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 L I E) RARY 
 
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 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN 
 
 ORATORY IN LONDON 
 
 REV. ORBY SHIPLEY, M.A. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 ' Mr. Shipley has issued a paper, read by him before the Society of 
 the Holy Cross, in which he proposes to establish an Anglican Oratory 
 in the centre of Western London. . . . He urges ... a per- 
 manent Mission to arouse, teach, confirm, and edify the upper and middle 
 classes . . . [the Oratory of which] while aiming at the greatest publicity 
 in its services, would be sheltered from Episcopal interference as being " the 
 private Chapel of a Religious Society." ' The Times. 
 
 Hotttfon : 
 
 JOSEPH MASTERS, NEW BOND STREET. 
 
 1871.
 
 Now ready ^ price 'js. 6d. 
 
 €t)e jFour Cartiinal dittue^ : 
 
 Considered in relation to the Public and Private 
 I.ife of Catholics ; with a Preface and Appendices 
 on the Union of Church and State, Disestablishment, 
 and the Limits of Episcopal Authority. By the 
 Rev. Orby Shipley, M.A. 
 
 London : LONGMANS and CO.
 
 NOTICE, 
 
 The foUowang paper was read before the May Synod, and 
 presented, with additions, to the September Synod, in the year 
 1870, of the Society of the Holy Cross. 
 
 The first edition of this paper was privately circulated. The 
 second was pubUshed as an appendix to a volume entitled The Four 
 Cardinal Virtues, published by Messrs. Longman. The present is 
 a reprint from the volume, with the permission of the publisher. 
 
 Subjoined may be seen the judgments, selected with impartiality, 
 of some organs of public opinion on the following pages. 
 
 Orby Shipley. 
 Lent, A.D. 1871. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS. 
 
 *No one of the smallest weight with our friends would give [the establish- 
 ment of an Oratory] a moment's serious consideration. . . . The chief 
 obstacle to Mr. Shipley's proposal (in its very conception mischievous), is 
 Mr. Shipley's way of proposing it' — Chttrch Times. 
 
 ' The peddling questions about Church upholstery, sacerdotalism, priestly 
 manipulations, attempts to bar or bless every act of life, multiplication of 
 ceremonies . . . are violently opposed to the common sense of the country. ' 
 —Pali Mall Gazette. 
 
 ' Even in this wild strange world of ours, a proposal so inconceivably wild 
 and strange has never yet been made. . . . We are forced to put it in all 
 seriousness — Is Mr. Shipley a Jesuit ? ' — Record. 
 
 ' With so many opposite parties united in suggesting the divorce of the 
 Church from the community, it is not improbable that problem may be forced 
 on the public mind before many years have elapsed. ' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 ' In the preface, broaching the most revolutionary and anti-Anglican 
 views, Mr. Shipley seems to imagine that if his scheme of comparative dis- 
 order were winked at, a complete schism might be avoided. ' — John Bull. 
 
 * In six sermons of a highly-wrought, intellectual and spiritual cast, Mr. 
 Shipley argues for the establishment of an Oratory in London, and the disso- 
 lution of the connection between Church and State.' — Standard. 
 
 * Mr. Shipley's insane scheme we have always looked upon as impracti- 
 cable, impolitic . . . revolutionary, radical, confusing . . . pandering to the 
 depraved tastes of Puseyite shopboys. We trust no more may be thought 
 of it. ' — Church Herald. 
 
 A 2
 
 ' Mr. Shipley does his best to justify the change that has taken place in 
 the opinions of Catholics [on disestablishment], by painting with a vividness 
 which has not often been surpassed, the grievances of which the Church has 
 to complain.' — English Indepetident. 
 
 ' The scheme is simply impossible as an agency for good, unless in carrying 
 it out the most scrupulous respect be paid to the disciplinal laws of the 
 Church. ' — Church Review. 
 
 'The force of the newest phase of the movement consists, not in its theory, 
 but in the new power of clerical pride which it reveals ... as a militant 
 priesthood, demonstrating at once against the world beneath and the 
 hierarchy above it.' — Spectator. 
 
 *We believe Mr. Shipley to be sincere, but his scheme is essentially 
 dishonest, and as such can carry no blessing with it. He inculcates dis- 
 obedience to bishops, and disobedience to the law.' — Weekly Register. 
 
 * It does not come in our way to discuss the proposal for disestablishing the 
 Anglican Church, nor even the " view " about what looks very like dis- 
 establishing the authority of the bishops.' — Tablet. 
 
 *We quite believe [the Ritual party] are prepared for disestablishment, 
 which they see looming in the distance. They choose to have it forced on them 
 by events, rather than themselves take the initiative.' — Catholic Opinion. 
 
 ' There is no need to say that Mr. Shipley's reason for seeking disestablish- 
 ment and our own are wide as the poles asunder. ' — Noncottformist. 
 
 ' While we hesitate to say that the Oratory scheme does not contain the 
 germ of something workable (we think it does), still in its present form it is 
 too outre to be adopted. But let the scheme be ventilated.' — Literary 
 Churchman. 
 
 *It is rather amusing to see that the means adopted for propagating 
 opinions of the Evangelicals is now to be utilised by the most extreme section 
 of their opponents.' — Globe. 
 
 ' Altogether, if this book is to be trusted, which depends upon what we 
 are ignorant of . . . things seem ripe for the formation of a new religious 
 body.' — Month. 
 
 ' Mr. Shipley's views have the merit of originality, coupled with ohe or 
 two such defects as misrepresentation and misapprehension.' — Echo. 
 
 * The views of this [Ritual] party are, on many grounds, matters of no 
 small concern to the general politician . . . [and its] action is directed to 
 measures of an unprecedented character.' — Fortnightly Review. 
 
 ' The question of Church and State seems to have passed out of the 
 theoretical into the practical stage : thoughtful men no longer ask " what is 
 best ? " but " what will happen ? " and " how soon ? " ' — Theological R eview. 
 
 ' There is little question that both these ideas [disestablishment and the 
 establishment of an Oratory] will find actual embodiment ere long, though 
 probably not quite in the form Mr. Shipley anticipates.' — L/nion Review. 
 
 UIUC
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN 
 
 ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 The Question of the Establishment of an Oratory in 
 London under the auspices of, and in connection with, 
 the Society of the Holy Cross* has already been discussed 
 at one of its monthly Chapters. The subject has been 
 thought worthy of further consideration at one of its two 
 annual Synods ; and I have been entrusted with the duty 
 of placing the matter before you to-day. The question 
 has also been considered apart from the Society, and in- 
 dependently of each other, by many persons, both by 
 some whom I have consulted, and by some who have 
 conferred with me, as well as — later information has 
 shown — by others without the Society. It appears, there- 
 fore, to be probable, that the minds of a large number of 
 persons have been turned, by GOD, to this subject. And 
 a question, such as this, which has been made a matter 
 of thought to many persons, is worthy, at the least, of our 
 
 * The Society of the Holy Cross is in no way responsible for the 
 opinions expressed in these pages. The writer of them is alone 
 responsible. The Society only ai^rmed that the establishment of 
 an Oratory, in the abstract and apart from all details of this paper, 
 was deserving of consideration. It was printed in order to afford 
 opportunity for such consideration.
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 careful consideration ; and perhaps may be worthy, if held 
 to be right and feasible, of being carried into practice. 
 
 In order to make the statement to be placed before you 
 as systematic, clear, and concise as possible, it will be 
 well to divide the remarks, which I propose to offer for 
 your consideration, into six parts, and to treat severally, 
 
 I. Of the establishment of an Oratory, in the ab- 
 stract ; 
 
 II. Of its estabhshment in London ; 
 
 III. Of the proposed site of the Oratory; 
 
 IV. Of its estabhshment by the Society of the Holy 
 Cross ; 
 
 V. Of some results of its establishment ; 
 VI. Of the legal and ecclesiastical position of the Ora- 
 tory, when established. 
 
 I. The idea which appears to underlie the thoughts of 
 many, on the Establishment of an Oratory in London by 
 the Society of the Holy Cross, so far as I have been able to 
 judge of and sympathise with them, and expressed in my 
 own words, is as follows : That the Catholic Party, both 
 as a School of Thought, and as a Source of Action, has 
 hitherto been content, perhaps has been forced, to exist 
 upon sufferance only ; but that the time has now come 
 when it should be prepared to act for God, either in virtue 
 of its own innate vitality, or upon the strength of its own 
 acquired power. The Catholic Party has been placed, 
 and has acquiesced in being placed, both in doctrine and 
 discipline, both in matters of faith and matters of prac- 
 tice, in a defensive attitude ; but it is high time that it 
 should be freed from a position unworthy of a Movement 
 which, when developed, is at once missionary and refor-
 
 AN ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 matory. The School of Thought has been wont to advo- 
 cate, specially in its earlier days, a certain indistinctness 
 in teaching, and has exercised a certain reserve in com- 
 municating doctrine, which no doubt was at once expe- 
 dient and right in the days of its infancy. The Source of 
 Action, though it has effected much to raise in England 
 the standard of Religious Worship, has voluntarily ab- 
 stained from adopting the highest form of Catholic 
 Ritual ; and has hitherto contented itself with accepting 
 as its standard a development considerably below the 
 level of our lawful inheritance. But the time has long 
 passed when such a course, either in dogma or ritual, 
 could be enforced by rightfulness or expediency ; and we 
 are now called upon to assert the Truth in act and word 
 in its complete and distinct entirety, and to assume for 
 our Divinely inspired teaching and action an aggressive 
 attitude in the World. 
 
 As a matter of fact the Catholic Party forms an element 
 in the Nation. The element cannot, with justice, be called 
 large. It cannot be termed, at the present moment, po- 
 litically powerful. But, socially, it is sensibly, widely, and 
 rapidly gaining ground. And religiously, it undoubtedly 
 possesses supernatural power, not its own, which, without 
 exaggeration, is extensive, and, even by enemies, is admitted 
 to increase daily. With every qualification, however, the 
 School of Thought and Source of Action form an element 
 in the Enghsh polity. We possess our representative 
 men, who are more or less at one with us, in each division 
 of our many-sided state of existence. Such men not only 
 occupy definite positions in their several lines of life, but 
 they occupy definite positions in the Empire, of dignity, 
 of influence, of authority, and of power. We can point 
 with satisfaction to those who, to a greater or a less ex- 
 tent, acknowledge subjection to the Cathohc Revival in
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 places of authority in Church and State, in the Upper and 
 Lower Houses of Convocation, in both Houses of Parha- 
 ment, in past and present Ministries. And it may be 
 asserted, that no Government in the future, either Con- 
 servative or Liberal, will be carried on without the same 
 element being present in its composition. We exercise, 
 moreover, an influence on the Bench — though not so 
 large as we shall hereafter exercise, when the principles 
 which govern Church law are more widely accepted by 
 non-ecclesiastical lawyers — and a more powerful influence 
 at the Bar. The public Services, Civil, Military, and 
 Naval, are largely recruited from our numbers. In Mer- 
 cantile life, in Business, in Trade, we are well repre- 
 sented. Amongst Artisans and the industrial, wealth- 
 producing Classes, and the Poor in general, we are even 
 stronger. And far and wide is the Catholic Movement 
 felt, and being felt is esteemed a blessing, in the million 
 homes and ten million hearths of England. 
 
