Thanks to Craig Aburn, longstanding and talented MC of Saint Silas, Kentish Town (referred to in another post) and webmaster for the GSS and Society of Mary, for sending me a very full file of pictures from yesterday's Mass for Christ the King in Gordon Square. Massinformation carry some more text about the day.
Gordon Square is home to the Church of Christ the King, attached to which are the FinF offices and the English Chapel, which is home to a daily Mass. The Church itself is very interesting, not only for its early English Neo-Gothic architecture, but also for its previous role of being the central church of the movement, which was the eventual product of the Prayer Movement of James Haldane and Edward Irving, which later became known as the Catholic Apostolic Church, a remarkably successful schism, which tapped into the Victorian's love of the occult, mysticism and exotica whilst still seeming to remain sufficiently establishment. The genius of this sect was to assign every member a title or at least an expectation of prophetic gifts, rather like the sects of Episcopi Vagantes nowadays, where any interested party can be a Bishop. They eventually died out in about 1902 when the last of their 'apostles' died without the promised appearance of the 'light of the world', although there were, of course, schisms of the schism, notably in Germany, the last of which wound up in the 1960's.
I am under the impression that FinF lease the Church from the legal representatives of the Catholic Apostolic Church, who presumably have some contact with somebody who was a part of that movement. Before hand it was used as a Chaplaincy. My only reservations are concerned with the paraphernalia of the Church, the use of the 'temple' as the tabernacle was known, which was used for holding the mystical bread, which had no claim to trans or consubstantiation and the use of the throne on which the Angel of the Catholic Apostolic Church sat. The previous occupants were, if you read their tracts, concerned with glorifying humanity, raising themselves up to semi divine status, rather than glorifying God. I believe that someone has a box handed to his Father, sealed by Irving, containing a dread secret which can only be opened by twelve Anglican Bishops (which naturally remains sealed), you see the level of hyperbolic rubbish one can descend to when cast adrift in a sect with no checks upon the leadership.
Enough of that. Time for the morning Mass of Christ the King at Saint Hilda's, of which I shall endeavour to bring you photographs as well. You may be interested in the High Mass set. It came from a redundant English Abbey, I wonder if anyone can guess which one?
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