By Fr. Chris Findley
Rector, St. Patrick’s Anglican Church
Dean, Nashville Deanery (ADOTS)
“Cranmer made sure that every service in the Book of Common Prayer proclaims the Gospel –the good news that sinners can be pardoned and saved because of the death of Christ. The prayer book is designed to proclaim the Gospel persuasively.” (Bray & Keane 18)
OPENING THOUGHTS
Samuel Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane’s, How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy has been much anticipated over the last year. With the publication of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (International Edition) in 2021 and the growing interest in liturgy, a “How to” guide is a welcome gift. After reading Bray & Keane’s work, I am thankful such a resource has come to the marketplace.
Published by IVP with 168 pages of text, it’s substantial without being laborious. It’s basic without being overly simplistic. It’s welcoming without being cheeky. Even for someone like myself, who was raised and trained in the Anglican tradition, I found it to be informative and helpful. In essence, How to Use the Book of Common Prayer goes a long way in making the Prayer Book, and therefore Anglicanism, accessible. Anyone who has sought to help someone get their bearings with the Book of Common Prayer knows that it can be a challenge. This slim “How to” volume invites both reverence and engagement.
SETTING THE STAGE
I found the first two chapters to be a wonderful tone-setting outline of the Anglican approach to liturgy and an excellent summary of the history of the Prayer Book. The opening chapter gives eight reasons for worshipping liturgically. These range from the ability to truly pray “with” other Christians to the ability to pray when our own words fail us, to providing a framework for hearing the Word of God. On the last point, they say, “We are never closer to the original setting of the Scriptures than when we hear them read in the liturgy.” (7). In regards to the language of the Prayer Book (its perceived formality), they say, “The language of the liturgy is meant to be ‘thickened’ language, with more body and depth than everyday language, but without being pompous or self-important.” (5). Later they add an important observation, “The challenge of the prayer book’s language is usually not understanding it, but really meaning it.” (7) Amen and Amen. One of the temptations with anything said repetitiously is that familiarity can lead to complacency. How often do we tell our children or our spouse “I love you” as a knee-jerk response to their saying “I love you.” Yet there is power in the proclamation, and the relationship itself calls us to care with our words. How much more so in regard to our worship and prayers to God?
The chapter “A Ten-Minute History of the Prayer Book” was, for me, worth the price of the book itself. I am very grateful to see in print, in a broadly published and accessible work, a summary that truly addresses the heart and the English Reformation and the Book of Common Prayer. They write, “Their language bears the weight of conviction, and their goal was to turn the kingdom of England toward repentance, and toward sincere and genuine faith. Their chief means of doing that was to ensure that the people would know the life-giving Scriptures.”(18) Rightly, they point out that 80% of the Prayer Book is Scripture and the volume and methodological approach to Bible reading found in the lectionaries (Daily Office and Sunday).
In speaking of the modern era, they note that “In the twentieth century, more Anglican national churches began to adopt their own revisions of the Book of Common Prayer, with increasing divergence from the original.”(24). Sadly, many of us have had ringside seats to the theological and liturgical aberrations of these days. I believe this is yet another reason for the resurgence of interest in the “Anglican Standard” 1662 Prayer Book.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE SERVICES
Bray and Keane then walk us through the Daily Office, speaking to its use in both individual and corporate settings. I found their analysis of the structure and flow of the service to be insightful. They break down Morning and Evening Prayer as containing four parts: “preparing, praising, hearing, and praying.” (28) They even address the often-asked question, “Why do we say the Lord’s Prayer twice in each instance of Morning and Evening Prayer?” No, I’m not telling –you’ll have to read the book for yourself!
Next, they discuss Baptism and Confirmation and enter into the realm of Sacramental theology. They rightly hold up the Prayer Book emphasis on faith in the reception of any of the sacraments or sacramental rites: “The sacraments are more than mere signs. If they are received in faith, they aren’t just pointers but are means that God uses to bring about and strengthen his work in us.” (62) This is consistent with Article 25 of the 39 Articles of Religion. Following the tradition of confirmation being required before communion (a practice not as widespread as it once was and generally not followed in the ACNA), they rightly demonstrate Baptism as a starting point for developing a mature Christian faith and the role catechesis should play in the education of new Christians.
Communion naturally follows as the topic of Chapter 6. I found the exposition of this liturgy to be well done and likely very helpful to the inquirer or new Anglican. They remind us that, historically, the Communion service was not done as a stand-alone service but was part of a more lengthy sequence that included Morning Prayer, the Litany, and Holy Communion (77). They also speak to the critical place occupied by the Word of God read and preached in the service, as well as the Medieval problems corrected by Cranmer. For instance, they say, “The English reformers wanted to restore the scriptural emphasis on the Lord’s Supper as a feast, a participation in the one sacrifice offered by Christ on the Cross. They wanted to avoid any suggestion that the bread and wine were being offered to God as a sacrifice for sins.” (86)
The last section I’d like to comment on is Chapter 7, “Reading the Bible with the Prayerbook.” Beginning with Cranmer’s preface, they unpack to central place the Bible occupies in the Prayer Book. “[Cranmer’s] Preface,” they say, “is a manifesto for the book of Common Prayer as a means of reading the Bible…The prayer book gives us a feast of Bible reading, and the way the readings are ordered shows deep theological and psychological insight.” (98). And later, they remark that “It is a core Reformation principle that the word of God is meant to be understood, that its critical points are truly accessible, that its message is transformative.” (100)
The final chapters of the book orient readers to the Church’s Calendar and to the Communion of the Saints. These chapters will be especially helpful to those new to these concepts.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe this is one of the most important and exciting publications for Anglicans in years, especially on the subject of liturgy and the Book of Common Prayer. This is more than a “How to use it” book. It’s really a “How to love it” book. Bray and Keane have crafted a book that is deeply theological yet accessible to the new and long-time Anglican alike. Using the 1662 Prayer Book as the template underscores its centrality within Anglicanism. This is clearly stated in the Fundamental Declarations of the Province, which state, “We receive the Book of Common Prayer as set forth in the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and with the books that preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.” (2019 Book of Common Prayer, 767)
This is a fantastic and much-needed resource for the church. I pray it will be enthusiastically received by clergy and laity alike.
How to Use the Book of Common Prayer: A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy may be purchased on Amazon here >>>