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In This Sign Conquer: A History of the Society of the Holy Cross 1855-2005
This is a chronicle of a society of Anglican priests (The Society of the Holy Cross), which is celebrating its 150th anniversary. For all those who delight in the eccentricities of Anglo-Catholicism, this will be required reading.
In the introduction the editor states 'inevitably this is not the whole truth'. This is regrettable but what is in this book is remarkable enough. Lost now in the battle against Women Bishops it is often forgotten that the Anglo Catholic movement in the Church of England was essentially a call to holiness. The founder of the Society Father Charles Lowder dedicated his life to working for the poorest of the poor. His new society was designed to give encouragement to priests working in these slum parishes to enable them to fulfil their mission. He recognised then as we do now that it all begins with holiness of life.
This account is packed with incident. Even today, the description of a group of priests gathering the Haven Holiday Camp Caistor on Sea, planning a new dawn for 'Our Catholic Movement' will amaze and delight the reader.
The Shrine at Walsingham has become for many the focal point of renewal and rediscovery of Catholic confidence in The Church of England. Our Lady of Walsingham features prominently in this book.
All those who think the Catholic movement in The Church of England is on its last leg should read this book. They will be rudely contradicted.
In the introduction the editor states 'inevitably this is not the whole truth'. This is regrettable but what is in this book is remarkable enough. Lost now in the battle against Women Bishops it is often forgotten that the Anglo Catholic movement in the Church of England was essentially a call to holiness. The founder of the Society Father Charles Lowder dedicated his life to working for the poorest of the poor. His new society was designed to give encouragement to priests working in these slum parishes to enable them to fulfil their mission. He recognised then as we do now that it all begins with holiness of life.
This account is packed with incident. Even today, the description of a group of priests gathering the Haven Holiday Camp Caistor on Sea, planning a new dawn for 'Our Catholic Movement' will amaze and delight the reader.
The Shrine at Walsingham has become for many the focal point of renewal and rediscovery of Catholic confidence in The Church of England. Our Lady of Walsingham features prominently in this book.
All those who think the Catholic movement in The Church of England is on its last leg should read this book. They will be rudely contradicted.
232 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2006
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August 5, 2024
In. this sign conquer' describes the history of the Anglo-Catholic priestly organisation `The Society of the Holy Cross' (Latin: Societas Sanctae Crucis), tracing it from its humble creating by eight Anglican clergymen in 1855 through its peak to the present crisis it finds itself in.
The book is divided into nine different essays, each written by a different SSC cleric, and progresses though the history of the group. Originating with a number of clerics yearning for greater holiness as found through the grace of the seven Sacraments, the SSC became a bastion of advanced Anglo-Catholicism, dedicated to restoring the Catholic Faith to England and its established church. As a result, it also become a lightning rod for Victorian anti-Catholicism, particularly the kind that despised Anglican ‘papists’ even more than the legitimate Papists. Banished by hostile Bishops to the slums, the SSC clerics found themselves not only preaching the Catholic religion to the poor but putting Christ’s social message into action by becoming involved in British social justice. A few had the opportunity to preach to the prisoners forced on them when they found themselves thrown into gaol for transgressing the ‘Public Worship Regulation Act’ devised to stamp out ritualism. The tireless dedication of these men won them the respect of their flock at a time when much of the Church of England seemed to be only concerned with ministering to the ‘respectable’.
Of course, times have changed since then. Anglo-Catholicism is no longer viewed with the same venom and suspicion that it once was. Bells, smells and ritual are very much part of the mainstream, and the Church of England hierarchy has largely embraced a form of Socialism that, to a degree, was pioneered by slum Anglo-Catholic clergy. The Society of the Holy Cross has gone from a persecuted group to having recently had a not inconsiderable influence within the church. Anglo-Catholicism is now respectable, and often the only evidence of its humble origin is knowing the local history of extremely gentrified areas home to prominent High churches.
That noted, while the Church of England may have become open to ritual it has expected the ‘ritualists’ to be open to theological liberalism. For this reason, the last chapter of this book was, I think, the most interesting. The SSC has found itself in danger of once again being put into exile through its refusal to accept the validity of female priests. In the final chapter, the former Master of the Society, David Houlding, describes the reaction to the Synod’s decision in 1993 to ordain women to clerical ministry. Since this decision, Anglo-Catholicism has been bitterly divided, with many converting to Rome and the progressive faction leaving the SSC to form their own ‘Society of Catholic Priests’. Since then the disagreements have intensified by the consecration of female bishops and the creation by Rome of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. When this book was published, David Houlding was optimistic that the Anglo-Catholicism represented by the SSC would always have a future in the Church of England. The recent consecration of Philip North suggests that he might be right, but whether the future will be a meaningful awaits to be seen.
An extremely interesting book compiled by a number of very good writers which makes a good contribution to furthering our knowledge of Anglo-Catholic history.
The book is divided into nine different essays, each written by a different SSC cleric, and progresses though the history of the group. Originating with a number of clerics yearning for greater holiness as found through the grace of the seven Sacraments, the SSC became a bastion of advanced Anglo-Catholicism, dedicated to restoring the Catholic Faith to England and its established church. As a result, it also become a lightning rod for Victorian anti-Catholicism, particularly the kind that despised Anglican ‘papists’ even more than the legitimate Papists. Banished by hostile Bishops to the slums, the SSC clerics found themselves not only preaching the Catholic religion to the poor but putting Christ’s social message into action by becoming involved in British social justice. A few had the opportunity to preach to the prisoners forced on them when they found themselves thrown into gaol for transgressing the ‘Public Worship Regulation Act’ devised to stamp out ritualism. The tireless dedication of these men won them the respect of their flock at a time when much of the Church of England seemed to be only concerned with ministering to the ‘respectable’.
Of course, times have changed since then. Anglo-Catholicism is no longer viewed with the same venom and suspicion that it once was. Bells, smells and ritual are very much part of the mainstream, and the Church of England hierarchy has largely embraced a form of Socialism that, to a degree, was pioneered by slum Anglo-Catholic clergy. The Society of the Holy Cross has gone from a persecuted group to having recently had a not inconsiderable influence within the church. Anglo-Catholicism is now respectable, and often the only evidence of its humble origin is knowing the local history of extremely gentrified areas home to prominent High churches.
That noted, while the Church of England may have become open to ritual it has expected the ‘ritualists’ to be open to theological liberalism. For this reason, the last chapter of this book was, I think, the most interesting. The SSC has found itself in danger of once again being put into exile through its refusal to accept the validity of female priests. In the final chapter, the former Master of the Society, David Houlding, describes the reaction to the Synod’s decision in 1993 to ordain women to clerical ministry. Since this decision, Anglo-Catholicism has been bitterly divided, with many converting to Rome and the progressive faction leaving the SSC to form their own ‘Society of Catholic Priests’. Since then the disagreements have intensified by the consecration of female bishops and the creation by Rome of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. When this book was published, David Houlding was optimistic that the Anglo-Catholicism represented by the SSC would always have a future in the Church of England. The recent consecration of Philip North suggests that he might be right, but whether the future will be a meaningful awaits to be seen.
An extremely interesting book compiled by a number of very good writers which makes a good contribution to furthering our knowledge of Anglo-Catholic history.
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