Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax, (7 June 1839 – 19 January 1934), was a British

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 ...

ecumenist Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

who served as president of the

English 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 questio ...

from 1868 to 1919, and from 1927 to 1934. In 1886, he was a former part of

Northern Regiment of West Riding Yeomanry Cavalry Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

became a

Deputy Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire The post of Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire was created in 1660, at the English Restoration, Restoration, and was abolished on 31 March 1974. From 1782 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding ...

, also one of the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

, and a member of Houses of Laymen for York.

Early life and education

Halifax was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the eldest son of

Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax (20 December 1800 – 8 August 1885), known as Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet, between 1846 and 1866, was a British Whig politician and Member of the British Parliament. He served as Chancellor of the Exche ...

, a prominent Whig politician, and his wife, the former Lady Mary Grey , the fifth daughter of The 2nd Earl Grey. As a student at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

he was the favourite of

William Johnson Cory William Johnson Cory (9 January 1823 – 11 June 1892), born William Johnson, was an English educator and poet. He was dismissed from his post at Eton College, Eton for encouraging a culture of intimacy, possibly non-sexual, between teachers and ...

, his master, who dedicated his book of Uranian verse, ''Ionica'', to him. Between 1858 and 1863, he studied law and modern history at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He earned a BA in 1863 and MA in 1865. From 1862 to 1877, he served as

Groom of the Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

to the Prince of Wales, the future

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. He succeeded to the viscountcy on 8 August 1885.

English Church Union

, Halifax became influenced by 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 ...

and, at the request of

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 H ...

, became president of the

, a society dedicated to the promotion of

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 ...

principles and practices 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 ...

, in 1868. Along with the French priest, he played a prominent role in the attempt to bring about dialogue between 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 ...

and the Church of England on the subject of

Anglican orders The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

, including the Malines Conversations. Due to disagreement from Canterbury and Westminster, no constructive dialogue ever came about, however, and the unhoped result of Halifax's actions was the condemnation of Anglican orders as "absolutely null and utterly void" in the

papal encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

Apostolicae curae ''Apostolicae curae'' is the title of a papal bull, issued in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII, declaring all Anglican ordinations to be "absolutely null and utterly void". The Anglican Communion made no official reply, but the archbishops of Canterbury ...

''. The

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previousl ...

, and the

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 ...

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

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 ...

, can be accused of letting this early attempt at

rapprochement In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word ''rapprocher'' ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations between two countries. This may be done due to a mutual enemy, as was the case with Germ ...

fall away due to the narrow-minded vision of each other's place in the English church during that era. It might also be argued that Pope Leo XIII was led astray by Vaughan and like-minded Roman Catholic scholars who viewed the Church of England as a state church with no real theological authority. Benson, like most

Anglican 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 th ...

clergy in the power structure viewed any Roman Catholic involvement in England as the " Italian Mission", with not even a toehold worth acknowledging in English Society. Halifax served as president of the English Church Union until 1919, and again from 1927 until his death. One of his last achievements was the union of the English Church Union with the Anglo-Catholic Congress in 1933.

Personal life

Halifax was a collector of ghost stories, many of which are to be found in ''

Lord Halifax's Complete Ghost Book Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax, (7 June 1839 – 19 January 1934), was a British Anglo-Catholic ecumenist who served as president of the English Church Union from 1868 to 1919, and from 1927 to 1934. In 1886, he was a former part ...

'' () and ''The Ghost Book of Charles Lindley, Viscount Halifax'' (). Halifax married Lady Agnes Elizabeth Courtenay (1838–1919), daughter of

William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon PC (14 April 1807 – 18 November 1888), styled Lord Courtenay between 1835 and 1859, was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1866 to 1867 and as Presid ...

, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Fortescue, daughter of

Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue (12 March 1753 – 16 June 1841) was a British peer, created Earl Fortescue in 1789. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaumaris from 1784 to 1785. Origins He was the son of Matthew Fortescue, 2nd ...

. They had four sons and two daughters: *

The Hon ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

. Charles Reginald Lindley Wood (7 July 1870 – 6 September 1890)Roberts 1991, p. 10. * The Hon. Alexandra Mary Elizabeth Wood (25 August 1871 – 10 March 1965), godchild of

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...

, married in 1898 Maj. Gen. Hugh Sutton * The Hon. Francis Hugh Lindley Wood (21 September 1873 – 17 March 1889) * The Hon. Mary Agnes Emily Wood (25 March 1877 – 25 March 1962), married in 1903 George Lane-Fox. He was later created, in 1933, the 1st

Baron Bingley Baron Bingley is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation came in 1713 in the Peerage of Great Britain, when the former Chancel ...

. * The Hon. Henry Paul Lindley Wood (25 January 1879 – 6 June 1886) * Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 3rd Viscount Halifax and 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959) Halifax died in 1934 aged 94, having outlived his three eldest sons. His fourth and youngest son succeeded to the viscountcy and was created

Earl of Halifax Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history—once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to Halifax, We ...

in 1944 after serving as

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

and

British Ambassador to the United States The British Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of America. T ...

References

Sources

* * *Andrew Roberts, ''The Holy Fox: The Life of Lord Halifax'' (Phoenix, 1997 (originally published 1991))(a biography of the 3rd Viscount Halifax).

External links

*
Bibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halifax, Charles Wood, 2nd Viscount 1839 births 1934 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom English Anglo-Catholics People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Wood family Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London