both penitent and
Father Confessor are expected to respect the secrecy of the Con-
fessional. Were it a public transaction it would lose its attraction to
a certain class of minds, and the power of the priest would cease to
exist. It gives to the priest a power over the penitent which nothing
can destroy but the grace of God. " I could never bear to meet him
in the street," was the exclamation of a poor woman who had gone
to Confession to her Vicar for more than a dozen years, but who,
when I knew her, had learnt to be content with confessing her sins
to Jesus Christ, and receiving direct from Him His all-sufficient
absolution. She told me that whenever she saw her Father Con-
fessor coming down the street towards her, she always went down a
side street to avoid meeting him. The obligation of silence on the
part of the penitent is thus taught in a widely circulated little book,
edited by the Tract Committee of the secret Society of the Holy
Cross : —
" There is a mutual obligation between the Confessor aud the person
making Confession, to keep secret what is said. He is solemnly bound to
secrecy, and you also are bound to observe a reverent and religious silence
upon what has been said. Be very careful yourself on this point. If you
talk about what has passed in Confession, the priest may get the blame
of its being known." 1
The Confessional frequently interferes with the confidence which
should exist between husband and wife. The wife will tell her Father
1 Pardon Through the Precious Blood, edited by a Committee of Clergv,
p. 31. Fifty-fourth thousand, 1883.
(56)
CONFESSIONAL SCANDAL AT LEEDS.
67
Confessor things which she would not dare to mention to her hus-
band ; nor would she be expected ever to repeat to him the secret
conversations between herself and her Confessor. An illustration of
this took place in a Puseyite Church at Leeds, as far back as 1850.
The Bishop of Eipon (Dr. Charles T. Longley, afterwards Archbishop
of Canterbury) held an official and public inquiry as to a Confessional
scandal connected with the Church of St. Saviour's, Leeds. After
the inquiry he wrote, and published, a letter to the Vicar, the Rev.
H. F. Beckett, from which I take the following extract : —
" It appeared in evidence," wrote the Bishop, " which you did not contra-
dict, and could not shake by any cross-examination, that Mr. Rooke, who was
then a Deacon, having required a married woman who was a candidate for
Confirmation to go for Confession to you as a priest, you received that female
to Confession under these circumstances, and that you put to her questions
■which she says made her feel very much ashamed, and greatly distressed her,
and which were of such an indelicate nature that she would never tell her
husband of them."2
Instead of trying to place the matter before Dr. Longley in a more
favourable light, Mr. Beckett's reply to the Bishop seemed to make
the case even darker against himself, for he declared : —
" Your lordship cannot but see that Mrs. 's not mentioning what had
passed between her and myself to her husband is nothing at all to the pur-
pose, since no woman would, I suppose, ever tell her husband what
PASSED IN HER CONFESSION." 3
On the part of the Ritualistic Father Confessor, secrecy must be
observed, no matter what the consequences may be. Rather than
divulge the secrets entrusted to him the Confessor is recommended by
the Rev. Dr. Pusey to resort to that which common-sense people
would call lying and perjury.
"No Confessor," writes Dr. Pusey, "should ever give the slightest
suspicion that he is alluding to what he has heard in the tribunal ; but he
should remember the canonical warning : ' What I know through Con-
fession, I know less than what I do not know.' Pope Eugenius says that
what a Confessor knows in this way, he knows it ' ut Deus' ; while out of
Confession he is only speaking ' ut homo': so that, 'as man,' he can say
that he does not know that which he has learned as God's representative.
I go further still : ' As man he may swear with a clear conscience that he
knows not, what he knows only as God.' " *
This is fearful teaching. Imagine the Confessor in an English Court
of Justice. He is sworn to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and
2 A Letter to the Parishioners of St. Saviour's, Leeds, by the Bishop of
Ripon, p. 37. London, 1851.
3 Ibid., p. 38. London, 1851.
4 Pusey's Manual for Confessors. " Adapted to the Use of the English
Church," p. 402.
58
SECRET HISTORY OK THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
nothing but the truth " concerning the charge against the prisoner at
the bar. He is asked, " Did the prisoner ever tell you that he stole
those boots ? " The Confessor has heard from the prisoner, in the
Confessional, a full acknowledgment of his guilt, yet when asked this
question he may, according to Dr. Pusey, " swear with a clear con-
science that he knows not, what he knows only as God." There is
another alternative, which Dr. Pusey does not advise the Confessor to
adopt. He might respectfully but firmly decline to answer con-
cerning what he had heard in the Confessional, and then take the
consequence like a courageous and honest man. But, instead of
this, he is recommended to " swear," calling God's holy name to
witness to the truth of a statement which he knows is a lie, and an
abominable perjury ! Is this the kind of teaching which ought to be
given to the clergy of the Reformed Church of England ? The book
which contains it is a standard authority with Ritualistic Father
Confessors.
Every effort is made by Ritualistic Confessors to bring young
children, as well as adults, to the Confessional, even at a very tender
age. Dr. Pusey teaches that it is " the ordinary and right custom
among the faithful to bring young children to Confession from the
time they are- seven years old ; and it is a great negligence of parents
to omit domg so."5 Sisters of Mercy sometimes help to bring the
children to Confession. The " Sisters of the Church," otherwise
known as the " Kilburn Sisterhood," and sometimes as the "Church
Extension Association," have published several little books to teach
little ones how to Confess to Priests."6 The Sisters of St. Margaret's,
East Grinstead, are expected to urge the girls under their care to
make a full and complete Confession of their sins. Here are their
instructions on this point, being the advice to them of their Founder
and Father Confessor, the late Rev. Dr. Neale, as contained in their
privately printed book, entitled, the Spirit of the Founder. Dicit
Fundator.
" And this I say not so much about you, as about the confirmed girls.
Whoever of you prepare these for their Communions, this above all things
teach them, the great danger of a sacrilegious Confession : the utter useless-
ness as well as wickedness of each succeeding one, while that first sin remains
unwiped out. And this more especially, that if any one of them leaves us in
that state, in all human probability she will never come out of it. Because,
even granted that she is pressed about Confession, after she has gone out into
the world, the sin will grow more and more terrible to look at ; and if she
kept it back from her tirst priest, small chance is there that she will have
coinage to make it known to a second." 7
6Pusey's Manual for Confessors. "Adapted to the Use of the English
Church," p. 159.
0 Such as their Manual for the Children of the Church, which has passed
through several editions, but was suppressed when publicly exposed. It is
7 The Spirit of the Founder, p. 24. Privately printed for the use of the
Sifters of St. Margaret's, East Grinstead.
DR. PUSKY REVIVES THE CONFESSIONAL.
59
It is not uncommon for Ritualistic Father Confessors to circulate
privately printed Manuals of Confession, for the use of children as
well as adults. I have come across several of these. One is entitled
A Manual of Confession for Children. " Translated and Adapted from
the French. By a priest of the English Church. Privately printed."
Even the printer's name is not given. As a specimen of the awful
teaching thus imparted to our little ones, I quote the following from
this Manual : —
"A good Confession ought not only to be humble and sincere, but also
full. You must tell your Confessor all the sins you can remember. For if
you hide one sin on purpose, you lie to God ; you would be guilty of a great
crime ; and you would not even receive the pardon of those sins which you
have confessed."8
When the practice of Auricular Confession was revived, about five
years after the birth of the Tractarian Movement, great care was
taken in keeping secret the numerous little books of devotion and
manuals for Confession circulated amongst the Tractarians. The
author of Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood, and Ten Years in a
Catholic Convent, published in 1869, relates her own experience in this
matter, some fifteen years after Auricular Confession had been re-
introduced. After mentioning some particulars concerning one of her
lady friends, she proceeds : —
"We drove out together frequently, and from her I learned much of the
habits and customs of the High Church party. She had all the little books
of doctrine, which at that time had been ' adapted ' from ' foreign sources ; '
all the little wonderful compilations about ' How to Prepare for a First
Confession,' ' Prayers for the Penitential Seasons,' ' Devotions for the Holy
Eucharist,' ' Hours for the Use of Members of the English Church,' which
were 'privately printed,' and handed about with a thousand injunctions to
secrecy, from one to another of the initiated." 9
To the late Dr. Pusey is due the blame of reviving Auricular Con-
fession in the Church of England. He commenced hearing Confes-
sions in 1838. In 1850, Dr. Pusey wrote : — " It is now some twelve
years, I suppose, since I was first called upon to exercise this office "
— of Father Confessor,10 that is, in 1838. Again in 1851, he wrote to
the Bishop of Oxford:—" What I say of Confession, I say upon the
experience of thirteen years." 11 In a letter which he wrote to the
Times, November 29th, 1866, Pusey remarked: — "During the twenty-
eight years in which I have received Confessions, I never had once to
refuse Absolution." Twenty-eight years from 1866 brings us back
again to 1838. It seems almost incredible that four years after that
date Dr. Pusey wrote a learned and thoroughly Protestant treatise to
8 A Manual of Confession for Children, p. 12. Privately printed.
9 Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood, and Ten Years in a Catholic
Convent, p. 15. London: Longmans, 1869.
wjtife of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 269. 11 Ibid., p. 335.
CO
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
prove that in the early Church not a single trace can be found of
private Confession to priests, with a view to thus obtaining God's
pardon for sins ! This appeared in 1842, in the form of lengthy
" Notes " to the works of Tertullian, in the Library of the Fathers, ex-
tending from page 376 to page 408. In these notes, Dr. Pusey quotes
with decided approval the opinions of St. Chrysostom on the subject
of Confession : —
" There could," wrote Dr. Pusey, " if Romanists would fairly consider
this, be no way in which Confession to God alone, exclusive of man, could be
expressed, if not here. S. Chrysostom says, 'to God alone,' 'apart in
private,' ' to Him Who knoweth beforehand,' ' no one knowing,' ' no one
present save Him Who knoweth,' 'God alone seeing,' 'unwitnessed,' ' not to
man,' 'not to a fellow-servant,' 'within,' 'in the conscience,' 'in the
memory,' 'Judging thyseff ' (in lieu of the Priest being the Judge), 'proving
ourselves, each himself, not the one to the other,' ' in Church, to God ' (i.e.,
in the Gfnerid Confession). Accordingly, one Romanist writer boldly pro-
nounces all these passages spurious ; and (since they are unquestionable)
anoth r of fiie.it name, Petavius, condemns them as ' being uttered in a
declamatory way to the ignorant multitude for the sake of impressiveness.'
Hut certainly, poor as such an excuse would be for what, according to
Romanists, >s talse teaching, the passages are too numerous and too uniform
to admit ol it; ' they manifestly contain S. Chrysostom's settled teaching,'
and Petavius rondemns them as ' devoid of sound meaning, if fitted to the
rule of the exact truth.' " 12
Dr. Pusey thus summarized the whole question from an historical
point of view : —
" The instances, then, being in each case very numerous, the absence of
any mention of Confession in the early Church under the following circum-
stances, does, when contrasted with the uniform mention of it in the later,
put beyond question that at the earlier period it was not the received
practice." 13
Who would have thought that the man who thus held up to the
admiration of English Churchmen the teaching of St. Chrysostom,
of "Confession to God alone, exclusive of man," was at the very
moment hearing Confessions himself, and had been hearing them for
four years previously ! The utmost caution was exercised by Dr.
Pusey in his Confessional work, and his very great dread of publicity
led to practices which were anything but straightforward. His under-
hand proceedings disgusted some of even his warmest friends. As
early as 1850, the Rev. W. Maskell, one of his disciples who subse-
quently seceded to Rome, published a Letter to Dr. Pusey, in which he
exposed his secret Confessional tactics : —
"What, then," wrote Mr. Maskell, " let me ask, do you conceive that the
Bishop of Exeter would say, of persons secrHly received [to Auricular Con-
1S" Library of the Fathers." Tertullian, p. 401. Oxford: J. H. Parker,
1842.
13 Ibid., p. 405.
penitents' burning sense of deceitfolness. 61
fession] against the known wish of their parents, of Confessions heard in the
houses of common friends, or of clandestine correspondence to arrange meet-
ings, under initials, or in envelopes addressed to other persons ? — and more
than this, when such Confessions are recommended and urged as a part of
the spiritual life, and among religious duties ; not in order to quiet the
conscience before receiving the Communion. Think not that I write all this
to give you unnecessary pain ; think not that I write it without a feeling of
deep pain and sorrow in my own heart. But there is something which tells
me, that, on behalf of thousands, this matter should now be brought before
the world plainly, honestly, and fully. I know how heavily the enforced
mystery and secret correspondence regarding Confessions, in your Communion,
has weighed down the minds of many to whom you and others have
' Ministered.' I know how bitterly it has eaten, even as a canker, into their
very souls : I know how utterly the specious arguments, which you have
urged, have failed to remove their burning sense of shame and deceitful-
NESS"(p. 21).
We get a further peep into Dr. Pusey's cautious mode of hearing
Confessions, in Miss Cusack's ("the Nun of Kenmare ") Story of My
Life. This lady, in her early life, before her secession to Rome, was
an inmate for some years of one of Dr. Pusey's sisterhoods.
" It was," writes Miss Cusack, " notable that no matter what the Doctor
[Pusey] thought or said about the necessity of availing oneself of the ' Sacra-
ment ', he was very careful to whom he administered it. Further, it was well
known that he administered the Sacrament of Confession, for the most part,
in open defiance of the Bishop of the Diocese, where he met his penitents,
literally, ' on the sly.' I believe that the secrecy, and concealment, aud devices
which had to be used to get an audience with the Doctor, for the purpose of
Confession, had a little, if it had not a good deal, to do with his success. The
lady (tew men went to Confession) who availed herself of the privilege, or who
could obtain it, was looked upon with more or less holy envy, and felt cor-
respondingly elated." 14
It was at about this time that Dr. Pusey compiled, and secretly
circulated, his Hints for a First Confession. Since his death they have
been given to the world in the ordinary way, but for a period of
upwards of thirty years after these Hints were first printed, I cannot
find the slightest reference to them in any newspaper, biography, or
any published book whatever. The world for that long period knew
absolutely nothing about this little book, which all the while was
working untold spiritual mischief in the Church of England. The
teaching contained in these Hints was of a thoroughly Romanizing
character. Here is an extract from the book, in proof of what I have
said : —
" A Confession [i.e., to a priest] avails which contains all you can recall.
If other sins come back to your mind afterwards, which you would have
confessed had you remembered them, they should be confessed afterwards,
because the forgiveness is conditional upon the completeness of the Confession.
14 The Story of My Life, by M. F. Cusack, "The Nun of Kenmare," p. 63.
London, 1891.
62
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Completeness implies that there should be care and faithfulness in discovering
sins, and that nothing so discovered should be kept back." 15
The High Church Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Samuel Wilberforce) was
justly indignant with Dr. Pusey, when he fully realized the thoroughly
Romanizing character of his Confessional work. For this, and for
issuing " adapted " editions of Roman Catholic books, Bishop "Wilber-
force inhibited him, in November, 1850, from officiating in the diocese
of Oxford, and did not remove the inhibition until nearly two years
had passed by. On November 30th, 1850, the Bishop wrote to Dr.
Pusey : —
"You seem to me to be habitually assuming the place and doing the
work of a Roman Confessor, and not that of an English clergyman. Now, I
so firmly believe that of all the curses of Popery this is the crowning curse,
that I cannot allow voluntarily within my charge the continuance of any
ministry which is infected by it." 18
If the Bishops of the present day would only act as Bishop Wilber-
force did, they would, unfortunately, find their hands full of this kind
of work. The Confessional is now taught (in quite as Romish a form
as that which was condemned by him) by thousands of nominally
Church of England clergymen, who glory in what Dr. S. Wilberforce
so truly termed " the crowning curse " of Popery. Had the Bishops
done their duty this "curse " would have been stamped out long ago.
A few other typical illustrations of the secrecy of the Confessional
may here be added, out of many more which could easily be brought
forward ; the first from the year 1847 ; the second from the year
1853 ; and the third from 1 872. The author of that well-known book,
From Oxford to Rome, published in 1847, and written by one who was
in full sympathy with the Tractarian Movement, informs us : —
" Confession the young Anglican has been accustomed to regard as one
of his secret privileges. Scarcely ever spoken of, even in the most confidential
intercourse, it is yet practised very extensively, and, as we believe, most
beneficially, in the English Church."17
This is an important testimony, as coming from one who believed
in the Confessional, and was not ashamed to acknowledge the mystery
which surrounded its practice in his time.
The second instance is connected with the experience of the Rev.
Lord Charles Thynne, who was for several years a clergyman in
the Church of England, but seceded to Rome in 1853. After taking
this decisive step his lordship addressed a lengthy letter to his late
parishioners, giving his reasons for leaving the Church of England.
The secrecy practised by the Tractarians with regard to Auricular
Confession was one of those reasons.
15 Hints for a First Confession, by Dr. Pusey, p. 14. Edition, 1884.
wLife of Bishop S. Wilberforce, Vol. II., p. 90.
17 From Oxford to Rome : and how it fared with some who lately took the
Journey, p. 205. London: Longmans, 1847.
THE VERY SECRET STEALTHY WAY.'
63
"I believe," wrote Lord Charles Thynne, "that in order to obtain the
remission of our sins by Absolution, it was necessary to confess thorn to some
one posse,sed of authority to receive Confessions, and to give Absolution. I
believe this to bo necessary for all who have fallen into sin after Baptism.
But when I had recourse to the only means within my reach, when I was a
member of the Church of England, I was pained by the very secret stealthy
•way in which alone my necessities could be met, showing that so far as the
Church of England was concerned there was something unreal and un-
authorised in the act."18
The next illustration contains the unwilling testimony of a Ritual -
istic Father Confessor himself. At a meeting for the election of
Proctors to Convocation, held at Durham, February 19th, 1874, the
late Eev. G. T. Fox, a clergyman of high personal character, read to
the audience a letter written by the Rev. Charles Jupp, a Ritualistic
Father Confessor, to a young lady, making an appointment with her
to receive her confession. The following was the letter read : —
" Houqhton-le-Spring, May 26th, 1872.
" My Dear Miss , — As usual, important letters are always delayed,
and I fear my reply to yours of last week's date will not reach London till alter
you have left. I will, therefore, only say that I was very glad indeed to
hear from you, and particularly on the subject you mentioned. I shall be
quite ready and williug (in virtue of my office) to see you as you desire. Mrs.
has left, and we have the house to ourselves. Parishioners are so con-
stantly coming on business of one kind or another, that your visits would
not be noticed. Please do not hint anything to Mrs. Jupp, as I think all
parochial affairs, of whatever kind, ought to be known to the priest only, and
his lips sealed to every enquirer. We should be so glad to see you back after
your long absence.
" In great haste,
" Yours faithfully iu Christ,
" Charles Jupp." la
The late Cardinal Manning, in his Anglican days, while Archdeacon
of Chichester, heard Confessions in the same stealthy manner. Mr.
Purcell, his Roman Catholic biographer, relates that : —
" In his Diary, 1844-47, and in his letters to Laprimaudaye and Robert
Wilberforce, Manning constantly makes use of the somewhat mysterious
terms— Under the Seal, and In Sacro. To the initiated amongst High Church
Anglie.ms these symbolic terms signified the Sacrament of Penance or Con-
fession, and the Eueharistic Sacrifice; outside the Anglican community com-
monly called the Mass. These holy and wholesome Catholic doctrines
Manning, as an Anglican, held and taught, if not in public, in private. In
his sermons and Charges he practised oLKavofua ; or spoke under reserve, or in
mere outline, of Confession and the Eueharistic Sacrifice. But in his private
exhortations he inculcated these Catholic doctrines in all their fulness. The
Archdeacon of Chichester practised what he preached. He offered up, as I
18 Browne's Annals of the Traclarian Movement, p. 296. Third Edition.
19 Church Association Monthly ZnUlligencer, March, J874, p. 98.
64
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
have shown, the Eucharistie Sacrifice for the quick and the dead. He re-
ceived penitents in Confession; and exercising the power of the Keys, he
loosed them from their sins ; pronouncing in due form, whilst making over
them the sign of the Cross, the words of Absolution.
" Protestant prejudice, popular ignorance, and the hostility of the authori-
ties of their own Church, compelled the unhappy High Church Anglicans to
cast a veil of mystery or secrecy ova- the practice of Confession. Instead of
being an ordinary or commonplace act of duty practised coram ccclcsia, Con-
fession among the Anglicans was, if I may so speak, a hole-and-corner affair,
spoken of with baled breath, and carried on under lock and key." 20
There were other difficulties which Father Confessors had to con-
tend with. The Rev. William J. Butler, Vicar of Wantage, and sub-
sequently Dean of Lincoln, writing to Archdeacon Manning, August
29th, 1840, remarked: "The difficulty with which, as Vicar of
Wantage, I am confronted in the practice of hearing Confessions is
the opposition to be feared on the part of the husband to the wife's ' open-
ing her grief ' to another man." 21 It is hardly to be wondered at that
husbands should object to their wives going to Confession, more
especially to bachelor priests, since, according to the opinion of one of
those Father Confessors quoted above (p. 57), " no woman would, I
suppose, ever tell her husband what passed in her Confession ". A
married woman will tell her Father Confessor things which she
would never dare to talk about to her own husband. Mr. Purcell
throws some light on the secret way in which Archdeacon Manning
heard the Confessions of his penitents : —
" It was a common practice for Manning, even in the days when in his
Charges or sermons he was denouncing ' Romanism ' and the Popes, to hear
Confessions at Lavington and Oxford, as well as at Wantage and elsewhere
It must be admitted that ' the halo of romance ' thrown round the practice of
Confession— of which the Vicar of Wantage so feelingly complained, was in
no small measure due to the mystery or secrecy attached to the performance
practice to walk from the Rectory to the Church at a time when no service
was going on, and no congregation present ; in a few minutes, by appoint
ment, his penitent would follow. On one occasion when a near relative of
the Archdeacon's was staying with her family at the Rectory, the children
playing of an afternoon in the grounds, were surprised to see ' Uncle Henry
walking towards the Church. No bell had rung for service ; the church was
closed. Presently their mother passed along the gravel walk in the same
direction. In their eager curiosity to discover the meaning of this novel
proceeding, the children scampered across the lawn to the church dcor, when
their wondering eyes discovered ' Uncle Henry ' seated on a big arm-cha"
with his back to the altar, and their mother kneeling on the altar step."22
The facts I have already mentioned tend to show that our Ritual
istic Confessors resemble the Roman Catholic Confessors, as described
by one of themselves : —
At Lavington, for instance, it was his
20 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 489. 21 Ibid., p. 490.
22 Ibid., pp. 492, 493.
THE CONFESSOK AS A FOX.
C5
" The most responsible office of the priest of God," writes Father Augustine
AVirth, O.S.B., "is the hearing of confessions ... in the pulpit he can
touch certain sins only with kid gloves, in the Confessional he probes the
sores to the very bottom. In the pulpit he must be a lion, in the Confessional
a Fox." 23
■"The Confessional, adapted by the Rev. Augustus Wirth, O.S.B., p. v.
Fourth edition. Published at Elizabeth, New Jersey, 18S2.
CHAPTER IV.
THE SECRET HISTORY OP " THE PRIEST IN ABSOLUTION."
Part I. of the Priest in Absolution, — Praised by the Ritualistic Press — Part
II. secretly circulated amongst " Catholic " priests only — Lord Redes-
dale's exposure of the book in the House of Lords — Archbishop Tait
says it is "a disgrace to the community" — Secret letter from the
Master of the Society of the Holy Cross — Statement of the S. S. C. —
Special secret Chapter oi the Society to consider the Priest in Absolu-
tion— -Pull report of its proceedings, with speeches of the Brethren —
Refuses to condemn the book — Discussion in Canterbury Convocation
— Severe Episcopal Censures— Immoral Ritualistic Confessors ruin
women ; Testimony of Archdeacon Allen — Dr. Pusey's acknowledg-
ments of the dangers of the Confessional ; " It is the road by which a
number of Christians go down to Hell " — Another secret meeting of
the Society of the Holy Cross— Reports of the speeches and resolu-
tions— Some Bishops secretly fiiendly to the Society — Canon Knox-
Little's connection with the Society of the Holy Cross — Strange and
Jesuitical Proceedings at the Society's Synod.
For many years the Ritualistic Father Confessors possessed no book
of their own to guide them in their work, and were therefore entirely
dependent upon Roman Catholic books written in Latin, or French,
and as many of these Confessors were by no means Latin scholars,
and numbers of them knew nothing of French, it was at length found
necessary to make an effort towards supplying this long- felt want.
The work was undertaken be the Rev. J. C. Chambers, a well-known
clergyman, who, in 1863, was Master of the secret Society of the
Holy Cross. Instead; however, of writing an independent treatise on
the Confessional, he contented himself with translating and adapting
a Roman Catholic work, written by the Abbe Gaurne, which he issued
under the now well-known title of the Priest in Absolution. It was
divided into two parts. Part I. was published in 1866, and sold to
the public ; and a second edition was issued in 1869, but this was
soon after withdrawn from public sale. When the first edition
appeared it received a warm welcome from the Ritualistic Press.
The Union Review declared that it was "a golden treatise," "full of
wisdom, sound teaching, and very valuable suggestions with regard to
the Sacrament of Penance." But the reviewer evidently perceived a
danger which was not realised by Mr. Chambers, for he wisely added
that, " It would have been far better to have issued the book in
(66)
THE BOOK I'OH CONFESSOKS ONLY.
Latin."1 No doubt it would have been "far better" for the Ritual-
istic Father Confessors had this warning been issued in time. It was
clearly not wise to reveal to the English public in all its hideous
deformity the moral filth of the Confessional. Had it been printed in
Latin very few would have discovered its indecent character. The
Church Review affirmed that the book could " bo spoken of with the
highest praise. It is a book which demands prayerful study, and our
clerical readers will find it the greatest boon ".2
The publication of the first half of the Priest in Absolution did not
create any public excitement. Its unhappy birth appears to have
been unnoticed by Protestant Churchmen. The second part was
issued in 1872. It is dedicated " To the Masters, Vicars, and Brethren,
of the Society of the Holy Cross/' and the dedication states that it
was begun at their request." A note to the " Advertisement to the
Reader " states that : —
" To prevent scandal arising from the curious or prurient misuse of a book
which treats of spiritual diseases, it has been thought best that the sale
should be confined to the clergy who desire to have at hand a sort of vade-
mecum for easy reference in the discharge of their duties as Confessors."
In this way the laity of the Church of England were kept in the
dark as to what was going on. But not only was every effort made to
keep the book out of their hands ; but even ordinary Church of England
clergymen were not allowed to purchase it, unless they were Father
Confessors, or could give a reference to some well-known Bitualistic
priest. One Church of England clergyman ventured to send Mr.
Chambers himself stamps for a copy, and was not a little surprised
on receiving the following reply : —
"18 Soho Squake.
"Dear Sik, — The book is only delivered to such priests of the English
Church as are in the habit of hearing Confessions, or are known to me per-
sonally, or through friends. As your name is entirely unknown to me, I
must require a reference to some well-known High Church priest, or I must
return the stamps.
"J. C. Chambers."3
When Mr. Chambers died there was a great danger lest the unsold
copies of the Pried in Absolution — which was his private property — ■
should be sold to some second-hand or other bookseller, and thus
one of the great secrets of the Society of the Holy Cross
should become widely known to the Protestants of England.
There was no time to be lost. At the Monthly Chapter of the
Society, held June 9th, 1874, a letter was read from the
Rev. Joseph James Elkington, then Curate of St. Mary's, Soho,
1 Union Review, Volume for 1867, p. 215.
■ Church Revicu; March 23rd, 1867, p. 278.
3 The Rock, June 6th, 1373, p. 391.
68
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
asking the Society to buy the copyright from the executors of Mr.
Chambers. After some discussion, it was moved by the Treasurer,
the Rev. John Andrews Eoote, seconded by the Rev. E. M. Chaplain,
and carried unanimously : — " That the copyright of the Priest in Absolu-
tion having been ottered to the Society, the brethren be requested to
subscribe towards the purchase, such subscriptions to be returned out
of the proceeds of sale." * In the official report of the Chapter at
which this resolution was passed, a special notice was issued, stating
that " the probable value of the copyright, together with the copies of
the book on hand, is £100," and asking the brethren to lend £5 each
towards the cost, the book when paid for to " remain the property of
S. S. C." The subject was mentioned again at the next Monthly
Chapter, but, as only one £5 had been promised, nothing definite was
done, though a letter was read from Mr. Elkington, asking for a
higher price. Matters, however, made rapid progress during the
next month, for, at the August Chapter, the Master of the Society of
the Holy Cross announced to the brethren that the " Copyright was
now the property of the Society ; the difficulties relating to the pur-
chase having been satisfactorily settled." 5 However that may have
been, on the following month the money had not all been paid, for the
Treasurer of the Society had to issue, in that month, a special circular,
announcing that £-25 was still due to the executors of Mr. Chambers.
From the "Balance Sheet" of the Society, presented to its Septem-
ber Synod, 1374, it appears that the copyright and stock of the
Priest in Absolution had been bought for £75, or £25 less than was
first asked for it. By a resolution passed at the May, 1875, Synod of
the Society, it was decided that the money " lent by brethren for the
purchase of the Priest in Absolution, be repaid out of the balance in
hand of the general fund of the Society."6 Part I. of the Priest in
Absolution was sold to the public for 2s. Gil. ; Part II. was sold to the
brethren at 5s. 4cZ., post free. How many copies were sold before the
Society acquired the copyright I have no means of ascertaining ; but
after that date there must have been a considerable sale, to judge by
the balance sheets of the Society of the Holy Cross. That for May,
1875, reported the sale of copies to the value of £20 7s. 6d. ; for May,
1876, £38 17s. 4tf. ; September, 1870, £4 lis. id. ; and in September,
1877, £9 16s. Ud.— making a total of £73 13s. Id.
On June 14th, 1877, the late Lord Redesdale exposed the Priest in
Absolution in the House of Lords. His lordship was not a fanatic,
nor could any one fairly describe him as an Evangelical Churchman.
On the contrary he was, says Dr. Davidson, the present Bishop of
Winchester, " a sober and trusted High Churchman of the earlier
sort." 7 Lord Redesdale quoted from the book itself, which he held hi
4 S. S. C. June Chapter, 1S74, p. 2.
5 S. S. 0. August Chapter, 1874, p. 1.
8 S. S. C. Analysis of Proceedings of May Synod, 1875, p. 6.
7 Life uf Archbishop Tait, Vol. II., p. 171. First edition.
LORD KEDESDALE'S EXPOSURE.
69
his hand. After this exposure it was commonly reported by the
Ritualists that his lordship's copy had been stolen for his vise from
the library of a Ritualistic priest. No one, however, ventured to name
the clergyman who had lost his copy, and as a matter of fact there
was not a word of truth in the rumour. The copy was obtained in a
perfectly honourable and straightforward manner by the late Mr.
Robert Fleming. This false rumour was repeated again at Brighton,
during the summer of 1890, by the Rev. C. Hardy Little, Vicar of St.
Martin's, Brighton ; but at a great public meeting held in the Dome.
Brighton, on June 20th of that year, Mr. Fleming himself appeared
on the platform, and told to the vast audience, which included a con-
siderable number of Ritualists, the true story of how he came into
possession of the Priest in Absolution, and his version of the case has
never since been challenged by the Ritualists. Mr. Fleming, who
held the original copy of the book in his hand, from which Lord Redes-
dale had quoted in the House of Lords, said that a gentleman occupy-
ing a prominent position in the Church of England had given it to
him, at his request, for some little service which he had been enabled
to render to him. As he presented him with the book that gentleman
said smilingly to him, " you won't make a bad use of it '? " To which
he rephed, "All right." The statement that the book was stolen, he
emphatically declared, was an absolute falsehood.8
Lord Tiedesdale in the course of his speech in the House of Lords,
quoted largely from the Priest in Absolution, to prove that it was a
grossly indecent and abominable book. Some of the portions read
were so vile that, as the Right Rev. Biographer of Archbishop Tait
informs us, " many of the quotations were necessarily withheld from
publication either in the newspapers or in Hansard." 9 Lord Redcsdale
concluded his speech by saying : —
" I must say, my Lords, that I think it high time the laity should
move ill this matter. Hitherto it lias been treated too ranch as one exclu-
sively for tiie clergy. In calling your lordships attention to the subject, I am
actuated simply by a sense of duty, for I fuel that the the time has arrived
w hen there should he a decided condemnation of such practices." 10
The Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Tait) addressed the House after
Lord Redesdale sat down. He said : —
" The fact that such a hook should ho printed and circulated is to my mind
a matter of very great concern. The Noble Earl spared us from many details ;
but at the same time he read quite enough to show that no modest person
could read the book icilhout regret, and that it is a disgrace TO the com-
munity that such a book should be circulated under the authority of clergy-
men of the Established Church. ... I cannot imagine that any right-
minded man could wish to have such questions [as those suggested in the
Priest in Absolution] addressed to any member of his family ; and it' he had
any reason to suppose that any member of his family had been exposed
s English Churchman, June 26th, 1390, p. 415.
» Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. II., p. 172. ln Ibid., p. 172.
70
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
to such an examination, I am sure it would be the duty of any father of a
family to remonstrate with the clergyman who had put the nuestions, and
warn him never to approach his house again."11
As a result of this exposure great excitement was created in the minds
of all loyal Churchmen, who were righteously indignant at learning
the filthy character of the Ritualistic Confessional, as revealed in the
Priest in Absolution. That indignation was greatly ntrengthened when,
a few weeks later, the late Rev. A. H. Mackonochie, of St. Alban's,
Holborn (who was for many years Master of the Society of the Holy
Cross) published a correspondence which he had with another clergy-
man, in which he declared concerning the Priest in Absolution, that
" Its principles are those which govern, I believe, all Confessors
among ourselves." 12 The daily papers of the United Kingdom,
almost without exception, gave expression to the feelings of the
country, in leading articles condemning the Society of the Holy Cross,
and its Confessional book, in the severest terms. About two months
after the exposure Lord Abergavenny forwarded to the Archbishop of
Canterbury an address on the subject signed by peers and noblemen
of England, Ireland, and Scotland, in which they expressed their
" sorrow and deep indignation at the extreme indelicacy and impro-
priety of the questions therein [in the Priest in Absolution] put to
married and unmarried women and children." This address was
signed by the Duke of Westminster, the Duke of Wellington, the
Duke of St. Albans, the Duke of Manchester, the Duke of Grafton,
the Duke of Leinsfcer ; the Marquises of Abergavenny, Bristol, Ailes-
bury, Conyngham, and Hertford ; the Earls of Redesdale, Jersey,
Harrow'oy, Fortescue, Cork, Morley, Fitzwilliam, Clancarty, Sydney,
Bessborough, Seafield, Cadogan, Ilchester, Mansfield, Normanton,
Harewood, Spencer, Bantry, Desart, Camperdown, Man vers, Lucan,
Arran, Bradford, Shaftesbury, Eoden, Haddington, Cowper, Darnley,
Donoughmore, Chichester, Dunmore, Elphinstone, and Longford : by
Viscounts Hardinge, Midleton, Hawarden, Lifford, Strathallen,
Powerscourt, Sidmouth, and Torrington ; and also by Lords Sondes,
Henniker, Leconsfield, Wynford, Hampton, Ebury, Bivers, Sandys,
Churchill, Bolton, Cottesloe, Oranmore, Talbot de Malahide, Clon-
brock, Dynevor, Forester, Walsingham, Digby. Dorchester, Foley,
Denmau, Abinger. Croftan, Zouche, Ruthven, Penrhyn, Chelmsford,
Huntingfield, Inchiquin, Colchester, Enfield, Eversley, Wavency,
Airey, Ellenborough, Delamere. Ventry, Bateman. and Dudley.
I now proceed to relate the attitude adopted by the Society of the
Holy Cross towards the exposure of the Priest in Absolution. My
authorities for what I shall record are mainly the secret documents
of the Society in my possession. Two days before Lord Bedesdale's
exposure, viz., on June 12th, at the Monthly Chapter of the Society,
the Rev. Robert James Wilson, who subsequently became Warden of
II Church Association Monthly Intelligencer, August, 1S77, pp. 314-316.
12 The Priest in Absolution and the Society of the Holy Cross : a Corre-
spondence between a London Priest and A. H. Mackonochie, p. 17-
LETTER FKO.M THE MASTER OK S. S. C. "!i
Keble College, Oxford, called the attention of the brethen to the
notice which Lord Redesdale had given of his intention to bring the
Priest in Absolution to the attention of the House of Lords. " After
some conversation," says the official report of the proceedings, "it
was decided that the Master should be left to use his own discretion
in dealing with the matter." 13 The "Master" at that time was the
Rev. F. LL Bagshawe, Vicar of St. Barnabas', Pimlico. On June
25th this gentleman sent out to the brethren the following printed
letter :—
"St. Barnabas, Pimlioo,
"June 25th, 1877.
" P. * T.
" Dear Brother, — I think it will be satisfactory to you to know
that I have not remained inactive during the present attack upon our Societj'
in connection with the Priest in Absolution. The Bishops have referred the
book to a Committee, consisting of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the
Bishops of London, Winchester, Gloucester and Bristol, and Ely. This
Committee has asked us to meet them on Thursday, the 28th. I have reason
to think that the Bishops are disposer' to be friendly. The whole question
was discussed at a Meeting of the Council, including the Assessors, on Satur-
day. You shall have immediate information when anything further is done.
I have decided also not to accept the resignation oi any brethren for the
present, not to print the Roll of members, nor to permit the distribution of
the Priest in Absolution until after the September Synod.
" You would perhaps like to know the true relation of S. S. C. to the
Priest in Absolution. Some years ago, the Society requested Br. Chambers
to prepare a hook on the subject ; when he had done so, he published the
first part of the Priest in Absolution, but retained the second part for private
circulation. It was entirely his own work, and executed on his own responsi-
bility : its sheets were never submitted to the Society. When he died, the
whole remaining stock would have been sold by his executors, and have been
exposed for public sale.
"In order to prevent an action so contrary to the compiler's wish, and
hurtful to the Society, to whom it was dedicated, we bought the book, and
have lieen responsible for a limited and cautious supply to priests of known
character.
" Believe me,
" Yours Faithfully.
" In D. N. J. C,
"Francis Ll. Bagshawe."
There was need for Mr. Bagshawe's action in refusing to accept the
resignations of the brethren for the time being. The more timid of
the brethren were thoroughly frightened by the exposure which had
taken place, more especially after the Rock had published a complete
fist of their names and addresses, which made them most anxious to
leave an organization that had brought them into trouble with then-
parishioners. The Master acknowledges that the Society was "re-
sponsible for a limited and cautious supply to priests of known
™S. S. C. June Chapter, 1877, p. 6.
SECRET IIISTOKY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
character " of the now notorious Confessional book ; and it is quite
evident from the whole of his letter how greatly the Society dreaded
the light of publicity being thrown on its dark underground pro-
ceedings. There is reason to believe that most of the brethren who
at this period left the Society did so, not because they disapproved of
the Society or the Priest in Absolution, but simply through fear. The
fact that scarcely any of them publicly repudiated either the one or
the other is a proof of this. There were, however, a few exceptions,
of which the most remarkable was that of the Rev. Frank N. Oxen-
ham — he joined the S. S. C. in 1872 — who, as early as June 19th,
wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury: —
"When, in consequence of your Grace's observations. I looked into the
book, I felt that no words could be too strong to condemn the principles
advocated, and the advice given in that book as to the questioning of persons
who can.c to Conlession. It' the practice of Confession involved, which it
certp.inly dors not, any such questioning, I should regard it with abhorrence.
I am sure, my Lord, that a very large number of the meinbeis of the Society
of the Holy Cross are as ignorant as I was of the contents of this unhappy
book, and would repudiate its principles in the matter to which 1 have
alluded as sincerely and utterly as I do. In justice to those persons, as well
as to myself, I am venturing to trouble your Grace with this communication.
I very deeply regret that the Society of the Holy Cross ever cams into
possession of this book, and I .shall take the earliest opportunity open to a
private member, to move that all remaining copies of the second part of the
Priest in Absolution be forthwith destroyed." 14
This condemnation of the Pries' in Absolution, I may here remark,
came from one who was for many years an advanced Ritualist, and is
therefore all the more valuable on that account, as showing its mis-
chievous and dangerous character. Unfortunately for Mr. Oxenham's
opinion, a " very large number of the members " of the Society of the
Holy Cross did not "repudiate its principles." The proposal that the
Society should burn the remaining copies in its possession was brought
forward, though not by Mr. Oxenham, at the May Synod, 1878, when
the following resolution was carried by thirty-four to eight : — " That
this Synod is not in favour of the destruction of the remaining copies
of the Priest in Absolution at the present time." u The Society would
not even allow that there was any possibility of the advice on ques-
tioning, contained in the book, being misused, for when Mr. Oxenliam,
at the Special Chapter, held July 5th, 1877, moved that " the advice
given in this book as to questioning penitents is at least liable to in-
jurious misuse,'' his motion was lost. The report of the proceedings
does not state how many voted for or against it.16
On the day before Lord Redesdale's speech the Master of the
Society of the Holy Cross wrote to the Bishop of London on the sub-
uLife of Archbishop Tail, Vol. II., p. 174.
15 S. S. C. Analysis of the May Synod, 1878, p. 16.
« Minutes of the Special Chapter, p. 11.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH ARCHBISHOP TAIT.
73
ject, and informed him that the Pried in Absolution could "only be
obtained by those who are known clergymen of the Church of Eng-
land," and that " very few copies " had in consequence been distributed ;
and stating that "the Society bought the work up at considerable
pecuniary loss." These statements can scarcely be described as
accurate. The official statements of receipts for the sales before the
Master wrote this letter, quoted above, clearly prove that there had
been what may be fairly termed a considerable sale for such a work.
As we have seen, £15 was paid for the copyright, and £73 13s. Id.
had already been received from the sales. Where, then, was the
" considerable pecuniary loss " ? In addition to these sales, it is well
to remember that Mr. Chambers himself must have sold a considerable
number of copies before the Society purchased the book. Was it,
therefore, truthful for Mr. Bagshawe to inform the Bishop that only
a "very few copies" had been distributed? I think not. And was
there not something like equivocation in the Master's further state-
ment to the Bishop: — "I venture to assert that the great body of
these clergy are not acquainted with the contents of this book, and
some scarcely know of its existence"? The Master, in this letter,
also informed the Bishop that the Rev. J. C. Chambers had compiled
the book. This was startling news for the Bishop, who, in his reply
to the Master's letter, wrote : —
" Few things have ever given me more j>ain than the very unexpected infor-
mation that the Lite Mr. Chambers was tin; compiler of that volume which I
have seen, and that you were Master of the Society which owns and circulates
it. I am, of course, aware of the line of defence indicated by the term pro-
fessional character ; but I must say that, in my judgment, a system of Con-
fession which makes such a book necessary or even useful to the Confessor,
carries with it its own condemnation."
The Bishop's letter shows how carefully the leading authorities of
the S. S. C. had kept their proceedings from the knowledge of their
own Diocesan. Mr. Bagshawe's next letter to the Bishop was written
on the day after the exposure in the House of Lords, and contained
the following paragraph : —
" As you h-ivc written to me in such a kind way, I am quite entitled to
tell you, as my Bishop, that I have never thought the book a useful one, or
recommended it to others. It is a mitter of sorrow that some of us differ
with our Bishops at all, but I cannot help feeling, after listening to a debate
such as that on Thursday night, that our practice with regard to Confession
is very widely misapprehended. One of my objections to the Priest in Ab-
solvticm is that its language is not calculated to remove that misapprehen-
It would be interesting to know what other objections the Master
had to the book, which he in no way condemns as bad in itself. Yet
the unsold copies of the book were, as he subsequently acknowledged,
kept in his own care, and therefore no copies could have beon circu-
lated without his knowledge and sanction. In his Address to the
May Synod, 1878, he said :— " Hitherto the book has been in my care—
74 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
now it will cease to be so." 17 It is evident, therefore, that his letters
to the Bishop of London were written for a purpose, viz., that of
making his lordship think mora highly of the Master than he really
deserved. Actions speak more strongly than words, and Mr. Bag-
shawe's words seem to contradict his actions.
The interview of the representatives of the Society of the Holy
Cross with the Bishops took place at Lambeth Palace, on Thurs-
day, June 28th. The representatives were the Master of the
Society, together with the following members of his secret Council : —
" The JBev. C. P. Louder, Vicar of St. Peter's, London Docks : the Rev.
Joseph Newton Smith, founder of the Society of the Holv Cross ; the
Bev. F. H. Murray, Rector of Chislehurst ; the Rev. H. D. Nihill ; the
Rev. R. J. Wilson, subsequently Warden of Keble College ; the Rev.
John William Kempe ; and the Rev. G. Noel Freeling, the latter of
whom, however, was not on the "Council." To the surprise of these
gentlemen, instead of meeting the Bishops they expected, they found
waiting for them the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the
Bishop of London only. The Master had brought with him a carefully-
prepared Statement to the Bishops ; but he was only allowed to read
about one-half of it ; the remainder was sent to the Bishops on the
following Saturday. This Statement, which, with the correspondence
already alluded to, was subsequently printed for private circulation
amongst the brethren, commenced with an account of the nature and
objects of the Society of the Holj* Cross, and then proceeded to give
the history of its connection with the Priest in Absolution, which has,
I think, already been sufficiently related above. But I may quote the
following extract from the Statement, as having an important bearing
on the revival of Auricular Confession in the Church of England : —
" All, or nearly so," said Mr. Bagshawe, " of our members had, as a matter
of fact, found the bltssing of Confession ; and very many of them were con-
stantly applied to hy those who desired to share in that blessing. Perpetually,
at our meetings, questions of difficulty were asked, as our members began to
learn the existence of sin and its power in their parishes. They felt the need
of guidance in the ministry to whicli they believed themselves to he called.
Under these circumstanees, the Rev. J. C. Chambers was asked, I believe
informally, and before I joined the Society in 1868, to undertake a work for
their assistance, adapted to the needs of the Church of England and the state
of modern society. It was felt that they could not have made a better choice.
He possessed, more than any of their number, the confidence of the Bishops
for prudence, learning, moral integrity, and purity of purpose. His experience
was vast. Members of both Houses of Parliament, Clergy, Barristers, Mer-
chants, Tradesmen, and Costermongers were amongst his penitents. In 1869
the first part of the work was published. It was entirely on Mr. Chambers's
own responsibility. The Society was responsible for the request, but not for
the manner of execution. In 1872 or 1873, the second part was brought
out. "
Mr. Bagshawe made a singular error in stating that the first part was
17 S. S. 0. Mauler's Address, delivered at the May Synod, 1878, p. 6.
STATEMENT OF S. S. C.
published in 1869. It was, as I have already mentioned, published in
1866, and the second edition was published in 1869. The Bishops
referred to as having " confidence " in Mr. Chambers conld hardly
have been aware of his advanced Romanizing views, or that he was
Father Confessor to so many influential people. The second half of
that gentleman's official Statement to the Bishops consisted of an
apology for the Priest in Absolution, concerning which he had, as we
have seen, written but a few days before, that "he had never thought
the book a useful one " ; but of which he now affirmed that it was " a
work upon an important subject from which good might be gained by
those who read it with a right motive." " I consider," he continued,
" very many propositions in the Priest in Absolution doiibtful, and from
some I completely disagree. Yet I should be very far from saying
that the discussion of such questions is not productive of good." The
Master next proceeded to call attention to the " various cautions with
which the book abounds " ; but goes on very candidly to acknowledge
that :—
" We believe that in certain cases questions must, be asked of the penitent,
partly to clear what has been ambiguous in his statement, and partly to help
him to confess what ho really wishes to say, but is hindered in saying from
shyness. In no ease should any new matter be imported, unless there is very
strong reason to believe that something has been suppressed, and then it
should be approached with the utmost care."
It was evidently the desire of the Master to move as much of the
blame as possible from the Society of the Holy Cross, but he utterly
failed in impressing the Bishops with his view of the ease. Instead
of repudiating the book altogether, be asserted that "no harm has
been done by the kind of circulation which the Society has per-
mitted." One result of this interview, as recorded in the official and
privately circulated report of the proceedings, was "the surrender
of a copy of the Priest, in Absolution to the Archbishop, and the pro-
mise of a surrender of the Statutes. The Master took the Statutes
and the Office Book to the Archbishop on the following day." On
June 30th, the Archbishop of Canterbury wrote to Mr. Bagshawe : —
" I understand from you that a meeting of your Society will be held
on Thursday of next week. Let me, through you, urge upon the
Society the duty of at once repudiating the book which has caused so
much alarm. This is due both to yourselves and to the Church. It
is absolutely necessary that I should be in possession, not later than
Thursday evening, of any resolutions you pass." The reason for the
Archbishop's haste was that on the following day, July 6th, the sub-
ject was to be discussed by the Bishops in the Upper House of
Canterbury Convocation, and they had postponed the consideration
of the subject for a day, to suit the convenience of the Society.
On Thursday, July 5th, a " Special Chapter " of the Society of the
Holy Cross, to consider the action of the Society, was held at 5,
Greville Street, Brooke Street, Holborn. Seventy-five brethren were
present. Fortunately, I have come into possession of the official and
76
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
secret report of this very secret meeting, held in a private house.
From this I learn that the Master informed his brethren that it was
" his opinion that unless the Society yielded to some extent to the
wishes of the Bishops, we were in danger of a synodical statement
by the Upper House against the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.
To avert this, which would cause the gravest anxiety to many of the
clergy and the laity, he advised the Chapter to pass a resolution to
stop the further circulation of the Priest in Absolution." Canon T. T.
Carter, of Clewer, who was the next speaker, moved a resolution,
thanking the Master for the statement laid before the Bishops, and
expressing "general approval of the same." This was seconded by
the Rev. George Davenport Nicholas, Vicar of St. Stephen's, Clewer,
and carried unanimously. Before it was passed, however, there was
some grumbling on the pa\-t of a few of the brethren. The Rev.
C. D. Goldie " thought that the Society had been betrayed into too
hasty action"; while the Rev. A. H. Stanton, Curate of St. Alban's,
Holborn, revealed the fact that " the Council' was uot unanimous "
in its action, and that he and the Rev. Henry Aston Walker, now
Vicar of Chattisham, Ipswich, "had strongly opposed the idea of a
deputation." The well-known Rev. A. H. Mackonochie said that he
" was one of the Master's Council who had been averse to any
deputation to the Bishops at all." He believed that the Bishops
"had got up this attack" upon the Society, and desired to fix upon
it the stigma of " indecent publications." '"He warned the brethren
that if they gave up the book, they would not escape the stigma."
The Chapter next proceeded to read letters from absent brethren,
including one from the Rev. Dr. Littledale, and also a resolution
passed by the Edinburgh Local Chapter of the Society, to the effect
that " the Society's further connection with the book was undesirable."
On the other hand, the Cheltenham Local Chapter had sent up a
resolution to the effect that it " was opposed to any repudiation of
the book." The Rev. C. F. Lowder next addressed the meeting, and
for politic reasons recommended "the Chapter to withdraw the book
from circulation." He concluded by reading a further Statement
which had been drawn up, he said, with the assistance of the Rev.
T. W. Perry and Dr. Walter Phillimore (now Sir Walter Phillimore,
Bart., Q.C.). This statement was discussed by the Chapter, and
after several amendments had been adopted, was carried unanimously.
Thereupon Canon T. T. Carter moved that,
" The Society presents this Statement to the Right Reverend the Bishops
and the licverend the Clergy in Convocation assembled, in deference to the
expressed desire of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishop
of London, whom the delegates of the Society met at Lambeth. In deference
to the expression of the desire on their port, the Society has determined that
no further copies of the book shall be supplied."
In moving this resolution Canon Carter said that he, "while re-
vising the proof sheets of the work, had recommended the author to
publish it in Latin." He was in favour of withdrawing the book
SPEECHES IN THE SECRET CHAPTER.
77
1 because we cannot heartily endorse it as a whole " ; and " because
the Bishops ask us to give the book up." The Rev. Charles Boding-
ton (now Diocesan Missioner for Lichfield) supported the motion.
He said that he did so " because it kept clear of any condemnation of the
book. While he should consider it injudicious to endorse the book
as it stands, he thought that withdrawing it in deference to the
Bishops' wishes need not make the slightest difference in our teaching
and practice with regard to Confession." The Bev. William Crouch,
now Vicar of Gamlingay, however, " believed our position would be
weakened by giving up the book. No doubt the book was imperfect,
but as much might be said of all books, save one." The Bev. F. N.
Oxenham "considered that the charges had been fairly brought
against the book, though parts of it are exceedingly valuable, yet the
general tone of the work, though guarded, he held to be deeply in-
jurious if generally used. He felt that the Society ought to condemn
the book." This courageous statement of Brother Oxenham appears
to have received no encouragement from the brethren present, for,
when he proposed an amendment embodying his views, it was lost.
After a good deal of further discussion, with the consent of Canon
Carter, the following resolution was passed, by twenty-eight against
twenty, instead of that proposed by Brother Oxenham : —
"That, wider these considerations, the Society of the Holy Cross, while
distinctly repudiating the unfair criticisms which have been passed on the
book called the Priest in Absolution, and without intending to imply any
condemnation of it, yet, iu deference to the desire expressed by the Archbishop
of Canterbury to the representatives of the Society, resolves that no further
copies of it be supplied."
This was a most important resolution. By it the Society declined
to censure the book either in whole or in part. Mr. Oxenham pro-
posed to insert the words " as a whole" after "condemnation of it" ;
but his proposal was rejected by twenty-one to eighteen. The
promise to withdraw the Priest in Absolution from circulation served
its purpose very well with the Bishops in Convocation the next day ;
but it was a promise which was valueless, for it was subsequently
repudiated by the Society as a whole, very much to the annoyance of
the Master of the Society, who considered, as we shall see presently,
that by repudiating the resolution of the Special Chapter the Society
had broken faith with the Bishops, and in such a way as to compel
him, as an honourable man, to resign his position as Master of the
Society of the Holy Cross. Before this Special Chapter closed the
Bev. James Benjamin Parker said " he was prepared to move that a
copy of the Society's Roll " of the Brethren should be given to the
Bishops. But the Master very soon put a stop to Brother Parker's
injudicious proposals. He informed the Chapter that he had already
refused to give a copy to the Archbishop. Mr. Bagshawe was evi-
dently too wide awake to do anything of the kind. There is nothing,
I am certain, that the Society of the Holy Cross dreads more than
that the names of its members shall be known to the general public.
They could not even trust the secret to one Archbishop !
78
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMEKT.
On Friday, July Cth, the Upper House of Canterbury met to con-
sider the Priest in Absolution. There were present, in addition to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, who, of course, presided, the Bishops of
London, Llandalf, Gloucester and Bristol, Norwich, Hereford, St.
Albans, Lichfield, Bath and Wells, Chichester, Salisbury, Oxford, and
St. Asaph. Not one of these Prelates, whether High Churchmen or
Evangelicals, had one word to say in favour of either the Priest in
Absolution, or the Society of the Holy Cross, which they held re-
sponsible for the book. They unanimously condemned both the one
and the ocher, though some of them bore testimony to the personal
character of some of the members of the Society. My readers may
find a verbatim report of the speeches of these Prelates, on this re-
markable occasion, in the Chronicle of Convocation, Sessions Jury 3-6,
1877, pages 310-336. My quotations from the speeches are taken
from this official report.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who, in the course of his speech,
presented to the Bishops the resolutions of the Special Chapter of
the S. S. C. passed the previous day, said: — "The persons with whom
we have now to deal, it appears to me, have adopted a system alto-
gether alien from the system of the Church of England, which yet
might not find its natural home, under existing circumstances, in the
exaggerated Ultramontane form of the present Roman Catholic
Church. This system must seek a home somewhere else than in
the Reformed Protestant Church of England. ... I am sure your
lordships will agree with me that it will be most dangerous to allow
them in this Church powers to propagate doctrines, to introduce and
carry into effect practices which are entirely alien from the spirit and
teaching of the whole body of the Divines of the Church of England
from first to last." The Archbishop then called attention to a little
confessional book for children, " Edited by a Committee of Clergy,"
and entitled "Books for the Young," No. L, Confession. It must have
had, he said, a very wide circulation, for the copy from which he
quoted was one of the "Eighth Thousand." He said that he did not
know who the "Committee" were who were responsible for that
book. He trusted that they were few in number, and not more than
two or three. What would he have said, if he had known that this
little book, which he so sternly condemned, was, in reality, issued by
the Society of the Holy Cross, but without its name being attached
to it ? Of course the Society was too wise to enlighten Dr. Tait on
this important subject. The little book taught that little children
from six and a-half years old should go to Confession ; and these
little ones were instructed that, " It is to the priest, and to the priest
only, that the child must acknowledge his sins, if he desires that God
should forgive him." In conclusion his Grace said, "I have now
given your lordships all the information that I have on this subject ;
I do it with the greatest pain. I do it with a full appreciation of the
goodness of the men with whom we have to deal : but no admiration
of any points in their character ought, I think, to make us hesitate as
to whatever may appear to be our duty in the endeavour to counter-
DISCUSSION IB CANTEHBUKY «0N VOCATION.
act what 1 feel obliged to call a conspiracy within out own body against
the doctrine, the discipline, and the practice of our Reformed Church."
The Bishop of Loudon said that in the First Part of the Priest in
Absolution, there are some pages which contain things as bad as
are to be found in the Second Part. Ho noticed that, by the resolu-
tion of the Society of the Holy Cross which had been sent to them,
the remaining copies of the Priest in Absolution were not to be de-
stroyed, but none others are to be supplied. "There, consequently,"
said the Bishop, who evidently suspected trickery, "they are to
remaiu, and at some future opportunity, when the opinion of the
Society undergoes a change, I presume they will again be available
as they have hitherto been." " I shall," he continued, " ask your
lordships to permit me to move, in the first place, that this House
hold the Society of the Holy Cross responsible for the preparation
and dissemination of the book called the Priest in Absolution. The
question is, how far they have by their resolutions withdrawn that
responsibility ; and I am afraid I must say that they have not with-
drawn it at all. They have not repudiated the book, nor expressed
their regret that it has been published. They have given no opinion
in condemnation of it ; on the contrary, they say they do not intend
to imply any condemnation of it, though, in deference to the desire
expressed by the Archbishop, no further copies of it will be supplied.
I shall, therefore, ask vour lordships to agree to a resolution to this
effect :—
" ' That this House, having considered the first resolution appended to the
"Statement of the Society of the Holy Closes, presented to this, House on
Friday, July 6th, 1877," is of opinion that the Society has neither repudiated
nor effectually withdrawn from circulation the aforesaid work.'"
The Bishop of London then proceeded with his speech, and termed
the little book on Confession, quoted by the Archbishop, " a wretched
little book," after which he moved this further resolution : —
"That this House hereby expresses its strong condemnation of any doc-
trine or practice of Confession which can be thought to render such a book
necessary or expedient."
The Bishop of Llandaff seconded the resolutions. He said: — "It
appears to me, after reading a good deal of this book, that it and its
papers are books and papers which ought to appear within the pale
of the Roman Catholic Church, and not within the pale of the Church
of England." In conclusion, the Bishop expressed his belief that
dispensed Jesuits had in the past worked mischief within the Pro-
testant Churches. " I am very unwilling," he said, " to suppose that
anything of the kind is done at the present day, but this is an im-
portant fact in history which at any rate may well be borne in mind."
The Bishop of St. Albans, who was a High Churchman, said : — "I
think it is high time that some restraint should be placed on the
doctrine and practice of Confession that has become prevalent among
us lately. I was, of course, well aware that this practice was beginning
80
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
to prevail to a great extent ; but I do not think it ever impressed
itself on my mind so fully as it did when, on Good Friday last, I took
part in the service, for the first time in many years, in a church
which has acquired a very unenviable notoriety — I mean the Church
of St. James's, Hatcham. In looking over that church after the
service had concluded, I saw in a transept or side-chapel — I saw with
my own eyes — a Confessional of the Church of Rome, with its seat
for the Confessor, a place for the penitent to kneel upon, curtains,
and the usual paraphernalia of such places. Now, I do not wish to
say one unkind word concerning the Incumbent of that church,
although I must say his conduct has cost me the most miserable
weeks of the whole of my Episcopate. I repeat that I do not wish to
say anything unkind of him ; but I cannot forget on the present
occasion that he is an office-bearer in this Society of the Holy Cross."
The Bishop concluded by supporting the resolution. I may here note
that Confessional Boxes, which so astonished the late Bishop of St.
Albans, have now become very common in Bitualistic churches. The
Bishops have the power to remove them, but, with a very few excep-
tions, they refuse to use their powers. Man}' of them can talk against
Popery in the Church of England, but the laity are asking, 'Why do
they not act ' We need deeds more than words in these dangerous
days.
The next speaker was the High Church Bishop of Lichfield (Dr.
Selwyn). He said: — "I must say from the observation which I hava
made of the documents placed before us, that they do contain the
very gravest elements of suspicion, and that they would make me —
although I do not pledge myself as to my future course either as
regards an Incumbent or a Curate— entertain doubts as to whether I
could appoint one of these clergymen to one of those offices or the
other. . . . We, as Bishops of the Church of England, cannot sanc-
tion their doctrines or practices, and therefore we call upon them in
terms of earnest but affectionate expostulation to retreat from a
position which we feel to be so utterly wrong."
The High Church Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Mackarness) declared that
he cordially concurred in the resolution, but he added : — "I feel bound
to say with respect to some of the persons who are said to be mem-
bers of this Society, that I do not believe they have the slightest idea
of any conspiracy against the doctrine and discipline of our Beformed
Church." At the same time his lordship declared that he "dis-
approved" of the Priest in Absolution.
The Bishop of St. Asaph said: — "The system of Confession which
we have been discussing, followed by priestly absolution, has no
sanction horn Scripture or from the formularies of the Church of
England. I believe that it is most injurious to those who come to
confess, and most detrimental to the Minister who receives Con-
fession. . . . What was the result of the system in Ireland, when
assassination was frequent in that country '? Did not the assassin go
to Confession the previous day and obtain relief to his conscience ?
And what was the effect on the priest's own mind '? Was it likely
OPINIONS Or THE BISHOPS.
81
that he could come in contact with so much sin and contract no
defilement ? Alas ! let the moral aspect of many countries on the
continent supply the answer."
The Right Rev. Dr. Moberly, Bishop of Salisbury, who nest
addressed the House, avowed that he believed Confession to be right,
and yet even he condemned in very severe language the Priest in
Absolution, and the teaching of the Society of the Holy Cross, as con-
tained in its " Books for the Young," No. I., Confession. He said : — " I
entirely agree with the resolution ; but I think that this matter is a
much more difficult one than on the surface it appears. I cannot
doubt that Confession and Absolution were enjoined by our Lord
Himself, and that they form a real part of the system of the Church,
and under certain circumstances are capable of being blessed in the
highest possible degree for good to those who partoJie of them. At
the same time, by carrying them to the excess taught and practised
by the persons whose conduct is before us to-day, they cannot but be
productive of great and serious evil. ... I believe the practice of
habitual Confession to be mischievous in the highest degree, and I
have a particular object in referring to it, for the greater part of my
life, as that of others of your lordships, has been spent as a school-
master, and I confess that there is not one thing in all the world
which is deeper in my heart and conscience than the corrupting mis-
'chief of any such system as this getting into our schools."
': The Bishop of Bath and "Wells said: — "We have seen how the
authors of this book, by the doctrine and practice they have set forth,
liave scandalised the public mind, and I am sure that if we, the
Bishops of the Church of England, were to aid and abet such doc-
trine and practice, we should lose the respect and confidence of the
country For these reasons, I think it most important that we should
unanimously agree to the resolutions before us.
The last speech from which I shall quote was that of the High
Church Bishop of Chichester. " I think," lie said, " this is a very
serious matter, and that it is the duty of this House to protest in the
strongest manner against the teaching of these Romanizing doctrines,
and the adoption of these Romanizing practices. There is not a
single syllable in the Statutes [of the Society of the Holy Cross]
about Confession to Almighty God, and seeking forgiveness through
Jesus Christ. There is no intimation that the means of forgiveness
are open to all who come to God through Christ. Nothing of the sort
is said, and this is a case in which omission appears to me to be
fatal. It leads the people to lean on the priest. You cannot find
that in the Scriptures, and no one would say that it is inculcated in
the formularies of our Church."
The resolutions were then put, and carried unanimously.
I have devoted a considerable amount of space to the speeches of
the Bishops on this occasion, partly because of their intrinsic value,
and also because the book in which alone they are recorded verbatim
is exceedingly scarce, and is, therefore, quite out of the reach of
ordinary Churchmen, who may be glad to have the chief points o fihq
82
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
speeches within reach in these pages. It will be observed that the
Priest in Absolution was thus unanimously condemned by all the
Bishops of Canterbury Convocation present on this occasion, and
since then not one Bishop of the Church of England has ever publicly
said, or written, one word in its favour. Perhaps one of the most
damaging exposures of the evil results of the Ritualistic Confessional
ever made in public, was that made in the Lower House of Canter-
bury Convocation, on July 4th, 1877, two days only before the debate
in the Upper House. The subject of Confession had been sent down
to the Lower House, by the Bishops, for discussion, in consequence
of the exposure of the Priest in A bsolution in the House of Lords. In
the course of the debate in the Lower House, Archdeacon Allen rose
and said : —
" I find it printed that it is a shame to suspect auy of these Clergymen of
misusing this mode of treatment of spiritual disease. A shame to suspect
them ! If that is said, I must say something on the other side. 1 was talk-
ing to an elderly clergyman — a Rural Dean, older than myseli — a man who
has daily prayer in his church, and whom all his friends and neighbours
respect — a venerable and wise High Churchman, and he told me that in his
own experience he had known three clergymen who had practised this teaching
of habitual Confession as a dut3', who had fallen into habits of immorality
with women who had come to them for guidance. That was the testimony of
an old-fashioned High Churchman ; an 1 I will give his name to any one who
asks me for it. You know it is said a discreet Confessor will make a propel
use of this book [the Priest in Absolution]. A discreet Confessor ! Is it
possible that discretion can he a quality of every young clergyman who is a
member of this Society, which is said to have a property iu this hook?"18
The truth of Archdeacon Allen's charge against these three Ritual-
istic clergymen does not appear to have been ever challenged, much
less refuted. It raises the very serious question, How far is the
Ritualistic Confessional used for immoral purposes by wicked and
evil-disposed Clergymen '? No one wishes to make sweeping and
general charges on such a subject. But is there not just cause for
anxiety ? Is not human nature the same in all ages ? That the
Confessional has been grossly used for immoral purposes, by evil-
disposed priests, and that to a gigantic extent in the Church of Rome,
is amply proved, beyond the possibility of refutation, by the Bulls of
the Popes themselves against solicitant priests. Any one who wishes
for clear and ample evidence on this point, based exclusively upon
Roman Catholic authorities, should certainly read A n Historical Sketch
of Sacerdotal Celibacy, by Mr. Henry C. Lea, of Philadelphia. Mr. Lea's
book is not sufficiently known in Europe, and I only wonder that an
edition of such a learned work has never yet been published in
England. He proves conclusively that the Confessional has been
used, by wicked priests, for the vilest purposes in the past, and that
the offence is not unknown to the nineteenth century. It appears
that the Abbe Helsen, who for twenty-five years had been and still
18 Chronicle of Convocation. Sessions, July 3-6, 1877, p. 231.
CLERICAL CELIBACY. §3
™nRt0mim pa*olio P^^er in Brussels, addressed an indignant
remonstrance to the Archbishop of Mechlin, in 1832, in which he
exposed to the » light of day the awful immorality existing at that
time amongst the Eomish priesthood.
a caut'onts Zl^Z1: "falU!d;S, t0 f,1,e scanJals of the Confessional as
Con riU nn , ' T ' ? v occaslo"ll,1y found to be necessary by modern
solicitation must have bccomr »„/,„•,•„«</„ frmuent li .(V,,-n *»'„ r> I-
of the Inqniistion at Komc could have -It i ] ? 67 to "
Instruction addressed to nil A,vhl,W„,ps, ii.v',, , s 'm , S,', i
,ng that the Constitutions on the snV^ek did 'not rtSf p ffion"
and that m some places abuses had crept in, both as to re. uir nc , enitents
It, therefore, urged the offices ever It " t^£?X £ i^stS
R±3£?. ^ 4 8Ummary °f the ^ 0f the Inouisition t'rO
JSST gi*he" ^ o*er similar facts in mind, I am not at all sur-
SmSe SX11 the/ellable -thorityof Archdeacon Allen that
within the experience of even one clergyman, " three " instances were
Fatbe, rTf m Whl/h ^stic Confessional has been used by
fw +>, SS01'S/u°r thG Vllesfc Purposes. Are we to suppose that
tZJ fZre the™h\ g"Uty Perso»s j» England? 7 the ex
fe« that thS8an°0Uld T b,6 made Pllblic> is &™ not reason to
tear that the instances would be considerably multiplied s> Has not
SilrlV^ Cl?rgyman' since 1877' been deprived oAiis living for thr
S^^^yt^T ladythro"8h thl Confessional? %erica
celibacy is rapidly spreading amongst the Ritualists, and it is not at
aU a pleasant thought that our wives, daughters, and sisters may be
going to Confession to some young bachelor prict .-u-d i , kin" with
mm on subjects which should never be alluded to This sor t of th£
"tn^tjlZ ^1 °TfeSS°r haPPenS t0 be a ^ man t
be ^said that T a m bl 6 ^"fT* are /rea% increased. Let it not
£hrifc£ W t g S /eckIess and wholesale charges against the
as a Ritualistic Confessor of many years' experience, speaks with
81
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
some authority on this point. While writing on the care which the
Confessor should exercise in hearing the Confessions of
:' Nothing more shows the fearfulness of Satanic devices than that it is
possible that a Sacrament which was instituted to drive forth from souls sin
and the devil, and make them living teniples of the Holy Ghost, may be pro-
faned by abusers ot its ministrations to the grossest iniquity." 20
This testimony of the Editor of the. Priest in Absolution is cor-
roborated by that of Dr. Pusey, given after he had himself been
hearing Confessions for forty years. He tells us of one way in which
the Confessional is still abused by Confessors: —
" It is a sad sight," writes Dr. Pusey, " to see Confessors giving their whole
morning to young women devotees, while they dismiss men or married women,
who have, perhaps, left their household affairs with difficulty, to find them-
selves rejected with, ' I am busy, go to some one else ! " so that, perhaps, such
people will go on for months or years without the Sacraments. This is not
hearing Confessions for God's sake, but for onn's own."51
Again, Dr. Pusey warns the Confessor, when in the Confessional : —
"You may pervert this Sacrament [of Penance] from its legitimate end,
which is to kindle an exceeding horror of sin in the minds of others, into a
subtle means of feeding evil passions ami sin in your own mind."'22
He also warns the Confessor, who hears Confessions while " in a
state of mortal sin," which does not necessarily imply what the world
would term a wickedness : —
" If the ministry of a Confessor is beset with dangers, even for a good man,
how can oue in your condition hope to escape ? There is but too great danger,
that you will add fresh crimes to your account by an undue indulgence to
faults in others which you have not overcome in yourself; or, worst of all,
being the cause of temptation to others, thereby proving yourself no spiritual
father, but rather a ravening wolf ; no Minister of God, but of the devil ; no
physician, but the murderer of souls."23
And yet one more quotation from Dr. Pusey which, with all my
heart and soul, I believe to be the solemn truth : —
" Be assured," he writes, "that this is one of the gravest faults of our day
in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, that it is the road by
which a number of Christians go down to hell." w
When the Editor of the Priest in Absolution, and the Eev. Dr. Pusey,
both experienced Father Confessors themselves, make such startling
acknowledgments as those I have just quoted, is it surprising or un-
reasonable that Protestant Churchmen also should raise a loud not
20 The Priest in Absolution, Part II., p. 77.
21 Pusey's Manual for Confessors, p. 108. ~ Ibid,, p. 102.
23 Ibid., p. 99. « Jbid., p. 315.
DANGERS OF THE RITUALISTIC CONFESSIONAL.
85
of warning, and urge people on no account to enter on that road, by
which "a number of Christians go down to hell"? It cannot be
Christ's road, for he who walks on that road cannot possibly go
astray. Such dire possibilities as those so frankly acknowledged by
these two noted Ritualistic leaders, can never result from that Con-
fession to the Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, practised by
all devout Protestant Christians. The Father Confessor, as Dr. Pusey
admits, is often, while in the Confessional, the "murderer of souls."
And now let us return once more to the Society of the Holy Cross
and its proceedings, in relation to the Priest in Absolution. The
ordinary Monthly Chapter of the Society was held on July 10th, 1877,
when an address of sympathy with the Society was read from the
so-called "Church of England Working Men's Society." The Rev. G.
1). Nicholas rose and complained that the caution given to the
brethren by the Master at the Special Chapter, as to the " strictly
confidential ' ' nature of its proceedings, had been ignored. A lady
had actually " told hiin, on tiie following morning, that she knew that
the vote of the Society was not unanimous." Next a letter was read
from Brother Oxenham, who was evidently anxious to keep his pro-
mise to the Archbishop of Canterbury. That gentleman enclosed a
motion which he wished to bring before the September Synod, if
approved by the Chapter. The motion was as follows: —
" That inasmuch as certain parts of the Priest in Absolution, relating to
the questioning of penitents, are, in the opinion of this Synod, at least very
liable to injurious misuse, this Synod resolves that ail copies of the said book
now in the poss: ssion of the Society shall bo destroyed." *
To tolerate the discussion of such a very proper motion as this was
what the brethren could never assent to. The very thought was
treason. So, in pious horror, the Rev. Robert James Wilson ex-
claimed that " he hoped that the Chapter would not allow Brother
Oxcnliam's motion to be placed on the Agenda" of the September
Synod. So to make quite sure that the hated and dreaded discussion
should not take place, Brother Wilson proposed, and the Rev. Edgar
Hoskins (now Rector of St. Martin's, Ludgate, London) seconded the
following resolution: — liThat the Society thinks it undesirable to
enter at the Synod into a reconsideration of its relations to the Priest
in Absolution." 23 There was no difference of opinion in the Chapter
as to the desirability of stifling discussion on Brother Oxenham's
motion, and accordingly Brother Wilson's resolution was " carried
unanimously." And yet, notwithstanding this decision of the July
Chapter, when the September Synod was held the relations of the
Society to the Priest in Absolution, were were very fully considered, as
the official report of the proceedings fully shows, though, of course,
Brother Oxenham's motion was rigorously boycotted.
One of the special subjects discussed at the July Chapter was " Our
51 H. S. C. July ClLapter, 1877, p. 2.
^lbid., p. 10.
86
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Action Towards the Bishops." It was introduced by the Rev. C. P.
Lowder, who, after mentioning that the Upper House of Convocation
had appointed a Committee to consider the Statutes of the Society of
the Holy Cross and the Pried in Absolution, proceeded to congratulate
the Society on having so far escaped Episcopal censure. That, it
seems, was largely due to the Bishop of Oxford, who, while denoun-
cing the Society and its Confessional Book in public, was at the same
time secretly plotting for the purpose of shielding them from the
expected censure of the Episcopal Bench. In the course of his speech
Brother Lowder said that " Putting aside the rhodomontade and ad
captandum words of the Archbishop about a ' conspiracy,' he saw
grounds for hope in the line taken by the Bishop of Oxford, who, he
believed, was friendly to us, and had moved for a Committee in order to
save the censure which was hanging over us. That censure would be
most serious to the Society at large, and especially to the younger
brethren, and those holding positions under Government. He ad-
vised that a deputation of the Society should go before the Committee
[of Bishops] with the object of explaining and defending the Statutes."
Brother Lowder concluded his speech by moving a resolution to the
effect that the Master in Council take such steps as might seem best
to explain the work of the Society to the Committee of the Upper
House of Convocation. This resolution was severely criticised by
several of the brethren. In particular, Brother A. H. Mackonochie
declared that he differed entirely from the course proposed. " The
leading mind among the Bishops was," he said, " simply hatred to
the Society as far as they knew it. . . . At the Meeting at Lambeth
the Archbishop had surreptitiously got the Statutes out of the Master,
and having obtained them, the Archbishop of York announced that
he should not feel himself bound to respect the confidence of the
Society. The Bishops: object was to put down the Society, which
they hate and fear. They have already a great idea of its power."
Canon T. T. Carter said he " must agree with Brother Mackonochie
as to the evident animus of the Bishops. They would destroy us if
they could, and the principles we uphold. . . . There were Bishops,
he knew, who hated the way in which they were kept under by the
Archbishop, and only wanted to be backed up ; and our power against
the Archbishop lay in those men being able to show our position. . . .
Now that we have gone so far, we must not withdraw from the course
we have taken."
The Rev. T. Outram Marshall (Organizing Secretary of the English
Church Union) said he could support Brother Lowder' s motion, if the
powers of the deputation were limited. " He looked upon it as an
opportunity to teach the Gospel to those who seldom hear us.:' This
will no doubt be news to many. It was certainly impertinent on
Mr. Marshall's part thus to imply that the Bishops seldom heard the
Gospel, and that it was the duty of a secret Society of Father Con-
fessors to " teach " it to them !
The Rev. Robert Eyton (now Canon of Westminster) declared that
'• He was glad of unburdening his mind, and stating what might have
JESUITICAL TACTICS.
87
to be his course of action. There was a great tide of feeling in the
country setting in towards Catholicism as the only safe ground. He
hoped the Society would not by its policy at this great crisis check
that tide. If it ever came to his having to choose between remaining
in the Society, and ceasing to minister in the Church of England, he
felt no doubt what he should do, deeply as he should regret his
severance from S. S. C." It may help towards explaining Mr. Ey ton's
position if I mention that he at that time held a curate's licence
under the Bishop of London, and therefore what he meant was that
rather than lose that licence he would, though with deep "regret,"
leave the Society of the Holy Cross. As a matter of fact, he has
since withdrawn from the Society, though whether his heart is still
with it or not, now that he is a Residentiary Canon of Westminster, is
more than I can say. Certainly, so far as I can ascertain, Canon
Eyton has never publicly denounced the Society of the Holy Cross, and
he must at one time have been anxious that his connection with it
during seven years should be unknown to the general public.
The Rev. Nathaniel Dawes (now Bishop of Bockhampton, Aus-
tralia) supported the motion. Me said :— " Our weakness hitherto had
been our ' secrecy.' He deprecated a spirit of uncourteous defiance
towards the Bishops. . . . There is no need to go to the Bishops as
penitents, but we must not forget our obligations to them." From
this I gather that, in the opinion of Brother Dawes the Society of the
Holy Cross had done nothing for which they needed to express
sorrow.
One of the speakers, the Bey. Edmund Gough de Wood, Vicar of
St. Clements, Cambridge, is evidently of a subtle turn of mind. After
declaring that if the Society went to the Bishops, without being first
invited, it would be like " rushing into the lion's mouth," he recom-
mended the Society to revise its Statutes. "Our Statutes," he said,
" were not drawn up for the public. The Society used to be a secret
Society. If now it becomes a public one it might be wise to alter
them ; perhaps to have certain Constitutions for outsiders to see, and an
' Interior Rule ' for ourselves." Some persons would term a proposi-
tion, such as this, thoroughly Jesuitical. Eventually the Chapter
passed Brother Lowder's motion, but with the proviso that the
Master should not go before the Committee of the Upper House,
unless " summoned by them."
A short discussion followed on the " Resignations of Brethren."
The Rev. Joseph Newton Smith (Founder of the Society of the Holy
Cross) made a speech, in the course of which he displayed considerable
hatred of publicity. He " thought we ought to cultivate ' the wisdom
of the serpent.' He did not share the admiration some brothers had
expressed for English honesty and straightforwardness. He thought
our secrecy had been a protection to us, and he therefore was opposed
to surrendering the Roll to the Bishops."
Before the Chapter closed protests were made by two of the
brethren. The Rev. E. G. de Salis Wood said that he " wished to pro-
test against the statement in the Address [of the Society of the Holy
88
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXl-uUD MOVEMENT.
Cross] to Convocation, that ' the Church of England teaches that
Confession is not a matter of compulsory obligation.' " The Eev.
A. H. Mackonochie declared that "he agreed with Brother Wood in
this sense, that for those who are in mortal sin there is no way
generally of obtaining pardon, save in the Sacrament of Penance."
Two days before this Chapter was held the Eev. W, J. Knox-Little
(now Canon Knox-Little) preached (on July 8th) a sermon on the sub-
ject of the Priest in Absolution to his own congregation at St. Alban's
Church, Manchester, and subsequently he published it in pamphlet
form. I refer to it here as illustrating the tactics of some leading
Ritualists. The preacher had not the courage to tell his people
plainly that he was himself a member of the Society of the Holy
Cross, yet to save his conscience he thus referred to the matter : —
" My connection, indeed, with the Society of the Holy Cross is of the
slightest, but my knowledge of the good and holy men who are leading
mem burs of it is intimate, and I believe, from all I have heard of it, that the
Society of the Holy Cross is a noble Society, no matter what calumny may be
heaped upon it." a'
Was this a strictly accurate way for Canon Knox-Little to describe
his connection with the Society of the Holy Cross? Was it
right to say that his " connection " with it was " of the slightest "
when he was a full member at the very moment he was speaking
And notice the expression, " from all that I have heard of it " ; as
though he had no personal knowledge of its dark history and Popish
Statutes ! It may reasonably be asked here, If the S. S. C. " is a noble
Society," why did Canon Knox-Little sever his connection with it the
next year ?
