The Limits of Latitudinarianism: English Reactions to Bishop Clayton's An Essay on Spirit

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-433
Author(s):  
NIGEL ASTON
Keyword(s):  
Broad Band ◽  
Irish Sea ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Irish Sea ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
The Church

Publication of An essay on spirit in 1750 was, on the face of it, no particular landmark in the history of heterodoxy. There had been arguments in Anglican circles since the 1680s about ‘mystery’ and the Holy Trinity, all part of the assault on fundamental articles of belief waged by such critics as John Toland and Anthony Collins after the Revolution Settlement, a time when interest in Arian ideas was reviving among Isaac Newton's followers, particularly Samuel Clarke and William Whiston. An essay on spirit – this latest expression of a highly developed Arianism – was couched in scholastic, even esoteric language, of apparent interest only to controversialists on either side of the question. What, however, made it a cause célèbre was the talk from the moment it left the press that its author and apologist for what we have recently been reminded was the archetypal Christian deviation was none other than one of the most senior members of the Church of Ireland – the bishop of Clogher, Robert Clayton, himself an Englishman by birth. Though not every commentator could or would believe this ascription, the bishop himself never attempted to deny it and, before long, the unsettling evidence of the extent to which heresy had penetrated the highest circles of the Anglican establishment was beyond serious doubt. Its appearance (and the writings which followed) led to vigorous counter-blasts on both sides of the Irish Sea from a range of clerical and lay opinion that extended well beyond the confines of any church ‘party’. Having spent the previous half century countering, with some success, the different strains of deism and free-thinking on the frontiers of Anglicanism, a broad band of clergy was alarmed that Clayton's writings of the 1750s bore disturbing witness to the presence of traitors within the citadel who, in challenging the Church to tolerate their continued presence, were ready to endanger its moderate latitudinarian character. Moreover, An essay on spirit appeared at a time when the writings of Middleton and Hume also demanded the notice of theologians, and the ‘Church in Danger!’ had not ceased to be an appropriate battle cry to marginalised Tories.

The 1912 Duma Elections: The State, the Opposition and the Clergy

Orthodoxia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
F. A. Gayda
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Press ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Church

This article deals with the political situation around the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Empire in 1912 (4th convocation). The main actors of the campaign were the government, local administration, liberal opposition and the clergy of the Orthodox Russian Church. After the 1905 revolution, the “official Church” found itself in a difficult situation. In particular, anti-Church criticism intensified sharply and was expressed now quite openly, both in the press and from the rostrum of the Duma. A consequence of these circumstances was that in this Duma campaign, for the first time in the history of Russian parliamentarianism, “administrative resources” were widely used. At the same time, the authorities failed to achieve their political objectives. The Russian clergy became actively involved in the election campaign. The government sought to use the conflict between the liberal majority in the third Duma and the clerical hierarchy. Duma members launched an active criticism of the Orthodox clergy, using Grigory Rasputin as an excuse. Even staunch conservatives spoke negatively about Rasputin. According to the results of the election campaign, the opposition was even more active in using the label “Rasputinians” against the Holy Synod and the Russian episcopate. Forty-seven persons of clerical rank were elected to the House — three fewer than in the previous Duma. As a result, the assembly of the clergy elected to the Duma decided not to form its own group, but to spread out among the factions. An active campaign in Parliament and the press not only created a certain public mood, but also provoked a political split and polarization within the clergy. The clergy themselves were generally inclined to blame the state authorities for the public isolation of the Church. The Duma election of 1912 seriously affected the attitude of the opposition and the public toward the bishopric after the February revolution of 1917.

