On the Nullity of Anglican Orders
ShareApostolicae Curae
Promulgated September 15, 1896 by Pope Leo XIII
In Perpetual Remembrance
1. We have dedicated to the welfare of the noble English nation no small portion of the
Apostolic care and charity by which, helped by His grace, we endeavor to fulfill the
office and follow in the footsteps of "the Great Pastor of the sheep," Our Lord Jesus
Christ. The letter which last year we sent to the English seeking the Kingdom of Christ
in the unity of the faith is a special witness of our good will towards England. In it we
recalled the memory of the ancient union of the people with Mother Church, and we
strove to hasten the day of a happy reconciliation by stirring up men's hearts to offer
diligent prayer to God. And, again, more recently, when it seemed good to Us to treat
more fully the unity of the Church in a General Letter, England had not the last place in
our mind, in the hope that our teaching might both strengthen Catholics and bring the
saving light to those divided from us. It is pleasing to acknowledge the generous way
in which our zeal and plainness of speech, inspired by no mere human motives, have
met the approval of the English people, and this testifies not less to their courtesy than
to the solicitude of many for their eternal salvation.
2. With the same mind and intention, we have now determined to turn our
consideration to a matter of no less importance, which is closely connected with the
same subject and with our desires.
3. For an opinion already prevalent, confirmed more than once by the action and
constant practice of the Church, maintained that when in England, shortly after it was
rent from the center of Christian Unity, a new rite for conferring Holy Orders was
publicly introduced under Edward VI, the true Sacrament of Order as instituted by
Christ lapsed, and with it the hierarchical succession. For some time, however, and in
these last years especially, a controversy has sprung up as to whether the Sacred Orders
conferred according to the Edwardine Ordinal possessed the nature and effect of a
Sacrament, those in favor of the absolute validity, or of a doubtful validity, being not
only certain Anglican writers, but some few Catholics, chiefly non-English. The
consideration of the excellency of the Christian priesthood moved Anglican writers in
this matter, desirous as they were that their own people should not lack the twofold
power over the Body of Christ. Catholic writers were impelled by a wish to smooth the
way for the return of Anglicans to holy unity. Both, indeed, thought that in view of
studies brought up to the level of recent research, and of new documents rescued from
oblivion, it was not inopportune to reexamine the question by our authority.
4. And we, not disregarding such desires and opinions, above all, obeying the dictates
of apostolic charity, have considered that nothing should be left untried that might in
any way tend to preserve souls from injury or procure their advantage. It has,
therefore, pleased Us to graciously permit the cause to be reexamined, so that, through
the extreme care taken in the new examination, all doubt, or even shadow of doubt,
should be removed for the future.
5. To this end we commissioned a certain number of men noted for their learning and
ability, whose opinions in this matter were known to be divergent, to state the grounds
of their judgment in writing. We then, having summoned them to our person, directed
them to interchange writings, and further to investigate and discuss all that was
necessary for a full knowledge of the matter. We were careful, also, that they should be
able to reexamine all documents bearing on this question which were known to exist in
the Vatican archives, to search for new ones, and even to have at their disposal all acts
relating to this subject which are preserved by the Holy Office or, as it is called, the
Supreme Council and to consider whatever had up to this time been adduced by
learned men on both sides. We ordered them, when prepared in this way, to meet
together in special sessions. These to the number of twelve were held under the
presidency of one of the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, appointed by ourself,
and all were invited to free discussion. Finally, we directed that the acts of these
meetings, together with all other documents, should be submitted to our venerable
brethren, the Cardinals of the same Council, so that when all had studied the whole
subject, and discussed it in our presence, each might give his own opinion.
6. This order for discussing the matter having been determined upon, it was necessary,
with a view to forming a true estimate of the real state of the question, to enter upon it,
after careful inquiry as to how the matter stood in relation to the prescription and
settled custom of the Apostolic See, the origin and force of which custom it was
undoubtedly of great importance to determine.
