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The Establishment of Anglican Triumphalism

Michael Brydon

in The Evolving Reputation of Richard Hooker: An Examination of Responses, 1600-1714

At the Restoration, the avant-garde interpretation of the Polity emerged triumphant. This was briefly challenged by an un-Anglican biography produced by John Gauden, until Isaac Walton produced a ... More

At the Restoration, the avant-garde interpretation of the Polity emerged triumphant. This was briefly challenged by an un-Anglican biography produced by John Gauden, until Isaac Walton produced a suitable corrective. Walton’s biography not only established the image of the peaceable faithful divine, but also discreetly marginalized Book VII, with its unacceptable belief that episcopacy only enjoyed divine approbation, and Book VIII’s belief in an original political compact.Less

A New Anglican Imperial Paradigm: The Colonial Bishoprics Fund, 1840–1

Rowan Strong

in Anglicanism and the British Empire, c.1700-1850

In the early 1840s, the Church of England adopted a new imperial paradigm of engagement with the British Empire in the formation of the Colonial Bishoprics Fund. This highlighted the fundamental ... More

In the early 1840s, the Church of England adopted a new imperial paradigm of engagement with the British Empire in the formation of the Colonial Bishoprics Fund. This highlighted the fundamental importance of episcopacy in the colonies and autonomous action by that church in the empire, and the abandonment of the church-state partnership. It was a consequence of the legal changes in the British constitution between 1828 and 1832, which caused the demise of the legal monopoly of Anglican representation in parliament.Less

The New Paradigm in the Colonies: Australia and New Zealand, 1820s–c.1850

Rowan Strong

in Anglicanism and the British Empire, c.1700-1850

This new Anglican imperial paradigm was also framed in the colonies, where it was adopted at different speeds in different colonies. In Australia, between the 1820s and 1840s, the old church-state ... More

This new Anglican imperial paradigm was also framed in the colonies, where it was adopted at different speeds in different colonies. In Australia, between the 1820s and 1840s, the old church-state paradigm only gradually and reluctantly gave way to the new episcopal autonomous one under Bishop William Broughton. In New Zealand, it was the driving force of the state, of the episcopate of Bishop George Selwyn, from the 1840s. In both colonies, Anglican missionaries and bishops continued to construct identities for colonizers and the Aborigines and Maori indigenous peoples in ways similar to the 18th century Anglican missions.Less

New Century, Old Faith

Keith Robbins

in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales: The Christian Church 1900-2000

The chapter presents a broad picture of the different churches across the Isles at the dawn of the century. It identifies structures, modes of government (episcopacy, presbyterianism, connexionalism, ... More

The chapter presents a broad picture of the different churches across the Isles at the dawn of the century. It identifies structures, modes of government (episcopacy, presbyterianism, connexionalism, congregationalism), and respective understandings of ‘clergy’ and ‘laity’. These are set against the backdrop of specific types of buildings — cathedrals, churches, chapels, and meeting-houses, and their ethos and regional/national distribution are described. The chapter emphasizes the extent to which buildings conveyed messages about the social character of denominations. It describes differences in styles of worship and modes of dress — preaching, praying, music — and their setting and surroundings, together with the theological and liturgical assumptions underlying them. It asks about change and continuity: the relationship between past and present in a new century. It probes the ‘public space’ churches occupied, both in terms of local communities and in relation to national politics and the constitution (establishment and disestablishment).Less

Hobbes, the Long Parliament, and the Church of England

JEFFREY R. COLLINS

in The Allegiance of Thomas Hobbes

This chapter contextualizes Hobbes's first published political text, De Cive (and its predecessor manuscript, ‘The Elements of Law’). It offers an interpretive account of the origins and early course ... More

This chapter contextualizes Hobbes's first published political text, De Cive (and its predecessor manuscript, ‘The Elements of Law’). It offers an interpretive account of the origins and early course of the English Civil War. The religious program of Charles I and his Archbishop Laud is presented as a major cause of the war. Their effort to revive a ‘dualist’ polity, in which church and state enjoyed separate but parallel power structures, triggered enormous resistance. A staunch Erastianism – designed to protect the political outcomes of the English Reformation – emerged as a major project of the Long Parliament. Hobbes's royalism, even at this early stage, was significantly qualified by his appreciation of the Parliament's Erastian project. The chapter also positions Hobbes among the royalists in exile in France.Less

Response of the Exiled Church

JEFFREY R. COLLINS

in The Allegiance of Thomas Hobbes

This chapter finishes the book's investigation of Hobbes's reception during the Interregnum. It examines Hobbes's negative reception, primarily among the outlawed supporters of episcopacy. It argues ... More

This chapter finishes the book's investigation of Hobbes's reception during the Interregnum. It examines Hobbes's negative reception, primarily among the outlawed supporters of episcopacy. It argues that this reaction was a mirror image of Hobbes's positive reception, and reacted primarily to the sense that a godless statism had overtaken English Christianity. The episcopalians defended a Laudian dualism against this alliance of Hobbists and Independents. Acutely aware of Hobbes's esotericism on the religion question, his clerical opponents offered a sharp critique of his ecclesiological theory. This critique set the terms for Hobbes's fall from grace after the Restoration, when the episcopal church was restored.Less

