The Challenge of Prayer Book Revision

By Robin G. Jordan

Translating an older Communion service into contemporary English and adapting the service to the needs of the twenty-first century church is a challenge. There is always the temptation to go beyond translation and adaptation and to add elements that do not conform to its doctrine and liturgical usages.

The working group that drafted the Anglican in Network in Canada’s 1552 Order of Holy Communion in Modern English made a number of such additions. For example, the working group added the optional Benedictus to the Sanctus. Archbishop Cranmer’s omission of the Benedictus from the 1552 Communion service was not an oversight. It was intentional. It was open to interpretation as inferring a substantive presence of Christ in the consecrated elements, a belief that was contrary to the Eucharistic doctrine of the 1552 Communion service. The working group also added the 1549 Words of Administration to the 1552 Words of Administration. This addition also affects the Eucharistic doctrine of the service.

From all appearances these changes were made to make the ANiC’s Order of Holy Communion in Modern English more acceptable to ACNA’s Prayer Book and Liturgy Task Force and College of Bishops whose approval was needed for the inclusion of the service in the draft ACNA prayer book. This approval is not required by canon but is de facto. The ACNA canons do not delineate a procedure for the preparation, adoption, and revision of a prayer book for the province. This is one of their shortcomings.

The changes may also have been made to make the service more palatable to Canadian and US congregations that have been using the 1962 Canadian Prayer Book, the 1985 Book of Alternative Services, the 1928 BCP, and the 1979 BCP. Congregations using the service for the first time may experience something of a culture shock. The service is different from what they are accustomed to. The services that they have been using have been influenced by the Ritualist Movement of the nineteenth century and the Liturgical Movement of the twentieth century. These services are modeled on ancient and medieval liturgies and not the liturgies of the Protestant Reformation.

In an age that struggles with the need for Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, the 1552 Communion service places his suffering and death front and center where we cannot ignore it. The 1552 Communion service proclaims Christ’s death until he comes again. The service may not meet the standards of the ancient and medieval liturgies but it does meet the standards of the Holy Scriptures. Meeting this standard was what mattered to Archbishop Cranmer the most.

The 1552 Communion service is not a Eucharist in which we heap praises on God for the wonders of creation and his unconditional love for us and then share bread and wine as a gesture of fellowship with other members of God’s family. The service forces us to consider the magnitude of our sin, the extent of our alienation from God, the necessity of repentance and amendment of life, and most important of all, our need for a Savior who offered himself as a sacrifice, “one oblation of himself once offered,” to restore us to a right relationship with God.

The high point of the 1552 Communion service is the communion of the people. In the 1552 Communion service it immediately follows the Words of Institution. In the act of eating the bread and drinking the wine the members of the congregation not only remembers Christ’s saving work but also feed upon Christ spiritually in their hearts. This spiritual feeding is not limited to this one moment in time but occurs every moment of the day throughout our lives. The means by which we feed upon Christ is faith.

The 1552 Communion service may be different but it is a good different. In an age of cheap grace it is a reminder that grace comes at a price and Jesus paid that price for us. When we reflect on that truth, Archbishop Cranmer’s placement of what is sometimes called “the Prayer of Oblation” after the communion of the people makes a great deal of sense. The offering of thanks and praise and ourselves is the only fitting response to what Christ has done for us.