The Oxford Movement was a movement of

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 originate ...

members of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

which began in the 1830s and eventually 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 ...

. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, argued for the reinstatement of some older Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy and theology. They thought of

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

as one of three branches of the " one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" Christian church. Many key participants subsequently converted to Roman Catholicism. The movement's philosophy was known as Tractarianism after its series of publications, the ''

Tracts for the Times The Tracts for the Times were a series of 90 theological publications, varying in length from a few pages to book-length, produced by members of the English Oxford Movement, an Anglo-Catholic revival group, from 1833 to 1841. There were about a do ...

'', published from 1833 to 1841. Tractarians were also disparagingly referred to as "Newmanites" (before 1845) and "Puseyites" (after 1845) after two prominent Tractarians,

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

and

Edward Bouverie Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement. Early years ...

. Other well-known Tractarians included

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouces ...

, Charles Marriott,

Richard Froude Richard Hurrell Froude (25 March 1803 – 28 February 1836) was an Anglican priest and an early leader of the Oxford Movement. Life He was born in Dartington, Devon, the eldest son of Robert Froude ( Archdeacon of Totnes) and the elder brother ...

Robert Wilberforce Robert Isaac Wilberforce (19 December 18023 February 1857) was an English clergyman and writer. Early life and education He was second son of abolitionist William Wilberforce, and active in the Oxford Movement. He was educated at Oriel College, ...

, Isaac Williams and William Palmer. All except Williams and Palmer were fellows of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

Origins and early period

In the early nineteenth century, different groups vied for power and influence within the Church of England. Many, particularly in high office, saw themselves as

latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that ...

(liberal). Conversely, many clergy in the parishes were

Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

, as a result of the revival led by

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

. Alongside this, the universities became the breeding ground for a movement to restore liturgical and devotional customs which borrowed heavily from traditions before the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

as well as contemporary Roman Catholic traditions. The immediate impetus for the Tractarian movement was a perceived attack by the reforming Whig administration on the structure and revenues of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the sec ...

(the

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

in Ireland), with the Irish Church Temporalities Bill (1833). This bill not only legislated administrative changes of the hierarchy of the church (for example, with a reduction of bishoprics and archbishoprics) but also made changes to the leasing of church lands, which some (including a number of Whigs) feared would result in a secular appropriation of ecclesiastical property. John Keble criticised these proposals as "

National Apostasy "National Apostasy" was a sermon preached by John Keble on 14 July 1833. The sermon has traditionally been considered as the beginning of the Oxford Movement of high church Anglicans. Background The previous five years had seen radical changes t ...

" in his Assize Sermon in Oxford in 1833. The Tractarians criticised theological

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...

. The Gorham Case in which secular courts overruled an ecclesiastical court on the matter of a priest with heretical views, was also deeply unsettling. Their interest in Christian origins caused some of them to reconsider the relationship of the Church of England with the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

. The Tractarians postulated the

Branch Theory Branch theory is an ecclesiological proposition that the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church includes various Christian denominations whether in formal communion or not. The theory is often incorporated in the Protestant notion of an invis ...

, which states that Anglicanism along with

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonic ...

and Roman Catholicism form three "branches" of the historic pre-schism Catholic Church. Tractarians argued for the inclusion of traditional aspects of liturgy from medieval religious practice, as they believed the church had become too "plain". In the final tract, "

Tract 90 ''Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles'', better known as Tract 90, was a theological pamphlet written by the English theologian and churchman John Henry Newman and published in 1841. It is the most famous and the most controvers ...

", Newman argued that the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, as defined by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

, were compatible with the

Thirty-Nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

of the 16th-century Church of England. Newman's eventual reception into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845, followed by

Henry Edward Manning Henry Edward Manning (15 July 1808 – 14 January 1892) was an English prelate of the Catholic church, and the second Archbishop of Westminster from 1865 until his death in 1892. He was ordained in the Church of England as a young man, but conv ...

in 1851, had a profound effect upon the movement.

Publications

Apart from the ''Tracts for the Times'', the group began a collection of translations of the Church Fathers, which they termed the ''

Library of the Fathers The ''Library of the Fathers'', more properly ''A library of fathers of the holy Catholic church: anterior to the division of the East and West'', was a series of around 50 volumes of the Church Fathers, annotated in English translation, published ...

''. The collection eventually comprised 48 volumes, the last published three years after Pusey's death. They were issued through

Rivington Rivington is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, occupying . It is about southeast of Chorley and about northwest of Bolton. Rivington is a rural area consisting primarily of agricultural grazing land, ...

