The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an
Act of the
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
(14 & 15 Vict. c. 60) which made it a criminal offence for anyone outside the established "United Church
of England and Ireland" to use any
episcopal title "of any city, town or place ... in the United Kingdom". It provided that any property passed to a person under such a title would be forfeit to
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
.
[ The act was introduced by Prime Minister ]Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...
in response to anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...
reaction to the 1850 establishment of Catholic dioceses in England and Wales under the papal bull ''Universalis Ecclesiae
was a papal bull of 29 September 1850 by which Pope Pius IX recreated the Roman Catholic diocesan hierarchy in England, which had been extinguished with the death of the last Marian bishop in the reign of Elizabeth I. New names were given to ...
''. The 1851 act proved ineffective and was repealed 20 years later by the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871. Roman Catholic bishops followed the letter of the law but their laity ignored it. The effect was to strengthen the Catholic Church in England, but also it felt persecuted and on the defensive.
Overview
The Reformation in England
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 po ...
saw the established 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 ...
break from communion with Rome but 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 the ...
retained an episcopal polity
An episcopal polity is a Hierarchy, hierarchical form of Ecclesiastical polity, church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. (The word "bishop" derives, via the British Latin and Vulgar ...
and the same medieval cathedrals and dioceses, such as 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 ...
and Diocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.
History
The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...
. The Reformation in Scotland
The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...
proceeded differently, eventually with an established Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
having a presbyterian polity
Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...
and a small tolerated Anglican 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 ...
. The Reformation in Ireland
The Reformation in Ireland was a movement for the reform of religious life and institutions that was introduced into Ireland by the English administration at the behest of King Henry VIII of England. His desire for an annulment of his marriage ...
formally followed the English model, with an established Anglican 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 second ...
; but, unlike in England, most of the laity remained Roman Catholic.
Penal laws initially prevented any Roman Catholic bishops residing in Britain or Ireland; Catholic emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...
from the late 18th century saw increased "toleration" of Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829
The Catholic Relief Act 1829, also known as the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1829. It was the culmination of the process of Catholic emancipation throughout the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
removed most remaining disabilities but prohibited Roman Catholic bishops using the same diocesan names as Anglican ones. Although the Acts of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
had united the established Churches of Ireland and England, both the 1829 and 1851 restrictions were ignored in Ireland, on the basis that the Roman Catholic dioceses had never lapsed, and papal appointees had continually retained the same pre-Reformation names used by the Anglican dioceses.[Report of the House of Commons Select Committee on Ecclesiastical Titles and Roman Catholic Relief Acts, 2 August 1867, p. 89]
/ref> (Some Protestants referred to Irish Roman Catholic bishops by the location of their cathedral rather than the title of the see, such as "Bishop of Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...
" rather than "Archbishop of Cashel
The Archbishop of Cashel ( ga, Ard-Easpag Chaiseal Mumhan) was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the title ...
", or "Bishop of Queenstown" rather than "Bishop of Cloyne
The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with oth ...
".) Roman Catholic bishops appointed as apostolic administrator
An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...
s in England were initially given titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
s abroad; later they were given English titles, of places which were not Anglican sees. Thus they did not name the relevant see that of Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, but that of Clifton; not Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, but Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
; not Canterbury, but Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
. The selection of Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
as the title of the principal see in London, however, was nevertheless seen by critics as presumptuous for Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
had long been identified as a major centre of the Church of England.
In 1850, in response to the Catholic emancipation legislation, Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
set up a hierarchy of dioceses in England and Wales in ''Universalis Ecclesiae
was a papal bull of 29 September 1850 by which Pope Pius IX recreated the Roman Catholic diocesan hierarchy in England, which had been extinguished with the death of the last Marian bishop in the reign of Elizabeth I. New names were given to ...
''. This was met with widespread hostility, and many characterised it as an act of "papal aggression". Incited by anti-Catholic elements and indeed the prime minister himself, serious anti-Catholic riots took place in November 1850 in Liverpool and other cities. Nearly 900,000 Protestants petitioned the Queen to stop what they called "papal aggression". Guy Fawkes day
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the e ...
in 1850 saw numerous symbolic denunciations, and a handful of cases of violence. Public opinion and elite opinion also turned heavily against 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 ...
(Tractarian movement) inside the Church of England, which led some very prominent figures to become Catholics. Tractarians were denounced as traitors burrowing inside the Anglican church.
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was passed in response, making it a criminal offence for anyone outside the Church of England to use any episcopal title "of any city, town or place, or of any territory or district (under any designation or description whatsoever), in the United Kingdom" e.g. Bishop of Anytown, and provided that any property passed to a person under such a title would be forfeit to the Crown.[ The act made an exception for the " Protestant Episcopal Church of Scotland".
It did not succeed in its aim. The Roman Catholic community unofficially used the territorial titles, although the bishops themselves carefully stayed within the letter of the law. No one was ever prosecuted.
]
Repeal
The Act was repealed in 1871 by the Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
administration of Prime Minister 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-conse ...
.
The act of repeal (the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871 34 and 35 Vict. c. 53) specified in its preamble and in section 1 that the repeal of the earlier Act did not give legal force to the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Church in England or confer upon it any jurisdiction, these being, in United Kingdom law, matters for the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
.
References
Further reading
* Chadwick, Owen. ''The Victorian church'' Vol. 1. (1971). pp 271–309
* Paz, Denis G. "Another Look at Lord John Russell and the Papal Aggression, 1850." ''Historian'' 45.1 (1982): 47-64.
* Plowright, John, ed. ''The Routledge Dictionary of Modern British History'', "Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851" (pp. 88–89)]
* Ralls, Walter. "The papal aggression of 1850: a study in Victorian anti-Catholicism." ''Church History'' 43.02 (1974): 242-256.
* Wallis, Frank H. ''Popular Anti-Catholicism in Mid-Victorian Britain'' (Edwin Mellen Press, 1993.)
External links
Full text of the Act
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1851
History of Christianity in the United Kingdom
History of the Church of England
History of Catholicism in England
1851 in law
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1871
1871 in law
Christianity and law in the 19th century
Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament
Titles in the United Kingdom
Law about religion in the United Kingdom
1851 in Christianity
Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom