‘The Good Old Way’: Prayer Book Protestantism in the 1640s and 1650s

2004 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 233-256
Author(s):  
Judith Maltby
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Medieval Church ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

Between 1640 and 1642 the Church of England collapsed, its leaders reviled and discredited, its structures paralysed, its practices if not yet proscribed, at least inhibited. In the years that followed, yet worse was to befall it. And yet in every year of its persecution after 1646, new shoots sprang up out of the fallen timber: bereft of episcopal leadership, lacking any power of coercion, its observances illegal, anglicanism thrived. As memories of the 1630s faded and were overlaid by the tyrannies of the 1640s … the deeper rhythms of the Kalendar and the ingrained perfections of Cranmer’s liturgies bound a growing majority together.Professor John Morrill, quoted above, has rightly identified a set of historiographical contradictions about the Stuart Church in a series of important articles. Historians have until recently paid little attention to the positive and popular elements of conformity to the national Church of England in the period before the civil war. The lack of interest in conformity has led to a seventeenth-century version of the old Whig view of the late medieval Church: the Church of England is presented as a complacent, corrupt, and clericalist institution, ‘ripe’ – as the English Church in the early sixteenth century was ‘ripe’ – to be purified by reformers. However, if this was the case, how does one account for the durable commitment to the Prayer Book demonstrated during the 1640s and 1650s and the widespread – but not universal – support for the ‘return’ of the Church of England in 1660?This paper contributes to the larger exploration of the theme of ‘the Church and the book’ by addressing in particular the continued use by clergy and laity alike of one ‘book’ – the Book of Common Prayer – after its banning by Parliament during the years of civil war and the Commonwealth.

The Book of Common Prayer: A Guide

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Hefling
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
The United States ◽  
History Of The Book ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Corporate Worship ◽  
History Of ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

This book surveys the contents and the history of the Book of Common Prayer, a sacred text which has been a foundational document of the Church of England and the other churches in the worldwide community of Anglican Christianity. The Prayer Book is primarily a liturgical text—a set of scripts for enacting events of corporate worship. As such it is at once a standard of theological doctrine and an expression of spirituality. The first part of this survey begins with an examination of one Prayer Book liturgy, known as Divine Service, in some detail. Also discussed are the rites for weddings, ordinations, and funerals and for the sacraments of Baptism and Communion. The second part considers the original version of the Book of Common Prayer in the context of the sixteenth-century Reformation, then as revised and built into the Elizabethan settlement of religion in England. Later chapters discuss the reception, revision, rejection, and restoration of the Prayer Book during its first hundred years. The establishment of the text in its classical form in 1662 was followed by a “golden age” in the eighteenth century, which included the emergence of a modified version in the United States. The narrative concludes with a chapter on the displacement of the Book of Common Prayer as a norm of Anglican identity. Two specialized chapters concentrate on the Prayer Book as a visible artifact and as a text set to music.

The Historical Background of the English Lectionary of 1955

1958 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-86
Author(s):  
Geoffrey G. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
The People ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

The preface to the Book of Common Prayer, entitled Concerning the Service of the Church since 1662, but before that simply The Preface, was derived substantially from the preface to the revised Breviary of Quiñones, which was one of the sources for the revised daily offices of the Church of England. It appeals from what it considers the corruptions of the medieval office to the ‘godly and decent order of the ancient Fathers’. This order, it says, was devised for the systematic reading of holy scripture in the offices of the Church, and it was the intention of the compilers of the English Prayer Book to restore such a regular order of reading for the instruction of the people. It represented a revolt against three features of the lessons in the medieval breviary: first, against the frequent interruptions of the reading of scripture in course by the occurrence of feasts with proper lessons; secondly, the lack of completeness and continuity in the lessons themselves; and thirdly, the use of non-biblical material in the lessons. Even if the daily office of the breviary, which is based on the ecclesiastical year, were not interrupted by any immoveable feasts having proper lessons, it would still not provide for the reading of the whole of scripture, as its lessons are too short, and also the variable lessons are confined to the night office.

Godly Pastors and their Congregations in Mid-Seventeenth-Century London

Church Life ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
Elliot Vernon
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Lord's Supper ◽  
Lay Leaders ◽  
Parish Community ◽  
Church Life ◽  
Parish Churches ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This chapter examines the relationship between pastor and congregation in the London parishes during the Interregnum. It addresses how godly ministers, called on by Parliament at the outbreak of the Civil War to reform parochial discipline and prevent the ‘promiscuous multitude’ from polluting the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in England’s parish churches, negotiated issues of authority, changes to worship and liturgy, and the already contentious issues of patronage and finance. These factors forced ministers to look to the lay leaders of the parish, whether as elders or vestrymen, making them subject to factional struggles within the church life of the parish community. This chapter assesses the establishment and operation of Presbyterianism in London’s parishes during the 1640s and 1650s, as well as the practical difficulties, economic and administrative, that godly pastors experienced at the parochial level as a result of the dismantling of the Church of England.

