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Inside Anglo-Catholicism.
By Uncle Monty.
Guild Photos By Alex Albion.
Anglo-Catholic clergy and laity came on the evening
of Leo The Great to solemnly celebrate the 136th
Anniversary of the Guild of All Souls at London's St.
Stephen's Parish Church with the principal celebrant and
preacher the Rt. Rev'd Norman Banks, The new Anglican
Bishop of Richborough & latterly Vicar of Our Lady
of Walsingham, which is sometimes called
"England's Nazareth."
An Assortment of Anglo-Catholic Altar Servers
w/Ordained Priest Fr. Reg Bushau Before Mass.
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The Six-Member Choir At The Solemn Requiem.
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Before and during the Solemn Requiem, the six-person
choir (shown above) sang the Introit, the Kyrie, and
the Aeternam from the Requiem a 6 by Duarte Lobo:
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi
reddetue votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam;
ad te omnis caro veniet.
The Rite of the Solemn Requiem.
During the mass the Liturgy of the Word was
spoken from the Book of Lamentations:
My soul is shut out from peace; I have forgotten
happiness. And now I say, 'My strength is gone,
and that hope which came from the Lord.' Brooding
on my anquish and afflication is gall and wormwood.
My spirit ponders it continually and sinks with me.
After the Gospel Acclamation and Prayer of the Faithful,
the profound Liturgy of the Eucharist began with the
Preparation of the Gifts. Thus, the Offertory of the
gifts of bread and wine are brought to the Anglo-
Catholic altar at which the principal celebrant
and preacher was none other than the bishop
himself - The Right Reverend Norman Banks.
With all the faithful standing, an Invitation to Prayer,
Prayer over the Gifts, and Eucharistic Prayer, are all
carefully presented and said. The choir sings The
Sanctus and Benedictus as the bishop continues
the Eucharistic Prayer; after the word of Institution
he says: "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith."
All then say together:
Christ has died, Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer the bishop
sings: ... all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father,
for ever and ever. All then say in unison: AMEN.
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The Solemn Requiem arrives at The Communion Rite
with the Lord's Prayer, The Peace, in which each other
offer the sign of peace or greeting, and then Agnus Dei
is sang by the choir with an Invitiation to Communion
which is answered by The Reception of Holy Communion
with William Byrd's Miserere mihi sung in
the quiet background:
Miserere mihi - Have mercy upon
Domine, et exaudi - me, O Lord, and
orationem meam. - harken unto my prayer.
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A period of silence is kept by clergy and laity
alike as everyone then stands at The Prayer
after Holy Communion.
The Anglo-Catholic Rite.
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Concluding The Rites, members of the congregation
and the many clergy present were invited to the served
hot buffet at the St. Stephen's House. At the receeption
there I was able to meet a number of people including
Rev'd Father Paul Gibbons, 73, who is a retired HM
Prison Chaplain of 25 years standing. He was a delightful
man to meet. I also met Rev'd Father Richard Norman,
86 (pictured below), who was dressed as an orthodox
priest and was charming to the umpteenth degree.
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Rev'd Father Richard Norman, 86.
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As for the bishop, he and I had first met earlier
before the Solemn Requiem (see caption picture of
us at top of page) and he was the second Anglican
Bishop of Richborough I have encountered. Only
consecrated and enthroned as a new Anglican bishop
in June of this year, Bishop Norman was previously
the vicar of Our Lady of Walsingham at where
the renowned Anglican Shrine is well established. I
and my dearest friend Contessa Maria spent a long
and memorable weekend together there at Norfolk's
religious Walsingham more than 4 years ago now.
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Clergy Chat: Anglo-Catholic or Catholic
or Anglican? That Is The Question!
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Clergy-To-Clergy: Bishop Norman Banks and
fellow cleric at St. Stephen House's "Holy Buffet."
The 136th Anniversay of the Guild of All Souls was most
worthy to me to see Anglo-Catholicism upfront in its
marvellous practise as a conservative Anglican myself
although not as an Anglo-Catholic per se. I am more
Protestant than Catholic, yet love the traditions and rites
of the Holy Catholic Church without a doubt. But my
displeasure with the present Anglican Church of Engalnd
makes me wonder sometimes why I am still a member of
the ultraliberal and leftwing agendist Church of England
under Rowan Douglas Williams' poetic Canterburian
See. I think Anglo-Catholics are more deeply religious
perhaps and politically more conservative than many of my
fellow Anglicans and American Episcopalians it seems
to me. In any event, I so much enjoyed witnessing the
136th Anniversary of the Guild of All Souls and seeing
inside Anglo-Catholicism pretty upclose for
an old Anglican like me!
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Faithfully, Uncle Monty.
+Remembrance Sunday, 2011.
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Feedback & Comments
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~ Clarification From Rev'd Father Reg Bushau ~
Monty, thank you for the link to your blog site, very
interesting. Two points arise, firstly, I have not, as far as
I am aware, received any photos from you apart from
the blog. Had I received any I would most certainly
have thanked you. Secondly, the photo you describe
as an assortment of anglo-catholic priests is actually
of the altar servers for the evening. I am the only
priest in that picture. Yours, Fr. Reg Bushau.
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Rev'd Father Reginald F. Bushau, SSC,
Parish Priest of St. Stephen's. The letters SSC
stands for The Society of the Holy Cross. Or
more ecclesiastically: Societas Sanctae Crucis.
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The Holy Buffet At St. Stephen's House.
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Says Bishop To Himself:
"That Was Good!!!"
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~ At This Remembrance Sunday, I am attending The
Remembrance Day Service at The Old Royal Naval
Chapel of St. Peter & St. Paul at London's Queen
Mary's Court. Immediately afterwards, I shall also
attend by invitiation the 10th International Early
Music Festival of which I am also looking
forward to very much. UM ~
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Remembrance Sunday, Remembered.
By Uncle Monty.
Photos By Alex Albion At The Old
Royal Naval Chapel of St. Peter & St. Paul.
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The Poppy Wreath of the British Royal Navy.
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Commandant Anthea Larken, CBE. Former Head
of WRENS and ADC to Her Majesty The Queen.
Her Remembrance Sunday Presenation at the Old
Royal Naval Chapel of St. Peter & St. Paul
Was Moving & Superb. I Thoroughly Enjoyed
Meeting & Chatting With The Commandant After
The Truly Remarkable Service To Our Fallen Men
& Women of The British Armed Services. I
Felt Proud To Be British, I Did! And yes, the service
was about as Anglican and as Protestant as you could
get compared to those Anglo-Catholics I'd encount-
ered at St. Stephen's three days earlier ...
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Two of 38 Royal Choristers At Remembrance Sunday.
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"At the going down of the sun and in the
morning, we shall remember them."
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Bp. David Rossdale of Grimsby.
How my cousin the Bishop has stopped
me inheriting this £9m Chinese vase.
By Jonathan Petre & Nick Constable.
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Tick Box Charities.
By Uncle Monty.
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{ Click on any image to Enlarge }
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