Today we commemorate the first Book of Common Prayer. It came into use on Pentecost in 1549. It was primarily the work of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1533 to 1556.
At the time of the Reformation, even though the Eucharist was celebrated only in Latin, there was no uniform liturgy. Although they all did it in Latin, different parts of the world did it their own way.
Cranmer wanted to bring a certain uniformity to the liturgy, to celebrate the Eucharist in the language of the people, and to introduce to the laity the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office, what we know as Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, which at the time, was exclusively prayed by monks and the clergy.
Cranmer’s principal sources were medieval Latin service books of the Use of Sarum (Salisbury), the enrichments from the Greek liturgies, certain ancient Gallican rites, and the vernacular German liturgy prepared by Martin Luther, and a revised Latin liturgy of the reforming Archbishop of Cologne, Archbishop Hermann. Lesser Fasts and Feasts, p. 230 (1980). Cranmer also included all of the Psalms in the Book of Common Prayer, a revolutionary concept in his day, because the people did not have access to Scripture, especially in their own language. And the beauty of it, it was all in one book.
There is an old maxim in theology: what we pray is what we believe. Our Book of Common Prayer is based on Scripture; therefore, what we pray every Sunday is rooted in the Bible.
We often take it for granted, but some of the most beautiful use of the English language is found in the Book of Common Prayer. For example, the words used in the Rite of Marriage which are so familiar to everyone are from the Book of Common Prayer: “Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. … In the Name of God, I, (name), take you, (name) to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”
For me, the Book of Common Prayer gives me the tools for prayer especially during those times when I cannot or do not know how to pray.
Collect for the Day:
Almighty and everliving God, whose servant Thomas Cranmer, with others, restored the language of the people in the prayers of your Church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with the understanding, that we may worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, and this week especially for those who were baptized, for Betty Head and her family, Cotele Singleton who is in the hospital, for Tammie Taylor, and for all of those who are travelling, especially Bill Taylor.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
12 June: Gospel by the Sea.
11:00 a.m. every Sunday in the nave, Adult Christian Formation: Heaven and Hell: Angels With Harps, Demons With Pitchforks? Or Maybe Something Else?
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
At the time of the Reformation, even though the Eucharist was celebrated only in Latin, there was no uniform liturgy. Although they all did it in Latin, different parts of the world did it their own way.
Cranmer wanted to bring a certain uniformity to the liturgy, to celebrate the Eucharist in the language of the people, and to introduce to the laity the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office, what we know as Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, which at the time, was exclusively prayed by monks and the clergy.
Cranmer’s principal sources were medieval Latin service books of the Use of Sarum (Salisbury), the enrichments from the Greek liturgies, certain ancient Gallican rites, and the vernacular German liturgy prepared by Martin Luther, and a revised Latin liturgy of the reforming Archbishop of Cologne, Archbishop Hermann. Lesser Fasts and Feasts, p. 230 (1980). Cranmer also included all of the Psalms in the Book of Common Prayer, a revolutionary concept in his day, because the people did not have access to Scripture, especially in their own language. And the beauty of it, it was all in one book.
There is an old maxim in theology: what we pray is what we believe. Our Book of Common Prayer is based on Scripture; therefore, what we pray every Sunday is rooted in the Bible.
We often take it for granted, but some of the most beautiful use of the English language is found in the Book of Common Prayer. For example, the words used in the Rite of Marriage which are so familiar to everyone are from the Book of Common Prayer: “Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. … In the Name of God, I, (name), take you, (name) to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.”
For me, the Book of Common Prayer gives me the tools for prayer especially during those times when I cannot or do not know how to pray.
Collect for the Day:
Almighty and everliving God, whose servant Thomas Cranmer, with others, restored the language of the people in the prayers of your Church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with the understanding, that we may worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, and this week especially for those who were baptized, for Betty Head and her family, Cotele Singleton who is in the hospital, for Tammie Taylor, and for all of those who are travelling, especially Bill Taylor.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
12 June: Gospel by the Sea.
11:00 a.m. every Sunday in the nave, Adult Christian Formation: Heaven and Hell: Angels With Harps, Demons With Pitchforks? Or Maybe Something Else?
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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