Writing this article as an introduction on this day is providential I would say. In the Anglican tradition the saint that is honored today is Thomas Cranmer, as March 21st 1556 is the day he was martyred by the Catholic Queen Mary.
So what is the Book of Common Prayer, and why am I talking about it? In the previous article I wrote I spoke of the importance that the BCP played in the life and ministry of John Wesley. I would argue that without it, John would not have been the same man. Not that God wouldn’t have done amazing things through him, but it would have looked vastly different than the John we got in history.
So what is the book that formed John so much, and still forms the cornerstone of Anglican worship to this day? Rather than rehash the telling of the BCP, here is a section from Anglican Compass on the BCP.
“Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) was the primary person responsible for the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549 and its revision in 1552. However, since these first Prayer Books, subsequent editions have been produced and revised by the leadership of the Church of England and Anglican Churches worldwide.
The first Prayer Book was published in 1549. It was revised in 1552, 1559, 1604, and 1662. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer is still the official Prayer Book in the Church of England, and it has served as the model for subsequent BCPs throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion.” (https://anglicancompass.com/the-book-of-common-prayer-bcp-a-rookie-anglican-guide/)
“Cranmer’s greatest achievement came in 1549 when he helped organize the Book of Common Prayer. Crammer and a committee of twelve of “the most learned and discreet bishops, and other learned men” compiled the prayer book from various sources, including ancient prayers of the early church, Catholic and Orthodox liturgies, and private devotions of the Middle Ages. They translated many of these sources into the English language. In June 1553, Edward VI agreed to Cranmer’s “42 Articles.” These became the backbone of the “39 Articles” that were introduced in Elizabeth’s reign in 1563.” (https://anglicancompass.com/common-prayer-the-origin-story/)
Please do take the time to read more into the history and development of the BCP. The primary element that I want to focus on concerning the purpose of its development was for the common involvement of the people in worship. Up to that point, generally in Western Europe, the Mass was always conducted in Latin, meaning that for every regular Joe and Sally, they could not understand what was going on at all. That, combined with the clergy being the only ones to partake of communion, so there was a lot to be desired as the reformation took hold in England.
In fact, with the development of the BCP, it became the second largest influence on the English language, seconded only by the Bible!. It was this book that formed worship services. Morning & evening prayer, baptisms & confirmations, weddings & funerals, communion, ordination, and every other service and rite the church performed could be found in one single volume, accessible to the common masses!This now meant that during a worship service the entire congregation would join in worship together. This is really where we see the power of the meaning of liturgy, “the work of the people” take effect. Now everyone could be formed by the words they worshiped with, every sentence under their breath benign saturated with God’s Word.
*As as side note, I recommend you check out the site The Scriptural BCP (https://www.scripturalbcp.com/). Every single line of the 1662 BCP has been annotated with Scriptural references, demonstrating the basis it has in God’s Word. So when you use the BCP, you are not just “saying the words of men”, you are actively worshiping with and being formed by God’s Word.
I hope that has given you a basic introduction to the concept of the BCP, it’s history, and its purpose. As I begin to delve into the specifics of how the BCP can align with Free Methodist methodology and theology, my hope is that we find the benefits of using the BCP to bring spirit-aliveness to our movement, just as it did for John Wesley.