 It is within our power, then, to make our voice to be 
 heard, our influence to be felt, our judgment to be es- 
 teemed, and our authority to be respected for good, 
 wherever the English tongue is spoken. We possess all 
 the apphances for these results, either in a state of em^ 
 bryo, or in a condition which only needs development 
 and perfection to render them practically efficacious. 
 We have our Organs of Opinion — such as they are, and 
 utterly unworthy of our intellectual, social, and religious 
 position, as I beheve them to be. We have our Societies, 
 our Corporations, and our Organisation — imperfect as 
 they are, desultory as their effects may appear, and dis- 
 united as they sometimes prove to be. And the time has 
 come — surely the time has more than come — when we 
 should demand to be recognised as a substantive power 
 and influence in the State.
 
 AN ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 After an existence of more than a generation — for our 
 origin may be dated from the publication of the ^ Christian 
 Year/ upwards of forty years ago — it seems to many per- 
 sons that we may fairly take the initiative more uncom- 
 promisingly, that v/e should not be content with a mere 
 state of toleration, to which alone, up to the present time, 
 we have aspired. To myself, if I may offer an opinion, 
 it seems, and as before GOD I say so, that we ought more 
 decidedly to take the initiative. As the subject we have 
 to consider is the Establishment of an Oratory in London 
 by the Society of the Holy Cross, my observations do not 
 overpass that point. But keeping to this point alone, it 
 may be affirmed that, in the public ministrations of our 
 Sacred Of^ce, we have failed to do as much as we might 
 have performed. We have been satisfied to secure, here 
 and there, a Church, a Chapel, or a District devoid of 
 both. We have considered ourselves fortunate to obtain 
 possession of a District Church, where the Parish Church 
 was closed against us ; or to secure a footing in out-of-the- 
 way places, or in places neglected by others, or in places 
 too poor to attract competition. We have, as it were, 
 taken up a position in No-man's-land, and have founded 
 to ourselves Churches, estabhshed Schools, and built 
 Clergy-houses on neutral ground, where none could gain- 
 say our title of tenure. And so far good. More could 
 hardly be expected at the outset of a Movement essen- 
 tially reformatory in character and work. Reformers 
 must be content, and we were and are content, to begin 
 our career quietly and humbly. It would have been of 
 serious harm to the cause had it been otherwise. To 
 escape popularity, and to ensure neglect, are fair grounds 
 for securing disinterestedness and sincerity. 
 
 You will not, for a moment, suppose that I do other- 
 wise than give honour to all such efforts made on behalf
 
 lo ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 of God's Church and God's Poor ; nor that I should ven- 
 ture to say, that those who made such efforts were in a 
 position to do otherwise than they did. I only hold that 
 now, after nearly half a century of revived work in Eng- 
 land, we probably are, or certainly ought to be, in a 
 position to effect more, far more, infinitely more. Pro- 
 gress onwards, however, presupposes either a starting- 
 point, whence to begin ; or progress already made, which 
 may be improved. In contemplating further advance on 
 a position already attained, I wish it to be distinctly 
 understood, that (if I may venture to praise where I have 
 no right to criticise) I allow all possible credit to those 
 from whose starting-point we may again advance, or 
 whose progress we are enabled to follow up and complete. 
 But on this question, we all, probably, agree, that the time 
 has now arrived when the line of tactics formerly adopted, 
 must be abandoned for a course of action at once bolder 
 and more consistent, more demonstrative and less com- 
 promising. In God's Strength, and under His Providence, 
 we must act with less timidity and diffidence; and as 
 against the World, we must act more openly and aggres- 
 sively. We must not be, we are not, content with a mere 
 hole-and-corner existence, upon sufferance. We are 
 capable to, and must, come forth from the catacombs of 
 comparative obscurity, and show ourselves to our fellow 
 Christians in the full blaze of GOD'S daylight. We must 
 not be, we are not, content to be at the mercy either of 
 complacent and impressible churchwardens, or of sympa- 
 thetic and hearty congregations, or of public prestige and 
 influence, based perhaps on foiTnerwork. We are capable 
 to, and must, stand upright and alone, without the dan- 
 gerous, uncertain, and changeful support of any of these 
 three forms of co-operation. We must not be, we are 
 not, again, content with that worse than unprincipled
 
 AN OR A TOR V IN LONDON. 1 1 
 
 form of existence, which is sometimes put forward with 
 approbation, but which altogether ignores the authority, 
 position, and functions of the Priesthood — that we are 
 forced onwards and upwards, and held in the position we 
 have reached, through the instrumentality of the laity. 
 That the question is a layman's question may be admitted; 
 but not in this form. We are capable to, and must, act 
 upon higher, purer, bolder Catholic motives, upon less 
 interested, less conventional, less timid Catholic princi- 
 ples. Once more, we must not be, we are not, content to 
 be dependent upon Episcopal favour or patronage, upon 
 Episcopal shortsightedness or forbearance, even upon 
 Episcopal influence and authority. We are capable to, 
 and, in GOD's holy Name, we must, act of ourselves, and, 
 if it be needful, by ourselves, on our own responsibility 
 and on our own authority, in virtue of the sacred and very 
 definite commission given us, severally as well as corpo- 
 rately, individually as well as generally, as Priests of His 
 Church, by God Himself. 
 
 These thoughts, briefly, but not without much conside- 
 ration, put together, will tend, if accepted, to show that 
 the Establishment of an Oratory, to be hereafter de- 
 scribed, either in the form proposed, or under some simi- 
 lar conditions, is no imaginary necessity. Its need at 
 once exists and arises from the position of the Catholic 
 Party as it now finds itself placed with regard to Society 
 at large, which it has always to influence ; to the State, to 
 which it is now unequally yoked ; to the Church, whose 
 only legitimate offspring it claims to be, and whose only 
 dutiful child — despite all shortcomings, failures, and 
 actual sins — it undoubtedly is. As such, the idea, I 
 earnestly believe, is deserving of the counsels, the 
 efforts, and the prayers of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross.
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 II. The question — Wherefore should the Oratory be es- 
 tablished in London ? is not a difficult question to answer. 
 
 London is yearly becoming, more and more com- 
 pletely, what Paris formerly boasted itself to be, and to a 
 certain extent still may be considered, the point towards 
 which, with ever-increasing attraction, concentrate the 
 efforts of the heart, the head and the hand, as well as the 
 will of this great Nation. Many causes are at work to 
 produce this result. The unwonted, and abnormal ad- 
 ditions to the population of this ' province covered with 
 houses,' as it has well been described by a foreigner, 
 may be one cause. The converging influences towards — 
 some of which are intelligible, some unreasonable, and all 
 undeniable— despite the sanatory, physical, if not moral 
 repugnances from, London, which concentrate the intel- 
 lect and talent, the science, art, and letters, the learning 
 and education, the theory of all kinds and practice of 
 many kinds, upon this huge centre of English culture, re- 
 finement and civilisation, is another cause. The facilities 
 in time and money, and the conveniences in ease and 
 comfort, of modern locomotion, is a third. Whilst the 
 last that need be mentioned, is the fact which — for more 
 reasons than may be shortly given — has almost ceased to 
 be represented by a figure of speech, that every one comes 
 once a year to London ; and that yearly the metaphor 
 more and more nearly represents the actual truth. Hence, 
 as the permanent centre, as well as the temporary abode, 
 of the moral, physical, and intellectual forces of the 
 nation, London to a large extent at once directs and in- 
 fluences, and also rules and governs England. And 
 amongst other ways in which this law holds good may be 
 mentioned, as not the least noteworthy, and as most 
 nearly connected with our present enquiry, the case of the 
 Revival in our midst of the Catholic Religion.
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON. 1 3 
 
 The venerable and learned University, under whose 
 shadow — both literally and in figure — the Revival origi- 
 nated, and in whose precincts, for many years, it struggled 
 for the mastery, as a matter of fact, has long since lost 
 a lead to which it never avowedly aspired, and which 
 we must thank GOD heartily it never, for any appre- 
 ciable length of time, definitely held. This remark is 
 made in full and hearty recognition of all that we owe, 
 of all that the Church owes, to the Early Tractarians. 
 The Catholic Reformation in the Church of England 
 simply and entirely owes everything to the Oxford 
 Movement. Yet, this sense of obligation and gratitude 
 must not blind us to the truth, that it has been good 
 for the Movement that its centre of action has been re- 
 moved, geographically, from the provinces to the metro- 
 polis ; has been transferred, from a provincial town, 
 albeit a University city, to the capital of the empire. 
 This migration (in the language of Alma Mater) has 
 given to a Movement which possessed but a local name 
 and place, (in the language of the Empire) a cosmopolitan 
 position and character. And this development in the 
 status and condition of the phase of religious life which 
 we are considering is delicately, yet clearly, marked in the 
 change of title which has been imperceptibly, but surely, 
 assumed for the phase. The ' Oxford Movement,' both in 
 name and work, has become a matter of history. In its 
 place we hear of, and are influenced by, the '■ Catholic 
 Revival.' Yet, it cannot be too often repeated nor too 
 deeply impressed upon all whom it concerns, that, apart 
 from the condition of developement which is essential to 
 a Religious Reformation, the Catholic Revival, both in 
 principle and in practice, is absolutely at one with the 
 Oxford Movement. 
 
 But the Oxford Movement is not, at the present time.
 
 14 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 coextensive with the Cathohc Revival. And it is a 
 striking testimony to the working of God's Holy Spirit 
 in the dry bones of Anglican Establishmentarianism, to 
 observe the course of the reinvigorated Movement of late 
 years. In spite of — possibly, in the secret workings of 
 Providence, in order to teach us to lean upon no leaders. 
 Priestly or Episcopal, to trust in no authority short of 
 that of the Church, in consequence of— the defection of 
 its leaders, the Revival has since that time marvellously 
 flourished. The defection, when the widespread drainage 
 Rome-wards had been comparatively checked, left the 
 Party, as an organism, without recognised leaders ; and 
 with hardly leading men to lead — with the exception, in 
 those days, of two only, who in different degrees at all 
 could vie with the one eminently great man whom we 
 had lost. The balance, however, again in GOD's Provi- 
 dence, by the mysterious law of compensation, was more 
 than restored. For the Church self-produced a power 
 which she certainly did not previously possess. She 
 produced a practical working power, which, in nowise re- 
 markable for intellectual strength, theological attainment, 
 or controversial efficiency, possessed an undoubted and 
 undeniable genius for practical hard work in the Lord's 
 Vineyard. 
 
 Hence, perhaps — both from the absence of recognised 
 leaders, and also from the large increase of practical and 
 independent workers— originated that democratic element, 
 which now is certainly another distinctive note of the 
 Catholic Revival, and one that divides it from its earliest 
 phase of the undeveloped Oxford Movement. The last 
 was exclusive, select, almost aristocratic in its sentiments, 
 and at the least class-formed. It was also, from an Epis- 
 copal point of view, monarchical. The first is wide, 
 general, unfettered by class, or. if anything, appeals to the
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON 1 5 
 
 many, instead of to the few. From force of circumstances, 
 it is content to rely upon the Priestly commission, as in- 
 cluding all but a single prerogative of the Episcopate, 
 and that essential only to the continuance and govern- 
 ment, not to the ordinary Sacramental work, of the Church. 
 But the change in the character and practice of the Re- 
 vival as developed out of the Movement was in part the 
 cause of, and in part was caused by, the change of centre 
 beyond the confined radius of an ancient provincial Uni- 
 versity to the comparatively boundless circumference of a 
 modern and cosmopolitan capital. London, therefore, of 
 late years has more than occupied the position which 
 Oxford once held. And London, providentially it would 
 seem, has now gained the presence of the one man, of the 
 generation next below the Fathers of the Tractarian 
 Movement, on whose shoulders, of late years, the burden 
 of the Oxford School has almost entirely rested, and who 
 cannot fail to make his great gifts and undeniable power 
 to be felt both amongst his friends and by his opponents. 
 London has attracted to itself the Oxford Movement, 
 which has hence become developed into the Catholic 
 Revival. It may be affirmed, therefore, considering the 
 changes which have ensued in the course of the develope- 
 ment, and over and above its national advantages, that 
 London is not only the best site in which to found the 
 Oratory now contemplated by the Society of the Holy 
 Cross, but that it is the only practicable site on which to 
 begin the work. And here, without being forgetful of the 
 proverb, that he who putteth on his armour boast not 
 himself as he that putteth it off, it may be remarked, that 
 the intention with which an Oratory should be established 
 in London, would be this — that it shall prove a supple- 
 mentary work to work already existing in this vast city. 
 Anticipation is not realisation ; and obstacles the same
 
 1 6 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 in degree, but different in kind, may make shipwreck of 
 this plan, as they have crippled many another and better 
 design. Yet, if the standard be not higher than the 
 height actually to be reached, the average of measure- 
 ments will fall absolutely short of actual requirements. 
 Hence, while fully acknowledging the work done by 
 other Churches, their chiefs, and their staff of coadjutors 
 — and they are many — to have been emphatically a good, 
 a blessed, and a lasting work, we may, without presump- 
 tion, express a desire to begin where they leave off, and a 
 wish to be allowed to carry on a prosperous commence- 
 ment to a successful close. 
 
 Other Catholic Churches in London have done, and 
 are doing, noble work for the good of souls and the glory 
 of God. But their work is siti generis. Its characteristics 
 may be described by the terms, retiring, local, confined, 
 limited. No doubt, by force of circumstances any given 
 Church may have thrown off its specialite and from 
 desiring to be unobserved has been the centre of all 
 observation ; instead of having local interest only, has 
 become cosmopolitan in its interests and the interests it 
 excites ; in the place of being confined in its work, in- 
 fluences England ; after having been crippled by a limited 
 supply of helpers, now finds itself overpowered with offers 
 of assistance. London Churches might be named for 
 which one or more of these assertions might be claimed 
 as true — the Church of S. Alban-the-Martyr, Holborn, 
 amongst others. But the Oratory contemplated by the 
 Society of the Holy Cross would voluntarily and de- 
 liberately assume a position into which other Churches, 
 in one or more particulars, have been accidentally placed 
 — perhaps against their will. For instance : — They have 
 been forced to work in comparatively out-of-the-way 
 parts of London, where they might be easily overlooked.
 
 AN OR A TOR V IN L OND ON. 1 7 
 
 We desire to force ourselves into a position of which 
 none can plead ignorance. They have been content to 
 use, specially at the first, with certain noble exceptions, 
 humble buildings for purposes of worship. We propose 
 to possess, eventually, an imposing, and if you please, a 
 pretentious building. They were obliged by a lack of 
 Priest-power, to divide their forces and hence to weaken 
 their efforts ; and could offer to the faithful, at certain 
 hours, certain services only — and liberally did they give 
 of their substance, according to their means. We are 
 wishful to concentrate upon one centre a sufficient num- 
 ber of Clergy to allow of a constant and continual succes- 
 sion of Celebrations, Offices, Hours, or Preachings, all 
 day long and every day of the week. They intended to 
 Christianise a parish or district. We aspire, directly or 
 indirectly, to evangelise England. They were constrained 
 to carry on their labours with the help of one or two or 
 more able and earnest fellow-labourers. We desire, by 
 God's Blessing, to attract many men of varied powers, 
 and continually to ensure within the circle of our staff, 
 the services of a really deep Theologian, of a learned 
 Casuist, of an experienced Confessor, of a discreet 
 Director, of an accomplished Musician, of a well-read 
 and practical Ritualist, of an able Preacher, and of a 
 zealous Conductor of Retreats and Missions. Lastly, 
 they were usually intent on securing some one point per- 
 fectly developed — be that effort directed to ritual, music, 
 oratory, or awakening of souls. We are determined, 
 God willing, to combine goodness, if not perfection, in 
 each branch of our pubhc ministrations ; nor shall we 
 feel that we are doing God's work worthily, if we pro- 
 vide not the best of all things attainable for His Divine 
 Service. 
 
 Such requirements can only be attained, such results 
 
 ..LACE STREET.
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 can only be realised, in London. And the intentions of 
 the founders of the Oratory of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross would only be fulfilled when, from small begin- 
 nings, perhaps, and gradually, they were enabled to 
 establish in or near a great thoroughfare, a huge modem 
 Church, a Cathedral in its dimensions, more than a 
 Cathedral in the dignity and pomp, in the warmth and 
 fervour, in the reverence and devotion of its Offices. 
 Such a Church, without, should be large enough to 
 challenge attention ; within, its functions should be im- 
 posing enough to command respect. It should stand in 
 the position to the country, only intensified, which S. 
 Barnabas' once occupied, which All Saints' later filled, 
 which S. Alban's has now had forced upon it. It should 
 be a Church to which ' country cousins ' might be re- 
 ferred if they desire to see what the Services of the 
 Church of England were capable of; which country 
 visitors would as naturally seek, once at least during 
 their sojourn in Town, as they now flock to the Royal 
 Academy. Such a Church might at the first be as ugly 
 as may be conceived, in construction ; as plain as is 
 meet, or as may be consistent with comeliness, for the 
 worshipper ; as rich and beautiful and gorgeous as it is 
 possible, as costly as devotion could command and 
 means afford, in all that concerns the Great Object of 
 Worship within its walls. It might gather together an 
 united band of Brothers, each one of whom would be 
 distinguished for some one special gift or grace. It 
 might offer to all who choose to avail themselves of its 
 spiritual privileges, a constant succession of services — 
 Sacraments, Offices, Litanies, Preachings, Prayer and 
 Praise. Such a Church might eventually become the 
 Mother Church of many Oratories both in London and 
 in other large centres of life and action, such as Liver-
 
 AN OR A TOR V TN L OND ON. 19 
 
 pool, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Sheffield, Birmingham, 
 Coventry, or Wolverhampton. It might form a centre 
 round which the faithful in coming troubles from our 
 present connection with, and our future dissolution from, 
 the State could rally. It might seek to be the pattern 
 Church which, without rivalry, all would gladly copy 
 because all would heartily strive to perfect ; and it might, 
 if it so please GoD, eventually be made the Memorial 
 Church of the Oxford Movement, and might become the 
 crown and completion and consummation of the Catholic 
 Revival. 
 
 III. The proposed site for the Oratory of the Society 
 of the Holy Cross. 
 
 There is a spiritual desert in this huge city bounded on 
 the north by Oxford Street and Holborn, south by Picca- 
 dilly and the Strand, and west by Hyde Park, which, 
 speaking roughly, ends in a point at S. Paul's Cathedral. 
 In this wilderness I know of but a single oasis, one green 
 spot with pasturage, shade, and water — a spot whereon 
 fresh tents are now being pitched, and old tents (it is a 
 matter of congratulation) are now having their cords 
 lengthened, and their stakes increased — the oasis of S. 
 Mary-the- Virgin, Crown Street. On the north of Oxford 
 Street there is, indeed, a chain of Churches, more or less 
 Catholic in character, beginning with S. Mary Magdalene, 
 Paddington, passing on to S. Cyprian, Mary-le-bone ; S. 
 Mary Magdalene, Munster Square ; All Saints', Margaret 
 Street ; Christ Church, Albany Street ; and ending with 
 S. Alban's, Holborn. This list might have been enlarged, 
 to include the more northerly churches at Kilburn, 
 Hackney, Stoke Newington, and Shoreditch. But 
 enough have been mentioned to show how strong a line 
 of forts, so to say, are in our possession on the north of 
 
 B 2
 
 20 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 Oxford Street; or, to change the simile, how many 
 springs of Uving water there are which drain, fairly well, 
 the Catholic population, and draw to such centres the 
 faithful whose lot is cast in that district of London. On 
 the south side of the line of which Piccadilly, in general 
 terms, forms the middle portion, and which runs east and 
 west through the southern parts of London, we possess 
 proportionately few centres of operation, or comparatively 
 few religious points of attraction. We have indeed the 
 noble work in Pimlico carried on and extended by worthy 
 successors of the founder : we have S. Mary-le-Strand, 
 a strong and an important bulwark of Catholicism in the 
 south : we have perhaps another church or two. But, as 
 a fact, which it is hard to account for, but cannot be 
 denied, the CathoHc centres of action in this part of 
 London lie to the north of the Oxford Street line of 
 thoroughfare. And in that important district which lies 
 between Regent Street and Hyde Park, there exists abso- 
 lutely no Cathohc teaching. 
 
