Rev. John Richardson offers the following comments in
remembrance of the 1662 Book of Common
Prayer. For readers, we commend the regular use of the "old book." Also, we remember 2012 as the 350th anniversary of that august book. See: http://ugleyvicar.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/1662-and-all-that-how-prayer-book.html
1662 and all that: How the
Prayer Book changed the Church of England, and how the Church of England
Changed the Prayer Book
Friday, 18 May 2012
1662 and all that: How the
Prayer Book changed the Church of England, and how the Church of England
Changed the Prayer Book
An address given in our Benefice to mark the 350th
anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Introduction
On March
21st 1556, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake in
Broad Street, Oxford. A metal X still marks the spot where you can, if you’re
very careful, briefly pause in the middle of the traffic.
The
charges against him of treason and heresy both merited the death penalty. One
of the key accusations, however, was the denial of the bodily presence of
Christ in the elements of bread and wine at communion — a denial which
contradicted Roman Catholic teaching then and now and which brought with it
numerous other consequences.
For
example, if Christ’s body and blood were not present, how could the Mass be a
sacrifice for sins? And if the Mass were not a sacrifice, then what was it?
Cranmer
had been under arrest for almost three years during which time he had been degraded
from the rank of Archbishop, and he had made several recantations of his
earlier views hoping for a reprieve, but to no avail.
Even in
mid-March, he was still apparently willing to recant, and on the day of his
execution he was allowed to give a public address in St Mary’s church, the
expectation being that he would further upset the Protestant cause by a
confession of his sins.
His final
address, however, did not go according to his enemies plans. After some
introductory remarks, he continued as follows:
"And now I
come to the great thing that troubleth my conscience more than any other thing
that ever I said or did in my life: and that is, the setting abroad of writings
contrary to the truth. Which here now I renounce and refuse, as things written with
my hand, contrary to the truth which I thought in my heart, and written for
fear of death, and to save my life, if it might be: and that is, all such
bills, which I have written or signed with mine own hand since my degradation:
wherein I have written many things untrue. And forasmuch as my hand offended in
writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished: for if
I may come to the fire, it shall be first burned. And as for the pope, I refuse
him, as Christ’s enemy and antichrist, with all his false doctrine" http://englishhistory.net/tudor/pcranmer.html, retrieved 13 May 2012.
Not
surprisingly, the speech was cut short and Cranmer was rushed to the stake
where, true to his word, he held his right hand out in the flames until it was
burned first.
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