Skip to main content

Full text of "The secret history of the Oxford Movement, with a new preface containing a reply to critics"

See other formats 


I 


Vf*9 


THE    SECRET    HISTORY 


OF 


THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT 


THE  SECRET  HISTORY 


OF 


THE  OXFORD  MOVEMENT 


BY 


WALTER  WALSH 


WITH 


NEW   PREFACE    CONTAINING  A   REPLY  TO   CRITICS 


FIFTH  EDITION.      THIRTY-SECOND   THOUSAND 


LONDON 

CHURCH  ASSOCIATION,  14,  Buckingham  Street,  Strand,  W.C. 
SWAN  SONNENSCHEIN  &  CO.,  Ltd.,  Paternoster  Square,  EC. 

1899 


e*© 


f 


z. 


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  Ritualistic  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  exhibition  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 


VI  PREFACE. 

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 
extracts :  "  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  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  under- 
stand, 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  property,  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 


PREFACE.  Vll 

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,  i8g8,  I  must  be  a  kind  of  sneaking  villain ; 

yet  in  the  opinion  of  the  same  paper,  of  January  21st,  1898, 

page  63,   I  was  fully  entitled  to  the   following  testimonial 

(the  italics  are  mine)  : — 

"  In  The  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 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

of  the  Ritualistic  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  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  book,  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  A  bsolution  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 


PREFACE.  IX 

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  Reunion.  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  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 


X  PREFACE. 

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 
Invincibles  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  truth- 
ful 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  quota- 
tions 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  inaccessible  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  Ritualistic 
societies.  Their  documents  must  indeed  be  secret,  when 
the  leading  champion  of  the  Ritualistic  party  is  not  allowed 
the  use  of  them  for  the  purpose  of  crushing  The  Secret  History 


PREFACE.  XI 

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  the 
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  Society  of 
the  Holy  Cross  be  applied  to,  and  asked  to  produce  their 
copies  of  the  reports  of  the  Synods  in  question.  I  am  pre- 
pared 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  circulated  first  in  the  year  1867. 
Yet  ten  years  later,  in  1877,  at  a  monthly  Chapter  of  the 


Xll  PREFACE. 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Dawes,  now 
Bishop  of  Rockhampton,  complained  that  "  Our  weakness 
hitherto  had  been  our  secrecy;  "  and  the  Rev.  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  Rev.  William  Crouch  affirmed  that 
"  he  thought  the  secrecy  of  the  Society's  doings  a  mistake  " 
(see  infra,  pp.  125,  126,  64).  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). 

1  notice  that  The  Church  Times  admits  that  there  is  a 
Secret  History  of  the  Oxford  Movement.  u  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  room   at    Hawarden. 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

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  Ritualists,  and  that 
I  have  revealed  too  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  Tractarians  would  not 
harm  us." 

On  the  subject  of  "Reserve"  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  expressions,"  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  *  Reserve ' ; 
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  "  Reserve "  openly ;  what  I  have  asserted,  and  still 
assert,  and  have  fully  proved  in  the  following  pages,  is  that 
they  practised  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  truth- 
fulness and  straightforward  dealing. 

In  the  course  of  its  attack  The  Church  Times  makes  one  or 
two  admissions  about    The  Priest  in   Absolution  which  are 


XIV  PREFACE. 

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  acknowledgments  of  The  Church  Times 
reveal  the  character  of  the  Ritualistic  Confessional  in  its 
true  light.  It  is  a  place  where,  at  the  will  and  discretion  of 
the  Father  Confessor,  certain  "  filthy  "  and  "  disgusting  " 
subjects  are  talked  about,  often  by  persons  of  opposite 
sexes.  It  is  pleaded  by  my  critic  that  The  Priest  in  A  bsolution 
"  exactly  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  honour- 
able 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 
Rhodes  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.  136).  Yes;  and  unfortunately, 
there  is  reason  to  fear  that  it  is  "  an  obscene  book,"  which 
has  frequently  led  to  "obscene"  talk  between  the  Father 


PREFACE.  XV 

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  propagating,  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 
Rev.  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  Requiem 
Masses  in  Church,  yet  no  one  is  allowed  to  be  present  at 


XVI  PREFACE. 

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  Ritualistic 
Sisterhoods  may,  The  Church  Times  thinks,  be  "  largely 
bogus,"  though  it  fails  to  produce  any  evidence  in  proof  of 
its  suggestion.  It  declares  that  a  Convent  is  "  essentially 
a  private  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 
Reformation,  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  Ritualistic  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 


PREFACE.  XV11 

ago  ?  After  all,  Convents  are  no  more  "  private  houses M 
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  Ritualistic 
Convents,  as  revealed  in  the  unrefuted  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  Ritualistic 
Sisterhoods  merely  on  the  ground  of  a  Blue  Book,  which 
might  be  bought  and  sold  by  anybody,  but  on  docu- 
mentary 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" 
(p.  373)  of  the  Ritualists,  as  distinguished  from  their  secret 
writings  which  are  largely  cited  in  the  body  of  the  book. 

B 


XV111  PREFACE. 

This  is  the  way  in  which  The  Church  Times  comments  on 
this  collection  of  extracts  : — 

"  Most  of  them  are  plain  statements  of  Christian  doctrine  5  some 
of  them  are  in  very  bad  taste ;  some  we  dislike  intensely  5  some  would 
be  almost  universally  repudiated  by  our  friends.  But  of  all  alike 
we  ask,  Where  is  the  secrecy  ?  Where  is  the  plot  ?  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  attempted  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  acknowledg- 
ment :     "  We   have,    so    far,   assumed    that    Mr.  Walsh's 


PREFACE.  XIX 

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  anyone  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  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  400  pages.     I  have,  in  compiling  it,  received 

not  the  slightest  assistance  from  anyone.     The  wonder  to 

b  2 


XX  PREFACE. 

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. 

(i)  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  Rev.  T.  A.  Lacey,  to  Rome,  with  reference  to  the 
recognition  of  Anglican  Orders  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  It 
is  admitted  by  those  who  know  the  facts  of  the  case  that 
each  of  these  three  gentlemen  went  to  Rome  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  "  Reunion  Expenses  "  :  "  Expenses  at  Rome  of 
Revs.  Father  Puller  andT.A.  Lacey,  £145. 15s  7^."  Where 
then  does  my  inaccuracy  came  in  ?  I  wrote  (page  356)  : 
"  There  went  with  Lord.  Halifax  to  Rome  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 


PREFACE.  XXI 

this  inaccuracy  ?     In  connection  with  these  visits  I  quote 
a     certain     outrageously     Romanizing     document     which 
Mr.     Lacey,    when    at     Rome,    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  Reading  Room  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    Reading    Room  several   times  every  day 
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  per- 
formances of  certain  Tractarians  when  they  travelled  on  the 


XXH  PREFACE. 

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  Catholicity 

on  the  other  "  (page  y$).     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,  while  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 


PREFACE.  XX1U 

Manning,  while  Archdeacon  of  Chichester,  visited  Rome, 
and  knelt  down  in  the  mud  before  the  Pope's  carriage,  did 
he  make  known  his  disgraceful  action  to  the  public  when 
he  came  home  ?  We  know  it  was  kept  secret  until  after  his 
death  as  a  Roman  Cardinal ! 

(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 


XXIV  PREFACE. 

the  petitioners  plainly  imply  that  in  their  opinion  the 
doctrines  in  question  were  those  of  the  Church  of  England. 
I  wrote  {infra,  page  71)  :  .   1 

"  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  expression  to  this  claim  of  the 
Church  of  England  to  be  Catholic  in  her  doctrine,  usage,  and 
ceremonial.'  M 

No  one,  in  his  senses,  would  ever  suppose  that  the 
Romanizers  who  signed  this  very  Romanizing  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  inconsistent  when  they  signed  a  petition  which 
asked  for  the  "  addition "  of  these  "  doctrines "  to  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.  We  do  not  ask  for  the  "  addi- 
tion "  of  a  thing  to  a  book,  when  we  know  that  it  is  there 
already.  I  dealt  with  this  Petition  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  expelled  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 


PREFACE. 


XXV 


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  $th,  1898. 

My  Lord, — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  enquiry,  I  herewith  send  the 
evidence  which,  in  my  opinion,  justified  me  in  asserting  that  "The 
Society  of  St.  Osmund "  still  exists  under  the  new  name  of  the 
"  Alcuin  Club."  On  February  18th,  1897,  Mr.  A.  E.  Maidlow  Davis, 
Secretary  of  the  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  The  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. 


XXVI  PREFACE. 

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  the  Club,  at  least  as  an  Associate,  at 
the  annual  subscription  of  five  shillings.  Unless  I  hear  jrom  you  to 
the  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  Rev.  E.  G.  Wood, 
after  the  exposure  of  the  Society's  connection  with  The  Priest  in 
Absolution.  The  Society  had  got  into  public  disgrace  through  its 
Popish  teaching,  and  therefore  "  he  counselled  disbanding  the  Society, 
with  the  view  of  thereby  escaping  an  Episcopal  censure,  and  of  recon- 
structing the  Society  under  the  same  or  a  similar  title,  at  as  early 
a  date  as  possible  "  (See,  for  proof,  my  Secret  History  of  the  Oxford 
Movement,  p.  131). 

I  do  not  possess  a  complete  list  of  the  names  of  the  Council  of  the 
Alcuin  Club.  When,  however,  its  formation  was  first  made  officially 
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 


PREFACE.  XXV11 

this  that  the  work  of  the  Alcuin  Club  is  practically  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 

interpretation,  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  of  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.  O. — with  responsibility  for 
what  the  Society  of  St.  Osmund  undertook  in  aid  of  Popish 
ceremonial. 


XXV111  PREFACE. 

(7)  I  quote  several  Roman  Catholic  testimonies  acknow- 
ledging the  important  services  rendered  to  the  Church  of  Rome 
by  the  Ritualists.  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  ot 
the  movement,  in  checking  conversions  to  Papalism."  If 
these  testimonies  are  so  very  numerous,  why,  may  I  ask, 
does  not  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  <oi  the  Church  of  Rome  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 


PREFACE.  XXIX 

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  inaccurate,  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  inconsistently  gives  two  columns  of  its  space  to 
a  notice  of  it ! 

"  We  cannot,"  it  says,  u  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," 
jt  remarks,  "  printed  for  private  circulation  and  marked 
*  Confidential,'  may  be  consistent  with  Mr.  Walsh's  notion 
of  an  honourable  gentleman's  behaviour."  I  may  be  per- 
mitted 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  respect  whatever  to 
dishonourable  secrets  and  confidences.  In  the  opinion  of 
an  overwhelming  majority  of  honourable  Churchmen,  the 


XXX  PREFACE. 

Ritualistic  clergymen,  whose  Secret  Societies  I  have  exposed, 
are  engaged  in  dishonourable  conduct,  and  they  consider  it 
is  as  much  a  duty  to  reveal  their  underground  and  traitorous 
proceedings,  as  it  would  be  in  the  case  of  conspirators 
against  the  State.  If  I  had  got  possession  of  the  secret 
-documents  of  the  Ritualists  in  any  dishonourable  way,  then, 
indeed,  I  should  be  justly  open  to  a  lecture  on  "  an 
honourable  gentleman'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  Confes- 
sional and  The  Priest  in  Absolution,  "may  minister  a  good 
deal  of  matter  to  the  prurient."  This  is  a  most  untruthful 
assertion,  as  anyone  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  Spectator 
must  needs  invent  charges  against  the  book.  It  actually 
declares  that,  in  the  Appendix,  under  the  heading  of  "  What 
the  Ritualists  Teach,"  "there  is  no  passage  from  the 
writings  of  any  of  the  modern  leaders  of  the  High  Church 
party ;    nor,  indeed,  from  any  one  of   eminence  in  earlier 


PREFACE.  XXXI 

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  Rev.  T.  Mozley,  the  Rev. 
C.  S.  Grueber,  and  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Mackonichie.  This 
assertion  of  The  Spectator  reminds  me  of  the  teaching 
approved  by  Newman,  who  declared  that  a  Christian  "  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  list  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. 
Probably  the  Ritualists  are  heartily  ashamed  of  their 
folly  in  these  matters  being  made  known  to  Protestants. 
The  Spectator  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  and  good  taste  is  outraged  by  the  grossly 
carnal  directions  given  in  those  "  cautels." 


XXXI!  PREFACE. 

I   now  rise   from    the   criticisms   of  The   Church    Times, 
Saturday  Review,    and  The  Spectator,  to  breathe  the  purer 
atmosphere  which  surrounds  the  criticism  of  the  Rev.  W. 
Sanday,  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  Ritualistic  parties. 
I  frankly  admit  that  peace  between  truth  and  error  is  not 
to  be  desired.     Dr.  Sanday  seems  to  think  that  I  look  upon 
everything  secret  as   necessarily   evil.      I    can  assure   him 
I  do  nothing  of  the  kind.     While  writing  about  the  secret 
plottings  of  the  Romanizers  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  nry- 
self :    "  He   regards   everything  that  has    any  resemblance 
to  the  practice  of  the  Church  of  Rome  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  Rome."     Here 
again  my  critic  is  in  error.      Everyone  knows  that  there  are 


PREFACE.  XXXI 11 

good  things  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  as  well  as  bad,  just  as 
in  base  sovereigns  there  is  some  good  gold.  I  have  objected 
to  nothing  as  "  Roman  "  which  an  overwhelming  majority 
of  the  most  learned  English  Divines  since  the  Reformation 
have  not  also  objected  to  on  the  same  ground.  I  have 
written  in  no  narrow-minded  spirit.  If  Professor  Sanday 
had  mentioned  any  particular  Roman  practice  which  I  had 
objected  to  as  Roman,  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.  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  Ritualists.  "  We  must," 
he  says,  "  take  the  book  as  an  indictment — and  an  indict- 
ment 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  the  Oxford  Movement"  says 
Professor  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. 

C 


XXXIV  PREFACE. 

Now,  a  book  will  no  doubt  work  far  more  quietly  than  sensational 
scenes  in  church  or  before  a  magistrate,  but  1  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  constitutes 
fairness  j  but  so  far  as  it  consists  in  an  appeal  to  documents,  the 
claim  in  this  instance  cannot  be  denied  "  (The  Conception  of  Priesthood, 
page  117). 

w.  w. 

London,  January  4th,  1899. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 

Just  as  this  Edition  is  passing  through  the  Press,  (but 
too  late  for  any  lengthy  notice,)  The  Church  Times'  review  of 
my  book  has  appeared.  It  is  most  of  all  remarkable  for 
its  angry  abuse,  baffled  rage,  and  personal  insult.  An 
attempt  is  made  to  prove  that  I  am  inaccurate  on  a  few 
matters  of  but  slight  importance;  but  even  if  The  Church 
Times  were  correct  in  all  the  instances  cited  by  it — which 
is  by  no  means  the  case — the  general  character  of  the  book 
for  accuracy  as  to  facts  would  not  be  affected.  The 
Ritualists  have  now  said  their  worst  against  The  Secret 
History  of  the  Oxford  Movement,  and  it  is  a  comfort  to  feel 
that  I  have  nothing  to  fear  from  it.  I  am  preparing  a  full 
reply  to  my  critics,  which  will  shortly  be  published. 

W.  W. 

London,  September  2yd,  1898. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 

In    sending   a   third    and    cheaper    edition   of   this    book 

to    the    Press,    I    desire    to    express    my   thankfulness    to 

God   for  the    large    circulation   to   which    it   has    already 

attained.     It   has,   of    course,   been    severely   censured   by 

the  friends  of  those  whose   misconduct   and   disloyalty  it 

exposes,    but,    so   far   as    I    am   aware,    no   one    has    even 

attempted  to  prove  that  it    is   in    any   way   inaccurate   as 

to  its  statement  of  facts. 

W.  \V, 

London,  July  i8th,  189S. 


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  repre- 
sented 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  Church- 
men, 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 
misrepresent  them  in  any  way  whatever.     It  was  my  anxiety 


XXXVill  PREFACE. 

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  character- 
ized 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  Ritualistic  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  Reunion  of  the  Church  of  England 
with  the  Church  of  Rome.  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  revela- 
tions 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 


PREFACE.  XXXIX 

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  Church- 
men 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  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 
1  should  have  been  glad  to  insert.     There  are  intervals  in 


Xl  PREFACE. 

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 


PREFACE.  xli 

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  pleading  in  any  way  for  the  narrowing  of 
the  existing  boundaries  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  defined 
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  Ritualists  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 
imperfect  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 


xlii 


PREFACE. 


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. 
London,  September  4th,  1897. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Chapter  I. — The  Secret  History  of  the  Oxford  Move- 
ment       .---.--i 

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  Monas- 
tery— 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    -  -       46 

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  Confessional  Committee — Issues  the 
Priest  in  A  bsolution — 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    Ritualistic    Con- 
fessional -  -  -  -  -  80 

The  Confessional  always  a  secret  thing — Abuse  of  the  Ritual- 
istic Confessional  at  Leeds — Dr.  Pusey  on  the  Seal  of  the  Con- 
fessional— 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  Con- 
fessions 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"       -  -  -  -  -  -       93 

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 — Discus- 
sion in  Canterbury  Convocation — Severe  Episcopal  Censures — 
Immoral  Ritualistic  Confessors  ruin  women  ;  Testimony  of  Arch- 
deacon 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 
Proceedings  at  the  Society's  Synod. 


Chapter  V. — The  Order  of  Corporate  Reunion  -  -     147 

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  clergy 
secretly  ordained  by  a  bishop  of  the  Order. 


CONTENTS. 


xlv 


Chapter  VI. — Ritualistic  Sisterhoods       -  16a 

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  Con- 
vents— Dr.  Pusey's  first  Sister  visits  Foreign  Convents — Miss 
Goodman's  experience  of  Dr.  Pusey's  Sisterhood — Rule  of  Obedi- 
ence— 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  embe  zzle 
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  ------     20a 

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  expo- 
sure 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  advocated 
by  name — Bishop  Wilberforce  Censures  the  Confraternity  of  the 
BJesged  Sacrament. 


xlvi  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  VIII.  —  Some  Other  Ritualistic  Societies  -     227 

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  O.  H.  R." 
— Its  mysterious  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  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  Norwich 
— Its  Secret  Oath — Secret  Guild  Books  of  St.  Alphege,  Southwark 
— Guild  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  at  St.  Alban's,  Holborn — 
Confraternity  of  All  Saints',  Margaret  Street — The  Railway  Guild 
of  the  Holy  Cross. 

Chapter  IX. — The  Romeward  Movement  -  260 

V  Corporate  Reunion  with  Rome  desired — Not  individual  Seces- 

sion— 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  Ritualistic  Move- 
ment— 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.  Dalgairn's 
letter  to  the  Univers — 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  yet  "  forbids  "  his  penitents  to  invoke  the  Saints — 


CONTENTS.  Xlvii 

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. 

Chapter  X. — The  Romeward  Movement    -  307 

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  Reply  of  198  Church  ot 
England  Dignitaries  and  Clergy — Archbishop  Manning's  opinion 
of  the  Romeward  Movement — 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 
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  Conception  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 
harvest  from  Ritualistic  labours — Secession  as  well  as  union  a 
Scriptural  duty — Objections  to  Reunion  with  Rome. 

Appendix. — What  the  Ritualists  Teach  -  -  -    373 

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 


-    411 


THE  SECRET  HISTORY 


OF 


THE  OXFORD  MOVEMENT. 


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 — M  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. 

THE  late  Cardinal  Newman,  the  first  leader  of  the 
Tractarians,  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  Arians  of  the  Fourth 
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  church- 
men of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was  most  appropriate 
that  a  religious  movement  in  which  secrecy  has  played  so 
important  a  part  should  be  inaugurated  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 
11  Disciplina  Arcani "  is  what  is  termed  the  "  Economical  " 
mode  of  teaching  and  arguing.     The  difference  between  the 


Z  SECRET    HISTORY    OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

two  is  thus  defined  by  Newman  himself.  "  If,"  he  writes, 
"it  is  necessary  to  contrast  the  two  with  each  other,  the 
one  may  be  considered  as  withholding  the  truth,  and  the 
other  as  setting  it  out  to  advantage."1  As  an  illustration 
of  this  "  Economy "  he  quotes  with  approval  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  j  towards 
those  who  are  fit  recipients,  both  in  speaking  and  living,  he  harmon- 
izes 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  will  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.'  "3 

As  to  the  "  Disciplina  Arcani,"  Newman  justifies  it  on 
several  grounds,  and  affirms  that  in  the  Church  of  Alexandria 
the  Catechumens  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  were  granted  nothing  beyond 
a  formal  and  general  account  of  the  articles  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  Newman  affirmed 
that  these  secret  doctrines  were  not  learnt  from  the 
Scriptures.  "  Now  first,"  he  writes,  "  it  may  be  asked, 
How  was  any  secrecy  practicable,  seeing  that  the  Scrip- 
tures were  open  to  everyone  who  chose  to  consult  them  ? 
It   may   startle   those  who   are   but   acquainted   with   the 

1  Newman's  Avians,  p.  65.    Seventh  edition.    2  Ibid.,  pp.  73,  74.    3  Ibid.,  p.  45. 


SECRET   TEACHINGS.  3 

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  Movement  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 
Movement  led  to  many  and  grievous  departures  from 
Christian  truth.  Teaching  like  this  was  eagerly  imbibed 
by  the  disciples  of  Newman,  who  very  naturally,  though 
without  sufficient  reason,  inferred  that,  if  the  Alexandrian 
Fathers  were  justified  in  hiding  certain  doctrines  of 
Christianity  from  the  popular  gaze,  as  secrets  to  be  made 
known  only  to  the  initiated  whom  they  could  trust,  the 
Tractarians  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  sister,  after  announcing  that  with  his 
letter  she  would  "  receive  a  considerable  number  of  Tracts, 
the  first  production  of  the  Society  established  for  the 
dissemination  of  High  Church  principles,"  proceeds  to  give 
particulars  of  the  plans  of  the  party  ;  but  finds  it  necessary, 
before  closing  his  letter,  to  add  this  caution  for  her 
guidance : — "  But  for  the  present  you  must  remember  all 

4  Ibid.,  p.  50. 

J  * 


4  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD.    MOVEMENT. 

these  details  I  have  been  going  through  are  secret."*  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  one  word  in  it 
which  might  lead  the  public  to  suppose  that  "  The  Associa- 
tion 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  elect  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."  6 

"  There  was,  indeed,"  writes  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Tractarians,  the  Rev.  William  Palmer,  "  much  misappre- 
hension 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."  7 

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 — subsequently 
known  as  Lord  Blachford — as  follows  : — 

"  Entre  nous,  we  have  set  up  Societies  over  the  kingdom  in  defence 
of  the  Church.  Certainly  this  is,  you  will  say,  a  singular  confidential 
communication,  being  shared  by  so  many ;  but  the  entre  nous  relates 
to  we.     We  do  not  like  our  names  known."9 

This  dread  of  having  their  names  "  known  "  to  the  public 

'  Motley's  Letters,  p.  33. 

6  Palmer's  Narrative  of  Events  Connected  with  Tracts  for  the  Times,  p.  212. 
Edition,  1883.  7  Ibid.,  p.  108. 

8  Newman's  Letters  and  Correspondence,  Vol.  I.,  p.  448.  9  Ibid.,  p.  450. 


DREAD   OF   PUBLICITY. 


is  still  felt  by  the  members  of  several  Ritualistic  societies  of 
the  present  generation.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  for 
fifteen  years — 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  formation  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."10 

Amongst  the  prominent  laymen  who  supported  the 
Tractarian  Movement  was  Mr.  Joshua  Watson.  He  drew  up 
the  first  Lay  Declaration  organized  by  the  Tractarians  at  the 
close  of  1833.  His  brother  wanted  to  know  too  much  about 
the  objects  of  the  Declaration  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 
Froude,  then  the  most   advanced   Romanizer  of  the   new 

10  Ibid.,  p.  472. 

11  Memoir  of  Joshua  Watson,  by  Archdeacon  Churton,  p.  209.     Second  edition. 
B  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  I.,  p.  478. 


6  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

party,  that  Pusey  was  circulating  the  recently  issued  Tracts 
for  the  Times.13  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."1*  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Newman,  at  the 
same  time,  mentioned  that  Mr.  Gladstone  "  has  joined  us." 
At  this  period  Newman  was  writing  a  series  of  anonymous 
articles  in  the  Evangelical  Record,  over  the  signature  of 
"Churchman."16  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,  he  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  he  called  a  Papist  when  my  opinions  are 
known.  But  (please  God)  I  shall  lead  persons  on  a  little  way,  while 
they  fancy  they  are  only  taking  the  mean,  and  denounce  me  as  the 
extreme."16 

Here  a  truly  Jesuitical  spirit  manifests  itself.  Hurrell 
Froude  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  themselves  Ritualists, 
are  in  our  own  day  imitating  the  bad  examples  shown  by 
Newman  and  Froude,  more  than  sixty  years  ago  ?   The  danger 

13  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  I.,  p.  476.  14  Ibid.,  p.  482. 

u  Ibid.,  p.  483.  u  Ibid.,  p.  490. 

W  Froude's  Remains,  Vol.  I.,  p.  322. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  RESERVE.  7 

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  clergymen  who  at  the 
present  time  hold  Evangelical  incumbencies  or  curacies. 
These  gentlemen  would,  no  doubt,  be  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  ? 
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  compared  with  the  effect  produced, 
in  1838,  by  the  publication  of  Isaac  Williams's  pamphlet 
"  On  Reserve  in  Communicating  Religious  Knowledge." 
It  formed  No.  80  of  Tracts  for  the  Times,  and  this 
he  subsequently  supplemented  by  another  and  larger 
pamphlet  on  the  same  subject,  being  No.  8j  of  Tracts 
for  the  Times.  The  doctrine  taught  by  Williams  set  the 
whole  of  the  Church  of  England  in  an  uproar.  His 
Tracts  were  condemned  by  almost  every  Bishop  on  the 
Bench.  In  BricknelFs  Judgment  of  the  Bishops  upon  Trac- 
tartan  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. 


8  SECRET  HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

"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  secrets  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  dangerous,  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  4 
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,  notwithstanding  whatever 
may  be  said  of  them,  only  revealed  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  j  the  other  in  a  public  and  popular  manner."  {Tract  87, 
pp.  88,  89.) 

"  The  same  may  be  shown  with  respect  to  the  powers  of  Priestly 
Absolution,  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,  according  to  faith :  they  are  such  as 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF    RESERVE.  9 

the  world  cannot  behold,  and  cannot  receive.  The  subject  is  one 
so  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."     (Ibid.,  p.  90.) 

No  wonder  that  the  Bishops  condemned  such  doctrines 
as  these.  "  Far  from  us,"  wrote  Dr.  Musgrave,  Bishop  of 
Hereford,  u  therefore,  be  it  to  withhold  from  our  Christian 
people  any  doctrine  revealed  in  God's  Word  as  needful  for 
salvation,  or  to  impose  upon  them  for  such,  anything  not 
there  revealed." 18  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  Autobiography — 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  understood  as  it  was  meant, 
and  of  this  I  do  not  complain." 20  It  is  certain  that 
Evangelical  Churchmen  understood  it  as  meaning  that  the 
Tractarian  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  doc- 
trines; and  to  Protestants  this  naturally  looked  like  double- 
dealing  and  Jesuitism.     No  wonder  they  were  indignant. 

It  is  admitted  by  one  who  for  many  years  held  a  promi- 
nent position  amongst  the  advanced  Ritualistic  clergy  (the 
Rev.  Orby  Shipley)  that  this  "  Doctrine  of  Reserve  "  was 
"  both  taught  and  acted  upon  "  to  "  a  wide  extent "  by  the 
Tractarians.21     And  the  Master  of  the  secret  Society  of  the 

18  Bricknell's  Judgment  of  the  Bishops,  p.  434.  19  Ibid.,  p.  436. 

,  "  Autobiography  of  Isaac  Williams,  p.  91. 
31  Orby  Shipley's  Invocation  of  Saints  and  Angels,  p.  xi.     London,  1869. 


10-  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  condition  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  Schismatical  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.'"® 

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,  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."  2S  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  leading  many  Protestants, 
thus  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  disposing  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  Jind 
themselves  Catholics  before  they  were  aware."  ^ 

The  impression  that  the  leaders  of  the  Tractarians  were 
secretly  Papists  was  a  very  natural  one.  Those  who  doubted 
could   not   produce   legal   evidence  in  proof  of  what  they 

82  S.S.C.  Master's  Address,  May  Synod,  1873,  p.  3. 
28  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  153. 
84  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  I.,  p.  332. 


NEWMAN  WRITES  AGAINST  POPERY.  II 

feared :  but  the  knowledge  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  ta^e  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  Avians  of  the  Fourth  Century,  he  wrote  of 
"  the  Papal  Apostacy."  In  No.  15  of  Tracts  fov  the  Times, 
in  1833,  he  wrote  : — 

"  True,  Rome  is  heretical  now.  .  .  If  she  has  apostatized,  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  Tvact  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  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  5  its  cruelty  in  its  unsparing  sacrifice 
of  the  happiness  and  virtue  of  individuals  to  a  phantom  of  public 
expediency,  in  its  forced  celibacy  within,  and  its  persecutions  without ; 
its  craft  in  its  falsehoods,  its  deceitful  deeds  and  lying  wonders  ;  and 
its   grasping   ambition    in  the   very   structure   of   its   policy,    in   its 


12  SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

assumption  of  universal  dominion  $  old  Rome  is  still  alive ;  nowhere 
have  its  eagles  lighted,  but  it  still  claims  the  sovereignty  under  another 
pretence.  The  Roman  Church  I  will  not  blame,  but  pity — she  is,  as 
I  have  said,  spell-bound,  as  if  by  an  evil  spirit  5  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  j  crafty,  obstinate, 
wilful,  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,  and  prevent  them 
discovering  his  real  aims ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  it, 
for  a  time,  in  a  large  measure  served  its  purpose.  When  the 
denunciations  had  done  their  work,  however,  they  were 
unreservedly  withdrawn,  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 


Newman's  double  dealing.  13 

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.  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  approving  myself  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  Rome  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  consistency, 
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  we  have  seen,  he  cites  with  approval  the  doctrine  of 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  that  a  Christian  "  Both  thinks 
and  speaks  the  truth ;  except  when  careful  treatment  is 
necessary. J  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  century 
after,  that,  in  his  Apologia,  he  let  the  public  know  that  he 
"  fully  believed  "  all  his  accusations  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 

Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  pp.  201,  204.    Edition,  1889. 


14  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

was  published  at  Oxford,  Newman  wrote  to  his  friend, 
James  R.  Hope-Scott,  to  announce  the  coming  event. 
"  My  conscience,"  he  told  his  correspondent,  "  goaded  me 
some  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 
had  produced  on  his  acquaintances.  "  People  whom  I  have 
heard  speak  of  it,"  he  wrote,  "(few,  perhaps,  but  fair 
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  under- 
hand way  was  not  confined  to  Protestants,  as  the  rejoinder 
he  wrote  to  the  last  quoted  letter  of  Mr.  J.  R.  Hope-Scott, 
clearly  shows.  Writing  to  him,  on  February  3rd,  1843, 
Newman  gives  the  following  additional  explanation  of  his 
retractation : — 

"  My  reason  for  the  thing  was  my  long-continued  feeling  of  the 
great  inconsistency  I  was  in  of  letting  things  stand  in  print  against 
me  which  I  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  (perhaps  you  may 
think  my  fear,  even  before  this  affair,  somewhat  amusing)  5  but  so  it 
was  and  is  ;  people  wont  believe  I  go  as  far  as  I  do — they  will  clino-  to 
their  hopes.  And  then,  again,  intimate  friends  have  almost  reproached 
me  with  *  paltering  with  them  in  a  double  sense,  keeping  the  word  oj 
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  effect  of  them  was  what  others  meant.  I  am  not 
aware  that  I  have  any  great  motive  for  this  paper  beyond  this — ■ 
setting  myself  right,  and  wishing  to  be  seen  in  my  proper  colours, 

*  Memoirs  of  J.  R.  Hope-Scott,  Vol.  II.,  p.  19.  *7  Ibid.,  p.  20. 


WARD'S   JESUITICAL   CONDUCT.  15 

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  gth,  1836,  we  note  that,  on  this 
date,  one  of  Newman's  friends,  the  Rev.  R.  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.  Newman."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  straightforwardness  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  Rev. 
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 
Church.  He  had  gradually  come  to  believe  that  the  English  Church 
was  not  strictly  a  part  of  the  Church  at  all.  He  had  felt  bound  to 
retain  his  external  communion  with  her  members,  because  he  believed 
that  he  was  bringing  many  of  them  towards  Rome ;  and  to  unite  him- 
self to  the  Church  which  he  loved  and  trusted,  to  enjoy  the  blessings 

23  Ibid.,  pp.  20,  21.    This  remarkable  letter  is  not  reprinted  in  Newman's 
Letters  and  Correspondence.     Why  was  it  suppressed  ? 
29  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  207. 


l6  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  son  relates  of  his  father,  that — 

"  In  discussing  the  doctrine  of  equivocation,  as  to  how  far  it  is 
lawful  on  occasion,  he  maintained,  as  against  those  who  admit  the 
lawfulness  of  words  literally  true  but  misleading,  that  the  more  straight- 
forward principle  is  that  occasionally  when  duties  conflict,  another 
duty  may  he  more  imperative  than  the  duty  of  truthfulness.  But  he 
expressed  it  thus :  *  Make  yourself  clear  that  you  are  justified  in 
deception,  and  then  lie  like  a  trooper.'  "  31 

The  establishment  by  Newman  of  a  Monastery  at  Little- 
more,  near  Oxford,  affords  another  specimen  of  the  secrecy 
and  crookedness  which  characterized  the  Tractarian  Move- 
ment. His  plans  for  such  a  Monastery,  which  was  first 
started  in  Oxford,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Littlemore, 
appear  to  have  been  in  a  partly  developed  condition  early 
in  1838  ;  but  at  that  time  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, 

30  William  George  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  p.  356.     First  edition. 

31  Ibid.,  p.  30.  82  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II. f  p.  249. 


NEWMAN   ESTABLISHES  A   MONASTERY.  1J 

September  15th,  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,  peradventure,  will  some  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  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  by 
Pattison,  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  of  the  first  inmates  of  this  "  Hall."  He  was,  as 
is  well  known,  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic  supporters  of 
Tractarianism  in  its  early  days;  but  he  failed  to  keep  up 
with  the  pace  at  which  its  leaders  were  marching  Romeward, 
and  drew  back.  His  subsequent  work  on  the  Baptismal 
Controversy,  in  which  he  justified  the  Gorham  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. 

•  Ibid ,  p.  285.  ■*  Ibid.,  p.  297. 


l8  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Writing  on  April  6th,  1838,  to  his  brother,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Mozley,  the  future  Regius  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  establish- 
ment, 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  R.  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 
preparatory  labours,  as  sent  by  him  to  his  sister  on  October 
18th  :— 

"  I  have  been  busily  engaged  ever  since  coming  up  with  making 
arrangements  for  the  Hall — bustling  about,  calling  at  the  upholsterers, 
giving  orders  for  coal.  The  place  is  at  present  airing  and  warming. 
[t  will  look  decent  enough  when  everything  is  in  it.  There  are  quite 
gay  carpets  in  both  sitting-rooms  j  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  deficiencies  after  all,  when  I  come 
to  the  actual  habitation  of  the  place,  and  just  at  this  moment,  the 

w  Mozley's  Letters,  p.  75.  K  Ibid.,  p.  78. 


PUSEY   APPROVES   THE    SCHEME.  If) 

thought  of  coal-scuttles  has  flitted  by  me,  and  I  have  booked  it  in 
my  memoranda."  3? 

In  March,  1840,  Newman  seems  to  have  been  considering 
the  advisability  of  moving  his  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  21st  of  that  month  he  wrote  to  his  friend 
Rogers,  asking  for  his  advice  on  this  subject : — 

"  Supposing  I  took  theological  pupils  at  Littlemore,  might  not  my 
house  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  instead  of  weakening  them  ?  Are  these  not 
precedents  ?  And,  further,  supposing  a  feeling  arose  in  favour  of 
Monastic  Establishments y  and  my  house  at  Littlemore  was  obliged  to 
follow  the  fashion,  and  conform  to  a  rule  of  discipline,  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  anyone  else.  I  may  ask  one  or  two 
persons  besides."  ^ 

Four  days  before  this  letter  was  written  Newman  wrote, 
from  Littlemore  (March  17th),  to  his  more  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  scheme.  Pusey' s 
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 :  "  Cer- 
tainly it  would  be  a  great  relief  to  have  a  fiovrj  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  iiovr],  since  I 
must  be  so  busy  when  here  on  account   of  my  necessary 

87  Ibid.,  p.  83.  3s  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  303. 

89  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey >,  Vol.  II.,  p.  135.  •  Ibid.,  p.  136. 

2   * 


20  SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

absences  to  see  my  children,  unless  indeed  I  should  live  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  his  Monastery  to  a  Protes- 
tant University  under  the  guise  of  "  a  sort  of  Hall,"  fortunately 
did  not  succeed.  But  the  scheme  for  erecting  a  Monastery 
at  Littlemore  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."*2  It  was  not,  however,  until 
February,  1842,  that  Newman  actually  removed  to  Little- 
more, 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  ascertained  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  consideration."43 

The  Rev.  Frederick  Oakeley,  one  of  Newman's  early 
friends,  and  subsequently  a  pervert  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
tells  us  that  this  new  building  was  known  as  the  "  Littlemore 


41  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  137. 

42  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  305. 

48  Mozley 's  Reminiscences,  Vol.  II.,  p  213, 


VISITORS   TO   LITTLEMORE    MONASTERY.  21 

Monastery";44  and  that  "the  fact  is  generally  known,  that 
the  life  at  Littlemore  was  founded  upon  the  rule  of  the 
strictest  Religious  Orders"46 — 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,  excited  the  greatest  curiosity  in  the 
University.  Visitors  came  to  Littlemore  in  abundance, 
anxious  to  fathom  the  mystery,  and  to  discover  Newman's 
great  secret ;  very  much  to  his  annoyance,  since  for  many 
reasons  he  did  not  wish  his  privacy  to  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."  46 

It  was  not  the  common  members  of  the  University  only 
who  took  a  natural  interest  in  his  new  Monastery.  "  Heads 
of  Houses,"  he  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  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  straightforward  manner,  sent  him  a 
letter,  asking  for  full  information;  and  Newman  replied  in 
accordance  with    his    "  Economical "   policy,  in  which   by 

44  Oakeley's  Historical  Notes  on  the  Tractarian  Movement,  p.  93.     *  Ibid.,  p.  94 
46  Newman's  Apologia,  p.  172.    Edition,  1889.  47  Ibid., -p.  172. 


22  SECRET    HISTORY    OF    THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  12th,  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  calumnious,  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  Little- 
more,  and  that  the  cells  of  dormitories,  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  purposes  of  study  and  devotion,  and  as  much  suspicion 
and  jealousy  are  felt  about  the  matter,  I  am  anxious  to  afford  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  Romanist  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,  nevertheless,  a  duty  to  my  Diocese  and  myself,  as  well 
as  to  you,  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  inexcusable  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 


Newman's  letter  to  his  disiiop.  23 

me  to  write  to  you  on  the  subject  of  my  house  at  Littlemore ;  at  the 
same  time,  I  feel  it  hard  both  on  your  lordship  and  myself  that  the 
restlessness  of  the  public  mind  should  oblige  you  to  require  an 
explanation  of  me. 

"  It  is  now  a  whole  year  that  I  have  been  the  subject  of  incessant 
misrepresentation.  A  year  since  I  submitted  entirely  to  your  lordship's 
authority  5  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  I  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  resolution  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 


24  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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, 
and  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  j  but  still  I  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  te  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  j  and  in 
providing  a  parsonage-house  at  Littlemore,  as  this  will  be,  and  will  be 
called,  I  conceive  I  am  doing  a  very  great  benefit  to  my  people.  At 
the  same  time  it  has  appeared  to  me  that  a  partial  or  temporary 
retirement  from  St.  Mary's  Church  might  be  expedient  during  the 
prevailing  excitement. 

"As  to  your  quotation  from  the  (newspaper)  which  I  have  not 
seen,  y©ur  lordship  will  perceive  from  what  I  have  said  that  no 
*  Monastery  is  in  process  of  erection,'  there  is  no  *  chapel,'  no 
1  refectory,'  hardly  a  dining-room  or  parlour.  The  *  cloisters  '  are  my 
shed  connecting  the  cottages.  I  do  not  understand  what  'cells  of 
dormitories '  means.  Of  course  I  can  repeat  your  lordship's  words, 
that  'I  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 
something  personal  and  private,  and  which  can  only  be  made  public, 
not  private,  by  newspapers  and  letter  writers,  in  which  sense  the 
most  sacred  and  conscientious  resolves  and  acts  may  certainly  be 
made  the  objects  of  an  unmannerly  and  unfeeling  curiosity."*8 

48  Newman's  Apologia,  pp.  172-176. 


WAS   IT  A   "PARSONAGE    HOUSE"?  25 

So  it  was  only  a  "  Parsonage  House,"  and  not  a  Monastery 
at  all  that  Newman  was  setting  up  at  Littlemore  !     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 
u  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  anything  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  actually  in  the  Monastery  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  wrote  his  anxious 

49  Ibid.,  p.  348.  60  Memoirs  of  J.  Hope-Scott,  Vol.  II.,  p.  6. 


26  SECRET    HISTORY    OF    THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

letter  of  inquiry.     The  following  is  Lockhart's  own  descrip- 
tion of  the  life  they  were  then  leading  : — 

"We  had  now  arrived  at  the  year  1842,  when  we  took  up  residence 
with  Newman  at  Littlemore.  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  be  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  Littlemore  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 
in  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,  and  not 
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  Littlemore 
"  Monastery,"  alias  "  Parsonage  House,"  Newman  himself 
opened  it.  "  May  I  see  the  Monastery?  "  asked  the  visitor. 
"  We  have  no  Monasteries  here"  replied  Newman,  who,  there- 
upon, angrily  and  uncivilly  slammed  the  door  in  the  Warden's 
face ! 51  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  Littlemore,"  he  writes,  "  has  never  yet 
been  told  ;  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  glean  from  Newman's 
scanty  allusions  in  the  Apologia,  or  even  from  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  Littlemore  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  j  and  no  wonder 
Dalgairns   had   a  serious   illness,  at  which   some  relaxations  were 

51  Biography  of  Father  Lochhart,  p.  35.     Leicester  :  Ratcliffe  College. 

52  Cardinal  Newman:  A  Monograph,  by  John  Oldcastle,  p.  23.  The  author 
of  this  work  is  editor  of  the  Weekly  Register. 


LIFE    IN    LITTLEMORE    MONASTERY.  2J 

made — a  breakfast,  of  bread  and  butter  and  tea,  at  noon ;  taken 
standing  up  at  a  board— a  real  board,  erected  in  the  improvised  refectory, 
and  called  in  undertones  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  in  Littlemore.  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  Littlemore  being  Newman's  own  during  the  first 
years  of  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  j  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  '  Oret.'  " 63 

Amongst  the  inmates  of  Littlemore  Monastery  were 
Frederick  S.  Bowles,  subsequently  a  Roman  Catholic  priest; 
and,  as  I  have  already  stated,  John  B.  Dalgairns,  afterwards 
a  priest  at  Brompton  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  Jesuit  Order.  Mark 
Pattison,  afterwards  the  well-known  Rector  of  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  j  afterwards  returned  to  my  room  and  prayed,  with  some 
effect,  I  think.      Tierce  at  9,  and   at  11    to    Church- Communion. 

M  Ibid.,  p.  25, 


28  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

More  attentive  and  devout  than  I  have  been  for  some  time;  hope 
I  am  coming  into  a  better  frame  j  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  j  then  Nones 
.  .  .  Vespers  at  8,  Compline  at  9 ;  the  clocks  here  very  backward. 
Very  sleepy,  and  went  to  bed  at  10." 54 

When  Newman  seceded  to  the  Church  of  Rome  in 
1845,  the  Littlemore  Monastery  was  broken  up,  and 
most  of  its  members  followed  their  leader  to  Rome,  and 
thus  closed  a  noteworthy  chapter  in  the  secret  history  of 
the  Tractarian  Movement. 

This  may,  perhaps,  be  an  appropriate  place  to  mention 
that  some  sort  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  accept- 
ance of  the  living,  and  commencing  work  as  Rector, 
Faber  travelled  abroad,  and  became  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  his  mind."55  Faber  went 
abroad  with  letters  of  introduction  from  Dr.  Wiseman, 
subsequently  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  means  uncommon 
at  that  time  for  young  Tractarians  to  visit  the  continent, 
where,  unknown  and  unobserved  by  prying  eyes  at  home, 
they  could  indulge  their  taste  for  Popery  to  their  hearts' 
content.     "  The  disciples  of  the   Oxford   School,"   writes 

54  Mark  Pattison's  Memoirs,  pp.  190,  191. 

66  Bowden's  Life  of  Father  Faber,  p.  168.     Second  edition. 


TRACTARIANS  ON   THE   CONTINENT.  29 

Father  Oakeley,  from  personal  experience,  "had  a  general 
sympathy  with  all  foreign  churches." 

"  We  endeavoured,"  Father  Oakeley  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  may  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,  character  as  to  astonish 
the  natives  themselves,  and  sometimes,  even,  perhaps,  to  shame  them. 
Our  friends  used  to  distinguish  themselves  by  making  extraordinarily 
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  ecstasy.  Everything,  and 
everybody,  was  charming ;  and  such  a  contrast  to  England  !  Catholics 
might  have  their  faults  like  other  people,  but  even  their  faults  were 
better  than  Protestant  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  came  back  to 
England  from  their  continental  trips,  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  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  Move- 
ment, informs  us  that  then  men  of  the  Tractarian  party 
might  "  be  found  studying  S.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bellarmine, 
and   Perrone,   and   using  the  Garden  of  the   Soul   and   the 

M  Oakeley's  Historical  Notes,  pp.  73,  74. 


30  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

Paradisus  Animcz  as  books  of  private  devotion,  but  secretly ,  for 
fear  of  their  fellow  men — some  might  be  seen  stealing  to  Mass  at  the 
Catholic  chapel — humble  and  mean  as  it  was — but  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 
the  friend  of  his  bosom,  or  the  companion  of  his  earlier 
days,  on  so  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.58  He  wrote  home,  under  date  May  20th, 
1843,  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  my  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,  but — "  into  the  garners 
of  Rome " ;  and  he  assured  his  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 


87  Browne's  Annals  of  the  Tractarian  Movement,  p.  41.    Third  edition. 
58  Bowden's  Life  of  Faber,  p.  156.  w  Ibid.,  p.  156. 


FABER'S  VISIT  TO   ROME.  31 

prostrate  before  the  uplifted  Body  of  the  Lord,  and  the  dead, 
dead  silence — Oh  what  a  sight  it  was  !  .    .    I  bared  my  head 
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.60     On  June  17th  Faber  had  a  private  audience 
with  the  Pope.     He  appeared  in  "full  dress"  at  the  Vatican, 
and  was  told  that  "  as  Protestants  did  not  like  kissing  the 
Pope's  foot,"  he  would  "not  be  expected  to  do  it."     But 
this  clergyman  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  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 
again,  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  refusing  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  knowing  where  he  was  going." 
Twice  he  took  up  his  hat  to  go  to  the  English  College  at 
Rome,  for  the  purpose  of  abjuring  the  Church  of  England ; 
but  on  each  occasion  some  unrecorded  event  prevented  him 
from  carrying  out  his  impulse.     The  longer  he  stayed  in 
Rome  the  more  he  loved  both  it  and  its  Church.     On  July 
5th,  he  declared: — "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   streaming 
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, 

•°  Ibid,,  p.  163. 


32  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

and  I  fell  forward  completely  overcome."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 M ;  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 

•'  Bowden's  Life  of  Faber,  p.  170.  M  Ibid.,  pp.  175,  177. 


