In my examination of the alternative rites of Baptism and Confirmation in Services in Contemporary English from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 (2006) and An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) I have often been struck by the similarities between these rites and the ones in the Church of England’s Proposed Book of Common Prayer of 1928. Although the Thirty Nine Articles of 1562 and the BCP of 1662 are the doctrinal standards for the Anglican Mission none of these rites produced for the use of the Anglican Mission are contemporary English "translations" of the 1662 rites of Baptism and Confirmation. The compilers of Services in Contemporary English from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 (2006) and An Anglican Prayer Book (2008), as I have previously noted, used a significant amount of textual material from the 1928 American BCP and the 1962 Canadian BCP and arranged this material as it is arranged in these service books. They also used material from another source—the 1928 Proposed English Book of Common Prayer.
I was pleased to discover that a number of the rites of the Proposed English BCP of 1928 are now available online at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/CofE1928/CofE1928.htm , enabling me to compare these rites with those in Services in Contemporary English from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 (2006) and An Anglican Prayer Book (2008). My own copies of the 1928 Proposed English BCP are in storage in Louisiana with most of my books. My comparison of the rites of Baptism in the 1928 Proposed English BCP with those in Services in Contemporary English from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 (2006) and An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) confirmed what I had suspected. The compilers of these books of alternative rites also borrowed from the 1928 Proposed English Prayer Book.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the history of the 1928 Proposed English BCP, the proposal for a new English BCP originated in a Royal Commission report in 1906. Work on this new Prayer Book took twenty years and was finished in 1927. During the development of the proposed Prayer Book the decision was made that each congregation would decide which services in the new book it would use so as to avoid as much conflict as possible with traditionalists. With these open guidelines the Church of England Convocations and Church Assembly granted approval of the book. The proposed revision was then sent to Parliament for final authorization. The book was much more Catholic in tone than the 1662 BCP and met stiff opposition in Parliament. MPs William Joynson-Hicks and Rosslyn Mitchell argued that the proposed book was "papistical," restored the Roman Mass and implied the doctrine of Transubstantiation. Parliament rejected the book. The proposed book was revised to make it more acceptable to Parliament and once more sent to Parliament in 1928. Parliament rejected it again. In defiance of Parliament the Upper House of the Convocation of Canterbury authorized the book for use.
Here is what my comparison of the three books revealed.
The first question for godparents and the first question for adult baptismal candidates in the Promises in the rite of Baptism in An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) appear to have been taken from the alternative rites of Baptism in the 1928 Proposed English BCP.
The 1928 Proposed English BCP uses the recast version of "Almighty, everliving God, whose most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins…," preceded by the Sursum Corda (also begun with the versicle and response, "The Lord be with you" "And with thy spirit."), and consequently its Orders of Baptism suffers from the same tendencies as the 1928 American and the 1962 Canadian Baptismal rites with a shift of focus to the minister’s blessing or consecration of the water in the font and an emphasis upon the Holy Spirit’s working being objectively on the water. The sacerdotalism in the 1928 Proposed English Prayer Book is even more pronounced than in the 1928 American BCP and the 1962 Canadian BCP. The rubrics for the Order of Private Baptism of Children direct the minister first bless or consecrate the water with the prayer, "Almighty, everliving God, whose most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins, did shed out of his most precious side both water and blood…" when baptizing a child or an adult in case of necessity in a private home. The rubrics do include following provisions:
"But when no such lawful Minister can be procured, and extreme urgency shall compel, one of them that be present shall name the child, and pour water upon it, saying, N., I baptize thee In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then they that he present shall say the Lord’s Prayer. And afterward notice of the Baptism shall be given forthwith to the Minister of the Parish.
And let them not doubt, but that the child thus privately baptized either by the Minister of the Parish, or by some other Minister, or by one of them that be present, is lawfully and sufficiently baptized, and ought not to be baptized again."
These provisions, with the Flood Prayer, do check the book’s sacerdotalism to some extent, at least in the Baptismal rites.
The prayer, "Grant, Lord, that being buried with Christ by baptism into his death…" in the rite of Baptism in An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) appears to have been taken from An Alternative Order for the Ministration of the Publick Baptism of Infants. In this Order the Thanksgiving after the Baptism is divided into a thanksgiving and a prayer:
"WE yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into thy holy Church. Amen."