At the August, 1877, Chapter of the Society of the Holy Cross, a
letter was read from the Master of the Society " to the effect that, as
some of the brethren had expressed their disapproval of his action in
surrendering the Statutes to the Archbishop he thought it would be
well to give an opportunity at the [September] Synod for an expression
of opinion on the part of the Society as to his conduct." On the
motion of the Eev. Anthony Bathe, now Vicar of Fridaythorpe. York,
a resolution assuring the Master that he possessed " the lull confidence
of the Society '' was carried unanimously. The Eev. Charles Stebbing
Wallace (now Vicar of the Church of the Ascension, Lavender Hill,
S.W.) brought before the Chapter the difficult circumstances in which
he was placed. He said, "that the Archbishop of Canterbury had
refused to license him to the Curacy of St. Barnabas', Beckenham,
because he would not leave S. S. C." On the motion of the Eev. H.
D. Nihil!, seconded by the Eev. Anthony Bathe, a resolution was
passed by the Chapter unanimously thanking Brother Wallace for his
courageous conduct. At this Chapter, it may interest some to know,
the late Archdeacon Denison was admitted into the Order of Proba-
The Priest in Absolution, by Rev. \V. J. Knox-Little, M.A., p. 26, Lon-
don : Rivingtons.
PROPOSED REVISION OF STATUTES.
89
tioners. The Archdeacon made no secret of his connection with the
Society of the Holy Cross. In his Notes of My Life, he glories in the
fact that he joined it because of the attack on it in 1877.
The September, 1877, Synod of the Society of the Holy Cross was
looked forward to by the brethren with more than ordinary interest
and anxiety. It was the first Synod of the whole Society held since
Lord Bedesdale's exposure of the Prit-st in Absolution. I am sorry to
state that the Sermon to the brethren, and the Master's Address to
the Synod on this important occasion have not come into my posses-
sion. But I do possess the official and secret report of the Synod
itself, which was held in St. Peter's Church, London Docks, on Sep-
tember loth and 14th. The proceedings began each day at the early
hour of 9 a.m. and lasted until 7 p.m.28 At this Synod an effort was
made by several of the brethren to nominally break up the Society,
but to continue it under another name, so as to avoid the official
censure of Convocation. The truly Jesuitical scheme seems to have
been suddenly sprung on the Society, for brother Mackonochie denied
that the Synod had the power to discuss the question " after twenty-
four hours' notice." It was said that " very many" of the brethren
had received no notice of what was coming on. A series of resolutions
bearing on the subject had been prepared. It was, however, soon
evident that there would be a strong opposition to the proposals for
disbanding the Society, and a protest was entered against the discus-
sion of the question at that Synod. After an excited debate, it was
decided that the Resolutions should be brought forward as an amend-
ment to the first motion on the agenda paper. That motion was the
result of the recent discussion in public of the Priest in Absolution. A
desire was expressed at the Synod that the Statutes might be revised,
with a view to toning down some of the expressions in the Statutes of
the Society, not that any one objected to the doctrine contained in those
Statutes, but to the use of terms, such as " The Mass," and " Sacra-
ment of Penance," Sec, which had given offence to the Bishops.
Accordingly, the Bey. William Henry Hutchins (now Archdeacon o!
Cleveland) proposed, and the Be v. Edgar Hoskins seconded, the
following motion : —
" That in the opinion of this Synod it is advisable that a Committee be
appointed io consider the form of the Society's Statutes, with a view to modi-
fication or otherwise."
In proposing this motion, Brother Hutchings said that : — " It was t he
opinion of a well-known Oxford Professor-9 that to dissolve would be
to create confusion in certain minds, and would involve some loss of
self-respect ; if we dissolved we acknowledged ourselves to be in the
23 Charles Loivder : a Biography, p. 311. First edition.
28 Who wa.i this " well-known Oxford Professor " ? I am inclined to think
he was Dr. Pusey, who had evidently been consulted by the Society, lor at
this Synod a letter was read from him on the question of revising the
Statutes.
90
SECKET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
wrong, and destroyed the great instrument we had for promoting the
(Jatholic Revival in this country. ... To appoint a Committee to
consider the form of the Statutes would be to withdraw the Statutes
as they now stand, and so prevent the Bishops from considering
them." This was a clever scheme, and proves to my mind that the
motion of Brother Hatchings was mainly intended to " draw a red
herring" across the trail of the Bishops.
The Bev. Edgar Hoskins (now Rector of St. Martin's, Ludgate
Hill, London) in seconding the motion, " thought it would be very
disastrous for the Society to disband. What we have to stand up for
is Eucharistic Truth, and freedom of Confession in the Church of
England."
The Rev. William Purton declared that, in his opinion, S. S. C. " was
one of the outposts which we were bound to defend ; he thought it
would be cowardly to disband."
The Rev. W. J. Knox-Little (now Canon Knox-Little) " maintained
that we must do what was right, and leave the result to God. Losing
self-respect ! A dread of what would be said ! Fear of the laity I
All this must be put out of the question. He was opposed to the
mere withdrawal of terms ; 30 that, he believed, would be inadequate
to meet the difficulty. Did the Synod (he asked) believe in the cer-
tainty of a Synodical condemnation? Did we realize the force of
such condemnation '? It would be impossible to remain in the Society
after such a condemnation. What was S. S. C. that Catholic work
should be given up for it ? To revise the Statutes by the withdrawal
of terms would not be to avert a Synodical condemnation. He would
support the resolutions in favour of disbanding."
These were brave words, coming from one who soon after withdrew
from the Society, without waiting for any " Synodical condemnation."
I have altered the wording of his speech, in accordance with his own
corrections, as given in the October Chapter, p. 1.
At this point, Brother E. G. de Salis Wood obtained permission to
bring forward his resolutions, as an amendment to the motion of
Brother Hutchings. They are somewhat lengthy, but I think it may-
be useful to quote them here in full, omitting only the last two clauses,
as not of any importance. They reveal a plan for disbanding the
Society, so far as the public knowledge of their proceedings went,
while at the same time providing for its continuance under another
name, by which scheme the general public would be led to supposa
that it had ceased to exist altogether. The following were the resolu-
tions (the italics are mine) : —
" I. That on and after the 15th day of September, 1S77, the Society of the
Holy Cross be disbanded, and that all its members be ami they are hereby
treed from all obligations imposed by the Society in respect to its Statutes,
Laws, or Rules ol Life (save and except the obligation of confidence as regards
vast proceedings of Synods and Chapters and of this Synod), as well as 1'ioui
M That is, to such " terms " as the " Mass," &c, in the Statutes.
SPEECHES IN SECRET SYNOD.
any formal bond of union or mutual obligations at present subsisting in
virtue of Membership in the Society."
"II. («) That the Master, the Secretaries, the Treasurer, and two other
Brethren chosen by them, shall be aud are hereby constituted Trustees of
the funds, papers, and other property of tbe Society, without power of dis-
position except as hereinafter provided.
" (J) That it be and is suggested to the said Trustees, that from time to
time, at their discretion, they shui'ld incite to informal conference all whose
names shall have been upon the lloll of the Society, on the 14th September,
1877, as well as such other priests as they may choose.31
"(c) That the Trustees shall have power to transfer the property of the
Society to any other Society with similar objects and like constitution, which
at any future time may be formed, it they shall receive the sanction expressed
by a vote of the majority of those present and voting at such a Conference as
is provided for in the foregoing section ; at least one month's notice having
been given to all whose names were on the said 14th day of September on the
Roll of the Society of the Holy Cross."
In moving this resolution as an amendment the Rev. E. G. Wood
said that " the Society had been rushed down hill into the midst of its
foes, and was now surrounded, and in danger of being cut to pieces.
There was nothing for it but to ' take open order,' to skirmish as it
were for a time, to pass through our enemies and re-form in a stronger
position. In other words, he counselled disbanding the Society with
the view of thereby escaping an Episcopal censure, and of reconstructing the
Society under the same or a similar title, at as early a date as possible.
This it was well known was the opinion of at least one Bishop who
was friendly towards us."2 . . . The course he (Mr. Wood) advocated
derived great support from consideration of the policy of the Apostolic
See, when the Jesuit Order was suppressed by Clement XIV. — not
because it had done wrong, but simply, as the Pope emphatically
asserted, for the sake of the peace of the Church. And that was the
ground on which he (the speaker) urged the disbanding of the S. S. C.
. . . The Society, as appeared from the list of resignations the Master-
had read out, was rapidly bleeding to death."
In thus comparing the Jesuits with the Society of the Holy Cross,
Mr. Wood certainly used a most appropriate illustration. It is, how-
ever, a great pity that the authorities of the Church of England did
not suppress the S. S. C, as Pope Clement XIV. did the Jesuit
Order. Mr. Wood's amendment did not find favour with a section of
the brethren in Synod, for no sooner had he concluded his speech than
several of them raised the question, was the amendment in order ?
The Master of the Society definitely ruled that it was ; but that did
not satisfy the discontented brethren, who actually had the daring
al This was a plan for continuing the S. S. C. in existence under another
name, together with power to add to their number. There was a great deal
of subtlety in such a plan, which is more clearly developed in the next section.
32 It would he interesting to know who the Bishop was, who thus played a
double part, censuring the Society in public, and helping it on with a friendly
lift in secret !
92
SECBET HISTOKY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
to challenge the Master's ruling. The Rev. H. D. Nihil] moved, and
the Rev. T. Otxtram Marshall seconded the following motion : — " That
the ruling given by the Master was not correct." Of course, this was
equivalent to a vote of censure, and an excited debate followed, in
which Bishop Jenner took part. Eventually the Master triumphed,
for only thirty-six voted for the resolution, while fifty-three voted
against it. Mr. Wood's amendment was thereupon once more declared
in order, and the general debate was continued.
Canon George Body (now Canon Missioner of Durham) " spoke
strongly in favour of disbanding. He gave his reasons for having
remained in S. S. C. under its altered circumstances. The Rule was
a help to him. He desired to light shoulder to shoulder with those
who were fighting the same battle ; but now he thought that the work
of the Society could not be continued without great injury to the
Church."
The Rev. C. D. Goldie moved another amendment to the effect that
.the Society should assure the Bishops that the Council would "be
anxious'' to "consider any recommendation which may be made by
their lordships, and to coincide with any amendments which are in
accordance with the teaching of the early Church, and the Formu-
laries of our Church."
The Rev. Frederick William Puller (now head of the Cowley
Fathers) supported Brother Goldie's amendment. He said that he
was against disbanding, but "he admitted that it was possible that
the wording of the Statutes might be improved, and he allowed the
force of the arguments that they had been drafted under the idea that
they would be seen only by these who would understand them."
The Rev. William H. Colbeck Luke affirmed that he " would shelve
the question of disbanding for the present."
The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie declared that " for his own part (and
many had expressed their agreement with him) he did not mean to
be disbanded, but would hold on, with any who chose to join him, as
the S. S. C, in spite of any vote for disbanding."
The Rev. T. Outram Marshall, spoke against disbanding, and then
went on to make a very startling announcement. He declared that,
" There were jive or six Bishops who wished us well, and who would be ulad
to do all in tiieir power to prevent the Upper Howe of Convocation from
condemning the Society."™ Mr. Marshall proceeded, with an astute-
ness which would have done credit to the General of the Jesuits, to
point out that, " They would be able to lay great stress on the fact
that the Statutes were under consideration; they [the 'five or six
Bishops '] wanted to stand b>j us, and we should thus enable them to
do so. If the Archbishop of Canterbury found that the Bishops were
divided, he would probably shrink from pressing the matter ; and so
this storm, like many others, would pass away."
33 What hypocrites these "five or six Bishops" must have been! They
succeeded in their nude; hand proceedings, for the dreaded censure of the
Upper House did not take place.
SPEECHES IN SECRET SYNOD.
93
In this Mr. Marshall was a true prophet. The Statutes wtre
revised ; but rejected by the Society afterwards ; the Archbishop
did not press the matter ; the storm passed away, and the Society
went on its way rejoicing, mainly, I have no doubt, through the
treachery of these five or six Bishops.
The Rev. Arthur Hawkins Ward, Vicar of St. Raphael, Bristol,
informed the Synod that " he had come most reluctantly to the con-
clusion that we must, for a time, disband. Unless we did so the
censure of the entire Episcopate would come upon us."
Archdeacon Denison spoke next. He asked, " What advantage
could there be in disbanding? We should part with some of the
most precious things we possessed, and should gain nothing. He
had turned toward; that Society, believing that the brethren, at any
rate, would stand firm. As to a Synodical condemnation, he laughed
at it I On the vote of this Synod, he believed, hung the hope of the
Catholic Church of England. We had heard very much about
Episcopal condemnation, but such a condemnation would be based
upon Protestant principles. Onr attitude should be, "You shall kill
me, if j'ou choose, but you shall not stop me.'"
After some further discussion, Brother Goldie withdrew his
amendment. Brother Wood's amendment for disbanding was then
put, and was lost by a great majority, only nine voting for it, and
sixty-seven against it. At last Brother Hutching's original motion,
in favour of a Committee to revise the Statutes, was put to the
Synod, and was carried, forty-one voting for it, and twenty against it.
On the second day of the Synod an important debate took place on
the Priest in Absolution. The Rev. Orby Shipley (who is now a
Roman Catholic) opened the discussion by moving the following
resolution :
"That, in consequence of the evil effects which have ensued from the
private circulation of the Priest in Absolution, the bad use made of its con-
tents, and the false charges founded upon garbled ([notations, it is due both
to the memory of its compiler, and to the character of its owners, that the
work be published in the ordinary course of trade, and this Synod hereby
authorises the same."'
Of course this resolution was equivalent to flinging defiance at the
Bishops, and at all the opponents of that filthy book. Brother
Shipley "declared, emphatically, that the book was pure and holy.
Publicity, he held, was now the only safeguard for our personal
character against the evil which had been clone by its private circula-
tion. ... He protested against the action of those brethren who had
publicly condemned the book, which they admitted they had never
read."
The Rev. H. D. Nihil! seconded the resolution, and said that " the
most miserable circumstance about the question was the condemna-
tion of the book by those who had not read it."
The Rev. W. C. Macfarlane moved and Brother Goldie seconded as
an amendment — " That all the words after ' That ' be omitted, in order
94
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
to insert the following ' inasmuch as the book called the Priest in
Absolution has been withdrawn from circulation, the copies in posses-
sion of the Society be at the disposal of the Master.' "
The Rev. Joseph Newton Smith l: opposed the publication of the
book ; he could not see how we should mend matters by increasing
the opportunities of unprincipled people to sin by sowing the book
broadcast."
What an acknowledgment this was, to be made by no less a person
than the founder of the Society of the Holy Cross ! A more severe,
though, apparently, unintentional, condemnation of the Priest in
Absolution, could not have been passed by any Protestant Churchman.
To circulate the book publicly would, in his estimation, ''increase the
opportunities " of committing sin in the world, and thus do the work
of Satan more effectually. Those whose painful duty it has been to
read its dirty pages, as I have, will quite agree with Brother Newton
Smith, who does not, however, appear to have condemned the book
itself. If the book would have had such an evil effect on the general
public, is there not reason to fear that it may have already had an
evil effect on some of the young bachelor Father Confessors who have
already studied it, and who are made of the same flesh and blood as
other mortals ?
The Hev. W. J. Knox-Little delivered a speech on the subject,
which I report as corrected by himself later on in the report of the
October, 1877, Chapter of the Society. He said that "circumstances
had compelled him to speak of the book in public. He had not seen
the book, and therefore he acted upon the descriptions of it which he
had seen and heard, by those able to speak accurately on the subject.
He defended the general principle of the book, but deprecated the
extracts, of which an unwarrantable use had been made. At the
same time he acknowledged his disapproval of it as a work on moral
theology, and he by no means repented of what he had said. With
regard to the motion, he argued that it would be hardly honourable to
publish the book in the face of Convocation."
The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie "thought the book a most useful one
for young priests, and expressed a hope that it might be circulated
again at some future time." He supported the motion.
The Rev. Charles Parnell, Curate of St. Bartholomew, Brighton,
" opposed the publication of the book " ; and the Rev. Charles Stebbing
Wallace " urged that, as men of honour, we had no right to publish
the book."
The Master, in reply to a question, explained that " the amendment
meant that the book should be destroyed privately, without casting
any stigma upon the author. He maintained that, as honourable
men, we could never put the book out again."
The Rev. T. Outrain Marshall " opposed both the destruction and
the publication of the book."
The Rev. R. Rhodes Bristow supported the amendment. " // the
book were published, it would be prosecuted," he said, " as an obscene book.
We did not want the book. Dr. Pusey was bringing out a work on
SYMPATHY WITH S. S. C.
95
Moral Theology. He would therefore instruct the Master to deal with
the book as with waste paper."
The book of Dr. Pusey, referred to by Mr. Bristow, was in reality
only another adapted translation of the same book from which the
Priest in Absolution was translated, namely, the Abbd Ganrne's
Manual for Confessors. Dr. Pusey's translation was published early
in 1878.
At last the debate ended. The question was then put, " That the
words proposed to be left out stand part cf the question." This was
carried by thirty-four to eight. The amendment was therefore lost.
The original motion was then put. Twelve voted for it, and thirty-
one against ; and therefore it was lost.
The Society would neither publish nor destroy the book. I learn
from the official report of this Synod that the Society received several
messages of sympathy with the brethren for what they had suffered
under the attack upon them for their connection with the Priest in
Absolution. One message was from the "Church of England Working
Men's Society"; another from the Bristol Branch of the English
Church Union ; and a similar one from the Penrith Branch of the
Union ; and two other resolutions of sympathy were received from
the London Province of the Guild of St. Alban's and the Wolver-
hampton branch of the same Guild. Several other brandies of the
English Church Union sent, later on, similar resolutions. At the
October Chapter, a letter was read from the Rev. Richard Whitehead
Hoare, Vicar of St. Michael's, Croydon, " enclosing a letter expressing
the sympathy and goodwill which the Bishop of Grahamstown felt
towards S. S. C." 34
The action of this Synod led, eventually, to the resignation of the
Master of the Society (the Rev. F. L. Bagshawe). At the October Chap-
ter a long letter was read from him, in which he complained bitterly of
the way in which he had been treated by the Society. His first thought
had been, he said, to resign at once, immediately after the Synod, on the
ground that his policy had been " distinctly negatived " by the Synod.
"I asked leave," he wrote, "to destroy privately the copies of the
Priest in Absolution, on the ground that we were bound in honour
never to circulate that book again"; but the Synod refused to grant
his request. He would not, however, resign at that tune, lest it
should hinder the success of the efforts being made to revise the
Statutes. "Negotiations of a private kind," he added, "have been
already opened with several bishops ; but if these fail, either on your
part or on theirs, and the work of the Committee is rendered fruitless,
I have but one course open to me"— that is to ask them "to elect
another Master who can carry out the policy of resistance " to the
Bishops.
A letter such as this must indeed have been a bombshell in the
Society, and have added greatly to the difficulties of its position.
Before the Chapter concluded its sittings it passed unanimously a
34 S. S. C. October Chapter, 1877, p. 2.
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
resolution expressing their " continued and complete confidence " in
the Master, and a hope that he would not resign.
Several months passed by without anything being definitely done
by the Society of the Holy Cross with regard to their Confessional
book. But meanwhile the Committee appointed to revise the Statutes
of the Society were hard at work. The Committee consisted of the
following seventeen members, all of whom signed its report, presented
to the May, 1878, Synod : The Eevs. F. LL Bagshawe [the Master \
C. F. Lowder, John' Andrews Foote. Edgar Hoskins, T. T. Carter (of
Clewer), G. R. Prynne fVicar of St. Peter's, Plymouth ', Henry Edward
Williugton, William Henry Hutchings, L. Alison, R. Rhodes Bristow,
J. W. Chadwick. Charles Bodington .'now Canon of Lichfield). R. J.
Wilson, Charles D. Goldie, Frederick William Puller, R. H. Parry,
and George Body. At the April, 1878, Chapter of the Society, it was
announced that the Committee of Revision had "communicated the
Report {without any signature of Member* attached*** to the following
Bishops —London, Winchester, Oxford. Ely, Lichfield, Peterborough,
Exeter, and Chichester, hut that no copies of the Report hare been sup-
plied to the two Archbishops."™ This insignificant omission of the
Archbishops, shows that the Committee were either afraid of their
knowing too much of their proceedings, or was an intentional insult
to their Graces. Perhaps it was both. Aud why, it may be asked,
was not the Report sent to all the Bishops of the southern and
northern provinces ? Those in the north were left out altogether,
while only eight Bishops in the southern province, out of twenty-two,
received a copy of the document. I can only account for the omis-
sion by the dread of publicity and the light of day, which has ever
characterised the owl-like proceedings of the Society of the Holy
Cross.
When the May. 1878, Synod of the S. S. C. met, the Master's
address was entirely taken up with the recent attack on the Society,
and the revision of its Statutes. He mentioned that in 1877, the
Society numbered exactly three hundred members, but that dm'ing
the past year there had been no fewer than 122 resignations. He
fouud, however, one consolation in the fact that the Society had
" been honoured by the addition to its ranks of one of the most dis-
tinguished members of the Church of England, the Ven. Archdeacon
Denison."37 It is evident that the Master had a higher personal
sense of honourable conduct than the Society as a whole possessed.
He said, in the course of his address : —
35 This shows how afraid they were to be known to the Bishops. Their
Report, as presented to the May, 1878, Synod, does contain all the names of
the Members of the Committee mentioned above.
36 S. S. C. April Chapter, 1878, p. 3. For a complete list of the Members
of this secret Society up to the year 1897, see Church AssoQ'.iiion Tra-:i, No.
244, price one pennv.
37 S. S. C. Master's Address, May Synod. 1878, p. 7,
REVISION OF STATUTES.
9?
" I pass on to another question that will he brought before you, simply
because it involves what is personal to me. At a Special Chapter of the
Society last year a printed letter was drawn up and sent to the Bishops, in
which it was promised that the Priest in Absolution should not be circulated.
The language was somewhat ambiguous. I thought I understood it, and
assured the Archbishop and others that the book was absolutely and for ever
withdrawn. Last September Synod I discovered that some brethren looked
forward to its re-circulation at some future time. Hitherto the book has
been in my care — now it will cease to be so. If the Society resolves to pre-
serve the book it must be with a motive, and how that motive can be recon-
ciled with my personal representation to the Bishops will be a difficult
question for my own after-consideration." ^
The sermon to the brethren at this Synod was preached by the
Rev. Canon Carter, of Clewer, but as I do not possess a copy I am
unable to quote it here. The Report of Committee appointed to consider
the form of the Society's Statutes, I fortunately possess. The suggested
alterations were twenty-six in number, and mainly consisted of the
omission of the words "Mass," "Sacrament of Penance," and " Sacra-
mental Confession " from the Statutes and Office Books of the Society.
The Report shows that four Members of the Committee, not included
in the list given above, refused to sign the report. The Rev. John
Comper, rector of St. Margaret's, Aberdeen, it is stated, was "opposed
to such suggested alterations as would involve the removal of the
terms ' Mass ' and ' Sacrament of Penance ' from the Statutes and
Rules of the Society." The Revs. A. H. Mackonochie, H. D. Nihill,
and J. W. Biscoe, were " opposed to alt the alterations suggested." 39
Now, although this Committee were quite willing to delete the
terms "Mass" and "Sacrament of Penance" from the documents of
the Society, it is quite clear from their report that they saw no harm
in them, and therefore they retained the tilings represented by these
terms, while rejecting the names for politic reasons. As to the term
" Mass," they declared that it " can be most legitimately used by
English Churchmen at the present day, so only that scandal to the
ignorant be avoided."40 They also justified the use of the term
"Sacramental Confession";41 and, as to the other expression, they
affirm that " the members of S. S. C. were in no way going beyond
what the Church of England permits, when they spoke in their
Statutes of the ' Sacrament of Penance,' that sacred right which seals
and completes the work of penitence for post-baptismal deadly sin." 42
It is, therefore, quite certain that this precious Report in reality with-
drew nothing but empty names, and was primarily intended for the
purpose of throwing more dust in the eyes of the Bishops. It was
worthy of a conclave of Jesuits rather than of a committee of clergy-
men within the Reformed Church of England.
At the commencement of the Synod, letters were read from Arch-
38 S. S. C. Master's Address, May Synod, 1878, pp. 5, 6.
39 Report of Committee, p. 16. 40 Ibid., p. 5.
"Ibid., p. 11. »iWtf.,p. 11.
98
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
deacon Denison, and the Eevs. Robert Herbert Godwin (of St.
Cyprian's Theological College, Bloemfoentein), G. P. Grantham, and
William Webster (subsequently Dean of Aberdeen) " deprecating the
suggested changes in the Statutes," and from the Revs. George Croke
Robinson and Arthur Gordon Stallard (" suggesting amendments to
certain of the proposed changes ") ; and from Charles John Corfe
(now Bishop of Corea), who " advocated the suggested changes."
The Master rose to propose the following motion : — " That the
Report of the Committee appointed to consider the Society's Statutes
be received and adopted " ; and was about to speak to it, when the
Rev. T. Outrain Marshall rose and declared that, in his opinion the
motion was out of order. Of course this raised a discussion at once.
The Master ruled that his own motion was " strictly in order " ; but
this did not satisfy the rebellious Organising Secretary of the English
Church Union (Mr. Marshall), who at once moved " That the ruling
given by the Master is not correct." He found a seconder in the Rev.
Lyndhurst Burton Towne, but the Master refused to put the rebel
motion to the Synod, whereupon the discontented brethren had to
" eat humble pie," and sit down.
The Master then delivered the speech he had prepared in support
of his own motion.
The Rev. R. Rhodes Bristow seconded the Master's motion,
and announced that "The Committee, while convinced that the
Statutes contained nothing but sound doctrine, had sought the peace
and unity of the Society by suggesting the changes in our terminology.
. . . Some might say that we were drawing back, but it was in order
that we might strike a harder blow."
The Rev. A. H. Mackonochie complained of one of the brethren,
whose name does not appear to have been mentioned. " He asserted
that the Society had been betrayed by one brother, who left the
Society as soon as he got it into difficulties."
The Rev. John Edwards (now the Rev. J. Baghot De La Bere,
Vicar of St. Mary, Buxted) " advocated the use of the terminology in
the Statutes. The term ' Sacrament of Penance,' he maintained, was
not only theologically correct, but expressed the intercourse which
existed between a priest and a penitent."
The Rev. John W illiam Kempe said that " to speak only of the one
word ' Mass,' eternity alone will tell how grievously sacramental and
supernatural life in England has suffered from the disuse of this
venerable term." He moved as an amendment that the Synod, while
thanking the Committee for their labours, " declines to admit any of
their recommendations."
The Rev. Charles Bodington pointed out that " neither our teaching
nor our practice would be altered by the adoption of the suggested
changes of terminology."
Bishop Jenner, " as the only Episcopal brother present, appealed
to the Synod for conciliation."
When the voting took place, fifty-one Toted for the Master's motion,
and fifty-eight against it. The motion was therefore declared lost.
PROTEST FROM BRETHREN OF S. S. C.
99
The Society refused to adopt the revised Statutes, and consequently
reverted to the old Statutes. The amendment of Brother J. W.
Kempe was then put, and was carried, fifty-seven voting for it, and
fifty-one against. It is evident from the voting that the Society of
the Holy Cross was very closely divided on the subject of revision.
On the second day of the Synod a very important protest was read
by Brother Mackonochie. It was as follows : —
" We, the undersigned Brethren and Probationers of the Society of the
Holy Cross, being, as members of that Society, part proprietors of a certain
property consisting of a number of copies of the Pried in Absolution, do
hereby refuse and withhold our consent to the destruction of that property;
and we do hereby protest against any discussion upon the question of destroy-
ing that property in this Synod, on the ground that such destruetion, with-
out the consent of us as part proprietors, would be an illegal act."
This protest was signed by Archdeacon Denison, the Revs. John
Edwards (now Baghot De LaBere), A. H. Mackonochie, Arthur Henry
Stanton, H. D. Nihil], Charles Parnell, John Comper, Thomas Isaac
Ball, William Moore Richardson (now Bishop of Zanzibar), John
Barnes Johnson (Vicar of St. Mary, Edmonton), James Hipwell,
Edward Heath, George Musgrave ' distance (Rector of Colwall,
Malvern), — Collins, Cecil Wray, and William Crouch (Vicar of
Grunlingay).
The friends of the Priest in Absolution were determined, if possible,
to stop discussion. They objected to the following motion being put
to the Synod, but which had appeared on the Agenda paper : —
"That, inasmuch as the hook called the Priest in Absolution had been
withdrawn from circulation, the copies remaining in the Master's hands be
destroyed."
So, before this resolution was brought forward, Brother Macko-
nochie moved " That the resolution on the Agenda paper is not in
order."
This last motion was immediately put to the vote, and lost, sixteen
voting for it, and twenty-three against.
Brother Macfarlane then moved the motion which had been placed
on the Agenda paper ; but he was careful to explain that " the book
itself needed no commendation ; the motion was quite irrespective of
the merits of the book. A pledge had been given to the Bishops, and
we were bound to redeem it."
The Rev. William Crouch, however, was of a different mind. He
boldly declared that " to redeem the pledge to the Bishops would be
to break the Eighth Commandment."
The Rev. Frederick William Puller " thought that this was hardly
the occasion for destroying it, but he thought at some future time we
might destroy it as lumber."
The Rev. C. D. Goldie said that "we needed such a book as the
Priest in Absolution."
The Rev. William John Frere (Principal of Hockering Training
100 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
College, Bishop Stortford) " quoted Brother Bodington's opinion as to
the value of the book. He thought that we might put forth another
book on Confession, and remarked that Dr. Pusey's work does not
touch upon the Seventh Commandment."
The Rev. Robert Eyton (now Canon of Westminster) " said that we
were not called upon to give up our private copies of the book." He
would support the motion.
The Bev. H. D. Nihill informed the Synod that " he burnt all bad
literature ; he was not ashamed of the Priest in Absolution."
Brother Macfarlane's motion was put to the Synod, and lost by a
very large majority, forty-nine voting against it, and only eleven for
it. After a great deal of discussion the following amendment was
passed as a substantive motion, by thirty-four to eight.
" That this Synod is not in favour of the destruction of the remain-
ing copies of the Priest in Absolution at the present time."
What the Society of the Holy Cross has done, in its corporate
capacity, with reference to the Priest in Absolution, since the Synod
whose secret proceedings I have just described, is more than I can say,
but I have reason to believe that it still retains possession of the book.
So careful have the members of the S. S. C. been to keep their under-
ground proceedings from the knowledge of the general public, that it
was not until eighteen years had passed by, after the celebrated expo-
sure of 1877, that any Protestant Churchman was able to see a single
secret document of the Society connected with that important event
in its history. I have reported the Society's secret proceedings, and the
speeches delivered at its meetings, at considerable length, for what
I believe to be sufficient reasons. There is no other way in which
the general public can be made acquainted with what is going on
underneath the surface. Secrecy cannot be defeated except by
publicity. And it is important that the public shall know that many
of the men whose secret utterances I have here reported, have since
been promoted to high positions in the Church, possibly because then-
real sentiments were unknown to those in whose hands the higher
patronage of the Church has been placed. I have no doubt they will
be very much annoyed at being thus shown in their true colours, nor
is there any doubt that they will bitterly denounce me for dragging
their secret speeches out into the light of day. But it cannot be
helped. Certainly the Society of the Holy Cross, as a Society —
whatever may be said in favour of individuals — does not come out
with much credit to itself. Its underhand dodgery and Jesuitical
tactics deserve the contempt of all men who love straightforward
dealing. Its filthy Confessional book has never been condemned by
the Society as a whole, though a few of its members have written
and spoken against it. On the contrary, the Society seems to glory
in what many will consider its shame. Individual members of the
Society found themselves, in the latter part of 1877, in many instances
subject to a great deal of unpleasant criticism from their Protestant
parishioners. Some of them put a bold face on the matter, while
others published apologies for their conduct. As a rule, these were
A SCANDAL OF UNPARALLED MAGNITUDE.
101
so worded as to commend the Society of the Holy Cross, instead of
condemning it, and at the same time to represent themselves as the
victims of unmerited censure. One of the most remarkable of these
apologies was that issued by the Eev. John Erskine Binney, at that
time Vicar of Summerstown, near Oxford. His parish was, im-
mediately after Lord Kedesdale's exposure, placarded with an address
to the people, in which it was mentioned that the Vicar was a
member of the Society of the Holy Cross. Mr. Binney did not, in
his reply to the placard, deny the charge, nor did he in any way
censure the Priest in Absolution ; but he declared he had " too much
confidence" in the "good sense" of his people to suppose that the
placard would " in any way affect " their " mutual relations as Pastor
and Flock."
" The chief intent of the placard," he continued, " seems to be to reflect
on a certain book called the Priest in Absolution, and it chooses to assume
that this work is the text-book of the Clergy whose names are mentioned, in
some of their most important ministerial relations with their parishioners.
Now it may be well for me to say most distinctly that, though I glory in
being a member of the Society of the Holy Cross, because I know that in its
twenty-five [sic] years of existence it has clone more, under God, to raise the
personal tone of the parochial Clergy than any other institution, yet that I
do not know the work in question, nor do I wish to know it."
This document was dated June 22nd, 1877, and although at that
time Mr. Binney gloried in being a member of the Society of the
Holy Cross, yet when the next secret list of its members appeared
his name was withdrawn.
I believe that all loyal members of the Church of England will
endorse the opinion of the late Dr. Harvey Goodwin, Bishop of
Carlisle, who, writing to a member of the Society of the Holy Cross,
on December 29th, 1877, emphatically declared that, "It [S. S. C] has
created a scandal in the Church of almost unparalleled magnitude, and
it seems to me that the only right course for wise and loyal Church-
men is to wash their hands of it." 13
S. S. C. Cojiij of Correspondence, p. 2.
CHAPTER V.
THE ORDER OF CORPORATE REUNION.
Origin of Order of Corporate Reunion shrouded in mystery — Its first
" Pastoral " — It professes " loyalty " to the Pope — Prays for the Pope
in its secret Synod — Its Bishops secretly consecrated by foreign
Bishops — Who were they? — "Bishop" Lee and "Bishop" Moss-
man — ■" Bishop " Mossman professes belief in the Pope"s Infallibility
— Birth of the Order rejoices the Romanists — Its proceedings dis-
cussed by the Society of the Holy Cross — Some secret documents —
Eight hundred Church of England clergy secretly ordained by a
Bishop of the Order.
The Order of Corporate Pieunion is even more secret and mysterious
than the Society of the Holy Cross, and what is more serious, it is
more unblushingly Popish, going to the length of acknowledging the
Pope as the lawful Head of the whole visible Church on earth. It
does not, however, advocate individual secession to Rome, but acts
on the lines which the late Rev. Dr. Littledale laid down for the
Ritualists many years since. That gentleman, in a lecture on " Se-
cession to Borne," which he delivered at Ipswich and Norwich,
referring to those who had already seceded to Rome, remarked : —
"They go (over to Rome) to get something which they cannot get, do Dot
get, or what often comes to the same thing, think they caunot get, in the
English Church. When once they have got this notion fairly into their heads,
all the No-Popery tracts and lectures in England will not keep them back.
The real cure is to (/ice them here what they arc going to look for ; and if they
get all they want from us, you may be very sure lew of them will take the
trouble to go further. Noiv, this is what the Tractarians, as they are called,
are trying to do, and it is for this that they are so heartily abused every day
of their lives by persons who do not understand what they want." 1
Dr. Littledale contented himself with supplying the rank and file of
the Ritualists, in the Church of England, with the Romish doctrines
and ritual for which they craved. It is true that he wrote a well-
known book, entitled Plain Reasons Against Joining the Church of Rome,
but in that work he did not bring forward what he evidently con-
1 Defence of Church Principles, " Secessions to Rome," by the Kev. Dr. R.
F. Littledale, p. 4.
(102)
FIRST PASTORAL OF 0. C. R.
103
sidered the strongest argument to prevent people going over to Rome.
He supplied that argument in the lecture just cited, and acted upon
it in his Priest's Prayer Book, of which he was joint editor with the
Rev. J. E. Vaux. In that book will be found a large collection of the
most superstitious of Romish practices, together with most of the
peculiar doctrines of the Church of Rome. But the Order of Corpo-
rate Reunion goes further than Dr. Littledale. It professes to supply
not only Popish doctrines, but also Orders and Sacraments such as
even the Church of Rome must admit to be valid, though she refuses
to acknowledge those of the Church of England. It has Bishops
secretly consecrated, and these are prepared to give conditional re-
ordination to such of the clergy of the Church of England as may
choose to submit to the process. It admits the laity of both sexes to
its ranks, and these are, as a general rule — with possibly a few excep-
tions—conditionally re-baptized when they join the Order. These
laymen and women being in the secret, no doubt know where to go
to in order to receive valid Sacraments. It is stated that no one is
admitted to the order but bonii-jide members of the Church of England.
As a matter of fact several of its officials have seceded to Rome.
The actual origin of the Order of Corporate Reunion is shrouded in
mystery. Its rulers made known to the public the existence of the
Order during the summer of 1877, but it appears to have been or-
ganized, more or less imperfectly, about a year before that date, and
even at that early period to have been known to a trusted few on the
Continent, as well as at home.2 It held a secret Synod, in London,
on July 2nd, 1877, at which a " Pastoral" of the Rulers was approved,
which had been previously drawn up. A copy of this document was
subsequently written out and taken abroad, where it was attested by a
foreign Roman Catholic Notary, named "Adrian De Helte," to be a true
copy, and as such signed by him on August 15th. The Pastoral was
formally promulgated by being read on September 8th, ha the presence
of witnesses whose names have not been made public, on the steps at
the west end of St. Pauls Cathedral, and in other places throughout
the land.= This Pastoral was also printed in the Reunion Magazine, an
official periodical issued by the Order, but which was withdrawn from
circulation about a year after its commencement. It is too lengthy a
document to reprint here in full, and therefore I must confine myself
to a few extracts. It commences thus : —
' ' In the Sacred Name of the Most Holy Undivided and Adorable Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
"Thomas, by the favour of God, Rector of the Order of the Corporate
Reunion, and Pro- Provincial of Canterbury; Joseph, by the favour of God,
Provincial of York, in the Kingdom of England ; and Laurence, by the favour
of God, Provincial of Caerleon, in the Principality of Wales, with the Provosts
and Members of the Synod of the Order, to the Faithful in Christ Jesus,
whom these Presents may concern ; Health and Benediction in the Lord God
everlasting."
Reunion Magazine, p. 11.
3 Ibid., p. 11.
104
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
The Pastoral proceeds to deplore "the evil state into which the
National Church of England has been brought by departure from
ancient principles and by recent events " ; and it positively asserts,
as "certain" that "all semblance of independent existence and
corporate action has departed from the Established Church." A
brief history of the Church of England to the present day is then
given, in the course of which it is affirmed that the Act of Submission
of the Clergy, in the reign of Henry VIII., "is the root of all our
existing evils and miseries." The reign of Edward VI., the Pro-
testant King, is described as " a period of wild confusion," while that
of the Eomanist, Queen Mary, is referred to as one " of Catholic
reaction." The glorious Revolution of 1688 comes in for a measure
of abuse, and it is declared that after "the riot, blasphemy, and
general wickedness of the Great Rebellion, the Revolution of 1688
was the beginning of yet more serious trouble for the Established
Church." Coming down to our own day, it affirmed that " every
vestige of distinct corporate entity has utterly disappeared from the
Church." Against these and a host of other real or imaginary evils
the Order of Corporate Reunion raises its protesting voice. It pro-
tests, in particular, " against the disuse of Chrism in Confirmation, and
the inadequate form for the administration of that Sacrament now in
use within the Church of England; as well as against the total
abolition of the Apostolic practice of Anointing the Sick with Oil — by
which every baptized person is curtailed in his spiritual privileges,
and robbed at the hour of death of an important part of his rightful
heritage. Many persons," continues the Pastoral, "have lamented
the loss of this last-named Sacrament : We, by the favour of God, are
now enabled to restore it."
Next, the Pastoral grumbles at the School Boards, and the existing
relations of Church and State ; and at last announces the remedy
which the Order has provided for all the " evils " which trouble their
minds. "We affirm," they triumphantly declare, "that in the Pro-
vidence of God, the evil itself has opened the door to a remedy. For
the Bishops of the Church of England, having yielded up all canonical
authority and jurisdiction in the spiritual order, can neither interfere
with, nor restrain, Us in Our work of recovering from elsewhere that
which has been forfeited or lost — securing three distinct and independent
lines of a new Episcopal Succession, so as to labour corporate!?, and on
no sandy foundation, for the healing of the breach which has been
made."
Here is their grand remedy for everything. The Orders and Sacra-
ments conferred in the Church of England are, in their opinion, open
to grave and serious doubt ; but now, "three distinct lines of a new
Episcopal succession," have been secured by the Bishops of the
Order of Corporate Reunion — though they carefully abstain from
mentioning their source, or by whom they were conferred — who
are thus able to remedy all defects in the Church of England, in
the hope of eventually securing that Corporate Reunion with the rest
of Christendom, which it is their "chief aim" to secure. Of course
FIRST PASTORAL OF O. C. R.
105
they think it necessary to make known the doctrinal basis on which
the new Order is built.
"In thus associating ourselves together," says the Pastoral, "we solemnly
take as the basis of this Our Order the Catholic Faith as defined by the Seven
General Councils, acknowledged as such by the whole Church of the East
and the West before the great and deplorable schism, and as commonly re-
ceived in the Apostles' Creed, and the Creed of Nicaea, and the Creed of St.
Athauasius. To all the sublime doctrines so laid down, We declare our
unreserved adhesion, as well as to the principles of Church constitution and
discipline, set forth and approved by the said Seven General Councils.
Furthermore, until the whole Church shall speak on the subject, We accept
all those dogmatic statements set forth in Common by the Council of Trent and
the Synod of Bethlehem respectively, with regard to the doctrine of the
Sacraments. . . .
"Thanking Almighty God most humbly for the restoration of Brother-
hoods, Sisterhoods, and Guilds, We solemnly affirm that the Monastic Life,
duly regulated according to the laws of the Catholic Church, is a most salu-
tary institution, in perfect harmony with the spirit of the Gospel ; and is full
of profit to those who, being carefully tried and examined, make full proof
of their calling thereto. Our services will always be at the disposal of such —
upon whom we invoke the Divine blessing." 4
The thought which naturally suggests itself to a loyal Churchman
on reading this Pastoral for the first time, is one of astonishment, that
men who thus doubt the validity of the Orders and Sacraments of the
Church of England, should, notwithstanding, continue to act as her
Ministers, or in any way remain within her communion as members
of such a Church. How they reconcile their conduct with their
Ordination vows is a puzzle hard, indeed, to unravel, except on a
theory very little to their credit. When it becomes lawful to do evil
that good may come, then, and not till then, can their conduct be
justified. The real object of such a policy is. of course, to bring not
only themselves but the whole Church of England with them, back to
the Pope — and this is what they mean by " Corporate Reunion," as
distinguished from individual secession. The same policy was set
forth as far back as 1867, in the columns of the Union Rcveiw, by a
Ritualist, in the form of a letter to a foreign Roman Catholic.
"With such a position," wrote the Ritualist, "it is surely, I say, much
better for us to remain working where we are — for what would become of
England if we were to leave her Church ? She would be simply lost to
Catholicism, and won to Rationalism. . . . Depend upon it, it is only
through the English Church itself that England can be Catholicised ; . . .
and so long as the Church of England remains what she is, to join you
[Rome] in any but a corporate capacity would be, in our view, to sin against
the truth."6
The utter disloyalty of this secret Order of Corporate Reunion
to the Church of England, and its real loyalty to the Pope of Rome,
i Reunion Magazine, pp. 88-98.
5 Union Review, Volume for 1S67, p. 410.
106
SECRET HISTOEY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
is more clearly revealed to us by a glimpse at its first Synod, afforded
to us by no less a person than a high official in the Order itself, viz.,
" Laurentius, O.C.E., Provincial of Caerleon." This official states
that :—
" It is quite true that we [O.C.R.] do not assume an attitude of inde-
pendence towards the Holy See. We frankly acknowledge that, in the
Providence of God, the Roman Pontiff is the first Bisho}) in the Church, and,
therefore, its visible head on earth. We do not believe that either the
Emperor of Russia or the Queen of England is the head of the Church. As
the Church must have some executive head, and as there is no other com-
petitor, we believe the Pope to be that head. But he is more to us than this,
for he is our Patriarch as well. So that we admit his claim to the veneration
and LOYALTY of all baptized men, and in a special degree of a!l Western
Christians, and in these capacities we prayed for him in our Constituent
Synod." 0
Probably the authorities of the Order of Corporate Union think
they can best show their " loyalty " to the Pope by acting a double
part. Ordinary people, however, will think that they are traitors in
the camp, and that the sooner they are drummed out of it the better.
There has been a good deal of conjecture as to the identity of the
men whose names appear at the head of the Pastoral. Who are
"Thomas," Pro- Provincial of Canterbury; "Joseph," Provincial of
York ; and " Laurence," Provincial of Caerleon ? We can only
answer this question from indirect sources of information. The first
guess at their identity appears to have been made by the Rev. W.
Allen Whitworth, a Ritualistic clergyman opposed to the Order, who,
in a long letter to the Church Review, December 28th, 1878, aifirmed
that the Rev. P. G. Lee, Vicar of St. Saints', Lambeth, was one of the
three Bishops of the Order of Corporate Reunion ; and he distinctly
terms him " Bishop P. G. Lee " ; and he refers to " the Roman,
Greek, and Armenian Bishops who joined together, secretly to con-
secrate Dr. F. G. Lee and his colleagues." 7 A lay official of the
Order of Corporate Reunion, a Mr. William Grant, who is referred to
in Hob Reunion Magazine as "Registrar" of the Order, published in
pamphlet form a reply to Mr. Whitworth's attack.3 Mr. Grant denies
many of Mr. Whitworth's assertions, but he does not deny that Dr.
Lee was a Bishop of the O.C.R., or that he and his colleagues were
secretly consecrated Bishops by three " Roman, Greek, and Armenian
Bishops." There can be no doubt that he would have denied these
statements also had they been false, and as " Registrar " of the Order
he must have been fully acquainted with the facts of the case. The
next attempt to identify the three mysterious Bishops of the O.C.R.
was made by the Whitehall Review, early in 1879. That paper
published the following paragraph : —
6 Reunion Magazine, p. 242.
7 Church Review, December 28th, 1878, p. 623.
8 Is the Order of Corporate Reunion Schismatical ? by William Grant.
London : D. Nutt.
ITS BISHOPS SECRETLY CONSECRATED.
107
" The three Anglican clerics who hare obtained Episcopal consecration
from the Dutch Jansenists, for the purpose of ' revalidating ' the Orders
of clergymen having doubts about their priesthood, are singularly modest
in their signatures. The ' Rector Provincial, Canterbury ' is ' ►£< Thomas,'
the ' Provincial of Caerleon 'is ' ►£« Laurence,' the ' Provincial of York ' is
' ►£« Joseph.' Might I suggest that 1 Thomas ' sign for the future, ' >J«
Frederick George Lee'; Bishop 'Laurence,' 1 >J< Joseph Leycester Lyne';
and Bishop ' Joseph,' ' ►£< Thomas W. Mbssman ' ! Perhaps Bishop ' Laurence '
might prefer to call himself ' >J< Ignatius ' ; if so, one would not object, as it
would give a better idea of his real name." 9
It is not a little remarkable that the Whitehall Reviexo was certainly
correct in at least two out of the three names which it identified, and,
for anything I know to the contrary, may have been right as to the
whole three of them. Dr. Lee, and the Rev. Thomas W. Mossman
(now dead), for many years Rector of West Torrington, Lincolnshire,
were certainly Bishops of the O.C.R., and 1 have never heard that the
Rev. Joseph L. Lyne, alias " Father Ignatius," has denied the accusa-
tion of the Whitehall Review, though I have serious doubts as to his
identity.
Seven years after the foundation of the Order, the Birmingham
Daily Gazette, in a leading article, remarked : — " Strange as it may
seem, Dr. Lee and certain other clergy of the ' Establishment ' are
said to have been consecrated as Bishops by some mysterious trium-
virate of an Eastern, a Latin, and an Anglican prelate, no ons knows
when, where, or by whom. It is certain that Dr. Lee has been
challenged over and over again to say explicitly what is the fact, and
has never done so. It is said that there is no doubt that he does
exercise Episcopal functions, and has been seen in Episcopal vestures,
of course of a more mediteval pattern than the ' Magpie ' attire
familiar to the House of Lords. It is said also to be beyond doubt
that individuals have been re-baptised, re-confirmed, if not ordained
by him or his supposed colleagues."10
The Rev. A. Jerome Matthews, a Roman Catholic priest, wrote to
the Trowbridge Chronicle, of October 16th, 1886, a letter, in which he
asserted that Dr. Lee was reputed to be "one of three Anglican
clergymen who went in a vessel for a sea voyage in company with
three foreign schismatical but real Bishops. That when in mid-ocean,
the three clergymen were conditionally baptized, ordained Deacons,
and Priests, and then consecrated Bishops. That they went to mid-
ocean to be in nobody's diocese, and that Dr. Lee does not deny the
allegation." 11 In the same paper, in its issue for November 29th,
1886, another Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. W. F. Trailies, wrote
that " the Order of Corporate Reunion is under Dr. Lee, who is
•Quoted in Church Times, March 14th, 1S79, p. 1C3.
10 Quoted in the English Churchman, January 1st, 1885, p. 10.
11 Quoted iu Brinckman'g Controversial Methods of Romanism, p. xvi.
108
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
undoubtedly a Bishop, which is more than can be said by anybody of
his neighbour at Lambeth Palace." 12
So much for Dr. Lee. As to the Rev. Thomas W. Mossman, that
gentleman publicly acknowledged that he possessed Episcopal Orders,
in a letter to the English Churchman : —
" I believe," he wrote, " that the Bishops of England ought to be elected
by the Christian people of England, and that the election ought to be
approved and confirmed by the Pope, as the visible Ivead of God's Catholic
Church here on earth. . . . All I have ever claimed for myself is to be in,
what are termed Episcopal Orders, and even that not publicly." 13
The advanced views held by these two " Bishops " concerning the
Pope and Papal Infallibility, will no doubt surprise many of my
readers. Dr. Lee has published a little volume of sermons, entitled
Order Out of Chaos, from which I quote the following passage:—
" The government of the Catholic Church by Bishops, Primates, Metro-
politans, and Patriarchs, with One Visible Head, is so exactly of that practical
nature, that no wholly independent and isolated religious body can possibly
partake either in its government or in the blessing of being rightly governed,
so long as it remains independent. . . . The Visible Head of that one Christian
Family, as Christendom has universally allowed, is the Bishop of the See of
St. Peter. Unlike all other Bishops, he has no superior either in rank or
jurisdiction. Now, when any part of a family, by misunderstanding and per-
verseness, becomes disobedient to, or out of harmony with, its Visible Head,
weakness and confusion, as regards its oneness, are certain to supervene."14
In this book " Bishop " Lee reprints a letter, which he had addressed
to the Guardian, in which he declares : —
" As I am personally challenged on this point, I hold, and have always
held (mere rough contradictions have no effect on n\,e) that the Pope is the
Archbishop's [of Canterbury] direct spiritual superior both in rank and
authority." 16
He even expresses approval of the modern doctrine of the Immacu-
late Conception of the Virgin, which was not made an article of faith
in the Church of Rome until December 8th, 1854. "It seems to
many," Dr. Lee writes, " that the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception of our Blessed Lady is but the due and reasonable com-
plement of the Thcotokos of Ephesus." 16
Since he wrote these last words, Dr. Lee has written a large volume
to prove that the Immaculate Conception, as defined by Pius IX.,
ought to be believed by all Christians.
12 Quoted in Brinekman's Controversial Methods of Romanism, p. xvi.
13 English Churchman, March 5th, 1885, p. 110.
14 Order Cut of Chaos, bv Frederick George Lee, D.D., pp. 60-62. London,
1881.
15 Ibid., p. 50. ^Ibid., p. 6.
"bishop" mossman accepts papal infallibility. 109
"Bishop" Mossman professed faith in the Pope's personal Infal-
libility, as denned by the Vatican Council of 1870, and yet remained
nominally in communion with the Church of England until his death,
in 1885, when he was received into the Church of Borne by Cardinal
Manning. Writing to the Church Revieiv, in 1881, Mr. Mossman re-
marked : —
" I used to be as opposed to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility as it was
possible for any one to be. Deeper rellection has, however, convinced me that
there is really nothing in it to which exception need be taken. Granting an
administrative Head of the whole Catholic Church, granting a Primate of
Christendom, by the same right even that the Archbishops of Canterbury
profess to be Primates of the English Church — -namely, by ' Divine Pro-
vidence,' it is surely only reasonable to believe that, if this Head of the
Universal Church were to teach ex cathedrA, or authoritatively, anything per-
taining to faith or morals, to the whole Hock of God, of which he is the Chief
Shepherd upon earth, he would most surely be guided by the Holy Ghost in
such a way as not to teach Sat::n's lie instead of the truth of God. This is
the way in which I should feel disposed to understand the Vatican Decree.
And so far from seeing anything inconsistent with reason, or history, or
Holy Scripture, or the Catholic Faith, in that Decree, thus understood, it
appears to me that natural piety itself, and a belief in God's providential
guidance of His Church, would lead us to accept it." 17
The birth of the Order of Corporate Reunion was hailed with de-
light by the Romanists of England and the continent. This, of course,
was quite natural. They knew very well who would get the benefit
of the labours of the O. C. E., and they were quite willing to encourage
its growth, and to wait patiently for the harvest time to come. About
two years after its birth a correspondent of the Church Times declared
that Roman Catholics at home and abroad only ridiculed the Order of
Corporate Reunion. Thereupon Mr. William Grant, who signed him-
self as " Registrar, O. C. R.," wrote to that paper :—
" In reply to one paragraph in the letter printed in your last issue from
' H.A. B. ,' will you permit me to say that my own experience is diametrically
opposed to that of your correspondent. In the place of 'ridicule' I have
found respectful interest and good wishes. Personally, I have received, at
the very least, over fifty letters of inquiry and ' Godspeed ' from eminent
Roman Catholic priests and members of Religious Orders, and well-known
Roman Catholic laymen. I was lately shown a letter addressed by his
Eminence Cardinal Manning to an Anglican layman, wdio had requested the
Cardinal's opinion of the 0. C. R. , in which his Eminence, whilst insisting on
the fact that individual secession was the rule of his Church in England,
utterly refused to condemn the aims and objects of the O. C. R., stating that
every organisation which tended to a restoration of unity was to be respected." 18
The Civilita Cattolica, the organ of the Jesuits, and published at
Rome, in its issue for April 20th, 1878, printed a letter from its
English correspondent on the 0. C. R. : —
17 Church Review, November 3rd, 1882, p. 531.
18 Church Times, August 22nd, 1879, p. 528.
no
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
"The Order of Corporate Reunion," he writes, "actively pursues its
labours, and its officers have sent forth a Pastoral Letter containing an ex-
position of its views and ends. It is known that several Anglican ministers
in connection with this Society have induced a Greek Bishop — whose name,
however, it has not as yet been possible to ascertain — to ordain them under
certain conditions, in order that the doubt to which Anglican Orders are
subject may not be alleged as a reason for taking exception to the validity of
their operations. The three leading officers of the Order have received Epis-
copal consecration from the same quarter — a quarter which, according to
what is said, is of such a character as to completely exclude any question as
to the validity of the Orders so conferred, when once the time shall come
for submitting the matter for examination to the Holy See. So soon as a
sufficient number of the Anglican clergy shall have in this way removed the
difficulty which arises from their ordination, the Order hopes to be able to
present its petition for Corporate Reunion with the Catholic Church, signed
by a number of members so imposing as to render it impossible for the Holy
See not to recognise the gravity and importance of the movement." 19
The schemes of the Order of Corporate Eeunion did not receive the
approval of the great majority of the Ritualistic party. It is ever
the fate of the pioneers of ecclesiastical movements to receive a
good deal of censure from the rank and file far away behind them.
Yet it is generally found that where the pioneers of a religious move-
ment stand at any particular year, the rank and file will be found
standing a quarter of a century later on. Such has been the rule with
the Ritualistic Movement since its birth in 1833. The Order of
Corporate Reunion is at present the pioneer of the Ritualistic Move-
ment, being much nearer to Rome than any of its predecessors. It
has consequently come in for a great deal of criticism from the rank
and file of the Ritualistic party. Even the secret Society of the Holy
Cross has taken up arms against the Order of Corporate Reunion.
At the monthly Chapters of the former of these Societies during the
close of 1878, and in the early portion of 1S79, and also at its Sep-
tember Synod, 1878, the action of the O. C. R. was again and again
discussed by the brethren in their secret gatherings. The S. S. C.
even appointed a Special Committee to examine the whole question.
"Bishop" Thomas W. Mossman was at that time a member of the
S. S. C, and in its secret conclaves fought valiantly for the Order of
which he was a " Bishop." The " Bishop " even presented a
" Report " of his own on the subject to the Society of the Holy Cross,
some time during the year 1878, the most remarkable passage in
which is the following : —
" The 0. C. R. admits none but those who accept the whole Catholic Faith ;
and its work is to gather them together, and form them into one great
spiritual Order : and then, when the time appointed comes, as most surely
in God's Providence it will come, whoever lives to see it, we shall go with our
thousands of faithful clergy and laity, and we shall say to the Patriarchs of
lu Quoted in Church. Association Monthly Intelligence/; Volume for 1878,
p. 238.
S. S. C. REPORT ON O. C. R.
Ill
the East and "West, 'We all hold the Catholic Faith in its fulness and
integrity, can you refuse to admit us to intercommunion ? ' / have the best
possible ground for believing that, whatever might be the action of the other
Patriarchs, the Patriarch of the West [the Pope] would not look coldly on our
plea, and would not only grant it, but would give besides every concession
that could in reason be demanded." 20
At the November, 1878, Chapter of the Society of the Holy Cross
the "Report" of Brother Mossman was read to the brethren, but did
not receive any approbation from them, for they passed the following
motion unanimously: — "That although Br. Mossman's Beport is
printed and circulated amongst the brethren, the Society distinctly
repudiates the opinions expressed in it." 21 At this Chapter the pre-
liminary Beport on the 0. C. B. of the special Committee of the
S. S. C. was read. There was attached to it, as an Appendix, several
extracts from letters which the Committee had received from
" Bishop" Mossman. In one of these letters he wrote : —
" I can only speak proltably of what I am able to testify of my own
personal knowledge. Tlie most important part of this is that a Consecration
has undoubtedly taken place. I have been frequently asked what is meant
by ' three distinct and independent lines of Episcopal Succession ' in the First
Pastoral of the Order of Corporate Reunion. Let rne distinguish carefully
between what I have been told and what I know. What I have been told is,
that three Anglican clergymen have been consecrated Bishops from three
distinct sources. That may be true, or it may be the reverse. What I know
is. that one Anglican clergyman22 has been consecrated a Bishop by a Catholic
Bishop ; and by a Catholic Bishop I mean one who is now at this present
time, and who was when he performed the act of consecration, in full com-
munion with either the See of Rome, the Patriarch of Constantinople, or the
Archbishop of Canterbury. It will thus be seen that the Bishops of all
so-called heretical or schismatical bodies are excluded vi terminorum. More
than this I am pledged not to reveal at present. I know it will appear very
strange to many that such a thing could have taken place. I am not sure
that I should have been able to believe it myself, had not the documents
which attest the consecration, signed and sealed by the consecrating Prelate
himself, attested by witnesses, and other corroborative evidence, been placed
in my hands for examination in the most frank and unreserved manner
possible." 23
It will thus be seen that the mystery which surrounds the identity
of the Consecrating Bishops was not altogether removed by " Bishop "
Mossman. He was evidently "pledged" not to make their names
public. A great many guesses have, from time to time, been made as
20 Br. Mossman's Report on the Order of Coporate Reunion. Presented to
S. S. C, p. 10.
21 S. S. C. November Chapter, 1878. Acta, p. 4.
22 There can be no doubt that " Bishop " Mossman here referred to
himself.
23 S. S. C. Report of Committee on the Order of Corporate Reunion, pp. 9, 10.
1 L2
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
to who the Consecrating Bishops really were, but nothing certain has
been made known to the public from that day to this. Since its
foundation the Order of Corporate Reunion appears to have influenced
for evil a considerable number of the Ritualistic clergy. In the
November, 1881, issue of the Nineteenth Century, Dr. Lee wrote an
article on " The Order of Corporate Reunion," in the course of which
he asserted that " Already there are representatives of the 0. C. R. in
almost every English diocese " (p. 755). The Roman Catholic Standard
and Bansomer, edited by a priest who was formerly an advanced
Ritualistic clergyman, in its issue for November 22nd, 1894, p. 323,
says: — " We have heard just lately that there are now eight hundred
clergymen of the Church of England who have been validly ordained
by Dr. Lee and his co-Bishops of the Order of Corporate Reunion.
If so, Dr. Lee's dream of providing a body with which the Pope could
deal seems likely to be realized."
CHAPTEE VI.
KITUALISTIC SISTEEHOODS.
Ritualistic Sisterhoods formed on Roman models — Dr. Pusey visits Romish
Convents in Ireland — Borrows Rules from English and Continental
Nunneries — Hislop'on the Pagan origin of Convents — Dr. Pusey's first
Sister visits Foreign Convents — Miss Goodman's experience of Dr.
Pusey's Sisterhood — Rule of Obedience — Shameful tyranny over the
Sisters — The Sister must obey the Superior, "yielding herself as wax
to be moulded unresistingly " — The mercenary Rule of Holy Poverty —
Are Ritualistic Convents Jails ? — The Vow of Poverty at St. Margaret's,
East Grinstead — A secret Convent Book quoted — Life Vows — Is it
easy to embezzle the Sister's money? — The secret Statutes of All
Saints' Sisterhood, Margaret Street ; and Clewer Sisterhood — Sisters
and their Wills — Evidence before the Select Committee — Bishop
Samuel Wilberforce on Conventual Vows — Archbishop Tait on Con-
ventual Vows — Ritualistic Nuns Enclosed for Life — " Father Igna-
tius's " Nuns— Whipping Ritualistic Nuns — Miss Cusack's experience
of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — "A Hell upon earth" — Cases of Cruelty
in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Hungry Sisters Tempted — Private Burial
Grounds in Ritualistic Convents — Secret Popish Service in a Ritual-
istic Convent Chapel — A Mass "in Latin from the Roman Missal"
— Superstitious Convent Services — Extracts from a secret book- of
Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood — Sisterhoods and Education : A Warning to
Protestant Parents.
I have nothing whatever to say against any good work which
Ritualistic Sisterhoods may undertake, nor would I treat the Sisters
themselves otherwise than with personal respect. But in writing
about Ritualistic Sisterhoods I remember that I have to deal with a
system which at the Reformation was entirely ejected, root and
branch, out of the Reformed Church of England, and, as most loyal
Churchmen believe, for very good reasons. The so-called " Religious
Life " in Ritualistic Sisterhoods is an exact reproduction of that system
which the Church of England abolished in the sixteenth century.
The spread of this Conventual system in the Church of England is
witnessed with serious and reasonable alarm by many of the wisest
of Churchmen and Churchwomen. There are at the present time,
within the Church of England, a greater number of Sisters of Mercy
than were in this country before the suppression of Monasteries and
Convents by Henry VIII. The wealth possessed by Ritualistic
8 (113)
114
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Convents is, I have no doubt, far greater than that possessed by the
Roman Catholic Convents of England in the early part of the sixteenth
century. These institutions are not legally recognized by the Church
of England, but efforts are constantly being put forth to obtain for
them that legal sanction which they possessed in this country before
the Reformation. In view of these efforts I have thought it desirable
to devote a chapter of this book to Ritualistic Sisterhoods. It is
most appropriate that this should be so, since every Ritualistic Sister-
hood is as truly a secnt Society as is the Society of the Holy Cross, or
the Order of Corporate Reunion. What passes within Convent walls
is a secret known only to the initiated, or to outsiders by means of
revelations made by Sisters who have forsaken the sorcalled " Religious
Life." The secret Statutes, regulating not only the lives of the in-
mates, but also the disposal of then- property, are quite unknown to
the general public.
The rules of the first of these Tractarian Sisterhoods were copied
from Roman models. The thought of establishing such institutions
came into the minds of the Tractarian leaders several years before
the first was founded. As early as February 21st, 1840, Dr. Newman
wrote to his friend Bowden : — " Pusey is at present eager about setting
up Sisters of Mercy." 1
At this period Dr. Hook, Vicar of Leeds, was anxious to establish a
Sisterhood in that town, but on the sly. Writing to Dr. Pusey from
the Vicarage, Leeds, June 9th, 1840, he remarked : —
" I perfectly agree with you in thinking it to be most important to have a
class of persons acting under us, and answering to the Sisters of Charity
in some foreign Churches. But there will be great difficulties in the way.
Although we shall obtain the co-operation of the really pious of all classes
ultimately, there will be much opposition from those ' Evangelical ' ladies
who at present control the visiting societies. . . . What I should like to
have done is this : for you to train an elderly matron, full of zeal and discre-
tion, and thoroughly imbued with right principles, and for her to come here
and take lodgings with two or three other females. Let their object be known
to none but myself, and I would speak of them merely as well-disposed persons
willing to assist my Curates and myself, as other persons do, in visiting the
sick." 2
In the following year Dr. Pusey spent two months in Ireland for
the special purpose of studying the Roman Catholic Sisterhoods.3
The Irish Romanists very naturally gave him a hearty welcome.
Writing to Newman, August 9th, 1841, Pusey remarked :— "The Roman
Catholics have been so civil I have not known what to make of it. I
have had to fight off being introduced to the one and the other, and
they shake hands so cordially, and are so glad to see one ! e.g., a
Roman Catholic Bishop of British Guiana." 4 He also saw the Roman
Catholic Archbishop Murray, of Dublin. Some of Pusey's friends
1 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 155.
9 Ibid., Vol. II., p. 243.
*lbid., Vol. III., p. 7.
*Ibid., p._246.
VISITS TO FRENCH CONVENTS.
115
were greatly distressed at the rumours which were flying about as to
the object of this mysterious journey to Ireland, and one of them, the
Eev. E. Churton, wrote to him about it, in evident alarm. Three
years after the commencement of the first Sisterhood, Dr. Pusey
wrote to his friend Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope, describing the plan
upon which it was founded. " We naturally," he wrote, " went by
experience. Lord John Manners procured us the rules of the Sisters
of Charity at Birmingham. I had some rules by me, used by different
bodies in England and on the continent."5
The system which Dr. Pusey thus imported into the English Church
was not only Popish, but also Pagan in its origin. Nuns and Monks
existed long before Christianity, and they still exist to-day amongst
those who do not worship the true God. Mr. Hislop, in his learned
work entitled the Two Babylons, tells us that, in connection with the
ancient Babylonish religion : —
" There were Monks and Nuns in abundance. In Thibet and Japan, where
the Chaldean system wns early introduced, Monasteries are still to he found,
and with the same disastrous results to morals as in Papal Europe. In
Seandinavia, the priestesses of Freya . . . who were bound to perpetual
virginity, were just an order of Nuns. In Athens there were Virgins
maintained at the public expense, who were strictly bound to single life. In
Pagan Rome, the Vestal Virgins . . . occupied a similar position. Even in
Peru, during the reign of the Incas, the same system prevailed, and showed
so remarkable an analogy, as to indicate that the Vestals of Rome, the Nuns
of the Papacy, and the Holy Virgins of Peru, must have sprung from a
common origin."6
It seems that as early as June 5th, 1841, a young lady, named Miss
Marian Hughes, who subsequently became the Mother Superior of one
of Dr. Pusey's Convents at Oxford, took " a vow of celibacy," under the
guidance of Dr. Pusey himself.7 Newman celebrated the Holy Com-
munion on this occasion, in St. Mary's Church, Oxford. Shortly
after this event Miss Hughes went abroad. The biographer of Dr.
Pusey informs us that she went in company with the Rev. C. and Mrs.
Seager —
"In order to study, as far as might be possible, the 'Religious' Life
among women in Fiance. At Bayeux they made the acquaintance of the
Bishop, and of the Abbe Thomine, Canon of the Cathedral and Archdeacon
of Caen. M. Thomine was the Director of fifteen Convents, and he allowed
Miss Hughes to go as a visitor to the Hotel Dieu in Bayeux, which was
served by a community of White Augustines or Ursulines. She was received
with great cordiality, and was allowed to ask as many questions as she liked.
She found the Nuns as fervent and simple-hearted as could he wished : perfect
harmony reigned between the different grades of Sisters, and the hospital and
schools under their management were admirably conducted. The Rule of
5 Life of Br. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 22.
•Hislop's Two Babylons, p. 223. Seventh edition.
''Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., p. 10.
116
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
this House had not been published ; but Miss Hughes was allowed by M.
Thomine to learn much of it. She afterwards visited the Convent of the
Visitation at Caen, which was, of course, under the published Rule of St.
Francis de Sales. Pusey was much interested in these details, and in such
information as Mr. Seager could collect about the conditions under which
temporary vows were allowed in the French Church. In the regulations of
the first English Community of Sifters, it is not difficult to trace the influence
of the information thus conveyed. Indeed, the Rule fiist adopted was largely
taken from that' of St. Francis de Sales, though it was modified after a few
years of practical experience."8
Of course, visits to Popish Convents such as that made by Miss
Hughes and her Puseyite companions, were kept as secret as possible.
It would never have done to have taken the public into the confidence
of men and women about to revive that Conventual system which
Englishmen everywhere hated and dreaded. Already*, it will be
observed, the taking of Conventual Vows was contemplated by the
leaders of the new Movement, and Miss Hughes had actually taken
one of those Vows, that of celibacy. From that day to this the
authorities of the Convents founded by Dr. Pusey have never given
to the public any idea of the actual terms of the Vows taken by their
Sisters. They form a part of the secret work of the Ritualists,
which sadly needs Government Inspection, as much in the interests
of the Sisters themselves, as of that of their relatives and friends.
Fortunately, however, a lady of high personal character, who was for
several years one of Dr. Pusey's Sisters in a Convent, of which the
late Miss Sellon was the Mother Superior, in the year 1863 gave the
public the benefit of her painful experience, in a volume entitled
Sisterhoods in the Church of England, and with it the rules which
regulate two out of three Vows taken by the Sisters. The following
is an extract from the " Rule of Holy Obedience " : —
" Ye shall ever address the Spiritual Mother with honour and respect ;
avoid speaking of her among yourselves ; cherish and obey her with holy
love, without any murmur or sign of hesitation or repugnance, but simply,
cordially, and promptly obey with cheerfulness, and brinish from your mind
any question a.i to the wisdom of the command given you. If ye fail in this,
ye have failed to resist a temptation of the Evil One." 9
There is nothing in the " Blind Obedience " of a Jesuit worse than
this " Rule of Holy Obedience." In the hands of a wicked Mother
Superior it might at any time lead to the commission by a Sister of
the foulest crimes. If the Mother Superior gives a command to
commit a crime, the Sister must obey, banishing from her mind
"any question as to the wisdom of the command given" her! In
later years Dr. Pusey required a similar blind obedience to be given
sLife of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., pp. 10, 11.
9 Sistei-lioods in the Church of England, by Margaret Goodman, pp. 79, 80.
London : Smith Elder, 1863. It were much to be desired that a new edition
of this'valuable book should be published. It is now out of print.
THE VOW OK OBEDIENCE.
117
by the Sisters of Mercy to their Father Confessors. In his Manual
for Confessors, published in 1878, he gives the following directions to
Sisters of Mercy : —
" I would have great respect paid in Confession to your Confessor, for —
(to say nothing of the houour due to the priesthood) — we ought to look
upon them as Angels sent by God to reconcile us to Kis Divine goodness ;
and also as His lieutenants upon earth, and therefore we owe them all
reverence, even though they may at times betray that they are human, and
have human infirmities, and perhaps ask curious questions which are not
part of the Confession, such as your name, what penances or virtues you
practise, what are your temptations, &c. I would have you answer, al-
though you are not obliged to do so." 10
We may indeed pity the unfortunate Sister who has to submit to
priestly rule of this infamous kind. If that priest is a bad man,
what terrible moral evils he may be guilty of! As we have learnt
already (see page 82) three Ritualistic Confessors were mentioned by
the late Archdeacon Allen who had fallen into acts of immorality
with women who came to them in Confession. Who can wonder at
it that reads Dr. Pusey's Manual for Confessors, or the Priest in
Absolution ? It will be observed that the Sister is forbidden to show
any "hesitation or repugnance" in carrying oat the orders of the
Mother Superior. Here is an instance of an indignity offered to one
of Dr. Pusey's Sisters, by Miss Sellon, the Mother Superior. It is
recorded by the late Rev. W. G. Cookesley : —
" One of the Sisters was one day employed in the menial office of lacing
Miss Sellon's boots. Whilst she was thus employed with one of the Lady
Superior's feet, that dignitary thought fit to bestow her other foot on the
head of the stooping Sister. Some little disposition to objection and resist-
ance to this disgusting insult being manifested, was immediately checked
by the Lady Superior, who remarked that such humiliation was good for the
Sister." 11
The orders of a Father Confessor are, it appears, sometimes equally
disgusting. Of one of the inmates of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, Mr.
Cookesley records that : —
" A Sister who had been hasty with her tongue, and had thrown out some
unguarded expression, was commanded by the Rev. Mr. Prynne, one of the
Confessors to the Institution, to lie down flat on the floor, and with her tongue
to describe the figure of a Cross in the dirt." 12
The Rev. R. M. Benson, who for many years was Superior of the
" Cowley Fathers," and Chaplain of several Ritualistic Sisterhoods,
wrote an introduction to a little book for the guidance of Sisters of
10 Pusey's Manual for Confessors, p. 190.
11 A Letter to the Archbishop of Dublin, by the Rev. W. G. Cookesley, p.
76. London : Ridgway, 1853.
12 Ibid., p. 11.
118
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Mercy, entitled : — The Religious Life Portrayed for tlie Use of Sisters of
Mercy, and this is what he says to them about their Vow of Obed-
ience : —
"A religious [i.e., a Sister] has made the sacrifice of her will in taking the
Vow of Obedience : she is no more her own, but God's ; and she must obey
her Superiors for God's sake, yielding herself as wax, to be moulded un-
resistingly " (p. 13).
Any one who submits to a Vow of Obedience like this, " yielding
herself as wax to be moulded unresistingly," is more truly a slave
to her Superiors than any negro slave is to his master, since slavery
of the mind and soul is in her case added to that of the body. Moral
slavery is the greatest of all tyrants. Is it right that any free born
Englishwoman should be permitted to take a Vow of Obedience of
this horrible character ? The victims are truly objects of pity.
Another lady, who was for a time one of Dr. Pusey's Sisters, com-
menting on the Rule of Obedience quoted above, very truly remarks :—
"Plainly, this whole Rule of Obedience is simply the counterfeit of that
entire sell-consecration which the Christian, wiiose soul has been redeemed,
owes to his Redeemer. To him, indeed, and to His holy wdl revealed in
the Scriptures, the Christian owes an unhesitating, unquestioning obedience.
If His providential dealings appear mysterious, child-like trust and entire
confidence and submission are due from those who know that the Judge of all
the earth ' must needs do right,' though His ways are past finding out. . . .
But this Rule of Holy Obedience is, in fact, a part of that corrupt and
perverted Christianity which, since its first manifestation in the Church,
has beguiled ignoiantly devout souis — a system which, indeed, 'admits the
whole canon ot truth, and yet contrives that it should teach only error.' It
is part of a carefully devised system lor depriving the sold of obedience to
God." 13
We now come to the consideration of the " Rule of Holy Poverty "
in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood. It is as follows : —
" It is not permitted to any Sister to appropriate anything, however small,
or uuder whatever pretext, to herself, since each shall, on the day of her
entrance, renounce in favour of the Community, not only the possession,
but the use and disposition of everything which is hers, or shall be given
to her. All this being under the entire regulation of the Superior. Ye
shall neither ask for, nor receive anything without permission ; and when
ye shall have received it, ye shall place it in the hands of the Mother
Assistant lor the use of the Society. 14
There is certainly in this " Rule of Holy (?) Poverty " something
which looks very much like what City men term " sharp practice."
It is a grand scheme for relieving Enghsh ladies of their money.
" A lady," writes the Rev. W. O. Cookesley, " who joined Dr. Pusey's
establishment, as a Sister, carried into the common stock a capital
13 The Anglican Sister of Mercy, pp. 62, 63. London : Elliot Stock, 1895.
"Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, pp. 82, 83.
THE VOW OF POVERTY
11!)
producing, I believe, so large a sum as £1200 per annum ; when
she subsequently left tbe Society, which she did to join the Church
of Koine, she did not possess a penny '. " 18 Here we are face to
face with another very serious evil, which sadly needs a remedy
at the hands of Parliament. A Sisterhood which retains the pro-
perty of a Sister who desires to leave its walls, ought to be compelled
by law to return her fortune, after deducting a reasonable amount
for her support while in the Convent. This " Rule of Holy Poverty "
is manifestly unjust on the face of it. A provision should be made,
in every case, which shall secure the pecuniary rights of each Sister,
and not leave her dependent — should she decide upon leaving the
Sisterhood — on the doubtful charity of the authorities. But even
if such a provision were made, something more should be done to
remove the difficulties which surround a Sister desirous of leaving
a Sisterhood. Miss Goodman, writing from the standpoint of one
who had practical experience, informs us that : —
" The fact that these Conventual establishments are closed against all
unwelcome visitation, and that any of the inmates may be secluded from
all intercourse and communication with their family and friends, at the will
of the Superior, is, if not a breach of the law of England, at least an alarm-
ing and dangerous innovation, and indirect opposition to Ike spirit of civil and
religious liberty in this country. Since it is possible for a young girl to be
kept secretly, in strict seclusion, in a Convent professedly connected with the
Church of England, nut only (igainsl her own inclinations, but against the
wishes of her parents and friends, and even in despite of their efforts to
remove or communicate with her, it is superfluous to add that this fact is
one of grave importance, and demands the consideration of the Legislature.
The unlortuuate inmates of lunatic asylums, private as well as public, are
shielded by the law from ill usage and unjustifiable restraint; surely the
inmates ot Religious Houses, who devote themselves to the good offices of
nursing and comforting the sick and afflicted, teaching ignorant adults and
training children — or even if solely engaged in prayer and worship — ought
not to be left entirely to the tender mercies of high-handed and uuconti oiled
power, exercised by irresponsible Superiors, whose authority is absolute. " 10
If what Miss Goodman here states be true— and I have discovered
no reason for doubting it — it follows that Ritualistic Convents are, in
some instances, nothing better than jails for innocent young ladies,
and consequently that, like jails, they ought to be under Government
inspection. Nominally, in most if not all these Convents, the Sisters
may be free to leave when they please ; but even here moral bolts
and bars are used which more effectually prevent their escape than
any material ones could.
"A Sister," writes Miss Goodman, " under some circumstances would find
it very difficult to leave. Those who enter Sisterhoods abandon family ties ;
16Cookesley's Letter to the Archbishop of Dublin, p. 12. London : Ridgway,
1853.
10 Goodman's Sisterhoods, pp. vii. , viii.
120
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
they acquire peculiar habits ; are ignorant of the state of things without
their Nunnery gates. ... I have known several Sisters who have spent every
penny of their capital ; and Dr. Pusey also knows them much better than I
do. Without money ; without friends ; without clothes (Sisters who persist
in leaving Miss Sellon's are sent forth in Sisters' garb, and they are instructed
to send everything back as soon as they can clothe themselves) ; without an
idea which way to look for occupation ; what is a Sister to do who leaves a
Nunnery ? . . . The foregoing is no overdrawn picture of the difficulties : I
am speaking from certain facts which came under my own observation."17
The Vow or Eule as to Poverty varies in different Convents. The
Sisterhood of St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, is a very large one,
devoted mainly to nursing, but also pa3"ing a great deal of attention
to the publication of books, and the production of ecclesiastical em-
broidery. It so happens that I possess a secret book written for the
use of this Sisterhood, entitled The Spirit of the Founder. It consists
of extracts from addresses privately delivered to the Sisters by the
Founder of the Sisterhood, the late Kev. Dr. Neale. From this book
I take the following extracts relating to the Vows taken by the
Sisters : —
"Of the three vows," said Dr. Neale, "that every Sister implicitly or ex-
plicitly takes — Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience — the two last are perfectly
easy to understand. They bind you to a Sister's Life, not certainly here, but
certainly somewhere, as long as you live (pp. 5, 6).
"We thus learn that at East Grinstead the Vows are taken for life,
making it morally impossible for a Sister to withdraw from her pro-
fession, so long as she retains a belief in Ritualistic principles as to
the so-called "Religious Life." Dr. Neale seems to have insisted
very much upon the alleged wickedness of a Sister ever withdrawing
from a Sister's life. " Let me repeat to you," he said to them on one
occasion, " once more, that, henceforth, ever to draw back from a
Sister's life is sacrilege : sacrilege in the highest degree : inasmuch as the
Doctors of the Church have always taught that sacrilege of person is
worse than sacrilege of place " (Ibid., p. 89). It seems that in this
Sisterhood the Sisters are not required to part with the whole of their
property to the Convent on joining it.
"A Sister coming to us," says Dr. Neale, "and not able to pay any, or all,
of the dowry of this House, is then bound to mention in Confession why not,
and to tell the priest how she disposes of her income " (Ibid., p. 11).
I am afraid that there is in the Confessional a great deal too much
interference with the disposal of the property of Sisters. It is open
to grave objection that an excitable and enthusiastic young lady
should be expected to tell her Father Confessor what she has done
with her money. It is no business of his, and if he is a bad man he
can easily use his opportunities to enrich the Convent at the expense
of justice.
