Pierre François le Courayer - Roman Catholic Defender of Anglican Orders

How much soever separated we may be from each other, our reunion is nothing impossible. - P.F. le Courayer

Pierre François le Courayer (b.1681 in Rouen, France, d.1776 in London, England) gave rise to no small controversy in the 18th century when he undertook to defend the Church of England's episcopal succession in his work "A Defense of the Validity of English Ordinations" (1732).

I didn't know until now this work existed (which by the way is available in full online at http://books.google.com/books?id=32kgNaxoTc4C&pg=PR36&dq=Courayer#PPR1,M1), but I began reading it today because of the exceptional nature of this work. What's immediately obvious is le Courayer's ecumenical spirit and recognition that Anglicanism has so much in common with Rome. He readily acknowledged there are important divisions, but his irenic spirit apparently caused too much concern on the Continent among his Roman Catholic peers.

Eventually he was exiled, he moved to England, and received an honorary doctorate at Oxford, even though he never left the Roman Catholic Church. From what I read, he's a celebrated figure of sorts among the Anglicans in England.

Reunion is always desirable, but only when truth prevails above party spirit. As an Anglican it's good to know there are (or have been) Roman Catholics out there (ever so few they be) who humbly acknowledge when their own party spirit obscures facts and strains relations. Le Courayer in his introduction made it clear that prejudices affected many of his peers' ability to accept historical facts that favored the validity of Anglican succession.

As I read through this fairly meaty work (400+ pages) I'll be sure to post any historical gems that I find.