“Faithful Remnants”

The Religious Societies of the seventeenth century offer most practical and important witness. Associated with Anthony Horneck’s ministry at the Savoy Chapel, London, and later with William Beveridge and Robert Nelson, these societies arose as an attempt – and a successful one – to practise the full teaching of the Church as enshrined in the Book of Common Prayer. The initial influence of these societies, these “Faithful Remnants”, was enormous, and history supports their sanity and zeal. The recitation of the daily Office was central to their activity, a priest-director was an essential part of the system, while works of charity towards the poor were a natural outcome. It is significant that their demise came when extraneous interests in politics and sociology overbalance the original Godward intention. For most of our modern parochial organizations, the writing on the wall could hardly be plainer.

English Spirituality, 266