I used to watch a blog called, 'Anglican Unscripted', which consisted of a regular talk between two Anglican Ministers and a Bishop, Chaplain to the Queen , called Gavin Ashendon. I was particularly fond of listening to Gavin who was a very kind and gentle man but put across what the Secular Media would call , 'Ultra Conservative', views. Gavin recently converted to the Catholic Church and has many very kind things to say about the late Pope Benedict. I wonder if he has studied Catholic Prophecy as regards England and it's return to the Faith?
ANGLICAN BISHOP AND QUEEN’S CHAPLAIN CONVERTS TO CATHOLICISM by Jules Gomes • ChurchMilitant.com • December 16, 2019 Dr. Gavin Ashenden makes the leap from Canterbury to Rome ISLE OF MAN (ChurchMilitant.com) - An internationally renowned Anglican bishop and former chaplain to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is leaving the Anglican Church to become a Catholic. Bishop Gavin meets Pope Francis at the Vatican Bishop Gavin Ashenden will be received into full communion by Shrewsbury's Bishop Mark Davies on the fourth Sunday of Advent at Shrewsbury Cathedral, England. The outspoken prelate became a global media celebrity after he objected to the reading of the Koran at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow, Scotland. The Koranic chapter on Mary, read from the lectern at the service of Holy Communion, on the Feast of the Epiphany 2017, explicitly denied the divinity of Jesus. Under pressure from Buckingham Palace, Dr. Ashenden resigned his royal chaplaincy in order to be free to challenge the rising tide of apostasy in the Church of England. Later that year, Ashenden was consecrated a missionary bishop to the United Kingdom and Europe by the Christian Episcopal Church to provide episcopal cover to traditionalist Anglicans leaving the Church of England. It has been a special joy to accompany Gavin Ashenden in the final steps of a long journey to be at home in the Catholic Church.Tweet Bishop Davies told Church Militant it was "very humbling to be able to receive a bishop of the Anglican tradition into Full Communion in the year of the canonization of Saint John Henry Newman." Bishop Mark Davies, Shewsbury, England He commented: It has been a special joy to accompany Gavin Ashenden in the final steps of a long journey to be at home in the Catholic Church. I am concious of the witness which Ashenden has given in the public square to the historic faith and values on which our society has been built. I pray that this witness will continue to be an encouragement to many. Ashenden explained to Church Militant that for some time he believed he had "the advantage of working out his faith in a broad church as an Anglican," until Anglicanism capitulated "to the increasingly intense and non-negotiaible demands of a secular culture." "I watched as the Church of England suffered a collapse of inner integrity as it swallowed wholesale secular society's descent into a post-Christian culture," he noted. Ashenden testified he was "especially grateful for the example and prayers of St. John Henry Newman," who "did his best to remain a faithful Anglican and renew his Mother Church with the vigor and integrity of the Catholic tradition," adding: Now, as then, however, his experience informs ours that the Church of England is rooted in the values of secularized culture rather than the bedrock of biblical, apostolic and patristic tradition. Newman's experience charts the way to our proper ecclesial home which is built on the Petrine charism in our struggle for salvation and Heaven. A commentator for various media outlets, including the BBC, Ashenden revealed three major truths that led him to Catholicism. 2017 video of Dr. Gavin Ashenden explaining why he left the Church of England The first was an examination of the encounter between the children and our Lady at Garabandal in 1963. "Curious and skeptical, I was watching the film with a child psychologist friend who noted that 'whatever was going on with the children it was essentially real, as ecstasy among children could never be faked,'" he said. "From then, I found that Our Lady's apparitions, beginning with Gregory Thaumaturgus in the 3rd century through to Zeitoun in Cairo in 1968 and indeed the present day, deeply compelling." Ashenden's friendship with Abbé Rene Laurentin, expert on the Marian apparitions, blossomed into a deep dependence on the Rosary. "Curiously, this was accompanied by an unwanted visitation of metaphysical evil which only the Rosary seemed to overcome," he observed.