7. For this reason, in the first place, the principal documents in which our predecessors,
at the request of Queen Mary, exercised their special care for the reconciliation of the
English Church were considered. Thus Julius III sent Cardinal Reginald Pole, an
Englishman, and illustrious in many ways, to be his Legate <a latere> for the purpose,
"as his angel of peace and love," and gave him extraordinary and unusual mandates or
faculties and directions for his guidance. These Paul IV confirmed and explained.
8. And here, to interpret rightly the force of these documents, it is necessary to lay it
down as a fundamental principle that they were certainly not intended to deal with an
abstract state of things, but with a specific and concrete issue. For since the faculties
given by these pontiffs to the Apostolic Legate had reference to England only, and to
the state of religion therein, and since the rules of action were laid down by them at the
request of the said Legate, they could not have been mere directions for determining
the necessary conditions for the validity of ordinations in general. They must pertain
directly to providing for Holy Orders in the said kingdom, as the recognized condition
of the circumstances and times demanded. This, besides being clear from the nature
and form of the said documents, is also obvious from the fact that it would have been
altogether irrelevant thus to instruct the Legate one whose learning had been
conspicuous in the Council of Trent as to the conditions necessary for the bestowal of
the Sacrament of Order.
9. To all rightly estimating these matters it will not be difficult to understand why, in
the Letters of Julius m, issued to the Apostolic Legate on 8 March 1554, there is a
distinct mention, first of those who, "rightly and lawfully promoted," might be
maintained in their orders: and then of others who, "not promoted to Holy Orders"
might "be promoted if they were found to be worthy and fitting subjects". For it is
clearly and definitely noted, as indeed was the case, that there were two classes of men;
the first of those who had really received Holy Orders, either before the secession of
Henry VIII, or, if after it, and by ministers infected by error and schism, still according
to the accustomed Catholic rite; the second, those who were initiated according to the
Edwardine Ordinal, who on that account could not be "promoted", since they had
received an ordination which was null.
10. And that the mind of the Pope was this, and nothing else, is clearly confirmed by
the letter of the said Legate (29 January 1555), sub-delegating his faculties to the Bishop
of Norwich. Moreover, what the letters of Julius m themselves say about freely using
the pontifical faculties, even on behalf of those who had received their consecration
"irregularly (minus rite) and not according to the accustomed form of the Church," is to
be especially noted. By this expression those only could be meant who had been
consecrated according to the Edwardine rite, since besides it and the Catholic form
there was then no other in England.
11. This becomes even still clearer when we consider the Legation which, on the advice
of Cardinal Pole, the Sovereign Princes, Philip and Mary, sent to the Pope in Rome in
the month of February, 1555. The Royal Ambassadors three men "most illustrious and
endowed with every virtue," of whom one was Thomas Thirlby, Bishop of Ely were
charged to inform the Pope more fully as to the religious condition of the country, and
especially to beg that he would ratify and confirm what the Legate had been at pains to
effect, and had succeeded in effecting, towards the reconciliation of the Kingdom with
the Church. For this purpose, all the necessary written evidence and the pertinent parts
of the new Ordinal were submitted to the Pope. The Legation having been splendidly
received, and their evidence having been "diligently discussed," by several of the
Cardinals, "after mature deliberation," Paul IV issued his Bull <Praeclara Charissimi>
on June 20 of that same year. In this, whilst giving full force and approbation to what
Pole had done, it is ordered in the matter of the Ordinations as follows:
Those who have been promoted to ecclesiastical Orders . . . by any one but a Bishop
validly and lawfully ordained are bound to receive those Orders again.
12. But who those Bishops not "validly and lawfully ordained" were had been made
sufficiently clear by the foregoing documents and the faculties used in the said matter
by the Legate; those, namely, who have been promoted to the Episcopate, as others to
other Orders, "not according to the accustomed form of the Church," or, as the Legate
himself wrote to the Bishop of Norwich, "the form and intention of the Church," not
having been observed. These were certainly those promoted according to the new form
of rite, to the examination of which the Cardinals specially deputed had given their
careful attention. Neither should the passage much to the point in the same Pontifical
Letter be overlooked, where, together with others needing dispensation are
enumerated those "who had obtained both Orders as well as benefices <nulliter et de
facto>." For to obtain orders <nulliter> means the same as by act null and void, that is
invalid, as the very meaning of the word and as common parlance require. This is
specially clear when the word is used in the same way about Orders as about
"ecclesiastical benefices". These, by the undoubted teaching of the sacred canons, were
clearly null if given with any vitiating defect. 13 Moreover, when some doubted as to
who, according to the mind of the pontiff, could be called and considered bishops
"validly and lawfully ordained," the said Pope shortly after, on October 30, issued a
further letter in the form of a brief and said:
"we, desiring to wholly remove such doubt, and to opportunely provide for the peace
of conscience of those who during the aforementioned schism were promoted to Holy
Orders, by clearly stating the meaning and intention which we had in our said letters,
declare that it is only those bishops and archbishops who were not ordained and
consecrated in the form of the Church that can not be said to be duly and rightly
ordained..."
14. Unless this declaration had applied to the actual case in England, that is to say, to
the Edwardine Ordinal, the Pope would certainly have done nothing by this last letter
for the removal of doubt and the restoration of peace of conscience. Further, it was in
this sense that the Legate understood the documents and commands of the Apostolic
See, and duly and conscientiously obeyed them; and the same was done by Queen
Mary and the rest who helped to restore Catholicism to its former state.
15. The authority of Julius m, and of Paul IV, which we have quoted, clearly shows the
origin of that practice which has been observed without interruption for more than
three centuries, that Ordinations conferred according to the Edwardine rite should be
considered null and void. This practice is fully proved by the numerous cases of
absolute re-ordination according to the Catholic rite even in Rome.
16. In the observance of this practice we have a proof directly affecting the matter in
hand. For if by any chance doubt should remain as to the true sense in which these
pontifical documents are to be understood, the principle holds good that "Custom is the
best interpreter of law." Since in the Church it has ever been a constant and established
rule that it is sacrilegious to repeat the Sacrarnent of Order, it never could have come to
pass that the Apostolic See should have silently acquiesced in and tolerated such a
custom. But not only did the Apostolic See tolerate this practice, but approved and
sanctioned it as often as any particular case arose which called for its judgment in the
matter.
17. We adduce two cases of this kind out of many which have from time to time been
submitted to the Supreme Council of the Holy Office. The first was (in 1684) of a certain
French Calvinist, and the other (in 1704) of John Clement Gordon, both of whom had
received their orders according to the Edwardine ritual.
18. In the first case, after a searching investigation, the Consultors, not a few in number,
gave in writing their answers or as they call it, their <vota> and the rest unanimously
agreed with their conclusion, "for the invalidity of the Ordination," and only on account
of reasons of opportuneness did the Cardinals deem it well to answer with a <dilata>
(viz., not to formulate the conclusion at the moment).
19. The same documents were called into use and considered again in the examination
of the second case, and additional written statements of opinion were also obtained
from Consultors, and the most eminent doctors of the Sorbonne and of Douai were
likewise asked for their opinion. No safeguard which wisdom and prudence could
suggest to ensure the thorough sifting of the question was neglected.
20. And here it is important to observe that, although Gordon himself, whose case it
was, and some of the Consultors, had adduced amongst the reasons which went to
prove the invalidity, the Ordination of Parker, according to their own ideas about it, in
the delivery of the decision this reason was altogether set aside, as documents of
incontestable authenticity prove. Nor, in pronouncing the decision, was weight given to
any other reason than the "defect of form and intention"; and in order that the judgment
concerning this form might be more certain and complete, precaution was taken that a
copy of the Anglican Ordinal should be submitted to examination, and that with it
should be collated the ordination forms gathered together from the various Eastern and
Western rites. Then Clement XI himself, with the unanimous vote of the Cardinals
concerned, on Thursday 17 April 1704, decreed:
"John Clement Gordon shall be ordained from the beginning and unconditionally to all
the orders, even Holy Orders, and chiefly of Priesthood, and in case he has not been
confirmed, he shall first receive the Sacrament of Confirmation."
21. It is important to bear in mind that this judgment was in no wise determined by the
omission of the tradition of instruments, for in such a case, according to the established
custom, the direction would have been to repeat the ordination conditionally, and still
more important is it to note that the judgment of the pontiff applies universally to all
Anglican ordinations, because, although it refers to a particular case, it is not based
upon any reason special to that case, but upon the defect of form, which defect equally
affects all these ordinations, so much so, that when similar cases subsequently came up
for decision, the same decree of Clement XI was quoted as the norm.
22. Hence it must be clear to everyone that the controversy lately revived had already
been definitely settled by the Apostolic See, and that it is to the insufficient knowledge
of these documents that we must, perhaps, attribute the fact that any Catholic writer
should have considered it still an open question.
23. But, as we stated at the beginning, there is nothing we so deeply and ardently desire
as to be of help to men of good will by showing them the greatest consideration and
charity. Wherefore, we ordered that the Anglican Ordinal, which is the essential point
of the whole matter, should be once more most carefully examined.
24. In the examination of any rite for the effecting and administering of Sacraments,
distinction is rightly made between the part which is ceremonial and that which is
essential, the latter being usually called the "matter and form". All know that the
Sacraments of the New Law, as sensible and efficient signs of invisible grace, ought
both to signify the grace which they effect, and effect the grace which they signify.
Although the signification ought to be found in the whole essential rite, that is to say, in
the "matter and form", it still pertains chiefly to the "form"; since the "matter" is the part
which is not determined by itself, but which is determined by the "form". And this
appears still more clearly in the Sacrament of Order, the "matter" of which, in so far as
we have to consider it in this case, is the imposition of hands, which, indeed, by itself
signifies nothing definite, and is equally used for several Orders and for Confiirmation.
25. But the words which until recently were commonly held by Anglicans to constitute
the proper form of priestly ordination namely, "Receive the Holy Ghost," certainly do
not in the least definitely express the sacred Ordel of Priesthood <(sacerdotium)> or its
grace and power, which is chiefly the power "of consecrating and of offering the true
Body and Blood of the Lord" (Council of Trent, Sess. XXIII, <de Sacr. Ord.> , Canon 1)
in that sacrifice which is no "bare commemoration of the sacrifice offered on the Cross"
<(Ibid>, Sess XXII., <de Sacrif. Missae>, Canon 3).
26. This form had, indeed, afterwards added to it the words "for the office and work of
a priest," etc.; but this rather shows that the Anglicans themselves perceived that the
first form was defective and inadequate. But even if this addition could give to the form
its due signification, it was introduced too late, as a century had already elapsed since
the adoption of the Edwardine Ordinal, for, as the Hierarchy had become extinct, there
remained no power of ordaining.
27. In vain has help been recently sought for the plea of the validity of Anglican Orders
from the other prayers of the same Ordinal. For, to put aside other reasons when show
this to be insufficient for the purpose in the Anglican life, let this argument suffice for
all. From them has been deliberately removed whatever sets forth the dignity and office
of the priesthood in the Catholic rite. That "form" consequently cannot be considered
apt or sufficient for the Sacrament which omits what it ought essentially to signify.
28. The same holds good of episcopal consecration. For to the formula, "Receive the
Holy Ghost", not only were the words "for the office and work of a bishop", etc. added
at a later period, but even these, as we shall presently state, must be understood in a
sense different to that which they bear in the Catholic rite. Nor is anything gained by
quoting the prayer of the preface, "Almighty God", since it, in like manner, has been
stripped of the words which denote the <summum sacerdotium> .
29. It is not relevant to examine here whether the episcopate be a completion of the
priesthood, or an order distinct from it; or whether, when bestowed, as they say <per
saltum> , on one who is not a priest, it has or has not its effect. But the episcopate
undoubtedly, by the institution of Christ, most truly belongs to the Sacrament of Order
and constitutes the <sacerdotium> in the highest degree, namely, that which by the
teaching of the Holy Fathers and our liturgical customs is called the <Summum
sacerdotium sacri ministerii summa> . So it comes to pass that, as the Sacrament of
Order and the true <sacerdotium> of Christ were utterly eliminated from the Anglican
rite, and hence the <sacerdotium> is in no wise conferred truly and validly in the
episcopal consecration of the same rite, for the like reason, therefore, the episcopate can
in no wise be truly and validly conferred by it, and this the more so because among the
first duties of the episcopate is that of ordaining ministers for the Holy Eucharist and
sacrifice.
