Editing Cosmo Gordon Lang (section)

==Early ministry==

===Leeds===

After a year's study at [[Ripon College Cuddesdon|Cuddesdon]], Lang was ordained as [[deacon]]. He rejected an offer of the chaplaincy of All Souls as he wanted to be "up and doing" in a tough parish.<ref name= L87>Lockhart, p. 87</ref> Lang identified with the [[Anglo-Catholic]] tradition of the Church of England, in part, he admitted, as a reaction against his [[evangelical]] upbringing in the Church of Scotland.<ref name= L62/> His sympathies lay with the progressive wing of Anglo-Catholicism represented by the ''[[Lux Mundi (book)|Lux Mundi]]'' essays, published in 1888 by a group of forward-looking Oxford theologians. Among these was [[Edward Stuart Talbot]], Warden of [[Keble College, Oxford|Keble]], who in 1888 had become Vicar of [[Leeds Parish Church]]. Talbot had contributed the essay entitled "The Preparation for History in Christ" in ''Lux Mundi''.<ref>{{cite ODNB|last= Rowell  |first= Geoffrey|title= Talbot, Edward Stuart |url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36409?docPos=2 |year= 2013|doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/36409|access-date=21 September 2017}}</ref> On ordination Lang eagerly accepted the offer of a [[curacy]] under Talbot, and arrived in Leeds in late 1890.<ref name= L87/>

Leeds Parish Church, rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1841 after an elaborate ceremony,{{sfn|Teale|1841|p=}} was of almost cathedral size, the centre of a huge parish ministered by many [[curate]]s. Lang's district was the Kirkgate, one of the poorest areas, many of whose 2,000&nbsp;inhabitants were prostitutes.<ref name= L94/> Lang and his fellow curates fashioned a clergy house from a derelict [[public house]]. He later moved next door, into a condemned property which became his home for his remaining service in Leeds.<ref>Lockhart, pp. 89–90</ref> In addition to his normal parish duties, Lang acted temporarily as Principal of the [[Leeds Clergy School|Clergy School]], was chaplain to Leeds Infirmary, and took charge of a men's club of around a hundred members. On 24 May 1891 he was ordained to full priesthood.<ref name= L94>Lockhart, pp. 94–99</ref>

Lang continued to visit Oxford when time allowed and on a visit to All Souls in June 1893 he was offered the post of Dean of Divinity at [[Magdalen College]]. Other offers were open to him; the [[Bishop of Newcastle (England)|Bishop of Newcastle]] wished to appoint him vicar of the [[Newcastle Cathedral|cathedral church in Newcastle]] and Benjamin Jowett wished him to return to Balliol as a tutor in theology. Lang chose Magdalen; the idea of being in charge of young men who might in the future achieve positions of responsibility was attractive to him and, in October 1893, with many regrets, he left Leeds.<ref name= L101>Lockhart, pp. 101–04</ref>

===Magdalen College===

As Magdalen's Dean of Divinity (college chaplain),<ref>{{cite web|title= Chapel and Choir|url= http://www.magd.ox.ac.uk/chapel-and-choir|publisher=Magdalen College Oxford|access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref> Lang had [[pastoral care|pastoral duties]] with the college's undergraduates and responsibility for the chapel and its choir. Lang was delighted with this latter obligation; his concern for the purity of the choir's sound led him to request that visitors "join in the service silently".<ref name= L101/> In 1894 Lang was asked to add to his workload by acting as Vicar of the [[University Church of St Mary the Virgin]], where [[John Henry Newman]] had begun his Oxford ministry in 1828.<ref>Connolly, p. 3</ref> The church had almost ceased to function when Lang took it over, but he revived regular services, chose preachers with care and slowly rebuilt the congregation.<ref>Lockhart, pp. 109–12</ref> In December 1895 he was offered the post of Vicar of [[Portsea, Portsmouth|Portsea]], a large parish within [[Portsmouth]] on the south coast, but he was not ready to leave Oxford and refused. Some months later he had further thoughts; the strain of his dual appointment in Oxford was beginning to tell and, he claimed, "the thought of this great parish [of Portsea] and work going a-begging troubled my conscience." After discovering that the Portsea offer was still open, he decided to accept, though with some misgiving.<ref>Lockhart, pp. 113–15</ref>

===Portsea===

Portsea, covering much of the town of Portsmouth, was a dockside parish of around 40,000&nbsp;inhabitants with a mixture of housing ranging from neat terraces to squalid slums.<ref name= L116>Lockhart, pp. 116–19</ref> The large, recently rebuilt [[St Mary's Church, Portsea|St Mary's church]] held more than 2,000&nbsp;people.<ref name= L116/> Lang arrived in June 1896 to lead a team of more than a dozen curates serving the five districts of the parish. He quickly resumed the kind of urban parish work he had carried out in Leeds; he founded a Sunday afternoon men's conference with 300&nbsp;men, and supervised the construction of a large conference hall as a centre for parish activities.<ref name= L122>Lockhart, pp. 122–25</ref> He also pioneered the establishment of parochial church councils long before they were given legal status in 1919.<ref name= Wilk2>{{cite odnb|last= Wilkinson|first= Alan|title= (William) Cosmo Gordon Lang (1864–1945)|id=34398}} ("Early Ministry" section)</ref> Outside his normal parish duties, Lang served as chaplain to the local prison,<ref name= L122/> and became acting chaplain to the 2nd Hampshire [[Royal Artillery]] Volunteer Corps.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26889|page=4998|date=7 September 1897}}</ref>

Lang's relationship with his curates was generally formal. They were aware of his ambition and felt that he sometimes spent too much time on his outside interests such as his All Souls Fellowship, but were nevertheless impressed by his efficiency and his powers of oratory.<ref name= L116/> The Church historian [[Adrian Hastings]] singles out Portsea under Lang as an example of "extremely disciplined pastoral professionalism".<ref>Hastings, p. 34</ref> Lang may have realised that he was destined for high office; he is reported to have practised the signature "Cosmo Cantuar" during a relaxed discussion with his curates ("Cantuar" is part of the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]'s formal signature).<ref>Lockhart, p. 127</ref> In January 1898 he was invited by [[Queen Victoria]] to preach at [[Osborne House]], her [[Isle of Wight]] home. Afterwards he talked with the Queen who, Lang records, suggested that he should marry. Lang replied that he could not afford to as his curates cost too much. He added: "If a curate proves unsatisfactory I can get rid of him. A wife is a fixture."<ref>Lockhart, p. 131</ref> He was summoned on several more occasions and in the following January was appointed an [[Honorary Chaplain to the Queen]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27087|page=3587|date=6 June 1899}}</ref> These visits to Osborne were the start of a close association with the Royal Family which lasted for the rest of Lang's life.<ref name= Wilk2/> As one of the Queen's chaplains, he assisted in the funeral arrangements after her death in January 1901.<ref>Lockhart, pp. 138–41</ref>