 It is, therefore, within these four boundaries. Park 
 Lane, Piccadilly, Regent Street, and Oxford Street, that 
 the Society of the Holy Cross is asked to found an 
 Oratory. This district is selected for two reasons. 
 Firstly, because in itself it is an arid, dry, and desolate 
 region which needs cultivation. Secondly, because it lies 
 midway between two other regions which to a certain 
 extent, though not to so large a degree, need the fertihs- 
 ing influences of our holy Religion to be brought to bear 
 on them — Belgravia and Tyburnia. An Oratory in almost 
 any part of the proposed base of operations would be in 
 the middle of one important area, would be easily acces- 
 sible from either of the other two. It would be central 
 for a large population of wealth, influence, position, in- 
 telligence, and lastly of immortal souls craving for
 
 AN ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 Spiritual Discipline, Catholic Teaching, and the Bread 
 of Life. It would prove an attractive force to many who 
 share the same blessings in other districts more remote. 
 The remarkable document which took the form of a reply 
 to an appeal for money from the Churchwardens of S. 
 George's, Hanover Square, and which was largely and 
 influentially signed, both at first and afterwards, is a 
 sufficient proof of this prediction. The no less re- 
 markable success of a great and earnest preacher (who it 
 is to be regretted cannot be claimed as an ally) in a small 
 chapel in the parish of S. James, suggests a hope which 
 almost involves a certainty, that good Catholic preaching 
 — to omit higher and more real attractions — would meet 
 with no less a measure of success under the Blessing of 
 God. 
 
 Neither would the site proposed tend to drain only the 
 districts named, to influence only the classes mentioned. 
 The irregular quadrilateral would be situated within easy 
 reach of the London Clubs ; and however little club-life 
 may be thought deserving of consideration, there is no 
 doubt that elements from its vortex would be attracted to 
 the centre which it is intended to found. And this is one 
 other section of society which might be influenced by the 
 proposed Oratory. But there is yet one more. The 
 proposed boundary of operations either includes, or only 
 fails to include, most of the large West-end business or 
 trade establishments with their numerous trains of assist- 
 ants. Some of these mercantile houses give employment 
 to a large number of persons, both men and women, from 
 which many recruits not only might be, but are already 
 found, to swell the Catholic cause. And the foundation 
 of an Oratory would, without doubt, tend to multiply such 
 numbers. 
 
 An opinion long held by others and myself of the
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 spiritual destitution of the higher orders in London was 
 lately and incidentally confirmed from an unexpected 
 source. At a meeting of Clergy and laity held after the 
 Great Mission of 1869, composed mainly of those who 
 were not, on the whole, in sympathy with or favourable to 
 the Mission, an opinion was repeatedly expressed that 
 however much a Mission was needed to evangelise the 
 Masses, the well-to-do Middle and Upper Classes of this 
 city were even more in need of spiritual arousing, teach- 
 ing, confirming, and edifying. There have been and 
 there are existing permanent Missions to the poorer 
 milhons in the streets of London. Why should there not 
 be a permanent Mission to the Upper-ten-thousand, and 
 to the great Middle Class immediately below the summit 
 of society in the West-end districts ? The establishment 
 of the Oratory of the Society of the Holy Cross would 
 satisfactorily answer such a question. Only those who 
 have been more directly brought into contact with these 
 classes know how deep is the need of such a permanent 
 Mission, both where such need is felt (which is a wide 
 space), and also (and this is still wider) where such need 
 is felt not at all. 
 
 It has been said that one object in view was to estab- 
 lish an Oratory in some leading thoroughfare in London. 
 Such a foundation might be at once impossible, and un- 
 wise even if practicable, at the outset. It were better, 
 for many reasons, to begin both in a small way, and in a 
 retired quarter, at first. The example of our Roman 
 brethren who have built a church in a stable-yard is 
 worthy of imitation — in spirit, if not in letter. Possibly 
 some similar site might be found to offer a home for the 
 Oratory of the Holy Cross ; and a work begun in a small 
 way, in such a quarter, would soon make its position to 
 be known, and might be suggestive, after a while, to some
 
 AN ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 23 
 
 person capable of advancing its interests, to provide a 
 more suitable place for its accommodation. Under any 
 circumstances, however, it would be wise for the Society 
 itself to begin operations on a small scale. Such a work 
 must be the work of years. It may not spring mushroom- 
 like in an evening into perfection. The wherefore is not 
 far to seek. It would be necessary for the workers of 
 such a scheme themselves to know each other, and to 
 learn respectively both how to obey as well as how to 
 command, and how to work together in unity as brethren, 
 before they undertook to conduct a Mission on a large 
 scale, to the World without. And the rule which should 
 guide the personal workers, should be the law also for the 
 material portion of their work — a small beginning, which 
 should develope to the greater glory of God, into a large 
 and important ending. 
 
 IV. The establishment of an Oratory in London which 
 has been thus spoken of in general terms, could only be 
 undertaken by a body of Priests situated as the Brethren 
 of the Society of the Holy Cross. No Society which is 
 not in possession of the strength of numbers, unity of 
 object, diversity of talent, variety of resources, and con- 
 centration of power which are possessed by us could hope 
 to attain any such end. But, with God's help, and the 
 co-operation which the establishment of an Oratory could 
 not fail to ensure, what might not a body of between two 
 and three hundred Catholic Priests — in part scattered 
 over the country, and in part concentrated in London, 
 both portions being yearly and rapidly increased in num- 
 bers — effect 1 What results might not such a body of 
 Priests, who, if not all picked men, from a common sense 
 of common danger and in search of a common end, have 
 all been drawn, one by one, to a common centre — if only
 
 24 ' ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 they gave themselves to the work — produce ? For it is 
 not to be expected, if begun for the greater glory of GOD, 
 and the good of souls, and steadily continued to that end, 
 that the work would not prosper, that the work would not 
 grow. It would naturally by force of circumstances, and 
 supernaturally by the power of Grace, attract to itself 
 men of mark willing to work, and men of power who 
 would gain for the work a name. Men would be called 
 of God from different parts of the country to come and 
 join this work in London. And GOD would make them 
 come. They would even be enabled, perhaps would be 
 called of Him, to leave a good work in the provinces to 
 help build up even a better, because a wider, work in the 
 capital. Nor is this surmise a mere conjecture. For it 
 so happened — perhaps I ought to speak less unhesi- 
 tatingly — that the two earliest applications which I was 
 led to make by letter (after the proposal of the establish- 
 ment of an Oratory had been accepted as a subject to be 
 considered by the Society) to Priests of mature age and 
 dignified position in the Church, as well as of undeniably 
 great power and ability in the country — who were already 
 doing a good work in their own sphere of labour — were 
 in both cases answered not only sympathetically, but 
 hopefully, and even sanguinely. It is not perhaps too 
 much to affirm, that both Priests were prepared, under 
 certain circumstances, if it so please GOD, to leave their 
 present work, and to join in our labour, if it should be 
 established. And many others, we may be assured, would 
 equally feel the attractive power of such an Oratory, would 
 be equally ready to listen to the call of GOD. 
 
 The way in which the Oratory of the Holy Cross might 
 practically be worked, in the event of God being pleased 
 to allow of its establishment, would be somewhat after 
 this fashion. The Priests of the Society of the Holy
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L ONDON 25 
 
 Gross would be its motive power ; both Priests residing 
 at or adjoining the Oratory, and Priests hving in their 
 own sphere of parish work, or in their own homes in 
 London. There would be, in the first place, a governing 
 body of three, five, or seven Priests, elected annually, or 
 for two or more years, and presided over by a Head, 
 who would also be elected for a definite term of office. 
 Then, there would be formed a staff— at the outset a small 
 staff— of Clergy attached to the Oratory, which would be 
 gradually strengthened, and which would be responsible 
 in the main for the performance of the Divine Offices. 
 This body of Clergy would undertake the ordinary round 
 of services : and its component parts might conveniently 
 be called the Father, Master, Provost, or Warden, as the 
 case may be, and Brethren of the Oratory. There would 
 also be the other force of Priest-power at work to carry 
 on all Services which were not essential, to fill up, as it 
 were, the outline made by the former body ; which force 
 would consist of the members of the Society of the Holy 
 Cross external to the Oratory, either living in, or visiting 
 London. And the form which their extra-ordinary as- 
 sistance would assume would be that of a cycle of help, 
 each parish Priest, or Priest permanently in London, 
 being responsible in a certain cycle for a certain amount 
 of work. The cycle would be larger or smaller according 
 to the amount of aid which each extern Priest found him- 
 self enabled, either by himself or his coadjutors, to afford. 
 But it is probable, from the strength of the Society within 
 the hmits of the (national) metropolis, that each Priest 
 would not be called upon more than once in a fortnight 
 for assistance on week-days, and once in a month, or less 
 often, for help on Sundays and Saints' Days : whilst the 
 Seasons of Advent and Lent or other special times might 
 be arranged hereafter, as a matter of detail.
 
 26 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 The manner in which ' extern ' help might be afforded 
 may be thus described: — The Priest would reach the 
 Clergy-house of the Oratory on the afternoon or evening 
 of the day for which he is responsible for the extra-ordi- 
 nary Services. He would ' take ' the Evensong, or recite 
 the Vesper or Compline Hours (to distinguish between 
 the Anglican Offices and Canonical Hours), as the case 
 may be, the same night. He would also hear confessions, 
 before, between, or after the Services, in his own Con- 
 fessional ; and would be accessible to all who chose to 
 claim his attention either in the Sacristy or the Clerg}'- 
 house up to a reasonable hour at night. Next morning, 
 he would say Mass at his given hour ; he would ' take ' 
 Matins or recite the Hours, be present in his Confes- 
 sional, or be in waiting in the Sacristy ; and he would 
 complete his round of duty by saying Sext at mid-day 
 before returning to his own abode. He would thus 
 spend three parts of the day, on the average we have 
 supposed, in direct work at the Oratory once a fortnight. 
 
 Could the Brethren of the Society of the Holy Cross, 
 specially those engaged in their own special sphere of 
 work, afford to devote such time and labour to their 
 Oratory ? I think that they could. For it must not be 
 forgotten that, thereby and to a certain extent, such 
 Priests would lessen their labours, at least those of a 
 more private sort, at home. When it was known, as it 
 would at once be Icnown, that the Priest, let us say, to 
 take an extreme case, that the Priest of S. Peter-in-the- 
 Docks was due at the Oratory of the Holy Cross, in the 
 quadrilateral above-named, on a certain day, his peni- 
 tents from the West-end of London could make their 
 confession to him on the evening and receive the Blessed 
 Sacrament from his hands on the morning following : 
 whilst those who were not his penitents, or who might
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN LONDON. 27 
 
 become so, or who desired his spiritual counsel or advice, 
 might resort to him with less difficulty to themselves and 
 more easily for him, at the Oratory than miles away in 
 the East of London. This is no fancy demand ; this is 
 no ideal supply. The want is felt of being able to see 
 Priests who live afar off : and it would be a great boon 
 to many who hve in the spiritual deserts of Belgravia and 
 Tyburnia to know that, at a given place and at certain 
 times, Priests whom they desired to consult would 
 always be prepared to be consulted. And this want, by 
 the Establishment of the Oratory of the Holy Cross, 
 would be suppHed. 
 
 V. We will now consider some of the results v/hich may 
 be attained by the Estabhshment of an Oratory, by the 
 Society of the Holy Cross. 
 
 The regular round of Services which the Oratory could 
 offer to Catholics, of course, would depend to a large 
 extent upon the strength of its staff, and the offer of 
 occasional daily help which it might be enabled to com- 
 mand. The minimiuji of Services which the Oratory 
 should offer, when in the full swing of work, may thus be 
 described : — 
 
 Two, three, four, or more daily Celebrations of Mass, 
 one of which should be High Mass, at not less than 
 hourly intervals ; with additional Masses, before and 
 after the regular Mass, for strangers, occasional helpers, 
 or residents in London who gave due notice of their in- 
 tention the day before. The number of Masses would 
 also depend on the form and character of the Oratory. 
 If it were feasible, as it would be most desirable, to build 
 side Altars for Low Mass, the number of Celebrations 
 might be increased, and the succeeding Masses might 
 follow at somewhat shorter intervals, and perhaps for a
 
 28 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 few minutes might overlap each other, so that the intro- 
 ductory part of one Mass might be contemporaneous with 
 the ablutions or last Gospel of another. The advantage 
 to ' stranger ' Priests of an opportunity to say Mass, by 
 merely giving timely notice, is very great. Practically, it 
 is almost impossible for a country Clergyman to say his 
 Mass either on Sundays or week-days during his stay in 
 town : and the favour granted once by any given Church 
 can seldom be repeated. The hours of such additional 
 Masses might be notified at Evensong of the day before, 
 and published on the Notice-boards within and without 
 the Oratory. The multiplication of Masses would neces- 
 sitate a corresponding number of Sacristans and Servers 
 and a proportionate supply of Vestments and Altar-Linen: 
 and also — and this is a point of considerable importance, 
 and one strangely overlooked, or unprovided for, by the 
 architect of every modern Church that may be seen in 
 England — a Sacristy of sufficiently roomy dimensions, to 
 prevent unseemly crowding and inconvenience. As a rule 
 our Sacristies are absurdly out of proportion, not only to 
 the strain now placed upon them — which might be an 
 excuse, but to the actual requirements of the chancel and 
 choir, for the use of which they have been planned by the 
 architect — and which hence can afford no excuse for in- 
 sufficiency. Such oversight might be easily avoided in 
 the Oratory of the Society of the Holy Cross. Perhaps 
 two Sacristies, one for Priests and another for the Choir, 
 would tend to ensure order and reverence, and to prevent 
 crowding and confusion. 
 
 The mode in which High Mass should be sung in the 
 Oratory of the Society of the Holy Cross on Festivals, 
 should be of the highest type known to Catholic Christen- 
 dom, by which the Holy Sacrifice may be offered ac- 
 cording to the use of the Church of England. It should
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON. 29 
 
 possess every element in ritual, and music, and other 
 accessories which the tradition of the Church sanctions. 
 It should possess every feature which characterised the 
 beautiful and carefully rendered function in which we 
 had the privilege of joining on the first day of the Synod, 
 in this Church of S. Peter ; and which, so far as I have 
 seen, was one of the most perfect forms of Divine Wor- 
 ship England has yet witnessed. You will not, therefore, 
 consider me to be wanting in appreciation for the use of 
 S. Peter's if I name as essentials for the Oratory of the 
 Future, elements which, for some good reason, may have 
 been wanting in this Church. But the founders of the 
 Oratory would not feel satisfied until they restored to the 
 Church of England a rendering of the sacred Mass 
 which was fully mediaeval in the correctness of its use, 
 and more than mediaeval in the richness, costliness, taste, 
 and perfection of its details. Thus we should desi- 
 derate these elements at the least : — The Asperges ; the 
 ' Censing of persons and things ' or the use of incense in 
 a ritual manner; the correct Introits, Graduals, Offer- 
 tories, Communions ; Gospel Lights ; Consecration Lights 
 on the Altar and Consecration Candles in front of the 
 Altar, in addition to the Six Altar Candles and two 
 Sacramental Lights ; the use of the Altar Bell ; the 
 Lavabo ; and, of course, the Eucharistic Vestments, for 
 Celebrant, Ministers, Servers, and Acolytes. Into the 
 dangerous arena of Music I will not adventure myself 
 further than to express an opinion that music, more 
 popular, though music of the best composers, might be 
 used in the Oratory, than is sometimes employed in our 
 Churches, for what is in truth, and should ever be made 
 to be, the popular service — the Offering of the Sacrifice: 
 and to this end the aid of orchestral music might be em- 
 ployed to co-operate with the organ ; and a large west-
 
 30 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 end organ might be made to supplement, or harmonise 
 with, a smaller instrument in the chancel. The erection 
 of a west-end gallery, also, might be made to secure the 
 services of a supplementary choir of mixed voices — an 
 addition to our choral rendering of services which has 
 Continental authority and should not be allowed to escape 
 us from the fact of the practice being either abused in, 
 or connected with our early impressions of, Puritan times. 
 But from an unfortunate ignorance of Music, on this 
 point I will say no more. 
 
 Low Mass might be said as plainly, simply, and shortly 
 as is consistent with Catholic use: and to attain the last- 
 named condition. Low Mass might be commenced with 
 the Collect for the day. 
 
 Matins might be said plainly, without music. 
 
 The forenoon Choir Offices and Hours, specially Sext, 
 might also be said plainly. 
 
 The afternoon Hours, Evensong, Vespers, and Com- 
 pline-song, might be choral. And here again we might, 
 perhaps, with advantage, adopt the custom used abroad 
 with effect, of having some of the Offices sung by men- 
 voices alone, without the aid of boys. Gregorian chants, 
 sung slowly, with voices more or less bass in range, have 
 a grand effect. And such a choir for some, not for all 
 of the Offices, might be obtained by the co-operation of 
 those large centres of business which abound in the 
 West-end, and which are more or less connected with 
 the trade of Linen-drapers and Silk-mercers. For this 
 purpose one of two courses must be adopted. The 
 Oratory must either have the Vesper-song late and Even- 
 song early ; or the Vesper-Hours early and Evening 
 Prayer late. The Oratory will desire to minister to two 
 sets of worshippers — the fashionable and less industrious, 
 and the more industrious and mercantile sections of
 
 A TV ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 society. If the staff of Priests were sufficiently large, 
 either Evening Prayer or Vesper-song, or both, might be 
 duplicated daily, at the respectable High Church Vesper 
 hour of five p.in,^ and the practical Catholic man-of- 
 business hour of eight: whilst Compline might follow at 
 nine /.?;«., or even later. To accomphsh this multiphca- 
 tion of services, however, a double choir would be needful, 
 and two organists, as well as two sets of Clergy. 
 
 Litanies, the Stations, and other Penitential Offices, 
 both weekly and throughout the seasons of Lent and 
 Advent might also be said or used. And especially the 
 simple, but most touching and devout Office, the ' Stations 
 of the Cross,' might be said on Fridays both within and 
 without the Lenten season. 
 
 In addition to these Services which are more or less 
 regular in their character, the Oratory might provide for 
 special courses of Sermons ; popular Conferences ; Lec- 
 tures theological and otherwise; Readings on Holy 
 Scripture; Instructions for different classes and either 
 sex; Classes for men and women, for Confirmation or 
 Communion ; Missions for all the world : Retreats for 
 both Clergy and people ; and Meetings, Chapters, and 
 Synods for such Rehgious Societies as the Society of 
 the Holy Cross, its daughter the Confraternity of the 
 Blessed Sacrament, and the Enghsh Church Union. 
 
 Confessionals should also be erected in the Oratory 
 with the days, hours, and Priest's name in attendance 
 plainly printed on the outside. 
 
 And the last requisite I shall name is the great and 
 inestimable blessing, the Reserved Presence on the High 
 Altar, with its ever-burning beacon lamp. This is perhaps 
 the last great need which the Revival still lacks, to com- 
 plete and perfect the Catholicity of the Oxford Movement. 
 Of course the Reservation will be made on behalf of the
 
 32 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 sick. But there is no reason wherefore the whole as well 
 as the sick should not benefit by the fact of Reservation. 
 I mean, not in the way of worship ; for this could be 
 denied to none: but in the way of reception. There is no 
 reason why we should not return to the prmciple of ab- 
 solutely primitive times, and be enabled to communicate 
 when we list — only in Church instead of at home ; why 
 we should not adopt the practice of the Catholic Church, 
 and be enabled to receive, without hearing Mass — to 
 communicate, without joining in offering the Sacrifice. A 
 short Office, like the one employed abroad, might easily 
 be framed from the Order in use in the West: and many 
 persons would have summarily taken from them the 
 excuse (of which we do not accept the principle) of a long 
 Service preceding reception — the excuse for reception, 
 utterly unknown to Catholic Christendom, otherwise than 
 by fasting from bodily food. Hence, Fasting Communion 
 would become more common, and the lesson learnt in 
 London would, in many cases, be taken away and re- 
 peated to others in the country. Reservation, also, would 
 permit of that beautiful complement to Morning Mass 
 being ultimately introduced amongst us, I mean the 
 Evening Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 Other questions connected with this portion of the 
 subject demand a passing notice. 
 
 The Oratory of the Holy Cross would be the centre of 
 no parish, and consequently would be hampered by no 
 parish work, would be burdened by no parish schools, 
 would be distracted by no parish troubles. The Society 
 numbers too many parish priests among its members to 
 need more than the assertion of these characteristics of 
 the proposed Oratory to ensure acquiescence in their 
 importance. 
 
 The form which the Oratory itself (in my idea of its
 
 AN OR A TOR P IN L OND ON 33 
 
 creation) should assume is that of an ancient basihca 
 Church, adapted to suit modern requirements. Such a 
 form possesses many advantages in our chmate, in the 
 locahty in which it is to be built, and for the purposes 
 to which we intend to apply it. A basilica, with a deeply 
 incised, flat roof within, would be more easy tp make 
 warm in winter, to keep cool in summer, to regulate in 
 temperature and to ventilate at all times, than a Church 
 with a single and pointed roof, built in the Gothic style. It 
 would also allow of a plainer exterior, with the exception, 
 perhaps, of a handsome west front facing the street, in 
 connection with a richer interior, without erecting a 
 building entirely devoid of taste. In the atmosphere and 
 surroundings of London, red brick, either alone, or in 
 combination with black or coloured brick, or stone, or 
 marble, for a material, would be at once appropriate and 
 seemly : and a larger use might be made internally of the 
 same material, in constructional ornament, in window 
 tracery, and even in single or clustered columns and 
 arches, than has yet been attempted in this country. 
 Specimens of this use of brick are to be found in the 
 Churches of North Italy, and the artistic effect is great. 
 