17 Goodman's Sisterhoods, p. 113.
ARE CONVENT ACCOUNTS AUDITED?
121
" Lot us imagine," said Dr. Neale, on another occasion, to his Sisters, " a
Sister wishing to join us with a certain income belonging unrestrictedly to
herself ;' when she makes the Vow of Poverty, what does she promise, and
what does she not promise ? She promises, iu the first place, to give up what is
called the usufruct of it; that is, neither directly nor indirectly to lay out a
farthing of it on herself. She promises to keep nothing in hand, to have, as
the usual expression goes, no pocket money, to buy nothing for herself with
her own money, either necessary or unnecessary. She does not promise — God
forbid — to devote all her income to this House. When I say God forbid, I
mean what I say. There hare been some griping, grasping Religious Houses
which have been satisfied with nothing less, but they have always been re-
garded the plague spots of Religious Communities " (Ibid., pp. 7, 8).
I wonder whether Dr. Neale had Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood in his
mind, when he thus denounced those " griping, grasping Religious
Houses" which— as was the case with Dr. Pusey's— requires the
Sister to devote all her income to the Convent ? Dr. Neale under-
stood what he was talking about, and when he terms such Convents
"plague spots,''' it leads us to express a hope that such places may
speedily be removed from the Church of England, and thus prevent
the spreading of the " plague." At St. Margaret's, East Grinstead,
the Sisters may not spend their own money. The Mother Superior
kindly spends it for them ! I wonder whether Convent authorities
ever give a really satisfactory and business-like account to the Sisters
of the way their money is spent ? Immense sums of money flow into
some Convent coffers. Is there ever any auditing of accounts by a
public auditor ? There ought to be, and Parliament should insist
upon it. History proves that there have been very wicked Mother
Superiors, and very wicked Father Confessors of Convents. The
present Ritualistic system makes it very easy for the authorities to
embezzle the Sisters' money, with but little or no risk of discovery,
should they feel tempted at any time to do so. To plead that all
these people are pious and quite above acting dishonestly, is not
sufficient to allay doubt and suspicion. It is a plea which is never
used with regard to our public religious Societies, as a reason why
their accounts should not be publicly audited ; and therefore it ought
not to be used to shield those secret Societies which exist within
Convent walls. The Vow of Poverty is quite unnecessary. Why
cannot a private Sister attain to holiness while retaining control over
her fortune, and spend her own money as she likes ? This Vow keeps
her in cruel bondage. And then, after she has thus parted with her
whole fortune — in some cases amounting to many thousands of
pounds — she is, perhaps, coolly insulted by such advice as the follow-
ing, given in " Father Benson's " Religious Life Portrayed for the Use of
Sisters of Mercy : —
"Accept the food set before you, as though given out of mere charity; and
however coarse and uninviting it may be, reflect that you do not deserve even
that " (p. 33).
A considerable amount of useful information about Ritualistic
122
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Sisterhoods may be read in a Government Blue Book, published in
1870, and containing the Report from the Select Committee on Conventual
and Monadic Institutions. As an appendix to this Report, there are
printed the, till then, strictly secret Statutes of two Sisterhoods, viz.,
that of All Saints', Margaret Street, and the Clewer Sisterhood. This
Report is, unfortunately, but very seldom seen, and, like many other
Blue Books, is quite unknown to the general public. From it I learn
that in the Clewer Sisterhood the Statutes declare that —
" The Sisterhood is formed without Vows, for the observance of the Rules
of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, in which state of life the Sisters offer
themselves perpetually to God, to live alone for His glory, in the love of Jesus,
and to serve Him in the persons of His poor and suffering ones." 18
But, surely, if they promise and offer themselves to God " perpetu-
ally " to observe the Rules of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, such
an offer is, practically, the same thing as a Vow ? It would be hard
to define the difference. Canon T. T. Carter, who has been Warden
of the Clewer Sisterhood from its commencement, has written a
treatise to prove, amongst other things, that the "dedication" of a
woman to a life of celibacy in a Sisterhood, " whether expressed or
implied, or however expressed, was regarded as tantamount to a
Vow."la The Rev. Dr. Neale, Warden of the East Grinstead Sister-
hood, said that "a Vow is tantamount to an Oath." 20 The Rules
which regulate the property of the Clewer Sisters, though open to
abuse, are not so bad as those which obtain in Dr. Pusey's Sister-
hood. They are as follows : —
" 15. Sisters who are able, are expected to contribute each £50 annually
to the Community Fund, but this sum may be increased at the desire of any
Sister.
" 16. The sum to be contributed by each Sister, shall be settled between
herself and the Warden and Superior ; the arrangement being strictly confi-
dential.
" 17. In the event of any Sister desiring to give or bequeath any property
to the Community, or any of its Houses, she shall satisfy the Visitor that she
has informed the uext-ol-kin, or the uext in degree, if more than one (or give
to the Visitor a sufficient reason jor her not having done so) of her intention,
that any objections on their part may be duly considered, and that they may
have the opportunity of laying such objections before the Visitor." 21
According to these Rules the amount of a Sister's contribution to
the Community Fund is kept a profound secret, known only to the
priest who acts as Warden, the Mother Superior, and herself. Even
the Council of the Sisterhood are to know nothing at all about it.
Those two " old hands " working on a susceptible young lady, could
18 Report, p. 224.
la Vows and the Religious Stale, by the Rev. T. T. Carter, p. 73. Loudon :
Masters, 1881.
20 Spirit of the Founder, p. 71. M Report, p. 226.
STATUTES OF ALL SAINT'S SISTERHOOD.
123
easily, if they pleased — I do not say that they would so act — work
the arrangement very much to the advantage of the Community
Fund. And then, supposing the Sister subsequently desires to
"give"; or, when dying, ': bequeath" a part, or the whole, of her
property to the Sisterhood, it can be very easily managed under
.Rule 17, even though that Rule seems at first sight so fair to the
next-of-kin. It is very right that she shoidd inform her nearest re-
lations as to what she proposes to do with her property, but, it will
be observed, there is an important exception made to this salutary
provision. She may ''give to the Visitor a sufficient reason for her
not having done so," and then, calling in the aid of her Father Con-
fessor, the Warden, and the Mother Superior, the result of then-
conference will, no doubt, be quite satisfactory to the Convent. But
what will her next-of-kin thmk about it '( Even if they are per-
mitted, according to Rule 17, to lay their objections to losing the
money (which they might reasonably expect from their relative)
before the Visitor, it does not necessarily follow that their protests
will be successful. In either case the Convent has an unfair advan-
tage. We know from the history of Romish countries what the
threats of a priest can accomplish at a dying bed.
An illustration, I do not say of undue influence, but of the way
in which Ritualistic Convents benefit largely by the wills of dying
Sisters is thus given by Miss Goodman, in her SisUrhoods in the Church
of England, p. lb: —
" The lather of H [one of Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood] was a Scotch baronet,
and when he died, his property went to his eldest son ; but Lady , the
mother ol H was an heiress, and a considerable part of her own large
■property was settled on herself for life, to be divided equally afterwards
among her daughters and younger sons. When H was dying at Brad-
lord [Convent], her mother and sister were sent for ; but they were allowed
to stay only two days, ol which one was Sunday. On the Monday H
made a will leaving her share ol her mother's property absolutely to Miss
Sellon [the Mother Superior], or to the Sisterhood, which is much the same
thing. The mother expressed a wish that tier daughter sltould do otherwise, but
in vain ; So Lady went away with the pleasant reflection that Miss Sellon,
through whom she was sent away from her daughter's death bed, will inherit
as a daughter from her."
In the Sisterhood of All Saints', Margaret Street, it is provided by
the Statutes, that no Sister leaving the Sisterhood, even if "dis-
missed," shall have any right to any portion ot the money or property
which she has given to it, whether as a dowry or otherwise. The
rule, which is very stringent, is as follows : —
" 18. No Sister, whether dismissed or not, or whether remaining or not, or
her hens, executors, or administrators, shall have or be entitled, either in her
lifetime or alter her decease, to, or shall have power to claim, either at law or
in equity, any estate, right, title, interest, property, or share whatsoever in or
to the real estate or chattels real, houses, leasehold or copyhold estates,
stocks, funds, and monies, or in or to the household furniture, books, linen,
124
SECRET HISTORY OF THK OXFORD MOVEMENT.
china, and other chattels personal, and effects belonging to or held in trust
for or used for the purposes of the said Society, or any of them, or any part
or parts thereof, anything herein contained to the contrary thereof in anywise
notwithstanding." 22
It is evidently quite possible that a Sister may, whether intention-
ally or otherwise, be "dismissed" contrary to strict justice, yet,
according to this rule she is, even in such a case, barred from any
claim for compensation on the property of the Sisterhood, which, of
course, includes what she has given to it. Such a rule is open to
grave abuse. By Rule '22 the first Mother Superior, Miss H. B.
Byron, is excepted from the operations of Rule 18, to this extent,
that, should the Sisterhood be dissolved in her lifetime " the houses
and property of the said Society in Margaret Street, Cavendish
Square, shall be reconveyed to and vested in the said Harriet Brown-
low Byron, her executors, administrators, and assigns." It is evident
that Miss Byron looked after her own interest very well. It would
have been well had the authorities shown an equal regard for the
interests of the other Sisters. By this same Rule 22, it is provided
that the " whole of the property and effects " of the Sisterhood shall,
in the event of its being dissolved, " be disposed of to such charitable
purposes in connection with the Church of England " as the trustees
may select, the unfortunate Sisters being in no way provided for by
the Statutes, though they have probably contributed the greater
portion of the Sisterhood property out of their own private fortunes.
On July 21st, 1870, Mr. W. Ford, the Honorary Solicitor of this
Sisterhood, was examined before the Select Committee of the House
of Commons on Conventual and Monastic Institutions. He was
questioned by the Committee on this subject, as follows: —
"3768. They [the Sisters] have not precluded themselves by these
Statutes or regulations from taking property by trustees ? — No ; they may
receive property in their own names or in the names of trustees ; when the
Sisters go away or die they or their representatives shall not be considered to
have any right to a share of the property of the Community.
"3769. Though they may contribute some, they arc not to take any aicayt
— It is not put so in express words, but that is the legitimate inference I
think." 23
In the course of his evidence Mr. Ford stated that at All Saints',
Margaret Street, the Sisters take no Vow of Poverty, and may
continue to hold any personal property of their own, which they may
not have handed over to the Sisterhood. The Statutes are signed by
all the Sisters, who promise to observe them " God being our helper."
Mr. Ford was asked by the Committee, if this was not equivalent to
an oath : but he denied that it was, though he admitted that " a great
many persons of tender conscience might feel " that, in thus invoking
the name of God as a witness to their promise, " they were entering
into a solemn obligation, and that if they failed in it, they would feel
it some sort of a burden on their conscience.1' 24 Mr. E. E. Freeman,
22 Report, p. 215.
23 Ibid., p. 17;
24 Ibid., p. 17.
THE PROPERTY OF CLEWER SISTERS.
126
Solicitor of the Clewer Sisterhood, also gave evidence before the
Select Ooinmittee, and stated that in that institution a similar but
verbal declaration of consent to the Statutes was made by each Sister,
ending with the words, "God being our helper."25 From this gentle-
man's evidence we further learn that the rules as to the possession of
private property are more severe at Clewer than at All Saints',
Margaret Street, as the following questions and answers show : —
" 4097. Do I rightly understand that they [Clewer Sisters] give up nothing
on entering the Community >. — They give up nothing on entering; they make
arrangements for the disposing of their property, and they do not deal with
their money after entering the Institution."
" 4100. But is it the arrangement, or one of the rules, that they shall not
hold any property for their own benefit ? — Yes."
" 4103. But it is understood that they shall not employ any moneys or
properties that they may receive for their own purposes, al ter they have joined ?
—Yes."24
What the rules are as to the Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and
Obedience, which obtain in the numerous other Sisterhoods within
the Church of England I have been unable to ascertain.27 They are
kept as great secrets, known only to the initiated. Could not the
Charity Commissioners make inquiries on this subject? The Kules
of the Sisterhoods which I have come across, may, of course, have
been altered since those were issued which I have quoted, but I have
no reason to hope that, if altered, they have been altered for the
better.
This subject of Conventual Vows demands the serious attention of
loyal Churchmen everywhere, and especially of our Bishops, whose
influence is, in some instances at least, considerable over the Sister-
hoods in their dioceses. In the opinion of many of the most learned
Divines of the Church of England these Vows are most dangerous,
and wholly without Scriptural authority. A case is mentioned in the
Life of Archbishop Tait, in which a clergyman of the Church of England
administered a Vow of perpetual Celibacy to a young lady who was
only eighteen years of age ! No wonder that the Archbishop termed the
taking of such a vow " a sinful act." 28 It is very common nowadays
to see very young Sisters of Mercy walking in our streets. How many
of them have taken Perpetual Vows ? It would be easy to fill several
pages with extracts from the writings of English Divines in proof of
their opposition to Conventual Vows, and certainly it is quite reason-
25 Report, p. 193. 28 Ibid., p. 190.
"From a letter published in the Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. I., p. 456,
I learn that in the " Sisterhood of the Holy Cross," which works in connection
with the St. George's Mission at St. Peter's, London Docks, " Perpetual Vows "
are taken by the Sisters. By the way, is there any connection between this
" Sisterhood of the Holy Cross," and the secret " Society of the Holy Cross,"
both of which work in the same parish ?
118 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol., I., p., 466.
120
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
able to ask the question, Why cannot we have Sisterhoods without
any Vows, direct or indirect ? Is it not possible to be kind to the
sick and poor, and to educate the young without thera ? The history
of many Deaconesses' Homes, conducted on Protestant principles, is
an ample answer to the question. No sensible person objects to
Christian women banding; themselves together for Christian work ; on
the contrary, they ought to be encouraged in their good resolutions
to the utmost. But, surely, he is not to be considered an enemy of
Christian charity who faithfully points out the dangers and evils
which invariably follow the taking of Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and
Obedience ? The late Bishop Samuel "Wilberforce was ever a" great
friend to women's work in the Church, yet he, old-fashioned High
Churchman though he was, felt bound to raise a warning cry on this
grave subject. "Writing on April 14th, 1850. to a clergyman who had
submitted to him the rules of a proposed Sisterhood, he remarked : —
" I object, then, absolutely, as un-Christian and savouring of the worst
evils of Rome, to the Vows involved in such a context in the statement as,
' She is forever con«ecrated to the service of her heavenly Spouse.' I object
to the expression itself as unwarranted by God's Word and sa vouring of one of
the most carnal perversions of the Church of Rome. ... I add my solemn
warning that such tampering with the language, acts, and temper of the
Church of Rome in young women of our communion must tend to betray
them into infidelity to their mother Church, and to perversion to the Papal
schismatical and corrupt communion." 23
At the Oxford Church Congress, in 1862, Bishop S. Wilberforce
delivered a stirring speech on the subject of Vows, strongly condemn-
ing them, whether taken for life, or for a shorter period, and this
although he was quite in favour of Sisterhoods, when free from this
and other Romanizing peculiarities. He said : —
" I think so far we are agreed — but if it were to be imagined from the
silence of any that those who were silent went on to approve, in the first
place, of Vows of Celibacy being made for life; or, secondly, of the taking
Vows of Cclibacv for a fired time by those who give themselves to that life,
I believe it would be an entire mistake of the meeting. I am bound to say
this, in order that there may be no mistake of one holding the office God has
given me, that I should not have felt at liberty to take any part in the en-
gagements of any Sisterhood of which such Vows formed a part50 — because,
firstly, I see no warrant for them in the Word of God — and it would seem to
me that to encourage persons to make Vows, for which there is no distinct
promise given that they should be able to keep them, would be entangling
them in a yoke of danger ; secondly, because it seems to me that our Church
*>Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., pp. 330, 331.
30 In his diary for November 30th. 1860, the Bishop records that during a
visit he had that day made to the Clewer Sisterhood, he " would not consent
to alter rule about no Vows" {Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., p. 332).
It is evident from this that the authorities wished to introduce Vows. Have
they been introduced since then ?
BISHOP WILBERFORCE ON VOWS.
127
has certainly discouraged such Vows. ... I feel, therefore, that I may
venture to say that, instead of the perpetual Vows representing; the higher,
it is the admission of a lower standard. ... I helieve that the abuses of that
life have come, first from the promises of perpetuity ; and, secondly, from the
abuse connected with the admission of persons having property, and being
led to give that proper/// up, in a moment of excitement, to this purpose. . . .
One single word on the use of the term ' Religious.' I confe-s that I have
the very deepest objection in any way whatever to applying the word
'Religious' to such a life. I think it was adopted at a time when the
Btandard of lay piety was very low, and at all events, as no good f-eems to me
to be got by the use of a word ambiguous at least in its meaning, and which
seemsto imply that God can be better served in the unmarried Sisterhood
than in the blessed and holy state of matrimony, I think it is a pity that it
should be used." 31
Archbishop Tait, a Broad Churchman who, like Bishop Wilber-
force, had no objection to Sisterhoods, if they could be kept free from
Romish corruptions and abuses, was equally stern in his denunciation
of Vows. Writing to a gentleman, on December 27th, 1865, who had
asked for his opinion on the subject, Dr. Tait, who was then Bishop
of London, replied : —
" There is no warrant for supposing that I in any way approve of Sister-
hoods in which Perpetual Vows are administered. I have on more than one
occasion stated publicly my belief that all Vows or oaths administered under
the circumstances you describe, not being sanctioned by the Legislature, and
being taken by persons not authorised to receive them, are of the nature of
illegal oaths. It is a grave question whether a clergyman of the Church of
England, administering such an oath, does not make himself amenable to
prosecution before the magistrates."311
A London Sisterhood, whose name is not given, applied to Dr.
Tait to licence a certain clergyman as their Chaplain. His lordship
replied, expressing his willingness to do so, provided only "that
habitual Confession shall not be urged upon the Sisters or any in-
mates of the House " ; and, secondly, " that no Vows whatsoever
shall be administered or sanctioned by the Chaplain." These very
reasonable and moderate conditions were, however, rejected by the
Chaplain. He would subject himself to no such conditions, and con-
sequently the Bishop very properly refused to licence him. The
Bishop wrote to the Mother Superior of the Sisterhood, giving his
reasons for his refusal to licence the Chaplain : —
"It is felt," he wrote, "that such Vows are now warranted by anything
in the teaching of our Church, and are rash, as binding the conscience not
to follow the leadings of God's providence in case of a change of circumstances.
If, notwithstanding this, any ladies choose to bind themselves by Vows, I
do not see what can be done to prevent their acting in a way unwarranted
by the Church, and rash, from a mistaken notion that real devotion of life to
31 Life of Bishop Wilbcrforce, Vol. III., pp. 332, 333.
32 Life of Archbishop Tait, Vol. I., p. 457.
128
SECEET HISTORY OP THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Christ's service is strengthened by this attempt to forecast the events of our
changeful life which God retains in His own keeping. The Church of Rome,
in sanctioning such Vows, sanctions also a power of dispensing with them ;
but the claim to such dispensing power is rightly repudiated by us — so that
a Vow for life may be an entanglement of the conscience, when God plainly,
in our changing relations, prescribes for us a change of duty. The only Vows
which the Church of England sanctions are such as the Formularies recognize
as based on the teaching of God's Word ; and for these the law of the land
provides by giving its additional sanction to the Formularies." 33
The Bishop's exhortations were in vain. The Mother Superior
wrote to him, in the name of all her Sisters, to say that they would
rather go without a licensed Chaplain than have one on the condition
laid down by his Lordship. 34
There is another subject connected with Eitualistic Sisterhoods,
which needs to be mentioned here. There are now, scattered
throughout the country, several Ritualistic Convents of Enclosed
Nuns, who are supposed to never leave the Convent walls. Miss
Goodman mentions that, in her time, there was an order of Enclosed
Nuns in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhoods. " The Sisters at Plymouth," she
states, "do not speak of themselves under the title of 'Nuns' ;
they are Sisters of Mercy ; but those of the community belonging
to the Order of the ' Sacred Heart ' are termed ' Nuns ' by the
Sisters of Mercy, and the place of their habitation a ' Nunnery.'
As I have before observed, the ' Order of the Sacred Heart,' or, as
it is often termed the ' Order of the Love of Jesus,' is strictly ' Enclosed,'
and their time is supposed to be spent in almost perpetual prayer,
for the living or the dead, according as their prayers are solicited." 35
Miss Goodman further mentions that the rules of this Enclosed
Order of the Sacred Heart are modelled after those of the Poor
Clares in the Church of Rome, but that in the former Order the
discipline is, in some respects, more cruel than in the Church of
Rome.
" The relatives of a Poor Clare," writes Miss Goodman, " can speak with
her through a ' grille ' ; the relatives of an Anglican are to think of the
Sister as in the grave, and it is esteemed a falling away from the Rule for
a recluse to desire even to see one so near and dear to her as a mother. An
aged lady has for j'ears being trying every means to obtain, as she says, ' only
one word ' from a beloved daughter at Miss Scllon's, but without success :
she has written most imploringly to Miss Sellon, and has begged the
interference of the Bishop of Exeter, who declares himself powerless in the
matter ; yet there is nothing to forbid the meeting except the rule of the
Order to which the daughter has devoted herself."36
Another Order of Enclosed Nuns existed for several years at
33 Life of Archbishop Tail, Vol. L, p. 461.
34 See the Mother Superior's Letter, ibid., p. 462.
35 Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 125.
38 Ibid., p. 213.
THE DISCIPLINE IN RITUALISTIC CONVENTS.
129
Feltham, Middlesex, from whence it was removed to Twickenham ;
and, later on, to West Mailing, Kent. Its Home is known as the
" Convent of S. Mary and S. Scholastica." I have no idea how
many Nuns reside within its walls. Originally this Nunnery was
under the control of the Rev. J. L. Lyne, who calls himself " Father
Ignatius," after Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit Order. A
schism took place in its ranks, and the Feltham Nuns seceded
from the control of " Father Ignatius." That gentleman, however,
keeps on another Nunnery of his own at Llanthony, where he has
also a Monastery. In 1379 this Convent was in Slapton, Devonshire,
where, in company with two others, I had an interview with " Ignatius "
himself, who told me that his Nuns " never see the face of man " — his
own face, I presume, excepted. " Sister Mary Agnes, O. S. B.," who
was for seventeen years one of the Nuns under " Father Ignatius,"
states that the "Discipline" or cat o' nine tails, was used by the
Nuns in the Convent,37 and this is confirmed by the Monastic Times,
June 14th, 1884, a periodical issued by " Ignatius " himself. Some-
times this "Discipline" was inflicted by the "Mother Superior"
against the will of the unfortunate Nun, an instance of which is
given above (p. 29).
That horrible, but perfectly true story, the accuracy of which has
not been publicly denied by "Ignatius," reads like a chapter of
Convent life taken from the Dark Ages. I wish I could think it were
an isolated case ; but when I remember that one in the position of
the late Dr. Pusey, as recently as 1878, recommended, as I have
already stated, this self-same " Discipline," as a penance for Sisters
of Mercy, I cannot help feeling anxious about the fate of the unhappy
creatures subject to it. In his well-known Manual for Confessors, Dr.
Pusey recommends Ritualistic Father Confessors to prescribe for
Sisters of Mercy, as a penance, and " For mortifications, the Discipline
for about a quarter of an hour a day " (p. 234). There is something truly
horrible in such a penance. A "quarter of an hour a day" of
whipping on the bare back, amounts to ninety-one hours of whipping
every year ! What an outcry there would be raised all over England
if it were discovered that the humblest woman in East London were
subject to such torture as this, even though it were inflicted by
herself ! Is it not evident that the inherent evils of Convent lif«
are growing up rapidly in what used at one time to be termed the
Reformed Church of England? This "Discipline" — which is some-
times made of spiked steel instead of whipcord — is in itself quite
enough to make a Convent an abode of misery and woe, rather than a
paradise on earth, which some of the friends of the so-called " Religious
Life " assert it to be. Would to God that the history of the inmates
of Ritualistic Convents could be written for the benefit of the public !
A cry of horror would, I have no doubt, then be heard throughout the
length and breadth of the land. A few ladies only of those who have
37 Nunnery Life in the Church of England, by Sister Mary Agues, 0. S. B.,
p. 97.
130
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
left Ritualistic Sisterhoods have published their bitter experiences for
the good of the public. The principal of these are Miss Cusack. who,
after leaving Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, became a Roman Catholic, and
was known as liThe Nun of Kemnare," ana who has now become
a Protestant ; Miss Margaret Goodman, who has written two books
on the subject, viz., her Experiences of an Engl sh Sister of Mercy, and
Sisterhoods in the Church of England; Miss Wale, who wrote the
Anglican Sister of Mercy, giving her experience of Dr. Pusey's Sister-
hoods ; and " Sister Mary Agnes," who wrote Nunnery Life in the
Church of England, being her experience of life in Father Ignatius's
Nunnery. All these writers agree as to the misery of the so-called
" Religious Life " in Anglican Convents.
Miss Cusack was one of the earliest of those who joined Dr. Pusey's
Sisterhood, of which she remained a member for shout five years.
She joined the branch of the Sisterhood which then existed at
Osnaburgh Street. London, and of which a Miss Langston was at that
time Superior. One of the ladies in this Convent was known as Sister
Jane. This lady, Miss Cusack states—
"Let drop many little hints as to the state of affairs [in the Sisterhood],
with which she was far from being satisfied, but above all she warned me
against Miss Se'.lon, and not without cause. Her description of lhe Plymouth
Sisterhood was that it was ' a hell upon earth,' and later, I knew, from
personal experience, that she was not f:ir astray."38
A very curious story is told by Miss Cusack as to the way in which
Dr. Pusey heard the Confessions of the Sisters. It implies that he
systematically broke the "Seal of Confession." Miss Sellon, she
states —
" Made one strict rule for her own protection, which was never broken.
No Sister was allowed to go to Confession unless she was in the house, and
she always remained in the room next to the one which Dr. Puscy occupied
when he heard the Sisters' Confessions. When he had heard one Sister he
always went into her room before he heard the Confession of another Sister;
hence I think we were not unreasonable in concluding that he told Miss
Sellou — if not in words, at least by implication — what had passed. And
this was religion ! " 39
It may be well to remark here, that Miss Cusack is not the only
person who has brought such a charge as this against Dr. Pusey.
The late well-known and highly esteemed Rev. Mark Pattison,
Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, wrote as follows : —
" I once, and only once, got so low by fostering a morbid state of conscience
as to go to Confession to Dr. Pusey. Years after it came to my knowledge
that Pusey had told a fact about myself, which he had got from me on that
occasion, to a friend of his, who employed it to annoy me." 40
33 Story of My Life, by N. F. Cusack, p. 65. " Ibid., p. 71.
40 Mark Pattison's Memoirs, p. 189.
CKCELTY IN RITUALISTIC CONVENTS.
131
The Confessional, when in the hand of a bad-tempered Confessor,
must be often the means of making the life of the poor Sisters
burthensome. Certainly what Miss Cusack relates about Dr. Pusey
has a very suspicious appearance, indirectly corroborated as it is by
Mr. Mark Pattisoivs revelation.
Miss Cusack mentions the case of a clergyman and his wife who
were foolish enough " to give up their baby girl to Miss Sellon to
train her for a Convent life."
"Alas," she writes, "for their utter ignorance of the person to whom they
had given their treasure. I pitied the poor babe from my heart. It was
treated shamefully ; and I believe some years later the parents found out
their mistake, and reclaimed their child. But the poor little thing was for
years at the mercy of a woman who knew no mercy, and at the caprice of one
who never considered the feelings or the welfare ot any one except herself." 41
It is possibly to the case here mentioned that Miss Margaret
Goodman refers, in her Sisterhoods in the Church of England. Miss
Goodman wrote from a bitter experience of Miss Sellon's Sisterhood,
of which for several years she was a member. This child, if she
were the one referred to by Miss Cusack, was named Lucy, and it
appeal's that there were several other "child novices" in the branch
Convent at Bradford, Wilts : —
" One day," writes Miss Goodman, " the little novices, attended by the
lady who hail charge of them, were spending their hour of silence in the
grounds at Bradford. During this time the children were not only required
to refrain from speaking or crowing, but they were expected to remain per-
fectly still. Little Lucy had a great fear of wasps: indeed, she was altogether
rather a timid little one ; so, as one of these insects wheeled nearer and nearer,
the child shrank back. ' Sit still, Lucy,' was the admonition she received.
Poor Lucy obeyed, but watched the wasp in agony ; at length it almost
touched her face, and then she pleaded, 1 Please, may I move just a very
little bit ; I am so frightened ? ' " 42
No wonder that poor little Lucy's mother, when she was only eight
years old, came and took her away from the Convent. " It was
found," Miss Goodman informs us, "that her mind had been over-
wrought, and, at the direction of the medical attendant, who feared a
disease of the brain, all tasks were suspended for more than a year "
(p. 132). I think my readers will consider that, under such treatment
as is described above, the wonder is that Convent training did not
drive the poor sensitive little child mad. Miss Cusack's estimate of
Miss Sellon is shared by Miss Goodman, though the latter, by way of
apology, pleads that it was her office which spoiled the woman in
Miss Sellon. Both these ladies were sisters at the same time. Miss
Goodman quotes a letter which she once received, which she states
confirms her own opinion of the Mother Superior : —
41 Cusack's Story of my Life, p. 77.
42 Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Cicurch of £ng!and, p. 135.
132
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFOKD MOVEMENT.
" Those under Miss Sellon suffered from want of the commonest care.
Anything that affected her own comfort or that of was ordered im-
m< diately — other tilings were forsrotten. It was a fault even to do anything
for a sick person without the ' Mother's' orders ; and she, late at night, late
in the morning, unpnnctual at all times, would forget to give any. At the
same time, it was always thought right to do anything for her, with or
without orders ; and so, sharing none of the hardships of others, she was
unawaie what they were." 43
Miss Goodman boldly brings charges of "cruelty" against the
authorities of this Sisterhood, and supports her charges by evidence
which has never been refuted. She mentions, amongst other cases,
that of a Sister, whose sufferings at the hands of Miss Sellon appear
to have facilitated her death.
" The Sister of whom I am now writing took a cold which, being neglected,
proved fatal, from being constantly obliged to remain many hours with damp
feet. She had asked for new boots some months previously, but her request
had been overlooked, 1 suppose : while, to add to her necessity, she was
Portress at the House in Osnaburgh Street, and in taking her messages to the
Superior, she had to cross an exposed courtyard, during a wet and cold
season. If the poor Sister's death had been occasioned by a cold caught
while in the execution of some act of mercy, we might not so much have
deplored it, but it seems extremely sad that a valuable lijc should have been
sacrificed to an absurd rule. Her work as Portress must have taken her
frequently into the presence of her Superiors, therefore it is strange that the
need of shoes was not observed. ... I must distinctly affirm, that her death
ought not to have been unexpected, and could only have been so to those who
were wholly absorbed in other matters — that is, in administering to the
slightest wish and whim of the Lady Superior. The contrast is more evident
in this case, because the Sister was one of thoie who came and went to the
several Houses in the train of the 'Mother'; and thus, while all was con-
fusion in the anxietv of so great an arrival, SHE CRAAVLED ABOUT
UNNOTICED AND UNPITIED."44
A story like this is enough to make a Briton's blood boil with
righteous indignation. Where was the womanly kindness of the
women who ruled this Convent, to allow a poor creature thus to die
" unnoticed and unpitied," and all for the want of a pair of shoes !
And does not the thought that there majT be scores of other tenderly-
reared ladies at present in these Ritualistic Convents, suffering similar
cruelties, and "crawling about unnoticed and unpitied," make us
justly anxious that these Convents, as well as those of the Church of
Rome, should be open to Government inspection ? The objections
commonly brought against such inspection are of the feeblest kind,
and might just as reasonably be brought against the existing Govern-
ment inspection of factories. The sensible way to argue is that, if
factories need inspection, how much more do Ritualistic Convents ?
And if the Government inspection of factories in recent years has —
43 Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 18.
44 Ibid., pp. 19, 20.
HUNGRY SISTERS OF MERCY.
133
as everybody admits — remedied many and grave abuses, why should
not a similar reformation of abuses be expected as the natural result
of Government inspection of Convents ?
Honour and attention were paid to this young lady when too late
to do her any good. " If a splendid funeral," remarks Miss Good-
man, " could atone for any want of care in her lifetime, poor Sister
Fridswida's would certainly have gone a long way. The coffin was
very beautiful, and the pall was a gorgeous mass of white and gold "
(p. 23).
While the comfort of poor Sister Fridswida was thus shamelessly
neglected, that of Miss Sellon (the Lady Superior) and Dr. Pusey (the
Father Confessor of the Convent), were very carefully attended to.
" Most elaborate was the care bestowed in preparing the suite of noms [in
the Convent] in which Miss Sellon anil Dr. Pusey lived. I may mention that
some hundreds of pounds were spent in making ready their apartments,
which formed a suite of rooms in the tower of the Abbey. I do not mean in
furniture only, but in carrying hot- water pipes into every room and passage,
in addition to the open grates ; in opening walls for extra doors, &c. A long
spiral flight of stone steps was covered with wood, on which was nailed
rich carpeting ; and whenever the Lady Superior ascended or descended, these
pieces of carpeted wood were fitted on to each step, and taken up again when
she had ceased to walk upon them."45
Certain ladies held office in the Convent, who were known as
" Eldresses." These, like Miss Sellon, appear to have had their
share of the good things of this life, not enjoyed by the ordinary
Sisters : —
"Two young Novices having occasion to go into the kitchen late one
evening, saw on the dresser a largo dish of cold soup prepared for next day's
dinner. One said, ' How good it looks ' ! and drawing near, thev observed
suet dumplings floating in it. They declared they must taste the dumplings ;
but they took a morsel more, and a morsel more, until they had made most
alarming inroads, and went to bed trembling, lest a searching inquiry should
be made the next morning. Will there be 'an hour' for stealing the
dumpling ? It was at the time, just before we went to bed, that we were apt
to feel most ravenously hungry ; ami, in winter, terribly cold also, and altogether
woe-begone.
" Though opposed to the rules, the Chapel was at one time often without a
fire, and we left it for bed after two hours of almost incessant repeating aloud
of Psalms and other prayers, nearly all of which were said standing. On
leaving one night, myself and the Novices were met, as we passed down the
corridor to our respective cells, by a droll girl, a kind of servant in the House,
and who from having lived amongst the Irish, before being taken by the
Fisters, had acquired many of their expressions. She invited us to ' Come
and see true "Holy Poverty,"' as practised by the governing powers in the
Abbey : Eldresses as they were termed. ' Sure,' said Martha, ' if its cold and
hungry ye are, come here, and its Holy Poverty I'll show ye.' She tripped
on before, and threw open the door of an Eldress's cell, saying, 'Sure, and
45 Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, p. 37.
134 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
arn't this Holy Poverty ? ' We stood peering over eacli other's shoulders
round the open door, perfectly fascinated. After an interval of years, every
object in that little cell is clearly before me ; so strong was the impression
which, from contrast with our own state, it made upon me. The cell of the
Eldress contained a blazing fire, a heaped-up feather bed, instead of a healthy
hard mattress, and on her table stood a bountiful plate ol cold meat, and a
small horn of wine."46
The existence of Nunneries in the Church of England, the inmates
of which are supposed never to leave their walls, makes it all the
more important that I should call public attention to the fact that
private burial grounds now exist within some Ritualistic Convents. I
have heard of several such places, the existence of which is, as far as
possible, kept a profound secret from the outside world. One such
private burial ground certainly exists within Ascot Priory, one of Dr.
Pusey's Sisterhoods, within the premises of which Dr. Pusey died.
Miss Goodman says that Ascot Priory is the headquarters of the
" Order of the Sacred Heart," which I have already mentioned.
Several of the Nuns are buried within those walls, though whether
their deaths were properly registered or not is more than I can say.
Certain it is that the existence of such places is naturally calculated
to arouse suspicion. They ought not to be tolerated by the Govern-
ment, and those already existing ought to be at once closed by
authority. It would be well if some Member of Parliament were to
question the Government on this subject, and make an effort to
secure a return of all such secret burial places, whether connected
with Eitualistic or Roman Catholic Sisterhoods.
The very existence of such burial grounds within Convent walls
would, at any time, facilitate the commission of crime. In Roman
Catholic Convents, it is well known, illegitimate infants, and even the
Sisters themselves, have been murdered, and secretly buried. Human
nature is the same all the world over, temptation and opportunity are
all that are needed to rouse certain natures to deeds of evil, and
though we have heard of no such foul deed as murder in Ritualistic
Convents, it is just as well that nothing shall be tolerated which is
calculated to arouse suspicion and help on iniquity. Depend upon it,
once the people of England realize that such secret burial-places do
exist, their just indignation will not be removed until they are closed
for ever. It is better and wiser far to prevent evil and crime, than to
cure them after they have been committed.
Eitualistic Sisterhoods mainly exist for the propagation of what
ordinary and loyal Churchmen term advanced Romanizing practices
and doctrines. In the chapels attached to several of these institu-
tions advanced Ritualism is secretly practised which the world at
large knows nothing about. It is nothing uncommon now for the
Reserved Sacrament to be kept in the chapels, and even " Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament " is not unknown. The Rev. Owen C. H.
King, a Ritualistic clergyman, was, before his ordination, frequently
4* Goodman's Sisterhoods in the Church of England, pp. 1 05-107,
ROMISH SERVICE IN A CONVENT CHAPEL.
1 :'»r»
resent at the services of the St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, Sister-
ood, in the chapel attached to their Convent in Queen Square,
London, and at which the Kev. Dr. Littledale officiated. When Mr.
King became a Roman Catholic he published a pamphlet, entitled,
The Character of Dr. Littlidale as a Controversialist, in which he described
the secret services at which he was present. The pamphlet was pub-
lished during Dr. Littledale's lifetime, and I have never heard that he
publicly, or otherwise, denied the facts mentioned by Mr. King in the
following statement, nor yet have the Sisters themselves done so : —
"Not many years ago, while preparing for the ministry of the Church of
England, I was engaged in voluntary lay work in connection with St. Albau's,
Holborn. During this time ... I was on many occasions present at certain
services performed in the chapel connected with the branch of the East Grin-
stead Anglican Sisters, established in Queen Square, London. Dr. Littledale
is the Chaplain of this institution, and Dr. Littledale (the author of ' Plain,
Reasons against Joining the Church of Rome ') several times was the officiant.
Now as an ' Anti- Roman ' controversialist, he has written against the follow-
ing:—
" 1. The doctrine of ' Concomitance,' i.e., that Christ is present whole and
entire under either species in the Blessed Sacrament — from which it follows
that the Blessed Sacrament cannot be reserved in one kind only.
" 2. The ' modern Roman Rite' of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
" 8. The use of the Latin tongue in Church Services.
" 4. The use of images of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints.
"But as Chaplain to the East Grinstead Sisters, Dr. Littledale adopts all
these customs. Every one of these things is practised by him, and I am pre-
pared, if called upon, to prove my assertion by the production of such evidence
as it will be impossible to resist. Once I attended a ' Mass ' at Queen Square,
which, to my utter astonishment, was said in Latin from the Roman Missal,
and although Dr. Littledale was not the officiating minister on that occasion,
still the demeanour of the assembled Sisters showed that they were witnessing
a service to which they were quite accustomed. On the altar, at which this
' Mass ' was said, is a Tabernacle, and in this Tabernacle is kept a vessel
called a Ciborium, which contains consecrated altar breads — that is to say,
the Anglican Sacrament is Reserved in one kind by Dr. Littledale for the
purposes of Communion, and for another purpose also, which I will explain
presently. People outside the circle no doubt will think this an extraordinary
performance for a Church of England clergyman to go through who has
penned his name to the Thirty-nine Articles. "What, then, is to bo thought
of one who has been engaged by the S. P. C. K. to write, against all these
things? But more than this. On Sunday afternoon the 'modern Roman
Rite of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament' is performed at this singular
Anglican altar, and Dr. Littledale exposes on the altar a 'consecrated'
wafer, in a Monstrance, for the worship of the Sisters, and the chosen few who
are permitted to be present. The hymns which are used on this occasion are
sung in Latin, and in fact the whole performance is an exact imitation of the
well-known service of the Roman Catholic Church. After this, one would
scarcely be surprised to hear that the chapel is not without a sacred image,
surrounded with flowers and candles. I challenge Dr. Littledale to deny
these things; as I said before, I am prepared to prove them all."47
47 The Character of Sr. Littledale as a Controversialist, by Owen C. H.
King, pp. 5-7. London : Burns and Oates.
130
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
The services provided for the clothing of a Novice, and the Installa-
tion of a Mother Superior of a Ritualistic Sisterhood, as provided in
the Ritualistic Priest's Prayer Book, have much of superstition con-
nected with them. This booh has had an immense circulation
amongst the Romanizing clergy during the past thirty years, and I
regret to state that it has been recommended to town curates by the
Bishop of Truro (Dr. Gott) as one of those books which he has "found
exceptionally valuable" to himself.48 The service for "Clothing of a
Novice in a Sisterhood " in this Priest's Prayer Book, assumes that a
" Bishop, or some one in his stead, vested in Alb, Stole, and Cope,"
shall perform the ceremony. At one point in the service "the
Benediction of the Candle " takes place ; after which " the Officiant
shall light the Candle, and place it in the hands of the Postulant."
Later on it is ordered that " the Novice's Habit shall be blessed," and
it is asserted that this dress will be to the Postulant " a sure protection,
a token of her profession, a beginning of holiness, and a strong defence
against all the darts of the enemy." There is certainly no Scriptural or
Church of England authority for supposing that the dress of a Sister
of Mercy will protect her from the devil, or be to her in any way a
"beginning of holiness." The marvel is how Church of England
clergymen, in this enlightened nineteenth century, can believe in such
superstitions. Yet, after all, it must be admitted that there is no
limit to the superstitions and follies which men will believe, when
once they have forsaken the Bible as their only Rule of Faith. And
what are we to think of the following portion of this service, published
in all seriousness '? —
" The Bishop shall then deliver the Habit to the Postulant, saying : —
'Receive this Habit that thou mayest wear it unspotted before the Judgment
seat of our Lord Jesus Christ.' " 43
Surely this is an impossible task to give to the poor Postulant ?
The said " Habit " will, no doubt, be worn out long before she appears
"before the Judgment seat." How, then, can she wear it, and in an
" unspotted " condition too, on that great occasion ? Besides, one
may reasonably ask, what authority is there, in earth or heaven, for
assuming that anybody will be dressed in the " Habit " of a Ritualistic
Sister of Mercy on the great Day of Judgment ?
When the time comes for the Postulant to become a fully professed
Sister, another religious service is provided for the occasion, termed
a "Form for the Profession of a Sister." In this it is directed that
the Bishop shall bless the Habit if it be a new one, in the same
words as in the case of a Postulant, and, in addition, he " shall bless
the Veil and Ring" to be worn by the Sister on the occasion, and
48 The Parish Priest of the Town, by John Gott, D.D., pp. 214, 218. First
edition. London : Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 18S7.
49 The Priest's Prayer Book, pp. 302-306. Seventh edition. Eighteenth
thousand. London, 1890.
SUPERSTITIOUS CEREMONIES.
137
also a " garland of flowers." 50 The Priest's Prayer Book also contains
a form of religious service for the " Installation of a Mother Superior."
The Mother Superior, like a Lord Bishop, must needs have a " Pas-
toral Staff" of her own, and it is ordered at a certain point in the
service — "Then shall the Bishop proceed to bless the Pastoral Staff;"
and, accordingly he has the daring to pray to God thus: — "Almighty
and Merciful God, Who of Thine unspeakable goodness hearkenest
to our supplication, and of Thine abundant loving kindness givest to
us the desire to pray, plenteously pour the might o f Thy bless ►£< iiuj upon
this Staff." The Bishop must then "bless the Ring of office" to be
worn by the Mother Superior, and say :— " Bl ess, O Lord, and
hal ►£< ow this Ring, and send upon it Thy sevenfold Holy Spirit."61 Is
there not something very much like blasphemous irreverence in
asking that God the Holy Ghost shall be poured out on a gold ring?
Things like these are what have made men Infidels in France and
elsewhere. Certainly if holiness consists in the possession of material
objects blessed by a Bishop, Sisters of Mercy possess holiness to an
extraordinary degree. They possess, as we have seen, Holy Candles,
Holy Habits, Holy Veils, Holy Rings, Holy Flowers, and even a
Holy Pastoral Staff for each Convent. Poor, deluded victims of
a superstitious system ! Is there any valid reason why Christian
women should not band themselves together — as is the case in many
Deaconesses' Homes — without adopting the superstitious customs of
Popery and Paganism ?
It is not to be wondered at that superstition follows the Sisters
within the Convent walls. In the secret Manual of Prayers According
to the Use of Devonport, which is also known to the Sisters as the
Devonport Manual, many superstitious services are provided for. I
should explain that this secret book is for the use of Dr. Pusey's
Sisterhood, and is printed at their own private press. In the " Office
of the Choir of the Holy Sepulchre" is a hymn in honour of the wind-
ing sheet which wrapped our Lord's dead body. The first verse is as
follows : —
" The glories of that sacred Winding Sheet
Let every tongue record ;
Which from the Cross received with honour meet
The Body of the Lord." 52
In the "Office of the Choir of the Pierced Heart" is a hymn in
praise of the spear which pierced our Lord's side, and of the nails
which fastened Him to the Cross!
150 The Priest's Prayer Book, pp. 306-311. Seventh edition. Eighteenth
thousand. London, 1890.
61 Ibid., pp. 311-314.
52 Devonport Manual, Part III., p. 338. There is no date to the edition of
this book which I possess.
138
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" What tongue, illustrious Spear ! can duly sound
Thy praise in heaven or earth ?
Thou who didst open that life-giving Wound,
From whence the Church had birth.
" And equal thauks to you, blest Nails! whereby
Fast to the Sacred Rood,
Was clench'd the sentence dooming us to die,
All blotted out in Blood." 53
On reading this one cannot but feel that it would be just as
reasonable to have a hymn in praise of the man who thrust the
spear in our Saviour's side ; and another in honour of the man who
drove the nails into His Body ; for they were but instruments for
carrying out their master's orders.
I possess also a copy of the first part of the secret Devonport
Manual, " printed at the Printing Press of the Devonport Society, a.d.
1861." From it I learn that the Sisters wear useless and superstitious
Scapulars.
" On putting on the Scapula : —
" Lord, protect nie under the Shadow of Thy Wings." 51
What, in the opinion of this Sisterhood, are the virtues of then-
Scapulars, we are not told, but we can hardly be thought uncharitable
if we assume that, in their opinion, they are the same as those
derived from the Scapulars worn by Roman Catholics. Scapulars
were the product of the Dark Ages, and are, in the Church of Rome,
generally supposed to be a protection against fire and drowning,
and enable the wearer to pass into heaven soon after they have
entered Purgatory. I cannot find in either of the two parts of the
Devonport Manual in my possession, that the Sisters are ever required
to specially pray for their own relatives and friends outside of the
Convent. At page 4 of Part L the Sister is directed to pray thus :
— "Bless my dear Mother and my Community," but the Mother is
the Mother Superior, and not the Superior Mother at home. It
would appear that the Sisters are expected to act as though they
had no mothers, relatives or friends outside the Convent ; or, as if
they were all dead and buried.
" Of what use," asks the Devonport Manual of the Sister, " will it be,
having left the world, if you still dwell on its news, or to liave given up
your relations if you are taken up or entangled with the wish to receive
letters or visits from them?"16
In many of the Ritualistic Sisterhoods much of the time of the
Sisters is devoted to the care of the sick, and not a few of them
act as nurses for the sick and dying. Dr. Pusey said, at the Oxford
63 Devonport Manual, Part III., p. 332. '"Ibid., Part I., p. 1.
KIbid., Part L, p. 32.
SISTERHOODS AND EDUCATION.
i:;o
Church Congress, that " the Sister is the Pioneer of the priest,"
which amounts to this : wherever the Sister goes, she prepares
and makes ready the way, as a pioneer, for the priest to follow
her. We may be quite sure that the priest whom the Sister may
recommend is, whenever possible, one of the Father Confessor class.
In only too many instances the Nursing Sisters act as zealous
missionaries of the Eitualistic cause, and use their influence to
persuade young ladies — more especially those with large fortunes —
to enter Ritualistic Convents. In the secret book for the use of
St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, Sisterhood, the Spirit of the Founder,
Dr. Neale, their Warden is reported as having said to them: — "You
stand, if not in the place of priests, yet in the place of God's
ambassadors, to those to whom you are sent."68 Nor is their
influence in the matter of will-making to be despised. It would be
interesting to know how many legacies to Convents, and bequests for
the erection of new Romanizing Churches, are the result of the
influence of Nursing Sisters of Mercy. Protestant families are never
theologically safe with Ritualistic Nursing Sisters in their houses.
The influence of Ritualistic Sisterhoods in destroying a love for
Protestantism, and planting a love for more or less of Roman Catholic
doctrine in its place, is most of all seen in their educational work,
whether it be carried on by means of schools or books. Convent
Schools for the upper and middle classes are now very numerous, and
constitute a serious danger to the Protestantism of the Church of
England. The specially sad thing is that many parents who dislike
Ritualism exceedingly, send their daughters to these schools to be
educated, merely because they are cheap. The policy is a selfish one,
and cannot be justified by those who believe that the welfare of the
souls of their children should be, to Christian parents, a first considera-
tion. In elementary schools for the poor also these Sisters are
frequently seen as teachers. The " Sisters of the Church," who are
known by various aliases, such as "The Kilbnrn Sisterhood," "Church
Extension Association,1' &c, devote themselves largely to the work
of education, and are publishers of many works, in which Auricular
Confession for young and old is taught, as also the Real Presence, and
the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Sisterhood of St. Margaret's, East
Grinstead, publishes the most extremely Romanizing books of any
Sisterhood I am acquainted with. One of the worst of these is the
Night Hours of the Church, in three volumes. In the "Editor's Note "
to the second volume it is stated that these Night Hours are translated
from the " Roman Breviary," and that the work has " been carefully
brought into accordance with the Latin original." In this work
services are provided for "All Souls' Day^and for the festival of
" Corpus Christi," two Roman Catholic holidays which are not found
in the Kalendar of the Book of Common Prayer ; the first of these
being held in support of the doctrine of Purgatory, and the second in
honour of Transubstantiation. Throughout these volumes the Inter-
ne Spirit of the Founder, p. 94.
140
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
cession of Departed Saints is asked for, and they are invoked by name,
especially the Virgin Mary. The following extracts prove the Invoca-
tion of the Virgin : —
"Blessed art thou, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, that believedst the Lord :
for there hath been a performance of those things which were told thee :
behold thou art exalted above the choirs of Angels. Intercede for us to the
Lord our God." 57
" Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, intercede for us." 58
In a "privately printed" volume of Offices from the Breviary, dated
1885, for use in St. Saviour's Hospital, Osnaburgh Street, London,
N.W., which is under the control of another Sisterhood, is contained
a Hymn to the Virgin, the first verse of which is as follows : —
"Those five wounds of Jesus smitten,
Mother ! in my heart be written,
Deep as in thine own they be !
Thou, my Saviour's Cross who bearest,
Thou, thy Son's rebuke who sharest,
Let me share them both with thee." 59
On the question of the general work of Ritualistic Sisterhoods, and
their objects, I cannot do better than quote here the following wise
remarks from Cautions for the Times, edited by the late Archbishop
Whately :—
" The principal method of decoy, at present, is nut so much argument as
other kinds of persuasion. Among these, none seem more popular just now
than what are called 'Brotherhoods' and 'Sisterhoods of Mercy'; the real
grand object of which appears to be, not so much almsgiving itself, as, under
pretence of that, imbuing with Tractite " [now called Ritualistic] " principles
those who receive, and those who administer ' the charity.' And it is part of
the system not only to makf a great parade of their works of chanty, but also
to represent themselves as the only persona who pay any regard to the wants
of the poor in those localities where such associations have been at work.
Bold and persevering assertions often gain credence with tiie thoughtless ; and
thus it has come to be believed by many, in some cases which have lately
made much noise in the wurld that, in such and such districts the poor were
left wholly unthought of till these Sisterhoods arose ; the truth being the
very reverse ; twenty times as much was being done for the poor, and in a
more judicious and efficient way, by persons who were content to go about
their labour of love quietly, without blowing a trumpet before them, or
wearing any fantastic uniform." 60
"Night Hours of the Church, Vol. II., p. 175. 5S Ibid., p. 12S.
69 Offices from the Breviary, p. 95 . 60 Cautions for the Times, p. 344.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.
Protestant Martyrs and the Mass — Latimer's testimony — Restoration of
the Mass by the Ritualists — Birth of the Confraternity! of the Blessed
Sacrament — Its objects and work — Its secret Intercession Paper —
Ordered to be "destroyed" when done with — Its "medal" maybe
buried with deceased members— First exposure of an Intercession
Paper at Plymouth — Great excitement — How the Rock found an
Intercession Paper — Secret proceedings at New York — The secret
" Roll of Priests- Associate " — Dread lest it should fall into Protestant
hands — Curious letter from a Priest-Associate — Extracts from the
papers of the C. B. S.— Requiem Masses for Souls in Purgatory-
Advocates Fasting Communion — Bishop Samuel Wilberforce on
Fasting Communion; "detestable materialism" — Opposes Evening
Communion — Proofs that it is sanctioned by the Primitive Church —
C. B. S. term it " spiritually and morally dangerous " — Eucharistic
Adoration of C. B. S. Identical with that of Rome — Its Idolatrous
character — The C. B. S. on the Real Presence — The " Eucharistic
Sacrifice" — Bishop Beveridge on Sacrifice — Transubstantiation advo-
cated by name — Bishop Wilberforce Censures the Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament.
Those who have read the History of the Reformation are aware that
in the estimation of the Church of Rome, the principal offence of the
Protestant Martyrs of that period was their opposition to the Sacrifice
of the Mass, and to the doctrine of Transubstantiation on which it is
founded. Those holy Martyrs would rather die than express one
word of approval of the Mass. In the course of a Disputation which
Bishop Latimer held at Oxford, on April 18th, 1554, he said : — " These
famous men, viz., Mr. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; Mr.
Ridley, Bishop of London; that holy man, Mr. Bradford; and I, old
Hugh Latimer, were imprisoned in the Tower of London for Christ's
Gospel preaching, and for because we would not go a Massing."1 No
one who has read the writings of the Reformers can fail to see how
much they hated and loathed the Sacrifice of the Mass. They always
used the strongest possible language in denouncing it ; and yet not
stronger than the Church of England still uses in her Article XXXI. :
"The Sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said that
1 Latimer's Remains, p. 258. Parker Society edition.
(141)
142 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
the priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission
of pain and guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.''
Probably there was not one of the men who were God's instruments
for delivering England from Papal bondage, who would not have sub-
scribed to Latimer's opinion of the Mass and Mass priests. " Another
denying of Christ," he said, "is this iVIass-monging. For all those
that be Mass-mongers be deniers of Christ ; which believe or trust in
the Sacrifice of the Mass, and seek remission of their sins therein.
For this opinion hath done very much harm, and brought innumerable
souls to the pit of hell ; for they believed the Mass to be a Sacrifice
for the dead and living." 2
That which the Protestant Martyrs protested against with their
dying breath : those ''blasphemous,"" dangerous," and "deceitful"
things — as the Church of England still terms them — have, unhappily,
been restored by our modern Ritualists within the Church of England.
The only difference between them is that the one is said in Latin, and
the other in English. Even this difference has, in some instances,
been removed. The Rev. Owen C. H. King, now a Roman priest, but
formerly a Ritualist, states that he was present at a " Mass :' offered
up in the Chapel of the East Grinstead Sisters in Queen Square,
London, which " was said in Latin from the. Rorn tn Missal; " 3 and Mr.
King's statement, though made in a published pamphlet, has never, so
far as I am aware , been refuted. And that there may be no mistake
as to the identity of the Roman Mass and the Ritualistic Mass we
read in the St. Margaret's, Leytonstone, Parish Magazine, for April,
1894, the following statement: — " The Mass of the Church of England is
identical with the Mass of the Church of Rome."
The early Tractarians, when they commenced their work, taught
the doctrines of the Real Presence and the " Eucharistic Sacrifice,"
but they were very guarded in their language, and carefully abstained
from extreme statements. In this direction they practised the
doctrine of "Reserve in Communicating Religious Knowledge." It
was soon realized that the propagation of these doctrines was
essential for the success of the ultimate object of the Movement-
Corporate Reunion with Rome. It was not, however, until 1862 that
a society was founded for the special purpose of teaching the Real
Presence and the " Eucharistic Sacrifice." The name which the new
society assumed was that of the " Confraternity of the Blessed Sacra-
ment." I look upon this Confraternity as a semi-secret Society, which
shrinks as much as possible from the light of publicity. I am not
aware that its members are under any vows of secrecy as to its
proceedings, but there is a manifest dread lest its privately printed
documents should fall into Protestant hands. As an instance of this
I may mention that the Confraternity issues every month, to all
its members, an " Intercession Paper," containing the subjects for which
'Latimer's Sermons, p. 521. Parker Society edition.
3 The Character of Dr. Littledale as a Controversialist, by Owen C. H.
King, p. t>.
THE SECRET INTERCESSION PAPERS.
143
the members are to pray each day. and also subjects for their
"thanksgiving." Every care is taken to prevent a copy of this Paper
falling into Protestant hands. There are about 15.000 printed every
mouth, yet. large as the number is. it is but rarely that any one
sees a copy who is not a member of the Confraternity. The reason
of this is explained. I have no doubt, by the advice given to the
members by the Superior General of the C. B. S. (Canon T. T. Carter,
of Clewer), at its annual secret meeting, on June 20th, 1878.
" Let me add, however," said Canon Carter, " that it is a matter of importance
to be careful n^t to have about the Intercession Papers, to be misused by ill-dis-
posed persons [as 1 am using ihem in tins Chapter ?], and that they should be
destroyed irhen no longer in use. We are taught to be ' wise as serpents,' as
well as 'harmless as doves'; and we shall do well not to encourage the
modern tendency to attack all that savours of I 'atholie truth or Catholic use.
I would add, that it is most desirable that Associates should not fail to notify
changes of address, as far as may be possible, so as to avuid the miscarriage of
the Intercession Papers. In consequence of the want of such care a consider-
able number of such papers wander about the country unclaimed, liable to all
kinds of misuse." *
At the annual meetings of the C. B. S., none are admitted unless
they can produce the medal which proves that they are members, so
that these gatherings are of a private character. The rulers of the
Confraternity are naturally nervous lest any one should gain an
entrance into the annual meeting with a member's medal to which
he. or she, may not be entitled. It was thought necessary, at the
annual meeting on June 1st, 1893, to give the Associates a word of
warning on this subject, and also to repeat the warning of 1878 con-
cerning the Intercession Papers. In the course of his annual address,
on the former date, the Superior General said : —
" I have also to remind Associates that care be always taken as to notices
of changes of addresses, that our Papers may not wander broadcast through
the Post Office : and also that notice be given in case of death. The Secretary
tells me that he has only just been able to stop Papers that had been sent
every month to an Associate who had been dead fourteen years. Moreover,
for the medals special care is needed. They might be buried with deceased
persons,5 if so desired, or they should be at once returned. Otherwise, our
medals run a great risk of being used by unfit persons, who may thus pass
themselves off as members of the Confraternity. " 6
So far as I have been able to ascertain, no copy of the Intercession
Paper of the C. B. S. came into the possession of an Editor of either
of our daily papers until thirteen years after the founding of the
4 Address of the Superior General at the Conference, June 20th, 1878,
pp. 4, 5.
5 What good would that do for the dead ? The suggestion tends towards
superstition.
6 C. B. S. Annual Report, 1893, p. ix.
144 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Society.7 On July 15th, 1875, the Western Daily Mercury, of Plymouth,
published an analysis of the contents of the Intercession Paper for the
July of that year, together with a list of the officers of its various
Branches, and a leading article on the subject, in the course of which
it remarked : — " Not a few people, we fancy, will be surprised at
seeing [in the C. B. S. list] men, whom they believed to be honest,
straightforward clergymen of the Established Church, allied with this
dangerous Guild ; and some clergymen, who have been one thing to
members of the Confraternity, and another to the rest of the com-
munity, will hardly thank our correspondent for making apparent
their double dealing. . . . We name these gentlemen because they
deserve notoriety, and it will be well if their friends and neighbours
fittingly recognise their connection with the Confraternity. If they
all, or any of them, have hitherto found it convenient to keep their
connection with their Guild a secret, shared only by a few congenial
spirits, they can do so no longer, for they now stand before the world
in their true colours. They stand officially connected with an organisa-
tion which is deliberately setting itself to undo the work of the Re-
formation, which desires to substitute for the Protestantism for which
our fathers bled an Anglican counterpart of Romish sacerdotalism."
The exposure by the Western Daily Mercury was reprinted in several
London papers, and produced a great deal of excitement and dismay
in the Ritualistic camp. Indeed, a reward was offered, by advertise-
ment, of Three Pounds to any one who would give to a local solicitor,
information as to who "stole" the Intercession Paper which had
caused such a commotion. Although the Western Daily Mercury
was, as I have said, the first daily paper to call attention to the C. B. S.,
the honour of being actually the first of all the papers to expose its
Intercession Paper is claimed by the Mock, which, in its issue for
May 23rd, 1873, tells its readers the very interesting story of how it
came into possession of the secret document.
" Even Ritualists," said the Rock, " are not exempted from human fraiities.
One of the number seems to have let his copy [of the C. B. S. Intercession
Paper] drop in the public street, where the word ' Confidential ' placed at the
top did not prevent its being picked up, and eagerly scanned by the fust
youngster who passed that way. In this case it luckily happened that the
•lad to whose lot th'> treasure fell, not knowing what to make of it, took it to
his father, a worthy shoemaker in the district of St. Alpheg^, Southwark,
who . . . was as much puzzled as his boy had been, and left the Paper lying
on the parlour table. Presently, in walks a Sister of Mercy (they swarm in
those parts), whose quick eye instantly recognised the strayed Paper, which,
with the remark (true enough we don't doubt) that ' it belonged to her
master,' she immediately clutched. Mr. Crispin, however, not relishing this
summary mode of doing business, insisted on having the Paper back ; but, as
the Sister positively refused to part with it, a tussle ensued, which ended in
her discomfiture and the recovery of the prey. Our friend, who had now
become quite alive to its importance, took an early opportunity of showing it
to the Scripture reader of his district, and he, we may readily imagine, saw at
7 The Rock, a Protestant Church paper, published an exposure in 1873.
KEEPING OUT OF PUBLIC NOTICE.
145
once what an important evidence of the stealthy manner in which the Ritua-
listic moles and bats are working had thus providentially been thrown in his
way, for although the C. D. S. had been many years at work, it had hitherto
contrived to keep its proceedings pretty secret." 8
Probably it was the action taken by the Rock which led the
Superior General of the C. B. S., at its next anniversary, to say to the
members : — "We must endeavour to make our position accord with
our constitution, in keeping, as far an possible, out of public notice."9
How forcibly this statement reminds us of the words of our Saviour: —
" For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to
the light, lest his deeds should be reproved" {margin, "discovered,"
John iii. 20). The Hock's exposure led to a considerable amount rf
local controversy in the provinces, where the Priests-Associate were
very angry at having their names made known to their own congre-
gations, as connected with such a Romanizing society. One of them
wrote a long letter to the Banbury Guardian on the subject, in the
course of which he asked two questions, to which, at the same time,
he gave his own very candid answers. " But it may be said," wrote
the Bev. James Hodgson, who described himself as " Superior of the
Bloxham Ward C. B. S.," "why are they [Intercession Papers] marked
' confidential ' ? Does not this imply secrecy ? Undoubtedly. But
any one can see in a moment why it is. We ara members of a Church
that has two great sections in it, and we live among a people a large
portion of whom ' care for none of these things.' " 10
Later on in the same year the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacra-
ment held its local anniversary in New York. Reports of its pro-
ceedings were kept from all the Church papers of that city, whether
High Church or Evangelical. But what was undoubtedly an official
report was sent to the Ritualistic Church Times, of England, where
in due course it appeared. When the news of what had occurred
came to the ears of the loyal members of the Protestant Episcopal
Church of America, they were naturally very indignant. The Church
Journal of New York, which was by no means unfriendly towards
moderate High Churchmen, commenting on what had occurred, re-
marked : —
" By way of London comes to us an account, carefully withheld from the
American Church papers, of a meeting in June last in this city, of what
appears to be a secret association of American clergymen. If there is wrong
done to any one in the account given, we shall be ready and glad to give room
for the righting of the wrong. But if a secrect and confidential Confraternity
exists among us, whose purposes and meetings are carefully concealed from
publicity in the American Church, it is time we all knew it. The thing, like
s murder, ' will out,' and the mass of the clergy, bound by their ordinatiou
8 The Rock, May 23rd, 1873, p. 335.
9 Report of the Twelfth Anniversary of the C. B. S., p. 3.
10 Mr. Hodgson's letter is reprinted in the Ritualistic Church Review, July
5th, 1873, p. 400.
10
146
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
vows, and doing their work openly and honestly in the light, feel it unfair
that there should be an inner motive circle where the profane a.re not admitted ;
a Brotherhood of secret purposes and secret ties."11
The secrecy of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is also
seen in another direction. It never prints, even for private circula-
tion, a list of its lay Associates. But it does print yearly a Roll of
Priests-Associate. Every possible care is taken to keep this Roll
strictly secret. Scarcely any one outside of its ranks can procure a
copy for love or money. Yet even this secretly circulated Roll does
not contain the names of all the Priests-Associate. The Confraternity
possesses in its ranks a body of priests who are so afraid that their
connection with it shall be known, that they refuse permission to the
authorities to print their names even in this secret and confidential
Roll. So, every year, as the new Roll comes out, there are found
printed therein the two following official notices : — 12
"Notice. — Priests who do not wish their names to appear in the printed
list should give notice to the Secretary to that effect." 13
"N.B. There are in addition [to those whose names are printed] certain
Priests-Assoeiite who do not wish their names to appear in print."14
Another notice proves how much afraid the rulers of the C. B. S.
are lest some Protestant should get hold of a copy of the Roll : —
" The Secretary General would be most grateful if Priests-Associate would
kindly inform him o1 their changes of addresses from time to time. So many
of the Rolls are returned through the G. P.O., and very many copies fall into
the hands^ of those who had better not have them." 15
An amusing incident in the history of the C. B. S. took place in
1877. In that year the Editor of the Rock published a pamphlet
entitled the Ritualistic Conspiracy, containing a list of clergymen
who had supported the Ritualistic cause by joining Ritualistic
societies, or signing Petitions in support of Ritualism. One of the
clergymen whose name appeared in this pamphlet was the Rev. H.
P. Denison, a nephew of the well-known Archdeacon Denison. This
gentleman sent fourpence to the Editor of the Rock for a copy. On
this, the Editor wrote to Mr. Denison, asking him, as a member of
the C. B. S., to send him a copy of the last Roll of Priests-Associate.
To this Mr. Denison sent the following reply :—
"Sir, — I am soi ry to have forgotten to answer your letter sooner. Per-
sonally, I should be delighted to send you the C. B. S. Roll, for you to correct
11 The Rock, October 24th, 1S73, p. 717.
12 1 copy from the Roll of Priests-Associate for 1 894, the last which I have
seen.
"Ibid., p. 88, note. 14 Ibid., p. 23. 15 Ibid., p. 77.
OBJECTS OF THE CONFRATERNITY.
147
your list, but I could not do so without the consent of the Superior-General.
If he gives his consent I shall be very happy to forward it.
" Yours truly,
" Henry Phipps Denison.
"East Brent, Highbkidoe, November 8th." 16
I need hardly add that the Superior-General never gave his con-
sent.
And now I come to the task of describing more fully what is the
real work of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a
Society composed of bishops, priests, laymen, and women. It was
founded in the year 1862 ; and in 1867 was united to the " Society of
the Blessed Sacrament." In the year 1894, no less than 1GS2 clergy-
men in the Church of England, and 13,444 laymen and women, were
members of this fraternity.17 The Rev. Orby Shipley informs us that
the C. B. S. — as it is usually termed — is the "daughter"18 of the
notorious Society of the Holy Cross, which was responsible for that
very indecent Confessional Book, the Priest in Absolution.
We learn from the official Manual of the Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament — a book which is on public sale — that its
" Objects " are : —
" 1. The Honour due to the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ in the
Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood.
" 2. Mutual and special Intercession at the time of and in union with the
Eu haristie Sacrifice.
"3. To promote the observance of the Catholic and primitive practice of
receiving the Holy Communion fasting." 19
We here discover what the work of the Confraternity of the Blessed
Sacrament really is. It is nothing less than the propagation, in the
Church of England, of the blasphemous Sacrifice of the Mass, under
the name of "The Eucharistic Sacrifice!" As to "Fasting Com-
munion," it is sufficient to say that the first and best Communion
administered by our Saviour Himself, was received immediately after
a meal. Even a Roman Catholic Sub-Dean of Maynooth College has
admitted that —
"The Blessed Kticharist was instituted by our Lord after supper, and for a
short time was celebrated and administered only after supper. Martene
shows that for the first three centuries, and even much later, it was still in
many places celebrated after supper." 20
18 The Hock, November 16th, 1877, p. 961.
17 Annual Report of C. B. S. for 1894, p. iv.
"Shipley's Four Cardinal Virtues, p. 249. London, 1871.
19 Manual of C. B. S., p. 5. Ninth Edition.
20 Notes on the Roman Ritual, p. 261, by the Rev. James Kane, Dublin,
1867.
148
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Among the " Eecommendations " printed in the Manual is the
following : —
"To make Offerings for the due and reverent celebration of the Holy-
Eucharist." 21
This looks very much like a revival of that sacrilegious custom
of the Church of Rome, paying for Masses ! St. Peter forewarns
us — " There shall be false teachers among you " ; and of these
teachers he says — " And through covetousness shall they with feigned
words make merchandise of you" (2 Peter ii. 1, 3). The way in
which the priests of the Church of Rome, at the Reformation, made
" merchandise " of men's souls, by their Masses, was that which,
as much as anything, made Englishmen first detest and hate the
Mass. The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is now apparently
trying hard to revive this scandalous custom in our Reformed Church
of England, under the name of " Offerings for the due and reverent
Celebration of the Holy Eucharist ! "
Another of these " Recommendations " is, to offer up at the Holy
Communion, " Prayers for the Visible Unity of Christendom." At
page 70 we read the prayers for this object recommended by the
Confraternity. The following is an extract from the first of these :—
" We earnestly pray Thee for the restoration of visible unity of worship
and communion between the divided members of the Catholic Church, both
East and West."
Here we find the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament praying
that the Church of England, and the Eastern Churches, may again
be in " visible unity," not only with the Eastern Church, but also
with the Church of Rome. On this subject, and the many objections
which may be brought against Corporate Reunion with Rome, I shall
have a great deal to write in a later chapter.
In the " Laws of the Confraternity " it is provided that —
" Grants of Altar Vessels, Vestments, or Altar Linen shall be made by the
Council-General, according to the means placed at their disposal, to such
poor Parishes and Missions as may need assistance." 22
The " Vestments " here referred to are, mainly, such as the Popish
Chasuble, Alb, Tunicle, Stole, &c, all of which have been declared
illegal by the Courts of Law.
Every member of the Confraternity is expected to offer prayers for
the dead. A service used by the C. B. S. is entitled " Vespers of the
Blessed Sacrament." It concludes with this prayer : —
" May the souls of the Faithful, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen." 23
21 Manual, p. 6.
22 Manual of C. B. S., p. 15. Ninth Edition. 33 Ibid., p. 34.
HfiQttlEM MASSES FOR THE DEAD.
The Church of England, on the contrary, exhorts her children,
saying :—
" Neither let us dream any more, that the souls of the dead are anything
at all liolpen by our prayers.""
But the Confraternity rests by no means satisfied with Prayers for
the Dead. She now holds an annual Mass for the Dead, under the
name of a " Solemn Requiem." This service is announced every year
in the October number of the Intercession Paper. The Confraternity
believes, in common with the Church of Rome, that the faithful de-
parted are beuefited spiritually by the offering up by a sacrificing
priest of consecrated bread and wine. It has held this view for many
years. At its secret Annual Conference, May 27th, 1880, the Hon.
C. L. Wood (now Lord Halifax) read a paper, which was afterwards
privately printed by the Confraternity, in which he asserted that : —
" As the Cross sums up in one single act the atoning efficacy of the offering
which Christ made throughout His whole life, and by His death upon the
Cross, so the Eucharist, which perpetuates and applies that offering, enables
us to offer up our whole souls and bodies in lile and iu death as an acceptable
sacrifice to the Father of all. . . . Are we troubled about those who in the
shadow of death are awaiting the Judgment ? The blood of the Sacrifice
reaches down to the prisoners of hope, and the dead as they are made to
possess their old sins in the darkness of the grave, thank us as we offer for
them the Sacrifice which restores to light and immortality." 25
Here we have, in reality, though the words are not used, Masses
for the Dead to get them out of Purgatory, taught by the Confra-
ternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
In Suggestions for the Due and Reverent Celebration of the Holy
Eucharist, privately printed for the Confraternity of the Blessed
Sacrament, the priest is directed, at page 9, to offer the following
prayer : —
" Receive, 0 Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God, this pure Oblation,
which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, the Living and true God,
for my numberless sins, offences and negligences ; lor all who are here pre-
sent, as also for all faithful Christians, living and departed, that it may
avail to our salvation unto life eternal. Amen.''
Who can doubt that here we have a Mass for the Dead ? At the
" Solemn Requiem " of the Society, on November 10th, 1890, the
preacher, the Rev. E. de S. Wood, used the word Purgatory without
a blush of shame. He said : — " The souls in Paradise are offering the
homage of their spiritual sufferings in the realms of Purgatory, and
are helped by our prayers and Eucharistic offerings on their behalf." *
u Homily Concerning Prayer. Part third.
25 Eighteenth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. xii.
18 Church Times, November 14th, 1890.
150
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
How different all this is from the teaching of the Church of England,
which, in her Homily Concerning Prayer, instructs us that " These
words [Luke xvi. 19-2(3], as they confound the opinion of helping the
dead by prayer, so do they clean confute and take away the vain error
of Purgatory."
We learn more about the work and objects of the Confraternity of
the Blessed Sacrament from the secret Intercession Papers which it
issues every month. To commence with the latest of these which has
come to my hands, that for May, 1897, 1 find amongst the subjects for
prayer : — " That obstacles may be removed ... to the celebration of
the Holy Eucharist with the traditional and ancient ceremonial
sanctioned by the Church." 27 Any one who reads the Suggestions for
the Due and Reverent Celebration of the Holy Eucharist, issued by
the C. B. S., cannot doubt that by " the traditional and ancient cere-
monial " is meant that of pre -Reformation times. The officiating
clergyman is, in this pamphlet, required to have, for use at Holy
Communion, amongst other things, "a clean Purificator," l: Burse,"
"Corporals," "Cruets for wine and water," " a Perforated Spoon . . .
for the removal of fiies and other impurities from the Chalice." He
is also required to say a number of secret and Popish prayers taken
from Popish Missals, those provided by the Book of Common Prayer
being evidently not adequate for his purpose.
The Associates of the Confraternity were required, on May 7th,
1897, to pray " That the Primitive and Catholic practice of Fasting
Communion by priests and people may be generally recognised, and
that obstacles to Fasting Communion may be removed." 28 The late
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, though an old-fashioned High Church-
man, had very decided opinions on this subject of Fasting Communion.
"It is not," he said, "in a light sense that I say this new doctrine of
Fasting Communion is dangerous. The practice is not advocated because a
man comes in a clearer spirit and less disturbed body and mind, able to j;ive
himself entirely to prayer and communion with his God ; but on a miserable
degraded notion that the consecrated elements will meet with other food iu
the stomach. It is a detestable materialism. Philosophically it is a con-
tradiction ; because, when the celebration is over, you may hurry away to a
meal, and the process about which you were so scrupulous immediately
follows. The whole notion is simply disgusting. The Patristic quotations by
which the custom is supported are mis-cpiotations. " 29
On May 27th, 1897, the Associates of the C. B. S. were required to
pray " That Evening Communions may cease." 30 We have already
learnt, on the authority of the Roman Catholic Professor Kane, that
in the Primitive Church Evening Communion was the rule. Singularly
enough this testimony is confirmed by that of the Rev. "Father"
Puller, head of the " Cowley Fathers," who, in the course of a paper
27 Intercession Paper, May, 1S97, p. 8. 28 Ibid., p. 9.
29 Dean Burgou's Lives of Twelve Good Men, Vol. IL, p. 56. First edition.
30 Intercession Paper, May, 1897, p. 24.
FASTING AND EVENING COMMUNIONS.
151
which he read at the annual conference of the C. B. S., on May 28th,
1891, said :—
" We have, I hope, got beyond the notion that the early Church objected
to Afternoon and Evening Celebrations. The early Church in no sort of way
objected to Evening Celebrations per sc. She celebrated continually in the
afternoon or evening. She had an Evening Celebration every day in Lent.
In some Churches all through the year there were ordinarily three Celebra-
tions in the week, namely, on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday ; and two of
these Celebrations were Afternoon Celebrations, and only one of them was
early. It is a complete mistake to suppose that the early Church had auy
objection to Afternoon or Evening Celebrations." 31
Ritualists are never tired of exhorting us to take the Primitive
Church as our model. Why, then, should the C. B. S. every month in
the year pray to God that the truly Primitive custom of Evening
Communion " may cease " '? Surely it cannot be wrong to follow a
custom sanctioned by the practice of our Lord Himself at the first
Lord's Slipper f Possibly the authorities of the C. B. S. were not
altogether satisfied with " Father " Puller's candid acknowledgment
on this important subject, for at their annual conference on June 1st,
1893, a paper specially devoted to the question of "Evening Com-
munion," was read by the Rev. T. I. Ball, Provost of Cumbrae
College. This gentleman tried to get out of the Scriptural difficulty
in a very daring, not to say wicked, manner. While he admitted that
"our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist on the Paschal
evening," 32 he boldly declared that —
" As Holy Scripture does not help us [Ritualists] much in this matter, we
may boldly say, that it was not intended to help us in this; but that we were
meant to learn all that we need to learu from the practice and precept of the
faithful companion of the Bible — the Catholic Church."33
Is not this a case of " Down with the Bible, and up with the
Church " 'i Or, rather, does it not remind us of the conduct of those
Pharisees — the Ritualists of their day — of whom our Saviour said : —
"Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep
your own tradition"? (Mark vii. 9.) Mr. Ball proceeded to heap up
insult and abuse on a custom which certainly had the Saviour's Holy
sanction. "Evening Communion," he said, "is an act of schism, in
the gravest sense of the term." 34 " They are spiritually and morally
dangerous." 35 "It is profane to invite men by Evening Communion
to undertake a religious duty."36
The members of the C. B. S. are required to pray " That obstacles
to the due and reverent Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament for the
31 Twenty-Ninth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. xxiii.
32 Thirty-First Annual Report of C. B. S., p. xv.
33 Ibid., p. xv. 34 Ibid., p. xvii.
35 Ibid., p. xxi. M Ibid., p. xxii.
152
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Sick may be removed, and that the use of the Sacrament of Holy
Unction may be restored throughout the Anglican Church." 37
As to the first of these I shall have some comments to make further
on. It may, theiefore, suffice if I here simply quote the words of
Article XXVIII. : — "The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by
Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up or worshipped."
And there is certainly no trace in the New Testament of either of these
customs being observed by the Apostles. As to the worshipping of
the Sacrament, this is a practice which is much encouraged by the
C. B. S. It would be easy to multiply proofs of this, but I will here
content myself with quoting the Altar Book/or Young Persons, issued
by the Confraternity itself : —
" I worship Thee, Lord Jesu,
Who on Thine Altar laid,
In this most awful service,
Our Food and Drink art made.
" I worship Thee, Lord Jesu,
Who, in Thy love divine,
Art hiding here Thy Godhead
In forms of Bread and Wine." 38
On this important point of adoration of the consecrated Sacrament
the teaching of the Confraternity is identical with that of the Church
of Home. This was acknowledged by its Superior General at the
annual conference on May 31st, 1877. I may here be permitted to
mention that the anniversaries of the Confraternity are always held
on "Corpus Christi Day," a Popish festival not to be found in the
Kalendar in our r'rayer Books. It was instituted by the Popes in
the Dark Ages in honour of the doctrine of Transubstantiation. The
Superior General said : —
" Whatever other differences, therefore, there may be between us and the
Church of Rome (and I do not wish to question the fact that there are im-
portant differences) yet no such difference as is commonly supposed exids between
us on this great doctrine of Eucharistic Adoration. We adore the same
mysterious presence of our Blessed Lord, veiled from mortal eyes, through
the grace of a like consecration." -9
As to the "Sacrament of Extreme Unction" it may be sufficient to
remark that the Church of England knows no such Sacrament. At
the Reformation she ejected it from her system, for wise and sufficient
reasons. I am not aware that the C. B. S. has published any form of
service for the administration of Extreme Unction. Probably its
37 Intercession Paper, May, 1897, p. 15.
38 Altar Book for Young Persons, p. 69. Twenty-sixth thousand, 1884.
The number printed shorn how widely the spiritual poison has been spread.
s9. Fifteenth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. x.
"SINNED BY SMELLING."
