The following report is from the Berkshire Chronicle of Revd R Enraght’s lecture on “Historical
Position of Catholics in the Church of England since the
Reformation.” it differs slightly from the Reading
Mercury version, insomuch, it
records some extra comments and facts not reported by the Reading
Mercury in
their coverage of the
Reading Lecture 1888 :-
since the Reformation”
Image from A History of the Municipal Church of
St Lawrence, Reading. by Charles Kerry (1883)
A meeting of the Reading branch of the English Church Union was held in St Lawrence’s Infant Schoolroom on the Monday evening of 19th March 1888.
Mr. S. S. Stallwood presided, and there were also present the Rev. R.
W. Enraght, J. F. Coleridge, H. Last, - Hiley, and Messrs. W. W.
Williams, J. Golder, C. O. Fullbrook, F. Lake (Hon. Sec.), &c.
The meeting had been arranged for the purpose of hearing a lecture by
the Rev. A. D. Crake (vicar of Cholsey, Oxfordshire.) on “The Historic Position
of High Churchmen in the Church of England;” and to consider “The
Claims of the English Church Union upon Churchmen in General,”
which was brought forward by Mr. C. O. Fullbrook. The meeting was
opened with prayer.
The CHAIRMAN said that apologies had received from the Rev. C. W. H.
Kenrick, J. M. Guilding, H. F. Hunt and others. The Rev. A. D. Crake
had written a letter to the effect that he was an invalid and had
lost his voice and was consequently obliged to give up all his
engagements to lecture and preach for the present. They regretted
that Mr. Crake could not attend, but did not think it advisable to
postpone the meeting, and the Rev. R. W. Enraght (of London) had come
in the place of Mr. Crake.
Mr. Enraght was so well known to them that he scarcely need introduce
him. He was obliged to leave early to attend another meeting, as he
had fixed another meeting the same evening, having overlooked that
meeting of the English Church Union. The High Church movement had
held a conspicuous position during the present century was written
the work of the Church must be read with satisfaction if not pride.
Mr. Stallwood spoke of the change that had come over the Church
during the last twenty or twenty-five years, and the asked the Rev.
H. Last to take his place, as he was obliged to leave.
The Rev. H. Last called the lecturer.
The Rev. R. W. ENRAGHT said that he was sorry that Mr. Crake was
unable to be there ; Mr. Crake was so well up in history. Some
members of the Union had pressed him (Mr. Enraght) to come and
lecture on the subject, and he had had very little time for
preparation ; therefore he hoped they would excuse him if his remarks
were somewhat disjointed.
He intended to make a little change in the subject of the lecture,
viz., to the “Historical Position of Catholics in the Church of
England since the Reformation” (applause)
Some might say, what are Catholics ? He would reply that Catholics
represented the true Church, and they alone had done so truly all
through history. The Church of England believed in one holy Apostolic
Church, which was set up by the Lord Jesus Christ. Any creed that was
different from the Apostolic Church could not be truly Catholic.
Various heresies crept into the Church of England at times. Catholics
at one time believed in the infallibility of the Pope, but all
Catholics, with the exception of Roman Catholics, abjure it.
There are many ways in which English Catholics differed from Roman
Catholics. The practice in the Romish Church of burning lights before
the images of Christ did not date back many centuries, and,
therefore, could not be truly Catholic. The term Catholic was
properly applied when applied to sound English Churchmen (applause)
If they traced various epochs in history they would find that in
Henry VIII time the Reformation was commenced. There had been a good
deal going on before on the part of the archbishops, bishops, and
laity, but it was in the reign of Henry VIII that the Reformation was
decidedly commenced, and although it was to answer his own selfish
end it was over-ruled for good.
In the reign of Edward VI. The first Catholic Prayer Book came out,
and in the fifth year of his reign a second Prayer Book came out,
which was known as the revised Prayer Book. The first Prayer Book was
brought out properly ; it was drawn up by the Church and afterwards
ratified by Act of Parliament, and therefore, had the authority of
Parliament. The second Prayer Book was brought out by the mistakes of
a number of men who were following their own sensuality. The first
Prayer Book was that which true Churchmen ought to abide by, and it
was only those with Puritan ideas who could object to it.