 The Altar should be placed in the chord of the apse, 
 which itself should be lengthened eastwards and contain 
 at least three rows of seats sufficient to accommodate a 
 large choir of Priests, choir-men, and boys. The High 
 Altar would thus be within sight of nearly the whole of 
 the worshippers. The ways of approach to and departure 
 from the Altar, which ought to be different, should be 
 wide and roomy. By a disposition of light not difficult 
 to obtain, an East window should be avoided, which 
 it is disagreeable for a congregation to face in the 
 daytime; and its place should be filled with frescoes, 
 mosaics, or mural decorations which will light up effec-
 
 34 
 
 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 tively at night. The seats, open beneath and with wooden 
 kneelers affixed, where a round of frequent services pre- 
 vails, should not be moveable. Chairs, though picturesque, 
 are practically laborious in their arrangement: but the 
 seats should not bear a large proportion to the capabili- 
 ties of the building for holding numbers. The seats and 
 kneelers at S. Alban's, in their proportions of height and 
 width, absolutely and relatively, and in the distance be- 
 tween the several rows, appear to be models of convenience 
 and comfort. It is said that these proportions were 
 adopted after many practical experiments. It need hardly 
 be added that the seats in the Oratory would be free to 
 all comers. Persons should be encouraged, as they are 
 abroad, to stand or kneel only, without support ; which 
 in the case of short Offices they can easily, and in the case 
 of popular preachers they willingly do, without fatigue. 
 As it has been indicated, there should be Confessionals 
 on either side of the Church, a western gallery with a 
 large organ, a chancel organ, space behind the High 
 Altar for an orchestra, and side altars, at least one at the 
 extremity of each ^//^j-z- aisle, and one behind the High 
 Altar, perhaps dos-a-dos, and facing west. The High 
 Altar should be furnished with a baldachino. A large 
 roomy pulpit, with an hour-glass and a crucifix attached, 
 surmounted by a sounding-board, should be placed one- 
 third down the nave, and seats might be placed opposite 
 to it for the use of the officiating Clergy. Holy Water 
 should be supplied at the entrances of the Oratory, which 
 should be numerous and well protected against draughts. 
 And Sacristies, as has been said, of suitable proportions, 
 and communicating both with the chancel and the clergy- 
 house direct, should not be forgotten. Such are some of 
 the details of construction which might perhaps with 
 advantage be adopted in the Oratory of the Holy Cross ;
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON 35 
 
 for many of them we have the practical sanction of 
 Continental Catholicism, though they may be locally 
 unknown to us in England, 
 
 The funds for the support of the Oratory if once esta- 
 blished, and if built on a sufficiently large scale, would 
 be provided for out of the Offertory. If begun in a 
 temporary building, all moneys received in excess of 
 expenditure might be funded to gather interest for a 
 permanent building. After a permanent building has 
 been completed, they might form the nucleus of an en- 
 dowment for the Oratory. 
 
 A wide field of work might be opened hereafter to such 
 an Oratory as the one proposed, which may here be only 
 indicated — a temporary abode or permanent Home for 
 invalid, over-worked or aged Priests ; Schools for the 
 educating and training of choir-boys and men ; a Training 
 College for parochial Schoolmasters — a crying need under 
 the pressure of the new national and godless Education 
 Bill; a College in preparation for Holy Orders; Institu- 
 tions for the relief of the distressed, or for improving the 
 social and material condition of the poor. 
 
 A Superior — if such there can be found — to take the 
 lead in such a work must be no ordinary man. He should 
 possess many opposite, though by no means incompatible 
 qualities. He should be blessed with physical power and 
 good health. He should have a capacity for organising 
 and governing ; and not be wanting in keenness for de- 
 tails and experience in obedience. A knowledge of music, 
 if not its practice, is needful. A knowledge of human 
 nature, acquired in the Confessional amongst other means, 
 is essential. And a gift of preaching, a mind stored with 
 theology, practical familiarity with ritual, and acquaint- 
 ance with more than the elements of casuistry, would add 
 much to the influence of the Superior. Lastly, he should
 
 36 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 be a Christian gentleman. Where may so much be found 
 in a single Priest ? Speaking even to the Society of the 
 Holy Cross I am not ashamed to confess that I cannot 
 tell. Perhaps GOD would raise us up such a man. Per- 
 haps such an one exists already amongst us, though 
 unknown. 
 
 The manner in which a scheme, such as I have had 
 the honour to submit for your consideration, should 
 practically be commenced, I am not prepared to describe. 
 Amongst other means which might be adopted for col- 
 lecting necessary funds, may be mentioned one which 
 would to some extent drain the resources of the countr}', 
 as well as tend to interest the Church in the provinces. 
 It is this — the organisation of a Preaching Mission to 
 travel through England to make known the proposed 
 establishment of the Oratory of the Holy Cross. In the 
 event, however, of a committee of the Society of the 
 Holy Cross being appointed to consider the question as a 
 whole, this very practical detail would doubtless receive 
 due attention. 
 
 VI. Lastly, we must consider the position of the Ora- 
 tory when established, in the country and in the Church. 
 
 It may be asked upon what basis, legal and ecclesias- 
 tical, would the Oratoi-y of the Holy Cross be established ? 
 The Ecclesiastical position is the only position with which 
 the Society of the Holy Cross need be concerned. But 
 it may be mentioned in passing that, although the Society 
 would not in any way rest its claims to the establishment 
 of the Oratoiy on a legal basis, yet, as a matter of fact, 
 there exists an Act of Parliament which would prevent 
 the operations of the Society from being legally harassed, 
 or from an Episcopal point of view illegally suppressed, 
 and to which it might appeal for protection. An Act was
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L ONDON. 37 
 
 passed on the 14th August, 1855, entitled, 'An Act for 
 Securing the Liberty of Rehgious Worship.' The Act is 
 popularly known as Lord Shaftesbury's Act ; legally, as 
 18 and 19 Victoriae, Cap. 86. Under the directions and 
 through the influence of that nobleman, with the active 
 co-operation of the Bishops, the Act declares it to be 
 'expedient that the Law affecting Assemblies for Reli- 
 gious Worship should be amended.' The more important 
 portion of the Act is contained in the First Section. By 
 this Section, according to the marginal reading, ' no pro- 
 secution (is) to be maintainable for assembling for Reli- 
 gious Worship in a place of Meeting not certified ' under 
 certain former Acts. The words of the Section are as 
 follows : — 
 
 ' I. From and after the passing of this Act, nothing 
 contained in the above-mentioned Acts [i W. & M. Sess. 
 I. c. 18, and 52 G. 3. c. 155], or in an Act passed in the 
 Fifteenth and Sixteenth Years of the Reign of Her Ma- 
 jesty, Chapter Thirty-six, shall apply to the Congregations 
 or Assemblies hereinafter mentioned, or any of them ; 
 that is to say, 
 (i) To any Congregation or Assembly for Religious 
 Worship held in any Parish or any Ecclesiastical 
 District, and conducted by the Incumbent, or in case 
 the Incumbent is not resident, by the Curate of such 
 Parish or District, or by any Person authorised by 
 them respectively : 
 
 (2) To any Congregation or Assembly for Religious 
 Worship meeting in a private Dwelling House or on 
 the Premises belonging thereto : 
 
 (3) To any Congregation or Assembly for Religious 
 Worship meeting occasionally in any Building or 
 Buildings not usually appropriated to Purposes of 
 Religious Worship :
 
 38 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 And no Person permitting any such Congregation to meet 
 as herein mentioned in any Place occupied by him shall 
 be liable to any Penalty for so doing.' 
 
 The Congregations or Assemblies, therefore, to which 
 immunity from a fine for each time of meeting, 'at the 
 discretion of the Justices who shall convict,' of a ' sum 
 not exceeding 20/. and not less than 20J-.,' refers are three- 
 fold, of which the second would meet the case of the 
 proposed Oratory. For instance, Clause Two runs thus — 
 ' To any Congregation or Assembly for Religious Worship 
 meeting in a private Dwelling House or on the Prejnises 
 helongiiig thereto.^ Hence, the Society of the Holy Cross 
 is legally at liberty to establish an Oratory for public 
 Divine Worship, provided only it be situated on the pre- 
 mises belonging to a private Clergy-house. The First 
 Clause of the Act provides for the immunity of Assem- 
 blies whose worship is conducted by the parish Priest, or 
 by any one authorised by him ; but this Clause could only 
 affect the Oratory under circumstances too favourable to 
 contemplate, and which hence need hardly be entertained, 
 viz., securing a site in the quadrilateral above-named 
 in the parochial domain of a friendly Incumbent. The 
 Third Clause provides for the immunity of those who 
 meet for worship occasionally in places not usually ap- 
 propriated to purposes of worship. It is not difficult for 
 us to see the tendency of these two latter Clauses. The 
 Third gives a licence for Services in Theatres. The First 
 gives a licence for Prayer-meetings in Schoolrooms. Lord 
 Shaftesbury, and his Episcopal supporters, could not have 
 entertained an idea, with respect to Clause Two, that it 
 would have been made use of on behalf of other than 
 mere Protestant assemblages. He could hardly have 
 contemplated, under its provisions, the establishment of 
 an Oratory such as is proposed by the Society of the 
 Holy Cross.
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON. 39 
 
 Such, however, is the force of the legal sanction, under 
 the shelter of which, it may be repeated, it is 7iot pro- 
 posed to found an Oratory ; but by which it may be pos 
 sible to claim legal protection for its establishment, on the 
 grounds contemplated in Lord Shaftesbury's Act, in the 
 event, which is highly improbable, of the law being set in 
 motion to interfere with our organisation. It is true, and 
 it is only fair to state, that some persons deny the applica- 
 tion of the Act in question to the case before us. They 
 affirm that no Act of Parliament can override Canon 
 Law ; that the Act under consideration recognises 
 former laws touching public Divine Worship, and keeps 
 them in force, saving only to the extent to which it dis- 
 tinctly repeals them ; and that the Act does not license 
 persons to minister, but only legalises places in which 
 services may be held, and protects congregations who 
 assemble. The prerogatives of the Bishop, it is added, 
 remain untouched ; and his licence for celebrating is still 
 needful. This may be true. But, on the other hand. 
 Civil Law will not permit itself to be set on one side by 
 laws Ecclesiastical. And the question now is one of 
 Civil Law only ; and without further evidence, it does 
 not appear that legally any distinction is or can be drawn 
 between the different forms of Religious Worship. Preach- 
 ing, Prayers, and Celebrations, to different persons, are 
 only various forms of Public Worship ; and the Act, 
 whether intentionally or not, and perhaps there was such 
 intention, and so far as legislation can affect the case, 
 distinctly legalises, under certain conditions, all and every 
 form of Religious Worship which those may be pleased to 
 adopt who avail themselves of its sanctions. 
 