“Down from a Joyless height”

John Wigger

in American Saint Francis Asbury and the Methodists

Asbury fell seriously ill again in 1797 but continued to travel anyway, riding from Charleston to New York City over the spring and summer. Asbury's experience with prolonged illnesses was not ... More

Asbury fell seriously ill again in 1797 but continued to travel anyway, riding from Charleston to New York City over the spring and summer. Asbury's experience with prolonged illnesses was not unusual for the period. A case in point is the preacher William Ormond, who suffered a number of illnesses and tried a range of cures 1791-1801. In June 1798 Asbury learned that his father had died. Asbury never says much about his father, who evidently had some failing that made him vaguely embarrassing. As his health remained fragile, Asbury continued to depend on Methodist women for support. When John Dickins died of yellow fever in 1798, Asbury replaced him as head of the church's book concern with Ezekiel Cooper. Cooper didn't want the job because of the concern's debts, but he proved a successful manager and editor. Given his poor health, Asbury made plans during 1799 to resign from the episcopacy.Less

“I see, I feel what is wrong in preachers and people, but I cannot make it right”

John Wigger

in American Saint Francis Asbury and the Methodists

When he had the time, Asbury read as much as he could, including popular new releases. Richard Whatcoat died in July 1806. The details of Thomas Coke’s secret overtures to William White to combine ... More

When he had the time, Asbury read as much as he could, including popular new releases. Richard Whatcoat died in July 1806. The details of Thomas Coke’s secret overtures to William White to combine the Methodist and Episcopal churches in 1791 were first published in 1807. This further undermined Coke’s standing among American Methodists. The 1808 General Conference elected William McKendree to the episcopacy to replace Whatcoat. The conference also passed the so-called Restrictive Rules, which formed something akin to new constitution for the church, making it more difficult to change basic doctrine. All of this was a relief to Asbury, who continued to push himself, relentlessly traveling from one annual conference to the next across the nation. Yet he could not help but notice the growing prosperity of many Methodists, which Asbury feared would ultimately dampen their zeal.Less

What God Allows

John Wigger

in American Saint Francis Asbury and the Methodists

In 1811 Asbury looked much as he had forty years earlier when he arrived in America, the inevitable effects of age notwithstanding. He suffered an increasing range of illnesses but still managed to ... More

In 1811 Asbury looked much as he had forty years earlier when he arrived in America, the inevitable effects of age notwithstanding. He suffered an increasing range of illnesses but still managed to attend all eight annual conferences in 1811 and all nine in 1812 and 1813. He made notes on individual preachers to help him organize their appointments, some of which survive in a notebook for 1810–1813. The church had some brilliant preachers and many capable ones, but shortages obliged Asbury to employ many marginal candidates. Gradually Asbury relinquished the responsibility of appointing preachers to their circuits to William McKendree. Asbury even considered returning to England, but could not because of the war. At the 1812 General Conference Asbury stayed mostly in the background. In 1813 Asbury wrote a valedictory address to McKendree stressing two themes: the necessity of an itinerant ministry and the apostolic authority of the episcopacy.Less

Bureaucratic Counterinsurgency in Catholic History

Richard A. Schoenherr

David Yamane (ed.)

in Goodbye Father: The Celibate Male Priesthood and the Future of the Catholic Church

This chapter discusses the peculiar aspects of coalitionist behavior in a Catholic setting and analyzes coalition formation in recent Catholic history. In the latter respect, it summarizes three ... More

This chapter discusses the peculiar aspects of coalitionist behavior in a Catholic setting and analyzes coalition formation in recent Catholic history. In the latter respect, it summarizes three recent studies that analyze the role of the conservative coalition (a coalition composed of bureaucratic leaders who rely on hierarchical power) in the modern Catholic Church: Gene Burn's study of the papal battle against liberalism, Lester Kurtz's account of the mobilization of the papacy and international episcopacy in an attempt to stamp out modernism in the Church, and John Stephens's analysis of the impact of conservative Catholic forces on the transition to and breakdown of democracy in Western Europe. The last part of the chapter discusses Catholic coalitionist power in action.Less

Ussher and the Defence of Episcopacy

Alan Ford

in James Ussher: Theology, History, and Politics in Early-Modern Ireland and England

In 1640, Ussher went to England for the first time in fourteen years. Though his ostensible reason was to present the subsidies of the Irish convocation to the King, it is clear that his visit was ... More

