Richard William Enraght

Richard William Enraght
Fr. Richard Enraght SSC. reproduced by kind permission of the Principal & Chapter of Pusey House, Oxford.(Hall Collection 3/13, Pusey House Oxford)
Born	23 February 1837 Moneymore, County Londonderry, Ireland
Died	21 September 1898 Bintree, Norfolk
Spouse(s)	Dorothea
Children	Mary, William, Ellen, Hawtrey, Grace, Dora and Alice
Parent(s)	Revd Matthew Enraght and ??
Church	Church of England
Ordained	1862

Richard William Enraght SSC (23 February 1837 – 21 September 1898) was an Irish-born Church of England priest of the late nineteenth century. He was influenced by the Oxford Movement and was included amongst the priests commonly called "Second Generation" Anglo-Catholics.

Fr. Enraght believed ritualism in worship was essential for adherence to the Church of England’s Catholic tradition. His religious practices and publications on Catholic worship and Church-State relationship led him into conflict with church authorities and were prosecuted under the Public Worship Regulation Act.

Enraght's practices included adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the use of eucharistic candles, wearing of chasuble and alb, the use of wafer bread in Holy Communion, the ceremonial mixing of water and communion wine, making the sign of the Cross towards the congregation during the Holy Communion service, bowing his head at the Gloria, and allowing the Agnus Dei to be sung, all of which his Bishop forbade. These practices resulted in Fr. Enraght being prosecuted by the Church Association's lawyers and at trial by the presiding Judge, Lord Penzance.

Fr. Enraght refused to attend his own trial on grounds of conscience. He was found guilty and received the maximum penalty under the Act: arrest, imprisonment and dismissal from his parish. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church states, "This attempt at suppressing Ritualism so discredited the Act (in fact it created Anglo-Catholic martyrs) that it led to its being regarded as virtually obsolete." In 2006, the Brighton & Hove City Council honoured Enraght as a "Priest, fighter for religious freedom."