After briefly referring to the reign of Queen Mary, the lecturer said
that Queen Elizabeth was strongly Catholic, and during her reign a
good deal of the ancient ritual was revived. It was during her reign
that it was enacted that the Holy Communion should not be left to be
administered by some inferior minister, but rather by the principal ,
and that he should wear a “decent cope.” The Puritan feeling was
gaining ground at this time, and Archbishop Parker brought out a
number of documents, which gradually became to be called
advertisements.
These documents were drawn to show what the Puritans were to do and
what they were not to do, and Queen Elizabeth refused to sign the
documents. The advertisements had been brought forward in judicial
courts of the present day and he held that they were not the
advertisements of Elizabeth.
The Judicial Committee in the Risdale judgement made the whole matter
turn upon the advertisements. Therefore the truth about them was all
important at the present time. Of the Ornaments’ Rubrics the
judgment said “If the rubric is taken alone the words in it are not
optional, they are imperative ; and every clergyman who since 1662
has failed, or who may hereafter fail, to use in the administration
of the Holy Communion the vestments of the first Edwardian Prayer
Book has been and will be guilty of an ecclesiastical offence
rendering him liable to heavy penalties.”
The Ornaments’ Rubric of Elizabeth read as follows :- “That the
minister at the time of the Communion, and at all other times in his
administrations, shall use such ornaments in the Church as were in
use by the authority of Parliament in the second year of the reign of
King Edward VI.” The rubrics as to ornaments distinctly ordered
the vestments, and all efforts to stultify the plain terms of the
rubric would fall.
He contended that proceedings had been taken against him for doing
that which was perfectly legal according to Act of Parliament. The
orders of Queen Elizabeth were really against the Puritans and
tending to help forward the cases of true Catholics. Charles I., was
a strong Churchman, a learned theologian, and a Catholic English
Churchman of the order of the present day. Archbishop Laud was of the
same principles and mind as the King, and the strong Catholicity of
Archbishop Laud was a by word with the Puritans. Referring to the
practices of the Commonwealth, he said that seven thousand thousand
orthodox clergymen and bishops were turned out of their offices by
the Commonwealth.
He believed that but for the existence of the English Church Union
and the Church of England Working Men’s Society they might this
century have had a return to the Commonwealth state of things. When
the ancient practices and rites of the Church were first revived in
England nearly every newspaper spoke against it ; he believed all
ridiculed it with the exception of the Spectator, the Saturday
Review, and the Morning Post. There were many bishops and
clergymen also against the movement. Now the Times, Standard,
and many other newspapers and periodicals spoke well of the English
Church Union and of the work they were engaged in. As a proof of the
change of feeling which had taken place in the country he would
mention that when Lord Randolph Churchill was recently seeking
re-election, one of the first questions put to him was whether he
voted for the Public Worship Regulation Act under which he (Mr.
Enraght) had been imprisoned.
During Charles II.’s time there were many alterations in the Prayer
Book, all of a Catholic tendency. The Puritans tried hard to prevent
the alterations and two thousand Puritan ministers were turned out
rather than accept the revision of the Prayer Book of 1662. Charles
II was succeeded by James II., who was a Roman Catholic and did
untold injury to the true Catholic cause, by endeavouring to put
Roman Catholics into the highest places of trust and helping on Rome
in every way. He imprisoned seven of the Bishops of the Church of
England, including Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury.
When Queen Anne ascended the throne there was a change for the
better. Queen Anne was a good Churchwomen and advanced the cause of
the true Catholics. Amongst the most important events connected with
the Church during her reign was the restoration of Bishop Ken to his
former office.
When George I ascended the throne the Hanoverian dynasty was
commenced, and also controversies inside and outside Convocations.
Convocation was afterwards silenced for many years, during which time
everything seemed to go down, until the revival of John Wesley, a
true Churchman. Next followed the Evangelical and then the Catholic
revival of the last forty or fifty years.
The Church of England was now alive to her duties, and was open daily
for holding of services, and had now gained such a power the gates of
hell could not prevail against her.
The Church was essentially Catholic at first and could be traced back
further than the Church of Rome, and it was right that her members
should avail themselves of the blessings of the Church and ever
cherish a spirit of Catholicity.
The Rev. H. Last proposed a vote of thanks to the Rev. R. W. Enraght
and this was seconded by Mr. Golder, and carried unanimously.
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See also the Reading Lecture 1888 page.
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(Report of the Rev. R. W. Enraght’s speech which appeared in the
Berkshire Chronicle on the 24th March 1888,
transcribed by D. Sharp - 2026)