In early Victorian England there was intense interest in understanding the early Church as an inspiration for contemporary sanctity. This was manifested in a surge in archaeological inquiry and also in the construction of new churches using medieval models. Some Anglicans began to use a much more complicated form of ritual involving vestments, candles, and incense. This "Anglo-Catholic" movement was vehemently opposed by evangelicals and dissenters, who saw this as the vanguard of full-blown "popery." Dominic Janes seeks to understand the fierce passions that were unleashed by the contended practices and artifacts - passions that found expression in litigation, in rowdy demonstrations, and even in physical violence.

Auteur

Dominic Janes is a cultural historian. He has worked at Cambridge, Lancaster, and London universities. He has written God and Gold in Late Antiquity, Romans and Christians, and edited Back to the Future of the Body, and Shopping for Jesus: Faith in Marketing in the USA

Contenu

List of illustrations 1. Introduction: Victorian Reformation Idolatry and Fetishism 2. Art and Sacrament Ritualism 3. Riots and Trials in London, 1840-1860 Bennett, 1843-51 Liddell, 1851-57 4. Satan Transformed: Comparative Religion 'Primitive' Religion from Rome to Home Bodies of Christ The Horror is all Mine 5. Gothic Novelties Facing Corruption Texts and Profits 6. Conclusion: The Convenient Despot Bibliography Index