Praying with Understanding- Beckwith

Introduction

One of the greatest failures of the church in recent years has been the failure to teach. So much so, that lay people today are often crying out for teaching, but the clergy (whether through uncertainty, mistaken priorities or sheer overwork) are still not supplying the need. The services which are used every Sunday are an obvious subject for teaching, yet it has often been taken for granted that people know why they use them and fully understand what they mean. Much, of course, can be learned about them simply by thoughtful use of them, but certain things cannot. Then, when the church enters an era of revolution, as at present, it is possible for the revolutionaries to decry the traditional services as 'unintelligible', simply because they contain some things hard to understand, which nobody troubles to make clear.

If the Book of Common Prayer were unintelligible, its compiler Archbishop Cranmer would be the first to tell us not to use it. In his prefaces 'Concerning the Service of the Church' and 'Of Ceremonies, why some be abolished and some retained', he lays great stress on St Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14 that all things in public worship ought to be done 'unto edifying', and explains that this is why he has substituted the English language for Latin, and has reformed obscure and misleading ceremonial. A hundred years after his work had been done, the 1662 revisers tell us in their 'Preface' that they had found certain words and phrases which had fallen out of use or changed their meaning in the meantime, and that they had therefore substituted others. Today, three hundred years later again, it is not surprising if the same situation has arisen once more; and, in any revision carried out on the modest principles of the 1662 revisers, a sprinkling of words and phrases might well need to be changed for the same reasons. But that is all. The number of such words and phrases is not great, and it would be no more necessary today, in the cause of intelligibility, to change the whole substance and style of the Prayer Book, than it was in the seventeenth century. The text, as the 1662 revisers left it, was essentially Cranmer's text, and a modern revision carried out on the same principles would again leave us with a text that was quite recognisably Cranmer's. The 'invisible mending' would hardly show. It would not be in everyday speech, and would include some harmless antiquarianisms like 'thou', 'thee' and 'thy'; but then the Prayer Book never was in everyday speech - rather, it was in a finer form of speech, which sometimes differed from everyday speech chiefly in being simpler and clearer. An unusual way of speaking is quite a different thing from an unintelligible way of speaking, though today they are so regularly supposed the same. To change words and phrases which have fallen out of use or altered their meaning would remove all trace of unintelligibility, while leaving a nobly unique text which was still unmistakably Cranmer's own.

In the meantime, such words and phrases can at least be explained. The clergy can, of course, explain them by word of mouth, and one of the aims of the present booklet is to show clergy how easily this teaching gap can be bridged. However, in parishes where this is not as yet being done, it may help to have the explanation available for laity also in brief written form.

The passages of Scripture reproduced in the Prayer Book (notably the Epistles, Gospels and Psalter) are for the most part not included in the scope of this little guide. Other translations of the Bible, and Bible commentaries, can be consulted for help on such passages. Nor does it include the parts of the Prayer Book most rarely used. In these respects the present guide is smaller in scope than the earlier Prayer Book glossaries, now out of print, by R B Girdlestone and R Tatlock, but it seemed better to keep it short and inexpensive. On the other hand, a few explanations of difficulties not purely linguistic have been given a place here.

In order to be 'edifying', as Cranmer intended, the Prayer Book needed not just to be understandable but to be worth understanding. He therefore based it on the Bible, so that it expresses the teaching of the Bible, often in the Bible's own words. As a consequence, the older translations of the Bible, such as Cranmer used, frequently throw light upon difficult words and phrases in the Prayer Book; though sometimes one needs to seek parallels in other books of our older English literature, or in liturgical sources from which Cranmer drew, or (in the case of translated items) in the Greek, Latin or other texts which he was translating or adapting. For examples, see the pages that follow.

If we are to be edified by our worship, we need to think about the words we are using, so that we can make them our own. A liturgy may be supremely edifying, as the Prayer Book is, but it will still only edify those who use it thoughtfully. Used thoughtfully, side by side with a thoughtful use of the Bible on which it is based, it will come to mean more and more. At the same time, the items which resist being understood will become more and more apparent, and it is hoped that this little work will at those points come to the worshipper's aid.

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1.Morning and Evening Prayer

Opening Sentences

‘a broken and a contrite heart’ (Psalm 51:17). ‘Contrite’ (from Latin contritus, bruised) means broken down with grief and penitence for sin. So also in the collect for Ash Wednesday we pray, ‘Create and make in us new and contrite hearts’, and in the Litany, ‘O God, merciful Father, that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desire of such as be sorrowful’.

Exhortation

'yet ought we most chiefly so to do...'. Not just 'when we assemble and meet together' but when we do so for the purposes stated, 'to render thanks etc.'. The meaning is not that we ought chiefly to confess our sins in public rather than in private, but that we ought chiefly to confess them at times of prayer rather than at other times, since confession is a form of prayer.

Confession

'and there is no health in us'. The reference is clearly to spiritual health, but it may have the more active sense of spiritual healing, i.e. salvation, and mean that there is no salvation in ourselves (though there is in God). Thus, in the Prayer for All Conditions of Men, among the Prayers and Thanksgivings upon Several Occasions, we ask God to make known his 'saving health (i.e. his salvation) unto all nations', and in the Prayer for the Clergy and People at these two services we ask God to send down upon us 'the healthful (i.e. saving) Spirit of thy grace'. Rather similarly, in the Bible God's forgiveness is sometimes called healing: 'The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God ... And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people (2 Chronicles 30:18-20).

'have mercy upon us, miserable offenders'. Here in the Confession, 'miserable' does not have either of the modern senses of sorrowful or contemptible, but means pitiable (compare Latin misereor, to pity, and the related word 'commiserate'). So also, in the opening part of the Litany, 'have mercy upon us miserable sinners' means 'us pitiable sinners'. The word is similarly used in 1 Corinthians 15:19, where St Paul says, 'If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable’ (i.e. most pitiable).

'live a godly, righteous, and sober life'. Here 'sober' means sober-minded, restrained, sensible - free from any form of irresponsibility, not simply free from drunkenness, as in modern usage. Compare Acts 26:25, where Paul says, 'I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness'.

Absolution

'Almighty God...' This absolution is not a prayer but a declaration and exhortation, as becomes clear when we reach the first main verb 'He pardoneth'. What precedes this is a description of God, not an address to him, and consequently speaks of him in the third person, 'who desireth (not desirest)... hath (not, hast) given power'. Grammatically, it is all in apposition to 'He'.