Preambles: “But One Use”

2020 ◽  
pp. 76-86
Author(s):  
Charles Hefling
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
The Political ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

This chapter examines the Prayer Book’s self-presentation in its preliminary, nonliturgical prose: the two Acts of Uniformity (1559 and 1662) that define the constitution of the text and regulate its use in the Church of England; and the three prefatory essays, two of which were written by Thomas Cranmer for the original, 1549 Book of Common Prayer, and have been retained ever since. These texts are themselves primary sources that provide a preliminary context in which to understand the origins and purpose of the liturgies they precede. They outline the successive revisions of the Prayer Book, and indicate both the political and the theological dimensions of its contents.

The Prayer-Book Roots of Griffith Jones's Evangelism*

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
John Harding
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
National Library ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Predominant Component ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

This article discusses Griffith Jones (1683–1761) an influential Church of England rector in West Wales from 1711, who is usually described as a precursor of Welsh Methodism and Evangelicalism. It refers to an undated, damaged notebook, in the National Library of Wales, containing sermon notes in Jones's own hand. The article seeks to trace the source of his evangelistic outlook, noting his conformist loyalty to the Church of England's doctrine, order and worship. Contrary to the opinion which attributes his pursuit of evangelism, with its seeking of conversions, to supposed Puritan influences, the article shows that the Book of Common Prayer was its inspiration. Preaching is discussed as the predominant component of worship. Jones's thought as a popular evangelist is examined, with reference to the brief sermon outlines in Welsh. The article discusses Jones's view of the defiance of Christian standards and ignorance of the faith, in Wales. Jones's practice was to summon people to faith. He preached this to those within the 'visible' national Church, which included infants, adding a strong demand for moral conformity. His concept of 'membership' was not postEnlightenment voluntarism, but of a statutory and biblical duty. For Griffith Jones the liturgy was not a disincentive to piety, contrary to some Dissenters' misgivings. His wish was for spiritual and moral renewal, not further reformation of Anglican doctrine or practice. He saw catechizing as a means against schismatical vagaries. His famous Circulating Schools reinforced this policy.

Covenants and Anglicans

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-152
Author(s):  
Frederick Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Jeremy Taylor ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
Church Governance ◽  
The Church

ABSTRACTAlthough there is a strong movement within Anglicanism to produce a Covenant, this article argues against such an approach. Postponing dealing with today's problems by leaving them for a vaguely worded future document, instead of trying to clarify and resolve them now, and live in peace with one another, is evasive action that solves nothing. Also, some covenant proposals represent a veiled attempt to limit the role of women and homosexuals in the church.The article's core argument is that covenants were specifically rejected by Anglicans at a time when they swept the Continent in the sixteenth century. The Church of England had specifically rejected the powerful hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church and the legalism of the Puritans in favor of what was later to become the Anglican via media, with its emphasis on an informal, prayerful unity of diverse participants at home and abroad. It further argues the Church contains sufficient doctrinal statements in the Creeds, Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886, 1888, and the Baptismal Covenant in the American Church's 1979 Book of Common Prayer.Covenant proponents argue their proposed document follows in the tradition of classic Anglicanism, but Quinn demonstrates this is not the case. He presents Richard Hooker and Jeremy Taylor as major voices articulating a distinctly Anglican perspective on church governance, noting Hooker ‘tried to stake out parameters between positions without digging a ditch others could not cross. Hooker placed prudence ahead of doctrinal argument.’ Taylor cited the triadic scripture, tradition and reason so central to Anglicanism and added how religious reasoning differs from mathematical and philosophical reasoning. The author notes that the cherished Reformation gift of religious reasoning is totally unmentioned in the flurry of documents calling for a new Anglican Covenant.

scholarly journals Prayer Book Catechism: Past its sell-by date?

