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The Society of King Charles the Martyr is an Anglican devotional society dedicated to the cult of
King Charles the Martyr King Charles the Martyr, or Charles, King and Martyr, is a title of Charles I, who was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. The title is used by high church Anglicans who regard Charles's executi ...
, a title of Charles I of England (1600–1649). It is a member of the Catholic Societies of the Church of England, an
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
umbrella group. It is also active in the
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...
and North America, and has international members elsewhere.


History

After Charles I was executed in 1649, it was said that the
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
had offered to spare his life if he would abolish
episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in the Church of England. On the basis that his refusal led to his death,
high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originated ...
supporters of episcopacy viewed his death as a
martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
. After the
1660 Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...
of his son Charles II to the throne, observance of 30 January, the date of Charles I's execution, was added to the Church of England's liturgical calendar, with a special service in the
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
and special sermons preached. The
Anniversary Days Observance Act 1859 The Anniversary Days Observance Act (22 Vict. c. 2; formal long title An Act to repeal certain Acts and Parts of Acts which relate to the Observance of the Thirtieth of January and other Days) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom wh ...
removed the service, along with those of
Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...
and the Restoration, as being of political rather than religious character. The liberal influence which led to the 1859 change also produced a
Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of ...
reaction, which developed into
Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
and encouraged a renewal of high church practices. The Society of King Charles the Martyr was founded in 1894 with the stated purpose of "
intercessory prayer Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy specified that intercession prayers sho ...
for the defence of the Church of England against the attacks of her enemies." Since then, the objectives have extended to religious devotion in keeping with the traditions of Anglo-Catholicism.


In England

Today, the society's stated objectives are the following: *
Intercessory prayer Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Timothy specified that intercession prayers sho ...
for the Church of England and Churches in communion therewith. * Promotion of a wider and better observance of the
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does ...
of St Charles, 30 January. * Work for the reinstatement of the Feast of St Charles in the
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
of The
Prayer Book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...
from which it was removed in 1859 without the due consent of the Church as expressed in Convocation; the Feast was restored to the calendar in the
Alternative Service Book The ''Alternative Service Book 1980'' (''ASB'') was the first complete prayer book produced by the Church of England since 1662. Its name derives from the fact that it was proposed not as a replacement for the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (B ...
of 1980 and a new collect composed for Common Worship in 2000. * The propagation of the true knowledge about the life and times of S. Charles, and winning general recognition of the great debt the Church of England owes to him for his faithfulness unto death in defence of the Church and Her apostolic ministry. * The support of efforts to build and equip churches dedicated under the patronage of S. Charles the Martyr (both at home and overseas). The patrons of the society are
Lord Nicholas Windsor Lord Nicholas Charles Edward Jonathan Windsor (born 25 July 1970) is a relative of the British royal family, youngest child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. As a Catholic convert, he has forfeited his right of succession to the throne. Lord Ni ...
, Sir Leslie Fielding, and Arthur Middleton, a former
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...
of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham * County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
.


Outside England

Outside England, the objectives vary slightly, especially in regard to the Feast of St Charles, which is widely observed by the church in some places and not in others. In the United States and Canada, the society is independently constituted as the American Region. The society's activities in the United States can be traced back to 1895, within a year of the society's foundation in 1894 in London. The American Region is incorporated under the General Laws of the State of
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...
as a not-for-profit corporation, the "Society of King Charles the Martyr, Inc.", and is
tax-exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
under Section 501(c)(3) of the
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
code, both effective as of 8 April 2008. The American Region is governed by a Board of Trustees, and holds a
Solemn Mass Solemn Mass ( la, missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon,"The essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon ...
of the Feast of St Charles Martyr on a Saturday close to January 30. In addition, the American Region confers an honour on some members through membership in the Order of Blessed William Laud. As of 2017, the American Region has more than 400 members. Keith Ackerman serves as episcopal patron. A
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
chapter of the society also exists within the
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in their ...
with the approval of Bishop Steven J. Lopes.


See also

* Royal Martyr Church Union *
Jacobitism , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...
*
Ritualism Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Anglican church in the 19th century, the role of ritual became ...
*
Anglo-Catholicism Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...


References


External links


The Website of the Society of King Charles the Martyr in England

The Website of the American Region of the Society of King Charles the Martyr
{{Authority control Anglo-Catholicism Religious organizations established in 1894 Christian religious orders established in the 19th century Anglican orders and communities Church of England societies and organisations Charles I of England 1894 establishments in the United Kingdom