The Tragedy of Anglican Liturgy



Thomas Cranmer is usually
attributed with composing the
Book of Common Prayer

We all know in more or less detail how Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, with the end result being Henry declaring himself the head of Ecclesia Anglicana and forcing the clergy to declare fealty to him.  The events that I just described are collectively known as the English Reformation, in that the Church of England, separated from Rome, was subjected to a number of Protestant or Protestant-inspired reforms, such as the suppressing of the monasteries and denouncing the authority of the Papacy.
 
Actually, during Henry's lifetime, very little changed regarding the Liturgy. The Roman Mass (Sarum Use) continued to be used (at this time, most likely by priests who were still validly ordained), along with all its Catholic theology.  When Henry passed away and Edward ascended to the thrown, the Sarum Missal was suppressed and replaced (in 1549) with the Book of Common Prayer.  There were many reasons that were given for this change: simplification of the Liturgy, use of the vernacular (English) instead of Latin, and inclusion of a formal rite for giving Communion to the people (one apparent criticism is that the Roman Mass lacked this).  Over the course of the next century, the Book went through several revisions and settled on the current version in use in the Church of England, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. 

Several features of the prayer book stand out as striking.  The Liturgy of the Hours was reduced from the traditional 7 to simply 2 hours (Morning and Evening Prayer).  Only two Sacraments are officially recognized; Baptism and Eucharist.  These are noticeable as the prayer book condenses many books in the Roman Rite.  Finally, the Liturgy has drastically been altered.

The above link will show the iterations of the Book of Common Prayer, due to concerns from different groups; those that leaned more towards Catholicism, and those that leaned towards Puritanism.  As such, all language in the Mass that referred to a Sacrifice was stripped away.  All references to the Saints or prayers for the dead are gone.  The service was stripped of any prayers that implied that the priest played a roll any different from the laity.  Finally, any non-Biblical language was removed.  The Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, and Post-Communion are gone and replaced with hymns or anthems.  The new theology is best reflected in phrases such as the Prayer of Humble Access, and the formula for giving Communion.

But, the tragedy isn't simply all this.  If the service became invalid simply due to heresy, then many Sunday Masses in today's world would be invalid.  The Council of Trent states that the requirement for validity be form and matter, while also stating that the priest must have the intent to do the will of the Church.  The very question of the validity of the Anglican sacraments was taken up in 1896 by Pope Leo XIII in Apostolicae Curae, where it was determined that Anglican Orders are null and void, due to the ambiguity of the intention expressed in the ordination rites (female ordination is a definite sign of this).  Prior to this, it was not all too clear how valid Anglican sacraments were. 

So here is the tragedy.  Anglicanism allows its members to hold beliefs that appear rather Catholic.  If an Anglican priest performs his service and meets the requirements of Trent, including intent to accomplish the will of the Church, then he could be validly consecrating.  However, all of this becomes a moot point considering that his orders are not considered valid.  It's almost like a catch 22.  


There are many treasures within the Book of Common Prayer and Anglicanism that, if brought into line with Catholic teaching, would greatly enrich the Church.  We must continue to pray for the Ordinariates and the courage of those individuals and clergy that compose them.