Walter Howard Frere (23 November 1863 – 2 April 1938) was a co-founder of the
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 ...
religious order the
Community of the Resurrection
The Community of the Resurrection (CR) is an Anglican religious community for men in England. It is based in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and has 13 members as of February 2021. The community reflects Anglicanism in its broad nature and is stron ...
,
Mirfield
Mirfield () is a town and civil parish in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury. At the 2011 census it had a population of 19,563. Mirfield f ...
, and
Bishop of Truro
The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury.
History
There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Crediton ...
(1923–1935).
Biography
Frere was born in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, England, on 23 November 1863, the younger son of
Philip Howard Frere and his wife Emily, née Gipps. His siblings were Arthur, Ellen and Lucy. Lucy became the wife of Wilfred J. Barnes. He was educated at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
and
Wells Theological College
Wells Theological College began operation in 1840 within the Cathedral Close of Wells Cathedral. It was one of several new colleges created in the nineteenth century to cater not just for non-graduates, but for graduates from the old universiti ...
; and
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
in 1889. His first post was as a
curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
at
Stepney Parish Church. He was
Examining Chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...
to the
Bishop of Southwark from 1896 to 1909.
Frere was twice Superior of the order 1902–1913 and 1916–1922, and returned to it after resigning the see of Truro. He was consecrated bishop at
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 ...
on 1 November 1923, by
Randall Davidson,
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 as he regarded membership of a religious order an obligation taking precedence over others, the bishop's palace became a branch house of the Community.
Frere assisted the Indian
Malankara Orthodox Church
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Malankara ...
with the foundation of the Bethany religious order in 1919: however the dioceses forming this church were received into the Roman Catholic communion in 1930.
He was a member of the Anglican delegation to the
Malines Conversations in the 1920s, and active in various other
ecumenical
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 ...
projects including relations with the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
. He was a noted liturgical historical scholar; he was also a
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 ...
man and a supporter 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 ...
ideas. In his early writings and addresses he emphasised the importance of spiritual life, and explained some of the liturgical revision which was then in preparation.
He played a major part in the
proposed revision 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 Britain ...
''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'' in 1928, which was later rejected by Parliament, and was responsible for the service book for the Guild of the Servants of the Sanctuary. Some of the books which belonged to Walter Frere form part of the Mirfield Collection which is housed in the University of York Special Collections.
He died on 2 April 1938 and was buried at Mirfield.
Bibliography
*''Recollections of Malines'', 1935. Concerning discussions with Cardinal Mercier, Old Catholic Archbishop.
*''A Collection of his Papers on Liturgical and Historical Subjects'', Alcuin Club, 1940.
*''Correspondence on liturgical revision and construction'', Alcuin Club, 1954.
*''The Use of Sarum'', 2 vols. 1898 and 1901.
*''A New History of the Book of Common Prayer'' (based on F. Procter's earlier work), 1901.
*''A Manual of
Plainsong
Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgy, liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in La ...
for Divine Service containing the Canticles Noted
ndthe Psalter Noted to Gregorian Tones together with the Litany and Responses'', edited by Frere and H. B. Briggs, Novello and Company, London, 1902.
[Stone, D.]
The Manual of Plainsong, 1902 edition
updated 28 August 2009, accessed 15 September 2021
*''The Principles of Religious Ceremonial'', 1906.
*''Black Letter Saints' Days'', 1938. Providing eucharistic propers for a selection of saints in the interim 1928 Prayer Book Calendar.
References
Citations
Works cited
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Frere, Walter
1863 births
1938 deaths
20th-century Church of England bishops
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Alumni of Wells Theological College
Anglo-Catholic bishops
Anglo-Catholic socialists
Bishops of Truro
Burials in West Yorkshire
English Christian socialists
Anglican monks
Anglican liturgists
English Anglo-Catholics
Walter Howard