The Lord’s Prayer

'hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come ... For thine is the kingdom'. In modern English, a kingdom is the place where a king rules, but in older English it can also mean his kingly rule (which we pray may 'come') or his kingship (which we acknowledge as 'thine'). The disruptive new translation of the Lord's Prayer in Common Worship is singularly pointless, since it retains both the two traditional words 'hallowed' (acknowledged and treated as holy) and 'kingdom' unchanged.

A perplexing thing about the use of the Lord's Prayer in these two services and Holy Communion is that it occurs twice. This is probably because our Lord set it before us as a model prayer (Matthew 6:5-15; Luke 11:1-4). We therefore remind ourselves of it at the beginning of the service, and again when we resume praying after a break. In shorter services, the Lord's Prayer is used only once, and not always at the same point.

Gloria (in first set of responses, and after canticles and psalms)

'and ever shall be, world without end'. The meaning is 'age without end' (unlike the present age, which does have an end). 'World' used to have two senses, like the corresponding words in Greek and Latin, either the modern sense of the inhabited earth or universe, or else the temporal sense of 'age', as here. According to the New Testament, there are two ages: the present age, up until the return of our Lord in glory, and the age to come, which is eternal. Compare Ephesians 1:21, 'not only in this world (i.e. age), but also in that which is to come'. Similarly, in the Nicene Creed at Holy Communion, we say that God the Son was 'begotten of the Father before all worlds', i.e. before all ages, from eternity.

Venite

The title of this canticle, like other Latin titles in the Prayer Book, is the opening word (or words) of the Latin text. It implies that the item has been translated from the old Latin services.

'As in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me'. In modern English, 'tempt' simply means entice to evil (the work of the devil), but in older English it could also have the neutral sense of put to the test. In this sense God can 'tempt' man (as when he ‘tempted' Abraham in Genesis 22:1, to see if he loved God above all else), but man must not 'tempt' God (as our Lord said to Satan in Matthew 4:7, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God'). The difference is that man is not trustworthy, so needs to be put to the test, but God is perfectly trustworthy, so ought simply to be trusted. In the Venite, the psalmist is referring to the occasion, in Exodus 17:1-7, when the Israelites in the wilderness were without water, and put God to the test by demanding that he should immediately prove by miracles that he was really with them. The passage quoted by our Lord from Deuteronomy 6:16 refers to the same occasion.

Te Deum

Most of the Prayer Book canticles come from the Bible (or, in the case of the Benedicite, from the Apocrypha), but the Te Deum was inherited from the liturgy of the early church. The same applies to the Gloria in Excelsis (at Holy Communion), the Burial anthem 'Man that is born of woman...' and the metrical hymn 'Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire' (at Ordination).

'Lord God of Sabaoth' means 'Lord God of hosts' (as we say at Holy Communion).Here the Hebrew word for 'hosts' is retained in this Old Testament phrase, as is also done in Romans 9:29 and James 5:4. God's hosts, or armies, consist primarily of his angels in heaven.

'Thine honourable, true and only Son'. 'Honourable' (translating Latin venerandus) is used in the original and general sense 'worthy of honour', not in the more specialized senses which have now become customary.

'Thou art the King of glory: O Christ'. Glory is not, of course, the realm over which Christ rules as king! The phrase 'King of glory' is drawn from Psalm 24:7-10, and is a Hebrew idiom for 'glorious King'. Compare the 'God of glory' in Psalm 29:3, the 'crown of glory' in Isaiah 28:5 etc. The same title is given to God in the collect for the Sunday after Ascension Day.

'Thou didst not abhor the virgin's womb' - a vivid way of saying that God the Son did not shrink from taking human nature. It may be a deliberate contradiction of contemporary assertions by fourth-century Arians that God would abhor a virgin's womb (and therefore did not take human nature).

Benedictus

To understand the Benedictus fully, one must remember that it is the Song of Zacharias at the birth of his son John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ (Luke 1:57-79). 'And thou, child' is addressed to his son, who is to 'go before the face of the Lord'; while the 'day-spring (or dawn) from on high' is the Lord Jesus himself, whose way John will prepare.

Magnificat

The Magnificat is intelligible in itself, but it enriches one's understanding to recall that it is the Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when she was saluted by her cousin Elizabeth as the mother of the Lord (Luke 1:39-55). Unique as her privilege was, only the first four verses of her song dwell upon it. She then goes on to speak of God's mercy to all who fear him, and of her own privilege as the fulfilment of God's promises to the whole race of Abraham.

'Holpen' is the old form of 'helped'. In the past participle the 'e' vowel changed into 'o', as with 'forget, forgotten'.

Nunc Dimittis

Similarly, one needs to remember that this is the Song of Simeon, on seeing the child Jesus (Luke 2:25-35). It had been revealed to him that he would see the Christ (the promised King and Saviour) before he died, and, having seen Jesus, he is ready to 'depart' (or die). We too, when we have recognised Jesus as our Saviour and King, have fulfilled life's main purpose.

The Apostles’ Creed

The creed is 'commonly called' this (Article 8), not because the apostles wrote it, but because it is an early formulation of their teaching. It is the old baptismal creed of the Roman church, recorded by Hippolytus (c.215 AD), and in the Prayer Book Baptism services is still used for its ancient purpose.

'conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary', and similarly in the Nicene Creed at Holy Communion, 'was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary'. In the Latin and Greek originals of the creeds, the prepositions are de (from, because of) ... ex (from); ek (from) ... kai (and from). Today we can still say things like 'he died by (because of) poisoning' and 'he came of (from) the Stuart family'; but 'by' is now so frequently used of the agent of an action, and 'of' in the possessive sense, that it tends to surprise and confuse us when either is used differently, as here.

'he descended into hell’. 'Hell' is here used in the general sense of the place of the dead, whether they be in happiness or woe; it does not mean simply the place of the impenitent dead, as the word normally does. Compare Acts 2:27, 31, where Peter quotes Psalm 16:10, 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Greek Hades), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to se corruption', and comments, 'David seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption'.

'to judge the quick and the dead', and similarly in the Nicene Creed at Holy Communion and in the collect for Advent Sunday, 'to judge both the quick and the dead'. The 'quick' are the living (like the sensitive living flesh, or 'quick', round our fingernails). Compare Acts 10:42 and 2 Timothy 4:1, where it is likewise stated that Christ will be 'the judge of quick and dead' or will 'judge the quick and the dead'.

'the holy Catholick Church', and similarly in the Nicene Creed at Holy Communion, 'one Catholick and Apostolick Church', and in the Prayer for All Conditions of Men (Prayers and Thanksgivings upon Several Occasions), 'the good estate of the Catholick Church'. Clearly we are not just praying for the Roman Catholic Church, and 'catholic' really means universal (Greek katholikos). When we pray in the Litany for 'thy holy Church universal', the meaning is the same.

'the communion of saints'. In the New Testament epistles, all Christians are addressed as 'saints' or holy people (2 Corinthians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2 etc), since all who are sanctified by the blood of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit share in a holy calling. Similarly in the creed here, the reference is to the mutual fellowship of all God's holy people (not simply of the most 'saintly' among them), and of those of his people who are living, as well as of those who are dead.

Responses (3^rd Set)

'because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God'. God is often said in the Old Testament to 'fight for' his people Israel, and sometimes without them fighting for themselves (Exodus 14:14; 2 Chronicles 20:17). His people is now the Christian church, so 'us' means us Christians, not us Englishmen, and it is only as a Christian nation, contending in a just cause, that we can rightly apply this prayer to ourselves in a national sense. The Collect for Peace which follows indicates that, even when we do, spiritual enemies and the peace of the church should be in our minds as well.

The Second Collect at Evening Prayer

'being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness'. 'Fear' may be used here in the old sense of 'fearful power', since we need to be 'defended' from it. This would vary the sense of the underlying Latin collect, which Cranmer is in any case paraphrasing, but would bring it into agreement with the corresponding collect at Morning Prayer, also 'for Peace', where once again we are not simply praying for peace of mind.

The Third Collect at Evening Prayer

The third collects at Morning and Evening Prayer correspond, just as the second collects do, Cranmer having selected them from different Latin services for this purpose. The third evening collect has sometimes been thought to exaggerate the physical dangers of darkness. In this age of muggings and rapes, we have begun to realise that the physical dangers are not so small, but the corresponding collect at Morning Prayer (the 'Collect for Grace') in fact balances things by praying for protection from the dangers of the day as well, and by showing that spiritual dangers are quite as much in view as physical.

Prayer for the Monarch

'in health and wealth long to live'. For 'health' see under 'Confession' (p.4): it includes spiritual health. 'Wealth' here means welfare (health, in the modern sense of riches, is hardly something that the monarch is likely to lack!). Compare the Litany, 'in all time of our tribulation, in all time of our wealth', and 1 Corinthians 10:24, 'Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth'.

The State Prayers, here and at Holy Communion, were designed for an absolute monarchy, and invite some adaptation today, to suit a constitutional monarchy. This is one of the few points at which changes in conditions, not just changes in language, have affected the provisions of the Prayer Book. See also under Churching (p. 38).

Prayer for Clergy and People

'bishops and curates' and so also in the Prayer for the Church Militant at Holy Communion. Why not incumbents? Because 'curate' is used in the original sense of one who has a cure (care) of souls. He is the one to whom the deacon makes his reports, i.e. the incumbent (see the charge at the Ordering of Deacons). The modern usage, which already existed in the seventeenth century but was not nearly so common as now, is an abbreviation of 'assistant curate'.

For another passage in this prayer, see p. 4.

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2. The Litany

'O God the Father of heaven'. Here 'of' means belonging to, dwelling in, as when we speak of 'William of Normandy' etc. It does not mean that heaven is God's child! The corresponding phrase in Latin litanies confirms this. A pause after 'Father' assists understanding. The opening of the Lord's Prayer, 'Our Father, which art in heaven', has the same meaning.

'from sudden death'. What we are asking to be preserved from is unprepared death. Compare the first Ember prayer in the Prayers and Thanksgivings upon Several Occasions, 'that they (the bishops) may lay hands suddenly on no man, but faithfully and wisely make choices of fit persons', and the source of this phrase in 1 Timothy 5:22.

'By the mystery of the holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision ... Good Lord, deliver us'. This long list of our Lord's acts is to be understood as the basis of our prayer ('we pray' being implied), rather than as the instrument of our deliverance. 'Mystery' is here used in the New Testament sense of a revealed secret: compare Ephesians 3:3-5 'the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men'. We find the same usage in the collect for Advent 3, where (echoing 1 Corinthians 4:1) the clergy are called 'the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries', and in the Burial lesson from 1 Corinthians 15, 'Behold, I shew you a mystery'. The symbolical sense of the word is different (see p.28).

'by thy Cross and Passion'. The sense is not strong emotion, but suffering (Latin passio). Compare his (Christ’s) 'death and passion' in the Third Long Exhortation, Consecration Prayer and concluding Prayer of Thanksgiving at Holy Communion, and 'benefits of his passion' in the concluding Prayer of Oblation there. Compare also Acts 1:3, 'he (Christ) showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs'.

'that she may evermore have affiance in thee'. The basic meaning of 'affiance', as here, is trust. The sense of a pledge of betrothal is a derived idea, not the basic one.

'to succour, help and comfort, all that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation'. The request is that God will aid them (Latin succurro, run to the aid of). So too in the Prayer for the Church Militant, at Holy Communion, 'to comfort and succour all them, who in this transitory life are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity'. The word is also used in the collects for Advent 4, St Stephen’s Day, Trinity 16 and St Michael and all Angels, and in the Catechism; and compare Hebrews 2:18, where we are told that our Lord 'is able to succour them that are tempted'.

'the kindly fruits of the earth' means the natural fruits of the earth.

For other passages in the Litany, see pp. 4,11.

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3. Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings

These are stated in the title to be for use 'upon several occasions', meaning different occasions (compare the related word 'sever'), without the modern implication of a limited number. So also in the Prayer for All Conditions of Men, included here, we ask God to comfort and relieve those suffering, 'according to their several necessities'.