153
Priests-Associate use that provided in the Priest's Prayer Book. In
this form the priest is required to anoint the five senses of the sick
person with oil "on his right thumb." When the time comes for
anointing the sick person's nose, the following directions are given : —
" Then upon the nostrils, saying,
" Through this anointing, and His most loving mercy, the Lord pardon
thee whatever thou hast sinned by smelling."40
Another subject for the intercessions of the Associates was " That
there may be due repentance and due use of Sacramental Confession
on the part of those needing it." 41 The Confraternity is very fond of
Auricular Confession, even though the Church of England, in her
Homily of Repentance, Part Second, teaches : — " It is most evident
and plain, that this Auricular Confession hath not the warrant of
God's Word." In its Altar Book for Young Persons the Confraternity
prints a form of Confession m the presence of a priest (p. 29).
The Associates are also required to pray : — " That there may be a
more widespread belief in the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence
and of the Eucharistic Sacrifice." 42 It would be easy to fill many
pages with extracts from the documents of the Confraternity showing
what its teaching is on these subjects. To commence with a sermon
preached before the Confraternity by the Rev. A. H. Ward, in 1871.
That gentleman then declared —
" That the Holy Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ under the forms
of Bread and Wine, that therein is Christ Himself, His Body, Soul, and
Divinity, as truly as at Bethlehem, or Nazareth, or Calvary, or at the right
hand of God, we take as certain."43
On the following year the annual sermon on behalf of the Confra-
ternity was preached by the Rev. George Body, now Canon of Durham.
We find that gentleman declaring that —
" The Eucharistic Sacrifice is a necessary consequence of the Real Presence.
If tho Bread and Wine become, by the action of the Holy Ghost in consecra-
tion, the Body and Blood of Christ, it follows that when we offer the Sacrament
we offer the Body and Blood of Christ, i.e., Christ Himself under the forms of
Bread and Wine." 44
A remarkable sermon was preached before the C. B. S. at its anni-
versary, June 20th, 1889, by one who has since made a name for him-
self in the world, viz., the Rev. Charles Gore, now Canon Residentiary
40 Priest's Prayer Book, pp. 91, 92. Seventh edition, 1890.
a Intercession Paper, May, 1897, p. 16. 42 Ibid., p. 12.
43 The Holy Eucharist and Common Life, by Rev. A. H, Ward, p. 8.
London : Hodges.
44 Jewish Sacrifices and Christian Sacraments, p. 27. London : Rivingtons,
1871.
154
SECKET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
of Westminster, and Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Lincoln.
Canon Gore said : —
" Christ is present in the Eucharist indeed externally to us, objectively and
really ; He is present as the Bread of Life, the Sacrifice for sins, the Object of
worship. He is present wherever the consecrated elements ure."v>
This teaching is undoubtedly strong, and quite without warrant
from the Formularies of the Church of England. Many hundreds of
volumes have been written on the Real Presence, and it is manifestly
impossible for me to give space to an exhaustive treatise on the sub-
ject in this book. But I may point out that a localized presence of
Christ " wherever the consecrated elements are " is contrary to the
teaching of the great English Divine, Richard Hooker, who wrote : —
" The Real Presence of Christ's most blessed body and blood is not
therefore to be sought for in the Sacrament, but in the worthy receiver
of the Sacraments." 46 The Church of England teaches that there may
— in her sense of the words — be a real eating and drinking of the Body
and Blood of Christ, without the aid of a consecrating priest — a theory
which is certainly inconsistent with the Ritualistic idea that the
Presence is only the result of priestly consecration. In one of the
Rubrics attached to " The Communion of the Sick " the Church orders
that—
" If a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or for want of
warning in due time to the Curate, or for lack of company to receive
with him, or by any other just impediment, do not receive the Sacra-
ment of Christ's Body and Blood, the Curate shall instruct him, that
if he do truly repent him of his sins, and steadfastly believe that Jesus
Christ hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and shed His Blood
for his redemption, earnestly remembering the benefits he hath thereby,
and giving Him hearty thanks therefore, he doth eat and drink the
Body and Blood of Our Saviour Christ, profitably to his soul's
health, although he do not receive the Sacrament with his
mouth."
In this case the Body and Blood of Christ is certainly not eaten with
the sick man's mouth. It is an act of faith, not of the body. And is
not this the same way in which ordinary communicants are said by
the Church of England to eat the Body of Christ :— '• Take and eat
this," saith the Minister, " and feed on Him in thy heart by faith with
thanksgiving." And again, in her Twenty-eighth Article she instructs
us that "The mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten
in the Supper is faith" — not a man's mouth, as the Ritualists teach.
Our Saviour has never had more than one Body. Of that Body, in its
glorified condition as it now exists in heaven only, the Black Rubric
at the end of the Communion Service says : — " The natural Body and
48 The Eucharistic Sacrifice, by Charles Gore, p. 13. Privately printed for
the Confraternity.
iSHoukcr's Works, Vol. II., Book V., lxviL, 6, p. 84. Oxford edition, 1865.
THE REAL PRESENCE.
155
Blood of our Saviour Christ are in heaven, and not here ; it being
against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at one time in more
places than one." If that Body, the only one our Saviour possesses,
is " not here," how can it be in the consecrated bread and wine, as
the C. B. S. and the Ritualists teach ? I once went into a Ritualistic
Church on an Easter Sunday morning, and saw behind the Com-
munion Table, in large letters, the text of Scripture : — " He is risen ;
He is not here" (Mark xvi. 6). What an undesigned sermon that was
against a localized Real Presence on the so-called "Altar"! Let us
take heed to the warning words of our Saviour : " Then if any man
shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there ; believe it not. For
there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
shall deceive the very elect (Matt. xxiv. '23, 24).
And as to the so-called " Eucharistic Sacrifice," which our modern
Ritualists admire so much, and which they consider as a true, proper,
and propitiatory sacrifice, and not a mere commemoration of the
Sacrifice once for all offered upon the Cross by our Saviour, I cannot
do better than quote the convincing argument of the High Church
Bishop Beveridge, as contained in his book on the Thirty-nine
Articles. These, then, are his words, while explaining Article XXXI.
They ought to be sufficient to convince any earnest seeker after
truth : —
" And as this doctrine is contrary to Scripture, so is it repugnant to
reason too, there being so vast a difference fetwixt a Sacrament and a
Sacrifice ; for in a Sacrament God offereth something to man, but in a
Sacrifice man offers something to God. What is offered in a Sacrifice
is wholly or in part destroyed, but what is offered in a Sacrament still
remaineth. And there being so great a difference betwixt the one and
the other, if it be a Sacrament it is not a Sacrifice, and if it be a Sacrifice
it is not a Sacrament, it being impossible that it should be both a Sacrament
and a Sacrifice too. To which we might also add, that, according to this
opinion, Christ offered up Himself before He offered up Himself. I mean
He offered up Himself in the Sacrament before He offered up Himself on the
Cross; which offering up Himself in the Sacrament was either a perfect
or an imperfect Sacrifice or oblation. To say that Christ should offer-
up an imperfect Sacrifice to God is the next door to blasphemy ; but yet
a perfect one that Sacrifice could not be, for then it need not have been
repeated again upon the Cross. But I need not he.ip up more arguments
to pluck down that fabric, the foundation whereof is already destroyed.
It is Transubstantiation that is the ground of this fond opinion, therefore
do they say the Body of Christ is really offered up to God, because the
bread is first really turned into the Body of Christ ; but now it being
proved before that the bread is still bread alter, as well as before consecration,
ami not the very Body of Christ ; though the bread he consecrated by man,
the very Body of Christ cannot be ollered to God in the Sa rament; and
therefore, if they will still call it a Sacrifice they must acknowledge it is
such a Sacrifice wherein there is nothing but bread and wine offered to God,
and by consequence no propitiatory Sacrifice: for, as we have seen, ' without
shedding of blood there is no remission,' and in the breaking and pouring
156
secret History of the oxforb movement.
forth of bread and wine there is no shedding of blood, and not, therefore,
any remission of sins."
In many of the papers printed by the C. B. S. the term " Mass " is
applied to the Lord's Supper. The Hon. C. L. Wood used it in
his paper read at its eighteenth anniversary, in which he spoke of
the custom of "getting up in the morning to go to 'Mass.'"J7 In
1882, the Eev. J. B. Wilkinson said that " Children should be
instructed, not only by oral teaching, but by bringing them to
Celebrations of the Blessed Sacrament for Children, or to put it
more simply, to Children's Masses." 48
The teaching given in meetings of the C. B. S. sometimes amounts
to the full modern Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation.
At a meeting of the St. Mary's, Prestbury, Ward of the Confraternity,
in 1871, the Rev. A. L. Levvington, now Chaplain of Ardingly College,
Hayward's Heath, read a paper, which was subsequently published,
in the course of which he said : —
" When we say that the Presence of Christ is objective, we understand that
It is there without communion as with communion, abiding under the out-
ward and Virible Form in the consecrated Elements, so long as the conseetated
Elements are unconsumed. Again, we say that the presence of Christ is
Whole. Whole Christ comes to us, and is incorporated with us, in His
Sacrament. His Body, His Blood, His Soul, His Divinity, are present. And
not only that, but He is wholly present in every particle, just as mxich as in
all that is consecrated. "
" When we separate from the notion of substance everything gross and
material, we may regard the term TRANSUBSTANTIATION as a convenient
definition of the resnlts of consecration which the Articles do not exclude. . . .
But those who rightly maintain the term Transubstantiation understand it to
signify that what is in outward accidents — in sight, taste, and touch — Bread
and Wine, by consecration becomes, not in accidents but in substance, the
Body and Blood of Christ.'7 49
Even more bold were the Romanizing utterances of the Rev. E. W.
Urquhart, at a " Synod " of the C. B. S. held at Salisbury on April 30th,
1889. I attach more importance to what Mr. Urquhart said than to
the paper of Mr. Lewington, because it was read at a much larger
gathering of the Confraternity, and because it was subsequently
published "by request of members present." Mr. Urquhart advo-
cated, without reserve, the modern teaching of the Church of
Rome, and frequently admitted that he believed in the doctrine of
Transubstantiation, both name and thing. Here are some extracts
from his address, which has never been repudiated by the authorities
of the C. B. S. :—
47 Eighteenth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. xv.
48 Twentieth Annual Report of C. B. S., p. ix.
*3 The Doctrine of the Real Presence, by Rev. A. L. Lewington, pp. 6, 9.
Oxford: Mowbiay, 1871.
TRANSUBSTANTI AT10N TAl'GHT BY C. B.
L57
" Those teachers who profess to accept a real Objective Presence, while re-
pudiating Transnbstantiation, are placed in a hopeless dilemma; as was
plainly seen by Zuiuglius, when lie maintained that there was no alternative
between Transnbstantiation and the figurative view which he himself upheld.
But the great Church of the West [that is, the Church of Rome] does not
stand alone in its clear definite enunciation of the Divine truth in Eucharistic
doctrine.50
" On this great subject, therefore [i.e., the Real Presence], there is, happily,
no room for dilference between these two great Branches of the Church Catholic
[i.e., the Eastern Church and the Church of Rome]. And if the unity of
Christendom is over to be restored, it can only be by the Church of England
frankly accepting the full statement of Eueh.a ristic truth as expressed in the
authorised formularies of We^t and East alike.61
" We are bold to maintain that the Eucharistic teaching of the Church of
England is essentially one with that of the whole of the rest of Cathnlie
Christendom, Ea-*t as well as West. It is, indeed, that which, if she would
make good her claim to be an integral part of the Catholic Church, she is
bound to maintain.52
" But if it be asked why I lay such stress on a term which has given rise to
so much odium and has been so misunderstood as Transnbstantiation, I would
answer, first, because I would remove all needless barriers between ourselves
and the rest ol Catholic Christendom, and, secondly, because experience shows
that no other expression defines what we mean so unmistakably." M
" If ours be indeed, as we maintain it to be, the same Church of England
which was planted by S. Augustine on the Mission of S. Gregory the Great,
ours is the Church, and ours the, faith of Wilfrid and Anselm, of Edmund
Rich and Thomas More, quite as truly as it is of later worthies ; and we may
look forward to a time, though we all may be gathered to our rest, when such
open repudiation, of Eucharistic Truth, even by our Ordained Ministry, as we
now deplore, may be as impossible as it is now in the Priesthood of the Latin
and Eastern Communions. But the consciousness of our own grievous
shortcomings should prevent us from being high-minded, and check that
bitter and spiteful attitude towards our Brethren of the Roman Communion,
which is so painful a feature in too much of the controversy of the day.
Remember that, whatever be their shortcomings, they, throughout the ages,
have been faithful guardians of the central verity of the Incarnation, and
along with it, of the precious deposit of Eucharistic truth, which we have in
years past insulted, neglected, and profaned. And in conclusion, to avoid
misunderstanding, whilst / hold that the time has come when we must ourselves
recognise the identity of our own teaching with that which is expressed in the
Tridentine canons by Transubstanliation, and with the authorised formularies
of the Eastern Church ; it is only gradually, as they are able to learn, that
we should expect to bring this conviction home to the minds of our weaker
brethren, whom we are striving to bring over to the Faith." 54
With such a love for Popery as that which is exhibited by this
Confraternity we need hardly wonder that during the year 1892, it
requested all its members to pray " That the Ecclesiastical autho-
rities in foreign countries, both East and West, may become willing
50 The Doctrine of the Real Presence, by Rev." E. W. Urqnhart, p. 9. Ox-
ford : Mowbray.
*lbid., p. 10. ™Ibid., p. 11. "Ubid., p. 13. 54 Ibid., pp. 14, 15.
158
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
to give Communion to English Catholics, on conditions which the
latter may lawfully accept." 5S
It is a sad thing to see a Confraternity, engaged in teaching some
of the worst doctrines of Popery, so widely supported by clergy of the
Church of England. And even sadder is it to find that many of them
have been promoted to high offices in the Church, and to livings in
the gift of the Crown and the Bishops. In 1894 amongst its members
were the Bishops of Zululand, Zanzibar, Nassau, Lebornbo, and
Corea, Bishops Hornby and Jenner, and the Deans of Rochester and
Chichester.
One High Church Bishop, early in the history of the Confraternity
of the Blessed Sacrament, had his eyes open to its dangerous and
Popish character. Bishop Samuel Wilberforce wrote as follows to its
Superior General, Canon T. T. Carter : —
" It is," wrote Bishop Wilberforce, " sure to stir up a vast amount of
prejudice from its singularly un-Eiiglish and PopUh tone. ... I view with
the utmost jealously any tendency to illy that reviving earnestness to the
unrealities and morbid development of modern Romanism. You may do
much one way or the other. I entreat you to consider the matter for
yourself, and as Bishop I exhort you to use no attempts to spread this Con-
fraternity [of the Blessed Sacrament] amongst the clergy and religious people
of my diocese."
In closing this chapter, let me once more quote Bishop Latimer.
His words are as necessary now, within the Church of England, as
when they were first spoken : —
" Wherefore stand from the altar, you saerilegiog (I should have said, you
sacrificing) priests ; for you have no authority in God's Book to offer up our
Redeemer : neither will He come any more into the hands of sacrificing
priests. . . . And I say, you lay people, as you are called, come away from
forged sacrifices, which the Papists [and now Ritualists] do feigu only to be
lords over you." 65
55 Intercession Paper of C. B. S., June 1892, p. 18.
56 Latimer's Remains, p. 259.
CHAPTER Yin.
SOME OTHER RITUALISTIC SOCIETIES.
A Purgatorial Society in the Church of England — The Guild of All Souls
— Extracts from its Publications — Masses for the Dead in the Church
of England— Festival on " All Souls' Day "—The Fire of Purgatory
the same as that of Hell — Bishop of London (Dr. Temple) gives its
President a Living — The Secret Order of the Holy Redeemer — An
Inner Circle ; The Brotherhood of the Holy Cross : its secret rules
quoted — The " Declaration " of the Order of the Holy Redeemer — The
Pope the "Pastor and Teacher of the Church" — Why its members
stay within the Church of England — Extraordinary and Jesuitical
letter of "John 0. H. R." — Its mysterious Superior said to be a
"Bishop," though not in the Clergy List — Who ordained and con-
secrated him ? — The secret Order of St. John the Divine — Extract
from its secret rules — Society of St. Osmund — Its rules and objects —
Prays for the Pope — Its silly superstitions — Driving the Devil out of
Incense and Flowers — The Adoration of the Cross — A degrading
spectacle — Its Mary worship — Holy Relics — Advocates Paying for
Masses for the Dead — The Society merged in the Alcuin Club— The
Club joined by several Bishops — Laymen's Ritual Institute of Nor-
wich— Its Secret Oath — Secret Guild Books of St. Alphege, South-
wark — Guild of St. John the Evangelist, at St. Alban's, Holborn —
Confraternity of All Saints', Margaret Street — The Railway Guild of
the Holy Cross.
Probably the majority of my readers will be surprised to learn that
there exists a Purgatorial Society nominally within the Church of
England. Yet, strange and almost incredible as this may seem, it is
a fact. This Society bears the title of "The Guild of all* Souls," and
was founded in the year 1873, for the special purpose of propagating
within the Church of England a belief in Purgatory, and as a result of
this, the offering of Prayers for the Dead, and of Masses to get them
out of Purgatorial flames. It is a widespread organization, with
branches all over England, and also in Scotland, the United States,
Madras, Montreal, Prince Edward Island, Port Elizabeth, Barbadoes,
and New South Wales. According to the annual report for 1897 — as
recorded in the Church Times, May 28th, 1897 — the Guild possesses
160
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
seventy-one Branches. It includes amongst its members 646 clergy-
men, which is certainly a large number for such an extremely Romish
society. The semi-secrecy of the Guild is shown in the fact that the
public are never permitted to know who these clergymen are with the
exception of those who form its Council. The Guild issues a quarterly
Intercession Paper, which is a strictly secret document. It always
contains a list of churches in which Masses for the Dead are said every
month, together with the names of deceased persons for whom prayer
is asked. The latest copy of the Annual Report which I have been
able to secure is that for 1895. It states that "During November, in
addition to those on All Souls' Day, there were 991 Special Requiem
Masses [offered] in connection with the Guild, and the Regular Requiem
Masses maintained throughout the year are now, at least, 480 each
month." 1
For the use of its members the Guild of All Souls has issued a
book entitled the Office of the Dead According to the Roman and
Stirurn Uses — certainly not according to the use of the Book of
Common Prayer, which is altogether too Protestant a compilation to
suit the purposes of the Guild of All Souls. It has also published a
book, entitled the " Treatise of S. Catherine of Genoa on Purgatory,
edited with an Introductory Essay by a Priest- Associate of the Guild
of All Souls." The title-page states" that it is published by "John
Hodges" ; but it has on several occasions been officially advertised in
the Church Times as one of the "Publications" of the Guild, and
therefore I hold it responsible for its contents. In the portion which
contains the translation of what Catherine of Genoa wrote, we read (in
the chapter entitled "Of the Necessity of Purgatory: What a terrible
Thing it is ") that the pains of Purgatory are " as sensible as the pains
of hell." 2 The Priest- Associate of the Guild of All Souls who writes
the Introductory Essay is evidently enraptured with what he actually
terms " the extreme moderation of the Roman Church upon the doctrine
of Purgatory." 3 This gentleman's Popish sympathies are further
manifested by his unblushing avowal that he believes in Transub-
stantiation !
"It is only," he writes, "within the last eight or nine years since the
publication of Mr. Cobb's Kiss of Peace, that Anglicans have "begun to realize
that there is no essential difference between the doctrine of the Real Presence,
as they hold it, and the doctrine of Transubstantia'ion, as defined by the
Council of Trent."*
In the official Manual of the Guild of All Soids several "Litanies
for the Faithful Departed " are printed. From these I take the
following extracts : —
1 Guild of All Souls, Report, 1895, p. 3.
2 S. Catherine of Genoa on Purgatory, p. 40.
* R>id-, p. 11. *Jbid., p. 12,
THE GUILD OF ALL SOULS. 161
" That it may please Thee to give rest to the souls of s
the faithful departed, Sa <v
That it may please Thee to cause light peroetual § ^ S4
to shine upon them, § §
That it may please Thee to wash them in Thy ^ J* §<
Precious Blood and to clothe them in white § § y
rohes." 6 ' |f
" From the shades of death, where they sit desiring the
light of Thy Countenance,
From Thine Anger, which they grieve to have ? st
provoked by their negligence and ingratitude, ™ N
From the bonds of sin, wherein they have been *
entangled by the disorder of their affections, |
From the pains, which are the just penalty of their ' ^
sins."6 '
" Give Thy holy dead, 0 Lord,
Portion in the Sacrifice,
And prayers offered in Thy Church,
Hear us, Holy Jesu.
" Make them share, 0 Jesu Blest.
In the intercession
Of the Saints before Thy Throne,
Hear us, Holy Jesu.
" Make all prayers and pious deeds,
Holy rites and services,
To increase their happiness,
Hear us, Holy Jesu." 7
la a sermon preached for the Guild of All Souls, on "All Souls'
Day, 1883" — a Popish festival not found in the Prayer Book Kalendar
■ — by the Kev. H. Lloyd Russell, Vicar of the Annunciation, Chisle-
hurst, that gentleman affirmed that —
" We believe that the mercy and justice of God in His dealings with their
[faithful departed] souls, are reconciled by their being detained for a certain
time in a middle place, there to be punished, and purified, and dealt with,
according to His good pleasure, until He sees fit to admit them to the enjoy-
ment of the Beatific Vision."8
Six years later, in 1889, the annual sermon before the Guild of All
Souls was preached in St. Alban's, Holborn, by the Rev. John Barnes
Johnson. The preacher told his deluded hearers that —
" Blessed are they whom the Divine Fire thus changes now in the time oi
this mortal life. Blessed are they who know this Fire here on earth as the
5 Manual of O. A. S., pp. 16,17. 6 Ibid., p. 20. 7 Ibid. , p. 26.
" The Intermediate State, by the Rev. H. L. Russell, p. 9. Published by
the Guild of All Souls,
11
162
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Fire of Love. But those who know it not, those who flee from it, yet cannot
escape the Fire. If they remain in the world, St. Peter tells us the world is
reserved for Fire. If they die, and go hence, the Fire awaits them in Purga-
tory; or, more terrible, in Hell. And everywhere the Fire that awaits them
is the same Fire."9
" God, even in the Fire, shall be known [by the faithful dead] to be their
Father, burning out all the falsehood and revealing truth. Therefore let us
join together now in offering the Sacrifice of the Mass for all departed souls."'1''
For the year 1894 the annual sermon for the Guild of All Souls was
preached by the Rev. E. G. de Salis "Wood, Vicar of St. Clement's,
Cambridge. Mr. "Wood said that —
" Amongst all the consoling truths of our holy religion there was none
more consoling than what Christian doctrine taught concerning Purgatory ;
),nd the consideration of the state of the holy souls detained there, though
at all times most salutary, was especially salutary at the present. . . .
The merits of Christ reigned everywhere, in Purgatory as well as on earth ;
the glorious, merciful work which was done for Christian souls in Purgatory
was done by the merits of Christ alone. Never let the objection weigh with
them for a single moment that the Christian doctrine of Purgatory evacuated
the merits of Christ. It did nothing of the kind ; on the contrary, it ex-
tended them to the other world as well as to this ; and so we did well to
intercede for the souls in Purgatory. Theirs was a blessed state, tlumgh one of
pain." 11
Now, of course, for all this, as every well-informed and loyal Church-
man knows, there is not to he found, either in Scripture or in the
formularies of the Church of England, the slightest approach to an
appearance of any authority whatsoever. You may search your Bible
and Prayer Book from cover to cover, and you will not find one word
in either of them which sanctions the teaching of the Guild of All
Souls. The only proper place for such teaching is within the Church
of Rome, and it would be a great blessing to the Church of England
if every one of its members went there at once, without waiting for
Corporate Reunion; though, of course, they would not be spiritually
improved by their secession. But is it not an extraordinary thing
that when the important living of St Matthias', Earl's Court, London,
fell vacant in 1892, the Bishop of London (now Archbishop of Canter-
bury), Dr. Temple, as patron, gave it to the Rev. Jonas Pascal Fitz-
william Davidson, President of this very Guild of All Souls ! This is
the way in which many of our Bishops too frequently act. Not having
the fear of loyal Churchmen before their eyes, they become indifferent
to their opinions, and not seldom treat an earnest remonstrance with
contempt. But a day of reckoning will surely come, when the Bishops
will be required to put their house in order. Just now, in connection
with various Bills in Parliament, they are seeking to increase the
• Things Present and Things to Come, by J. B. Johnson, p. 17. London :
Kegan Paul, 1390.
wIbid., p. 22. 11 Church Timss, November 9th, 1894, p. 1195..
ORDER OF THE HOLY REDEEMER.
163
powers they already possess. But how can we trust them with more
power, so long as we behold them using that which they already possess
in shielding— through the Episcopal Veto — law-breakers from the
unishment of their misdeeds; and even in promoting these very law-
makers to positions of honour and trust ? The powers the Bishops at
present possess are too often used to the injury of the truth, and in the
propagation of error.
I have, in the chapter on the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament,
given quotations from the Homilies of the Church of England con-
demning both prayers for the dead and Purgatory. It is very well
known that Purgatory is no part of Christianity ; it is purely heathen
in its origin. It is a doctrine well calculated to make the dying beds
of Christians miserable. Who could have " a desire to depart "'from this
life with the prospect of Purgatorial pains before him ? The religion
of Purgatory, as it exists in the Church of Rome, is a very hard one for
poor people, who cannot afford to pay their priests liberally for Masses
for the Dead. And there are signs that the payment for Masses is
about to be restored within the Church of England. Bishop Latimer
spoke very truly of " Purgatory Pick Purse."' Is there any limit to
the toleration of the Church of England 1 Is the time coming when
she will tolerate anything and everything — except decided Protes-
tantism 1 At present she is torn with dissensions. The present state
of things cannot go on very much longer. We have infallible authority
for saying: — " If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot
stand " (Mark iii. 25).
There is another mysterious and very secret Society nominally within
the Church of England, whose special delight it is to work in and
"level up" Protestant parishes. It is known as the "Order of the
Holy Redeemer.'' From what I have been able to ascertain concerning
its mischievous operations, I should not be surprised to hear that it is
secretly affiliated to the " Order of Corporate Reunion." No owl ever
loved the darkness more than does the " Order of the Holy Redeemer.
It possesses an inner circle known as the "Brotherhood of the Holy
Cross." I possess a copy of its secret "Manual for Brethren of the
B. H. C." It states that "this Brotherhood was started by a few
friends who were studying for Holy Orders." The third of its Rules is
as follows : —
"That, as the work of t!io B. H. C. can be best accomplished without
apposition, its very existence be kept in strict secrecy."
The fourth Rule is "That Brethren shall be faithful members of the
[Anglican Church "—though how that can be is hard indeed to under-
jstand. They may be nominally members of the Church of England,
DUt that they are "faithful" members I will never admit. The
Brethren are required " To endeavour to get others to join this Brother-
hood " ; but it is cautiously added that "Before speaking to any one
kbout it you should obtain advice and instruction how to proceed from
'our Superior." In a secret Intercession Paper of the Brotherhood of
he Holy Cross for August, 1889, the members are requested to pray
164
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
"For help for band of Catholics, working with success in Islington"—!
a thoroughly Protestant neighbourhood. A list of " Recommendec;
books " is added, which includes the Glories of Mary, a most idolatrouf:
book in honour of the Virgin Mary, written by "St." Alphonsri
Liguori. It is so superstitious as well as idolatrous that even sonr-
Roman Catholics are found who are ashamed of its utterances.
As to thvi larger Order of the Holy Redeemer I learn from its secretl;?
circulated Monthly Leaflet for April, 1891, edited by "the Secretar;,;
General," that those who join the Order as " Postulants," must maki.
and sign a " Declaration " of their faith, which is printed in this sam7
issue of the Monthly Leaflet. It is as follows : —
"The Declaration- Required of Postulants for Admission to th,.
Order of the Holy Redeembr.
"I having signed the Nomination Form of the abov
Order, desire to profess my faith.
"I believe:—
" I. The Catholic Faith, as defined by the Seven General Counei'
accepted by the Undivided Church, and as commonly received in the Apostk p
Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of St. Athanasius.
" II. The common Sacramental statements of the Western Council of TnL
and the Oriental Synod of Bethlehem. The following is a digest of the,',
propositions : —
" That there are Seven Sacraments instituted by our Lord, viz. : — Y
i. Baptism which, necessary to all men for Salvation, remits origii1;
and actual sin, and is the instrumental cause of justification. J2
ii. Confirmation.
iii. The Holy Eucharist in which, after consecration, our Lord Jet*
Christ, true God and Man, is truly, really and substantially prestli
under the species of Bread and Wine, and a whole and perfect Chi^..
is contained in each kind, and in every part thereof. Furtl.ennot.
that in the Holy Eucharist a true and propitiatory Sacrifice is ofle:r
for the faithful, Loth living and dead.
iv. Orders, v. Matrimony, vi. Penance, vii. Extreme Unction. 1
" III. The position of the Bishop of Rome is that of 'Archbishop of all K _
Churches,' i.e.. Chief Bishop (and consequently Pastor and Teacher) of L
Church."
This is certainly a very sensational document, but the whole hist*
of the Order of the Holy Redeemer, so far as I have been able toil,
ravel it, is quite in accordance with its teaching. In the Barnet Tit\
of May 6th, 1892, appeared a very noteworthy letter, in reply t>|
correspondent, from one who, as I happen to know from other sounf-
held high office in the Order of the Holy Redeemer. He signed hfr
self as '" John 0. H. R.," and gave some important information a*F
the real objects of the Order.
" In 1887," he wrote, " I joined the Order of the Holy Redeemer, a hi
working within the Knglish Church under Episcopal approval. On behal
the Order in particular, I have written wheu my multifarious duties 1
permitted me. I daily receive orJersJfVom the ecclesiastical Superior of
165
tder, and I hope faithfully execute them, but the reception of Holy Orders
>ens another question) which I leave him [his opponent in the Correspondence]
propound, and to which 1 will happily give an equally candid answer,
nally, I do utterly aud entirely love, with my whole heart and soul, all
iristian bodies, more especially the Church of Rome, ichich, I believe, despite
cidents aud not inherent faults of discipline, to be the purest and most
'ostolic body that has ever existed, impeccable and infallible. Likewise,
believe that the Pope is not by honorary Primacy, but by Divine appoint-
tnt and by the mercy of God, Supreme Head of the whole Church of Christ
roughout the world, and that those who refuse his rule forfeit all title to the
me of Catholicity. . . .
" Moreover, I believe that in discipline, doctrine, and in morality, the Church
England has been utterly corrupt, as the nerd of the Oxford Revival and
e malignant opposition to it from the children of this world has fully
tested, and I believe thai no man is justified in staying within that Church,
ve when he feels the vocation of god to assist in restoring her
her lost place, in humble, implicit, and unquestioning submission
the See of Peter, and to the authority of our Holy Father, the
ipe, which is the object of the Order of the Holy Redeemer."
Here we have, indeed, the very essence of what is commonly termed
snitisin, and in its most virulent form. Where was the conscience of
man who wrote like this 1 And yet it can scarcely be considered
jrse than the statement of the Rev. Dr. Ward's biographer, that he
'T. Ward) stayed for years in the Church of England for the sole pur-
of bringing over a greater number to Rome.12
A "Notice" which appears in the Intercession Paper of the Order
the Holy Redeemer, for February, 1890, shows how terribly afraid
: Order was lest its secret documents should be lost: — "It may be
teresting to the Brethren to learn that the legal proceedings recently
leu by the Order have been perfectly successful. The documents
lawfully detained were yielded, and further steps rendered unneees-
■y." In the following April the Order was in a most joyful condition,
' it expected to receive the approval of the Bishop of London (Dr.
niple). In its Intercession Paper — or Leaflet, as it is sometimes
led — for that month, appears the following announcement: — "It
I interest the Brethren to hear that the approval of the work of the
H. R. was asked of the Bishop of London. His decision is yet
ading." Later on a High Church Vicar wrote to the Bishop on the
uject, and received as an answer that he had never given any appro-
tion to the Order. This gentleman, the Rev. V. H. Moyle, Vicar of
kmpstead, sent the Bishop's letter to the English Churchman, in
licli it appeared on June 2nd, 1892. Mr. Moyle, in sending this
ter, added this further information concerning the 0. H. R. : —
.'hey have recently taken and opened a Convent at Stamford Hill,
ndon. . . . Their object being the ultimate subjection of England
i England's Church to Popery, I would warn all vour readers
Bet them." The March, 1890, Intercession Paper had a mys-
ious request for prayer "For several men, wishing to work for God,
"See above, p. jl.
106
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMEKT.
I
J
\
et 1
who are labouring at present under a false banner." Does that mean
that they were labouring for Ritualism under the "false banner" of
Protestantism 1 It looks very much like it. A pamphlet circulated by
the Order affirms that its "Superior General" "was ordained priest" ;13
but it does not say by whom he was ordained. In a correspondence
which has since appeared in the Roman Catholic Tablet, this gentle
man asserted that he was also in Episcopal orders. I have since found
out his real name, and it does not appear in the Clergy List, or Crock-
ford's Clerical Directory. Was he ordained and consecrated secretlv
by " Bishop " F. G. Lee, of the " Order of Corporate Reunion " ? This
is another Jesuitical mystery which needs unravelling. I once had
letter from the "Brother John" who wrote the letter to the Barnet
Times, quoted above, in which occurs the following paragraph : —
"Shall I have the pleasure of seeing you personally at All Saints', J
Lambeth, next Wednesday night, or shall I send tickets'? I can get I
you a seat in the choir of Lady Chapel with the Order," that is, the I
Order of the Holy Redeemer. I did not accept the invitation, for I |
did not wish any one to suppose that I had anything to do with such a |
society. But Brother John's letter was that which first led me to suspect |
that there was a connection of some sort between the 0. H. R. and the
0. C. R., for All Saints', Lambeth, is the Church of which "Bishop"
F. G. Lee was and still is the Vicar. In 1891 the O. H. R. issued to
its members a monthly paper entitled the Catholic, which described
itself as " The Official Publication of the Order of the Holy Redeemer."
In the October Issue amongst the intercessions asked for was this : — r
" That devotion to Our Lady may spread in England ; " it also con- '
tained a Hymn to the Virgin of a most idolatrous character, and an
article in favour of "Invocation of Saints and Angels." This was
followed, in the January, 1892, number by the following interesting
item of news : —
"On S. Thomas Day, 1891, the Chapter of S. Thomas, of Canterbury, met
at the Home of the Good Shepherd. The Superior presided, and after
Evensong had been sung, proceeded to the admission of a Postulant. Toe
chapel was well tilled, and included among the ivnirregation were many who
are not members of the Order. The Rev. Fr. Square delivered a short address
upon our work, and upon the conclusion of tin* office all adjourned to enjoy
the unfailing hospitality of the Rev. Br. Philip, the Provincial of S. W,
London."
It will be observed that mention is here made of two clergymen, the
"Rev. Fr. Square," and the "Rev. Br. Philip," but who they are I
cannot tell. In a leaflet issued by the Order, which I had lent to me
in 1893, the names and addresses 'were printed of those to whom r.ppli
cation might be made — by those wishing to join — for further parti
culars concerning the Order. Only one of these was a clergyman, and
he was simply styled " Father George." By the aid of the address
given I was able to fiud this person out in the far East of London.
13 0. H. R. Tracts, No. I., p. 12.
"FATHER GEORGE*
167
Wbat was my astonishment when I discovered that he was, and had
been for the previous two years, acting as curate to the only Protestant
incumbent in that part of London ! I felt it my duty to see the
incumbent, who, there and then, sent for this "Father George," and
asked him, in my presence, if he was the person mentioned in the
leaflet of the 0. H. R., which I had brought with me? "Father
George" was very much astounded at being found cut, and very much
frightened, too ; but he was compelled to acknowledge that he ivas
" Father George." The old Protestant Vicar sternly, and yet with a
kindly voice, asked him if he thought it right or honourable to come
to him — an Evangelical and Protestant clergyman — as curate, while
he held office in an Order which was engaged in bringing the Church
of England back to the Pope 1 The result of our interview was that
the curate had to leave his curacy. He was "run to earth." On
looking through the Clergy List for 1897, I was pleased to find that
"Father George" had had no curacy since 1893, when he left East
London. The old Vicar pleaded so hard with me to spare him the
worry of publicity that I have, out of, it may be, mistaken kindness to
him, abstained from mentioning the case in print, with one exception,
until now. I am prepared to give names and addresses to those who
prove to me that they have a right to question me on the subject.
I am not going to say that the Order of the Holy Redeemer is a
large body. I do not think it is. But it claims to have a great many
Branches, and to have even extended its borders into several of our
Colonies. There is evidently money at the disposal of the ostensible
leaders, while the real leaders keep themselves within their native
darkness. A few men of this class can do a great deal of mischief,
probably where it is least expected. A young man who joined the
Order told me that he was introduced to it by the teacher of his Bible-
class in an Evangelical Sunday-school in Islington. The case I
unearthed at East London shows further the wish of the Order to play
a subtle part in Protestant parishes. Moral obligations sit loosely on a
certain class of minds. Many persons are not particular as to the
weapons they use, so that what they term "The Church" gains the
benefit of their operations.
I wish that I could think the order of the Holy Redeemer the only
secret Ritualistic Society which, like the owl, loves most to work in the
dark. I have heard— and on what I consider reliable authority — that
there exist Ritualistic Societies, the members of which are required
never to part with their rules to any one outside their ranks. There lies
before me, as I write, the Rules and Constitution of a Society which
terms itself the "Order of St. John the Divine," and which is being
pushed just now by Ritualists in East London. It contains the follow ing
" Notice " : —
" The Objects, Rules, and Constitution of the Order are submitted for your
perusal and consideration in strict confidence. In accepting this sheet for
perusal you pledge yourself that you will neither show it, nor impart its contents
in any way to any other person."
168
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
The Order, says the document, requires that "none shall he admitted
who are not Communicants of the Church Catholic in England." The
real objects of these secret organizations are never, I believe, fully
committed to print or to writing, but are given verbally only.
There is a small section of the advanced Ritualistic party who have
become so bold that they flaunt their Homeward leanings in the face
of the public in the most unblushing manner. Some members of
this section formed themselves into a society which termed itself the
"Society of St. Osmund." It was founded in 1880, and several men of
note joined its ranks. In 1895 it printed, in its Annual Report, the
names of the Bishop of Blotmfontein, the Bishop of Pretoria, the Bishop
of Cairo, United States, the Dean of Argyle and the Isles, and the Dean
of Bloemfontein in its list of Vice-Presidents. It was permitted to hold
its annual meetings for 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, and 1695 in the Church
House, Westminster. In 1892 the chair was taken by Sir Theodore
C. Hope, K.C.S.I., who is also a member of the Council of the English
Church Union ; and in 1893 by Mr. Athelstan Riley, also a member of
the Council of the E. C. U., and one who has made himself very pro-
minent as a member of the London School Board. In the handbill of
the anniversary for 1892 it was announced : — " The Bishop-elect of
Bloemfontein, South Africa (a Vice-President of the Society of St.
Osmund) will be presented with a Set of Low Mass Vestments at this
meeting." At its anniversary in 1894, as announced in the Annual
Report printed beforehand, "The Holy Eucharist" was "offered up"
in St. Margaret Pattens, Rood Lane, London, "by the Right Rev. the
Lord Bishop of Cairo (Illinois)." During the London School Board
Election, in 1894, the Society of St. Osmund was exposed in the
English Churchman, and as the exposure was reprinted in a large
number of daily papers it created a great deal of excitement. Down
to that period the Society had been in the habit of printing with
its Annual Report a list of those churches in London, the Provinces, and
Wie Colonies in which Holy Communion would be celebrated "for the
intention of the Society" ; but after the exposure a fit of dread seems
*' have seized the Council, for in the Report for 1895 the list was sup-
pressed, for obvious reasons. In an official paper of the Society it is
stated that its "Objects" are: —
" 1. — The Restoration and Use of English Ceremonial in the English Church,
the Rubrical directions of the Sarum Liturgical Books being taken as the basis.
" 2. — The publication of such books, pamphlets, or leaflets as, in the
judgment of the Council, are likely to promote the objects of the Society.
" 3. — The encouragement of Liturgical study among the Members of
the Society.
" 4. — The assisting by advice, and in other ways, those who are desirous
of following English customs in their Churches."
All this looks comparatively innocent. The Society was not going
to promote the advance of "Roman" Ritual. It only wanted to
restore "English Ceremonial." What could be more commendable
rom a loyal Churchman's point of view? But it also wished to
SOCIETY OF ST. OSMUND.
169
restore — and here lay the real cause of its existence — the use of " the
Kubrical directions of the Sai'um Liturgical Books," and this meant
a great deal ; more, in fact, than the general public were aware of.
It meant the Restoration of the Ritual which was in use in England
before the Reformation, a Ritual which had as great an authority
and sanction from the Pope as that which is technically termed " Roman
Ritual." The chief difference between the two is that Saruin Ritual
is far more elaborate, superstitious, and puerile than that termed
" Roman." Any one who needs proof of the thoroughly Popish
character of the Ritual advocated by the Society of St. Osmund
cannot do better than consult a book which it published, entitled
Ceremonial of the Altar, compiled by a Clergyman on its Council,
who subsequently seceded to the Church of Rome, This book has
been frequently advertised amongst its " Publications," though the
title-page states that it is published by a London firm. The work
is remarkable also for its very advanced Romish doctrine, implied
in its prayers and directions. It tells the Ritualistic priest how to
use his eyes, how to use his hands, and when he is to turn his little
finger in certain directions, and how to place his thumbs. With
regard to his hands, there is a whole section devoted to telling the
priest how to manage them ; when they are to be " joined," when
"extended," and when "laid on the altar." He is to bless the people
with " ringers outstretched, little linger towards persons blessed." He
is warned not to "tidget at the altar," told that he must "stand evenly
on both feet " ; and on no account must he forget to " keep the elbows
to the sides when praying with hands extended." He is even told
when to " kiss " the table and the Gospel book, and other things ;
and how " with the right thumb (to) make a small sign of the Cross."
On no account must the priest omit "at the name of Mary to bow
slightly," and also "at the name of the Saint of the day"; and he
must not forget to say the words of consecration " with his elbows
resting on the edge of the altar." The directions are so numerous
and minute that it is no wonder if they give a fit of the " fidgets " to
any nervous priest who has to observe them.
The Ceremonial of the Altar, in its " Ordinary of the Mass," directs
the priest to say : —
"I confess to God, to Blessed Mary, to all the Saints, and to you, that
I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, by my fault : I beg
Holy Mary, all the Saints of God, and you to pray for me." 14
The most startling prayer of all is that which is printed on the
portion entitled the " Canon of the Mass." The priest is directed to
pray —
" That Thou [God] wouldst he pleased to keep it [the Church] in peace,
to preserve, uuite, and govern it throughout the world ; and also for Thy
servant ouk Pope N., our Bishop N., our Sovereign N." 15
14 Ceremonial of the Altar: a Guide to Low Mass, compiled by a Priest,
p. 22. Second edition. 16 Ibid., p. 45.
170
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Some excuse might be mp.de for praving for the Pope. We should
pray for all men. But to pray for the Pope as " our Pope " is quite
a different matter. He is not "the Pope of English Churchmen, and
a Society which recognizes him in that position cannot he said to
be loyal to the Church of England. It has been said by friends of
the Society of St. Osmund that this book was issued for the purposes
of Liturgical study, and not for the actual use of the clergv of
the present day. But this theory is refuted by the statement of
the editor in his Preface, who declares that "The directions have
been drawn up/or the use of loyal [?] sons of the Church of England." 16
I ought to have mentioned above that one of the directions, which,
I think, may reasonably be termed disgusting, is that which tells
a clergyman, just after he has given the Communion to a sick person—
" Wash your fingers, and let the sick man drink the ablation." 17
The Society of St. Osmund has shown itself a warm friend to Mari-
olatry. Mr. Athlestan Riley translated for it the Hours of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, According to the Sarum Breviary, and also the Mirror
of Our Lady. When we remember that there is not to be found in the
Bible a single petition from a saint on earth to a saint in heaven, and
that no such petition or invocation can be found within the Book of
Common Prayer, it is easy to see that those who bring in such Popish
practices are thoroughly dissatisfied with what they must consider the
meagre provision for their devotional life placed at their disposal by
either the Word of God or the Church of England. In this Mirror of
Our Lady we read the following statements :—
"Our merciful Lady is that Star that succoureth mankind in the trouble-
some sea of this world, and bringeth her lovers to the haven of health, there-
fore it is worthy that she be served and praised at Matins time."18
" When all other succour faileth her Lady's grace hclpcth. Compline is the
end of the day ; and in the end of our life we have most need of our Lady's
help, and therefore i:i all these hours we ought to do her worship, and
praising." 19
" It is reasonable that seven times each day she [Mary] be worshipped and
praised." 20
"After ye have then called yourself and others to the praising of God
and of His glorious mother, our Lady, ye sing an hymn in WORSHIP and
praising of her." 21
" Here yc incline, both in token and in reverence of our Lord's meek com-
ing down for to bo mail, and also in worship of that most clean and holy
Virgin's womb." 22
There is nothing, I think, in the whole range of Roman Catholic
10 Ceremonial of the Altar: a Guide to Low Mass, compiled by a Priest,
p. hi.
17 Ibid. , p. 118. 18 Mirror of Our Lady, p. 7. » Fnd. , p. 8.
wIbid., p. 9. 21 Ibid., p. 20. 22 Ibid., p. 34.
ADORATION OF THE CROSS.
171
literature more awfully idolatrous in the way of Mary worship, than
this. So long as God's Word stands : — " Thou shalt worship the Lord
thy God and Him only shalt thou serve," so long must this worship,
whether it be termed Latvia, Doulia, or Hyperdoulia, be condemned
by all true friends of Christianity.
' Idolatry and superstition are closely related. It is so in the Society
of St. Osmund. It has published another book full of superstition as
well as idolatry, entitled the Services of the Holy Week. The friends
of the Society have pleaded that it, like the Ceremonial of the Altar,
was issued for the purposes of Liturgical study, and not for actual use
by English Churchmen of the nineteenth century. But in this case also
the documents of the Society itself refute the plea put forward. In the
annual report for 1S95 the Council state that " a second edition of
the Services of Holy Week has been published," and it adds that "a
considerable demand for this publication points to the fact that there
is an increasing desire to become acquainted witli the special offices of
this holy season, ruthlessly swept away at the Reformation, but now
being happily revived among us." 23 This proves that the book is
designed for use, and not for study only. On turning to the services
for "Good Friday," as provided in this work, we find that of the
Adoration of the Cross set forth in full. This very idolatrous per-
formance is now actually to be seen in several Ritualistic Churches
each Good Friday. At St. Cuthbert's, Philbeach Gardens, London, for
several years past, the Vicar has issued a printed notice of services to
be held in his Church in Passion Week. It has always included the
announcement that the " Adoration of the Cross " — as it is therein
termed — would take place at 9.30 a.m. on Good Friday. I have a
copy of the notice for 1896 by me as I write. In that year I was
present at the service, and beheld the clergy, choir, and about two
hundred men, women, and children, adore the Cross— which lay at
the foot of the steps on the floor — by throwing themselves flat on the
floor and kissing the foot of the Cross while in this literally "sprawling"
attitude, the choir meanwhile singing, from Hymns Ancient and
Modern, No. 97, the hymn addressed to the Cross: —
" Faithful Cross, above all other
One and only noble Tree,
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be ;
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron ;
Sweetest weight is hung on thee."
This was sung in accordance with the directions given in the Services
of Holy Week. The following extract from the service for the Adora-
tion of the Cross still further reveals its thoroughly idolatrous char-
acter : —
" Then the. Priests, uncovering the Cross by the right side of the Altar, shall
sing this Antiphon : —
23 Annual Report of Society of St. Osmund for 1895, p. 4.
172
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" Behold the Holy Cross, on which the Saviour of the world did hang for
us. 0 come and let us worship.
" The choir, genuflecting, reply: —
" Antiphon. We venerate Thy Cross, 0 Lord."
" Then the clerks shall proceed to venerate the Cross, with feet unslwd,
leginning with the Senior."
" When this is done, the Cross shall be solemnly carried through the
midst of the choir by the two aforesaid priests, the Caudle-bearers preceding
them, and shall be set down before some Altar, where it shall be venerated
by the people." 24
For "Easter Eve" a service is provided for "Blessing the Fire," in
which it is stated that "Holy Water is sprinkled over the fire."25 In-
cense is to be used, and a form is given for driving the devil out of it,
as follows : —
" I exorcise thee, most unclean spirit, and every illusion of the enemy, in
the Name of God the Father Almighty, and in the Name of Jesus Christ His
Son, and in the might of the Holy Ghost, that thou maycst go forth and depart
from, this creature of Frankincense with all thy fr.-j-.d and malice: that this
creature may be sanc>|«tiuci in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; that all
who taste, or touch, or smell the same may receive the strength and aid of
the Holy Ghost."26
A collect is then offered up, in which God is asked to send down His
blessing " upon this incense," that " by the smoke thereof every illusion
whereby the enemy doth assault soul or body may be put to flight."27
Soon alter follows "The Blessing of the Paschal Candle."28 A Deacon
is ordered to "put Incense iuto the candle in the form of a cross" ;
and God is asked to accept " this solemn oblation of 'wax, the work of
bees."20 The officiating priest is ordered to put on a red Cope, and
"stand before the Altar," while the Litany of the Saints is sung. The
Litany is too long to print here entire. I therefore select from it
the following items:—
" Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mother of "God, Pray.
Holy Michael, Pray.
St. Peter, Pray.
All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists, Pray. .
St. Gregorv, Pray.
St. Sixtus," Pray.
St. Denys with his companions, Prav.
St. Augustine, Pray.
St. Agnes, Pray.
All Saints, Pray."3'
24 Services of Holy Week, pp. 30-32. ^Ibid. * Ibid., p. 38.
^Ibid., p. 39. 28 p. 40. 23 Ibid., p. 42. 36 Ibid., pp. 47, 48.
DRIVING THE DEVIL OUT OF FLOWERS.
173
Later on in the service the priest is required to " drop wax from the
candle into the font in the form of a cross" ; and to "dip the candle
into the font, making the sign of the cross with it." 31 All this to
every loyal and sober minded Churchman must seem childish and
puerile to a degree, and those persons may be pardoned who doubt
whether any one in a state of sanity could, with a solemn face, publicly
perform such an outrageos farce. But it is no laughing matter. Unless
this sort of thing is put down by authority it will increase as the years
go on, and the evil will grow worse with time. Some, as they read
this, will naturally ask, Have the Bishops gone asleep? They have
taken an oath to "banish and drive away" all false doctrine contrary
to God's Word, and the ritual which I have described is designed to
teach false doctrine. Why, then, do not their lordships act 2 When
an unfortunate Protestant Minister does anything extreme the Bishops
become wide awake at once, and soon show that they possess power to
put down what they dislike. Suppose they were to publicly declare
that they would not license a curate to any Vicar who tolerates these
idolatrous and superstitious practices in his Church 1 That would
soon bring many of them to their senses, and compel these lawless
rebels to submit to authority. We want a Bench of Bishops who will
fearlessly do their duty. As Episcopal Sees fall vacant, pressure must
be brought to bear on the Prime Minister to recommend for the vacant
Sees men who will insist on the supremacy of law and order in their
dioceses, and sternly put down these Ritualistic Anarchists, whose own
will is their own supreme law, and who persist in doing that which is
right only in their own eyes.
To return to the Services of Holy Week. It provides a service for
"Palm Sunday," which commences with a "Sprinkling of Holy
Water," 32 and is followed by the priest driving the devil out of " the
flowers and leaves" to be used in the service : — " I exorcise thee," he
exclaims, "Creature of flowers or branches . . . and henceforth let all
the strength of the adversary, all the host of the devil, every power of
the enemy, every assault of fiends, be expelled and utterly driven away
from this creature of flowers or branches." 33 I did not know, until I
had read this Service, that the devil ever resided within flowers.
Ritualistic young ladies especially will now need to be careful. Would
it not be wise for them, before going with a bouquet of flowers to the
theatre, to take it to some priestly "Father," in order that he may, in
this way, drive the devil out of the flowers ? If he could drive the
devil out of the people who carry the flowers, it would be much more
profitable. The priest next sprinkles "the flowers and leaves" "with
Holy Water " ; 3,1 and he is required to carefully observe the following
Rubric : —
" When the Palms are being distributed, a Shrine with relics [that is,
with the holy bones of some supposed Saint] shall be made ready, in which.
31 Services of Holy Week, p. 52. 02 Ibid., p. 3.
33 Ibid., p. 3. 34 Ibid., p. 5.
174
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
.shall hang in a Pyx the Host ; and two clerks, not joining the procession to
the first station, shall come to meet it at the place of the first station ; a
lantern shall precede it, with an unveiled cross and two banners." 35
Where they are to get the " Relics " from I do not know. Can they
purchase them at Rome for money ? These " Relics" are mentioned in
several other portions of the service. Another service is here provided,
by the Society of St. Osmund, for " Maundy Thursday." It is ordered
that the sub-deacon shall "prepare three Hosts to be consecrated," one
of which, after consecration shall "be placed with the cross in the
sepulchre." 36 On this day, it appears, "the oilstock of the Holy
Chrism is kissed in place of the Pax." After this the " altar " is to be
washed by the priest with wine and water, who is to finish up the
business by kissing it.37 Before closing my remarks on this book I
must mention that on Good Friday the Pope is ordered to be prayed
for in terms which can only be used by those Ritualists who are
thoroughly disloyal to the independence of the Church of England of
all Papal control. The following extracts piove this : —
" Let us pray also for our most blessed Pontiff N., that our God and Lord,
who hath chosen him from the Order of the Episcopate, would preserve him
in health and safety to His Holy Church, for the governance of God's holy
people."
" Almighty and everlasting God . . . regard our prayers : and with Thy
mercy preserve our chosen prelate ; that all Christian people governed by
such authority, and obeying so great a Pontiff, may ever increase in faith and
works." 33
The wonder is that the people who teach this sort of thing, do not
consistently " obey so great a Pontiff," by at once go.ng over openly to
his communion. If the Pope is appointed by God, as is here asserted,
"for the governance of God's Holy people" without exception, then
the conduct of those Ritualists who believe this is undoubtedly that
which is usually termed "double dealing." We cannot afford to laugh
at or despise this sort of thing. It has a tendency to grow and multiply,
like weeds in a garden. The sooner these Popish weeds are pulled up
out of the garden of the Church of England the better it will be for
those healthy plants whose proper place is in her soil. It is nearly
thirty years since the Ritualists first published a translation into
English of the Liturgy of the Church of Sarum. Canon T. T. Carter,
of Clewer, Superior General of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacra-
ment, wrote an Introduction to it in which he affirmed that the trans-
lation was "a boon of the greatest value"; and expressed his own
personal "sense of its great value." 39 In the "Canon of the Mass"
this translation also contains a prayer for " our Pope " ; 40 and as a
36 Services of Holy Week, p. 6. 30 Ibid., p. 17.
37 Ibid., pp. 19, 20. 38 Ibid., p. 26.
39 " The Liturgy of th-e Church of Sarum, with Introduction by Rev. T. T.
Carter, pp. vi., vii. Second edition. London : Hayes. 40 Ibid., p. 63.
PRAYING FOE THE POPE.
175
specimen of superstition I may mention that one of the rubrics in it
directs : — " Let the Priest rinse his hands, lest any remnants of the
Body or Blood should have remained on his fingers or in the Chalice."41
The following prayer is very disloyal and Popish : —
"For the Pope.
" Let us pray also for the Blessed N. our Pope ; that our God and Lord,
who elected him to tlie Order of the Episcopate, may preserve him safe to
His Holy Church that he may govern the holy people of God." 42
There is not one word of warning in the book which contains this
prayer, reminding the reader that God never did appoint the Pope to
•'govern the holy people of God."
There is one other publication of the Society of St. Osmund which I
must notice, because it proves how anxious some of the Ritualists are
to revive the evil custom of paying for Masses for the Dead, and at the
same time to restore many of the most degrading death-bed customs of
the Papacy, which obtained in England during the Dark Ages. It is
entitled Ceremonial and Offices connected with the Burial of the Dead.
"It will be seen," writes the author, "that Chauntry priests were not
overpaid : but as half a loaf is said to be better than none, surely it would be
worth the while of some aged or infirm priest to accept a moderate stipend
or voluntary offering of £60 or £70 a year to act in that capacity.43 One of
the most distressing tilings 1 know of iu the Anglican Church is the difficulty
of getting a priest to say Mass for some departed friend or relation, because
when aslcd he will tell you lie docs not like being paid for Sacraments, &c. ;
but surely this is a prudish line to lake — the 'labourer is worthy of his hire' —
and as St. Paul said, ' They which wait at the altar are partakers with the
altar.'
" Let priests then awaken to a greater sense of duty in this respect, and
the great work of charity they have the power of bestowing, and remember
that in accepting an Honorarium for a Mass they are not receiving a fee, but
an offering." 44
All this means, of course, however covered over with words, a revival
of what Bishop Latimer justly denounced as "Purgatory Pick Purse."
The "honorarium for a Mass" is not, says the writer of this pamphlet,
"a fee, but an offering." But when the priest refuses to say the Mass
without his " honorarium," would not that refusal be equivalent to a
demand for a " fee " ? It would be the same as saying : " I cannot sell
the Lord's Body in this Mass, like Judas sold it of old for thirty pieces
of silver. That would be very wicked ; but for all that, if you cannot
41 " The I 'bwrgy of the Church of Sarum, with Introduction by Rev. T. T.
Carter, p. 78. Second Edition. London: Hayes.
«iWB., p. 114.
43 That is, to act as a " Chauntry Priest," whose sole work would be that
of offering Masses for t'.ie Dead to get them out of Purgatory.
44 Transactions of the Society of St. Osmund, Part III., "Ceremonial and
Offices Con&eatad -rath t.lvr Buii?! of the Dead," pp. 73, 74.
176
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
give me a money 'offering,' you cannot have the Mass." What is the
essential difference, in a case like this, between the conduct of Judas
and that of the Eitualistic priests? Judas might have said to the chief
priests, " I cannot sell the Lord Jesus to you ; but it is quite open to
you to make me an ' honorarium,' or free-will 1 offering ' of thirty pieces
of silver for my services in handing Him over to you."
The writer of this pamphlet, towards its close, tells us that he has in
it sketched those "beautiful rites of our Holy Mother the Church with
which, in the plenitude of her glory, peer and peasant alike were forti-
fied and honoured, and through the wickedness of man alone were lost
to long generations that followed. It becomes nothing less than a
solemn duty devolving upon us, in this so-called enlightened age, to re-
store and resucitate all that our forefathers so dearly cherished." 45
Amongst the " beautiful rites" which, in the opinion of this Society of
St. Osmund, it is our "solemn" duty to "restore," are the following,
as described in the pamphlet which I am considering : —
" Richard Marsh, Bishop of Durham, in 1220 enjoins as follows : — ' When
the Eucharist is taken to the Sick, let the priest have a clean and decent Pyx,
so that one always remains in the Church, and in the other he carries the
Lord's Body to the sick, the Eucharist itself being enclosed in a very clean
purso. The Pyx will be covered with a clean linen cloth, and a light will be
carried before it, and a cross also, unless the cross has already been earned to
another sick man. A little bell will also be run,',' before the priest to excite
the devotion of the faithful. The priest will always have with him a stole
when he carries the Eucharist to the Sick, and w'nen the sick man is not very
far off the priest will go to him in a surplice. He will have a vessel of silver
or tin, kept especially for the purpose, that he may give to him [the sick
man] the ablutions of his fingers after Communion.' " 48
"Arriving at the sick man's house, the priest sprinkled it with Holy
Water, saying, 1 Peace be to this house,' and having heard his Confession,
absolved him and given him the kiss of peace, he administered the Viaticum
and Extreme Unction." 47
"This service [for deceased Guildsmen in the Dark Ages] was followed . . .
by three solemn Masses, at each of which every brother present went np at
offertory time to the altar and put his Mass Penxy for the good of the de-
parted soul into the hands of the sacrificing priest." 45
I have no doubt that the "sacrificing priest" thought that the
custom of each brother paying a "Mass Penny" into his hands was a
very "beautiful rite" indeed, as it appears the Society of St. Osmund
also does at the present time ; but I should imagine that the over-
whelming majority of Englishmen are now of a very different opinion.
We think the other " rites " described above to be far from " beautiful,"
especially that one in which the sick man is to drink the dirty water in
which the priest has washed his hands !
45 Transactions of the Society of St. Osmund, Part III., "Ceremonial and
Offices Connected with the Burial of the Dead," p. 71.
*Ibid., p. 55. "Ibid., p. 56. ^Ibid., p. 62.
THE ALCUIN CLUB.
177
On February 18th, 1897, the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer of the
Society of St. Osmund sent out a circular-letter to the members an-
nouncing that a "general meeting" would be held on February 25th
" for the purpose of dissolving the Society of St. Osmund." This would
indeed have been good news for English Churchmen, had it been strictly
in accordance with the facts. What was actually "dissolved " was, not
the Society, but its name, as is clear from the Secretary's letter which
appeared in full in the English Churchman of February 25th, 1897, p.
126.
"Enclosed," wrote the Secretary to the members of the Society of St.
Osmund; " are particulars of the Alcuin Club, whose work will cover more
ground than our Society has been able to touch, and / consequently presume
that you will continue your support of English Ceremonial by joining the Club,
at least as an Associate, at the annual subscription ot live shillings. Unless
I hear from you to the contrary, on the dissolution of the Society of St.
Osmund, / shall therefore assume that you wish to become au Associate of
the Club, and will accordingly propose you for election."
The Secretary of the new " Alcuin Club " is the gentleman who had
hitherto acted as Secretary of the Society of St. Osmund ; and several
of the Committee of the " Club " are the same gentlemen who served on
the Council of the Society of St. Osmund. There is, therefore, but
little, if any, room for doubt that the "Club" and "Society" are to
all intents and purposes the same. An article on the new "Club"
appeared in the Church Times of March 19th, 1897, from which I
learn that it will be a larger and more influential organization than
the Society was. " Both members and associates," it states, " must be
in communion with the Church of England " ; and it announces that
" The Club has already been joined by the Bishops of Oxford, Salis-
bury, and Edinburgh," and by Professor W. E. Collins, of King's
College, London ; Canon J. N. Dalton, of Windsor ; Canon A. J. Mason,
of Canterbury ; the Rev. Hugh P. Currie, Principal of AVells Theolo-
gical College; and Canon W. E. Newbolt, of St. Paul's Cathedral.
The names of the Committee are given by the Church Times. The
clergy are all extreme Ritualists.
"The work of the Alcuin Club," says the Church Times, "will be chiefly
in books and tracts, illustrated by exact reproductions of miniatures and
photographs of Church furniture, ornaments, vestments . . . the ornaments
of the altar and the liturgical colours will be taken next ; then the occasional
services will be dealt with, the Divine service, the Litany or Procession, and
the Celebration of the Eucharist."
I fear that there is nothing to be expected from the new Alcuin
Club likely in any way to benefit the cause of Protestantism. It is an
organization which will need careful watching, nor is it at all pleasant
to find that the Bishops of Oxford, Salisbury, and Edinburgh, the
Principal of one of our Theological Colleges, and the Professor in
another Theological College, have joined it. English Churchmen
12
178
SECRET ^HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
would he glad to hear the good news of their having withdrawn from
its ranks.
There are many extremely Eitualistic Societies or Guilds of a merely
local character scattered throughout the country, whose objects and opera-
tions are well worthy of consideration. It would, however, require a
volume to deal with them thoroughly, and I fear that when produced
it would not be very interesting. All I can do, therefore, with regard
to these local Societies, is to call attention to a few of them. The
"Laymen's Kitual Institute for Norwich," which existed for several
years, and, for anything I know to the contrary, may be still in
existence, required its members to take an " oath " of fidelity, which
probably included the shielding of its secrets. I have two secret
" Reports " of this Institute before me, viz., those for 1873 and 1875.
In the former it is announced that —
"There lias been an accession of members; and the test of membership
has been remodelled, by the requirement of an OATH from each candidate, as a
bond of fidelity and adherence."
" The Institute, in conjunction with other Catholic societies, has no other
work than steady perseverance in its course, against every obstacle opposing
the spread of Catholicism and its Ritual, until such time as it and they shall
have succeeded in banishing for ever from the Church of England the Bastard
Faith of Protestantism." 49
The Report further added that the Institute had circulated papers
entitled, Devout Acts in Honour of Our Blessed Lady. 60 In the
following year an effort was made by some of the members to substitute
a " Declaration " for the " Oath " hitherto taken by new members, but
on a division the proposition was " lost by a large majority." 51 The
Institute had a very great hatred for the Reformation, and, in its
Report for 1875, expressed its hatred in very vigorous language : —
"Perhaps," it says, "not intentionally, but in fact, the so-called Reforma-
tion is a dark and, in some sense, damnable spot in our Church's history." 52
It may be said that the work of an institute like this is a very small
affair, not worthy of notice here. But it is a good old proverb which
exhorts us never to "despise the day of small things," whether for good
or evil. That this teaching was given a quarter of a century ago only
proves how widely the evil had spread even so far back as then. At
the present time the evil has grown immensely.
To come closer to our own day. What are we to think of the
parochial Guilds connected with the Church of St. Alphege, South-
wark? Somehow or other, I know not how, the Roman Catholic
priest who edited the St. George's Magazine — that is, for St. George's
Roman Catholic Cathedral, Southwark, which is close to St. Alphege —
got hold of a few books belonging to them, and exposed them in its
columns.
49 Report of Norwich Laymen's Institute for 1873, pp. 4, 7.
60 Ibid., p. 5. » Report for 1875, p. 5. "Ibid., p. 7.
ST. ALPHEGE, SOUTHWARK.
179
"A little book," wrote the Editor, "lias lately come into our possession,
which we think deserves a few words of notice in our local Magazine. It is
issued, in connection with one of the many Protestant 63 places of worship
with which we are surrounded, by a clergyman of the Established Church.
" It is called the ' Manual of Tcrtiarics of the Order of Reparation to Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament.' It contains the Rules of the ' Order,' a ' Litany
of Reparation,' the Office of Benediction, a Litany of the Blessed Sacrament,
the Litany of Our Lady, a Litany of the Incarnation (mainly addressed to the
Blessed Virgin), and fourteen hymns — half of them addressed to Our Lady,
and half to the Blessed Sacrament. The Seven Sacraments are accepted ; life
vows (for ' Sisters '—perhaps the ' Founder and Father Superior ' has some
special reason for saying 'the Brothers cannot take solemn vows') are
recognized ; 'Sacramental Confession' is enjoined, as well as fasting, 'unless
dispensation be obtained from the Superior ' ; ' medals and crosses are blessed
and sprinkled with Holy Water ' ; the ' Hail Mary ' is prescribed ; certain
prayers are given to be ' said at Mass after the Canon.' . . . Mr. Goulden's
Tertiaries sing : —
" ' Queen of Heaven, Queen of earth,
Mistress of the Church of Christ,
Mother of our second birth —
Pray for us, 0 Mother dear,'
"or invoke her in words more familiar and dear to ns, as 'Virgin most
powerful,' ' Virgin most merciful,' ' Cause of our Joy,' and ' Gate of
Heaven.' " u
I possess two other Guild books used at St. Alphege, Southwark.
One of them is the Manual of the Church Confraternity. When 1
was last in that Church I saw a notice posted up, in very large letters,
inside the building, announcing that no person would be considered as
a member of the congregation, who had not joined the " Church Con-
fraternity." Of course in this way a kind of moral compulsion is put
upon the parishioners to join the Confraternity. On opening the
Manual I find that all members " must observe the rule of the Church
[what Church?] and Communicate every Sunday fasting." 55 Before
being admitted into the Confraternity it is required 'that "every
member shall make an open profession of belief in the Catholic and
Apostolic Religion " 56 in the presence of the Vicar of the parish. He
must profess that he believes " that there are truly and properly Seven
Sacraments instituted by Christ,"61 though Article XXV. declares
that five of these seven "are not to be counted for Sacraments of the
Gospel." The members must also profess that in " the Great Euchai istic
Sacrifice" we "obtain His Grace for ourselves and the whole world,
pardon for all our sins, and that the faithful departed may rest in peace"
safe m the arms of Jesus" ;58 and they also declare that "in that most
53 Roman Catholics always call the Ritualists and their Churches "Pro-
testant," though it is very well known that the Ritualists repudiate the term.
54 St. George's Magazine, June, 1890, pp. 145, 146.
65 Church Confraternity, p. 5. oe jiid _ p 5
"■'Ibid., p. 6. ™Ibid.,V.l.
ISO
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there is verily and indeed the true
Body and Blood of Christ, and that under either kind alone Jesus is
received whole and entire." 59 1 wonder does the Bishop of Rochester
know all that is going on in St. Alphege, South wark ? He went down
recently to consecrate the Church, and spoke in the highest terms of
the work being carried on there. I wonder did he look into the special
hymn book, copies of which are placed in every seat in the Church?
He would have found a large number of them addressed to the Virgin
and the Saints. Ought not this Popish book to have been swept out of
the Church for ever, as an essential condition of consecration? Are the
Bishops to be the last persons in their dioceses to find out what their
clergy are doing ?
Another Guild in the parish of St. Alphege, Southwark is "The
Guild of the Sacred Heart of Jesus." Its annual commemoration is
kept "on the Sunday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus."60
This is, as is well known, a Feast in honour of a practice introduced
by the Jesuits, for the purpose of worshipping the material heart of our
Lord. This Guild is tor " boys of good character under twenty years
of age," who are expected "To receive the most Holy Sacrament
(fasting) every Sunday, and to go to Confession once a month."1'1 They
have given to them a " List of Things to be Remembered," which is as
follows : —
"The sign of the Cross should be made before and after prayers, at absolu-
tions and blessings.
" In passing an Altar a bow should be made.
" Boys, when they communicate, must genuflect before going up to the
Altar to communicate.
"At the Consecration, immediately the Sanctns Bell rings, everybody
should bow down and worship Jesus, Who is then present on the Altar, under
the Form of Bread and Wine." 62
In the "Form of Reception" used for the Guild of St. John the
Evangelist," in the parish of St. Alban's, Holborn, and " Privately
Printed for the Guild," it is ordered that, after certain prayers have
been offered : —
" The Priest then sprinkles the Collars, Crosses, and Candles with Holy
Water, and incenses them. Those who are about to be admitted then come
up to the Altar."63
Another Guild at St. Alban's, Holborn, is known simply as "The
Perseverance." One of the Rules is "To be present at the Holy
69 Church Confraternity, p. 7.
60 S. Alphege, Southwark, the Guild of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, p. i.
«lIbid.,V. 5. nibid.,?. 9.
63 Guild of St. John the Evangelist, p. 18. Across the top of the title page,
in ordinary type, is printed the words, "Not to be taken away.'"
A WARNING TO PARENTS.
181
Sacrifice every Sunday."84 As a temptation to join the Guild it is
stated that—
"At the death of any Member a special Funeral Mass will bo said for the
repose of his soul."65
The members of " The Confraternity of All Saints," Margaret Street,
London, are "girls and young women only." In their Manual they
are instructed that " Special Confession of our sins is also a very blessed
help and privilege to many Christians really trying to lead a holy
life."06 One of the privileges which the members enjoy is thus de-
scribed : — " In case of the marriage (if approved by the, Sister Superior),
to help her in her settlement." 67 I am afraid the Sister Superior would
not give her approval if one of the members wished to marry a Pro-
testant Churchman. A Guild like this must necessarily have a powerful
influence over the girls who belong to it.
"The Railway Guild of the Holy Cross" is for men employed on
Railways. It has a body of "Clerical Associates" attached to it,
mostly extreme Ritualists. It has also Women Associates ; but it is a
rule that their "names are not for publication."88 There is a slight
leaven of Popery in this Guild, for I find in its Manual that " The
Crosses, with their Cords, being placed upon the Altar, or held by one
of the Brethren, shall be blessed by the Priest," 89 though what good
that will do the Crosses and Cords the Manual does not reveal. The
priest is to bless them by saying : — " Ble>J<ss, 0 Lord, we beseech Thee,
and sancs^tify these Crosses, which we bless in love and honour of Thy
Glorious Cro>J«ss." 70
These are but a few specimens out of an innumerable body of Guilds
scattered all over the country, where the parish is in Ritualistic hands.
All these are not equally advanced in a Homeward direction ; but what
I have quoted may serve to show my readers one of the most powerful
means by which the country is being leavened with Ritualism. All
Guilds are not secret ; but in all cases they enable the local clergy to
impart privately to the members, in confidence and safety, High Church
notions of the Church, her Sacraments, Orders, and Doctrine. Church
of England parents should keep a watchful eye over their young sons
and daughters, lest they should join any Guild which does not work
on lines that are loyal to the Church of England. The Guild Movement
of the present day helps greatly the so-called "Catholicising" of the
Church of England, which is essential as a preliminary work, in pre-
paring the way for Corporate Reunion with Rome.
C4 Manual of the Perseverance, p. 9. " Privately Printed."
65 Ibid., p. 10.
60 Manual of the Confraternity of All Saints, p. 10. "Ibid., p. 4.
68 Manual of the Railway Guild, of the Holy Cross, p. 24.
mIbid., p. 15. 70 J&id., p. 15.
CHAPTEE IX.
THE HOMEWARD MOVEMENT.
Corporate Reunion -with Rome desired — Not individual Secession — The
reason for this policy — How to " Catholicise " the Church of England
— Protestantism a hindrance to Reunion — Reunion with Rome the
ultimate object of the Oxford Movement — Newman and Froude visit
Wiseman at Rome — They inquire for terms of admission to the Church
of Rome — Secret Receptions into the Church of Rome — Growth of
Newman's love for Rome — Newman wants "more Vestments and
decorations in worship " — -William George Ward : " The Jesuits were
his favourite reading " — Publication of Tract XC— Mr. Dalgairns'
letter to the Univcrs — Secret negotiations with Dr. Wiseman — " Only
through the English Church can you (Rome) act on the English
nation" — Keble hopes that yearning after Rome "will be allowed to
gain strength " — Mr. Gladstone on the Romeward Movement — He
hopes those "excellent persons" who love all Roman doctrine will
" abide in the Church " — " The Ideal of a Christian Church " — Dr.
Pusey's eulogy of the Jesuits censured by Dr. Hook — Mr. Gladstone's
article in the Quarterly Review — Pusey hopes " Rome and England
will be united in one " — Pusey asks for "more love for Rome " — He
praises the " superiority " of Roman teaching — Pusey believes in
Purgatory and Invocation of Saints — He " forbids " his penitents to
invoke the Saints — Manning's remarkable letter to Pusey — Manning's
visit to Rome in 1848 — Kneels in the street before the Pope — His
double dealing in the Church of England — The Roman Catholic
Rambler on the Oxford Movement.
The great object of the Ritualistic Movement from its very birth, in
1833, was that of Corporate Reunion with the Church of Rome. The
wirepullers have always been opposed to individual secession, not so
much on the ground that it was a thing evil in itself, but because its
tendency was to prevent the realization of their larger schemes. As far
back as 1867 a leading quarterly of the advanced Ritualists declared
that, instead of seceding to Rome, " it would be much better for us to
remain working where we are— for what would become of England if
we [Ritualists] were to leave her Church ? She would be simply lost
to Catholicism. . . . Depend upon it, it is only through the English
(182)
HOW ENGLAND CAN BE CATHOLICISED.
1 83
Church itself that England can be Catholicised."1 The ame article,
referring to this corporate and visible unity with the Church of Rome,
declared : —
" Here you have the real heart and soul of the present Movement ; this is
the centre from which its pulsations vibrate, and from which its life-blood
flows."'2
As far back as June 13th, 1882, at the annual meeting of the English
Church Union, Lord Halifax, its President, declared that corporate
reunion " is the crown and completion of that great Movement which
has transformed the Church of England" ;3 and he has repeated the
assertion many times since. But in order to the realization of such a
reunion it is first of all necessary to make the Chnrch of England look
as much like the Church of Rome as possible. " A Colonial Priest" of
the Ritualistic party, writing to the Church Review, of September 21st,
1888, remarked :—
" It seems to me utterly premature to consider reunion, especially with the
great Patriarchal See of the West [Rome] as within even distant probability,
until the Anglican Communion as a whole is Catholicised. There lies our
work . . . Therefore, let every one, while praying daily for reunion, re-
member that the surest way to accomplish it is by working towards the
purification of our own branch of the Catholic Church."
According to the opinion of some of these gentlemen the Reformed
Church of England is not sufficiently respectable, at present, for the
Pope to have her, even as a present. She first needs "purification"
from Protestantism. In a volume, with an Introductory Essay by Dr.
Pusey, one of the writers very frankly declared that —
"The first great hindrance that is before us arises from the Protestantism
of England. Till this is removed, the Reunion of our Chnrch, as the Church
of England, with either the Greek, or Latin Churches, is absolutely hopeless."4
May God grant that this "great hindrance" may ever remain to
repel the machinations of the traitors to our spiritual liberties !
The reunion schemes of the Tractarians were at first kept a profound
secret from all but the initiated. In this, as in so many other matters,
the leaders cleverly practised their doctrine of " Reserve.'' So well was
the secret kept that for several years their proceedings were a great
puzzle even to many Roman priests. The Hon. and Rev. George
Spencer, a prominent priest, and son of an English peer, was one of
these puzzled ones for a time ; but at last he became enlightened. In
a letter to the Roman Catholic Univers, of Paris, in 1841, he wrote :—
" Indeed,- quite lately I still held to the idea, that, in a short time, w
should see them [the Tractarians] prepared to quit their Church in consider-
1 Union Review, Volume for 1867, p. 410. 2 Ibid., p. 398.
3 See official report of this speech, published by the E. C. U., p. 13.
4 Essay on Reunion, p. 89.
L84
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
able numbers, and unite with us in labouring to effect the conversion of their
brethren ; but the nearer the approaches they make to Catholic sentiments,
the more resolved they appear to be to rectify their position — not by quitting
the vessel [the Church of England], as if they despaired of its safety, but by
guiding it together with themselves into the harbour of safety " [that is, into
the Church of Rome].5
This leavening of the Church of England with so-called "Catholic"
principles and practices — in other words, the infusion into her system
of more or less of Popery — commenced with the Tractarian Movement,'
in 1833, and has been going on ever since. Yet, even now, it appears
that we are not, as a Church, decent enough for the Pope to accept us
as a present. At the Norwich Church Congress, October, 1895, a
Ritualistic clergyman said: — "The Church of England is not fit for
communion with either the Eastern Church or the Church of Rome.
We are not good enough for them." 6 In this leavening process,
as well as in the carrying out of the ultimate object of the Move-
ment, great " Reserve in communicating Religious Knowledge " was
observed.
Much of that which in the early history of Tractarianism was kept a
profound secret, has since been made public through the biographies of
some of the principal actors. In the " Lives" of these men are now to
be read their most confidential communications one with the other, in
which their love of Popish doctrines, and their desire for Corporate
Reunion with Rome, appear in the clearest possible light. By the aid
of this light it may be useful to trace the gradual progress of this
Romeward Movement.
The late Cardinal Newman stated that he ever considered the 14th
of July "as the start of the religious Movement of 1833." A few
months before that date, Newman, in company with his friend, Richard
Hurrell Froude, while travelling on the Continent, had visited Mon-
signor (subsequently Cardinal) Wiseman at Rome. " We got introduced
to him," wrote Froude, "to find out whe'ther they would take us in
[i.e., to the Church of Rome] on any terms to which we could twist our
consciences, and we found to our dismay that not one step could be
gained without swallowing the Council of Trent as a whole." 7 While
on this journey Newman fell seriously ill with a fever. On his
recovery he decided to return at once to England. While in a weak
condition, and before starting, he tells us : — "I sat down on my bed,
and began to sob violently. My servant, who had acted as my nurse,
asked what ailed me. I could only answer him : — ' I have a work to
do in England.'" 8 What that work was we now know full well. It
was that of Romanizing the Church of England.
6 " Quoted in Brickuell's Judgment of the Bislwps upon Tractarian Theology.
p. 681.
6 English Churclvman, October 17th, 1895, p. 70G.
7 Froude' s Remains, Vol I., p. 306.
8 Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 35. Edition, 18S9.
NEWMAN AND FROUDE VISIT ROME.
185
With reference to this remarkable visit to Eome, the Rev. William
Palmer, who for ten years was one of the foremost leaders of the
Tractarian Movement (but subsequently retired from it on account of
its Romanizing tendencies), and who was the intimate friend of New-
man and Hurrell Froude, tells us that "Froude had with Newman
been anxious to ascertain the terms upon which they could be admitted
to Communion by the Roman Church, supposing that some dispensa-
tion might be granted which would enable them to communicate with
Rome without violation of conscience." " Mr. Palmer adds that this
visit to Rome was unknown to the friends of Newman, and that if he
(Mr. Palmer) had known about these circumstances, it is a question
"whether he should have been able to co-operate cordiall}' with him."
"Nay," writes Mr. Palmer, " if I had supposed him willing to forsake
the Church of England, I should have said that I could in that case
have held no communion with him." 10 It must be admitted that there
was something very suspicious in thus keeping secret from even their
most intimate friends such a very important visit.
Mr. Palmer further states that " Newman and Froude had consulted
at Rome (with Dr. Wiseman) upon the feasibility of being received as
English Churchmen into the Papal Communion, retaining their doc-
trines."11 This statement, however, was denied by Cardinal Newman,
in a note dated October 11th, 1883, attached to his Via Media, Vol. II.,
p. 433. Edition, 1891. Newman therein says that: — "If this means
that Hurrell Froude and I thought of being received into the Catholic
Church while we still remained outwardly professing the doctrine
and the communion of the Church of England, I utterly deny and
protest against so calumnious a statement. Such an idea never
entered into our heads. I can speak for myself, and, as far as one
man can speak for another, I can answer for my dear friend also."