I have not watched this yet but is on my watch later list. Abba John Mark: HOW THE ANGLICAN CHURCH BROKE FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH By Stella Marie Lacson One of the oldest Protestant churches that broke from the Catholic Church is the Anglican Church aka Church of England. It was founded by King Henry VIII in 1534. The main reason for his schismatic act was purely personal and political. It was related to the fact that the King's request to divorce his former wife was rejected by the Pope. That made King Henry VIII angry, and he immediately denounced his Catholic faith, then founded his own Protestant religion - the Anglican Church. Anglicanism is the dominant Christian religion in the United Kingdom. It was also brought to the former British colonies like USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Currently, there are around 85 million members of Anglicans around the world. Who is King Henry VIII? King Henry VIII was the monarch of Great Britain from 1509 to 1547. He is one of the great predecessors of King James the proponent of the King James Bible which is very popular among protestant sects. King Henry VIII was known to have six (6) wives, the two (2) them were executed at the King's command. During the English Reformation, King Henry had amassed great wealth and property by confiscating Catholic monasteries. He was by far the bloodiest ruler in Great Britain, ordering thousands of executions. His most famous victims included his former top adviser Sir Thomas More, as well as two of his six wives - Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. King Henry was also responsible for the killing of another protestant reformer named William Tyndale. King Henry VIII had been angry to Tyndale when he also opposed the King's plan to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Tyndale was tried and condemned for heresy in the Anglican court. He was executed by burning at stake, and his last word was: "Lord, open the King of England's (King Henry VIII) eyes". Ironically, most of anti-Catholics are ignorantly blaiming the Catholics for killing Tyndale. Catholic Persecutions by the Anglicans Most of Catholic-haters usually skipped this historical fact that thousands of Catholics were persecuted and killed by the English protestants in Great Britain. Indeed, the Catholic Church had faced a series of persecutions at the hands of the Anglicans following King Henry's anger to the Pope and the Catholic Church. In the 16th century, several Catholic monasteries, semenaries, convents, and prories were destroyed in Great Britain. Hundreds of lay catholics and clergies had been killed when they refused to follow the King's newly founded religion. Catholics were discriminated and were restricted from their civil and political rights (e.g. can't vote, can't own a land, can't study in universities, etc.). Persecutions and killings had worsened during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (daughter of King Henry VIII). Many of those martyred Catholics were already beatified and canonized by the Church. Most of them were priests, nuns, monks, bishops, friars and laymen or laywomen. Listed below are sample of Catholic martyrs with their vocations and dates of martyrdom: 1. John Almond, priest, 1612 2. Edmund Arrowsmith, Jesuit priest, 1628 3. Ambrose Edward Barlow, Benedictine priest, 1641 4. John Boste, priest, 1594 5. Alexander Briant, Jesuit priest, 1581 6. Edmund Campion, Jesuit priest, 1581 7. Margaret Clitherow, laywoman,1586 8. Philip Evans, Jesuit priest, 1679 9. Thomas Garnet, Jesuit priest, 1608 10. Edmund Gennings, priest, 1591 11. John Griffith, Franciscan friar, 1598 12. Richard Gwyn, layman, 1584 13. John Houghton, Friar, 1535 14. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, 1595 15. John Kemble, priest, 1679 16. Luke Kirby, priest, 1582 17. Robert Lawrence, Friar, 1535 18. David Lewis, Jesuit priest, 1679 19. Anne Line, laywoman, 1601 20. John Lloyd, priest, 1679 21. Cuthbert Mayne, priest, 1577 22. Henry Morse, Jesuit priest, 1645 23. Nicholas Owen , Jesuit brother, 1606 24. John Payne, priest, 1582 25. Polydore Plasden, priest, 1591 26. John Plessington, priest, 1679 27. Richard Reynolds, monk, 1535 28. John Rigby, layman, 1600 29. John Roberts, Benedictine priest, 1610 30. Alban Bartholomew Roe, priest, 1642 31. Ralph Sherwin, priest, 1581 32. John Southworth, priest, 1654 33. Robert Southwell, Jesuit priest, 1595 34. John Stone, Augustinian friar, 1593 35. John Wall, Franciscan priest, 1679 36. Henry Walpole , Jesuit priest, 1595 37. Margaret Ward, laywoman, 1588 38. Augustine Webster, Friar, 1535 39. Swithin Wells, layman, 1591 40. Eustace White, priest, 1591 41. Thomas Abell, priest, 1540 42. Richard Bere , Carthusian monk, 1537 43. Thomas Cottam, Jesuit priest, 1582 44. John Davy, Carthusian monk, 1537 45. William Exmew, Carthusian monk, 1535 46. John Felton, layman, 1570 47. Richard Fetherston, Archdeacon, 1540 48. William Filby, layman, 1582 49. Thomas Ford, priest, 1582 50. John Forest, Franciscan friar, 1538 51. German Gardiner, layman, 1544 52. Thomas Green, Carthusian monk, 1537 53. William Greenwood, Carthusian brother, 1537 54. John Haile, priest, 1535 55. Everard Hanse, priest, 1581 56. William Hart, priest, 1583 57. William Horne, Carthusian brother, 1540 58. Robert Johnson, priest, 1582 59. Thomas Johnson, Carthusian, 1537 60. Richard Kirkman, priest, 1582 61. William Lacy, priest, 1582 62. John Larke , priest, 7 March 1544 63. Humphrey Middlemore, Carthusian monk,1535 64. John Nelson, priest, 1577 65. Sebastian Newdigate, Carthusian monk,1535 66. Walter Pierson, Carthusian brother, 1537 67. Thomas Plumtree, priest, 1570 68. Edward Powell, priest, 1540 69. Thomas Redyng, Carthusian monk, 1537 70. Laurence Richardson layman, 1582 71. John Rochester, Carthusian monk, 1537 72. Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, 1541 73. Robert Salt, Carthusian brother, 1537 74. Thomas Scryven, Carthusian, 1537 75. John Shert, priest, 1582 76. Thomas Sherwood, layman, 1579 77. John Story, Chancellor to Bishop Bonner, 1571 78. Richard Thirkeld, priest, 1583 79. James Tompson, priest, 1582 80. James Walworth, Carthusian monk, 1537 81. Thomas Woodhouse, priest, 1573 82. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop, 1681 83. John Beche, Abbot of Colchester, 1539 84. John Eynon, priest, 1539 85. Hugh Faringdon, Abbot of Reading, 1539 86. Adrian Fortescue , Knight of St. John, 1539 87. Roger James , Benedictine priest, 1539 88. Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, 1572 89. John Rugg, Benedictine monk, 1539 90. John Thorne, Benedictine monk, 1539 91. Richard Whiting, Abbot of Glastonbury, 1539 The Church had recorded more than 300 martyrs, not to mention those missing and unaccounted Catholics who were also murdered in England due to their opposition to King Henry's new religion. The Anglicans had also banned all Catholics for using the term "Catholic Church" as their religion, because Anglicans are also claiming for Catholicity of their new religion. Instead, they started name-calling to Catholics such as "Romanist" "Papists" or "Romish" as a derogatory label of the followers of the Pope in Rome.
Cont. Anglicans Converted Back to Catholic Church One of the protestant religions that had the most numbers of convert to the Catholic faith is the Anglican Church. As Tertullian once said that "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Church". Indeed, Catholic martyrs in England had paved a fertile ground for the conversion of many Anglicans. In fact, several prominent and intellectual Anglicans have been converted to the Catholic Church since the start of Anglicanism, including those famous Anglicans like John Henry Newman, GK Chesterton, Tony Blair, Jeb Bush, and several monarchs. Currently, at least 24 Anglican Bishops had been converted to the Catholic Church, namely: 1. Gavin Ashenden (former Anglican Bishop) 2. Edwin Barnes (former Anglican Bishop) 3. John Broadhurst (former Anglican Bishop) 4. Andrew Burnham (former Anglican Bishop) 5. Ross Davies (former Anglican Bishop) 6. Harry Entwistle (former Anglican Bishop) 7. John Clement Gordon (former Anglican Bishop) 8. Levi Silliman Ives (former Anglican Bishop) 9. Frederick Joseph Kinsman (former Anglican Bishop) 10. John Klyberg (former Anglican Bishop) 11. Graham Leonard (former Anglican Bishop) 12. John Lipscomb (former Anglican Bishop) 13. Robert Mercer (former Anglican Bishop) 14. Conrad Meyer (former Anglican Bishop) 15. David Moyer (former Anglican Bishop) 16. Keith Newton (former Anglican Bishop) 17. Clarence Pope (former Anglican Bishop) 18. Carl Reid (former Anglican Bishop) 19. Paul Richardson (former Anglican Bishop) 20. Richard Rutt (former Anglican Bishop) 21. David Silk (former Anglican Bishop) 22. Jeffrey N. Steenson (former Anglican Bishop) 23. Peter Watterson (former Anglican Bishop) 24. Peter Wilkinson (former Anglican Bishop) In addition, there were atleast 90 Anglican priests who were converted back to Catholicism. And several members of the Royal Family had also left the Anglican Church embracing the Catholic faith, namely: 1. Charles II - King of England 2. Callaghan MacCarty - Earl of Clancarty 3. Barbara Palmer - Duchess of Cleveland 4. Thomas Clifford - Baron of Chudleigh 5. Thomas Shaw - Baron of Craigmyle 6. John Francis Charles - Count of Salissoglio 7. Rudolf Fielding - Earl of Denbigh 8. Edward Windsor - Lord Downpatrick 9. Edwin Wyndham-Quin - Earl of Dunraven 10. Elizabeth Carey - Viscountess of Falkland 11. Charles Noel - Earl of Gainsborough 12. George Forbes - Earl of Granard 13. Henrietta - Princess of England 14. William Keppel - Earl of Albemarle 15. Anne Howard - Countess of Arundel 16. William Gibson - Baron of Ashbourne 17. George Calvert - Baron of Baltimore 18. Tony Blair - British Prime Minister 19. Sir George Bowyer - 6th Baronet 20. Charlot Douglas Scott - Duchess of Buccleuch 21. Mary Villiers - Countess of Buckingham 22. Elizabeth Herbert - Baroness of Lea 23. James II - King of England 24. Katharine - Duchess of Kent 25. Cecil Chetwynd Kerr - Marchioness of Lothian 26. Charles Spencer Churchill - Duke of Marlborough 27. Gilbert Monckton - Viscount Brenchley In the early 19th century, the United Kingdom had enacted a law (Catholic Relief Act 1829) that finally gave freedom for Catholics in Great Britain, and had started removing restrictions of their rights. Currently, there