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Anglican Church ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
The World ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the first introduction to Anglican belief and liturgy for many. More specifically, the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 contains the traditional catechism of the Church of England, enjoining catechumens to receive training and instruction in basic doctrines and Christian living. This takes place in the contexts of the liturgy and the more comprehensive doctrinal statements of the 39 Articles of Religion. Anglican religion traditionally allowed its members to verbalise their faith in both ritual and confession, thus serving the church and not so much life in the world. A revisit of the intentions of the catechism within its historical and prayer book contexts will show that it essentially expresses lasting truths of the Christian faith. In a world increasingly divorced from particular Christian expressions, the Anglican Church needs to rethink its particular use of the catechism for its continued relevance in meeting the questions and challenges Anglicans face daily.

scholarly journals Profit ‘That is Condemned by the Word of God’: John Jewel’s Theological Method in His Opposition to Usury

Perichoresis ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
André A. Gazal
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Church Councils ◽  
The Church ◽  
Christian Society

Abstract John Jewel, regarded as the principal apologist and theologian for the Elizabethan Church, was also esteemed as one of England’s most important (if not the most important) authority on the subject of usury, and therefore was cited frequently by opponents of usury towards the end of the sixteenth century and throughout the seventeenth century. One of the most sustained interpretations of Jewel as a theologian on the subject of usury was by Christoph Jelinger, who observed that the late bishop of Sarum employed the same theological method in opposing usury as he did in defending the doctrines and practices of the Church of England against its Catholic opponents, that is, by appealing to the Scriptures, the Church Fathers, Church Councils, and the example of the primitive church. This article seeks to confirm the opinion of Jelinger, and in doing so show that Jewel’s opposition to usury stemmed primarily from the conviction that it was both a vice and heresy that eroded the unifying attribute of Christian society which was love.

When the Present Became Future: The Ambiguity behind the Consent in the Marriage Rite of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Bryan Spinks
Keyword(s):  
Middle English ◽  
Old English ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Latin Text ◽  
Future Tense ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Future Intention ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn a preparatory essay for the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation 2011, on the topic of marriage, Thomas Cooper questioned the long-held view that the question of consent in the Prayer Book tradition was derived from the older betrothal vow. Arguing from the Latin of the Sarum Use, ‘Volo’, he argued that ‘Will you ..?’ and ‘I will’ reflects the Old English present tense and is part of the marriage vow. This article questions Cooper’s argument, and instead argues that the use of ‘will’ as a future tense already in Middle English and used in betrothals pre-dates the Latin text. As a result, the separation of the consent (understood as an immediate future intention) from the qvow as in the 1979 American Book of Common Prayer and the Church of England Common Worship 2000 is entirely justified.

scholarly journals The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony in the Book of Common Prayer: A Russian Translation with Some Notes on Its History and Language

2020 ◽  
pp. 146-164
Author(s):  
Василий Владимирович Чернов
Keyword(s):  
Russian Translation ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Book Of Common Prayer ◽  
Crucial Element ◽  
Prayer Book ◽  
Key Features ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

Институт брака играл важную роль в ходе Английской «долгой Реформации» XVI-XVII веков. Изменение отношения к браку, как к состоянию низшему по сравнению с безбрачием, было одной из причин и движущих сил реформационных преобразований как на континенте, так и в Английской Церкви. При этом литургический чин бракосочетания в томвиде, в котором он был зафиксирован в Книге общественного богослужения 1662 года, является наиболее консервативной частью классического англиканского служебника. В данной статье автор демонстрирует, что данный чин не только практически не претерпел изменений как в ходе богослужебной реформы 1662 года, так и при подготовке предшествующих (1549 и 1552 гг.) редакций Служебника, но и в основном сохранил черты чинов бракосочетания из дореформационных английских литургических книг. Книга общественного богослужения 1662 года до сих пор не только сохраняет официальный статус в Церкви Англии (новые богослужебные книги допускаются лишь в качестве альтернативы классическому Служебнику), но и лежит в основе богословской и литургической традиций всех Церквей Англиканского Содружества, чем объясняется актуальность затронутой тематики. Marriage was a crucial element of England’s long Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. The end of view of marriage as inferior in relation to celibacy was among key reasons and forces of the reform both in England and the rest of the Northern Europe. The liturgy of marriage as it appears in the Book of Common Prayer 1662 was, however, the most conservative part of the Anglican worship of its time. The main goal of this article is to familiarize the Russian reader with one of England’s most important historic liturgies. The author also seeks to reaffirm that the Prayer Book marriage form not only passed largely unchanged through the making of 1549, 1552 and 1662 books, bud also preserved most key features of pre-Reformation English marriage rites. It resulted in a quite uniform Anglican liturgical tradition of wedding as the Prayer Book 1662 remains official in the Church of England and still frames worship and theology of the Anglican churches worldwide.

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