http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5ha3JATVstxa9jwlZ-ZPcfgyq9puQ?docId=N0023951335875054537A
Charles rejected reservations about the "accessibility" of the words of the 1662 edition of the Church of England's service book, saying its value becomes clearer as people grow older and experience more in life.
"As somebody who was brought up on that prayer book - day after day, year after year, Sunday after Sunday, school worship after school worship, evening prayer, communion, everything - those words do sink into your soul in some extraordinary way," he told a group at Lambeth Palace.
"One of the things I have never understood is why there is such an anxiety about accessibility when in fact, if we think about it, we all get older and we are not all 18 or 16 forever.
"Even though you may not understand those words at that age, it is only when you get a bit older and you have lived through life and had all sorts of experiences and you have suffered, and you have survived perhaps, that you then realise just how valuable those forms of words are, just how valuable the sense of the sacred is in our lives.
"And how, when you are up against it, and you have terrible moments to endure or overcome, whether it is being in war or faced with some appalling difficulty, or even facing death, then those words, those wonderful words, come back to you, if you have been lucky enough to have absorbed them over your lifetime.
"So I do think that sense of the beauty of holiness is something of enormous importance."
The Prince's comments came after he opened Royal Devotion - Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer at Lambeth Palace in the company of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
The event marks the 350th anniversary of the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the traditional service book of the Church of England containing the Church's historic beliefs and its official standard of doctrine.
Charles hails Book of Common Prayer
The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to the "beauty of holiness" in the Book of Common Prayer as he opened an exhibition exploring the relationship between royalty and religion.Charles rejected reservations about the "accessibility" of the words of the 1662 edition of the Church of England's service book, saying its value becomes clearer as people grow older and experience more in life.
"As somebody who was brought up on that prayer book - day after day, year after year, Sunday after Sunday, school worship after school worship, evening prayer, communion, everything - those words do sink into your soul in some extraordinary way," he told a group at Lambeth Palace.
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| The Prince of Wales and the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams study a copy of the Book of Common Prayer |
"One of the things I have never understood is why there is such an anxiety about accessibility when in fact, if we think about it, we all get older and we are not all 18 or 16 forever.
"Even though you may not understand those words at that age, it is only when you get a bit older and you have lived through life and had all sorts of experiences and you have suffered, and you have survived perhaps, that you then realise just how valuable those forms of words are, just how valuable the sense of the sacred is in our lives.
"And how, when you are up against it, and you have terrible moments to endure or overcome, whether it is being in war or faced with some appalling difficulty, or even facing death, then those words, those wonderful words, come back to you, if you have been lucky enough to have absorbed them over your lifetime.
"So I do think that sense of the beauty of holiness is something of enormous importance."
The Prince's comments came after he opened Royal Devotion - Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer at Lambeth Palace in the company of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
The event marks the 350th anniversary of the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the traditional service book of the Church of England containing the Church's historic beliefs and its official standard of doctrine.
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Thank you for posting this. I believe he is also a Patron of the Prayer Book Society.