The Twentieth Century
An International Communion By the end of the nineteenth century, English colonialism had produced daughter Churches throughout the world, including the Episcopal Church in the United States and Anglican Provinces in Africa, Australia, Canada and elsewhere. Anglicanism had become more than just the national Church of England. Anglican Orders Near the close of the nineteenth century, a number of English and French Churchmen held a series of unofficial meetings with the aim of bringing about a better understanding between the English and Roman Catholic Churches. Those meetings gave rise to a discussion about Holy Orders and the continuity of the Apostolic Ministry. In the past, there had been in the English Church a good many rebellious Puritans who were opposed to its having an Apostolic Ministry, and said much against retaining that heritage. So the question was raised: had English Churchmen been able to continue the Apostolic Ministry despite the efforts of the Puritans to do away with it? To satisfy the French Churchmen, Pope Leo XIII was asked to give his opinion on the matter. ...