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August 30, 2007
Post number 1662
For those who know the good old Church of England and its Book of Common Prayer, the number will be significant. Yes, that is the date of the BCP and for traditionalists that is the only date that matters in the church. Sadly, Cranmer's original attempt, the 1549, did not survive as it was deemed to Catholic by the Reformers.
It always amuses me to hear these same folks banging on about it being "Cranmer's" Prayer Book, the good Archbishop had been long dead by the time it was published, burned at the stake by Queen Mary I of England (Bloody Mary of infamous repute). The book certainly encompasses most of Cranmer's work, but with some notable changes. This book is modelled on the 1554 version which never received the ascent of Parliament and that, in its turn, replaced the 1549 Prayer Book which was an almost verbatim translation of the Latin Breviary, although here Cranmer's genius with words made a fine silk purse out of the rough translations.
There are several things in the 1662 BCP that are hang overs from the earlier 1554 book - notable for its extreme protestantism which is precisely what made it unacceptable to the majority. One of these is the practice of celebrating the Eucharist stood or crouched at the North End of the altar (Sorry! Communion Table to those who practice this strange stance.). This arises from the fact that in the 1554 version the Rubric for the preparations for the Communion stated that: -
"The table shall be placed in the midst of the Quire lengthwise, covered with a clothe of fair linen and the vessels for the communion placed at it's centre. The Minister shall stand at the entrance to the Quire and admit to the communion those whom he is satisfied are properly prepared to receive it and when all are entered shall stand upon the North SIDE of the table and commence the service of Communion"
Reading the actual rubric (I have 'translated' and paraphrased it here) it is clear that only a part of it was carried over into the 1662 version - just enough to make the instruction to stand on the North SIDE a complete nonsense. The key here is the word SIDE. If the altar is placed against the East wall the North side becomes the North End and it is extremely difficult to conduct the communion service from there. In fact I have never seen it done successfully - probably because seeing the priest trying to do it from there always makes me want to go and drag the "table" away from the wall and turn it into the place prescribed by the Iconoclasts who wrote that original rubric! It is also worth remembering that this moving of the table and standing on the North side was a political statement in 1554 and 1662 - it meant that there was a clear difference between the way the Roman Catholic Church celebrated the Communion (Or Mass if you prefer!) and that of the C of E. Again, it is my view that any politically motivated ritual is invalid and should be ignored. The Communion is about focussing on God and for that reason the East facing or West facing celebration of the Eucharist is accepted as the norm by most catholic and apostolic churches.
My second problem with that stance (and those who cling to it) is that they then ignore the rest of the Rubric which still requires the priest to "Admit to the communion only those persons who he is satisfied are duly prepared and in a state of grace to be admitted" and most tellingly, to exclude those he does not believe are suitable!
In my view you cannot ignore the one part and slavishly follow the other. Ergo, the whole is contrary to the intent and purpose of the Communion and should be discarded.
There, I have said my piece on the 1662 BCP, I love the language of the collects and the prayers, I love the Offices of Matins and Evensong, use the Prayers for those at Sea and love the form for Publick Baptism. There is a great deal of good in it - but the intent in the Rubrics for the Communion is contrary to the message of love and acceptance of those in spiritual need in the Gospels. By all means use the BCP, but take care what you do with the Rubrics for the Communion!
Posted by The Gray Monk at August 30, 2007 08:17 AM
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