Now this statement of Newman's in the case of any ordinary
man of position would be considered as conclusive, but in his case
it is not so, and for this reason : — In his note on " Lying and Equivo-
cation," attached to his Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Newman writes : —
" For myself, I can fancy myself thinking it was allowable in extreme
cases for me to lie, but never to equivocate." 12 And again he writes in
the same note : — "A secret is a more difficult case. Supposing some-
thing has been confided to me in the strictest secrecy, which could not
be revealed without great disadvantage to another, what am I to do 1
If I am a lawyer, I am protected by my profession. I have a right to
treat with extreme indignation any question which trenches on the
inviolability of my position ; but, supposing I was driven up into a
corner [as Newman certainly was by Palmer's statement], I think I
should have a right to say an untruth." 13 If such a thing happened
* Palmer's Narrative of Events Connected with the Tracts for the Times, p.
40. Edition, 1883.
10 Ibid., p. iO. » Ibid., p. 73.
"Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 360. Edition, 1889. 13 Ibid., p. 361.
186 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
as that which Mr. Palmer relates, then it would certainly be "a great
disadvantage " to the memory of Hurrell Froude, as well as to himself,
if Newman " revealed" the truth about such an underhand proceeding ;
and, therefore, in such a case (assuming it only to exist), Newman would
feel that he had "a right to say an untruth" when "driven into a
corner." It is evident, therefore, that Newman's denial does not settle
this important question.
Lord Teignmouth, in his Reminiscences, mentions a remarkable
case of a dispensation, given with Episcopal sanction, to a pervert to
Popery. He says: —
" / saw the conditions on which a lady, nearly related to an intimate friend
of mine, a Scotch Baronet, had been received into the Romish allegiance by
a priest of Amiens, whom she had consulted, as sanctioned by the Bishop of
the Diocese. They were as follows : — That she should not be required to
censure the Church of England, to forego the use of the authorized version
of the Holy Scriptures, to abstain from the domestic worship of Protestants,
or to acquiesce in any form of Mariolatry." M
Faa Di Bruno's Catholic Belief has had a very large circulation in
England. In a published letter to the author, dated May 2nd, 1884,
Cardinal Manning terms it "one of the most complete and useful
Manuals of Doctrine, Devotion, and Elementary information for the
instruction of those who are seeking the truth." In this book is con-
tained the following question and answer, which seem to me to have
a very direct bearing on the possibility of a secret reception of Dr.
Newman into the Church of Rome, in 1833 : —
" Question. — Nicodemus was a disciple of Christ, though secretly ; cannot
I in like manner be a Catholic in heart and in secret?"
"Answer. — Nicodemus was a disciple of Jesus Christ in secret; but he
presented himself to our Lord. Begin therefore by presenting yourself to the
Catholic priest, to be instructed and received into the Church. After being
received into the Church privately, if weighty reasons in the judgment of
your spiritual director justify it, such as loss of home, or property, or
employment, and so long as those weighty reasons last, you need not make
your Catholicity public, but may attend to your Catholic duties privately." 15
The Tractarian Movement had only been in existence a very short
time when people began to suspect it as being in reality a Romeward
Movement. Within a month or two after its birth some were calling
Newman a "Papist" to his face. On December 22nd, 1833, he wrote
to Miss Giberne : — " Mr. Terrington called on me yesterday. He was
very kind, and said he intended to sign the Address to the Archbishop,
and did not call me a Papist to my face, as some other persons
14 Reminiscences of Many Years, by Lord Teignmouth, Vol. II., p. 291.
Edinburgh : David Douglas, 1878.
15 Catholic Belief, by the Very Rev. Joseph Faa Di Bruno, D.D., p. 230.
Fifth edition.
NEWMAN REPUDIATES PROTESTANTISM.
L87
have."" As early as May, 1834, Keble asserted privately that "Pro-
testantism, though allowable three centuries since, is dangerous
now." 17 As is well known, the publication of Tracts for the Times w is
one of the earliest works undertaken by the party. Directly after
their birth they were denounced as containing Popish doctrines.
On December 7th, 1833, a clergyman wrote lamenting the insertion
in one of the Tracts of such expressions as " conveying the sacrifice
to the people," "intrusted with the keys of heaven and hell," and
"intrusted with the awful and mysterious gift of making the bread
and wine Christ's body and blood " ; and, in view of such expressions,
he closed his letter with the wise and much-needed, but sadly neglected
warning " We must take care how we aid the cause of Popery." 18
On June 5th, 1834, Newman complained to his friend Froude : —
" My Tracts were abused as Popish, as for other things, so especially
for expressions about the Eucharist." ,9 The Tracts, as they continued
to appear, from time to time, until the last, in 1841, grew more and
more Romish in their character ; and they were supplemented by
a flood of other publications written by various members of the party,
of even a more Romanizing character. The work of " Catholicising "
the Church of England was, by these means, pushed rapidly forward.
In July, 1834, Newman repudiated the word " Protestant " ; 20 and
even six months before that time Hurrell Froude had the audacity
to declare : — •" I am every day becoming a less and less loyal son of
the Reformation. It appears to me plain that in all matters that
seem to us indifferent or even doubtful, we should conform our practices
to those of the Church which has preserved its traditionary practices
unbroken. We cannot know about any seemingly indifferent practice
of the Church of Rome that it is not a development of the Apostolic
ethos." 21 Already Rome was the model for the Tractarians to follow.
On November 5th of this year Newman did a kind act for Popery,
which he has recorded in his Journal : — "November 5th. — Did not
read the special Gunpowder Plot service." The celebrated M. Bunsen,
1835, declared that, in his opinion, the Tractarians were " introducing
Popery without authority." 2 . In 1836 people asserted that the Trac-
tarians were secretly Romanists. Newman wrote on this subject to
Keble, and told him that people were under " the impression that
we are Crypto-Papists." 23
In this year Newman began to use the " Breviary " of the Church
of Rome. Of course the Thirty-nine Articles were in the way of the
success of the conspirator's plans. " I am no great friend of them,"
wrote Newman to Perceval, January lllh, 183C, and should rejoice
to be able to substitute the Creeds for them." 21 It is, indeed, some-
16 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 10. 17 Ibid., p. 41.
18 Palmer's Narrative, p. 226. "Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 47.
20 Ibid., p. 59. 21Fioude's Remains, Vol. I., p. 336.
"Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 143. ™ Ibid., p. 153.
111 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. I., p. 301.
188
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
thing to be thankful for that even down to the present time the
Ritualists have laboured in vain to remove these " forty stripes save
one " — as they have been termed — from off their backs.
It was at about this time that Newman discovered, very much
to Ins astonishment, that the early Fathers of the Church looked
upon the Bible as the only Rule of Faith, as all good Protestants
do in this nineteenth century. There are several allusions to this
unwelcome discovery in Newman's Letters. On August 9th, 1835,
he wrote to Fi oude : — " By-the-bye, I atn surprised more and more
to see how the Fathers insist on the Scriptures as the Rule of Faith,
even in proving the most subtle parts of the doctrine of the Incar-
nation."25 Again, on August 23rd, 1835, he wrote :—" The more
I read of Athanasius, Theodoret, &c, the more I see that the ancients
did make the Scriptures the basis of their belief. ... I believe it
would be extremely difficult to show that Tradition is ever considered
by them (in matters of faith) more than interpretative of Scripture.
. . . Again, when they met together in Council they brought the
witness of Tradition as a matter of fact, but when they discussed
the matter in Council cleared their views &c, proved their power,
they always went to Scripture alone." 2B Two years later Newman
wrote to Mr. Rogers : — " The Fathers do appeal in all their controversies
to Scriptures as a final authority. When this occurs once only it
may be an accident. When it occurs again and again uniformly, it
does invest Scripture with the character of an exclusive Rule of Faith."
It is, indeed, a pity that Newman and his followers did not imitate the
excellent example* of the Fathers. We have to thank him, however,
for his very candid acknowledgments on this gravel}- important subject.
They prove that the Fathers were thorough Protestants on the question
of the Rule of Faith.
• Dr. Pusey's biographer states that in September, 1836, Newman in-
formed Pusey that he believed in the Sacrifice of the Mass, as taught
by the Council of Trent. " As to the sacrificial view of the Eucharist,"
he wrote, " I do not see that you can find fault with the formal wording
of the Tridentine Decree,"27 which, as every student knows, teaches
the Sacrifice of the Mass. At this time, says his biographer, " Pusey
also acquiesced in the formal wording of the Council of Trent on the
subject, except so far as its words were modified by the doctrines of
Transubstantiation and Purgatory." 28
For three years Newman and the band of followers who had gathered
round him, including Dr. Pusey and the Rev. J. Keble, had been
diligently sowing Popish tares in the Church of England, and the
harvest was about to commence. By this time Newman had " learned
to have tender feelings " towards the Church of Rome, as he tells us ;
but his "Judgment was against her." It "went against my feelings,"
he says, "to protest against the Church of Rome."2" He had become
26 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 124. "Ibid., p. 126.
27 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II. , p. 33. 28 Ibid.
^Apologia Pro Vita Sua, pp. 127, 128, First edition.
REJOICING AT ROME.
189
an adept in the art of mystifying people. "I used irony in conversa-
tion," he wrote, " when matter-of-fact men would not see what I meant.
This kind of behaviour was a sort of habit with me." '20 " Irony," is
defined in our dictionaries as "a mode of speech in which the meaning
is contrary to the words," and as "dissimulation" for the purposes of
ridicule. But surely, when those to whom this irony was addressed, as
in this instance, did " not see " the irony, but took the falsehood for
truth, they were nothing better than wilfully and shamefully deceived
by Newman ! Of course, for a few years, the ultimate object of the
Movement was not much talked about. Its chief promoter had, as he
tells us, come back from Rome, early in 1833, fully convinced that
Protestant " Reformation principles were powerless to rescue " the
Church of England from her existing condition; and that "there was
need of a second Reformation." 31 Three years of that "second Re-
formation " had now passed by, and its results were highly satisfactory
to Newman.
" It was," he wrote, " through friends, younger, for the most part, than
myself, that my principles were spreading. They heard what I said in con-
versation, and told it to others. Undergraduates in due time took their
degree, and became private tutors themselves. In this new statics, in turn,
they preached the opinions which they had already learned themselves.
Others went clown to the country, and became curates of parishes. Then they
had down from London parcels of the Tracts, and other publications. They
placed them in the shops of local booksellers, got them into newspapers, in-
troduced them to clerical meetings, and converted more or less their Rectors
and their brother curates." w
From 1836 the Tractarian march to Rome was much more rapid than
before, and that under cover of an attack upon Popery. In 1839 it
was proposed to erect the Protestant Martyrs' Memorial at Oxford.
Pusey did not like it at all. He spoke strongly against it, " as unkind
to the Church of Rome," towards which his sympathies were already
being drawn out. The erection of a Monastery was contemplated,
and plans were being laid for the establishment of Sisterhoods. The
Rev. John Keble, another of the leaders, had begun to hate the re-
formers. "Anything," he wrote to Pusey, January 18th, 1839, "which
separates the present Church from the Reformers I should hail as a
great good."33 In Keble's opinion, at this time, the Reformers "were
not as a party to be trusted on ecclesiastical and theological questions."34
Long before this period the news of the work going on at Oxford had
reached Rome, and had greatly rejoiced the heart of the Pope. The
then Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Bagot) heard about these Papal rejoicings,
and became greatly alarmed. He wrote to Pusey about it :—
30 Apologia pro Vita Sua, p. 115.
31 Ibid., p. 95. First edition. 32 Ibid., p. 133.
33 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 71.
34 John Keble, by "Walter Lock, M.A., p. 96. London, 1893.
190 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" There are now," he said, " friends of mine staying at Pome — sensible men,
too, and without gossip — and I am assured that the language of the Pope (as
I am informed in one instance), and that of all the English Roman Catholics
of rank residing there, is that of joy and congratulation at the advance? which
are being made in Oxford towards a return to the doctrines of the ' true
Church."' 35
Newman became Editor of the British Critic, and soon after regretted
that he had allowed in its pages " an article against the Jesuits," of which
he " did not like the tone " ; x which is certainly not to be wondered at,
for a fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind towards those whose tactics
we may adopt. The Rev. Isaac Williams, author of two of the Tracts
for the Times, in his Autobiography writes : — " I have lately heard it
stated from one of Newman's oldest friends, Dr. Jelf, that his mind was
always essentially Jesuitical."31
In 1839 the "second Reformation" had proceeded so far that one of
its disciples, the Rev. J. B. Morris, preaching before Oxford University
had the audacity to teach the full doctrine of the Sacrifice of the Mass,
and to declare that every one was an unbeliever and carnal who did not
believe it.38
Early in 1840 Newman became afraid of the mischief he was working
in the Church, though he had no repentance for his wrongdoing. On
January 10th he wrote to his friend Bowden : — " Things are progressing
steadily ; but breakers ahead ! The danger of a lapse into Romanism,
I think, gets greater daily. I expect to hear of victims. Again, 1 fear
I see more clearly that we are working up to a schism in our Church." 38
The whole tendency of the Movement has been in the direction of
schism. It has already effectually broken up the peace of the Church
of England, divided her into parties, and may lead to a great schism at
any time. Its tendency has also been in the direction of individual
secession to Rome on the part of those who have been too impatient to
wait for Corporate Reunion. Some of the Ritualistic leaders occasion-
ally boast that they keep men from going over to Rome. It may be
that they do keep a few here and there, for a short time, but the general
tendency of their work is the other way. Cardinal Manning knew more
about secessions to Rome, and their cause, than any man in England,
and this is what he said about them in 1867 : —
" Every Parish Priest happily knows how empty and foolish is the boast they
[Ritualists] make of keeping souls from conversion. The public facts of every
day refute it. . . . Such teachers are, as Fuller quaintly and truly says, like
unskilful horsemen. They so open gates as to shut themselves out, but let
others through."40
35 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 73.
36 Apologia, p. 135. First edition.
" Autobiography of Isaac Williams, p. 54.
^Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 291. 39 Ibid., Vol. II., p. 299.
*° Essaijs on Religion, Second Series, edited by Archbishop Manning, pp.
14, 15.
NEWMAN WANTS MORE VESTMENTS.
19]
Several months later Newman saw clearly enough that the work of
the Tractarians was driving men to Home, and yet neither he nor they
ceased their operations on that account. On September 1st, 1839, he
wrote to Mr. Manning, the future Cardinal : — " I am conscious that we
are raising longings and tastes which we are not allowed to supply ; and
till our Bishops and others give scope to the development of Catholicism
externally and wisely, we do tend to make impatient minds seek it
where it has ever been, in Rome."41 And what remedy, it may be
asked, did Newman propose to Manning for the longings for more
Popery which they had created in the minds of their disciples ? It was
simply that of giving them, in the Church of England, the Popery which
they would otherwise go to Eome for, instead of teaching them that they
were under a delusion in supposing that Popish poison is the pure
"milk of the Word." Ritualists supply Popery in the Church of
England as some Irishmen supply whisky — without a licence.
So Newman, in the letter just quoted, wrote to Manning : — " I think
that, whenever the time comes that secession to Rome takes place, for
which we must not be unprepared, we must boldly say to the Protestant
section of our Church — ' You are the cause of this ; you must concede ;
you must conciliate, you must meet the age ; you must make the
Church . . . more equal to the external. Give us more services, more
vestments and decorations in worship ; give us Monasteries. . . Till
then you will have continual secessions to Rome." 42 Did it never,
I wonder, occur to Newman that Protestant Churchmen had conscien-
tious objections to granting the Popery which he coveted for himself
and his followers'? Loyal Churchmen will have nothing to do with
Popery, either within or without the Church of England.
But, as we have seen on the authority of Cardinal Manning, the
Ritualistic cure for longings for Popery, is, in practice, an utter failure.
A few months later Newman's faith in the Church of Rome had greatly
increased, for he had come to fear that she was the only body capable
of resisting the devil. "I begin," he wrote, " to have serious appre-
hensions lest any religious body is strong enough to withstand the
league of evil but the Roman Church. At the end of the first millenary
it withstood the fury of Satan, and now the end of the second is draw-
ing on." 43 By the end of the year he thought " Rome the centre of
unity " ; 44 and yet for another five years he kept away from that centre.
At this period he not only " wished for union between the Anglican
Church and Rome, but lie also went so far as to do what he could " to
gain weekly prayers for that object " ; and drew up forms of prayer for
union to be used by his disciples.45 At this time a Roman priest, the
Hon. and Rev. George Spencer, was also urging the offering of prayers
with the same aim. With this object in view, Mr. Spencer paid a visit
to Newman, in 1840. With reference to this visit Newman writes : —
41 Purcell's Life of Manning, Vol. I., p. 233. 42 Ibid.
43 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 300. 44 Ibid., p. 319.
45 Jpolegia, pp. 222, 224. First edition.
1 92
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" So glad in my heart was I to see him [Spencer] when he came to my
rooms, whither Mr. Palmer, of Magdalen, brought him, that I could
have laughed lor joy ; I think I did.1' Newman, however, thought it
best to disguise the joy he felt, and therefore, when Mr. Spencer came
he was " very rude to him," and " would not meet him at dinner." 48
The Oxford Tractarians frequently visited the Continent, on holiday
tours, and while there cultivated the good opinion of foreign Roman
Catholics, and in this they were encouraged by their leaders. In the
autumn of 1840 Mr. James R. Hope-Scott was travelling thus abroad,
when he received a letter from Dr. Pusey, containing the following
paragraph : — " I am very glad that you are seeing so much of the
R[oman] C[atholics]. One wishes that they knew more of our Church,
and we more of ye better among them." 47 At home the Rev. William
George Ward, who subsequently succeeded Newman as the leader of
the advanced Tractarians, was diligently engaged in the study of Roman
Catholic books of theology. He preferred them to the early Fathers.
"Both in ascetics and in dogmatics," writes Mr. Ward's son, "the
Jesuits were his favourite reading " 43 at this period. We need not
wonder at this now, though at the time it was kept strictly secrect.
What an excitement it would have caused in 1840, had it beeu publicly
known that the favourite study of one of the leaders of the Tractarians
was the writings of the Jesuits ! That kind of study is far more com-
mon now amongst modern Ritualists than it was fifty-six years since,
and the Romeward Movement is now far more tinder Jesuitical in-
fluence than ever it has been hitherto. Mr. James R. Hope-Scott,
during the visit to the Continent just mentioned, frequently visited the
Jesuits at Rome, and in his now published letters shows how any
feeling which he may have entertained against them gradually wore
itself away. On March 27th, 1841, he wrote to his brother : — " The
General of the Jesuits I continue to visit, and am grown very fond of
him." 49
The most memorable event of the year 1841 was the publication of
Newman's celebrated " Tract XC." A large volume might now be
written about its contents and its history. It was a plea for the lawful-
ness of teaching in the Church of England many Roman Catholic
doctrines, as taught authoritatively in that Church, on the ground that
they were not opposed by the Thirty-nine Articles, and it was at the
same time a very daring attempt to " Catholicise " the Church of England
in the interests of the great scheme for Corporate Reunion with Rome.
The best description of the objects of Tract XC. seems to me to be
that given by the four Oxford Tutors, directly after it was published.
One of the Tutors was the Rev. A. C. Tait, afterwards Archbishop of
Canterbury.
46 Apologia, p. 224.
47 Memoirs of James E. Hope-Scott, Vol. I., p. 239.
48 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 146. First edition.
43 Memoirs of J. R. Hope- Scott, Vol. I., p. 266.
TRACT XC.
193
" The Tract has," wrote the Tutors, " in our apprehension, a highly danger-
ous tendency, from its suggesting that certain very important errors of the
Church of Rome are not condemned by the Articles of the Church of England
— for instance, that those Articles do not contain any condemnation of the
doctrines : —
"1. Of Purgatory.
" 2. Of Pardons.
" 3. Of the Worshipping and Adoration of Images and relics.
" 4. Of the Invocation of Saints.
"5. Of the Mass.
"as they are taught authoritatively by the Church of Rome, but only of
certain absurd practices and opinions which intelligent Romanists repudiate
as much as we do. It is intimated, moreover, that th" Declaration prefixed
to the Articles, as far as it has any weight at all, sanctions this mode of
interpreting them as it is one which takes them in their 'literal and
grammatical sense,' and does not 'affix any new sense to them.' The Tract
would thus appear to us to have a tendency to mitigate beyond what charity
requires, and to the prejudice of the pure truth of the Gospel, the very serious
differences which separate the Church of Rome from our own, and to shake
the confidence of the less learned members of the Church of England in the
Scriptural character of her formularies and her teaching." 50
Four days after this Protest had been made by the four Tutors, the
Hebdomadal Board of Oxford University condemned the Tract, on the
ground that "modes of interpretation, such as are suggested in the said
Tract, evading rather than explaining the sense of the Thirty-nine
Articles, and reconciling subscription to them with the adoption of
errors which they were designed to counteract, defeat the object,
and are inconsistent with the due observance of the above-mentioned
Statutes."61
Archbishop Tait never regretted the part he took in condemning
Tract XC. In 1880, he said:— "Were it all to happen again I think I
should, in the same position, do exactly as I did then.52 Newman's
friend, the Rev. Isaac Williams, says : — " Many have naturally supposed
that it was the condemnation of the Tract No. XC, by the Heads of
Houses, which gave his [Newman's] sensitive mind the decided turn to
the Church of Rome. But I remember circumstances which indicated
that it was not so. He talked to me of writing a Tract on the Thirty-
nine Articles, and at the same time said things in favour of the Church
of Rome which quite start! fd and alarmed me."'3 Two pages later on
Mr. Williams writes : — " Nothing had as yet impaired our intimacy and
friendship, until one evening,54 when alone in his rooms, he told me he
60 Life of Archbisohp Tait, Vol. I., pp. 81, 82. First edition.
n Ibid., p. 84. 12 Ibid., p. 87.
58 Autobiography of Isaac Williams, p. 108.
54 The editor of the Autobiography says that " this conve rsation took place
after the publication of Tract No. XC"; but I venture to assert that, but
for this note, no reader of the Autobiography would think f t herwise than that
the speech was made before the publication of Tract XC. "Tlio editor, writing
13 ■
194
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
thought the Church of Rome was right and we were wrong, so much so,
that we ought to join it. To this I said that if our own Church improved,
as we hoped, and the Church of Rome also would reform itself, it seemed
to hold out the prospect of reunion. And then everything seemed favour-
ably progressing beyond what we could have dared to hope in the
awakening of religion, and reformation among ourselves. That mutual
repentance must, by God's blessing, tend to mutual restoration and
union. ' No,' he said, ' St. Augustine would not allow of this argument,
as regarded the Donatists. You must come out and be separate.'" 65
This argument from the conduct of the Donatists was not then for the
first time adapted by Newman. In connection with it the essenti-
ally Jesuitical and double-dealing tactics of Newman are again clearly
revealed. In a "private" letter to the Rev. J. B. Mozley, November
24th, 1843, he wrote :—
" Last summer four years (1839) it came strongly upon mo, from reading
first the Monopbysite controversy, and then turning to the Donatist, that we
were external to the Catholic Church. I have never got over this. I did not,
however, yield to it at all, but wrote an article in the British Critic on the
Catholicity of the English Church, which had the effect of quieting me for
two years. Since this time two years the feeling has revived and gradually
strengthened. 1 have all along gone against it, and think I ought to do so
still. I am now publishing sermons, which speak more confidently about owr
position than I inwardly feel ; but I think it right, and do not care for
seeming inconsistent." 58
This " inconsistency," or double-dealing, or Jesuitism, or whatever
it may be called, was only a part and parcel of his ordinary conduct at
this time. His friend Isaac Williams says that "the feelings and
thoughts he [Newman] would express to one person or at one time,
differed very much in consequence from what he might express to
another or on another occasion " ; and he adds that it " was long before
it was publicly known what Newman's thoughts really were, and he
was for some time accused by some of dishonesty and duplicity." 57 He
was working in the dark, yet actively carrying on the secret under-
long after the death of Williams, makes an assertion, but omits to give any
proof of it. On the other hand there is clear evidence that Williams's interview
with Newman must have taken place somewhere about this date. Tract XC.
was published February 27th, 1841 ; and Newman withdrew to Littlemore in
February, 1842. Now Williams states : — " When he [Newman] shut himself
up in his Monaster}' at Littlemore, and previously during the latter part of his
stay at Oxford, I was able to withdraw myself from him." The interview
referred to must have therefore taken place sometime before Newman left
Oxford, and therefore in the year 1841. In either case it makes little or no
difference in Newman's essentially dishonest and dishonourable position at
that time. An honest man, holding the opinions Newman then expressed to
Williams, would at once have seceded to Rome, and not wait till 1845.
55 Autobiography of Isaac Williams, pp. 110, 111.
66 Newman's Letters, Vol. II., p. 430.
67 Williams's Autobiography, pp. 112, 113.
WARD'S ROMANIZING DOCTRINES.
195
ground conspiracy to bring back the Church of England to Rome. In
his pamphlet entitled a Letter to the Bishop of Oxford on Occasion of
Tract XC, dated March 29th, 1841, Newman wrote of:— "The
inestimable privileges I feel in being a member of that Church over
which your lordship, with others, preside " (p. 33) ; " the Church
which your lordship rules is a Divinely ordained channel of super-
natural grace to the souls of her members " (p. 34) ; and " I consider
the Church over which your lordship presides to be the Catholic
Church in this country " (p. 34). And yet, for two years before
writing this he had come, as we have just seen, to hold the opinion
that those who were inside the Church of England " were external to
the Catholic Church " ! In this same Letter to the Bishop of Oxford,
Newman further asserted that "it is very plain that the English
Church is at present on God's side " (p. 39) ; and that, " Did God visit
us with large measures of His grace, and the Roman Catholics also,
they would be drawn to us, and would acknowledge our Church as the
Catholic Church in this country " (p. 44). It is hard, yea, impossible,
I venture to submit, to reconcile such statements as these, with those
Newman had already made in writing to his confidential friends.
Soon after the publication of the pamphlet just cited, the Rev. W. G.
Ward wrote to Dr. Pusey as follows : — " I have heard Newman say
that it is, to say the least, doubtful whether there can be said to be a
valid Sacrament administered unless the priest adds mentally what
our Eucharistic Service omits." 68 On reading this, I cannot help
asking myself whether we have in it a key to the fact that in almost
all our advanced Ritualistic Churches private prayers are said, by the
officiating clergyman, during the Communion Service, which are not
required by the Book of Common Prayer. Are they intended to make
a doubtful consecration certainly valid, by adding " mentally what our
Eucharistic Service omits " ?
Very advanced Romanizing doctrines were at this time secretly held
by many of the Tractarians, who, it may be remarked in passing, were
then becoming known as Puseyites. Even as early as July, 1841, Mr.
Ward, writing to Dr. Pusey, stated that:—
" There are many persons who, on the one hand, do not accuse the Re-
formers of disingenuousness, and yet, on the other, consider the following
doctrines and practices allowed by the Articles : — (1) Invocation of Saints ;
(2) Veneration of Images and Kelics ; (3) An intermediate state of purification
with pain ; 59 (4) The Reservation of the Host ; (o) The Elevation of the Host ;
(6) The Infallibility of some General Councils; (7) The doctrine of desert by
congruity, in the received Roman sense; (8) The doctrine that the Church
ought to enforce Celibacy on the clergy." 60
If only the majority of the Church of England could have been in-
duced to accept the views of these advanced Romanizers, she would
68 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 177.
59 That is, a Purgatory.
60 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 176.
196
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
soon have been sufficiently " Catholicised " for reunion with the Papacy.
Nothing would have delighted Ward more than such a result. "Re-
storation of active communion with the Eoman Church is," he wrote to
a friend in 1841, "the most enchanting earthly prospect on which my
imagination can dwell." 61 The Eomanizers evidently thought they were
even then, within a measurable distance of the realization of their hopes.
So full of expectation were they that they could not keep the good
news to themselves. Their Roman Catholic brethren on the continent
must be let into the secret. So an anonymous letter was sent soon
after Tract XC. appeared, for publication, to the Roman Catholic
Univers of Paris. The author's name was suppressed for obvious
reasons, but it is now kuown that the author was the Rev. W. G.
Ward, and that it was translated for him into French by Mr. J. D.
Dalgairns, of Exeter College, Oxford. From this very remarkable and
thoroughly Jesuitical letter I give the following extracts : —
"You see, then, sir, that humility, the first condition of every sound
reform is not wanting in us. We arc little satisfied with our position. We
groan at the sins committed t>y our ancestors in separating from the Catholic
world. We experience a burning desire to be reunited to our brethren. We
love with unfeigned affection the Apostolic See, v;hich vie acknou'ledge to be the
head of Chrislrndmn ; and tl'.e more so because the Church of Rome is our
mother, which sent from her bosom the blessed St. Augustine, to bring us
her immovable faith. We admit also, that it is not our formularies, nor even
the Council of Trent, which prevent our union. After all these concessions,
you may ask me, why, then, do you not rejoin us ? What is it that prevents
you ? . . .
" Th^re are at this moment, in the Anglican Church, a crowd of persons who
balance between Protestantism and Catholicism, and who, nevertheless, would
reject with horror the very idea of a union with Rome. The Protestant pre-
judices, which, for three hundred years, have infected our Chur:h, are un-
happily too deeply roo'ed there to be extirpated without a great deal of
address. [Did lie not really menn sly cunning?] We must, then, offer in
sacrifice to Go<i this ardent desire which devours us of seeing once more the
perfect unity of the Church of Christ. We must still bear the terrible void
which the isolation of our Church creates in our hearts, and remain still till
it pleases God to convert the hearts of our Anglican confreres, especially ot
our holy fathers, the bishops. We arc destined, I am persuaded, to bring
back many wandering sheep to the knowledge of the truth. In fact, the pro-
gress of Catholic opinions in England, for the last seven years, is so incon-
ceivable that no hope should appear extravagant. Let us, then, remain quiet
for some years, till, by God's blessing, the ears of Englishmen are
BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO HEAR THE NAME OF ROME PRONOUNCED WITH
reverence. At the end of this term you will soon see the fruits of our
patience."62
The publication of this traitorous letter very naturally created a
great deal of public excitement. It was translated into German and
81 William George Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 142.
19 Gaiholic Magazine, March, 1841, as quoted in Bricknell's Judgment of
the Bishops, pp. 678-80.
DR. PUSEY'S VISITS TO ROMISH CONVENTS.
197
Italian, and widely circulated on the continent, where it produced
great joy in the Roman camp. A Mr. Hamilton Gray of Magdalene
College, Oxford, wrote to the Univers to say that the letter was not
written by any member of the Tractarian party, but by either a Low
Churchman or a Romanist. Its authorship is now, however, placed
beyond question by the publication of Mr. Ward's life by his son, who
tells us that " the fact remained that its sentiments were not disclaimed
by the representatives of the 'extreme' party, and a programme far
more bold and outspoken than anything in Tract XC. was thus practi-
cally known to be in contemplation for moving the Anglican Church
in a Romeward direction." 63
Secret negotiations were entered into with Dr. Wiseman, and the
conditions of Corporate Reunion with Rome were discussed with him,
at Oscott College. One of the plans then discussed was a secret affilia-
tion of the advanced Tractarians with the Roman Catholic Fathers of
Charity, the Tractarians, apparently, to remain all the while in com-
munion with the Church of England. Mr. Wilfrid Ward tells us that
" Mr, Phillipps [a prominent Roman Catholic] had urged that the
Fathers of Charity, the Order of the great Italian Reformer Antonio
Rosmini, then represented in England by the excellent and pious
Father Gentili, should open their Order at once to the Oxford school,
and adapt its rules to their position and antecedents." 84 The scheme
came to nothing, so far as the public are aware, and it is asserted by
Mr. Wilfrid Ward that it " met with no encouragement from Newman
or from any responsible members of the party." But that it should be
seriously discussed at all is in itself sufficiently startling, and proves
how far gone in deception those were who desired such a secret affilia-
tion with a Roman Catholic Order.
Dr. Pusey's Romeward tendencies were rapidly developing. In this
year he visited several Roman Catholic Convents in Ireland, with a
view to starling Anglican Convents in England. One of his disciples,
the Rev. E. Churton, sent him an indignant letter of protest on his
attitude towards the advanced Romanizers. " Instead of controlling
the ebullitions of the young wrong-heads, you have suffered yourselves
to be inoculaled with their frenzies. . . . You have let them get
ahead of you and drag you after them. Hence your proposal of re-
viving Monastic Life, and your very unfortunate appearance at Dublin
[to visit Romish Convents], which has so deeply perplexed our best
allies there. ... As for yourselves, that which has compelled me,
most unwillingly, to forsake that entire union with you in which I
found so much comfort, has been that you have seemed to treat these
excesses as if they were providential indications for your guidance, and
thought it a kind of ' quenching the Spirit ' to keep them within rule
and order." 65 In reply to this very outspoken communication, Dr.
Pusey sent a letter to Mr. Churton which must now be considered as
far from satisfactory. He mentioned what he termed " the unnatural-
83 W. G. Ward and the Oxford Movement, p. 190.
84 Ibid. 85 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 269.
1^8
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
ness of our present insulated state, separated from the rest of the East
and West" ; but he declared that "there is no wish for a premature
union ; it is only wished and longed and prayed for that we may both
become such, that we may safely be united." "As to Monasticism," he
continued, " I have long [how " long 8 I wonder] strongly thought that
we needed something of this sort ; it is not Romanish but primitive.
... I think it would be a great blessing to our Church to have some
such institutions."68 Dr. Pusey's judgment was directly opposed to
that of the Church of England as to Monastic Orders, as any one can see
for himself who reads her " Homily On Good Works," Part Third, in <
which she terms them, in no complimentary language, "superstitious
and pharisaical sects, by Antichrist invented." Early in 1842, the
Bishop of Salisbury (Dr. E. Denison), High Churchman though he was,
became alarmed at the spread of Romanizing principles in the Church
of England, and indignant at the conduct of Dr. Pusey, to whom he
wrote on March 9th, 1842 : — "Will you also allow me to say how much
I regret that you either have not felt disposed or not at liberty to
express any strong disapproval of the language about our own Church
and that of Home which has been used in various publications, and has
naturally excited a very strong and general sensation." 67 While
labouring for Corporate Reunion with Rome, Pusey bitterly opposed
any union between the Church of England and the Lutheran Church.
Newman's love for Popery was also growing rapidly. He tells us
that : — " In spite of my ingrained fears of Rome, and the decision of
my reason and conscience against her usages [he does not say her
doctrines], in spite of my affection for Oxford and Oriel, yet I had a
secret longing love of Rome, the Mother of English Christianity, and I
had a true devotion to the Virgin Mary."63 He considered that the
Anglican Church " must have a ceremonial, a ritual, and a fulness of
doctrine and devotion, which it had not at present, if it were to com-
pete with the Roman Church with any prospect of success. . . . Such,
for instance, would be Confraternities, particular devotions, reverence
for the Blessed Virgin, prayers for the dead, beautiful churches, muni-
ficent offerings to them and in them, Monastic Houses, and many other
observances and Institutions, which I used to say belonged to us as
much as to Rome."69 This was a very extensive Ritualistic " Plan of
Campaign" ; but I fear that I cannot — judging by the evidence which
I have already produced — give Newman credit for any ver}' warm
desire that the Church of England should " compete with the Roman
Church with any prospect of success." He wanted, not competition,
but peace and union between the Churches. It is true that he made
some efforts to keep people from going over to Rome ; but what was
his object in doing so ? To a Roman Catholic correspondent he wrote,
on April 8th, 1841 : — " It is my trust, though I must not be too
sanguine, that we shall not have individual members oi our communion
"Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 271. ^Ibid., p. 2S1.
68 Apologia Pro Vila Sua, p. 165. Edition, 1889. 88 Ibid., p. 166.
THE TENDENCY TO ROMANISM.
L99
going over to yours." 70 A month later he explained the reason for this
opposition to individual secession, in another letter to a Romon
Catholic : — " We are keeping people from you," he wrote, " by supplying
their wants in our own Church. We are keeping persons from you :
do you wish us to keep them from you for a time or for ever f It rests
with you to determine. I do not fear that you will succeed among us ;
you will not supplant our Church in the affections of the English
nation ; only through the English Church can you act upon the
English nation. I wish, of course, our Church should be consoli-
dated, with and through and in your communion, for its sake, and
your sake, and for the sake of unity." 71
So that, after all, Newman did not wish to keep the English people
from Rome " for ever," but only " for a time," during which Rome
should have a chance to "act upon the English nation" in her own
interests ! Are not these the sly tactics carried on by the majority of
the Ritualists in our own day 1 In 1843, Newman, as we have already
stated, publicly withdrew the denunciations of Rome which during the
previous ten years he had uttered, as so many "dirty words." In the
same year many of the early friends of the Tractarian Movement
began to be alarmed at the rapid progress which their followers were
making towards Rome, and some of them withdrew from the party on
that account: of these, the most prominent was the Rev. William
Palmer, who had worked for the Movement since its commencement
in 1833. He published the reasons for his withdrawal in a pamphlet
entitled, A Narrative of Events connected with the Publication of
the Tracts for the Times, with Reflections on the Existing Tendencies
to Romanism. This pamphlet, with additions, was re-issued by its
author, in 1883. In tlip course of it Mr. Palmer gives ample proof of
the Romish tendency of the Movement, as it then existed, by a series
of extracts from the writings of its leaders, whose principles, he affirmed,
"tend to the restoration of Romanism in its fullest extent, and the total
subversion of the Reformation.' 72 From these extracts I select the
following : —
" We talk of the blessings of ' emancipation from the Papal yoke,' and
use other phrases of a like bold and undutiful tenour. We trust, of course,
that active and visible union with the See of Rome is not of the essence of
the Church ; at the same time we are deeply conscious that in lacking it, far
from asserting a right, we foreno a great privilege." 73
" [The Pope is] the earthly representative of her [the Church's] Divine
Head."
" The Holy See [is] the proper medium of communion with the Catholic
Church."74
This tendency to Romanism does not appear to have given any alarm
to such well-known members of the party as the Rev. John Keble and
''"Apologia Pro Vita Sua, p. 188. n Ibid., p. 191.
72 Palmer's Narrative, p. 165. Edition, 1883.
73 Ibid., p. 161. 74 Ibid., p. 163.
200
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Mr. Gladstone. The former, oil May 14th, 1843, wrote to Newman . —
" Certainly there is a great yearning even after Rome in many parts of
the Church, which seems to be accompanied with so much good that
one ho])e-$, if it be right, it will be allowed to gain strength."™ If
Keble were at that time a truly loyal son of the Reformed Church of
England, would he have rejoiced at this "great yearning even after
Rome," and have "hoped that it would gain strength"? Of course this
was written in confidence, and Keble never could have anticipated that
it would ever have been made public, or there can be no doubt he
would have written with greater caution. In the Foreign and Colonial
Quarterly Review for October, 1843. Mr. Gladstone wrote an article on
"The Present State of the Church," in which he admitted that there
were at that period, within the Church of England —
" Propagators oi' Catholic tenets and usages, who do not scruple to denounce
Protestantism as a principle of unmixed evil; in whom the attraction of the
Church's essential Catholicity is sufficient, but only ju<t sufficient, to over-
come the repulsive force of the Protestant elements admitted into her
institutions ; and who do not dissemble that, in their view, Rome, if not
a true normal pattern of Christianity, is yet the best existing standaid, and
one to which we ought to seek to conform. Piome, who is always at our
gates as a foe, though iu her legitimate sphere she be also an elder sister.
With this foe they parley, and in the hearing of the people on the wall.
At the same time they relentlessly pursue, with rebuke and invective, the
Protestant name." 70
One would have supposed that Mr. Gladstone would have recom-
mended that such a set of traitors should at once have been turned out
of the Church in disgrace. That is what they richly deserved. But,
unfortunately, he heaped up praise on the tiaitors, and hoped they
would not go over to Rome, but remain in the Church of England, and
"enlighten it" by their "holy example."
" Although," wrote Mr. Gladstone, " we carefully distinguish this section
from the legitimate Catholic development, of which we believe it to be an
exaggeration, we rejoice thai these excellent persons abide in the Church, to
enlighten it by Hie holy example of their lives. We rejoice that they feel the
awful responsiblity of that condemnation which they would undertake to
pronounce against her by the act of quitting her communion." 77
And what was " the holy example " which these men were showing
to the Church? A few weeks after Mr. Gladstone thus held them up
for admiration, they were described by Mr. Xewman, who knew them
better than any man living, as men "who feel they can with a safe
conscience remain with us [i.e., in the Church of England], while they
are allowed to testify in behalf of Catholicism, and to promote its
interests, i.e., as if by such acts they were putting our Church, or
75 Lock's John Keble, p. 120.
76 Gladstone's Gleanings of Past Years, Vol. V., p. G6. 77 Ibid, p. 70.
A "MOST JOYFUL" SIGHT.
201
at least a portion of it, in which they are included, in the position of
Catechumens. They think (hey may stay, while they are moving
themselves, others, nay, say the whole Church, towards Rome."™
The publication of Mr. Palmer's pamphlet led to the Rev. William
George Ward writing his notorious and Romanizing work entitled, the
Ideal of a Christian Church, which was avowedly a reply to Mr.
Palmer. Mr. Ward, shortly before the time when he wrote the Ideal,
having heard that the Rev. R. W. Sibthorp had left the Church of
Rome, and returned to the Church of England, of which he had at one
time been an ordained Minister, was greatly annoyed, and vented his
indignation in a letter to Mr. Phillipps, a Roman Catholic, in these
terms : — " By this time you have doubtless heard of Mr. Sibthorp's
step. How unspeakably dreadful : it makes one sick to think of it.
. . . His reception among us [Tiactarians] will be, I fully expect, of
the most repulsive character ; I for one shall decline any intercourse
with him whatever." 73
That Romanizing tendencies existed in the Church of England Mr.
Ward candidly acknowledged, and even expressed his joy at the fact.
In his Ideal he quotes, as accurate, the statement of the Christian
Remembrancer, for November, 1843 (the quarterly organ of the Trac-
tarians), which affirmed that the "tendencies to Rome1' were "deeply
seated and widely spreading"; and that members of the party were
"by hundreds straggling towards Rome."80 In the same Ideal Mr.
Ward, referring to the Twelfth of the Thirty-nine Articles, declared : —
"1 subscribe it myself in a non-natural sense." At page 565 he
wrote: — "We find, oh most joyful, most wonderful, most unexpected
sight! we find the whole cycle of Roman doctrine gradually possessing
numbers of English Churchmen." At page 567 he wrote: — "Three
years have passed, since I said plainly, that in subscribing the Articles,
/ renounce no one Roman doctrine."
It is not to be wondered at that disloyal utterances such as these
raised a h urricaue of indignant opposition in the Church. It would have
been a lasting disgrace to her had such statements been allowed to pass
unchallenged. On November 10th, 1844, Mr. Ward was summoned to
appear before the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. When
lie appeared he was asked whether he denied the authorship of the
Ideal of a Christian Church ; and whether he disavowed certain pas-
sages in the book ? Mr. Ward replied, asking for more time before he
answered these questions. This was granted to him. He again
appeared before the Vice-Chancellor on December 3rd, when, acting
under legal advice, he refused to answer the questions. On December
13th, notice was given that at a Convocation to be held on February
13th, 1845, certain propositions would be placed before Convocation,
two of which were as follows : —
78 Memoirs of James H. Hope-Scott, Vol. II., p. 25.
™ W. G. Ward and the Oxford Movement, pp. 201, 202.
80 Ward's Ideal of a Christian Church, p. 566. Second edition.
2.):3
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
(1) " That the passages now read from a book entitled the Ideal of a Chris-
tian Church Considered, are utterly inconsistent with the Articles of Religion
of the Church of England, and with the declaration in respect of those
Articles made and subscribed by William George Ward previously and in
order to his being admitted to the degrees of B.A. and ALA. respectively, and
with the good faith of him, the said William George Ward, in respect of such
declaration and subscription."
(2) "That the said William George Ward has disentitled himself to the
rights and privileges conveyed by the said degrees, and is hereby degraded
from the said degrees of B.A. and M.A. respectively."
The announcement of this proposed action in Convocation created
intense excitement throughout the Church of England, and raised the
anger of the advanced Tractarians — including Dr. Pusey and Mr.
Gladstone — to a boiling state. The attitude of Dr. Hook towards the
book was very remarkable. First of all, he declared that Ward had
"maligned the English Church for the purpose of eulogising that of
Rome."81 Dr. Pusey informed him that although he "did not agree
with the book," yet that—
" Ward is really very greatly benefiting the Church by his practical
suggestions, and opening people's eyes to amend things. It is shocking to
think of ' degrading ' one by whom we are benefiting." c-
At first Hook decided not to vote at all on the question to be brought
before Convocation. Dr. Pusey's publications, more especially his
praise of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, had greatly dis-
pleased him.
"I do honestly confess," he wrote to Pusey, "that the publication of
Romish Methodism by yourself, and your eulogy of the founder of the
Jesuits, had some influence upon my mind, and makes me pause as a stroug,
decided, vehement Anti-Romanist. These publications and the legendary
Lives of the Saints will have the same effect in England as the fanatical
movement in France ; they will make men decided infidels." 31
On February 13th, Ward appeared before the Convocation, and made
a defence of his book, after which it was condemned by a majority of
391 votes ; his degradation was affirmed by a majority of 58 only. At
the same meeting of the Convocation a proposal was made to censure
Tract XC, and there can be no doubt that it would have been carried
were it not that the Proctors rose and vetoed the motion, which con-
sequently had to be abandoned. Oue of the Proctors afterwards was
promoted to the Deanery of St. Paul's (Dr. Church), and even received
the offer of the Archbishopric of Canterbury on the death of Dr. Tait.
Dr. Hook and Mr. Gladstone both voted against the condemnation
of Mr. Ward's book, and against his degradation. Mr. Gladstone's vote
was given after a careful study of the Ideal of a Christian Church.
In the December, 1844, issue of the Quarterly Review he had written a
lengthy review of the book, in which, while he criticised many of Mr.
81 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 415. 82 Ibid., p. 421. 33 Ibid., p. 431.
DR. HOOK ON SECESSION TO SOME.
Ward's statements, and expressed his dissent from them, he at the
same time gave expression to his own views of Mr. Ward's attitude
towards Rome in terms which gave great offence to loyal Churchmen.
"We are prepared to contend," wrote Mr. Gladstone, "that even those
who may be influenced more or less by the sympathies which Mr. Ward has
avowed for Romish opinions, and by his antipathy to the proceedings taken
at the Reformation, are in no degree thereby released from their obligation to
continue in the Communion of the Church. If their private judgment prefers
the religious system of the Church of Home to their own, and even holds the
union of the English Church with Rome to lie necessary to her perfection as a
Church, yet, so iong as they cannot deny that she is their spiritual parent
and guide ordained of God, they owe to her not merely adhesion but alle-
giance. . . . The doctrine that such persons ought to quit the pale of the
Church, in our view both drives them upon sin, and likewise constitutes an
unwarrantable invasion of the liberty which the Church herself has intended
for them." 84
I venture to submit that Mr. Gladstone's argument would not be
accepted in the Army. If, in a time of warfare, it were discovered
that some of the officers in a citadel preferred the rule of the enemy to
that of their own sovereign, and at the same time were actively at work
for the purpose of handing over the whole citadel to the enemy, the
authorities would soon deal with the traitors in a very different manner
from that suggested by Mr. Gladstone for the traitor officers of the
Church Militant. It would not be thought "an unwarrantable invasion
of the liberty" of those officers to treat them as they deserved ; indeed,
it would be considered a bounden duty to deprive them at once of their
commissions in the army, and turn them out of it in disgrace.
It must not be supposed that Dr. Hook's vote in defence of Ward
was the result of any wish on his part to aid in the reunion of the
Church of England with the Papacy. Individual or corporate reunion
with Rome was ever an abomination to Hook, who, in his later years,
fought most vigorously against the more advanced Romanizers. At the
close of the year 1841 he viewed with horror tha thought that Newman
might secede, and rejoiced when he heard a rumour that he would not
go over. In this cheerful frame of mind he wrote to Dr. Posey : —
" I am so glad and thankful that Newman has been saved from this
downfall : may he be still preserved from the fangs of Satan. Although
I am quite convinced that the number of Romanizers is very small, yet
there are several persons who would follow Newman, and I should myself
fear that any persou going from light to darkness would endanger his
salvation. I should fear that it would be scarcely possible for any one
who should apostatize from the only true Church of God in this country
to the Popish sect, to escape perdition ; having yielded to Satan in one
temptation lie will go on sinking deeper into the bottomless pit." 85
In this letter Dr. Hook further asserted that Rome is identical with
84 Gladstone's Gleanings, Vol. V., pp. 152, 153.
86 Lift of Br. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 446.
204
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Antichrist, and that "Romanism is preparing the way for infidelity."
Dr. Pusey was not at all pleased with this letter. It annoyed him very
much to hear from his friend such plain denunciations ot" the Papal
Communion ; and therefore he wrote back a letter of protest against
Hook's strong language :—
" I am," wrote Pusey, " frightened at your calling Rome Antichrist, or
a forerunner of it. I believe Antichrist will be infidel, and arise out of
what calls itself Protestantism, and then Rome and England will be united
in one to oppose it. Protestantism is infidel, or verging towards it, as a
whole." 88
Pusey's hatred of Protestantism here comes out in the strongest light;
and his hatred of it was shared by the other leaders of his party. But
he could not bear to hear any of his disciples or friends say anything
against Rome. Soon alter he had written the above letter to Dr.
Hook, he was very disappointed witli the new Charge of Archdeacon
Manning, because of its severe criticism of the Papacy. So he wrote to
Manning : —
" Thank you for your Charge. While it is in a cheering tone, is there
quite love enough for the lloman Church J ... I only desiderate more love for
Rome." 87
In the light of Manning's subsequent history it does indeed seem
strange to find him thus censured at this period for not loving Rome
enough. Manning did not agree with Pusey on this subject. There
was more manliness in his reply than could be found in the letter of
his leader : —
" One powerful obstruction," he wrote to Pusey, " to the very work in
which you are spending yourself arises, I believe, out of the tone you have
adopted towards the Church of Rome. Will you forgive me if I say that
it seems to me to breathe, not charity, but want of decision? . . . Now
what ara the facts but these ? The Church of Rome for three hundred
years has desired our extinction. It is now undermining us. Suppose
your own brother to believe that he was divinely inspired to destroy you.
The highest duties would bind you to decisive, firm, and circumspect
precaution. Now a tone of love such as you speak of seems to me to
bind you also to speak plainly of the broad and glaring evils of the Roman
system. Are you prepared to do this ? If not, it seems to me that the
most powerful warnings o£ charity forbid you to use a tone which cannot
but lay asleep the consciences of many for whom, by writing and pub-
lishing, you make yourself responsible." f 5
Dr. Pusey's biographer acknowledges that his " attitude at this
juncture created perplexity in still higher quarters."8" It seems to
have perplexed the Archbishop of Canterbury, whose Chaplain, the
Rev. B. Harrison, wrote to Pusey a letter on the subject. Pusey's
86 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 447.
""Ibid.,?. 455.
87 Ibid., p. 454.
" Ibid., p. 455.
PUSEY CEASES TO PROTEST AGAINST ROME.
205
biographer does not print this letter, but he does print the reply to
it, in which Pusey'a dislike for unity with Protestants, and his love
for much that is Roman, is candidly acknowledged.
" I cannot," wrote Pusey, " any more take the negative ground against
Rome ; I can only remain neutral. I have indeed for some time left
off alleging grounds against Rome, and whether you think it right or
wrong, I am sure it is of no use to persons who are really in any risk
of leaving us. . . . From much reading of Roman books, I am so much
impressed with the superiority of their teaching; and again, in some respects,
I see things in Antiquity which I did not (especially I cannot deny some
purifying system in the Intermediate State, nor the lawfulness of some
Invocation of Saints) that I dare not speak against things." 80
Dr. Hook's hopefulness as to the state of Newman was without
solid foundation. No one can read Newman's Letters or the Life
of Dr. Pusey, without finding abundant evidence to prove that
be consistent, he ought to have seceded several years before he actually
did leave the Church of England. Some evidence of Newman's love
for Rome has already been given above. This may now be supple-
mented by the following extracts from his letters to friends. On
September 1st, 1843, he wrote to the Rev. J. B. Mozley:— "The
truth then is, I am not a good son enough of the Church of England
to feel I can in conscience hold preferment under her. I love the Church
of Rome too well." 91 On the 22nd of the same month he wrote to Mrs.
j. Mozley : — " You cannot estimate what so many, alas ! feel at present,
the strange effect produced on the mind when the conviction flashes,
or rather pours, in upon it that Rome is the true Church."32 He
was here evidently speaking for himself, and of his own "convictions."
The claims of Rome seem to have occupied his mind very much at
this time. Seven days later he again referred to the subject in a letter
to Mrs. Thomas Mozley : —
" I do so despair of the Church of England," wrote Newman, " and
am so evidently cast off by her, and, on the other hand, I am so drawn
to the Church of Rome, that I think it safer, as a matter of honesty,
not to keep my living. This is a very different thing from having any
intention of joining the Church of Rome. However, to avoid generally
as much as 1 have said, would be wrong for ten thousand reasons." 93
So he kept his longings for Rome as a secret within his own breast,
and those of a few relatives and near friends whom he could trust.
The consequence of this was that he, appeared to the public in a
character different from that which was really his. A month later
he had come to the opinion that the Church of England was "not
years in Rome, and that, to
mLife of Br. Pusey, Vol. II., pp. 456, 457.
91 Newman's Letters, Vol. EL, p. 423.
92 Ibid., p. 424. 93 Ibid., p. 425.
200
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
part of the Ccitholic Church." He wrote to Dr. Manning, on October
25th, 1843 :—
" I must tell you then frankly (but I combat arguments which to
me, alas, are shadows) that it is not from disappointment, irritation,
or impatience, that I have, whether rightly or wrongly, resigned St.
Mary's ; but because / think the Church of Rome the Catholic Church,
and ours no p't.rt of the Catholic Church, because not in communion with
Rome; and because I feel that I could not honestly be a teacher in it
any longer."95
The arguments which thus induced Newman to resign the living of
St. Mary's, ou^ht to have induced him at once to resign his member-
ship in the Church of England. He had no moral right to remain in a
Communion which he was convinced formed " no part of the Catholic
Church." Indeed he ought, on his own showing, to have resigned his
living several years before he resigned St. Mary's, since, in his letter
to Mrs. J. Mozley, on November 24th, 1844, he wrote: — "A clear
conviction of the substantial identity of Christianity and the Roman
system has now been on my mind for a full three yearn " 95— that is,
from 1841. He did not, however, secede to Rome for another year
after writing this letter, so that at least for full four years he had acted
a double part — outwardly a member of the Church of England ; in-
wardly a member of the Church of Rome.96 On November 16th, 1844,
Newman wrote to Dr. Manning:— "As far as I know myself, my one
paramount reason for contemplating a change is my deep, unvarying
conviction that our Church is in schism, and my salvation depends on
my joining the Church of Rome." 97
From his resignation of St. Mary's until his reception into the Church
of Rome, Newman made Pusey his confidant. The correspondence
which passed between them is painfully interesting, and shows that
Pusey wished for more or less of Popery, but would not submit to the
Pope until the Church of England had done so in her corporate
capacity ; while Newman had become impatient to depart, and was
willing to accept both Pope and Popery, without waiting for the
Church of England to set him the example, Pusey wrote that he
looked to "a Peunion of the Church as the end" of the Tractarian
Movement ; and, meanwhile, his anxiety was to ascertain " on what
terms and in what way " the Church of England could " be reunited
9i Newman's Apologia, p. 221. Edition, 1889. .
95 Newman's Letters, Vol. EL, p. 445.
M From a letter to Dr. Pusey, dated February 19th, 1844, we learn that
the date of the birth of Newman's conviction that the Church of England
was no part of the Catholic Cburch was the year 1839. " I must say,"
Newman then wrote, " that for four years and a half [that is, from the
year 1839] I have had a conviction, weaker or stronger, but on the whole
constantly growing, and at present very strong, that we are not part of
the Catholic Church." (Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. EL, p. 381.)
97 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. L, p. 258.
BISHOP WILBERFORCE ON PUSEY'S WORK.
207
with the rest of the Western Church." 98 Many persons will be sur-
prised to learn that although, on August 28th, 1844, Newman had
written to Pusey boldly declaring his conviction that the Church of
England was "not part 'of the Church," yet on the 14th of the following
November, Pusey thus wrote to the Rev. Prebendary Henderson : —
"You are quite right in thinking that Newman has no feelings drawing
him away from us : all his feelings and sympathies have been for our
Church." 89 It is difficult to acquit Dr. Pusey of a charge of wilful
deception, or at least of equivocation, in writing like this. On October
8th, 1845, Newman was received into the Church of Rome at Little-
more ; and on October 16th a letter from Pusey, on his secession,
appeared in the English Churchman, in which he remarked : — " He
[Newman] seems then to me not so much gone from us, as transplanted
into another part of the Vineyard." 100
Many since then have mourned over the loss of Newman to the
Church of England. For my part I conceive it to be a blessing that
he went. His heart's affection was with the great enemy of the Church
of England ; his place was therefore no longer within her fold. Already
he had infected many of his disciples with a love for Romanism.
The month which witnessed the secession of Newman beheld also
the appointment of the Rev. Samuel Wilberforce as Bishop of Oxford.
The new Bishop, even before his arrival in his Diocese, had fears as to
his approaching relations to the Regius Professor of Hebrew, which he
made known in a letter to Miss L. Noel. To her Dr. Wilberforce
expressed the opinion that Pusey was "a very holy man"; but he
added : —
" He [Dr. Pusey] has greatly helped, and is helping, to make a party of
semi-Romanizers in the Church, to lead some to Rome. . . . He says, for
instance, that be does not think himself as an English Churchman at
liberty to hold all Roman doctrine ; but he does ' not censure any Roman
doctrine,' whilst he holds his Canonry at Christ Church, and his position
amongst us, on condition of signing Articles, one half of which are taken
up in declaring different figments of Rome to be dangerous deceits and
blasphemous fables."101
Pusey wrote to Dr. Wilberforce on the day of his election to the
Oxford Bishopric, and received a reply which seems to have surprised
him very much. It was a somewhat severe criticism of his teaching.
In his rejoinder to the Bishop- Elect, Pusey once more revealed his love
for much that was distinctly Roman : —
" I did not mean," wrote Pusey, " to state anything definitely as to
myself, but only to maintain, in the abstract, the tenability of a certain
position, in which very many arc, of not holding themselves obliged to
renounce any doctrine formerly decreed by the Roman Church."
98 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 404. 99 Ibid., pp. 406, 445.
100 Ibid., p. 461. ufe qf Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. I., p. 311.
20P,
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
Pusey proceeded to inform his future Diocesan that he could no
longer refuse his " belief to an intermediate state of cleansing, in some
cases through pain " ; or, in other words, of his belief in the existence
of Purgatory. The effect of his acceptance of this belief was, he said,
that ever since he had " been wholly silent about Purgatory." He had
also come to believe in Invocation of Saints. On this latter point he
acted most inconsistently. He told the Bishop-Elect :—" Practically
then I dissuade or forbid (where I have authority) Invocation of Saints ;
abstractedly, I see no reason why our Church might not eventually
allow it, in the sense of asking for their prayers" ; and towards the
conclusion of his letter he added: — "I cannot but think that Rome
and we are not irreconcilably at variance." 102
It is here seen how rapidly Pusey was marching on the road to
Rome, though he seems to have never expected to arrive at the end of
the journey. It added much to the difficulties of his position that he
had now, in Dr. Wilberforce, a bishop carefully watching his move-
ments, and ready to censure him when necessary. Time went on, and
the Rome ward Movement with it. By the year 1847, even Arch-
deacon Manning had discovered its tendency towards Rome, and its
illogical position in the Church of England. He wrote to Pusey, on
January 23rd of that year : —
"You know how long I have to you openly expressed my conviction
that a false position has been taken up in the Church of England. The
direct and certain tendency, I believe, of what remains of the original
Movement is to the Roman Church. You know the minds of men about
us better than I do, and will, therefore, know how strong an impression
the claims of Rome have made on them : and how feeble and fragmentary
are the reasons on which they have made a sudden stand or halt in the
line on which they have been, perhaps insensibly, moving for years. It is
also clear that they are ' revising the Reformation ' — that the doctrine,
ritual, and practice of the Church of England, taken at its best, does not
suffice them." «*
At about the same time Dr. Hook, Tractarian though he was, grew
more and more alarmed at the conduct of the Romanizing party. In
great trouble he wrote to Manning from his Leeds Vicarage : —
" Those whom I took for Church of England men, and who as such
hated Popery, who once, as in the Tracts for the Times, openly assailed
Popery, I find now to be enamoured of her. I find young men thinking
it orthodox to read and study Popish books of devotion, and to imitate
Popish priests in their attire : I find Justification by Faith, the doctrine
of our Articles, the test of a standing or falling Church, repudiated, and
consequently a set of works of supererogation and a feeling in favour of
the intercession of those who are snpposed to have been more than profit-
able servants." 104
102 Life of Dr. Pusey, Vol. III., pp. 43-45. 103 Ibid., p. 135.
104 Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 328.
ARCHDEACON MANNING KNEELS BEFORE THE POPE'S CARRIAGE. 209
At this very period the views of Dr. Manning were in a state of
transition — his face was turned Romeward. During the summer of
1847, he travelled abroad on the Continent. At Liege he fell in love
with the Sacrifice of the Mass, and wrote in his diary : — " I cannot
but feel that the practice of Elevation, Exposition, Adoration of the
Blessed Eucharist has a powerful effect in sustaining and realizing the
doctrine of the Incarnation." 105 In 1848 Archdeacon Manning visited
Rome. While there strange things happened, of which the world knew
nothing until after his death. One day, while in the Piazza di Spagna,
he saw the Papal carriage approaching towards him. As it passed he
knelt down in the street before the Pope — and he all the time an Arch-
deacon in the Reformed Church of England ! 106 Mr. Purcell, the
future Cardinal's biographer, tells us in the chapter which he devote3
to this visit to Rome that —
" In his Diary Archdeacon Manning nowhere says in so many words,
that he took a personal part in the veneration of relics which he so often
witnessed and described with touching fidelity. Yet from the tone and
spirit of his testimony I have no doubt that at St. Philip Neri's Oratory
at Florence, for instance, the relics of the Saints were laid on the fore-
head and pressed to the lips of the Archdeacon of Chichester." 107
The history of Manning's change of views in favour of the Church
of Rome, as related by Mr. Purcell, greatly surprised the English pub-
lic, when it was first published. It revealed an absence of straight-
forward conduct on Manning's part for which no really valid excuse
has yet been offered. His double-dealing is frankly admitted by his
Roman Catholic biographer, who writes : —
" What, I grant, is a curious difficulty, almost startling at first, is to
find Manning speaking concurrently for years with a double voice. One
voice proclaims in public, in sermons, charges, and tracts, and, in a tone
still more absolute, to those who sought his advice in Confession, his pro-
found and unwavering belief in the Church of England as the Divine
witness to the Truth, appointed by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit.
The other voice, as the following confessions and documents under his
own handwriting bear ample witness, speaks in almost heartbroken
accents of despair at being no longer able in conscience to defend the
teaching and position of the Church of England ; whilst acknowledging
at the same time, if not in his confession to Laprimaudaye, at any rate
in his letters to Robert Wilberforce, the drawing he felt towards the
infallible teaching of the Church of Rome." 108
It was while in this transition state that Manning published several
volumes of his Anglican sermons. In 1865, just before he was conse-
crated titular "Archbishop of Westminster," Manning consulted a
friend as to the wisdom of having them republished. The friend gave
as his opinion, that, as a Roman Catholic, Dr. Manning could not
105 Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 352. 106 Ibid., Vol. II., p. 456.
107 Ibid., Vol. I., p. 407, note. 108 Ibid., p. 463.
14
210 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
conscientiously republish them. Yet in the letter conveying this
opinion, his friend (Dr. Bernard Smith) bore testimony to the services
rendered to the Church of Rome by these Anglican sermons.
" I confess," wrote Dr. B. Smith, " I was greatly surprised to see how
close [that is, in these sermons] you bring the Anglican Confession to the
Church of Rome. But what I admired most in the perusal of these
volumes was not the many strong Catholic truths I met with, but that
almost Catholic unction of a St. Francis of Sales, or of a St. Teresa, that
breathes through them all. That the reading of these works must have
great influence over the Protestant mind I have no doubt. I also believe
that no sincere Protestant can read over these volumes, who sooner or
later will not take refuge in the ark " 109 [by which, of course, Dr. Smith
meant the Church of Rome].
What is here said of Manning's Anglican Sermons may, with equal
truth, be said of many scores of volumes written by Ritualistic clergy-
men. These works teach principles which must logically lead to the
Church of Rome, even when, as is sometimes the case, they are accom-
panied with criticisms on some portions of the Roman system. Doubts
as to the Church of England entered Manning's mind as early as 1846.
In his Diary for the August of that year he wrote that, in his opinion
the Church of England was "diseased organically" by its "separation
from Church toto orbe diffusa and from Cathedra Petri"; by its
"abolition of penance," and by its "extinction of daily sacrifice." 110
On July 5th, 1846, he wrote in his Diary: — "Something keeps rising
and saying, 'you will end in the Roman Church.' " "If the Church of
England were away there is nothing in Rome that would repel me with
sufficient repulsion to keep me separate, and there is nothing in Pro-
testantism that would attract me. ... I am conscious that I am further
from the English Church and nearer Rome than I ever was. . . . Yet
I have no positive doubts about the Church of England. I have diffi-
culties— but the chief thing is the drawing of Rome. It satisfies the
whole of my intellect, sympathy, sentiment, and nature, in a way
proper, and solely belonging to itself."111 Mr. Pureell adds to the
above extracts from Manning's Diary the following significant com-
ments : —
" It is curious to note from these entries that the breakdown of
Manning's belief in the English Church took place so early as 1846, two
years before Hampden's appointment, and four years before the Gorham
Judgment. In his sermons and charges there are not the slightest indica-
tions of such a misgiving. In his correspondence with Mr. Gladstone at
this period, not a hint or suggestion was conveyed — not that the Church of
England was organically and functionally diseased — but that it had fallen
from the high ideal of perfection, which Manning had so fervently and
eloquently attributed to it in his public utterances. From the evidence of
his own Diary, from his letters to Laprimaudaye and Robert Wilberforce,
109 Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. IL, p. 722, note.
110 Ibid., Vol. I., p. 483. 111 Ibid. , pp. 485, 486.
ARCHDEACON MANNING'S DOUBLE DEALING.
211
it seems as clear as daylight that, intellectually Manning had, years before
the Gorham Judgment, lost faith in the Church of England." 112
Notwithstanding his " loss of faith in the Church of England," Man-
ning continued to outwardly profess what in his heart he had ceased to
believe in. On February 12th, 1848 — three years before he left the
Church of England — he wrote from Rome to his intimate friend,
Eobert Wilberforce : — " I cannot rest the Church of England and its
living witness on anything higher than an intellectual basis. I trust it,
because I think it to be right, not because I believe it to be right. It
is a subject of my reason, and not an object of my faith."113 The
following year he wrote, " under the seal," more strongly : —
" Protestantism is not so much a rival system, which I reject, but no
system, a chaos, a wreck of fragments, without idea, principle, or life. It
is to me flesh, blood, unbelief, and the will of man. Anglicanism seems to
me to be in essence the same, only elevated, constructed, and adorned by
intellect, social and political order, and the fascinations of a national and
domestic history. As a theology, still more as the Church or the faith, it
has so faded out of my mind that I cannot say I reject it, but I know it no
more. I simply do not believe it. I can form no basis, outline, or defence
for it." 114
And yet he continued to receive the emoluments of a Church in which
he had ceased to have any real faith ! Was this honest 1 Was it not,
rather, double-dealing, such as looked very much like a case of receiv-
ing money under false pretences? In any case it reminds us of those
of whom it is recorded that they possessed " a conscience seared with a
hot iron " — past any conscientious feeling. For more than a year after
this Manning wrote letters to his penitents, having for their object the
strengthening of their faith in the Church of England. One such letter,
dated May 6th, 1850, is printed by his biographer, in which occurs the
following assertion :— " Judging by the evidence of the Primitive
Church there are many, and they very grave and vital, points on
which the Church of England seems more in harmony with Holy
Scripture than the Church of Rome." 115 One wonders whether Man-
ning at the time really believed what he thus wrote. I very much
doubt it. It seems that this letter was the means of preventing Mann-
ing's penitent from going over to Rome. Manning's real views at this
time were known only to four or five other persons, his intimate friends,
all of whom, like himself, eventually joined the Church of Rome.
They were Robert Wilberforce, James Hope, William Dodsworth,
Henry Wilberforce, and, perhaps, Laprimaudaye. Mr. Gladstone was
an intimate friend, but the secret of his (Manning's) views was carefully
kept from that statesman.
" On learning in January last [1895]," writes Mr. Purcell, " the substance
of Manning's letters to Robert Wilberforce, Mr. Gladstone was surprised
u- Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I.*, pp. 487, 488. 113 Ibid., p. 509.
UJ Ibid., p. 515. 115 Ibid., p. 473.
212
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
beyond measure. Speaking with evident pain, he said : — ' To me this is
most startling information, for which I am quite unprepared. In all our
correspondence and conversations, during an intimacy which extended
over many years, Manning never led me to believe that he had doubts as
to the position or Divine authority of the English Church, far less that
he had lost faith altogether in Anglicanism. That is to say, up to the
Gorham Judgment [in 1850]. The Gorham Judgment, I knew, shook
his faith in the Church of England. It was then that Manning expressed
to me — and for the first time — his doubts and misgivings.' After a few
moments' reflection, Mr. Gladstone added : — ' I won't say that Manning
was insincere, God forbid ! But he was not simple and straightforward.' " 118
I venture to submit that the majority of Englishmen will see, in such
conduct, clear evidence of insincerity, as well as of a want of " straight-
forward " conduct. The clearest proof of Manning's ecclesiastical
dishonesty — I cannot here use a milder term — is obtained by a com-
parison of a letter which he wrote to Robert Wilberforce, "on June
25th, 1850, with a published letter, which he addressed to the Bishop
of Chichester, dated July 2nd, 1850— only a week later. The two
letters atford a striking instance of that "double voice" in which he
then frequently spoke. In the first of these letters, which was strictly
private, Manning wrote : —
" I have not seen Churton's Charge ; but the course he and others have
taken has helped more than most things to convince me that the Church of
England has no real basis. . . . Logically, I am convinced that the One,
Holy, Visible, Infallible Church is that which has its circuit in all the
world, and its centre accidentally at Rome. But I mistrust my conclu-
sion. ... I have made a first draft on the Oath of Supremacy, in a letter
to my Bishop. But I have written myself fairly over the border — or Tiber
rather." 117
In the other letter, to his Bishop, Manning does not write anything
which would lead his Diocesan, or the public, to suppose that he had
written himself over "the Tiber," or into the Church of Rome. On
the contrary, while criticising sharply the relations to the State of the
Church of England, and her connection with the Court of Law which
had just acquitted Mr. Gorham, he informed his lordship that he had
still left a strong faith in the Church of England — though, as a matter of
fact, as we have already seen, he had long since ceased to have any
faith in her at all.
" We believe," wrote Archdeacon Manning, " the Church in England,
as a member or province of this Divine Kingdom [the Church], possesses,
'in solidum,' by inheritance and participation in the whole Church, the
inheritance of the Divine Tradition of Faith, with a share in this full and
supreme custody of doctrine and power of discipline, partaking for support
and perpetuity, in its measure and sphere, tlie same guidance as the whole
Church at large, of which, by our baptism, we have been made members.
" The Church in England, then, being thus an integral whole, possesses
116 Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. I., p. 569.
117 Ibid., p. 55S.
THE "RAMBLER" ON THE OXFORD MOVEMENT. 213
within itself the fountain of doctrine and discipline, and has no need to go
beyond itself for succession, orders, mission, jurisdiction. . . . But we
trust that as, in the period of the great Western schism, the Churches
of Spain, France, Germany, and many others, were compelled to fall hack
within their own limits and to rest upon the full and integral power which,
by succession, they possessed for their own internal government, so the
Church in England has continued to be a perfect member of this Divine
Kingdom, endowed with all that is of necessity to the valid ministry of the
Faith and Sacraments of Christ." 118
Who, at that time, would have thought that the writer of this strong
eulogy of the Church of England actually considered that in writing it
he was "fairly writing himself over the border — or Tiber?" If the
Church of England was all that Manning asserted, possessed of valid
Orders and Sacraments, without going "beyond itself" to outside com-
munions, why had he made up his mind to leave a Church, which he
declared was " a perfect member of this Divine Kingdom " ? In the
history of the Romeward Movement in the Church of England there
are but few, if any, incidents more deplorable than the double-dealing
of Dr. Manning during his last years in that Church.
Down to the year 1851, the Romeward Movement in the Church of
England had led to the secession to Rome of a large number of pro-
minent clergymen and laymen. The list of distinguished seceders
given in Browne's Annals of the Tractarian Movement affords ample
proof of the services rendered to the Church of Rome by the Oxford
Movement. No wonder that Cardinal Wiseman rejoiced at what he
saw going on around him, and looked forward with an almost boyish
glee to the good time coming, when, as he hoped, England would once
more accept Papal supremacy. But the services rendered to Rome
by the Movement were by no means confined to supplying her with
some of the ablest of her children. A prominent Roman Catholic
magazine, the Rambler, during the year 1851, devoted several articles
to the subject of "The Rise, Progress, and Results of Puseyism," as it
was then commonly termed. The tone of these articles was, through-
out, one of deep thankfulness for what had been already accomplished.
" From the moment that the Oxford Tracts commenced," said the
Rambler, " the Catholic Church assumed a position in the country which
she had never before attained since the schism of the sixteenth century.
With what a depth of indescribable horror of Catholicism the whole mind
of England was formerly saturated, few can comprehend who have not
personally experienced it. . . . The sons and daughters of Anglicanism
were brought up to regard the Catholic Church as the devil's master-
piece. ... No one read Catholic books, no one entered Catholic churches ;
no one ever saw Catholic priests ; few people even knew that there were
any Catholic bishops resident in England. Except in connection with
Ireland, the Catholic Church was forgotten.
118 A-ppellate Jurisdiction of the Crown in Matters Spiritual : A Letter to
the Bishop of Chichester, by Henry Edward Manning, Archdeacon of
Chichester, pp. 4, 5.
214
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" Sec now the change which has come over the English people as a nation.
Violently Protestant still, its attitude towards the Catholic Church is
extraordinarily changed. It dislikes her, but it no longer despises her. . . .
Crowds attend the services of Catholic and of Puseyite churches ; but
while in the latter there is hissing and groaning, in the former a stillness
the most profound pays strange homage to the elevation of the most Holy
Sacrament. None but fools and fanatics deny some merits of the Church
of Rome and her clergy. Everywhere the change appears. . . . And what-
ever other causes may have combined to work this wonderful result, to
the Movement of 1S33 it surely must chiefly be attributed." 119
119 The Rambler, March 1851, pp. 246, 247.
CHAPTER X.
THE EOMEWABD MOVEMENT.
The Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom — Sermons
and Essays mi Reunion — Denunciation of Protestantism — Treasonable
letter in' the Union Review — The A. P. U. C. denounced by the In-
quisition— Degrading Eeply of 198 Church of England Dignitaries
and Clergy — Archbishop Manning's opinion of the Eomeward Move-
ment— The Society of the Holy Cross Petition for Reunion with
Rome — Signed by 1212 clergymen — The English Church Union — Its
work for Union with Rome — Approves Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon — Pusey
writes that there is nothing in the Pope's " Supremacy" in itself to
which he would object — The Catholic Union for Prayer — A Colonial
Priest on Reunion with Rome — The "levelling up" process — The
real Objects of the English Church Union — The Lord's Day and the
Holy Eucharist — Lord Halifax wants Benediction of the Blessed Sacra-
ment—E. C. U. members find fault with the Book of Common Prayer
— E. C. U. Petitions the Lambeth Conference for Reunion — Reunion
asked for under "The Bishop of Old Rome"— Lord Halifax prefers
Leo XIII. to the Privy Council — Dean Hook in favour of the Privy
Council — Mr. Mackonochie's Evidence before the Ecclesiastical Courts'
Commission — Asserts there has been no " Ecclesiastical Court" since
the Reformation — A Ritualistic Curate supplies the "Kernel" to
Roman Ritual — He preaches the Immaculate Conception of the
Virgin Mary— Lord Halifax and "Explanations" of the Pope's In-
fallibility—The Homilies on the Church of Rome— Rome has already
reaped a harvest from Ritualistic labours — Secession as well as Union
a Scriptural duty — Objections to Reunion with Rome.
The time at length arrived when it was thought desirable by those who
longed for the Corporate Reunion of the Church of England with the
Eastern Church and the Church of Rome, to hand themselves int6
societies to promote the object they had at heart. Some of these
societies made the Reunion question a part only of their programme ;
but from the commencement of its existence the Association for the
Promotion of the Unity of Christendom laboured for this one object
alone. This Association was founded at a private meeting held in the
parish of St. Clement Danes, Strand, London, on September 8th, 1857,
on the motion of a Roman Catholic layman, seconded by a Church of
England clergyman, and supported by members of the Greek Church.
(215)
216
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
At that meeting thirty-four persons joined the infant Association.1 In
a statement issued by one of its chief officers (the Rev. F. G. Lee) in
1864, it was mentioned that in that year it had grown into a member-
ship of 7099, of whom " nearly a thousand " were Roman Catholics,
and about three hundred were " members of the Eastern Church." Mr.
Lee also affirmed that " The Association has been approved in the
highest ecclesiastical quarters, both amongst Latins, Anglicans, and
Greeks. The Holy Father gave his blessing to the scheme when first
started, and repeated that blessing with a direct and kindly commenda-
tion to one of the English secretaries, who was more recently granted
the honour of a special interview." 2 In an appendix to the volume of
sermons from which I have just quoted, and which was " Printed for
certain members of the Association for the Promotion of the Unity of
Christendom," an official prospectus of the Association is printed, in
which it is mentioned that " the names of members will be kept strictly
private." 3 On the occasion of its seventh anniversary Masses were said
for the success of its work not merely by ordinary clergymen, but even
by Archbishops, Bishops, and Monks, and these were offered in
England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Austria, Prussia, Denmark, Italy.
Belgium, Switzerland, Malta, North America, South America, and
South Africa.4
The Association still exists, and at the present time numbers upwards
of ten thousand members, but from its birth until now it has never, so
far as I can ascertain, printed a list of its members, not even for its
own private use, so afraid are they lest their names should be found
out. In the prospectus just referred to there is printed a short list of
Diocesan Secretaries, and of persons to whom applications for informa-
tion could be made, but as to the rank and tile of the Association
nobody knows who they are, excepting the head officials. In January,
1863, the Union Review was founded by members of the Association,
and was subsequently conducted by them, though the Association as
such was not held responsible for its contents. But inasmuch as it
expressed the views held by those who guided the Association, it may
not be considered as inappropriate if I give here a few extracts from it,
which show its thoroughly Romanizing character.
" It is a shocking scandal that one of the Homilies of the Established
Church should even contain heretical reasoning against the belief in a state
of connection [Sic. Probably correction is meant] hereafter, and the benefit
of prayers for the departed." 6
" The English Church is in a state of penance ; her daily Sacrifice taken
away, and the perpetual Presence on her Altars withdrawn, except in a
few favoured places where both have lately been restored." 6
"The hair shirt, and the spiked cross or belt, sacrificing bodily ease
1 Sermons on the Reunion of Christendom, Vol. I., pp. x., xi.
2 Ibid., p. xii. sIbid., p. 329.
4 The Cliurch and the World, Vol. I., p. 201.
6 Union Review, Vol. III., p. 147. 6 Ibid., p. 395.
DISLOYAL UTTERANCES BY TRAITORS.
217
altogether, with the sharper but less wearing means by which the various
Acts of the Passion may be followed and sympathized with step by step,
are all valuable in their several degrees, but require adaptation to particular
cases." 7
" We venture to say, heresy has been practically triumphant for three
hundred years together, through the Prayer Book."8
" We will not tamely accept the illogical and incomplete system which
the Reformers have left us in the Prayer Book as it is."9
Perhaps the most remarkable document ever printed in the Union
Review was a lengthy letter written by a member of the Association to
a Roman Catholic priest in Germany. The thoroughly Jesuitical and
traitorous character of the Ritualistic Movement is therein very candidly
revealed by one of its warmest friends. He announced that for the
previous twenty-five years — i.e., from 1842 — the leaders of the party
had been preaching " the Catholic faith," and that their doctrines had
"secretly yet surely been working, like the leaven," during that
period.10 From this noteworthy letter I give the subjoined additional
extracts :—
" Our belief is that the Church of which we are members is Catholic in
her Faith, and Catholic in her usages, and that Protestantism In any shape
and form has no legal place within her." 11
" Day and night — in the Church, and in the closets — there ascend in
England from thousauds of mourning hearts, smitten with a sense of their
bereavement, the fervent expressions of an intense longing of a burning
desire for the restoration to our unhappy country of this most glorious
privilege of Visible Unity [with the Church of Rome]. Here you have the
real heart and soul of the present Movement; this is the centre from which its
pulsations vibrate, and from which its life, blood flows."™
"At the outset of this Union Movement our eyes turned Eastward,
rather than rest on the spot on which now they so love to dwell. For now,
at last, is God mercifully removing the scales from our eyes. Every year
we begin to understand you [the Church of Rome] better, and, therefore,
to love you more." 13
" Here, in a sense of the danger of the common foe, and of the identity
of that Faith which is to overcome him, we hope to find one strong force
of attraction to draw not only the Protestant to us, but both together to
you [Rome]. But when? ah! when? The time cannot be so very far
off. The strides which have been made during the last ten years are
enormous ; and, as I say, we are all, however opposed, moving on
together." u
" I hope I have now said enough to justify any convictions that there
is no reason for discouragement, on either of these two heads, but that it
is reasonable to hope that at the end of this third period, say twenty years
hence, Catholicism will have so leavened our Church, that she herself in
her corporal capacity, and not a mere small section of her, like ourselves,
will be able to eome to you [the Church of Rome] and say :— ' Let the
7 Union Review, Vol. HI., p. 397, note.
8 Ibid. , p. 626. 10 Ibid., Vol V. , p. 379.
"Ibid., p. 398. "Ibid., p. 400.
sIbid., p. 621.
