The Oxford Movement Historical Theology Collection brings together some of the most important titles to have stemmed from the Oxford Movement and the Tractarians. As historical documents, the ten volumes, all long out-of-print, play witness to one of the greatest debates in the Church of England since its split from the Roman Papacy. As works of theology, the volumes deliver edifying accounts of church history, apostolic succession, the nature of the Virgin Mary, the doctrine of the Eucharist, and many other issues pertinent to any era.
This collection focuses particularly on the works of Edward Pusey, leader of the Oxford Movement. Also included are three books by Darwell Stone and Charles Gore (Archbishop of Oxford) who helped assure by their writings that the work started by the Oxford Movement would continue into the 20th century. Moreover, the collection features an important work by J. B. Lightfoot, in which he clarifies some of his earlier claims that were contrary to the ancient traditions of the early undivided Church. This collection is valuable for students, clergymen, or anyone interested in church history, Eucharistic doctrine, or Anglicanism.
About the Oxford Movement
The Church of England’s secession away from the authority of the Roman Pope in the early sixteenth century caused a conflict between the Catholic and the Puritan elements in the English Church. The Catholics wished only to remove abuses added by the medieval church, whereas the Puritans wanted more radical changes along the lines of the continental reformation. By the end of the eighteenth century many of the Catholic elements had been stripped out of Anglicanism through the heavy influence of the Puritans.
In 1833 the Oxford Movement began a Catholic Revival within The Church of England. This movement began at Oxford University and included (among others) John Keble, John Henry Newman, Edward Bouverie Pusey, Isaac Williams, John Mason Neale and Charles Marriot. These men were often called the Tractarians, named so for their series of tracts (“Tracts for the Times”) promoting and defending the principles and theology of the movement. What they were arguing for was not a new religion, but rather a re-integration into Anglicanism of the Catholic faith of the Early Church Fathers – “the Faith once delivered to the Saints” (Jude 3). The Oxford Movement sought to establish the via media (the middle way) between the extremes of the abuses of the Medieval Papacy, and the stripped-down minimalist religion of Protestant Geneva.