 The ecclesiastical position of the Oratory, it may be 
 repeated, is the only one which we need consider. And 
 this, it must be owned, is a position of some difficulty
 
 40 OJV THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 under the present position of affairs, both civil and reli- 
 gious; though it is not a position which, in my judgment, 
 we need shrink from accepting. Before, however, the po- 
 sition to be assumed is discussed, it may be well to men- 
 tion a plan which has been proposed for adoption to meet 
 the difficulties that are felt towards the scheme which it is 
 my duty to place before you. It is proposed by grave 
 persons, who feel the responsibility of acting without, not 
 to say against, Episcopal authority — it is proposed, if it 
 be possible, to gain the sanction of the Bishop of the 
 diocese for the establishment of an Oratory, before em- 
 barking in the undertaking. Without venturing to dis- 
 cuss the probabilities that the present occupant of the see 
 would give his Episcopal sanction to the plan, we will 
 assume that the Bishop consents to our scheme. The 
 Bishop, however, is simply powerless to bind his succes- 
 sors in the see. And it would not be at all an improbable 
 contingency, that the next Bishop of London might with- 
 hold the consent which the present Bishop had accorded. 
 In what position would the Oratory then be placed ? 
 Supposing we were so far compromised to continuance as 
 to have completed ouf organism, and to have secured, in 
 brick and mortar, a permanent building in the quadrila- 
 teral above-named; supposing the Oratory of the Holy 
 Cross to be a fact and a Church to be erected, at a change 
 of Episcopal authority in what position should we be 
 placed .-^ It may be replied, that sufficient for the day is the 
 evil thereof. I would answer, we must endeavour to foresee, 
 in order to avoid, future contingencies : and it would not 
 be wise, in my opinion, to establish an Oratory on one 
 principle, and to continue it upon another and totally 
 opposite principle. The establishment of the Oratory 
 therefore on the uncertain foundation of a variable quan- 
 tity, viz.^ the temporary sanction of the present Bishop, is
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON. 4 1 
 
 not to be commended to the consideration of the Society 
 of the Holy Cross. 
 
 But there is another form which this plan may assume, 
 which is indeed only a limited form of the first. Those 
 who would hold to a legal view of the case, modified by a 
 certain amount of ecclesiastical authority, advocate taking 
 advantage, avowedly, of the First Clause of Lord Shaftes- 
 bury's Act, and establishing an Oratory in the parish 
 of a sympathising Incumbent. But the same argument 
 which was applied against positively seeking the Bishop's 
 consent, would apply to gaining the assent of the parish 
 Priest. To a like extent only with the Bishop, could the 
 Priest give his consent. He too would be powerless to 
 bind his successor in the living. And the Society's diffi- 
 culties would only be removed onwards one step, from the 
 present to the future, by the adoption of this plan. And, 
 moreover, though the temper of the present Bishop need 
 not be estimated, it may be safely affirmed that within 
 the proposed quadrilateral limits assigned to the Oratory's 
 position, no parish Priest can be found to give the need- 
 ful consent. Hence, any plan which would assure to the 
 Oratory a temporary position only of legality in the State, 
 which would secure merely a partial and incomplete re- 
 cognition by the law, is a plan which, in my judgment, 
 ought to be strongly deprecated. Of course, this difficulty, 
 in either shape in which it has been mentioned, may be 
 overcome. None would more heartily rejoice than my- 
 self that the obstacles should be surmounted. But, in such 
 a statement as the present, we must accept facts as they 
 exist. And as the facts of the day meet with us, so must 
 we be prepared to meet our difficulties. 
 
 We are therefore reduced to return to first principles. 
 And here it may commend itself to many minds that the 
 present condition in which we find ourselves placed, the
 
 42 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 abnormal and disorganised state of the Church, the exist- 
 ing scandalous and vexatious development of the union 
 of Church and State, and the perseveringly and almost 
 innately hostile aspect which our Bishops, as an Order, 
 take to the Catholic Revival, necessitates a corresponding, 
 though not identical, course of action on our parts, as 
 Priests in the Church of GOD. If we are looked upon as 
 enemies by the Episcopate, we must act on the defensive. 
 If we are subjected to legalised illegality by the State, we 
 must exercise passive fortitude, and ignore the require- 
 ments of judge-made law. If we live in a state of Eccle- 
 siastical chaos in the Church, we must strive to keep as 
 near the centre of the whirlpool as may be, and be affected 
 as little as possible by its eccentric gyrations. In short. 
 Ecclesiastical disorder. State tyranny, and Episcopal an- 
 tagonism can only be met by Priestly organisation, union, 
 and devotion. We must act, in God's sight, so far as we 
 may in accordance with the spirit of the Canon Law, as 
 Priests of His Church. And the plan I venture to pro- 
 pose for your acceptance is one not unknown, I believe, 
 in certain features of its outline, to Catholic Christendom. 
 My meaning may be expressed in the language of the Act 
 which was intended by its authors to effect a different 
 work in the Church of GOD. For I would wish to see 
 estabhshed a ' Congregation for Religious Worship meet- 
 ing in a private Dwelling-house, or on the premises be- 
 longing thereto.' I would establish a ' Dwelling-house ' 
 for the members, or for certain members, of the Society 
 of the Holy Cross. I would erect ' on the premises be- 
 longing thereto ' an Oratory. I would open the doors of 
 such an Oratory to any who chose to enter and therein 
 to form a ' Congregation for Religious Worship.' And I 
 would act thus, not as a rival of the parish Priest, but as 
 a coadjutor to him ; not in opposition to the parochial
 
 AN OR A TOR V IN L OND ON. 43 
 
 system^ but as supplementing it ; not with antagonism to 
 the Bishop, but simply independent, to this extent and 
 to this extent only, of Episcopal supervision. Will any 
 affirm that such a course would be less in accordance 
 with Church law than it is clearly within the boundaries 
 of the law of the land ? I think not. 
 
 Let us however drop all reference to Acts of Parlia- 
 ment. The Oratory of the Society of the Holy Cross 
 would be the Private Chapel of a Religious Society or 
 Brotherhood which would be open to all who were willing 
 to worship within its walls. Is the foundation of such an 
 Oratory, from a Catholic point of view, illegal, even if 
 devoid of Episcopal countenance ? We will confine our- 
 selves to the question of the Bishop's sanction, for the 
 parochial system has utterly broken down in England, 
 not the least signally in London: and therefore the In- 
 cumbent's permission in whose parish, supposing him to 
 be unfriendly to the scheme, we had the misfortune to be 
 located, need not be entertained. But as to the Bishop's 
 licence, it is generally admitted that a Religious House 
 may be established, a Chapel may be built, and services 
 may be held for its members, independent of the official 
 sanction of the Bishop. If this be granted as legal in a 
 Church point of view, can it be denied to be legal if the 
 doors of the Oratory remain open instead of closed, if 
 those without may worship in it as well as those within ? 
 I cannot think that it may. A College Chapel or a School 
 Chapel are no unmeet comparisons to the proposed Ora- 
 tory. If Divine Service in these are in accordance with 
 Catholic custom, the custom of the Church cannot be 
 violated by admitting to the spiritual benefits of the pro- 
 posed Chapel any who care to avail themselves of such 
 privileges. And it is not at all clear that the position of 
 many Religious Houses of old, which were not under
 
 44 OJV THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 Episcopal authority, would not afford a parallel to our 
 present difficulties, and would, to a certain extent, answer 
 them. For though such Houses were under a different, 
 and sometimes a higher than Episcopal, authority, we may 
 honestly affirm our wish and desire not to be deprived of 
 some authority, lacking which we conform ourselves as 
 best we may to the circumstances of the age in which 
 God has called us to play a part. 
 
 A distinction is sometimes attempted to be drawn be- 
 tween the administration of the Sacraments and the reci- 
 tation of the Hours, or Preaching, in the Oratory of the 
 future ; and that, apart from Episcopal consent, the last 
 may be lawful, though the first may be illegal. But even 
 if we admit that this distinction, in Canon Law, between 
 preaching and celebrating, which is doubtful, I appre- 
 hend that a sufficient answer to this may be found in 
 the thought, that if we voluntarily accept Episcopal autho- 
 rity, we must give to it a ready and docile obedience ; and 
 that if a Bishop objected to Mass ritually celebrated, he 
 would not be likely to welcome Vespers rendered music- 
 ally, or Evensong with Incense at the Magnificat, or even 
 a Cathohc Mission combined with Catholic worship. 
 But a more potent argument would probably weigh with 
 most members of the Society of the Holy Cross. Would 
 they be willing to establish an Oratory simply to say Sext 
 in, or in which to hold a Retreat 1 Would they be con- 
 tent with the circumference of the Catholic system, and 
 escape the centre 1 We are not anxious to establish a 
 Hall for preaching : we desiderate an Oratory in which to 
 say Mass. 
 
 There is one consideration, however, which may be 
 thought to be of force. Although the Oratory as a whole 
 might lack Episcopal sanction, its individual members 
 would each possess jurisdiction accorded by Episcopal
 
 AN OR A TOR Y IN L ONDON. 45 
 
 powers. Although the corporation might be without the 
 Bishop's control, each element of the aggregate would be 
 under the Bishop's rule. Of course I speak generally : 
 and it would be wise, perhaps, that those who bear office 
 in the Oratory of the Holy Cross should, as a rule, be 
 likewise situated, as beneficed parish Priests, in the 
 diocese of London. This provision would perhaps tend 
 to remove the objections of some persons. For if Clergy 
 are ordained to act as Priests under a Bishop — and pro- 
 vided always they do not invade parochial rights, a 
 provision which would be enforced— it is a hypercritical 
 reading of jurisdiction to affirm that they have Episcopal 
 authority e.g. at Stoke Newington, but that they have it 
 not in the quadrilateral area so often spoken of. I 
 apprehend that, under the conditions proposed for the 
 foundation of the Oratory, as a Private Chapel, and so 
 far as it only is concerned, a Bishop has no power to 
 limit a parish Priest's work to any given Church, or to 
 restrict the habitual jurisdiction he imparts to any given 
 locahty within the boundaries of his diocese. Neither 
 has he the power to rule that a Priest may celebrate e.g. 
 in the Church of S. Barnabas, but is inhibited from 
 preaching in that of S. Mary Magdalene. 
 