DESANXT1S  ON  JEsUiTS   IN   DISGUISg;  3j 

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,  whore  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  mundis,  and  that  St.  Paul  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  instructions,  the  Movement  may  be  better 
conducted ;  but  it  would  not  be  desirable  for  many  of  them  to  come 
over  to  Catholicism.     Puseyism  is  a  living  testimony  to  the  necessity 

83  Desanctis,  Popery  and  Jesuitism  in  Rome,  pp.  128,  134. 

•  3 


34  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  Rome.  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  exceptional 
opportunities  of  getting  at  the  real  facts  of  the  case  ?  If  we 
reject  the  evidence  of  reliable  persons,  how  can  history  be 
properly  written  ?  In  dealing  with  the  Secret  History  of  the 
Oxford  Movement  it  would  be  highly  improper  not  to  quote 
what  Dr.  Desanctis  has  written  on  this  important  subject. 
And  those  who  have  most  closely  studied  the  Secret  History 
of  Tractarianism,  Puseyism,  and  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  his  parish,  as  he 
expressed  it,  'in  the  spirit  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  Alphonso.'"65 
No  doubt  these  two  "  Saints "  were  "  St."  Philip  Neri, 
founder  of  the  Oratorian  Order,  of  which  Faber  subsequently 
became  a  member ;  and  "  St."  Alphonsus  Liguori,  author 
of  the  Glories  of  Mary.  Faber  circulated  amongst  his 
parishioners  a  History  of  the  Sacred  Hcart,m  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  that  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, 

*  Desanctis,  Popery  and  Jesuitism  in  Rome,  p.  17. 

66  Bowden's  Life  of  Faber,  p.  179.  P*  Ibid. ,  p.  180. 


SECRET  MEETINGS  AT  ELTON.  35 

1844,  he  wrote  to  a  friend : — "  I  feel  impatient,  thinking  1 
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  Community  to 
which  I  have  already  alluded.  The  mystery  and  secrecy 
with  which  Faber  shrouded  this  Community  cannot  be 
better  described  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  hours.  The  use  of  the  Discipline 
was  also  introduced  on  Fridays,  eves  of  festivals,  and  every  night  in 
Lent,  each  taking  his  turn  to  receive  it  from  the  others.'"  67 

It  may  be  well  to  explain  here,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Protestant  reader,  who  may  be  pardoned  for  want  of 
information  on  the  subject,  that  the  "  Discipline  "  secretly 
used  by  the  fanatics  at  Elton,  is  a  kind  of  cat-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  Romish  superstition ;  but  his  early  regard  for  it 
remained  concealed  from  the  public  gaze,  until  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Memoirs  of  James  Robert  Hope-Scott,  in  1884, 
when  a  letter  from  Dr.  Pusey  to  Mr.  Hope-Scott,  dated 
September  gth,  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  information  concerning  "  the  system  as  to 
Retreats  "  amongst  Roman  Catholics ;  and  the  third  was,  to 

«  Ibid.,  p.  183. 

3* 


36  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

purchase  a  specimen  "  Discipline."     The  latter  commission 
was  put  into  the  postscript  of  his  letter,  and  was  as  follows : — 

"  There  is  yet  a  subject  on  which  I  should  like  to  know  more,  if 
you  fall  in  with  persons  who  have  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  one  of  the  safest,  and  with  internal 
humiliation  the  lest.  Could  you  procure  and  send  me  one  by  B.  ? 
What  was  described  to  me  was  of  a  very  sacred  character  j  5  cords, 
each  with  5  knots,  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."  M 

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  J  am  strong  enough  to  resume  the  Hair 
Cloth.  However,  I  hope  to  try."  69  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 

68  Memoirs  of  J.  Hope-Scott,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  52,  53. 

69  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  III.,  p.  99. 


DR.    PUSEY    WEARS    HAIR   CLOTH.  37 

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.  Real  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.  /  think  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  that  he  was  wearing  it  through  his  own  folly  and  super- 
stition. He  certainly  could  not  plead  either  Scriptural  or 
Church  of  England  authority  for  the  practice.  One  might 
make  some  excuse  for  Dr.  Pusey  on  the  score  of  his  then 
enfeebled  state  of  health,  were  it  not  that  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. 
1 1  still  scruple,'  wrote  Keble,  '  about  the  Discipline.  I 
could  but  allow,  not  enjoin  it  to  anyone.'  " 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  the  extent  to  which  these  articles  of  torture 
are  used  at  the  present  time  within  the  Church  of  England 
may  be  gained  from  the  following  article,  which  appeared 

7°  Ibid.,  p.  100.  71  Ibid.,  pp.  104,  108. 


38  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

in  the  Westminster  Gazette,  of  September  gth,  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  *  instruments  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  discomfort  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  hard  knotted  ropes, 
half  a  dozen  ends  attached  to  a  pliant  handle  j  the  other  is  of  well- 
hardened  and  polished  steel,  each  end  of  the  five  chains  neatly 
finished  with  a  steel  rowel.  Every  blow  from  this,  when  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  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.' 


THE    DISCIPLINE    FOR    RITUALISTIC    SISTERS.  39 

w  Mr.  Kensit  is  accustomed  to  that  sort  of  salutation,  so  lie 
waited  till  his  visitor  had  ended  a  long  tirade,  and  then  quietly 
remarked: — 

"  *  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  ? ' 

" '  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  0/ 
England  people!' 

" '  I  not  only  believe  it,'  said  Mr.  Kensit,  *  but  I  know  it.'  " 

There  is  certainly,  as  I  have  already  said,  no  Scriptural 
authority  for  the  use  of  the  "  Discipline."  We  do  read  that 
"By  His  stripes  we  are  healed"  (Isa.  liii.  5);  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  reason 
to  fear  that  it  is  on  the  increase,  and  is  much  more  widespread 
than  is  generally  supposed.  There  is  cause  to  believe  that  in 
some  Ritualistic  Convents  the  "Discipline"  is  not  unknown. 
Dr.  Pusey,  as  is  well  known,  in  conjunction  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  to  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  quarter  of  an  hour  a  day." 72     It  may  here  be  asked,  if  a 

7*  Pusey's  Manual  for  Confessors,  p.  243. 


40  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  "  Discipline 
for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  a  day,"  if  ordered  to  do  so  by 
her  "  Spiritual  father,"  the  Confessor.  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  was  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']  com- 
manded 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.  I  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.  '  Take  that 
thing  off,'  said  the  Mother  Superior.     I  replied,  'I  cannot,  reverend 

78  Pusey's  Manual  for  Confessors,  p.  245. 


RITUALISTIC   NUN   CRUELLY  WHIPPED.  41 

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 
*  Miser  ere,'  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  lack  was  Hack,  blue,  and  green  all  over."  74 

Many  of  my  readers,  on  reading  this  horrible  yet  true 
story,  will  naturally  ask  themselves,  are  there  any  other 
Mothers  Superior  who  act  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  not  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  informed  Newman : — "  I  seem  to  grow  more 
Roman  daily,  and  almost  to  write  from  out  the  bosom  of  the 
Roman  Church,  instead  of  from  where  I  am."76  By  December 
he  made  the  discovery — which  he  ought  to  have  made  long 
before — that  his  position  in  the  Church  of  England  was  a 
dishonest  one.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  was  living  a  dishonest  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 

74  Nunnery  Life  in  the  Church  of  England,  by  Sister  Mary  Agnes,  O.S.B., 
pp.  97-99. 

75  Life  of  Faber ;  p.  187.  76  Ibid.,  p.  187.  77  Ibid.,ip.  189. 


42  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  Romeward  is  a  Catholic  instinct,  seemingly  implanted  in  us 
for  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 
connection  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  case  of  Faber  been  the  last  of  its  kind.  But  I  think  that 
anyone  who,  during  the  past  twenty  years,  has  carefully  read 
the  Ritualistic  newspapers,  must  be  of  the  opinion  that 
Faber'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  to  the  ministry,  be  it  remembered,  are  kept  by  the 

78  Life  of  Faber,  p.  190.  79  Ibid.,  p.  201. 


THE    BISHOPS   AND    RITUALISM.  43 

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  primarily  rests. 
It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  greater  care  is  needed  now  than 
ever  before,  on  the  part  of  the  Bishops,  to  prevent  the 
ordination  of  men  who  hold  Roman  doctrines.  And  the 
laity  have  a  right  to  complain,  and  they  do  complain  justly 
and  bitterly,  that  in  many  instances  these  Romanizing  con- 
spirators are  preferred  by  the  Bishops  to  influential  dignities 
and  valuable  livings  in  their  gift,  while  hard-working  and 
law-abiding  clergymen  are  coldly  passed  by,  as  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  operations, 
may  not  be  repeated  in  England  ere  the  close  of  the  forth- 
coming century !  We  make  no  rash  prophecy :  no  one  can  tell 
what  the  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  off  the  early  Tractarians,  given  by  one  of  the 


44  SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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 
continually,  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  cannot  be  trivial  and  unimportant ;  if  it  were  so, 
we  rather  ought,  in  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  differ,  in  short,  as  widely 
from  the  Evangelical  party  in  the  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  Absolution, 
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  Jew,  but  dark  and 
meaningless  to  the  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 


MASKELL  ON   TRACTARIAN   TRICKERY.  45 

the  modern  English  Church,  shewn  by  the  experience  of  300 
years.  It  does  seem  to  be,  daily,  more  and  more  opposed  to 
that  single-mindedness  of  purpose,  that  simplicity  and  truthfulness  and 
openness  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  j  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  to  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  cow  promises  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,  hut  not  daring 
to  say  so;  upon  the  constant  practice,  if  possible,  of  this  or  that 
particular  duty,  hut  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  5  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  the  Present  Position  of  the  High  Church  Party  in  the  Church 
of  England,  by  the  Rev.  William  Maskell,  pp.  65-68.  Third  edition. 
London:  Pickering,  1850. 


CHAPTER  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  Confessional  Com- 
mittee— 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 — Organises  a  Petition  for  Licensed  Con- 
fessors— Reports  of  speeches  at  its  secret  Synods — Their  dark  plottings 
exposed. 

AFTER  Tractarianism  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  Froude  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  dangerous  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  Movement.  It  began  with  only  six  members, 
of  whom  three  subsequently  joined  the  Church  of  Rome ; 9 

1  Froude's  Remains,  Vol.  I.,  p.  377. 

8  S.  S.  C.  Master's  Address,  to  May  Synod,  1875,  p.  3. 


BIRTH   OF   THE   S.  S.  C.  47 

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,  °f  whom  the  following  are  still  living:  viz.,  the 
Rev.  John  Sidney  Eoucher,  now  Rector  of  Gedding,  Bury 
St.  Edmunds  (who  withdrew  in  1877) ;  the  Rev.  Canon 
Francis  H.  Murray,  Rector  of  Chislehurst  (who  withdrew 
in  1877)  9  an(*  tne  Rev»  G.  Cosby  White,  now  Vicar  of 
Newland,  Malvern  Link.  It  so  happens  that  several  of  the 
secret  documents  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  have 
come  into  my  possession,  in  an  honourable  and  straight- 
forward 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  Rev.  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 

*  Twenty-one  Yean  in  St.  George's  Mission,  p. -18. 


48  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  members  "  !  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 
concerning  the  Constitution  of  the  S.  S.  C. — as  it  is  commonly 
called — is  taken  from  its  official  book,  entitled  Societatis 
Sanctce  Cruets  Statuta,  which  is  printed  in  English,  the 
title  alone  being  in  Latin.  So  fearful  is  this  Society  of  the 
Holy  Cross  lest  anyone  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  Thanksgiving  after  Mass,  printed  in 
English ;  and  the  Societatis  Sancta  Cruris  Officia,  which 
is  entirely  in  Latin,  and  contains  the  "  Officium  Proprium"; 
the  "  Ordo  ad  Synodum  "  ;  the  "  Formula  ad  Cruces  Bene- 
dicendas  ";  the  "  Ordo  ad  Recipiendum  Candidatum  Electum 
in  Societatem " ;  the  "Ordo  ad  Fratrem  Admittendum," 
the  "  Ordo  ad  Admittendum  Fratrem  in  Regulam  Rubram"; 
a  somewhat  similar  office  for  admitting  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 


THE   MYSTERIOUS    "  COMMITTEE   OF   CLERGY."  49 

maintain  and  extend  the  Catholic  Faith  and  Discipline,  and 
to  form  a  special  Bond  of  Union  between  Catholic  Priests : 
(1)  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  of  Temporal  and  Spiritual  Charity  among 
the  Brethren ;  (5)  By  holding  Synods  and  Chapters  for 
Prayer  and  Conference ;  (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 
u  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  furthering 
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  dis- 
covering that  the  Tract   Committee    [of  S.S.C.]   and  the 


50  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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."  5  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  exist- 
ence. 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 
"  Probationers."  Both  are  required  to  "  wear  openly  the 
Society's  Cross,"  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,  '  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.  >£  T.  My  Dear  Brother";  and  end  with  " '  In 
D.  N.J.C.,'  or  some  corresponding  form  of  subscription" 
(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  Romanizing  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 


4  S.  S.  C.  Analysis  of  Proceedings,  September  Synod,  1877,  p.  23. 
6  Ibid.,  p.  24.  6  Ibid.,  p.  24. 


SECRET  SYNODS  AND  CHAPTERS.  51 

(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  Pro- 
bationers 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,  including  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  tne  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,  Holborn,  now  the  head-quarters  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 

4* 


52  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

shall  be  Celebrated  solemnly,  with  a  short  Sermon  from  a 
Brother,  and  the  Officium 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  Red,  and  the  White  Rule."  The 
Ordinary  Rule  is  "  binding  upon  all  the  Brethren  and  Proba- 
tioners. The  other  three  (are)  entirely  voluntary,  but 
recommended  for  adoption ;  the  White  Rule  being  restricted 
to  Celibates."  These  Celibates  are,  apparently,  considered 
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,  Shoreditch,  was  nominated  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 


THE   SECRET   OATH   OF   CELIBATES.  53 

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  assis- 
tance 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,  or  for  life,  "  (chapter  xviii., 
sec.  i).  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  1  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  "White  Rule" — that  is,  the  Celibates 
« — must  "  say  Mass  daily  "  (chapter  xvi.,  sec.  4) ;  "  frequent 
the  Sacrament  of  Penance  at  least  monthly"  (sec.  y);  "say 
daily  an  office  for  each  of  the  Hours,  Prime,  Terce,  Sext, 
None,  or  Vespers,  and  Compline  "  (sec.  8) ;  and  "  make  a 
Retreat  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  Rule,"  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 

7  S.  S.  C.  Officio,,  p.  31. 


54  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

who  belong  to  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  which  professes 
to  be  unable  to  grant  any  "  dispensation  therefrom  "  : — 

"  i.  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."9  The  following  extracts  from  this  book  will  show  to 
my  readers  the  fearful  character  of  the  Confessional  teach- 
ing, imparted  by  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  to  very 
young  children  : — 

"  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 

8  5.  S.  C.  Statuta,  p.  34. 

9  "  Books  for  the  Young."  No.  I.,  Confession.  Edited  by  a  Committee  of 
Clergy.     Fourth  thousand,  p.  15. 


CONFESSIONAL    BOOK   FOR   CHILDREN.  55 

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."  n 

"  I  have  known  poor  children  who  concealed  their  sins  in  Con- 
fession 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  "II!12 

"  This  acknowledgement,  made  in  secret,  once  for  all,  this  acknow- 
ledgement 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 
himself  very  humble,  very  little,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  hidden  in  the 
priest."  M 

"A  little  sinner  of  six  and  a  half  or  seven  years  old,  if  he  has  sinned 
seriously,  and  if  he  repents  and  confesses  seriously,  has  as  much 
right  to  absolution  as  if  he  was  twenty." 16 

"  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  connected  with  the  Sacrament  of  Penance."  17 
This  Committee  forms  a  consultative  body  to  which  Father 
Confessors  throughout  the  country  may  apply  for  advice  and 
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  "  Roll  of  the  Brethren  and 
Probationers  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  in  that  year. 
The  members  of  the  Committee  were  then :  the  Rev.  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.  Mickle- 

10  Ibid.,  p.  3.  «  Ibid.,  p.  4.  12  Ibid.,  p.  4. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  7.  14  Ibid.,  p.  13.  y=  Ibid.,  p.  15. 

16  Ibid.,  p.  24.  l?  S.  S.  C.  Statuta,  chapter  viii.,  sec.  4,  p.  22. 


56  SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

thwaite,  Vicar  of  St.  Luke's,  Chesterton,  Cambridge 
(Secretary) ;  the  Rev.  R.  A.  J.  Suckling,  Vicar  of  St. 
Alban's,  Holborn;  and  the  Rev.  T„  A.  Lacey,  Vicar  of 
Madingley,  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  4^,  post  free.  I  possess 
a  copy  of  both  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 
booksellers.  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  " ;  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  Gaume. 
It  so  happened  that  this  priest  was  dead  when  his  translation 


THE   RETREAT  COMMITTEE.  57 

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 
Rev.  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  operations  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  "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  confidentially  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."1*  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  this  Retreat,  and  several  conferences  were  held  by 
the  members,  at  which  various  subjects  of  interest  were 
discussed,  including  the  Confessional.  By  the  Statutes  of 
the  S.  S.  C.  it  is  provided  that  the  Retreat  Committee  shall 
"  Prepare  and  publish,  as  near  as  practicable  to  the  Feast 
of  Epiphany  in  each  year,  a  list  of  Retreats,  stating  the 


18  The  Master's  Address,  1870,  p.  7. 

19  Charles  Lowder :  A  Biography,  p.  96.     First  edition.        *  Ibid.,  p.  96. 


58  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  ot  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  frightened  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 


ST.    GEORGES    MISSION.  59 

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  them),  of  course  that  must  be  left  to  the  members  of 
the  Mission."21  This  Reserve  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  reference  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  other 
members  of  the  Mission  wish  me  to  go,  and  we   have  had 

11  Charles  Lowder :  A  Biography,  p.  93.     First  edition. 


60  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

already  sufficient  promise  of  support  to  justify  our  com- 
mencement. .  .  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  experimental  scheme  or  Constitution  for  the  Mission."2* 
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  difficulty.24  The  late 
Dean  Stanley,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  (Dr.  Trench) 
gave  help  to  the  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  I 
But  what  will  straightforward  Englishmen  think  of  them  ? 

In  1877  Mr.  Lowder  wrote  a  volume  entitled  Twenty-One 
Years  in  S.  George's  Mission,  in  which  he  describes  at  length 
the  work  carried  on  there.  He  tells  us,  amongst  other 
interesting  information,  that  in  the  Mission  work : — 

0  Charles  Lowder:  A  Biography,  p.  86.     First  edition. 

23  Ibid.,  p.  90.  *  Ibid.,  p.  99,  • 

25  Life  of  Bishop  Wilberforce,  Vcl.  II.,  p.  341. 


THE    BISHOP    OF    LEBOMBO.  6l 

"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  anniversary  of  a  death  or  funeral  ?  They  fly  to 
the  Altar,  and  ask  the  Priest  who  Celebrates,  and  some  of  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  Romeward 
direction,  than  in  any  other  church  in  London.  The 
"  Thirty-seventh  Annual  Report,"  issued  in  1893,  mentions 
that  during  the  year  1892  no  fewer  than  3500  Confessions 
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)  Parish  Magazine™  there  is  published  a 
letter  from  this  gentleman,  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  understand  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  Incense,  but  not  Holy  Water  !  "  29 

26  Twenty-one  Years  in  St.  George's  Mission,  p.  48.  r  Ibid.,  p.  54. 

23  The  *•  St.  George's  Mission"  is  now  popularly  known  by  the  name  of 
"  St.  Peter's,  London  Docks." 
29  St.  Peter's  Parish  Magazine,  January,  1893,  p.  3. 


62  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  Romish 
ornaments  already  in  use  in  the  chapel : — 

"  It  will  interest  you,"  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  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,  &c,  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."  3° 

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,"  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  Book,  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. 

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. 


RITUALISTIC   HOLY   WATER.  63 

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  1  Here  is  the  rubric  and 
prayer  for  this  purpose  : — 

"  He  [the  priest]  shall  then  Hess  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."  33 

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  Brethren 
before  launching  out  into  greater  publicity.  In  view, 
however,  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 

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  Day  Office  of  the 
Church,  p.  xiii.,  together  with  another  form  for  driving  the  devil  out  of  the 
water  before  it  is  blessed. 

33  The  Master's  Address,  S.  S.  C-,  1870,  p.  3. 
54  Ibid.,  1873,  p.  4. 


64  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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,"86 
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"  ;u 
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 
existence  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 

36  S.  S.  C.  Analysis  of  May  Syncd,  1881,  p.  24. 

46  The  Master's  Address,  May,  1876,  p.  6. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  3.  M  Ibid.,  p.  3. 


THE   MASTER  ALARMED   BY   PUBLICITY.  65 

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  descrip- 
tion of  it  from  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  Establishment  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  theo- 
logical 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,  The  Four  Cardinal  Virtues.  The  Oratory  which 
he  proposed  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  j 
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 

99  Ibid.,  May  Synod,  1875,  p.  10. 

•  The  Master's  Address,  September  Synod,  1876,  p.  8. 

5 


66  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

two  Sacramental  Lights  j  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.  Shipley  said, 
"would  not  feel  satisfied  until  they  had  restored  to  the 
Church  of  England  a  rendering  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  pecuniary  assistance. 
Accordingly  the  late  Rev.  A..  H.  Mackonochie  wrote 
letters  on  the  subject  to  the  Brethren,  but  very  much 
to  the  annoyance  of  the  secret  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,  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  nth,  1872. 
"P.  >J<  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  : — 

41  On  the  Establishment  of  an  Oratory  by  the  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  was  certainly  read 
by  request  of  the  authorities  of  the  S.  S.  C,  who  paid  £5.  us  for  printing 
it,  and  who  did  not  censure  Brother  Shipley's  opinions. 


AN   ORATORY  AT   CARLISLE.  67 

" '  That  the  S.  S.  C.  approves  of  the  scheme  for  the  proposed  Oratory 
in  Carlisle,  and,  subject  to  the  necessary  funds  being  raised  by 
private  subscription  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,43  and  a  powerful  tradition  left  by  the  two 
late  Bishops.  ...  4.  The  Bishop  is  quite  willing  to  encourage  work 
(especially  an  increase  of  celebrations),  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. 

u  Believe  me,  Dear  Brother, 

"  Yours  most  truly  in  our  Blessed  Lord, 

"A.  H.  Mackonochie." 4S 

At  that  time  the  Rev.  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 

42  That  is,  Dr.  Close,  who  was  then  Dean  of  Carlisle. 

43  The  Rock,  July  4th,  1873,  p.  448. 
«  Ibid. 


68  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Brother   Barrett's  appeal,  until  a  full  six  mpnths  after  the 
Oratory  was  actually  opened,  and  the  mischief  done. 

About  a  month  before  Mr.  Mackonochie's  letter  was 
written,  anonymous  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 
11  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 

44  The  correspondence  is  published  in  full  in  the  Church  Association  Monthly 
Intelligencer,  June,  1872,  pp.  146-148. 


THE   DREAD   OF  A   "ROW."  69 

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."  *•  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  of  the  Episcopal  Bench, 
who,  rather  than  permit  a  "  row,-"  have  been  willing  to  allow 
the  Romanizing  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 

46  Carlisle  Journal,  January  31st,  1873,  from  which  this  correspondence  was 
reprinted  in  the  Church  Association  Monthly  Intelligencer,  March,  1873,  pp.  20,  21. 


70  SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

stop  discords,  we  persecute  God's  Holy  Word,  and  bring 
down  on  our  heads  a  fearful  deluge  of  insurmountable 
dangers,  of  present  disasters  and  eternal  desolations." 47 

Early  in  1873  a  petition  was  presented  to  Convocation, 
signed  by  483  Ritualistic  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  subject  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  Rev.  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,  con- 
sidered 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 


4"  D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformatien,  Book  VII. ,  chapter  ix.,  p.  206. 
Edition,  Edinburgh,  1846. 


PETITION    FOR   LICENSED   CONFESSORS.  71 

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  promoters 
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  expression  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  "  addi- 
tion "  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 " 


43 


The  Master's  Address,  S.  S.  C,  1S73,  p.  io,  note. 


72  SECRE1    HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

which  may  be  made  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  shall 
include : — 

"The  full  provision  of  the  ancient  and  proper  Introits  and 
Graduals,  together  with  the  Secreta,  Communions,  and  Post-Com- 
munions, for  Festivals,  Sundays,  and  Ferial  Days." 

"  That  provision  may  be  made  for  the  decent  and  reverent  Reserva- 
tion 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 
Confirmation,  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  purposes." 

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  Sacra- 
mental Confession,  your  Venerable  House  may  consider  the  advisa- 
bility 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  promoted  by  or  used  under  Episcopal 
countenance  and  sanction,  are  nevertheless  neither  expressly 
nor  by  necessary  implication  enjoyned  by  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  " — such  as,  "The  use  of  solemn  and  other 
processions  as  well  in  Cathedral  and  Parish  Churches  as 
elsewhere.  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  ? 

-49  The  full  text  of  the  petition  was  published  in  the  Rock,  June  6th,  1873, 
P-  3S3. 


AN   ENCOUNTER  OF   LIFE   AND   DEATH.  73 

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  Confession  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  Romanizing  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  Reformation  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  Revision  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  on  Romaniz- 
ing lines  will  ever  satisfy  the  aspirations  of  the  Ritualists. 
It  is  sometimes  said  that  we  "  shall  soon  have  to  fight  the 
battle  of  the  Reformation  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  commenced.  It  is  an  encounter  of  life  and  death. 
Bishops  and  Statesmen  may  wilfully  shut  their  eyes  to 
the  dangers  that  surround  the  Reformed  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  Sacerdotalism  ;  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  property  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 


74  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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,"  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  discus- 
sion 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  Rev.  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  Direction,  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  experience  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 
Movement  obtains  at  the  hands  of  our  rulers  in  Church  and 


SPEECHES  AT  A  SECRET  SYNOD.  75 

State.  If  the  Catholicity  of  the  Church  of  England  is 
preserved,  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  must  daily  gain 
ground."  He  recommended  the  establishment  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  Mis- 
sioner  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  purpose  of  hearing 
Confessions." 

Brother  the  Rev.  H.  P.  Denison,  now  Vicar  of  St. 
Michael  and  All  Angels',  Notting  Hill,  "distinguished 
between  voluntary  and  compulsory  Confession.  He 
maintained  that  the  Church  of  England  puts  a  man  upon 
his  honour  to  confess  his  mortal  sins  before  Communion." 

Brother  the  Rev.  C.  Bodington,  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  understand  this,  they 
will  quickly  see  that,  without  Confession,  there  is  a  link 


missing. 


Brother  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Kirkpatrick,  Vicar  of  St. 
Augustine's,  Kilburn,  "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 


j6  SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Brother  the  Rev.  E.  G.  Wood,  now  Vicar  of  St.  Clement's, 
Cambridge,  on  "  Jurisdiction  in  the  Confessional,"  in  the 
course  of  which  he  maintained  that  every  Rector,  Vicar,  or 
Perpetual  Curate  of  a  parish  "  can,  without  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,"  "  maintained  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. 
Richardson  (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  Regula- 
tion Bill,  then  before  the  country.  It  is  important,  however, 
to  record  that  Brother  N.  Dawes  (now  Bishop  of  Rock- 
hampton,  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. 

80  Jurisdiction  in  the  Confessional,  by  the  Rev.  Edmund  G.  Wood,  m.a., 
p.  15.    Printed  for  the  Society. 


SPEECHES  AT  A  SECRET  SYNOD.  77 

The  September,  1874,  Synod  met  as  usual  in  St.  Peter's, 
London  Docks.  On  the  first  day,  after  the  "  Solemn  Mass  " 
and  the  preliminary  business  had  been  transacted,  a  number 
of  letters  from  absent  brethren  were  read.  Brother 
Hutchings  (now  Archdeacon  of  Cleveland)  wrote,  "  expres- 
sing 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. 

Brother  Bristow,  Canon  Missioner  of  St.  Saviour,  South- 
wark,  "hoped  that  the  Roman  Use  would  still  prevail." 

Brother  C.  Parnell  (Curate  of  St.  Bartholomew,  Brighton) 
declared  that  he  "would  follow  the  Roman  Ritual  at  the 
services  of  the  Society,  while  individual  brethren  might 
follow  their  own  bent." 

Brother  E.  M.  Chaplin  "  advocated  the  use  of  the  Roman 
Rite,  both  for  accuracy  and  uniformity." 

Brother  J.  B.  Powell  (now  Curate  of  St.  Paul's,  Knights- 
bridge,  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  amend- 
ment, which  was  lost : — "  That  in  the  regulations  hitherto 


78  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

laid  down,  the  Society  does  not  intend  to  bind  the  brethren 
to  the  adoption  of  the  principle  of  any  particular  Rite." 

The  next  subject  considered  by  the  Synod  was  "  The 
Present  Constitution  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  representative  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  communicate  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 
Rhodes  Bristow,  and  carried  unanimously : — "  That  the 
Roll  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 


the  "roll"  of  the  s.  s.  c.  79 

published  it  in  his  paper.  The  publication  caused  the 
utmost  consternation  in  the  ranks  of  the  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  Redesdale,  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  again  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 : — 

"Private  and  Confidential.  To  he  returned  to  the  Secretary  ly 
any  brother  leaving  the  Society ;  or  ly  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  i88t,  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. 


CHAPTER  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. 
L  Both  penitent  and  Father  Confessor  are  expected 
to  respect  the  secrecy  of  the  Confessional.  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  Confessor  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 


CONFESSIONAL   SCANDAL  AT   LEEDS.  8l 

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  and  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."  * 

The  Confessional  frequently  interferes  with  the  confidence 
which  should  exist  between  husband  and  wife.  The  wife 
will  tell  her  Father  Confessor  things  which  she  would  not 
dare  to  mention  to  her  husband ;  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  Ripon  (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 
contradict,  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 

1  Pardon  Through  the  Precious  Blood,  edited  by  a  Committee  of  Clergy, 
p.  31.    Fifty-fourth  thousand,  1883. 

8  A  Letter  to  the  Parishioners  of  St.  Saviour's,  Leeds,  by  the  Bishop  of  Ripon, 
p.  37.     London.  1851. 

6 


82  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  purpose,  since  no  woman  would,  I  suppose,  ever  tell 

HER  HUSBAND  WHAT  PASSED  IN  HER  CONFESSION."  S 

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  Confession,  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.'  "  4 

This  is  fearful  teaching.  Imagine. the  Confessor  in  an 
English  Court  of  Justice.  He  is  sworn  to  "  tell  the  truth, 
the  whole  truth,  and  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  conscience  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 

8  A  Letter  to  ike  Parishioners  of  St.  Saviour's,  Leeds,  by  the  Bishop  of  Ripon, 
p.  38.     London,  1851. 

4  Pusey's  Manual  for  Confessors,  "Adapted  to  the  Use  of  the  English  Church,*' 
p.  402. 


RITUALISTIC   SISTERS  AND   THE   CONFESSIONAL.  8$ 

but  firmly  decline  to  answer  concerning  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 
doing  so."5  Sisters  of  Mercy  sometimes  help  to  bring  the 
children  to  Confession.  The  "  Sisters  of  the  Church,"  other- 
wise 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  Con- 
fession :  the  utter  uselessness  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 

8  Ibid.,  p.  159. 

6  Such  as  their  Manual  for  the  Children  of  the  Church,  wlrch  has  passed  through 
several  editions,  but  was  suppressed  when  publicly  exposed.  It  is  also  taught 
in  several  of  their  "  Catechisms." 

6  * 


84  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  first  priest,  small  chance  is  there 
that  she  will  have  courage  to  make  it  known  to  a  second."  7 

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 

7  The  Spirit  of  the  Founder,  p.  24.  Privately  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Margaret's,  East  Grinstead. 

8  A  Manual  of  Confession  for  Children,  p.  12.     Privately  printed. 


DR.    PUSEY    REVIVES   THE    CONFESSIONAL.  85 

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.  Puseyis  due  the  blame  of  reviving  Auricular 
Confession  in  the  Church  of  England.  He  commenced 
hearing  Confessions  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."  !1  In  a  letter  which  he  wrote 
to  the  Times,  November  29th,  1866,  Pusey  remarked  : — 
"  During  the  twenty -eight  years  in  which  I  have  received  Con- 
fessions, 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  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  Tertuliian, 
in  the  Library  of  the  Fathers,  extending  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,' 
1  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  thyself '  (in 
lieu  of  the  Priest  being  the  Judge),  'proving  ourselves,  each  himself, 

9  Five  Years  in  a  Protestant  Sisterhood,  and  Ten  Years  in  a  Catholic  Convent, 
p.  15.    London  :  Longmans,  1869. 

10  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  III.,  p.  269.  »  Ibid.,  p.  335. 


86  vSECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

not  the  one  to  the  other,'  ■  in  Church,  to  God  *  (i.e.,  in  the  General 
Confession).  Accordingly,  one  Romanist  writer  boldly  pronounces 
all  these  passages  spurious ;  and  (since  they  are  unquestionable) 
another  of  great  name,  Petavius,  condemns  them  as  '  being  uttered 
in  a  declamatory  way  to  the  ignorant  multitude  for  the  sake  of 
impressiveness.'  But  certainly,  poor  as  such  an  excuse  would  be  for 
what,  according  to  Romanists,  is  false  teaching,  the  passages  are  too 
numerous  and  too  uniform  to  admit  of  it ;  they  manifestly  contain 
S.  Chrysostom's  settled  teaching,'  and  Petavius  condemns  them  as 
*  devoid  of  sound  meaning,  if  fitted  to  the  rule  of  the  exact  truth.'  "13 

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  circumstances,  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  Con- 
fessional work,  and  his  very  great  dread  of  publicity  led  to 
practices  which  were  anything  but  straightforward.  His 
underhand  proceedings  disgusted  some  of  even  his  warmest 
friends.  As  early  as  1850,  the  Rev.  W.  Maskell,  one  of  his 
disciples  who  subsequently  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  secretly  received  [to 
Auricular  Confession]  against  the  known  wish  of  their  parents,  of 
Confessions  heard  in  the  houses  of  common  friends,  or  of  clandestine 
correspondence  to  arrange   meetings,  under  initials,  or  in  envelopes 

12  "  Library  of  the  Fathers."    Tfrtullian,  p.  401.    Oxford  :  J.  H.  Parker,  1842. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  405. 


penitents'  burning  sense  of  deceitfulness.      87 

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  deceitfulness  "  (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  '  Sacrament ',  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,  and  devices  which  had  to  be  used 
to  get  an  audience  with  the  Doctor,  for  the  purpose  of  Confessing, 
had  a  little,  if  it  had  not  a  good  deal,  to  do  with  his  success.  The 
lady  (few  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  correspondingly  elated."1* 

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 

14  The  Story  of  My  Life,  by   M.   F.   Cusack,   "The   Nun  of  Kenmare," 
p.  63.    London,  1891. 


88  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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.  Completeness  implies  that  there 
should  be  care  and  faithfulness  in  discovering  sins,  and  that  nothing 
so  discovered  should  be  kept  lack"16 

The  High  Church  Bishop  of  Oxford  (Dr.  Samuel  Wilber- 
force)  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  Wilberforce 
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  clergy- 
man. 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."  16 

If  the  Bishops  of  the  present  day  would  only  act  as  Bishop 
Wilberforce  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  clergy- 
men, who  glory  in  what  Dr.  S.  Wilberforce  so  truly  termed 

15  Hints  for  a  First  Confession,  by  Dr.  Pusey,  p.  14.     Edition,  1884. 

16  Life  of  Bishop  S.  Wilberforce,  Vol.  II.,  p.  go. 


"the  very  secret  stealthy  way."  89 

M  the  crowning  curse  "  of  Popery.  Had  the  Bishops  done 
their  duty  this  u  curse"  would  have  been  stamped  out  long 
ago. 

A  few  other  typical  illustrations  of  the  secrecy  of  the  Con- 
fessional 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  1872. 
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  acknow- 
ledge 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. 

"I  believe,"  wrote  Lord  Charles  Thynne,  u  that  in  order  to  obtain 
the  remission  of  our  sins  by  Absolution,  it  was  necessary  to  confess 
them  to  some  one  possessed  of  authority  to  receive  Confessions,  and 
to  give  Absolution.  I  believe  this  to  be  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,  /  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  unauthorized 
in  the  act."  18 

17  From  Oxford  to  Rome:  and  how  it  fared  with  some  who  lately  took  the  Journey, 
p  205.     London :  Longmans,  1847. 
16  Browne's  Annals  of  the  Tractarian  Movement,  p.  296.     Third  edition. 


90  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

The  next  illustration  contains  the  unwilling  testimony  of  a 
Ritualistic  Father  Confessor  himself.  At  a  meeting  for  the 
election  of  Proctors  to  Convocation,  held  at  Durham, 
February  19th,  1874,  the  late  Rev.  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 : — 

"  Houghton-le-Spring.     May  16th,  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  after  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  willing  (in  virtue  of  my  office) 

to  see  you  as  you  desire.     Mrs. has  left,  and  we  have  the  house 

to  ourselves.  Parishioners  are  so  constantly  coming  on  business  of 
one  kind  or  another,  that  your  visits  would  not  be  noticed.  Please  do 
not  hint  anything  to  Mr;.  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  in  Christ, 

"  Charles  Jupp."  » 

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  Anglicans  these  symbolic  terms  signified  the 
Sacrament  of  Penance  or  Confession,  and  the  Eucharistic  Sacrifice ; 
outside  the  Anglican  community  commonly  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 

19  Church  Association  Monthly  Intelligencer,  March,  1874,  p.  98. 


HUSBANDS    OPPOSED    TO    THEIR   WIVES. 


9* 


Charges  he  practised  01/coyo/u'aj  or  spoke  under  reserve,  or  in  mere 
outline,  of  Confession  and  the  Eucharistic  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  have  shown,  the  Eucharistic  Sacrifice  for  the 
quick  and  the  dead.  He  received  penitents  in  Confession  ;  and 
exercising  the  power  of  the  Keys,  he  loosed  them  from  their  sins  j 
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 
authorities  of  their  own  Church,  compelled  the  unhappy  High  Church 
Anglicans  to  cast  a  veil  of  mystery  or  secrecy  over  the  practice  oj 
Confession.  Instead  of  being  an  ordinary  and  common-place  act  of 
duty  practised  coram  ecclesiay  Confession  amongst  the  Anglicans  was, 
if  I  may  so  speak,  a  hole-and-corner  affair,  spoken  of  with  bated 
breath,  and  carried  on  under  lock  and  key.""0 

There  were  other  difficulties  which  Father  Confessors  had 
to  contend  with.  The  Rev.  William  J.  Butler,  Vicar  of 
Wantage,  and  subsequently  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  '  opening  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.  82),  "  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 

20  Purcell's  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  p.  489. 
81  Ibid.,  p.  490. 


0,2  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  of  the  act, 
even  by  Manning  himself.  At  Lavington,  for  instance,  it  was  his 
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  appointment,  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  door,  when  their 
wondering  eyes  discovered  '  Uncle  Henry  '  seated  on  a  big  arm-chair 
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  Ritualistic  Confessors  resemble  the  Roman  Catholic 
Confessors,  as  described  by  one  of  themselves  : — 

"  The  most  responsible  office  of  the  priest  of  God,"  writes  Father 
Augustine  Wirth,  O.S.B.,  "  is  the  hearing  of  Confessions  ...  in  the 
pulpit  he  can  |ouch  certain  sins  only  with  kid  gloves,  in  the  Confes- 
sional he  probes  the  sores  to  the  very  bottom.  In  the  pulpit  he  must 
be  a  lion,  in  the  Confessional  a  fox"** 


22  Purcell's  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  492, 493. 

23  The  Confessional,  adapted  by  the  Rev.  Augustus  Wirth,  O.S.B.,  p.  v. 
Fourth  edition.    Published  at  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  1882. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    SECRET    HISTORY    OF    "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 
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 — Refuses  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  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  by  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 


94  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

and  adapting  a  Roman  Catholic  work,  written  by  the 
Abbe  Gaume,  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  realized  by  Mr.  Chambers,  for  he  wisely 
added  that  "  It  would  have  been  far  better  to  have  issued 
the  book  in  Latin."  l  No  doubt  it  would  have  been  "  far 
better"  for  the  Ritualistic  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  "  be  spoken 
of  with  the  highest  praise.  It  is  a  book  which  demands 
prayerful  study,  and  our  clerical  readers  will  find  it  the 
greatest  boon."3 

The  publication  of  the  first  half  of  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution 
did  not  create  any  public  excitement.  It's  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 

1  Union  Review,  Volume  for  1867,  p.  215. 
8  Church  Review,  March  23rd,  1867,  p.  278, 


THE  BOOK  FOR  CONFESSORS  ONLY. 


95 


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  Ritualistic 
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  Square. 

"  Dear  Sir, — 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  personally,  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  Priest  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  gth,  1874, 
a  letter  was  read  from  the  Rev.  Joseph  James  Elkington, 
then  Curate  of  St.  Mary's,  Soho,  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  Foote,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  E.  M.  Chaplain, 
and  carried  unanimously : — "  That  the  copyright  of  the 
Priest  in  A  bsolution  having  been  offered  to  the  Society,  the 
brethren  be  requested  to  subscribe  towards  the  purchase, 
such  subscriptions  to  be  returned  out  of  the  proceeds  of 
sale."4  In  the  official  report  of  the  Chapter  at  which  this 
resolution  was  passed,  a  special  notice  was  issued,  stating 

8  The  Roch,  June  Gth,  1873,  p.  391.  *  5.  5.  C.  June  Chapter,  1874,  p.  2. 


96  SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  purchase  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  September  Synod,  1874,  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  A  bsolution  was  sold  to  the  public  for  2s  6d ; 
Part  II.  was  sold  to  the  brethren  at  5s  4^,  post  free.  How 
many  copies  were  sold  before  the  Society  acquired  the  copy- 
right 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.  ys  6d ;  for  May,  1876,  £38.  17s  <\d ;  September,  1876, 
£4.  11s  ^d;  and  in  September,  1877,  £g.  16s  nd — making  a 
total  of  £73.  13s  id. 

1  S.  5.  C.  August  Chapter,  1874,  p.  1. 

4  S.  S~C.  Analysis  0/ Proceedings  0/ May  Synod,  1875.  P-  6. 


LORD   REDESDALE'S   EXPOSURE.  97 

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  anyone  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  in  his  hand.  After  this 
exposure  it  was  commonly  reported  by  the  Ritualists 
that  his  lordship's  copy  had  been  stolen  for  his  use 
from  the  library  of  a  Ritualistic  priest.  No  one,  how- 
ever, 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  considerable  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  Redesdale 
had  quoted  in  the  House  of  Lords,  said  that  a  gentleman 
occupying  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 
replied,  "All  right."  The  statement  that  the  book  was 
stolen,  he  emphatically  declared,  was  an  absolute  falsehood.8 

7  Life  of  Archbishop  Tait,  Vol.  II.,  p.  171.     First  edition. 
•  English  Churchman,  June  26th,  1890,  p.  415. 


gS  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Lord  Redesdale,  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"*  Lord  Redesdale 
concluded  his  speech  by  saying : — 

u  I  must  say,  my  Lords,  that  I  think  it  high  time  the  laity  should 
move  in  this  matter.  Hitherto  it  has  been  treated  too  much  as 
one  exclusively  for  the  clergy.  In  calling  your  lordship's  atten- 
tion to  the  subject,  I  am  actuated  simply  by  a  sense  of  duty,  for  I  feel 
that  the  time  has  arrived  when  there  should  be  a  decided  condemna- 
tion 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  book  should  be  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  without  regret,  and  that 
it  is  a  disgrace  to  the  community  that  such  a  book  should  be 
circulated  under  the  authority  of  clergymen  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  if  he  had  any  reason  to 
suppose  that  any  member  of  his  family  had  been  exposed  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  questions,  and 
warn  him  never  to  approach  his  house  again."  n 

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  strengthened   when,  a   few  weeks 

9  Life  of  Archbishop  Tait,  Vol.  II.,  p.  172. 

10  Ibid.,  p.  172. 

11  Church  Association  Monthly  Intelligencer,  August,  1877,  pp.  314-316. 


PROTEST  FROM  THE  PEERS.  99 

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  clergyman,  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  impropriety  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  Leinster,  the  Marquises 
of  Abergavenny,  Bristol,  Ailesbury,  Conyngham,  and 
Hertford;  the  Earls  of  Redesdale,  Jersey,  Harrowby, 
Fortescue,  Cork,  Morley,  Fitzwilliam,  Clancarty,  Sydney, 
Bessborough,  Seafield,  Cadogan,  Ilchester,  Mansfield, 
Normanton,  Harewood,  Spencer,  Bantry,  Desart,  Camper- 
down,  Manvers,  Lucan,  Arran,  Bradford,  Shaftesbury, 
Roden,  Haddington,  Cowper,  Darnley,  Donoughmore, 
Chichester,  Dunmore,  Elphinstone,  and  Longford;  by 
Viscounts  Hardinge,  Midleton,  Hawarden,  Lifford,  Strath- 
alien,  Powerscourt,  Sidmouth,  and  Torrington ;  and  also  by 
Lords  Sondes,  Henniker,  Leconsfield,  Wynford,  Hampton, 
Ebury,  Rivers,  Sandys,  Churchill,  Bolton,  Cottesloe, 
Oranmore,  Talbot  de  Malahide,  Clonbrock,  Dynevor, 
Forester,  Walsingham,  Digby,  Dorchester,  Foley,  Denman, 

12  The  Priest  in  Absolution  and  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross :  a  Correspondence 
between  a  London  Priest  and  A.  H.  Mackonochie,  p.  17. 

7* 


100        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Abinger,  Crofton,  Zouche,  Ruthven,  Penrhyn,  Chelmsford, 
Huntingfield,  Inchiquin,  Colchester,  Enfield,  Eversley, 
Waveney,  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  Redesdale's 
exposure,  viz.,  on  June  12th,  at  the  Monthly  Chapter  of  the 
Society,  the  Rev.  Robert  James  Wilson,  who  subsequently 
became  Warden  of  Keble  College,  Oxford,  called  the 
attention  of  the  brethren  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.  LI.  Bagshawe, 
Vicar  of  St.  Barnabas',  Pimlico.  On  June  25th  this 
gentleman  sent  out  to  the  brethren  the  following  printed 
letter : — 

"St.  Barnabas,  Pimlico. 

"June  25///,  1877. 

11  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 
Society  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 
disposed  to  be  friendly.  The  whole  question  was  discussed  at  a 
Meeting  of  the  Council,  including  the  Assessors,  on  Saturday.  You 
shall  have  immediate  information  when  anything  further   is  done. 

u  S.  S.  C.  June  Chaffer,  1877,  p.  6. 


LETTER  FROM  THE  MASTER  OF  S.  S.  C.       IOI 

I  have  decided  also  not  to  accept  the  resignation  of  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  book  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  responsibility :  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  been  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  list  of  their  names 
and  addresses,  which  made  them  most  anxious  to  leave  an 
organization  that  had  brought  them  into  trouble  with  their 
parishioners.  The  Master  acknowledges  that  the  Society  was 
"  responsible  for  a  limited  and  cautious  supply  to  priests  of 
known  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  proceedings.  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  A  bsolution,  but  simply  through 
fear.     The  fact  that  scarcely  any  of  them  publicly  repudiated 


102         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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.  Oxenham — 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  came  to  Confession.  If  the  practice  of 
Confession  involved,  which  it  certainly  does  not,  any  such  questioning, 
I  should  regard  it  with  abhorrence.  I  am  sure,  my  Lord,  that  a  very 
large  number  of  the  members  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  I  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  communica- 
tion. I  very  deeply  regret  that  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  ever 
came  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."  M 

This  condemnation  of  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution,  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  mischievous  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."15  The  Society  would  not 
even  allow  that  there  was  any  possibility  of  the  advice  on 

14  Life  of  Archbishop  Tait,  Vol.  II.,  p.  174. 

15  S.  S.  C.  Analysis  of  the  May  Synod,  1878,  p.  16. 


CORRESPONDENCE   WITH   ARCHBISHOP  TAIT.  103 

questioning,  contained  in  the  book,  being  misused,  for  when 
Mr.  Oxenham,  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  injurious  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  subject,  and  informed  him  that  the  Priest  in 
Absolution  could  "  only  be  obtained  by  those  who  are  known 
clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England/'  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,  £75  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  statement  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  pain  than  the  very  unex- 
18  Minutes  0/  the  Special  Chapter,  p.  11. 