30. For the full and accurate understanding of the Anglican Ordinal, besides what we
have noted as to some of its parts, there is nothing more pertinent than to consider
carefully the circumstances under which it was composed and publicly authorized. It
would be tedious to enter into details, nor is it necessary to do so, as the history of that
time is sufficiently eloquent as to the animus of the authors of the Ordinal against the
Catholic Church; as to the abettors whom they associated with themselves from the
heterodox sects; and as to the end they had in view. Being fully cognizant of the
necessary connection between faith and worship, between "the law of believing and the
law of praying", under a pretext of returning to the primitive form, they corrupted the
Liturgical Order in many ways to suit the errors of the reformers. For this reason, in the
whole Ordinal not only is there no clear mention of the sacrifice, of consecration, of the
priesthood <(sacerdotium)>, and of the power of consecrating and offering sacrifice
but, as we have just stated, every trace of these things which had been in such prayers
of the Catholic rite as they had not entirely rejected, was deliberately removed and
struck out.
31. In this way, the native character or spirit as it is called of the Ordinal clearly
manifests itself. Hence, if, vitiated in its origin, it was wholly insufficient to confer
Orders, it was impossible that, in the course of time, it would become sufficient, since
no change had taken place. In vain those who, from the time of Charles I, have
attempted to hold some kind of sacrifice or of priesthood, have made additions to the
Ordinal. In vain also has been the contention of that small section of the Anglican body
formed in recent times that the said Ordinal can be understood and interpreted in a
sound and orthodox sense. Such efforts, we affirm, have been, and are, made in vain,
and for this reason, that any words in the Anglican Ordinal, as it now is, which lend
themselves to ambiguity, cannot be taken in the same sense as they possess in the
Catholic rite. For once a new rite has been initiated in which, as we have seen, the
Sacrament of Order is adulterated or denied, and from which all idea of consecration
and sacrifice has been rejected, the formula, "Receive the Holy Ghost", no longer holds
good, because the Spirit is infused into the soul with the grace of the Sacrament, and so
the words "for the office and work of a priest or bishop", and the like no longer hold
good, but remain as words without the reality which Christ instituted.
32. Many of the more shrewd Anglican interpreters of the Ordinal have perceived the
force of this argument, and they openly urge it against those who take the Ordinal in a
new sense, and vainly attach to the Orders conferred thereby a value and efficacy
which they do not possess. By this same argument is refuted the contention of those
who think that the prayer, "Almighty God, giver of all good Things", which is found at
the beginning of the ritual action, might suffice as a legitimate "form" of Orders, even in
the hypothesis that it might be held to be sufficient in a Catholic rite approved by the
Church.
33. With this inherent defect of "form" is joined the defect of "intention" which is
equally essential to the Sacrament. The Church does not judge about the mind and
intention, in so far as it is something by its nature internal; but in so far as it is
manifested externally she is bound to judge concerning it. A person who has correctly
and seriously used the requisite matter and form to effect and confer a sacrament is
presumed for that very reason to have intended to do <(intendisse)> what the Church
does. On this principle rests the doctrine that a Sacrament is truly conferred by the
ministry of one who is a heretic or unbaptized, provided the Catholic rite be employed.
On the other hand, if the rite be changed, with the manifest intention of introducing
another rite not approved by the Church and of rejecting what the Church does, and
what, by the institution of Christ, belongs to the nature of the Sacrament, then it is clear
that not only is the necessary intention wanting to the Sacrament, but that the intention
is adverse to and destructive of the Sacrament.
34. All these matters have been long and carefully considered by ourselves and by our
venerable brethren, the Judges of the Supreme Council, of whom it has pleased Us to
call a special meeting upon the 16th day of July last, the solemnity of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel. They with one accord agreed that the question laid before them had
been already adjudicated upon with full knowledge of the Apostolic See, and that this
renewed discussion and examination of the issues had only served to bring out more
clearly the wisdom and accuracy with which that decision had been made.
