I love English Catholicism. The writings of Aelred of Rievaulx have always been spiritually comforting. However, English Catholicism predates him by centuries. I had read some of the commentaries of Venerable Bede before but reading his Ecclesiastical History of the English People was a true delight.
About 800 years after Venerable Bede died King Henry VIII took the Church of England into a tailspin away from the Pope’s jurisdiction. His children Edward and Elizabeth would change the theology. The English reformation was always sold to the people as rescuing the English Church from papal control and monkish superstition. However, if you read Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Venerable Bede, you’d have no choice but to conclude that the early English Church was Catholic and nothing else.
Ecclesiastical History of the English People is written in five books. Here are some of the super Catholic quotes from this impressive and holy Saint regarding the English Church.
For many years afterwards, when this boy was still alive and applying himself to the study of the Scriptures, he suddenly learned that he had never been baptized; so he at once sought salvation in the waters of the font,
– Book 3, Ch. 23
Then he prepared for death by receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord, his holy soul was released from the prison-house of the body and, one may rightly believe, was taken by the angels to the joys of heaven.
– Book 4, Ch. 3
So the brother suffered great pain for a long time, and it seemed that no human skill could prevent the loss of his eye, whose condition was deteriorating daily, till he was suddenly cured by the goodness of God and by means of the relics of the most holy father Cuthbert.
– Book 4, Ch. 32
Because they confessed and were penitent, although only at death, they will all be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven on the Day of Judgement. But many are helped by the prayers, alms, and fasting of the living, and especially by the offering of Masses, and are therefore set free before the Day of Judgement.
– Book 5, Ch. 12
There are many more quotes that I could give to show the firm Catholic beliefs of Venerable Bede and the early English Church. However, I will only share two more and they’re specifically addressed to the fornicating serial adulterer and fraud King Henry VIII. The first is about the authority of the Pope which he firmly denied.
In speaking of the Pontificate of Pope Gregory the Great, Venerable Bede writes:
For during his pontificate, while he exercised supreme authority over all the churches of Christendom that had already long since been converted, he transformed our still idolatrous nation into a church of Christ.
– Book 2, Ch. 1
The last quote I will provide deals with the adultery of King Henry VIII. In 673 AD, Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury and several other bishops presided over a synod at Hertford. In this synod we read:
On marriages: “That lawful wedlock alone is permissible; incest is forbidden; and no man may leave his lawful wife except, as the gospel provides, for fornication. And if a man puts away his own wife who is joined to him in lawful marriage, he may not take another if he wishes to be a good Christian. He must either remain as he is, or else be reconciled to his wife.”
– Book 4, Ch. 5
Take that Henry!!!
Have I ever told you that the venerable bead and I went to school together? great Chums were we.
I’ve heard he’s a good guy. I must admit, in terms of English theologians he ranks higher than Spurgeon on my list….
*face palms* only because you have the list upside down LOL
LOL, yes we have upside down lists Corance!
Bede is underrated, and somewhat neglected today.
His is one of the few voices that tells us of the formative period of England, where the invading Germanic tribes formed the English people – the people who contributed so much to the world, who set the standards for modern civilisation and whose descendants established so many very societies that are so good that the rest of the world’s peoples appear to desire to live amongst them (England, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand).
Furthermore he describes how Christianity was brought to the land of these rude barbarians that had overrun large part of the island of Britain, and of the fact that it tamed and inspired them.
His outlook and language is old fashioned but by reading it you get the impression of a first rate intellectual and a very devout man, who desired to undersand the world and to tell the truth. He was also proud of his race and its progression from barbarism to a more civilised life due to Christianity.
I recall that when Prince Charles visited Pope John Paul II he presented him with a very fine bound copy of Bede. I hope that the Holy Father found time to read it and reflect upon it.
The old paperback of Bede has had its day and I must get myself a copy of his work to go next to that 1851 King James Bible (yes Allan, I know it’s by the heretics but the English is wonderful).
“I recall that when Prince Charles visited Pope John Paul II he presented him with a very fine bound copy of Bede. ”
Didn’t know that but impressive! I only wish that the Tudor monarchs were more into him.
No big deal owning heretical books these days as there is no more index of forbidden books. Also, I probably have more books written by heretics than 99% of people who read this website. I have the our family Bible from 1882. It’s Martin Luther’s translation as my paternal family is entirely Lutheran. My dad is still Lutheran(though super lapsed) to this day. I looked at Romans 3:28 and it contains Luther’s famous “allein”(alone) addition after faith so he could shoehorn his doctrine into the text.
God bless,
Allan
Your paternal link to Lutheranism is very interesting, and I only learned in the last few years that Lutherans appear to remain very close to Catholics in their doctrine and worship. I ought to look into it more.
Similar to yourself my own maternal links are outside the Catholic Church, because my mother’s family were Church of England, although she converted to Catholicism when I was a teenager, and that was a big thing now that I think of it.
Personally I think that Luther had some good points to make, he was clever and learned man and that there were indeed things that needed to be reformed in the Church. It’s a great pity that divisions were exacerbated thereafter.
There are things I disagree with in the Catholic Church but the thing is that I wish to remain part of the Church. It is still the fundamental part of the universal (i.e. catholic) Church. You can’t go around leaving clubs and organisations because you disagree with this thing and that. What is more, whilst I have my own opinions that may differ from the orthodox (i.e. original sin, the Immaculate Conception) the fact is that on many matters I may be wrong, and I am wise enough to know that I may indeed be in error, however strong my opinions are. But what matters most is belief in the Almighty God and in Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity who was Incarnate and died for our sins and was Risen. And it is wrong that Christian people should not be united.
I appear to have gone on a bit, apologies.
No problem. All good and thanks for sharing!