104        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE  OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

pected  information  that  the  late  Mr.  Chambers  was  the  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  professional  character  ;  but 
I  must  say  that,  in  my  judgment,  a  system  of  Confession  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  have  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  matter  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  Absolution  is  that  its  language 
is  not  calculated  to  remove  that  misapprehension." 

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  been  circulated  without  his 
knowledge  and  sanction.  In  his  Address  to  the  May  Synod, 
1878,  he  said  : — "  Hitherto  the  book  has  been  in  my  care — 
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  more  highly 
of  the  Master  than  he  really  deserved.  Actions  speak  more 
strongly  than  words,  and  Mr.  Bagshawe'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, 

w  S.S.  C.  Master's  Address,  delivered  at  the  May  Synod,  1S78,  p.  6. 


STATEMENT  OF   S.  S.  C.  105 

on  Thursday,  June  28th.  The  representatives  were  the 
Master  of  the  Society,  together  with  the  following  members 
of  his  secret  Council : — The  Rev.  C.  F.  Lowder,  Vicar  of 
St.  Peter's,  London  Docks  ;  the  Rev.  Joseph  Newton  Smith, 
founder  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross ;  the  Rev.  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,  com- 
menced with  an  account  of  the  nature  and  objects  of  the 
Society  of  the  Holy  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  blessing  of  Confession  ;  and  very  many  of 
them  were  constantly  applied  to  by  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  which  they  believed  themselves  to  be  called.  Under 
these  circumstances,  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  theii 


106         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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,  Merchants,  Trades- 
men, 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  published  in  1869.  ^  was>  as  *  have  already 
mentioned,  published  in  1866,  and  the  second  edition  was 
published  in  1869.  The  Bishops  referred  to  as  having 
"  confidence "  in  Mr.  Chambers  could  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  A  bsolution, 
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  A  bsolution  doubtful,  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  ashed  of  the 
penitent,  partly  to  clear  what  has  been  ambiguous  in  his  statement, 
and  partly  to  help  him  to  confess  what  he  really  wishes  to  say,  but 
is  hindered  in  saying  from  shyness.  In  no  case  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 


SPECIAL   CHAPTER  OF   S.  S.  C.  loy 

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  case.  Instead  of  repudiating  the  book  altogether,  he 
asserted  that  "  no  harm  has  been  done  by  the  kind  of 
circulation  which  the  Society  has  permitted."  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  A  bsokition  to  the  Archbishop,  and  the 
promise  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  subject 
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  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 


108         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  part  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  not  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  repudia- 
tion 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  Philli- 
more,   Bart.,  Q.c).     This  statement  was  discussed  by  the 


SPEECHES  IN  THE  SECRET  CHAPTER.        log 

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  Reverend  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  part,  the  Society  has  determined  that  no  further  copies 
of  the  book  shall  be  supplied." 

In  moving  this  resolution  Canon  Carter  said  that  he, 
"  while  revising  the  proof  sheets  of  the  work,  had  recom- 
mended the  author  to  publish  it  in  Latin."  He  was  in 
favour  of  withdrawing  the  book  "  because  we  cannot  heartily 
endorse  it  as  a  whole  "  ;  and  "because  the  Bishops  ask  us 
to  give  the  book  up."  The  Rev.  Charles  Bodington  (now 
Diocesan  Missioner  for  Lichfield)  supported  the  motion. 
He  said  that  he  did  so  "  because  it  kept  clear  of  any  condemna- 
tion 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  Rev.  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  Rev.  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  injurious  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 


110         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

following   resolution  was   passed,   by  twenty-eight   against 
twenty,  instead  of  that  proposed  by  Brother  Oxenham  :■ — 

a  That,  under  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,  in  deference  to  the 
desire  expressed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  the  represen- 
tatives 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  proposed  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  A  bsolution  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  Rev.  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  evidently  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 ! 

On  Friday,  July  6th,  the  Upper  House  of  Canterbury  met 
to  consider  the  Priest  in  Absolution.      There  were  present,  in 


DISCUSSION   IN   CANTERBURY   CONVOCATION.  Ill 

addition  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who,  of  course, 
presided,  the  Bishops  of  London,  Llandaff,  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  A  bsolution,  or  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  which 
they  held  responsible  for  the  book.  They  unanimously 
condemned  both  the  one  and  the  other,  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 
remarkable  occasion,  in  the  Chronicle  of  Convocation,  Sessions 
July  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  altogether  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  some- 
where 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.  I.,  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[ 


112        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  counteract 
what  I  feel  obliged  to  call  a  conspiracy  within  our  own  body 
against  the  doctrine,  the  discipline,  and  the  practice  of  our 
Reformed  Church." 

The  Bishop  of  London  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.  He 
noticed  that,  by  the  resolution  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  destroyed,  but  none 
others  are  to  be  supplied.  "  There,  consequently,"  said  the 
Bishop,  who  evidently  suspected  trickery,  "  they  are  to 
remain,  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  holds  the  Society  of  the 
Holy  Cross  responsible  for  the  preparation  and  dissemination 


OPINIONS   OF  THE   BISHOPS.  113 

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  withdrawn  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  con- 
demnation of  it,  though,  in  deference  to  the  desire  expressed 
by  the  Archbishop,  no  further  copies  of  it  will  be  supplied.  I 
shall,  therefore,  ask  your  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  Cross,  presented  to  this 
House  on  Friday,  July  6th,  1877,"  is  °^  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 
doctrine  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  Protes- 
tant Churches.  "I  am  very  unwilling,"  he  said,  "to  suppose 
that  anything  of  the  kind  is  done  at  the  present  day,  but 
this  is  an  important  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 

8 


114         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  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  Ritualistic 
churches.  The  Bishops  have  the  power  to  remove  them,  but, 
with  a  very  few  exceptions,  they  refuse  to  use  their  powers. 
Many  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  have  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  &n 
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, 


OPINIONS   OF  THE   BISHOPS.  115 

cannot  sanction  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  members  of  this  Society,  that 
I  do  not  believe  they  have  the  slightest  idea  of  any  conspiracy 
against  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  our  Reformed  Church." 
At  the  same  time  his  lordship  declared  that  he  "  disapproved" 
of  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution. 

The  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph  said : — "  The  system  of 
Confession  which  we  have  been  discussing,  followed  by 
priestly  absolution,  has  no  sanction  from  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  Confession. 
.  .  .  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  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 
next  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  contained  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 

8  * 


Il6        SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

system  of  the  Church,  and  under  certain  circumstances  are 
capable  of  being  blessed  in  the  highest  possible  degree  for 
good  to  those  who  partake  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  schoolmaster,  and  I  confess 
that  there  is  not  one  thing  in  all  the  world  which  is  deeper 
in  my  heart  and  conscience  than  the  corrupting  mischief  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,  have  scandalized  the  public  mind,  and 
I  am  sure  that  if  we,  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England, 
were  to  aid  and  abet  such  doctrine  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.  u  I  think,"  he  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." 


IMMORAL    RITUALISTIC    CONFESSORS.  117 

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  of  the  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  Canterbury  Convoca- 
tion, 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  Absolution  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  any  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.  I  was  talking  to  an  elderly  clergyman — a  Rural 
Dean,  older  than  myself — 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  duty,  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 ;  and  I  will  give  his 
name  to  any  one  who  asks  me  for  it.  You  know  it  is  said  a  discreet 
Confessor  will  make  a  proper  use  of  this  book  [the  Priest  in 
Absolution].  A  discreet  Confessor  1  Is  it  possible  that  discretion 
can  be  a  quality  of  every  young  clergyman  who  is  a  member  of  this 
Society,  which  is  said  to  have  a  property  in  this  book  ?  " 18 

18  Chronicle  of  Convocation.     Sessions,  July  3-6,  1877,  p.  231. 


Il8         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

The  truth  of  Archdeacon  Allen's  charge  against  these 
three  Ritualistic  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  clergy- 
men ?  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  Con- 
fessional 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.  Anyone  who  wishes  for  clear  and  ample 
evidence  on  this  point,  based  exclusively  upon  Roman 
Catholic  authorities,  should  certainly  read  An  Historical 
Sketch  of  Sacerdotal  Celibacy,  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Lea,  of  Phila- 
delphia. 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  was  a  Roman  Catholic  preacher  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  Romish 
priesthood. 

"  Helsen,"  writes  Mr.  Lea,  "  alludes  to  the  scandals  of  the  Con- 
fessional as  a  cause  of  its  avoidance  by  the  faithful  and  as  contributing 
powerfully  to  the  growth  of  religious  indifference,  and  that  these 
scandals  exist  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  conjecture  or  inference.  If  it 
were  so,  there  would  be  no  need  for  reiterating  the  prohibitions  against 
the  absolution  by  Confessors  of  their  fair  partners  in  guilt,  which  is 
still  occasionally  found  to  be  necessary  by  modern  Councils ;  nor 
would  Pius  IX.,  in  1866,  have  felt  himself  obliged  to  declare  that  the 
power  granted  to  Bishops  to  absolve  in  cases   reserved  to  the  Pope 


CLERICAL   CELIBACY.  Iig 

shall  not  in  future  extend  to  offences  reserved  for  Papal  absolution  by 
Benedict  XIV.'s  Bull  '  Sacramentum  Pcenitentice.'  In  fact,  the  crime 
of  *  solicitation  '  must  have  become  notoriously  frequent  before  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Inquisition  at  Rome  could  have  felt  impelled,  in  1867, 
to  put  forth  an  Instruction  addressed  to  all  Archbishops,  Bishops,  and 
Ordinaries,  complaining  that  the  Constitutions  on  the  subject  did  not 
receive  proper  attention,  and  that  in  some  places  abuses  had  crept  in, 
both  as  to  requiring  penitents  to  denounce  guilty  Confessors,  and  as 
to  the  punishing  of  Confessors  guilty  of  solicitation  [i.e.,  soliciting 
women,  while  in  the  Confessional,  to  immorality].  It  therefore 
urged  the  officials  everywhere  to  greater  vigour  in  investigating  such 
offences,  and  gave  a  summary  of  the  practice  of  the  Inquisition  in 
regard  to  these  matters."  19 

Bearing  these  and  other  similar  facts  in  mind,  I  am 
not  at  all  surprised  to  learn,  on  the  reliable  authority  of 
Archdeacon  Allen,  that  within  the  experience  of  even  one 
clergyman  "three  "  instances  were  made  known  in  which  the 
Ritualistic  Confessional  has  been  used  by  Father  Confessors 
for  the  vilest  purposes.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  those  three 
were  the  only  guilty  persons  in  England  ?  If  the  experience 
of  others  could  only  be  made  public,  is  there  not  reason  to 
fear  that  the  instances  would  be  considerably  multiplied  ? 
Has  not,  at  least,  one  clergyman,  since  1877,  been  deprived 
of  his  living  for  the  crime  of  seducing  a  young  lady  through 
the  Confessional  ?  Clerical  celibacy  is  rapidly  spreading 
amongst  the  Ritualists,  and  it  is  not  at  all  a  pleasant 
thought  that  our  wives,  daughters,  and  sisters  may  be 
going  to  Confession  to  some  young  bachelor  priest,  and 
talking  with  him  on  subjects  which  should  never  be  alluded 
to.  This  sort  of  thing  is  bad  enough  when  the  Confessor 
happens  to  be  a  married  man,  but  when  he  is  a  celibate 
the  dangers  are  greatly  increased.  Let  it  not  be  said  that 
I  am  bringing  reckless  and  wholesale  charges  against  the 
Ritualistic  clergy.  I  am  doing  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  am 
simply  dealing  with  facts,  and  with  possibilities,  which  we 

19  Lea's  History  of  Sacerdotal  Celibacy,  p.  633.     Second  edition.     Boston : 
Houghton,  Miffen  &  Co.,  1884. 


120         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

cannot  afford  to  ignore.  That  the  Confessional  may  be 
used  for  the  vilest  purposes  is  acknowledged  even  by  the 
author  of  the  Priest  in  Absolution,  who,  as  a  Ritualistic 
Confessor  of  many  years'  experience,  speaks  with  some 
authority  on  this  point.  While  writing  on  the  care  which 
the  Confessor  should  exercise  in  hearing  the  Confessions  of 
females,  he  remarks : — 

**  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  temples  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  may  be  profaned  by  abusers  of  its  ministrations  to  the 
grossest  iniquity."20 

This  testimony  of  the  Editor  of  the  Priest  in  Absolution 
is  corroborated  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  dovotees,  while  they  dismiss 
men  or  married  women,  who  have,  perhaps,  left  their  household 
affairs  with  difficulty  to  find  themselves  rejected  with,  '  I  am  busy, 
go  to  someone  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  one's  own."31 

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  and  sin  in  your 
own  mind."22 

He  also  warns  the  Confessor,  who  hears  Confessions 
while  u  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 . 

80  The  Priest  in  Absolution,  Part  II.,  p.  77. 

11  Pusey's  Manual  for  Confessors,  p.  108.  B  Ibid.,  p.  102. 


DANGERS   OF  THE   RITUALISTIC   CONFESSIONAL.         121 

good  man,  how  can  one  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  5  no  Minister  of  God,  but  of  the  devil  j  no  physician, 
bat  the  murderer  of  souls."28 

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."  u 

When  the  Editor  of  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution,  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Pusey,  both  experienced  Father  Confessors  themselves, 
make  such  startling  acknowledgments  as  those  I  have  just 
quoted,  is  it  surprising  or  unreasonable  that  Protestant 
Churchmen  also  should  raise  a  loud  note  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  Confession  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.  D. 
Nicholas  rose  and  complained  that  the  caution  given  to  the 
brethren  by  the  Master  at  the   Special  Chapter,  as  to  the 


u  ibid.,  p  99. 


**  Ibid.,  p.  315. 


122         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

"  strictly  confidential "  nature  of  its  proceedings,  had  been 
ignored.  A  lady  had  actually  "  told  him,  on  the  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  promise  to  the  Arch- 
bishop 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  all  copies  of  the  said  book  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Society 
shall  be  destroyed." 25 

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  exclaimed  that  "  he  hoped  that  the 
Chapter  would  not  allow  Brother  Oxenham'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 : — "  That 
the  Society  thinks  it  undesirable  to  enter  at  the  Synod 
into  a  reconsideration  of  its  relations  to  the  Priest  in 
Absolution"56  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  very  fully  considered,  as 
the  official  report  of  the  proceedings  fully  shows,  though, 
of  course,  Brother  Oxenham's  motion  was  rigorously 
boycotted. 

*  S.  5.  C.  July  Chapter,  1877,  p.  2.  "  Ibid.,  p.  10. 


S.  S.  C.   AND   THE   BISHOPS. 


123 


One  of  the  special  subjects  discussed  at  the  July  Chapter 
was  "  Our  Action  Towards  the  Bishops."  It  was  introduced 
by  the  Rev.  C.  F.  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  Priest  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  denouncing  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 
gench.  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  advised  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  Con- 
vocation. 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  surrep- 
titiously 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 


124         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  o- 
the  English  Church  Union)  said  he  could  support  Brothei 
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  Confessors  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  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.  Eyton's  position  if  I  mention  that  he 
at  that  time  held  a  curate's  license  under  the  Bishop  of 
London,  and  therefore  what  he  meant  was  that  rather  than 
lose  that  license  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 


JESUITICAL  TACTICS. 


125 


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  Rockhampton, 
Australia)  supported  the  motion.  He  said  : — "  Our  weak- 
ness 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  Rev.  Edmund  Gough  de  Wood, 

Vicar  of  St.  Clement's,  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    recommended   the 

Society   to  revise  its  Statutes.      "  Our  Statutes,"  he  said, 

u  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    proposition,    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 


126        SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  protest  against  the  statement  in  the  Address  [of 
the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross]  to  Convocation,  that  '  the 
Church  of  England  teaches  that  Confession  is  not  a  matter 
of  compulsory  obligation.'"  The  Rev.  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  Rev.  W.  J. 
Knox-Little  (now  Canon  Knox-Little)  preached  (on 
July  8th)  a  sermon  on  the  subject  of  the  Priest  in  Absolu- 
tion 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  members  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."27 

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 


v  The  Priest  in  Absolution,  by  Rev.  W.  J.  Knox-Little,  m.a.,  p.  26.   London  : 
Rivingtons. 


CANON    KNOX   LITTLE   AND   S.  S.  C.  12J 

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  oppor- 
tunity at  the  [September]  Synod  for  an  expression  of 
opinion  on  the  part  of  the  Society  as  to  his  conduct."  On 
the  motion  of  the  Rev.  Anthony  Bathe,  now  Vicar  of  Friday  - 
thorpe,  York,  a  resolution  assuring  the  Master  that  he 
possessed  "the  full  confidence  of  the  Society"  was  carried 
unanimously.  The  Rev.  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  Rev.  H.  D.  Nihill,  seconded 
by  the  Rev.  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  Probationers.  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  Redesdale's  exposure 
of  the  Priest  in  Absolution.     I  am  sorry  to  state  that  the 


128         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Sermon  to  the  brethren,  and  the  Master's  Address  to  the 
Synod  on  this  important  occasion  have  not  come  into  my 
possession.  But  I  do  possess  the  official  and  secret  report 
of  the  Synod  itself,  which  was  held  in  St.  Peter's  Church, 
London  Docks,  on  September  13th  and  14th.  The  proceed- 
ings 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  discussion  of  the  question  at  that  Synod. 
After  an  excited  debate,  it  was  decided  that  the  Resolutions 
should  be  brought  forward  as  an  amendment  to  the  first 
motion  on  the  agenda  paper.  That  motion  was  the  result  of 
the  recent  discussion  in  public  of  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution. 
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 
anyone  objected  to  the  doctrine  contained  in  those  Statutes, 
but  to  the  use  of  terms,  such  as  "The  Mass,"  and  "  Sacra- 
ment of  Penance,"  &c,  which  had  given  offence  to  the 
Bishops.  Accordingly,  the  Rev.  William  Henry  Hutchings 
(now  Archdeacon  of  Cleveland)  proposed,  and  the  Rev.  Edgar 
Hoskins  seconded,  the  following  motion  : — - 

"  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Synod  it  is  advisable  that  a  Committee 
be  appointed  to  consider  the  form  of  the  Society's  Statutes,  with  a 
view  to  modification  or  otherwise." 

38  Charles  Lowder :  a  Biography,  p.  311.     First  edition. 


SPEECHES  IN  SECRET  SYNOD.  120, 

In  proposing  this  motion,  Brother  Hutchings  said  that : — 
"  It  was  the  opinion  of  a  well-known  Oxford  Professor29  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  wrong,  and  destroyed 
the  great  instrument  we  had  for  promoting  the  Catholic 
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  Hutchings  was 
mainly  intended  to  "  draw  a  red  herring  "  across  the  trail  of 
the  Bishops. 

The  Rev.  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  !  All  this  must  be  put  out  of  the 
question.  •  He  was  opposed  to  the  mere  withdrawal  of  terms;80 
that,  he  believed,  would  be  inadequate  to  meet  the  difficulty. 
Did  the  Synod  (he  asked)  believe  in  the  certainty  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 

29  Who  was  this  "  well-known  Oxford  Professor  "  ?  I  am  inclined  to  think 
he  was  Dr.  Pusey,  who  had  evidently  been  consulted  by  the  Society,  for  at 
this  Synod  a  letter  was  read  from  him  on  the  question  of  revising  the 
Statutes. 

80  That  is,  to  such  "terms  "  as  the  "  Mass,"  Ac.,  in  the  Statutes. 


130        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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.  i. 

At  this  point,  Brother  E.  G.  de  Salis  Wood  obtained 
permission  to  bring  forward  his  resolutions,  as  an  amend- 
ment to  the  motion  of  Brother  Hutchings.  They  are 
somewhat  lengthy,  but  I  think  it  maybe  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  suppose  that  it  had  ceased  to  exist  altogether.  The 
following  were  the  resolutions  (the  italics  are  mine) : — 

I.  That  on  and  after  the  15th  day  of  September,  1877,  the  Society 
of  the  Holy  Cross  be  disbanded,  and  that  all  its  members  be  and  they 
are  hereby  freed  from  all  obligations  imposed  by  the  Society  in  respect 
to  its  Statutes,  Laws,  or  Rules  of  Life  (save  and  except  the  obligation  oj 
confidence  as  regards  past  proceedings  of  Synods  and  Chapters  and  of 
this  Synod),  as  well  as  from  any  formal  bond  of  union  or  mutual 
obligations  at  present  subsisting  in  virtue  of  Membership  in  the 
Society." 

"  II.  (a.)  That  the  Master,  the  Secretaries,  the  Treasurer,  and  two 
other  Brethren  chosen  by  them,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  constituted 
Trustees  of  the  funds,  papers,  and  other  property  of  the  Society, 
without  power  of  disposition  except  as  hereinafter  provided. 

"  (b.)  That  it  be  and  is  suggested  to  the  said  Trustees,  that  from 
time  to  time,  at  their  discretion,  they  should  invite  to  informal  conference 
all  whose  names  shall  have  been  upon  the  Roll  of  the  Society  on  the  14th 
September,  1877,  as  well  as  such  other  priests  as  they  may  choose .31 

31  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. 


SPEECHES  IN  SECRET  SYNOD.  I3I 

"  (c.)  That  the  Trustees  shall  have  power  to  transfer  the  property 
of  the  Society  to  any  other  Society  with  similar  objects  and  like  consti- 
tution, which  at  any  future  time  may  be  formed,  if  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.32  .... 
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,  however,  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 

3S  It  would  be  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  1 


132        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE  OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  to  challenge  the 
Master's  ruling.  The  Rev.  H.  D.  Nihill  moved,  and  the 
Rev.  T.  Outram  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) 
tl  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  fight  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  recommenda- 
tion 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  Formularies  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  those  who  would  understand  them." 


SPEECHES  IN  SECRET  SYNOD.  133 

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  five  or  six  Bishops  who  wished 
us  well,  and  who  would  be  glad  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  prevent 
the  Upper  House  of  Convocation  from  condemning  the  Society." zz 
Mr.  Marshall  proceeded,  with  an  astuteness  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  by  us,  and  we  should  thus  enable 
them  to  do  so.  f  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." 

In  this  Mr.  Marshall  was  a  true  prophet.  The  Statutes 
were  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  conclusion  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 

85  What  hypocrites  these  "five  or  six  Bishops"  must  have  been!  They 
succeeded  in  their  underhand  proceedings,  for  the  dreaded  censure  of  the 
Upper  House  did  not  take  place. 


134         SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  towards  that  Society, 
believing  that  the  brethren,  at  any  rate,  would  stand  firm. 
As  to  a  Synodical  condemnation,  he  laughed  at  it !  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.  Our  attitude  should  be,  'You 
shall  kill  me,  if  you  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 
Hutchings'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  very  startling  resolution  : — 

"That,  in  consequence  of  the  evil  effects  which  have  ensued 
from  the  private  circulation  of  the  Priest  in  Ah  solution,  the  bad  use 
made  of  its  contents,  and  the  false  charges  founded  upon  garbled 
quotations,  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  done  by  its  private  circulation.  .  . 
He  protested  against  the  action  of  those  brethren  who  had 
publicly  condemned  the  book,  which  they  admitted  they  had 
never  read." 


SPEECHES  IN  SECRET  SYNOD.  135 

The  Rev.  H.  D.  Nihill  seconded  the  resolution,  and  said  that 
"the  most  miserable  circumstance  about  the  question  was  the 
condemnation  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 
1  That '  be  omitted,  in  order  to  insert  the  following  '  inasmuch 
as  the  book  called  the  Priest  in  Absolution  has  been 
withdrawn  from  circulation,  the  copies  in  possession  of  the 
Society  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  Master/  M 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Newton  Smith  "  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,  condemna- 
tion of  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution,  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  Rev.  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 


136        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE  OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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.  Outram  Marshall  "  opposed  both  the  destruc- 
tion and  the  publication  of  the  book." 

The  Rev.  R.  Rhodes  Bristow  supported  the  amendment. 
"  If  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  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  A  bsolution  was  translated,  namely, 
the  Abb6  Gaume'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  of  the 
question."    This  was  carried  by  thirty-four  to  eight.    The 


SYMPATHY  WITH    S.  S.  C.  I37 

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  Absolu- 
tion. 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  resolu- 
tions of  sympathy  were  received  from  the  London  Province 
of  the  Guild  of  St.  Alban's  and  the  Wolverhampton  Branch 
of  the  same  Guild.  Several  other  branches  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  Chapter  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  A  bsolution,  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  time,  lest  it  should  hinder  the  success 
of  the  efforts  being  made  to  revise  the  Statutes  "  Negotia- 
tions of  a  private  kind,"  he  added,  "have  been  already 
opened  with   several  Bishops ;   but  if  these  fail,  either  on 

84  S.S.  C.  October  Chapter,  1877,  p.  2. 


I38        SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  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  Revs.  F.  LI.  Bagshawe  (the 
Master),  C.  F.  Lowder,  John  Andrews  Foote,  Edgar 
Hoskins,  T.  T.  Carter  (of  Clewer),  G.  R.  Prynne  (Vicar  of 
St.  Peter's,  Plymouth),  Henry  Edward  Willington,  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  Com- 
mittee of  Revision  had  "  communicated  the  Report  (without 
any  signature  of  Members  attached)^  to  the  following  Bishops — 
London,  Winchester,  Oxford,  Ely,  Lichfield,  Peterborough, 
Exeter,  and  Chichester,  but  that  no  copies  of  the  Report  have  been 
supplied  to  the  two  Archbishops"™  This  significant  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. 

85  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  5. 5.  C.  April  Chapter,  1878,  p.  3.  For  a  complete  list  of  the  Members  of 
this  secret  Society  up  to  the  year  1897,  see  Church  Association  Tract,  No.  244, 
price  one  penny. 


ARCHDEACON   DENISON  JOINS   S.  S.  C.  I39 

And  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 
omission  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  during  the  past  year 
their  had  been  no  fewer  than  122  resignations.  He  found, 
however,  one  consolation  in  the  fact  that  the  Society 
had  "  been  honoured  by  the  addition  to  its  ranks  of  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  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  : — 

"  I  pass  on  to  another  question  that  will  be  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  preserve  the  book  it  must  be  with  a  motive,  and  how  that 
motive  can  be  reconciled  with  my  personal  representation  to  the 
Bishops  will  be  a  difficult  question  for  my  own  after-consideration."38 

The  sermon  to  the  brethren  at  this  Synod  was  preached 

s?  S.  S.  C.  Master's  Address,  May  Synod,  1878,  p.  7. 
18  Ibid.,  pp.  5,  6. 


140        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE  OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  "  Sacramental  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  all  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  things  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  '  Sacra- 
ment of  Penance,'  that  sacred  rite  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 
withdrew  nothing  but  empty  names,  and  was  primarily 
intended  for  the  purpose  of  throwing  more  dust  in  the  eyes 

89  Report  of  Committee,  p.  16.  40  Ibid.,  p.  5. 

41  Ibid.,  p.  11.  42  Ibid.,  p.  11. 


REVISING   THE   STATUTES   OF   S.  S.  C.  141 

of  the  Bishops.  It  was  worthy  of  a  conclave  of  Jesuits 
rather  than  of  a  committee  of  clergymen  within  the 
Reformed  Church  of  England. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Synod  letters  were  read 
from  Archdeacon  Denison,  and  the  Revs.  Robert  Herbert 
Godwin  (of  St.  Cyprian's  Theological  College,  Bloemfontein), 
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.  Outram  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  Organizing  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  con- 
vinced 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 


142         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

brethren,  whose  name  does  not  appear  to  have  been  men- 
tioned. u  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  William  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  recom- 
mendations." 

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  voted  for  the 
Master's  motion,  and  fifty-eight  against  it.  The  motion 
was  therefore  declared  lost.  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  Priest 


PROTEST  FROM   BRETHREN   OF   S.  S.  C.  143 

in  Absolution,  do  hereby  refuse  and  withhold  our  consent  to  the 
destruction  of  that  property  j  and  we  do  hereby  protest  against  any 
discussion  upon  the  question  of  destroying  that  property  in  this 
Synod,  on  the  ground  that  such  destruction,  without  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  La  Bere),  A.  H. 
Mackonochie,  Arthur  Henry  Stanton,  H.  D.  Nihill,  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  Custance  (Rector  of  Colwall, 
Malvern),  —  Collins,  Cecil  Wray,  and  William  Crouch 
(Vicar  of  Gamlingay). 

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  book  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 
Mackonochie  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 


144        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  A  bsolution. 

The  Rev.  William  John  Frere  (Principal  of  Hockering 
Training  College,  Bishops  Stortford)  "  quoted  Brother 
Bodington's  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  the  book.  He 
thought  that  we  might  put  forth  another  book  on  Con- 
fession, 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  Rev.  H.  D.  Nihill  informed  the  Synod  that  "he 
burnt  all  bad  literature;  he  was  not  ashamed  of  the 
Priest  in  A  bsolution,** 

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  remaining  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  A  bsolution , 
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  exposure  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 


REASONS  FOR  EXPOSING  S.  S.  C.  I45 

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  their  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  con- 
demned 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,  *n  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  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  Rev.  John  Erskine  Binney, 
at  that  time  Vicar  of  Summerstown,  near  Oxford.  His 
parish  was,  immediately  after  Lord  Redesdale's  exposure, 
placarded  with  an  address  to  the  people,  in  which  it  was 
mentioned  that  the   Vicar  was  a  member  of  the  Society 

10 


146        SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  that  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  done  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  unparalled  magnitude,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  only  right  course  for  wise  and  loyal  Churchmen  is 
to  wash  their  hands  of  it."43 

48  S.  S.  C.  Copy  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  "  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 
clergy  secretly  ordained  by  a  Bishop  of  the  Order. 

THE  Order  of  Corporate  Reunion  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  "  Secession  to  Rome,"  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  not  get,  or  what  often  comes  to  the  same  thing,  think  they  cannot 
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  give  them  here 
what  they  are  going  to  look  for ;  and  if  they  get  all  they  want  from 
us,  you  may  be  very  sure  few  of  them  will  take  the  trouble  to  go 
further.  Now,  this  is  what  the  Tractarians,  as  they  are  called, 
are  trying  to  do,  and  it  is  for  this  that  they  are  so  heartily  abused 

10  * 


*4&        SECRET  lilSTORY  OF  TllE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

every  day  of  their  lives  by  persons  who  do  not  understand  what  they 
want."  l 

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  considered  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  Corporate  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 
exceptions — 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  Sacra- 
ments. It  is  stated  that  no  one  is  admitted  to  the^  Order 
but  bond-fide  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  organized,  more  or  less 

1  Defence  of  Church  Principles,  "  Secessions  to  Rome,"  by  the  Rev.  Dr.R.  F. 
Littledale,  p.  4. 


FIRST  PASTORAL  OF  O.  C.  R.  149 

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,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses 
whose  names  have  not  been  made  public,  on  the  steps  at 
the  west  end  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  and  in  other  places 
throughout  the  land.3  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  Corporate 
Reunion,  and  Pro- Provincial  of  Canterbury ;  Joseph,  by  the  favour  of 
God,  Provincial  of  York,  in  the  Kingdom  of  England  5  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." 

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 

2  Reunion  Magazine,  p.  XI.  3  Ibid.,  p.  11. 


150        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  Protestant  King,  is  described  as  "a  period  of  wild 
confusion,"  while  that  of  the  Romanist,  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  protests,  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  Providence  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, 


FIRST  PASTORAL  OF  O.  C.  R.  151 

so  as  to  labour  corporately,  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  Sacraments  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  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,  H  we 
solemnly  take  as  the  basis  of  this  Our  Order  the  Catholic  Faith  as 
denned  by  the  Seven  General  Councils,  acknowledged  as  such  by  the 
whole  Church  of  the  East  and  the  West  before  the  great  and  deplor- 
able schism,  and  as  commonly  received  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and 
the  Creed  of  Nicaea,  and  the  Creed  of  St.  Athanasius.  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.  Further- 
more, 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 
Brotherhoods,  Sisterhoods,  and  Guilds,  We  solemnly  affirm  that  the 
Monastic  Life,  duly  regulated  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  is  a  most  salutary  institution,  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel ;  and  is  full  of  profit  to  those  who,  being  care- 
fully 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 

4  Reunion  Magazine,  pp.  88-98. 


152        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  Review,  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  j  .  .  .  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,  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.R.,  Provincial  of  Caerleon."  This  official  states 
that  :— 

"  It  is  quite  true  that  we  [O.  C.  R.]  do  not  assume  an  attitude  of 
independence  towards  the  Holy  See.  We  frankly  acknowledge  that, 
in  the  Providence  of  God,  the  Roman  Pontiff  is  the  Jirst  Bishop  in  the 
Church,  and,  therefore,  its  visible   head   on  earth.     We  do  not 

5  Union  Review,  Volume  for  1867,  p.  410. 


LOYAL  TO  THE   POPE.  1 53 

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, 
and  in  these  capacities  we  prayed  for  him  in  our  Constituent 
Synod."6 

Probably  the  authorities  of  the  Order  of  Corporate 
Reunion  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  Canter- 
bury; "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,  affirmed  that  the  Rev.  F.  G.  Lee,  Vicar  of  All  Saints', 
Lambeth,  was  one  of  the  three  Bishops  of  the  Order  of 
Corporate  Reunion ;  and  he  distinctly  terms  him  "  Bishop 
F.  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  the  Reunion  Magazine  as  "  Registrar  "  of  the 
Order,  published  in  pamphlet  form  a  reply  to  Mr.  Whit- 
worth's  attack.8  Mr.  Grant  denies  many  of  Mr.  Whitworth's 
assertions,  but  he  does  not  deny  that  Dr.  Lee  was  a  Bishop 

•  Reunion  Magazine,  p.  242. 
1  Church,  Review,  December  28th,  1878,  p.  623. 

8  Is  the  Order  of  Corporate  Reunion  Schismatical  ?  by  William  Grant.    London : 
D.  Nutt. 


-J 
154        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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 : — 

"  The  three  Anglican  clerics  who  have  obtained  Episcopal  consecra- 
tion 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  ■  >J<  Thomas/  the  '  Provincial  of  Caerleon '  is 
'  >J<  Laurence,'  the  '  Provincial  of  York  '  is  *  >J<  Joseph.'  Might  I 
suggest  that  *  Thomas '  sign  for  the  future,  '  >J<  Frederick  George 
Lee ' ;  Bishop  '  Laurence,'  '  >J<  Joseph  Leycester  Lyne ' ;  and  Bishop 
'  Joseph,'  '  >J<  Thomas  W.  Mossman  '  !  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  Review  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,  Lincoln- 
shire, were  certainly  Bishops  of  the  O.  C.  R.,  and  I  have 
never  heard  that  the  Rev.  Joseph  L.  Lyne,  alias  "  Father 
Ignatius,"  has  denied  the  accusation  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  triumvirate  of  an  Eastern,  a 

9  Quoted  in  Church  Times,  March  14th,  1879,  p.  163. 


ITS   BISHOPS   SECRETLY  CONSECRATED.  155 

Latin,  and  an  Anglican  prelate,  no  one  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  mediaeval  pattern 
than  the  'Magpie'  attire  familiar  to  the  House  of  Lords. 
It  is  said  also  to  be  beyond  doubt  that  individuals  have  been 
re-baptized,  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."  n  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  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,  u  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  head 
of  God's  Catholic  Church  here  on  earth.  .  .  .  All  I  have  ever  claimed 

10  Quoted  in  the  English  Churchman,  January  1st,  1885,  p.  10. 

11  Quoted  in  Brinckman's  Controversial  Methods  of  Romanism,  p.  xvi. 

12  Ibid.,  p.  xvi. 


156        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD  MOVEMENT. 

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  "  con- 
cerning 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, 
Metropolitans,  and  Patriarchs,  with  One  Visible  Head,  is  so  exactly  of 
that  practical  natuce,  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  perverseness, 
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  me)  that 
the  Pope  is  the  Archbishop's  [of  Canterbury]  direct  spiritual  superior 
both  in  rank  and  authority."1* 

He  even  expresses  approval  of  the  modern  doctrine  of  the 
Immaculate  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  complement  of  the  Theotokos 
of  Ephesus.18 

Since  he  wrote  these  last  words,  Dr.  Lee  has  written  a 

13  English  Churchman,  March  5th,  1885,  p.  no. 

14  Order  Out  of  Chaos,  by  Frederick  George  Lee,  d.d.,  pp.  60-62.  London, 
1881. 

w  Ibid.,  p.  50.  M  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


it 


BISHOP  "  MOSSMAN  ACCEPTS  PAPAL  INFALLIBILITY.    157 


large  volume  to  prove  that  the  Immaculate  Conception,  as 
defined  by  Pius  IX.,  ought  to  be  believed  by  all  Christians. 

"  Bishop  "  Mossman  professed  faith  in  the  Pope's  personal 
Infallibility,  as  defined  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  Rome  by  Cardinal  Manning.  Writing  to  the 
Church  Review,  in  1881,  Mr.  Mossman  remarked  : — 

"  I  used  to  be  as  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  Papal  Infallibility  as  it  was 
possible  for  anyone  to  be.  Deeper  reflection  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  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 
earth,  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  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  delight  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.  R., 
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  himself  as  "  Registrar, 
O.  C.  R.,"  wrote  to  that  paper  : — 

11  Church  Review,  November  3rd,  1882,  p.  531. 


158         SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

"  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,  who  had  requested  the 
Cardinal's  opinion  of  the  O.  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  organization  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  O.  C.  R. 

"  The  Order  of  Corporate  Reunion,"  he  writes,  "  actively  pursues 
its  labours,  and  its  officers  have  sent  forth  a  Pastoral  Letter  containing 
an  exposition  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  Episcopal  consecra- 
tion 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  Reunion  did  not 

18  Church  Times,  August  22nd,  1879,  p.  528. 

10  Quoted  in  Church  Association  Monthly  Intelligencer,  Volume  for  1878,  p.  238. 


S.  S.  C.    REPORT  ON   O.  C.  R.  159 

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  movement  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  Movement,  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  1879, 
and  also  at  its  September  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  O.  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  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, 


l60        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  : — M  That 
although  Br.  Mossman's  Report  is  printed  and  circulated 
amongst  the  brethren,  the  Society  distinctly  repudiates  the 
opinions  expressed  in  it."21  At  this  Chapter  the  preliminary 
Report  on  the  O.  C.  R.  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  profitably  of  what  I  am  able  to  testify  of  my 
own  personal  knowledge.  The  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  me  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  j  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  communion  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 

20  Br.  Mossman's  Report  on  the  Order  of  Corporate  Reunion.   Presented  to  S.S.  C, 
p.  10. 

81  5. 5.  C.  November  Chapter,  1878.    Acta,  p.  4. 

82  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  "  Bishop  "  Mossman  here  referred  to  himself 


EIGHT   HUNDRED   CLERGY   SECRETLY   ORDAINED.        l6l 

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  re- 
moved 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  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  O.  C.  R.  in  almost  every  English 
diocese"  (p.  755).  The  Roman  Catholic  Standard  and 
Ransomer,  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." 

*  S.  S.  C.  Report  0/  Committee  on  the  Older  0/ Corf  crate  Reunion,  pp.  9,  10. 


II 


CHAPTER  VI. 


RITUALISTIC    SISTERHOODS. 


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  Conventual  Vows — Ritualistic  Nuns  Enclosed 
for  Life — "Father  Ignatius'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  Ritualistic  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 


SISTERHOODS  FORMED   ON   ROMAN   MODELS.  163 

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  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  Sisterhood  is  as  truly  a  secret  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  so-called  "Religious  Life."  The  secret  Statutes, 
regulating  not  only  the  lives  of  the  inmates,  but  also  the 
disposal  of  their  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  estab- 
lishing 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. 

1  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  155. 

II   * 


ID4        SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

Writing  to  Dr.  Pusey  from  the  Vicarage,  Leeds,  June  gth, 
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  discretion,  and  thoroughly  imbued 
with  right  principles,  and  for  her  to  come  here  and  take  lodgings  with 
two  or  three  other  females.  Let  their  object  he  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."  3 

In  the  following  year  Dr.  Pusey  spent  two  months  in 
Ireland  for  the  special  purpose  of  studying  the  Roman 
Catholic  Sisterhoods.8  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 
ons!  e.g.,  a.  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  British  Guiana."4 
He  saw  also  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  Murray,  of 
Dublin.  Some  of  Pusey's  friends  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  Rev. 
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,  describ- 
ing 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 


a  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  III.,  p.  7.  s  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  243. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  246. 


VISITS  TO   FRENCH   CONVENTS.  165 

some   rules  by   me,  used   by  different  bodies   in   England 
and  on  the  Continent."6 

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  was  early  introduced,  Monasteries 
are  still  to  be  found,  and  with  the  same  disastrous  results  to  morals 
as  in  Papal  Europe.  In  Scandinavia,  the  priestesses  of  Freya  .  .  who 
were  bound  to  perpetual  virginity,  were  just  an  order  of  Nans.  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  Communion  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  France.  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 

*  Ibid.,  Vol.  III.,  p.  22. 

6  Hislop' s  Two  Babylons,  p.  223.    Seventh  edition. 

*  Life  of  Dr.  Pussy,  Vol.  III.,  p.  10. 


l66        SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  be  wished :  perfect 
harmony  reigned  between  the  different  grades  of  Sisters,  and  the 
hospital  and  schools  under  their  management  were  admirably  con- 
ducted. The  Rule  of  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.  Prancis  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  Sisters,  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace  the 
influence  of  the  information  thus  conveyed.  Indeed,  the  Rule  first 
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  Haghes 
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 
•  Life  of  Er.  Pusey,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  io,  II, 


THE   VOW  OF   OBEDIENCE.  167 

volume  entitled  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church  of  England,  and 
with  it  the  rules  which  regulate  two  out  of  the  three  Vows 
taken  by  these  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  cheer- 
fulness, and  banish  from  your  mind  any  question  as  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  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  honour  due  to  the  priesthood) — we  ought 
to  look  upon  them  as  Angels  sent  by  God  to  reconcile  us  to  His 
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  tempta- 
tions, &c.  I  would  have  you  answer,  although  you  are  not  obliged 
to  do  so."  10 

We  may  indeed  pity  the  unfortunate  Sister  who  has  to 

*  Sisterhoods  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. 

10  Pusey 's  Manual  for  Confessors,  p.  190. 


i68 


SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 


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  117)  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 
A  bsolution  ?  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Sister  is  forbidden 
to  show  any  "  hesitation  or  repugnance "  in  carrying  out 
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  lit  to  bestow  her 
other  foot  on  the  head  of  the  stooping  Sister.  Some  little  disposition 
to  objection  and  resistance  to  this  disgusting  insult  being  manifested, 
was  immediately  checked  by  the  Lady  Superior,  who  remarked  that 
such  humiliation  was  good  for  the  Sister."  n 

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  Mercy,  entitled  : — The 
Religious  Life  Portrayed  for  the  Use  of  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and 
this  is  what  he  says  to  them  about  their  Vow  of  Obedience  :— 


11  A  Letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  by  the  Rev.  W.  G.  Cookesley,  p.  76, 
London:  Ridgway,  1853.  u  Ibid.,  p.  11. 


THE  VOW  OF  POVERTY.  1 69 

"  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  j 
and  she  must  obey  her  Superiors  for  God's  sake,  yielding  herself  as 
uaxy  to  he  moulded  unresistingly"  (p.  13). 

Anyone  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,  commenting  on  the  Rule  of  Obedience 
quoted  above,  very  truly  remarks  :— 

"  Plainly,  this  whole  Rule  of  Obedience  is  simply  the  counterfeit  of 
that  entire  self-consecration  which  the  Christian,  whose  soul  has  been 
redeemed,  owes  to  his  Redeemer.  To  Him,  indeed,  and  to  His  holy 
will  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  ignorantly  devout  souls — a  system  which,  indeed,  'admits 
the  whole  canon  of  truth,  and  yet  contrives  that  it  should  teach  only 
error.'  It  is  part  of  a  carefully  devised  system  for  depriving  the  soul  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  under  whatever  pretext,  to  herself  j  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  regula- 
tion of  the  Superior.     Ye  shall  neither  ask  for,  nor  receive  anything 

18  The  Anglican  Sister  of  Mercy,  pp.  62,  63.    London  :  Elliot  Stock,  1895. 


170         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

without  permission;  and  when  ye  shall  have  received  it,  ye  shall 
place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Mother  Assistant  for  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 
English  ladies  of  their  money.  "A  lady,"  writes  the  Rev. 
W.  G.  Cookesley,  "who  joined  Dr.  Pusey's  establishment, 
as  a  Sister,  carried  into  the  common  stock  a  capital  pro- 
ducing, I  believe,  so  large  a  sum  as  £1200  per  annum  ;  when 
she  subsequently  left  the  Society,  which  she  did  to  join  the 
Church  of  Rome,  she  did  not  possess  a  penny  !  " 16  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  property  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  alarming  and  dangerous  innovation,  and  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in   this  country.     Since  it  is 

14  Goodman's  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church  of  England,  pp  82,  83. 

15  Cookesley's  Letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  p.  12.  London:  Ridgway, 
1853- 


ARE   RITUALISTIC   CONVENTS  JAILS?  171 

possible  for  a  young  girl  to  be  kept  secretly ,  in  strict  seclusion,  in  a 
Convent  professedly  connected  with  the  Church  of  England,  not  only 
against  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  import- 
ance, and  demands  the  consideration  of  the  Legislature.  The 
unfortunate  inmates  of  lunatic  asylums,  private  as  well  as  public,  are 
shielded  by  the  law  from  ill  usage  and  unjustifiable  restraint ;  surely 
the  inmates  of  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  uncontrolled  power,  exercised  by 
irresponsible  Superiors,  whose  authority  is  absolute."  16 

If  what  Miss  Goodman  here  states  be  true — and  I  have 
discovered  no  reason  for  doubting  it — it  follows  that  Ritual- 
istic 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  of  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  j  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  5  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  5  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  Rule  as  to  Poverty  varies  in  different  Con- 
vents.    The  Sisterhood  of  St.  Margaret's,  East  Grinstead,  is 
16  Goodman's  Sisterhoods,  pp.  vii.,  viii.  V  Ibid.,  p.  113. 


172        SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

a  very  large  one,  devoted  mainly  to  nursing,  but  also  paying 
a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  publication  of  books,  and 
the  production  of  ecclesiastical  embroidery.  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  Rev.  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,  u  that  every  Sister  implicitly 
or  explicitly  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  with- 
draw from  her  profession,  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  Con- 
fession 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  busi- 


ARE   CONVENT  ACCOUNTS  AUDITED?  173 

ness  of  his,  and  if  he  is  a  bad  man  he  can  easily  use  his 
opportunities  to  enrich  the  Convent  at  the  expense  of  justice. 

"Let  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  j  when  she  makes  the  Vow  of  Poverty,  what 
does  she  promise,  and  what  does  she  not  promise  ?  She  promises, 
in  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  have  been  some  griping,  grasping 
Religious  Houses  which  have  been  satisfied  with  nothing  less,  but 
they  have  always  been  regarded  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  understood  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  satis- 
factory 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, 


174         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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 
following,  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  Sisterhoods  may  be  read  in  a  Government  Blue 
Book,  published  in  1870,  and  containing  the  Report 
from  the  Select  Committee  on  Conventual  and  Monastic 
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 

18  Report,  p.  224. 


CLEWER   SISTERHOOD.  I75 

But,  surely,  if  they  promise  and  offer  themselves  to  God 
"perpetually"  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."19  The  Rev.  Dr.  Neale,  Warden 
of  the  East  Grinstead  Sisterhood,  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  Sisterhood. 
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  confidential. 

