Peter Toon: The Ordinal and Its Revision

Rites of Ordination were never a vital interest of mine until 1973 when I was ordained deacon in Walton Parish Church, Liverpool, at the age of thirty-four. To my surprise I found that the Rite used was a combination of Series 2 Holy Communion, the Anglican-Methodist Ordinal (1968) and the Ordinal of 1662. The only parts of the latter which were used were the two imperative formulae which begin: “Take thou authority . . .” These took the place of the Prayer of Ordination from the Anglican-Methodist Rite (see Section 4 below). I believe that the reason for this insertion was to ensure the legality of the ordinations. The experience of this service (when I was a lecturer in theology in a College of Education), my subsequent appointment to the staff of Latimer House, and my joining the Liturgy Group served to encourage me to study rites of ordination. What follows is part of the result of that brief study. I wish to record my thanks to my colleague, Roger T. Beckwith and to members of the Liturgy Group for their help.

After I had completed the manuscript of this booklet the ACCM Report on the Diaconate appeared, as did also the book by E. Echlin entitled, The Story of Anglican Ministry. Also, after the completion of the writing, I was ordained priest in Liverpool Cathedral. The contents of the service of ordination were so extraordinary that I have, at the proof stage, added an Appendix listing them. I feel justified in listing them and making a few comments because, when I saw the order of service, I fervently requested of the Cathedral staff that they restore the service to a closer relation with the Ordinal of 1662. My request was refused. I do now hope and pray that, until Synod approves the trial use of a new Ordinal, the diocese of Liverpool (whose Bishops I highly esteem in the Lord) will continue to use that of 1662. It is not only respect for law and order which prompts me to write this. Another concern is ecumenical. How can members of commissions of the Church of England discuss reunion and the validity of Anglican rites and orders when they cannot guarantee to Roman, Orthodox, Presbyterian or other non-episcopal bodies that the dioceses of the Church of England (or the chapters of Cathedrals) use the appointed rites of the Church? To read more, click here.

This booklet on the ordinal and its revision was written by the late Peter Toon and was published by Grove Books in 1974. It represents Dr. Toon's earlier thoughts on the revision of the classical Anglican ordinal.