1^st Ember Prayer

'that both by their life and doctrine they may set forth thy glory, and set forward the salvation of all men'. The meaning of 'doctrine' here is teaching (Latin doceo, to teach) in a broad sense, including moral as well as 'doctrinal' teaching. So also in the collect for St John the Evangelist's Day, 'enlightened by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist St John'; similarly in the collects for the Conversion of St Paul and for St Mark's, St John Baptist's, St Luke's and St Simon and St Jude's Days; and in the Prayer for the Church Militant at Holy Communion, where we pray that the clergy may 'both by their life and doctrine set forth thy true and lively word'. 'Doctrine' is also repeatedly used in the broad sense in the Ordination services.

2^nd Ember Prayer

'replenish them with the truth of thy doctrine'. 'Replenish' does not here mean re-fill but fill abundantly. Compare Genesis 1:28, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth'. This prayer is repeated as the collect at the Ordering of Deacons and Priests.

For other passages in these prayers, see pp. 4, 10, 12.

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4. The Collects

Collect for Advent 4

'let and hindered'. The combination with 'hindered' indicates that the meaning is the same, and has nothing to do with allowing. Compare Isaiah 43:13, where God says, 'I will work, and who shall let it?' and Romans 1:13, where Paul says, 'Oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but was let hitherto'.

Collect for the Innocents Day

'mortify and kill all vices in us'. The original sense of 'mortify', as the combination with 'kill' reminds us, is to put to death. 'Mortal' preserves this sense. Compare the collect for the Circumcision, 'our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts', and the concluding exhortation at Baptism, 'continually mortifying all our evil and corrupt affections'. The basis of this teaching is what is said by St Paul in Romans 8:13, 'If ye live after the flesh (according to the flesh), ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live'; and so again in Colossians 3:5.

Collect for Epiphany

‘have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead’ ‘Fruition’ is enjoyment(from Latin fruor, to enjoy).

Collect for Ash Wednesday

'acknowledging our wretchedness'. The meaning is misery - it does not have the contemptuous sense that ‘wretched’ has now acquired. Compare Numbers 11:15, where Moses in distress prays to die, and says, 'let me not see my wretchedness'.

3^rd Collect for Good Friday

'all Jews, Turks, infidels and hereticks'. The Turkish Empire was the great Moslem empire in the sixteenth century, so 'Turks' means Moslems. 'Infidels' simply means unbelievers (from Latin infidelis, unbelieving).

Collect for Easter Day

'by thy special grace preventing us'. The meaning is, of course, preceding us (Latin praevenio), and preceding us not to oppose our welfare but to promote it. In the work of salvation, God's grace (or undeserved favour) comes first. Compare the collect for Trinity 17, 'we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us', and one of the appended collects at Holy Communion (repeated in all three Ordination services), 'Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help'. So also St Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 'We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep ... The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord'.

Collect for Easter 2

'to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample of godly life'. 'Ensample', here and elsewhere, is just an old spelling of 'example'. Compare 2 Thessalonians 3:9, 'to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us'.

Collect for Easter 3

'that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their profession', i.e. avoid them. Thus Job is described as 'one that feared God and eschewed evil' (Job 1:1), and St Peter advises the man who desires God's blessing, 'Let him eschew evil, and do good' (1 Peter 3:11).

Collect for Whitsunday

'God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to then the light of thy Holy Spirit'. In the Prayer Book, 'thy faithful people' regularly means 'thy believing people', the word 'faithful' being used in the etymological sense of 'full of faith, believing' and not in the more familiar sense of 'trustworthy'. Hence, the meaning here is that God sent his Spirit to teach the hearts of his believing people. Another example is the collect for Trinity 13, 'Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful (believing) people do unto thee true and laudable service'. Again, in the collect for Trinity 21 we ask God in his mercy to grant 'to thy faithful (believing) people pardon and peace', and in one or the appended collects at Holy Communion we pray that 'those things which we have faithfully (believingly) asked according to thy will, may effectually be obtained'. This is in pursuance of the New Testament promises that those who believe will find forgiveness of their sins and answers to their prayers (Acts 13:38-39; James 1:6-7, etc.). Very similar language is used in the collect for Trinity 23. Likewise, in the concluding Prayer of Thanksgiving at Holy Communion, Christ's mystical body is defined as 'the blessed company of all faithful (believing) people', and in the Catechism we affirm that the body and blood of Christ are 'verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful (believers) in the Lord's Supper'. In the Bible, the word 'faithful' is sometimes used in the modern sense of trustworthy, but also in the old sense of believing, for example in Galatians 3:9, 'They which be of faith (they which believe) are blessed with faithful Abraham (believing Abraham)'.

Collect for Trinity 11

'O God, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity'. The basic meaning of 'declare' is to make clear, and this can sometimes be done by deeds instead of words. Compare Psalm 77:14, 'Thou art the God that doest wonders; thou hast declared thy strength among the people'.

Collect for Trinity 13

'Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service'. 'of whose only gift' means 'from whose gift only': the 'only' relates to 'whose' and not of course to 'gift' , though in modern usage it would be separated and put at the end or the phrase.

Collect for Trinity 14

'give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity'. Here 'charity' is not of course used in the modern sense of generosity to the poor but in the etymological sense of Christian love (Latin caritas). Compare 1 Corinthians 13:13, 'And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three', and 1 Peter 5:14, 'Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity'.

Collect for St Mark’s Day

'being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine'. Vain does not here mean conceited but worthless (Latin vanus,-empty), so 'vain doctrine' is worthless teaching. The idea of emptiness survives in our phrase 'in vain', i.e. to no purpose.

Collect for All Saints’ Day

'O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship'. 'Elect' means chosen (namely, by God). Compare the modern use of the word, when we ourselves 'elect' or choose people for office (though we do it by majority vote). On the mysterious subject of divine election, the Church of England makes its own moderate statement of biblical teaching in Article 17. The matter is also referred to in the Catechism, where we speak of 'God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God'; in the main prayer at Baptism, where we pray that the candidate may 'ever remain in the number of thy faithful and elect children': and at the end of the Burial service, where we ask God 'shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom'.

For other passages in the Collects, see pp. 4, 8, 9, 14, 15, 27,39.

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5. Holy Communion

Nicene Creed

The name 'Nicene' is given to this creed in Article 8. The creed was adopted by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 as a rejection of the Arian heresy, and was further elaborated at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381. The words 'and the Son' (the Filioque), referring to the proceeding of the Holy Ghost from the other persons of the Holy Trinity, comes from the Latin form of the creed, not the Greek, and was added in accordance with biblical teaching as expounded by the great Western Father St Augustine. The word 'holy' before 'Catholick and Apostolick Church' seems to have been accidentally omitted in the English translation.

