My dear people 

Displayed within the hallowed halls of Church House there was a framed cartoon which attempted to portray (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) the various ‘wings’ within the Anglican Communion. 

The Anglo-Catholic wing was depicted by caricatures of Pusey, Keble and Newman, (leaders of the Oxford movement) adorned with cassock and biretta, pointing to the Vatican and saying: “Hey ho! Hey ho! It’s off to Rome we go!”  

But what is Anglo-Catholicism? Is it merely Roman Catholicism within an Anglican setting? The answer is important, particularly for a parish within this tradition. The designation “Anglo-Catholic” first appeared in 1838. It described a movement which desired to reclaim those traditions lost after the Reformation. Thus there was re-emphasis on Apostolic Succession, the continuity of faith handed down by the Apostles in an unbroken line, through the Episcopacy. Indeed, the Anglo-Catholic movement proclaimed that the Anglican Church did not begin with King Henry VIII but originated with St Augustine’s mission to the Angles. 

Anglo-Catholicism also focused upon the Sacraments, particularly the celebration of the Mass, perceived as an encounter with the numinous. Hence the ceremonial, the importance of the rubrics, the wearing of vestments, and the use of incense, not to mention music of the highest standard.

Of course Anglo-Catholicism holds dear many of those devotions considered to by some to be Roman Catholic, but which in fact belong to the Catholic Church as a whole – the veneration of the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to Our Lady, and reverence for the Saints in glory.

Today Anglo-Catholicism does not continue for the benefit of those who “like that sort of thing.” Rather, it highlights those traditions and doctrines which have been part of the Church for centuries. Moreover, Anglo-Catholics remind the rest of the Anglican Communion that the decisions made therein impact on the Catholic Church as a whole.

Therefore, may we be proud of our heritage, handed down, not without suffering, by our Fathers in Faith, and may we be faithful to the same.

God bless

Father Barrie

This letter first appeared in the Parish magazine, The Icon: Volume 2 Number 2  

CLERGY