Last week I started by writing, “In this season of preparation for confirmation, I’ve found over the years that many people other than the inquirers wonder about why we Episcopalians do certain things in our worship.” The other thing I’ve run into is visitors commenting on how “Catholic” our liturgy seems. Today’s blog deals with that comment.
Yes, our liturgy seems very Roman Catholic and there’s a good reason. During the reign of Henry VIII in England when what would become the Anglican Church was developing, Roman Catholicism was the only way the English worshipped. This was true on the continent too, but Luther’s and other’s reforms on the continent didn’t just focus on theological differences with Rome, but with worship practices as well. The strong belief in the Protestant Reformation was that the Church had strayed far from the purity of the early Christians theology. Equally important for the reformers was that worship practices had been corrupted and needed to be reformed to return to that simple approach to worship. Consequently, much of the Roman liturgy was dumped and replaced with what the continental reform leaders thought the early Church was like.
But not in England. Sure, there was a strong sentiment to rid the liturgy and the Church of “excesses,” but the definition of excesses couldn’t be agreed upon. Also, unlike many continental Churches, the English Church kept archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons and retained a bishop led organization--or episcopal with a little “e” structure. The big change here was these clergy could, and did, marry. (In the Episcopal Church, the other change is to give the other clergy and the laity an equal representation in the governance of the Church.)
There were many heated theological debates and some substantial theological changes were finally made. However, the liturgy retained much of the form and language of the Roman rite on which it was based. Many practices of the Roman church were retained as well, but many more were removed. For example, Anglicans still pray for the dead, but we have no provisions for paying for masses for the dead and we don’t believe our prayers hasten their departure from Purgatory--since we don’t believe in such a state. We pray for the dead, according to our Catechism, because we still love them and want them to continue to grow in grace.
During Elizabeth’s I reign, the Anglican Church really began to take shape. Tiring of the endless debates and tensions, Elizabeth decreed that, believe what you will about various matters, but we are going to all worship the same way. Using the Book of Common Prayer became a liturgical requirement and that Book, kept the essence of the Roman liturgy, while changing very little. Revisions made in the liturgy in her ordered Prayer Book, combined the more reformed ideas with the older Roman ideas, enabling people with both sensibilities to worship together and to “hear” what they needed to hear.
The most fundamental of these is in what was commanded to be said when the bread and wine were administered. The more Roman words were, “The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.” The more reformed words were, “Take eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving.” The first allows for the idea that the body and blood of Jesus are really present in the bread and wine. The second makes the sacrament much more a memorial of his death and requires the faith of the recipient to make the bread and wine “real.” Both of these sentences were to be said. And they still may be. (Rite I on page 338, prescribes them as the preferred words at administration.)
So, we look “Catholic” in our worship, but we reformed a lot of our beliefs and practices. Elizabeth established in the Church the via media, the “middle way.” Often understood as wishy-washy, what via media actually means is we can accommodate a range of beliefs as we worship together as the Body of Christ. I think this is one of our great strengths. I hope you do as well.
Peace,
Jerry
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