On Sunday at 5pm, we will hold a service of Evening Prayer with Communion from the 1662 Prayer Book, and at the 9:30am forum, we’ll have an opportunity to learn more about Anglican liturgy of the 16th and 17th centuries. Introduced soon after the restoration of the monarchy, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is a light revision of its predecessor, the 1559 book. In its own time, it was seen as a compromise between catholic and Reformed practice in the Church of England. To our eyes, however, it seems deeply Protestant. Many aspects of our current liturgical practice are absent: colors in hangings and vestments, candles on the altar, and most of the ritual gestures that you would see in an Episcopal service today.
The 1662 service reflects the influence of the Reformers, as it is deeply grounded in the reading of Scripture. Most of the music is based on the Psalms, the original songs of praise that were so important in the Reformation. The communion service is celebrated from the “north end” of the altar to avoid any implication that the Eucharist repeats the sacrifice of Jesus offered once for all on the Cross, or that the priest is a mediator between the people and God. Because Communion was a more infrequent service, it would be added on to the end of Morning or Evening Prayer which were the regularly scheduled services of the Church.
While the format of the 5pm service may feel different, many of the prayers can be found in almost identical wording in Rite I of our current Prayer Book. Through the Prayer Book tradition, we are connected with our ancestors in the faith, and we hope that connection will enliven your faith today. Come and see!
Our Director of Communication, Adam Bond, in addition to serving as clerk for the 5pm service will be displaying before and after both the 9:30am forum and 5pm service folio editions from his personal collection of the Book of Common Prayer printed in 1662 (rebound in the 1850s) and the first complete print edition of Richard Hooker’s “Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie” printed in 1723 in its original binding.