The
Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) is an international
Anglo-CatholicThe terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
society of priests with members in the
Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy...
, the
Continuing Anglican MovementThe term Continuing Anglican refers to a number of churches in various countries that have been formed outside of the Anglican Communion. These churches generally believe that "traditional" forms of Anglican faith and worship have been unacceptably revised or abandoned within some Anglican...
, and the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
's
Anglican UseAnglican Use has two meanings. First, it refers to former congregations of the Anglican Communion who have joined the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining some of the features of Anglicanism...
. The society's name is abbreviated as
SSC from the initials of the society's Latin name,
Societas Sanctae Crucis.
The society is not to be confused with the Roman Catholic
Priestly Society of the Holy CrossThe Priestly Society of the Holy Cross is an association of clergy within the Roman Catholic Church "intrinsically united" to Opus Dei.-Foundation and mission:...
which is an association of
Opus DeiOpus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular...
, the
Congregation of Holy CrossThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, (
CSC), another Roman Catholic religious congregation, nor with the
Society of the Holy Cross (Korea)The Society of the Holy Cross is an order of women religious in the Anglican Church of Korea. It is not to be confused with the Society of the Holy Cross, SSC , which is an international order of Anglo-Catholic priests within the Anglican tradition.The Society's name is abbreviated as SHC....
(
SHC), an order of
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s within the
Anglican Church of KoreaThe Anglican Church of Korea is the province of the Anglican Communion in North and South Korea. Founded in 1889, it has over 100 parish and mission churches with a total of roughly 50,000 members.-Birth of the Anglican Church of Korea:...
.
The society was founded on 28 February 1855 in the chapel of the House of Charity,
SohoSoho is an area in the centre of the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is an entertainment district which for much of the later part of the 20th century had a reputation for its sex shops as well as its night life and film industry...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
by six priests:
Charles Fuge LowderCharles Fuge Lowder was a London mission priest and founder of the Society of the Holy Cross-Early life:...
, Charles Maurice Davies, David Nicols, Alfred Poole, Joseph Newton Smith and Henry Augustus Rawes.
The
Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) is an international
Anglo-CatholicThe terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
society of priests with members in the
Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy...
, the
Continuing Anglican MovementThe term Continuing Anglican refers to a number of churches in various countries that have been formed outside of the Anglican Communion. These churches generally believe that "traditional" forms of Anglican faith and worship have been unacceptably revised or abandoned within some Anglican...
, and the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
's
Anglican UseAnglican Use has two meanings. First, it refers to former congregations of the Anglican Communion who have joined the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining some of the features of Anglicanism...
. The society's name is abbreviated as
SSC from the initials of the society's Latin name,
Societas Sanctae Crucis.
The society is not to be confused with the Roman Catholic
Priestly Society of the Holy CrossThe Priestly Society of the Holy Cross is an association of clergy within the Roman Catholic Church "intrinsically united" to Opus Dei.-Foundation and mission:...
which is an association of
Opus DeiOpus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Roman Catholic Church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular...
, the
Congregation of Holy CrossThe Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, (
CSC), another Roman Catholic religious congregation, nor with the
Society of the Holy Cross (Korea)The Society of the Holy Cross is an order of women religious in the Anglican Church of Korea. It is not to be confused with the Society of the Holy Cross, SSC , which is an international order of Anglo-Catholic priests within the Anglican tradition.The Society's name is abbreviated as SHC....
(
SHC), an order of
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s within the
Anglican Church of KoreaThe Anglican Church of Korea is the province of the Anglican Communion in North and South Korea. Founded in 1889, it has over 100 parish and mission churches with a total of roughly 50,000 members.-Birth of the Anglican Church of Korea:...
.
Founding and early history
The society was founded on 28 February 1855 in the chapel of the House of Charity,
SohoSoho is an area in the centre of the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is an entertainment district which for much of the later part of the 20th century had a reputation for its sex shops as well as its night life and film industry...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
by six priests:
Charles Fuge LowderCharles Fuge Lowder was a London mission priest and founder of the Society of the Holy Cross-Early life:...
, Charles Maurice Davies, David Nicols, Alfred Poole, Joseph Newton Smith and Henry Augustus Rawes. The society they formed was initially intended as a spiritual association for their own personal edification, but it soon came to be the driving force behind the Anglo-Catholic movement, particularly after the first phase of the
Oxford MovementThe Oxford Movement or Tractarianism was an affiliation of High Church Anglicans, most of whom were members of the University of Oxford, who sought to demonstrate that the Church of England was a direct descendant of the Church established by the Apostles...
had played its course and John Henry Newman had converted to Roman Catholicism.
