Have you ever wondered why Brighton has so many Anglo Catholic churches?
Come to St Michael’s, Victoria Road, Brighton BN1 3FU Friday 29th March 6.30pm for a talk by eminent local historian, Sue Berry.
£8 on the door (doors open at 6pm)
Controversy – in Brighton’s Victorian Churches
The earlier phase of the Anglo Catholic movement greatly influenced worship in the Anglican Church from the 1840s. It also created national headlines for Brighton which made a change from news about celebrities and sewerage issues.
St Paul’s in West Street was the first centre for the debates over the return of rituals regarded by some as Roman Catholic and, a threat to the simpler Anglican approach to worship which had developed from the Tudor period. The Rev Arthur Wagner, incumbent of St Paul’s, was sometimes subjected to unpleasant behaviour in public because of his views and behaved with great dignity.
Wagner attracted very committed curates who went on to be the incumbents of other churches in Brighton which also became notorious for their Anglo-Catholic practices such as St Michael’s, St James, Bartholomew’s and The Annunciation.
Dr Berry will briefly explore what Anglo-Catholicism was and why it upset some so much and concentrate on its influence in Brighton
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