"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  next-of-kin,  or  the  next  in  degree,  if 
more  than  one  (or  give  to  the  Visitor  a  sufficient  reason  for  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 

19  Vows  and  the  Religious  State,  by  the  Rev.  T.  T.  Carter,  p.  73.  London : 
Masters,  1881. 

20  Spirit  0/  the  Founder,  p.  71.  sl  Report,  p.  226. 


I76        SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

easily,  if  they  pleased — I  do  not  say  that  they  would 
so  act — work  the  arrangement  very  much  to  the  advan- 
tage 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  should  inform  her 
nearest  relations  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  Confessor,  the 
Warden,  and  the  Mother  Superior,  the  result  of  their 
conference  will,  no  doubt,  be  quite  satisfactory  to  the 
Convent.  But  what  will  her  next-of-kin  think  about  it  ? 
Even  if  they  are  permitted,  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  advantage.  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  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church  of  England,  p.  16  :■— 

"  The  father  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  of  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  Bradford  [Convent],  her 

mother  and  sister  were  sent  for  ;  but  they  were  allowed  to  stay  only 

two  days,  of  which  one  was  Sunday.     On  the  Monday  H made 

a  will  leaving  her  share  of  her  mother's  property  absolutely  to 
Miss  Sellon  [the  Mother  Superior],  or  to  the  Sisterhood,  which  is 


STATUTES  OF  ALL   SAINTS'   SISTERHOOD.  iy) 

much  the  same  thing.     The  mother  expressed  a  wish  that  her  daughter 

should  do  otherwise,  but  in  vain  ;  so  Lady  went  away  with  the 

pleasant  reflection  that  Miss  Sellon,  through  whom  she  was  seat 
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  "  dismissed,"  shall  have  any  right  to  any 
portion  of  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  : — 

"  1 8.  No  Sister,  whether  dismissed  or  not,  or  whether  remaining  or 
not,  or  her  heirs,  executors,  or  administrators,  shall  have  or  be  entitled, 
either  in  her  lifetime  or  after  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,  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 
intentionally  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  Brownlow  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 

K  Report,  p.  215. 

12 


t7&      Secret  history  of  the  oxford  movement* 

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  Sister- 
hood 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. 

"37^9*  Though  they  may  contribute  some,  they  are  not  to  take  any 
away  ? — 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."  24     Mr.  E.  E. 

33  Report,  p.  173.  M  Ibid.,  p,  17  . 


THE   PROPERTY  OF   CLEWER  SISTERS.  179 

Freeman,  Solicitor  of  the  Clewer  Sisterhood,  also  gave 
evidence  before  the  Select  Committee,  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  gentleman'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  5  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, 
after  they  have  joined  ? — Yes."  26 

What  the  rules  are  as  to  the  Vows  of  Poverty,  Chastity, 
and  Obedience,  which  obtain  in  the  numerous  other  Sister- 
hoods 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  Rules  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, 

"  Ibid.,  p.  193.  "  Hid.,  p.  190. 

27  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 
M  Sisterhood  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  and  the  secret  "  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross," 
both  of  which  work  in  the  same  parish  ? 

12   * 


l80        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

considerable  over  the  Sisterhoods  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  reasonable  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  them  ?  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   for  ever  consecrated  to  the  service  of   her 

•  *  Life  of  Archbishop  Tait,  Vol.  I.,  p.  466. 


BISHOP  WILBERFORCE   ON   VOWS.  l8l 

heavenly  Spouse.'  I  object  to  the  expression  itself  as  unwarranted 
by  God's  Word  and  savouring  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."29 

At  the  Oxford  Church  Congress,  in  1862,  Bishop  S. 
Wilberforce  delivered  a  stirring  speech  on  the  subject  of 
Vows,  strongly  condemning  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  Celibacy  for  a  fixed  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  engagements  of  any 
Sisterhood  of  which  such  Vows  formed  a  part30 — because,  firstly, 
/  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  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  believe  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  property  up,  in  a  moment  of  excitement,  to  this  purpose. 
.  .  .  One  single  word  on  the  use  of  the  term  ■  Religious.'     I  confess 

89  Life  of  Bishop  Wilberforc*.  Vol.  III.,  pp.  330,  331. 

30  In  his  diary  for  November  30th,  i860,  the  Bishop  records  that  during  a 
visit  he  had  that  day  made  to  the  Clewer  Sisterhood,  he  "  would  not  consent 
to  altering  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  ? 


l82         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  standard  of  lay  piety  was  very  low,  and  at  all 
events,  as  no  good  seems  to  me  to  be  got  by  the  use  of  a  word 
ambiguous  at  least  in  its  meaning,  and  which  seems  to  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."81 

Archbishop  Tait,  a  Broad  Churchman  who,  like  Bishop 
Wilberforce,  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  Sisterhoods  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  authorized  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."  83 

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  inmates  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  consequently  the  Bishop  very  properly  refused  to  licence 


81  Life  of  Bishop  Wilberforce,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  332,  333. 
32  Life  of  Archbishop  Tait,  Vol.  I.,  p.  457. 


ENCLOSED   RITUALISTIC   NUNS.  183 

him.  The  Bishop  wrote  to  the  Mother  Superior  of  the 
Sisterhood,  giving  his  reasons  for  his  refusal  to  license  the 
Chaplain  : — 

"  It  is  felt,"  he  wrote,  "  that  such  Vows  are  not  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  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  ;  buj  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."83 

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. M 

There  is  another  subject  connected  with  Ritualistic 
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 
1  Nunnery.'     As  I  have  before  observed,  the  '  Order  of  the 

83  Jbid.,  p.  461.  M  See  the  Mother  Superior's  Letter,  ibid.,  p.  462. 


184         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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." 3B 

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  years  been  trying  every  means  to 
obtain,  as  she  says,  '  only  one  word '  from  a  beloved  daughter  at 
Miss  Sellon'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."86 

Another  Order  of  Enclosed  Nuns  existed  for  several  years 
at  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.  Schol- 
astica."  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,  how- 
ever, keeps  on  another  Nunnery  of  his  own  at  Llanthony, 
where  he  has  also  a  Monastery.  In  1879  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, 

85  Goodman's  Sisterhoods  in  ths  Church  of  England,  p.  125.    M  Ibid.,  p.  213. 


THE   DISCIPLINE   IN   RITUALISTIC   CONVENTS.  185 

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,87  and  this  is  confirmed 

by  the  Monastic  Times,  June  24th,  1884,  a  periodical  issued 

by  "  Ignatius  "  himself.     Sometimes  this  "  Discipline  "  was 

inflicted  by  the  "  Mother  Superior  "  against  the  will  of  the 

unfortunate  Nun,  an  instance  of  which  is  given  above  (p.  40). 

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.  243).     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  I     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  life  are  growing  up  rapidly 

in  what  used  at  one  time  to  be  termed  the  Reformed  Church 

of  England  ?      This    "  Discipline " — which    is    sometimes 

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 

87  Nunnery  Life  in  the  Church  of  England,  by  Sister  Mary  Agnes,  O.S.B., 
p.  97- 


l86         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  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  "  The  Nun  of  Kenmare,"  and  who  has  now 
become  a  Protestant;  Miss  Margaret  Goodman,  who  has 
written  two  books  on  the  subject,  viz.,  her  Experiences  of  an 
English  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  Sisterhoods ; 
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  about  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 — 

u  Let  drop  many  little  hints  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  [in  the  Sister- 
hood], with  which  she  was  far  from  being  satisfied,  but  above  all 
she  warned  me  against  Miss  Sellon,  and  not  without  cause.  Her 
description  of  the  Plymouth  Sisterhood  was  that  it  was  '  a  hell  upon 
earth,'  and  later,  I  knew,  from  personal  experience,  that  she  was  not 
far  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 — 

88  Story  of  My  Life,  by  N.  F.  Cusack,  p.  65. 


HOW  DR.    PUSEY  HEARD   CONFESSIONS.  187 

"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.  Pusey  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  Sellon — 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 

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  Pattison's 
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  j  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  of  anyone  except  herself."  41 

It  is  possibly  to  the  case  here  mentioned  that  Miss 
Margaret  Goodman  refers,  in  her  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church 

39  Ibid.,  p.  71.  40  Mark  Pattison's  Memoirs,  p.  189. 

41  Cusack's  Story  of  My  Life,  p.  77. 


l88         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  appears  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  had  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  perfectly  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,  *  Please,  may  I  move  just  a  very  little  bit  j  I  am 
so  frightened.*  "  43 

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  overwrought,  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. 

u  Those  under  Miss  Sellon  suffered  from  want  of  the  commonest 

care.     Anything  that  affected  her  own  comfort  or  that  of  was 

ordered  immediately — other  things  were  forgotten.  It  was  a  fault 
even  to  do  anything  for  a  sick  person  without  the  '  Mother's  '  orders  \ 

i2  Goodman's  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church  of  England,  p.  135. 


CRUELTY  IN  A  RITUALISTIC  CONVENT.  189 

and  she,  late  at  night,  late  in  the  morning,  unpunctual  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  j  and  so.  sharing 
none  of  the  hardships  of  others,  she  was  unaware  what  they  were."  ** 

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,  I  suppose ;  while,  to 
add  to  her  necessity,  she  was  Portress  at  the  House  in  Osnaburg 
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  life  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  those  who  came  and  went  to  the  several  Houses  in  the  train  of  the 
'Mother';  and  thus,  while  all  was  confusion  in  the  anxiety  and 
confusion  of  so  great  an  arrival,  SHE  CRAWLED  ABOUT 
UNNOTICED  AND  UNPITIED."  ** 

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  may  be  scores  of  other  tenderly-reared  ladies 
at  present   in  these  Ritualistic  Convents,   suffering  similar 

uIbid.,  p.  18.  **  Ibid.,  pp.  19,  20. 


igo         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE  OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  Govern- 
ment inspection?  The  objections  commonly  brought  against 
such  inspection  are  of  the  feeblest  kind,  and  might  just  as 
reasonably  be  brought  against  the  existing  Government 
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 — 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  Goodman,  "  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  rooms  [in  the  Convent]  in  which  Miss  Sellon  and  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."46 

Certain  ladies  held  office  in  the  Convent,  who  were  known 
as  "  Eldresses."     These,  like  Miss  Sellon,  appear  to  have 

46  Goodman's  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church  of  England,  p.  37. 


HUNGRY  SISTERS  OF  MERCY.  Igl 

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  large  dish  of  cold  soup  prepared 
for  next  day's  dinner.  One  said,  *  How  good  it  looks  ' !  and  drawing 
near,  they  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  j eel 
most  ravenously  hungry;  and,  in  winter,  terribly  cold  also,  and  altogether 
woe-begone. 

"  Though  opposed  to  the  rules,  the  Chapel  was  at  one  time  often 
without  a  Are,  and  we  left  it  for  bed  after  two  hours  of  almost  inces- 
sant 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  Sisters,  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  arn't  this  Holy  Poverty  ? '  We  stood  peering  over 
each  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  of  cold  meat,  and  a  small  horn  of  wine."  *• 

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, 

48  Ibid.,  pp.  105-107. 


1Q2        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  head-quarters  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  Government,  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  Govern- 
ment on  this  subject,  and  make  an  effort  to  secure  a  return 
of  all  such  secret  burial  places,  whether  connected  with 
Ritualistic  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. 

Ritualistic  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  institutions  advanced  Ritualism 
is  secretly  practised  which  the  world  at  large  knows  nothing 


ROMISH  SERVICE  IN  A  CONVENT  CHAPEL.      I93 

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  present  at  the  services  of  the 
St.  Margaret's,  East  Grinstead,  Sisterhood,  in  the  chapel 
attached  to  their  Convent  in  Queen  Square,  London,  and  at 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Littledale  officiated.  When  Mr.  King 
became  a  Roman  Catholic  he  published  a  pamphlet,  entitled, 
The  Character  of  Dr.  Littledale  as  a  Controversialist,  in  which 
he  described  the  secret  services  at  which  he  was  present. 
The  pamphlet  was  published  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  connec- 
tion with  St.  Alban'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  Grinstead  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 
following : — 

"  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. 

"  3.  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.  Everyone  of  these  things  is  practised  by 
him,  and  I  am  prepared,  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 

*3 


194        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  be  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  he  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 

The  services  provided  for  the  clothing  of  a  Novice,  and  the 
Installation  of  a  Mother  Superior  of  a  Ritualistic  Sisterhood, 
as  provided  in  the  Ritualistic  Priest's  Prayer  Book,  have 
much  of  superstition  connected  with  them.  This  book  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  Albe,  Stole,  and  Cope,"  shall  perform  the 

4?  The  Character  of  Dr.  Littledale  as  a  Controversialist,  by  Owen  C.  H.  King, 
pp.  5-7.     London  :  Burns  and  Oates. 

48  The  Parish  Priest  of  the  Town,  by  John  Gott,  d.d.,  pp.  214,  216.  First 
edition.    London :  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  1887. 


SUPERSTITIOUS   CEREMONIES.  I95 

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."^ 

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 

40  The  Priest's  Prayer  Booh,  pp.   302-306.     Seventh  edition.      Eighteenth 
thousand.     London,  1890. 

13* 


I96        SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  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  "  Pastoral  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  of  Thy  bless  ^ing  upon  this  Staff" 
The  Bishop  must  then  "  bless  the  Ring  of  office  "  to  be 
worn  by  the  Mother  Superior,  and  say  : — "Bl  »j  ess,  O  Lord, 
and  hal  *h  low  this  Ring,  and  send  upon  it  Thy  sevenfold  Holy 
Spirit." 51  Is  there  not  something  very  much  like  blas- 
phemous 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 

60  The  Priest's  Prayer  Book,  pp.   306-311.      Seventh   edition.      Eighteenth 
thousand.     London,  1890. 
51  Ibid.,  pp.  311-3x4. 


A  SECRET  CONVENT  MANUAL.  197 

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  winding 
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  j 
Which  from  the  Cross  received  with  honour  meet 

The  Body  of  the  Lord."  62 
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  ! 

"  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  thanks  to  you,  blest  Nails  I  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  me  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  Wings."54 

w  Devonport  Manual,  Part  III.,  p.  338.    There  is  no  date  to  the  edition  of 
this  book  which  I  possess. 
M  Ibid.,  p.  332.  M  Devonport  Manual,  Part  I.,  p.  4. 


I98        SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

What,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Sisterhood,  are  the  virtues 
of  their  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  I.  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  have 
given  up  your  relations  if  you  are  taken  up  or  entangled  with  the  wish 
to  receive  letters  or  visits  from  them  ?  "  56 

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  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  Ritualistic  cause,  and  use 
their  influence  to  persuade  young  ladies — more  especially 
those  with  large   fortunes — to   enter  Ritualistic   Convents. 

56  Devonport  Manual,  Part  T.,  p.  32. 


SISTERHOODS   AND   EDUCATION.  1Q<) 

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."57  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  consideration.  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  Kilburn 
Sisterhood,"  "  Church  Extension  Association,"  &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 

'<  The  Spirit  of  the  Founder,  p.  94. 


200         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

volumes.  In  the  "  Editor's  NoteJ'  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 
Intercession  of  Departed  Saints  is  asked  for,  and  they 
are  invoked  by  name,  especially  the  Virgin  Mary.  The 
following  extracts  prove  the  Invocation  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."  58 

"  Holy  Mary,  Virgin  Mother  of  God,  intercede  for  us." 69 

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,  tjiy  Son's  rebuke  who  sharest, 
Let  me  share  them  both  with  thee."  w 

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  not  so  much 
argument  as  other  kinds  of  persuasion.     Among  these,  none  seem 

58  Night  Hours  of  the  Church,  Vol.  II.,  p.  173.  M  Ibid.,  p.  128. 

w  Offices  from  the  Breviary,  p.  95. 


A  CAUTION   FOR  THE  TIMES.  201 

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  make  a  great  parade  of  their  works  of  charity,  but  also  to 
represent  themselves  as  the  only  persons  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  the  thoughtless  j  and  thus  it  has  come  to  be  believed  by  many, 
in  some  cases  which  have  lately  made  much  noise  in  the  world,  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."  61 

■  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  "  may  be  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  advocated  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 


PROTESTANT   MARTYRS  AND   THE   MASS.  203 

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  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  subscribed  to  Latimer's  opinion  of  the  Mass  and  Mass 
priests.  "Another  denying  of  Christ,"  he  said,  "is  this 
Mass-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  Roman  Missal;  " 3  and  Mr.  King's  statement, 
though  made  in  a  published  pamphlet,  has  never,  so  far  as 

1  Latimer's  Remains,  p.  258.     Parker  Society  edition. 

2  Latimer's  Sermons,  p.  521..   Parker  Society  edition. 

3  The  Character  of  Dr.  Littledale  as  a  Controversialist,  by  Owen  C.  H.  King, 
P-6. 


204        SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  "  Eucha- 
ristic  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  Sacrament."  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  lt  Intercession 
Paper"  containing  the  subjects  for  which  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  month,  yet,  large  as  the  number  is,  it  is  but  rarely 
that  anyone  sees  a  copy  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  Con- 
fraternity. 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. 


THE    SECRET   INTERCESSION    PAPERS.  205 

"  Let  me  add,  however,"  said  Canon  Carter,  "  that  it  is  a  matter  of 
importance  to  be  careful  not  to  leave  about  the  Intercession  Papers,  to 
be  misused  by  ill-disposed  persons  [as  I  am  using  them  in  this 
Chapter?],  and  that  they  should  be  destroyed  when  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  Catholic  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  avoid  the 
miscarriage  of  the  Intercession  Papers.  In  consequence  of  the  want 
of  such  care  a  considerable  number  of  such  papers  wander  about  the 
country  unclaimed,  liable  to  all  hinds  of  misuse."  4 

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  anyone  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  ist,  1893,  to  give  the  Associates  a  word  of 
warning  on  this  subject,  and  also  to  repeat  the  warning  of 
1878  concerning  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 


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. 


206         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  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  community, 
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  recognize   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 
organization  which  is  deliberately  setting  itself  to  undo  the 
work  of  the  Reformation,  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  advertisement,  of  Three  Pounds  to 
anyone  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 

7  The  Ruck,  a  Protestant  Church  paper,  published  an  exposure  in  1873. 


KEEPING   OUT  OF   PUBLIC   NOTICE.  207 

C.  B.  S.,  the  honour  of  being  actually  the  first  of  all  the 
papers  to  expose  its  Intercession  Paper  is  claimed  by  the 
Rock,  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 
frailties.  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  first  youngster  who  passed  that  way.  In 
this  case  it  luckily  happened  that  the  lad  to  whose  lot  the  treasure 
fell,  not  knowing  what  to  make  of  it,  took  it  to  his  father,  a  worthy 
shoemaker  in  the  district  of  St.  Alphege,  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  recognized  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  once 
what  an  important  evidence  of  the  stealthy  manner  in  which  the 
Ritualistic  moles  and  bats  are  working  had  thus  providentially  been 
thrown  in  his  way,  for  although  the  C.  B.  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  as 
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," 

8  The  Rock,  May  23rd,  1873,  p.  335. 

9  Report  of  the  Twelfth  Anniversary  of  the  C.B.S.,  p.  3. 


208         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

John  iii.  20).  The  Rock's  exposure  led  to  a  considerable 
amount  of  local  controversy  in  the  provinces,  where  the 
Priests-Associate  were  very  angry  at  having  their  names 
made  known  to  their  own  congregations,  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  Rev.  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  anyone  can 
see  in  a  moment  why  it  is.  We  are  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  this  same  year  the  Confraternity  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  held  its  local  anniversary  in  New  York. 
Reports  of  its  proceedings  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,  remarked  : — 

"  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  anyone  in  the  account  given,  we  shall  be 
ready  and  glad  to  give  room  for  the  righting  of  the  wrong.  But  if  a 
secret  and  conf  den  tial  Confraternity  exists  among  us,  whose  purposes  and 
meetings  are  carefully  concealed  from  publicity  in  the  American  Church, 

10  Mr.  Hodgson's   letter    is   reprinted   in   the   Ritualistic   Church  Review, 
July  5th,  1873,  p.  400. 


THE   SECRET   ROLL   OF   PRIESTS-ASSOCIATE.  200, 

it  is  time  we  all  knew  it.  The  thing,  like  murder,  '  will  out,'  and 
the  mass  of  the  clergy,  bound  by  their  ordination  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  are  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  circulation,  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  S2cret.  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  ot  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  j 
certain  Priests- Associate  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  of  their  changes  of  addresses  from  time  to 
time.  So  many  of  the  Rolls  are  returned  through  the  G.  P.  O.,  and 
very  many  copies  Jail  into  the  hands  of  those  who  had  letter  not  have 
them."  15 

An  amusing  incident  in  the  history  of  the  C.  B.  S.  took 

11  The  Rock,  October  24th,  1873,  p.  717. 

13  I  copy  from  the  Roll  of  Priests-Associate  for  1894,  the  last  which  I  have 
seen. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  88,  note.  M  Ibid.,  p.  23.  u  Ibid.,  p.  77. 

14 


210         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  sorry  to  have  forgotten  to  answer  your  letter  sooner. 
Personally,  I  should  be  delighted  to  send  you  the  C.  B.  S.  Roll,  for 
you  to  correct  your  list,  hut  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,  Highbridge,  November  8M."16 

I  need  hardly  add  that  the  Superior-General  never  gave 
his  consent. 

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  1682  clergymen 
in  the  Church  of  England,  and  13,444  laymen  and  women, 
were  members  of  this  Confraternity.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  Con- 
fessional Book,  the  Priest  in  A  bsolution. 

We  learn  from  the  official  Manual  of  the  Confraternity  of 

16  The  Rock,  November  16th,  1877,  p.  961. 
V  Annual  Report  of  C.  B.  S.  for  1894,  p.  iv. 
18  Shipley's  Four  Cardinal  Virtues,  p.  249.     London,  1871. 


OBJECTS  OF  THE  CONFRATERNITY.  21 1 

the  Blessed  Sacrament — a  book  which  is  on  public  sale — that 
its  "  Objects  "  are : — 

"  i.  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  anion 
with  the  Eucharistic  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  Communion,"  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  Eucharist  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 

Among  the  "Recommendations"  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 

19  Manual  of  C.  B.  S.,  p.  5.     Ninth  edition. 

20  Notes  on  the  Roman  Ritual,  p.  26I,  by  the  Rev.  James  Kane.     Dublin,  1867. 

21  Manual,  p.  6. 

14   * 


212         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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."  B3 

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 


12 


Manual  of  C.  B.  S.,  p.  15.    Ninth  edition.  »  Ibid.,  p.  34. 


REQUIEM    MASSES    FOR   THE    DEAD.  213 

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  holpen  by  our  prayers."  24 

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  departed  are 
benefited  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  Con- 
fraternity, 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  life 
and  in  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  Confraternity  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,  O  Holy  Father,  Almighty,  Everlasting  God,  this  pure 

84  Homily  Concerning  Prayer.     Part  third. 
35  Eightcsnth  Annual  Report  o/C.  B-  £.,  p-  xij. 


214         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Oblation,  which  I,  Thy  unworthy  servant,  offer  unto  Thee,  the  Living 
and  true  God,  for  my  numberless  sins,  offences  and  negligences ;  for 
all  who  are  here  present,  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 
ioth,  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."  26  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.  19-26],  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  com- 
mence with  the  latest  of  these  which  has  come  to  my  hands, 
that  for  May,  1897,  I  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  Anyone  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  ceremonial"  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,"  "  Burse," 
"  Corporals,"  "  Cruets  for  wine  and  water,"  "  a  Perforated 
Spoon  ...  for  the  removal  of  flies  and  other  impurities 
from  the  Chalice."  He  is  also  required  to  say  a  number  of 
secret  and  Popish  prayers  taken  from  Popish  Missals,  those 

26  Church  Times,  November  14th,  1890. 
2>"  Intercession  Paper,  May,  1897,  p.  8. 


FASTING   AND   EVENING   COMMUNIONS.  215 

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  recognized,  and  that  obstacles  to  Fasting  Com- 
munion may  be  removed."28  The  late  Bishop  Samuel 
Wilberforce,  though  an  old-fashioned  High  Churchman,  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  give  himself  entirely  to  prayer  and  communion  with 
his  God  j  but  on  a  miserable  degraded  notion  that  the  consecrated 
elements  will  meet  with  other  food  in  the  stomach.  //  is  a  detestable 
materialism.  Philosophically  it  is  a  contradiction  j  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-quotations."  29 

On  May  27th,  1897,  the  Associates  of  the  C.  B.  S.  were 
required  to  pray  "That  Evening  Communions  may  cease."80 
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  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  se.  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  Celebrations  in  the  week, 

28  Ibid.,  p.  9. 

29  Dean  Burgon's  Lives  of  Twelve  Good  Men,  Vol.  II.,  p.  56.     First  edition. 

30  Intercession  Paper,  May,  1897,  p.  24. 


2l6  SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

namely,  on  Sunday,  Wednesday,  arid  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 
any  objection  to  Afternoon  or  Evening  Celebrations."  3l 

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  Supper  ? 
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  ist,  1893,  a  paper  specially  devoted  to  the  question  of 
11  Evening  Communion,"  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,"22  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  learn  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  "  ?  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 

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.  u  Ibid.,  p.  xvii.  *  Ibid.,  p.  xxi. 


THE    RESERVED    SACRAMENT.  217 

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  Sick  may  be  removed,  and  that  the  use 
of  the  Sacrament  of  Holy  Unction  may  be  restored  through- 
out the  Anglican  Church."  87 

As  to  the  first  of  these  I  shall  have  some  comments  to 
make  further  on.  It  may,  therefore,  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  for  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."  ** 

On  this  important  point  of  adoration  of  the  consecrated 
Sacrament  the  teaching  of  the  Confraternity  is  indentical 
with  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  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 

86  Ibid.,  p.  xxii. 

37  Intercession  Paper,  May,  1897,  p.  15. 

38  Altar  Book  for  Young  Persons,  p.  69.  Twenty-sixth  thousand,  1884.  The 
number  printed  shows  how  widely  the  spiritual  poison  has  been  spread. 


2l8         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

"  Corpus  Christi  Day,"  a  Popish  festival  not  to  be  found  in 
the  Kalendar  in  our  Prayer  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  important  differences)  yet  no  such  difference  as  is  commonly 
supposed  exists  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."39 

As  to  the  "  Sacrament  of  Extreme  Unction  M  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  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 
pnrdon  thee  whatever  thou  hast  sinned  by  smelling/'  40 

Another  subject  for  the  intercessions  of  the  Associates  was 
"  That  there  may  be  true  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 

39  Fifteenth  Annual  Report  of  C.  B.  S.,  p.  x. 

40  Priest's  Prayer  Book,  pp.  91,  92.     Seventh  edition,  1S90. 

41  Intercession  Paper,  May,  1897,  p.  16. 


THE    REAL   PRESENCE.  210 

Persons  the  Confraternity  prints  a  form  of  Confession  in  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."  ** 

On  the  following  year  the  annual  sermon  on  behalf  of  the 
Confraternity  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  the  Bread  and  Wine  become,  by  the  action  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  consecration,  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."  ** 

A  remarkable  sermon  was  preached  before  the  C.  B.  S.  at 
its  anniversary,  June  20th,  1889,  by  one  who  has  since  made 
a  name  for  himself  in  the  world,  viz.,  the  Rev.  Charles  Gore, 
now  Canon  Residentiary  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  are."  ** 

42  Ibid.,  p.  12. 

43  The  Holy  Eucharist  and  Common  Life,  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Ward,  p.  8.  London : 
Hodges. 

41  Jewish  Sacrifices  and  Christian  Sacraments,  p.  27.    London  :  Rivingtons,  1872. 
45  The  Eucharistic  Sacrifice,  by  Charles  Gore,  p.  13.     Privately  printed  for 
the  Confraternity. 


220         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  subject  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  Sacrament  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 

<6  Hooker's  Works,  Vol.  II.,  Book  V.,  lxvii.,  6,  p.  84.    Oxford  edition,  1865. 


THE   "EUCHARISTIC   SACRIFICE."  221 

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  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  Communion  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 


222         SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

reason  too,  there  being  so  vast  a  difference  betwixt  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  heap  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  after,  as  well  as  before  consecration,  and  not  the  very  Body 
of  Christ ;  though  the  bread  be  consecrated  by  man,  the  very  Body  of 
Christ  cannot  be  offered  to  God  in  the  Sacrament ;  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  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."47  In  1882,  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Wilkinson  said  that  "  Children  should  be  instructed,  not 
only  by  oral  teaching,  but  by  bringing  them  to  Celebrations 

*?  Eighteenth  Annual  Report  of  C.  B.  S.,  p.  XV. 


TRANSUBSTANTIATION   TAUGHT   BY   C.  B.  S.  223 

of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  for  Children,  or  to  put  it  more 
simply,  to  Children's  Masses."  ** 

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.  Lewington,  now  Chaplain  of  Ardingly  College, 
Hayward's  Heath,  read  a  paper,  which  was  subsequently 
published,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said  : — 

u  When  we  say  that  the  Presence  of  Christ  is  objective,  we  under- 
stand that  It  is  there  without  communion  as  with  communion,  abiding 
under  the  outward  and  Visible  Form  in  the  consecrated  Elements,  so 
long  as  the  consecrated  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  much  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  results  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."  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  advocated, 
without  reserve,  the  modern  teaching  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,   and   frequently   admitted   that   he   believed   in   the 

48  Twentieth  Annual  Report  of  C.  B.  S.,  p.  ix. 

49  The  Doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence,  by  Rev.  A.  L.  Lewington,  pp.  6,  9. 
Oxford:  Mowbray,  1871. 


224         SECRET    HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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. : — 

"  Those  teachers  who  profess  to  accept  a  real  Objective  Presence, 
while  repudiating  Transubstantiation,  are  placed  in  a  hopeless 
dilemma  ;  as  was  plainly  seen  by  Zuinglius,  when  he  maintained  that 
there  was  no  alternative  between  Transubstantiation  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  difference  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  ever  to  be  restored,  it  can 
only  be  by  the  Church  of  England  frankly  accepting  the  full  statement 
of  Eucharistic  truth  as  expressed  in  the  authorized  formularies  of  West 
and  East  alike}1 

"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  Catholic  Christendom,  East  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 
Transubstantiation,  I  would  answer,  first,  because  I  would  remove  all 
needless  barriers  between  ourselves  and  the  rest  of  Catholic  Christendom, 
and,  secondly,  because  experience  shows  that  no  other  expression 
defines  what  we  mean  so  unmistakably.^ 

"  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 

50  The  Doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence,  by  Rev.  E.  W.  Urquhart,  p.  9.     Oxford  : 
Mowbray. 
61  Ibid.,  p.  10.  52  Ibid.,  p.  11.  M  Ibid.,  p.  13. 


"  OUR   BRETHREN   OF  THE   ROMAN   COMMUNION."       225 

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  con- 
troversy of  the  day.  Remember  that,  whatever  be  their  short- 
comings, 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  misunder- 
standing, whilst  /  hold  that  the  time  has  come  when  we  must  ourselves 
recognize  the  identity  of  our  own  teaching  with  that  which  is  expressed 
in  the  Tridentine  canons  by  Transubstantiation,  and  with  the  authorized 
formularies  of  the  Eastern  Church  j  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  brincr 
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  authorities  in  foreign  countries,  both  East  and 
West,  may  become  willing  to  give  Communion  to  English 
Catholics,  on  conditions  which  the  latter  may  lawfully 
accept."  55 

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,  Lebombo,  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 

M  Ibid.,  pp.  14,  15.  *  Intercession  Paper  o/C.B.S.,  June  1892,  p.  18. 

15 


226         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

of  prejudice  from  its  singularly  un-English  and  Popish  lone.  .  .  . 
I  view  with  the  utmost  jealousy  any  tendency  to  ally  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  Confraternity  [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  sacrileging  (I  should  have 
said,  you  sacrificing)  priests  5  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  ycu 
are  called,  come  away  from  forged  sacrifices,  which  the  Papists  [and 
now  Ritualists]  do  feign  only  to  be  lords  over  you," 56 

*  Latimer's  Remains,  p.  259. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

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 
O.  H.  R." — Its  mysterious  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 
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  Norwich — Its  Secret  Oath — Secret  Guild  Books  of 
St.  Alphege,  Southwark — 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 

15  * 


228         SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE    OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

Elizabeth,  Barbados,  and  New  South  Wales.  According  to 
the  annual  report  for  1897 — as  recorded  in  the  Church 
Times,  May  28th,  1897 — the  Guild  possesses  seventy-one 
Branches.  It  includes  amongst  its  members  646  clergymen, 
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."  l 

For  the  use  of  its  members  the  Guild  of  All  Souls  has 
issued  a  book  entitled  the  Office  of  the  Dead  A  ccording  to  the 
Roman  and  Sarum  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 M  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 : 

1  Guild  of  All  Souls,  Report,  1895,  p.  3. 


THE  GUILD  OF  ALL  SOULS.  22Q 

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  Transubstantiation  ! 

"  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 
Transubstantiation,  as  defined  by  the  Council  of  Trent."  * 

In  the  official  Manual  of  the  Guild  of  All  Souls  several 
"  Litanies  for  the  Faithful  Departed "  are  printed.  From 
these  I  take  the  following  extracts  :— 

s 

"  That  it  may  please  Thee  to  give  rest  to  the  e  ^? 

souls  of  the  faithful  departed,  c^  ST 
That  it  may  please  Thee  to  cause  light 

perpetual  to  shine  upon  them,  ^  „, 

That  it  may  please  Thee  to  wash  them  in  £  ^ 

Thy  Precious  Blood  and  to  clothe  them  -  5* 
in  white  robes." 6 

"  From  the  shades  of  death,  where  they  sit  desiring  5 

the  light  of  Thy  Countenance,  £ 

From  Thine  Anger,  which  they  grieve  to  have  ^  a. 

provoked  by  their  negligence  and  ingratitude,  ^  ^ 

From  the  bonds  of  sin,  wherein  they  have  been  *5  j*- 

entangled  by  the  disorder  of  their  affections,  b 
From  the  pains,  which  are  the  just  penalty 

of  their  sins."  6 

*  Give  Thy  noly  dead,  O  Lord, 
Portion  in  the  Sacrifice, 
And  prayers  offered  in  Thy  Church, 
Hear  us,  Holy  Jesu. 

2  S.  Catherine  of  Genoa  on  Purgatory,  p.  40. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  11.  4  I oid.,  p.  12. 

5  Manual  o/G.A.  5.,  pp.  16,  17.  •  Ibid.,  p.  20. 


4 


2-30         SECRET   HISTORY  OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

"  Make  them  share,  O  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 

In  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  Rev.  H.  Lloyd  Russell, 
Vicar  of  the  Annunciation,  Chislehurst,  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  enjoyment  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  of  this  mortal  life.  Blessed  are  they  who  know  this  Fire  here  on 
earth  as  the  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  Purgatory ;  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  the  truth. 
Therefore  let  us  join  together  now  in  offering  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
for  all  departed  souls."  10 

7  Manual  ofG.A.S.,^.  26. 

8  The  Intermediate  State,  by  the  Rev.  H.  L.  Russell,  p.  9.  Published  by  the 
Guild  of  All  Souls. 

9  Things  Present  and  Things  to  Come,  by  J.  B.  Johnson,  p.  17.  London. 
Kegan  Paul,  1890. 

10  Ibid.,  p.  22. 


"the  souls  in  purgatory."  231 

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 ;  and  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  every- 
where, 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 
extended  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,  though  one  of  pain."  n 

Now,  of  course,  for  all  this,  as  every  well-informed  and 
loyal  Churchman  knows,  there  is  not  to  be  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  Canterbury),  Dr.  Temple,  as  patron,  gave  it  to  the 
Rev.  Jonas  Pascal  Fitzwilliam  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 

11  Church  Times,  November  9th,  1894,  p.  1195. 


232        SECRET  HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

to  their  opinions,  and  not  seldom  treat  an  earnest  remon- 
strance 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  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  punishment  of  their  misdeeds ;  and 
even  in  promoting  these  very  law-breakers  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  condemning  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  ?  Is  the 
time  coming  when  she  will  tolerate  anything  and  everything 
— except  decided  Protestantism?  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  hi.  25). 

There  is    another  mysterious   and  very   secret    Society 
nominally  within   the   Church   of  England,  whose   special 


ORDER  OF  THE  HOLY  REDEEMER.         233 

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  the  B.  H.  C.  can  be  best  accomplished 
without  opposition,  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  understand.  They  may  be  nominally 
members  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  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 
anyone  about  it  you  should  obtain  advice  and  instruction 
how  to  proceed  from  your  Superior."  In  a  secret  Inter- 
cession Paper  of  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Holy  Cross  for 
August,  1889,  the  members  are  requested  to  pray  "  For  help 
for  band  of  Catholics,  working  with  success  in  Islington  " — 
a  thoroughly  Protestant  neighbourhood.  A  list  of  "  Recom- 
mended books"  is  added,  which  includes  the  Glories  of 
Mary,  a  most  idolatrous  book  in  honour  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
written  by  "  St."  Alphonsus  Liguori.  It  is  so  superstitious 
as  well  as  idolatrous  that  even  some  Roman  Catholics  are 
found  who  are  ashamed  of  its  utterances. 

As  to  the  larger  Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer  I  learn  from 
its  secretly  circulated  Monthly  Leaflet  for  April,  1891,  edited 
by  "  the  Secretary  General,"  that  those  who  join  the  Order 
as  "  Postulants,"  must  make  and  sign  a  "  Declaration  "  of 


234         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT.* 

their  faith,  which  is  printed  in  this  same  issue  of  the  Monthly 
Leaflet.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

"  The  Declaration  Required  of  Postulants  for  Admission 
to  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer. 

"I having  signed  the  Nomination  Form  of  the  above 

Order,  desire  to  profess  my  faith. 

"  I  believe  : — 

"  I.  The  Catholic  Faith,  as  defined  by  the  Seven  General  Councils 
accepted  by  the  Undivided  Church,  and  as  commonly  received  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed,  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  the  Creed  of  St.  Athanasius. 

"  II.  The  common  Sacramental  statements  of  the  Western  Council 
of  Trent  and  the  Oriental  Synod  of  Bethlehem.  The  following  is  a 
digest  of  these  propositions  : — 

"  That  there  are  Seven  Sacraments  instituted  by  our  Lord, 
viz.  : — 

i.  Baptism  which,  necessary  to  all  men  for  Salvation,  remits 
original  and  actual  sin,  and  is  the  instrumental  cause  of 
justification. 

ii.  Confirmation. 

iii.  The  Holy  Eucharist  in  which,  after  Consecration,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  true  God  and  Man,  is  truly,  really  and 
substantially  present  under  the  species  of  Bread  and  Wine, 
and  a  whole  and  perfect  Christ  is  contained  in  each  kind, 
and  in  every  part  thereof.  Furthermore,  that  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist  a  true  and  propitiatory  Sacrifice  is  offered  for  the 
faithful,  both  living  and  dead. 

iv.  Orders.  v.  Matrimony.  vi.  Penance.  vii.  Extreme 
Unction. 

"  III.  The  position  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  is  that  of  *  Archbishop 
of  all  the  Churches,'  i.e.,  Chief  Bishop  (and  consequently  Pastor  and 
Teacher)  of  the  Church." 

This  is  certainly  a  very  sensational  document,  but  the 
whole  history  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer,  so  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  unravel  it,  is  quite  in  accordance  with 
its  teaching.  In  the  Bamet  Times  of  May  6th,  1892,  appeared 
a  very  noteworthy  letter,  in  reply  to  a  correspondent,  from 
one  who,  as  I  happen  to  know  from  other  sources,  held  high 
office   in   the    Order   of  the   Holy  Redeemer.     He   signed 


"  OUR   HOLY   FATHER,   THE   POPE."  235 

himself  as  "John,  O.  H.  R.,"  and   gave    some    important 
information  as  to  the  real  objects  of  the  Order. 

"  In  1887,"  he  wrote,  "  I  joined  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer, 
a  body  working  within  the  English  Church  under  Episcopal  approval. 
On  behalf  of  the  Order  in  particular,  I  have  written  when  my 
multifarious  duties  have  permitted  me.  I  daily  receive  orders  from 
the  ecclesiastical  Superior  of  the  Order,  and  I  hope  faithfully  execute 
them,  but  the  reception  of  Holy  Orders  opens  another  question,  which 
I  leave  him  [his  opponent  in  the  correspondence]  to  propound,  and 
to  which  I  will  happily  give  an  equally  candid  answer.  Finally,  I  do 
utterly  and  entirely  love,  with  my  whole  heart  and  soul,  all  Christian 
bodies,  more  especially  the  Church  of  Rome,  which,  I  believe,  despite 
accidents  and  not  inherent  faults  of  discipline,  to  be  the  purest  and 
most  apostolic  body  that  has  ever  existed,  impeccable  and  infallible. 
Likewise,  I  believe  that  the  Pope  is  not  by  honorary  Primacy,  but  by 
Divine  appointment  and  by  the  mercy  of  God,  Supreme  Head  of  the 
whole  Church  of  Christ  throughout  the  world,  and  that  those  who 
refuse  his  rule  forfeit  all  title  to  the  name  of  Catholicity.  .  .  . 

"  Moreover,  I  believe  that  in  discipline,  doctrine,  and  in  morality,  the 
Church  of  England  has  been  utterly  corrupt,  as  the  need  of  the  Oxford 
Revival  and  the  malignant  opposition  to  it  from  the  children  of  this 
world  has  fully  attested,  and  I  believe  that  no  man  is  justified  in  staying 
within  that  Church,  save  when  he  feels  the  vocation  of  God  to 
assist  in  restoring  her  to  her  lost  place,  in  humble,  implicit, 
and  unquestioning  submission  to  the  see  of  peter,  and  to  the 
authority  of  our  holy  father,  the  pope,  which  is  the  object 
of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer." 

Here  we  have,  indeed,  the  very  essence  of  what  is 
commonly  termed  Jesuitism,  and  in  its  most  virulent  form. 
Where  was  the  conscience  of  the  man  who  wrote  like  this  ? 
And  yet  it  can  scarcely  be  considered  worse  than  the 
statement  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ward's  biographer,  that  he 
(Dr.  Ward)  stayed  for  years  in  the  Church  of  England  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  bringing  over  a  greater  number  to 
Rome.12 

A  "  Notice  "  which  appears  in  the  Intercession  Paper  of  the 
Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer,  for  February,  1890,  shows  how 

u  See  above,  p  15. 


236         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

terribly  afraid  the  Order  was  lest  its  secret  documents  should 
be  lost : — "  It  may  be  interesting  to  the  Brethren  to  learn 
that  the  legal  proceedings  recently  taken  by  the  Order  have 
been  perfectly  successful.  The  documents  unlawfully  detained 
were  yielded,  and  further  steps  rendered  unnecessary."  In 
the  following  April  the  Order  was  in  a  most  joyful  condition, 
for  it  expected  to  receive  the  approval  of  the  Bishop  of 
London  (Dr.  Temple).  In  its  Intercession  Paper — or  Leaflet, 
as  it  is  sometimes  called — for  that  month,  appears  the 
following  announcement : — "  It  may  interest  the  Brethren 
to  hear  that  the  approval  of  the  work  of  the  O.  H.  R.  was 
asked  of  the  Bishop  of  London.  His  decision  is  yet 
pending."  Later  on  a  High  Church  Vicar  wrote  to  the 
Bishop  on  the  subject,  and  received  as  an  answer  that  he 
had  never  given  any  approbation  to  the  Order.  This 
gentleman,  the  Rev.  V.  H.  Moyle,  Vicar  of  Ashampstead, 
sent  the  Bishop's  letter  to  the  English  Churchman,  in  which 
it  appeared  on  June  2nd,  1892.  Mr.  Moyle,  in  sending  this 
letter,  added  this  further  information  concerning  the 
O.  H.  R. : — "  They  have  recently  taken  and  opened  a  Convent 
at  Stamford  Hill,  London.  .  .  .  Their  object  being  the 
ultimate  subjection  of  England  and  England's  Church  to 
Popery,  I  would  warn  all  your  readers  against  them."  The 
March,  1890,  Intercession  Paper  had  a  mysterious  request  for 
prayer  "  For  several  men,  wishing  to  work  for  God,  who  are 
labouring  at  present  under  a  false  banner."  Does  that  mean 
that  they  were  labouring  for  Ritualism  under  the  "  false 
banner  "  of  Protestantism  ?  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  gentleman 
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  Crockford's  Clerical  Directory,     Was  he  ordained  and 

18  0.  H.  R.  Tracts,  No.  I.,  p.  12. 


"  FATHER   SQUARE'S  "   ADDRESS.  237 

consecrated  secretly  by  "  Bishop  "  F.  G.  Lee,  of  the  "  Order 
of  Corporate  Reunion  "  ?  This  is  another  Jesuitical  mystery 
which  needs  unravelling.  I  once  had  a  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',  Lambeth,  next  Wednesday  night,  or  shall  I  send 
tickets  ?  I  can  get  you  a  seat  in  the  choir  of  Lady  Chapel 
with  the  Order,"  that  is,  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer. 
I  did  not  accept  the  invitation,  for  I  did  not  wish  anyone  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 
O.  H.  R.  and  the  O.  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 : — "  That  devotion  to  Our  Lady  may 
spread  in  England  ;  "  it  also  contained  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  Canter- 
bury met  at  the  Home  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  The  Superior  presided, 
and  after  Evensong  had  been  sung,  proceeded  to  the  admission  of  a 
Postulant.  The  chapel  was  well  filled,  and  included  among  the 
congregation  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  the  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 


238         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

by  the  Order,  which  I  had  lent  to  me  in  1893,  the  names 
and  addresses  were  printed  of  those  to  whom  application 
might  be  made — by  those  wishing  to  join — for  further  par- 
ticulars 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  find  this 
person  out,  in  the  far  East  of  London.  What  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 
O.  H.  R.,  which  I  had  brought  with  me  ?  "  Father  George  " 
was  very  much  astounded  at  being  found  out,  and  very 
much  frightened,  too ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  acknow- 
ledge that  he  was  "  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  ?  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  maybe,  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 


ORDER  OF   ST.   JOHN   THE   DIVINE.  239 

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  anyone  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  following  "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." 

The  Order,  says  the  document,  requires  that  "  none  shall 
be  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  Romeward 
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." 


24O         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

It  was  founded  in  1889,  and  several  men  of  note  joined  its 
ranks.  In  1895  it  printed,  in  its  Annual  Report,  the  names 
of  the  Bishop  of  Bloemfontein,  the  Bishop  of  Pretoria,  the 
Bishop  of  Cairo,  United  States,  the  Dean  of  Argyll  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  1895  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  prominent  as  a  member  of 
the  London  School  Board.  In  the  handbill  of  the  anniver- 
sary 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  the  Colonies  in 
which  Holy  Communion  would  be  celebrated  "  for  the 
intention  of  the  Society  " ;  but  after  the  exposure  a  fit  of 
dread  seems  to  have  seized  the  Council,  for  in  the  Report 
for  1895  the  list  was  suppressed,  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  Sarurn  Liturgical  Books 
being  taken  as  the  basis. 


SOCIETY  OF  ST.   OSMUND.  2-fl 

tc2. — 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  from  a  loyal  Churchman's  point  of 
view  ?  But  it  also  wished  to  restore — and  here  lay  the  real 
cause  of  its  existence — the  use  of  "  the  Rubrical  directions 
of  the  Sarum  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  Sarum  Ritual  is  far  more  elaborate, 
superstitious,  and  puerile  than  that  termed  "  Roman." 
Anyone  who  needs  proof  of  the  thoroughly  Popish  char- 
acter 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 

16 


£42         SECREf   litSTOkV   Ot?   ttife   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

"  joined,'*  when  "  extended,"  and  when  "  laid  on  the 
altar."  He  is  to  bless  the  people  with  "  fingers  out- 
stretched, little  finger  towards  persons  blessed."  He  is 
warned  not  to  "fidget  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  be  pleased  to  keep  it  [the  Church] 
in  peace,  to  preserve,  unite,  and  govern  it  throughout  the  world  $ 
and  also  for  Thy  servant  our  Pope  N.,  our  Bishop  N.,  our 
Sovereign  N."  15 

Some  excuse  might  be  made  for  praying  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  be  said  to  be  loyal 

14  Ceremonial  of  the  Altar :  a  Guide  to  Low  Mass,  compiled  by  a  Priest,  p.  22. 
Second  edition.  15  Ibid.,  p.  45. 