11 Ibid., p. 380.
"Ibid., p. 408.
218
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
hands which political force, not spiritual choice, have parted these three
hundred years, be once more joined. We are one with, you in Faith, and
we have a common foe to fight. There may be a few divergencies of
practice on our side. We seek to make no terms ; we come only in the
spirit of love and of humility ; but at the same time we feel sure that the
Chief Shepherd of the Flock of Christ [the Pope] will deal tenderly with
us, and place no yoke upon us which we are not able to bear.' " 15
" With such hopes, then, and with such a position, it is surely, I say,
much better for us to remain working where we are, for what would become
of England, if we were to leave her Church ? She would be simply lost to
Catholicism, and won to nationalism. . . . Depend upon it, it is only through
the English Church itself that England can be Catholicised." 18
" The work now going on in England is an earnest and carefully
organised attempt, on the part of a rapidly increasing body of priests and
laymen, to bring our Church and country up to the full standard of Catholic
Faith and practice, and eventually to plead for her union with you [the
Church of Borne]." 17
The object of the Oxford Movement is very truthfully revealed in the
last of these extracts from the Union Review. Corporate Reunion with
the Church of Rome has ever been the great aim of the wire-pullers of
the Oxford Movement. This necessarily involves the death of the
Reformation Movement of the sixteenth century, at least within the
Church of England, and implies that the Reformation was a sin, if not a
crime. Here and there some uninfluential Ritualist is now heard to
declare that he wants nothing of the kind, but it is well to remember,
when we hear such statements, that the movements of an army are not
guided by the views of the rank and file, but by the wills of the com-
manding officprs. The language of this article in the Union Review is
clearly that of a traitor, who remains within the camp of the Church of
England for the sole purpose of doing his best to deprive her of her in-
dependence and liberty, and hand her over to the tyranny of her greatest
enemy. And the strange thing is that this writer's traitorous article
was never repudiated by the leaders of the Ritualistic party. There is
reason to believe that it only too accurately represented their views of
the situation. Before parting with the Union Review, I may be per-
mitted to give two more quotations from subsequent volumes : —
" We have grown wiser than some of our forefathers ; on questions of
doctrine, of ritual, and of religious practice, such for instance as the
Confessional, we are separated but a hair's breadth from Rome ; we no longer
consider ourselves involved in the guilt and peril of idolatry, if, when we
are abroad, we frequent the service of the Mass ; we prefer Notre Dame to
the Little Bethels of French Protestantism, and claim affinity with Home
or the Orientals rather than with Luther or Calvin." 18
" By way of suggesting something practical ourselves, we will in this
16 Union Review, Vol. III., pp. 408, 409.
18 Ibid., p. 410. 17 Ibid., p. 412.
18 Union Review, Volume for 1869, p. 373.
ESSAYS ON REUNION.'
219
paper recommend, as a first and essential preliminary towards the Eeunion
of Christendom, the total abolition of the Thirty-nine Articles." 19
The members of the Association for the Promotion of the Unity of
Christendom were very zealous in furthering the work they had on
hand. The papers of the Association were translated into several
Continental languages, and the members, while travelling abroad,
scattered these papers broadcast throughout Europe. In England its
work was brought before the public chiefly in connection with special
services in churches, on which occasions the Ritual adopted was of the
most advanced type. The cause of the Association was also advocated
through the press by means of letters in Ritualistic and other news-
papers, warmly advocating Reunion with Rome and the East. Nor
was their zeal confined to the periodical press. Two volumes of Sermons
on the Reunion of Christendom were issued by the members, several of
them from the pens of Roman Catholic and Greek clergymen. These
were followed, in 1867, by a remarkable volume of Essays on the Re-
union of Christendom, which, at the time of its publication, attracted a
great deal of public attention. The Association, as such, disclaimed
any official responsibility for the opinions expressed either in the Essays
or in the Sermons, each member of the Association who contributed
to the volumes being held responsible only for his own utterances.
Probably the Essays would not have been so widely read were it not
that the " Introductory Essay " was written by the Rev. Dr. Pusey,
who, as my readers are aware, had for many years been labouring
zealously to promote Corporate Reunion with Rome, and had written
two or three volumes on the subject. In his " Introductory Essay "
Dr. Pusey wrote : —
'"The idea itself, that the Council of Trent might be legitimately ex-
plained, so that it could be received by Anglo-Catholics, and that our
Articles contain nothing which is, in its grammatical sense, adverse to the
Council of Trent, remains untouched and unrepudiated. And this is the
intellectual basis of a future union, when God shall have disposed men's
hearts on both sides to look the difficulties in the face, and the presence
of the common foe, unbelief, shall have driven them together." 20
There are other articles in this collection of Essays on Reunion which
call for attention here. The writers are more outspoken than Dr.
Pusey, on some points, though on all important matters they seem to
agree. Canon Humble, a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church,
who wrote on "The Exigency of Truth," evidently believed in the
doctrine of "Reserve in Communicating Religious Knowledge," for, in
a spirit which I must term Jesuitical, he declared that —
" There are many who are quite willing to admit the Primacy, or even
more, of the Bishop of Rome, who do not therefore see that they are in
19 Union Review, Volume for 1870, p. 289.
20 Essays mi Reunion, p. xxviii,
220
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
anywise bound to proclaim their belief to all the world by immediately
joining the Roman Communion." 21
" Had men listened to the voice of God, in place of giving reins to their
violent tempers, we can scarcely doubt that Rome would have become a
Monarchy by assent of the whole Church."22
" The Primacy of Rome was given to her, certainly not by the Church,
but by the great Head Himself. . . . Rome was allowed to have the
first place under the Patriarchal system, but she had that which no
General Council could either give or take away. She was constituted to
be the strength and support of all other Churches — tlie centre round which
all others should gatlier."23
The marvel is how a man who could write like this did not con-
sistently act upon his principles, and go over to Rome at once. Only
on principles which are commonly termed Jesuitical could he remain
as a Minister of a Church which refuses to acknowledge either the
Primacy or Supremacy of the Pope. What he terms " The Exigency
of Truth " alone compelled him to remain where he was, with a view
to Corporate Reunion with Rome. The Rev. George Nugee, then
Vicar of Wymering, wrote, in these Essays on Reunion, an article
on " A Conference of Theologians," in which he, as a clergyman of the
Church of England, affirmed that "the Supremacy need not be an
abiding hindrance to Reunion."24 If this be so, it follows that the
Protestant Reformation was nothing less than a grave error, and the
sooner it is undone the better. Loyal Churchmen, however, are of a
different opinion. They believe that the Reformation was one of the
greatest blessings God has given to England, and that it would be a sin
and a disgrace to undo its glorious work. Papal Supremacy, in any
shape or form, is an insuperable barrier to Reunion with Rome. There
is nothing good to be obtained by it; but it is certain that we should
obtain much that is evil, and lose our civil and religious liberties.
The Protestantism of England is also, on the other hand, as long as
it remains, an insuperable barrier to the Reunion schemes of these
Romanizers. They realize this fact to the full, and consequently they
do everything in their power to give Protestantism a bad name, as a
preliminary to its final removal. This was very candidly admitted by
the Rev. W. Percival Ward, Rector of Compton Valence^ in his paper
on "The Difficulties of Reunion," which I have already quoted (see
p. 183), but which will bear repetition here : —
" The first great hindrance," he wrote, " that is before us arises from
the Protestantism of England. Till this is removed, the Reunion of our
Church, as the Church of England, with either the Greek, or Latin
Churches, is absolutely luqieless."*
Here we find a strong reason for maintaining, and even increasing,
the Protestantism of the Established Church. So long as it exists
21 Essays on Reunion, p. 9. 22 Ibid., p. 26.
23 Ibid., pp. 27, 28. 24 Ibid., p. 83. 25 Ibid., p. 89.
DOING ROME'S WORK.
221
Eeunion with Borne is "hopeless." It is Protestantism which, by
God's help, has been the cause of England's prosperity, and of that of
all other Protestant countries. While Koman Catholic countries, which
acknowledge Papal Supremacy, are everywhere going down in the
scale of nations, Protestant countries are everywhere growing in pros-
perity, and extending their borders on every hand. The Protestant
nations are at the head of the world, in everything which make nations
truly great and glorious. We have therefore no reason to be ashamed
of the word Protestantism, though we have just cause for being ashamed
of the men in the Church of England who are trying to destroy that
religion which gives them their daily bread. The man who bites the
hand which feeds him is justly held in contempt.
Another of the articles in the Essays on Reunion, which was written
anonymously, very candidly, and in the most brazeu-faced fashion, un-
blushingly boasted that the Ritualists were doing the work of the
Church of Eome within the Church of England. Any honest man of
business would say that if they were doing Rome's work they ought to
receive Rome's pay, and not that of the Church of England. But it is
to be feared that large numbers of Bitualists possess what the Apostle
terms a "conscience seared with a hot iron " (1 Tim. iv. 2) — hardened,
and past feeling. What I have just said may, at first sight, seem to
some of my readers almost incredible, and therefore I give below
the actual words of this Ritualistic writer: —
" The marvel is, that Roman Catholics whatever their views may be,
do not see the wisdom of aiding us to the utmost. Admitting that we
are but a lay body with no pretensions to the name of a Church, we yet,
in our belief (however mistaken) that we are one, are doing for England
that which they cannot do. We are teaching men to believe that God is
to be worshipped under the form of Bread, and they are learning the
lesson from us which they have refused to learn from the Roman teachers,
who have been among us for the last three hundred years. We are teach-
ing men to endure willingly the pain of Confession, which is an intense
trial to the reserved Anglo-Saxon nature, and to believe that a man's ' I
absolve thee ' is the voice of God. How many English Protestants have
Roman priests brought ^> Confession, compared with the Anglican clergy?
Could they have overcome the English dislike to ' mummery ' as we are
overcoming it ? On any hypothesis, we are doing their work." 26
These traitors within the camp knew very well that the Church of
Rome would not care to have the Church of England even as a present,
unless she had first of all repented of her Protestantism, and adopted
Romish doctrines and practices. Consequently their great efforts, for
the time being, centred round the " Catholicising " work described in
the above statement.
" Let us be assured," wrote the Rev. T. W. Mossman, Rector of West
Torrington, "that the Roman and Greek Churches cannot, if they would,
hold out the right hand of fellowship to us, so long as we are uncatholic in
our practice. . . . We see then most clearly, as the conclusion of the
20 Essays on Reunion, p. 180.
222
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
whole matter, that by adopting and promoting really Catholic Ritual
observances, we are, as far as in us lies, promoting in the most eSectual
way possible the accomplishment of Visible Unity and intercommunion
amongst all parts of the Church ; and that by neglecting or opposing
Catholic Ritual we are doing our best, or our worst, to hinder the glorious
consummation of the visible, corporate Reunion of the whole Christian
family." 27
For several years alter the formation of the Association for the Pro-
motion of the Unity of Christendom, Roman Catholics were permitted
to join it. As we have already seen, large numbers of them became
members, and Masses for its object were offered in several Romish
countries. But in April, 1864, the Roman Catholic Bishops in England
seem to have become alarmed as to possible dangers to their people
through being joined together with nou- Romanists in religious work.
They, accordingly, addressed a letter to the Inquisition on the subject,
asking for an authoritative decision on the question. On 16th Sep-
tember, 1864, the Inquisition sent its official reply, signed by Cardinal
Patrizi, to the Bishops, condemning the A. P. U. C, and ordering all
Roman Catholics to withdraw from it. From this document I give the
subjoined extracts : —
"It has been notified to the Apostolic See that some Catholics and
even ecclesiastics, have given their names to a Society established in
London in the year 1857, 'for promoting' (as it is called) 'the Unity of
Christendom ' ; and that several articles have been published in the public
papers signed with the names of Catholics, in approval of this Society, or
supposed to have been written by ecclesiastics in its favour. Now, the
real character and aim of the Society are plain not only from the articles
in the Journal called the Union Review, but from the very prospectus in
which persons dare invited to join it, and are enrolled as members.
Organized and conducted by Protestants,28 it has resulted from a view,
put forth by it in express terms, that the three Christian Communions,
the Roman Catholic, the schismatic Greek, and the Anglican, though
separated and divided one from another, have yet an equal claim to the
title of Catholic. Hence its doors are open to all men whencesoever —
Catholics, schismatic Greeks, or Anglicans — but so that none shall moot
the question of the several points of doctrine in'which they differ, and
each may follow undisturbed the opinions of his own religious pro-
fession. . . .
"The Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office, to whose scrutiny the
matter has been referred as usual, has judged, after mature consideration,
that the faithful should be warned with all care against being led by
heretics to join with them and with schismatics in entering this Associa-
tion. The most Eminent Fathers the Cardinals, placed with myself over
the Sacred Inquisition, entertain, indeed, no doubt that the Bishops of
those parts address themselves already with diligence, according to the
27 Essays on Reunion, pp. 288, 289.
28 Roman Catholic controversialists persist in calling Ritualists " Pro-
testants," though they repudiate the name. I need hardly add that no
true Protestant would ever join a Society to pray for Reunion with Rome.
THE INQUISITION CONDEMNS THE A. P. D. C.
223
charity and learning which distinguish them, to point out the evils which
that Association diffuses, and to repel the dangers it is bringing on.
Yet they would seem wanting to their office, did they not, in a matter of
such moment, further enkindle the said Bishops' pastoral zeal ; this
novelty being all the more perilous as it bears a semblance of religion,
and of being much concerned for the unity of the Christian society.
"The principle on which it rests is one that overthrows the Divine
constitution of the Church. For it is pervaded by the idea that the true
Church of Jesus Christ consists partly of the Roman Church spread abroad
and propagated throughout the world, partly of the Photian schism and
the Anglican heresy, as having equally with the Roman Church, one
Lord, one faith, and one baptism. . . . The Catholic Church offers
prayers to Almighty God, and urges the faithful in Christ to pray, that
all who have left the Holy Roman Church, out of which is no salvation,
may abjure their errors and be brought to the true faith, and the peace of
that Church, nay, that all men may, by God's merciful aid, attain to a
knowledge of the truth. But that the faithful in Christ, and that
ecclesiastics, should pray for Christian unity under the direction of
heretics, and, worse still, according to an intention stained and infected
by heresy in a high degree, can no way be tolerated. . . .
" Hence, no proof is needed that Catholics who join this Society are
giving both to Catholics and non-Catholics an occasion of spiritual ruin :
more especially, because the Society, by holding out a vain expectation of
those three communions, each in its integrity, and keeping each to its
own persuasion, coalescing in one, lead the minds of non-Catholics away
from conversion to the faith, and, by the Journals it publishes, endeavours
to prevent it.
" The most anxious care, then, is to be exercised, that no Catholics
may be deluded, either by appearance of piety or by unsound opinions,
to join or in any way favour the Society in question, or any similar one ;
that they may not be carried away by a delusive yearning for such
new-fangled Christian unity, into a fall from that perfect unity which
by a wonderful gift of Divine Grace stands on the firm foundation of
Peter.
"C. Card. Patrizi.
"Rome, this 16th day of September, 1864." 29
The issuing of this document was, indeed, a terrible blow to the
promoters of the A. P. U. C. It not merely proclaimed war against the
Association, but treated it with unmitigated contempt. Its members
are termed "heretics" ; and the Association is declared to be engaged
in the task of " diffusing evils," and producing " dangers " in the
Church. Its chief " principle " is even said to " overthrow the Divine
constitution of the Church"; and its "intention" is declared to be
" stained and infected with heresy in a high degree." But some of the
Ritualists seem to take a special delight in humbly kissing the Papal
toe which has just kicked them. No fewer than 198 clergymen of the
Church of England, members of the A. P. U. C, answered the docu-
ment issued by the Inquisition of cruel and evil memory, with an
28 I quote from the official Roman Catholic translation, in Synodi
Dioeceseos Suthwarcensis, Londini, 1868, pp. 186-190.
22i
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
address of contemptible humiliation and explanation. The one thing
they seemed to dread was to offend the Pope. Not a thought of the
effect of their traitorous conduct on the Protestants of England ever
seems to have entered their heads. They put their names to their
address, but, no doubt, with the knowledge that none of the public
would ever know who they were. The secret has been kept ever
since. What a storm of indignation would have swept over them, had
their identity been known at the time to the people amongst whom
they ministered ! It will be observed that some of them held high
office in the Church of England, describing themselves as " Deans" and
" Canons." Their address to what they termed " the Sacred Office" of
the Inquisition is not generally known, and therefore I print it in
full : —
" To the Must Eminent and Most Reverend Father in Christ and Lord C.
Cardinal Patrizi, Prefect of the Sacred Office.
" We, the undersigned Deans, Canons, Parish Priests, and other
Priests of the Anglo-Catholic Church, earnestly desiring the visible
reunion, according to the will of our Lord, of the several parts of the
Christian family, have read with great regret your Eminence's letter ' to
all the English Bishops.'
" In that letter, our Society, instituted to promote the Reunion of all
Christendom, is charged with affirming in its prospectus that ' the three
Co viunions, the Roman Catholic, the Eastern, and the Anglican, have
an equal claim to call themselves Catholic'
" On that question our prospectus gave no opinion whatever. What
we said, treated of the question of fact, not of right. We merely affirmed
that the Anglican Church claimed the name of Catholic ; as is abundantly
plain to all, both from the Liturgy and the Articles of Religion.
" Moreover, as to the intention of our Society, that letter asserts our
especial aim to be, ' that the three Communions named, each in its
integrity and each maintaining still its own opinions, may coalesce into
one.'
" Far from us and from our Society be such an aim as this ; from
which must be anticipated, not ecclesiastical unity, but merely a discord
of brethren in personal conflict under one roof. What we beseech
Almighty God to grant, and desire with all our hearts, is simply that
oecumenical intercommunion which existed before the separation of East
and West, founded and consolidated on the profession of one and the
same Catholic faith.
" Moreover, the Society aforesaid should all the less excite your jealousy
that it abstains from action, and simply prays, in the words of Christ our
Lord, ' May there be one Fold and one Shepherd.' This alone finds place
in our hearts' desire, and this is the principle and the yearning we express
to your Eminence with the utmost earnestness, with sincere heart and
voice unfeigned.
" As to the Journal entitled the Union Review, the connection between
it and the Society is purely accidental, and we are, therefore, in no way
pledged to its di< la. In that little work, various writers put forth indeed
their own opinions, but only to the further elucidation of the truth of the
Catholic faith by developing them. That such a mode of contributing
papers should not be in use in Rome, where the controversies of the day
DR. MANNING ON THE REUNION MOVEMENT.
225
are seldom under discussion, is hardly to be wondered at ; but in England,
where almost every question becomes public property, none results in
successful conviction without free discussion.
" To hasten this event, we have now laboured during many years. We
have effected improvements beyond what could be hoped for, where the
faith of the flock, or Divine worship, or clerical discipline, may have been
imperfect ; and, not to be forgetful of others, we have cultivated a
PEELING OP GOODWILL TOWARDS THE VENERABLE CHURCH OP ROME, that
has for a long time caused some to mistrust us.
" We humbly profess ourselves your Eminence's servants, devoted to
Catholic unity." 30
On this document, and the reply given to it by the Inquisition,
Cardinal Manning addressed a pastoral letter to the clergy, entitled the
Reunion of Christendom. In this document, while firmly upholding
the decision of the Inquisition forbidding Roman Catholics to join the
A. P. U. C, Dr. Manning showed how much he rejoiced in his heart at
the work of that Society. Of the address to the Inquisition, by 198
Church of England clergymen, he wrote :—
" We do not regard this as a merely intellectual or natural event. We
gladly recognize in it an influence and an impulse of supernatural grace.
It is a wonderful reaction from the days within living memory when
fidelity to the Church of England was measured by repulsion from the
Church of Rome. It is as" wonderful an evidence of the flow in the stream
which has carried the minds of men onwards for these thirty years nearer
and nearer to the frontiers of the Catholic faith. It is a movement
against the wind and tide of English tradition and of English prejudice;
a supernatural movement like the attraction which drew those who were
once farthest from the Kingdom of Heaven to the side of our Lord. A
change has visibly passed over England. Thirty years ago its attitude
towards the Catholic Church was either intense hostility or stagnant
ignorance. It is not so now."31
At this period Dr. Manning seems to have devoted a great deal of his
attention to the Romeward Movement in the Church of England. He
thankfully acknowledged the services rendered by the Ritualists to the
Church of Rome, and simply laughed to scorn their boast that they
kept their followers from joining the Church of Rome by giving to
them Popery within the Church of England, in order that it might be
unnecessary for them to go to Rome for it. In the course ot his
inaugural address to the Roman Catholic Academia, in 1866, Arch-
bishop Manning entered at considerable length into the effects of
Ritualism on the prosperity of the Church of Rome in England. He
said : —
" In the last thirty years there has sprung up in the Anglican Estab-
lishment an extensive rejection of Protestantism, and a sincere desire and
claim to be Catholic. Ever since the Reformation, indeed, the writers of
30 Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, Vol. II., pp. 279, 280.
31 Ibid., p. 286.
15
220 SKCRET HISTORY OP THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
the Anglican Church have claimed to he Catholic ; but none that I know
disclaimed to be Protestant. They assumed that a Protesting Christian
was ipso facto a primitive Catholic. Not so now. Protestantism is
recognized as a thing intrinsically untenable and irreconcilable with the
Catholic faith. The school of which I speak claim to be Catholic because
they reject Protestantism with all its heterodoxies. In this school are to
be found many Catholic doctrines, not exactly or fully expressed or
believed — for such are not to be found either full or exact outside of the
Catholic Church — but more or less near to truth. For instance, the
Church of England forbids the use of the term Transubstantiation, by
declaring the doctrine to be an error. The doctrine of the Real Presence,
less Transubstantiation, is like the doctrine of one God in three Persons,
less the doctrine of the Trinity. Not only is the term rejected, but the
conception is correspondingly inaccurate. This runs through all the
Catholic doctrines which are professed out of the unity of the Church, and
apart from the traditions of its sacred terminology. It is under this
limitation that I go on to say that at this time the doctrine of the Sacra-
ments, their nature, number, and grace; the intercession and invocation
of saints, the power of the priesthood in sacrifice and absolution, the
excellence and obligations of the religious life, are all held and taught by
clergymen of the Church of England. Add to this, the practice of
Confession, and of works of temporal and spiritual mercy in form and by
rule borrowed from the Catholic Church, are all to be found among those
who are still within the Anglican communion. I must also add the latest
and strangest phenomenon of this movement, the adoption of an elaborate
ritual with its vestments borrowed from the Catholic Church.
" On all these things I trust a blessing may descend. I see in them
many things : First, they are a testimony in favour of the Catholic
Church, which has always unchangeably taught and practised these
things ; secondly, a testimony against the Anglican Reformation, which
has always rejected and cast them out." 32
" Every parish priest happily knows how empty and foolish is the
boast they [Ritualists] make of keeping souls from conversion [to the
Church of Rome], The public facts of every day refute it. They may
keep back the handful who surround them, and hide the truth from their
own hearts, but the steady current of return to the Catholic and Roman
Church throughout the whole of England is no more to be affected by
them than the rising of the tide by the palms of their hands. Against
their will, certainly, and perhaps without their knowledge, they are
sending on numberless souls into the truth which they probably will
never enter. But the number of those [Ritualists] whose good faith is
doubtful is not great. The multitude of those who are drawn by a simple
and natural reverence to clothe what they sincerely believe with a be-
coming ritual, and who worship piously and humbly in Churches which
might almost be mistaken for ours ... is very great, and is perhaps
continually increasing. They are coming up to the very threshold of the
Church. They have learned to look upon it as the centre of Christendom,
from which they sprang, and upon which their own Church is supposed
to rest. They use our devotions, our books, our pictures of piety ; they
are taught to believe the whole Catholic doctrine, and to receive the whole
Council of Trent, not indeed in its own true meaning, but in a meaning
=: £ssays on Religion and Literature, pp. 12, 18. Second series.
THE 3. S. C. ON REUNION.
227
invented by their teachers. This cannot last long. Such teachers are, as
Fuller quaintly and truly says, like unskillful horsemen. They so open
gates as to shut themselves out, but let others through." w
Since the year 1867 the Association ibr the Promotion of the Unity
of Christendom has not come very prominently before the public.
But it has worked in private ever since, in ways with which the
outer world is not generally acquainted. It is advertised in several
of the Ritualistic annuals, and twice a year " Celebrations " for the
"intention" of the Society are offered in English, Scottish, and
Colonial Churches. The Church of Rome no longer gives the Associa-
tion any help ; she only reaps the fruit of its labours.
Amongst the Ritualistic societies which, as a portion only of their
operations, advocate and labour for the Corporate Reunion of the
Church of England with the Church of Rome, is the secret Society
of the Holy Cross. In the year 1867, at the Wolverhampton Church
Congress, this Society issued an Address to Catholics, in which its
deep, heartfelt longings for Reunion with Rome found expression.
" It may well be," says this Address, " nay, it is, a very grievous drawback
to the Church of England that she is not now in visible communion
with the Western Patriarchate." M
By the " Western Patriarchate " is, of course, meant that of the
Church of Rome. I venture to assert that the majority of loyal
Churchmen are quite certain that the absence, (luring the past three
centuries, of "visible communion" with Rome, instead of being "a
very grievous drawback to the Church of England," is, in reality, a
great blessing for which England cannot be too thankful to Almighty
God. It is no "drawback " to either individuals, nations, or Churches,
to be spiritually free from Papal bondage. Should the S. S. C. gain
its objects, then farewell for ever to our religious liberty 1
During the few months immediately preceding the Wolverhampton
Church Congress, of 1867, the authorities of the Society of the Holy
Cross were busily engaged in securing signatures, from both clergy
and laity, to an Address to the Bishops assembled that year, at the
first Lambeth Conference. The Romeward leanings of the Society,
which was described at that time, by a Ritualistic newspaper, as " a
shy and retiring organization,"34 are still more clearly seen in this
Address, which was publicly advertised at the time as emanating
from the S. S. C. The following extract from this document will
be read with disapprobation by all who love the freedom of the Church
of England, and believe that it would be a sin to join the Roman
communion, whether individually or corporately : —
" We are mindful of efforts made in former time by English and foreign
Bishops and theologians to effect, by mutual explanations on either side,
33 Essays on Religion and Literature, p. 14.
M S. S. C. Address to Catholics, p. 13.
:li Church News, August 21st, 1867, p. 372,
228
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
a reconciliation between the Roman and Anglican Communions. And, con-
sidering the intimate and visible union which existed between the
Church of England and the rest of Western Christendom, we earnestly
entreat your lordships seriously to consider the best means of renewing
like endeavours ; and to adopt such measures as may, under the guidance
of God's Holy Spirit, be effectual in removing the barriers which now
divide the Western Branch of the Catholic Church."30
I do not know any expression which more clearly and accurately
describes the work of the Ritualists than that of "removing the
barriers" between the Church of England and the Church of Rome.
Those "barriers" were set up by our Reformers, nearly 350 years ago,
and for good and sufficient reasons. They are as much needed now as
ever, for Rome has not improved, but has rather grown worse, since the
Reformation. It is, therefore, the bounden duty of all who love the
Reformation, whatever may be their ecclesiastical or social position,
however exalted, or however humble, to resist all attempts at removing
them, whether those attempts are made by the secret Society of the
Holy Cross, or by any other Ritualistic society or individual. This
S. S. C. Address to the Lambeth Conference was signed by no fewer
than 1212 clergymen in the Church of England, and by 4453 of the
laity, of whom 1995 were women.07 It will no doubt surprise many of
my readers to learn that so far back as the year 1867 such a large num-
ber of clergymen were found anxious for "a reconciliation between the
Roman and Anglican Communions." If so many could be found then,
is there not good reason for fearing that the number has multiplied
since, and that the dangers to our Church from this Romeward Move-
ment have multiplied also ? A few names only of those who signed
this Address were published in the papers — the great majority of them
are unknown until this day. Amongst others, it was signed bv the
Rev. Dr. Pusey ; the late Canon H. P.'Liddon ; Canon T. T. Carter, of
Clewer ; the Rev. W. Butler, late Dean of Lincoln ; the Rev. F. H.
Murray, then and now Rector of Chislehurst ; the Rev. R. M. Benson,
then head of the Cowley Fathers ; the Hon. and Rev. H. Douglas, now
Vicar of St. Paul's, Worcester ; the Rev. A. Wagner, Vicar of St.
Paul's, Brighton ; Rev. P. G. Medd, now Rector of North Cerney,
Cirencester ; the Rev. G. R. Prynne, Vicar of St. Peter's, Plymouth ;
the Hon. Colin Lindsay, then President of the English Church Union,
and subsequently a seceder to Rome ; and the Hon. C. L. Wood, now
Lord Halifax, and the present President of the English Church Union.
The secrecy which surrounds the work of the Society of the Holy
Cross has prevented me from learning much as to its operations in
furtherance of Reunion with Rome since 1867, but I have heard nothing
which would lead me to suppose that it has withdrawn from the posi-
tion which it then adopted. There can be no doubt that during that
period it has laboured zealously in Romanizing the services of the
36 Church News, September 11th, 1867, p. 426.
37 Ibid., September 25th, 1867, p. 455.
THE S. S. C. ON REUNION.
229
Church of England, and it even went so far as to make the adoption of
" Roman Ritual " the rule for the Brethren to follow. And it has
certainly laboured hard ever since 1867 in teaching Romish doctrine.
The Master of the Society, in his Address to the September, 1876,
Synod, went so far as to declare that " no Brother [of the S. S. C] should
be considered disloyal to the Society who agrees in opinion with the
rest of Western Christendom, except in one article, or its immediate
consequences, which denies that the Brother himself is a Catholic."^
The " one article " here referred to, there can be no question, was that
of Papal Infallibility. A man can therefore agree with every other
doctrine of "the rest of Western Christendom," that is, with the Church
of Rome, without being in any way " disloyal " to the Society of the
Holy Cross. That, no doubt, is the case ; but here the important
question conies in, Is not such a man "disloyal" to the Church of
England 1 At the September, 1878, Synod of the S. S. C. the following
resolution proposed by Brother Lowder, and seconded by Brother
Goldie, was carried nem. con. : — " That this Synod regards with
much interest the attempts to revive the life and action of the
A. P. U. C. [Association for promoting the Unity of Christendom],
and holds that the time is now come for its adopting some more
practical measures for the promotion of the Unity of Christendom,
and in particular that the S. S. C. would desire to co-operate with
the A. P. U. C. in obtaining the sanction of the Catholic Patriarchs
of Western and Eastern Christendom for freedom to English Catholics
to communicate at Catholic altars in foreign countries."39 In the
course of the discussion which took place on this resolution, Brother
Mossman informed the Brethren that the Order of Corporate Reunion
" had arisen out of the yearning of many hearts for visible unity and
communion with the See of Peter. He gave an account of an interview
he had had with Cardinal Manning, to whom he had mentioned four
points which, he believed, would be urged by the Catholic party in
any negotiations with the Holy See. (1) The recognition of Anglican
Orders ; (2) the marriage of priests ; (3) the giving of the chalice to the
laity ; (4) the Liturgy in the vernacular. The answers of his Eminence
had been satisfactory, though he would not commit himself to speak
authoritatively on the matter."40 At this same Synod the Society of
the Holy Cross considered its attitude towards the' Order of Corporate
Reunion, and a Committee was appointed to consider the subject.
Subsequently the Society adopted and published the Report of this
Committee. It was decidedly against the O. C. R. The conclusion
arrived at is contained in the following paragraph : — " We therefore
hold that the assumed jurisdiction of the Order of Corporate Reunion
is without any lawful foundation, that its claims cannot be substanti-
33 The Master's Address. Festival of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,
1876, p. 5.
89 8. S. C. Analysis of Proceedings, September Synod, 1878, pp. 9-11.
40 Ibid., p. 10.
230
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
ated, and that Catholics should therefore be warned against joining the
Association, as involving themselves thereby in the guilt of schism, and
probably of sacrilege." 41
One of the members of the Society of the Holy Cross, the Rev. N. Y.
Birkmyre, Vicar of St. Simon's, Bristol, gave expression, in 1888, to
his wishes for Reunion in a very candid manner indeed. He was
preaching for the Church of England Working Men's Society on that
occasion, and, speaking for himself and the Society, he declared : —
" We must never be content to settle down till the Church of England
can say boldly, not by the mouth of two or three individuals, but by the
mouths of the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church, to the Sister
Churches : — ' See, here use have, cast out from, ourselves Protestantism, we now
every one of us believe and use the Sacraments, and now we say, receive
us again into inter-communion, let us all be one again.' . . . And the
second great danger is the idea of building up a modified, but still practi-
cally a National religion. People say that the Church of Greece and the
Church of Rome teach one thing, and the Church of England something
else, but if the Church of England teaches anything about the Blessed Sacra-
ment different from the others she teaches a lie. No, we must understand
that the teaching is one."42
Another Ritualistic Society, which has made Corporate Reunion with
Rome one of the planks in its platform, is the English Church Union.
In its earlier years this subject was kept somewhat in the background,
and when mentioned in public was generally referred to as " the Cor-
porate Reunion of Christendom," a convenient expression which may
mean more or less according to the intention of the person who uses it.
The attitude of the Union was to a large extent that which it adopted
in its earlier years towards Ritual. Its rules did not fully reveal their
plans to the public. One of the most prominent members of the
Union, the Rev. T. W. Perry, at an ordinary meeting of that Society
on February 16th, 1869, very candidly explained the tactics of the
Union in the following terms : — "It is quite clear," he said, "it would
never do for the President and Council, any more than it would do for
a general and his officers, to explain all their tactics. They must be
as candid as they can, but they must observe such reticence as is
necessary." 43 The English Church Union had been many years in
existence before it became officially pledged to Corporate Reunion with
Rome. Previous to that period its work consisted largely in educating
its followers as to the alleged duty and necessity of such a union. The
subject was frequently discussed at meetings of its branches throughout
the country, and these branches occasionally passed resolutions on the
question, which, while they were not binding on the Central Council,
yet served to show the direction in which the tide was flowing Rome-
41 Statement of the Society ef the Holy Cross Concerning the Order of Cor-
porate Reunion, p. 10. Revised edition.
42 Church Times, August 14th, 1885, p. 623.
43 English Church]Union Monthly Circular, Volume for 1869, p. 99.
DR. PUSEY'S "EIRENICON".
231
ward. To soothe the minds of the more timid of their followers the
Unionists were heard, from time to time, talking against some of the
practical abuses of the Church of Rome, and finding fault with a few of
the doctrines taught in Continental books of devotion. What Bishop
Robert Abbot said of Laud and his followers, might with equal justice
be said of those wily Ritualists who, while denouncing Rome, are
labouring zealously for Reunion with her.
" If they do at any time," said Dr. Abbot, " speak against the Papists,
they do but beat a little about the bush, and that but softly too, for fear
of waking and disquieting the birds that are in it ; they speak nothing but
that wherein one Papist will speak against another, as against equivoca-
tion, and the Pope's temporal authority, and the like ; and perhaps some
of their blasphemous speeches. But in the points of Free Will, Justifica-
tion, Concupiscence being a sin after Baptism, Inherent Righteousness,
and certainty of Salvation ; the Papists beyond the seas can say they are
wholly theirs ; and the Recusants [Romanists] at home make their brags
of them. And in all things they keep themselves so near the brink, that
upon any occasion they may step over to them.""
At the Annual meeting of the English Church Union, June 12th,
1861, the President of the Union, the Hon. Colin Lindsay (who subse-
quently seceded to Rome) congratulated the members that on that
morning they had offered up to the Throne of Heaven their " united
prayers for the Reunion of Christendom." Though he does not
appear to have mentioned it by name, there can be no doubt that he
included Reunion with Rome in that expression.
In 1865 Dr. Pusey startled the ecclesiastical world by the publication
of the first volume of his Eirenicon, the object of which, as the title-
page states, was to prove that the Church of England, as " a portion of
Christ's one Holy Catholic Church," might become "a means of restor-
ing visible unity" to the whole of the Church throughout the world.
A more detailed, and also an accurate summary of its object was that
given by the Union Review, which remarked that :— " The object of the
book is to prove that in all essentials for Unity, the Churches of
England and Rome are one, and that, as a Catholic interpretation can
most readily and truly be given both to the Decrees of Trent and the
Thirty-nine Articles, nothing need hinder their mutual acceptance.
He holds it to be a mistake to suppose that any of the Articles were
levelled against the doctrines of the Roman Communion as set forth by
the Council of Trent, or that the Decrees of Trent were levelled against
anything upheld by the English Church, or that they really maintain
anything which the English Church has condemned.'15 Dr. Pusey con-
siders that those parts of the Roman system which are popularly spoken
of a-s Romanism are but excrescences like the many heresies among
44 Heylin's Life of Laud, p. 42. Dublin, 1719.
45 Those who wish to read an able and conclusive refutation of the posi-
tion adopted by Dr. Pusey, should read Dean Goode's Tract XC. Historically
Refuted. Second Edition, 1866. London : Hatchards,
•232
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
ourselves."46 Ia other words, his attitude towards Rome was very
much like that of Laud and his followers, as described by Bishop
Robert Abbot, in the sermon quoted above. The only differences be-
tween the two are that Dr. Pusey went much further in a Romeward
direction than Laud ever dreamt of, and that he wrote far more gently
of Papal error than Laud would ever have sanctioned. The Roman
Catholic newspaper, the Weekly Register, reviewed the Eirenicon at
considerable length, and this drew from Dr. Pusey himself a letter,
dated November 22nd, 1865, addressed to the Editor of that paper,
in the course of which he made the following remarkable state-
ments : —
" I have long been convinced that there is nothing in the Council of
Trent which could not be explained satisfactorily to us, if it were explained
authoritatively, i.e., by the Roman Church itself, not by individual theo-
logians only. This involves the conviction on my side, that there is
nothing in our Articles which cannot be explained rightly, as not contra-
dicting anything held to be de fide in the Roman Church. ... As it
is of moment, that I should not be misunderstood by my own people, let
me add that I have not intended to express any opinion about a visible
head of the Church. We readily recognise the Primacy of the Bishop of
Rome ; the bearings of that Primacy upon other local Churches, we believe
to be matters ecclesiastical, not of Divine law ; but neither is there anything
in the supremacy in itself to which we should object."
No doubt Dr. Pusey would wish the " Supremacy " of the Pope to be
exercised over the Church of England — in case of Reunion — in the
gentlest possible manner, but to be willing to accept it in any shape or
form, with the lessons of the past for our guidance, is an act which
must be abhorred by every liberty loving Englishman. This country
knows, from bitter experience, what Papal supremacy means. The
lessons of the Martyr fires lit in Mary's reign are not yet forgotten in
Englaud.
Dr. Pusey's book speedily attracted the attention of the English
Church Union. At its next annual meeting a resolution was unani-
mously carried, expressing the rejoicing of the Union at its publication,
together with an earnest hope for the Reunion of Christendom. The
resolution Was proposed by the Rev. W. Gresley, Vice-President of the
Union, in the following terms : —
"That this Union rejoices in the publication of Dr. Pusey's letter (the
Eirenicon) to the author of the Christian Year, and earnestly hopes and
prays that God, in His own time and in His own way, will so dispose the
hearts and mind of His people that the sad divisions which now rend the
seamless robe of Christ may be healed ; and that the whole of Christen-
dom may be re-united into one holy communion and fellowship, to the
glory of our Lord God, and the salvation of the human race." 47
46 Union Review, Volume for 1866, p. 2.
47 JEnglish Church Union Monthly Circular, Volume for 1866, p. 191.
"A GALLICAN ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE WATER." 233
Mr. Gresley, in moving this resolution, informed the members of the
Union that he had brought the subject forward at the request of the
Council. He said that their scheme for Keunion included not only the
Roman and Greek Churches, but the Dissenters also. " It would not,"
he declared, " be a truly Christian scheme which did not embrace them
also" ; but he did not stop to explain that the only condition on which
Dissenters will ever be admitted into the Church of England— by Rit-
ualists— is that of absolute surrender, and that is a condition which
they can never be expected to accept. So that Reunion with Dissenters,
on Ritualistic principles, is quite " out of the range of practical politics."
Individual Dissenters may come over to the Church of England on
this condition, but to expect that any Nonconformist Church will
do so, as a body, is simply the dream of sacerdotal fanatics. The dis-
cussion on Mr. Gresley 's resolution was enlivened by the appearance
of the Rev. Archer Gurney— a member of the Union — who stood
up to propose an amendment. His remarks were received, however,
with hisses and uproar, and constant interruption, and he could only
find three persons to vote for him. Yet he told the Union some
plain and wholesome truths, which it would have done well to lay
to heart. He declared that there were members of the Union (though,
as it turned out, there were only three in the meeting) "who are
not prepared to assent to Reunion with Rome on any basis whatsoever,
constituted as Rome now is, and maintaining the claims she now main-
tains." While Mr. Gurney was speaking Dr. Pusey was present at the
meeting, which had just elected him a Vice-President of the English
Church Union. When, therefore, Mr. Gurney attacked him by name,
he at once roused the anger of the Romanizers. Yet, nothing daunted,
Mr. Gurney went on with his indictment. "I am," he continued,
"heartily persuaded that the Eirenicon — recognizing, as I do, the
purity of motive of the writer — is, nevertheless, most dangerous in its
effects, and, in addition, calculated to deprive us of the truth as it is in
Christ Jesus. . . . These are the principles which I come before you to
uphold this day — the independence of the Catholic Episcopate of any
Pope, of any single Bishop claiming to exercise Universal Primacy and
Supremacy. And he [Dr. Pusey] whom you so much delight to honour
has expressed his conviction that there is nothing objectionable in such
a Supremacy. I hold his own words in my hand, and he has distinctly
said, not only that ' we readily recognize the supremacy 43 of the Bishop
of Rome,' but that ' there is nothing in that Supremacy in itself to
which we should object.' I say, as a Catholic, he is not Catholic who
uses such language as this; . . . and mark this, one of the chief Bishops
of the American Church has told us, that the man whom you delight
to honour is a Gallican on the wrong side of the water." At this point
there was great confusion in the meeting, and angry shouts from the
Romanizers were heard all over the room. When Mr. Gurney sat
down, Dr. Pusey rose to reply to him, and was received with long-
46 The word actually used by Dr. Pusey was "Primacy" not "Supre-
macy."
234 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
continued cheering. As to the question of Papal Supremacy, he said
that he did " not know where it is defined in what Supremacy consists."
" It matters not," he continued, " under whom we live,49 so that by
living under that authority it does not touch our conscience."
At the next annual meeting of the English Church Union, June 19th,
1867, the President announced the formation of a new Society (" The
Catholic Union for Prayer") which had been promoted by the Union,
for the purpose of praying for the whole Church, and more especially
for the restoration of its unity.
" There is," said the President, " one powerful weapon we can all use ;
that is, Prayer. The Council, feeling this so strongly, have promoted the
establishment of a new Union, called the ' Catholic Union for Prayer.'
The object of this Union is to combine all who love God and His Church
in an Holy Confraternity to pray for the Holy Catholic Church, and for
our portion of it in particular. If we all unite in saying the Lord's Prayer
once every day for this great object, we may, relying upon the Divine
promise to grant all petitions offered in Christ's name, look forward with
confidence to the speedy deliverance of the Church of England, and her
Reunion uith East and West. Let us labour hard for this glorious end." 50
A prospectus of this " Catholic Union for Prayer," which I possess,
states that its Warden was Dr. Pueey, the Hon. Colin Lindsay its
secretary, and that fourteen well-known members of the Ritualistic
party — seven clerical and seven lay — constituted its Council. "All
Churchmen," it states, " being communicants of the Catholic Church,
are earnestly invited to join this bond of prayer, thin Holy Confederation
for the Reunion of Christendom" ; and, no doubt with a view to promote
secrecy, it is added that " the names of the Associates shall not be
published." The "Catholic Union for Prayer" is mentioned in every
volume of the monthly magazine of the English Church Union for
several years after its formation, after which I can find no record of its
existence. Probably we shall know more about it when the last volume
of the Life of Dr. Pusey is published.
The subject of the Reunion of Christendom was kept prominently
before the public by the English Church Union, after the publication
of Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon. It was discussed at the meetings of many of
its branches, and occasionally resolutions on the subject were passed.
When the Lambeth Conference met, in 1878, at the annual meeting of
the Union that year, a resolution was carried unanimously, affirming
that the Union viewed the Conference with the deepest interest, " in
the hope that their united counsels may tend to the peace and well-
being of the Church, the reunion of those separated from her fold at
49 Most Churchmen believe that it does matter very much " under whom
they live"; but it is evident that with Dr. Pusey to live under Papal
Supremacy, *' would not touch our [his?] conscience." With loyal Church-
men it would be otherwise.
30 The Liberties of the Church , an Address by the Hon. Colin Lindsay, p.
22. English Church Union Office.
THK E. 0. D. AND REUNION.
235
home, and the restoration of visible communion between the various
Apostolic Churches of Eastern and Western Christendom." n In the
annual report of the President and Council adopted at the same meet-
ing, a paragraph appeared which was almost word for word the same
as the resolution I have just quoted.63
No one can doubt, who has studied the operations of the English
Church Union, that the prime mover in all its Corporate Eeunion work
has been its President, Lord Halifax. He was elected to that office,
April 21st, 1868, on the resignation of the first President, the Hon.
Colin Lindsay. That gentleman, in his letter of resignation, assigned
reasons for ceasing to be President which were only ostensible. He
pleaded his state of health.53 No doubt he was in ill-health at the
time, but that which brought on the crisis was his determination to
secede to the Church of Rome, an event which took place not long after
his resignation. At that time the new President had not been called
to the House of Lords, and was known as the Hon. Charles L. Wood.
Since he became President of the English Church Union his whole
heart and soul have been thrown into the work of healing the breach
that took place between England and Rome in the sixteenth century,
and he has done all that in him lay to assist that "levelling up" pro-
cess within the Church of England which seems to have been thought
necessary, as a preparation for the expected reconciliation. It seems to
have been generally accepted as a principle by the advanced section of
the Ritualists that the Church of England is not in a sufficiently
Catholic condition — at least in practice — to make her respectable
enough to keep company with the truly holy and Catholic Church of
Rome! Hence the necessity for "levelling up." This idea of the
relative position and purity of the Churches of England and Rome
found expression in a letter written by " a Colonial Priest," which
appeared in the Church Review of September 21st, 1888. A brief ex-
tract from this letter I have already given, but it may be well to give
its statements at greater length.
" It seems to me," wrote this Ritualistic priest, " utterly premature to
consider Reunion, especially with the great Patriarchal See of the West
[i.e., with Rome], as within even distant probability, until the Anglican
Communion, as a whole, is Catholicised. There lies our work ; for every
priest and every faithful lay person to live, each in his or her little sphere,
the Catholic life. When as yet the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered daily
in only two hundred churches ; while the Holy Sacrament of Unction is
ignored by every member (so far as I know : I shall be delighted to find
that I am wrong) of the Anglican Episcopate ; while multitudes of laity
never dream of purging their souls of deadly sin by Sacramental Confes-
sion, and multitudes of priests never teach them that such is their
bounden duty; while fasting reception of the Body and Blood of our Lord
is still the exception ; while almost every kind of heresy can be taught
unchecked from our pulpits ; while Bishops can still deny the very ex-
51 Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1878, p. 179. s2 Ibid., p. 154.
53 History of the English Church Union, p. 99.
23G
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
istence of sacrifice or priesthood in the Christian Church ; while it is still
possible for a Bishop to be threatened with legal penalties for celebrating
the Divine Mysteries with bare decency, and for the head of the Anglican
Communion, the successor of St. Augustine and St. Thomas of Canter-
bury, to decline taking proceedings on merely legal grounds ; while these
scandals, and a thousand like them, still daily take place, is it not premature
to think of asking the Apostolic See [Rome] to reconsider its position towards
us, for which it has had only too much justification? And yet English
Catholics, knowing the fearful corruption yet ,lis<jrn-i'jy the English Church,6*
can find it in their hearts to accuse the Latin communion of Mariolatry,
and such like. We, to accuse Continental Catholics of excess of devotion
to blessed Mary, when with us the most holy Mother of God has, at the
best, but a mere grudging honour paid to her, as if every offering of love
at the feet of Mary could be anything but a most real worship of her
Incarnate Son ! Let us cleanse our own house of heresy. Let us get rid of
that Pharisaic self-righteousness which imagines all perfection to be con-
tained within the four corners of the Prayer Book, and despises everything
' un-English.'
" Before any communication with either East or West can be even
thought of, the following reforms [?] must be accomplished : —
" 1. A daily celebration of Mass by every priest to become the rule,
according to the long-standing Western custom.
" 2. The restoration to our Altars generally of the sweet perpetual
presence of Jesu in the most Holy Sacrament.
" 3. The full recognition and use of Extreme Unction.
" 4. Sacramental Confession of mortal sins to be recognised as the
Church's rule.
" 5. Restoration to our formularies of definite and distinct Prayers for
the Faithful Departed, and of Invocations of our Lady and the Saints.
"6. Universal belief throughout our communion in (a) the Real and
Substantial Presence of our Lord, under the form of bread and wine, in
the Sacrament of the Altar ; (b) that in the Mass a true, real and pro-
pitiatory Sacrifice, as well for the living as the departed, is offered to God
the Father, even the Immaculate Lamb ; (c) that there are seven Sacra-
ments of the New Law, though the two ' Sacraments of the Gospel ' are of
pre-eminent dignity and necessity. . . .
" I firmly believe that the day will come when such a Reformation [?]
will have penetrated throughout the length and breadth of the English
Communion, from the Primate of All England to the peasant at the
plough. God has wrought such great things for us during the last fifty
years, that it would be faithless to doubt that, in His own time, every ves-
tige of Protestant heresy will be purged out from us. But the time is not
yet. Therefore let every one, while praying daily for Reunion, remember
that the surest way to accomplish it is by working towards the purification
of our own branch of the Catholic Church."
I do not in any way hold the English Church Union responsible for
this letter of "A Colonial Priest" ; but I do assert that the principles
which he lays down are those which have guided the Union. I am not
64 Not a word does this Ritualistic writer say about the " fearful corrup-
tion " which actually docs exist in the Roman Communion,
THE LEVELLING UP POLICY.
237
aware that it has, like this correspondent of the Church Review, advo-
cated the Invocation of Saints, but it has certainly, by means of the
literature on sale at its central office, advocated the Mass for the living
.and the dead. It now holds a "Requiem Service" for its deceased
members every year. It has, as we have seen, advocated the Confes-
sional, and many of its branches even defended the Society of the Holy
Cross, when attacked for its indecent confessional book, the Priest in
Absolution. This policy of " levelling up," which has made the English
Church Union such a thoroughly " Preparatory School for Rome," was
boldly advocated by the Rev. V. S. S. Coles, now the head of the Pusey
House, Oxford, in a sermon which he preached on "The Place of
E. C. U. Objects in a Churchman's Life." The sermon was printed
verbatim in the Church Union Gazette, for September, 1891.
" We must," said Mr. Coles, speaking for himself and his brethren of
the E. C. U., "pray that we may all recognise the true unity of the great
portions of the Church, Roman, Greek, Anglican, now, through our sins
and those of our fathers, outwardly divided, and that these outward
divisions may pass away in a day of blessed Reunion. Meanwhile, that
the . . . unspeakable mystery of the Altar may be recognised as a
Divine Communion, a true Sacrifice, a Real Presence demanding a special
adoration; that Holy Communion may be rightly prepared for, and to
this end that there may be wider opportunities, and more frequent use
of Private Confession ; that the ancient Catholic rule of Fasting Communion
may be better observed ; . . . that the Anointing of the Sick may be rightly
and dutifully restored ; that all rites and ceremonies which witness to our
union with the rest of the Catholic Church, and to the doctrines which
we hold in common, may be protected and restored. . . . These are the
objects with which our Society is chiefly concerned."
It must be admitted that this is going a long way towards carrying
out the Plan of Campaign laid down by "A Colonial Priest" three
years before, while it is entirely founded on the principles which
guided his very discreditable letter. The English Church Union is
clearly responsible for what Mr. Coles said, since they published his
sermon, without finding any fault with it, in their official organ. And
what made Mr. Coles' statement of E. C. U. policy so gravely important
was, that it represented the policy of a Society which at that time
numbered nearly four thousand clergymen, and twenty-four bishops, in
its ranks.
All through this modern agitation for Corporate Reunion there has
but little been said against the corruptions of the Church of Rome.
Some of the practical abuses found in her fold have been censured, but
it has been in the gentlest possible manner, and with many apologies
to Rome for taking such a liberty ; and it has been carefully explained
that fault has not been found so much with the authorized religion of
Rome, as with that "unauthorized" teaching given by some of her
children, especially on such a subject as the extravagant devotion to
the Virgin Mary. To quote again the words of Bishop Abbot, " If they
do at any time speak against the Papists, they do but beat a little about
238
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
the bush, and that but softly too, for fear of waking and disturbing the
birds that are in it." The "levelling up" process, the work of pre-
paring the way for Eeunion with Rome has nut yet, in the estimation
of Lord Halifax, and some of his brethren on the Council of the
English Church Union, been fully accomplished, even in the most
advanced of Ritualistic Churches. The Ritualistic party no longer
declare that they are satisfied with the Book of Common Prayer.
They wish to add largely to it from Roman sources. For many years
they resisted Revision of the Book of Common Prayer, on Protestant
lines : now, influential members of the party are advocating it on
Romanizing lines. A remarkable volume of Essays was published in
1892, entitled the Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist. Of the eight
gentlemen who contributed to it, seven were members of the English
Church Union, and of these four were members of its Council, including
Lord Halifax, President of the Union. I look upon this volume as,
indirectly, a manifesto of the English Church Union, or at least as an
indicator of what its policy is likely to be, though officially the Union
has not given it its approval. But we can best judge of what the future
policy of a Society will be by ascertaining the views of those who rule
it. The first essay in this volume was from the pen of Lord Halifax
himself. His lordship affirms that some of the " changes in the
Liturgy" made by the Reformers in the sixteenth century were "mis-
taken," and that we should not decline to do our " very best to get
them remedied." 55 In other words, we should pull down a part of the
work of the Reformation. He goes on to affirm that there are "short-
comings " in the English Church ; and that the " arrangements of our
present Liturgy, with the dislocation of the Canon which those
arrangements involve, is a most serious blot on the Eucharistic Service
of the English Church," which "urgently calls for reform."56 In
other words, Lord Halifax is thoroughly dissatisfied with the Prayer
Book, and is determined to go in for its Revision, but, to save appear-
ances, he will not use that word, but expresses what he wants by the
term "reform." The result of seeing services conducted on strictly
Church of England lines, even under High Church auspices, seems to
fill him with disgust. He sighs for what he has seen on the Continent.
" In this connection," writes the President of the English Church
Union, p. 38, " let me say it, though I say it with shame, that of all the
sad and discouraging sights which it is possible to see, none appears to
me so sad and so discouraging as the sight of an English Cathedral, even
the best, after being any time on the Continent. Contrast Westminster
Abbey with the Cathedral at Cologne, or any French Cathedral, and you
will almost wish never to enter it again till a radical change has been
effected in all its arrangements."
Lord Halifax evidently wishes English Cathedrals to be modelled
after the Roman Catholic Cathedrals of the Continent There are,
it is well known, several English Cathedrals where the services are
65 The Lord's Lay and the Holy Eucharist, p. 27. " Ibid., p. 28.
PROPOSAL TO OMIT THE COMMANDMENTS.
conducted on High Church lines, but even of these, Lord Halifax
is ashamed : the sight of them makes his heart sad, and discourages
the Romanizing hopes that fill his breast. We may well ask, had
the Reformers of the sixteenth century been men of the views of
Lord Halifax, would England ever have escaped from the degrading
slavery and cruel intolerance of Papal bondage? We cannot doubt
that ii' those who guide the policy of the English Church Union could
have their own way, the iron heel of the Papacy would once more
crush the independence and liberty of the Reformed Church of England.
In his essay Lord Halifax asks, "Why should not the recitation of
the Commandments be omitted at the choral celebration of Holy
Communion on Sundays, just, as is now often done at early celebrations
of Holy Communion " ? 67 We may well answer this question by
asking him another — What do you want them left out for ? Are the
Commandments of God " grievous " (1 John v. 3) unto you 1 Or is
the reason of your wish to omit them to be found in the manifest
fact that the Second of them forbids the use of pictures and images
in Divine worship? It is, no doubt, most inconvenient for a Ritualistic
priest to read aloud that Second Commandment before the congregation,
when they can see the skirts of his dress touching one of the forbidden
things ? Every lover of the Word of God will— Lord Halifax notwith-
standing— plead that the Commandments of God may remain, whatever
else it may be necessary to remove from the Communion Service.
The fact that the President of the English Church Union pleads
so earnestly for additions to the Communion Service is a clear proof
that he, and his followers, are longing for many things which the
Church nf England, in her wisdom, has thought it best not to provide
for her children. He wants additional Gospels, Epistles, and Collects
to be provided for the Black Letter Days, and for " Services for the
Dead."58 He also "pleads" for the "restoration where it is possible
of the practice of Reserving the Blessed Sacrament in our Churches." 6a
The ostensible reason for restoring the Reserved Sacrament is that
it is then always ready to be given to the sick in cases of emergency ;
but the real reason is for purposes of adoration. The Ritualists do
not plead for the Reservation of the wine ; but only for half a Sacrament
— the consecrated wafer. Why not both ? Loyal Churchmen are
aware that there is no provision in the Book of Common Prayer for
giving the sick the Communion in one kind, according to the modern
Roman Catholic fashion, first made obligatory in the fifteenth century.
The English Communion for the Sick requires the Clergyman to
consecrate both wine and bread in the sick room. Suppose, then,
the Church were to give permission to Reserve the bread, how much
time would the Minister gain by such a permission, were he still to
be required to consecrate the wine in the sick room \ None whatever.
The real reason then why the Reserved Sacrament is so earnestly
longed for is adoration, and this is shown in Lord Halifax's essay,
" The Lord's Day and tlie Holy Eucharist, p. 29.
isIbid., p. 29. "Ibid., p. 35.
240 SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
in which he makes it plain that he is most anxious for the restoration
of the service known as the " Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament,"
which cannot be performed unless a Reserved wafer is kept until
evening for this service.
"It will be said," writes Lord Halifax, " by some that it [the Reserved
Sacrament] will be a step to Benediction and other practices which are
of comparatively modern origin ; by others, that in the imperfectly
instructed condition of our people it might lead to irreverence. Now,
in regard to both these objections may not this be asked — and it is a
remark which, I think, applies to many other matters of a not dissimilar
nature — why should we object to certain practices which have grown
up round the Blessed Sacrament, and which cxpcrioice has proved to be
useful for cncourayincj the devotion of the Faithful?""'
The answer to all this is that the service of the Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament, and the Reservation of the Sacrament, would both
certainly lead to that which the Black Rubric terms " idolatry to be
abhorred of all faithful Christians."
Another contributor to this volume of essays, who is also a member
of the English Church Union, the Rev. E. W. Sergeant, seems anxious
for the entire omission of the Ten Commandments from the Communion
Service. " It is," he writes, " no part of the priest's office in the ritual
of the Eucharist, like another Moses from Mount Sinai, to convey God's
laws to the people." 61 Another supposed defect in the Book of Common
Prayer, which is nothing less than gall and wormwood to the whole
Romanizing party, i3 termed by Mr. Sergeant " one of the most mis-
chievous innovations in our Eucharistic Office." It is that, " whereas
in the rubrics alone of the Ordinary and Canon of the Mass in the
Saruni Missal the word altar occurs thirty times, it does not occur once in
any part o f our Prayer Book." 62 This gentleman is also sorely grieved
because " such marked prominence " is given in the Prayer Book to the
title, " The Lord's Supper " ; and he asks with burning indignation,
" Why change the title 1 Why reject the old and certainly inoffensive
term ' the Mass ' ? " 63
It is, therefore, quite clear that these gentlemen are not satisfied with
the Prayer Book as it is. They are not content, however, with in-
troducing all these Romanizing novelties on their own responsibility,
and without any sanction from the law. What they now want is that
they shall be incorporated into the Book of Common Prayer, and thus
made part and parcel of the law of the Reformed Church of England.
If it is asked, why do Prayer Book Churchmen object to these changes
and additions, the answer is that the result of adopting them would be
a gigantic schism in the Church of England. The Church which for
nearly four centuries, excepting during the brief interval of the
Commonwealth, has stood firmly against all the storms and oppositions
through which it has passed, would at once fall to the ground, rent
60 The Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, p. 35.
81 Ibid., p. 125. C2 Ibid., p. 124. 63 Ibid., p. 121.
ADDRESS TO THE LAMBETH CONFERENCE.
24!
asunder by traitors within her fold. Can statesmen view such a
possibility with pleasure ? A Prayer Book Eomanized on the lines of
the English Church Union could not be accepted by any honest Pro-
testant Churchman, and the whole Protestant power of Protestant
England would be behind those who would then once more fight again,
for dear life, the battle of the Eeformation. Yet nothing less than this
will satisfy the wire-pullers of the Kitualistic party. It is useless to
talk of a possible compromise between the Lord's Supper and the
Sacrifice of the Mass. They are as opposed to each other as light and
darkness, as the Word of God and the corrupt traditions of men. This
preparatory work for Corporate Reunion with Rome must be resisted
by all in whose hearts the memory of the Protestant Martyrs is not
dead ; by all who love civil freedom and religious liberty.
As time went on the English Church Union became more and more
energetic in labouring for Reunion. As I have said, the volume of
essays on The Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, which appeared in
1892, was not issued by the Union, though it certainly does clearly
indicate what its policy is. Going back four years from that date, we
find the Council of the E. C. U. bringing the Reunion Question once
more before the Lambeth Conference, which again met in that year.
At the annual meeting of the Union, June 14th, 1888, an Address to
the Conference was unanimously adopted, which concluded with the
following paragraph : —
" We would conclude with our most earnest prayers that the counsels
of this great gathering of the Episcopate round the chair of St. Augustine
may be so guided and inspired by God the Holy Ghost, as to quicken the
life of the Church of England throughout all its branches, to win back
those who have separated themselves from its fold, and, above all, to pre-
pare the way for the restoration of visible unity between the Anglican Com-
munion and the rest of the Western Church and the Reunion of East and
West, and to hasten the dawn of that blessed day of restored peace and
goodwill among all Christian people, when there shall be One Flock and
One Shepherd."6'1
In moving the adoption of this Address, Lord Halifax said that
Corporate Reunion was "that hope which is nearest and dearest" to
the hearts of the members of the Union, and that they longed for the
time "when the schisms and divisions which divide the West shall
have been healed, when East and West shall be again one, and all shall
be again united in the bonds of a visible unity as in the days of old."
The views of the Council of the E. C. U. were echoed by its branches.
At a meeting of the Cheltenham Branch, December 17th, 1889, the
Chairman, the Rev. G. Bayfield Roberts, who was subsequently selected
to write the official History of the English Church Union, said that —
" Unhappily, as a Protestant, Canon Bell looked to Reunion with
Dissenters, and to an utter and irremediable breach with the Churches
Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1888, pp. 168, 216-220.
16
242 SECKET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
of the East and West. They, as Catholics, looked to Reunion with those
Churches of the East and West which, in their fine ancient Patriarchates,
possessed the historical Episcopate, to Reunion under the Primacy of him to
whom the Fathers gave the Primacy . . . the Bishop of ' old Pome.' Was
this a rash statement? At any rate, it was historically true, and was
substantially the same as that to which Lord Halifax gave utterance at
the Annual Meeting [of the E. C. U.] in London, in 1885 : — ' Peace among
yourselves, peace with our separated brethren at home, the restoration of
visible unity with the members of the Church abroad, East and West alike,
hut, above all, with the great Apostolic See of the West, which has done so
much to guard the true faith in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the reality of His life-giving Sacraments. These things surely should
be our object — the object nearest our hearts' " 65
Lord Halifax's speech, in 1885, in favour of Reunion with Rome,
quoted by Mr. Roberts, led to a correspondence between his lordship
and Canon Hole, now Dean of Rochester, in which the President of the
English Church Union declared that although he did " most earnestly
desire the restoration of visible communion between ourselves and the
members of the Roman Church," yet he did not wish for such a union
" by a sacrifice of the truth, but through the truth." 66 But here of
course comes in the question, What is "the truth" which his lordship
is unable to sacrifice ? I have no doubt that he would be willing to
"sacrifice" a great deal of that which Protestant Churchmen consider
as Scriptural truth. The really practical question is, how much of that
which the Pope considers as the " truth " would Lord Halifax require
him to surrender as the price of Reunion? Would he require him
to give up either his Primacy or Supremacy, or any one of the doctrines
of the Council of Trent ? I very much doubt it. Lord Halifax would
be very glad to " sacrifice " Protestantism, b.ut there is very little, if any-
thing at all, in the official doctrines of Rome which he would wish a
re-united Church to lose. The speech which Mr. Roberts quoted was
referred to by Lord Halifax himself the year after it was delivered. At
the annual meeting of the E. C. U. in 1886, Lord Halifax said : —
" I ventured to say something on this subject at our last annual meeting,
and though fault has been found in some quarters with what I then said,
I have nothing to retract. On the contrary, I desire to emphasize what I
said last year. The crown and completion of the Catholic Revival which
has transformed the Church of England within the last fifty years is the
Reunion of Christendom. We desire union with those from whom we
are separate, not by a sacrifice of truth, but through the truth, and
among our brethren with whom we long to be at one, none come before
those who are in communion with the Roman See. . . . Our own instincts —
nay our own experience as Anglicans — point out the practical need of a
central authority. What has been the history of the South African Church ?
Has it not been on one side a willingness to recognize in the Archbishop
of Canterbury the authority of an Anglican Patriarch ; on the other an
65 Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1890, p. 45.
mlbid., Volume for 1890, p. 50.
DEAN HOOK ON THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE.
•ill!
attempt to claim the fulness of Papal authority for the Privy Council ?
After all, if a central authority is good for the Anglican Communion, a
central authority must be good for the Church at large. . . . Certainly those
who are willing to recognize an appeal from the Archbishop of Canter-
bury to the Judicial Committee need not scruple to an appeal to a Christian
Bishop. IS THERE A SINGLE INSTRUCTED CHRISTIAN WHO WOULD NOT PRE-
FER Leo XIII. to the Privy Council ? "67
The answer to Lord Halifax's question is that there is a very large
number of very well "instructed Christians" who would prefer the
Privy Council to the Pope. There is a great deal of misconception as
to what the functions of the Judicial Committee really are. I suppose
that most High Churchmen will admit that the late High Church and
learned Dean Hook was an " instructed Christian." Yet this is what
he wrote on the subject : —
" I see no objection to the Committee of Privy Council being our Final
Court of Appeal : they do not form a Synod, and here is the mistake so
often made. In an ancient Synod the members were legislators as well
as judges. If they decided that such or such a thing was contrary to
law, they might say, .'The law is a bad one, therefore we will make a new
law.' The Committee of Privy Council does nothing of the kind. I wish
to obey the law. You say that the law says one thing, I say it means
another — and who shall decide ? It is a question, not of opinion, but of
fact; and who can deal with such a subject so well as lawyers? Who
could be worse judges than ecclesiastics, who would endeavour to bend the
law to their opinions ?
" The old High Churchman was wont to say, ' I will do what the
Church orders me to do.' ' I like,' he might say, ' lights upon the altar;
but if you dislike it, let us ask what the law says. To ascertain that fact
I go, not to parsons but to lawyers, who are not to make the law, but to
discuss what it was made by ecclesiastics." 68
It is here most important to point out that Lord Halifax and the
English Church Union are manifestly bent on pulling down the
authority of Her Majesty's Judicial Committee of Privy Council, for
the sole purpose of setting up that of the Pope of Rome in its room.
"Who would not," asks Lord Halifax, "prefer Leo XIII. to the Privy
Council" 1 "There is," he says, " a practical need for a central authority " ;
and such an authority would, he thinks, "be good for the Church at
large" — the authority, of course, being that of the Pope. It may be
well to remind my readers that the Reformers of the sixteenth century
were of a different opinion. It was their glory aud their boast that
they cut themselves off from all communication with such a " central
authority" as the Pope, and inserted in the Reformed Prayer Book the
petition : — " From the Bishop of Rome, and all his detestable enormities,
Good Lord, deliver us." The fact is that there is no existing authority
within the Church of England to which the Ritualists will give their
67 Church Union Gazette, Volume for 1886, p. 242.
lW Life and Letters of Dean Hook, p. 588. Sixth edition.
244
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
full obedience, when its decisions come into conflict with what they, in
their superior wisdom, assert to be the law of the Church. Reasonable
men would say that it is better to have some authority within the
Church of England, however imperfect it may or may not be, than to
have no binding authority at all. It is better to have unsatisfactory
Ecclesiastical Courts than to have no Ecclesiastical Courts at all. It
is better to have the Privy Council as the Final Court of Appeal than
to have no Court of Appeal at all. One result of the labours of the
English Church Union is the spread of Anarchy in the Church. That
well-known Ritualist, the late Rev. A. H. Mackonochie, Vicar of St.
Alban's, Holborn, who was for many years supported by the English
Church Union — of which he was a leading member — in his rebellion
against the decisions of the Courts of Law, gave evidence, on March
2nd, 1882, before the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts.
From the official Report of that Commission I take the following
extracts of Mr. Mackonochie's evidence bearing on the subject before
us : —
"6089. Then is there no Ecclesiastical Court? — Not as far as I can see.
"6090. So that every man can do what is right in his own eyes? — That
is not our fault.
" 6091. Of course not. That is the state of things ?— Yes.
" 6092. Has there never been an Ecclesiastical Court ? — Not since the
Reformation."
"6171. Then why do you think that the Bishops have no authority
now ? — Because they have got bound up in the State Courts."
"6178. But does it not strike you that that is fatal to the. idea of any
society existing, that he must judge entirely for himself? — Yes ; then I
cannot help it."
Anarchy and lawlessness in the Church, a state of things in which
every clergyman does that which is right in his own eyes, and in which
he will submit to no authority which opposes his own opinions, is
certainly one calculated to create alarm. I do not assert that it exists
amongst the whole of the clergy of the Church of England. Far from
it. We may be thankful that there are yet thousands of clergymen
who love law and order ; but, on the other hand, it cannot be denied
that the lawless spirit is very widespread indeed amongst the Roman-
izing clergy. Nor should it be forgotten that the spirit of lawlessness
and anarchy is a contagious disease. It will not stop within the
Church. The people of England will argue that what is good for the
clergy is good also for them. If the Ministers of the Gospel will not
obey the laws of the Church, why should they obey the laws of the
State 1 This is an aspect of the Ritualistic question which is deserving
of the serious attention of statesmen. But the unfortunate thing is
that those in authority in the State, in only too many instances, smile
upon rebellion, give the rebels words of encouragement, and present
them to many of the high places in the Church which are in their
patronage, while those who show respect to law and order are fre-
quently frowned upon, and left out in the cold. The time has come
ROMAN RITUAL ADVOCATED.
245
when the people of England should, through Parliament, bring
the Government for the time being— Conservative and Liberal Govern-
ments are equally guilty — to account. No law-breaker should ever
receive promotion at the hands of the Crown through its accredited
advisers.
I might easily multiply quotations from the utterances of members
of the English Church Union advocating Corporate Keunion with the
Church of Rome, but I should only weary my readers by doing so.
As illustrating the kind of Romish teaching frequently given to the
branches of the Union, I may, however, be permitted to add here the
following extract from a speech delivered at the annual meeting of the
Devon Branch, on July 30th, 1889. On that occasion the Rev. Ernest
Square, then Vicar of St. Mary Steps, Exeter, but now Rector of
Wheatacre, Suffolk, said : —
"He did not know where they were to go for their Ritual if it was not
to the Church of Rome, which seemed to be the living Church, and in
whose Ritual he could see nothing harmful. She was the greatest Church
in Christendom — there could be no doubt about it— and he did not think
they could go to a better pattern than the Church of Rome for their
Ritual. She had kept up her Ritual, which the Church of England had
not done, through all the ages. We had been most slovenly, and with us
it had been a kind of domestic Ritual, no more than they would have in
their own homes or at their own tables — and not so good. The Church
of Rome had always kept her' own Ritual, and, therefore, he did not see
why the English Church should not go to her for help in this matter." Ba
The adoption of the full Roman Ritual has now become very common
in Ritualistic churches ; but some of the party go even further that Mr.
Square, for they teach all the doctrines of Rome which the Ritual is
intended to symbolize. Three years before Mr. Square's Exeter speech,
the Rev. Wiiliam Stathers, Curate of St. Matthias's, Earl's Court, and
now Curate of St. Benet and All Saints', Kentish Town, was dismissed
from his curacy by his Vicar, on the charge of Romanizing. The charge
seemed an extraordinary one, coming from a Vicar who himself
adopted, in the services of his Church, the full Ritual of the Church of
Rome. In self-defence Mr. Stathers, who was then, and still is, a
member of the English Church Union, published a Letter of Explanation
to the members of the congregation, in the form of a pamphlet of
sixteen pages. He pleaded that while Mr. Luke, his Vicar, had given
his congregation the shell, he (Mr. Stathers) had given them the kernel,
and he evidently thought the kernel a much better thing than the
shell. The shell was Roman Ritual; the kernel was Roman doctrine.
"The teaching," wrote Mr. Stathers, "which I have regularly given
from the pulpit of St. Matthias's is in perfect harmony with the Ritual of
that Church. There are only three kinds of Ritual possible in our
churches : — The Ritual of self-pleasing, invented out of the Incumbent's
own head ; the old English Ritual, very elaborate and now lost, but
Western, Tints, July 31st, 1889.
240
SECEET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
which some are fruitlessly trying to bring back ; and the Modern Roman,
very simple, regulated by the Sacred Congregation of Rites at Rome, and pos-
sessing present authority. It is the Latter Ritual, I am happy to say,
which is followed at St. Matthias's, and I am bound to say that while the
accuracy of it would be a lesson to many Roman congregations, they
could never hope to approach its dignity. To many it will not seem sur-
prising that finding St. Matthias's possessed of a particular kind of shell,
I did my best to provide the corresponding kernel, or that finding myself
face to face with a skeleton, I did. my best to clothe it with flesh and make
it instinct with life.
" Some persons may perhaps be of opinion that in preaching the doctrine
of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady I have gone beyond Tridentine
limits, and have thus far been inconsistent. I have never, however, in-
sisted on the doctrine as of necessity for faith, but have simply given the
reasons for it, and have left objectors free to hold the Immaculate Birth
instead. Moreover, the doctrine, though outside the Tridentine defini-
tions, can hardly be said to be outside Prayer Book limits." 70
I am not aware that Mr. Stathers has ever publicly repudiated his
teaching, as expressed in this pamphlet, though he stdl holds a curacy
in the same Diocese of London. In his Protest he further informed his
readers that —
" Mr. Luke having desired to be informed more precisely as to the
exact meaning which I attached to the phrase ' general teaching Tri-
dentine ' [contained in Mr. Stathers' advertisement for a curacy in the
Church Times],71 I explained to him at a private interview, and, if I re-
member rightly, by letter, that I meant the general teaching of the
Western Church, the most satisfactory summary of which teaching, and
at the same time an authoritative summary, is to be found in the Catechism
of the Council of Trent, points having reference to the Papal Supremacy
being excluded by the necessity of the case." 72
I must now hasten on to the time when, on February 14th, 1895,
Lord Halifax delivered at Bristol his now notorious speech on Reunion
with Rome. It was, I may here remark, delivered at a meeting of the
Bristol branch of the E. C. U., and was subsequently printed and cir-
culated by the Council, thus giving to it an official sanction and
approval. It was a very long speech, and its delivery created a great
deal of excitement and controversy in Church of England circles. Its
influence went further and extended to Rome, where the Pope himself
greatly rejoiced at the welcome news which it contained. In this
70 A Protest and Explanation, by the Rev. William Stathers, p. 12.
71 Mr. Stathers' advertisement, which he truly described as " most
unmistakable," was as follows : — " Town Curacy or Sole Charge (in the
South) desired at once, by a priest of considerable experience ; 35, musical,
unmarried, fond of children. Extempore and written sermons. Ritual
(not necessarily advanced) on Roman lines preferred, General teaching Tri-
dentine.—W. S., 85, Marton Road, Middlesbro."— Church Times, December
21st, 1883, p. 959.
72 A Protest and Explanation, p. 3.
"PEACE WITH ROME WITH ALL OUE HEARTS." 247
speech the President of the E. C. U., went further towards Rome than
ever he went before. Even some of his own friends were surprised,
though they did not repudiate his utterances. His lordship laid down
what he considered as reasonable conditions on which Reunion between
England and Rome could take place ; but it was noticed that he did
not require the Church of Rome to give up any one of her peculiar
doctrines, not even the doctrine of the Pope's personal Infallibility, as
taught by the Vatican Council of 1870 ! As to the latter truly monstrous
doctrine all that he seemed to require, to enable English Churchmen
to accept it, was that it should be sugar-coated to suit the English
palate !
" Even in regard to the Vatican Council," said Lord Halifax, " it ap-
pears not impossible that mistakes and exaggerations as to its scope and
consequences may have been made, and that as time goes on explanations
will emerge which may make the difficulties [ought he not to have said
falsehoods ?] it seems to involve less than they have sometimes appeared ?
... If by Papal Infallibility it is only meant that the Pope is Infallible
when acting as the Head of the whole Church, and expressing the mind
of the Church, and after taking all the legitimate and usual means for
ascertaining that mind, in determining which the authority and witness
of the Bishops, as representing their respective Churches, must be para-
mount, and then only in regard to the substance of the deposit handed
down from Christ and His Apostles, it would seem that the difficulty of a
possible agreement is not so insuperable as it has been sometimes repre-
sented. Certainly, it is not such as to preclude all endeavours to find
possible terms of peace on other matters. In any case, till it is proved
to the contrary, let us nourish the hope that such explanations are
possible." 73
But here it may well be asked, would not the acceptance of the Pope's
Infallibility, in any shape or form, or with any "explanation," be in
reality a "sacrifice of the truth"? How could a Union based on such
a falsehood be a Union "through the truth") "Do not let us be
afraid," said Lord Halifax, in his Bristol speech, "to speak plainly of
the possibility, of the desirability of a union with Rome. Let us say
boldly we desire peace with Rome with all our hearts.'"11 Language like
this is very different from that of the old-fashioned High Churchman,
the Rev. John Moultrie, of Rugby : —
" Your Pope may be a learned priest, and a prince of high degree,
But God and Jesus Christ are more infallible than he ;
And I in God, through Jesus Christ, rest all my faith and hope,
And indeed I cannot part with these for Prelate or for Pope.
I still must keep my simple creed, and tread the path I've trod
By the help of my Redeemer — by the guidance of my God." 75
73 Reunion of Christendom. Speech by Lord Halifax, p. 24. (English
Church Union Office.)
74 Ibid., p. 35. 75 Moultrie's Altars, Hearths and Graves, p. 79.
248
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" No peace, but deadly warfare still, between those twain must be,
While the one would bind both heart and mind, and the other sat
them free ;
No peace for Borne and England, but a stern, relentless strife ;
Till Light shall vanquish Darkness, Death be swallowed up of Life." 76
If there is one man of the sixteenth century who, more than any other,
is honoured by Protestants all over the world, it is Martin Luther. But
he was God's instrument for freeing the nations from Papal bondage,
and for this amongst other reasons, he is hated and reviled by modern
Ritualists, who are not worthy to unloose his shoe strings. In his
Bristol speech Lord Halifax went out of his way to insult his honoured
memory by declaring that although he began his career as "a harmless
and necessary Reformer," he eventually became " a needless and noxious
rebel."77 Luther certainly was, very much to his credit be it recorded,
a " rebel " against the usurped Supremacy of the Pope ; but in the
opinion of the majority of the ablest men who have lived since his times,
his rebellion was a very necessary one, and by no means "needless."
It was the only way in which the world could get rid of an intolerable
spiritual slavery. Luther's rebellion against the Pope was obedience
to Almighty God, and therefore it makes us justly indignant to find
such a brave and holy deed stigmatised as a "noxious" crime. It
will, I trust, never come to pass that the children of this great "rebel "
against tyranny and corruption will come to terms of peace with
that system against which he waged an unrelenting warfare, not even
at the invitation of Lord Halifax. "Who," asked his lordship, "can
endure the sense of being separated from those [Roman Catholics]
with whom in all essentials of belief and sentiment we are one?"78
The answer to such a question is that there is no need whatever for
the Ritualists to " endure " such a melaucholy state of things for
even one day longer. Why need they be "separated" any more?
