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The Catholic societies of the Church of England are associations within 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 Britain ...
which follow in the tradition of
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 Anglica ...
. They may be devotional, theological or pilgrimage-focused in nature. Many trace their origins to the Catholic revival in the Church of England which started with the
Oxford Movement 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 O ...
in the 19th century. Although many, especially the older ones, make specific reference to the Church of England in their foundation documents, the vast majority today extend their membership and influence to all member churches of the wider
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
,See, for example, th
reference
of CBS to international membership. and often also to those non-Anglican churches that are in full communion with the See of Canterbury (for example, through the
Porvoo Communion The Porvoo Communion is a communion of 15 predominantly northern European Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches, with a couple of far-southwestern European (in the Iberian Peninsula) church bodies of the same denomination. It was establishe ...
).


Origins

The various societies were founded for many different reasons. Some have specific focuses, such as an emphasis on
Mariology Mariology is the theological study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and grace. Chri ...
, or on liturgical questions (including the
Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...
), supporting vocations amongst those who share Anglo-Catholic ideology, promoting study, encouraging devotion, or promoting pilgrimage to different sacred sites (especially those associated with
Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus venerated by Catholics, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and some Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English peo ...
). In the nineteenth century, many of the older societies had a role in supporting both clergy and laity who found their Anglo-Catholic practices or beliefs challenged through the civil courts by protestant organisations, as part of the then current disagreement concerning
ritualism in the Church of England 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 ...
. Those prosecuted ranged from relatively unknown parochial clergy (such as Fr
Arthur Tooth Arthur Tooth (17 June 1839 – 5 March 1931) was a ritualist priest in the Church of England and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross. Tooth is best known for being prosecuted in 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 for u ...
) to prominent leading churchmen of the day (such as Bishop Edward King).
The Church Union The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England. The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determine questi ...
is an example of a society founded to provide legal and moral support to those Anglo-Catholics persecuted for their beliefs. Today these organisations have assumed different objectives.


Ordination of women

The issue of the
ordination of women in the Anglican Communion The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. Several provinces, however, and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces, continue to ordain only men. Disputes ove ...
has caused disagreement amongst Anglicans, including those of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and these differences of opinion have had repercussions for the Catholic societies. Some societies have declared that their membership is open only to male priests, or those opposed to the ordination of women. Other societies have been founded specifically to cater for those who are open to, or support, women's ordination. Some (such as the
Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament (CBS), officially the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional society in the Anglican Communion dedicated to venerating the Real Presence of Christ in the Eu ...
) have publicly declared that they are open to membership from those opposed to or in favour of women's ordination, but for the sake of internal unity will only permit male priests to hold office in the society, or to preside at the society's meetings and liturgies. An umbrella organisation entitled Catholic Societies in the Church of England has been founded to unite those societies which oppose the ordination of women. This article is not about that umbrella organisation, but reflects the full range of Anglo-Catholic societies regardless of their views on women's ordination.


Current societies

The catholic societies in this table are currently active in the life of the Church of England, and (in most cases) other Anglican provinces.


Former societies

The catholic societies in this table are no longer active.


See also

*
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 Church of England, Anglican church in the 19th century, the rol ...
*
Oxford Movement 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 O ...
*
The Society (Church of England) The Society, more fully The Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda and formerly known as The Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda, is an independent association of Church of England clergy and lay people which defines itse ...


References

{{Anglicanism (footer), collapsed Church of England societies and organisations Anglo-Catholicism