'I believe'. The singular 'I' is from the Latin form of the Nicene Creed. The plural 'We' in Common Worship is from the original Greek form. Since the main purpose of using the creed at Holy Communion is to express the faith which qualifies one to receive communion, the singular is particularly appropriate. It is like the use of the singular in the Apostles' Creed at Baptism.

'God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God' (not 'God of gods' but 'God of God', note). 'Of' means 'from' (Latin de, Greek ek), as elsewhere in the creed (see p. 9), since God the Son is from God the Father. 'Very' means true (Latin verus). Compare the proper prefaces for Christmas and Easter, ‘Jesus Christ ... who, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, was made very man', 'he is the very Paschal Lamb' (the true Passover Lamb), and the concluding Prayer of Thanksgiving, 'we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son'. Compare also our Lord's repeated 'Verily, verily' (truly, truly) in his discourses in the Gospels, and the statement in the Catechism that the body and blood of Christ are 'verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper'.

'Being of one substance with the Father'. The word 'substance' sounds very material, but in Christian theology 'one substance' simply means one individual being, expressing the truth that both Persons (Father and Son) are one God. So also in the proper preface for Trinity Sunday, 'Who art one God, one Lord; not one only Person, but three Persons in one Substance'.

'By whom all things were made'. Though the preceding word is 'Father', this paragraph is about Jesus Christ, and 'whom' refers back to him. 'By' means through (Latin per, Greek dia), and expresses the New Testament teaching that the world was made by the Father through the Son (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2).

'And was incarnate'. That is, 'and was made flesh (or man)', from Latin caro, flesh.

'the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life'. In the Latin and Greek, 'giver of life' is a word and not a phrase, so 'life' is not dependent on 'Lord' but simply on 'giver'. In other words, we have here two titles of the Holy Ghost, not one, and it would be clearer if they were separated by a comma (or pause) after 'the Lord'.

For other passages in the Nicene Creed, see pp. 6, 9.

Prayer for the Church Militant

'Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's church'. This is a comprehensive prayer, but notice that it does not say 'the state of Christ's whole church'. The medaeval source of this phrase says 'the good state of our mother the church', and 'whole' probably here means healthy, as in the phrase 'the sick and the whole'.

'alms and oblations'. 'Oblations' means offerings. The word 'oblation' is also used twice in the Consecration Prayer, with reference to our Lord's sacrifice or offering at Calvary. Here the reference is to our own gifts, conceivably meaning the unconsecrated bread and wine, but more probably the collection, when its purpose is not 'alms' (i.e. not for the poor).

'truly and indifferently minister justice'. Not carelessly but impartially, without making improper 'differences' between people - without 'respecting persons', as the Bible expresses it.

'set forth thy true and lively Word'. As often in old English, 'lively' here simply means 'living', which is how the Bible describes God's word (1 Peter 1:23 etc.). Compare the concluding Prayer of Oblation, where we offer ourselves to God 'to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice' (echoing the 'living sacrifice' of Romans 12:1). Compare also 1 Peter 2:5, 'Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house'.

For other passages in this prayer, see pp. 12, 13, 14.

Third Long Exhortation

It is a pity this exhortation is not more often used, since Cranmer intended it to be used at every celebration (unlike the other two long exhortations), and it is very instructive.

'ye that mind to come to the holy Communion' means ye that are minded to come, ye that intend to come. Compare Acts 20:13, where Paul tells his companions to sail ahead of him, 'minding himself to go afoot'.

'we eat and drink our own damnation, not considering the Lord's Body'. 1 Corinthians 11:29 is being quoted, where, 'damnation' means condemnation, and refers not to eternal judgment but to a temporary judgment on earth, such as sickness. Paul says explicitly in verse 32, 'when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world'; so it is a corrective judgment, leading to repentance and forgiveness. Compare 1 Timothy 5:12, where Paul speaks of young widows, who in their first grief might impetuously enrol themselves to be supported by the church, but then change their minds and get married again, as 'having damnation', i.e. condemnation.

'meet partakers of those holy mysteries'. See on the Sursum Corda and the concluding Prayer of Thanksgiving, below.

For another passage in this Exhortation, see p. 14.

Invitation

'Draw near with faith'. Why so soon in the service? Common Worship moves the Invitation back until immediately before the communicants come up to the communion rails. But, in the Prayer Book service, the rubric before the third Long Exhortation seems to expect that the communicants will already have come up well before the invitation is given: 'the communicants being conveniently placed for the receiving of the holy Sacrament'. Though we do not come up so early today, it throws light on the meaning of the Invitation, which is evidently an invitation to draw near to God (not to the communion rails), and so leads naturally in to the confession of our sins. The language may be based upon Hebrews 10:22 (which is likewise concerned with drawing near to God), 'Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith'.

Confession

'the burden of them is intolerable'. The word is used here in the original sense of 'too heavy to bear, unbearable' (from Latin tollo, lift). It does not have the resentful overtones of modern usage. We have nobody to blame for our sins but ourselves!

Comfortable Words

The meaning of 'comfortable' here is, of course, able to comfort. Compare Isaiah 40:2, 'Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem'. The word 'comfort' is used a number of times in this service, and it is sometimes supposed that it does not have the modern sense of console, but the choice of biblical texts here strongly suggests that it does. Cranmer's service is very much concerned with the consoling of the wounded conscience through faith in the atoning work of Christ. Also, the inclusion of the Comfortable Words was suggested to Cranmer's mind by a German reformed liturgy (Hermann's Consultation, 1543), where the corresponding word is Trost, consolation.

In the last of the Comfortable Words, 'propitiation' means 'that which makes God favourable' to us (despite his just anger at our sins).

Sursum Corda

'Lift up your hearts'. When the Bible speaks of men's hearts being 'lifted up', it usually means in pride. The origin of the different usage here is Lamentations 3:41, 'Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens', i.e. let us be sincere in our prayer to him.

