The Oxford
Movement
By Rand York+
Throughout
Europe the churches of the Reformation left Rome, and eventually each other,
because of theological differences. The exception to this rule was the Church
of England. Because the English church left the Catholic fold so King Henry VIII could put away his wife
and remarry openly, rather than leaving for reasons of faith, it did not have a
strong independent theological identity. Indeed, throughout the rest of Henry
VIII’s lifetime, the faith and practice of the Church of England remained
virtually indistinguishable from that of the Roman Catholic Church. This
changed after Henry’s death, and over the decades and centuries to come, one
side or another (Puritans, Anglo-Catholics, Evangelicals, etc.) would gain the
upper hand in the ebb and flow of influence within the church. From the time of
the ouster of James II, Britain’s
last Catholic monarch, Catholics were viewed with suspicion and even fear. The
association of Catholicism with high church meant an increasing dearth of the
Anglo-Catholic experience within the Church of England, which in turn made for
fertile ground for the Oxford Movement of the 19th century.
John Keble
The
Oxford Movement, with its focus on apostolic succession and church tradition,
along with its view of communion as central to worship, provided an
Anglo-Catholic challenge to the Evangelical reformers of the English church. It
began with a sermon preached by John
Keble on July 14, 1833, to the Judges of Assize at Oxford on the topic of
“National Apostacy.” In his sermon, Keble deplored Christians in public life
allowing themselves to be swayed by public opinion, rather than holding fast to
their Christian principles and remaining obedient to the authority of their
bishops, as “Successors to the Apostles.”
The
ensuing religious movement swept up older dons like Edward Copleston, Blanco
White, and Richard Whately, along with younger men such as Keble himself,
Richard Froude, Edward Pusey, and John Henry Newman. In their enthusiasm for
encouraging the church to defend its authority, these men produced a number of
tracts on a variety of topics. Hence, those responsible for the Oxford Movement
were also known as “Tractarians.”
John Henry
Newman
The
most famous of these was John Henry
Newman. In his writings, Newman showed appreciation for those doctrines
shared by both the Roman and Anglican churches, such as Apostolic Succession
and Eucharistic Presence; but he also saw a great significance in the antiquity
of doctrines that were distinctly Roman, such as the necessity of Unity and the
Supremacy of Rome. Newman saw in the Church of England a “middle way” between
Catholicism and Protestantism, but eventually allowed his research and the
resultant development of his beliefs to carry him into the Roman Catholic
Church, where he was made a cardinal. This apparent betrayal of, or at least
disloyalty to, the Anglican Church dealt a severe blow to the later influence
of the Tractarians and mitigated the impact of the Oxford Movement.
Still,
the Oxford Movement did introduce an Anglo-Catholic vein that became an
effective offset to Evangelical influence within the Church of England, which
had sought a closer kinship between Anglicans and the Protestants of Europe.
This fresh appreciation by the Oxford Movement for the Catholic heritage of the
Anglican Church rekindled monasticism in England, brought renewal to the
church’s devotional life, and helped restore a balance to the Church of England
that has made it unique among the churches of the Reformation.
©2013 Rand York
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