Ex Catholic church buildings in use by Church of England

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Nik

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So in England there are quite a few church and cathedral buildings that began life Catholic - York Minster, Ripon Cathedral, Peterborough Cathedral etc

At some point after the Reformation they became Church of England buildings.

I’m guessing they were never officially deconsecrated by the Catholic Church? Does this mean that Catholic Mass could still be held in them? Or if they are not used by the Catholic Church for x number of years do they cease to be consecrated?

Did the Church of England consecrate these buildings again themselves or is it just seen as unbroken consecration?
 
Nik said:
Did the Church of England consecrate these buildings again themselves or is it just seen as unbroken consecration?
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No, they were not reconsecrated because the Church of England didn’t see itself as something new. It was the same church it always was, except now reformed and freed from papal jurisdiction.

Plus, many of the English Reformers probably didn’t even care whether a building was consecrated or not.
 
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Interesting, is it just a Catholic thing? I always assumed all denominations consecrated their churches 🤔
 
Nik said:
Interesting, is it just a Catholic thing? I always assumed all denominations consecrated their churches 🤔
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I didn’t mean to suggest that Anglicans don’t consecrate their churches. They do. But it was never added to the BCP, which would suggest it wasn’t a major concern for the Church of England. In England, the bishop could decide the form in his diocese. Not sure if that is still the situation. In the United States, a consecration service authored by Bishop Lancelot Andrewes was added to the American Book of Common Prayer.

Now, Protestants such as Baptists, Pentecostals and non-denominational churches don’t “consecrate” their church buildings. What’s the point? The building is a building. The church is the people. They might “dedicate” the building once its built, but their is no notion that the building itself is somehow more sacred than any other building. It’s a meeting place.
 
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Page 563 in the 1928 BCP, page 567 in the 79. They differ.

When my parish consecrated a chapel some years back, I was the one who opened the door, when the Bishop knocked, with his crozier.
 
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Churches were not re-consecrated - it is unbroken consecration. My parish church was consecrated in 1259 and has never been re-consecrated. In the CofE, post- Reformation churches are indeed consecrated. I can think of a few in my diocese starting in the 17th century.

Catholic Masses are sometimes celebrated in CofE churches. In my diocese there’s a formal church sharing agreement between the CofE and Catholic diocese to share a church as the Catholic building was no longer suitable for purpose. This is the Anglican Church of St Petroc which is shared:

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Several Catholic Masses (including the EF) have been celebrated at the Shrine of King Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey (The Anglican Royal Peculiar, not the Catholic Westminster Cathedral.) Some pics:

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Here’s a recent picture during lockdown of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster praying together at the shrine:

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Well over 30 years ago I can remember a few churches in my diocese that allowed Catholic clergy to celebrate Masses regularly at the Altars in the Lady Chapels of Anglican churches. It still carries on for pilgrim groups.
 
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Thanks for the info. I often wonder when I drive past these really old cathedrals and churches and now I know!
 
It is not just in England that former Catholic churches are used by the national reformed churches, but in all of protestant Europe. In Scotland the national Church is Presbyterian and uses many former Catholic churches, with no history of deconsecrations or reconsecrations, but I have never heard of a mass in a C of S church
 
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