The Papal door is wide open to receive them, and the sooner they
go over the better it will be for the Reformed Church of England.
When traitors are discovered within the citadel zealously pleading
with its rulers to surrender to an enemy whose yoke is too heavy to
bear, the best thing to do is to turn them out of the citadel at
once, if they refuse to go voluntarily. There is no safety for the
citadel while traitors are within its walls. It cannot, I think, be
seriously pleaded that there are any doctrines officially taught by the
Church of Rome to which gentlemen of Lord Halifax:s stamp can have
any conscientious objections. " We are convinced," he says, " on the
one hand that there is nothing whatever in the authoritative docu-
ments of the English Church which, apart from the traditional glosses
of a practical Protestantism, contains anything essentially irreconcilable
with the doctrines of the Church of Rome."7" Certainly, the majority
76 Moultrie's Altars, Hearths and Graves, p. 63.
77 Re union of Christendom. Speech by Lord Halifax, p. 8.
™lbid., p. 18. 7»Ibid., p. 30.
THE HOMILIES ON THE CHUECH OF HOME.
240
of loyal Churchmen think otherwise. They still retain the opinion
that the Thirty-nine Articles contain a great deal which is " irreconcil-
able with the doctrines of the Church of Rome," and that is also the
opinion of Roman Catholic divines, who may be allowed to know what
the real doctrines of their Church are much better than any member
of the English Church Union. One of the " documents of the English
Church " is the Book of Homilies. Every clergyman of the Church of
England has solemnly subscribed to the Thirty-nine Articles. Every
curate must subscribe them, and every new incumbent of a living is
bound to read them through to his new congregation. In one of those
Articles— the 35th — it is declared that the Homilies " contain a godly
and wholesome Doctrine, and necessary for these times," that is, for this
year of our Lord, 1899. We know very well that the clergy are not
bound to accept every historical statement in the Homilies, but they
are bound to the "doctrine" taught in them. I would therefore ask
Lord Halifax whether he can reconcile the following extract from the
" document " known as the Homily of the Peril o f Idolatry, Part Third,
"with the doctrines of the Church of Rome" ] The language is some-
what rough, but, as it is "appointed to be read in Churches," there can
be nothing wrong in reading it in this book of mine.
" Which the idolatrous Church [of Rome] understandeth well enough.
For she being indeed not only an harlot (as the Scripture calleth her),
but also a foul, filthy, old withered harlot (for she is indeed of ancient
years) and understanding her lack of natural and true beauty, and great
loathsomeness which of herself she hath, doth (after the custom of such
harlots) paint herself, and deck and tire herself with gold, pearl, stone,
and all kind of precious jewels,80 that she, shining with the outward
beauty and glory of them, may please the foolish phantasy of fond lovers,
and so entice them to spiritual fornication with her; who, if they saw
her (I will not say naked) but in simple apparel, would abhor her, as the
foulest and filthiest harlot that ever was seen ; according as appeareth by
the description of the garnishing of the great strumpet of all strumpets,
' the mother of whoredom,' set forth by St. John in his Revelation."
Soon after his Bristol speech, Lord Halifax went to Rome, where he
had several interviews with the Pope, with a view to the success of his
Reunion schemes. A verbatim report of his interviews would be
interesting reading. In his speech at Bristol he had not, as I have
said, asked Rome to give up one of her doctrines as a condition of her
Reunion with England, not even the Papal Infallibility. But he did
insist on the Pope's recognition of the validity of Anglican Orders.
There went to Rome, a few months after Lord Halifax, two members
of the English Church Union, whose travelling expenses were paid for
by the Union. One of the party, the Rev. T. A. Lacey, a member of
its Council, and also a member of the secret Society of the Holy Cross,
wrote a document for the private use of the Roman Cardinals, to whom
80 Just like our modern Ritualistic priests, who " deck and tire " them-
selves and their Churches in a similar fashion.
250
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
the question of the validity of Anglican Orders had been remitted for
consideration. Probably Mr. Lacey never dreamt that such a docu-
ment would ever see the light of day in England; but the Tablet got
hold of a copy, and published it in full— translated from the original
Latin— in its issue for November 7th, 1896. In this document Mr.
Lacey made some very candid admissions, and some inaccurate asser-
tions, such as the following : —
"The Reformation," wrote Mr. Lacey, "begun under Henry VIII.,
efiected nothing contrary to Catholic faith. There took place, I admit,
certain things which were criminal, and certain things which are still to
be deplored ; the withdrawal from the Communion of the Roman Church, the
extirpation of the Religious Life."
"The English Church, delivered from so many dangers, has differed in
nothing from the other national Churches included in the Catholic unity,
save that she has lacked communion in Sacris with the Holy See."
" Many have turned their eyes with great desire to the Holy Roman
Church as to the Mother from whom the light of the Gospel was first
shed upon us."
" In the year 1865, he [Dr. Pusey] published his Eirenicon, in which he
dealt with the question of visible unity to be brought about by means of
the Anglican Church. He added much concerning the differences of
worship and doctrine ; that such things did not relate to faith; the discord
between the Anglican and Roman formularies to be more apparent than
real ; the power of the Human Pontiff to be a not insuperable obstacle; and the
like. This letter of so celebrated a man created incredible enthusiasm."
The hopes of Lord Halifax and his followers were doomed to dis-
appointment. Instead of recognizing the validity of Anglican Orders
the Pope issued his now famous Bull declaring them to be, in his
estimation, invalid. This Bull came as an unexpected thunderstorm
in the Ritualistic camp. The Romanizers had flattered, cringed to,
and prostrated themselves before the Church of Rome in a state of
abject humiliation, in the hope that the Pope would do them the
honour of recognizing them as real sacrificing priests. Instead, how-
ever, of being honoured by him, they were treated with the most
unmitigated and well-deserved contempt. Instead of receiving a Papal
blessing, they were spurned from the throne of the Vatican with a
Papal kick. For a time, in bitter rage and dissatisfaction, the Ritualists
turned their faces towards the Eastern Church, and declared that they
would go in for Union with that corrupt communion, and leave Rome
to her fate. A few Churchmen were deceived by these professions, and
declared that the English Church Union would now cease to labour
for Reunion with Rome. But they little realized the depths of spiritual
degradation of which the Ritualists are capable. The tide has already
turned, and once more we see the Ritualists crawling along to kiss the
Papal toe that kicked them only the other day. In his speech at the
annual meeting of the English Church Union, June 1st, 1897, Lord
Halifax bitterly complained that the present dominant authority in the
Church of Rome in England threw " every obstacle in the way of any
step that may be taken towards bringing about a better understanding,
"SET BY PUSEY ON A ROMISH COURSE."
251
and the eventual Corporate Reunion of the Anglican Communion with
the Roman Church." "We have indeed," said his lordship, "honestly
desired — we desire still — to see the relations which existed between St.
Cyprian and the Church of Carthage on the one side, and St. Stephen
and the Roman Church on the other, as insisted on in the Encyclical
Satis Cognitum, restored between Canterbury and Rome." 81
It is a noteworthy fact that while the leaders of the Ritualistic party
have advocated Corporate Reunion with Rome, and have opposed
individual secession, yet the overwhelming majority of individual
perversions to Rome in this country have been from the ranks of the
Tractarians, Puseyites, and Ritualists. The Tractarians prepared the
ground, the Puseyites planted, the Ritualists watered, and the Pope has
reaped the harvest. As far back as 1850 Bishop Samuel Wilberforce
wrote to Dr. Pusey : — " I firmly believe that the influence of your
personal ministry does more than the labours of an open enemy to
wean from the pure faith and simple Ritual of our Church the affections
of many of those amongst her children." 82 To the Rev. C. Marriott, the
Bishop wrote, November 23rd, 1850: — "He (Dr. Pusey) tries to retain
these souls to the Church of England, but in vain. He has given the
impetus, and he cannot stop them. He has no deep horror of the
Popish system ; none has been infused into the early beginnings of
their awakened spiritual consciousness ; they have practically been set by
him on a Romish course." 83 Even Dr. Pusey's Father Confessor, the
Rev. J. Keble, acknowledged that " a larger number, possibly, has
seceded to Rome from under his (Dr. Pusey's) special teaching than
from that of any other individual now among us." 81 It has been more
or less the same with all the Ritualistic teachers. A correspondent of
the Roman Catholic paper called the Ransomer, who was in an excellent
position for obtaining accurate information on the subject, wrote as
follows : —
" But has this development of Ritualism in the Establishment satisfied
souls, won the working classes, or last, but not least, stayed the stream of
secessions to Rome? Not one whit. I have never met a high Anglican who
was contented with the condition of his Church. The vast multitudes of
the poor, and the labouring men and women are more conspicuous than
ever by their absence from the functions of Ritualism. As to conversions
[to Rome] it is well known that nine oat of every dozen are the direct result of
Ritualistic training." 85
In the year after this testimony was written, the Rev. Mr. Whelan,
a Roman Catholic priest, preaching at St. Wilfrid's, York, said : —
" I am bold enough to say here that Rit ualism is one of our consolations,
for I think it to be the Preparatory School for the training of English
Catholics. By Ritualism our great dogmas are taught to thousands who
81 Church Times, June 4th, 1897, p. 668.
83 Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol II., p. 80. 83 Ibid., p. 85.
84 Ibid., p. 95. 86 Ransomer, July 22nd, 1893.
252
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
would not listen to us. In Ritualism we have a powerful solvent for
melting the frost-bound traditions of three centuries. Many, perhaps,
may be hindered from finding the real home of truth, but a larger number
are helped by this approximation in externals, and become obedient chil-
dren of the faith." 86
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, the official organ of the Roman
Catholic priesthood of Ireland, in its issue for July, 1891, published
a remarkable article on " The Conversion of England," written by a
priest residing in Manchester. It says : —
" There are two forces at work regarding the Catholicism of the country.
. . . One is inside the Church, and the other outside it ; one Catholic, the
other Protestant, though Catholicising. The Ritualists, and the Ritualists
alone, are doing all that is being done among Protestants. How many parsons
from Newman to Rivington have been converted by priests ? True, all
have been received by priests. But how many have confessed their obliga-
tions to our sermons or our writings that we Catholic priests were in
any degree answerable for their conversion ? The Catholicising movement
in the Establishment has not been the result of the missionary activity of
the Catholic Church in England. It is true to say that convert priests
receive more converts than others, but that is mainly on account of
personal influence in certain non-Catholic quarters where we have no
access, as well as having a keener grasp of difficulties which we never
feel. Men who pass through the fire themselves are good guides. This
external movement is of vast importance. At this hour five thousand
Church of England clergy inc a arc preach ing from as many Protestant pulpits the
Catholic faith, (not, indeed, as faith) to Catholicising congregations, much
more effectively, with less suspicion and more acceptance than we can ever hope
to do. Protestant sisterhoods are doing, we feel sure, the best they can
under the circumstances to familiarize the Philistine with Nuns — and
that is much. Protestant societies, like St. Margaret's, Westminster,
furnish poor country missions (there are poor country Protestant missions,
and city ones too) with Black Vestments for Requiems on All Souls'.
This is, indeed, a matter for devout thankfulness. We could desire no
better preparation for joining the Catholic Church than the Ritualists' Pre-
paratory School ; and the fact that from them we have secured the majority of
our converts, strengthens us in our view of it." 87
The Month, the organ of the Euglish Jesuits, in its issue for Novem-
ber, 1890, published an article on " The Newest Fashions in Ritualism,"
in which it declared that —
" At any rate the Ritualists are doing a good work, which in the
present state of the country, Catholics cannot do in the same proportion ;
they are preparing the soil and sowing the seed for a rich harvest, tvhich
the Catholic Church will reap sooner or later." 84
86 Catholic Standard, June 23rd, 1894.
87 Irish Ecclesiastical Record, July, 1891, p. 644.
88 The Month, November, 1890, p. 333.
THE DUTY OF SEPARATION.
253
There remains one great question to be considered. Many will ask,
Why should there not be a movement for the Corporate Reunion of the
Church of England with the Church of Rome ? What harm can it do ?
Is not Christian unity a Christian duty ? To this I answer, that
Protestants, in objecting to Reunion with Rome, do not forget that
Christian unity is a Christian duty, but it is to be feared that modern
Ritualists do forget that separation is just as much a Christian duty as
unity. It was by God's command that, in Old Testament times, the
Jews were separated from the Gentile nations. This separation was
considered by Moses as a special result of God's favour, when he ad-
dressed the Lord in these words : — " For wherein shall it be known here
that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight ? Is it not in
that Thou goest with us 1 so shall we be separated, I and Thy people,
from all the people that are upon the face of the earth " (Exodus xxxiii.
16). It would have been a grievous offence against Almighty God,
had the Israelites sought unity with the Gentiles, though it was always
open to the latter to seek unity with the former. And in the Christian
Church this duty of separation is clearly set forth in the New Testa-
ment. How else are we to explain such texts as " Wherefore come out
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing ; and I will receive you" (2 Cor. vi. 17) ; and, "I heard
another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues "
(Rev. xviii. 4)1 It is wisdom for Churches, as well as individuals, to
keep out of bad company. We must be united only with that which
is good, and separate from all that is evil. The written Word of God,
and the traditions of man can never unite together. Protestantism
and Popery must evermore remain separated.
There are many other grave and weighty reasons against Reunion
with Rome, but it would require a volume to exhaust the subject. I
may, however, point out, that from a merely worldly point of view
there are strong and sufficient reasons for trying to defeat the schemes
of the English Church Union and kindred societies. Popery is an enemy
to National Prosperity. Looking abroad throughout the whole world,
we find that Popery degrades the nations, instead of raising them to
a higher level. The Ritualists cannot point to a single Roman Catholic
country which is even on a level with, much less superior to, Protestant
countries. On the contrary, Popery has dragged down Spain from her
proud eminence, to be the most degraded and poverty-stricken nation
in Europe, excepting Turkey. It has kept the South American re-
publics and nations in a state of degradation, immorality, and ignorance
deplorable to behold. Would any Englishman wish this Protestant
country to become what the Papal States were under the temporal rule
of Pope Pius IX. 1 Would English working men wish to exchange
wages with their brethren in any Roman Catholic country in the
world 1 Every part of Ireland is under the same government. Why,
then, is it that the Roman Catholic portions of that unhappy land are
those in which more poverty, dirt, disloyalty, and ignorance are to be
found, than in the Protestant portions ? The answer to this question
254
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
must be that the religion of Popery is at the bottom of this marked
difference. Before we listen with pleasure to the Reunion with Rome
plans of the Ritualists, let us calmly consider the facts, not only of
history, but of the everyday life around us. When we contrast Popish
countries with Protestant lands, can we doubt any longer which religion
most promotes National Prosperity ? Is there any valid reason for sup-
posing that England will become more prosperous if she forsakes her
civil and religious liberties, and goes back to Papal bondage, at the
request of Lord Halifax and the English Church Union? Common
sense can answer these questions in only one way. Protestantism and
National Prosperity go together, like Siamese twins. They cannot be
separated. And let it not be said that this is an argument which
Christians should ignore, for has not the Word of God taught us that
true " Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the
life that now is and of that which is to come " (1 Timothy iv. 8) ?
We also object to Reunion with Rome because we have nothing good
to gain by it. As Protestants we already possess the whole of the
Christian religion, in that we possess the Bible. What more do we
need? Ours is the religion of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, St.
John, St. Peter, St. Paul, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. They taught
nothing but Protestantism, and never taught even one of the peculiar
doctrines of Rome. Open the New Testament, and if you consult
either the Authorized Version or the Roman Catholic version in
English, the result will be the same. You will not discover one
word in either version about the Supremacy of the Pope, or of Papal
Infallibility, of Purgatory, Auricular Confession, the Sacrifice of the
Mass, the Invocation of Saints, Prayers for the Dead, Indulgences,
Holy Water, Holy Scapulars, Holy Wells, Holy Breads, HolyBeads,
or any one of the false doctrines and superstitions of Romanism,
which have now become dear to the hearts of our modern Romanizers.
What will England gain if she takes all these things back again ? She
will gain what we should gain were we to throw away the good gold
sovereigns supplied to us from Her Majesty's Mint, and instead apply
to the makers of bad money for a supply of sovereigns, made from
a slight quantity of real gold, and a large quantity of base metal. To
act like this in worldly matters would be accounted folly ; but is it not
even greater folly to act so in spiritual things ? Yet this is what the
Ritualists are anxious for us to do. And our answer to their solicitations
must be a sterner resolve to allow of no adulteration of the Christian
religion, which, thank God, we possess. Popery is the great adulterator
of the Christian religion. She has nothing to give us that is good for
the souls of men./ What she is anxious to do in Protestant England
is well described in the Bible as "making the Word of God of none
effect through your tradition " (Mark vii. 13) ; and " teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. xv. 9). The question
before us is, Shall Protestant England submit to be fed with the chaff
which comes from the Pope's table, when she is already fed with the
good grain of the Gospel, as contained in the Bible? Our answer
is, that, by God's grace, this thing shall never be. Shame, double
OBJECTIONS TO REUNION WITH ROME.
255
shame, on the Ritualistic traitors who are trying to bring us back to
Papal bondage !
We object further, to the Reunion schemes of the Ritualists because
they are opposed to our National Independence and to our civil and
religious liberties. Should the Ritualists succeed, we should have again
a Roman Catholic King of England, and the unhappy days of James
II. would be repeated. By means of his spiritual weapons, the Pope
of Rome, through the Confessors of the King and his Statesmen, would
rule the British Empire in temporals as well as spirituals. Rome has,
during the past half century, put forth her claims to temporal power
with a haughtiness which was never exceeded by a Hildebrand or an
Innocent III. The throne itself would be at the mercy of the Pope.
I know some of my readers will smile at this, as the utterance of a
visionary and an alarmist. Yet, for all this, Mr. Gladstone's statement
is literally true : — " Rome has refurbished, and paraded anew, every
rusty tool she was fondly thought to have disused."89 The late Rev.
Thomas Francis Knox, of the Brompton Oratory, tells us, in a book
published as recently as 1882, and compiled at the request of Cardinal
Manning, that the following decree, passed at the Fourth Council of
Lateran, is still a " part of the ordinary statute law of the Church " : —
"If a temporal lord, after having been required and admonished
by the Church, shall neglect to cleanse his land from heretical defile-
ment, let him be excommunicated by the Metropolitan and the other
Bishops of the province. And if he shall through contempt fail to give
satisfaction within a year, let this be signified to the Sovereign Pontiff, that
he may thereupon declare his vassals absolved from allegiance to him, and offer
his land for seizure by Catholics that they may, after expelling the heretics,
possess it by an incontestable title and keep it in the purity of the faith." s0
Is it wise to bring about a state of things in which this law may
stand a chance of being enforced ? Is a system which still retains such
a law to be trusted by liberty-loving Englishmen? In a volume of
essays, edited by Cardinal Manning, a similar claim is put forward, in
which we read that —
" To depose Kings and Emperors is as much a right as to excom-
municate individuals and to lay kingdoms under an interdict. These are
no derived or delegated rights ; but are of tne essence of that Royal
authority of Christ with which His Vicegerents on earth are vested." 91
How can National Independence exist when such a law as this is
enforced 1 The real ruler would be, not the nominal sovereign, but a
foreign potentate called the Pope. Mr. Gladstone's assertion on this
m Rome and the Newest Fashions in Religion, by the Right Hon. W. E.
Gladstone.
90 Records of English Catholics, by Thomas Francis Knox, D.D. Vol. II.,
p. xxvii.
91 Essays on Religion and Literature, edited by Archbishop Manning, p.
417. Second series.
256
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
point, supported as it was by abundant proofs, should not be forgotten.
"No one," he wrote, "can now become her [Rome's] convert without
renouncing his moral and mental freedom, and placing hit civil loyalty
and duty at the mercy of another,""1 that is, the Pope. Mr. Gladstone
made this statement in 1874, and has never withdrawn it. But has
Rome improved since Mr. Gladstone wrote? On the contrary, these
disloyal utterances have been re-asserted again and again by her theo-
logians. In the fourth edition of the Catholic Dictionary, published in
1893, with the Imprimatur of Cardinal Vaughan, we are told what is
the opinion on the subject of the Deposing Power now held by Roman
theologians. It is stated that this power is at present fallen "into
abeyance." But that is not the fault of the Pope and his party. It is
the result of the strong arm of Protestantism. Anyhow the statement
of the Catholic Dictionary affords a strong confirmation of Mr. Gladstone's
assertion that " Rome has refurbished and paraded anew every rusty
tool she was fondly thought to have disused."
" The ordinary opinion of Roman theologians maybe seen stated in full in
the pages of Ferraris. ' The common opinion teaches that the Pope holds
the power of both swords, the spiritual and the temporal, which jurisdiction
• Christ Himself committed to Peter and his successors. . . . The contrary
opinion is held to savour of the heretical helicf condemned by Boniface VIII.
in the Constitution Unam Sanctam.' ' According^, unbelieving kings and
princes can be deprived by the sentence of the Pope, in certain cases, of the
dominion which they have over believers ; for instance, if they have
forcibly seized upon Christian countries, or are endeavouring to turn their
believing subjects from the faith, and the like.' Barbosa and other
Canonists hold that ' a King who has become a heretic can be removed from
his Kingdom by the Pope, to whom the right of electing a successor passes,
if his sons and kindred are also heretics.' ' There is nothing strange in
attributing to the Roman Pontiff, as the Vicar of Him Whose is the
earth and the fulness thereof, the world and all that dwell therein, the
fullest authority and power to lay bare, a just cause moving him, not only
the spiritual but also the material sword, and so to transfer sovereignties,
break sceptres, and remove crowns.' The Canonists produce numerous in-
stances where this has been actually done, as when Gregory II. deposed
the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. ; Gregory VII. deposed the Emperor
Henry IV. ; Innocent IV., in the Council of Lyons, deposed the Emperor
Frederick II., &c.
"The celebrated Constitution Unam Sanctam (1303) teaches that 'both
swords, the spiritual and the material, are in the power of the Church,
but the latter is to be wielded for the Church, the former by the Church;
one by the hand of the priest, the other by the hand of Kings and magis-
trates, but at the pleasure and sufferance of the priest. One sword must
be under the other, and the temporal authority must be subject to the
spiritual power.' " 93
The political aspect of the question of Corporate Reunion, set before
us in the above extracts, is one which seems to be almost entirely
92 Rome and the Fewest Fashions in Religion, p. xxiv.
93 Catholic Dietionary, p. 280. Fourth edition.
OUR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
257
ignored ; yet it is one which every patriotic Englishman would do well
to consider. The Church of Rome is not only a religious body, she is
also a political power as well ; and, therefore, her twofold character
must be taken into view. A proposal, which should involve the
bestowal on the Emperor of Russia of the right to depose our Queen
from her throne, would at once be reprobated by all loyal Englishmen.
Why should a proposal, such as that of the Ritualists, which involves
the right of the Pope to depose the Queen, be thought of more highly 1
All true friends of our National Independence will, therefore, opjjose
the Ritualistic plans for Corporate Reunion with Rome.
We are also opposed to Corporate Reunion with Rome because it
would certainly lead to the death of our Religious Liberty. The
" woman drunken with the blood of the saints " (Rev. xvii. 6) has not
lost her cruel nature. She has slain the saints of God with the sword
and fire, and has never repented of her crimes and wickedness. Has
she ever expressed sorrow f:r burning to death our Protestant Martyrs 1
The history of many centuries is red with the blood she has shed. Is
there no feeling of shame left in those Ritualists who plead for
Corporate Reunion with her 1 If Rome had ceased to be what she once
was, we would not bring her past crimes and murders to her remem-
brance. But in this point, alas ! more than in any other, she is indeed
semper cadem. Her persecuting laws are still the same as when in the
Dark Ages her infernal Inquisition performed, unhindered, its blood-
thirsty work. The modern authorities of the Church of Rome still
glory in the intolerant work of their Church in those days. The lead-
ing quarterly journal of that Communion in this country, as recently as
1877, said :—
" It would have been a kind of ingratitude and treachery to Jesus Christ
Himself — we may almost say it would have exhibited the implicit spirit
of apostasy — had the hideousness of sectarianism been permitted [in the
Dark Ages] to sully the fair form of Catholic unity, had heresy been per-
mitted to poison the pure air of Catholic truth. . . . So far is any apology
from being needed for the then existent intolerance of heretics that, on the con-
trary, an apology would be now needed for the Mediaeval Church— and would
indeed not very easily be forthcoming— had she tolerated the neglect of such
intolerance. . . . And we need hardly add — though we will not dwell on
this — that the same principle, which applied to Mediaeval Europe, applies in
its -measure to any contemporary country, such as Spain, in which Catholicity
has still entire possession of the national mind."9J
This is a fair warning, which might well set Ritualistic Reunionists
thinking. It is confirmed by the testimony of a modern Jesuit Pro-
fessor, whom Cardinal Newman termed " a great authority " and "one
of the first theologians of the day," the late Rev. Edmund J. O'Reilly,
S.J., who had been a Professor at Maynooth College, and at St. Bruno's
College, North Wales. Professor O'Reilly declared that —
31 Dublin Review, January, 1877, p. 39.
17
258
SECRET HISTORY OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.
" The principle [of "liberty of conscience"] is one which is not, and
never has been, and never will be, approved by the Church of Christ." 95
Another late Professor of Maynooth College, the Rev. T. Gilmartin,
is equally strong in his denunciations of liberty of conscience.
" The State," he writes, " can punish heresy as an evil in itself and as
an offence against the Church, and the Church can require the assistance of
the State in suppressing heresy, if its interference be deemed necessary for
the good of society." 96
Another contemporary priest, who has been made a Monsignor by the
present Pope (Leo XIII.), argues strongly against allowing "political
Liberty of Conscience " in Eoman Catholic countries. " How," he asks,
" could the Catholic State allow this so-called Liberty of Conscience 1
As well might you ask a person to allow poison to be introduced in
his body. Do you say, what a cruel and bigoted thing for the Catholic
Church and State to put down heresy ? We only ask you to allow the
Catholic State the right no man will deny himself or his neighbour, to
reject poison from his system."97 I need hardly add here that the
State can only " put down heresy " by physical force. Again, this Mon-
signor remarks : " If to-morrow the Spanish Government, as advised by
the Catholic Church, were to see that a greater evil would ensue from
granting religious liberty than from refusing it, then it would have a
■perfect right to refuse it. Of course the Protestant Press would teem with
charges of intolerance ; and we should replv : TOLERATION TO
PROTESTANTS IS INTOLERANCE TO CATHOLICS." 98
Now, the Ritualists know all this very well, just as much as you or I
do ; yet, strange to relate, their dearest ambition is to place English
Churchmen under the rule of this cruel and intolerant Church. Are
they not in this real foes of our religious liberties ? The faithful and
eloquent warning of the late Canon Melville may well be quoted here : —
"Make peace, if you will, with Popery; receive it into your Senate;
shrine it in your churches ; plant it in your hearts. But be ye certain,
as certain as that there is a heaven above you, and a God over you, that
the Popery thus honoured and embraced is the very Popery that was
loathed and degraded by the holiest of your fathers : the same in haughti-
ness, the same in intolerance, which lorded it over Kings, assumed the
prerogative of Deity, crushed human liberty, and slew the Saints of God."
And now, in bringing this volume to a close, I would name one last
and crowning reason against adopting the Reunion Plan of Campaign of
95 The Relations of the Church to Society, by Edmund J. O'Reilly, S.J., pp.
iii., 273. London, 1892.
96 Manual of Church History, by the Rev. T. Gilmartin. Vol. II., p. 228.
Dublin, 1892.
97 Liberty of Conscience, by the Rev. Walter Croke Robinson, p. 22.
London : The Catholic Truth Society.
9SIbid., p. 24.
ROME IS BABYLON THE GREAT.
25!)
the Ritualists. They wish our Church and nation to be joined once
more, in a Coporate capacity, with the Church of Rome. They do not,
as a preliminary condition, require the Church of Rome to purge her-
self of a single one of her false doctrines. They do not seek — though
that would be a vain task — to raise her to the higher level of the
Reformed Church of England ; but they seek to drag down the Church
of England to the level of the Church of Rome. It is an unholy task
which they have undertaken, on which the smile and blessing of Almighty
God cannot be expected to rest. In common with most of the learned
Divines of the Church of England since the Reformation and — as we
have seen — in accordance with the teaching of her Homilies, we object
to Reunion with the Papacy because the Church of Rome is the Babylon
of the Revelation. This has been most clearly and conclusively proved
in that brief, able, unanswered, and unanswerable treatise of the late
Bishop Christopher Wordsworth, of Lincoln, entitled: — Union with
Rome: Is not the Church of Rome the Babylon of the Apocalypse?" I
cannot too urgently press upon my readers the great advantage of read-
ing this shilling book. It was not written by an Evangelical Church-
man, but by one of the old-fashioned High Church School, one whose
great learning is acknowledged by all scholars. He proves that to
expect the Reformation of the Church of Rome is to go contrary to the
spirit of the Revelation. Her hopeless doom is to be " burnt with fire."
She will be Babylon even unto the end.
" Nearly eighteen centuries," writes Bishop Wordsworth, " have passed
away since the Holy Spirit prophesied, by the mouth of St. John, that
this mystery would be revealed in that city which was then the Queen of
the Earth, the City on Seven Hills — the City of Rome.
" The Mystery was then dark, dark as midnight. Man's eye could not
pierce the gloom. The fulfilment of the prophecy seemed improbable —
almost impossible. Age after age rolled away. By degrees the mists
which hung over it became less thick. The clouds began to break. Some
features of the dark Mystery began to appear, dimly at first, then more
clearly, like Mountains at daybreak. Then the form of the Mystery be-
came more and more distinct. The Seven Hills, and the Woman sitting
upon then, became more and more visible. Her voice was heard.
Strange sounds of blasphemy were muttered by her. Then they became
louder and louder. And the golden chalice in her hand, her scarlet attire,
her pearls and jewels were seen glittering in the sun. Kings and Nations
were displayed prostrate at her feet, and drinking her cup. Saints were
slain by her sword, and she exuited over them. And now the prophecy
became clear, clear as noon-day ; and we tremble at the sight, while we
read the inscription, emblazoned in large letters, ' Mystery, Babylon
the Great,' written by the hand of St. John, guided by the Holy Spirit
of God, on the forehead of the Church op Rome." 99
And now we know, in a nutshell, what the Ritualistic Conspiracy
really means. What the future may bring forth God only knows.
99 Wordsworth's Union with Rome, p. 62. Eleventh edition. London:
Longmans, 1893.
2(30
SECEET HISTOEY OF THE OXFOED MOVEMENT.
But what the duty of all loyal Churchmen is, is clear and evident.
We must raise once more the good old war cry, "No Peace with
Rome." While Lord Halifax and his followers would lead us astray
from the good old ways of our forefathers, into open rebellion against
the revealed will of God, let us hearken to God rather than to man.
And His cry to one and all is not to join the Church of Rome, but to
separate ourselves as far as possible from her. The command of God
the Holv Ghost is, "COME OUT OF HER. MY PEOPLE, THAT YE
BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, AND THAT YE RECEIVE
NOT OF HER PLAGUES. FOR HER SINS HAVE REACHED
UNTO HEAVEN, AND GOD HATH REMEMBERED HER INI-
QUITIES " (Rev. xviii. 4, 5).
For the Church of England let our prayer be : —
" God send her swift deliverance from the plagues which vex her now,
God heal the discord in her heart, and chase the trouble from her browl
lAnd when her penal hour hath past, and purged her from her sin,
Restore her prosperous state without, and her peace and joy within.
" God give her wavering clergy back that honest heart and true,
Which once was theirs, ere Popish fraud its spells around them threw ;
Nor let them barter wife and child, bright hearth and happy home,
For the drunken bliss of the strumpet kiss of the Jezebel of Rome.
" And God console all holy hearts, now yearning for the day,
When this black cloud shall pass at length from England's skies away !
God help us all to struggle still, with patience and with might,
Against darkness, lies, and bondage, for Freedom, Truth, and Light!
" And God forgive the fallen ones— by their own weak hearts betrayed,
And convert tho misbeliever, and reclaim the renegade
And God unite the good and true, tho faithful and the wise,
Till the Dayspring come on the night of Rome, and the Sun of Truth
arise " ! 100
•""Moultrie's Altars, Hearths, and Graves, p. 65. Edition, 1854.
APPENDIX.
WHAT THE EITUALISTS TEACH.
I have been requested to give, as an appendix, a series of classified
quotations showing "What the Ritualists Teach" in their published
writings. For this purpose I have taken nothing at second hand. I
have examined the original of every authority cited, and have carefully
examined the context of each quotation. Unlike the quotations in the
body of this book, those given in this appendix are free from any italics
inserted by myself. Where italics occur they are those of the author
cited. It is hoped that this collection of quotations may be useful for
reference, and for this purpose it has been made intentionally lengthy.
THE BIBLE.
" The recollection of these events should suffice to prove the mistake
of supposing that the Sacred Scriptures, without note or comment, in
the hands of all, are a sufficient guide to truth ; the Bible thus used is
not useless only, but dangerous to morality and truth." — Golden Gate,
bv the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Rector of Lew Trenchard, Part I., p. 177.
Edition, 1875.
"Whether a dogmatic creed or belief in the infallibility of a book
[the Bible], furnish the best grounds of religion may be doubted, but
what is certain is, that the former is the toughest, if only because least
easily proved false. A man may believe in God, because he feels that
the world is an enigma without that key, and it is impossible to de-
monstrate the non-existence of a God. But if a man's faith is pinned
to a document, and that document be proved to have flaws in it, away
goes his faith." — Germany Pa.it and Present, by Rev. S. Baring-Gould,
Vol. I., p. 193. Edition'1879.
"The Crucifix should be the first lesson book for their [English
Home Missionaries] disciples, and the Holy Scriptures must never be
put into the hands of unbelievers."— Union Review for 1867, p. 13.
"Gradually it had come to be taken for granted that the Holy
Scriptures were sufficient for our guidance without the Church's teach-
(261)
202
APPENDIX.
ing, and that Christian men were justified in drawing their religious
faith directly if not exclusively from that source. Hence an endless
variety of sects." — Union Review for 1865, p. 148.
" The Church is not the ambassador only, but the plenipotentiary of
God in the world : the credentials of a plenipotentiary may serve to
identify him, and even to map out for him his policy, but his name
implies an authority unlimited by any instructions or credentials ; and
it must be borne in mind that the credentials of an ambassador serve
for his introduction only, not for future use ; and his instructions, if
he has any, are for his own private and secret perusal, not for the
inspection of those with whom he treats. Whether the advocates of
Biblical supremacy as against Church authority are willing to accept
a metaphor which so inadequately suits their purpose is a matter about
which there cannot be much doubt." — Union Reviev) for 1870, p. 298.
" To hear the Church was to hear the Bible in its truest and only
true sense. Was it not an abuse of the Bible to send shiploads of copies
across the seas to convert the nations 1 " — Speech of the Rev. R. Rhodes
Bristow, Vicar of St. Stephen's, Lcwisham, at a meeting of the English
Church Union, January 22nd, 1890. Reported in the Church Union
Gazette, March, 1890, p. '99.
" The Bible is not the sole and only Kule of Faith." — Paper read by
Mr. H. W. Hill, at a meeting of the Chiswick branch of the English
Church Union, February 3rd, 1890. Reported in Church Union Gazette,
May, 1890, p. 153.
"Nor is it any infringement of the reverence due to the Bible, as
God's Word, to declare openly and distinctly that ' Bible Christianity '
is an invention of the Devil, having for its object to obstruct and defeat
God's Word under the hypocritical pretence of love and zeal for His
Word."— Church Review, July 12th, 1862, p. 427.
" The Catholic Church is alwavs in time (as well as in degree) before
the Bible."— Church Review, October 8th, 1864, p. 989.
"A faith appealing to the Bible only can find no firm resting place."
— On the Use and Abuse of the Bible, by the Rev. Thomas Robinson,
M.A., p. 27. London : Church Printing Co.
" The Church did not give us the Bible that we might each take his
own religion from it. We take our religion from the Church, which is
living ; then we prove it, if we will, from the Holy Bible." — St. Andrew,
Worthing, Parish Magazine, December, 1893, p. 3.
" Our Blessed Lord did not intend any written document to be the
basis of the Faith He founded."— Christ Church, Voncaster, Parish
Magazine, March, 1895.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
2bS
THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.
" I would only urge that we should not on this account ignore the
serious character of the actual changes made [in the Liturgy by the
Reformers in the sixteenth century], or decline to do our very best to
get them remedied. The more really secure we feel as to the position
of the English Church, the more willing we should be to acknowledge
its shortcomings." — Lord Halifax, in the Lord's Day and the Holy
Eucharist, p. 27. London, 1892.
" How lias it been possible that Catholics— not ultra-Catholics, but
Catholics teaching the doctrines and observing the ritual of the Uni-
versal Church — have been, and to some extent still are, subject to
suspicion and ill-treatment in a National Church professing to be
Catholic, and acknowledging the authority of 'the Church,' and refer-
ring, as to a standard, to the usages of the Primitive Church ? The
answer, it is feared, to these questions must be, that these troubles have
their origin in the defects of the English Service Book ; in the fact that
our Reformers, with a clear duty marked out, went beyond the line
which the finger of duty marked out, and thus entailed upon the Re-
formed Church a heritage of weakness and indecision." — The Rev. E.
W. Sergeant, in the Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, p. 120.
"Why bring into such marked prominence [in the Communion
Service] the title 'The Lord's Supper,' a name for the Eucharist of
comparatively infrequent use and of doubtful applicability to the actual
rite i . . . Laudable as the motive may have been, the effect has been
disastrous, more disastrous perhaps than any of the other Liturgical
changes, since it has given occasion to ignorant and heretical writers to
represent our 'Communion Service ' as something genetically different
from the ' Mass,' whereas it is nothing less than the same thing in an-
other form." — Ibid., pp. 121, 122.
" What a contrast between the careful instructions and the beautiful
preparatory otlice for the priest provided in all the old English Service
Books, in the Roman and most of the Greek, and the utter absence of
any such provision in the Book ot Common Prayer 1 Not a word about
vesting, or about the reverent and careful preparation of the elements :
not a syllable to correspond to the minute and exhaustive Cautelx
Missce of the old books." — Ibid., p. 122.
"Besides these numerous admissions, our [Communion] Office has,
it must be said, other faults. The chief and most obvious is, that it
sadly obscures the oblation." — Ibid., p. 127.
" Is it possible, with every allowance for their difficult position, to
acquit our Reformers of causing needless offence (to say the very least)
when, not contenting themselves with a liberty which they exercised to
the very verge of licence in the way of expurgation and modification,
264
APPENDIX.
they cut up aud reset with not too skilful hands the splendid mosaic of
the ancient service, so that the very outlines of the old pattern are
barely recognisable?" — Ibid., p. 131.
"Good men cannot understand that we should not be perfectly
satisfied with things as they are, 'apostolic order and evangelic truth,'
according to the favourite formulary, and be willing to fight a tre-
mendous fight for the retention of all the Rubrics, totidem verbis. We
are not to be scandalized, it seems, by such extraordinary directions as
we are almost ashamed to quote, but where is the use of closing our
eyes wilfully to facts? 'And there shall be no celebration of the
Lord's Supper, except there be a sufficient number to communicate with
the Priest, according to his discretion. And if there be not above twenty
persons in the parish of discretion to receive the Communion, there shall
be no Communion, except four, or three at the lead, commv.r.icnte icith the
Priest' There can be no mistaking the meaning of that— the intention.
It was to take away, to extirpate as far as might be, the notion of the
Sacrifice ! And this setting at nought by authority of the primary act
of Catholic worship from the days of the Apostles downwards, is to be
mildly acquiesced in, or even bravely battled for. No, that is asking
rather too much. How can Catholics be supposed to support this ?
How can they hide their light under a bushel, for the sake of conciliat-
ing sound Anglicans who do not believe in the Presence and the Sacri-
fice? Are they not obliged to protest against a rule which is not a dead
letter, but still takes away the Daily Sacrifice from almost all our altars,
which renders the offering at least uncertain in most of our churches,
which strips the country priest of his right to communicate in his village
church, with the whole Church throughout the world, unless three
Protestant clodhoppers happen to be of his way of thinking I . . . Yet
the rule in question is simply odious in itself, and we cannot fight for
its retention in order to gratify moderates. We believe the Blessed
Sacrament to be the daily Food of the priest of God, and by this
obnoxious Rubric he is stripped of his heritage." — Union Review for
1865, pp. 619, 620.
" We venture to say, heresy has been practically triumphant for
three hundred years together, through the Prayer Book. It was
designed to be so, and it has been so." — Ibid., p. 621.
"We cannot allow it to be thought that we are satisfied with the
Prayer Book as it is. It would not be honest not to say that we aim
at nothing short of Catholic Restoration, and as one step to this, at
the excision of these grievous Rubrics, and, a little later, at the modi-
fication of these ambiguous Articles, if they are to be retained at all." —
Ibid., p. 622.
" We cannot and we will not tamely accept the illogical and incom-
plete system which the Reformers have left us in the Prayer Book
as it is. It has been tried for three hundred years and found wanting."
—Ibid,, p. 626.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TKACH.
265
"And when we remember that this essential service [Sacrifice of
Mass] was taken away by the unhappy, the presumptuous Rubrics
we have cited, we lack words to express our sense of moral indignation
at the daring of the men who framed them. But peace be with them !
They knew no better. May God be merciful to their souls ! " — Ibid.,
p. 630.
THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES.
" The half-abrogated Articles ' cracked and strained by three centuries
of evasive ingenuity,1 are rather a trashy foundation for anything." —
Rev. H. H. Ilenson, Vicar of Barking, in Guardian, August 24th, 1892,
p. 1251. .
" Of course, there has been a large party who swear by them [the
Thirty-nine Articles], and the existence of whose forms of belief in
the Church of England is guaranteed by their being retained ; but
it is impossible to deny that they contain statements, or implications
that are verbally false, and others that are very difficult to reconcile
with truth. In the times that are coining over the Church of England,
the question will arise, What service have the articles of the Church
of England ever done t . . . Before union witli Rome can be effected,
the Thirty-nine Articles must be wholly withdrawn." — Gliristian
Remembrancer, No. 131, p. 188.
" By way of suggesting something practical ourselves, we will in this
paper recommend, as a first and essential preliminary towards the
Reunion of Christendom, the total abolition of the Thirty-nine
Articles."— Union Review for 1870, p. 289.
"Some [of the Thirty-nine Articles] contain statements which are
unintelligible ; in the case of others, one is tempted to wish that the
statements were unintelligible or nonsensical in order to escape the
disagreeable impression of their being — well, truly Protestant ; others
contain contradictions, or qualifications which eviscerate or destroy
what has gone before : there are statements of facts which are not
wholly indisputable ; there are trivial points of Christian discipline
or of every-day life, which derogate from the importance and value
of a confession of faith. Meanwhile, with all these defects and
blemishes the Thirty-nine Articles continue to be paraded as the
authoritative standard of Anglican doctrine, and they are imposed
as a heavy yoke upon the consciences of all who would serve in the
ministry of the Church. And we venture to assert that one of the
most imperative reforms in the Church of England is the total abolition
of these Thirty-nine Articles." — Ibid., p. 294.
" We maintain that so long as this Article [Article VI.] remains
among the formularies of the Church of England, so long will there
be an insuperable bar to any union or fusion of the Church of England
with the rest of the Catholic family; The Article distinctly ignores
Tradition, and it positively affirms private judgment." — Ibid., p. 295.
260
APPENDIX.
" Of all the obstacles and hindrances to reunion with Rome, probably
the greatest is that rather unwieldy compilation known as the Thirty-
nine Articles, somewhat facetiously called the 'Forty Stripes save one.'"
—Church Review, November 12th, 1864, p. 1127.
" How strange it seems that in our Prayer Book we should pray
that all Christians ' may agree in the truth of God's Holy Word, and
live in unity and godly love,' when in the very same book — in the
Articles — the Roman Church is charged with 'superstitions' and 'vain
inventions contrary to the Word of God' (see Articles XXII., XXVIII. ,
&c). We need not wonder at such incongruity in 1572 — but how
long 1 " — Olive Leaf, by Rev. W. Wyndham Malet, Vicar of Ardeley.
p. 50.
"Doubtless they [Thirty-nine Articles] are Articles of Peace, and
have always been intended to be construed largely and charitably, so
as to square with ' The Faith once delivered to the Saints ' ; but the
prima facie aspect of more than one of them is nothing less than most
erroneous. To turn at once to perhaps the most obnoxious, the Twenty-
fifth. We are there told, to the horror of that valuable periodical, the
Union Chrttiennes, that the five great Sacramental Ordinances — Con-
firmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, aud Extreme Unction — have
grown ' partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles.' What a singu-
lar assertion, only to be understood in any sense of one out of the five
(Extreme Unction), and in that case surely a very bold and uncalled-for
denunciation of a foreign practice. Then there is the Thirty-first,
which seems to come rery near denying the Eucharistic Sacrifice. . .
The fact is, then, I must conclude that the sooner we are rid of the
Thirty-nine Articles the better. We can, and we must, and'do put a
Catholic interpretation on them as they are, but this is only making
the best of a bad matter." — Letter of the Rev. Archer Gurney, Curate
in Charge of Rhayader, in Church Review, January 3rd, 1863, pp. 9, 10.
" Almost all sincere Reunionists would allow that whatever tem-
porary advantages accrued from the setting forth of the Thirty-nine
Articles three centuries ago, very great permanent disadvantages have
followed from their continued retention in the English Church since.
They have done little good at home and untold mischief abroad. For
there are some Articles which, unless their language is duly weighed
and carefully explained, sound very startling in the ears of foreign
Catholics, whether Greeks or Latins : and do more to render the idea of
corporate Reunion impracticable than anything else. Of late years,
however, so many contradictory explanations of them have been given
— Sharp, and Tomline, Hey, Newman, and Harold Browne, have so
greatly shattered people's belief in them— that at the present time, as
the Christian Remembrancer has more than once declared, they might be
quietly set aside, to the great advantage of religion and morality in the
Church of England."— Church News, August 21st, 1867, p. 367.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
261
EEUNION WITH ROME.
"We have no wish to revile the faith of Roman Catholics, for it is
the same faith as our own ; we have no wish to insult their worship,
for we worship God in the same Eucharist ; and as for those practical
evils which disfigure their faith and worship, we believe that intelligent
Roman Catholics, in their inmost hearts, think much the same about
these things as we do ourselves. The real difference in matters of
faith between a sincere and intelligent Roman Catholic and a Catholic-
minded member of the Church of England is the merest shadow of a
shade. Each refers to Holy Scripture, each refers to the history of
the Church through its eighteen centuries of existence, as the real test
of the truth of its doctrines, and the difference between them cannot
therefore be great. The spirit of schism would lead each to magnify
difference to the greatest possible extent, but the spirit of Christian
faith and love will lead to a different conclusion. Two things we
know for certain, viz., first, that Catholic Unity is a plain Christian
duty ; and, secondly, that there can be no such thing as Catholic Unity
without the Bishop of Rome as the lawful Primate and President of
Christendom. Let us maintain and declare these truths frankly and
fearlessly." — Catholic Unity, by the Rev. Edward Stuart, Perpetual
Curate of St. Mary Magdalene, Minister Square, London, p. 79. Lon-
don, 1867.
"Of course to those whose cry is 'No peace with Rome,' and whose
glory is in the shame of divided Christendom, it [i.e., Corporate Re-
union] is a thing as incredible as hateful, the wish that it may ever be
so is father to the thought ; but to others I would say, do remember
that even now there is union, although unhappily not visible and
corporate. . . . What we have to strive and pray for, is the restora-
tion of the outward, visible, corporate manifestation of that unity. Do,
brethren, consider seriously these things, and be not led away by blind
prejudice, and by that insensate outcry against Rome and Popery." —
Disunion and Reunion, p. 14. A Sermon by the Rev. C. J. Le Geyt,
Incumbent of St. Mathias', Stoke Newington.
" The Council of Trent is not an insurmountable obstacle to Reunion
[with the Church of Rome], but that it may be so explained that we
could receive it." — Dr. Puscy in his Letter addressed to the Editor of John
Bull, and dated December 7th, 1865.
"But they [Anglicans] should know well, and never forget, that for
the English Church Corporate Reunion without Reunion with Rome
is, if not an impossibility, a step not to be desired." — Reunion Magazine,
No. 1, p. 5.
" I still feel, that as matter of doctrine, that is of belief, the difference
between what is held by English Churchmen and what is held by
Roman Catholics, is infinitesimal."— Reminiscences of the Oxford Move-
208
ArPENDIX.
ment, by Rev. T. Mozley, formerly Rector of Plymtree, Vol. EL, p. 386.
Second edition.
" It is most refreshing to find thac the doctrinal differences which
separate the Roman and Anglican Communions disappear when viewed
in the light of unimpassioned inquiry." — Union Review for 1868,
p. 363.
THE POPE'S INFALLIBILITY, PRIMACY AND
SUPREMACY.
" I used to be as opposed to the doctrine of Papal Infallibility as it
was possible for any one to be. Deeper reflection has, however, con-
vinced me that there is really nothing in it to which exception need be
taken. Granting an administrative head of the whole Catholic Church,
granting a Primate of Christendom, by the same right even that the
Archbishops of Canterbury profess to be Primates of the English
Church — namely, ' by Divine Providence,' it is surely only reasonable
to believe that, if this head of the Universal Church were to teach
ex cathedra, or authoritatively, anything pertaining to faith or morals,
to the whole flock of God, of which he is the chief shepherd upon
enrth, he would most surely be guided by the Holy Ghost in such a
way as not to teach Satan's lie instead of the truth of God. This is the
way in which I should feel disposed to understand the Vatican decree.
And so far from seeing anything inconsistent with reason, or history,
or Holy Scripture, or the Catholic Faith, in that decree, thus under-
stood, it appears to me that natural piety itself, and a belief in God's
providential guidance of His Church, would lead us to accept it." —
Rev. Thomas W. Mossman, Rector of Torrington, in Church Review,
November 3rd, 1882, p. 531.
" It is quite true that we do not assume an attitude of independence
towards the Holy See. We frankly acknowledge that, in the Provi-
dence of God, the Roman Pontiff is the first Bishop in the Church, and,
therefore, its visible head on earth. We do not believe that either the
Emperor of Russia or the Queen of England is the head of the Church.
As the Church must have some executive head, and as there is no other
competitor, we believe the Pope to be that head. But he is more to us
than this, for he is our Patriarch as well. So that we admit his claim
to the veneration and loyalty of all baptized men, and in a special
degree of all Western Christians." — Letter of a Bishop of tJie Order of
Corporate Reunion, in Reunion Magazine, No. 2, p. 242.
"We in England look upon the Patriarch of Rome as the First
Bishop, the President of the General Council of the Church of Christ."
— Olive Leaf, by Rev. William Wyndham Malet, Rector of Ardelev,
p. 12.
" England has her holy orders and ordinances of worship from Rome.
She recognizes His Holiness as the chief bishop of all." — Ibid., p. 38.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
2C0
" In the Church of England, likewise, the Bishop of Rome has no
authority. But in the Church of God, a universal spiritual body, all,
of course, belongs to St. Peter's successor, which was originally given
to St. Peter by our Lord. Whatever the Divine donation was origin-
ally, man did not bestow it, and man cannot take it away. Moreover,
the government of the Catholic Church by Bishops, Primates, Metro-
politans, and Patriarchs, with One Visible Head, is so exactly of that
practical nature, that no wholly independent and isolated religious
tody can possibly participate either in its government or in the blessing
of being rightly governed, so long as it remains independent. . . .
The Visible Head of that One Christian Family, as Christendom has
universally allowed, is the Bishop of the See of St. Peter. Unlike all
other Bishops, he has no superior either in rank or jurisdiction. Now,
when any part of a family, by misunderstanding and perverseness,
becomes disobedient to, or out of harmony with, its Visible Head,
weakness and confusion as regards its oneness is certain to supervene."
Order out of Chaos, by Rev. F. G. Lee, Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth,
pp. 60-62.
THE REFORMERS AND THE REFORMATION.
"I have to own that, in spite of the telling illustrations of Mrs.
Trimmer's History of England, I have never yet succeeded in getting up
an atom of affection or respect for the three gentlemen canonized in the
' Martyrs' Memorial ' at Oxford. As Lord Blachford once observed to
me, 'Cranmer burnt well,' and that is all the good I know about him."
— Reminiscences of the Oxford Movement, by Rev. T. Mozley, Rector of
Plymtree, Vol. II., p. 230.
"To protest altogether against the wickedness of the Reformation by
entirely ignoring its pretended claims upon English Christians, the
Monks of Llanthony have set up ' the Shrine of the Perpetual Adora-
tion of the Most Holy Sacrament.'" — Little Manual of Devotions, by
Rev. J. L. Lyne, alias " Father Ignatius," p. 4.
" Don't beat about the bush to try and deceive, to try and make people
believe you [Ritualists] are what you are not. You know you have no
respect for the Reformation ; you know you believe it has wronged our
dear old Church of England ; you know you believe that it was a cruel,
cowardly piece of tyranny of a wicked, murderous despot ; and although
after centuries have painted over and gilded over the diabolical acts of
Henry VIII., yet you cannot point to one single Scriptural or ecclesi-
astical authority that can be quoted for the manner in which the work
was carried out, or the work itself." — The Present Position of the Ritualists,
by "Father Ignatius," p. 25.
"For ourselves we do not scruple to say that we regard the death of
Edward and the accession of Mary as the most fortunate circumstance
for the Church of England." — Union Review for 1871, p. 358.
270
APPENDIX.
" In Germany the Church was utterly rooted out, and a new religion,
called Protestantism, invented by Luther and Calvin and other mal-
contents, was substituted in its place. But in England this was not the
case. The Church remained, but remained in fetters. In character it
was identical with the Church of old, holding the same essential truths,
sacraments, and orders ; but it was infected with Protestantism, which
poisoned its blood, and diseased the whole body, yet without destroying
its vitality. Thank God, the Church of England is rapidly recovering
her health, and though heresy may still linger on in her members, she
has sufficent strength in time to expel every trace of the disease and
recover her ancient vigour. In England the Church was corrupted by
Protestantism." — Golden Gate, bv Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Rector of Lew
Trenchard, Part I., p. 146. Edition, 1875.
"The English Reformation, as carried out, was, from every sound
Churchman's standing-point, an unjustifiable and wicked act — heartily
reprobated and condemned by many." — Reunion Magazine, No. 1, p. 6.
SOME RITUALISTIC "ORNAMENTS OF THE CHURCH."1
An Altar with Super Altar.
An Altar Cross or Crucifix.
A Super-Frontal.
Corporal.
Burse.
Chalice Veil.
A Canister for Wafers. •
A Spoon.
A Perforated Spoon.
A Chalice Cover and Lace for
Veiling the Blessed Sacrament.
Ciborium.
Maniples.
Ampulla.
An Aumbrye.
A Triptych.
Pede Cloth.
Iiouselling Cloth,
Corona.
Rood Screen.
A Scallop Shell.
A Baptismal Shell,
A Water Bucket.
A Baptismal Cruet.
Paintings and Images of Our Lord,
Our Lady, and Saints.
A Portable Altar.
Altar Bread Cutters.
Altar Bread Irons.
Altar Canister.
Two Standard Candlesticks.
Flower Vases.
Processional Candlesticks.
Torches.
Lanthorns.
Cantoral Staves.
Amice (for an Archbishop orBishop).
Alb.
Maniple.
Stole.
Dalmatic.
Girdle.
Tunicle.
Zucchetto.
Biretta.
Chasuble.
Cope.
Grey Amyss.
Buskins.
Sandals.
Subcingulum.
Pectoral Cross.
Tunic.
Mitre.
Crozier.
Gremial.
The Cappa Magna.
The Pall.
1 From the Directorium Anglicanum, pp. 336-341. Fourth edition.
WHAT THE EITUALISTS TEACH.
271
THE REAL PRESENCE.
" Thou, God and Man, art in our midst,
The Altar is Thy Throne ;
"We bow before Thy Mercy Seat,
And Thee, our Maker, own.
My soul, fall prostrate to adore,
In lowliest worship bent ;
Each day I live I love Thee more,
Sweet Sacrament ! Sweet Sacrament ! "
— St. Agathas, Land-port, Sunday Scholars' Book, Appendix, Hymn 474.
"You will go [to the Altar] with this one solemn thought ever
present to your mind, namely, that your body is about to become a
tabernacle for the most sacred Flesh and Blood of Jesus, God Incarnate !"
— The Parish Tracts, by Rev. J. H. Buchanan, First Series, No. X.,
" Confirmation."
"Let every one who hears you speak, or sees you worship, feel quite
sure that the object of your devotion is not an idea or a sentiment, or
a theory, or a make-believe, but a real personal King and Master and
Lord: present at all times everywhere in the omnipresence of His
Divine Nature, present by His own promise, and His own supernatural
power in His Human Nature too upon His Altar-Throne, there to be
worshipped in the Blessed Sacrament as really, and literally, and
actually, as you will necessarily worship Him when you see Him in
His beauty in Heaven." — St. John the Baptist. A Sermon by the Rev.
H. D. Nihill, Vicar of St. Michael's Shoreditch, p. 8.
" Yes, in that piece of consecrated Bread he knew our Lord had
come — had changed that very Bread into His own Body, and that wine
in the chalice into His most precious Blood. Little child as he was, the
Holy Spirit had taught him all the great mystery of that Sacrament,
and when he saw his father kneel to receive what appeared to his eyes
but a piece of bread, he knew his father had really eaten the Body of
His Saviour."— Stories Told to the Choir, No. 2, p. 19. Oxford:
Mowbray, 1874.
" Kenneth understood now, and he would understand more some day,
how that Jesus comes at the bidding of His priest upon the Altar, and
passes Himself into the little Pieces of Bread and into the Wine in the
Chalice, and so is ' verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful
in the Lord's Supper.' " — Ibid., p. 22.
"And then to think that Jesus comes His Own very Self to offer
Himself in Sacrifice to God, and to listen to all our prayers. That's
the sign He's come, when the big bell tolls three, just as the priest says
the words of consecration 'This is my Body — This is my Blood.'" —
Ibid., No. 5, p. 20. '
272
APPENDIX.
" Think of Jesus on the Cross dying for you. Think of His coming
down upon our Altars under the forms of Bread and Wine ! Every
crumb on the paten, every drop in the chalice has now become the
whole Body, Blood, Soul, Spirit, and Divinity of Jesus ! Now is the
time for you to worship Him! " — The Server's Mass Book, by the Rev.
G. P. Grantham, p. 21. London : Masters.
" The following is a beautiful method of manifesting devotion to the
Most Holy Sacrament : — When the Hymn, 1 Hail, Jesus. Hail ! ' is sung,
let the Ceremoniarius, or his Assistant, carry a hand-bell, and as often
as the words, 'Sweet Sacrament we Thee adore,' occur, let him sound
it. The procession will pause, and all, excepting the sacred Ministers,
turning round, will sink humbly on their knees, and adore the Blessed
Sacrament." — Oratory Worship, p. 32. London : Church Press Company,
1869.
" Far worse than any kind of idolatry is the Christian religion, if the
Host on the Altar is not Very God." — The Sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist. A lecture by Rev. J. L. Lyne, alias "Father Ignatius,"
p. 16.
" Other Sacraments contain the Grace of God, but the Holy Eucharist
is God Himself." — Practical Tlioughts for Sisters of Charity, p. 137.
London : Hodges, 1871.
" As surely as the Boy Carpenter was the great Eternal God, so also
surely the Bread and Wine which you have seen and handled, and
received into yourself this day is the great and Eternal God too : the
God who hideih Himself. Adore in silence and in trembling awe." —
Ibid., p. 300.
"Hidden God and Saviour, Have mercy upon us. Most High and
adorable Sacrament, Have mercy upon us. Tremendous and life-
giving Sacrament, Have mercy upon us." — The English Catholic's Vade
Mecii.ru, pp. 71, 72. Third edition.
" As you walk to Church, say : —
" I rise from dreams of time
And an Angel guides my feet,
To the Sacred Altar Throne
Where Jesus' Heart doth beat."
—Private Prayers, edited by the Rev. W. H. Hutchings (now Arch-
deacon of Cleveland), p. 43. Windsor : privately printed.
" Lord Jesus, I have this day received on my tongue, Thv most holy
Flesh and Blood."— Ibid., p. 52.
" Again, as to our conversation. How jealous should Communicants
be over the words that pass through the door of those lips, wetted with
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
273
the Holy Blood, spoken by the tongue that has tasted the Sacred Body
of the Lord." — Instructions on the Holy Eucharist, edited by Canon T. T.
Carter, p. 124. Second Edition. London : Parker.
THE POWER AND DIGNITY OF SACRIFICING PRIESTS.
"They [priests] are peacemakers under Him who carry on this work
for Him, applying the precious Blood to the souls of men by the Sacra-
ments for the remission of sin." — The Evangelist Library : Exposition of
the Beatitudes, edited by the Cowley Fathers, p. 31.
" The priest is permitted to share certain sorrows of Christ in which
the layman has no part." — Ibid., p. 32.
"But those priests who worthily fulfil their office shall be more
specially called the sons of God, because they shall have an especial
likeness to Him, having been made partakers in a chosen way of the
priesthood of His only begotten Son." — Ibid., p. 33.
" You are not, then, to look upon him [the Confessor-Priest] as a
friend only, or a constant sympathizer, but as one who is over you in
the Lord — one who should sometimes reprove, and you to accept it
without feeling as though the rebuke was given by an equal, who may
sometimes encourage you, but rather as a guide than a friend ; one with
whom you are to be on terms of intimacy different to your relation to
all other persons on earth ; with whom you are not to talk as you
would to others, as on an equal footing, but as speaking to one to whom
respect and obedience is due. He is neither to be spoken to nor of, in
any manner approaching to familiarity."— Hints to Penitents, p. 128.
Third edition.
" The priest, as far as his priesthood is concerned, is Christ Himself
the Sovereign and Eternal Priest." — A Brief Answer to Objections Brought
Against Confession, Translated by the Feltham Nuns, p. 23.
" The priest perpetuates Jesus Christ in our midst to endless ages,
that is why we should go to him as Jesus Christ, and to Christ by
him."— Ibid., 21.
" Learn to perceive Almighty God concealed for you in His priests."
— Ibid., p. 23.
" A penitent, prostrate at the feet of the priest, is a man raised, and
elevated, and supremely honourable." — Ibid., p. 24.
"Fear the eye and the voice of the priest." — Ibid., p. 24.
"The priests are, on earth, the spiritual police of Almighty God ;
they must hunt out, track, pursue, and .arraign sinners, as the police
pursue and apprehend thieves and rascals." — Ibid., p. 26.
274
APPENDIX.
" The lay element already too greatly preponderated [in the Church
of England], and no more of it was needed. It was not that he under-
valued the office of the laity, whose high and noble prerogative it was
to listen and obey, but it was for the Ministers of the Church with all
their responsibilities to magnify their office, if so be that others would
intrude upon it." — Extract from a Speech by the Rev. Luke Rivington, at
an Ordinary Meeting of the English Church Union, January 14th, 1868.
English Church Union Monthly Circular for 1868, p. 65.
" They may call me a Papist, and laugh at my Creed,
'Tis the Faith that will save in the hour of need ;
Let them talk, let them laugh, but when death is at hand
The priest is the only true friend in the land."
Hensal-curn-Heck Church Monthly, November, 1895.
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
" Q. Have we not already named another way in which we are to
be mindful of the Departed ?
" A. Yes ; we offer the Holy Sacrifice for them.
" Q. Why so ?
"A. As being propitiatory. The Sacrifice of the Cross was pro-
pitiatory for all, for the Living, and the Faithful departed. The
Sacrifice of the Eucharist, which is one of the Sacrifice of the Cross,
is alike propitiatory for all." — A Catechism on the Church, by Rev. C. S.
Grueber, Vicar of St. James's, Hambridge, p. 158. Edition 1874.
" If you speak about the Mass, do not beat about for some one or
other of the names which mean the same thing, but under cover of
which men are accustomed to allow that is in their idea not the same
thing. Men hate the little word, because they think it means the same
thing that they see done abroad in other portions of the same One Holy
Catholic Church: and is not that, if we believe in One Holy Catholic
Church, precisely the truth that we ought to be labouring in every way
to teach them ? " — St. John the Baptist. A Sermon by the Rev. H. D.
Nam, p. 2.
" An attempt to approach nearer to the Roman Catholics in the
manner of celebrating High Mass would be of immense service to our
Church ; and if we could introduce such a little office as is often seen
at the Brompton Oratory and other places, where the people seem to
have everything their own way, except that a young priest gives out
the hymns, and recites a few Aves and Paternosters, the whole being
followed by a good extempore sermon, and the Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament, we should have little cause to complain of the
inroads of the Methodists."— Union Review for 1868, p. 22.
" The Sacrifices of the Golden Altar and the Earthly Altar are as
much Sacrifices of Praise, of Thanksgiving, of Prayer, and of Propitia-
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
275
tion for Sin, as was the Sacrifice of the Cross." — Union Review for
1866, p. 260.
" Teach men to deny the Sacrifice of the Mass, and they are on the
high road to the denial of all Sacrifice whatever." — Church News,
February 17th, 1869, p. 99.
" It is the glory of the Eucharist that, through the instrumentality
of that Body and Blood which He gave for the life of the world upon
the Cross, and which He still gives to us under the veils of bread and
wine in the Sacrament of the Altar, Jesus Christ perpetuates on our
behalf, here below in the visible sanctuaries of His Church, the
functions of His Eternal Priesthood ; it is our dignity, and the glory
of our consecration as a royal priesthood, that He has entrusted the
offering of the Sacrifice made on Calvary to human agencies, and
that He permits it to depend upon us whether He, the great High
Priest of our profession, shall be allowed to exercise His priestly
functions at our altars or no. By His gracious condescension, the
free will of the Blessed Virgin was permitted to co-operate with God
in determining the time of the Incarnation: by a condescension no
less gracious He leaves Himself in our power in the Eucharist, which
is the extension of the Incarnation." — Eighteenth Annual Report of the
G. B. S., paper by Hon. C. L. Wood, now Lord Halifax, p. x.
■' The Sacrifice of the Altar is one and the same Sacrifice with that
offered on Calvary. It is not a different Sacrifice, nor a repetition :
it is the same." — Golden Gate, by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, Rector
of Lew Trenchard, Part III., p. 163. Edition 1875.
" By virtue of this life-giving Sacrament, have mercy, 0 most kind
Lord Jesus Christ, on the holy universal Church. . . . Give, by this
holy Sacrament, true charity to our enemies and to ourselves, and
to all Thy faithful people succour, help, and consolation ; bestowing
Thy grace upon those still in the flesh, and granting eternal rest to all
the faithful departed." — The Communicant's Manual, by the Bishop of
Lincoln (Dr. King), pp. 55, 57. Sixth edition. London: Mozley
and Smith, 1877.
" The mode in which High Mass should be sung in the Oratory of
the Society of the Holy Cross on Festivals, should be of the highest
type known to Catholic Christendom, by which the Holy Sacrifice
may be offered according to the use of the Church of England. It
should possess every element in ritual, and music, and other accessories,
which the tradition of the Church sanctions. . . . But the founders of
the Oratory would not feel satisfied until they restored to the Church
of England a rendering of the sacred Mass which was fully Mediaeval
in the correctness of its use, and more than Mediaeval in the richness,
costliness, taste, and perfection of its details. Thus we should desiderate
these elements at the least : — The Asperges ; the ' Censing of persons
and things,' or the use of incense in a ritual manner ; the correct
276
APPENDIX.
Introits, Graduals, Offertories, Communions ; Gospel Lights ; Consecra-
tion Lights on the Altar and Consecration Candles in front of the Altar,
in addition to the Six Altar Candles and two Sacramental Lighte ; the
use of the Altar Bell; the Lavabo; and, of course, the Eucharistic
Vestments, for Celebrant, Ministers, Servers, and Acolytes." — The
Four Curdinal Virtues, by the Eev. Orby Shipley, pp. 246, 247.
London : Longmans, 1871.
"And under the Christian covenant of grace, and in the Church
which is the Body of Christ, the Christian Priest may daily stand
before the altar offering up the great commemorative Sacrifice of
Christ, for his own sins, and for the sins of the people. . . . Daily,
therefore, in the 'Church's Prayer Meeting 'held when the Celebrant,
representing the congregation, and assisted by, and in union with them,
makes effectual intercession for the people, pleading the tremendous
Sacrifice for sin before God, and standing, like Aaron, between the
living and the dead, to make atonement for them." — St. Philip's,
Sydenham, Church Magazine, March, 1896, p. 1.
" So then, be sure, whatever else you do, that you go to Mass on this
great day. A Christian child who is able to go to Mass on Christmas
Day, and who does not go is not good. He does not deserve to have
any Christmas treats, and he ought not to enjoy them if he has them." —
Hosanna : A Mass Book for Children, with Preface by the Rev. R. A. J.
Suckling, Vicar of St. Alban's, Holborn, p. 44. London : W. Knott,
1891.
" And Thurifer first, with his censer bright,
And then Sub-deacon- the cross who bears,
Lifted on high
That all may descry ;
And on either side is an Acolyte,
With other Clerics together in pairs,
Walking to West and back to East,
With vested Deacon and vested Priest,
All of them bearing the taper Light.
" Then to the Altar returned, they say
The Holy Mass ; and the people all
Hold up their lighted tapers high,
While Gospel and blessed Canon are sung,
And Gloria shouted by every tongue,
— God grant that all
Who on Jesus call
May one day mingle that throng among,
Who ever shall keep in the yonder sky,
With happy rapture and bliss for aye,
The gladness and joy of a Candlemas day ! "
— The Mysteries of Holy Church, by the Rev. G. P. Grantham, p. 99.
London : Masters.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
277
" Father, gentle, full of love,
Hear us while we humbly pray !
Look Thou from Thy throne above
Ou the Sacrifice to-day,
"Which at Christ, our Lord's command
"We, redeemed from sin's control,
Offer for our Church and land,
And for every faithful soul.
" Mindful of Our Lady dear,
Saints and all the ransomed quire,
Who in rest for ever blest
Serve thee with love'e fond desire.
" Hear this prayer ; and by the power
Of this holy Sacrifice
Grant us grace to see Thy face
In the halls of Paradise ! "
—Ibid., pp. xviii., xix.
" rp HE CATHOLIC FAITH IN DONCASTER, AT LAST. Oh
1 dear! We want such a lot of things for our poor District
Church (St. John's) : Vestments, Cope, Processional Crucifix, Taber-
nacle (for use), Sanctus Bells, Pictures, and Everything. The thorough
cleaning of the Church (first time for thirty years) is exhausting our
means. Do send something, Please. — Address, Priest-in-charge, 2,
Pavilion-street, Doncaster."
""I AA LITTLE MARYS WANTED. — Is your name Mary?
_Lv_/ \_) Then do send me a shilling, there's a dear child, towards
a shrine for Our Lady in our poor Church of St. John. Tell me your
little troubles and I will remember you at Mass. — Address, Priest-in-
charge, 2, Pavilion-street, Doncaster." — Advertisements in the Church
Review, June 14th, 1894.
" The Mass is not one sacrifice and Calvary another. It is the same
Sacrifice." — ^! Book for the Children of God! p. 119. London: W.
Knott, 1891.
" The one Sacrifice for sin for ever, the same at the altar and at the
Cross, the ' Eucharistic Sacrifice,' or ' Sacrifice of the Mass.' " — The
Eights of the English Churchmen, a Sermon preached before the "Church
of England Working Men's Society," by Rev. H. D. Nihill, p. 21.
•Published by the Society.
278
APPENDIX.
THE CEREMONIES OF LOW MASS.
" In celebrating Mass some portions have to be said secretly, so that
the Celebrant hears himself, but is not heard by others." — Ceremonial
Guide to Low Mass,1 by two Clergymen of the Church of England, p. 5.
"There are three occasions only when the elbows are placed on the
Altar — (1) At the consecration of the Host. (2) At the consecration of
the Chalice. (3) While receiving the Host."— Ibid,, p. 7.
" The head is bowed towards the Book whenever the names occur of
the Blessed Virgin Marv, or of the Saint of whom the Mass is said." —
Ibid., p. 18.
" The Hands [of the Consecrating priest] are to be joined palm to
palm ; and before the Consecration the fingers are to be extended one
opposite the other, and the right thumb placed over the left in the form
of a cross."— Ibid., p. 27.
" As is remarked by St. Liguori, it is a mistake, on making a genu-
flection, to raise the tips of the fingers upwards." — Ibid., p. 30.
" On saying ' The holy Gospel is written,' the Celebrant separates
his hands, and placing the left upon the Book, he makes a small Sign
of the Cross with the tip of the thumb of the right hand on the Book,
in the place of the opening words of the Gospel that is to be read.
Then, placing his left hand on the lower part of his breast, he makes
similar Signs of the Cross with the right thumb on his forehead, and
breast." — Ibid., p. 36.
" When the Wine has been consecrated and the inclination made, the
Chalice is raised in a straight line, in order that it may be seen and
adored by the people ; but the foot must not be lifted higher than the
eyes of the Celebrant." — Biid., p. 41.
" When the priest is to bless any person or any thing he turns the
little finger of the right hand towards the object which he is to bless."
—Ibid., p. 43.
" The breast is struck with the right hand ten times. During the
Confiteor, at the words 1 my fault,' the breast is struck with the fingers
of the right hand united and slightly curved." — Ibid., p. 46.
1 In the Preface of this disloyal book, occurs the following significant
passage i — " The original of this book is Low Mass (London : Burns and
Oates), which is an English translation of the fourth book of Cesari's
Ccremonic delta Messa. . . . The thanks of the Editors are offered to the
courteous translator and editor of the English edition, a clergyman of
the Society of Jesus, who kindly gave them leave to adapt the book to the
use of the English Church " (p. vi.).
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
270
" If, on his way to the Altar, he [the priest] passes the place where
the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, or where a relic of the Holy Cross
is exposed, he genuflects on one knee." — Ibid., p. 60.
" The priest then says the Gonfiteor. . . . ' I confess to God, to
Blessed Mary, to all Saints, and to you ; that I have sinned exceedingly
in thought, word, and deed, by my fault. I beseech Holy Mary, all
Saints of God, and you, to pray for me." — Ibid., p. 64.
" He [the priest] must bow his head to the Cross when passing the
middle of the Altar."— Ibid., p. 78.
"On saying [at the Creed] 'in one God,' the priest joins his hands
and bows his head to the Cross. ... At ' Jesus Christ ' he bows his
head to the Cross. . . . At ' together is worshipped ' he bows his head
to the Cross."— Ibid., p. 82.
" He [the priest] raises his eyes to God and immediately lowers them,
saying meanwhile secretly : — ' Receive, 0 Holy Trinity, this oblation
which I, a miserable and unworthy sinner, offer in honour of Thee and
of Blessed Mary and of all Thy Saints for my sins and offences ; for the
salvation of the living and the repose of all the faithful departed. In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
— Ibid., p. 86.
" The priest holds the newly consecrated Host over the Altar in his
thumbs and forefingers ; the other fingers being held together and
extended : he raises his body, withdrawing his elbows from the altar,
but leaving on it his hands as far as the wrists, and at once inclines
and adores the Host. Then raising himself, he elevates the Host as far
as he conveniently can, that It may be seen and adored by the people."
—Ibid., p. 103.
" After the Consecration he replaces the Chalice upon the Corporal,
and inclining reverently, adores the Sacred Blood." — Ibid., p. 106.
" Having signed himself, he brings the Chalice to his mouth, holding
the Paten under it, and raising it to about the level of his chin. Then,
standing upright, he reverentlv receives the Precious Blood." — Ibid.,
p. 121.
" He [the priest] makes a profound Reverence to the principal Image
in the Sacristy."— Ibid., p. 132.
" If any Particle [of the Consecrated Wine] fall on any of the Altar
Linen, or on the ground, the priest is to place a clean cloth on the
spot, choosing a more convenient time for doing what is requisite. He
must afterwards wash the linen or the ground, scraping it somewhat on
the place where the Particle fell : the water and whatever may have
been scraped off are to be thrown into the Sacrarium." — Ibid., p. 177.
" Palls having the upper side of silk, are prohibited by the Sacred
Congregation of Rites." — Ibid., p. 187.
280
APPENDIX.
" When once employed in the Sacrifice of the Mass, it [the " Purifi-
cator "] should not be used for other purposes, nor be handled by Laics
(not having the required permission), until after having been washed
by a clerk in Holy Orders."— Ibid., p. 187.
"The Sacred Vessels are the Chalice, Paten, Ciborium, and Pyx,
none of which may be handled by those not in Holy Orders, unless
with special permission." — Ibid., p. 189.
"By a decree of the Council of Bishops (October 25th, 1575), the
exterior of the Tabernacle is to be gilt, and the interior lined throughout
with white silk . . . The Tabernacle is exclusively reserved for the
preservation of the most Holy Sacrament. . . . The Sacred Congregation
of Rites [the Pope's own Congregation at Rome] forbids Relics of the
Passion, or of the Saints, or the Holy Oils, to be placed within the
Tabernacle." — Ibid., p. 195.
"According to the Constitution of Benedict XIV., July 16th, 1746,
the Cross is to be placed between the Candlesticks." — Ibid., p. 196.
" Statuettes of the Saints, in gold or silver, are, in Rome, often placed
upon the Altars during the great festivals." — Ibid., p. 198.
SOME CAUTIONS FOR MASS PRIESTS.
"The seventh Cautel [Caution] is: that before Mass the priest do
not wash his mouth or teeth, but only his lips from without with his
mouth closed as he has need, lest perchance he should intermingle the
taste of water with his saliva. After Mass also he should beware of
expectorations as much as possible, until he shall have eaten and
drunken, lest by chance anything shall have remained between his
teeth or in his fauces ; which by expectorating he might eject." — The
Directorium Anglicanum, by the Rev. F. G. Lee, p. 110. Fourth edition.
" The question arises, if after having communicated of the Body he
[the priest] shall have the water already in his mouth, and shall then
tor the first time perceive that it is water — whether he ought to swallow
it or to eject it. . . . It is, however, safer to swallow than to eject it ;
and for this reason, that no particle of the Body [of Christ] may be
ejected with the water." — Ibid., p. 113.
" If a fly or spider or any such thing should fall into the Chalice be-
fore consecration, or even if he [the priest] shall apprehend that poison
hath been put in, the wine which is in the chalice ought to be poured
out, and the chalice ought to be washed, and other wine and water put
therein to be consecrated. But, if any of these contingencies befal
after the consecration, the fly or spider or such-like thing should be
warily taken, oftentimes diligently washed between the fingers, and
should then be burnt, and the ablution together with the burnt ashes
must be put in the piscina. But the poison ought, by no means, to be
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
281
taken, but such Blood, with which poison has been mingled, should be
reserved in a comely vessel, together with the relics." — Ibid., pp. 113,
114.
" If the Eucharist hath fallen to the ground, the place where it lay-
must be scraped, and fire kindled thereon, and the ashes reserved beside
the Altar. Also, if by negligence any of the Blood be spilled, upon a
table fixed to the floor, the priest must take up the drop with his
tongue, and the place of the table must be scraped, and the shavings
burnt with fire, and the ashes reserved with the relics beside the altar,
and he to whom this has befallen must do penance forty days."— Ibid.,
pp. 115, 116.
" If any one by any accident of the throat vomit up the Eucharist,
the vomit ought to be burned, and the ashes ought to be reserved near
the altar. And if it shall be a cleric, monk, or presbyter, or deacon, he
must do penance for forty days." — Ibid., p. 116.
PURGATORY.
" The preacher then enlarged upon the thought of the penal aspect
of Death, and drew a distinction between the temporal and the eternal
punishment of sin, pointing out that, while to venial sin there is a
temporal punishment annexed, mortal sin involves both an eternal and
a temporal punishment : and next proceeded to insist that upon this
doctrine is really based the solemnities of the dead, in which that
congregation were then engaged. The Church had not given us them
to gratify our feelings. They were assembled there to do a great act of
charity towards the dead, to fulfil a great duty towards them and not
merely for the sake of keeping their memory green, as the world does.
We had much more to do than that : we had an intercession to make
for the dead, and that was founded upon this distinction which he had
tried to draw between the temporal and eternal punishment for sin.
For while God remitted the eternal punishment for repented sin, He
did not necessarily remit the temporal punishment, part of which is
the penalty of death. For the vast majority of Christians the temporal
punishment must be paid in the world to come, and the souls in
Paradise, because they had not taken up their cross here, and not been
mindful of the example of our Lord, are offering the homage of their
spiritual sufferings in the realms of Purgatory, and were helped by our
prayers and Eucharists, offered in their behalf." — Sermon by the Rev. E.
G. Wood, Vicar of St. Clement's, Cambridge, preached at the Solemu
Requiem of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, November 10th,
1890, and reported in the Church Times, November 14th, 1890, p. 1117.
"From the power of Evil Spirits, Good Lord, deliver them [the
faithful dead]. From the gnawing worm of conscience, good Lord,
deliver them. From cruel flames, good Lord, deliver them. From
282
APPENDIX.
intolerable cold, good Lord, deliver them." — The Priest's Prayer Book,
p. 188. Fourth Edition.
"From the shades of death, where they sit desiring the light of Thy
countenance, good Lord, deliver them ['the faithful departed']. From
the pains, which are the just penalty of their sins, good Lord, deliver
them [' the faithful departed ']."— Manual of the Guild of All Souls, p. 20.
Fourth Edition. London, 1880.