ADORATION    OF  THE   VIRGIN   MARY.  243 

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  clergy  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  for  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  ablution." x? 
The  Society  of  St.  Osmund  has  shown  itself  a  warm 
friend  to  Mariolatry.  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 
troublesome  sea  of  this  world,  and  bringeth  her  lovers  to  the  haven  of 
health,  therefore  it  is  worthy  that  she  be  served  and  praised  at 
Mattins  time."  18 

"  When  all  other  succour  faileth  our  Lady's  grace  helpeth. 
Compline  is  the  end  of  the  day  5  and  in  the  end  of  our  life  we  have 
most  need  of  our  Lady's  help,  and  therefore  in  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 


16  Ibid.,  p.  iii.  17  Ibid.,  p.  118. 

i?  Mirror  of  Our  Lady,  p.  7.  w  Ibid.,  p.  8.  *>  Ibid. ,  p.  9. 

16  * 


244        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

u  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  ye  incline,  both  in  token  and  in  reverence  of  our  Lord's 
meek  coming  down  for  to  be  man,  and  also  in  worship  of  that  most 
clean  and  holy  Virgin  s  womb."  23 

There  is  nothing,  I  think,  in  the  whole  range  of  Roman 
Catholic  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  1895  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  with  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 

21  Mirror  of  Our  Lady,  p.  20.  22  Ibid.,  p.  34. 

33  Annual  Report  of  Society  of  St.  Osmund,  for  1895,  p  4. 


ADORATION   OF  THE   CROSS.  245 

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  Modem,  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  j 
Sweetest  wood  and  sweetest  iron  j 

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  Adoration  of  the  Cross  still  further  reveals  its 
thoroughly  idolatrous  character  : — 

"  Then  the  Priests,  uncovering  the  Cross  by  the  right  side  of  the 
Altar,  shall  sing  this  Antiphon: — 

"  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  : — 

11  Antiphon.     We  venerate  Thy  Cross,  O  Lord." 

"  Then  the  clerks  shall  proceed  to  venerate  the  Cross,  with  feet 
unshod,  beginning  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  Candle- 
bearers  preceding  them,  and  shall  be  set  down  before  some  Altar, 
where  it  shall  be  venerated  by  the  people."  ^ 

For  "  Easter  Eve  "  a  service  is  provided  for  "  Blessing 
the  Fire,"  in  which  it  is  stated  that "  Holy  Water  is  sprinkled 

*  Services  of  Holy  Week,  pp.  30-32. 


246         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

over  the  fire." 26     Incense  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  may  est  go  forth  and  depart  from  this  creature  of Frankincense  with 
all  thy  fraud  and  malice  :  that  this  creature  may  be  sanc^-tiried  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  after  follows  "  The 
Blessing  of  the  Paschal  Candle."28  A  Deacon  is  ordered 
to  "  put  Incense  into  the  candle  in  the  form  of  a  cross  "  ; 
and  God  is  asked  to  accept  "  this  solemn  oblation  of  wax, 
the  work  of  bees."  29  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.  Gregory,  Pray. 
St.  Sixtus,  Pray. 

St.  Denys  with  his  companions,  Pray. 
St.  Augustine,  Pray. 
St.  Agnes,  Pray. 
All  Saints,  Pray."  30 

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 

25  Services  of  Holy  Week,  p.  40.  2G  Ibid.,  p.  38.  27  Ibid.,  p.  39. 

88  Ibid.,  p.  40.  »  Ibid.,  p.  42.  3°  Ibid.,  pp.  47,  48. 


DRIVING   THE   DEVIL   OUT  OF   FLOWERS.  247 

the  cross  with  it." 31  All  this  to  every  loyal  and  soberminded 
Churchman  must  seem  childish  and  puerile  to  a  degree, 
and  those  persons  may  be  pardoned  who  doubt  whether 
anyone  in  a  state  of  sanity  could,  with  a  solemn  face, 
publicly  perform  such  an  outrageous  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  ?  When  an  unfortunate  Pro- 
testant 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  ?  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  only  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, 
81  Ibid.,  p.  53.  v  Ibid.,  p.  3. 


248 


SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 


every  power  of  the  enemy,  every  assault  of  fiends,  be 
expelled  and  utterly  driven  away  from  this  creature  of  flowers 
or  branches."  83  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";34  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  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  M  Maundy  Thursday."  It  is  ordered  that 
the  sub-deacon  shall  "prepare  three  Hosts  to  be  conse- 
crated," one  of  which,  after  consecration  shall  "  be  placed 
with  the  cross  in  the  sepulchre.'"  86  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 


33  Services  of  Holy  Week,  p.  3. 
tf  ibid.,  p.  17. 


34  Ibid.,  p.  5. 

tf  Ibid.,  pp.  19,  20. 


«  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


PRAYING   FOR  THE   POPE.  249 

the  Church  of  England  of  all  Papal  control.     The  following 
extracts  prove  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  j  that  all  Christian 
people  governed  by  such  authority,  and  obeying  so  great  a  Pontiff,  may 
ever  increase  in  faith  and  works."  w 

The  wonder  is  that  the  people  who  teach  this  sort  of 
thing,  do  not  consistently  "  obey  so  great  a  Pontiff,"  by  at 
once  going  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  Confrater- 
nity of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  wrote  an  Introduction  to  it 
in  which  he  affirmed  that  the  translation  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  "; *°  and 
as  a  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 

88  Ibid.,  p.  26. 

39  The  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Sarum,  with  Introduction  by  Rev.   T.   T. 
Carter,  pp.  vi.,  vii.    Second  edition.    London :  Hayes. 
•  Ibid.,  p.  63. 


250         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

his  fingers  or  in  the  chalice."  *      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  the  Order  of  the  Episcopate,  may  preserve 
him  safe  to  His  Holy  Church  that  he  may  govern  the  holy  people 
of  God."43 

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  £jo  a  year  to  act  in 
that  capacity.43  One  of  the  most  distressing  things  I  know  of  in  the 
Anglican  Church  is  the  difficulty  of  getting  a  priest  to  say  Mass  for 
some  departed  friend  or  relation,  because  when  asked  he  will  tell  you 
he  does  not  like  leing  paid  for  Sacraments,  &c. ;  but  surely  this  is  a 
prudish  line  to  take — 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 

41  The  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Sarum,  with  Introduction  by  Rev.  T.  T. 
Carter,  p.  78.     Second  edition.     London  :  Hayes. 

42  Ibid.,  p.  114. 

43  That  is,  to  act  as  a  "  Chauntry  Priest,"  whose  sole  work  would  be  that  of 
offering  Masses  for  the  Dead  to  get  them  out  of  Purgatory. 

44  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  St.  Osmund,  Part  III.,  "  Ceremonial  and 
Offices  Connected  with  the  Burial  of  the  Dead,"  pp.  73,  74. 


"  BEAUTIFUL    RITES  "   FOR   THE    SICK.  251 

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  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  Ritualistic  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  *  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  fortified  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  restore  and  resuscitate  all  that  our  forefathers  so  dearly 
cherished"**  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  purse.  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  carried  to  another  sick  man.     A 

46  Ibid.,  p.  71. 


252         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

little  bell  will  also  be  rung  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  when  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  Com- 
munion.' " 46  .  \  | 

"  Arriving  at  the  sick  man's  house,  the  priest  sprinkled  it  with  Holy  ' 
Water,  saying,  '  Peace  be  to  this  house,'  and  having  heard  his  Confes- 
sion, 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  up  at  offertory  time  to  the  altar  and  put  his  Mass 
Penny  for  the  good  of  the  departed  soul  into  the  hands  of  the  sacri- 
ficing priest."  *• 

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  overwhelming  majority  of  English- 
men are  now  of  a  very  different  opinion.  We  think  the  other 
"  rites  "  described  above  to  be  far  from  "  beautiful,"  especi- 
ally that  one  in  which  the  sick  man  is  to  drink  the  dirty 
water  in  which  the  priest  has  washed  his  hands ! 

On  February  18th,  1897, tne  Hon.  Secretary  and  Treasurer 
of  the  Society  of  St.  Osmund  sent  out  a  circular-letter  to 
the  members  announcing  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,  page  126. 

46  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  St.  Osmund,   Part  III.,    "  Ceremonial  and 
Offices  Connected  with  the  Burial  of  the  Dead,"  p.  55. 
«'  Ibid.,  p.  56.  «  Ibid.,  p.  62. 


THE   ALCUIN   CLUB.  253 

"  Enclosed,"  wrote  the  Secretary  to  the  members  of  the  Society  of 
St.  Osmund,  "  are  particulars  of  the  ALcuin  Clubt  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  bij  joining  the  Cluby  at  least  as  an  Associate,  at  the  annual 
subscription  of  five  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  an  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  influen- 
tial 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,  Salisbury, 
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  Wells  Theological  College ;  and  Canon  W.  E. 
Newbolt,  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  The  names  of  the  Com- 
mittee 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,  vest- 
ments .  .  .  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 


254         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  Prcfessor  in 
another  Theological  College,  have  joined  it.  English 
Churchmen  would  be  glad  to  hear  the  good  news  of  their 
having  withdrawn  from  its  ranks. 

There  are  many  extremely  Ritualistic  Societies  or  Guilds 
of  a  merely  local  character  scattered  throughout  the 
country,  whose  objects  and  operations  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  Ritual  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  has  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."  ^ 

The  Report  further  added  that  •  the  Institute  had 
circulated  papers  entitled,  Devout  Acts  in  Honour  of  Our 
Blessed  Lady}0  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 

49  Report  of  Norwich  Laymen's  Institute  for  1S73,  pp.  4,  7.  w  Ibid.,  p.  5. 


THE  REFORMATION  A  "  DAMNABLE  SPOT."      255 

division  the  proposition  was  "lost  by  a  large  majority."61 
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 
Reformation  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,  Southwark  ?  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. 

"  A  little  book,"  wrote  the  Editor,  "  has  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  Tertiaries  of  the  Order  of  Reparation 
to  Jesus  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.1  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 
1  Sisters  ' — perhaps   the    '  Founder   and  Father   Superior  *   has   some 

61  Report  for  1875,  p.  5.  52  Ibid.,  p.  7. 

53  Roman  Catholics  always  call  the  Ritualists  and  their  Churches  "  Pro- 
testant," though  it  is  very  well  known  that  the  Ritualists  repudiate  the  term. 


256         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE  OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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,  O  Mother  dear,' 
"  or  invoke  her  in  words  more  familiar  and  dear  to  us,  as  'Virgin 
most  powerful,'   'Virgin  most   merciful,'    'Cause  of  our  Joy,'  and 
'  Gate  of  Heaven.'  "  «■ 

I  possess  two  other  Guild  books  used  at  St.  Alphege, 
Southwark.  One  of  them  is  the  Manual  of  the  Church 
Confraternity.  When  I  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  mem- 
ber of  the  congregation,  who  had  not  joined  the  "  Church 
Confraternity."  Of  course  in  this  way  a  kind  of  moral 
compulsion  is  put  upon  the  parishioners  to  join  the  Con- 
fraternity. On  opening  the  Manual  I  find  that  all  members 
"  must  observe  the  rule  of  the  Church  [what  Church  ?]  and 
Communicate  every  Sunday  fasting."  65  Before  being  ad- 
mitted 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  insti- 
tuted by  Christ "  57,  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  Eucharistic  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   in   the 

54  5/.  George's  Magazine,  June,  1890,  pp.  145,  146. 

M  Church  Confraternity,  p.  5. 

56  Ibid.,  p.  5.  W  Ibid.,  p.  6. 


ST.    ALPHEGE,    SOUTHWARK.  257 

arms  of  Jesus  "  ; 58  and  they  also  declare  that  "  in  that  most 
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  I  wonder 
does  the  Bishop  of  Rochester  know  all  that  is  going  on 
in  St.  Alphege,  Southwark  ?  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  for  "boys  of  good  character  under  twenty  years 
of  age,"  who  are  expected  "To  receive  the  most  Holy  Sacra- 
ment (fasting)  every  Sunday,  and  to  go  to  Confession  once  a 
month."*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 
absolutions  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  Sanctus  Bell  rings,  every- 
body should  bow  down  and  worship  Jesus,  Who  is  then  present  on 
the  Altar,  under  the  Form  of  Bread  and  Wine."62 

88  Ibid.,  p.  7.  M  Ibid.,  p.  7. 

60  S.  Alphege,  Southwark,  the  Guild  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  p.  4. 
6i  Ibid.,  p.  5.  63  Ibid.,  p.  9. 

17 


258         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  Sacrifice  every  Sunday."64  As  a 
temptation  to  join  the  Guild  it  is  stated  that — 

"  At  the  death  of  any  Member  a  special  Funeral  Mass  will  be  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."66  One  of  the  privileges  which  the  members  enjoy  is 
thus  described : — "  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  Protestant  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  Associ- 
ates "  attached  to  it,  mostly  extreme  Ritualists.  It  has  also 
Women  Associates ;  but  it  is  a  rule  that  their  "  names  are 
not  for  publication."  68  There  is  a  slight  leaven  of  Popery  in 
this  Guild,  for  I  find  in  its  Manual  that  "The  Crosses,  with 

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." 

64  Manual  of  the  Perseverance,  p.  9.     "Privately  Printed."         "  Ibid.,  p.  10. 
66  Manual  of  the  Confraternity  of  All  Saints,  p.  10.  6?  Ibid.,  p.  4. 
68  Manual  of  the  Railway  Guild  of  the  Holy  Cross,  p.  24. 


•  A  WARNING  TO   PARENTS.  259 

their  Cords,  being  placed  upon  the  Altar,  or  held  by  one 
of  the  Brethren,  shall  be  blessed  by  the  Priest,"69  though  what 
good  that  will  do  the  Crosses  and  Cords  the  Manual  does 
not  reveal.  The  priest  is  to  bless  them  by  saying : — "  Ble^ss, 
O  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee,  and  sanc*Kify  these  Crosses, 
which  we  bless  in  love  and  honour  of  Thy  Glorious 
Cro*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  Romeward  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  preparing  the  way  for 
Corporate  Reunion  with  Rome. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  15.  1°  Ibid.,  p.  15. 


17  * 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  ROMEWARD  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  Univers — 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 


HOW   ENGLAND   CAN    BE   CATHOLICISED.  261 

[Ritualists]  were  to  leave  her  Church?  She  would  be 
simply  lost  to  Catholicism.  .  .  Depend  upon  it,  it  is  only 
through  the  English  Church  itself  that  England  can  be 
Catholicised." x  The  same  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."3 

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  com- 
pletion 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  Church  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,  remember  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 

1  Union  Review,  Volume  for  1867,  p.  410.  2  Ibid.,  p.  398. 

8  See  official  report  of  this  speech,  published  by  the  E.  C.  U.,  p.  13. 


262         SECRET   HISTORY   OF    THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

Church,  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, 
we  should  see  them  [the  Tractarians]  prepared  to  quit  their  Church 
in  considerable  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].6 

This  leavening  of  the  Church  of  England  with  so-called 
11  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 

4  Essay  on  Reunion,  p.  89. 

1  Quoted  in  Bricknell's  Judgment  of  the  Bishops  upon  Tractarian  Theology, 
p.  681. 

e  English  Churchman,  October  17th,  1895,  p.  706. 


NEWMAN   AND   FROUDE   VISIT   ROME.  263 

this  leavening  process,  as  well  as  in  the  carrying  out  of  the 
ultimate  object  of  the  Movement,  great  "  Reserve  in  com- 
municating 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  Monsignor  (sub- 
sequently Cardinal)  Wiseman  at  Rome.  "  We  got 
introduced  to  him,"  wrote  Froude,  "  to  find  out  whether 
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. 

With  reference  to  this  remarkable  visit  to  Rome,  the  Rev. 
William  Palmer,  who  for  ten  years  was  one  of  the  foremost 
leaders   of    the    Tractarian    Movement    (but    subsequently 

7  Fronde's  Remains,  Vol.  I.,  p.  306. 

•  Newman's  Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  p.  35.     Edition,  1889. 


264         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

retired  from  it  on  account  of  its  Romanizing  tendencies), 
and  who  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Newman  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  dispensation  might  be  granted  which  would  enable  them 
to  communicate  with  Rome  without  violation  of  conscience.'" 9 
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  cordially  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  doctrines."11  This  statement, 
however,  was  denied  by  Cardinal  Newman,  in  a  note  dated 
October  nth,  1883,  attached  to  his  Via  Media ,  Vol.  II., 
p.  433.  Edition  1891.  Newman  therein  says  that  : — u  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 

9  Palmer's  Narrative  of  Events  Connected  with  the  Tracts  for  the  Times,  p.  40. 
Edition,  1883.  10  Ibid.,  p.  40.  n  Ibid.,  p.  73. 


NEWMAN   ON   LYING.  265 

and  Equivocation,"  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.  Sup- 
posing something  has  been  confided  to  me  in  the  strictest 
secrecy,  which  could  not  be  revealed  without  great  dis- 
advantage to  another,  what  am  I  to  do  ?  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], 
/  think  I  should  have  a  right  to  say  an  untruth.'"  13  If  such  a 
thing  happened  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 
V  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  impor- 
tant 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."  u 

Fa  Di  Bruno's  Catholic  Belief  has  had  a  very  large  circu- 

12  Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  p.  360.     Edition,  1889.  13  Ibid.,  p.  361. 

14  Reminiscences  of  Many  Years,  by  Lord  Teignmouth,  Vol.  II.,  p.  291.  Edin- 
burgh :  David  Douglas,  1878. 


266         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

lation  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  contained 
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  have.  "  16  As  early  as  May,  1834,  KebJe  asserted 
privately  that  "  Protestantism,  though  allowable  three 
centuries  since,  is  dangerous  now." 17  As  is  well  known,  the 
publication  of  Tracts  for  the  Times  was  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 

15  Catholic  Belief,  by  the  Very  Rev.  Joseph  Faa  Di  Bruno,  d.d.,  p.  23a 
Fifth  edition. 

16  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  10.  17  Ibid.,  p.  41. 


NEWMAN    REPUDIATES   PROTESTANTISM.  267- 

insertion  in  one  of  the  Tracts  of  such  expressions  as  "  con- 
veying 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."  19  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  supple- 
mented 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."  22     In  1836  people  asserted  that  the  Tractarians- 

18  Palmer's  Narrative,  p.  226. 

19  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  47.       m  Ibid.,  p.  59. 

51  Froude's  Remains,  Vol.  I.,  p.  336.       M  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  143. 


268         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  nth,  1836,  "and  should  rejoice  to  be  able  to  substi- 
tute the  Creeds  for  them."  u  It  is,  indeed,  something  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  his  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 
Froude  : — "  By  the  bye,  I  am  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  Incarnation." 26  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" 26  Two  years  later  Newman  wrote  to  Mr.  Rogers : — 
u  The  Fathers  do  appeal  in  all  their  controversies  to  Scrip- 
tures as  a  final  authority.     When  this  occurs  once  only  it 

27  Newman's  Letters,  p.  153.  *  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  I.,  p.  301. 

25  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  124.  26  Ibid.,  p.  126. 


NEWMAN    USES   IRONY.  269 

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  gravely  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  informed  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  feel- 
ings "  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." 29  He  had  become  an  adept  in  the  art  of  mystifying 
people.  "  I  used  irony  in  conversation,"  he  wrote,  "  when 
matter-of-fact  men  would  not  see  what  I  meant.  This  kind 
of  behaviour  was  a  sort  of  habit  with  me." 30  "  Irony "  is 
defined  in  our  dictionaries  as  "  a  mode  of  speech  in  which 
the  meaning  is  contrary  to  the  words,"  and  as  "  dissimula- 


27  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  33.  »  Ibid. 

89  Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  pp.  127,  128.     First  edition.  *°  Ibid.,  p.  115. 


270         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

■tion"  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."81  Three  years  of  that  "second 
Reformation  "  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  conversation,  and  told  it  to  others.  Undergraduates  in  due 
time  took  their  degree,  and  became  private  tutors  themselves.  In  this 
new  status,  in  turn,  they  preached  the  opinions  which  they  had  already 
learned  themselves.  Others  went  down  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,  introduced  them  to 
clerical  meetings,  and  converted  more  or  less  their  Rectors  and  their 
brother  curates."  32 

From  1836  the  Tractarian  march  to  Rome  was  much 
•more  rapid  than  before,  and  that  under  cover  of  an  attack 
upon  Popery.  In  1839  **  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  reformers.  "  Anything,"  he  wrote 
to  Pusey,  January  18th,  1839,  "which  separates  the  present 

81  Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  p.  95.     First  edition.  *  Ibid.,  p.  133. 


REJOICING   AT   ROME. 


27I 


Church  from  the  Reformers  I  should  hail  as  a  great  good."  M 
In  Keble's  opinion,  at  this  time,  the  Reformers  "  were  not 
as  a  party  to  be  trusted  on  ecclesiastical  and  theological 
questions."84  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 : — 

u There  are  now,"  he  said,  "friends  of  mine  staying  at  Rome — 
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  advances  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  "  ; S8 
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.' '87 

In  1839  tne  M  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 


33  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  71. 

34  John  Keble,  by  Walter  Lock,  m.a.,  p.  96.     London,  1893. 

35  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  73.  M  Apologia,  p.  135. 
37  Autobiography  of  Isaac  Williams,  p.  54. 

33  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  291. 


First  edition 


272         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

was  working  in  the  Church,  though  he  had  no  repentance 
for  his  wrongdoing.  On  January  ioth  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,  I  fear  I  see  more  clearly  that  we  are  working  up 
to  a  schism  in  our  Church."39  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  occasionally 
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 

Several  months  later  Newman  saw  clearly  enough  that 
the  work  of  the  Tractarians  was  driving  men  to  Rome,  and 
yet  neither  he  nor  they  ceased  their  operations  on  that 
account.  On  September  1st,  1839,  ne  wrote  to  Mr.  Mann- 
ing, 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 

39  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  299. 

40  Essays    on    Religion,    Second    Series,    edited    by    Archbishop    Manning,, 
pp.  14,  15. 


NEWMAN   WANTS   MORE  VESTMENTS.  273 

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  Rome  for,  instead 
of  teaching  them  that  they  were  under  a  delusion  in  suppos- 
ing 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  license. 

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  seces- 
sions to  Rome."42  Did  it  never,  I  wonder,  occur  to  Newman 
that  Protestant  Churchmen  had  conscientious  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 
apprehensions  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  drawing  on."  **     By  the  end  of 

41  Purcell's  Life  of  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  p.  233.  **  Ibid. 

43  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  300. 

18 


274         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

the  year  he  thought  "  Rome  the  centre  of  unity  "  ;  u  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  he  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  : — "  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 
for  joy ;  I  think  I  did."  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." 46  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  travellings 
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"48  at  this  period.     We  need  not  wonder 

44  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  319. 

*•  Apologia,  pp.  222,  224.     First  edition.  **  Ibid.,  p.  224. 

*7  Memoirs  of  James  R.  Hope-Scott,  Vol.  I.,  p.  239. 

48  William  George  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  p.  146.     First  edition- 


TRACT  XC.  275 

at  this  now,  though  at  the  time  it  was  kept  strictly  secret. 
What  an  excitement  it  would  have  caused- in  1840,  had  it 
been  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  common  now  amongst 
modern  Ritualists  than  it  was  fifty-six  years  since,  and  the 
Romeward  Movement  is  now  far  more  under  Jesuitical 
influence  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."40 
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  lawfulness  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. 

"  The  Tract  has,"  wrote  the  Tutors,  "  in  our  apprehension,  a  highly 
dangerous  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. 

«  Memoirs  of  J.  R.  Hope-Scott,  Vol.  I.,  p.  266. 

18   * 


276         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

"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  the 
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  Scrip- 
tural character  of  her  formularies  and  her  teaching."  60 

Four  days  after  this  Protest  had  been  made  by  the  four 
Tutors,  the  Hebdomadal  Board  of  Oxford  University  con- 
demned the  Tract,  on  the  ground  that  "  modes  of  interpreta- 
tion, 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  con- 
demning 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 

60  Life  of  Archbishop  Tait,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  81,  82.     First  edition. 
«  Ibid.,  p.  84.  62  Ibid.,  p.  87. 


"WE   OUGHT  TO   JOIN"    ROME.  277 

which  quite  startled  and  alarmed  me."  53  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  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  favourably  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. '" 55  This  argument  from  the  conduct 
of  the  Donatists  was  not  then  for  the  first  time  adopted  by 
Newman.  In  connection  with  it  the  essentially  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)  ^  came  strongly  upon  me,  from 
reading  first  the  Monophysite  controversy,  and  then  turning  to  the 

63  Autobiography  of  Isaac  Williams,  p.  108. 

54  The  editor  of  the  A  utobiography  says  that  "this  conversation  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  otherwise  than  that  the 
speech  was  made  before  the  publication  of  Tract  XC.  The  editor,  writing  long 
after  the  death  of  Williams,  makes  an  assertion,  but  emits  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  Monastery  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  some  time  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. 

65  Ibid.,  pp.  no,  in. 


278         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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.  I  have  all 
along  gone  against  it,  and  think  I  ought  to  do  so  still.  I  am  now 
publishing  sermons,  which  speak  more  confidently  about  our  position 
than  I  inwardly  feel ;  but  I  think  it  right,  and  do  not  care  for  seeming 
inconsistent."  56 

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  underground  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  ines- 
timable privileges  I  feel  in  being  a  member  of  that  Church 
over  which  your  lordship,  with  others,  presides  "  (p.  33); 
"  the  Church  which  your  lordship  rules  is  a  Divinely 
ordained  channel  of  supernatural  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 

56  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  430. 
67  Williams's  Autobiography,  pp.  112,  113. 


WARD'S    ROMANIZING    DOCTRINES.  279 

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  Reformers  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  Relics  -,  (3)  An 
intermediate  state  of  purification  with  pain;59  (4)  The  Reservation 
of  the  Host  j  (5)  The  Elevation  of  the  Host j  (6)  The  Infallibility  of 
some  General  Councils  j  (7)  The  doctrine  of  desert  by  congruity,  in 
the  received  Roman  sense  j  (8)  The  doctrine  that  the  Church  ought 
to  enforce  Celibacy  on  the  clergy."60 

68  William  George  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  p.  177. 

69  That  is,  a  Purgatory. 

60  William  George  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movemet,  p.  176. 


280         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

If  only  the  majority  of  the  Church  of  England  could 
have  been  induced  to  accept  the  views  of  these  advanced 
Romanizers,  she  would  soon  have  been  sufficiently 
"  Catholicised "  for  reunion  with  the  Papacy.  Nothing 
would  have  delighted  Ward  more  than  such  a  result. 
"  Restoration  of  active  communion  with  the  Roman  Church 
is,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  in  1841,  "the  most  enchanting 
earthly  prospect  on  which  my  imagination  can  dwell." 61 
The  Romanizers  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  known  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  are  little  satisfied  with  our  position. 
We  groan  at  the  sins  committed  by  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, 
which  we  acknowledge  to  be  the  head  of  Christendom ;  and  the  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  ?  .  .  . 

"  There  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  prejudices,  which,  for  three  hundred 

61  William  George  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  p.  142. 


"THE  NAME  OF  ROME  PRONOUNCED  WITH  REVERENCE."  28l 

years,  have  infected  our  Church,  are  unhappily  too  deeply  rooted 
there  to  be  extirpated  without  a  great  deal  of  address.  [Did  he  not 
really  mean  sly  cunning  ?]  We  must,  then,  offer  in  sacrifice  to  God 
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  of  our  holy  fathers,  the  bishops.  We  are  destined,  I  am 
persuaded,  to  bring  lack  many  wandering  sheep  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth.  In  fact,  the  progress  of  Catholic  opinions  in  England,  for 
the  last  seven  years,  is  so  inconceivable  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."  63 

The  publication  of  this  traitorous  letter  very  naturally 
created  a  great  deal  of  public  excitement.  It  was  trans- 
lated into  German  and  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  pro- 
gramme far  more  bold  and  outspoken  than  anything  in 
Tract  XC.  was  thus  practically  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  affiliation  of  the  advanced 
Tractarians  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Fathers  of  Charity, 

62  Catholic  Magazine,  March,  1841,  as  quoted  in  Bricknell's  Judgment  of  the 
Bishops,  pp.  678-80.  68  W.  G.  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  p.  190. 


282         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

the  Tractarians,  apparently,  to  remain  all  the  while  in 
communion  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  ante- 
cedents."64 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  affiliation  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  starting  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  ebulli- 
tions of  the  young  wrong-heads,  you  have  suffered  yourselves 
to  be  inoculated  with  their  frenzies.  .  .  .  You  have  let  them 
get  ahead  of  you  and  drag  you  after  them.  Hence  your 
proposal  of  reviving  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 

64  W.  G.  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  p.  190. 
60  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  269. 


"A  SECRET  LONGING  LOVE  OF  ROME."       283 

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 
unnaturalness  of  our  present  insulated  state,  separated 
from  the  rest  oC  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"  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." M 
Dr.  Pusey's  judgment  was  directly  opposed  to  that  of  the 
Church  of  England  as  to  Monastic  Orders,  as  anyone  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  Rome 
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 

66  Ibid.,  p.  271.  67  Ibid.,  p.  281. 


284         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

Mother  of  English  Christianity,  and  I  had  a  true  devotion 
to  the  Virgin  Mary."  68  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  compete  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,  munificent  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  very  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  of  our  communion  going  over  to 
yours."  70  A  month  later  he  explained  the  reason  for  this 
opposition  to  individual  secession,  in  another  letter  to  a 
Roman  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  ?  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  consolidated,  with  and  through  and  in  your  com- 
munion, for  its  sake,  and  your  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  unity."  n 

68  Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  p.  165.     Edition,  1889. 

69  Ibid.,  p.  166  7°  Ibid.,  p.  188.  n  ibid.,  p.  191. 


ROMANIZING   DOCTRINES.  285 

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?  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  the  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  con- 
scious that  in  lacking  it,  far  from  asserting  a  right,  we  forego  a  great 
privilege."  ?s 

"  [The  Pope  is]  the  earthly  representative  of  her  [the  Church's] 
Divine  Head." 

78  Palmer's  Narrative,  p.  165.     Edition,  1883.  T3  Ibid.,  p.  161. 


286         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

"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  Mr.  Gladstone.  The  former,  on 
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 
hopes,  if  it  be  right,  it  will  be  allowed  to  gain  strength"  75  If 
Keble  were  at  that  time  a  truly  loyal  son  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  England,  would  he  have  rejoiced  at  this  u  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  of  Catholic  tenets  and  usages,  who  do  not  scruple  to 
denounce  Protestantism  as  a  principle  of  unmixed  evil  3  in  whom  the 
attraction  of  the  Church's  essential  Catholicity  is  sufficient,  but  only 
just  sufficient,  to  overcome  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  standard,  and  one  to  which  we  ought  to  seek 
to  conform.  Rome,  who  is  always  at  our  gates  as  a  foe,  though  in  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."  76 

One  would  have  supposed  that  Mr.  Gladstone  would  have 
recommended  that  such  a  set  of  traitors  should  at  once  have 
been  turned  out  of  the  Church  in  disgrace.     That  is  what 

?4  Palmer's  Narrative,  p.  163.  T5  Lock's  John  Keble,  p.  120. 

76  Gladstone's  Gleanings  of  Past  Years,  Vol.  V.,  p.  66. 


"the  holy  example"  of  the  romanizers.       287 

they  richly  deserved.  But,  unfortunately,  he  heaped  up  praise 
on  the  traitors,  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  that  these  excellent  persons  abide  in 
the  Church,  to  enlighten  it  by  the  holy  example  of  their  lives.  We 
rejoice  that  they  feel  the  awful  responsibility  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.  Newman,  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  pro- 
mote its  interests,  *.*.,  as  if  by  such  acts  they  were  putting 
our  Church,  or  at  least  a  portion  of  it,  in  which  they  are 
included,  in  the  position  of  Catechumens.  They  think  they 
may  stay,  while  they  are  moving  themselves,  others,  nay,  say  the 
whole  Church,  towards  Rome." 78 

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^ 

77  Ibid.,  p.  70. 

78  Memoirs  of  James  R.  Hope-Scott,  Vol.  II.,  p.  25. 


288         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

How  unspeakably  dreadful :  it  makes  one  sick  to  think  of 
it.  .  .  .  His  reception  among  us  [Tractarians]  will  be,  I 
fully  expect,  of  the  most  repulsive  character  ;  I  for  one  shall 
decline  any  intercourse  with  him  whatever."79 

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  Tractarians), 
which  affirmed  that  the  "  tendencies  to  Rome "  were 
"  deeply  seated  and  widely  spreading  "  ;  and  that  members 
■of  the  party  were  "by  hundreds  straggling  towards  Rome."80 
In  this  same  Ideal  Mr.  Ward,  referring  to  the  Twelfth  of 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  declared: — "I  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  hurricane  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  he  appeared  he  was  asked  whether  he 
denied  the  authorship  of  the  Ideal  of  a  Christian  Church; 
.and  whether  he  disavowed  certain  passages  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 

79  W.  G.  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Movement,  pp.  201,  202. 

8,1  Ward's  Ideal  of  a  Christian  Church,  p.  566.     Second  edition. 


1 


pusey's  eulogy  of  the  Jesuits.  289 

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  : — 

(1)  "That  the  passages  now  read  from  a  book  entitled  the  Ideal  of 
a  Christian  Church  Considered,  are  utterly  inconsistent  with  the 
Articles  of  Religion  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  with  the  declara- 
tion 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  M.A.  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  eulogizing 
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."  83 

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  displeased  him. 

"I  do  honestly  confess,"  he  wrote  to  Pnsey,  "  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  strong,  decided,  vehement  Anti-Romanist.  These 
publications  and  the  legendary  Lives    of    the  Saints  will  have  the 

81  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  415.  «  Ibid.,  p.  421. 

19 


29O         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

same  effect  in  England  as  the  fanatical  movement  in  France  3  they 
will  make  men  decided  Infidels."  83 

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  consequently  had  to  be 
abandoned.  One  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.  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  Rome  to  their  own,  and 
even  holds  the  union  of  the  English  Church  with  Rome  to  be 
necessary  to  her  perfection  as  a  Church,  yet,  '  so  long  as  they 
cannot  deny  that  she  is  their  spiritual  parent  and  guide  ordained 
of  God,  they  owe  to  her  not  merely  adhesion,  but  allegiance.  .  .  . 
The  doctrine  that  such  persons  ought  to  quit  the  pale  of  the  Church, 

83  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  431. 


DR.    HOOK   ON    SECESSION   TO    ROME.  2gi 

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  pre- 
ferred 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  1844  he  viewed  with  horror  the  thought 
£hat  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.  Pusey : — 

"  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  person  going  from  light  to  darkness  would 
•endanger  his  salvation.  I  should  fear  that  it  would  be  scarcely 
possible  for  anyone  who  should  apostatize  from  the  only  true  Church 
.of  God  in  this  country  to  the  Popish  sect,  to  escape  perdition ;  having 

84  Gladstone's  Gleanings,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  152,  153. 

19   * 


2g2         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

yielded  to  Satan  in  one  temptation  he  will  go  on  sinking  deeper  and 
deeper  into  the  bottomless  pit."  85 

In  this  letter  Dr.  Hook  further  asserted  that  Rome  is 
identical  with  Antichrist,  and  that  "  Romanism  is  preparing 
the  way  for  infidelity.'5  Dr.  Pusey  was  not  at  all  pleased 
with  this  letter.  It  annoyed  him  very  much  to  hear  from 
his  friend  such  plain  denunciations  of  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  he  united  in  one  to  oppose  it.  Protestantism  is  infidel,  or 
verging  towards  it,  as  a  whole."86 

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 
after  he  had  written  the  above  letter  to  Dr.  Hook,  he  was 
very  disappointed  with  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  Roman  Church?  .  .  .  I  only  desiderate 
more  love  for  Rome."  8? 

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,  u  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 

S5  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p.  446.        M  Ibid.,  p.  447.        87  Ibid.,  p.  454. 


PUSEY  CEASES  TO  PROTEST  AGAINST  ROME.     293 

decision  ?  .  .  .  Now  what  are  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 
of  charity  forbid  you  to  use  a  tone  which  cannot  but  lay  asleep  the 
consciences  of  many  for  whom,  by  writing  and  publishing,  you  make 
yourself  responsible."  w 

Dr.  Pusey's  biographer  acknowledges  that  his  "attitude 
at  this  juncture  created  perplexity  in  still  higher  quarters." 89 
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  biographer  does  not  print 
this  letter,  but  he  does  print  the  reply  to  it,  in  which 
Pusey's  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." 90 

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  Newman's  heart  had  been  for  many 
years  in  Rome,  and  that,  to  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 

88  Ibid.,  p.  455.  "  Ibid.,  p.  455.  w  Ibid.,  pp.  456.  457. 


294         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

supplemented  by  the  following  extracts  from  his  letters  to 
friends.  On  September  ist,  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"*1  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." n  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  avow  generally  as  miich  as  I  have  said,  would  he  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  part  of  the 
Catholic  Church."  H'e  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  part  of  the  Catholic  Church,  because  not  in  com- 

"  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  423. 

92  Ibid.,  p.  424.  M  Ibid.,  p.  425. 


"MY   SALVATION    DEPENDS   ON   JOINING    ROME.7         295 

munion  with  Rome ;  and  because  I  feel  that  I  could  not  honestly  be  a 
teacher  in  it  any  longer."  94 

The  arguments  which  thus  induced  Newman  to  resign 
the  living  of  St.  Mary's,  ought  to  have  induced  him  at 
once  to  resign  his  membership  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,  ne 
wrote : — "  A  clear  conviction  of  the  substantial  identity  of 
Christianity  and  the  Roman  system  has  now  been  on  my 
mind  for  a  full  three  years  " 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  ; 
inwardly  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Rome.96  On  Novem- 
ber 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  con- 
fidant. 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 

94  Newman's  Apologia,  p.  221.     Edition,  1889. 

95  Newman's  Letters,  Vol.  II.,  p.  445. 

96  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  Church  was  the  year  1839.  "  I  must  say,"  Newman 
then  wrote,  "  that /or  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.  II.,  p.  381.) 

9?  Purcell's  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  p.  258. 


296         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  Reunion  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  with  the 
rest  of  the  Western  Church." 98  Many  persons  will  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  although,  on  August  28th,  1844, 
Newman  had  written  to  Pusey  boldly  declaring  his  con- 
viction 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." "  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 
Littlemore ;  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."  10° 

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 

98  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  II.,  p  404. 

w  Ibid.,  pp.  406,  445.  10°  Ibid.,  p.  461. 


BISHOP   WILBERFORCE    ON    PUSEY'S   WORK.  297 

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  he  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  are,  of  not  holding  themselves  obliged 
to  renounce  any  doctrine  formally  decreed  by  the  Roman  Church." 

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 

101  Life  of  Bishop  Wilberforce,  Vol.  I.,  p.  311. 


298         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  movements,  and  ready  to 
censure  him  when  necessary.  Time  went  on,  and  the 
Romeward  Movement  with  it.  By  the  year  1847,  even 
Archdeacon  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." 103 

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  rind  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  Faithr 
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  supposed  to  have 
been  more  than  profitable  servants." 104 

102  Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  43-45.  ln3  Ibid.,  p.  135. 

104  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  p.  328. 


ARCHD.  MANNING  KNEELS  BEFORE  THE  POPE  S  CARRIAGE.  299- 

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  practise  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  ap- 
proaching towards  him.  As  it  passed  he  knelt  down  in  the 
street  before  the  Pope — and  he  all  the  time  an  Archdeacon 
in  the  Reformed  Church  of  England ! 106  Mr.  Purcell,  the 
future  Cardinal's  biographer,  tells  us  in  the  chapter  which  he 
devotes  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  Saint  were- 
laid  on  the  forehead  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  public,  when  it  was  first  published.  It  revealed 
•  an  absence  of  straightforward  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  Confes- 
sion, his  profound  and  unwavering  belief  in  the  Church  of  England  as- 

"*  Ibid.,  p.  352.     m  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  456.    10"  Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  407,  note. 


300         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

the  Divine  witness  to  the  Truth,  appointed  by  Christ  and  guided  by 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  other  voice,  as  the  following  confessions  and  docu- 
ments 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  Laprimau- 
daye,  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  consecrated  titular  "  Archbishop  of  West- 
minster," 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  con- 
scientiously 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  Confes- 
sion 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  clergymen.  These  works  teach  principles 
which  must  logically  lead  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  even  when, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case,  they  are  accompanied  with  criticisms 
on  some  portions  of  the  Roman  system.  Doubts  as  to  the 
Church  of  England  entered  Manning's  mind  as  early  as  1846. 

108  Lift  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  p.  463. 

109  Ibid.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  722,  note. 


ARCHDEACON    MANNING'S    DOUBLE    DEALING.  30I 

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." no  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  Protestantism  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  difficulties — 
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."  m  Mr.  Purcell 
adds  to  the  above  extracts  from  Manning's  Diary  the  follow- 
ing significant  comments : — 

"  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  indications  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,  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,"  Manning  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,  Robert  Wilberforce  z 

110  Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  483.        m  Ibid.,  pp.  485,  486.        mIbid.,  pp.  487,  488. 


302         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

— "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  he  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." 1U 

And  yet  he  continued  to  receive  the  emoluments  of  a 
Church  in  which  he  had  ceased  to  have  any  real  faith  1  Was 
this  honest  ?  Was  it  not,  rather,  double  dealing,  such  as 
looked  very  much  like  a  case  of  receiving  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  Manning  at  the  time  really  believed  what  he  thus 
wrote.  I  very  much  doubt  it.  It  seems  that  this  letter  was 
the  means  of  preventing  Manning's  penitent  from  going  over 
to  Rome.  Manning's  real  views  at  this  time  were  knbwn 
only  to   four   or   five    other   persons,  his  intimate   friends, 

113  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  I.,  p.  509.     U4  Ibid.,  p.  515.     us  Ibid.,  p.  473. 


MR.    GLADSTONE   ON   MANNING'S   CONDUCT.  303 

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  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  Manning  was  insincere,  God  forbid  I 
But  he  was  not  simple  and  straightforward.'  "  116 

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  "  straightforward  "  conduct.  The  clearest 
proof  of  Manning's  ecclesiastical  dishonesty — I  canno.t  here 
use  a  milder  term — is  obtained  by  a  comparison  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  afford  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  conclusion.  ...  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 

116  Ibid.,  p.  569.  »?  Ibid.,  p.  558. 


304         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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,  the  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  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  back  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  oj  the  Faith  and  Sacraments  of  Christ."™ 

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 
communions,  why  had   he  made  up  his  mind   to   leave  a 

118  Appellate  Jurisdiction  of  the  Crown  in  Matters  Spiritual :  A  Letter  to  the- 
Bishop  of  Chichester,  by  Henry  Edward  Manning,  Archdeacon  of  Chichester, 
pp.  4,  5. 


THE    "  RAMBLER  "    ON   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT.         305 

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  185 1,  the  Romeward  Movement  in  the 
Church  of  England  had  led  to  the  secession  to  Rome  of  a 
large  number  of  prominent  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,  throughout,  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  compre- 
ihend  who  have  not  personally  experienced  it.  .  .  .  The  sons  and 
•daughters,  of  Anglicanism  were  brought  up  to  regard  the  Catholic 
Church  as  the  devil's  masterpiece.  .  .  .  No  one  read  Catholic  books, 
«no  one  entered  Catholic  churches  ;  no  one  ever  saw  Catholic  priests  j 
few  people  even  knew  that  there  were  any  Catholic  bishops  resident 
•in  England.  Except  in  connection  with  Ireland,  the  Catholic  Church 
was  forgotten. 

"  See  now  the  change  which  has  come  over  the  English  people  as  a 
nation.     Violently  Protestant  still,  its  attitude  towards  the  Catholic 

20 


306 


SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 


Church  is  extraordinarily  changed.  It  dislikes  her,  but  it  no  longer 
despises  her.  .  .  .  Crowds  attend  the  services  of  Catholic  and  of 
Puseyite  churches  j  but  while  in  the  latter  there  is  hissing  and  groan- 
ing, 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  to  the  Church  of  Rome  and  her  clergy. 
Everywhere  the  change  appears.  .  .  .  And  whatever  other  causes  may 
have  combined  to  work  this  wonderful  result,  to  the  Movement  of 
J&33  it  surely  must  chiefly  be  attributed."  119 


119  The  Rambler,  March  185 1,  pp.  246,  247. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    ROMEWARD    MOVEMENT. 

Th3  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.  denounced  by  the  Inquisition — 
Degrading  Reply  of  198  Church  of  England  Dignitaries  and  Clergy — 
Archbishop  Manning's  opinion  of  the  Romeward  Movement — 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  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 
Conception  of  the  Virgin  Mary — Lord  Halifax  and  "  Explanations  "  of 
the  Pope's  Infallibility— 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  band  themselves  into 
societies  to  promote  the  object  the)''  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 

20  * 


308         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

Association  was  founded  at  a  private  meeting  held  in 
the  parish  of  St.  Clement  Danes,  Strand,  London,  on 
September  8th,  1857,  on  tne  motion  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
layman,  seconded  by  a  Church  of  England  clergyman,  and 
supported  by  members  of  the  Greek  Church.  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  membership  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  commendation  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."*  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, 

1  Sermons  on  the  Reunion  of  Christendom,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  x.,  xi. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  xii.  3  Ibid.,  p.  329 
4  The  Church  and  the  World,  Vol.  I.,  p.  201. 


DISLOYAL    UTTERANCES    BY   TRAITORS.  309 

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  information  could  be  made,  but  as  to  the 
rank  and  file  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  Associa- 
tion 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  Estab- 
lished Church  should  even  contain  heretical  reasoning  against  the 
belief  in  a  state  of  connection  [Sic.  Probably  correction  is  meantj 
hereafter,  and  the  benefit  of  prayers  fortthe  departed."  6 

"  The  English  Church  is  in  a  state  tof  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  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 

6  Union  Review,  Vol.  III.,  p.  147.  Ibid.,  p.  395.        »  Ibid.,  p.  397,  note. 

8  Ibid.,  p.  621.  Ibid.,  p.  626. 


310         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  M  the  Catholic  faith,"  and 
that  their  doctrines  had  "secretly  yet  surely  been  working, 
like  the  leaven,"  during  that  period.10  From  this  note- 
worthy 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.""  ll 

"  Day  and  night — in  the  Church,  and  in  the  closets — there  ascend 
in  England  from  thousands  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 
Hood  flows.'"  12 

"  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 
ftrong  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  5  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  lo  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  come  to  you  [the  Church  of 
Rome]  and  say : — *  Let  the  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. 