's company with the imprint of the Holyrood Press. The main editor for many of these was Charles Marriott. A number of volumes of original Greek and Latin texts was also published. One of the main contributions that resulted from Tractarianism is the hymnbook entitled ''

Hymns Ancient and Modern ''Hymns Ancient and Modern'' is a hymnal in common use within the Church of England, a result of the efforts of the Oxford Movement. The hymnal was first published in 1861. The organization publishing it has now been formed into a charitabl ...

'' which was published in 1861.

Influence and criticism

The Oxford Movement was criticised for being a mere " Romanising" tendency, but it began to influence the theory and practice of Anglicanism more broadly. Paradoxically, the Oxford Movement was also criticised for being both secretive and collusive. The Oxford Movement resulted in the establishment of

Anglican religious orders Anglican religious orders are communities of men or women (or in some cases mixed communities of both men and women) in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows which often include t ...

, both of men and of women. It incorporated ideas and practices related to the practice of

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

and ceremony to incorporate more powerful emotional symbolism in the church. In particular it brought the insights of the

Liturgical Movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

into the life of the church. Its effects were so widespread that the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

gradually became more central to

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogni ...

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; th ...

became common, and numerous Roman Catholic practices were re-introduced into worship. This led to controversies within churches that resulted in court cases, as in the dispute about ritualism. Partly because bishops refused to give livings to Tractarian priests, many of them began working in

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily ...

s. From their new ministries, they developed a critique of British social policy, both local and national. One of the results was the establishment of the Christian Social Union, of which a number of bishops were members, where issues such as the just wage, the system of property renting,

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

and industrial conditions were debated. The more radical Catholic Crusade was a much smaller organisation than the Oxford Movement. Anglo-Catholicism – as this complex of ideas, styles and organisations became known – had a significant influence on global Anglicanism.

End of Newman's involvement and receptions into Roman Catholicism

One of the principal writers and proponents of Tractarianism was

, a popular Oxford priest who, after writing his final tract, "

", became convinced that the Branch Theory was inadequate. Concerns that Tractarianism was a disguised Roman Catholic movement were not unfounded; Newman believed that the Roman and Anglican churches were wholly compatible. He was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and was ordained a priest of that church the same year. He later became a cardinal (but not a bishop). Writing on the end of Tractarianism as a movement, Newman stated:

I saw indeed clearly that my place in the Movement was lost; public confidence was at an end; my occupation was gone. It was simply an impossibility that I could say any thing henceforth to good effect, when I had been posted up by the marshal on the buttery-hatch of every College of my University, after the manner of discommoned pastry-cooks, and when in every part of the country and every class of society, through every organ and opportunity of opinion, in newspapers, in periodicals, at meetings, in pulpits, at dinner-tables, in coffee-rooms, in railway carriages, I was denounced as a traitor who had laid his train and was detected in the very act of firing it against the time-honoured Establishment.

Newman was one of a number of Anglican clergy who were received into the Roman Catholic Church during the 1840s who were either members of, or were influenced by, Tractarianism. Other people influenced by Tractarianism who became Roman Catholics included: * Thomas William Allies, ecclesiastical historian and Anglican priest. * Edward Badeley, ecclesiastical lawyer. * Robert Hugh Benson, son of the Archbishop of Canterbury, novelist and

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ...

. * John Chapman,

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

scholar and Roman Catholic priest. *

Augusta Theodosia Drane Augusta Theodosia Drane (28 December 1823 – 29 April 1894) was an English writer and Roman Catholic nun.Anselm Nye: "Drane, Augusta Theodosia..." ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004)Retrieved 28 December 2018./ref> She beca ...

, writer and Dominican prioress. * Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian, church founder and philanthropist. *

Frederick William Faber Frederick William Faber (1814–1863) was a noted English hymnwriter and theologian, who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1845. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood subsequently in 1847. His best-known work is the hymn ...

, theologian, hymn writer, Oratorian and Roman Catholic priest. *

Robert Stephen Hawker Robert Stephen Hawker (1803–1875) was a British Anglican priest, poet, antiquarian and reputed eccentric, known to his parishioners as Parson Hawker. He is best known as the writer of "The Song of the Western Men" with its chorus line of "A ...

, poet and Anglican priest (became a Roman Catholic on his deathbed). *

James Hope-Scott James Robert Hope-Scott (15 July 1812 – 29 April 1873) was a British barrister and Tractarian. Early life and conversion Born at Great Marlow, in the county of Buckinghamshire, and christened James Robert, Hope was the third son of Gen ...

