Rev Alexander Mackonochie

Rev Alexander Mackonochie


Known as the ‘Martyr of St Albans,' the Anglican priest Alexander Heriot Mackonochie was prosecuted for Ritualism on four separate occasions (1867, 1870, 1874-75 and 1880). While curate at St George’s-in-the East he worked as a mission priest in the slums of the London docks. His church became a focus for anti-Ritualism riots, including the interruption of services and the throwing of stones at the mission’s priests.

In 1862 Mackonochie was preferred to the living of St Alban the Martyr in Holborn. His endorsement of the doctrine of the Real Presence and his introduction of daily communion was controversial and divisive, as were the many other elements of ritualistic practices which he introduced, such as lighted candles on the altar and the cleansing of the Eucharistic vessels at the altar. St Alban's was the first Anglican Church to hold the three-hour devotion on Good Friday (in 1864) and one of the first to celebrate a Harvest Festival. Mackonochie also openly heard confessions.

Photographed by W. Walker and Sons of 64 Margaret Street, London.



 


Code: 123442
© Paul Frecker 2024