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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Anglo-Catholicism
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A term first used in the 1830s to emphasize the continuity of the *Church of England from the pre-Reformation Roman Catholic Church, because of the apostolic succession – the unbroken chain of consecration, bishop to bishop, back to the apostles. The same tendency had earlier been called High Church (the new name was adopted at a time when restrictions on *Roman Catholics in England were at last being eased). The implication was not that there should be a reconciliation between the two churches, but that the Church of England could move closer to Roman Catholic ritual and theology without violating its own identity. This viewpoint (opposed by *Evangelicals) was strongly expressed in the *Oxford Movement and has remained an influential theme within the Church of England.
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