Latin Liturgy in Anglican Oxford - and more besides

It is now quite a few years since I made it my custom, suitably begowned, to attend the Latin Holy Communion on the Thursday of Noughth Week in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin - having obviously checked with the Proctor’s Office the day before that the celebrant would not be a ‘lady clergy person’. On one occasion I attended the Latin Litany and Sermon. I left that all behind when I crossed the Tiber in 2005.

However Fr Hunwicke has recently had two related posts on his blog about the Latin Holy Communion service which I am happy to draw to the attention of my readers. He has written before about the origins of this intriguing liturgy and this time the discussion broadens out considerably.

His first post is in the nature of a reminiscence of his own time as celebrant and can be read at Saint John Henry's Altar

He returned to the topic a few days later with reflections on the history of the rite and generated a stimulating, informative and wide-ranging series of comments. This makes for very interesting reading at Latin Liturgy at Oxford

The discussion of what exactly either Queen Elizabeth I or, indeed, King Edward VI preferred is an interesting and important one, and which invites both research and speculation. What either monarch intended may be open for discussion, and in the case of Queen Elizabeth it does lead to wider reflection on just how effective her ideas and influence were. What was she aiming to achieve, how did she implement it personally and publically, and how successful was she? Are we looking at a magisterial settlement by the emerging Gloriana or is it an instance of what had been termed the “Crowned republic of Elizabeth I”?

This is a wide-ranging topic but one well worth thinking about for what it reveals about sixteenth century rulership and about the very nature of the Church of England and about Anglicanism.