Book of Common Prayer Marks 450th Anniversary

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Jan 3, 2000 | by Julia Duin

Every society needs its beloved and cherished ceremonies, and this year Episcopalians observe the 450th anniversary of one of the foundation stones of English and American culture.

The Book of Common Prayer was born out of the explosive ingredients of the mid-16th century: King Henry VIII's reign, the English Reformation and the invention of the printing press. Almost everyone is familiar with some of its most famous words: "I take thee to be my wedded wife (or husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part." Other phrases that have entered into our common language include that of the burial ceremony: "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

English-speaking civilization has been based on this prayer book, claims Canon Frederick Barbee, an Episcopal priest of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Ala. "It was a gift from God," says Barbee, who recently spoke on the subject before the Family Research Council in Washington. The book first appeared in 1549, scripted by Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, who translated the Latin service, inserted some English Reform theology and devised liturgies that easily could be read aloud. As the first married archbishop of Canterbury, he also inserted some human touches, such as the bride promising the groom to be "bonnie and buxom in bed."

Today, along with Shakespeare, the Book of Common Prayer is touted as a masterpiece of literature that set the standard for the English language. Certainly, the book's slow cadences, doublets of words and phrases, crescendos and dramatic moods helped put English -- then the speech of one isolated country-- on the road to becoming the world's international language. And its insights into human nature and social order would influence American leadership for the next 200 years. Although only numbering 3.6 million at their height, Episcopalians account for a disproportionate number of America's political leaders.

"Archbishop Cranmer's genius and faith, Queen Elizabeth's moderation and fairness and Richard Hooker's balance and political insight still live and influence the lives of millions of people throughout the world" says Barbee. The book greatly contributed to religious toleration in 18th- and 19th-century America because it carried the standard of the Anglican establishment, which preached a "middle way" of toleration of all viewpoints.

The book's "general confession" however, is a decidedly nonpolitically correct version of sin: "We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness" it reads, "which we, from time to time, most grievously have committed, by thought, word and deed, against Thy divine majesty, provoking most justly Thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent...." Its theology reflects a hierarchical view of society straight out of the Renaissance, with obligations to the king, to Almighty God and to humankind. Little is said about personal fulfillment.

The prayer book does have dramatic aspects. More than one novel has been based on the climactic point of the wedding ceremony, where the minister announces, "If any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak or else hereafter forever hold his peace." In Jane Eyre, for example, a detractor stops the ceremony just after the priest utters these words.

The Book of Common Prayer was one of the earlier creations of the printing press, which transformed 16th-century Europe. At the time, England's Tudor monarchs had revolted from the control of the papacy and needed some sort of liturgy to order their services. It had to be in English, as the only texts available were instructions in Latin.

Cranmer, who later would be burned at the stake in 1556 by Henry VIII's daughter, Mary Tudor, would not live to see his prayer book restored under Queen Elizabeth, who revised the book in 1559. It was next amended in 1662, when the bride no longer was required to be "bonnie and buxom" but simply to "obey" her husband.

Americans amended the book in 1789 to remove references to royalty and to substitute the U.S. president and Congress. During the Civil War, Southern Episcopalians published their own version, substituting a prayer for the president of the Confederate States.

The American prayer book was revised in 1928, retaining most of the original language and theology, and again in 1979, incorporating much of the new Roman Catholic liturgy that came out of Vatican II from 1962 to 1965. "It basically deleted sin out of the prayer book" says Barbee. "The confession is optional at Holy Communion" Another revision, due sometime in the next decade, may include blessings for same-sex unions and removal of terms referring to God as "Father."

But Barbee says the older versions are still the best. He uses the book's traditional repentance-laden language during services at his church, where 63 percent of its 3,800 members are under 35. The church uses Rite 1 of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, its most traditional liturgy. "Traditional worship has not turned away people" he claims. "It's attracting young people by the droves."