LAKE JAMES
NORTH CAROLINA
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LAKE JAMES NORTH CAROLINA
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l Blessed Edward King, Bishop We present-day Episcopalians are apt to take much of the beauty and orderly dignity of the liturgy for granted, but that was not always the case. In the aftermath of the Reformation, many ancient customs and practices had been suppressed in an effort to distance the Church from what were considered to be medieval errors. In 1885, Edward King was made Bishop of the diocese of Lincoln in England. An outstanding scholar, he was a man of great holiness of life and soon became famous for his emphasis on the pastoral duties of parish priests (an aspect of ministry which was sadly lacking in many places at that time) and also for his fatherly care for individuals. He was a close friend of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, which emphasized the identity of the Church of England as being part of the historic Catholic Church, although separate from the Pope.
Here in this country, as recently as the mid 1800s, the then Bishop of Massachusetts refused to visit any parish in his diocese which had a Cross over the Altar, calling it a “Papistic symbol.” Today, that blessed symbol of our Redemption is happily displayed in sanctuaries and on steeples of churches of many denominations, a sign of how far not only Episcopalians, but other Christians as well, have come in reclaiming the heritage which is rightfully theirs. A Collect for the Feast of Blessed Edward King O heavenly Father, Shepherd of your people, we give you thanks for your servant Edward King who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock; and we pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life, and aided by his prayers, we may by your grace grow into the stature and fullness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. A.T.K.Z.+ ------------------------------------ To read a Lenten address given in 1883 by the Blessed Edward King from anglicanhistory.org, click here.
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This page last modified on Friday, April 11, 2008 09:40 PM |
In
1888, a group of those opposed to the growing recovery of ancient teachings and
practices brought a complaint against Bishop King which resulted in his being
tried in an ecclesiastical court. The “offences” with which he was charged
included having lighted candles on the Altar, mixing wine and water in the
Chalice, allowing the Agnus Dei (“Lamb of God”) to be sung, and making
the Sign of the Cross over the people when giving a blessing. In what has become
known as “The Lincoln Judgment,” the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, E. W.
Benson, found in Bishop King’s favor and what had been a series of court cases
against “High Church” Bishops and Priests came to an end. Bishop King died in
1910 and his feast day is March 8th.