'It is meet and right so to do. It is meet, right and our bounden duty’. 'Meet' means fitting, suitable. Similarly, in the Long Exhortation above, 'meet partakers of those holy mysteries'; and again at the-beginning of the Making of Deacons, where the bishop says, 'Take heed that the persons, whom ye present unto us, be apt and meet'. Compare also Matthew 3:8, where John the Baptist warns those coming to be baptized, 'Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance'.

Preface

'we laud and magnify thy glorious Name, evermore praising thee'. 'Laud' is another word for praise (Latin laudo, to praise). Compare the modern word 'laudable', and the use of 'laud' as a synonym for 'praise' in Romans 15:11, 'Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people'.

Proper Prefaces

In this title, 'proper' does not just mean suitable, but has the stronger sense of one's own, special (Latin proprius). These are prefaces peculiar to special seasons of the Christian year. Compare Acts 1:19, 'that field is called in their proper tongue (that is, their own language), Aceldama'. Similarly, in the Prayer of Humble Access following, 'the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy' uses 'property' in the sense of 'special characteristic'. We still speak in this way of the properties of things (for example, 'sweetness is a property of sugar'), but in old English the special characteristics of persons were likewise called their 'properties'. (On the Proper Prefaces for Christmas, Easter and Trinity, see p. 21).

Prayer of Humble Access

'that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood'. It has been suggested that this language reflects a speculation of theologians (based upon a misunderstanding of Leviticus 17:11) that the soul of a creature is in its blood. It is better, however, to take it as a figure of speech, the meaning of the prayer being that our sinful bodies and souls may be made clean and washed through Christ's most precious body and blood.

For another passage in this prayer, see preceding paragraph.

Consecration Prayer

'Drink ye all of this: for this is my blood of the New Testament'. The narrative of Christ's institution of the Lord's Supper in the Consecration Prayer is based upon the accounts of the Last Supper in the first three Gospels and 1 Corinthians 11, combined. Here Matthew 26:27-28 is being quoted, and though in English the 'all' could easily refer to 'this', i.e. to the wine, the Greek shows that it properly refers to 'ye', so that the sense is, 'Drink of this, all of you'. The 'New Testament' is the new covenant, or gracious agreement, between God and man which Christ established through his atoning sacrifice. It is discussed in Hebrews 9-10, and is a fact of such central importance that it gives its name to the second half of the Bible. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the same word is used for testament (will) and for covenant, and the word 'testament' was formerly used in both senses in English.

For other passages in this prayer, see pp. 14, 23.

Concluding Prayer of Oblation

'may be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction'. The meaning of 'fulfilled’ here is filled full. Compare Philippians 2:2, 'Fulfil ye my joy', i.e. make it complete.

For other passages in this prayer, see pp. 14, 23

Concluding Prayer of Thanksgiving

'thou dost vouchsafe to feed us'. This means 'thou are graciously willing to feed us'. Compare, in the appended collects at this service, 'vouchsafe...to direct, sanctify, and govern, both our hearts and bodies in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments', and 'those things, which for our unworthiness we dare not, an for our blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us'. The word is also used twice in the Confirmation service, and elsewhere.

'who have duly received these holy mysteries'. In ordinary modern usage, a mystery is something hidden from the understanding. The theological usage is rather different. In the New Testament, a mystery is a secret, formerly hidden but now revealed (see p. 14). Another slightly later theological usage relates to symbols and sacraments, and what they signify. The 'holy mysteries' in this passage, and at two places in the Long Exhortation above, are the symbolic or sacramental bread and wine. Likewise, in the Baptism service, water is twice said to be 'sanctified to the mystical (symbolic or sacramental) washing away of sin'. Again, at the end of the Marriage service, marriage is spoken of as a 'mystery' or symbol: 'such an excellent mystery, that in it is signified and represented the spiritual marriage and unity betwixt Christ and his Church'. Later in the present prayer, we are said to be 'members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son', and in the opening of the Marriage service marriage is spoken of as 'signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church'. Here the reference is not to the symbol but to the thing signified, in the one case the thing signified by the symbol of a body, in the other the thing signified by the symbol of marriage.

For other passages in this prayer, see pp. 14, 19, 21.

Gloria in Excelsis

'Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father'. 'Most high' is a divine title from the Bible, here applied to the Son and the Holy Ghost. This would come out more clearly if it were separated from what follows by a comma (or pause).

On the Gloria in Excelsis, see also p. 7.

On the Lord's Prayer, the Prayer for the Monarch, the Sanctus and passages in the appended collects at this service, see pp. 6, 7, 12, 16, 17.

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6. Baptism

'Dearly beloved, forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin'. This is based upon Psalm 51:5, 'Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me', which is one of the Bible's strongest statements on original sin. As the rest of the psalm shows, the psalmist was not talking about his parents' sin but his own sin. He does not mean that conception and birth are sinful acts, but that the one conceived and born is sinfully inclined even from that stage. When the service goes on, in the exhortation on the gospel, to speak of the 'innocency' of little children, it is not contradicting itself, and calling them sinless, but meaning that they are not yet guilty of conscious and deliberate sin (what one of the concluding rubrics of the service calls 'actual sin'). For the same idea, compare 1 Corinthians 14:20, 'in malice be ye children' (literally, 'babes').

It is striking how, at baptism, a naturally joyful time, Cranmer begins the service by reminding us of the solemn fact of universal sinfulness, whereas at burial, a naturally sad time, he begins the service by reminding us of the joyful hope of the resurrection: 'I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord'. In each case, he stresses what we could so easily forget.

'this Infant must also ... promise by you that are his sureties (until he come of age to take it upon himself) ... this Child hath promised by you his sureties'. In law, a 'surety' is 'one who is bound with and for another', as when a request is made for bail. The godparent is here bound with the child, since he expresses his own repentance and faith, and his consequent determination to bring the child up in the Christian way, but also for the child, until the child comes of age to express repentance and faith of his own. The same term 'surety' is used in this connection in the Catechism, where it is twice stated that the child is 'bound' to perform what the godparents promise, as is again stated in the Confirmation service. This would chiefly be because repentance and faith are our duty anyway, but also because our godparents promised on our behalf that we would do our duty, when we were too young to say so ourselves. It was a good thing to promise, and the godparents (chosen by the parents) have the right to promise good things for the child, though not of course evil ones.

'learn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, in the vulgar tongue'. . .in the vulgar tongue’ The final address to the godparents lays upon them the duty of seeing that the child learns these three basic texts (those included and explained in the Catechism). The 'vulgar tongue' means, of course, the common language, i.e. English.

