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Teles
Guest
I’m just wondering if C.S. Lewis was Catholic?
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MatthewB
Guest
He was Anglican.
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Teles
Guest
I know that he was Angelican during the time that “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” came about, but I wasn’t sure if he converted towards the end of his life.
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rlg94086
Guest
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David_Zampino
Guest
CS Lewis was a member of the Church of England. While (as he pointed out in “Mere Christianity”) he strove to distance himself from the “high church” vs “low church” arguments in the C of E, he attended a “high church” parish, and held an extremely high view of the Eucharist. He also was a firm believer in Purgatory.
Most of his closest friends WERE Catholic, including the author of the best, most accurate, biography of his life – George Sayer, who entered eternity in October of this year.
Sayer felt that Lewis never converted for several reasons:
- That converting would hinder his ecumenical outreach.
- That remnants of the old “Ulster Protestant” of his youth would prevent it.
I suspect that he would have converted.
Blessings,
L
Lost_Found
Guest
CS Lewis was Anglican and therefore close to Catholicism to begin with.
You could probably make a decent argument that he was converting to Catholicism, although here are the facts:
JRR Tolkien, a devout Catholic and friend, played a major role in Lewis’ conversion from atheism to Christianity.
He accepted that Purgatory exists.
He was going to regular confession to a Catholic priest.
He received the sacrament of last rites from a Catholic priest.
You could probably make a decent argument that he was converting to Catholicism, although here are the facts:
JRR Tolkien, a devout Catholic and friend, played a major role in Lewis’ conversion from atheism to Christianity.
He accepted that Purgatory exists.
He was going to regular confession to a Catholic priest.
He received the sacrament of last rites from a Catholic priest.
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Al_Masetti
Guest
Did they have RCIA back when C.S. Lewis lived (and died)?
If not, what was the procedure to “become Catholic”?
Could someone, already baptized, simply say the Creed, go to Confession, and then automatically be Catholic?
Who would know?
If not, what was the procedure to “become Catholic”?
Could someone, already baptized, simply say the Creed, go to Confession, and then automatically be Catholic?
Who would know?
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David_Zampino
Guest
Lost&Found:
Lost&Found:
Lost&Found:
Lost&Found:
Lost&Found:
Look, I realize that many Catholics would love some excuse to claim CS Lewis – and I fully admit, that, were he alive today, he most likely WOULD have converted. BUT – the Church of England in 1963 was not nearly as depraved as it is today, and there were many real hopeful signs of reunion that died with the decision by the Episcopal church to “ordain” women.
At the end of the day? Lewis was far more “high church” than he let on; he fully accepted many aspects of Catholic doctrine; and he would have deplored the current condition of the Church of England.
More than that? We cannot say.
Blessings,
It certainly depends on the Anglican.
Lost&Found:
George Sayer, his close friend and CATHOLIC biographer might have begged to differ.
Lost&Found:
This is very true.
Lost&Found:
This is also true. See “The Great Divorce”.
Lost&Found:
Both of these suggestions are patently false. He violently opposed his brother’s overtures toward Rome, and some think that it was due to his protests that Warnie was never formally received. He did make confession, but not to a Roman Catholic priest, although it appears that Warnie probably did. When he died, he was not attended by any member of the clergy, Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. He died at home, in his bedroom, with his brother Warnie at his side, of a massive heart attack. He was buried in a Church of England service, and placed in a Church of England graveyard.
Look, I realize that many Catholics would love some excuse to claim CS Lewis – and I fully admit, that, were he alive today, he most likely WOULD have converted. BUT – the Church of England in 1963 was not nearly as depraved as it is today, and there were many real hopeful signs of reunion that died with the decision by the Episcopal church to “ordain” women.
At the end of the day? Lewis was far more “high church” than he let on; he fully accepted many aspects of Catholic doctrine; and he would have deplored the current condition of the Church of England.
More than that? We cannot say.
Blessings,
L
Lost_Found
Guest
David Zampino:
Source please
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nucatholic
Guest
I own a book called C.S.Lewis and the Catholic Church (appropriately enough), it is the authoritative text on this issue and very insightful. I think I bought it at Borders. God bless!
J
James_2_24
Guest
Lost&Found:
therefore on you…
Sources for these two comments?
God Bless.
I would suggest that it is you that must supply a source, since you have made the above assertions. The burden of proof is
therefore on you…
Sources for these two comments?
God Bless.
P
puzzleannie
Guest
Al Masetti:
the procedure for non-Catholic Christians was to take instructions from a priest on Catholic doctrine and practice, make a general confession, make a profession of faith and be confirmed and make first communion. A non-baptized person might need a longer period of instruction, followed by baptism, confirmation and first communion. Whether or not the priest had the faculty to confirm varied from place to place but was not as common.
the restored RCIA was first implemented in the 1970s
the procedure for non-Catholic Christians was to take instructions from a priest on Catholic doctrine and practice, make a general confession, make a profession of faith and be confirmed and make first communion. A non-baptized person might need a longer period of instruction, followed by baptism, confirmation and first communion. Whether or not the priest had the faculty to confirm varied from place to place but was not as common.
