>Is it true that Thomas Cranmer preferred the Gloria last in the service?
>And was this the case in the book of common prayer until
>recently?

The 1928 Prayer Books, both American and English, keep the Gloria in its
Cranmerian (1552) position; generally speaking, Anglican liturgies of
before this date do the same, including the Non-Jurors' liturgy of 1718 and
the Scottish liturgy of 1764, despite the fact that these were otherwise
much influenced by the BCP of 1549 which retained the Gloria in its
traditional medieval position. In the Book of Common Worship of the Church
of South India of 1963, which was once regarded as a flagship of the
liturgical reforms of the 1960s and 70s, the Gloria is placed early, before
the Confession and Absolution, which precede the ministry of the word. In
the English reforms of the 1960s, the Gloria was moved to the early
position, with the option of using it later being retained, though the
early use has (as far as I know) become an inviolable norm. In England
today (using Rite A of the Alternative Service Book 1980) the sequence
normally used (others are permitted) is: Confession and
Absolution-Gloria-Collect, and much of the popularity of the Gloria derives
from the fact that it strikes a note of joy after the quiet period of
penitence which precedes it. Omitting the Gloria and Advent and Lent thus
becomes an easy way of reinforcing the penitential flavour of the season.
In the 1979 American BCP the Gloria is placed before the collect; the
prayers of penitence come later, before the peace.

Apologies for the North American bias of this.

Dr. Graham Gould,
King's College London




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