Father Lowder was the Founder of the society and served as its first Master. While visiting France in 1854, he conceived of the idea of an order of Anglican priests based on the
LazaristsCongregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
, a Roman Catholic order founded by
St Vincent de PaulVincent de Paul was a Catholic priest dedicated to serving the poor, who is venerated as a saint.-Life:De Paul was born in Landes, Gascony, France, to a peasant family. He had three brothers and two sisters....
. The society provided its members with a rule of life and a vision of a disciplined priestly life. Mutual support has always been a key element and the life of the society is experienced primarily through the local chapter. Attendance at chapter is of obligation unless prevented by genuine pastoral duties.
The society expanded almost immediately. These early priests of the society ministered in some of the poorest slum areas of London and other cities. These included the parishes of: St Barnabas' Pimlico and
St Peter's London Docks. Many of these areas were so dangerous that bishops refused to visit them, although their refusal was also motivated by a distaste for the ritualism of the Anglo-Catholic clergy.
Anglo-Catholic ritualism was very close to practices in the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and included devotion to the
Blessed SacramentThe Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches, to refer to the Host and wine after they have been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...
, frequent celebration of the Mass with intentions, the practice of
confessionThe confession of one's sins is a religious practice important to many faiths, e.g., Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.- Christianity :...
, the wearing of eucharistic vestments, and the use of
incenseIncense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term incense refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces....
, liturgical hand bells and wafer bread. Whilst these practices had not been completely unknown in the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
since its break with the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, most of them had not been in general use for hundreds of years as the Church of England had become increasingly influenced by Protestantism in its liturgical practice during and after the reigns of
Edward VIEdward VI became King of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first Protestant ruler. During Edward’s reign, the realm was governed by a...
and
Elizabeth IElizabeth I was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
It is important to note, however, that SSC priests considered these practices an outward, necessary and physical expression of belief and doctrine and not merely as aesthetic adornments to worship. The society was primarily concerned with improving the spiritual life of priests and people. For example, the now common practice of retreats was introduced to the Church of England in those given by SSC priests, beginning in 1856.
Many
Low ChurchLow church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
and
LatitudinarianLatitudinarian was initially a pejorative term applied to a group of 17th-century English theologians who believed in conforming to official Church of England practices but who felt that matters of doctrine, liturgical practice, and ecclesiastical organization were of relatively little importance...
churchmen viewed ritualism, and the accompanying teaching, with horror. It was not unusual for Mass and the
Divine OfficeDivine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church* Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generally...
in SSC parishes to be disrupted by Protestant protesters, some hired for the occasion, shouting during the reading of lessons and the sermon, or hurling furniture and books. Lawsuits were filed against priests for Catholic practices. Some of these prosecutions were successful and priests were suspended from their ministries. In other actions, some Catholic practices were permitted by the courts while others were ruled illegal. Still other practices were sometimes ruled by the civil courts not to be illegal
per se but that their continued use would require direct authorisation by the diocesan
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
.
Public Worship Regulation Act
See: Public Worship Regulation Act
The legal inconsistencies led to the passing of the Public Worship Regulation Act by the Disraeli government in 1874 with the stated aim of "putting down the Ritualists". The act was introduced in the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
as a
Private Member's BillA private member's bill or a legislative motion is a proposed law introduced by a backbencher, a so-called private member of parliament...
by Archibald Tait, the
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
, who had previously served as the
Bishop of LondonThe Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. After the act came into force, on July 1, 1875, the
Church AssociationThe Church Association was an English evangelical Christian organisation, founded in 1865.It was particularly active in opposition to Anglo-Catholicism, Ritualism and the Oxford Movement through publication of the Church Association Tracts and instigation of legal action under the Public Worship...
, which had been responsible for some the pre-act lawsuits, began vigorously prosecuting those who persisted in Anglo-Catholic practice and teaching. Seventeen priests were prosecuted under the act. In some cases these priests served time in prison for either not acknowledging the right of the courts to judge them on matters of worship or after being convicted. Occasionally some bishops (including Archbishop Tait) would intervene to stop prosecutions, particularly as public outrage grew at the blatant interference in religious matters by secular courts.
The prosecution of SSC priests Father
Arthur ToothFather Arthur Tooth SSC , a Ritualist and clergyman in the Church of England, and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross, is most famous for having been prosecuted in 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 for using proscribed liturgical practices...
