The Launch of the Oxford Movement
Poets involved
What happened
In July 1833, the prominent theologian and poet John Keble delivered an impassioned sermon entitled 'National Apostasy' at the University Church in Oxford, England. This address officially launched the Oxford Movement, a powerful high-church revival led by figures like John Henry Newman and Edward Pusey. The movement argued that the Church of England was not a Protestant political creation, but rather a direct, apostolic branch of the universal Catholic Church, advocating for a restoration of traditional pre-Reformation liturgies, rich sacramental theology, and ancient patristic beauty.
Literary impact
The movement sparked a massive revival of highly formal devotional poetry and rich liturgical aesthetics in Victorian literature. It directly shaped the artistic principles of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and deeply influenced major religious poets like Christina Rossetti and John Henry Newman.
Source: Wikipedia
