Oxford movement

Oxford movement
the movement toward High Church principles within the Church of England, originating at Oxford University in 1833 in opposition to liberalizing, rationalizing, and evangelical tendencies and emphasizing the principles of primitive and patristic Christianity as well as the historic and catholic character of the church. Cf. Tractarianism.
[1835-45]

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or Tractarian movement

(1833–45) Movement within the Church of England that aimed to emphasize the church's Catholic inheritance as a source of legitimacy and deeper spirituality.

Its main intent was to defend the Church of England as a divine institution against the threats of liberal theology, rationalism, and government interference. Though some in the movement (notably John Henry Newman and Henry E. Manning) ended up converting to Catholicism, most did not. Their concern for a higher standard of worship influenced not only the Church of England but also other British Protestant sects. The movement was also instrumental in the establishment of Anglican monasteries and convents.

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 19th-century movement centred at the University of Oxford (Oxford, University of) that sought a renewal of “catholic,” or Roman Catholic (Roman Catholicism), thought and practice within the Church of England (England, Church of) in opposition to the Protestant tendencies of the church. The argument was that the Anglican church was by history and identity a truly “catholic” church. An immediate cause of the movement was the change that took place in the relationship between the state and the Church of England from 1828 to 1832. Laws that required members of municipal corporations and government-office holders to receive the Lord's Supper in the Church of England were repealed, and a law was passed that removed most of the restrictions formerly imposed on Roman Catholics. For a short time it seemed possible that the Church of England might be disestablished and lose its endowments. Consequently, many loyal Anglicans wished to assert that the Church of England was not dependent on the state and that it gained its authority from the fact that it taught Christian truth and its bishops were in the apostolic succession (i.e., able to trace their authority and office back in an unbroken line to the Apostles). The movement rapidly became involved in theological, pastoral, and devotional problems.

      Leaders of the movement were John Henry Newman (Newman, John Henry) (1801–90), a clergyman and subsequently a convert to Roman Catholicism and a cardinal; Richard Hurrell Froude (Froude, Richard Hurrell) (1803–36), a clergyman; John Keble (Keble, John) (1792–1866), a clergyman and poet; and Edward Pusey (Pusey, E B) (1800–82), a clergyman and professor at Oxford.

      The ideas of the movement were published in 90 Tracts for the Times (1833–41), 24 of which were written by Newman, who edited the entire series. Those who supported the Tracts were known as Tractarians who asserted the doctrinal authority of the catholic church to be absolute, and by “catholic” they understood that which was faithful to the teaching of the early and undivided church. They believed the Church of England to be such a catholic church.

      Some of the movement's followers gradually moved closer to the beliefs of the Roman Catholic church, and controversies over the Tractarians' ideas developed. In 1845 Newman joined the Roman Catholic church, and, subsequently, several others also joined.

      Keble and Pusey remained active leaders of the movement, which gradually spread its influence throughout the Church of England. Some of the results were increased use of ceremony and ritual in church worship, the establishment of Anglican monastic communities for men and for women, and better-educated clergy who were more concerned with pastoral care of their church members.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Oxford movement —    The Oxford movement was a revitalization movement within the Church of England in the 1830s, which aimed to revive the church s Catholic roots in order to keep it from becoming just another Protestant sect. Among the events that contributed to …   Encyclopedia of Protestantism

  • Oxford Movement — Mouvement d Oxford Le Mouvement d’Oxford (Oxford Movement), était un courant théologique anglais du XIXe siècle, situé dans la lignée des théories défendues par la Haute Église (High Church) anglicane. Ses partisans étaient pour la plupart des… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Oxford Movement, The — • Lengthy historical article on the Tractarian Movement includes information on John Henry Newman, as well as on other leading lights of this nineteenth century Anglo Catholic campaign, such as John Keble and Hurrell Froude Catholic Encyclopedia …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Oxford Movement — Oxford Move|ment, the a group that was formed in Oxford in the mid 19th century, which tried to bring some of the ceremonies and beliefs of the Catholic religion into the Church of England …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Oxford movement — noun Date: 1841 a High Church movement within the Church of England begun at Oxford in 1833 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Oxford Movement —  A movement in the Church of England, begun at Oxford in 1833, seeking a return to certain Roman Catholic doctrines and practices …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Oxford movement — Ox′ford move ment n. rel the movement toward High Church principles within the Church of England, originating at Oxford University in 1833 Compare Tractarianism • Etymology: 1835–45 …   From formal English to slang

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