, Father
Alexander Heriot MackonochieAlexander Heriot Mackonochie SSC was a Church of England clergyman and mission priest known as "the martyr of St Alban's" on account of his prosecution and forced resignation for ritualist practices.-Early life:...
and Father
Richard William EnraghtRichard William Enraght SSC was an Irish-born Church of England priest of the late nineteenth century. He was influenced by the Oxford Movement and was included amongst the priests commonly called “Second Generation” Anglo-Catholics.Fr...
are undoubtedly the most famous episodes in the early history of the SSC.
Subsequent history
The prosecutions, however, were battles won in a losing war. In 1906, a Royal Commission effectively nullified the act by admitting that more pluralism in public worship was needed. The selfless example of SSC priests in ministering to the lowest orders of society and their strong stands on social justice had also endeared them to the general public.
Alexander Penrose ForbesAlexander Penrose Forbes , Scottish divine, was born at Edinburgh.He was the second son of John Henry Forbes, Lord Medwyn, a judge of the court of session, and grandson of Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo. He studied first at the Edinburgh Academy, then for two years under the Rev. Thomas Dale...
, Bishop of Brechin in the
Scottish Episcopal ChurchThe Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian denomination in Scotland and a member of the Anglican Communion, although it itself has pre-Anglican origins. It consists of seven dioceses in Scotland. Like all Anglican churches, it recognises the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who does not...
from 1847 till his death in 1874, was probably the first of many SSC bishops around the world, including the saintly
Frank Weston Frank Weston was Anglican Bishop of Zanzibar from 1908 until his death 16 years later.-Life:Born into a clerical family, he was educated at Dulwich College and Trinity College, Oxford before being ordained priest in 1906. After a Curacy at St Matthew's, Westminster he was to spend the rest of...
of Zanzibar.
As a Catholic society, SSC has taken a conservative line in the church controversies of the late 20th century, particularly over the interpretation of scripture and the ordination of women.
Today, there are over 2,000 members of the society organized into provinces for England and Scotland, the Americas, Wales and Australasia, each under a provincial master reporting to an international master-general. The current
master generalMaster general or Master-general can refer to:* the Superior general of certain orders and congregations, such as**the Crosiers**the Dominicans **the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy...
of the society is Father David Houlding who resides in England.
In April, 2005, the society celebrated its 150th anniversary with a week-long festival, "Stand Up For Jesus". The Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan WilliamsRowan Douglas Williams is an Anglican bishop and theologian. He is the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003....
, addressed the gathering and the
Royal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
was filled to capacity for the closing mass.
The fortunes of SSC have waxed and waned since the early days of the Catholic Revival, but for its members it has always been an important source of priestly formation, discipline and fraternity. Priests of the society can be recognised by the small gold lapel cross that they generally wear. On it is inscribed the motto of the society
In Hoc Signo Vinces (In This Sign Conquer).
There is also a section of the society, the Pusey Guild, for seminarians and approved candidates for training for the priesthood.
http://www.stpeterslondondocks.org.uk/section/33
See also
- Anglican religious order
Anglican religious orders are communities of laity and/or clergy in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and lead a common life of work and prayer...
- Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
- Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament
The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional society in the Anglican Communion dedicated to venerating the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist...
- Guild of All Souls
The Guild of All Souls is an Anglican devotional society dedicated to prayer for faithful departed Christians. As stated on its website, it is a "devotional society praying for the souls of the Faithful Departed, and teaching the Catholic doctrine of the Communion of Saints."-Objectives:The stated...
- Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary
The Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary or GSS is an association of altar servers in the Church of England and the Church in Wales, with some overseas organisation in several other countries.-Objectives and Membership:...
- Ritualism
- Society of Catholic Priests
The Society of Catholic Priests is a religious society of priests in the Anglican Communion. It can be considered the priestly arm of the Affirming Catholicism movement....
- Society of King Charles the Martyr
The Society of King Charles the Martyr is an Anglican devotional society and one of the Catholic Societies of the Church of England....
- Society of Mary (Anglican)
The Society of Mary is an Anglican devotional society dedicated to and under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As its website states, it is a group of Anglican Christians "dedicated to the Glory of God and the Holy Incarnation of Christ under the invocation of Our Lady, Help of...
- T. Pelham Dale
Thomas Pelham Dale was an English Anglo-Catholic ritualist clergyman, most famous for being prosecuted and imprisoned for ritualist practices...
- Richard William Enraght
Richard William Enraght SSC was an Irish-born Church of England priest of the late nineteenth century. He was influenced by the Oxford Movement and was included amongst the priests commonly called “Second Generation” Anglo-Catholics.Fr...
- Arthur Tooth
Father Arthur Tooth SSC , a Ritualist and clergyman in the Church of England, and a member of the Society of the Holy Cross, is most famous for having been prosecuted in 1876 under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 for using proscribed liturgical practices...
External links