Pusey House, Oxford
Encyclopedia
St Giles', Oxford
St Giles is a wide street leading north from the centre of Oxford, England. At its northern end, the road divides into Woodstock Road to the left and Banbury Road to the right, both major roads through North Oxford. At the southern end, the road continues as Magdalen Street at the junction with...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, immediately to the south of Pusey Street
Pusey Street
Pusey Street links the wide thoroughfare of St Giles' Street to the east with St John Street to the west in the St John Street area of central Oxford, England. Pusey Street, formerly called Alfred Street, was renamed in honour of Edward Bouverie Pusey in 1926.The street is bordered by two Oxford...
. It is firmly rooted in the Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
tradition of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Known as "House of Piety and Learning", it is associated with, but is not part of, the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
.
History
Pusey House was opened in 1884 in part as a memorial to Edward Bouverie PuseyEdward Bouverie Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey was an English churchman and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Christ Church, Oxford. He was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement.-Early years:...
, Regius Professor of Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
at Oxford University, Canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford.-History:...
and for 40 years, a leading figure in the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
, a movement of the mid 19th century which sought to bring the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
to a deeper understanding of its witness as part of the universal Catholic Church. It was also intended to continue the work of Pusey in "restoring the Church of England's Catholic life and witness
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
". It was established with a fund of £50,000 to provide a building for Pusey's library, purchase it and create an endowment so that two or more clergy could take charge of it and promote religious life in the university. The first principal was Charles Gore
Charles Gore
Charles Gore was a British theologian and Anglican bishop.-Early life and education:Gore was the third son of the Honourable Charles Alexander Gore, and brother of the fourth Earl of Arran...
; Vincent Stuckey Coles
Vincent Coles
Vincent Stuckey Stratton Coles was an Anglican priest, who served as Principal of Pusey House, Oxford from 1897 to 1909.-Life:...
was principal from 1897 to 1910. Pusey House celebrated its 125th anniversary of foundation on 31 October 2009, with a Solemn High Mass at which the preacher was Fr Robin Ward
Robin Ward (Anglican priest)
Robin Ward is a priest of the Church of England and the Principal of St Stephen's House, Oxford, a theological college in England.Ward was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford and St Stephen's House, Oxford...
, Principal of St Stephen's House
St Stephen's House, Oxford
St Stephen’s House, Oxford , is an Anglican theological college and one of six religious Permanent Private Halls of the University of Oxford, England...
. Since 1981 part of the former Pusey House site has been acquired by St Cross College
St Cross College, Oxford
St Cross College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college, sharing attractive, traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street...
.
Pusey House is renowned not only for its liturgy with full solemn ceremonial, but also for its active social character, with a strong student community, both undergraduate and graduate, which complements the religious life of the house in typical Oxford fashion.
Buildings
The architect of the chapel was Temple MooreTemple Lushington Moore
Temple Lushington Moore was an architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:He was the son of Captain George Frederick Moore and Charlotte Reilly ....
, with further additions inside, including a baldacchino, by Ninian Comper
Ninian Comper
Sir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish-born architect. He was one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, noted for his churches and their furnishings...
. Some of Comper’s original vestments remain in use and others have been commissioned using his original designs. Far from being an architectural showpiece, however, the chapel remains a place of living worship, where the offices are chanted and the mass offered every day; either quietly in the stillness of an early weekday morning or with music and full ceremonial on Sunday. It is a place where prayer continues to be offered in the beauty of holiness.
Library
This is a theological and historical library of 80,000 volumes which includes Pusey's library and a large collection of other theological and historical volumes. Pusey's own books, bought after his death, originally formed the heart of Pusey House Library. Since then, by gift and purchase, the library has grown into an important collection that is widely recognised as the leading specialist library not only in Oxford but in the United Kingdom, particularly for Patristics, church history, liturgy, doctrine, monasticism and Catholic organizations. In addition to its primary source material and books on the Anglo-Catholic Movement (Tractarian and Oxford Movements), in recent times the library has become a library of record and resource centre for the Church of England, holding General SynodGeneral Synod
-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
papers, runs of church newspapers and directories and other relevant material and publications as well as the theses written for Lambeth degree
Lambeth degree
A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England...
s and diplomas. The large majority of books are on open-access shelves. The library also subscribes to a large number of periodicals and journals.
