Bishop Eric Menees
We continue our exploration of the “Jerusalem Declaration”
(the full text of which can be found here:
https://www.gafcon.org/resources/the-complete-jerusalem-statement). This week
we look at point six – The Book of Common Prayer.
We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical
heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common
Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be
translated and locally adapted for each culture.
When we baptize someone, they are made a Christian in the
Anglican Tradition. What is the “Anglican Tradition?” More than anything else,
it is summed up in the Book of Common Prayer, and we have Archbishop Cranmer to
thank for that. What a stroke of brilliance! When the Church of England broke
away from the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop Cranmer knew that the nascent
church - part of the Reformation - would need a common organizing principle
that would set a biblical and theological standard, and establish a liturgical
custom; an organizing principle that would bring the church back to the heart
of the faith handed down from Jesus to the Apostles.
While Archbishop Cranmer wasn’t the author of the 1662 Book
of Common Prayer, he was instrumental in the formation of the first prayer
book: the 1542 Book of Common Prayer. It took time for the people of the church
to adjust to worship in English and for the major portions of the Reformation
to play out. Finally, in 1662 they developed what became and continues to be
the standard for Anglicans worldwide.
It is impossible to state the importance of the Prayer Book.
As a result of the combination of the Reformation and the BCP, England became a
literate country. Once men and women began to read - using the prayer book and
scriptures for themselves - lives were changed and enhanced, communities were
formed, and the “average” man and woman became ministers of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
This continues to be true today. With the exception of a few
provinces (TEC & Church of Canada), the vast majority of Anglicans around
the world continue to uphold the theology set forth in the 1662 Book of Common
Prayer. How wonderful that you can go to an Anglican church in the Anglican
Church in North America, Chile, Burundi, or Singapore and find worship grounded
in the scriptures, formed in the 1662 BCP, and lived in the lives of faithful
Anglicans the world over.
I look forward to this coming year and the production of our
new 2019 Book of Common Prayer. Across the diocese we are already using the majority
of the services, but in 2019 we will have a finished product that will be mass
produced and accessible to any and all who would like to use it. This new
prayer book, grounded in the 1662 BCP, will aid in unifying the Province and
providing a wonderful tool for ministry.
I pray you all a very blessed week.
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