10  Union  Review,  Vol.  V.,  p.  379.  n  Ibid.,  p.  380.  12  Ibid.,  p.  39S. 

13  Ibid.,  p.  400.  l<  Ibid.,  p.  408. 


THE    POPE    "  WILL   DEAL   TENDERLY   WITH    US."         3II 

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.'  "  16 

"  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  Rationalism.  .  .  . 
Depend  upon  it,  it  is  only  through  the  English  Church  itself  that 
England  can  be  Catholicised."  16 

"  The  work  now  going  on  in  England  is  an  earnest  and  carefully 
•organized  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  Rome]."  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  commanding  officers.  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  independence 
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 

16  Ibid.,  pp.  408,  409.  w  Ibid.,  p.  410.  W  ibid.,  p.  412. 


312         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

too  accurately  represented  their  views  of  the  situation. 
Before  parting  with  the  Union  Review  I  may  be  permitted 
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  hut  a  hair's  Ireadth 
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  Rome  or  the  Orientals  rather 
than  with  Luther  or  Calvin."  18 

"  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."  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  newspapers,  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  Reunion  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 

18  Union  Review,  Volume  for  1869,  p.  373.     l9Ibid.,  Volume  for  1870,  p.  289. 


THE    PRIMACY   AND    MONARCHY   OF   ROME.  313 

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  already  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 
explained,  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  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 

80  Essays  on  Reunion,  p.  xxviii.  8l  Ibid.,  p.  9.  B  Ibid.,  p.  26. 


314         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

-constituted  to  be  the  strength  and  support  of  all  other  Churches — the 
centre  round  wkich  alt  others  should  gather."  23 

The  marvel  is  how  a  man  who  could  write  like  this  did 
►not  consistently  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  Rcmanizers.     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.  261),  but  which  will  bear  repetition 
here  : — -  * 

™  Essays  on  Reunion,  pp.  27,  28.  **  Ibid.,  p.  83 


THE    PROTESTANTISM   OF   ENGLAND.  315 

"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  hopeless."  26 

Here  we  find  a  strong  reason  for  maintaining,  and  even 
increasing,  the  Protestantism  of  the  Established  Church. 
So  long  as  it  exists  Reunion  with  Rome  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  Roman  Catholic  countries,  which  acknow- 
ledge Papal  Supremacy,  are  everywhere  going  down  in  the 
scale  of  nations,  Protestant  countries  are  everywhere 
growing  in  prosperity,  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 
brazen-faced  fashion,  unblushingly  boasted  that  the  Ritual- 
ists were  doing  the  work  of  the  Church  of  Rome  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 
fit  is  to  be  feared  that  large  numbers  of  Ritualists  possess 
what  the  Apostle  terms  a  "  conscience  seared  with  a  hot 
iron  "  (1  Tim.  iv.  2) — hardened,  and  past  feeling.  What  1 
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 

tt  Ibid.,  p.  89. 


316 


SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 


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  teaching  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 
to  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  whole  matter,  that  by  adopting  and  promoting 
really  Catholic  Ritual  observances,  we  are,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  pro- 
moting in  the  most  effectual  way  possible  the  accomplishment  of 
Visible  Unity  and  intercommunion  amongst  all  parts  of  the  Church  j 
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  after  the  formation  of  the  Association 
for  the  Promotion  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. 


*  Essays  on  Reunion,  p.  180. 


K  Ibid.,  pp.  288,  289. 


THE   INQUISITION    CONDEMNS   THE   A.P.U.C.  317 

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  non- 
Romanists  in  religious  work.  They,  accordingly,  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  Inquisition  on  the  subject,  asking  for  an 
authoritative  decision  on  the  question.  On  September  16th, 
1864, tne  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  are  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  profession.  .  .  . 

"  The  Supreme  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Office,  to  whose  scrutiny 
the  matter  has  been  referred  as  usual,  has  judged,  after  mature  con- 
sideration, that  the  faithful  should  be  warned  with  all  care  against 
-being  led  by  heretics  to  join  with  them  and  with  schismatics  in 
entering  this  Association.  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  charity  and  learning  which  distinguish 

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. 


318         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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."  ■ 

The  issuing  of  this  document  was,  indeed,  a  terrible  blow- 
to  the  promoters  of  the  A.  P.  U.  C.    It  not  merely  proclaimed 

29  I  quote  from  the  official  Roman  Catholic  translation,  in  Synodi  Dioeeeseop 
Suthwarcensis,  Londini,  1868,  pp.  186-190. 


TRAITOROUS  ADDRESS   FROM    ENGLISH    CLERGY.         319 

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  document  issued 
by  the  Inquisition  of  cruel  and  evil  memory,  with  an  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  Most  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- 


320         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

three  Communions,  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 
t>eseech  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  dicta.  In  that  little  work,  various  writers 
put  forth  indeed  their  own  opinions,  but  only  to  the  further  elucida- 
tion 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  are  seldom  under  discussion,  is 
hardly  to  be  wondered  at ;  but  in  England,  where  almost  every 
-question  becomes  public  property,  none  results  in  successful  con- 
viction 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     FEELING     OF     GOODWILL     TOWARDS     THE 

"venerable  Church  of  Rome,  that  has  for  a  long  time  caused  some 
to  mistrust  us. 


DR.  MANNING  ON  THE  REUNION  MOVEMENT.     32 1 

"  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 
of  his  inaugural  address  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Academia, 
in  1866,  Archbishop  Manning  entered  at  considerable  length 

30  Purcell's  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  279, 280. 
«  Ibid.,  p.  286. 

21 


322         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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 
Establishment  an  extensive  rejection  of  Protestantism,  and  a  sincere 
desire  and  claim  to  be  Catholic.  Ever  since  the  Reformation,  indeed, 
the  writers  of  the  Anglican  Church  have  claimed  to  be  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 
Sacraments,  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  ail  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 

M  Every  parish  priest  happily  knows  how  empty  and  foolish  is  the 

82  Essays  on  Religion  and  Literature,  pp.  12,  13.     Second  series. 


DR.    MANNING   ON   THE   WORK   OF   RITUALISTS.  323 

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  becoming  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  invented 
by  their  teachers.  This  cannot  last  long.  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."  M 

Since  the  year  1867  the  Association  for  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  Association  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 
j 867,  at  the  Wolverhampton  Church  Congress,  this  Society 

33  Ibid.,  p.  14. 

21    * 


324         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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."  34 

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,  during  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  ! 

During  the  few  months  immediately  preceding  the 
Wolverhampton  Church  Congress,  of  1867,  tne  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,"  35  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,  a  reconciliation  between  the  Roman  and  Anglican  Communions. 
And,  considering  the  intimate  and  visible  union  which  existed  between 

M  S.  S.  C.  Address  to  Catholics,  p.  13. 
•  Church  News,  August  21,  1867,  p.  372. 


REMOVING   THE    BARRIERS.  325 

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."36 

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  indi- 
vidual. 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.87  It  will  no  doubt  surprise  many  of  my  readers  to 
learn  that  so  far  back  as  the  year  1867  such  a  large  number 
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  Movement  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  by 
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 

K  Ibid.,  September  nth,  1867,  p.  426.     *  Ibid.,  September  25th,  1867,  p.  455. 


326         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  position  which  it 
then  adopted.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  during  that 
period  it  has  laboured  zealously  in  Romanizing  the  services 
of  the  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 
1&67  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."  88  The  "  one  article  "  here 
referred  to,  there  can  be  no  question,  was  that  of  Papal  Infalli- 
bility. 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  comes  in,  Is  not  such  a  man 
"  disloyal  "  to  the  Church  of  England  ?  At  the  September, 
1878,  Synod  of  the  S.  S.  C.  the  following  resolution  proposed 

38  The  Master's  Address.     Festival  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
1876.  p.  5. 


THE    S.  S.  C.    ON    REUNION.  327 

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  Christen- 
dom] ,  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  resolu- 
tion,   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  substantiated,  and  that  Catholics  should  therefore 
be   warned   against  joining  the   Association,    as   involving 

39  S.S.C.  Analysis  of  Proceedings,  September  Synod,  1878,  pp.  9-11. 
•  Ibid.,  p.  10. 


328         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  we  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  practically  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,  hut  if  the  Church  of 
England  teaches  anything  about  the  Blessed  Sacrament  different  from 
the  others  she  teaches  a  lie.  No,  we  must  understand  that  the  teaching 
is  one."43 

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  Corporate 
Reunion  of  Christendom,"  a  convenient  expression  which 
mzy  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  Rei.  T.  W.  Perry,  at  an  ordinary  meeting  of 
that  Society  on  February  16th,  1869,  very  candidly  explained 

41  Statement  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  Concerning  the  Order  of  Corporate 
Reunion,  p.  10.     Revised  edition. 

42  Church  Times,  A.ugust  14th,  1885,  p.  623. 


TACTICS   OF  THE    ENGLISH    CHURCH    UNION.  329 

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  Romeward.  To 
sooth  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  equivocation,  and  the  Pope's  temporal  authority,  and  the  like  j 
and  perhaps  some  of  their  blasphemous  speeches.  But  in  the  points 
of  Free  Will,  Justification,  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  [Roman- 
ists] 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."  ** 

43  English  Church  Union  Monthly  Circular,  Volume  for  1869,  p.  99. 

44  Heylin's  Life  of  Laud,  p.  42.     Dublin,  1719. 


330         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  English  Church  Union, 
June  I2th,  1861,  the  President  of  the  Union,  the  Hon.  Colin 
Lindsay  (who  subsequently  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 
restoring  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.45  Dr.  Pusey  considers  that 
those  parts  of  the  Roman  system  which  are  popularly  spoken 
of  as  Romanism  are  but  excrescences  like  the  many  heresies 
among  ourselves."46  In  other  words,  his  attitude  towards 
Rome  was  very  much  like  that  of  Laud  and  his  followers,  as- 

45  Those  who  wish  to  read  an  able  and  conclusive  refutation  of  the  position 
adopted  by  Dr.  Pusey,  should  read  Dean  Goode's  Tract  XC.  Historically 
Refuted.     Second  edition,  1866.     London  :  Hatchards. 

46  Union  Review,  Volume  for  1866,  p.  2. 


DR.    PUSEY   ON    PAPAL   SUPREMACY.  331 

described  by  Bishop  Robert  Abbot,  in  the  sermon  quoted 
above.  The  only  differences  between  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  statements : — 

**  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  theologians  only.  This  involves  the  conviction  on  my  side, 
that  there  is  nothing  in  our  Articles  which  cannot  be  explained 
rightly,  as  not  contradicting  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  recognize 
the  Primacy  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome ;  the  bearings  of  that  Primacy 
upon  other  local  Churches,  we  believe  to  be  matter  of  ecclesiastical, 
not  of  Divine  law  j  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  England. 

Dr.  Pusey's  book  speedily  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
English  Church  Union.  At  its  next  annual  meeting  a 
resolution  was  unanimously  carried,  expressing  the  rejoicing 
of  the  Union  at  its  publication,  together  with  an  earnest 
hope  for  the  Reunion  of  Christendom.     The  resolution  was 


332  SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  minds  of  His  people,  that  the  sad  divisions 
which  now  rend  the  seamless  robe  of  Christ  may  be  healed  j  and 
that  the  whole  of  Christendom  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 

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  Reunion  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  Ritualists — is  that  of  abso- 
lute 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  discussion  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 

*  English  Church  Union  Monthly  Circular,  Volume  for  1866,  p.  191. 


"  A  GALLICAN  ON  THE  WRONG  SIDE  OF  THE  WATER."    333 

not  prepared  to  assent  to  Reunion  with  Rome  on  any  basis 
whatsoever,  constituted  as  Rome  now  is,  and  maintaining 
the  claims  she  now  maintains."  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 
1  we  readily  recognize  the  supremacy  **  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-continued  cheering. 
As  to  the  question  of  Papal  Supremacy,  he  said  that  he 
did  "  not  know  where  it  is  denned  in  what  Supremacy 
consists."     "  It  matters  not,"  he  continued,  "  under  whom 

46  The  word  actually  used  by  Dr.  Pusey  was  "  Primacy  "  not  "  Supremacy." 


334         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  with  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.  Pusey,  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 
nvited  to  join  this  bond  of  prayer,  this  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 

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  Churchmen 
•it  would  be  otherwise. 

50  The  Liberties  of  the  Church,  an  Address  by  the  Hon.  Colin  Lindsay,  p.  22, 
•.English  Church  Union  Office. 


THE    E.  C.  U.   AND    REUNION.  335 

existence.  Probably  we  shall  know  more  about  it  when  the 
last  volume  of  the  Life  of  Dr.  Pasey  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  home,  and  the  restoration 
of  visible  communion  between  the  various  Apostolic  Churches 
of  Eastern  and  Western  Christendom."51  In  the  annual 
report  of  the  President  and  Council  adopted  at  the  same 
meeting,  a  paragraph  appeared  which  was  almost  word  for 
word  the  same  as  the  resolution  I  have  just  quoted.52 

No  one  can  doubt,  who  has  studied  the  operations  of  the 
English  Church  Union,  that  the  prime  mover  in  all  its 
Corporate  Reunion  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  resigna- 
tion. 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 

51  Church  Union  Gazette,  Volume  for  1878,  p.  179.        52  Ibid.,  p.  154. 
53  History  of  the  English  Church  Union,  p.  99. 


336         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

England  and  Rome  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  he  has 
done  all  that  in  him  lay  to  assist  that  "  levelling  up  "  process 
within  the  Church  of  England  which  seems  to  have  been 
thought  necessary,  as  a  preparation  for  the  expected  recon- 
ciliation. 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  extract  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  5  while  multitudes  of  laity  never  dream  of  purging  their 
souls  of  deadly  sin  by  Sacramental  Confession,  and  multitudes  of  priests 
never  teach  them  that  such  is  their  bounden  duty  5  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  existence  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 
Canterbury,  to  decline  taking  proceedings  on  merely  legal  grounds  5 
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 


"cleanse  our  own  house  of  heresy."    337 

corruption  yet  disgracing  the  English  Church?4,  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  contained  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  : — 

"  i.  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  recognized  as 
the  Church's  rule. 

"  5.  Restoration  to  our  formularies  of  definite  and  distinct  Prayers 
for  the  Faithful  Departed,  tnd  of  Invocations  of  our  Lady  and  the 
Sain 

"  6.  Uuiversal  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  propitiatory  Sacrifice,  as  well  for  the  living  as  the  departed,  is 
offered  to  God  the  Father,  even  the  Immaculate  Lamb ;  (c)  that  there 
are  seven  Sacraments  of  the  New  Law,  though  the  two  '  Sacraments 
£>f  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  vestige  of  Protestant  heresy  will  be  purged  out  from  us.  But 
the  time  is  not  yet.  Therefore  let  everyone,  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 

64  Not  a  word  does  this  Ritualistic  writer  say  about  the  "fearful  corrup-- 
lion  "  which  actually  does  exist  in  the  Roman  Communion. 

22 


33§         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  aware  that  it  has, 
like  this  correspondent  of  the  Church  Review,  advocated  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  Confessional,  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  recognize  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- 
recognized  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  oppor- 
tunities, 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  j  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 


RITUALISTIC    REVISION    OF   THE    PRAYER   BOOK.         339 

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  repre- 
sented 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 
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  preparing  the  way  for  Reunion  with 
Rome  has  not  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  now  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 

22  * 


340         SECRET    HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  u  mistaken,"  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  Refor- 
mation. He  goes  on  to  affirm  that  there  are  "  shortcomings  " 
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  appearances, 
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 

55  The  Lord's  Day  and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  p.  27.  &6  Ibid.,  p.  28. 


PROPOSAL   TO   OMIT  THE   COMMANDMENTS.  341 

modelled    after    the    Roman    Catholic    Cathedrals   of   the 

Continent.     There  are,  it  is  well  known,  several  English 

Cathedrals   where   the   services    are    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  if  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 "  ? 57     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  ?     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   notwithstanding — plead 

that  the  Commandments  of  God  may  remain,  whatever  else 

it  maybe  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  of  England,  in  her  wisdom, 

has  thought  it  best  not  to  provide  for  her  children.      He 

57  Ibid.,  p.  29. 


342         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

wants  additional  Gospels,  Epistles,  and  Collects  to  be  pro- 
vided 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."  59  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,  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  experience  has  proved  to  he  useful  for  encouraging  the  devotion  of 
the  Faithful?"™ 

58  The  Lord's  Day  and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  p.  29.      69  Ibid.,  p.  35.     m  Ibid.,  p.  35. 


RITUALISTIC   REVISION   OF   THE    PRAYER   BOOK.         343 

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  V  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,  is  termed  by 
Mr.  Sergeant  "  one  of  the  most  mischievous  innovations  in 
our  Eucharistic  Office/'  It  is  that,  "whereas  in  the  rubrics 
alone  of  the  Ordinary  and  Canon  of  the  Mass  in  the  Sarum 
Missal  the  word  altar  occurs  thirty  times,  it  does  not  occur  once 
in  any  part  of  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  ? 
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  introducing  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 

61  Ibid.,  p.  125.  ■"  Ibid.,  p.  124.  ra  Ibid.,  p.  121. 


344         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  grotfnd,  rent  asunder  by  traitors 
within  her  fold.  Can  statesmen  view  such  a  possibility  with 
pleasure  ?  A  Prayer  Book  Romanized  on  the  lines  of  the 
English  Church  Union  could  not  be  accepted  by  any  honest 
Protestant  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 
Reformation.  Yet  nothing  less  than  this  will  satisfy  the 
wire-pullers  of  the  Ritualistic  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  prepare  the  way  for  the  restoration  of  visible 
unity  between  the  Anglican  Communion  and  the  rest  of  the  Western 


"THE   BISHOP  OF  OLD   ROME."  345 

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."  w 

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 
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  Rome.'  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,  but,  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.'  "w 

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 

w  Church  Union  Gazette,  Volume  for  1888,  pp.  168,  216-220. 
^Ibid.,  Volume  for  1890,  p.  45. 


346         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  M  Protestantism,  but  there 
is  very  little,  if  anything  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  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 

66  Church  Union  Gazette,  Volume  for  1890,  p.  50. 


DEAN    HOOK   ON    THE   JUDICIAL   COMMITTEE.  347 

Canterbury  to  the  Judicial  Committee  need  not  scruple  to  an  appeal  to 
a  Christian  Bishop.     Is  there  a  single  instructed  Christian  who 

WOULD  NOT  PREFER  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  j  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.'  fI  like,' he  might  say, 'lights  upon  the 
altar  j  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 "  ?  There  is,  he  says,  "  a  practical  need  for  a 
central  authority  " ;  and  such  an  authority  would,  he  thinks, 

67  Ibid.,  Volume  for  1886,  p.  242. 

68  Life  and  Letters  of  Dean  Hook,  p.  588.     Sixth  edition. 


348         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

"  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  and  their  boast 
that  they  cut  themselves  off  from  all  communication  with 
such  a  "  central  authority  "  as  the  Pope,  and  inserted  in  the 
Reformed  Prayer  Booh  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  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,  Hblborn,  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." 


ANARCHY  IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.      349 

"  61 7 1.  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  Romanizing  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  ?  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  frequently  frowned  upon,  and  left  out  in  the  cold.  The 
time  has  come  when  the  people  of  England  should,  through 
Parliament,  bring  both  the  Government  for  the  time  being — 
both  Conservative  and  Liberal  Governments  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  Corpor- 
ate Reunion  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  but  I  should  only 


350         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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."  G9 

The  adoption  of  the  full  Roman  Ritual  has  now  become 
very  common  in  Ritualistic  churches ;  but  some  of  the 
party  go  even  further  than  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. 
William  Stathers,  Curate  of  St.  Matthias',  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 

69  Western  Times,  July  31st,  1889. 


THE  SHELL  AND  THE  KERNEL.  35 1 

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  S.  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  Incum- 
bent's own  head  j  the  old  English  Ritual,  very  elaborate  and  now 
lost,  but  which  some  are  fruitlessly  trying  to  bring  back ;  and  the 
Modern  Roman,  very  simple,  regulated  by  the  Sacred  Congregation  of 
Rites  at  Rome,  and  possessing  present  authority.  It  is  the  latter 
Ritual,  I  am  happy  to  say,  which  is  followed  at  S.  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  surprising  that  rinding  St. 
Matthias's  possessed  of  a  particular  kind  of  shell,  I  did  my  best  to- 
provide  the  corresponding  kernel,  or  that  rinding  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,  insisted  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  definitions,  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  still  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 
Tridentine '  [contained  in  Mr.  Stathers'  advertisement  for  a  curacy  in 
the  Church  Times],71  I  explained  to  him  at  a  private  interview,  and,  if 

7°  A  Protest  and  Explanation,  by  the  Rev.  William  Stathers,  p.  12. 

~l  Mr.  Stathers'  advertisement,  which  he  truly  described  as  "  most  unmis- 
takable," 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  Tridentine. — W.  S.,  85,  Mar- 
ton  Road,  Middlesbro."— Church  Times,  December  21st,  1883,  p.  959. 


352         SECRET   HISTORY   OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

■I  remember  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  circulated  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  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 
.appears  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 

72  A  Protest  and  Explanation,  p.  3. 


"PEACE  WITH   ROME   WITH   ALL   OUR  HEARTS."         353 

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  paramount,  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  represented.  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  a  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" 74  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."  76 

"  No  peace,  but  deadly  warfare  still,  between  those  twain  must  be, 
While  the  one  would  bind  both  heart  and  mind,  and  the  other 

set  them  free  j 
No  peace  for  Rome  and  England,  but  a  stern,  relentless  strife  j 
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 

7s  Reunion  of  Christendom.    Speech  by  Lord  Halifax,  p.  24.    (English  Church 
Union  Office.) 
?4  Ibid.,  p.  35. 
?5  Moultrie's  Altars,  Hearths,  and  Graves,  p.  79.    Edition,  1854. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  63. 

23 


354         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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," 
ihe  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  stigmatized  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  melancholy  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 

77  Reunion  of  Christendom.    Speech  by  Lord  Halifax,  p.  8. 

78  Ibid.,  p.  18. 


THE   HOMILIES   ON   THE   CHURCH   OF   ROME.  355 

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 
documents  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." 79  Certainly,  the  majority  of  loyal 
Churchmen  think  otherwise.  They  still  retain  the  opinion 
that  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  contain  a  great  deal  which  is 
"  irreconcilable  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  ot 
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/1 
that  is,  for  this  year  of  our  Lord,  1897.  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  of 
Idolatry,  Part  Third,  "  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  "  ?  The  language  is  somewhat  rough,  but,  as  it  is 
"  appointed  to  be  read  in  Churches,'"  there  can  be  nothing 
^wrong  in  reading  it  in  this  book  of  mine. 

19  Ibid.,  p.  30. 

23  * 


356        SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

"  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  the  question  of  the  validity  of  Anglican  Orders  had 
been  remitted  for  consideration.  Probably  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.  In  this 
document  Mr.  Lacey  made  some  very  candid  admissions,, 
and  some  inaccurate  assertions,  such  as  the  following  : — 

80  Just  like  our  modern  Ritualistic  priests,  who  "deck  and  tire  "  themselves* 
and  their  Churches  in  a  similar  fashion. 


A  DOCUMENT  FOR  ROMAN  CARDINALS.        357 

"The  Reformation,"  wrote  Mr.  Lacey,  "begun  under  Henry  VIII., 
effected  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  Roman  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  disappointment.  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,  however,  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  com- 
munion, and  leave  Rome  to  her  fate.  A  few  Churchmen  were 
deceived  by  these  professions,  and  declared  that  the  English 


358         SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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,  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  over- 
whelming 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 

81  Church  Times,  June  4th,  1897,  p.  668. 

82  Life  of  Bishop  Wilberforce,  Vol.  II.,  p.  80. 


THE   PREPARATORY  SCHOOL  "  FOR  ROME.     359 

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:'  M  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."  84  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  out 
of  every  dozen  are  the  direct  result  of  Ritualistic  training."  86 

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  Ritualism  is  one  of  our  consola- 
tions, 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  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  numler  are  helped  by  this  approximation 
in  externals,  and  become  obedient  children  of  the  faith."  M 

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 

83  ibid.,  p.  85.  M  Ibid.,  p.  95. 

85  Ransomer,  July  22nd,  1893. 

86  Catholic  Standard,  June  23rd,  1894. 


360        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  obligations  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  Jive 
thousand  Church  of  England  clergymen  are  preaching  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  sister- 
hoods are  doing,  we  feel  sure,  the  best  they  can  under  the  circum- 
stances 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* 
Preparatory  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  English  Jesuits,  in  its  issue 
for  November,  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  propor- 
tion j  they  are  preparing  the  soil  and  sowing  the  seed  for  a  rich 
harvest,  which  the  Catholic  Church  will  reap  sooner  or  later"** 


87  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record,  July,  1891,  p.  644. 
M  The  Month,  November,  1890,  p.  333. 


THE   DUTY  OF   SEPARATION.  36 1 

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  addressed  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  ?  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 
Testament.  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)  ?  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 


362         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE   OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  con- 
trary, 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  republics  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.  ?  Would  English  working  men  wish  to  exchange 
wages  with  their  brethren  in  any  Roman  Catholic  country  in 
the  world?  Every  part  of  Ireland  is  under  the  same  govern- 
ment. 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  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  supposing 
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 


OBJECTIONS   TO    REUNION   WITH    ROME.  363 

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, 
Holy  Beads,  or  any  one  of  the  false  doctrines  and  superstitions 
of  Romanism,  which  have  now  become  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
our  modern  Romanisers.  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  stern  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 


364         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

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  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  Indepen- 
dence, 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 

89  Rome  and  the  Newest  Fashions  in  Religion,  by  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E. 
Gladstone,  p.  xxvii. 


OUR   NATIONAL   INDEPENDENCE   IN    PERIL. 


365 


defilement,  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  himf  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."  w 

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  English- 
men ?  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  j  but  are  of  the  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  ?  The  real  ruler  would  be,  not  the  nominal 
sovereign,  but  a  foreign  potentate  called  the  Pope.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  assertion  on  this  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  his 
civil  loyalty  and  duty  at  the  mercy  of  another," 92  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  theologians. 
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 

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. 

92  Rome  and  the  Newest  Fashions  in  Religion,  p.  xxiv. 


366         SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

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  may  be  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  belief  condemned  by  Boniface  VIII.  in  the  Constitution 
Unam  Sanctam.'  *  Accordingly,  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  ltke.'  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  instances  where  this  has  been  actually 
done,  as  when  Gregory  II.  deposed  the  Byzantine  Emperor  Leo  III. ; 
Gregory  VII.  deposed  the  Emperor  Henry  IV.  j  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  magistrates,  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 

93  Catholic  Dictionary,  p.  280.    Fourth  edition. 


OUR   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  367 

almost  entirely  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  ?  All  true 
friends  of  our  National  Independence  will,  therefore,  oppose 
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  for  burning  to  death  our  Protestant 
Martyrs  ?  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  ? 
If  Rome  had  ceased  to  be  what  she  once  was,  we  would  not 
bring  her  past  crimes  and  murders  to  her  remembrance. 
But  in  this  point,  alas !  more  than  in  any  other,  she  is 
indeed  semper  eadem.  Her  persecuting  laws  are  still  the 
same  as  when  in  the  Dark  Ages  her  infernal  Inquisition 
performed,  unhindered,  its  bloodthirsty  work.  The  modern 
authorities  of  the  Church  of  Rome  still  glory  in  the 
intolerant  work  of  their  Church  in  those  days.  The  leading 
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, 


368         SECRET   HISTORY   OF   THE    OXFORD    MOVEMENT. 

had  heresy  been  permitted  to  poison  the  pure  air  of  Catholic  truth. 
.  .  .  So  far  is  any  apology  from  being  needed  for  the  then  existent 
intolerance  of  heretics  thaty  on  the  contrary,  an  apology  would  be  now 
needed  for  the  Mediceval  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  Mediceval  Europe,  applies  in 
its  measure  to  any  contemporary  country,  such  as  Spain,  in  which 
Catholicity  has  still  entire  possession  of  the  national  mind."94 

This  is  a  fair  warning,  which  might  well  set  Ritualistic 
Reunionists  thinking.  It  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
a  modern  Jesuit  Professor,  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 — 

"  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  Roman 
Catholic  countries.  "How,"  he  asks,  "could  the  Catholic 
State  allow  this  so-called  Liberty  of  Conscience  ?  As  well 
might  you  ask  a  person  to  allow  poison  to  be  introduced  in 

94  Dublin  Review,  January,  1877,  P-  39- 

95  The  Relations  of  the  Church  to  Society,  by  Edmund  J.  Reilly,  8.J.,  pp.  iii.r 
273.     London,  1892. 

95  Manual  of  Church  History,  by  the  Rev.  T.  Gilmartin.  Vol.  II.,  p.  228. 
Dublin,  1892. 


CANON    MELVILLE'S   WARNING   WORDS.  369 

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."  V  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  reply:  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  cruei 
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  j 
shrine  it  in  your  churches  5  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 
haughtiness,  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  the  Ritualists.  They  wish 
our  Church  and  nation  to  be  joined  once  more,  in  a 
Corporate  capacity,  with  the  Church  of  Rome.     They  do 

97  Liberty   of  Conscience,  by    the    Rev.   Walter    Croke    Robinson,    p.    22. 
London  :*The  Catholic  Truth  Society. 

98  Ibid.,  p.  24. 

24 


370         SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

not,  as  a  preliminary  condition,  require  the  Church  of  Rome 
to  purge  herself  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  reading  this 
shilling  book.  It  was  not  written  by  an  Evangelical 
Churchman,  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  became  more  and  more  distinct.  The  Seven 
Hills,  and  the  Woman  sitting  upon  them,  become  more  and  more: 


"  COME   OUT   OF   HER,    MY   PEOPLE." 


371 


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  exulted  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  of  Rome."  " 

And  now  we  know,  in  a  nutshell,  what  the  Ritualistic 
Conspiracy  really  means.  What  the  future  may  bring  forth 
God  only  knows.  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  Holy  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  *  INIQUITIES" 
(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 

brow  ! 
And  when  her  penal  hour  hath  past,  and  purged  her  from  her  sin, 
Restore  her  prosperous  state  without,  and  her  peace  and  joy  within. 


99  Wordsworth'9   Union  with  Rome,  p.  62.     Eleventh   edition.     London: 
Longmans,  1893. 

24   * 


372        SECRET   HISTORY  OF  THE   OXFORD   MOVEMENT. 

"  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 ! 

M  And   God  forgive  the   fallen   ones — by   their   own    weak    hearts 
betrayed, 
And  convert  the  misbeliever,  and  reclaim  the  renegade 
And  God  unite  the  good  and  true,  the  faithful  and  the  wise, 
Till  the  Dayspring  come  on  the  night  of  Rome,  and  the  Sun  of 
Truth  arise"!100 


100  Moultrie's  Altars,  Hearths,  and  Graves,  p.  65.    Edition,  1854. 


APPENDIX. 


WHAT  THE  RITUALISTS  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,  by  the  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould,  Rector  of  Lew 
Trenchard,  Part  L,  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  demonstrate  the  non-existence  of  a  God.     But  if  a  man's  faith  is 


374  APPENDIX. 

pinned  to  a  document,  and  that  document  be  proved  to  have  flaws  in 
it,  away  goes  his  faith." — Germany  Past  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-  IS- 

"  Gradually  it  had  come  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  sufficient  for  our  guidance  without  the  Church's 
teaching,  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  instruction  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  Review  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?  " — Speech  of  the  Rev. 
R.  Rhodes  Bristow,  Vicar  of  St.  Stephen  s,  Lewisham,  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  Rule  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. 

"  Noi  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. 


WHAT   THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  375 

"The  Catholic  Church  is  always  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,  Doncaster,  Parish 
Magazine,  March,  1895. 


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  has  it  been  possible  that  Catholics — not  ultra-Catholics,  but 
Catholics  teaching  the  doctrines  and  observing  the  ritual  of  the 
Universal  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 
referring,  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  Reformed  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   tlte 


376  APPENDIX. 

actual  rite  ?  .  .  .  Laudable  as  the  motive  may  have  been,  the  effect 
has  been  disastrous,  more  disastrous  perhaps  than  any  of  the  othej 
Liturgical  changes,  since  it  has  given  occasion  to  ignorant  and  heretical 
writers  to  represent  our  *  Communion  Service '  as  something 
generically  different  from  the  '  Mass,'  whereas  it  is  nothing  less  than 
the  same  thing  in  another  form." — Ibid.,  pp.  121,  122. 

"  What  a  contrast  between  the  careful  instructions  and  the  beautiful 
preparatory  office  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  of  Common  Prayer  !  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 
Cautelce  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  license  in  the  way  of  expurgation  and  modification, 
they  cut  up  and  reset  with  not  too  skilful  hands  the  splendid  mosaic 
of  the  ancient  service,  so  that  the  very  outlines  of  the  old  pattern  are 
barely  rocognisable  ?  " — 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 
tremendous  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  least, 
communicate  with  the  Priest.'  There  can  be  no  mistaking  the 
meaning  of  that — the  intention.  It  was  to  take  away,  to  extirpate  as 
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 


WHAT  THE    RITUALISTS   TEACH.  377 

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  conciliating  sound  Anglicans  who 
do  not  believe  in  the  Presence  and  the  Sacrifice  ?  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  !  .  .  .  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." — Hid.,  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 
modification  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 
incomplete  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. 

"  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. 


378  APPENDIX. 

THE    THIRTY-NINE    ARTICLES. 

"  The  half-abrogated  Articles  '  cracked  and  strained  by  three 
centuries  of  evasive  ingenuity,'  are  rather  a  trashy  foundation  for 
anything." — Rev.  H.  H.  Henson,  Vicar  of  Barking,  in  Guardian, 
August  24th,  1892,  p.  1 25 1. 

"  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  5  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  coming  over  the  Church  of  England, 
the  question  will  arise,  What  service  have  the  Articles  of  the  Church 
of  England  ever  done  ?  .  .  .  Before  union  with  Rome  can  be  effected, 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles  must  be  wholly  withdrawn." — Christian 
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.  293. 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  379 

"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  ?  " — 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  Chretiennes,  that  the  five  great  Sacramental 
Ordinances — Confirmation,  Penance,  Orders,  Matrimony,  and  Extreme 
Unction — have  grown  'partly  of  the  corrupt  following  of  the  Apostles.' 
What  a  singular  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  very  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 
temporary  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 


380  APPENDIX. 

render  the  idea  of  corporate  Reunion  impracticable  than  anything 
else.  Of  late  years,  however,  so  many  contradictory  explanations  of 
them  have  been  given— Sharpe,  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  2 1  st,  1867,  p.  367. 


REUNION   WITH    ROME. 

"  We  have  no  wish  to  revile  the  faith  of  Roman  Catholics,  for  it  is 
the  same  faith  as  our  own  j  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,  Munster  Square,  London,  p.  79. 
London,  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 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  381 

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.  Pusey  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 
Movement,  by  Rev.  T.  Mozley,  formerly  Rector  of  Plymtree,  Vol.  II., 
p.  386.    Second  edition. 

"  It  is  most  refreshing  to  find  that  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  anyone  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  earth, 
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, 


382  APPENDIX. 

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 
Providence  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 
the  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 
Ardeley,  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. 

"  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 
body  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. 


WHAT  THE    RITUALISTS   TEACH.  383 

THE   REFORMERS  AND   THE   REFORMATION. 

"  I  have  to  own  that,  in  spite  of  the  telling  illustrations  of  Mrs. 
Trimmer's  History  of  England,  I  never  yet  succeeded  in  getting  up  an 
atom  of  affection  or  respect  for  the  three  gentlemen  canonized  in  the 
1  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.  Mozleyr 
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" 
Adoration  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  ecclesiastical  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. 

"  In  Germany  the  Church  was  utterly  rooted  out,  and  a  new 
religion,  called  Protestantism,  invented  by  Luther  and  Calvin  and 
other  malcontents,  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  sufficient  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,  by  Rev. 
S.  Baring- Gould,  Rector  of  Lew  Trenchard,  Part  I.,  p.  146.     Edition,. 


384  -  APPENDIX. 

"  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.  i, 
•p.  6. 


SOME   RITUALISTIC    "ORNAMENTS   OF   THE 

CHURCH."* 


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. 
Houselling  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    or 

Bishop). 
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. 


From  the  Directorium  Anglicanum,  pp.  336-341.     Fourth  edition. 


WHAT   THE    RITUALISTS   TEACH.  385 

THE    REAL    PRESENCE. 

u  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 !  " 
—5"/.  Agatha's,  Landport,  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  senti- 
ment, 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  Sacram  nt, 
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 

25 


386  APPENDIX. 

in  the  Chalice,  and  so  is  '  verily  and  indeed  taken  and  received  by  the 
faithful  in  the  Lord's  Supper.'  "— tbid.\^.  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. 

"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,  '  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  Thoughts  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  hideth  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  Catholics 
Fade  Mecum,  pp.  71,  72.     Third  edition. 


WHAT   THE   RITUALISTS  TEACH.  387 

"  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,  Thy  most 
holy  Flesh  and  Blood.": — Ibid.,  p.  52. 

"  Again,  as  to  our  conversation.  How  jealous  should  Commun- 
icants be  over  the  words  that  pass  through  the  door  of  those  lips, 
wetted  with  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  Sacraments  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  begotton  Son." — Ibid.,  p.  2>3> 

"  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 

25  * 


388  APPENDIX. 

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.,  p.  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  j 
they  must  hunt  out,  track,  pursue,  and  arraign  sinners,  as  the  police 
pursue  and  apprehend  thieves  and  rascals." — Ibid.,  p.  26. 

"  The  lay  element  already  too  greatly  preponderated  [in  the  Church 
of  England],  and  no  more  of  it  was  needed.  It  was  not  that  he 
undervalued  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.  6j. 

"They  may  call  me  a  Papist,  and  laugh  at  my  Creed, 
'Tis  the  Faith  that  will  save  in  the  hour  of  need  j 
Let  them  talk,  let  them  laugh,  but  when  death  is  at  hand 
The  priest  is  the  only  true  friend  in  the  land." 

Hensal-cum-Heck  Churc/t  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 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS  TEACH.  389 

propitiatory  for  all,  for  the  Living  and  the  Faithful  departed.  The 
Sacrifice  of  the  Eucharist,  which  is  one  with  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  belive  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.  Nihill,  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  Bene- 
diction 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 
Propitiation  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  ali  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 


390 


APPENDIX. 


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  C.  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 
offeied  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,  O  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  iucense  in  a  ritual 
manner ;  the  correct  Introits,  Graduals,  Offertories,  Communions  j 
Gospel  Lights  3  Consecration  Lights  on  the  Altar  and  Consecration 
Candles  in  front  of  the  Altar,  in  addition  to  the  Six  Altar  Candles 
and  two  Sacramental  Lights  5  the  use  of  the  Altar  Bell ;  the  Lavabo  j 
and,  of  course,  the  Eucharistic  Vestments,  for  Celebrant,  Ministers, 
Servers,  and  Acolytes." — The  Four  Cardinal  Virtues,  by  the  Rev. 
Orby  Shipley,  pp.  246,  247.     London:   Longmans,  1871. 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS  TEACH.  391 

"  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  5 
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. 


392  APPENDIX. 

"  Father,  gentle,  full  of  love, 

Hear  us  while  we  humbly  pray  ! 
Look  Thou  from  Thy  throne  above 
On  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's  fond  desire. 

•'  Hear  this  prayer  5  and  by  the  power 
Of  this  holy  Sacrifice 
Grant  us  grace  to  see  Thy  face 
In  the  halls  of  Paradise  1  " 

Ihid.y  pp.  xviii,  xix. 

'"pHE    CATHOLIC  FAITH   IN    DONCASTER,  AT    LAST. 

Oh  dear  !  We  want  such  a  lot  of  things  for  our  poor  District  Church 
(St.  John's) :  Vestments,  Cope,  Processional  Crucifix,  Tabernacle  (for  use), 
Sanctus  Bells.  Pictures,  and  Everything.  The  thorough  cleaning  of  the 
Church  (first  time  for  thirty  years)  is  exhausting  our  means.  Do  send  some- 
thing, Please. — Address,  Priest-in-charge,  2,  Pavilion-street,  Doncaster." 

"100  LITTLE  MARYS  WANTED.— Is  your  name  Mary  ? 
^  ^  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." — A  Book  for  the  Children  of  God  !  p.  1 19.  London  : 
W.  Knott,  1 89 1. 

"  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  Rights  of  the  English  Churchmen,  a  Sermon  preached  before  the 
u  Church  of  England  Working  Men's  Society,"  by  Rev.  H.  D. 
Nihill,  p.  at.     Published  by  the  Society. 


WHAT   THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  393 

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,*  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  Mary,  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  j  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 
genuflection,  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  Ci  obs  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." — Ibid.,  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. 

*  In  the  Preface  of  this  disloyal  book,  occurs  the  following  significant 
passage  : — "  The  original  of  this  book  is  Low  Mass  (London  :  Burns  and  Oates), 
which  is  an  English  translation  of  the  fourth  book  of  Cesari's  Ceremonte  della 
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.). 


394  APPENDIX. 

"  The  breast  is  struck  with  the  right  hand  ten  times. — During  the 
Confiteor,  at  the  words  'my  fault,'  the  breast  is  struck  with  the 
fingers  of  the  right  hand  united  and  slightly  curved." — Ibid.,  p.  46. 

"  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  Corifiteor.  .  .  .  '  I  confess  to  God,  to 
Blessed  Mary,  to  all  Saints,  and  to  you ;  that  I  have  sinned  exceed- 
ingly 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,  O  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  reverently  receives  the  Precious 
Blood.,: — Ibid.,  p.  121. 

"He  [the  priest]  makes  a  profound  Reverence  to  the  principal 
Image  in  the  Sacristy." — Ibid.,  p.  132. 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  395 

"  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. 

"When  once  employed  in  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  it  [the 
"  Purificator  "]  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.  no.  Fourth 
edition. 


396  APPENDIX. 

"  The  question  arises,  if  after  having  communicated  of  the  Body 
he  [the  priest]  shall  have  the  water  already  in  his  mouth,  and  shall 
then  for  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 
before  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  contin- 
gencies befall  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  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  anyone  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 


WHAT  THE    RITUALISTS   TEACH.  397 

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  punish- 
ment, 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  Solemn  Requiem  of  the 
Confraternity  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  November  10th,  1890,  and 
reported  in  the  Church  Times,  November  14th,  1890,  p.  11 17. 

'*  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 
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 
characteristics  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  recognized." — St.  Catherine 
of  Genoa  on  Purgatory,  with  Introductory  Essay  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, 
nevertheless,  which  has  in  it  the  least  stain,  or  the  least  imperfection 


398  APPENDIX. 

receives  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  the  Perseverance,  St.  Alban's,  Holborn,  p.  10. 

"  Q.  Is  there  a  Purgatory  of  any  sort  ? 

"A.  Purgatory  means  a  condition  or  state  of  purgation.  All  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  process  as  Purgatorial,  and  of  the  sphere  of  its 
operations  as  Purgatory." — A  Catechism  on  Some  Great  Truths,  by 
the  Rev.  J.  B.  Johnson,  m.a.,  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,  O  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  maybe  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. 

"  The  Priest  hath  finished  ;  the  Mass  is  said  j 

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  Rev.  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. 


WHAT   THE    RITUALISTS   TEACH.  39Q 

AURICULAR    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  Confessors,  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  sins  [from  the  priest  in  Confession]  the  enormity  of  the  crime 
they  have  committed  in  trampling  underfoot  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 
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 !  ! ! " — 
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." — 'The  Rev.  A.  H.  Mackonochie  in 
the  Priest  in  Absolution  and  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross;  A  Corre' 
spondence,  p.  23. 


400  APPENDIX. 

"  Since  it  [the  Priest  in  Absolution']  has  been  so  prominently  before 
the  public,  I  have  been  trying  to  make  acquaintance  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    Church,  p.  40.     Third   edition. 
London  :    Church   Sunday-school  Union,  which  is  a  Branch  of  the 
Kilburn  Sisterhood. 

"  If  you  are  tempted  to  hide  a  sin  in  Confession,  say,  '  O  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 
Confessions,  gratitude  requires  that  we  should  at  least  contribute 
either  to  the  Offertory  or  to  the  Alms-box  whenever  we  make  use  of 
the  Sacrament  of  Penance ;  especially  we  should  make  a  point  of  this 
when  we  Confess  at  a  Church  which  is  not  our  own  Parish  Church." 
— How  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. 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  40I 

M  I  must  again  repeat  that  Confession  and  Absolution  form  God's 
regular  channel  for  conveying  His  forgiveness,  and  that  if  we  will  net 
take  pardon  in  His  way,  we  are  not  likely  to  get  it  in  our  own." — 
IVhy  Dont  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  Okjec* 
tions  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  5  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." — Hid.,  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)  j  but  we  are  to  go  to  the  Church  which 
stands  between  us  and  God  in  its  appointed  sphere." — The  Mediation 
of  the  Church,  by  the  K.ev.  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 
contrition  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  enumerated.  Confession  must  be  entire,  true,  simple.  Entire  : 
No  mortal  sin  consciously  omitted.  Mention  modifying  circum- 
stances. .  .  .  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 

26 


402  APPENDIX. 

of  the  penitent,  or  the  inquiries  of  the  Confessor;  and  this  throws 
open  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. 

M  We  know  that  he  [the  Confessor]  is  bound  by  every  tie,  moral, 
divine,  £nd  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  hands  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 
confessing,  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." — Simple  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 
*  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God.'  .  .  But,  just  as  God  has  appointed 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS  TEACH.  403 

Holy  Baptism  for  our  regeneration,  and  the  forgiveness  (in  the  case  of 
adults)  of  all  sins  committed  up  to  that  time  3  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  committed  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  Sacramental  Confession.  Confession  to  a  Priest." — Plain 
Speaking  on  Confession,  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 ; 
The  fountain  flows  for  thee  to  wash, 
Its  name  '  Absolvo  Te.' 

"  There  is  no  other  cleansing  now, 
Our  Saviour  left  the  Key 
Which  opens  rivers  of  His  Blood, 
In  the4  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  and  ever  dropped  from  the 

26  * 


404  APPENDIX. 

Hands  and  Feet  and  Side  the  '  Blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  Sin.'  " 
— Ibid.,  pp.  ii,  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  !  Will  you 
try  it  ?  '  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 
Richard  Wilkins,  Priest,  pp.  28,  29.     London  :  E.  Longhurst. 


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  sinners  render, 
Gentle,  chaste,  and  tender/' 

Day  Office  of  the  Church,  p.  xxiii. 

•v  Mother  of  the  King  Eternal, 
Virgin,  loved  by  choirs  supernal, 
Save  us  from  our  foes  infernal, 
With  thy  gentle  prayers  above." 

Union  Review  for  J 863,  p.  503. 


WHAT   THE   RITUALISTS   TEACH.  405 

"  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  I  soothe  all  our  griefs  and  our  cares." 

Oratory  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  1  glory,  Joseph  ! 

Thankful  praise  we  give  to  thee." 

Hid.,  p.  93. 

"  When  the  soul  is  about  to  depart  from  the  body,  then  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,  O  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit.  O  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  Rev.  S.  Baring-Gould,  Rector  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  '  O  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. 

"  O  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,  O  most  loving  Virgin  Mary,  that  never  was  it  known 
that  any  who  fled  to  thy  protection,  implored  thy  help,  and  sought  thy 


406  APPENDIX. 

intercession,  was  left  unaided.  Encouraged  with  this  assurance,  I  fly 
unto  thee,  O  Virgin  of  Virgins,  my  Mother,  to  thee  I  come,  before  thee 
I  stand  sinful  and  sorrowful.  O  Mother  of  the  Incarnate  Word, 
despise  not  my  petitions,  but  mercifully  vouchsafe  to  hear  them." — 
Catholic  Prayers  for  Church  of  England  People,  by  the  Rev.  A.  H. 
Staunton,  Curate  of  St.  Alban's,  Holborn,  p.  136.  Second  edition. 
London:  W.  Knott,  1893. 

"O  Thomas  [a  Becket]  Martyr  most  constant,  and  invincible 
Confessor,  splendour  of  the  priesthood,  the  glory  of  France,  the  glory 
of  England !  Reign,  O  blessed  father,  over  the  Church  for  which  thou 
didst  shed  thy  blood,  and  pour  forth  thy  prayers  to  God  for  the 
salvation  of  us  all." — Devotions  in  Honour  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury , 
by  the  Rev.  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 
sanc^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  wickedness ;  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Amen." — 
The  Priest's  Prayer  Book,  p.  221.     Seventh  edition. 

"  He  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  bless  ^ing,  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 


WHAT  THE    RITUALISTS  TEACH.  407 

body  is  sprinkled  with  Holy  Water." — The  Golden  Gate,  Part  I J  J., 
p.  128. 

"  The  Exorcism  of  the  Salt. 
"  I  exorcise  thee,  creature  of  salt,  by  the  living  God,  ►£•  by  the  true 
God,  *b  by  the  holy  God,  ►£  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  tor  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 ;  b}'  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.  Allan  s,  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  Cross  and  two  Candles,  these  latter  to  be 
kept  burning  night  and  day  till  the  hour  of  interment  arrives,  as  a 
sign  of  the  light  into  which  the  departed  soul  has  passed."— The 
Parish  Tracts,  by  Rev.  J.  Harry  Buchanan.  First  Series.  No.  IV., 
"  The  Dying  and  the  Dead." 