, barrister and Tractarian (received with Manning). *

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innova ...

, poet and

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest. *

Ronald Knox Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (17 February 1888 – 24 August 1957) was an English Catholic priest, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a high reputation as a classicist, Knox wa ...

, Biblical text translator and Anglican priest. *Thomas Cooper Makinson, Anglican priest. *

, later Cardinal

Archbishop of Westminster The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

. * St. George Jackson Mivart, biologist (later interdicted by Cardinal

Herbert Vaughan Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan, MHM (15 April 1832 – 19 June 1903) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death in 1903, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. He was th ...

). *

John Brande Morris John Brande Morris, known to friends as Jack Morris (born at Brentford, Middlesex, 4 September 1812; died at Hammersmith, London, 9 April 1880) was an English Anglican theologian, later a Roman Catholic priest. He was a noted academic eccentric, b ...

, Orientalist, eccentric and Roman Catholic priest. *

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

, architect. *Richard Sibthorp, Anglican and Roman Catholic priest (the first to convert, in 1841; later reconverted to Anglicanism) *

William Gowan Todd William Gowan Todd (1820–1877) was a nineteenth-century author and cleric. In the later years of his life he founded and managed St. Mary's Orphanage, Blackheath, England, where he died on 24 July 1877. Early life The son of physician and p ...

, Roman Catholic priest *

William George Ward William George Ward (21 March 1812 – 6 July 1882) was an English theologian and mathematician. A Roman Catholic convert, his career illustrates the development of religious opinion at a time of crisis in the history of English religious though ...

, theologian.

Others associated with Tractarianism

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

Richard William Church Richard William Church (25 April 1815 – 6 December 1890) was an English churchman and writer, known latterly as Dean Church. He was a close friend of John Henry Newman and allied with the Tractarian movement. Later he moved from Oxford academi ...

William Coope William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of ...

Margaret Anna Cusack Margaret Anna Cusack (born 6 May 1829 in a house at the corner of Mercer Street and York Street (now known as Cusack Corner), Dublin, Ireland – died 5 June 1899), also known as Sister Mary Francis Cusack and Mother Margaret, was first an Irish ...

* George Anthony Denison * Philip Egerton *

Alexander Penrose Forbes Alexander Penrose Forbes (16 June 18178 October 1875) was a Scottish Episcopalian divine, born in Edinburgh. A leading cleric in the Scottish Episcopal Church, he was Bishop of Brechin from 1847 until his death in 1875. Biography He was the sec ...

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...

* George Cornelius Gorham *

Renn Dickson Hampden Renn Dickson Hampden (29 March 1793 – 23 April 1868) was an English Anglican clergyman. His liberal tendencies led to conflict with traditionalist clergy in general and the supporters of Tractarianism during the years he taught in Oxford (18 ...

* Walter Farquhar Hook *

William Lockhart William Lockhart may refer to: * William Lockhart of Lee (1621–1675), Oliver Cromwell's ambassador at Paris * William Lockhart (surgeon) (1811–1896), medical missionary and fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons * William Lockhart (priest) (18 ...

John Medley John Medley, (19 December 1804 – 9 September 1892), was a Church of England clergyman who became the first bishop of Fredericton in 1845. In 1879 he succeeded Ashton Oxenden as Metropolitan of Canada. Education and family John Medley was b ...

James Bowling Mozley James Bowling Mozley (15 September 1813 – 4 January 1878) was an English theologian. He was born at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the younger brother of Thomas Mozley, and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (now Queen Elizabeth' ...

Thomas Mozley Thomas Mozley (1806June 17, 1893), was an English clergyman and writer associated with the Oxford Movement. Early life Mozley was born at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of a bookseller and publisher. His brother, James Bowling Mozley, woul ...

* John Mason Neale * William Upton Richards *

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

* Lord Salisbury *

James Henthorn Todd James Henthorn Todd (23 April 1805 – 28 June 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Prot ...

* Nathaniel Woodard *

Charlotte Mary Yonge Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and show her keen interest in matters of public health and sanitation. ...

References

External links

( Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge)
The Oxford Movement
BBC Radio 4 discussion with Sheridan Gilley, Frances Knight & Simon Skinner (''In Our Time'', Apr 13, 2006) {{Authority control History of Oxford Anglo-Catholicism Christianity in Oxford History of the Church of England 19th-century Christianity Subcultures of religious movements Anglicanism