‘daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living’. ‘Proceeding’ here means advancing.

For other passages in this service, see pp. 16, 20, 28.

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7. The Catechism

'What is your Name? Answer N or M'. 'N' stands for 'name', while 'M' is probably a contraction of 'NN' (names).

'Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief'. That is, repeat them. Compare Acts 14:27, where Paul and Barnabas, on their return to Antioch from their first missionary journey, 'rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles'.

'to order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters'. 'Betters' means superiors in rank, office or age. It does not mean, as it had come to mean in the era of Uriah Heep, those 'better off' or wealthier.

'to keep my hands from picking and stealing'. The combination with 'stealing' shows that 'picking' has much the same meaning. We still speak of 'picking a pocket'.

'that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers ghostly and bodily; and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our ghostly enemy, and from everlasting death'. ’Ghostly’ means spiritual, just as ‘the Holy Ghost’ means the Holy Spirit, though human and angelic spirits are here in view, not the divine Spirit. ‘Our ghostly enemy’ is, of course, Satan. 'Ghostly' is used of the Holy Spirit in the Confirmation service, where he is called 'the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength'.

‘And all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Dames’ ‘Dames’ means housewives, here thought of as employers of domestic workers.

‘obediently to hear, and be ordered by the Curate’. To ‘be ordered’ probably means to be prepared, i.e. for Confirmation.

For other passages in the Catechism, see pp. 14, 18, 20, 22, 31.

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8. Confirmation

'None hereafter shall be confirmed but such as can say ... and can answer ... to the end that ... they may themselves, with their own mouth and consent, openly before the Church, ratify and confirm the same ... Do ye here ... renew the solemn promise and vow that was made in your name at your baptism, ratifying and confirming the same in your own persons?' The word 'confirm' means to strengthen, establish or ratify. In this service it is used both passively and actively. To 'be confirmed', in the passive, is to be strengthened by the laying on of hands, with prayer for the strength of the Holy Spirit. To 'confirm', in the active, is to establish or ratify the baptismal vows by taking them upon oneself.

'to certify them (by this sign) of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them'. The word 'certify' is here used in its original sense of make certain, assure. Compare Galatians 1:11, 'I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man (according to man)'.

For other passages in this service, see pp. 28, 31, 32, 40.

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9. Marriage

'. . .is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men's carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding'. There is no difficulty in understanding this blunt language about our attitude to marriage, very appropriate to a sex-mad age like the present, but critics persist in ignoring the 'not' and 'nor'. At the same time, the proper sexual element in marriage is fully acknowledged by this address, in the second of the three listed purposes of marriage. The critics say that even there the sexual purpose of marriage is limited to those who 'have not the gift of continency' (i.e. celibate chastity), but their controversy here is not with Cranmer so much as with our Lord and St Paul (Matthew 19:12; 1 Corinthians 7:7). The critics further object to the order in which the three purposes are listed, but this is to trifle.

'I plight thee my troth ... I give thee my troth', i.e. I pledge thee my fidelity (truth) ... I give thee my fidelity.

'with my body I thee worship', i.e. with my body I pay honour to thee. Compare Matthew 18:26, 'The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him (his master)', and the still-surviving honorific title 'Your Worship'. The marriage vows appear particularly antiquated, even in their word-order. This is because they are much older than the rest of the Prayer Book. One of the very few things in the mediaeval services which were in English were the marriage vows (it was essential that the couple should understand what they were promising), and, as they were so familiar, Cranmer retained them almost unaltered.

'live together so long in godly love and honesty'. Here 'honesty' probably means faithfulness.

'a follower of holy and godly matrons'. 'Matrons' means married women, not necessarily older married women, as in modern usage.

For other passages in this service, see p. 28.

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10. Burial

'In sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life'. The Church of England has always operated upon a charitable presumption that people mean what they say when they profess the Christian faith, and on the whole it continues to do so, even when those making the profession (godparents perhaps, or a bride and bridegroom) do not often attend church. In the case of burial, where the deceased cannot say for himself that he desires a Christian burial, we are dependent on the mourners for this information; but the charitable presumption has still to be made, that the reason he would have desired a Christian burial (and therefore a service so emphatically designed for the burial of Christians) is because he was a Christian believer. The Puritans strongly objected to this charitable presumption as unrealistic, and in 1662 two small concessions were made to them, by listing in the opening rubric those for whom this service should not be used (notably those deliberately unbaptized, and therefore not even externally Christians), and by inserting 'the' in the phrase here quoted, as a slight indication that the resurrection to eternal life (as distinguished from resurrection to judgment) does not necessarily apply to the one now buried, though our earnest hope is that it does.

'who shall change our vile body'. 'Vile' is used in the original sense, i.e. 'of little worth' (Latin vilis, cheap), and not in the modern sense of detestable. This is a quotation from Philippians 3:21, where modern translations substitute a word like 'lowly'.

For other passages in this service, see pp. 7, 13, 20, 30.

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11. Churching

'. . .hath preserved you in the great danger of Child-birth ... the great pain and peril of Child-birth'. Though it is an exaggeration to speak, as we now do, of 'safe and painless' childbirth, modern medicine and anaesthetics have made a much closer approach to this than was possible in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, with the result that Cranmer's choice of words would today be thought rather extreme. This is one of the few instances in which changes in conditions, and not just changes in language, have affected the provisions of the Prayer Book, and invite some modest revision. Another is the change from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy (noted on p. 12, in relation to the State Prayers). The general disuse of the service for the Visitation of the Sick is again mainly due to advances in medicine, which have outdated the underlying assumption of the service that all serious illness may very likely end in death. And a further great change (though affecting the rubrics more than the spoken texts, on which we have here concentrated) is the advent of universal literacy. This means that it would not today burden the memory or cause bewilderment, in the way that it would have done in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, to give the congregation more to say, or to include a few more options and alternatives. The adding of options and alternatives can easily be carried to excess, as Common Worship has demonstrated, but giving the congregation more to say has been quietly implemented in our use of the Prayer Book itself. This is in full accord with Cranmer's principle of 'common prayer' for clergy and laity alike.

