medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Fri, 12 Jul 2002 21:13:56 +0200
Erik Drigsdahl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> With a background in Roman-Catholic books (until 1969) is
> the Book of Common Prayer a curious mixture, difficult to
> get hold on without knowlegde of the Anglican rite.
For many years the BCP was the Anglican rite, and the 'shape of the liturgy.'
Reading it can give you a thorough education in Anglican liturgy and theology, and the religious politics of the English Reformation.
It contains the readings, liturgy, psalms, and prayers considered suitable for every Sunday and Holy Day of the year, along with alternatives. There are also standard prayers of intercession, for ministers of state and the monarch. It also contains the Eucharist, baptism, confirmation, wedding, and funeral services, both in church and in special circumstances. Some contain things like the orders of service for the consecration of Bishops and even Archbishops. All contain Easter Tables, for working out the date of that festival, and the full-length Athanasian Creed. There are also beatitudes and prayers for disasters, such as war, flood, famime, epidemic, shipwreck, and other traumas, which can provide great solace.
Its also worth having some hold on the history of the English Reformation, too, and (for older versions) of the English Civil War. The first part of the book, the preface, if you like, is the Act of Parliament 1 Elizabeth 1563, which Established the Church of England 'state religion.' There are also the 39 Articles of Religion in the back, which were written during Edward VI. These state the main theological, doctrinal, and political differences between the Church of England and the Catholic Church. In older versions (mine is 1703), there is an order of service, with readings and prayers, to be conducted in every church to commemorate God's deliverance of the English from 'popery', on each anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot of 5th November 1605. There is also a service for the Feast Day of Charles the Martyr to be held on each anniversary of Charles I's execution, and another to be conducted on each anniversary the Restoration of monarchy in 1660. These are not in C19th or C!
20th editions of the BCP.
In other words the BCP has played a crucial role in forging a homogenous Protestant idenity for England, and also in the development of English nationalism, and in fixing certain historical landmarks into the minds of the English.
My apologies to any one expert in the BCP.
--
'"The secret of a joyful life is to live dangerously." A joyful life is an active life - it is not a dull, static state of so-called happiness. Full of the burning fire of enthusiasm, anarchic, revolutionary, energetic, daemonic, Dionysian, filled to overflowing with the terrific urge to create - such is the life of the man who risks safety and happiness for the sake of growth and happiness.'
Frederick William Sanderson, 1857-1922.
Graham Mallaghan
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