The clergy of the house are formally designated as "Priest-Librarians".
Worship
Worship in the Chapel of the Resurrection is in accordance with the Catholic tradition in the Church of England and is open to all, especially to members of the university. Alongside its reputation for dignified and traditional liturgy, Pusey House is also recognised for its musical tradition, most visible at the Solemn Mass on Sundays and solemnities. The choir's extensive repertoire ranges from the earliest church music and Gregorian chantGregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
, through the polyphony of Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
and extending to 19th and 20th century composers such as Vierne
Louis Vierne
Louis Victor Jules Vierne was a French organist and composer.-Life:Louis Vierne was born in Poitiers, Vienne, nearly blind due to congenital cataracts, but at an early age was discovered to have an unusual gift for music. Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French...
and Stanford
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...
. Pusey House commissioned a new mass-setting for its 125th anniversary celebrations from the composer Alexander Campkin.
Services and observances
- Solemn High MassSolemn MassSolemn Mass , sometimes also referred to as Solemn High Mass or simply High Mass, is, when used not merely as a description, the full ceremonial form of the Tridentine Mass, celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of...
every Sunday and on major festivals during full term with the Ordinary of the Mass sung by the choir - Morning Prayer and Evening PrayerEvening Prayer (Anglican)Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...
, daily during full term - Solemn EvensongEvening Prayer (Anglican)Evening Prayer is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening...
and BenedictionBenedictionA benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...
on holy days - ComplineComplineCompline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
and BenedictionBenedictionA benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...
each Wednesday evening during full term - Low MassLow MassLow Mass is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him...
daily during full term, with a BCP celebration on Saturdays - Traditional devotions including Stations of the CrossStations of the CrossStations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
in Lent and Benediction of the Blessed SacramentBenediction of the Blessed SacramentBenediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican and Lutheran Churches, Liberal Catholic churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Latinised Eastern Catholic Churches.Benediction of the... - Holy Week retreat at Ascot PrioryAscot PrioryAscot Priory is a priory in Berkshire, England, established in 1861.-Early history:The community was established by Lydia Sellon in 1849 as the Society of the Most Holy Trinity, the second Anglican sisterhood, to minister to the poor in the seafaring community of Devonport, hence their popular...
in Berkshire.
Teaching and pastoral care
- Counsel and instruction in the Catholic faith
- Preparation for the sacraments
- Sacramental confession
- Formation of vocations to the sacred priesthood
- Visiting preachers and academics
- Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
- Residential reading week at the Abbey of Bec in Normandy
Chapters and former Priest-Librarians
The Chapter- The Revd Jonathan Baker SSCSociety of the Holy CrossThe Society of the Holy Cross is an international Anglo-Catholic society of priests with members in the Anglican Communion, the Continuing Anglican Movement and the Roman Catholic Church's Anglican Use...
- Principal - The Revd William Davage SSCSociety of the Holy CrossThe Society of the Holy Cross is an international Anglo-Catholic society of priests with members in the Anglican Communion, the Continuing Anglican Movement and the Roman Catholic Church's Anglican Use...
- Custodian of Dr Pusey's Library - The Revd Barry Orford - Archivist
The Greater Chapter
- Alex Roberson, Linacre - Sacristan
- Edward Symington, Keble - Master of the Music
- Mark Barley, St John's - Organist
- John Hanks - Treasurer
- Ann Chippindale - Secretary to the Friends
Former Priest-Librarians
- Donald Allchin (1930–2010), scholar, Canon of Canterbury
- Frank Leslie CrossFrank Leslie CrossFrank Leslie Cross , Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, was a British, Anglican patristics scholar and founder of the Oxford Patristics Conference, and editor of The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church .-Life:Born in Honiton, the family moved to Bournemouth...
, scholar