In 1640, Ussher went to England for the first time in fourteen years. Though his ostensible reason was to present the subsidies of the Irish convocation to the King, it is clear that his visit was also a product of the new political environment in England, following the King's problems with Scotland and the resultant recall of parliament. Ussher soon fitted back in to his routine of study in Oxford and Cambridge, but he was also consulted by leading figures in London on important ecclesio-political issues. In particular, following the meeting of the Long Parliament, Ussher came increasingly to be seen as someone whose learning — particularly his study of the early church father, Ignatius — could offer a way out for those moderate protestants seeking to replace the Laudian episcopate with an alternative, without opting for presbyterianism. In 1641, Ussher produced for private circulation his Reduction of Episcopacy, a draft constitution for a new Church of England which sought to combine bishops with synods. In the end, the growing extremism meant that such a compromise had no hope of success.Less

Thomas Aston and the Ancient Constitution of the Church

Charles W. A. Prior

in A Confusion of Tongues: Britain's Wars of Reformation, 1625-1642

This chapter engages in a close reading of a defence of episcopacy, written by a prominent figure in county politics. Sir Thomas Aston (1600–1646) was a trained lawyer and an MP in the Short ... More

This chapter engages in a close reading of a defence of episcopacy, written by a prominent figure in county politics. Sir Thomas Aston (1600–1646) was a trained lawyer and an MP in the Short Parliament. He was active in the religious politics of his home county of Cheshire, which in turn can be placed within a widespread campaign of petitioning in support of episcopacy. The chapter examines Aston's defence of bishops, published in 1641 as the Remonstrance against presbitery. This work offered a nuanced historical argument, that defended episcopacy as constitutionally correct; in this sense, Aston offered a robust reply to arguments that portrayed bishops as the agents who undermined liberties of the subject. Instead, he argued, it was presbyterianism which posed the real threat to what he called the ‘ancient constitution of the church’. The chapter also examines a brief reply to Aston's work, which defended an exclusively scriptural constitution for the church, and the distance between these two positions is used to illustrate tensions over the suitability of ‘custom’ and history to debates on ecclesiology.Less

Henry Parker: Priestcraft, Custom, and Sovereignty

Charles W. A. Prior

in A Confusion of Tongues: Britain's Wars of Reformation, 1625-1642

This chapter examines the ecclesiological writings of Henry Parker (1604–1652), one of the most prolific political pamphleteers of the civil war period. It seeks to recover the complexities of his ... More

This chapter examines the ecclesiological writings of Henry Parker (1604–1652), one of the most prolific political pamphleteers of the civil war period. It seeks to recover the complexities of his position on religion and the state by explicating his discussion of the nature of sovereignty in the realm of religion. The context for his writings is shaped by the continuing push for ‘root and branch’ reform of episcopacy, and by the ‘Grand Remonstrance’ which stated the case for the constitutional misrule of bishops and King. Parker argued that history demonstrated that the governance of the church and the power of the clergy was always a matter of custom, and most often a temporary expedient. Instead, Parker argued that sound laws had to reflect the consent of the governed; that sovereignty was corrupted when divided; and that the English reformation stood as a restoration of the balance between natural law and custom as it related to the Church.Less

Babylon is Fallen

David Cressy

in England on Edge: Crisis and Revolution 1640–1642

This chapter examines aspirations for religious reformation following November 1640 among the parliamentary elite and in the country at large. Parliamentary leaders pursued three principal religious ... More

This chapter examines aspirations for religious reformation following November 1640 among the parliamentary elite and in the country at large. Parliamentary leaders pursued three principal religious objectives. The first was to change the face of the Caroline church, to reverse the innovations of the Laudian ascendancy, and to eradicate the errors and excesses of ceremonialism, sacerdotalism, and Arminianism. The second policy was to punish the perpetrators of the Laudian campaign, and to rehabilitate its victims. The third policy was to embark on a true reformation of religion, to pick up where the Tudor reformers had stopped, to repair the damage done by back-sliding, and to perfect a church that would be truly pleasing to God. However, reformers were unable to prevent religious life in many parishes from degenerating into disorder.Less

Repression and Revival, 1640–1660

Kenneth Fincham and Nicholas Tyacke

in Altars Restored: The Changing Face of English Religious Worship, 1547-c.1700

As the religious revolution of the 1640s put an end to episcopacy, the church courts, cathedral chapters, and the prayer book, all the other symbols of Laudian reformation, such as altars, church ... More

As the religious revolution of the 1640s put an end to episcopacy, the church courts, cathedral chapters, and the prayer book, all the other symbols of Laudian reformation, such as altars, church interiors, ritualism, and other such symbols, were affected as well. By the end of the 1640s, there were only a few surviving indications of the changes introduced in the 1630s since the bishops present during that period of reform were either deceased, held captive, or in hiding. Despite this, Laudian ideals, principles, and practices remained very much alive. Laudians offered intellectual leadership to the minority of episcopalians who were in revolt against the religious changes seen in the 1640s and the 1650s. Leading figures were able to influence the re-established Church of England during the Restoration in 1660. This chapter looks into how Laudianism evolved in the 1640s and 1650s and how this influenced the Episcopalian defence of the church, liturgy, and other such aspects of ecclesiastical change.Less