The role of liturgy in Apostolicae curae and Saepius officio

The aim of this article is to critically investigate the arguable role attributed to liturgy in two official documents issued by different ecclesial authorities in the late nineteenth century. Of these documents, Apostolicae curae is definitely the most commonly known, for, in it, Pope Leo XIII declared Anglican orders to be ‘absolutely null and utterly void’. In Saepius officio, their response to this declaration, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York developed a solid and detailed argumentation which directly addressed the issues involved. Strangely enough, however, their letter has scarcely received any scholarly attention, especially not from a liturgical perspective. Therefore, this article embarks on a comparative analysis of the liturgico-theological quality of both documents and endeavours to reopen discussions and reflections on the dignity and validity of Anglican orders at a time in which there seems to be little enthusiasm for that kind of enterprise.