Co-operation, compromise and confrontation: the Universal News, 1860–69

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (139) ◽  
pp. 311-326
Author(s):  
Anthony McNicholas
Keyword(s):  
Church And State ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Irish Nationalism ◽  
The Press ◽  
Religious Sensibility ◽  
Irish Catholics ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

The Universal News was published in London for nine years between December 1860 and December 1869. It originated as a co-operative effort between Irish and English Catholics to produce a newspaper which, though essentially secular, was to be imbued with a religious sensibility. The great majority of Catholics, however, were by this stage overwhelmingly Irish and wanted news of Ireland and Irish politics. This was not necessarily to the taste of all, so from the outset a balancing act was required between the wants and needs of English and Irish Catholics. This was not to be without its problems, for as the decade progressed and the struggle developed between a secular Irish nationalism and church and state, divisions deepened. The Universal News quickly became a paper for Irish Catholics, spanned a turbulent decade and mirrored in its own history both the internal and external struggles of the Irish in England. Furthermore, the history of the Universal News demonstrates the centrality, in Irish journalism in England, of the influence of the church, and the central question for the press of the migrants was how, in a hostile political environment, to produce and sustain newspapers that were at the same time secular but operated within a system of distribution particularly sensitive to clerical control.

The Newspaper in Economic Development

1942 ◽  
Vol 2 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold A. Innis
Keyword(s):  
University Graduates ◽  
Industry Studies ◽  
Newspaper Industry ◽  
Economic Interpretation ◽  
The Press ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Dominant Influence

The bibliography of this subject is the subject, and the enormous filescourse of over three centuries are formidability itself. To reduce the element of formidability it is necessary to turn to studies of the newspaper in terms of countries, regions, owners, editors and journalists. But again the bibliography reflects the character of the press. Newspapermen have contributed notably, but unfortunately the training in newspaper work is not ideal for an economic interpretation of the subject. The increasing participation of university graduates in journalism provides a basis for more objective studies, but even here the training.exercises a subtle influence and weakens the possibility of a sustained and effective interpretation. Throughout the history of the newspaper industry, studies reflect the dominant influence of the moment, or perhaps it is safer to say, represent the dominant influence of the tradition of the industry; hence they show a perceptible lag between the newspaper as it is and the newspaper as it was. In the main they are obsessed with the role of the press in relation to political opinion, the importance of freedom of the press, the fourth estate and so on; they are suffused with innumerable cliches1 constantly bubbling up from the effervescence of writing.

The Caroline church: James Ussher and the Irish dimension

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda L. Capern
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Irish Sea ◽  
Charles I ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Irish Sea

ABSTRACTRecent works by Kevin Sharpe and Julian Davies have revised thinking about the religious policies of the Caroline church. Davies's distinction between ‘Laudianism’ and ‘Carolinism’ sums up one of the major conclusions he shares with Sharpe; that Charles I was the initiator of many of the religious policies previously attributed to William Laud. The following article tests this conclusion by viewing the religious policies emanating from England through the eyes of James Ussher, the Irish archbishop of Armagh. It finds that, from the Irish perspective at least, it was impossible for a contemporary to make the same distinction between ‘Laudianism’ and ‘Carolinism’, about policies that were deeply unpopular across the Irish Sea. What follows is an examination of Ussher's reception of a range of policies he considered detrimental to Calvinist unity in the face of catholic threat, including a detailed examination of his attempts to save the Calvinist Irish Articles. Through consideration of his own patronage concerns and directions in publishing it is demonstrated here that, through the 1630s, the Irish protestant primate continued to believe (rightly or wrongly) that behind the religious tensions of Britain lay the dual spectre of ‘Arminianism’ and popery.

scholarly journals Dwie monastyczne koncepcje – o tym co łączy a zarazem dzieli Jana Kasjana i św. Augustyna

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 527-545
Author(s):  
Przemysław Nehring
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Pelagian Controversy ◽  
Common Opinion ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Monastic Communities ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Institutional Church ◽  
John Cassian ◽  
The Church

Author of this paper juxtaposes several issues which are fundamental for mo­nastic concepts of St. Augustine and John Cassian, two figures that had the great­est impact on the development of the western pre-Benedictine monasticism. The difference in intellectual inspirations, personal monastic experiences, addressees of their monastic works and positions held by them in the institutional Church in­fluenced very deeply their teaching. Thus they interpret in a different manner an ac­count on the Jerusalem community (Acts 4:31-35) that – in their common opinion – began the history of monasticism. Cassian sees in it just the historical outset for this phenomenon while Augustine perceives it as a still valid model of behavior for his monks. They look differently at the relation of monastic communities towards the community of the Church but also at inner rules governing the life of monks in monasteries. Unlike Augustine, Cassian sees possibility of spiritual growth gained by monks through ascetical practices and decisions made on their free will. This anthropological optimism had played the key-role for the statement that Cassian made in the face of radical views of Augustine on the Grace and free will, formu­lated by him during the Pelagian controversy but also in other controversial issue, namely of possible legitimacy of lying under particular circumstances.

