Printed Sources in English for the Anglican Theology of Prayer 1641 -1700
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Durham E-Theses Aspects of the public debate about praying in early modern England: printed sources in English for the Anglican theology of prayer 1641 -1700 Ginn, Richard John How to cite: Ginn, Richard John (2003) Aspects of the public debate about praying in early modern England: printed sources in English for the Anglican theology of prayer 1641 -1700, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4093/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 A copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Aspects of the Public Debate about Praying in Early Modern England: Printed Sources in English for the Anglican Theology of Prayer 1641 -1700 Richard John Ginn University of Durham Department of Theology M. Litt. Thesis 2003 OCT 2004 2 Richard John Ginn: Aspects of the Public Debate about Praying in Early Modern England: Printed Sources in English for the Anglican Theology of Prayer 1641 - 1700 ABSTRACT This thesis investigates Anglican understandings of prayer, as expressed in printed material originating from the years 1641-1700. Besides surveying the range of comment and teaching, this enquiry gathers the concerns of the period into categories within which historical and theological reflection reveal the vitality and the shortcomings of the parochial life of the Church of England. The development of the theology of prayer in the Anglican Church throughout this era is charted and analysed. The life of the Church of England is presented as an amalgam of official requirements and local custom. It is shown that far from Anglican worship being stereotypical, the actual reality of congregational life was of great variety across the parishes. The interpenetration of formal and popular culture in the life of the local parish church is presented in the enthusiasm for both the Book of Common Prayer and the Sternhold and Hopkins Metrical Psalter. The concern of the Church of England for the devotional lives of the population is shown to have reached beyond the doors of the churches. Support, teaching and advice was provided on private and family prayer. It is emphasised that family and private prayer were regarded as being obligatory. After the turmoil of the Civil War and Interregnum, the theological instinct of the Church of England was for a renewed society anchored in the devotional experience of the presence of God. The dimensions of the congregational apprehension of the divine presence are investigated within the constructs of a posited aural community. A model is suggested by which it could have been regarded that the interweaving of so many elements of prayer and worship on earth were bound up with the perceived offering of eternal praise in heaven. 3 Declaration All of the material contained in this thesis is the work of the author. No part of it has previously been submitted for a degree in this or any other university. Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent, and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 4 Preliminary Ecclesiastical historians should be cherished by the Church, for they tell us who we are. When the Church engages in heart-searching about its mission and its role in a changing world, it can learn from its history. Just as our identity as individuals is the product of all our experiences and relationships, so, too, the Church's identity is the product of all it has passed through in its history. That history, critically reflected upon and selectively assimilated, becomes tradition - the very blood-stream of the Church's life. Paul Avis Church Times 22nd August 1997 p. 13 5 Contents Chapter: Page Prefatory Acknowledgements 6 Foreword 7 1) Introduction 8 2) The Survival of Anglicanism 20 3) Anglican Understandings of Free Prayer in Public Worship 1641-1660 38 4) Restoration and Revision 50 5) The felt continuity of usage with the Early Church 1660-1700 61 6) The Voice of the Prayer Book - in the Nation 72 7) The Voice of the Prayer Book - in the Parishes 87 8) The Voice of the Prayer Book - analysis and theology 103 9) The'Sternhold & Hopkins'Metrical Psalter 120 10) Family Prayer 141 11) Private Prayer 1660-1700 157 12) Theological Process in Anglican Worship 168 13) Review 187 Bibliography - Primary Sources 194 Bibliography - Secondary Sources 207 6 Prefatory Acknowledgements I am glad to acknowledge my many debts to those who have furthered this work: to my beloved and patient family - my wife, Linda, and our children, Sarah, David and Andrew; to the parishes of Darsham, Dunwich, Middleton, Peasenhall, Sibton, Theberton, Westleton & Yoxford; to the congregations of their churches and chapels; to my colleagues Ann Bayman, Andrew Campbell, Liz Cole, Barbara Michie, Liz Morris, Olive Reeve, Roger Smith, Frances Trower, and Susan Warne; and to my training Vicar, David Hubbard, who has so often sheltered me under his roof in London. Somehow my supervisor, Professor Alan Ford, did not give up on my remarkably protracted labours, and the University of Durham has been graciously flexible in accommodating the successive and severe personal problems that delayed writing and completion. I am pleased to record the support and encouragement that I received from my late mother, Dorothy, whose gentle words often sustained my commitment to these studies. This research has principally used the collections at the Bodleian Library, the British Library, Cambridge University Library, Canterbury Cathedral Library, Dr Williams's Library, Lambeth Palace Library, and York Minster Library. The patience and helpfulness of their staffs have been enormously appreciated. Living and working about one hundred miles from the nearest national libraries of London or Cambridge has entailed frequent recourse to local library facilities. Acknowledgement must therefore be made to the staff at Saxmundham Public Library who excelled in their cheerful willingness to deal with my enquiries and requests for Inter-Library Loans. 7 Foreword A personal element has been present in this study since its inception. A comment made by Canon David Wheaton during a chapel address whilst he was Principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London, in about 1976, to the effect that: 'Parishes are always asking for us to send them people who can teach them how to pray', lodged in my mind and resurfaced again and again. Over the years, the question gradually emerged for me as to whether it was possible to delineate an Anglican doctrine of prayer. When this question was coupled with my excitement at the personal discovery of the pastoral writing of the second half of the seventeenth century, it seemed natural to want to explore the identity of Anglican theology of prayer within that historical period I also felt that the investigation of the contours of this subject in the second half of the seventeenth century would have the added benefit of yielding a richer understanding of the Prayer Book of 1662, the use of which is very much part of my life. The results of this enquiry have enriched my awareness of my vocation as a parson in rural Suffolk, and have enabled me to appreciate the heritage and devotional practices of a significant segment of the Church of England. The fact of ongoing liturgical revision can be more effectively embraced from a basis of the understanding acquired through this study. 8 Chapter 1 : Introduction This thesis derives from a survey of printed literature containing evidence of the Anglican perspectives of prayer in the period 1641-1700. The themes, concerns and leading ideas of this large deposit of material have been given a structure and related to features of the life of the parochial system of England. The many angles of perception reflected in this study include the voices of centralised authority within diocese and nation, as well as haphazard indications of life at parish level. Accordingly there emerges an interesting interpenetration of official requirement and voluntary sincerity. RATIONALE FOR THIS STUDY Given the layout of events in the last fifty years of the seventeenth century, it was clearly necessary to phase in this study from the introductory perspective of the 1640's. Within the period 1641-1700, the Church of England was faced with rapidly changing circumstances which compelled exploration of its own identity and which required the explanation of Anglican practice. A recent study has affirmed that there was a definite shift in the presentation of material after 1660. Religious teaching was simplified to aid popular communication.1 Within the period 1641-1700, Anglican practice was successively proscribed, then established as a monopoly, and was finally plunged into a legitimated Protestant pluralism Within such a sequence of rapid change, it is possible to examine Anglican understanding from many different perspectives. A political investigation might explore the whole ambit from the constitutional significance of the Established Church at a national level to the teaching of submission to those in authority from local pulpits.