"  The  Exorcism   [0/  Oil~\ . 

"  I  adjure  thee,  O  creature  of  Oil,  by  God  the  Father  4*  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  *i* 
Almighty,  and  of  Jesus  *b  Christ  His  Son  our  Lord,  and  of  the 
Jloly  Ghost  the  Comforter,  and   foi    the  love   of   the   same   Jesus. 


408  APPENDIX. 

Christ  our  Lord,  Who  is  ready  to  judge  both  the  quick  and  the  dead, 
and  the  world  by  fire.  R.  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  claim  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  rather  than  to  them." 
— Llanthony  Monastery  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  is  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  Monk?  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  Banghok,  the  capital  of  Siam,  in  that  capital  alone,  there  are  over 
ten  thousand  monks." — Ibid.  p.  15. 


WHAT  THE   RITUALISTS  TEACH.  409 

PROTESTANTISM. 

"  He  forgets  what  has  been  humourously  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  wjth  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 
gradually  cease." — The  President  of  the  English  Church  Union — Church 
Review,  April  25th,  1868,  p.  402. 

"Nor,  again,  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. 


410  APPENDIX. 

"  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 
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,  anH  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  them.  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  4oes  not  read  it  in  the  Church's  way." — Ibid.,  p.  100. 


INDEX. 


Abbot  (Bishop  Robert)  on  timid  speak- 
ing against  the  Papists,  329,  339 

Aberdeen  (Dean  of)  [Very  Rev. 
William  Webster]  objects  to 
changes  in  Statutes  of  S.S.C.,  141 

Address  to  Catholics  by  the  Society  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  63 

Alcuin  Club,  253,  254 

—  its  work,  253 

—  its  Episcopal  members,  253 
Alison  (Rev.  L.),  138 

Allen  (Archdeacon)  on  Immoral  Ritua- 
listic Confessors,  117,  119 

All  Saints',  Margaret  Street,  Sister- 
hood, Vows  in,  174 

—  how  its  inmates  dispose  of    their 

property,  177,  178 
All   Souls'   Day,   a  Popish   Festival 

observed    by  the   Guild  of   All 

Souls,  230 
Altar  Book  for  Young  Persons,  217 
Anglican  Sister  of  Mercy,  169 
Anarchy  (Ecclesiastical),  viii.,  348,  349 
Archdeacon  of  Cleveland  (Ven.  W.  H. 

Hutchings)    hopes    the    S.  S.  C. 

will  favour  Roman  Ritual,  77 

—  Proposes     Revision    of     S.  S.  C. 

Statutes,  128 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  the  S.  S.  C,  138 
Ascot  Priory,  Private  Burial  Ground 

at,  192 
Association  for  the  Promotion  of  the 

Unity  of  Christendom,  307-323 

—  its  birth  and  membership,  308,  309 

—  its  Letter  to  the  Inquisition,  317 

—  Reply  of  the  Inquisition,  317-319 

—  and    the    Society    of    the     Holy 

Cross,  327 
Association  of    the  Friends  of   the 
Church,  5 

—  Mysterious  "  Suggestions  "  for,  5 
Auricular   Confession    and    Priestly 

Absolution,  What  the  Ritualists 
teach  about,  399-4O4 
Autobiography  of  Isaac    Williams,   9, 
271,  277,  278 


Bagot  De  La  Bere  (Rev.  J.)  [formerly 
Edwards]  defends  the  term 
"  Sacrament  of  Penance,"  142 

Bagshawe  (Rev.  Francis  LI.)  on  the 
Roll  of  Brethren  of  S.  S.  C,  78 

—  Secret  Letter  on  the  Priest  in  Abso- 

lution, 100,  101 

—  Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  104 

—  the  Priest  in  Absolution  in  his  care, 

104, 139 

—  Resigns  the  office  of  Master  of  the 

S.  S.  C,  137 

—  Remarkable  Speech  to  Brethren  of 

S.  S.  C,  139 

Banbury  Guardian,  208 

Baring-Gould  (Rev.  Sabine)  recom- 
mends Holy  Water,  62 

Barnet  Times,  Jesuitical  Letter  to,  235 

Barrett  (Rev.  T.  S.)  appeals  for 
S.  S.  C.  Oratory  at  Carlisle,  67 

Bath  and  Wells  (Bishop  of)  [Lord 
A.  C.  Harvey)]  Speech  on  the 
Priest  in  Absolution,  116 

Bathe  (Rev.  Anthony)  on  the  Master 
of  S.  S.C.,  127 

Beckett  (Rev.  H.  F. )  on  Wives, 
Husbands,  and  the  Confessional, 
81,  82 

Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment in  a  Ritualistic  Convent 
Chapel,  193,  194 

—  Lord  Halifax  on,  342 

Benson  (Rev.  R.  M.)  on  a  Nun's  Vow 

of  Obedience,  169 
Beveridge    (Bishop)     on    the     Real 

Presence  and  Eucharistic  Sacri- 
fice, 222 
Bible  (The)  What  the  Ritualists  teach 

about,  373-375 
Binney  (Rev.  John   Erskine)  glories 

in  being  a  Member  of  S.  S.  C.,  146 
Biography  of  Father  Lockhart,  26 
Birkmyre  (Rev.  N.  Y.)  on  Reunion 

with  Rome,  328 
Bishop  of  Oxford  (Dr.  Bagot)  writes 

to    Newman    about    Littlemore, 

Monastery,  22. 


412 


INDEX. 


Bishops  (The)  smile  on  and  favour  law 
breakers,  ix. 

—  their  neglect  of  duty,  42 

—  their  opinion  of  the  Priest  in  Abso- 

lution, and  Society  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  1 10- 1 17 

—  on  the  Confessional,  111-116 

—  five  or  six  wish  well  to  S.  S.C., 

x33 

—  and  Ritualistic  Sisters  of  Mercy, 

194-196 
Blachford  (Lord)— see  Rogers  (Mr.  F.) 
Blessing  the  Paschal  Candle,  246 
Bloemfontein  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  J.  W. 
Hicks]  presented   with  a  set   of 
Low  Mass  Vestments,  240 

—  a  Vice-President  of  the  Society  of 

St.  Osmund,  240 
Bodington  (Canon  Charles)  on  Con- 
fession, 75 

—  on  the  circulation  of  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,  109 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  the  S.  S.  C,  138 

—  Speech  in  Secret  Synod  of  S.  S.  C, 

142 
Body  (Canon   George),   his    reasons 
for   remaining    in  the    S.  S.  C, 
132 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  the  S.  S.  C,  138 

—  on  the  Eucharistic  Sacrifice,  219 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  not  com- 
plete, 71 

—  Proposed  additions  to,  71,  72 

—  Revision  of,  on  Ritualistic  lines, 

339-344 

—  What  the  Ritualists  teach  about 

the,  375-377 
Books  for  the  Young.  No.  I.,  Confession, 
54,  56,  in,  112,  115 

—  termed  "A  wretched  little  book," 

113 
Bowden  (Mr.  J.  W.)  4,  5,  6,  16,  17, 

42,  172 
Bowden's  Life  of  Father  Faber,  28,  30, 

31,  32,  34,  35,  41,  42 
Bricknell's  Judgment  of  the  Bishops,  J, 

9,  262,  281 
Brinckman's  Controversial  Methods  of 

Romanism,  155 
British  Critic,  271 
Bristol  Branch  of  English   Church 

Union  sympathises  with  S.S.C., 

137 
Bristow    (Canon     Rhodes)    on     the 
*'  Sacrament  of  Penance,"  75 

—  hopes  "  the  Roman  Use  would  still 

prevail,"  77 

—  on  Convocation,  78 

—  on  the  Priest  in  Absolution,  136 


Bristow  (Rev.  Canon  Rhodes)  Mem- 
ber of  Committee  for  Revising 
Statutes  of  the  S.  S.  C,  138 

—  Speech  on   Revision  of   Statutes 

ofS.S.C,  141 
Brotherhood  of  the  Holy  Cross,  233 

—  the  inner  circle  of  the  O.  H.  R.,  233 

—  its   "  very  existence  to  be  kept  in 

strict  secrecy,"  233 

—  its  secret  Intercession  Paper,  233 
Browne  (Rev.  E.  G.  K.)  on  Tractarians 

going  secretly  to  Mass,  29 
' —  Annals    of   the    Tractarian    Move- 
ment, 30,  89 
Bruno's  Catholic  Belief,  265 
Bunsen   (M.)   on  the  Work    of  the 

Tractarians,  267 
Burgon  (Dean),  v. 
' —  Lives  of  Twelve  Good  Men,  215 
Butler  (Dean William  J.)  on  Husbands, 

Wives,  and  the  Confessional,  91 
Byron  (Miss  H.  B.)  Mother  Superior 

of  All  Saints',  Margaret  Street, 

Sisterhood,  177 
Cairo  (Bishop  of)  a  Vice-President  of 

the  Society  of  St.  Osmund,  240 
Cardinal  Newman:  a  Monograph,  26, 

27 
Carlisle    (Bishop    of)     [Dr.    Harvey 

Goodwin]       severely      censures 

S.  S.C.,  146 
Carlisle,  Oratory  of  the  Society  of  the 

Holy  Cross  at,  66-69 
Carter    (Canon    T.    T.)     on     "The 

Sacrament  of  Penance,"  74 

—  and  the  Statement  of  S.  S.  C,  108 

—  revises  the  Proof  Sheets   of  the 

Priest  in  Absolution,  109 

—  and  the  circulation  of  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,  109,  no 

—  Speech  on  the   "animus"  of  the 

Bishops,  124 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  the  S.  S.  C,  138 

—  Vows  and  the  Religious  State,  175 

—  Advice  about  Intercession  Paper  of 

C.B.  S.,  205 

—  on  Eucharistic  Adoration,  218 
Catholic  Dictionary,  366 

Catholic  Standard  on  the  work  of  the 
Order  of  Corporate  Reunion,  161 

Catholic  Union  of  Prayer,  334 

Cautions  for  the  Times,  200  . 

Celibates  of  the  Society  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  52,  53 

—  their  secret  Oath,  53 

Celibacy  (Vow  of)  taken  by  a  girl  of 

eighteen  for  life,  180 
Ceremonies  of  Low  Mass,  What  the 
Ritualists  teach  about  the,   393-395 
Ceremonial  of  the  Altar,  241-244 


INDEX. 


413 


bhadwick  (Rev.  J.  W.)  Member  of 
Committee  for  Revising  Statutes 
of  the  S.  S.  C,  138 

Chambers  (Rev.  J.  C.)  translates 
and  Edits  the  Priest  in  Absolution, 
93-95,  104,  105 

Chaplin  (Rev.  E.  M.)  advocates 
Roman  Ritual,  77 

Character  of  Dr.  Littledale  as  a  Contro- 
versialist, 193,  194,  203 

Charles  Lowdcr,  57,  59,  60,  128 

Chauntry  Priests,  250 

Cheltenham  Chapter  of  the  Society  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  108 

Chichester  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  Durnford] 
severely  censures  the  Society  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  116 

Chronicle  of  Convocation,  111-117 

Church  of  England  Working  Men's 
Society  present  an  address  of 
sympathy  with  the  Society  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  121,  137 

Church  Review,  91,  153,  157,  208,  261, 

336,  337 
Church  Times,  154,  158,  208,  214,  228, 

231.  253,  328,  358 
Church  Union  Gazette,  335,  345,  346, 

347 

Churton  (Rev.  E.)  protests  against 
Dr.  Pusey's  conduct,  282 

Civilita  Caitolica,  158 

Clerical  Celibacy,  118,  119 

Clewer  Sisterhood,  its  Rules  of 
Poverty,  Chastity,  and  Obedi- 
ence, 174 

—  how  its  inmates  dispose  of  their 

property,  175 
Close  (Dean)  opposes  Carlisle  Oratory 

of  S.  S.C.,  67,  68 
Cobb's  Kiss  of  Peace,  229 
Coles  (Rev.  V.  S.S.)  on  the  "levelling 

up  "  policy  of  the  English  Church 

Union,  338 
"  Committee  of  Clergy,"  The,  49 
Confession,      Lord      Salisbury      on 

habitual,  70 

—  Secret  discussion  on,  74,  75 

—  Dr.  Pusey  on  the  Seal  of,  82 
Confessions,  The  secret  stealthy  way 

Tractarians  heard,  89 

—  How  Archdeacon  Manning  heard, 

90,  91,  92 

—  How  Dr.  Pusey  heard  Ritualistic 

Sisters',  187 
Confessional,  Jurisdiction  in  the,  76 

—  The  Secrecy  of  the  Ritualistic,  80-92 

—  Indelicate  Questions  to  a  Married 

Woman  in  the,  81 

—  Wives,   Husbands,   and    the,   81, 

82,  91 

—  Ritualistic  Sisters  and  the,  83 


Confessional,  The  age  Children  should 
be  brought  to  the,  83 

—  The  priest  is  "in  the  Confessional 

a  Fox,"  92 

—  The  Bishops  on  the,  1 11- 116 

—  Ritualistic   Priests   ruin    Women 

through  the,  117 

—  often  the  road  "  down  to  hell,"  121 

—  and    the   property  of   Ritualistic 

Sisters  of  Mercy,  172 
Confessor,  Extraordinary  Letter  to  a 

Young  Lady  from  a,  70-72 
Confessors,    Petition    for    Licensed, 

70-72 

—  Immoral  and  Wicked,  117-121 

—  How     Ritualistic    Sisters    should 

treat  their,  167 
Confraternity  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, 202-226 

—  its  birth,  204,  210 

—  its  secret  Intercession  Paper,  204, 205 

—  its  medals    may   be  buried  with 

members,  205 

—  exposed  by  the  Rock  and  Western 

Daily  Mercury,  206,  207 

—  keeps    as  far  as  possible  out  of 

public  notice,  207 

—  its  secret  doings  in  America,  208 
-T-  its  secret  Roll  of  Priests-Associate, 

209,  210 

—  the  "  daughter"  of  the  Society  of 

the  Holy  Cross,  210 

—  its  Manual,  211 

—  its  objects,  211 

—  advocates  Masses  and  Prayers  for 

the  Dead,  211,  213 

—  and  Fasting  Communion,  211,  215, 

216 

—  prays  for  Corporate  Reunion  with 

Rome  and  the  East,  212 

—  its  secret  Annual  Conference,  213 

—  and  Purgatory,  214 

—  its  A  Uar  Book  for  Young  Persons,  217 

—  prays  for  the  Restoration   of  the 

Reserved  Sacrament,  217 

—  agrees  with  Rome  on  Eucharistic 

Adoration,  218 

—  prays  for  Restoration  of  Extreme 

Unction,  218 

—  observes  Corpus  Christi  Day,  218 

—  advocates  Sacramental  Confession, 

218 

—  advocates  the  Real  Presence  and 

Eucharistic  Sacrifice,  219 

—  advocates  the  Mass,  222,  223 

—  teaches  Transubstantiation,  223-225 

—  its  Episcopal  Members,  225 

—  Bishop  Wilberforce  on   its  Popish 

character,  225 
Convent  of  S.  Mary  and  S.  Scholas- 
tica,  West  Malfing,  184 


414 


INDEX. 


Convents,  Shocking  Cruelty  in  Ritual- 
istic, 40,  189 

—  Private  Burial  Grounds  in,  191, 192 
Convocation,    Society  of    the    Holy 

Cross  debate  on,  78 
Convocation  (Canterbury  House  of) 
Discussion  on  the  Priest  in  Abso- 
lution and  the  Society  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  in,  110-117 

—  Resolution  of  Upper  House,  cen- 

suring both  Society  and  book, 

113.  117 
Cookesley  (Rev.  W.  G.),  168 
Corea  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  C.J.  Corfe]  on 

the     Revision    of     Statutes     of 

S.S.C.,  141 

—  a  Member  of  the  Confraternity  of 

the  Blessed  Sacrament,  225 
Council  of  Trent,  263,  269,  330 
Cross,  Adoration  of,  at  St.  Cuthbert's, 

Philbeach  Gardens,  245 
Crouch  (Rev.  'William),  64 

—  opposes  giving  up  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,  109 

Cusack  (Miss)  her  experience  in  Dr. 
Pusey's  Sisterhoods,  186,  187 

Dalgairns  (Mr.  J.  D.),  280 

D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, 70 

Davidson  (Rev.  J.  P.  F.)  President  of 
the  Guild  of  All  Souls,  231 

Dawes  (Rev.  N.)  [now  Bishop  of 
Rockhampton]  becomes  a  Mem- 
ber of  the  Society  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  76 

Denison  (Archdeacon)  joins  the 
Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  127, 139 

—  Laughs    at  Sy nodical   condemna- 

tion of  S.  S.  C,  134 

—  opposes      the      disbanding       of 

S.  S.C.,  134 
■ —  objects    to  changes    in   Statutes 

of  S.  S.  C,  141 
Denison  (Rev.  H.  P.)  on  compulsory 

Confession,  75 

—  Letter  about  the  C.  B.  S.  Roll  of 

Priests-Associate,  210 
Desanctis  (Rev.  Dr.)  on  Jesuits   dis- 
guised as  Puseyites,  32 

—  Popery  and  Jesuitism,  33,  34 
Devonport  Manual,  a  secret  book   of 

Dr.  Pusey's  Sisters,  197,  198 
"  Disciplina  Arcani,"  1,  2,  3 
'"  Discipline"  (The)  at  Elton,  35 
• —  Dr.  Pusey  sends  for  a,  36 

—  as  used  by  Ritualists  described,  38 
^—  Cruelties  of,  38 

-»—  prescribed  for  Ritualistic  Sisters 

of  Mercy,  39,  185 
-—  used  most   cruelly  on  a  Ritualistic 

Nun,  40 


Dissent,  What  the  Ritualists  teach 
about,  410 

Dunn  (Rev.  James)  on  Confession  to 
Young  Priests,  75 

"  Economical  "  mode  of  speaking  and 
writing,  2 

"Economy"  and  St.  George's  Mis- 
sion, 59 

Edinburgh  Chapter  of  the  Society  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  108      , 

Enclosed  Nuns  in  Ritualistic  Con- 
vents, 183 

—  in  Dr.  Pusey's  Sisterhood,  183,  184 

—  at  Feltham,  184 

—  at  West  Mailing,  184 

—  at  Llanthony,  184 

—  at  Slapton,  184 

English  Churchman,  97,  155,  156,  236, 

240,  252,  262,  296 
English  Church  Union  (Bristol   and 

Penrith  Branches  of)  sympathises 

with  S.  S.  C,  137 

—  its  Council  do  not  "explain   all 

their  tactics,"  329 

—  offers  prayers  for  the  Reunion  of 

Christendom,  330 

—  approves  of  Dr.  Pusey's  Eirenicon, 

33L  332 

—  its  first  President  secedes  to 
Rome,  335 

—  its '"  levelling  up  "  policy,  338 

—  Address  to  Lambeth  Conference  in 

favour  of  Reunion  of  Christen- 
dom, 344 

—  Speech  before  the  Exeter  Branch 

of,  350 
Equivocation,  16 
Essays  on  Reunion,  261,  313-316 
Eucharistic  Adoration,  218 
Eucharistic  Sacrifice,  219,  221,  222 
Evangelical    Party   (The)   described 

by  Mr.  Maskell,  44 
Evening  Communion,  213,  214 
Extreme  Unction,  218 

—  Superstitious  service  of,  218 
Eyton  (Canon  Robert)  Speech  on  the 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  124 

—  on  the  circulation  of  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,  144 
Faber  (Rev.  Frederick  William)  visits 
the  Continent,  28 

—  not    scandalised    by    Relic   Wor- 

ship, 30 

—  declares  Protestantism  a  diabolical 

heresy,  30 

—  kisses  the  Pope's  foot,  31 

—  prays  at    the   Shrine  of  Aloysius 

the  Jesuit,  31 

—  thinks  Heaven  "  is  like  Rome,"  31 

—  returns  with    Rosaries  blessed  by 

the  Pope,  32 


INDEX. 


415 


Faber  (Rev.  Frederick  William)  his 
work  at  Elton,  34 

—  his  Secret  Society  at  Elton,  35 

—  discovers  he  is  "  living  a  dishonest 

life,"  41 

—  his  Life  of  St.  Wilfrid,  42 

—  received      into     the    Church    of 

Rome,  42 
Fasting  Communion,  211,  215 

—  Bishop  S.  Wilberforce  on,  215 
"Father  George"  of   the   O.  H.R., 

•   his      Jesuitical     conduct    in    a 
Protestant  parish,  238 
Fathers    (The)    and     the     Rule     of 

Faith,  268 
Fathers  of  Charity,  281,  282 
Feltham  Ritualistic  Nuns,  184 
Five  Years  in  a  Protestant  Sisterhood,  85 
Fleming   (Mr.    Robert)  how  he  dis- 
covered the  Priest  in  A  bsolution,  97 
Foote  (Rev.  John  Andre wes)  and  the 
Priest  in  Absolution,  95 

—  Member       of       Committee      for 

Revising  Statutes  of  S.  S.  C,  138 
Frere  (Rev.  William  John)  Speech  on 

the  Priest  in  Absolution,  144 
From  Oxford  to  Rome,  89 
Froude  (Rev.  Hurrell)  proselytises  in 

an  "  underhand  way,"  6 

—  Remains,  6,  46,  267 
Gilmartin's  Manual  of  Church  History, 

368 
Gladstone  (Mr.)   on  the  Romeward 
Movement,  286,  287,  290 

—  Gleanings  of  Past  Years,  286,  287,  290 

—  on  Archdeacon  Manning's  want  of 

Straightforwardness,  303 

—  Rome  and  the   Newest  Fashions   in 

Religion,  364,  365 
Godwin  (Rev.  Robert  Herbert)  objects 

to  changes   in    Statutes  of    the 

S.  S.C.,  141 
Goldie  (Rev.  C.  D.)  on  the  action  of 

S.  S.  C,  108,  132 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  S.  S.  C,  138 

—  says    the    Priest   in  Absolution    is 

"  needed,"  144 
Goodman    (Miss    Margaret)    on  the 
serious  evils  in  Ritualistic  Sister- 
hoods, 170,  171 

—  Sisterhoods  in  the  Church  of  England, 

167,  171,  184,  188-191 

—  Her  sad  story  of  a  dying  Sister  of 

Mercy,  176 

Gore  (Rev.  Canon  Charles)  on  the 
Real  Presence  and  the  Consecra- 
ted Elements,  219 

Grahamstown  (Bishop  of)  [in  1877], 
expresses  his  "  goodwill  "  to  the 
S.S.C.,  137 


Grant  (Mr.  William)  Letter  on  the 
Order  of  Corporate  Reunion,  158 

Green- Armytage  (Rev.  N.)  on  the 
Church  of  Rome,  77 

Guild  of  St.  Alban's,  London  and 
Wolverhampton  Provinces  of, 
sympathise  with  the  S.  S.  C,  137 

Guild  of  All  Souls,  227-232 

—  its  Objects,  227 

—  its  secret  Intercession  Paper,  228 

—  its  Office  for  the  Dead  According  to 

the  Roman  and  Sarum  Uses,  228 

—  its  semi-secrecy,  228 

—  teaches  Transubstantiation,  229 

—  its  Manual,  229,  230 

—  observes  "  All  Souls'  Day,"  230 

—  its  President  promoted  by  Bishop 

Temple,  231 
Guild  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  257 
Guilds,  their  work,  259 
Gurney  (Rev.  Archer),  his  courageous 

attack  on  Dr.  Pusey,  332,  333 
Halifax  (Lord)  on  the  use  of  the  Ten 

Commandments,  341 

—  on    Benediction  of    the    Blessed 

Sacrament,  342 

—  most      earnestly     desire     visible 

communion  with  Rome,  346 

—  prefers  Leo  XIII.  to  the  Judicial 

Committee  of  the  Privy  Council, 

347 

—  his  Speech  at  Bristol,  352,  353 

—  on  Papal  Infallibility,  352,  353 

—  terms    Luther    "a    needless    and 

noxious  Rebel,"  354 
Hammond  (Rev.  Canon  C.  E.),  77 
Heylin's  Life  of  Laud,  329 
Hislop's  Two  Baby  Ions,  165 
Hoare  (Rev.  R.  Whitehead),  137 
Hodgson  (Rev.  James)  Letter  on  the 

C.B.S.,  208 
Holy  Water  used  by  Ritualists,  62, 247 

—  dead  bodies  to  be  sprinkled  with, 

62 

—  its  supposed  virtues,  63 
Homily  Concerning  Prayer,  213 
Homily  on  Repentance,  218 
Homily  on  Good  Works,  283 
Homily  on  Peril  of  Idolatry,  356 
Honorarium  for  a  Mass,  250,  251 
Hook  (Rev.  Dr.)  anxious  to  establish' 

a  Sisterhood  at  Leeds,  163 

—  his  remarkable  letter  to  Dr.  Pusey 

on  Sisters  of  Charity,  164 

—  on  Pusey's  eulogy  of  the  Jesuits,  289' 

—  on  Secession  to  Rome,  291 

—  on    the    Judicial    Committee    of 

Privy  Council,  347 
Hooker's  Works,  220 
Hope-Scott  (Mr.  James  R.),  14,  25 

—  Visits  the  Jesuits  at  Rome,  275 


416 


INDEX. 


Hornby  (Bishop)  a  member  of  the 
Confraternity  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  225    • 

Hoskins  (Rev.  Edgar)  and  the  Priest 
in  Absolution,  122 

—  favours  revision  of  the  Statutes  of 

S.  S.C.,  128 

—  opposes  disbanding  S.  S.  C,  129 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  S.  S.  C,  138 
Hughes  (Miss  Marian)  takes  a  Vow  of 
Celibacy,  165 

—  visits  Roman  Catholic  Convents  on 

the  Continent,  1G5,  166 
Hutchings  (Rev.  W.  H.)— see  Arch- 
deacon of  Cleveland 
Hymns,  Ancient  and  Modern,  245 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Virgin, 

35i 
Incense,  Driving  the  Devil  out  of,  246 
Inquisition  (The)  Letter  to,  from  the 

A.  P.  U.C.,  317 

—  Reply  of  the,  317-319 

—  Memorial  to,  from  English  clergy, 

319-322 

Instructions  for  Retreats,  58 

Intercession  Paper  of  the  Confraternity 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  204, 
205,  206,  213,  214,  215,  217,  218 

—  ordered    to    be    destroyed    when 

used,  205 

—  exposed  in  the  Rock 

—  exposed    in    the     Western    Daily 

Mercury,  206 

—  how  the  first  copy  was  found  by  a 

Protestant,  207 

—  its  secret  character  admitted,  208 
Intercession  Paper  of  the  Guild  of  All 

Souls,  228 
Intercession  Paper  of  the  B.  H.  C,  233, 

235.  236 

—  recommends    Liguori's   Glories   of 

Mary,  233 
Invocation    of    Saints,     Dr.     Pusey 
believes  in,  297 

—  what  the  Ritualists  teach   about, 

404-406 
Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record,  359 
Jenner  (Bishop),  on  the  Ritual  of  the 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  77 

—  132,  142  i 
Jesuits  in  Disguise,  32 
Jesuit  Order,  131 

Jesuits  (The),  Newman  dislikes  an 
article  against,  271 

—  their   works  the  "  favourite   read- 

ing" of  Rev.  W.  G.  Ward.  274 

—  Mr.  J.  R.  Hope-Scott's  visits  to, 

275 

—  Dr.  Pusey  eulogises  the   Founder 

of,  289 


Johnson  (Rev.  John  Barnes)  on  the 

Fire  of  Purgatory,  230 
Judicial  Committee  of  Privy  Council, 

347 

—  Lord  Halifax  and  Dean  Hook  on 

the,  347 
Jurisdiction  in  the  Confessional,  76 
Kane's  Notes  on  the  Roman  Ritual,  211 
Keble  (Rev.  John)  on  "  Yearning  after 

Rome,"  286 

—  would  allow,  but  not  enjoin  the 

"Discipline,"  37 

—  on  Protestantism,  266 

—  on  the  Reformers,  270 

Kempe  (Rev.  John  William)  praises 

the  term  "  Mass,"  142 
Kensit  (Mr.  John)  exhibits  Ritualistic 

Instruments  of  Torture,  38 
Kilburn  Sisterhood,  83 
King  (Rev.  Bryan),  59,  60 
King   (Rev.  Owen  C.  H.),  what   he 

saw    in    a    Ritualistic    Convent 

Chapel,  193,  194,  203 
Kirkpatrick  (Rev.  R.  C.)  on  hearing 

Confessions,  75 
Lacey  (Rev.  T.  A.)  his  secret  Mission 

to  Rome,  356 

—  his  Paper  for  the  private  use  of 

Roman  Cardinals,  357 
Latimer  (Bishop)  Sermons,  203 

—  Remains,  203,  226 

—  on  forged  Sacrifices,  226 

—  on  "  Purgatory  Pick  Purse,"  251 
Laymen's   Ritual   Institute  for  Nor- 
wich, 254,  255 

—  its  secret  Oath,  254 

Lea's  History  of  Sacerdotal   Celibacy, 

118 
Lebombo   (Bishop    of)    [Dr.   W.  E. 

Smy  the]  a  Member  of  the  Society 

of  the  Holy  Cross,  61 

—  His  work  in  Zululand,  61,  62 

—  a  Member  of  the  Confraternity  of 

the  Blessed  Sacrament,  225 

Lee  (Rev.  F.  G.)  and  the  Order  of 

Corporate  Reunion,  153-155 

—  on  the  "rank  and  authority"  of 

the  Pope,  156 
Lewington    (Rev.    A.    L.)    Teaches 

Transubstantiation,  223 
"  Levelling    Up,"    how  it    is    done, 

336,  338 
Liberty   of    Conscience    denounced, 

368,  369 
Licensed  Confessors  (Petition  for),  its 

secret  history,  70-72 
Lichfield    (Bishop   of)    [Dr.    Selwyn] 

Speech   on   the   Society    of   the 

Holy  Cross,  114 
Life  of  Archbishop   Tait,   97,   98,    102, 

1S0,  181,  276 


INDEX. 


417 


Life  of  Bishop    Wilberforce,  60,  181, 

182,  297,  358 
Life  of  Dr.  Pusey,  10,  19,  20,  36,  37, 

85,  163-166,  271,    282,   283,  289, 

290,  292,  293,  296,  298 
Linklater  (Rev.)  on  the  Ritual  of  the 

S.  S.C.,  77 
Litany  of  Our  Lady,  255 
Litany  of  the  Saints,  246 
Little  (Canon  Knox)  his  sermon  on 

the  Priest  in  Absolution,  126 

—  his  connection  with  the  Society  of 

the  Holy  Cross,  126 

—  on  revision  of  the  Statutes  of  the 

S.S.  C,  129 
Little  (Rev.  C.  Hardy)  and  the  Priest 

in  Absolution,  97 
Littledale  (Rev.  Dr.),  108 

—  on  how  to  prevent  secessions  to 

Rome,  147 

—  Defence  of  Church  Principles,  148 

—  Chaplain   of  a  Ritualistic  Sister- 

hood, 193 

—  officiates    at    Benediction  of  the 

Blessed  Sacrament,  194 
Littlemore  Monastery,  16-28 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Sarum,  249, 

250 
Llandaff  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.   Ollivant] 

Speech   on   the   Society  of   the 

Holy  Cross,  113 
Llanthony,  Enclosed  Nuns  at,  184 
London   (Bishop    of)    [Dr.   Jackson] 

censures  the  Ptiest  in  Absolution, 

104,  112,  113 
Longley    (Archbishop    Charles    T.) 

Letter  on  Confessing  a  Married 

Woman,  81 
Lord's   Day  and    the  Holy  Eucharist, 

339-344  ,    %  , 

Lowder  (Rev.  Charles)  describes  the 
first  Ritualistic  Retreat   57,  58 

—  and  St.  George's  Mission,  59-61 

—  on  Auricular  Confession,  75 

—  on  Convocation,  78 

—  recommends  withdrawal  of  Priest 
in  Absolution  from  circulation,  108 

—  Speech   on  the  action  of  Bishop 

Mackarness,  123 

Luke  (Rev.  W.  H.  Colbeck)  on  dis- 
banding the  S.  S.  C,  133 

Luther  (Martin)  Speech  at  Diet  of 
Worms,  69 

Macfarlane  (Rev.  Brother)  on  the 
"  Sacrament  of  Penance,"  74 

Mackonochie  (Rev.  A.  H.)  on  the 
"  caution  "  of  the.S.  S.  C.,  47 

—  Letter    on     Carlisle     Oratory     of 

S.S.C.,66 

—  on  the  principles  of  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,  99 


Mackonochie  (Rev.  A.  H.)  opposes 
S.  S.  C.  deputation  to  the  Bishops, 
108 

—  Speech    on    the    action    of    the 

Bishops,  123 

—  on  compulsory  Confession,  126 

—  opposes  disbanding  S.  S.  C,  133 

—  thinks     the     Priest    in    Absolution 

"a  most  useful   book  for  young 
priests,"  136 

—  his    evidence     before    the    Royal 

Commission     on    Ecclesiastical 

Courts,  348 
Manners  (Lord  John)  [now  Duke  of 

Rutland]  secures  Rules  of  Romish 

Sisterhoods,  164 
Manning  (Archdeacon),  how  he  heard 

Confessions,  90,  91,  92 

—  his  double-dealing,  299-305 

—  kneels  before  the  Pope's  carriage, 

299 

—  Mr.    Gladstone    on   his   want    of 

straightforwardness,  303 
Manning  (Cardinal)  on  Secessions  to 
Rome,  272,  321-323 

—  Essays  on  Religion,  272,  321-323,  365 
Manual  of  Confession  for  Children,  84 
Marshall   (Rev.    T.    Outram)    secret 

Speeches  on  the  Bishops,  124,  133 

—  opposes  destruction  or  publication 

of  the  Priest  in  Absolution,  136 
Maskell  (Rev.  William)  describes  the 
crooked  ways  of  Tractarians,  44 

—  Second  Letter,  44,  45 

—  Letter  to  Dr.  Pusey,  86,  87 
Mass,  The,  Bishop  Latimer  on,  202 

—  preached  before  the  University  of 

Oxford,  271 

—  Rev.  E.  W.  Sergeant  on,  343 
"  Mass  Penny,"  252 

Melville  (Canon)  his  warning  against 
Popery,  369,  371,  372 

Memoirs  of  J.  R.  Hope-Scott,  14,  25, 
36,  274,  275,  287 

Monastic  Institutions,  What  the  Rit- 
ualists teach  about,  408 

Monastic  Orders,  283,  284 

Monastic  Times,  185 

Monks  and  Nuns.  Pagan  origin  of,  165 

Morris  (Rev.  J.  B.)  preaches  the  Sac- 
rifice of  the  Mass  before  Oxford 
University,  271 

Mossman  (Rev.  T.  W.)  and  the  Order 
of  Corporate  Reunion,  154,  155, 
159-161 

—  professes  faith  in  the  Pope's  Infal- 

libility, 157 

—  his  secret  Letter  on  the  Order  of 

Corporate  Reunion,  160 

—  his  Report  on  the  O.  C.  R.  to  the 

S.  S.  C,  159 

27 


418 


INDEX. 


Mozley  (Rev.  Professor  James  B.),  3, 
17,  18,  277,  294 

Mozley  (Rev.  Thomas),  his  description 
of  Littlemore  Monastery,  20,  25 

Nassau  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  E.  T. 
Churton]  a  Member  of  the  Con- 
fraternity of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, 225 

Neale  (Rev.  Dr.)  advice  to  Ritualistic 
Sisters,  83,  172,  173 

Newman  (Rev.  J.  H.)  on  secrect 
doctrines,  1-3 

—  on  truthfulness,  2 

—  does  not  wish  the  names  of  his 

party  known,  4 

—  expects  to  be  called  a  Papist,  6 

—  writes    strongly    against  Popery, 

10-13 

—  eats  his  "  dirty  words,"  14,  285 

—  establishes  a  Monastery,  17,  21 

—  Bishop  of  Oxford's  Letter  to,  22-24 

—  life  in  Newman's  Monastery,  26-28 

—  his  interview    with  Wiseman    at 

Rome,  263,  264 

—  has  "  a  work  to  do  in  England,' 

263 

—  on  uttering  an  untruth,  265 

—  called  a  Papist  to  his  face,  266 

—  begins  to  use  the  Breviary,  268 

—  believes  in  the    Sacrifice  of   the 

Mass,  268 

—  his  use  of  "  irony,"  269 

—  his  mind  "  essentially  Jesuitical," 

271 

—  dislikes  an    article    against     the 

Jesuits,  271 

—  thinks  "  Rome  the  centre  of  unity," 

274 

—  "  thought  the  Church  of  Rome  was 

right,"  277 

—  has   "  a    secret    longing    love    of 

Rome,"  283 

—  writes: — "I  love  the  Church    of 

Rome  too  well,"  294 

—  his  secession  to  Rome,  296 

—  Letters,  4,  5,  6,  10,  15,  16,  17,  19, 

20,  266,  267,  268,  271,  272,  273, 
274.  294,  295 

—  Via  Media,  264 

—  Apologia  Pro  Vita  Sua,  13,  21,  22-24, 

25,  263,  265,  270,  271,  274,  284, 

295 

—  Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  278 
Nicholas   (Rev.    G.    Davenport)   and 

the  Statement  of  S.  S.  C,  108 

—  on  the  secret  nature  of  S.  S.  C,  122 
Night  Hoars  of  the  Church,  200 
Nihill  (Rev.  H.  D.)  on  the  "  Sacra- 
ment of  Penance,"  74 

—  is  "not  ashamed  of  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,"  144 


Nineteenth    Century,     article    on    the 

Order  of  Corporate  Reunion  in 

the,  161 
Nunnery  Life  in  the  Church  of  England, 

40,  41,  185 
Oakeley  (Rev.  Frederick)   on  life  in 

Littlemore  Monastery,  21 

—  describes  Tractarian   conduct   on 

the  Continent,  29 
Offices  from  the  Breviary,  200 
"  One  of  our  Consolations,"  359 
Order  of  Corporate  Reunion,  147- 161 

—  its  Objects,  148 

—  its  Birth,  148 

—  First  Pastoral  of  the,  149-151 

—  "  Thomas,  Rector  "  of  the,  149 

—  "Joseph,  Provincial  of  York,"  149 

—  "  Laurence,   Provincial    of    Caer- 

leon,"  149 

—  opposes  School  Boards,  150 

—  doubts  the  validity  of  the  Orders 

of  the  Church  of  England,  151 

—  professes  "loyalty"  to  the  Pope, 

152 

—  acknowledges  the  Pope  as  "visible 

head  "  of  the  whole  Church,  152 

—  Who  are  the  secretly  consecrated 

Bishops  of  the,  153-155 

—  Mr.  William   Grant's    letter  on, 

158 

—  The  Civilita  Cdttolica  on  the,  158 

—  The  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  and 

the,  159-161,  327,  328 

—  said  to  have  reordained  eight  hun- 

dred   clergy  of   the    Church   of 
England,  161 

—  accepts  the  dogmas  of  the  Council 

of  Trent,  251 
Order  of  the  Holy  Redeemer,  233-239 

—  its  mysterious  inner  circle,  233 

—  its  Monthly  Leaflet,  233 

—  its    Popish  profession  of    Faith, 

234 

—  acknowledges       the       Pope       as 

"  Teacher  "  of  the  whole  Church, 

234 

—  treasonable     Letter     of       "John 

O.  H.R."  235 

—  afraid  of  the  light,  235 

—  opens  a  Convent  at  Stamford  Hill, 

236 

—  its  object  the  subjection  of  Eng- 

land to  Rome,  236 

—  "Rev.  Father   Square's"  address 

to,  237 
Order  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  a  secret 

Society  in  East  London,  239 
Oscott  College,  Reunion  with  Rome 

discussed  at,  281 
Oar  National  Independence  in  peril, 

365.  366 


INDEX. 


4*3 


Oxenham  (Rev.  Frank  N.)  censures 

the  Priest  in  Absolution  102,  109, 

no,  122 
Oxford  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  S.  Wilber- 

force]  on  Dr.  Pusey  as  a  Roman 

Confessor,  88 

—  [Dr.  Mackarnes.s]  Speech  on  the 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  115 

—  [Dr.  Mackarness]  tries  to  save  the 

S.  S.  C.  from  censure,  123 
Oxford    Martyrs'    Memorial,    Pusey 

dislikes    it    as    "unkind   to   the 

Church  of  Rome,"  270 
Parker  (Rev.  James   Benjamin)  and 

the  Roll  of  the  S.  S.  C,  no 
Palmer's  Narrative  of  Events,  4,  264, 

267,  285,  286 
Papal  Infallibility,  157,  352 

—  What  the  Ritualists  teach  about, 

381,  382 
Parnell  (Rev.  Charles)  on  the  Roman 
Ritual,  77 

—  opposes  publication  of    Priest    in 

Absolution,  136 
Pattison  (Rev.  Mark),  his  experience 
in  Littlemore  Monastery,  27 

—  goes  once  to   Dr.  Pusey  to  Con- 

fession, 187 
*'  Peace    with    Rome    with    all    our 

hearts,"  353 
Penitentiary  Committee  of  the  Society 

of  the  Holy  Cross,  55 
Penrith   Branch  of  English  Church 

Union    sympathises    with     the 

S.S.C.,  137 
Perjury  and  Lying,  82,  83 
Perry  (Rev.T.W.)  and  the  Society  of 

the  Holy  Cross,  108 
Phillimore    (Sir    Walter)     and    the 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  108 
Pixell  (Rev.  C.  H.  V.),  67 
Plymouth  Ritualistic  Sisterhood,  "  a 

hell  upon  earth,"  186 
Pope  (The)  (The  Order  of  Corporate 

Reunion  recognises)  as  ' '  Visible 

Head  "  of  the  Church,  152 

—  Prayed  for  as  ''our  Pope,"  242 

—  recognised    as    Governor    of   the 

Church,  248,  250 

—  rejoices  at  the  work  of  the  Tract- 

arians,  271 

—  the     "  Representative "     of     the 

Divine  Head  of  the  Church,  285 

—  Dr.  Pusey  on  the  Supremacy  and 

Primacy  of,  331 

—  Rev.  G.  B.  Roberts  on  the   Fri- 

macy  of,  345 
Protestantism    a    "Bastard    Faith," 

254 

—  "a  dark  and  damnable  spot  in  the 

Church's  History,"  255 


Protestantism,  the  great  hindrance  to 
Union  with  Rome,  261 

—  "  is  dangerous  now,"  266 

—  Dr.  Pusey's  opinion  of,  292 

—  What  the  Ritualists  teach  about, 

409 
Popery,     an     enemy     to     National 

Prosperity,  362 
Powell  (Rev.  J.  B.)  on  the  Ritual  of 

the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  77 
Priest  in  Absolution,  vii. 

—  its  original  price,  56 

—  Secret  History  of,  93-147 

—  translated    and    edited    by     Rev. 

J.  C.  Chambers,  93-95 

—  said  to  be  a  "golden  treatise,"  94 

—  praised  by  the  Church  Review,  94 

—  curious  letter  about  the,  95 

—  supplied    only    to    High    Church 

priests,  95 

—  its    copyright    purchased    by    the 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  95,  96 

—  secret      documents      concerning, 
_  quoted,  95,  96,  100-110,  121-144 

—  its  sale,  9b,  103 

—  how  Mr.  Robert  Fleming  discovered 

the,  97 

—  exposed  in  the  House  of  Lords,  97, 

98 

—  Lord  Redesdale  on  the,  98 

—  Archbishop  Tait  terms  it  "  a  dis- 

grace to  the  community,"  98 

—  peers  protest  against  the,  99 

—  its  "principles"  said  to  guide  all 

Ritualistic  Confessors,  99 

—  secret  Letter  on,  from  Rev.  Francis 

LI.  Bagshawe,  100,  101 

—  debate    on,    in    secret    Synod    of 

S.  S.  C,  134-136 

—  another  debate  on,  in  secret  Synod 

of  S.  S.  C,  142-144 
Priest's  Prayer  Book  on  Holy  Water, 

63 

—  its  services  for  Sisters  of  Mercy, 

194-196 

Private  Burial  Grounds  in  Ritualistic 
Convents,  191,  192 

Prynne  (Rev.  G.  R.)  Member  of  Com- 
mittee for  Revising  statutes  of 
S.  S.C.,  138 

Puller  (Rev.  F.  W.)  on  valid  Absolu- 
tions, 76 

—  on  Revising  the  statutes  of  S.  S.  C, 

132 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  S.  S.  C,  138 

—  on  Evening  Communion,  215 
Purcell's  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  91, 

92,  273,  295,  298-303,  321 
Purgatorial  Society,  A,  227-232 
Purgatory  and  the  C.  B.  S,  214 


420 


INDEX. 


Purgatory  and  the  Guild  of  All  Souls, 
228-231 

—  What  the  Ritualists  teach  about, 

396-398 
"  Purgatory  Pick  Purse,"  251 
Purton   (Rev.  William)   defends  the 

Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  129 
Pusey  (Rev.  Dr.)  joins  the  Tractarian 

Movement,  6 

—  his    subtle    scheme    for    writing 

against  Popery,  10 

—  approves  of  Newman's  proposed 

Monastery,  19 

—  sends  for  a  "  Discipline,"  36 

—  wears  hair-cloth,  36 

—  would  like  to  be  ordered  the  "  Dis- 

cipline," 37 

—  Manual  for  Confessors,  39,  40,  82, 

83,  120,  121,  136,  167,  185 

—  first  Retreat  held  in  his  rooms,  57, 

58 

—  and  St.  George's  Mission,  59,  60 

—  on  the  Seal  of  Confession,  82,  187 

—  on  bringing  children  to  Confession, 

83 

—  begins  to  hear  Confessions  in  1838, 

85 

—  in  1842  writes  against  Confession, 

85,  86 

—  how  Confessions  were  heard  in  his 

Sisterhood,  87 

—  M  doing  the  work  of  a  Roman  Con- 

fessor," 88 

—  Hints  for  a  First  Confession,  87,  88 

—  on  the  fearful  evils  of  the  Confes- 

sional, 120,  121 

—  eager  to  set  up  Sisters  of  Mercy, 

163 

—  visits  Romish  Convents    in  Ire- 

land, 164 

—  procures    the    Rules    of   Romish 

Convents,  164 

—  Enclosed  Nuns  of  "The  Sacred 

Heart "  in  his  Sisterhood,  183, 184 

—  recommends  the  "  Discipline  "  for 

Sisters  of  Mercy,  185 

—  charged  with  breaking  the  Seal  of 

Confession,  187 

—  hears  Confessions  "  on  the  sly,"  87 

—  his   Introductory  Essay  to  Essays 

on  Reunion,  261 

—  dislikes     the     Oxford     Martyrs' 
Memorial,  270 

—  his  eulogy  of  the  Founder  of  the 

Jesuits,  289 

—  his  opinion  of  Protestantism,  292 

—  desires  "more  love  for  Rome,"  292 

—  his    conduct     censured     by    Dr. 

Manning,  292 

—  praises     the     "  superiority "      of 

Roman  books,  293 


Pusey  (Rev.  Dr.)  Bishop  "VViiberForce 
censures  his  Romanizing  work, 

297-  358 

—  acknowledges   his    belief  in   Pur- 

gatory   and    the    Invocation    of 
Saints,  297 

—  Eirenicon,  330-332,  357 

—  on  the  Primacy  and  Supremacy  of 

the  Pope,  331,  333 

—  said  to  have  been  "  a  Gallican  on 

the  wrong  side  of   the  water," 

333 

Railway  Guild  of  the  Holy  Cross,  258 
Real  Presence,  What  the  Ritualists 

teach  about  the,  385-387 
Records  of  English  Catholics,  365 
Reformers    and     the    Reformation, 

What  the  Ritualists  teach  about 

the,  383,  384 
Reilly's   Relations    of   the  Church    to 

Society,  368 
Relics    (Shrine  with)    recommended 

by  the  Society  of  St.  Osmund,  248 
"Removing   the  Barriers"   between 

England  and  Rome,  325 
Requiem  Masses,  212,  213,  228 
Reserve    in    Communicating    Religious 

Knowledge,  7-9 
"  Reserve "     observed    in    the     St. 