scholarly journals Procedury związane z wprowadzeniem stałego diakonatu w diecezjach polskich

2010 ◽  
Vol 53 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 79-104
Author(s):  
Tomasz Jakubiak
Keyword(s):  
Sixth Century ◽  
John Paul Ii ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

Permanent Deaconship received without intention of future priesthood has been known since the beginning of the Church. Sixth century turned out to be a crucial moment in the history of Deaconship. That’s then when in the Western Church because of various reasons it started to loose its importance. Vaticanum II tried to change the way it was perceived. Together with promulgation of the norms contained in the Code of John Paul II part of the documents which had been promulgated earlier regulating this subject was canceled. After presenting most important documents issued by the Popes, Congregations and Conference of Polish Bishops together with explanations, the author focuses on the most important actions undertaken by Diocese Bishops from the moment permanent Deaconship was accepted in the Diocese till the moment the newly ordained deacon is send for the service.

scholarly journals On the History of the Refectory Chamber with the Church of St. Sergius During the Soviet Period

2020 ◽  
pp. 118-136
Author(s):  
Нина Викторовна Холодкова
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Period ◽  
Consumer Society ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

Статья посвящена истории существования здания Трапезной палаты с церковью прп. Сергия Троице-Сергиевой лавры в советский период - с момента национализации обители (1918) до полной передачи этого здания в ведение Московской Патриархии (1946). За это время сооружение занимали самые различные организации: библиотека, военное ведомство, отделы музея, Сергиевское общество потребителей «Смычка», мастерская Райпромкомбината, меховая артель, бомбоубежище, штаб МПВО (местная противовоздушная оборона) и другие. Данная статья - первая попытка наиболее полно осветить бытование этих организаций в уникальном памятнике. Рассказ основан на документальных материалах. The article is about the history of the building of the Refectory Chamber with the Church of St. Sergius in the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra during the Soviet period. The study covers about two decades - from the nationalization of the monastery in 1918 to its complete transfer to the Moscow Patriarchate in 1946. During that time, the Refectory Chamber building was occupied by a variety of organizations: a library, a military department, museum departments, the Sergievsky consumer society «Smychka», the workshop of the Raypromkombinat, a fur artel, a bomb shelter, the headquarters of the local air defence etc. This article is the first attempt to fully illuminate the existence of these organizations in a unique monument. The story is based on documentary materials.

scholarly journals The Review of impacts regarding Sacerdotalism on religious and moral conduct of Christianity

ĪQĀN ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (04) ◽  
pp. 33-50
Author(s):  
Rizwan Elahi ◽  
Dr. Sajid Asdullah
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Divine Revelation ◽  
Human History ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Moral Conduct ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Middle Ages

Freedom of human mind, essential to intellectual progress, has been trampled unprecedentedly by the Christian Church, in human history. The despotism displayed by the Priest was unmatchable even to the absolutism, manifested by Alexander and the Caesar. In the middle Ages, when every other institution of society was awakening from slumber of superstitions and advancing towards Renaissance, the church had rooted its totalitarianism with such dexterity that it was unshakable. If it had been exponent of divinity instated of despicable activities, the history of human enlightenment would not have been checked by murk of cruelty, ignorance and usurpation. It is need of our time to wash out the blemish of rigidity, intolerance and fanaticism, thrust upon the face of Islam. To abolish brutality and inhumanity, engulfing the whole planet, it is inevitable to diagnose the origin of this viciousness. In this regard, the exploration of the divine revelation of Testaments may be helpful. It is conjectured that the perusal would be conducive to bring to lime light, the strings of havoc waged in the name of Sacerdotalism. The forces trying to defame Islam in itself have been the epitome of narrowness, dogmatism and bigotry.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document