ANGLICAN ORDERS REJECTED BY ROME defective both in the way of historical succession and in form.;-"Ordinationes Anglicanæ nullæ ac irrita censentur, non eo quod ab hereticis et schismaticis fiant, sed tum ob successionis interruptam seriem episcoporum in secta illa, tum ob vitiatam essentialiter formam." De Ord. Cap. IV. n. 106. Monsignor Nardi, the author of "Elementi di Diritto Ecclesiastico" etc., in the first edition of that work, printed in 1844, at Padua, pronounced Anglican Orders to be doubtful; "Le ordinazioni Anglicane sono dubbie.". He was then Professor of Canon Law in the University of Padua, and sent his work to Rome for examination. Gregory XVI gave the commission to examine it to some learned theologians and canonists, among whom was Monsignor Luigi Ferrari, Prefect of ceremonies at the Vatican, and a most eminent canonist. They remarked, inter alia, "le ordinazioni Anglicane non sono dubbie, ma assolutamente invalide." This induced a more careful consideration of the question, and a correction of the passage in a sccond edition, printed at Padua in 1854. The passage was altered to:-"Al'incontro di niun valore sono le ordinazioni de' protestanti, anche dove hanno un apparente episcopato, come in Inghilterra, Danimarca, Svezia, Norvegia, perchè interrotta la successione, e quindi invalidata la consecrazione de' vescovi, mutato essenzialmente il rito, perita l'idea di sacerdozio e sacrifizio Cristiano." Tomo Secondo p. 97 line 22. Monsignor Nardi thinks "the Anglican church has no real priesthood, because priesthood and sacrifice are correlative, and sacrifice is officially denied in the English church. And besides the want of the form, and of historical succession, there is also a perpetual wanting of intention, which is a necessity to a sacrament." The validity of Parker's consecration depends upon two questions, firstly, was he consecrated by a bishop who ANGLICAN Anglican protestants in fact contend that ev STATEMENT new Church was formed by Queen Elizabel, and that the succession of catholic bishops continued itbroken. The church, they say, reformed herself, and restored her doctrines to primitive purity. It is manifest that this controversy embraces a variety of topics which it belongs to theologians to discuss; but inasmuch as the chief facts on which the controversy is based have been disputed, it will be useful to offer a plain statement of matters of history, which will enable unprejudiced persons to judge more fairly of the question at issue. The case as regards the English succession may be thus stated. The present protestant archbishops and bishops of the State Church possess the titles and temporalities of the ancient sees, and trace their descent by way of episcopal ordinations from Matthew Parker, who was consecrated to the see of Canterbury by order of Queen Elizabeth, on the 15th of December, 1559. The fact that he was consecrated to that see in the year stated, is beyond dispute. That he was ever validly consecrated, is denied by Catholic and maintained by protestant authorities. Upon this controversy many volumes have been written by learned men on both sides, and it is likely many more volumes will be written upon the same subject, without bringing the controversy to a close. For while the Holy See has ANGLICAN always in practice, whenever individual cases arose, ORDERS denied the validity of Anglican Orders, no formal ROME or authoritative decision has ever been pronounced, embracing the whole question, much less has any definite declaration been ever made of the particular reasons upon which the rejection of Anglican Orders has been based. Modern Roman theologians, such as the late Father Perrone, assert that Anglican Orders are invalid, because REJECTED BY ANGLICAN ORDERS REJECTED BY ROME defective both in the way of historical succession and in form.;-"Ordinationes Anglicanæ nullæ ac irritæ censentur, non eo quod ab hereticis et schismaticis fiant, sed tum ob successionis interruptam seriem episcoporum in secta illa, tum ob vitiatam essentialiter formam." De Ord. Cap. IV. n. 106. Monsignor Nardi, the author of "Elementi di Diritto Ecclesiastico" etc., in the first edition of that work, printed in 1844, at Padua, pronounced Anglican Orders to be doubtful; -"Le ordinazioni Anglicane sono dubbie." He was then Professor of Canon Law in the University of Padua, and sent his work to Rome for examination. Gregory XVI gave the commission to examine it to some learned theologians and canonists, among whom was Monsignor Luigi Ferrari, Prefect of ceremonies at the Vatican, and a most eminent canonist. They remarked, inter alia, "le ordinazioni Anglicane