If 16th-century English archbishop Thomas Cranmer walked into St Philip’s, Church Hill on Friday evening, he’d feel right at home. Not just thanks to the familiar church surroundings, but because the service will follow the order within the1552 Book of Common Prayer that he compiled.
Of course, the service will also be livestreamed – which would have boggled his mind – but the Prayer Book Society of NSW is hoping that those who attend will see some of the possibilities of using the old to enhance the new in our Anglican services.
“As authentic Anglicans, we stand in the English Reformation tradition [in Australia], and we’ve so many rich and wonderful biblical principles from the past that can be used in contemporary ministry and mission contexts,” says the Rev Dr Mark Earngey, the head of Church History at Moore College and new chairman of the Prayer Book Society.
“There are many churches that are keen to do a little bit better in helping their people to love Jesus through what they do in their gatherings, and there are plenty of younger Christians who have a real interest in some of the riches of the Anglican tradition for church services.
“Much of the interest I’ve had in this event has been from young people. I’ve had a number of ministry staff I know say, ‘There’s a group of young people coming from my church [to your event]’. That’s really interesting to me.”
In addition to the service, Dr Earngey and Dr Stephen Tong will have a discussion about Archbishop Cranmer’s gospel principles, and how they informed the shape and content of the Prayer Book.
“One example is in the 1552 BCP communion service where a lay person can lead the general confession of sins as opposed to that being limited to an ordained minister,” Dr Earngey says.
“The service also directs the use of fresh loaves of bread, as opposed to wafers, to signal that the Lord’s Supper is essentially that – a symbolic meal in which, by faith, and with thanksgiving, we remember and receive again the good news of Jesus’ sacrificial death for sins on the cross. Yet another principle is simply the amount of Scriptural reading in the service,” Dr Earngey says.
“All the Reformed features in the service that Cranmer put in were done because of his theology.
Why did Cranmer do it this way, and what does that mean for what we do in our churches today? How we say our confession of sins, where do we stand, how do we think about the minister and the ministry? And right back there in the 16th century we see great aspects of gospel-driven and Word-based ministry in there.”
After the service, Dr Peter Jensen will also launch a book that grew out of Dr Tong’s PhD study titled Building the Church of England: The Book of Common Prayer and the Edwardian Reformation.
The Gospel in Cranmer’s Liturgy event is 5.30pm for a 5.45pm start on Friday, March 21 at St Philip’s (3 York Street), with the 1552 BCP service. Livestream here.
