1662 And All That
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1662 And All That
I received the following in an email recently, and it seems a nice riposte to the "More-Anglican-Than-Thou" attitude one encounters so often.
Some would like the 1662 English Book of Common Prayer and strict conformity to the rubrics of that common Prayer Book. What would the result be from this 1662 strictness? There would be no ashes on Ash Wednesday, no palms on Palm Sunday, no candles on Candlemas.
There would be virtually nothing seasonal or variable in the Eucharistic celebration - no sequence hymns, no varying minor propers or postcommunion collects, very few Proper Prefaces, no omission of the Gloria in excelsis in Lent or Advent. Only the collect, epistle, and gospel would change on the average Sunday, though the Ornaments rubric at least might allow some change in vestments to relieve this Holy Monotony. There would be very few feast days observed liturgically, no propers for Lenten ferias until Holy Week, no Christmas Eve gospel from Saint Luke's gospel. No Christmas Eve, in fact.
There would be one or two very long Exhortations read on all Sundays or holy days prior to the celebration of the Eucharist - which would be every Sunday if celebration is every Sunday. AND there would also be read another long Exhortation in the course of the celebration itself. Both of these two long, mandatory Exhortations would be read in addition to the Prayer for the Whole State and any other notices, in addition to the sermon, and in addition to the Decalogue. The Prayer of Consecration would end abruptly with the dominical Words of Institution.
Of course the 1662 book is seldom used in this strictly correct manner. Most people who think they want 1662 in fact want and are familiar with something else - with a rite that uses 1662 as its base, but rearranges the elements of the rite, omits much or all of the Exhortations, and supplements the propers with material from other, later books.
Does anyone think that 1662 strictly used would attract people to our parishes? In fact people are not longing for rubically correct Prayer Book fundamentalism, particularly when the Prayer Book in question is the inflexible 1662 book. People are looking for what Archbishop Cahoon used to call 'plausible liturgy'. Either a missal or any of the ACC's authorized Prayer Books can provide the basis for such plausible liturgy. For Continuing Anglicans such liturgy should have at its core the language of Cranmer and Coverdale, and the bulk of the rite should derive from their translations and compositions. Beyond that, no particular edition of the Prayer Book or set of ceremonial and rubrical accompaniments is likely to have much significance for most laymen, except for the rapidly diminishing set of laymen from an Anglican background who have a strong preexisting attachment to a particular book.
Also, and as important, people are looking for carefully prepared, brief, plausible, preferably expository sermons. They are looking for clergy who are kind and pastorally concerned, not rude, compulsively eccentric, or uninterested. They are looking for solid Bible study, good music, some outreach and charitable work in the wider community, warm and welcoming congregations.
1. Anglican
via Retro-church http://retro-church.blogspot.com/
March 9, 2010 at 10:37AM