The Book of Common Prayer (BCP)--'common' means 'public' in this context--came out of the fires of the English Reformation and its words have found their way into the English language and into the liturgies of other denominations. We speak of 'the world, the flesh and the devil' which we might imagine is a Biblical phrase but no, it's found in the prayer book during the time of Edward VI (1549) composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
Cranmer was a genius without doubt, a learned scholar and not a combatant but he was used to translate the former Roman Catholic liturgical forms from Latin into English and purge them from their Romish errors. However, he was no mere translator but an active shaper of the religious consciousness of the English people. He was responsible for the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer (1549, 1552 ). The definitive BCP of the period was appointed for use in the Church of England in 1662.
I've recently been given a BCP by an old friend (86) which fits snugly in my hand. In this book are all the service instructions, the bible readings, the psalms and the hymns for the Anglican service. My copy of the BCP measures 80mm wide, 120 mm long and 20 mm thick--not very large as you can see. I mention this fact to show how people in England could walk to church whether to Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Holy Communion, Funeral, Marriage, or Baptism services with the details for the service in the palms of their hands. They had the order of service, the appointed psalms, the bible readings, the prayers, the greetings and benedictions.
Such order and decency is deemed sterile and deadening by many but we should reflect on the fact that the early Jerusalem Christians were predominantly Jews, that after the filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they attended the temple and broke bread together in their homes (Acts 2.46). The apostles continued attending the temple and preaching there (Acts 3.1; 5.25; 9.20; 13.5; etc.) until they were finally excluded.
Hence, the early Jewish Christians thoroughly familiar with Jewish worship continued with many practices with which they had been conversant. A set order with chanting of psalms, the reading of the scriptures and the prayers (see Acts 2.42; also Eph 5.18-19; 1 Cor 14.26-33). To this Jewish order the Christians added the Lord's Supper, the Holy Communion, the Eucharist (meaning 'thanksgiving' and is not only Roman Catholic terminology) (1 Cor 11.23-34; 1 Cor 10.16-21).
I am not concerned to argue that Anglican worship is the only acceptable worship to God. But what I do assert is that Anglican worship captures features of our past that many liturgies of today fail to do. We imagine that early Christian worship was a spontaneous affair when spontaneity was not a leading function of early worship at all. No church system can live on 'spontaneous worship' for very long (just as no church can be in revival over an extended period either).
C S Lewis, himself an Anglican, believed that worship should be rather like old shoes that had been thoroughly worn in and therefore wearing them did not draw attention to them. Hence, when we become so familiar with the liturgy it allows us all to focus more fully on the Lord rather than on what's going on around us. What a wise word!
Because we live in a time when change and 'progress' have become the gods of the age, we fail to reckon with the fact that the bulk of the church has worshipped in both the East and West for millennia using the same set form. (The Roman Church only changed their worship after Vatican II (1962-65) and many complain now that it has not led to any increase in the godliness of the church in general.)
One can have all the right words and right doctrine in the world and still have a heart that is far from God. That happened with Israel throughout the Old Testament and it can happen in any church in the 21st century. Having a sound liturgy by itself saves no one. What matters though is that the Word of God is preached faithfully, the sacraments are administered rightly and that God is pleased to bless us all with his continuing mercy and grace.
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| Archbishop: Thomas Cranmer |
I've recently been given a BCP by an old friend (86) which fits snugly in my hand. In this book are all the service instructions, the bible readings, the psalms and the hymns for the Anglican service. My copy of the BCP measures 80mm wide, 120 mm long and 20 mm thick--not very large as you can see. I mention this fact to show how people in England could walk to church whether to Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Holy Communion, Funeral, Marriage, or Baptism services with the details for the service in the palms of their hands. They had the order of service, the appointed psalms, the bible readings, the prayers, the greetings and benedictions.
Such order and decency is deemed sterile and deadening by many but we should reflect on the fact that the early Jerusalem Christians were predominantly Jews, that after the filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they attended the temple and broke bread together in their homes (Acts 2.46). The apostles continued attending the temple and preaching there (Acts 3.1; 5.25; 9.20; 13.5; etc.) until they were finally excluded.
Hence, the early Jewish Christians thoroughly familiar with Jewish worship continued with many practices with which they had been conversant. A set order with chanting of psalms, the reading of the scriptures and the prayers (see Acts 2.42; also Eph 5.18-19; 1 Cor 14.26-33). To this Jewish order the Christians added the Lord's Supper, the Holy Communion, the Eucharist (meaning 'thanksgiving' and is not only Roman Catholic terminology) (1 Cor 11.23-34; 1 Cor 10.16-21).
I am not concerned to argue that Anglican worship is the only acceptable worship to God. But what I do assert is that Anglican worship captures features of our past that many liturgies of today fail to do. We imagine that early Christian worship was a spontaneous affair when spontaneity was not a leading function of early worship at all. No church system can live on 'spontaneous worship' for very long (just as no church can be in revival over an extended period either).
C S Lewis, himself an Anglican, believed that worship should be rather like old shoes that had been thoroughly worn in and therefore wearing them did not draw attention to them. Hence, when we become so familiar with the liturgy it allows us all to focus more fully on the Lord rather than on what's going on around us. What a wise word!
Because we live in a time when change and 'progress' have become the gods of the age, we fail to reckon with the fact that the bulk of the church has worshipped in both the East and West for millennia using the same set form. (The Roman Church only changed their worship after Vatican II (1962-65) and many complain now that it has not led to any increase in the godliness of the church in general.)
One can have all the right words and right doctrine in the world and still have a heart that is far from God. That happened with Israel throughout the Old Testament and it can happen in any church in the 21st century. Having a sound liturgy by itself saves no one. What matters though is that the Word of God is preached faithfully, the sacraments are administered rightly and that God is pleased to bless us all with his continuing mercy and grace.
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