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FightingFat
Guest
David Zampino:
Good post David, I agree. I would add that there is good and valuable interaction between Anglican’s and Catholics here in England. Many people don’t see a great deal of difference between the two faiths insofaras their practical day to day worship, aims and work in the community.
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MikeWM
Guest
Agreed - though a lot of this i due to excellent work by the leaders of the two faiths. The wonderful work by David Sheppard and Derek Warlock in the 80s in Liverpool, for example, stopped and reversed what could have been quite unpleasant sectarianism in the city.
While ‘low church’ Anglicans are quite markedly different from Catholics, it can be less than trivial to distinguish the ‘high church’ Anglicans sometimes. Some of the ‘Anglo-Catholics’ I (jokingly) call Catholics who don’t want an infallible Pope
They certainly have confession, and I think also last rites.Mike
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FightingFat
Guest
Perhaps the most poinient mark of this would be the recent influx of Anglican clergy to the Catholic community here?
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MikeWM
Guest
It goes both ways, I’m not convinced there is more traffic one way than the other. While much was made of the people opposed to women priests joining the Catholic church [1], less was made of those who left the Catholic church to join a church that allowed women priests. Equally now, we may see many gay men go Anglican rather than Catholic.
Mike
[1] Though I don’t quite understand it myself. Quite how you can suddenly accept the Pope as an authority and believe in transsubstantiation, just because you disagree with women priests, is beyond me. It’s possible these were very high Anglican priests tempted to convert to Catholicism anyway I guess, and this gave them the impetus.
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FightingFat
Guest
My current PP is ex-Anglican. I think he always felt the Pope was an important authoritative person in faith terms, certainly he believed that his ministry held Apostolic succession. He considered that the authority of the Anglican community had broken down irreparably ultimately and that is what prompted his change. Although in all honesty, I really do not think he considers it has been much of a change whatsoever, with the exception that he finally has a correct line of authority.
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David_Zampino
Guest
Lost&Found:
Actually, though, the burden of proof lies with you!
Lewis suffered a heart attack in July of 1963, and it was thought that he was dying. He received Extreme Unction from an Anglican curate in Oxford. He did recover from that attack and lived another four months. He suffered a fatal heart attack on November 22, 1963. His brother was the only other person in the house at the time.
George Sayer’s biography of Lewis “Jack”. Sayer was a Catholic – indeed, a convert.
Actually, though, the burden of proof lies with you!
Lewis suffered a heart attack in July of 1963, and it was thought that he was dying. He received Extreme Unction from an Anglican curate in Oxford. He did recover from that attack and lived another four months. He suffered a fatal heart attack on November 22, 1963. His brother was the only other person in the house at the time.
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David_Zampino
Guest
I think that this, in fact, was largely the case. Remember, due to the very close friendship between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey there was VERY REAL hope that the schism would be healed.
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Lost_Found
Guest
James_2:24:
He must have had a reason to do so. I had to follow up to see whether it was merely ignorance of history on his part. Surely ignorance of an event cannot mean an event did not occur.
Also David Zampino is merely speculating when he says I “would love some excuse to claim CS Lewis”. In fact I am merely interested in the facts and the truth, and have no desire to claim what is not my own. So that was speculation without any basis in my post.
If you Google “CS Lewis” and “Last rites” you will find plenty of hits. This is only one:
rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/lewis/general.htm
Again, I am strictly concerned with the truth & facts - not in being right. If Joe Zampino based his post on definite knowledge that the countless sources are “patently false” could he let me know and I will be more careful in the future.
That is incorrect, because David Zampino already categorically dismissed whatever my source was - he asserted that the content of my post was “suggestion”, and “patently false” without request or concern for the source.
He must have had a reason to do so. I had to follow up to see whether it was merely ignorance of history on his part. Surely ignorance of an event cannot mean an event did not occur.
Also David Zampino is merely speculating when he says I “would love some excuse to claim CS Lewis”. In fact I am merely interested in the facts and the truth, and have no desire to claim what is not my own. So that was speculation without any basis in my post.
(p. 107), Lewis indicates that shortly before his death he was turning toward the Catholic Church. Lewis termed himself “very Catholic” – his prayers for the dead, belief in purgatory, and rejection of the literal resurrection of the body are serious deviations from Biblical Christianity (C.S. Lewis: A Biography, p. 234); he even went to a priest for regular confession (p. 198), and received the sacrament of extreme unction on 7/16/63 (p. 301).
If you Google “CS Lewis” and “Last rites” you will find plenty of hits. This is only one:
rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/lewis/general.htm
Again, I am strictly concerned with the truth & facts - not in being right. If Joe Zampino based his post on definite knowledge that the countless sources are “patently false” could he let me know and I will be more careful in the future.
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