" Were it not for the prevailing looseness and inaccuracy of thought
and expression upon theological questions, which is one of the char-
acteristics of the present age, it would be a matter for surprise that
the extreme moderation of the Roman Church upon the doctrine of
Purgatory should be so little known and recognised." — St. Catherine of
Genoa on Purgatory, with Introductory Essav by a Priest Associate of
the Guild of All Souls, p. 11. London, 1878.'
" How great a thing is Purgatory ! For myself, I can neither say
nor conceive anything that approaches to it. I have a glimpse only,
that those pains, being as sensible as the pains of hell, the soul, never-
theless, which has in it the least stain, or the least imperfection, re-
ceives them as a particular witness of God's goodness to her." — Ibid.,
p. 40.
" At the death of any Member a special Funeral Mass will be said for
the repose of his soul, when all members are, if possible, to attend." —
Manual of tlie Perseverance, St. Alban's, Holborn, p. 10.
" Q. Is there a Purgatory of any sort 1
"A. Purgatory means a condition or state of purgation. AH who
are perfected can only be ' made perfect through suffering,' either in
this world, or that which is to come, or in both. We may, therefore,
rightly speak of this procees as Purgatorial, and of the sphere of its
operations as Purgatory." — A Catechism on Some Great Truths, by the
Eev. J. JB. Johnson, MA.., p. 36. Second Edition. London : Masters,
1893.
"And when the altar is decked with care,
The Clergy to celebrate Mass prepare.
They enter the Chancel-gate within,
As the Choir solemn Introit begin :
1 Grant them, 0 Lord, Thy rest divine,
And light perpetual o'er them shine ' !
" The Deacon the corpse hath censed ; the Priest
Hath sung the Collects ; and humbly prayed
That she who now on her bier is laid,
Partaker may be in the heavenly Feast
" And when Epistle and Tract are o'er,
Again is the smoking censer swung
About the body which lies before,
Ere is the Holy Gospel sung.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
"The Priest hath finished ; the Mass is said ;
The living in holy brotherhood,
In blest commune with the saintly dead,
Have feasted on the all-precious Food.
And while his cope doth the Priest resume
And rigid Biretta, the Choir alone
The Dies Irce, the Day of Doom,
Solemnly chanteth in mournful tone."
— The Mysteries of Holy Church, by the Eev. G. P. Grantham, p. 121.
London : Masters.
" The Church in the Middle state is called the Suffering Church. It
is Purgatory, the place where holy souls are made perfect." — A Book
for the Children of God, p. 83. London : W. Knott, 1891.
AUEICULAR CONFESSION AND PRIESTLY ABSOLUTION.
" Be assured that this is one of the gravest faults of our day in the
administration of the Sacrament of Penance, that it is the road by which
a number of Christians go down to hell." — Dr. Pusey's Manual for Con-
fessors, p. 315.
"Telling his penitents that they must explain the motives which
led to their faults, and that they must not confess carelessly, but lay
bare all the sources and movements of their sins to their Confessor, as,
without so doing, they could not be purified." — Ibid., p. 26.
" It is a sad sight to see Confessors giving their whole morning to
young women-devotees, while they dismiss men and married women
. . . with ' I am busy, go to some one else.' " — Ibid., p. 108.
"Be sure you [Confessor] impress upon those who have hidden their
have committed in trampling under foot their Saviour's blood." — Ibid.,
p. 128.
"Those [scrupulous persons] who do not live under a Rule must
voluntarily submit themselves to a learned and wise Confessor, obeying
him as God Himself, laying all their concerns freely and simply before
him, and never coming to any determination without his advice. Such
an one, S. Philip said, need not fear being called to account by God."
—Ibid., p. 180.
"No Confessor should ever give the slightest suspicion that he is
alluding to what he has heard in the tribunal, but he should remember
the Canonical warning: 'What I know through Confession, I know
less than what I do not know.' Pope Eugenius says that whatever a
Confessor knows in this way, he knows it ' ut Deus'; while out of
Confession he is only speaking ' ut homo' : so that, 'as man,' he can
sins [from
enormity of the crime they
284
APPENDIX.
say that he does not know that which he has learned as God's repre-
sentative. I go further still : As man he may swear with a clear
conscience that he knows not, what he knows only as God " ! I ! — Ibid.,
p. 402.
" That Confession is ordinarily — i.e., where it may be had, and where
the soul is capable of grasping the fact that it is so — necessary in case
of mortal, i.e., conscious, wilful, deliberate sin, which destroys the grace
of Baptism and the union of the soul with God ; and that it is not
necessary in any other case." — Tlie Rev. A. H. Mackonoehie in the Priest
in Absolution and the Society of the Holy Cross: A Correspondence, p. 23.
" Since it [the Priest in Absolution] has been so prominently before
the public, I have been trying to make acquaintence with it, and find
that its principles are those which govern, I believe, all Confessors
among ourselves." — Ibid., p. 16.
"Jesus the sinless One bore all their sins this day [Good Friday] ; even
Judas went to the priests this day, and said, ' I have sinned.' " — Mission
Tract ; Good Friday, p. 4. London : Church Printing Co.
" Yes, I am going to God's priest,
To tell him all my sin,
And from this very hour I'll strive
A new life to begin.
" When I confess with contrite heart
My sins unto the priest,
I do believe from all their guilt
That moment I'm released.
" I go then with a humble heart,
To have my sins forgiven !
And Angels, while I kneel, will sing
A hymn of joy in heaven."
— Manual of the Children of the Clmrch, p. 40. Third edition. London:
Church Sunday-School Union, which is a Branch of the Kilburn Sister-
hood.
" If you are tempted to hide a sin in Confession, say, ' 0 God, help
me to tell my sins, because the devil is tempting me not to tell them.'"
— Ibid., p. 41.
" The labourer is worthy of his hire, and those who minister to us
in spiritual things should reap the benefit of our carnal things, i.e., our
worldly substance, our money. As there is no fee for hearing Con-
fessions, gratitude requires that we should at least contribute either to
the Offertory or to the Alms-box whenever we make use of the Sacra-
ment of Penance ; especially we should make a point of this when we
Confess at a Church which is not our own Parish Church." — How
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
2S5
to Make a Good Confession, p. 14. Seventh thousand. London : W.
Knott.
" Nor should you [in Confession] make any mention of feelings of
any kind, unless they are wilfully indulged feelings of hatred or lust."
—Ibid., p. 9.
"I must again repeat that Confession and Absolution from God's
regular channel for conveying His forgiveness, and that if we will not
take pardon in His way, we are not likely to get it in our own." —
Why don't you go to Confession ? p. 7. Thirteenth thousand. London :
C. J. Palmer.
"Ask pardon for your impious defiance of His love. Turn and
throw yourself at His feet, like the Prodigal Son. He waits for you
in the Confessional, hidden in His priest." — Brief Answers to Objections
Brought Against Confession, p. 40. London : E. Longhurst.
"Confession is the toilet of the conscience. The priest washes and
cleanses the soul, soiled with sin ; he restores it to health, pure and
white. Those children who will not be attended to by their mothers,
remain all day dirty and disgusting. The souls who will purposely
neglect the cleansing of Confession are unclean souls, vile and base
souls." — Ibid., p. 29.
" God alone is the giver of all spiritual life and grace and favour, and
yet we are not bid to go direct to God for these gifts (for that right we
forfeited at the Fall) ; but we are to go to the Church which stands
between us and God in its appointed sphere." — Mediation of the Church,
by the Kev. Edward Stuart, M..A, p. 9. Second Edition. London :
C. J. Palmer.
" When a penitent, perfectly contrite, cannot Confess, either through
physical inability, or impossibility of obtaining a Confessor, mortal sin
is remitted by the mercy of God, anticipatorily. . . . Imperfect con-
trition or attrition is sorrow arising from mingled or lower motives,
and requires the application of the Sacrament. . . . Mortal sin cannot
ordinarily be forgiven, without absolution. But the priest cannot loose
what he has no knowledge of. Therefore, mortal sin must be enume-
rated. Confession must be entire, true, simple. Entire : No mortal
sin consciously omitted. Mention modifying circumstances. . . . Name
the number or the duration of each kind of sin — sins of thought as
well as deed. Nothing hidden which may show the state of the soul.
Nothing hidden through proud shame." — Catechetical Notes, by the Rev.
Dr. Neale, of East Grinstead, pp. 138, 139.
" Cases of Sacrilege : 1. A false confession consciously made : it
invalidates every succeeding confession until this sin be acknowledged."
—Ibid., p. 140.
"Our Church puts no kind of restriction either upon the disclosures
of the penitent, or the inquiries of the Confessor ; and this throws open
280
APPENDIX.
a door to all that minuteness of detail which is sometimes thought to
constitute the especial evil of the Roman Confessional." — British Critic,
Volume for 1843, p. 326.
"We know that he [the Confessor] is bound by every tie, moral,
divine, and ecclesiastical, to keep our secrets. For these and other
reasons, we ought to put away shame, and readily confess all our sins
to him without reserve." — The Destruction of Sin, by the Rev. J. C.
Chambers, Editor of the Priest in Absolution, p. 15.
" The power of the remission of sins is ordained in the bands of the
priesthood, and no other channel whatsoever is appointed for our
assured forgiveness." — The Ministry of Consolation, p. 26. Edition
1854.
" Our. Church, moreover, howsoever men may mistake her meaning,
does indeed enjoin the absolute completeness and unreservedness of our
confession." — Ibid., p. 36.
"The obedience which alone befits the human soul in spiritual
relations must be free and unquestioning, preventing with a settled
purpose of submission, every command which the judgment of the
priest may see fit to lay upon us." — Ibid., p. 76.
"There are, therefore, generally more sins to be found under this
commandment [seventh] than under any other — and remember, we
pray thee, that it were a false shame utterly misplaced at the tribunal
of Penitence, even as of necessity, if thou wert to shrink from con-
fessing, openly and honestly, all sins against purity and modesty." —
Ibid., p. 154.
" Perfect absolution is only promised to those who make special
confession of their sins. I mean a confession of all the sins on their
conscience, confessed to Almighty God in the hearing of His priest,
mentioning every sin." — Simjdc Lessons, edited by the Rev. T. T. Carter,
Part III., p. 106. Edition 1876.
" Those who have never heard of Confession to God through His
priest, or having heard of it, are really and honestly unable to believe
that it is of any use, we are bound charitably to hope and pray that it
[Confession to God] may be enough. Those who have died without
confessing, and there are millions such, must be left to the 'un-
covenanted mercies of God.' . . . But, just as God has appointed Holy
Baptism for our regeneration, and the forgiveness (in the case of adulfe)
of all sins committed up to that time ; just as He has ordained the Holy
Communion for ' the strengthening and refreshing of our souls, by the
Body and Blood of Christ'; so has He most mercifully appointed a
way — one way and only one — for the certain forgiveness of sins com-
mitted after Baptism, by applying to our souls, for this special purpose,
' the Precious Blood of Christ,' once shed for us upon the Cross of
suffering. That way, and I repeat that there is no other, is Sacra-
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
287
mental Confession. Confession to a Priest." — Plain Speaking on Con-
fession, p. 6. London, 1869.
" Thy garments, spotless, white and pure,
From the baptismal sea,
Need daily cleansing to restore
The first 'Absolvo Te.'
" Take not a conscience to thy God
Stained with impurity ;
" There is no other cleansing now,
Our Saviour left the Key
Which opens rivers of His Blood,
In the ' Absolvo Te.' "
—Stories Told to the Choir, No. VIII., "Sprinkled with Blood," p. 12.
London : Mowbray.
"And then my eyes were opened, and there knelt in the distance
little Gerald Deane ; and I thought I saw, yet very indistinctly, one
self-denying and wearied priest sitting near Gerald's side. And above
them I saw the Form of One Crucified, from whose hands, which
were raised in benediction fell, drop by drop, the Precious Blood.
And as each drop fell on the burden, it dissolved away, and the priest
heard the whisper, 'Loose him, and let him go,' and then I heard
one priest's voice, in solemn, measured tones, ' By His Authority
committed unto me, I absolve thee ; ' and as Gerald returned and
knelt by Philip's side I knew he was at peace, that the heavy burden
of sin was laid at the foot of the Cross, that he was marked with the
Precious Blood which had fallen so lovingly on his soul. And the
priest was ever at his duty, the delegate of the Invisible Presence, and
the Form was ever by his side, and ever aud ever dropped from the
Hands and Feet and Side the ' Blood which cleanseth from all Sin.' " —
Ibid., pp. 11, 12.
" The words on the lips of a Christian priest in such days are of this
nature : ' You are ill of a disease that almost must, to a certainty, kill
you eventually. There is no known remedy but this which we hold
in our power. This cannot fail, if properly applied. I do not say
that your case is hopeless ; I do not say that you cannot be otherwise
healed ; but, honestly, I know no other way of curing you I Will you
try it 1 As has been well and truly said by one not long ago gone
to his rest : The man who confesses to God may be forgiven ; he who
confesses to a priest must be forgiven.' " — Six Plain Sermons, by Kichard
Wilkins, Priest, pp. 28, 29. London : E. Longhurst.
Its name " Absolvo Te.'
288
APPENDIX.
INVOCATION OF SAINTS.
"Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in conflict: that we perish
not in the dreadful day of Judgment." — The Grail, by Rev. G. A.
Jones, Vicar of St. Mary's, Cardiff, p. 21.
" Star of Ocean fairest
Mother, God who barest,
Virgin thou immortal,
Heaven's blissful portal.
" Loose the bonds of terror,
Lighten blinded error,
All our ills repressing,
Pray for every blessing.
" Virgin, all excelling,
Gentle past our telling,
Pardoned sinnners render,
Gentle, chaste, and tender."
— Day Office of the Church, p. xxiii
" Mother of the King Eternal,
Virgin, loved by choirs supernal
Save us from our foes infernal,
With thy gentle prayers above."
— Union Review for 1863, p. 503.
Dear Spouse of sweet Mary, we ask for thine aid,
Thy patronage crave, and thy prayers ;
Saint Joseph, blest guardian of Jesus our Lord,
Oh ! soothe all our griefs and our cares."
— Orator]) Worship, p. 90.
" Next to Mary, what thy power,
Tutor of the God-man !
Oh ! shield us in temptation's hour ;
Save us from sin's hateful ban.
"Alleluia! glory, Joseph !
Glory, dearest Saint, to thee!
Alleluia ! glory, Joseph !
Thankful praise we give to thee."
—Ibid,, p. 93.
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
280
" When the soul is about to depart from the body, tlien more than ever
ought they who are by to pray earnestly upon their knees around the sick
man's bed; and if the dying man be unable to speak, the name of Jesus
should be constantly invoked, and such words as the following again and
again repeated in his ear : —
" Into Thy hands, 0 Lord, I commend my spirit. 0 Lord Jesus
Christ, receive my spirit.
" Holy Mary, pray for me.
"Holy Mary, mother of grace, mother of mercy, do thou defend
me from the enemy, and receive me at the hour of death." — The
Golden Gate, Part III., p. 127, by Kev. S. Baring-Gould, Kector of
Lew Trenchard.
"Some very extravagant expressions of St. Alphonsus Liguori,
respecting the blessed Virgin Mary, can be easily explained, and placed
in a light that the most Protestant Christian must receive if he believes
what our Lord says of the power of prayer, e.g., such expressions as
'0 Mary save me; when Jesus will have no mercy, I turn to thee;
give me thy help ; guide me ; save me, for in thee do I put my trust.' " —
Popery, a sermon by " Father Ignatius," p. 3.
" 0 ye holy Virgins of God, pray for us, that we may obtain pardon
of our sins through your prayers." — Lesser Hours of the Sarum Breviary,
p. 120. London, 1889.
" Remember, 0 most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known
that any who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy
intercession, was left unaided. Encouraged with this assurance, I fly
'.into thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother, to thee I come, before thee
I stand sinful and sorrowful. 0 Mother of the Incarnate Word,
despise not my petitions, but mercifully vouchsafe to hear them." —
Catholic Prayers for Church of England People, by the Eev. A. H.
Staunton, Curate of St. Alban's, Holborn, p. 136. Second edition.
London : W. Knott, 1893.
" 0 Thomas [a Becket] Martyr most constant, and invincible Con-
fessor, splendour of the priesthood, the glory of France, the glory of
England ! Reign, 0 blessed father, over the Church for which thou
didst shed thy blood, and pour forth thy prayers to God for the salva-
tion of us all." — Devotions in Honour of St. Thomas of Canterbury, by
the Bev. H. G. Worth, late Curate of St. John the Divine. Kennington,
p. 138. Second edition. London : W. Knott, 1895.
THE VIRTUES OF HOLY SALT, HOLY WATER, AND
HOLY OIL.
" The Priest shall bless the Salt on this wise.
"We humbly implore Thee, Almighty and Everlasting God, that
of Thy bountiful goodness thou wouldst be pleased to bl^ess and
19
L'fin
APPENDIX.
san«J<tify this creature of Salt, which Thou hast created for the service
of men, that it may profit for the health both of soul and body of them
that take it, and that whatsoever is touched or sprinkled therewith may
be freed from all uncleanness, and from all attacks of spiritual wicked-
ness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." — The Priest's Prayer
Book, p. 221. Seventh edition.
" He shall then bless the W ater on this xoise.
"0 God, Who in ordaining divers mysteries for the salvation of
mankind, hast been pleased to employ the element of Water in the
chiefest of Thy Sacraments : give ear to our prayers, and pour upon
this water the might of Thy bless^iing, that as it serves Thee in those
holy mysteries, so by Thy divine grace it may here avail for the casting
out of devils, and the driving away of diseases ; that whatsoever in the
houses or places of the faithful is sprinkled therewith, may be freed
from all uncleanness, and delivered from hurt." — Ibid.
" The [dead] body is then decently laid out, and a light placed before
it. A small Crucifix is put in the hands of the deceased, upon his
breast, or the hands are themselves placed crosswise, while the body is
sprinkled with Holy Water."— The Golden Gate, Part III., p. 128.
" The Exorcism of tlie Salt.
"I exorcist? thee, creature of salt, by the living God, >J< by the true
God, ►£< by the holy God, >J< by the God Who, by the Prophet Eliseus,
commanded thee ►£< to be cast into the water that the barrenness of the
water might be healed, that thou mightest be salt exorcised for the
spiritual health of believers, and be to all who take thee health of soul
and body." — The Directorium Anglicanum. Edited by the Rev. F. G.
Lee, Vicar of all Saints', Lambeth, p. 306. Fourth edition.
" Exorcism, of the Water.
" I exorcise thee, creature of water, in the name of God the Father
Almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son our Lord, and in
the virtue of the Holy Ghost, to become water exorcised to chase away
all power of the enemy, and to be able to uproot and overthrow the
enemy himself and his apostate angels ; by the virtue of the same Lord
Jesus' Christ. "—Ibid., p. 307.
"The priest then sprinkles the Collars, Crosses, and Candles, with
Holy Water, and Incenses them. Those who are to be admitted
[into the Guild] then come up to the Altar." — Guild of St. John the
Evangelist, St. Albans, Holborn, London, Form of Reception, p. 18.
Privately printed.
" In the death chamber let a small table be placed at the foot of the
bed to serve as a stand for a Of03§ Sft4 Candles, these latter to be
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
201
kept burning night and Jay till the hour of interment arrives, as a sign
of the light into which the departed soul has passed." — The Parish
Tracts, by Kev. J. Harry Buchanan. First Scries. No. IV., "The
Dying and the Dead."
" The Exorcism [of Oil].
"I adjure thee, 0 creature of Oil, by God the Father >J< Almighty,
Who hath made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is.
Let all the power of the adversary, all the host of the devil, and all
haunting and vain imaginations of Satan be cast out, and flee away
from this creature of Oil, that it may be to all them that shall use the
same health of mind and body in the Name of God the Father ►£<
Almighty, and of Jesus >J< Christ His Son our Lord, and of the Holy
Ghost the Comforter, and for the love of the same Jesus Christ our
Lord, Who is ready to judge both the quick and the dead, and the
world by fire. Amen." — Day Office of the Church, p. lxix.
MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS.
" We long to hear the Divine Office ever going up to God from
thousands of Religious Houses, and to see Fountains and Tintern and
Kirkstall, and other noble foundations blossoming up again all over the
land." — St. John the Baptist. A Sermon by the Rev. H. D. Nihill,
Vicar of St. Michael's, Shoreditch, p. 14.
" It is a pious custom of devout Christians on seeing a Monk, to kneel
and kiss the hem of the Sacred Habit ; if done from love to Jesus, and
reverence to the Habit of the Consecrated Life, a great blessing will be
received." — Little Manual of Devotions, by Rev. J. L. Lyne, alias
" Father Ignatius," p. 6.
" Parents such as these [i.e., those parents who refuse to permit their
children to become Monks or Nuns], lose all claims to such privileges
as the fourth Commandment of the Decalogue gives to them ; they
are the enemies of God and their children's souls. Blessed are those
children who hearken to God rjther than to them." — Llnntliony Afonas-
tery Tracts, No. I. : "Why are you a Monk?" p. 12.
" Some of our Protestant friends tell us that Monkery, as they call
it, is not of Christian origin, but of Pagan origin. My Protestant
brethren, I quite agree with you that it is. You are perfectly correct,
Monasticism it of Pagan origin. The best illustration of the Monastic
school among the Philosophic Pagans was Plato." — An Answer to the
Question, Why are you a Movk ? by Father Ignatius, p. 11.
" Brethren, the five hundred million Buddhists, the largest and most
influential religion in the world, possess Monasteries to a vast extent.
In Bangkok, the capital of Siam. in that capital alone, there are over
ten thousand monks," — Ibid,, p. 15.
202
APPENDIX.
PROTESTANTISM.
" He forgets what has been humorously pointed out, that the first
Protestant of all was the Devil Just as the first Non-Catholic
and Anti-Ritualist was Judas." — The Congregation in Church, p. 78.
New edition. London : Mowbray.
" Heretic means a choice, and it is not always perceived that heretic
and a Protestant are much the same thing." — Ibid., p. 187.
" Protestants can be shown to detest Jesus Christ and His teaching,
and to prefer immorality, polemics, and cant thereto." — Brainless,
Broadcast Benevolence, p. 17. Brighton : H. and C. Treacher.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RITUAL.
" The Protestant is quite right in recognizing the simplest attempt
at Ritual as the ' thin end of the wedge.' It is so. . . . It is only the
child who is not terrified when the first creeping driblet of water and
the few light bubbles announce the advance of the tide, and the
Protestant is but a child who does not recognize the danger of the
trifling symptoms which are slowly and surely contracting the space
of ground upon which he stands." — Church Review, June 24th, 1865,
p. 587.
"The Ritual question is one which, you will agree with me, is of
great importance. To abolish Scriptural and Catholic Ritual, and at
the same time to hope to maintain unimpaired the Catholic Faith, is,
in my humble opinion, a great delusion. They both go together ; and
if one falls, both will fall. . . . With the abolition of the symbolic
ornamenta of the Church, doctrinal loss will be the result ; and the
great Movement, now going on will become stationary, and will grad-
ually cease." — The President of the English Church Union— Church
Review, April 25th, 1868, p. 402.
" Nor, ag^ain, are we merely contending for the revival among
ourselves of certain ceremonies because they are practised by the rest
of the Catholic Church ; but we contend for our Ritual for the precise
reason which is urged for its suppression —because it is the means, the
importance of which becomes clearer every day, which the Church
has seen fit to employ to express the truth of Christ's Sacramental
Presence amongst His people." — The President of the English Church
Union— Church Review, June 20th, 1868, p. 583.
" Now there are, of course, many Catholic practices that necessarily
result from a belief in the Real Presence of our dear Lord upon the
Altar. Among the minor ones are bowing and genuflecting. Bowing
to the Altar at all times, not because it is so much wood or stone put
WHAT THE RITUALISTS TEACH.
203
together in a certain shape, covered with handsome cloths, decked with
flowers and lights ; not for this, were it all ten times as gorgeous. Not
for this, but because the Altar is the Throne of God Incarnate, where
daily now, thank God, in many a Church in the land He deigns to
rest. . . . And genuflecting, not to the Altar, but to the 'Gift that is
upon it ; ' to the God-Man, Christ Jesus, when He is there." — Six Plain
Sermons, by Richard Wilkins, Priest, p. 57. London : E. Longhurst.
DISSENT.
"Nevertheless, although not actually schism, it is schismatical to
attend Dissenting Meeting Houses, or to subscribe to, or assist the
sectarian objects of Dissenters in any way. The same cannot be said
of Roman Catholic Churches, and their objects, because the Roman
Catholics are a branch of the true Church." — The Congregation in
Church, p. 202. New Edition. London : Mowbray.
"The Catholic Church is the home of the Holy Ghost. It is His
only earthly home. He does not make His home in any Dissenting
sect. Sometimes people quarrel with the Church, and break away
from her, and make little sham churches of their own. We call these
people Dissenters, and their sham churches sects. The Holy Ghost
does not abide — does not dwell — with thein. He goes and visits them
perhaps, but only as a stranger." — A Book for the Children of God,
p. 77. London : W. Knott, 1891.
" The Bible is the Book which God has given to His Church, and
it belongs to the Church alone, and not to any Dissenting sect. No
one but a Catholic can safely read the Bible, and no Catholic can read
it safely who does not read it in the Church's way."— Ibid., p. 100.
INDEX.
INDEX.
Abbot (Bishop Robert) on timid speak-
ing against the Papists, 231, 237
Aberdeen (Uean of) [Very Rev. William
Webster] objects to changes in
Statutes of S. S. C, 98
Address to Catholics by the Society of
the Holy Cross, 44
Alcuin Club, 177
— its work, 77
— its Episcopal members, 177
Alison (Rev. L.), 96
Allen (Archdeacon) on Immoral Ritual-
istic Confessors, 82, 83
All Saints', Margaret Street, Sisterhood,
Vows in, 122
— how its inmates dispose of their
property, 124, 125
All Souls' Day, a Popish Festival ob-
served by the Guild of All Souls,
161
Altar Book far Voting Persons, 152
Anglican Sister of Mercy, 118
Anarchy (Ecclesiastical), xli. , 244-5
Archdeacon of Cleveland (Ven. W. H.
Hutchings) hopes the S. S. C. will
favour Roman Ritual, 53
— Proposes Revision of S. S. C. Statutes,
89
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of the S. S. C. , 96
Ascot Priory, Private Burial Ground
at, 134
Association for the Promotion of the
Unity of Christendom, 215-27
— its birth and membership, 215-6
— its Letter to the Inquisition, 222
— Reply of the Inquisition, 222-3
— and the Society of the Holy Cross,
229
Association of the friends of the Church,
4
— Mysterious " Suggestions" for, 4
Auricular Confession and Priestly Ab-
solution, What the Ritualists teach
about, 283-7
Autobiography of Isaac Williams, 7,
190, 193, 194
Bagot De La Bere (Rev. J.) [formerly
Edwards] defends the term ' ' Sacra-
ment of Penance," 98
Bagshawe (Rev. Francis LI.) on the
Roll of Brethren of S. S. C. , 54
— Secret Letter on The Priest in Ab-
solution, 71
— Letter to the Bishop of London, 73
— The Priest in Absolution in his care,
72, 97
— Resigns the office of Master of the
S. S. C, 95
— Remarkable Speech to Brethren of
S. S. C, 96-7
Banbury Guardian, The, 145
Baring-Gould (Rev. Sabine) recommends
Holy Water, 44
Barnet Times, Jesuitical Letter to, 164
Barrett (Rev. T. S.) appeals for S. S. C.
Oratory at Carlisle, 47
Bath and Wells (Bishop of) [Lord A. C.
Harvey] Speech on The Priest in
Absolution, 81
Bathe (Rev. Anthony) on the Master of
Beckett (Rev. H. F.) on Wives, Hus-
bands, and the Confessional, 57
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in
a Ritualistic Convent Chapel, 134-5
— Lord Halifax on, 239-40
Benson (Rev. R. M.) on a Nun's Vow of
Obedience, 117-8
Beveridge (Bishop) on the Real Presence
and Eucharistic Sacrifice, 155
Bible (The), What the Ritualists teach
about, 261-2
Binny (Rev. John Erskine) glories in
being a member of S. S. C, 101
liiography of Father I.nelhart, 19
Birkmyre (Rev. N. Y.)on Reunion with
Rome, 230
Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Bagot) writes to
Newman about Littlemore Monas-
tery, 16
Bishops (The) smile on and favour law-
breakers, xli.
— their neglect of duty, 30
298
INDEX.
Bishops, their opinion of The Priest in
Absolution, and Society of the Holy
Cross, 78-82
— on the Confessional, 78-81
— five or six wish well to S. S. C, 92
— and Ritualistic Sisters of Mercy,
136-7
Blachford (Lord)— see Rogers (Mr. F.)
Blessing the Paschal Candle, 172
Bloemfontein (Bishop of) [Dr. J. W.
Hicks] presented with a set of Low
Mass Vestments, 168
— A Vice-l'resident of the Society of St.
Osmund, 168
Bodington (Canon Charles) on Confes-
sion, 52
— on the circulation of The Priest in
Absolution, 77
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of the S. S. C. , 96
— Speech in Secret Synod of S. S. C, 98
Body (Canon George), his reasons for
remaining in the S. S. C, 92
— Member of Committee for revising
Statues of the S. S. C, 96
— on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, 153
Book of Common Prayer, not complete,
50
— Proposed additions to, 50-1
— Revision of, on Ritualistic lines, 237-
41
— What the Ritualists teach about the,
203-5
Books for the Youny. No. I., Con-
fession, 39, 78, 79, 81
— termed "A wretched little book," 79
Bowden (Mr. J. W.), 3, 4, 12, 13, 30, 190
Bowri>'n's Life of Father Faber, 20, 22,
23, 25, 30
Bricknell's Judgment of the Bishops, 7,
S, 184, 196
Brinckman's Controversial Methods of
Romanism, 108
British Critic, The, 190
Bristol Branch of English Church Union
sympathises with S. S. C, 95
Bristow (Canon Rhodes) cm the " Sacra-
ment of Penance," 52
— hopes "the Roman Use would still
prevail," 54
— on Convocation, 54
— on The Priest in Absolution, 94-5
— 51 ember of Committee for Revising
Statutes of the S. S. C, 96
— Speech on Revision of Statutes of
S. S. C, 98
Brotherhood of the Holy Cross, 163
— the inner eircle of the O. H. R. , 163
Brotherhood of the Holy Cross, its
" very existence to be kept in strict
secrecy," 163
— its secret Intercession Paper, 163
Brownie (Rev. E. G. K.) on Tractarians
going secretly to Mass, 21
— Annals of the Tractarian Movement,
22, 63
Bruno's Catholic Belief, 186
Bunsen (M.) on the Work of the Trac-
tarians, 187
Burgon (Dean), xxxix.
— Lives of Twel re <;ood Men, 150
Butler (Dean William J.) on Husbands,
Wives, and the Confessional, 64
Byron (Miss H. B.) Mother Superior of
All Saints', Margaret Street, Sister-
hood, 124
Cairo (Bishop of) a Vice-President of the
Society of St. Osmund, 168
Cardinal Newman : a monoaraph, 19,
20
Carlisle (Bishop of) [Dr. Harvey Good-
win] severely censures S." S. C,
101
Carbsle, Oratory of the Society of the
Holy Cross at, 46-9
Carter (Canon T. T.) on "The Sacra-
ment of Penance," 52
— and the .Statement of S. S. C, 76
— revises the Proof Sheets of The
Priest in Absolution, 76-7
— and the circulation of The Priest in
Absolution, 77
— Speech on the "animus" of the
Bishops, 86
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of the S. S. C, 96
— Votes and the Religious State, 122
— Advice about Intercessirm Paper of
C. B. S., 143
— on Eucharistic Adoration, 152
Catholic Dictionary, The, 256
Catholic Standard on the work of the
Order of Corporate Reunion, 112
Catholic Union of Prayer, 234
Cautions for the Times, 140
Celibates of the Society of the Holy
Cross, 37-8
— ■ their secret oath, 37
Celibacv (Vow of) taken by a girl of
eighteen for life, 126
Ceremonies of Low Mass, What the
Ritualists teach about the, 278-80
Ceremonial of the Altar, 169-71
Chadwick (Rev. J. W.) Member of
Committee for Revising Statutes
of the S. S. C, 96
INDEX.
299
Chambers (Rev. J. C.) translates and
edits The. Priest in Absolution, 66-8,
74
Chaplin (Rev. E. M.) advocates Roman
Ritual, 54
Cliaracter of Dr. Littledale as a Contro-
versialist, 135, 142
Charles Lovder, 40, 41, 42, 89
Chuimtry Priests, 175
Cheltenham Chapter of the Society of
the Holy Cross, 76
Chichester (Bishop of) [Dr. Durnford]
severely censures the Society of the
Holy Cross, 81
Clin hi ic/c i'f ('oil-vocation, 78-81
Church of England Working Men's
Society present an address of sym-
pathy with the Society of the Holy
Cross, 85, 95
Clmrch Review, 106, 109, 145, 183, 235,
237
Church Times, 107, 109, 145, 149, 159,
162, 177, 230, 251
Church Union Gazette, 235, 241, 242, 243
Churton (Rev. E.) protests against Dr.
Pusey's conduct, 197
CVn7(7(t Cattolica, 109
Clerical Celibacy, 82-3
Clewer Sisterhood, its Rules of Poverty,
Chastity, and Obedience, 122
— how its inmates dispose of their pro-
perty, 122
Close (Dean) opposes Carlisle Oratory of
S. S. C, 47-8
Cobb's Kiss of Peace, 160
Coles (Rev. V. S. S.) on the " levelling
up " policy of the English Church
Union, 237
" Committee of Clergy," The, 35
Confession, Lord Salisbury on habitual,
49
— Secret discussion on, 52-3
— Dr. Pusey on the Seal of, 57
Confessions, The secret stealthy way
Tractarians heard, 62-3
— How Archdeacon Manning heard, 63-4
— How Dr. Pusey heard Ritualistic
Sisters', 130
Confessional, Jurisdiction in the, 53
— The Secrecy of the Ritualistic, 56-65
— Indelicate Questions to a Married
Woman in the, 57
— Wives, Husbands, and the, 56-7, 64
— Ritualistic Sisters and the, 58
— The age Children should be brought
to the, 58
— The priest is " in the Confessional a
Fox," 65
Confessional, The Bishops on the, 78-81
— Ritualistic Priests ruin Women
through the, 82
— often the road " down to hell," 84
— and the property of Ritualistic Sisters
of Mercy, 120
Confessor, Extraordinary Letter to a
Young Lady from a, 49-50
Confessors, Petition for Licensed, 49-50
— Immoral and Wicked, 81-5
— How Ritualistic Sisters should treat
their, 117
Confraternity of the Blessed Sacra-neut,
141-58
— its birth, 142, 147
— its secret Intercession Paper, 142,
143, 144, 145, 149, 150, 152, 153
— its medals may be buried with mem-
bers, 143
— exposed by the Rock and Western
Daily Mercury, 144-5
— keep " as far as possible out of public
notice," 145
— its secret doings in America, 145-6
— its secret Roll of P,icsts-Associate,146
— the " daughter " of the Society of the
Holy Cross, 147
— its Manual, 147
— its objects, 147
— advocates Masses and Prayers for the
Dead, 147, 148-9
— and Fasting Communion, 147, 150
— prays for Corporate Reunion with
Rome and the East, 148
— its secret Annual Conference, 149
— and Purgatory, 149
— its Altar Book for Young Persons,
152, 153
— prays for the Restoration of the
Reserved Sacrament, 152
— agrees with Rome on Eucharistic
Adoration, 152
— prays for Restoration of Extreme
Unction, 152-3
— observes Corpus Christi Day, 152
— advocates Sacramental Confession, 153
— advocates the Real Presence and
Eucharistic Sacrifice, 153-5
— advocates the Mass, 156-7
— teaches Transubstantiation, 156-7
— its Episcopal Members, 158
— Bishop Wilberforce on its Popish
character, 158
Convent of S. Mary and S. Scholastica,
West Mailing, 129
Convents, Shocking Cruelty in Ritual-
istic, 29, 132
— Private Burial Grounds in, 134
300
INDEX.
Convocation, Society of the Holy Cross
debate on, 54
Convocation (Canterbury House of)
Discussion on The Priest in Abso-
lution and the Society of the Holy
Cross, in, 78-81
— Resolution of Upper House, censuring
both Society and book, 79, 81
Cookesley (Rev. W. G.), 117
Corea (Bishop of) [Dr. C. J. Corfe] on
the Revision of Statutes of S. S. C,
98
— a Member of the Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament, 158
Council of Trent, 184, 188, 231
Cross, Adoration of, at St. Cuthbert's,
Philbeach Gardens, 171
Crouch (Rev. William), 45
— opposes giving up The Priest in Ab-
solution, 77
Cusack (Miss) her experience in Dr.
Pusey's Sisterhoods, 130-1
Dalgairns (Mr. J. D.), 196
D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation,
49
Davidson (Rev. J. P. F.), President of
the Guild of All Souls, 162
Dawes (Rev. N.) [now Bishop of Rock-
hampton] becomes a Member of the
Society of the Holy Cross, 53
Denison (Archdeacon) joins the Society
of the Holy Cross, 88-9, 96
— Laughs at Svnodieal condemnation of
S.S. C, 93
— opposes the disbanding of S. S. C. ,
93
— objects to changes in Statutes of
S.S. C, 98
Denison (Rev. H. P.) on compulsory
Confession, 52
— Letter about the C. B. S. Roll of
Priests- Associate, 146-7
Desanctis (Rev. Dr. ) on Jesuits disguised
as Puseyites, 23
— Popery and Jesuitism, 23-4
Dcvonport Manual, a secret book of Dr.
Pusey's Sisters, 137-8
" Disciplina Arcani," 1-3
" Discipline " (The) at Elton, 25
— Dr. Pusey sends for a, 26
— as used by Ritualists described, 27
— Cruelties of, 27-8
— prescribed for Ritualistic Sisters of
Mercy, 28, 129
— used most cruelly on a Ritualistic
Nun, 29
Dissent, What the Ritualists teach about,
293
Dunn (Rev. James) on Confession to
Young Priests, 52
"Economical" mode of speaking and
writing, 1
"Economy" and St. George's Mission,
41-2
Edinburgh Chapter of the Society of the
Holy Cross, 76
Enclosed Nuns in Ritualistic Convents,
128
— in Dr. Pusey's Sisterhood, 128
— at Feltham, 129
— at West Mailing, 129
— at Llanthony, 129
— at Slapton, 129
English Churchman, 69, 107, 108, 165,
168, 177, 184, 207
English Church Union (Bristol and Pen-
rith Branches of) sympathises with
S. S. C, 95
— its Council do not " explain all their
tactics," 230
— offers prayers for the Reunion of
Christendom, 231
— approves of Dr. Pusey's Eirenicon,
231-2
— its first President secedes to Rome, 235
— its " levelling up" policy, 237
— Address to Lambeth Conference in
favour of Reunion of Christendom,
241
— Speech before the Exeter Branch of,
245
Equivocation, 12
Essays on Reunion, 183, 219, 220, 221,
222
Eucharistic Adoration, 152
Eucharistic Sacrifice, 153-5
Evangelical Party (The) described by
Mr. MaskelL 31-2
Evening Communion, 150-1
Extreme Unction, 152
— Superstitious service of, 153
Eyton (Canon Robert), Speech on the
Society of the Holy Cross, 86-7
— on the circulation of The Priest in
Absolution, 100
Faber (Rev. Frederick William) visits
the Continent, 20
— not scandalised by Relic Worship, 22
— declares Protestantism a diabolical
heresy, 22
— kisses the Pope's foot, 22
— prays at the Slirine of Aloysius the
Jesuit, 22
— thinks Heaven "is like Rome," 23
— returns with Rosaries blessed by the
Pope, 23
INDEX.
301
Faber (Rev. Frederick William), his
work at Elton, 24
— his Secret Society at Elton, 25
— discovers he is "living a dishonest
life," 29
— his Lif2 y -St Wilf-id 30
— received into the Church of Rome,
30
Fasting Communion, 147, 150
— Bishop S. Wilberforce on, 150
" Father George" of the O. H. R., his
Jesuitical conduct in a Protestant
parish, 166-7
Fathers (The) and the Rule of Faith, 188
Fathers of Charity, 197
Feltham Ritualistic Nuns, 129
Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood,
59
Fleming (Mr. Robert), how he discovered
The Priest in Absolution, 69
Foote (Rev. John Andrewes) and The
Priest in Absolution, 68
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of S. S. C. , 96
Frere (Rev. William John), Speech on
The Priest in Absolution, 100
From Oxford to Rome, 62
Froude (Rev. Hurrell) proselytises in an
" underhand way," 5
— Remains, 5, 33, 187
Gilmartin's Manual of Church History,
258
Gladstone (Mr.) on the Romeward Move-
ment, 200-1, 202
— Gleanings of Past Years, 200, 203
— on Archdeacon Manning's want of
straightforwardness, 212
— ■ Rome and the Newest Fashions in
Religion, 255, 256
Godwin (Rev. Robert Herbert) objects
to changes in Statutes of the S. S. C,
98
Goldie (Rev. C. D.) on the action of
S. S. C, 76, 92, 96
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of S. S. C, 96
— says The. Priest in Absolution is
" needed," 99
Goodman (Miss Margaret) on the serious
evils in Ritualistic Sisterhoods, 118-
20
— Sisterhoods in the Church of England,
117, 119-20, 129, 131, 134 "
— Her sad story of a dying Sister of
Mercy, 123
Gore (Rev. Canon Charles) on the Real
Presence and the Consecrated Ele-
ments, 153-4
Grahamstown (Bishop of) [in 1877] ex-
presses his " goodwill " to the
S. S. C, 95
Grant (Mr. William), Letter on the Order
of Corporate Reunion, 109
Green - Armytage (Rev. N.) on the
Church of Rome, 54
Guild of St. Alban's, London and Wol-
verhampton Provinces of, sympa-
thise with the S. S. C, 95
Guild of All Souls, 159-2
— its Objects, 159
— its secret Intercession Paper, 160
— its Office for the Dead According to
the Roman and Sarum Uses, 160
— its semi-secrecy, 160
— teaches Trausubstantiatiou, 160
— its Manual, 161
— observes " All Souls' Day," 161
— its President promoted by Bishop
Temple, 162
Guild of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 180
Guilds, their work, 181
Gurney (Rev. Archer), his courageous
attack on Dr. Pusey, 233-4
Halifax (Lord) on the use of the Ten
Commandments, 238-9
— on Beuedietion of the Blessed Sacra-
ment, 239
— most earnestly desires visible com-
munion with Rome, 241-2
— prefers Leo XIII. to the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council, 243
— his Speech at Bristol, 246-7
— on Papal Infallibility, 246-7
— ■ terms Luther "a needless and noxious
Rebel," 248
Hammond (Rev. Canon C. E.), 54
Heylin's Life of Laud, 231
Hislop's Two Babnlons, 115
Hoare (Rev. R. Whitehead), 95
Hodgson (Rev. James), Letter on the
C. B. S., 145
Holy Water used by Ritualists, 44, 173
— dead bodies to be sprinkled with, 44
— its supposed virtues, 44
Homily Conccrnini/ Prayer, 149
Homily on Good Works, 198
Homily on Peri! of Idolatry, 249|
Honorarium for a Mass, 175
Hook (Rev. Dr.) anxious to establish
a Sisterhood at Leeds, 114
— his remarkable letter to Dr. Pusey on
Sisters of Charity, 114
— on Pusey 's eulogy of the Jesuits, 202
— on Secession to Rome, 203-4
— on the Judicial Committee of Privy
Council, 243
INDEX.
Hooker's Works, 154
Hope-Scott (Mr. James R.), 10, 18
— visits the Jesuits at Rome, 192
Hornby (Bishop) a member of the Con-
fraternity of the Blessed Sacrament,
158
Iloskius (Rev. Edgar) and The Priest in
Absolution, 85
— favours revision of the Statutes of
S. S. C, 89
— opposes disbanding S. S. C, 90
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of S. S. C, 96
Hughes (Miss Marian) takes a Vow of
Celibacy, 115
— visits Roman Catholic Convents on
the Continent, 115-6
Hutchings (Rev. W. H.) — see Arch-
deacon of Cleveland
Hymns A ncieat and Modern, 171
Immaculate Conception of the Virgin,
246
Incense, Driving the Devil out of, 172
Inquisition (The), Letter to, from the
A. P. U. C, 222
— reply of the, 222
— memorial to, from English clergy,
224-5
Instructions for Retreats, 41
Intercession Paper of the Confraternity
of the Blessed Sacrament, 142, 143,
144, 145, 149, 150, 152, 153
— ordered to be destroyed when used,
143
— exposed in the Rock and Western
Daily Mercury, 144-5
— bow the first copy was found by a
Protestant, 144-5
— its secret character admitted, 145
Intercession Paper of the Guild of All
Souls, 160
Intercession Paper of the B. H. G, 163,
165
— recommend' Liguori's nloriesnf Alary,
164
Invocation of Saints, Dr. Pusey believes
in, 208
— what the Ritualists teach about, 288-9
Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 252
Jenner (Bishop) on the Ritual of the
Society of the Holy Cross, 54
— 92, 98
Jesuits in Disguise, 23
Jesuit Order, 91
Jesuits (The), Newman dislikes an article
against, 190
— their works the " favourite reading "
of Rev. W. G. Ward, 192
Jesuits (The), Mr. J. R. Hope-Scott's
visits to, 192
— Dr. Pusey eulogises the Founder of, 202
Johnson (Rev. John Barnes) on the Fire
of Purgatory, 161-2
Judicial Committee of Privy Council, 243
— Lord Halifax and Dean Hook on the,
243
Jurisdiction in the Confessional, 53
Kane's Notes on the Roman Ritual, 147
Keble (Rev. John) on " Yearning after
Rome," 199-200
— would allow, but not enjoin the " Dis-
cipline," 27
— on Protestantism, 188
— on the Reformers, 189
Kempe (Rev. John William) praises the
term " Mass," 98
Kensit (Mr. John) exhibits Ritualistic
Instruments of Torture, 27
Kilburn Sisterhood, 58
King (Rev. Bryan), 41, 42
— (Rev. Owen C. H.), what he saw in a
Ritualistic Convent Chapel, 135, 142
Kirkpatrick (Rev. R. C.) on hearing
Confessions, 52-3
Lacey (Rev. T. A.), his secret Mission
to Rome, 249-50
— his Paper for the private use of Roman
Cardinals, 250
Latimer (Bishop), Sermons, 141
— Remains, 141, 158
— on forged Sacrifices, 158
— on " Purgatory Pick Purse," 175
Laymen's Ritual Institute for Norwich,
178
— its secret Oath, 178
Lea's History of Sacerdotal Celibacy, 82,
Lebombo (Bishop of) [Dr. W. E. Smythe]
a Member of the Societv of the Holy
Cross, 43
— his work in Zululand, 43-4
— a Member of the Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament, 158
Lee (Rev. F. G.) and the Order of Cor-
porate Reunion, 106-8
— on the "rank and authority" of the
Pope, 108
Lewmgton (Rev. A. L.) teaches Transub-
stantiation, 156
" Levelling Up," how it is done, 235. 237
Liberty of Conscience denounced, 258
Licensed Confessors (Petition for), its
secret history, 49-50
Lichfield (Bishop of) [Dr. Selwyn],
Speech on the Societv of the Holy
Cross, 80
INDEX.
303
Life of Archbishop Tail, 68, 69, 72, 125,
127, 193
Life of Bishop Wilberfm-ce, 42, 126, 127,
207, 251
Life of Dr. Pusey, 8, 14, 26, 27, 59, 114-
116, 189, 190, 197, 19«, 202-8
Linklater (Rev.) on the Ritual of the
Litany of Our Lady, 179
Litany of the Saints, 172
Little (Canon Knox), his sermon on The
Priest in Absolution, 88
— his connection with the Society of the
Holy Cross, 88
— on revision of the Statutes of the
S S C 90
Little (Rev.'c. Hardy) and The Priest in
Absolution, 69
Littledale (Rev. Dr.), 76
— on how to prevent secessions to Rome,
102
Defence of Church Principles, 102-3
-- Chaplain of a Ritualistic Sisterhood,
135
— officiates at Benediction of the Blessed
Sacrament, 135
Littlemore Monastery, 12-20
Liturgy of the Church of So rum, 174-5
Llandaff (Bishop of) [Dr.Ollivant] Speech
on the Society of the Holy Cross, 79
Llauthony, Enclosed Nuns at, 129
London (Bishop of) [Dr. Jackson] cen-
Longley (Archbishop Charles T.), Letter
on Confessing a .Married Woman, 57
Lord's Day and the Holy Eucharist, 237-
241
Lowder (Rev. Charles) describes the first
Ritualistic Retreat, 40-1
— and St. George's Mission, 42-3
— on Auricular Confession, 52
— on Convocation, 54
— recommends withdrawal of Priest in
Absolution from circulation, 76
— Speech on the action of Bishop
Mackarness, 86
Luke (Rev. W. H. Colbeck) on disband-
ing the S. S. C, 92
Luther (Martin), Speech at Diet of
Worms, 49
Maciarlane (Rev. Brother) on the
"Sacrament of Penance," 52
Mackonochie (Rev. A. H.) on the
"caution" of the S. S. C, 34
— Letter on Carlisle Oratory of S. S. C,
47
— on the principles of The Priest in
Absolution, 70
Mackonochie (Rev. A. H.) opposes S.
S. C. deputation to the Bishops, 76
— Speech on the action of the Bishops,
86
— on compulsory Confession, 88
— opposes disbanding S. S. C, 92
— thinks The Priest in Absolution " a
most useful book for young priests,"
94
— his evidence before the Royal Com-
mission on Ecclesiastical Courts, 244
Manners (Lord John) [now Duke of
Rutland] secures Rules of Romish
Sisterhoods, 115
Manning (Archdeacou), how he heard
Confessions, 63-4
—his double-dealing, 209-213
— kneels before the Pope's carriage, 209
— Mr. Gladstone on his want of straight-
forwardness, 211-12
Manning (Cardinal) on Secessions to
Rome, 190, 225-7
— Essays on Religion, 190, 225-7, 255
Manual of Confession for Children, 59
Marshall (Rev. T. Outram), secret
Speeches on the Bishops, 86, 92
— opposes destruction or publication of
The Priest in Absolution, 94
Maskell (Rev. William) describes the
crooked ways of Tractariaus, 31
— Second Letter, 31-2
— Letter to Dr. Pusey, 60-1
Mass, The, Bishop Latimer on, 141
— preached before the University of
Oxford, 190
— Rev. E. W. Sergeant on, 240
" Mass Penny," 176
Melville (Canon), his warning against
Popery, 258
Memoirs of J. R. Hope-Scott, 10, 18, 26,
192, 201
Monastic Institutions, What the Ritual-
ists teach about, 291
.Monastic Orders, 198-9
Monastic Times, 129
Monks and Nuns, Pagan origin of, 115
Morris (Rev. J. B.) preaches the Sac-
rifice of the Mass before Oxford
University, 190
Mossman (Rev. T. W.) aud the Order of
Corporate Reunion, 107-9, 110-12,
159-61
— professes faith in the Pope's Infalli-
bility, 109
— his secret Letter on the Order of
Corporate Reunion, 11
— his Report on the O. C. R. to the,
S. S. C, 110-11
:;r>4
INDEX.
Mozley (Rev. Professor James B.), 3, 13-
14, 194, 205
Mozley (Rev. Thomas), his description of
Littlemore Monastery, 15, 18
Nassau (Bishop of) [Dr. E. T. Churton],
a Member of the Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament, 158
Neale (Rev. Dr.), advice to Ritualistic
Sisters, 58, 120-21
Newman (Rev. J. H.), on secret doc-
trines, 1-3
— on truthfulness, 2
— does not wish the names of his party
known, 3
— expects to be called a Papist, 5
— writes strongly against Popery, 8-10
— eats his " dirty words," 11, 199
— establishes a Monastery, 12-13, 15
— Bishop of Oxford's Letter to, 16-18
' — Life in New man's Monastery, 19-20
— his interview with Wiseman at Rome,
184-5
— has " a work to do in England," 184
— on uttering an untruth, 185
— called a Papist to his face, 186
— begins to use the Breviary, 187
— believes in the Sacrifice of the Mass,
188
— his use of ' ' irony, ' ' 189
— his mind " essentially Jesuitical," 190
— dislikes an article against the Jesuits,
190
— thinks " Rome the centre of unity,"
191
— " thought the Church of Rome was
right," 194
— has a secret longing love of Rome,
198
— writes : " I love the Church of Rome
too well," 205
— his secession to Rome, 207
— Letters, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
187, 188, 190, 191, 205, 206
— Via Media, 185
— Apologia Pro Vita Sua, 10, 15. 16-18,
184,185, 189,190, 191, 192, 198,199,
206
— Letter to the Bis/wp of Oxford, 194
Nicholas (Rev. G. Davenport) and the
Statement of S. S. C. , 76
— on the secret nature of S. S. C, 85
Nir/ht llmirsnfthe Church, 140
Nihill (Rev. fi. D.), on the " Sacrameut
of Penance," 52
— is " not ashamed of the Priest in
Absolution," 100
Nineteenth Century, article on the Order
of Corporate Reunion in the, 112
Nunnery Life in the Church of England,
29, 129
Oakeley (Rev. Frederick) on Life in Little-
more Monastery, 15
— describes Tractarian conduct on the
Continent, 21
Offices from tlie Breviary, 140
" One of our Consolations," 251
Order of Corporate Reunion, 102-12
— its Objects, 103
— its Birth, 103
— First Pastoral of the, 103-4
— "Thomas, Rector " of the, 103
— "Joseph, Provincial of York," 103
— "Laurence, Provincial of Caerleon,"
103
— opposes School Boards, 104
— doubts the validity of the Orders of
the Church of England, 105
— professes " loyalty " to the Pope, 106
— acknowledges the Pope as "visible
head" of the whole Church, 106
— Who are the secretly consecrated
Bishops of the, 106
— Mr. William Grant's letter on, 109
— The Civi/ita Cattolica on the, 109
— The Society of the Holy Cross and the,
110-12, 229-30
— said to have reordained eight hundred
clergy of the Church of England, 112
Order of the Holy Redeemer, 163-8
— its mysterious inner circle, 163
— its Monthly Leaflet, 164
— its Popish profession of faith, 164
— acknowledges the Pope as " Teacher "
of the whole Church, 164
— treasonable Letter of " John O.H.R.,"
164-5
— afraid of the light, 165
— opens a Convent at Stamford Hill, 165
— its object the subjection of England to
Rome, 165
— " Rev. Father Square's " address to,
166
Order of St. John the Divine, _a secret
Society in East London, 167
Oscott College, Reunion with Rome dis-
cussed at, 197
Our National Independence in peril,255-6
Oxenbam (Rev. Frank N.) censures The
Priestin Absolution, 72, 77-8, 85
Oxford (Bishop of) [Dr. S. Wilberforce]
on Dr. Pusey as a Roman Confessor.
62
— [Dr. Mackaruess] Speech on the
Society of the Holy Cross, 80
— [Dr. Maekarness] tries to save the
| S. S. C. from eensure, 86
INDEX.
308
Oxford Martyrs' Memorial, Pusey dis-
likes it as " unkind to the Church of
Rome," 189
Palmer's Narrative of Eoeats, 4, 185,
187, 199
Papal Infallibility, 109, 247
— What the Ritualists teach about,
268-9
Parker (Rev. James Benjamin) and the
Roll of the S.S. C, 77
Parnell (Rev. Charles) on the Roman
Ritual, 54
— opposes publication of Priest in Abso-
lution, 94
Pattison (Rev. Mark), his experience in
Littlemore Monastery, 20
— goes once to Dr. Pusey to Confession,
130
" Peace with Rome with all our hearts,"
247
Penitentiary Committee of the Society of
the Holy Cross, 39
Penrith Branch of English Church Union
sympathises with the S. S. C, 95
Perjury and Lying, 57-8
Perry (Rev. T. W. ) and the Society of the
Holy Cross, 76
Phillimore (Sir Walter) and the Society
of the Holy Cross, 76
Pixell (Rev. C. H. V.), 47
Plymouth Ritualistic Sisterhood, " a hell
upon earth," 130
Pope (The) (The Order of Corporate Re-
union recognises) as "Visible Head"
of the Church, 106
— prayed for as "our Pope," 169
— recognised as Governor of the Church,
174, 175
— rejoices at the work of the Tractarians,
190
— the "Representative" of the Divine
Head of the Church, 199
— Dr. Pusey and the Supremacy and
Primacy of, 232
— Rev. G. B. Roberts on the Primacy of,
242
Popery, an enemy to National Prosperity,
253-4
Powell (Rev. J. B.) on the Ritual of the
Society of the Holy Cross, 54
Protestantism a " Bastard Faith," 178
— "a dark and damnable spot in the
Church's History," 178
— the great hindrance to Union with
Rome, 183
— "is dangerous now, "187
— Dr. Pusey's opinion of, 204
— What the Ritualist* teach about, 292
Priest in Absolution, xl.
— its original price, 40
— Secret History of, 66-101
— translated'and edited by Rev. J. C.
Chambers, 66-7
— said to be a " golden treatise," 66
— praised by the Church Review, 67
— curious letter about the, 67
— supplied only to High Church priests,
67
— its copyright purchased by the Society
of the Holy Cross, 67-8
— secret documents concerning, quoted,
68-9, 70-7, 85-100
— its sale, 68, 73
— how Mr. Robert Fleming discovered
the, 69
— exposed in the House of Lords, 69-70
— Lord Redesdale on the, 69
— Archbishop Tait terms it " a disgrace
to the community," 69
— peers protest against the, 70
— its "principles" said to guide all
Ritualistic Confessors, 70
— secret Letter on, from Rev. Francis
LI. Bagshawe, 71
— Debate on, in secret Synod of S. S. C,
93-5
— another debate on, in secret Synod of
S. S. C, 99-100
Priests' Prayer Book on Holy Water, 44
— its services for Sisters of Mercy,
136-7
Private Burial Grounds in Ritualistic
Convents, 134
Prynne (Rev. G. R.), Member of Com-
mittee for Revising statutes of
S. S. C, 96
Puller (Rev. F.W. ) on valid Absolutions,
53
— on Revising the statutes of S. S. C,
92
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of S. S. C, 96
— on Evening Communion, 150
Purcell's Life "/' t'uiilinul Manning, 64,
191, 206, 208-11, 225
Purgatorial Society, A, 159-63
Purgatory and the C. B. S., 150
— and the Guild of All Souls, 160-2
— What the Ritualists teach about, 281-3
" Purgatory Pick Purse," 175
Purton (Rev. William) defends the
Society of the Holy Cross, 90
Pusey (Rev. Dr.) joins the Tractarian
Movement, 4
— his subtle scheme for writing against
Papery, 7
20
306
INDEX.
Pusey (Rev. Dr.) approves of Newman's
proposed Monastery, 14
— sends for a " Discipline," 25
— wears hair-cloth, 26
— would like to be ordered the " Discip-
line," 26
— Manual frr Confessors, 28, 57, 58, 84,
95, 117, 129
— first Retreat held in his rooms, 40-41
— and St. George's Mission, 42
— on the Seal of Confession, 57, 130
— on bringing children to Confession, 58
— begins to hear Confessions in 1838,
— in 1842 writes against Confession, 60
— how Confessions were heard in his
Sisterhood, 61
— "doing the work of a Roman Con-
fessor," 62
— Hints for a First Confession, 61-2
— on the fearful evils of the Confessional,
84
— eager to set up Sisters of Mercy, 114
— visits Romish Convents in Ireland, 114
— procures the Rules of Romish Con-
vents, 114
— Enclosed Nuns of " The Sacred
Heart " in his Sisterhood, 128
— recommends the "Discipline" for
Sisters of Mercy, 129
— charged with breaking the Seal of
Confession, 130
— hears Confessions "on the sly," 61
— his Introductory Essay to Essays on
Reunion, 183
— dislikes the Oxford Martyrs' Memo-
rial, 189
— his eulogy of the Founder of the
Jesuits, 202
— his opinion of Protestantism, 204
— desires "more love for Rome," 204
— his conduct censured by Dr. Manning,
204
— praises the " superiority " of Roman
books, 205
— Bishop Wilberforce censures his
Romanising work, 207, 251
— acknowledges his belief in Purgatory
and the Invocation of Saints, 208
— Eirenicon, 231-2, 250
— on the Primacy and Supremacy of the
Pope, 232
— said to have been " a Gallicau on the
wrong side of the water," 233
Railway Guild of the Holy Cross, 181
Real Presence, What the Ritualists teach
about the, 271-3
Rtcords of English Catholics, 255
Reformers and the Reformation, What
the Ritualists teach about the, 269-70
Reilly's Relations of the Cliurch to
Society, 258
Relics (Shrine with) recommended by
the Society of St. Osmund, 174
"Removing the Barriers" between
England and Rome, 228
Requiem Masses, 148-9, 160
Reserve in Communicating Religious
Knowledge, 5-7
" Reserve " observed in the St. George's
Mission, 41
"Retreat Committee " of the Society of
the Holy Cross, 40
Retreats, Instructions for, 41
— the first in Dr. Pusey's rooms, 42
Reunion Magazine, 103, 105, 106
Reunion with Rome, 183
— Rev. W. G. Ward on, 196
— Union Review on, 218, 219
— Essays on Reunion on, 219, 220
— Protestantism the "great hind-
rance" to, 183
— with Rome, Work of the Society
of the Holy Cross for, 227-9
— Rev. N. Y. Birkmyre on, 230
— How to promote, 235-7
— E. C. U. Address to Lambeth Con-
ference on, 241
— Lord Halifax most earnestly desires.
242
— Objections to, 253-60
— What the Ritualists teach about,
267-8
Revision of the Prayer Book on Ritual-
istic lines, 237-41
Riley (Mr. Athelstan), his connection
with the Society of St. Osmund,
168
— translates the Mirror of Our Lady
and the Hours of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, 170
Ritualism, its object from its birth, 182
— " the Preparatory School for Rome,"
251-2
— one of the "consolations " of Rome,
251
Ritualists (The), their Objects and Work,
183
— doing Rome's work, 221
— the results of their teaching, 251-2
— preparing a harvest for Rome, 252
Ritualistic Sisterhoods, 113-140
Roberts (Rev. G. Bavfield) History of
the English Church Union, 235-41
— on the Primacy of the " Bishop of
old Rome," 242
INDEX.
307
Robiuson (Rev. George Croke) on the
Revision of the Statutes of S. S. C,
98
Rock, 47, .r«0. 54, 67, 144, 145, 146
— publishes the Roll of Brethren of
S. S. C, 71
Rockhamptou (Bishop of) becomes a
member of the Society of the Holy
Cross, 53
— on the Secrecy of the Society of the
Holy Cross, 87
Rogers (Mr. FA 3, 12, 14
Roman Ritual (Discussion on) in S. S. C.
Svnod, 53
Rome (Church of) Reunion with, 183
— We are " Not good enough for " the,
184
— Secret Receptions into the, 186
— Rev. W. G. Ward on Reunion with
the, 196
— How Reunion with, is to be accom-
plished, 196
— Conditions of union with, discussed
at Oscott College, 197
— " Yearning after " the, 200
— Work of the A. P. U. C. for Re-
union with the, 215-27
— "A friendly feeling towards" the,
225
— Speech in favour of the Ritual of the,
245
— What the Church of England says
about the, 249
— The duty of separation from, 253
— Objections to Reunion with, 253-60
— The Babylon of the Book of the Re-
velation, 259-60
Rome (The name of) "pronounced with
Romeward Movement (The), 182-260
Russell (Rev. H. Lloyd) on Punishment
in Purgatory, 161
"Sacrament of Penance," Secret dis-
cussion on the, 52-3
Sacrifice of the Mass, What the Ritual-
ists teach about the, 274-7
Salisbury (Bishop of) [Dr. Moberly] on
Habitual Confession, 81
Salisbury (Bishop of) [Dr. E. Denison]
alarmed at the Romeward move-
ment, 198
Salisbury (Lord) denounces Habitual
Confession, 49
Secessions to Rome, How Ritualists try
to prevent, 102
— Cardinal Manning on, 190
— Newman's plan for preventing, 198
— Dr. Hook on, 203
Secessions to Rome, The Rambler on,
213
— mainly from the ranks of the Ritu-
alists, 251
Secret teaching of the Tractarians, 1-3
Secret doctrines not learnt from Scrip-
ture, 1-3
Secret Societies, Church of England
honeycombed with, xl.
Sellon (Miss), Mother Superior of Dr.
Pusey's Convent, 116
— her " disgusting insult " to a Sister of
Mercy, 117
— a warning against, 130
— and the Confessions of her Sisters of
Mercy, 131
— Miss Margaret Goodman's estimate
of, 131-3
Sergeant (Rev. E. W.), his suggested Re-
vision of the Book of Common
Prayer, 240
Separation, the Duty of, 253
Shipley (Rev. Orby) on the Doctrine of
Reserve, 7
— proposes an Oratory of the S. S. C,
46
— on Convocation, 54
Sibthorp (Rev. R. W.), 201
Sisterhood of the Holy Cross, 125 note
Sisterhoods, Ritualistic, 113-40
— formed on Roman models, 114-16
— are really secret societies, 114
— the "Vow of Obedience" in Dr.
Pusey's, 117
— the "Vow of Poverty "in Dr. Pusey's,
118
— evils of the Vow of Obedience in,
118
— Miss Goodman on the serious evils in,
118-20
— it is difficult to leave, 119-20
— are their accounts audited ? 121
— Miss Cusack's experience in Dr.
Pusey's, 130
— and Romanising doctrines and prac-
tices, 134-40
— service for Clothing Novices in, 136
— at Llanthony, 29, 129
— at Kilburn, 58, 139
— at St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, 58,
120, 121, 135
— at Clewer, 122
— at All Saints', Margaret Street, 122,
124, 134
— at Slapton, 129
Sister Mary Agnes most cruelly whipped,
29
— O. S. B., 128
308
INDEX.
Sisters of Mercy, Dr. Pusey on obedience
to their Spiritual Father, 29
— Dr. Pusey's advice to, 116
— iu the Confessional, 117
— one ordered to lick the floor with her
tongue, 117
— Benson's book for their guidance, 117,
121
— sad story of a dying, 123
— ordered the "Discipline," 129
— shocking cruelty to, 132
— hungry, 133
Slapton, enclosed Nuns at, 129
Smith (Rev. Joseph Newton), Founder of
the Society of the Holy Cross, 33
— on the "wisdom of the serpent," 87
Smythe (Rev. W. Edmund). 43-4, see
also Lebombo, Bishop of.
Society of the Holy Cross (The Master of)
on " Reserve," 7
— its first members, 33
— its caution and secrecy, 34, 44, 45, 46,
85, 87, 89
— its Statutes, 34, 89
— its Officia, 34
— its Cross, 34
— founded, 34
— its mysterious " Committee of
Clergy," 35
— its secret Synods and Chapters, 36
— its secret Roll of sworn Celibates, 37
— the Celibate Oath, 37
— the Brethren pledged to bring young
and old to Confession, 38
— its Books for the Young, 38-9
— its " Peniteutiary Committee " : their
names, 39
— its " Retreat Committee," 40
— starts the Retreat movement, 40
— starts the St. George's Mission at St.
Peter's, London Docks, 41-2
— the Master's Address, 1870, 44-5
— the Master's Address, May, 1876, 45
— afraid of Post Cards, 45
— the Master's Address, Sept., 1876,
45
— organises the Petition for Licensed
Confessors, 49-50
— its Secret Roll of Drethre ,i , 54-55, 71,
77, 87
— purchases the copyright of The Priest
in Absolution, 67-8
— the Rock publishes its Roll of Breth-
ren, 71
— its interview with the Bishops, 74
— its Statement to the Bishops, 74-5
— Special Chapter of July 5th, 1877,
75-7
Society of the Holy Cross, Canterbury
Houses of Convocation discuss the,
78-81
— termed "a Conspiracy" by Arch-
bishop Tait, 79
— its secret Chapter, Julv 10th, 1877,
85-8
— its action towards the Bishops, 85-7
— its secret Chapter, August, 1877, 89
— its secret Synod, September, 1877,
89-95
— proposal to disband it, 90-3
— its secret debate on The Priest in Ab-
solution, 93-5
— Committee for Revising Statutes of ;
Names of its members, 96
— great secession from its ranks, 96
— its secret Synod, May, 1878, 96-100
their Report, 97-8
— refuses to destroy T/te Priest in Ab-
solution, 100
— it condemns the Order of Corporate
Reunion, 110-12
— its Address to Catholics, 227
— its address to the Lambeth Con-
ference, 227-8
— by whom it was signed, 228
— approves of the A. P. U. C, 229
— its secret discussion on the Order of
Corporate Reunion, 229-30
Society of St. Osmund, 168, 178
— its Episcopal Vice-Presidents, 168
— and London School Board Election,
168
— its Objects, 168
— works for the restoration of the Sarum
Ritual, 168-9
— its puerile ceremonial, 169-70
— prays for " our Pope," 169
— its Confessions to the Virgiu and
Saints, 169
— its "worship" of the Virgin, 170-
171
— its Seriicesfor Holy Week, 171-4
— its Adoration of the Cross, 171
— its Litany of the Saints, 172
— drives the Devil out of Incense and
Flowers, 173-4
— its Service for Palm Sunday, 173-4
— recommends a " Shrine with Relics,"
174
— recognises the Pope as Governor of
the Church, 175
— its Ceremonial and Offices of the Dead,
175-6
— dissolved, and merged into the Alcuin
Club, 177-8
Som* Cautions for Mass Priests, 280-81
INDEX.
309
Some other Ritualistic Societies, 159-81
Some Ritualistic "Ornaments of the
Church," 270
Spencer (Rev. George), Letter on the
tactics of the .Tractarians, 183-4
— his visit to Newman, 191-2
Spirit of tlie Founder, a secret book for
Ritualistic Sisters, 58, 120, 121, 122,
139
Square (Rev. "Father"), Address to the
Secret Order of the Holy Redeemer,
166
Square (Rev. Ernest), Speech in favour
of Roman Ritual, 245
St. Albans (Bishop of) [Dr. Claughton],
Speech on the Confessional, 79
St. Alban's, Holborn, 180
St. Alphege, Southwark, 178-80
— its Manual of Tertiaries, 179
— its Manual of tin- Church Confrater-
nity, 179
— its "Guild of the Sacred Heart," 180
St. Asaph (Bishop of) [Dr. Hughes],
Speech on Confession by the, 80
St. Cuthberfs, Philbeach Gardens, 171
St. George's Mission, 41-3
St. Margaret's, East Grinstead, Sister-
hood, 120, 121
— Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and
Obedience taken for life, 120
— how the Sisters dispose of their in-
come, 120, 121
— Popish service in one of its Convent
Chapels, 135
— its Xight Hours of the Church, 139
St. Matthias', Earl's Court, 162, 245
St. Peter's Parish Magazine, 43-4
St. Saviour's Hospital, Osnaburgh Street,
N.W., 140
Stallard (Rev. Arthur Gordon), on Re-
vision of Statutes of S. S. C, 98
Stanton (Rev. A. H.), 76
Stathers (Rev. William), his remarkable
Protest and Ejplt'uatitm, 245
Stocks (Rev. J. E.), 53
Synodi hioxescos Svthvarcensis, 222-3
Tait (Archbishop) on The Priest in Ab-
solution, 69
— on theS. S. C, 72-5
— Speech in Convocation, 78-9
— Terms the S. S. C. " a Conspiracy," 79
— opposed to Perpetual Vows in Ritual-
istic Sisterhoods, 127-8
— on Tract XC, 192-3
Teignmouth (Lord), his Reminiscences,
186
The Importance of Ritual, What the
Ritualists teach about, 292
The Power and Dignity of Sacrificing
Priests, What the Ritualists teach
about, 273-4
The " Preparatory School for Rome,"
251-2
The Romeward Movement, 182-260
The Ten Commandments and the Ritual-
ists, 239-40
The Thirty-nine Articles, What the
Ritualists teach about, 265-6
— Newman, "no great friend" of, 187,
231
— the Rev. W. G. Ward on, 195
Thynne (Lord Charles) on the Tractarian
Confessional, 63
" Toleration to Protestants is Intoler-
ance to Catholics," 258
Towne (Rev. Lyndhurst B.), 98
Tracts for the Times "abused as Popish,"
187
— 208
Tract On Reserve in Communicating
Religious Knoivledge, 5-7
— Condemned by the Bishops, 5, 7
— rightly understood by Evangelicals, 7
Tract XC. , 192-3, 202
Tractarian Movement, Birth of the, 1,
184
— its promoters fear publicity, 3
— Joshua Watson on its ulterior desti-
nation, 4
— " Suggestions " for its formation, 4
— Dr. Pusey joins the, 4
— Mr. Gladstone joins the, 5
— attacked by the Standard and Edin-
burgh Review, 7
Tractarians go secretly to Mass in dis-
guise, 21
— described by Mr. Maskell, 31-2
— their real object a profound secret,
184
— ' ' Introducing Popery without autho-
rity," 187
— said to be " Crypto-Papists," 187
— greatly rejoice the Pope, 190
— on the Continent, 192, 202
— their Jesuitical tactics described, 195-6
— their negotiations with Dr. Wiseman,
197
— Moving towards Rome, 201
Transubstantiation taught by the C.B.S.,
156-7
— taught by the Guild of All Souls, 160
Treatise of S. Catherine of Genoa on
Purgatory, 160
Truro (Bishop of) [Dr. Gott], recom-
mends the Priests' Prayer Book, 136
Union Review, 66, 105, 183, 217-9, 232
310
INDEX.
Urquhart (Rev. E. W.) teaches Tran-
substantiation, 156-7
Vaux (Rev. J. E.), 103
Virtues of Holy Salt, Holy Water, and
Holy Oil, What the Ritualists teach
about the, 289-91
Vow of Obedience by Ritualistic Sisters,
116-8
— of Poverty by Ritualistic Sisters, 118-
125
— of Celibacy taken by a girl of eighteen
for life, 125-6
— censured by Bishop S. Wilberforce,
126
Vows in St. Margaret's Sisterhood, East
Griustead, taken for life, 120
— of Ritualistic Sisters censured by
Bishop S. Wilberforce, 126
— (Perpetual) by Ritualistic Sisters
censured by Archbishop Tait, 127-8
Ward (Rev. A. H.) favours disbanding
the Society of the Holy Cross, 93
Ward (Rev. William George), his
Jesuitical conduct, 11
— on Equivocation, 12
— the Jesuits his " favourite reading, "
192
— on Union with Rome, 196
— Ideal of a Christian Church, 201-3
— holds all Roman doctrine, 201
Walker (Rev. Henry Aston) opposes
S. S. C. deputation to the Bishops,
76
Wallace (Rev. C. S.), aud the Society of
the Holy Cross, 88
— thanked by S. S. C. for his conduct,
88
— opposes publication of Priest in
Absolution, 94
Watson (Mr. Joshua) on the ulterior
destination of Tractarianism, 4
West Mailing, enclosed Ritualistic Nuns
at, 129
What the Ritualists Teach, 261-93
Wilberforce (Bishop Samuel), xxxix.
— on the Vows of Ritualistic Sisters, 126
— Censures Vows of Celibacy in Ritual-
istic Sisterhoods, 126
Wilberforee (Bishop Samuel) on Fasting
Communion, 150
Williams (Rev. Isaac), 5-7
William O. Word and the Oxford Move-
ment, 12, 192, 195-7, 201
Willington (Rev. Henry Edward), Mem-
ber of Committee for Revising
Statutes of S. S. C, 96
Wilson (Rev. Robert James) and The
Priest in Absolution, 70, 85
— Member of Committee for Revising
Statutes of S. S. C, 96
Wiseman (Cardinal), 20-2
— interview with Newman and Froude,
184, 205
— discusses Reunion with Rome with
Tractarians, 197
Wolverhampton Province of the Guild
of St. Alban's svmpathises with the
S. S. C, 95
Women and the Confessional, 57, 58, 61,
63, 64, 84
— ruined by Ritualistic Confessors, 82
Wood (Hon. C. L.) {see also under Hali-
fax), advocates Masses for the Dead,
149
— Elected President of the English
Church Union, 235
Wood (Rev. E. G.), his resolutions for
disbanding S. S. C, 90
— on the Jesuit Order, 91
— on Purgatory, 149, 162
— on Jurisdiction in the Confessional, 53
— his subtle advice to the Society of the
Holy Cross, 87
— on compulsory Confession, 87
Wordsworth (Bishop Christopher) on
Rome as the Babvlon of the Revela-
tion, 259
— Union with Rome, 259
Zanzibar (Bishop of) [Dr. Richardson], 53
— a Member of the Society of the Holy
Cross, 55
— a Member of the Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament, 158
Zululand (Bishop of) [Dr. W. M. Carter],
a Member of the Confraternity of
the Blessed Sacrament, 158
OCTOBER, 1899.
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The Ritualistic Conspiracy. Fifth Edition. By Lady Wimborne.
Thou Shalt not, or God's Thought on Idolatrous Worship. By the Rev. E. K. Elliott.
TWOPENCE EACH.
Bourn, Rev. Henry. — A Protest against Ritualism and its Unscriptural Teachings.
Constant Presence, The. By Rev. W. J. Bolton.
God's Confessional or Man's. By Rev. G. Everard.
Farrar (Dean) —Sacerdotalism.
Undoing the Work of the Reformation.
The Bible and the Ministry.
Beddow, Rev. J. J.— Evening Communion— A Divine Institution.
Ryle, Bishop— What is Written about the Lord's Supper.
Questions and Answers about the Lord's Supper.
Preston, Rev. W, D.D.— Anti-Ritualism. A Catechism on the Communion Office.
Sinclair, Ven. Archdeacon.— The True Minister.
What England owes to the Reformation. By Edward Hull, M.A., LL.D.
Evening Communion: Scriptural, Lawful, and Expedient. By the late Archdeacon
Bardsley, D.D.
The First Step on Romanism. By Rev. J. P. Fitzgerald.
Lawlessness in the Church of England. Speech by Samuel Smith Esq., M.P., in the
House of Commons. Feb., 1899. 3rd Edition. 135th thousand,
CHAS. J. THYNNE,
TWOPENCE EACH — continued.
The Mass and the Confessicial in the Church of Erg-land. The Popular Report of
the Great Albert Hall Demonstration, Jan. 31st, 1899.
A Pastor's Warning Words against Ritualistic Innovations. By Rc-v. S.C. Baker.
THE TWO CATHOLICS. An Exposition. Bv A. H. Foster.
The Secret Work of the Ritualists. Bv Walter Walsh.
How Rom? Treats the Bible. Bv the same Author.
The Rights and Duties of Lay Churchmen. By the Rieht Rev. Bishop Ryle, D.D.
Speeches of Samuel Smith, Esq , M.P., and of the Right Hon. Sir William
Harcourt, M.P., in tne House nf Commons, June 16th and 2tst, 1895, on Illegal
Services in the Church of England and Romish Teaching. Sixtieth Thousand.
The Teaching of the Church of England concerning the Lord's Supper or Holy
Communion.
What Ritualists Teach the Young. An Address by Samuel Smith, Esq., M.P., on
Ritualism and Elementary Education, with an Appendix of Extracts from Ritualistic
books for Children. Third Edition.
The Bible. The True Charter of British Liberties. By the late Canon Hugh
Stowell.
What Ritualists Teach and What The Church of England Teaches concerning
Absolution and Confession. By Rev. W. Preston, D.D.
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The Atonement ; a Witness against Sacerdotalism. By the Rev. H. C. G. Moule, D.D.
The Position and Rights of the Laity. By the Rev. Canon Jenkins, M.A.
Shall I Fast? By the Rev. W. B. R. Caley, M.A.
Shall I Confess? By the Rev. W. B. R. Caley, M.A.
The Teaching of the Catacombs. By the Yen. Archdeacon Sinclair.
By the sa ne A uthor.— Benefits of the Reformation.
Is Ritualism in the Church of England Pooular ?
The Position of Protestant Churchmen in the Present Crisis. By the Rev.
J. B. Mylius.
Shepherd or no Shepherd. A plea for the Christian Ministry. By a Layman.
To Whom shall We Confess, and Why? Bv Rev. C. H. Gibson, B.A.
The Due Limits of Ritual in the Church of England. By the Right Rev. Lord
Bishop of Sodor and Man.
The Papacy as prefigured by Daniel. By Rev. W. B. Sandford.
Some of the Main Causes of Alienation from the Church. By the Rev. H. C. Wisdom.
The Life and Work of Pastor Chiniquy. Illustrated.
The Last Look. A Tale of the Spanish Inquisition. 4to. Illustrated.
The Martyr of Brentwood. 138th Thousand. 4to. Illustrated.
St. Mary's Convent; or Chapters in the Life of a Nun. 1 12th Thousand. 4to. Illustrated.
The Crisis in the Church of England. By the Rev. F. C. llurrough.
The Alcuin Club and the Ornaments Rubric. By Rev. E. M. Townshend.
BY BISHOP RYLE,
His Presence : Where is it ?
Let us Hold Fast our Profession.
Perilous Times.
Are you Fighting?
Prove and Hold Fast.
The Position of the Laity.
What is Evangelical Religion?
Buy a Sword.
What do we owe to the Reformation ?
One Penny Each.
Are there Few? A Question for the
Times.
Is it Peace ? A kind enquiry.
The City ! Or the sight which stirred
St. Paul.
Which Class? A question for every-
body.
Are you Weary ? A kind enquiry.
Looking unto Jesus. Heb. XII. 2.
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