The Caroline Divines And The Church Of Rome

In the early seventeenth century, as the vehement aggression of the early Reformation faded, the Church of England was able to draw upon scholars of remarkable ability to present a more thoughtful defence of its position. The Caroline Divines, who flourished under King Charles I, drew upon vast erudition and literary skill, to refute the claims of the Church of Rome and affirm the purity of the English religious settlement. This book examines their writings in the context of modern ecumenical dialogue, notably that of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) to ask whether their arguments are still valid, and indeed whether they can contribute to contemporary ecumenical progress. Drawing upon an under-used resource within Anglicanism’s own theological history, this volume shows how the restatement by the Caroline Divines of the catholic identity of the Church prefigured the work of ARCIC, and provides Anglicans with a vocabulary drawn from within their own tradition that avoids some of the polemical and disputed formulations of the Roman Catholic tradition.

The Beauty of Holiness: The Caroline Divines and Their Writings offers an expansive and detailed portrait of the continued maturation of Anglican theology and devotion in the central half of the seventeenth century. The Caroline Divines have long been hailed as the patrons of an Anglican ‘golden age’. Their emphasis upon liturgical renewal and development, like their emphases upon learning and piety, have had a pervasive influence on the Anglican ethos that extends down to our own day. The Beauty of Holiness includes selections from key figures such as Lancelot Andrewes, John Cosin, and Jeremy Taylor, but also expands the canon of Caroline divinity to include lay writings, some of which were published posthumously. Traditional topics such as sacramental theology and private devotion are complimented by readings on poetry as a spiritual discipline, natural theology, and the importance of family prayers. Chapters survey diverse facets of Anglican orthodoxy such as liturgical practice, the cult of King Charles the Martyr, and defenses of the celebration of Christmas, while an introductory essay sets these developments within the historical context. The Beauty of Holiness thus functions as both an introduction to the Anglican past and a catechism for the Anglican present.

The beginning of a specifically Anglican liturgy and culture within the Roman Catholic Church was established in the United Sates by Pope John Paul II. Since then, Anglican Use parishes have been worshipping in a distinctively Anglican style within several American dioceses. Thanks to Pope Benedict XVI, these communities are now able to form into personal ordinariates led by bishops who were previously Anglican clergy. As a result, even more Anglicans seeking full communion with Rome can find a home within the Catholic Church. The twelve essays in this book discuss the reasons Anglicans have sought reconciliation with the Holy See, while retaining elements of their own liturgy and traditions. They explore the history and scope of Pope John Paul II's Pastoral Provision and Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution and examine the needs of the new ordinariates if they are to flourish. Also considered are the changes to the Roman liturgy since the Second Vatican Council and the specific patrimony that Anglicans bring to Catholic worship.

A clear summary and analysis of the history of the Church of England that also explains the context of the common issues currently under discussion by Anglicans and Catholics.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Anglicanorum Coetibus, Tracey Rowland gathers together leading voices to examine the issue of the Anglican Patrimony and its relevance for Christians today. The Anglicanorum Coetibus is the 2009 papal decree which established the Anglican Ordinariate within the Catholic Church, and this volume examines the longstanding effects of this cultural decree. Rowland introduces different aspects of the culture of Anglicanism, explains the concept of an Ordinariate within the context of ecumenical theory, and examines aspects of Anglican liturgical theology and pastoral life.

John Wesley’s Doctrine of Justification provides updated scholarship on this pivotal doctrine of Methodism, providing a deeper understanding of a major tenet of the Christian faith. Mark Olson offers a comprehensive treatment of the development and exposition of Wesley’s doctrine of justification and how it changed throughout Wesley’s life, including his early views rooted in Anglican heritage, the significant developments in Wesley’s career, and contributions from notable figures like John Fletcher to his doctrine of general justification. The doctrine of justification was pivotal to John Wesley’s understanding of a person’s relationship with God. In Wesley’s view, it defined one of the two general parts of salvation. It touched every aspect of the spiritual journey from birth (general justification) to conversion (present justification) to final judgment and glory (final justification). To properly understand Wesley’s via salutis and theology, one needs to grasp the particulars of his doctrine of justification. The best way to do this is to tell the story of how he came to understand the doctrine over the course of his life. It is a complex story, with many twists and turns, that deserves to be fully told.

John Henry Newman, recently Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI, was a famous Anglican convert to the Catholic Church, an Oratorian priest, a brilliant author of novels, poems and acclaimed spiritual works, and a renowned preacher. Newman had a great impact on the intellectual and spiritual journey of the author, Fr. Louis Bouyer, who became a famous theologian and spiritual writer. His exchange with the thought of Newman over the years is a model of theological dialogue as Bouyer understood it: the passionate engagement with and free assimilation of all that can illuminate Catholic truth. Bouyer does not see in Newman the eminent Victorian, but a "potential contemporary"; not the subtle philosopher, but a Christian of integrity who sought all his life to follow Christ and did so with an edifying fidelity. Bouyer studied important unpublished documents by Newman at the Birmingham oratory and addressed the delicate question of Newman's sensitive temperament, the key to entering the world of this great theologian. For Bouyer, one of the principle elements of the spiritual universe of Newman is a genuine mysticism of Christ: "Irreplaceable mirror outside of which God's radiance eludes fallen man and only appears as shadow." Bouyer shows that as St Augustine was the great apostle to the early Church, and St. Thomas Aquinas was to the Middle Ages, so is Newman that for modern times. A work of major significance for anyone who wants to approach the towering figure of John Henry Newman.

Asides about John Henry Newman being either particularly English or particularly un-English are common. John Henry Newman and the English Sensibility scrutinises Newman's theological writings to establish how his theology can be considered distinctively English or un-English at the different stages of its development. In his Tractarian period, Newman's theology is shown to be profoundly characterised by common 19th-century tropes of a perceived English sensibility, namely an instinct for compromise, an affection for reserve and a markedly empirical orientation to life. In the period following Newman's conversion to Catholicism in 1845, however, his theology turns against the Englishness of his earlier years as he critiques of the many theological dangers of a self-confident cultural sensibility. In his mature writings, nonetheless, Newman re-incorporates certain elements of his earlier Englishness with a Catholic grounding, yet also maintains an antipathy to certain targets of his post-conversion polemics. Phillips finds that the English instinct for compromise is not incorporated into Newman's mature theology, which remains unabashedly one-sided in its understanding of God and the Catholic Church, taking precedence over elements of a cultural sensibility pertaining ultimately to the sphere of the natural. The affection for reserve, however, is shown to be capable of gracious elevation when reconfigured on a Catholic grounding. Most importantly, the profoundly empirical orientation to life which was considered typical of Englishness in Newman's day emerges as something exhibiting what Newman might consider a 'antecedent affinity' to Catholic theology. This book thus concludes by offering a view of the English Catholic sensibility as characterised by a mindset of careful reserve toward knowledge and words about God, arising from a marked concern for the living, embodied present as the site of God's transformative action in the twists and turns of human life.