"GRANT, O Lord, that, being buried with Christ by baptism into his death, he may also be made partaker of his resurrection; so that, serving thee here in newness of life, he may finally, with the rest of thy holy Church, be an inheritor of thine everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
What I had thought was an adaptation of the Exhortation to Godparents from the 1962 Canadian BCP in The Public Baptism of Infants in Services in Contemporary English from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662 (2006) was actually taken from the 1928 Proposed English Prayer Book.
"YOU who have brought this child to be baptized into the family of Christ’s Church, must see that he be taught the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, as set forth in the Church Catechism, and all other things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul’s health. See also that he be virtuously brought up to lead a godly and christian life."
1927:
"See also that he be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him; so that, strengthened with the gift of the Holy Spirit, he may come with due preparation to receive the blessed sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ."
1928:
"See also that he be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him; so that, strengthened with the gift of the Holy Spirit, he may come with due preparation to receive the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and go forth into the world to serve God faithfully in the fellowship of his Church."
The 1962 Canadian Exhortation to the Godparents is itself an adaptation of the 1928 Proposed English Exhortation to the Godparents:
"Take care that he be taught the Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer, and be further instructed in the Church Catechism; and then that he be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him; so that he may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and may come to receive the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and go forth into the world to serve God faithfully in the fellowship of his Church."
The 1928 Proposed English Exhortation to the Godparents asserts that the Holy Spirit is conferred through the laying on of the bishop’s hands at Confirmation. The 1962 Canadian adaptation alters the language of the Exhortation to bring it closer to the doctrine of the 1662 BCP. The 1662 BCP, like its predecessors, the 1552, 1559, and 1604 Prayer Books, takes the position that the Holy Spirit is given in Baptism. In the 1552 Order of the Public Baptism of Children the priest prays:
"Almighty and everlasting God, heavenly Father, we give thee humble thanks, that thou hast vouchsafed to call us to the knowledge of grace, and faith in thee: increase this knowledge, and confirm this faith in us evermore: GIVE THY HOLY SPIRIT TO THESE INFANTS, that they may be born again and be made heirs of everlasting salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ: who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen."
In the 1552 Order of Confirmation the bishop prays that God will "strengthen" the candidates with the Holy Spirit and "increase" in them the gifts of grace. When the bishop lays hands upon them, he prays that the candidates will remain God’s for ever and "increase" in the Holy Spirit. After laying hands upon them, he prays that God’s hand will always be over them and that the Holy Spirit will not depart from them.
The 1552 Prayer Book represents Archbishop Cranmer’s mature theology. The evidence is that the 1549 Prayer Book was only a transitional book designed to prepare the English people for a more reformed liturgy. Cranmer was already working on the Second Prayer Book at the time of the publication of the First Prayer Book. [1] The 1552 Book of Common Prayer was the definitive Prayer Book of the Church of England for almost 100 years, and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is substantially the 1552 Prayer Book.
The prayer, "Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose blessed Son shared at Nazareth…" in the rite of Baptism in An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) also appears to have been taken from An Alternative Order for the Ministration of the Publick Baptism of Infants.
In my forthcoming article upon the Catechism and the Order of Confirmation of An Anglican Prayer Book (2008), I will be looking at what else the compilers of An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) may have borrowed from the 1928 Proposed English BCP and how it affects the doctrine of An Anglican Prayer Book (2008). One thing that is becoming increasingly apparent from my examination of An Anglican Prayer Book (2008) is that its compilers, in their selection of what they put into that book, were not trying to produce a contemporary language form of the classic Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1662. For this reason I must regard with incredulity the following statement of Peter Toon who guided the process:
"One major reason why I worked with the AMIA to produce and publish AN ANGLICAN PRAYER BOOK (2008) …was that it represented an serious attempt to keep the doctrine piety and devotion of the historic Anglican Prayer Book (1662) in ‘contemporary’ English."
But where is the 1662 Book of Common Prayer's Biblical and Reformation theology in An Anglican Prayer Book (2008)? The book may retain the outward appearance of the Reformed model of the 1662 but it has been largely emptied of the 1662 Prayer Book's doctrinal content where it matters most or that content has been diluted. When the Anglican Mission has adopted the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as its doctrinal standard, it is only reasonable to expect the service book that it has prepared for the use of its churches to adhere to the doctrine of the 1662 Prayer Book.
Endnote:
[1] Roger Beckwith, "‘For the More Explanation’ and ‘For the More Perfection’: Cranmer's Second Prayer Book," Churchman Issue 2002 116/3
No comments:
Post a Comment