non sono dubbie, ma assolutamente invalide." This induced a more careful consideration of the question, and a correction of the passage in a second edition, printed at Padua in 1854. The passage was altered to: "Al'incontro di niun valore sono le ordinazioni de' protestanti, anche dove hanno un apparente episcopato, come in Inghilterra, Danimarca, Svezia, Norvegia, perchè interrotta la successione, e quindi invalidata la consecrazione de' vescovi, mutato essenzialmente il rito, perita l'idea di sacerdozio e sacrifizio Cristiano." Tomo Secondo p. 97 line 22. Monsignor Nardi thinks "the Anglican church has no real priesthood, because priesthood and sacrifice are correlative, and sacrifice is officially denied in the English church. And besides the want of the form, and of historical succession, there is also a perpetual wanting of intention, which is a necessity to a sacrament." The validity of Parker's consecration depends upon two questions, firstly, was he consecrated by a bishop who RESTORATION OF THE HIERARCHY CONTEMPLATED IN 1561 had himself been validly consecrated, and, secondly, was the ritual, used at his consecration, sufficient to confer valid episcopal ordination? RESTORA There is at present in the Secret Archives of TION OF THE the Vatican, a letter, addressed to Cardinal Mo HIERARCHY TED IN 1561. CONTEMPLA roni, and sent to him from England, which must have been written after the 15th of June, 1561. It is contained in a Volume which is entitled "Registrum diversarum Scripturarum Angliæ, Scotia, Hiberniæ, etc.", and is thus worded: "Lettera scritta al Cardinale Morone da Inghilterra ò da Fiandra. "Nel regno d'Inghilterra al presente sono venti sette Chiese Cathedrali, delle quali quindici sono vacanti per morte delli vescovi Cattolici, li quali erano stati posseduti legitimamente dalla Sede Apostolica. Altri dodici hanno li vescovi vivi, delli quali dieci ne sono prigioni nella Torre di Londra meramente per la fede Cattolica, e per l'autorita della Sede Apostolica, alla quale sono risoluti di voler obedire e piu tosto patire ogni martirio che ricognoscere altro capo nella Chiesa di Dio che il Papa. Dui altri vescovi sono pure vivi, cio il Assafense, il quale si trova al Concilio de Trento per ordine di N. S. e l'altro è Ladavense, il quale si lascio sedurre dalla Regina d'Inghilterra et obedisce a Lei, e da lui sono stati consecrati tutti quelli vescovi schismatici et Heretici, li quali la Regina ha fatto di propria autorità sua. Alle quindici Chiese vacanti per obitum, Sua Santita si degna à provedere, et al presente sarei di parere che si promovettero cinque delli piu dotti personaggi degl'Inglesi Cattolici che si trovano in Lovanio et altrove di qua del mare, e che quelli cosi promossi si facessero venire a Trento per intravenire al Concilio generale insieme con il RESTORATION OF THE HIERARCHY CONTEMPLATED IN 1561 detto Vescovo Assafense, che faranno il numero di sei, e potranno proporre e trattare le cose pertinenti alla reductione del regno alla vera Religione, et li detti cinque si potranno promovere alle cinque chiese specificate nella lista presente che si presentarà à Nostro Signore. La detta Regina, oltre li detti dieci vescovi, ritiene incarcerati molti Teologi dottissimi e di buona fama, li quali sono sufficienti per dover esser promossi a detti cinque Chiese specificate nel memoriale. Degnandosi Sua Santità di dare qualche soventione alli Vescovi et altri incarcerati per conto della Religione, crederei che per ora bastasse ordinare, che fussero pagati cento scudi il mese in Anversa, li quali habbino da distribuirsi per li alimenti per li detti vescovi per ordine di Maestro Clemente, medico Inglese, che cosi e stato ricordato quà, e questa spesa potrà continuarsi per qual tempo che piacerà a Sua Santità." The following is a translation of this document: "In the Kingdom of England at present are twenty seven Cathedral Churches, of which fifteen are vacant by death of the Catholic bishops who had been placed in possession legitimately by the Holy See. "Twelve other sees have their bishops still alive, and of them ten are in prison in the Tower of London, merely for their defence of the Catholic Faith and the authority of the Apostolic See, to which they are resolved to give obedience, and to suffer every martyrdom rather than recognize any other head of the Church than the Pope. The two other bishops yet living are the bishop of St Asaph (Dr Thomas Goldwell), who is at the Council of Trent by order of His Holiness, and the bishop of Llandaff (Dr Kitchin), who has allowed himself to be seduced by the Queen of England, and who obeys her; and by him were |