The New Departure

In Short

Edward Hoare’s The New Departure; or, Thoughts for Loyal Churchmen is a sharp theological pamphlet examining shifting allegiances within the Church of England during the late nineteenth century. Responding to the Derby Church Congress and proposals by ritualist leaders to substitute the modern Prayer Book with the First Book of Edward VI, Hoare exposes an underlying preference for unreformed medieval liturgies like the Use of Sarum. He urges traditional High Churchmen to recognize the dangers of this trajectory and reaffirm their commitment to the reformed English Church.

The Story

The text opens by confronting the perennial difficulty of ascertaining unorganized opinions in religious controversies, drawing a historical parallel to the Council of Trent and the framing of early church articles. Hoare applies this challenge to the Oxford movement, noting how ritualism has gradually diverged from traditional High Church principles while hiding under the umbrella term "High." For years, observers noted individual ceremonies imitating Rome, but lacked absolute proof of widespread disloyalty. That ambiguity vanishes at the Derby Church Congress, where the President of the English Church Union, Mr. Wood, delivers a paper calling for the alternative use of the First Prayer Book of Edward VI and lamenting the supposed meagreness of the standard English Liturgy compared to the Sarum Breviary.

Hoare dissects this preference for unreformed service books, tracing the history of the Use of Sarum. Contrary to being a native English rite, it was compiled by Norman-born Bishop Osmund to harmonize religious dissension by incorporating Gallican elements. Examining its contents, Hoare finds it heavily burdened with three major elements: extensive legends that displaced scripture, complicated and superstitious ceremonies, and an extensive array of saint worship that far exceeded modern Rome.

Moving from the avowal of preference to the practical proposal, Hoare analyzes the demand to adopt the First Book of Edward VI. He argues that this book serves merely as a connecting link, a stepping stone on the direct path back to the Roman Missal. Historically, the First Book represented a transitional phase during the Reformation, soon recognized by Reformers and Parliament as containing serious defects and ambiguous expressions capable of Romanist misinterpretation. This necessitated the more complete Second Book of Edward VI and subsequent revisions leading to our current Prayer Book and Articles.

By returning to the First Book, the church would leap backward past the dogmatic protections of the Articles, established in 1552, returning to a period before a formal protest against Roman error was finalized. Hoare concludes with a direct appeal to loyal High Churchmen. He asks whether they are prepared to abandon their historical allegiance, dismiss their Prayer Book as meagre, and embrace a path that ultimately leads away from the Reformation and back toward Rome.

How It Unfolds

• The fog of controversy: The text begins by addressing the difficulty of pinning down unorganized opinions in religious debates. It illustrates this with historical examples from the Council of Trent to show how common talk shapes implicit doctrine.
• A mask of shared identity: The author exposes how ritualists and traditionalists both claim the label "High Church," masking a profound ideological divergence. While traditionalists stick to the Prayer Book, ritualists harbor a quiet dissatisfaction with it.
• The turning point at Derby: A decisive shift occurs at the Derby Church Congress where the English Church Union president openly advocates for the First Book of Edward VI. This public declaration strips away the ambiguity, proving that ritualist leaders favor unreformed medieval liturgies.
• Unpacking the Use of Sarum: Hoare investigates the revered Use of Sarum, revealing that it was a Norman compilation rather than an English rite. He demonstrates that its contents were choked with unverified legends, senseless ceremonies, and extensive saint worship.
• The stepping stone to Rome: The narrative scrutinizes the historical evolution of Edward’s prayer books, explaining why the First Book was swiftly revised into the Second. Because it acts as a bridge to the Missal, returning to it means abandoning the protective boundaries of the later Articles.
• A call to conscious loyalty: The pamphlet closes with a pointed challenge to loyal churchmen across England. It asks whether they will knowingly follow this new departure down the line toward Rome or stand by their reformed heritage.

The People

The discussion centers on several key figures and historical actors who represent opposing theological visions. Edward Hoare acts as the steady, watchful voice of traditional Anglicanism, striving to awaken his fellow churchmen to the drift toward Rome. In opposition stands Mr. Wood, President of the English Church Union, who serves as the prominent spokesperson for the ritualist faction by openly advocating for the First Book of Edward VI and praising unreformed liturgies. Canon Venables appears as a moderate voice proposing minor liturgical improvements without altering foundational principles, though his measured approach is eclipsed by bolder ritualist demands. Historically, S. Osmund, the Norman-born Bishop of Salisbury, figures centrally as the compiler of the Use of Sarum, a historic figure whose work is re-examined to challenge modern romanticized notions of ancient English rites. Bishop Short provides scholarly backup, cited regarding the vast number of saints addressed in medieval litanies and the transitional nature of early prayer books. Finally, the anonymous reformers and parliamentarians of the sixteenth century stand as wise architects who deliberately shaped the English Reformation, recognizing the dangerous ambiguities of the First Book and laboring to perfect it into the secure, reformed worship that Hoare seeks to protect today.

In Its Own Voice

Hoare characterizes the foundational shift demanded by ritualist leaders regarding the standard English liturgy:

"That book is condemned as 'meagre,' and 'open to grave exceptions;' the preference is given to the unreformed services, and especially to the Use of Sarum..."

He describes the complex and obscure physical actions mandated within medieval worship traditions:

"Here let the priest uncover the cup, and make the sign of the cross with the host five times—first beyond the cup on every side, secondly even with the cup, thirdly within the cup, fourthly as the first, fifthly before the cup."

He explains the historical necessity that drove the sixteenth-century transition from the first reformed liturgy to a more refined standard:

"The Reformation was not a sudden act, and our English Prayer Book was not born in a day."

What It's Really About

The book explores the fragile boundary between loyal Anglican conformity and covert Romanism within the nineteenth-century Church of England. At its core, the argument investigates what it truly means to be a "High Churchman," contrasting a faithful adherence to the reformed Prayer Book with a restless craving for medieval, unreformed liturgies. Hoare questions the integrity of movements that use traditional terminology while undermining the doctrinal foundations established by the English Reformation. Beneath the surface of liturgical improvements and historical retrospectives lies a profound anxiety over ecclesiastical identity: whether the church will stand firmly on its reformed, scriptural principles or slide back into pre-Reformation superstition and ritual complexity.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers interested in ecclesiastical history, religious controversy, or Victorian polemics will find this pamphlet a sharp and illuminating primary source. Reading it feels like sitting across from a deeply earnest Victorian pastor who methodically dismantles an ideological opponent with calm logic rather than heated emotion. While contemporary audiences must navigate nineteenth-century theological vocabulary, historical debates over the English Reformation, and references to obscure medieval service books like the Use of Sarum, Hoare’s lucid prose makes the underlying argument remarkably clear. What stays with the reader is the urgency of his central warning: how easily foundational principles can be eroded when traditional labels are co-opted by movements heading in an entirely different direction. It offers a fascinating window into how religious institutions police their own boundaries, grapple with internal dissent, and struggle to define their collective identity during times of profound transition.