 The whole question of jurisdiction and Episcopal obe- 
 dience, unfortunately, is involved in much confusion by 
 reason of the anomalous position in the CathoHc Church 
 in which the Church of England is placed. It is also a 
 question of much difficulty in itself. It is obviously 
 unreal to apply Canon Law absolutely and unbendingly 
 to our condition, when our condition is essentially dif- 
 ferent, both in outUne and detail, from that assumed by 
 Canon Law, and upon which Canon Law legislates. It is 
 unjust to interpret the Canons literally in the case of 
 Priests and figuratively in the case of Bishops. If a hard
 
 46 aV THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 and fast line is to be drawn around the ancient Canons, 
 the hne must include the Episcopate as well as the 
 Presbyterate. If the hne is not to be hard and fast, 
 Priests not only may, but must, benefit by the relaxation. 
 Avowedly, then, we must accept Canon Law on the 
 principles of accommodation. And the view here taken 
 of the question, with much diffidence, is this — that 
 habitual jurisdiction is given by Christ to all Priests at 
 their ordination, absohitely, to be exercised over any one 
 who willingly submits himself to the same. The actual 
 jurisdiction of the parish Priest is not hereby invaded, 
 first, because, though locally within his parish, the 
 Oratory is a Private Chapel ; and secondly, because 
 those who frequent it either are not his parishioners, or 
 are not pro taiito his parishioners. And if it be objected 
 that such imperm7ii in hnperio is unknown, or hostile, to 
 the spirit of the Canons of the ancient Church, it may 
 be replied that, by analogy in this instance, and directly 
 in the case of another Sacrament, we of the Anghcan 
 Communion are distinctly compromised to this principle. 
 For, the Church of England recognises the habitual 
 jurisdiction of her Priesthood, absolutely, when exercised 
 over any one who willingly submits himself to the same 
 — in the case of the Sacrament of Absolution. 
 
 What, then, it may be asked, would be the position of 
 the Oratory of the Holy Cross ? I answer — It would be 
 the Private Chapel of a Religions Society, from the Offices 
 and Services of which no Catholic who desired to partici- 
 pate would be excluded. It would be the Private Chapel 
 of a Society which not only asserts no local jurisdiction 
 in the parish in which it is founded, but distinctly dis- 
 claims such jurisdiction. It would be an Oratory for 
 Priests of the Church who claim authority over, and 
 obedience from, those only who worship within its walls,
 
 AJV ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 47 
 
 and who voluntarily yield the obedience and authority 
 which is claimed. On this position we should take our 
 stand ; and for our authority, until the conditions both of 
 Church and State, with which we find ourselves involved, 
 are simplified, we appeal to the inherent rights of the 
 Priesthood, to our own acquired powers in Ordination, to 
 an Episcopate better advised, and to the Church of the 
 future, less hardly tyrannised over by the State, and more 
 free to exercise the authority given to her by Christ 
 Himself. And I earnestly hope that the Society of the 
 Holy Cross may decide— supposing such course to be 
 compatible with Catholic consent, as under the circum- 
 stances it may be considered to be — not to seek, at all 
 events at the first. Episcopal sanction, nor to look for 
 Episcopal support. For myself, I believe that any other 
 course would be a grievous, a fatal mistake, which would 
 make shipwreck of the whole plan. I have the greatest 
 possible respect for the Office which Bishops hold, which 
 is compatible with half a lifetime of evidence of the way 
 in which many individual members of the Order sys- 
 tematically degrade the Office, to suit their own persona 
 ends, to favour their own peculiar opinions, or to further 
 their own private judgment. It is impossible to affirm 
 of the Order, as at present State-appointed, as now-' 
 constituted, and from a Catholic point of view, that its 
 ordination vows are respected. To an Order, therefore 
 which deliberately violates, whether conscientiously oi 
 not, the terms upon which it possesses any claims to 
 obedience, it is equally impossible to render that obe- 
 dience which our own ordination vows contemplate. 
 An Order whose 'admonitions' and whose 'judgments' 
 are not ' godly,' how is it possible to ' obey reverently,' 
 and to follow with ' a glad mind and will ' 1 As Catholic 
 Priests who believe in, were ordained into, and reverence
 
 48 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 the Church, this is beyond the bounds of possibility. It 
 becomes a question which of the two are to be obeyed — 
 God, in the person of His Church, or man, under the 
 aspect of a chief Shepherd. I do not think that I at all 
 overstate, and I certainly do not willingly overstate the 
 case, against our spiritual Fathers. For I appeal to 
 members of the Society of the Holy Cross to declare 
 whether or not the CathoHc Revival has not, as a whole, 
 prospered (aye, marvellously prospered), not by reason 
 of Episcopal support, but in direct opposition to almost 
 every single Bishop who has unfortunately come athwart 
 its Divine course. And if we descend from generalities 
 to particulars, I can ask, with confidence as to your reply, 
 what special and particular developement in doctrine, or 
 in ritual, or in discipline, have, not one Bishop, nor two 
 Bishops, but have not many Bishops actively and even 
 energetically opposed? So far as I know, when the 
 developement has been made in a Catholic direction, not 
 one. Suffer me then, once more, earnestly to exhort the 
 Society of the Holy Cross, in the establishment of an 
 Oratory in London, to rely on the inherent powers alone 
 of an ordained Priesthood which, in GOD'S Providence, 
 has carried the CathoUc Revival from its origin to its 
 present point of developement ; and not to rely upon un- 
 certain, fickle, and hesitating support (the most we can 
 hope for) at the hands of almost any member of an 
 Episcopal body which corporately has in vain attempted 
 to stem the tide of advancing Catholicity. 
 
 The six points which I desired to lay before you have 
 now been discussed with as much fulness as the question, 
 in its present preliminary stage, permitted. There are, 
 however, other points upon which I wish to secure your 
 attention before deciding whether or not the scheme pro-
 
 A N OR A TOR Y IN L OND ON. 49 
 
 posed may claim further consideration from the Society 
 of the Holy Cross. 
 
 The Oratory which I have attempted to picture would 
 possess two characteristics which have never yet been 
 combined in any single place of worship to which we 
 have had access. It would be free from the tyranny of 
 the State. It would be independent of Episcopal inter- 
 ference. Let me say a few words under each of these 
 heads. 
 
 1. I shall assume, what must be only too painfully 
 conscious to us all, and what most of us are more 
 acquainted with than myself, familiarity with the present 
 anomalous, immoral, and anti-Christian Union which ex- 
 ists between Church and State. I may assume also that, 
 as a Society, we are at one in our wish to see such an 
 Union dissolved. I wish it might be further assumed 
 that we are all mentally resolved to do all that we may to 
 hasten Disestabhshment But assent to the facts of the 
 case is enough for my purpose ; and to assent that the 
 Oratory of the Holy Cross would be free from State 
 tyranny is sufficient to bind us together in united action. 
 Such freedom would shelter us from the vexatious, con- 
 tradictory, anti-legal decisions of judge-made law, whether 
 delivered in the Court of Final Appeal, to which no 
 Catholic adheres ; or in the lower Courts, which not only 
 are not constituted according to ancient precedent, but 
 also allow of appeal to the higher lay Courts, and to 
 which, therefore, no Catholic ought, in consistency, to 
 give countenance. 
 
 2. In the rapidly approaching prospect of Disestablish- 
 ment — a prospect, however, which may not, though it 
 probably will, be realised in our lifetime— it would be a 
 
 D
 
 50 ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
 
 fact beyond comparison important that an Oratory could 
 be presented to the eyes of the nation, free from the 
 tyranny of the State and independent of Episcopal inter- 
 ference, which yet should consistently and conscientiously 
 submit to authority — the authority, namely, of the Catholic 
 Church. Such a sight would do more to educate Catho- 
 lics in general to the point of declaring for Disestablish- 
 ment, than perhaps any other means of teaching popular 
 opinion. But, then, one and all, so far as it is possible 
 with the present phase of Society, must agree to be bound 
 by authority. We must not accept Catholic custom in 
 one point, and reject it another. We must not teach high 
 doctrine, and practise lax discipline. We must not assert 
 stern discipline, and encourage ' moderation ' in doctrine. 
 We must not adopt the highest ritual in conjunction with 
 discipline, and doctrine which is not comparable to it. 
 The application of the Vincentian rule for doctrine to all 
 essential points both of discipline and of ritual, and to 
 accept in non-essentials what the West has practised, 
 and what the East sanctions where the West is silent, 
 would seem to cover all needful points of possible differ- 
 ence. Especially in two points would it be essential to 
 present an unbroken front to the enemy, if we would 
 repulse the attacks which are su' e to be made upon our 
 apparent withdrawal from all authority and our actual 
 independence of visible authority — one in either subject 
 indicated. We must be unanimous, I firmly believe, in 
 our adherence to the Catholic use, from the fasting Cele- 
 bration of the Last Supper to the present day, of ourselves 
 celebrating, or of communicating others, fasting from 
 earthly food. And we must be decided, I also venture to 
 thii-ik, in adhering to the ancient Catholic Ritual which 
 prevails at this moment in the great Western Patriarchate 
 of which we still actually, though outwardly and unjustly
 
 AN ORATORY IN LONDON. 
 
 severed, form an integral portion. No doubt an elaborate 
 and symbolical Use might be framed by tessellating into 
 our Order a square from the Ambrosian Office, a triangle 
 from the Mozarabic Missal, a circle from the Sarum Use, 
 or polygons from the Eastern Rites : but the mosaic 
 would be wanting in harmony, the ritual would be only a 
 fancy ritual, the Office would become eclectic. The 
 English Use, however imperfect, mutilated, transposed, 
 supplemented, is a living branch of a living tree. It may 
 be grafted from vital sources which still possess authority. 
 'It cannot be impregnated by crystallised forms of life, 
 however beautiful, ancient, or edifying. 
 
 In conclusion, I would only ask leave to say two 
 things. 
 
 Firstly — That I have done little more than elaborate 
 some details of a plan which, in one form or another, I 
 have for years mentally considered."^ 
 
 Secondly — That I believe a great and noble work is 
 offered to the Society of the Holy Cross for its acceptance 
 — not in the words of this paper, but in the facts which 
 these words describe ; not by the writer of the paper, but 
 by God, in Whose permissive Will these facts have their 
 origin. Persons are widely, are loudly, have been for 
 long, crying for some such centre of action as I have 
 attempted to depict. I plead not for the literal adoption 
 of the ideas here imperfectly placed on record. But I do 
 
 * I may perhaps be allowed to refer to an Essay in the Third 
 Series of The Church and the World, 1868, which discusses, with 
 the writer's usual felicity, some points raised in this paper. It is 
 entitled 'Missions and Preaching Orders,' and is from the pen of 
 the Rev. J. E. Vaux,
 
 52 AN OR A TOR V IN LONDON. 
 
 earnestly plead for the adoption of some plan which may 
 include some of these ideas. The Society of the Holy 
 Cross possesses unusual facilities for the origination of, 
 as well as unusual power to continue, such a work. It 
 may almost be assumed to have a direct call from GOD, 
 and will incur grave responsibility before GOD, if it dis- 
 regard such call. I pray GOD the Society may not only 
 think that the subject deserves its counsels, efforts, and 
 prayers, but that the question demands its active support 
 and its practical origination. The Society would merit 
 the blessing of the future Church, as it would insure the 
 gratitude of all living Catholics if it consented to establish 
 in London an Oratory of the Holy Cross.
 
 
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