Archbishop Cranmer’s Immortal Bequest: The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England: An Evangelistic Liturgy

Theological studies in England and the U.S.A. brought me into contact with the Anglican Church and its liturgy, the Book of Common Prayer (1662).1 All important types of services2 like baptism, confirmation, holy matrimony, burial of the dead, holy communion and the services of making, ordaining and consecrating bishops, priests and deacons3 are contained therein.

The liturgies in this prayer book had a special attraction for me because of a certain discovery: I noticed that legitimate elements from the Early Church have been integrated with their aesthetic qualities intact without neglecting the most important factor: the liturgies,particularly Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Holy Communion (the chief services)4 are permeated through and through with a genuine reformed theology having revivalistic elements. It was because I came to a living faith through the witness of evangelical circles in the Anglo-Saxon world, that the importance of a revivalistically-oriented liturgy was so relevant to me. It is often the case that liturgy and ceremony are rejected by evangelically minded
churches. This fact became for me a challenge to show through the Book of Common Prayer that liturgy and revivalistic theology can go along together without contradicting one another. It became a concern to me to present the Book of Common Prayer authorized in 1662 as one of the most precious gems among Christian liturgies. To read more, click here.