George's  Mission,  59 
"  Retreat  Committee  "  of  the  Society 

of  the  Holy  Cross,  57 
Retreats,  Instructions  for,  58 

—  the  first  in  Dr.  Pusey's  rooms,  60 
Reunion  Magazine,  149,  150,  151,  153 
Revision    of    the    Prayer    Book    on 

Ritualistic  lines,  339-344 
Riley  (Mr.  Athelstan)  his  Connection 
with  the  Society  of  St.  Osmund, 240 

—  translates  the  Mirror  of  Our  Lady, 

and  the  Hours  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  243 
Ritualism,    its      Object      from     its 
birth,  260 

—  "the      Preparatory     School     for 

Rome,"  359,  360 

—  one     of    the    "  consolations "    of 

Rome,  359 
Ritualists  (The),  their    Objects    and 
work,  261 

—  doing  Rome's  work,  316 

—  the     results    of     their     teaching, 

359,  360 

—  preparing  a  harvest  for  Rome,  360- 
Ritualistic  Sisterhoods,  162-201 
Reunion  with  Rome,  261 

—  Rev.  W.  G.  Ward  on,  280 

—  Union  Review  on,  311,  312 

—  Essays  on  Reunion  on,  313,  315,  316- 

—  Protestantism  the  "great  hinaer- 

ance"  to,  315 


INDEX. 


421 


Reunion  with   Rome,  Work  of   the 
Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  for, 

323-327 

—  Rev.  N.  Y.  Birkmyre  on,  328 

—  How  to  promote,  336-338 

—  E.  C.  U.     Address     to     Lambeth 

Conference  on,  344 

—  Lord      Halifax      most    earnestly 

desires,  346 

—  Objections  to,  362-372 

—  What  the  Ritualists  teach  about, 

380,  381 
Roberts  (Rev.    G.   Bayfield)  History 
of  the  English  Church  Union,  335, 345 

—  on  the  Primacy  of  the  "  Bishop  of 

Old  Rome,"  345 
Robinson   (Rev.  George    Croke)    on 

the  Revision  of  the  Statutes  of 

S.S.C.,  141 
Rock,  67,  72,  78,  95,  206,  207,  209 

—  publishes  the  Roll  of  Brethren  of 

S.  S.  C,  101 
Rockhampton  (Bishop  of)  becomes  a 
Member  of  the  Society  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  76 

—  on  the  Secrecy  of  the  Society  of 

the  Holy  Cross,  125 
Rogers  (Mr.  F.)  4,  16,  19 
Roman     Ritual    (Discussion    on)   in 

S.  S.C.  Synod,  77 
Rome  (Church  of)  Reunion  with,  261 

—  we  are  "Not  good  enough  for" 

the,  262 

—  Secret  Receptions  into  the,  265,  266 

—  Rev.  W.   G.   Ward    on    Reunion 

with  the,  280 

—  How    Reunion    with,     is    to    be 

accomplished,  280 

—  Conditions    of    union    with,   dis- 

cussed at  Oscott  College,  281 

—  "  Yearning  after  "  the,  286 

—  Work  of  the  A.P.U.C.   for  Re- 

union with  the,  307-323 

—  "A  friendly  feeling  towards  "  the, 

320 

—  Speech  in  favour  of  the  Ritual  of 

the,  350 

—  What  the  Church  of  England  says 

about  the,  356 

—  The  duty  of  separation  from,  361 

—  Objections  to  Reunion  with,  362- 

372 

—  the  Babylon  of  the  Book  of  the 

Revelation,  370,  371 

Rome  (The  name  of)  "  pronounced 
with  reverence,"  281 

Romeward  Movement  (The),  260-372 

Russell  (Rev.  H.  Lloyd)  on  Punish- 
ment in  Purgatory,  230 

"  Sacrament  of  Penance,"  Secret  dis- 
cussion on  the,  74,  75 


Sacrifice  of  the  Mas?;,  What  the 
Ritualists  teach  about  the,  388-392 

Salisbury  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  Moberly] 
on  Habitual  Confession,  116 

Salisbury  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  E.  Denison] 
alarmed  at  the  Romeward  Move- 
ment, 283 

Salisbury  (Lord)  denounces  Habitual 
Confession,  70 

Secessions  to  Rome,  How  Ritualists 
try  to  prevent,  147 

—  Cardinal  Manning  on,  272 

—  Newman's  plan  for  preventing,  284 

—  Dr.  Hook  on,  291 

—  the  Rambler  on,  305 

—  mainly    from    the    ranks    of   the 

Ritualists,  359 

Secret  teaching  of  the  Tractarians,  1-3 

Secret  doctrines  not  learnt  from  Scrip- 
ture, 1-3 

Secret  Societies,  Church  of  England 
honeycombed  with,  vi. 

Sellon  (Miss),  Mother  Superior  of 
Dr.  Pusey's  Convent,  1C6 

—  her  "  disgusting  insult"  to  a  Sister 

of  Mercy,  168 

—  a  warning  against,  186 

—  and  the  Confessions  of  her  Sisters 

of  Mercy,  187 

—  Miss  Margaret  Goodman's  estimate 

of,  188-190 
Sergeant  (Rev.  E.  W.),  his  suggested 

Revision  of  the  Book  of  Common 

Prayer,  343 
Separation,  The  Duty  of,  361 
Shipley  (Rev.  Orby)  on  the  Doctrine 

of  Reserve,  9 

—  proposes  an  Oratory  of  the  S.  S.  C, 

65 

—  on  Convocation,  78 
Sibthorp  (Rev.  R.  W.),  287 
Sisterhood  of  the  Holy  Cross,  173  note 
Sisterhoods,  Ritualistic,  162-201 

—  formed  on  Roman  models,  163-166 

—  are  really  secret  societies,  163 

—  the     "  Vow     of     Obedience 

Dr.  Pusey's,  167 

—  the      "  Vow     of      Poverty  " 

Dr.  Pusey's,  169 

—  evils  of  the  Vow  of  Obedience 

169 

—  Miss    Goodman    on    the    serious 

evils  in,  170,  171 

—  it  is  difficult  to  leave,  171 

—  are  their  accounts  audited  ?  173 

—  Miss  Cusack's  experience  in  Dr. 

Pusey's,  186,  187 

—  and    Romanizing    doctrines    and 

practices,  192-201 

—  service  for  Clothing  Novices  in, 

194.  195 


in 


in 


in, 


422 


INDEX. 


Sisterhood  at  Llanthony,  40,  185 

—  at  Kilburn,  S3,  199 

—  at  St.  Margaret's,  East  Grinstead, 

83,  172,  173,  193.  194 

—  at  Clewer,  174,  175 

—  at  All  Saints',  Margaret  Street,  174, 

178,  192 

—  at  Slapton,  184 

Sister  Mary  Agnes  most  cruelly 
■whipped,  40 

—  O.  S.B.,  185 

Sisters  of  Mercy,  Dr.  Pusey  on 
obedience  to  their  Spiritual 
Father,  40 

—  Dr.  Pusey's  advice  to,  167 

—  in  the  Confessional,  167 

—  one  ordered  to  lick  the  floor  with 

her  tongue,  168 

—  Benson's  book  for  their  guidance, 

169,  174 

—  sad  story  of  a  dying,  176 

—  ordered  the  "  Discipline,"  185 

—  shocking  cruelty  to,  189 

—  hungry,  191 

Slapton,  enclosed  Nuns  at,  184 
Smith  (Rev.  Joseph  Newton),  Founder 
of  the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross, 

47 

—  on  the  "wisdom  of  the  serpent," 

125 
Smythe  (Rev.   W.   Edmund),  61-62, 

see  also  Lebombo,  Bishop  of 
Society  of  the  Holy  Cross  (The  Master 

of)  on  "  Reserve,"  9,  10 

—  its  first  members,  47 

—  its  caution  and  secrecy,  47,  48,  63, 

64,  65,  121,  125,  127 

—  its  Statutes,  48,  128 

—  its  Officia,  48 

—  its  Cross,  48 

—  founded,  48 

—  its    mysterious    •*  Committee    of 
<  Clergy,"  49,  50 

—  its  secret  Synods  and  Chapters, 

.  50,  51 

—  its  secret  Roll  of  sworn  Celibates, 

52,53 

—  the  Celibate  Oath,  53 

—  the    Brethren    pledged    to    bring 
_  young  and  old  to  Confession,  54 

—  its  Books  for  the  Young,  54,  55 

—  its    "  Penitentiary     Committee  "  : 

their  names,  55,  56 

—  its  "  Retreat  Committee,"  57 

—  starts  the  Retreat  Movement,  57 

—  starts  the  St.  George's  Mission  at 

St.  Peter's,  London  Docks,  58,  59 

—  the  Master's  Address,  1870,  63 

—  the  Master's  Address,  May,  1876,  64 

—  the  Master's  Address,  May,  1875,  64 

—  afraid  of  Post  Cards,  64 


Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  Master's 
Address,  Sept.,  1876,  65 

—  organizes  the  Petition  for  Licensed 

Confessors,  70-72 

—  its  Secret  Roll  of  Brethren,  78,  79, 

101,  no,  126 

—  purchases    the  copyright    of   the 

Priest  in  Absolution,  95,  g6 

—  the    Rock    publishes   its    Roll    of 

Brethren,  101 

—  its    interview    with  the  Bishops, 

105 

—  its  Statement  to  the  Bishops,  105, 106 

—  Special  Chapter  of  July  5th,  1877, 

107-110 

—  Canterbury  Houses  of  Convocation 

discuss  the,  110-117 

—  termed  "  a  Conspiracy  "  by  Arch- 

bishop Tait,  112 

—  its  secret  Chapter,  July  ioth,  1877, 

121-126 

—  its  action  towards    the  Bishops, 

123-125 

—  its  secret  Chapter,  August,  1877, 127 

—  its  secret  Synod,  September,  1877, 

127-137 

—  proposal  to  disband  it,  130-134 

—  its  secret  debate  on  the  Priest  in 

Absolution,  134-136 

—  Committee  for  Revising  Statutes 

of;  Names  of  its  members,  138 

—  great  secession  from  its  ranks,  139 

—  its  secret  Synod,  May,  1878, 139-144 
their  Report,  140-142 

—  refuses  to  destroy   the    Priest   in 

Absolution,  144 

—  it  condemns  the  Order  of  Corpo- 

rate Reunion,  159-161 

—  its  Address  to  Catholics,  324 

—  its  Address  to  the  Lambeth  Con- 

ference, 324,  325 

—  by  whom  it  was  signed,  325,  326 

—  approves  of  the  A.  P.  U.  C,  327 

—  its  secret  discussion  on  the  Order 

of  Corporate  Reunion,  327,  328 
Society  of  St.  Osmund,  240-254 

—  its  Episcopal  Vice-Presidents,  240 

—  and       London       School       Board 

Election,  240 

—  its  Objects,  240,  241 

—  works  for  the   restoration  of   the 

Sarum  Ritual,  241 

—  its  puerile  ceremonial,  241, 242,  243 

—  prays  for  "  our  Pope,"  242 

—  its  Confessions  to  the  Virgin  and 

Saints,  242 

—  its     "worship"    of    the     Virgin, 

,  243.  244 

—  its  Services  for  Holy  Week,  244-249 

—  its  Adoration  of  the  Cross,  245 

—  its  Litany  of  the  Saints,  246 


INDEX. 


423 


Society  of  St.  Osmund  drives  the 
Devil  out  of  Incense  and  Flowers, 
246,  247,  248 

—  its  Service  for  Palm  Sunday,  247 

' —  recommends  a  "  Shrine  with 
Relics,"  248 

—  Recognises  the  Pope,  as  Governor 

of  the  Church,  249 

—  its    Ceremonial    and   Offices   of   the 

Dead,  250-252 

—  dissolved,    and    merged    into   the 

Alcuin  Club,  253,  254 
Some    Cautions    for    Mass    Priests, 

395.  396 
Some    other    Ritualistic     Societies, 

227-259 
Some  Ritualistic  "  Ornaments  of  the 

Church,"  384 
Spencer  (Rev.  George)  Letter  on  the 

tactics  of  the  Tractarians,  262 

—  his  visit  to  Newman,  274 

Spirit  0/  the  Founder,  a  secret  book  for 
Ritualistic   Sisters,   83,  84,   172, 

173.  175.  *99 
Square  (Rev.  "  Father  ")  address  to 

the  secret   Order  of   the    Holy 

Redeemer,  237 
Square  (Rev.  Ernest)  Speech  in  favour 

of  Roman  Ritual,  350 
St.  Albans  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  Claughton] 

Speech  on  the  Confessional,  114 
St.  Alban's,  Holborn,  258 
St.  Alphege,  Southwark,  255-257 

—  its  Manual  of  Tertiaries,  255 

—  its  Manual  of  the   Church   Confra- 

ternity, 256 

—  its  "Guild  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  "257 
St.  Asaph  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  Hughes] 

Speech  on  Confession  by  the,  115 
St.Cuthbert's.Philbeach  Gardens,  245 
St.  George's  Mission,  58-61 
St.     Margaret's,      East      Grinstssd, 

Sisterhood,  172,  172 

—  Vows   of  Poverty,   Chastity,   and 

Obedience  taken  for  life,  172 

—  how  the  Sisters  dispose  of  their 

income,  172,  173 

—  Popish  service  in  one  of  its  Con- 

vent Chapels,  193,  194 

—  its  Night  Hours  of  the  Church,  200 
St.  Matthias',  Earl's  Court,  231,  350, 

35i 

St.  Peter's  Parish  Magazine,  61,  62 

St.  Saviour's  Hospital,  Osnaburgh 
Street,  N.W.,  200 

Stallard  (Rev.  Arthur  Gordon)  on  Re- 
vision of  Statutes  of  S.  S.  C,  141 

Stanton  (Rev.  A.  H),  108 

Stathers  (Rev.  William),  his  remark- 
able Protest  and  Explanation,  350, 
351 


Stocks  (Rev.  J.  E.),  77 
Synodi  Diceceseos  Suthwarcensis.^i'j,  318 
Tait  (Archbishop)    on  the  Priest   in 
Absolution,  98 

—  on  the  S.  S.  C,  102-107 

—  Speech  in  Convocation,  in,  112 

—  Terms    the    S.  S.   C.     "  a    Con- 

spiracy," 112 

—  Opposed    to    Perpetual    Vows  in 

Ritualistic  Sisterhoods,  182,  183 

—  on  Tract  XC,  275,  276 
Teignmouth(Lord),  his  Reminiscences, 

265 
The  Importance  of  Ritual,  What  the 

Ritualists  teach  about,  409,  410 
The  Power  and  Dignity  of  Sacrificing 

Priests,  What  the  Ritualists  teach 

about,  387,  388 
The  "  Preparatory  School  for  Rome," 

359.  360 
The  Romeward  Movement,  260-372 
The   Ten    Commandments  and  the 

Ritualists,  341,  343 
The  Thirty-Nine  Articles,  What  the 

Ritualists  teach  about,  378-380 

—  Newman   "no   great   friend"   of, 

268,  330 

—  the  Rev.  W.  G.  Ward  on,  279 
Thynne  (Lord  Charles)  on  the  Tract- 

arian  Confessional,  89 
"  Toleration  to  Protestants  is  Intoler- 
ance to  Catholics,"  369 
Towne  (Rev.  Lyndhurst  B.),  141 
Tracts  for    the    Times    "  abused    as 
Popish,"  267 

—  298 

Tract    On    Reserve    in  Communicating 
Religious  Knowledge,  7-9 

—  Condemned  by  the  Bishops,  7,  9 

—  rightly   understood  by  Evangeli- 

cals, 9 
Tract  XC,  275,  276,  290 
Tractarian  Movement,  Birth  of  the, 

1,  263 

—  its  promoters  fear  publicity,  4 

—  Joshua    Watson    on    its    ulterior 

destination,  5 

—  "  Suggestions  "  for  its  formation,  5 

—  Dr.  Pusey  joins  the,  6 

—  Mr.  Gladstone  joins  the,  6 

—  attacked     by    the    Standard     and 

Edinburgh  Review,  10 
Tractarians  go  secretly  to   Mass  in 
disguise,  30 

—  described  by  Mr.  Maskell,  44 

—  their  real  object  a  profound  secret, 

263 

—  "  Introducing      Popery      without 

authority,"  267 

—  said  to  be  "  Crypto-Papists,"  268 

—  greatly  rejoice  the  Pope,  271 


424 


INDEX. 


Tractarians  on  the  Continent,  274, 290 

—  their  Jesuitical  tactics  described, 

280,  281 

—  their  negotiations  with  Dr.  Wise- 

man, 281,  282 

—  Moving  towards  Rome,  287 
Transubstantiation    taught     by    the 

C.  B.  S.,  223-225 

—  taught  by  the  Guild  of  All  Souls,  229 
Treatise   of  S.  Catherine  of  Genoa,  on 

Purgatory,  228,  229 

Truro  (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  Gott]  recom- 
mends the  Priest' s' Prayer  Book,  194 

Urquhart  (Rev.  E.  W.)  teaches  Tran- 
substantiation, 223-225 

Union  Review,  94, 152,  261,  309-312, 330 

Vaux  (Rev.  J.  E.),  148 

Virtues  of  Holy  Salt,  Holy  Water, 
and  Holy  Oil,  What  the  Ritualists 
teach  about  the,  406-408 

Vow  of  Obedience  by  Ritualistic 
Sisters,  167,  168, 169 

—  of    Poverty    by    Ritualistic    Sis- 

ters, 169-179 

—  of    Celibacy  taken  by  a   girl   of 

eighteen  for  life,  180 

—  censured  by  Bishop  S.  Wilberforce, 

181 
Vows  in  St.  Margaret's   Sisterhood, 
East  Grinstead,  taken  for  life,  172 

—  of  Ritualistic  Sisters  censured 
by  Bishop  S.  Wilberforce,  180 

Vows  (Perpetual)  by  Ritualistic  Sis- 
ters censured  by  Archbishop 
Tait,  182,  183 

Ward  (Rev.  A.  H.)  favours  disbanding 
the  Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  133 

Ward  (Rev.  William  George),  his 
Jesuitical  conduct,  15 

—  on  Equivocation,  16 

—  the  Jesuits  his  "  favourite  reading," 

274 

—  on  Union  with  Rome,  280 

—  Ideal  of  a  Christian   Church,  287, 

288-290 

—  holds  all  Roman  doctrine,  288 
Walker  (Rev.  Henry  Aston)  opposes 

S.  S.  C.  deputation  to  the  Bishops, 
108 
Wallace  (Rev.  C.  S.),  and  the  Society 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  127 

—  thanked  by  S.  S.  C.  for  his  con- 

duct, 127 

—  opposes  publication  of   Priest   in 

Absolution,  136 
Watson  (Mr.  Joshua)  on  the  ulterior 
destination  of  Tractarianism,  5 


West    Mailing,  enclosed  Ritualistic 

Nuns  at,  184 
What  the  Ritualists  Teach,  373-410 
Wilberforce  (Bishop  Samuel),  v. 

—  on  theVows  of  Ritualistic  Sisters,  180 

—  Censures  Vows    of    Celibacy    in 

Ritualistic  Sisterhoods,  181 

—  on  Fasting  Communion,  215 
Williams  (Rev.  Isaac),  7,8,9 
William  G.  Ward  and  the  Oxford  Move- 
ment, 16,  274,  279-282,  288 

Willington  (Rev.  Henry  Edward) 
Member  of  Committee  for  Re- 
vising Statutes  of  S.  S.  C,  138 

Wilson  (Rev.  Robert  James)  and  the 
Priest  in  Absolution,  100, 122 

—  Member  of  Committee  for  Revising 

Statutes  of  S.S.C.,  138 
Wiseman  (Cardinal),  28,  29,  30 

—  interview  with  Newman  and 
Froude,  263,  294 

—  discusses  Reunion  with  Rome  with 

Tractarians,  281 
Wolverhampton     Province     of     the 

Guild  of  St.  Alban's  sympathises 

with  the  S.S.  C,  137 
Women  and  the  Confessional,  81,  82, 

83.  87,  90,  91,  120 

—  ruined  by  Ritualistic  Confessors,  1 17 
Wood  (Hon.  C.  L.)  (see  also  under 

Halifax)  advocates    Masses    for 
the  Dead,  213 

—  Elected   President  of  the  English 

Church  Union,  335 
Wood  (Rev.  E.  G.)  his  resolutions  for 
disbanding  S.  S.  C,  130 

—  on  the  Jesuit  Order,  131 

—  on  Purgatory,  214,  231 

—  on  Jurisdiction  in  the  Confessional, 

76 

—  his  subtle  advice  to  the  Society  of 

the  Holy  Cross,  125 

—  on  compulsory  Confession,  126 
Wordsworth  (Bishop  Christopher)  on 

Rome    as  the   Babylon   of   the 
Revelation,  370 

—  Union  with  Rome,  370,  371 
Zanzibar   (Bishop  of)  [Dr.  Richard- 
son], 76 

—  a  Member   of  the  Society  of  the 
•    Holy  Cross,  79 

—  a  Member  of  the  Confraternity  of 

the  Blessed  Sacrament,  225 
Zululand    (Bishop  of)  [Dr.   W.    M. 
Carter]  a  Member  of  the   Con- 
fraternity of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, 225 


O.    NORMAN    AND    SON,    PRINTERS,    FLORAL    STREET,   COVENT    GARDEN,    LONDON. 


The  Secret  History 

of  the 

Oxford  Movement. 

By  WALTER  WALSH. 

Fifth  Edition.     Ss  6d  net.     Post  free,  is. 


This   is   a   most   startling  exposure,  and  has   created  a   great 
sensation  in  the  public  mind. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  Protestant  to  obtain  a  copy,  read  it,  and 
lend  it  to  others. 


NOTICES  OF  TEE  PRESS,  fyc. 

"  I  have  no  difficulty  in  saying  that  I  think  it  the  most  valuable  book  on  the 
anti-sacerdotal  side  that  has  been  published." — Lord  Grimthorpe. 

11  Contains  one  of  the  most  startling  revelations  ever  made  to  the  people  of 
any  country." — Canon  McCormick,  Chaplain-in- Ordinary  to  the  Queen. 

"  Nothing  is  over-stated  or  aught  set  down  in  malice.  The  work  is  soberly  and 
temperately  written.  We  advise  all  who  wish  to  have  full  and  accurate  know- 
ledge on  this  sadly  important  subject  to  read  the  book.  .  .  .  It  is  a  magazine 
of  information  on  this  important  subject.  We  can  cordially  recommend  it  to  the 
serious  perusal  of  sober-minded  Churchmen.1' — Liverpool  Courier. 

"  Mr.  Walsh  has  written  with  studied  moderation  and  fairness,  and  there  is 
nothing  in  all  the  four  hundred  pages  of  this  book  that  can  offend  any 
independent  mind.  The  work  is  an  important  contribution  to  the  literature  of 
the  Kitual  controversy,  which  everyone  desiring  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
inner  workings  of  the  Movement  should  most  certainly  consult." — Record. 

"  This  is  a  remarkable  book,  which  ought  to  be  read,  examined,  and  pondered 
by  every  Englishman  who  wishes  to  see  his  country  free  and  enlightened. 

We  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  the  purchase  and  study  of  this  History." 

English  Churchman. 

"  The  volume  is  one  which  Churchmen  would  do  well  to  consult  for  themselves. 
Its  revelations  are  extraordinary,  its  proofs  indisputable.  .  .  .  The  author  has 
done  his  work  well,  and  deserves  the  gratitude  of  Churchmen." — Western  Times. 

"The  gravest  indictment  that  has  yet  been  made  against  the  High  Church 
party.  ...  It  is  a  book  with  a  purpose.  It  demanded  courage  to  write  it,  and 
is  full  of  information  that  ought  to  be  circulated  broadcast." — Baptist. 


THE   CHURCH  ASSOCIATION. 

THE  Council  invite  all  those  who  have  been  convinced  by  the 
reading  of  this  book  that  a  serious  attempt  is  being  made  to 
Romanize  the  Church  of  England,  to  support  the  Church  Association, 
the  only  Church  Society  that  has  stood  in  the  forefront  of  the 
Anti-Ritualistic  Movement  for  thirty-three  years. 

A  perusal  of  the  following  will  give  some  idea  of  the  work  in 
which  the  Church  Association  is  engaged  : — 

A  correspondent,  writing  with  regard  to  the  Council,  refers  to 
them  as  "  Those  who  have  on  every  occasion  exhibited  an  amount 
of  judgment,  discretion  and  resolution,  which  it  would  be  hard  to 
match  in  the  transactions  of  any  other  deliberative  and  administrative 
body." 

The  Rev.  Canon  Christopher  writes: 

"  I  measure  the  value  of  the  Church  Association  not  so  much  by 
its  success  as  by  its  Scriptural  objects,  and  the  faith  and  courage  of 
its  members  in  seeking  to  obtain  them. 

"  The  success  of  Cranmer,  Latimer,  and  Ridley  in  preserving  the 
Reformation  they  had  so  well  begun,  did  not  seem  to  be  very  great 
when  they  were  being  burnt  alive  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  this 
rectory.  Yet  we  know  what  great  results  God  ultimately  gave  to 
their  noble  self-sacrifice  for  the  cause  of  His  Truth." 

The  Rt.  Rev.  the  Lord  Bp.  of  Liverpool  {when  the  Rev.  Canon  Ryle) 
spoke  of  the  Church  Association  as  follows  : — 

"  I  know  no  way  of  meeting  the  evil  around  us  except  by  such  a 
combination  as  that  presented  by  the  Church  Association — a  com- 
bination like  the  Volunteer  movement,  whose  motto  should  be 
*  Defence  not  Defiance.'  The  Bishops  will  not  act :  they  have 
charged  and  charged  and  charged  for  twenty  years,  and  their  Charges 
have  been  so  much  brutum  fulmen,  and  have  wrought  no  deliverance. 
— Convocation  can  do  nothing. — It  can  growl,  and  whine,  and  bark  5 
but  it  has  no  teeth,  and  cannot  bite  :  it  is  chained,  and  cannot  move. — ■ 
The  House  of  Commons  will  do  nothing  at  present.  They  dislike 
religious  questions  in  St.  Stephen's,  unless  positively  forced  to  handle 
them  ;  and  they  will  not  handle  Ritualism,  except  under  the  pressure 
of  public  opinion. — There  is  nothing  left  but  the  voluntary  union  of 
all  Protestant  Churchmen  in  such  a  Society  as  the  Church  Association. 
By  uniting  to  spread  information,  awaken  sleeping  zeal,  and  enlighten 
public  opinion, — by  rallying  and  getting  together  the  sound  members 
of  our  Church,  and  organizing  their  strength, — by  combining  to 
employ  every  legal  and  constitutional  means  to  maintain  the  Pro- 


testant  character  of  our  Church, — by  such  work  much  good  may  be 
done,  for  union  is  strength.  Such  work  the  Church  Association  has 
done,  is  doing,  and  I  trust  will  continue  to  do  for  many  a  day." 

"  Your  Association  is  at  least  standing  in  the  gap  before  the  Lord 
in  the  land,  that  He  should  not  destroy  it.  (Ezekiel  xxii.  30.)  You 
are  doing  your  best  to  *  make  up  the  hedge  '  against  the  adversaries 
of  our  Zion,  and  it  is  better  to  try,  and  fail,  than  not  to  try  at  all." — 
Another  Correspondent. 

The  Church  Association  was  instituted  in  186$  to  Uphold  the 
Doctrines,  Principles,  and  Order  of  the  United  Church  of  England 
and  Ireland,  and  to  counteract  the  efforts  now  being  made  to  pervert 
her  teaching  on  essential  points  of  the  Christian  faith,  or  assimilate 
her  Services  to  those  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  further  to 
encourage  concerted  action  for  the  advancement  and  progress  of 
Spiritual  Religion. 

It  seeks  to  resist  all  innovations  in  the  order  of  the  Service  as 
prescribed  by  the  joint  authority  of  Church  and  State — whether  in  vest- 
ments, ornaments,  gestures,  or  practices  borrowed  from  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  symbolical  of  her  errors — and  especially  to  prevent  the 
idolatrous  adoration  of  the  elements  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  contrary 
to  the  order  of  our  Communion  Service  and  the  terms  both  of  the 
Liturgy  and  Articles. 

It  seeks  to  resist  all  attempts  to  restore  the  use  of  the  Confessional, 
and  every  exercise  of  that  Priestly  authority  which  was  put  down  at 
the  Reformation,  and  also  to  oppose  the  introduction  of  doctrines 
contrary  to  the  teaching  of  the  Church,  as  set  forth  in  her  Liturgy 
and  Articles. 

It  seeks  to  effect  these  objects  by  publicity  through  Lectures, 
Meetings,  and  the  use  of  the  Press,  by  the  employment  of  Colporteurs, 
Lay  Evangelists,  and  Protestant  Vans,  by  Protestant  Lay  Missions, 
and  by  Appeals  to  Parliament  to  pass  such  measures  as  may  be 
needed  to  restrain  clergymen  from  violating  the  order  of  their  Church, 
and  obtruding  on  their  parishioners  practices  and  doctrines  repugnant 
to  the  Formularies  and  Articles  of  our  Reformed  Church. 

The  Church  Association  has  at  considerable  cost  obtained  the 
condemnation  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts  of  more  than  sixty 
ceremonies  and  practices  symbolical  of  Popish  Doctries  illegally 
introduced  by  the  Ritualists  into  the  Services  of  our  Reformed 
Church. 

It  has  circulated  literature  "  wholesome  and  necessary  "  for  these 
times — millions  of  Pamphlets  and  Tracts  against  Ritualism — and  by 
these  means  the  country  has  been  awakened  to  the  dangers  of  the 
Ritualistic  "  Conspiracy."  The  Association  is  really  a  Ch.  of  England 
Protestant  Tract  Society. 

It  has  no  sympathy  with  imprisonment  of  clergymen.  It  intro- 
duced into  Parliament  a  Bill  which,  if  passed,  would  have  substituted 
Deprivation  for  Imprisonment. 

It  introduced  a  Bill  into  Parliament  to  abolish  the  Bishops'  Veto, 
which  at  present  bars  the  Laity  from  their  right  of  appealing  to  the 
Ecclesiastical  Courts  in  cases  where  the  Romish  Mass  is  thrust  upon 
them  in  their  Parish  Churches. 


It  has  to  cope  with  lawlessness  in  high  places,  and  to  defend  the 
interests  of  Law,  Order,  and  Truth. 

It  has  to  satisfy  appeals  for  advice  and  help  from  distressed  and 
oppressed  congregations. 

It  has  to  aid  Protestant  Home  Mission-work,  to  assist  those 
involved  in  controversy,  to  furnish  papers  on  matters  that  arise 
affecting  Evangelical  religion,  and  to  provide  suitable  Lectures. 

It  has  to  devise  how  to  meet  the  schemes  of  Sacerdotalism  in  the 
widening  arena  of  Politics. 

It  has  to  guard  the  interests  of  the  Laity  in  all  Church  matters, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  "  Church  Reform,"  as  it  has  done  in  the 
matter  of  the  "  Benefices  "  Bill. 

It  has  to  check  the  attempted  revival  of  sacerdotal  caste  privileges, 
and  "  benefit  of  clergy." 

It  has  to  contest  the  ground  inch  by  inch  in  fighting  the  battle  of 
the  Reformation  and  defending  the  Constitutional  Settlement  of 
Church  and  State. 

It  has  established  the  National  Protestant  League,  which  is  not  a 
new  Society,  but  a  farther  development  of  the  Church  Association  to 
enable  the  masses  to  take  a  part  in  opposing  the  present  great 
conspiracy  to  Romanize  our  Church  and  Nation. 

It  has  appointed  Colporteurs  and  Lay  Evangelists  for  certain 
counties  and  it  hopes  to  increase  the  number.  These  men  are  doing 
splendid  work  amongst  the  much  neglected  rural  populations,  dis- 
tributing Protestant  literature,  explaining  the  inroads  of  Ritualism, 
preaching  the  simple  Gospel,  and  urging  Electors  to  vote  for  the  most 
Protestant  candidate  at  the  Parliamentary  elections. 

It  has  sent  forth  into  the  Provinces  eleven  Travelling  Vans,  with  a 
Colporteur  Evangelist  in  each.  They  each  carry  with  them  a  large 
stock  of  Bibles,  Prayer  Books,  and  Protestant  literature,  for  sale  and 
free  circulation.  These  Vans  travel  on  each  day  to  a  fresh  town  or 
village,  Protestant  Gospel  addresses  are  given  each  evening  and  large 
quantities  of  literature  distributed.  Great  good  to  the  Protestant 
Cause  has  already  resulted  from  this  latest  development  of  the  work 
of  the  Association. 

It  has  established  at  the  head  Office  regular  meetings  for  Prayer  and 
the  study  of  God's  Word. 

It  has  gathered  together  the  finest  Protestant  library  in  the  King- 
dom, consisting  of  some  ten  thousand  books  and  pamphlets.  The 
Library  is  open  to  Members  on  Wednesday  in  each  week. 

It  has  induced  the  Government  to  publish  a  facsimile  of  the 
"  annexed  "  book  which  is  the  statutable  authority  for  our  present 
Prayer  Book,  and  is  endeavouring  to  compel  the  Queen's  Printers  to 
issue  printed  Prayer  Books  in  conformity  with  it,  and  without 
unauthorized  alterations  5  and  in  this  it  has  already  been  partly 
successful. 

PROTESTANT   PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Church  Association  publishes  in  its  monthly  organ,  the 
Church  Intelligencer,  exact  information  as  to  controverted  points  in 
the  meaning  and  structure  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  the  Thirty- 


nine  Articles,  and  the  Formularies ;  calls  attention  to  attacks  upon  the 
Protestant  principles  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  England,  whether 
in  Parliament,  in  Convocation,  or  in  the  Press  ;  analyzes  the  drift  of 
the  movement  for  increasing  sacerdotal  privileges  and  assumptions, 
and  especially  the  tendency  to  vest  irresponsible  power  in  the  hands 
of  the  Bishops,  and  is  a  channel  for  the  exchange  of  thought  between 
Churchmen  who  value  these  objects.  The  Church  Intelligencer  costs 
id  per  month,  and  may  be  ordered  of  any  bookseller. 

It  issues  five  volumes  which  deal  with  nearly  every  point  of  the 
Ritualistic  Controversy,  and  shows  the  practices  which  have  been 
condemned  as  unlawful  in  the  Church  of  England.  They  form  a 
complete  Library  on  the  Ritualistic  Controversy,  and  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  every  Protestant  Churchman  throughout  the  country.  Sent 
free  by  post,  is  4^  each  vol.,  or  handsomely  bound  in  cloth  at  is  lod 
each  volume. 

It  publishes  an  Almanack  and  Diary  for  the  pocket,  price  one 
penny,  which  is  full  of  interesting  matter.  Statistics  as  to  the 
Ritualistic  Conspiracy.  Dates  of  principal  events  in  Reformation. 
Lists  of  Archbishops,  Bishops,  Deans,  Chancellors.  Table  of  Lessons 
for  every  day  in  the  year.  Sunday  Notes  for  Clergy,  &c,  &c,  &c. 
Price,  post  free,  i\d. 

It  publishes  a  Guide  to  Ecclesiastical  Law  for  the  use  of  Church- 
wardens and  Parishioners,  full  of  hints  and  suggestions  for  opposing 
Ritualism.     Price,  post  free,  is  i\d. 

It  has  published  the  Rev.  Dyson  Hague's  invaluable  book, 
The  Protestantism  of  the  Prayer  Book,  the  most  readable  book  on 
this  subject.     Price,  is  6d ;  post  free,  is  lod. 

It  has  published  a  work  by  Mr.  J.  T.  Tomlinson  entitled,  The  Prayer 
Book,  Articles  and  Homilies:  some  forgotten  facts  in  their  History 
which  may  decide  their  interpretation.     Price  $s  net,  post  free. 

It  has  published  a  work  by  Mr.  Walter  Walsh  entitled,  The  Secret 
History  of  the  Oxford  Movement,  the  first  two  editions  of  which  were 
sold  at  105  6d,  but  which  is  now  issued  at  35  6d. 

It  has  published  An  Indictment  of  the  Bishops,  shewing  how  the 
Church  of  England  is  being  corrupted  and  betrayed  by  them.  Post 
free,  is  id. 

It  has  just  published  the  sixth  edition  of  The  "  Historical"  Grounds 
of  the  Lambeth  Judgment.     Post  free,  l\d. 

PROTESTANT  VAN   MISSION   WORK  IN   THE 

VILLAGES  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  State  of  the  Villages  where  the  Vans  go. 

The  Rock  puts  the  case  of  the  Villagers  somewhat  in  this  way — • 
Picture  to  yourself  Churchman  in  a  Country  Village  in  which  the 
Church  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Sacerdotalist.  Try  and  realise  the 
deadening  effect  on  their  spiritual  life  week  by  week,  not  only 
never  hearing  a  sermon  which  does  not  irritate  rather  than  help  them, 
but  unable  to  attend  a  service  in  which  they  can  heartily  join, 
debarred  the  Lord's  Table  because  the  ritual  adopted  symbolises  a 


doctrine  they  hold  to  be  false,  and  commits  them  to  a  worship  which  they 
regard  as  idolatrous.  Picture  to  yourselves  their  children  being 
slowly  won  by  sensuous  services  and  the  persevering  blandishments 
of  priestlings,  so  that  a  wall  is  growing  up  between  them  and  those 
they  love  most  dearly — and  then  let  us  ask,  Who  will  come  to  our 
help  to  enable  us  to  continue  to  carry  the  blessed  Gospel  to 
these  dark  spots  in  rural  England? 

Van  Work  during  1897. 

Number  of  Protestant  Publications  distributed  free  .  116,003 

Number  of  Protestant  Publications  sold    .         .         .  40,721 

Number  of  Villages  and  Towns  visited    .         .         .  1,541 

Number  of  Gospel  and  Protestant  Addresses  given  .  2,322 

The  Church  Association  appeals  for  support — 

1. — Because  it  is  necessary  to  oppose  Ritualism,  as  helping  to  thrust 
upon  the  unwary  the  Popery  which  was  cast  out  at  the  Reformation, 
and  which  made  England  cringe  to  a  foreign  potentate,  kept  back  the 
Bible  from  our  people,  deluged  our  land  with  superstition  and 
ignorance,  and  burned  our  Protestant  Reformers. 

2. — Because  a  powerful  organisation  is  needed  to  oppose  the 
thoroughly  organised  efforts  of  those  who  are  trying  to  undo  the  work 
of  the  Reformation ;  and  it  is  the  only  organisation  with  the  special 
object  of  opposing  the  numerous  agencies  of  Ritualism. 

3. — Because  the  "English  Church  Union,"  the  "Society  of  the 
Holy  Cross,"  the  "  Confraternity  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,"  the 
"Association  for  the  promotion  of  the  Unity  of  Christendom,"  and 
numerous  Guilds,  Brotherhoods,  and  Sisterhoods  are  actively  pro- 
moting the  avowed  object  of  "  un-Protestantising  "  our  Church. 

4. — Because  a  large  number  of  the  clergy  and  laity  have  joined  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  a  much  larger  number  have  adopted  thoroughly 
Romish  doctrines  and  practices  while  still  continuing  in  the  Church 
of  England ;  therefore  all  Protestant  clergy  and  laity  should  support  a 
Society  exclusively  devoted  to  the  work  of  defending  the  Protestantism 
of  our  Church. 

5. — Because  good  Churchmanship,  as  well  as  good  citizenship, 
demands  that  the  law  now  clearly  decided  should  be  obeyed. 

6. — Because  the  Ritualists  are  endeavouring  to  bring  English  men, 
women,  and  even  children  within  the  unhealthy  and  unhallowed 
influences  of  the  Confessional,  to  which  the  Association  is  most 
resolutely  opposed. 

7. — Because  though  God  alone  can  defend  our  Church  and  country 
from  all  dangers,  religious  or  national — and  to  Him  must  be  all  the 
glory  of  giving  us  the  victory — He  expects  His  servants  as  His 
instruments,  to  be  "workers  together  with  Him,"  to  "earnestly 
contend  for  the  faith,"  and  when  His  truth  and  honour  are  concerned, 
to  be  careful  that  as  a  Church  we  are  "Jirst  pure,  then  peaceable." 

The  Church  Association  enrols  Associates  at  fr-,  Lay  Members 
at  10s ;  Clerical  Members  at  $s. 

The  work  is  greatly  crippled  for  want  of  adequate  funds.  Urgent 
appeals  for  help  from  aggrieved  Parishioners  are  unwillingly  rejected 


on  this  account.  Increased  support  means  increased  work.  The 
Council  would  say  with  Bishop  Barrington  "If  the  Reformation  was 
worth  establishing  it  is  worth  maintaining,  but  it  can  only  be  main- 
tained by  a  constant  vigilance  in  support  of  those  principles  which 
effected  it  in  the  sixteenth  century." 

All  Special  Donations  and  Subscriptions  to  carry  on  the  work 
indicated  above  should  be  sent  to  the  Secretary,  Mr.  Henry  Miller, 
14,  Buckingham  Street,  Strand,  London  j  or  may  be  paid  to  the 
account  of  the  Association  at  the  Bank  of  Messrs.  Barclay  &  Co., 
Limited,  1,  Pall  Mall  East,  S.W.,  and  54,  Lombard  Street,  E.C., 
London. 

Post-Office  Orders  should  be  made  payable  to  Henry  Miller,  and 
drawn  upon  Charing  Cross. 

A  PROTESTANT  ELECTORAL  ROLL. 

The  Council  of  the  National  Protestant  League  is  anxious  to  obtain 
in  every  constituency  a  Roll  of  100  Voters  who  undertake  not  to 
pledge  themselves  to  vote  for  any  Candidate  at  the  next  Election  until 
after  they  have  been  called  together  to  consider,  in  conjunction  with 
the  London  Council  of  the  National  Protestant  League,  how  their 
united  votes  may  be  best  used  in  the  Protestant  interest. 

Persons  willing  to  undertake  the  collection  of  One  Hundred 
Signatures  should  write  to  the  Registrar,  National  Protestant 


League, 


Mr.  HENRY  MILLER, 

14,  Buckingham  Street, 

Strand,  London. 


For  some  of  the  Protestant  Books,  Pamphlets,  and  Tracts  published 
by  the  Church  Association  for  present  day  reading,  see  next  page. 


Wfxt  Prater  2$oo¥t, 

SOME  FORGOTTEN  FACTS  IN  THEIR  HISTORY  WHICH  MAY 
DECIDE  THEIR  INTERPRETATION. 

By  J.  T.  TOMLHSTSON. 

Price  5s  net,  post  free,  320  pp.,  with  Photozincographic  Illustrations 
taken  from  the  "  Durham  Book." 

"A  learned  and  lucid  exposition  of  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  its  history  and 
meaning."— Western  Times,  June  6th,  1897. 

11  Mr.  Tomlinson  is  a  scholarly  and  accurate  student,  who  has  in  all  cases  carefully  collated  the 
documents  with  the  originals  at  Lambeth,  Cambridge,  Durham,  and  the  British  Museum,  and 
states  clearly  the  grounds  of  the  conclusions  at  which  he  has  arrived." — Manchester  Guardian, 
June  29th,  1897.  , 

"On  such  still  vexed  and  important  points  as  the  Ornaments  Eubnc,  the  Injunctions  and 
Advertisements  of  Elizabeth,  the  Thirty-first  Article,  the  '  Black  Rubric,'  and  other  heads, 
Mr.  Tomlinson  has  been  at  pains  to  collate  carefully  his  documents  with  the  originals  in  the 
great  public  libraries,  besides  producing  here  photozincographs  of  the  famous  '  Durham  Book.' " 
—Bookseller,  July  7th,  1897. 

"  Ought  to  become  a  text-book  in  every  bishop's  examination  for  Orders."— Rock,  July  9th,  1897. 

"Mr?  Tomlinson  writes  with  learning,  candour,  good  temper,  and  moderation,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  both  sides  will  make  themselves  masters  of  his  laborious  investigations." — Churchman, 
August,  1897. 

"  Mr.  J.  T.  Tomlinson  is  well  known  as  an  acute  and  learned  controversialist,  and  his  latest 
volume  The  Prayer  Book,  Articles,  and  Homilies  (Elliot  Stock)  is  not  unworthy  of  him."— 
The  National  Church,  August  14th,  1897. 

A  Set  of  the  Tracts  (1  to  250)  bound  in  5  volumes,  at  Is  per  vol.,    *■   <*• 

or  post  free  5s  8d;  in  cloth  at  Is  6d  per  vol.,  or  post  free 8    4 

These  form  a  complete  Library  on  the  Ritualistic  Controversy,  and  should 
be  in  the  hands  of  every  Protestant  Churchman. 
Collected  Tracts  Oil  Ritual.     Edited  or  written  by  J.  T.  Tomlinson 

2s,  or  post  free    2    4 

The  Protestantism  of  the  Prayer  Book.    By  the  Rev.  Dyson 

Hague,  m.a.    Cloth reduced  to  Is  6d,  or  post  free    1  1" 

Por  popular  reading  the  best  book  of  its  kind. 

A  Guide  to  Ecclesiastical  Law,  for  Churchwardens  and 

Parishioners.    Compiled  by  Henry  Millbr.    With  Plates  illustrating  the 

Vestments,  &c.    Pifth  edition 1*,  or  post  free    1    2^ 

The  Church  Intelligencer,  the  Organ  of  the  Church  Association, 

published  monthly,  price  Id ;  Annual  Subscription        .        .        .     free  by  post    1    6 

Historical  Grounds  of  the  Lambeth  Judgment.    By  J.  T. 

TOMLINSON.    Sixth  edition Qd,  or  post  free    0    7J 

The  "  Legal  History"  of  Canon  Stubbs.    By  J.  T.  Tomlinson 

fid,  or  post  free     0    8 

The  Great  Parliamentary  Debate  in  1548  on  the  Lord's 

Supper.    By  J.  T.  Tomlinson fid,  or  post  free    0    7 

The  Secret  Work  of  the  Ritualists.    A  Startling  Exposure 

2d,  or  post  free    0    2£ 
Prayers  for  the  Dead.    By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wright      2d,  or  post  free    0    2| 
The  Greek  Church.    Her  Doctrines  and  Principles  con- 
trasted with  those  of  the  Church  of  England.    Is  Union  desirable  or  possible  ? 
A  Lecture  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bardsley,  d.d.  .        .        .       2d,  or  post  free    0    2\ 

"  The  Liturgy  and  the  Eastward  Position."    Illustrated  by 

fifteen  of  the  oldest  known  representations  of  the  Lord's  Supper.    By  J.  T. 
Tomlinson 2d,  or  post  free    0    2£ 

Union  with  Oriental  Churches.    By  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Fox,  m.a. 

post  free     0    1 

The  Reunion  Question  as  it  regards  Protestant  Churches. 

By  the  Rev.  Talbot  A.  L.  Greaves post  free    0    1 

The  Use  of  the  term  "Priest"  in   the   Prayer   Book 

2d  per  doz.,  post  free  0  1\ 
The  Modern  Confessional.  (Illustrated.)  2d  per  doz.,  post  free  0  2\ 
Modern  "Mass"  in  the  Church  of  England.    (Illustrated) 

2d  per  doz.,  post  free     0    2^ 

"  Making  Plain  for  all  Time,"  a  Pamphlet  of  48  pp.    post  free   0   7 
Society  of  the  Holy  Cross,  with  List  of  Members  up 

to  1897 10d  per  doz.,  or  post  free    1     0 


CHURCH  ASSOCIATION,  14,  BUCKINGHAM  STREET,  STRAND,  LONDON. 


BX 
5098 
W3 

1899 
cop.  2 


Walsh,   Walter 

The  secret  history  of  the 
Oxford  Movement     5th  ed. 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 


UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY 


...  -i. -..,,. ,,,