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IT’S a happy anniver-

sary this year. The

350th anniversary, that

is, of the 1662 Book of

Common Prayer – or

simply, ‘The Prayer

Book’.

Originally published in 1549by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer,this remarkable text in the historyof the Christian faith introducedpeople for the first time to publicworship in the English language.

On 19th May 1662, a revisededition was adopted by Act ofParliament for use throughoutEngland. In 2012, we celebratethe fact that it remains in livelyuse today and has also spreadthroughout the world.

However, in celebration wemust also recall with sorrow theturbulent, bloody history that pre-ceded the 1662 text. After thedeaths of Henry VIII and his sonEdward VI, Queen Mary restoredPapal authority and overthrew allthe changes brought about byCranmer.

He was imprisoned, and sub-sequently signed statements

recanting all of his life’s work,including the Prayer Book andthe reformed doctrine of theChurch of England. Then on 21stMarch 1556, just before he wasexecuted, he publicly withdrewhis denials. Tied to the stake, hefamously thrust his right hand,which had signed those recanta-tions, into the advancing flames,crying “This hand hath offend-ed!”

In 1558, Elizabeth I revivedboth independence from Romeand Cranmer’s Prayer Book –and some hundred years later,after the English Civil War, itwas again revised and publishedin the form that continues today.Thankfully these times, when

religious intolerance condemnedso many men and women of faithto persecution and death, seemvery distant to us now.

However, that very distancehas led some Anglicans to assertthat the Book of Common Prayer

is archaic or irrelevant. Is thistrue?

Well, to the extent that its lan-guage is no longer that of every-day speech, then yes, it is ‘archa-ic’. But then so is the language ofShakespeare, with which the lan-guage of the Prayer Book isbroadly contemporary!

In fact, it influenced some ofShakespeare’s writing; and canitself be counted as a major workof English literature, with simple

and elegant language that still hasthe power to speak to our hearts.

I think back to my own firstencounter with the Prayer Bookat school, hearing every Sundaythe exhortation: “I pray andbeseech you, as many as are herepresent, to accompany me with apure heart and humble voice untothe throne of the heavenly grace”.

To me, this remains one of themost moving invitations to wor-ship ever written. As an eleven-year old, the precise meaningmay have escaped me, but thebeauty of the language did not.

So are the actual forms ofworship themselves somehowless relevant today? It is difficultto see how. Many of us will havemarked ‘milestone’ life eventswith words from the PrayerBook, even if they have formedpart of more contemporary ordersof service.

For example, baptisms (“donot be ashamed to confess thefaith of Christ crucified”); orweddings (“those whom Godhath joined together, let no manput asunder”); and of course,funerals.

I think of my parents, each

laid to rest “in the sure and cer-tain hope of the resurrection toeternal life”. These familiarwords of welcome, celebrationand consolation resonate downthe years.

In conclusion, I believe thatthe Prayer Book is as relevanttoday as ever, for three principalreasons. Firstly, because it standsas a written testament to the faithof all the martyrs who fought forthe right to worship in theEnglish language.

Secondly, because it is thefoundation and spiritual inspira-tion for so much subsequent litur-gy. Finally and most importantly,it is relevant because it remains acontinued source of comfort andgrace in its own right.

As Archbishop Rowan hassaid, the Prayer Book helps us to“recognise with sober humilitythe greatness of what confrontsus in the mysteries of ourredemption”. Long may it con-tinue so to do.

For more information on the350th anniversary, visit thePrayer Book Society web site atwww.bcp350.org.

the big issue

featuresWhy the Prayer Book is still relevant

The Book of Common Prayer celebrates a major anniversary

this year. But is it still useful for modern worship? Andrew

Hyde, from St Thomas Church, Bedhampton, investigates