Nevertheless, we deemed it well to postpone a decision in order to afford time both to
consider whether it would be fitting or expedient that we should make a fresh
authoritative declaration upon the matter, and to humbly pray for a fuller measure of
divine guidance.
35. Then, considering that this matter, although already decided, had been by certain
persons for whatever reason recalled into discussion, and that thence it might follow
that a pernicious error would be fostered in the minds of many who might suppose that
they possessed the Sacrament and effects of Orders, where these are nowise to be
found, it seemed good to Us in the Lord to pronounce our judgment.
36. Wherefore, strictly adhering, in this matter, to the decrees of the pontiffs, our
predecessors, and confirming them most fully, and, as it were, renewing them by our
authority, of our own initiative and certain knowledge, we pronounce and declare that
ordinations carried out according to the Anglican rite have been, and are, absolutely
null and utterly void.
37. It remains for Us to say that, even as we have entered upon the elucidation of this
grave question in the name and in the love of the Great Shepherd, in the same we
appeal to those who desire and seek with a sincere heart the possession of a hierarchy
and of Holy Orders. 38. Perhaps until now aiming at the greater perfection of
Christian virtue, and searching more devoutly the divine Scriptures, and redoubling
the fervor of their prayers, they have, nevertheless, hesitated in doubt and anxiety to
follow the voice of Christ, which so long has interiorly admonished them. Now they see
clearly whither He in His goodness invites them and wills them to come. In returning
to His one only fold, they will obtain the blessings which they seek, and the consequent
helps to salvation, of which He has made the Church the dispenser, and, as it were, the
constant guardian and promoter of His redemption amongst the nations. Then, indeed,
"They shall draw waters in joy from the fountains of the Savior", His wondrous
Sacraments, whereby His faithful souls have their sins truly remitted, and are restored
to the friendship of God, are nourished and strengthened by the heavenly Bread, and
abound with the most powerful aids for their eternal salvation. May the God of peace,
the God of all consolation, in His infinite tenderness, enrich and fill with all these
blessings those who truly yearn for them.
39. We wish to direct our exhortation and our desires in a special way to those who are
ministers of religion in their respective communities. They are men who from their
very office take precedence in learning and authority, and who have at heart the glory
of God and the salvation of souls. Let them be the first in joyfully submitting to the
divine call and obey it, and furnish a glorious example to others. Assuredly, with an
exceeding great joy, their Mother, the Church, will welcome them, and will cherish
with all her love and care those whom the strength of their generous souls has, amidst
many trials and difficulties, led back to her bosom. Nor could words express the
recognition which this devoted courage will win for them from the assemblies of the
brethren throughout the Catholic world, or what hope or confidence it will merit for
them before Christ as their Judge, or what reward it will obtain from Him in the
heavenly kingdom! And we, ourselves, in every lawful way, shall continue to promote
their reconciliation with the Church in which individuals and masses, as we ardently
desire, may find so much for their imitation. In the meantime, by the tender mercy of
the Lord our God, we ask and beseech all to strive faithfully to follow in the path of
divine grace and truth.
40. We decree that these letters and all things contained therein shall not be liable at
any time to be impugned or objected to by reason of fault or any other defect
whatsoever of subreption or obreption of our intention, but are and shall be always
valid and in force and shall be inviolably observed both juridically and otherwise, by
all of whatsoever degree and preeminence, declaring null and void anything which, in
these matters, may happen to be contrariwise attempted, whether wittingly or
unwittingly, by any person whatsoever, by whatsoever authority or pretext, all things
to the contrary notwithstanding.
41. We will that there shall be given to copies of these letters, even printed, provided
that they be signed by a notary and sealed by a person constituted in ecclesiastical
dignity, the same credence that would be given to the expression of our will by the
showing of these presents.
Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the Incarnation of Our Lord, one thousand
eight hundred and ninety-six, on the Ides of September, in the nineteenth year of our
pontificate.
--Leo PP. XIII