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12. Ordination

Making of Deacons

'for their learning and godly conversation'. 'Conversation' means behaviour. Compare Hebrews 13:5, 'Let your conversation be without covetousness'. The word is also used in the Consecration of Bishops. (In the Bible 'conversation' can also mean citizenship, but not in the Prayer Book, except in the Epistle for Trinity 23).

'to search for the sick, poor, and impotent people of the Parish'. 'Impotent' means infirm, physically incapable.

'will you reverently obey your Ordinary?' An 'ordinary' is an ecclesiastical judge. The title usually refers, as here, to the bishop. The same question is asked in the Ordering of Priests.

'this inferior office'. 'Inferior' simply means lower, in rank but not in quality.

Ordering of Priests

'to teach and to premonish'. To 'premonish' is to forewarn. See on 'monitions', below.

'his (God's) children who are in the midst of this naughty world'. 'Naughty' here has the strong old meaning of wicked, worthless. Compare James 1:21, 'lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness'.

'in framing the manners both of yourselves, and of them that specially pertain unto you, according to the rule of the same Scriptures'. In Cranmer's day, 'manners' used to mean behaviour, not just polite behaviour. Compare the old adage 'Manners maketh man', and 1 Corinthians 15:33, 'Evil communications corrupt good manners'.

'that ye may so endeavour yourselves, from time to time, to sanctify the lives of you and yours'. In the sixteenth century, 'from time to time' could mean 'at all times' (not, 'at intervals'), and it evidently does so here. 'Endeavour' with the reflexive pronoun means the same as it does without it. There are other possible examples of this usage in the collect for Easter 2 and the opening address of the Confirmation service.

'to use both publick and private monitions and exhortations'. 'Monitions' are warnings (Latin moneo, to warn). The modern word 'admonitions' has a similar sense.

'Jesus Christ ... after he had made perfect our redemption by his death, and was ascended into heaven, sent abroad into the world his Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Doctors and Pastors'. Just as 'doctrine' means teaching, 'doctors' means teachers. Ephesians 4:10-11 is echoed here, and 'Doctors and Pastors' is there rendered 'pastors and teachers'. There is another example of this usage in the Consecration of Bishops.

Consecration of Bishops

'to the end that the congregation present may have a trial ... how you be minded'. A 'trial' is a test.

For other passages in the Ordinal, see pp. 7, 12, 15, 16, 24.

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WORD-INDEX

01	The Evangelical Anglican Identity Problem Jim Packer
02	The ASB Rite A Communion: A Way Forward Roger Beckwith
03	The Doctrine of Justification in the Church of England - Robin Leaver
04	Justification Today: The Roman Catholic and Anglican Debate - R. G. England
05/06	Homosexuals in the Christian Fellowship David Atkinson
07	Nationhood: A Christian Perspective O. R. Johnston
08	Evangelical Anglican Identity: Problems and Prospects - Tom Wright
09	Confessing the Faith in the Church of England Today - Roger Beckwith
10	A Kind of Noah’s Ark? The Anglican Commitment to Comprehensiveness Jim Packer
11	Sickness and Healing in the Church Donald Allister
12	Rome and Reformation Today: How Luther Speaks to the New Situation - James Atkinson
13	Music as Preaching: Bach, Passions and Music in Worship - Robin Leaver
14	Jesus Through Other Eyes: Christology in a Multi-Faith Context - Christopher Lamb
15	Church and State Under God - James Atkinson
16	Language and Liturgy Gerald Bray, Steve Wilcockson, Robin Leaver
17	Christianity and Judaism: New Understanding, New Relationship - James Atkinson
18	Sacraments and Ministry in Ecumenical Perspective - Gerald Bray
19	The Functions of a National Church Max Warren
20/21	The Thirty-Nine Articles: Their Place and Use Today - Jim Packer, Roger Beckwith
22	How We Got Our Prayer Book - T. W. Drury, Roger Beckwith
23/24	Creation or Evolution: a False Antithesis? Mike Poole, Gordon Wenham
25	Christianity and the Craft - Gerard Moate
26	ARCIC II and Justification - Alister McGrath
27	The Challenge of the Housechurches Tony Higton, Gilbert Kirby
28	Communion for Children? The Current Debate A. A. Langdon
29/30	Theological Politics Nigel Biggar
31	Eucharistic Consecration in the First Four Centuries and its Implications for Liturgical Reform - Nigel Scotland
32	A Christian Theological Language - Gerald Bray
33	Mission in Unity: The Bible and Missionary Structures - Duncan McMann
34	Stewards of Creation: Environmentalism in the Light of Biblical Teaching - Lawrence Osborn
35/36	Mission and Evangelism in Recent Thinking: 1974-1986 - Robert Bashford
37	Future Patterns of Episcopacy: Reflections in Retirement - Stuart Blanch
38	Christian Character: Jeremy Taylor and Christian Ethics Today - David Scott
39	Islam: Towards a Christian Assessment Hugh Goddard
40	Liberal Catholicism: Charles Gore and the Question of Authority - G. F. Grimes
41/42	The Christian Message in a Multi-Faith Society Colin Chapman
43	The Way of Holiness 1: Principles - D. A. Ousley
44/45	The Lambeth Articles - V. C. Miller
46	The Way of Holiness 2: Issues - D. A. Ousley
47	Building Multi-Racial Churches - John Root
48	Episcopal Oversight: A Case for Reform David Holloway
49	Euthanasia: A Christian Evaluation Henk Jochemsen
50/51	The Rough Places Plain: AEA 1995
52	A Critique of Spirituality - John Pearce
53/54	The Toronto Blessing - Martyn Percy
55	The Theology of Rowan Williams Garry Williams
56/57	Reforming Forwards? The Process of Reception and the Consecration of Woman as Bishops Peter Toon
58	The Oath of Canonical Obedience - Gerald Bray
59	The Parish System: The Same Yesterday, Today And For Ever? - Mark Burkill
60	‘I Absolve You’: Private Confession and the Church of England - Andrew Atherstone
61	The Water and the Wine: A Contribution to the Debate on Children and Holy Communion Roger Beckwith, Andrew Daunton-Fear
62	Must God Punish Sin? - Ben Cooper
63	Too Big For Words?: The Transcendence of God and Finite Human Speech –Mark D. Thompson
64	A Step Too Far: An Evangelical Critique of Christian Mysticism – Marian Raikes