Statue of St. Peter inside Church
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Saint Peter's Church, Devizes

WHAT ST. PETER'S STANDS FOR

St. Peter's Church serves the community of the parish and also people from the surrounding area who are attracted by its orderly, traditional style of worship. It has always maintained the Catholic and Apostolic faith as the Church of England received it from the Undivided Church.

As Anglo-Catholics we emphasise that, in seeking to evangelise each new generation, the Church must take care not to abandon the teaching and practice of the early Christian centuries. The Bible, the Creeds, the Sacraments and the Church's Ministry are not ours to change. They were received from the Lord by the Church in apostolic times and have been faithfully handed down from generation to generation. We seek to pass them on to our children and grandchildren.

Recent changes in the Church of England have prompted St. Peter's to seek the pastoral and sacramental care of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, working in co-operation with the Bishops of Salisbury and of Ramsbury. The parish has affiliated to the Forward in Faith movement in order to secure its guidance and assistance. Resolutions A and B are in place, and our petition for extended Episcopal oversight under the Act of Synod (Resolution C) has been granted. [If you want to study more about St. Peter's place in the Anglican Church, the Wikipedia article, which can be reached via the link on the navigation bar on the left, will give you links into other articles within the encyclopaedia  about the elements of our faith and practice.] 

Keynote Sermons

The full text of two sermons below preached by our Priest-in Charge,  Father Peter Moss, at St Peter's may be downloaded from the links below.  They set out clearly both the reasons for disagreement with recent rulings of the Church of England Synod and also what Anglo-Catholics should aspire to be.  Both sermons met with very strong approval from the congregation - in one case drawing a round of applause, a first for an Anglican sermon, as far a we know from our experiences. 

  1. 13th July, 2008      Isaiah 55:8 - For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  
    This sermon attacked the decision reached in the previous week by the Synod in York on the above Resolutions, and was welcomed by the congregation with spontaneous and enthusiastic applause.   Click here to download.

  2. 6th September,2009  Mark 7:8 - Laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the tradition of men
    The sermon asks what a "Catholic Parish" should be. The seven points listing the characteristics of a Catholic Parish give us a challenging checklist to see how far we at St Peter's measure up. This sermon did not meet with a round of applause, but did meet with requests for a printed version, which Fr Peter duly provided.   Click here to download.