are around 6 million Catholics in United Kingdom. With the establishment of Personal Ordinarite due to the rising tide of Anglican converts, several Anglican parishes had been converted into a Catholic parish. What is Personal Ordinariate? A Personal Ordinariate for former Anglicans, aka Anglican Ordinariate, is a canonical structure within the Catholic Church that allows Anglicans to enter into the full-communion of the Catholic Church while retaining much of their traditions. This is to facilitate the rising numbers of Anglicans who are converting to the Catholic Church. They are equivalent to a diocese or particular church in which and from which exists the one and unique Catholic Church. Currently, there are three (3) existing ordinariates in the decree that established them, namely: 1. Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham - Established in 2011 at United Kingdom. It consists of two parishes with more than 3,500 members. 2. Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter - Established in 2012 at USA & Canada. It consists of 44 parishes with more than 6,700 members. 3. Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross - Established in 2012 at Australia and Japan. It consists of 14 parishes with more than 2,000 members. Since the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, over 3,000 former Anglicans have been received into the Catholic Church by this path. Indeed, when Anglicans learned the embarassing history of their origin, they can't help but return to the true Church founded by Christ. Schisms from Anglican Church Since the Anglican Church is a schismatic religion, schisms in its organization is inevitable. In fact, most of the protestant sects founded in Europe and USA were actually offshoots from the Anglican Church. Samples of sects and cults that splintered from Anglican Church are the following: 1. Baptist Church 2. Anabaptist 3. Puritans 4. Philadelphians 5. Quakers 6. Ranters 7. Seekers 8. Episcopalian 9. Unitarian 10. Methodist 11. Plymouth Brethren 12. Non-denominational and evangelicals The above sects were all founded by different men who disagreed with the Church of England and founded their own religion. These sects are also breeding exponentially another splinter of sects that are attacking on each other. The splintering and sprouting of new sects continue every day. Conclusion Historically, Great Britain was once the bastion of Catholic faith in Europe. In fact, when the German reformer Martin Luther started to teach heresies and criticisms against the Catholic Church, King Henry VIII came to the rescue and defended Catholicism. Pope Leo X even rewarded King Henry VIII with the lofty title as "Fidei Defensor" or "Defender of the Faith". However, everything had changed when King Henry's request for divorce to his first wife was denied by the Pope. His personal grudge to the Pope had led him to break with the Catholic Church, founding his own religion in which he himself is the supreme head. The persecutions and killings of Catholic believers in Great Britain had paved a fertile ground for Anglican converts to embrace the Catholic faith. Currently, thousands of former Anglicans are embracing the Church they had persecuted for many centuries. One of them is the famous Anglican priest named John Henry Newman, who once said: "To be deep in history is to cease to be protestant" - St. John Henry Newman Another intellectual Anglican convert to the Catholic faith named GK Chesterton once said: "The difficulty of explaining 'Why I am a Catholic' is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason, that Catholicism is true." - G.K. Chesterton
the Shakers were an interesting offshoot of the quakers. too bad they had a cult of personality to the founder, I think they more or less created the modern orphan-adoption system. They were celibates so they didnt have their own kids
A slightly odd article which strangely omits Cardinal Manning who had been an Anglican clergyman and was a widower when ordained a priest. Robert Hugh Benson, who wrote The Lord of the World, was the son of an Anglican bishop. George Calvert, Lord Baltimore (for whom the city is named) was actually a revert. His family were forced to convert to the Anglican religion and he was indoctrinated as a boy but converted back in later life. Interestingly King James I (who had a Catholic mother!) did not authorise any persecution of Calvert. Calvert was the founder of the state of Maryland which still holds him in honour. A list which had Charles II on it should also include Edward VII, another deathbed conversion. It must have been awful not to be able to practise one’s faith. King James’ Danish wife Anne lived as a Catholic and drew solace from the faith although she didn’t formally convert (she may have done so secretly). She had a sad time.
Reading some GK Chesterton lately, of course another famous convert; in one of his later essays, written about ninety years ago, he described the Anglican Church, even then, as little more than a lightning rod for just about every anti-Catholic sentiment imaginable. So, it has continued. The actual number of genuinely Christian Anglican believers nowadays, must be very small.
